The Mind Of A Case Study Analysis - 1183 Words

against the thoughts and finally producing a more balanced thought in the end. This lead to Carlos being more open to putting up with the light-headedness to see if the medication would be beneficial. The behavioral techniques Dr. Walden uses to promote a decrease in Carlos’ symptoms are positive reinforcement (validation), behavioral rehearsals (e.g. encouraging Carlos to test his skills with producing a balanced thought), exposure (e.g. continuing to do activities even when light-headedness occurred) and activity scheduling (e.g. re-attempt leaving for work every morning by 8:00am and continuing to read to his kids for 15 minutes every night). Dr. Walden validates the results of Carlos’ previous behavioral experiment of reading to his†¦show more content†¦The activity scheduling, specifically reading to his kids, brought about more positive reinforcement and belief challenging. Carlos could read to his kids with a â€Å"clear head† and thus proved to himself that he could continue doing activities he used to do without suffering a nervous breakdown or undue stress. Additionally, these activities may even cause him pleasure and further future repetit ion. By leaving work by 8:00am every morning, which Carlos could do, he found a maladaptive behavior and noted it to the psychologist: â€Å"He could do it, but had learned that it was important not get caught up in what he termed a ‘stall mode’ in the morning†. Carlos could further note the â€Å"stall mode† occurring in other aspects of behaviors and cognitions and even offered a solution for it. This outcome is allowing Carlos to take a more active role in the therapy and really contribute in the collaborative empiricism with his psychologist. Additionally, this is fueling an adaptive belief that Carlos is a well-functioning individual who can identify and provide solutions for his problems. Carlos’ thoughts, behaviors, and emotions all heavily influence one another. In that session, Carlos was shown that his thoughts of â€Å"I won’t be able to function with light-headedness† influences his feelings, specifically becoming upset at that thought. His behavior was the influenced because he did not go into work due to the light-headedness he wasShow MoreRelatedSigmund Freud s View Of Dreams And The Unconscious Mind1677 Words   |  7 Pagesunconscious mind. Freud also discovered that humans use defense mechanisms such as repression to keep the ideas of the unconscious mind from surfacing. While Freud made lasting impressions in the realm of psychology and psychoanalysis, critics find his analysis in the Dora case to be one-sided, disregarding Dora’s own interpretation and treating her as a typical passive woman. 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Ford had an option as well as the solution to design the car in a way that prevented cars from exploding; however they refused to implement it.    They thought that it was cost effective not to fix dangerous conditionRead MoreHrm 590 Essay949 Words   |  4 PagesMGMT599: GUIDELINES FOR CASE ANALYSIS Some students initially find case analysis of strategic issues to be difficult and uncomfortable. This is due to the relative lack of structure of most problems. No correctly answered list of pre-questions or mechanical process will lead to the â€Å"right† course of action. In fact, there usually is no single, definitively â€Å"right† solution to most managerial problems. When analyzing a case, remember that there are often many possible solutions. The goal isRead MoreUnderstanding Comparison in Criminal Justice Research vs. Criminal Justice Research and Practice993 Words   |  4 Pagesthis text, I carry out an analysis of two articles. In so doing, I will compare and contrast both the methods utilized in each article as well as the findings of each. The two articles in this case are Understanding Comparison in Criminal Justice Research: An Interpretive Perspective by Max Travers and Criminal Justice Research and Practice: Diverse Voices from the Field by Michel le Newton-Francis. Discussion To begin with, the articles developed by the authors in this case are both interesting and

Capstone Report Management And Management - 2446 Words

CAPSTONE REPORT The Case of BobCo ADITYA DESHMANKAR MGMT 311 Introduction Bobco is a local firm who has clients in various foreign countries and lately FredCo is trying to acquire Bobco. However, FredCo is not confident to purchase Bobco because due its lack of knowledge management system. FredCo is multinational firm based in Taiwan and has more customers than Bobco. Also, once Bobco is acquired, some of its consultants may leave due to the relationship with the higher management. The management structure of both firms is different because Bobco has a self-ruled chain of command whilst FredCo has an open chain of command. It is important that managers evaluate staff based on the collective performances. Moreover, Bobco does not have a knowledge management system unlike Fredco who is using Lotus Domino from IBM. Leadership Management According to the management guru Peter Drucker (1909-2005), the basic task of management includes both marketing and innovation. Management has four main functions namely planning, leading, organizing and controlling. Planning consists of setting goals and establishing a plan to accomplish those goals. Organising is merely constructing a structure for the business and individual job. Leading is directing and motivating employees to achieve organizational goals. This is the valuable asset of the organisation is staff. However, to ensure employees work at their best, they need to be motivated since different peopleShow MoreRelatedStatus Report – Bu 2799 Business Management Capstone Project1216 Words   |  5 PagesStatus Report – BU 2799 Business Management Capstone Project BU 2799: Business Management Capstone Project Raymond Joseph (18598631) Dr. Mitchell ITT Technical Institute 23 February 2016 Status Report John Deere (Deere Company) Company Background and Business Model The items that I have completed for the Business Management Capstone Project as of February 23, 2016, include many components. 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Are Humans Still Evolving free essay sample

The Origin of Species?. In this book Darwin theorized that populations evolve over the years through a process called natural selection. Darwin realized that in a population, more individuals were born than could possibly survive, he also recognized that the individuals that survived and reproduced were the ones with some sort of competitive advantage over rival animals, therefore they were more likely to pass their useful traits down to their offspring (Darwin, 1859). As this process of natural selection occurred for millions of years, these desirable traits that were once only prevalent in a few individual animals became common traits for entire species (Winston, 2009). There are countless amounts of evidence that suggest that humans owe their existence to evolution, however, many people are skeptical as to whether or not it is still occurring, and whether or not it is happening in the same way. Some scientists hold that the human race has reached ? its biological pinnacle and is no longer capable of changing? (McKie, 2005). Alternatively, some experts believe that humans are evolving faster than ever (Sample, 2007), and others believe it is still happening, just on different terms. There has not been any deciding evidence as to whether or not humans are still evolving, however, saying it isn? t happening is a very difficult position to defend. Gene mutations happen at random so saying that humans will never undergo any more evolutionary changes seems very unlikely (Douglas, 2006). Many scientists and evolutionists believe that the complexion of modern society is changing the means by which natural selection and, consequentially, evolution is occurring. The evolutionary trait of an advanced brain is what defines us as humans; ironically that same brain is what is allowing us to change the rules of evolution. As a result of a number of medical advancements, doctors are able to sustain life that would not have lasted back in Darwin? s time. This means that humans with genetic advantages are not the only ones to survive (Nasrallah, 2009). In today? s world, genes are not as important for survival as they once were, with about ninety-eight percent of children in well-developed areas living until adulthood (Belluz, 2008). When considering how evolution might be happening, experts say the human species may be ? in a sort of genetic drift in which changes happen randomly with no driving force behind evolutionary changes? (Douglas, 2006). Upcoming technological advancements may also play a big role in changing the way in which evolution functions. If genetic engineering becomes common, humans will be able to choose certain genes and get rid of others; the future of evolution will be dependent on which genetic traits parents will choose for their children. This would have huge implications; humans would essentially have evolution in their hands (Adams, 2004). It seems that in modern society, humans have more of a say in natural selection than nature and the environment does. Additionally, survival of the fittest has been taken out of the equation with the ? survival regardless of fitness? (Nasrallah, 2009) replacing it. On the other hand, some scientists like to believe that evolution was halted between fifty thousand and a hundred thousand years ago, before the races diverged (Douglas, 2006). Geneticist Steve Jones theorizes that evolution has come to a halt as a result of societal changes on earth (McKie, 2005). He says that natural selection, mutation, and random change were the three things that drove evolution, and he believes that these factors are no longer present in the modern, western society. He further argues that the likelihood of mutations in genes is declining because of a generally younger age for fathers; he says fathers over the age of 35 are more likely to pass on mutations. This is because cell divisions in males increase with age, and increasing the number of cell divisions increases the chance for an error or a mutation (Belluz, 2008). Natural selection is also not as prevalent in modern society, years ago almost half the children died before twenty, whereas nowadays most people reach adulthood regardless of their genetics (Douglas, 2006). The final factor that Jones believed was responsible for the slowing down of evolution is the decreasing of random change in human genes. According to the rules of the animal kingdom, the human population should be ten thousand times smaller than it actually is (Belluz, 2008). Small populations are much more likely to undergo random evolution than large populations because genes can be accidentally lost. Because the earth? s population of humans is so large, it is very unlikely that any genes will be accidentally lost (Belluz, 2008). Furthermore, human races are now being constantly mixed, which makes the likelihood of losing any genes even less (McKie, 2005). Although all of these factors contribute to a change in the way evolution happens, it seems very farfetched that evolution can ever truly be stopped. In an alternate view, others are convinced that evolution is now happening faster than ever because of the speed at which society is changing. According to a study done at the University of Wisconsin: ? in the past 5,000 years, humans have evolved up to 100 times quicker? than ever before (Sample, 2009, Â ¶1). This increase in the rate of evolution appears to be because of rapid growth in population (Shute, 2008), new mutations are being spread around faster than ever before. One example of a recent addition to the human genome is the ability to digest lactose; this gene became common only about three-thousand years ago and spread through the population very quickly and is now present in most people (Shute, 2008). Also, a gene called microcephalin which regulates brain size, emerged less than sixty thousand years ago is now prevalent in seventy percent of the population (Douglas, 2006). It seems that the rate at which the human population is growing is allowing new mutations to spread quickly through the population, even if natural selection is less prevalent. In the future, scientists predict that genes which defend against disease will be the most rapidly developing part of the human genome. Robin McKie predicts that ? In a thousand years, Africa will be populated only by the descendants of those who are currently immune to the AIDS virus? (2005, 7). Due to the nature of evolution, no one can predict what humans will look like; however, some scientists have come up with some interesting theories. Alan Boyle hypothesizes that humans will all become much more homogenous, he believes all the races will converge into one (Boyle, 2005). He also speculates about the evolutionary possibilities if humans are able to spread out onto other planets. If humans diverge onto other planets, he believes speciation will occur, and the humans on one planet will evolve into a separate species, distinct from the humans on a different planet (Boyle, 2005). Evolution is and always has been very unpredictable; there is seemingly no way to determine whether or not evolution is still occurring or what rules it is following. Only one thing seems to be certain in terms of modern evolution, and that is the fact that humans nowadays have more control over their own evolution than they ever did in the past. The human race was able to survive throughout history because they evolved an enlarged and highly developed brain; this same brain is what is now allowing humans to build societies that allow for survival regardless of genetic superiority (Nasrallah, 2009). As a result of new medical technology, humans have the ability to sustain life, cure diseases, and take care of those who are disabled. No longer does survival of the fittest play a role in human society, because in society those who are fit are now finding ways to help those who are unfit (Nasrallah, 2009). The human lifestyle has definitely undergone a change since Darwin wrote the ? Origin of Species? in eighteen fifty-nine, and it is almost certain that natural selection has changed since then, however, it is not clear as to what extent the rules of natural selection have been altered. Quite possibly, the rate of evolution could now have been heightened as a result of many technological advancements. Or, evolution could have been halted as a result of human interference with natural selection. Either way, it seems likely that today? s evolutionary patterns will only be uncovered to mankind in the future.

Managing an Umbrella Brand free essay sample

The brands had to be available in at least 15 of the countries studied; the same name had to be used in at least three product categories and meet franchise in at least three of the five geographical regions. In its home country Germany, too, many of Nivea’s products were the market leaders in their segments. This market leadership status translated into superior financial performance. Between 1991 and 2001, Nivea posted double-digit growth rates every year. For 2001, the brand generated revenues of â‚ ¬2. 5 billion, amounting to 55 per cent of the parent company’s (Beiersdoft) total revenue for the year. The 120-year-old, Hamburg-based Beiersdoft has often been credited with meticulously building the Nivea brand into the world’s number one personal care brand. According to a survey conducted by ACNielsen in the late 1990s, the brand had a 15 per cent share in the global skin care products market. While Nivea had always been the company’s star performer, the 1990s were a period of phenomenal growth for the brand. We will write a custom essay sample on Managing an Umbrella Brand or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By successfully extending what was essentially a ‘one-product wonder’ into many different product categories, Beiersdoft had silenced many critics of its umbrella branding decision. The marketing game for Nivea Millions of customers across the world have been familiar with the Nivea brand since their childhood. The visual (colour and packaging) and physical attributes (feel, smell) of the product stayed on in their minds. According to analysts, this led to the formation of a complex emotional bond between customers and the brand, a bond that had strong positive under-tones. According to a superbrands. com. my article, Nivea’s blue colour denoted sympathy, harmony, friendship and loyalty. The white colour suggested external cleanliness as well as inner purity. Together, these colours gave Nivea the aura of an honest brand. To customers, Nivea was more than a skin care product. They associated Nivea with good health, graceful ageing and better living. The company’s association Nivea with many sporting events, fashion events and other lifestyle-related events gave the brand a long-lasting appeal. In 2001, Franziska Schmiedebach, Beiersdoft’s Corporate Vice President (Face Care and Cosmetics), commented that Nivea’s success over the decades was built on the following pillars: innovation, brand extension and globalization (see Table 4 for the brand’s sales growth from 1995-2002) Table 4 Nivea: worldwide sales growth (%) The first major extension was launch of ‘Nivea For Men’ aftershave in the 1970s. Unlike the other aftershaves available in market, which caused the skin to burn on application, Nivea For Men soothed the skin. As a result, the product became a runaway success. The positive experience with the aftershave extension inspired the company to further explore the possibilities of brand extensions. Moreover, Beiersdoft felt that Nivea’s unique identity, the values it represented (trustworthiness, simplicity, consistency, caring) could easily be used to make the transition to being an umbrella brand. The decision to diversify its product range was also believed to have influenced by intensifying competitive pressures. L’Oreal’s Plenitude range, Procter Gamble’s Oil of Olay range, Unilever’s Pond’s range, and Johnson Johnson’s Neutrogena range posed stiff competition to Nivea. Though Nivea was the undisputed market leader in the mass-market face cream segment worldwide, its share was below Oil of Olay’s, Pond’s and Plenitude’s in the US market. While most of the competing brands had a wide product portfolio, the Nivea range was rather limited. To position Nivea as a competitor in a larger number of segments, the decision to offer a wider range inevitable. Beiersdoft’s research centre—employing over 150 dermatological and cosmetics researchers, pharmacists and chemists—supported its thrust on innovations and brand extensions. During the 1990s, Beiersdoft launched many extensions, including men’s care products, deodorants (1991), Nivea Body (1995), and Nivea Soft (1997). Most of these brand extension decisions could be credited to Rolf Kunisch, who became Beiersdoft’s CEO in the early 1990s. Rolf Kunisch firmly believed in the company’s ‘twin strategy’ of extension and globalization. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Nivea umbrella brand offered over 300 products in 14 separate segments of the health and beauty market (see Table 5 and Figure 2 for information on Nivea’s brand extensions). Commenting on Beiersdoft’s belief in umbrella branding, Schmiedebach said, ‘Focusing your energy and investment on one umbrella brand has strong synergetic effects and helps build leading market positions across categories. A noteworthy aspect of the brand extension strategy was the company’s ability to successfully translate the ‘skin care’ attributes of the original Nivea cream to the entire gamut of products. Table 5 Nivea: brand portfolio CategoryProducts Nivea Bath CareShower gels, shower specialists, bath foams, bath specialists, soaps, kids’ products, intimate care Nivea Sun (sun care)Sun protectio n lotion, anti-ageing sun cream, sensitive sun lotion, sun-spray, children’s sun protection, deep tan, after tan, self –tan, Nivea baby sun protection Nivea Beaute (colour cosmetics)Face, eyes, lips, nails Nivea For Men (men’s care)Shaving, after shaving, face care, face cleansing Nivea Baby (baby care)Bottom cleansing, nappy rash protection, general cleansing, moisturizing, sun protection Nivea Body (body care)Essential line, performance line, pleasure line Nivea CremeNivea creme Nivea DeodorantsRoll-ons, sprays, pump sprays, sticks, creams, wipes, compact Nivea Hand (hand care)Hand care lotions and creams Nivea Lip CareBasic care, special care, cosmetic care, extra protection care Nivea Visage (face care)Daily cleaning, deep cleaning, facial masks (cleaning/care), make-up remover, active moisture care, advanced repair care, special care Nivea Vital (mature skin care)Basic face care, specific face care, face cleansing products, body care Nivea SoftNivea soft moisturizing cream Nivea Hair CareHair care (shampoos, rinse, treatment, sun); hair styling (hairspray and lacquer, styling foams and specials, gels and specials) Figure 2 Nivea Universe The company ensured that each of its products addressed a specific need of consumers. Products in all the 14 categories were developed after being evaluated on two parameters with respect to the Nivea mother brand. First, the new product had to be based on the qualities that the mother brand stood for and, second, it ha to offer benefits that were consistent with those that the mother brand offered. Once a new product cleared the above test, it was evaluated for its ability to meet consumer needs and its scope for proving itself to be a leader in the future. For instance, a Nivea shampoo not only had to clean hair, it also had to be milder and gentler than other shampoos in the same range. Beiersdoft developed a ‘Nivea Universe’ framework for streamlining and executing its brand extension efforts. This framework consisted of a central point, an inner circle of brands and an outer circle of brands (see Figure 2) The centre of the model housed the ‘mother brand’, which represented the core values of trustworthiness, honesty and reliability. While the brands in the inner circle were closely related to the core values of the Nivea brand, the brands in the outer circle were seen as extensions of these core values. The inner-circle brands strengthened the existing beliefs and values associated with the Nivea brand. The outer circle brands, however, sought to add new dimensions to the brand’s personality, thereby opening up avenues, for future growth. The ‘global-local’ strategy The Nivea brand retained its strong German heritage and was treated as a global brand for many decades. In the early days, local managers believed that the needs of customers from their countries were significantly different from those of customers in other countries. As a result, Beiersdoft was forced to offer different product formulations an packaging, and different types of advertising support. Consequently, it incurred high costs. It was only in the 1980s that Beiersdoft took a conscious decision to globalize the appeal of Nivea. The aim to achieve a common platform for the brand on a global scale and offer customers from different parts of the world a wider variety of product choices. This was radical departure from its earlier approach, in which product development and marketing efforts were largely focused on the German market. The new decision was not only expected to solve the problems of high costs, it was also expected to further build the core values of the brand. To globalize the brand, the company formulated strategies with the help of a team of ‘international’ experts with ‘local expertise’. This team developed new products for all the markets. Their responsibilities included, among others, deciding about the way in which international advertising campaigns should be adapted at the local level. The idea was to leave the execution of strategic decisions to local partners. However, Beiersdoft monitored the execution to ensure that it remained in line with the global strategic plan. This way, Beiersdoft ensured that the nuances of consumer behaviour at the local level understood and that their needs were addressed. Company sources claimed that by following the above approach, it was easy to transfer know-how between headquarters and the local offices. In addition, the motivation level of the local partners also remained on the higher side. The company established a set of guidelines that regulated how the marketing mix of a new product/brand was to be developed. These guidelines stipulated norms with respect to product, pricing, promotion, packaging and other related issues. For instance, a guideline regarding advertising read, ‘Nivea advertising is about skin care. It should be present visually and verbally. Nivea advertising is simple, it is unpretentious and human. ’ Thus all advertisements for any Nivea product depicted images related to ‘skin care’ and ‘unpretentious human life’ in one way or the other. The company consciously decided not to use supermodels to promote its products. The predominant colours in all campaigns remained blue and white. However, local issues were also kept in mind. For instance, in the Middle East, Nivea relied more on outdoor media as it worked out to be much more cost-effective. And since showing skin in the advertisements went against the region’s culture, the company devised ways of advertising skin without showing skin. Many brand management experts have spoken of the perils of umbrella management, such as brand dilution and the lack of ‘change’ for consumers. However, the umbrella branding strategy worked for Beiersdoft. In fact, the company’s growth was the most dynamic since its inception during 1990s—the decade when the brand extension move picked up momentum. The strong yearly growth during the 1990s and the quadrupling of sales were attributed by company sources to the thrust on brand extension. Questions: 1. Discuss the reasons for the success of the Nivea range of products across the world. Why did Beiersdoft decide to extend the brand to different product categories? In the light of Beiersdoft’s brand extension of Nivea, critically comment on the pros and cons of adopting an umbrella branding strategy. Compare the use of such a strategy with the use of an independent branding strategy. 2. According to you, what are the core values of the Nivea brand? What type of brand extension framework did Beiersdoft develop to ensure that these core values id not get diluted? Do you think the company was able to protect these core values? Why/why not? 3. What were the essential components of Beiersdoft’s global expansion strategy for Nivea? Under what circumstances would a ‘global-strategy-local execution’ approach be beneficial for a company? When and why should this approach be avoided?