Business Analysis Alibaba s Marketing Strategy

Alibaba.com In early 1999, Jack Ma and 17 other founders set up Alibaba. Alibaba first commercial venture is Alibaba.com, an online platform that linked SME of Chinese and international manufacturers and buyers. The main reason of Alibaba success development was improving customers’ satisfaction by listening closely to them. The prove is Alibaba had attracted 32m members in 2007, with operating profits and revenues of $105.3m and of $289.5m respectively. Customers satisfaction and trust are believed to be the secret recipe of Alibaba’s success. Taobao Competition has begun as early as 2002. eBay entered China and immediately started expanding. In response, on 11th May 2003, Alibaba launched its second commercial venture, called Taobao,†¦show more content†¦Listing – From Hong Kong to New York On the 19th of September 2014 a history made. Alibaba became Alibaba Group Holding Limited through New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). There were unique reasons why Alibaba listed on the NYSE instead of on Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) since it is a China-domiciled company. SSE found to be too restrictive, that it imposed limits on trading, size, timing, and speed of foreign capital flows. Alibaba had also attempted to be listed in the HKEx. Since Alibaba embraces dual-class share structure, this was the main reason HKEx rejected Alibaba’s proposal to be listed as HKEx does not authorized dual-class share structure, it allows â€Å"one-share-one-vote† principle instead. Jack Ma, th e determined and charismatic leader, did not stop after being rejected. Alibaba proposed to Nasdaq and the NYSE. Eventually, on September 19, 2014, it was listed on the NYSE, being the largest U.S. IPO of common stock, raised $21.8 billion, with $68 per share. It was obvious that the restrictions on SSE and HKEx’s ban on dual-class share structure had led Alibaba to land on the NYSE and trading up until today. Dual-Class Share Structure In dual-class share, there are two groups of shareholders, where one group has excess voting rights disproportionately to the shares they hold. In this case, the group with excessShow MoreRelatedMission, Vision And Values Essay1606 Words   |  7 Pageswant to buy online.† (Lawrence). This vision statement underscores the organization s position as the world s best e-commerce company of the main objectives. Amazon s vision statement emphasizes the following components or features: global wide, customer priorities, and the widest selection of products. The â€Å"Global Wide† component of Amazon s vision statement is about international leadership in the e-business marketplace. For example, in declaring â€Å"Earth† as a market, the company shows that itsRead MoreBusiness Expansion Of Alibaba Group1842 Words   |  8 Pagesexpansion is already on its way in the case of Alibaba group; the new integration to the stock market is for instance one of the strategic decisions of the company to get access to the U.S market. Jack Ma is definitely concerned about strengthen its positions especially in Russia, United States, Brazil and Spain for the present year. Replicate At this scale, replicating the firm involve important costs and a massive use of the companies resources, however Alibaba group have already many branches operatingRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Amazon And Alibaba Group Holding Limited2729 Words   |  11 Pagesfinancial analysis report examines Amazon.com (Amazon), one of the top eCommerce companies within the retail industry in order to evaluate company performance and financial health. 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When a company competes in any industry, it performs a number of discrete but interconnected value-creating activities, such as operatingRead MoreInformation Technology : An Adaptive And Innovative Organization Essay3545 Words   |  15 Pages1. Information Technology To Support Business Strategies To Become An Adaptive And Innovative Organization 2. Keywords; Information technology, Business, Strategy 3. Introduction Information technology define by (Bourgeois, 2014) are combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that individuals build and use to collect, generate, and assign useful data usually in organizational. Information system are consistent working together to distribute information to support decisionRead MoreWhat Is Social Media?2557 Words   |  11 Pageslives. The chart below, demonstrates how much data in social networks can be generated daily, for example Twitter, there are around 98,000 tweets every day, and Facebook is used approximately 659,000 daily. On the other hand, social media helps business to provide their service and promote their product to customers. As well, companies believe the best way to allow them to contact with their customers directly online by using these social media sites. According to Matthews, R (2013) social mediaRead MoreThe impacts of TAOBAO(business to customer) on E-business in China.1646 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿The impacts of TAOBAO(business to customer) on E-business in China. Introduction In the last few decades, an increasing number of consumers are willing to choose online shopping rather than traditional purchase methods, such as supermarket and mall. The website named TAOBAO is a newly developing online shopping website, based on business-to-customer(B2C). This system can be defined as one model of electronic business (E-business) and that includes â€Å"Selling individual products to individual buyersRead MoreSWOT ANALYSIS SNAPCHAT796 Words   |  3 Pageswith the app are called Snaps. Snapchat uses the device s camera to capture Snaps and Wi-Fi or internet technology to send them. The app allows the sender to draw or insert text on the Snap and determine that for how many seconds (1-10) the recipient can view the snap before the file disappears from the recipient s device. Messages can only be viewed once and during the viewing period, the recipient must maintain contact with the device s touchscreen or else the Snap disappears. The SnapchatRead MoreIpo : A Case Of Alibaba Ipo9878 Words   |  40 Pagesprocess – A case of Alibaba IPO ç ³ » åˆ « å› ½Ã©â„¢â€¦Ã¥â€¢â€ Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã©â„¢ ¢ ä ¸â€œ ä ¸Å¡ Ã¥ · ¥Ã¥â€¢â€ Ã§ ® ¡Ã§ â€  Ã¥ §â€œ Ã¥   Gabriela Garcia Soesanto æ” »Ã¨ ¯ »Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¤ ½  ç ® ¡Ã§ â€ Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¥ £ « Ã¥ ¯ ¼ Ã¥ ¸Ë† Prof. Ren Kang Yu Ã¥ ®Å¡Ã§ ¨ ¿Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦Å"Ÿ 2015 Ã¥ ¹ ´ 6 æÅ"ˆ 8 æâ€" ¥ Study on IPO process– A case of Alibaba IPO A Thesis Submitted To International Business School of BeijingRead MoreAlibaba1038 Words   |  5 PagesBrochure More information from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2523153/ Alibaba.com Limited - Strategic SWOT Analysis Review Description: Summary Alibaba.com Limited (Alibaba.com) is a diverse e-commerce company. It is the flagship company of Alibaba Group Holding Limited. It principally operates business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce web portals for small businesses. It provides three different uniform resource locators, namely, www.1688.com, a Chinese language marketplace for

Freedom Of Speech The Importance Of The Freedom Of Speech

Freedom of speech is a right protected by the First Amendment. According to the administrative office of the United States Courts (n.d.), the First Amendment states that, â€Å"Congress shall make no law... abridging freedom of speech.† Freedom of speech is arguably one of the most cherished American values in the First Amendment. As defined by an online unabridged Dictionary (n.d.), The rights covered by freedom of speech include the right to express opinions publicly without governmental interference. You are wrong when you say that we should shut down news outlets when they broadcast information that you do not like because freedom of speech applies to news outlets. News outlets have freedom of speech. Simply put by an article on the†¦show more content†¦The only reason individuals have to believe that news outlets do not have freedom of speech would be because they are committing slander or libel. According to Dictionary.com, slander is, â€Å"defamation by oral utterance† while libel is, â€Å"defamation by written or printed words.† According to information provided by Maureen P. Haney (2016), an attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, whenever news outlets publish information that could be considered defamation, they are protected by the first amendment rights specifically because news outlets are allowed to broadcast their opinion. So news outlets have every right a person does and can state their opinion however they please. Shutting down news outlets when they broadcast information that you do not like infringes on freedom of speech. The only appropriate time to shut down a news outlet would be if they were continuously spread ing false information purposefully that was causing mass chaos across the country. That hypothetical scenario would be similar to the Schenck v. United States Supreme Court case which according to Oyez, concluded that the character of the individual must be taken into account when examining their rights. That court case created the famous example of yelling â€Å"Fire† in a crowded theatre. Because yelling â€Å"Fire† would create unnecessary mass hysteria, it is not protected by the individuals First Amendment rights.Fake news outlets, such as The Onion, only publish satirical news articles and are still able toShow MoreRelatedSpeech : Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1116 Words   |  5 PagesTopic/Title: The Importance of Freedom of Speech General Purpose: I want to inform my audience Specific Purpose: I want my audience to understand the importance of freedom of speech. Thesis: Freedom of speech is important because it allows new ideas to surface, encourages the development in social relationships to prosper, and it permits for the truth to prevail. Introduction A. Attention getter There is a famous written saying that adheres to the attitude of every important figure throughoutRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech979 Words   |  4 Pagesthe most cherished one: the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech gives citizens the right to express their own opinions publicly without government interference, violating laws, or inciting any kind of violence or rebellion. However, the first amendment does not mean anyone can simply say whatever they want. There are several topics that are strictly scrutinized by law and there are even some situations in which freedom of speech is lawfully restricted. Freedom of speech is an extremely important partRead MoreImportance Of Freedom Of Speech1455 Words   |  6 PagesIt is in these moments of confrontation that the importance of free speech becomes essential to finding a resolution that fits the needs and wants of the majority without disregarding the basic human rights of the minority being represented. Free speech sh ould have limits; this includes the use of inappropriate personal attacks, un-related subject matter/ lying, and inciting violence against others for their opinions and beliefs. Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights in society thatRead MoreFree Speech : The Importance Of The Freedom Of Speech1079 Words   |  5 PagesFree speech in my mind, should be universally protected, except when that speech turns into hate against any particular minority and incites violence that is not needed for the safety of the public at large. Freedom of speech serves to be a fundamental democratic right that affords every citizen to participate in the United States constitutional democracy. It is a vital tool because it can be used by every person, rich, poor, black or white, to voice their concerns and rejections of the federal orRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1192 Words   |  5 Pagesamendment of the United States’ Bill of Rights states â€Å"Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,†. Freedom of speech tends to be the most appreciated part of this amendment, while also causing the most anger. Most hate speech is protected under it, causing loads of controversy of the years. If the speech is not active fighting words threatening the livelihood of somebody, you’re allowed to say whatever you want. A landmark case in confirmingRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech878 Words   |  4 PagesFreedom of speech is a basic fundamental human right. Whether or not on a college campus, people (especially college students) should have the right to speak freely. Everyone does have the right to speak freely, because it is one of the twenty-seven amendments. Colleges all around the United States are now home to many restrictions on free speech. For example, the idea and use of â€Å"free speech zones† has made its way to colleges everywhere. A â€Å"free speech zone† is a sidewalk sized place where studentsRead MoreImportance Of Freedom Of Speech778 Words   |  4 Pagessomeone referring to Freedom of Speech, what comes to your mind? How far should Freedom of Speech go for you or others? And when you see someone practicing Freedom of Speech, do you actually support it? In today’s society, some of us forget what Freedom of Speech actually is and how far it is actually extended. Freedom of Speech means, the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. Freedom of Speech is protected under the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech includes but is notRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1526 Words   |  7 Pagesthem listed in our constitution in the 1st amendment is the right to freedom of speech. However, like many liberties, freedom of speech is not absolute under the supreme law of land. What this means is that yes we do have freedom of speech, but it is not protected by the government if it includes obscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement, true threats and speech integral to already criminal conduct. White, K. (2017, June 08) Speech is an important part of our democracy, it gives us the right to speakRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech1394 Words   |  6 Pagesconstitution states â€Å"Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and t o petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† However, the right to freedom of speech has limits, including violence, inciting a riot, libel or slander and yelling fire in a theatre. At a private company, such as the NFL, there are even more limits to this freedom, depending on the organization’s terms and conditions and any contractsRead MoreThe Importance Of Freedom Of Speech956 Words   |  4 Pagesdiscussed on campus to protect their students, but this hinders the quality of the students learning. Public college campuses should not safeguard student’s free speech by providing safe spaces, presenting trigger warnings, or controlling who speaks on campus.   Ã‚  Ã‚   All students attending public colleges should be allowed the freedom of speech and not be shielded from what college officials deem necessary to censor. Colleges that provide safe spaces, physical places students can go to openly discuss controversial

Systematic Integration of Quality Management †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Systematic Integration of Quality Management. Answer: Introduction Business Organization has been looking for growth and maximizing profit in the market. This helped in introducing various technical solutions in the market. The quality management in the business organization has been an essential element in the market. This report deals with the importance of the quality management in the business organization. The use of the mobile solution to improve the quality management has been focused in the report. This report outlines the overall importance of the mobile solutions in mitigating the challenges in managing the quality of the business organization in the market. There are various case studies and examples provided to understand the cost benefit analysis of mobile solution in business organization. Quality management refers to understanding customers in the market by managing the quality of the products and services provided by the company in the market (Adar, Shermister and Nisani 2017). It is concerned with providing IT solutions and software to propagate the requirements of the customers in the market. It aims in developing a quality culture inside business organization to mitigate the challenges regarding the quality of the products and services of company. In this case the mobile business solution is looking for developing the quality management criteria in the company by implementing mobile solutions. In order to manage quality of common, there are various principles of the quality management that are discussed below: The focus of the quality management is to fulfill the requirements of the customer in the market. The focus of the company needs to be in the customer to meet their expectation. The company needs to look for the value of the customer in the market (Kawanishi et al., 2017). Communicating with customers helps in gaining exact knowledge of needs of customer in the market. Leaders help in establishing the direction for achieving quality management in company. They help in enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in the solutions (Shahparasti et al., 2017). On this case, the leaders in the company have to enhance the mobile solutions. They help in making proper decisions in the company. Engaging maximum number of people into the vision of the company helps in maintaining a transparency in completing the goals. The engagement of employees and customers in the company helps in maintaining the balance in the management of the company (Aquilani et al., 2017). The quality management of the company is fulfilled by the engagement of people. The goals and objectives of the company is fulfilled properly. The customer satisfaction is enhanced both the engagement. The quality management process includes various interconnected processes that helps in management various process in coherent system. It helps in optimizing opportunities for the company in the market. The confidence of the company is increased with enhancing effectiveness and efficiency. A successful organization always look for improvement in the company. A continuous improvement in the company helps in achieving success easily (Drucker 2017). It creates various internal and external opportunities for the company. It helps in enhancing the learning procedure among the employees. All the decisions are based on proper analysis of data and information in the company. It is a complex process that always involves uncertainty. It helps in maintaining a solid architecture for progressing towards success of the company. The relationship with clients, customers and other parties have to be maintained properly. This helps in sustaining success in the market. The quality management of the mobile solutions is depended on the relationship with parties. The cost of quality includes all the cost included in pursuing quality or performing quality assessment in the company. The quality management in the mobile business solution has been penetrating into the market (Manatos, Sarrico and Rosa 2017). The use of the mobile phones have decreased recurring cost to an amount. The use of the mobile phones in the market have stabilized the effect of randomness in the market. Customers can have many features of phone in the smart mobile. The solutions provided by the mobile has been properly maintained in the company. The cost benefit of the company has been effective in maintaining the quality of the services provided (Nicholas and Steyn 2017). The smaller systems requires less documentation and focus on the quality management by establishing quality in the culture. The technical background of the mobile solutions have been enhanced. There are various technical aspects that has been developed in the mobile solutions. The security of data and information has been prior solution provided in the mobile phones. The mobile App Security has been installed in the mobile phones that helps in providing security to applications and data (Aquilani et al., 2017). For example, the security module within Innovapptives mPower AppSuite is configurable and provides companies the ability to apply consistent and replicable controls across apps based on organizations defined security policies and guidelines, without writing any code (Pun and Yiu 2017). Contrasts in the blend of authority and leadership can characterize different leadership styles. Some leadership styles tend to deemphasize authority. Incorporated into this gathering, one could incorporate participatory leadership, fair leadership, and community oriented leadership styles. Other leadership styles, for example, dictator leadership, micromanagement, also, top-down leadership, depend more on a pioneer to give bearing (Nicholas and Steyn 2017). Note, in any case, that in light of the fact that an association has no single pioneer giving it bearing, this does not mean it fundamentally has frail leadership. By and large, amass authority can demonstrate successful. Case study of Shades of Comfort The company was suffering with decrease in the sales of the products and services of the company. The company started to analyses the needs of the customer in the market. Under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, the company started quality management in the market. This helps in increasing the customer satisfaction in the market and increasing the sales (Fernandes et al., 2017). The economic downturn of the company has been removed by enhancing the quality management in the company. The company focus on continuous improvement in the operational management of the company. While picking up accreditation mirrors a generous accomplishment for the organization, it has not been without its difficulties. With respects to the ecological administration framework accreditation granted in February 2012, it has not generally been anything but difficult to source supportable materials and items (Aquilani et al., 2017). With the expanding entrance of cutting edge versatile handheld gadgets, a dominant part of retail shoppers are relied upon to approach cell phones and tablets in the medium term, urging safety net providers to offer their items and administrations through savvy applications. To pick up an early mover advantage in a strongly aggressive industry, driving back up plans are as of now making sizeable interests in portable arrangements. In the course of the most recent two years, driving safety net providers including Nationwide, Dynamic, AXA, Zurich Financial, State Farm, and GEICO have propelled free, efficient cell phone applications (Andrade, Mendes and Loureno 2017). Mobile contraptions are picking up conspicuousness in the protection industry with a developing number of clients and operators prone to utilize shrewd versatile devices for giving different money related exchanges. The noticeable move in customers' and operators' inclination toward portable capacity is probably going to drive safety net providers' enthusiasm for versatile applications, for example, claims applications, new business applications, and specialist applications. Increasing Process Complexity Higher number of hand-offs, and redundancies are bringing about bigger preparing time for forms like cases settlement, approach adjusting/change demands, and quote and tie demands (Gollenia 2016). Versatile applications will empower safety net providers to upgrade process effectiveness crosswise over numerous value-based ranges in the esteem chain. For each dollar gathered in premiums, safety net providers, on normal, burn through 61 pennies on claims pay-out and 13 pennies on guarantee expenses. Versatile arrangements can diminish misfortune modification costs by offering advantageous cases self-benefit apparatuses (Aryanasl et al., 2016). In spite of the fact that appropriation of portable innovation will require extra speculation, it might prompt sizeable picks up in the medium term. To pick up an upper hand and to enhance the client obtaining rate, a few back up plans are concentrating on a multi-channel system that incorporates elective conveyance channels, for example, on the web and versatile channels. Versatile arrangements not just offer another channel by which back up plans can interface with clients yet additionally enable safety net providers and specialists to decrease the business cycle finishing time, because of the profoundly convenient nature of portable devices. Insurers can enhance client fulfillment by offering self-benefit arrangements through their mobiles. The youthful, technically knowledgeable clients are more open to utilizing versatile answers for protection buys and additionally administrations, for example, arrangement and bill seeing, claims warnings, and bill installments (Sabet, Adams and Yazdani 2016).e back up plans to bring down cases handling costs by extending their cases preparing limit, enhancing asset use, and diminishing cases settlement process durations. Mobile cases arrangements empower undertaking wide continuous correspondence, coordinated effort, and upgraded effectiveness by lessening the claims preparing time. For example, portable arrangements help vehicle guarantors to gather exact mishap data specifically from the mischance site, start preparing the claim speedier, and take into consideration the incite task of the case to the right agent. Such a procedure prompts speedier settlement of cases (Barata and Cunha 2017). Portable arrangements offer another open door for safety net providers to expand their best line as well as to enhance their main concern by empowering them to give advantageous self-service apparatuses to clients through portable (Aquilani et al., 2017). Cases work is a standout amongst the most basic capacities for PC safety net providers viewed as the vital turning point in client relationship (Nicholas and Steyn 2017). Portable arrangements introduce an enormous open door for non-life safety net providers to improve their clients' cases involvement and to decrease the cases change costs by empowering back up plans to offer helpful cases self-benefit applications to their clients. Natural and easy to use portable arrangements can be utilized all through the cases settlement process with a specific end goal to steam-line and quicken claims handling. Ease of use is a standout amongst the most critical main factors in appropriation of portable arrangements. A straightforward yet creative interface that maintains a strategic distance from complex client collaborations is basic (Nicholas and Steyn 2017). Client/channel instruction around ease of use of portable applications is additionally a key factor. To reach to a bigger client construct Back up plans should center in light of creating versatile arrangements that have adaptable engineering and that are bolstered by a wide range of versatile stages, for example, Blackberry, iPhone, Android, and iPad. While building up a versatile arrangement, back up plans must have isolate interior and outer techniques. While the concentration for an inward versatile system ought to be on enhancing the cases staff efficiency and upgrading the cases handling effectiveness, outside procedures should concentrate on influencing clients' cases to encounter wonderful (Drucker 2017). Insurers likewise need to guarantee that their portable arrangements take into account joining with outsider specialist co-ops, for example, auto repairs offices, with a specific end goal to produce cost advantage and to get undertaking an incentive from versatile cases arrangements. Conclusion It can be concluded that the use of the mobile solution in the business organization have helped in providing better solution to the business organization. In addition, portable arrangements can be utilized over the center components of the protection esteem chain appropriate from the advertising and offer of a protection arrangement through to the settlement of the claim and payout of the last asserted sum. The use of the various success factors has been discussed in the report. Various examples and case studies have helped in understanding the benefits of mobile solutions in enhancing quality management in the company. References Adar, R., Shermister, S. and Nisani, M., Nice Ltd., 2017.Apparatus, system and method for dispute resolution, regulation compliance and quality management in financial institutions. U.S. Patent 9,712,665. Andrade, J., Mendes, L. and Loureno, L., 2017. Perceived psychological empowerment and total quality management-based quality management systems: an exploratory research.Total Quality Management Business Excellence,28(1-2), pp.76-87. Aquilani, B., Aquilani, B., Silvestri, C., Silvestri, C., Ruggieri, A., Ruggieri, A., Gatti, C. and Gatti, C., 2017. A systematic literature review on total quality management critical success factors and the identification of new avenues of research.The TQM Journal,29(1), pp.184-213. Aryanasl, A., Ghodousi, J., Arjmandi, R. and Mansouri, N., 2016. Can excellence management models encompass cleaner production and sustainable business revolution?(European Foundation for Quality Management as a case study).International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology,13(5), pp.1269-1276. Barata, J. and Cunha, P.R., 2017. Synergies between quality management and information systems: a literature review and map for further research.Total Quality Management Business Excellence,28(3-4), pp.282-295. Drucker, P.F., 2017.The Theory of the Business (Harvard Business Review Classics). Harvard Business Press. Drucker, P.F., 2017.The Theory of the Business (Harvard Business Review Classics). Harvard Business Press. Fernandes, A.C., Fernandes, A.C., Sampaio, P., Sampaio, P., Sameiro, M., Sameiro, M., Truong, H.Q. and Truong, H.Q., 2017. Supply chain management and quality management integration: A conceptual model proposal.International Journal of Quality Reliability Management,34(1), pp.53-67. Gollenia, L.A., 2016.Business transformation management methodology. Routledge. Kawanishi, H., Moriishi, M., Takahashi, N. and Tsuchiya, S., 2017. Preparation and Quality Management of Fluids for Hemodialysis. InScientific Aspects of Dialysis Therapy(Vol. 189, pp. 153-159). Karger Publishers. Manatos, M.J., Sarrico, C.S. and Rosa, M.J., 2017. The integration of quality management in higher education institutions: a systematic literature review.Total Quality Management Business Excellence,28(1-2), pp.159-175. Nicholas, J.M. and Steyn, H., 2017.Project management for engineering, business and technology. Taylor Francis. Pun, K.F. and Yiu, M.Y.R., 2017. Assessing organisational KM performance based on the criteria of total quality management. InDecision Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications(pp. 1663-1684). IGI Global. Sabet, E., Adams, E. and Yazdani, B., 2016. Quality management in heavy duty manufacturing industry: TQM vs. Six Sigma.Total Quality Management Business Excellence,27(1-2), pp.215-225. Shahparasti, M., Mohamadian, M., Baboli, P.T. and Yazdianp, A., 2017. Toward Power Quality Management in Hybrid ACDC Microgrid Using LTC-L Utility Interactive Inverter: Load VoltageGrid Current Tradeoff.IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid,8(2), pp.857-867. Tar, J.J., Pereira-Moliner, J., Pertusa-Ortega, E.M., Lpez-Gamero, M.D. and Molina-Azorn, J.F., 2017. Does quality management improve performance or vice versa? Evidence from the hotel industry.Service Business,11(1), pp.23-43.

Companies Efficient Distribution and Management

Question: Discuss about the Companies Efficient Distribution and Management. Answer: Executive Summary The aim of this paper is to do financial analysis of the given company Efficient Distributors and try to solve the hurdles they are facing in keeping within the limit of the bank overdraft. Using the financial statements provided some ratio analysis has been done and we have tried to identify the problem. After identification of the problem we have looked at possible solutions and their implementations. Introduction Efficient distributors are the given company whose three years financial data we have been proved with. They have been having issues with their liquidity status and for this purpose we have used ratio analysis and looked at the advantages as well as the limitations of ratio analysis. Ratios across various areas such as liquidity, activity and profitability have been calculated to get an overall view of the companies operating efficiency as well as profitability. Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is a useful tool for financial analysis and it simplifies a lot of complex numbers into simple data. (Kothari, 2004)For example, a profit of 15 million AUD in context doesnt tell much about profitability of a company but a ROE of 12% does tell a potential investor the kind of returns he can expect after investing in the stock. Profitability Ratios Return on Equity Return on Equity or ROE is the return on shareholders equity and obtained or calculated by dividing net income with the shareholders equity.(Damodaran, 2007) Return on Assets Return on Assets or ROA is the return on the total assets employed by the company, it is obtained by dividing the net income with total assets.(Gibson, 2012) Gross profit margin Gross profit is calculated by subtracting cost of sales from revenues and then gross profit margin is calculated as percentage of revenues.(Bajkowski, 1999) Net Profit Margin Net profit margin is calculated by dividing net income as a percentage of total sales or revenues. Summary of the ratios It is observed that while the ROA was 3.9% for the year 2015 it has improved significantly to 7.5%. However not much can be looked into it as a significant profit are eaten up by depreciation expense. And the improvement in ratio has much to do with the diminishing value of assets and also to the significant decrease in depreciation expenses. Gross Profit margin has also marginally improved to 55% from 53.33%. Gross profits are quite high but when we look at net profit margins we see that they fall significantly to 10% and 6.11% respectively. While the net profit margins have improved on account of reducing depreciation expenses they are still very low as compared to gross profit margins and that has much to do with high operating costs of efficient distributors. ROE just like the other profitability ratios has shown an improvement from 7.65% to 13.61%. Liquidity ratios Current Ratio The current ratio is obtained by dividing the current assets with the current liabilities. It is a measure of the liquidity position of the company and generally below 1 is considered a risky position to be in, however this number is highly industry specific.(Bajkowsi, 1999) Quick Ratio Quick ratio calculated much like current ratio is considered a better measure of liquidity because it subtracts inventory from the current assets to calculate the ratio. The reasoning is high inventory levels make the current ratio bloated and dont give a fair idea about companys liquidity position. Summary of Liquidity ratios While the current ratio has shown a decline of 8% from 1.83 to 1.68 the quick ratio has shown an even steeper decline percentage wise of 12% from 0.78 to 0.68. The current ratio would look fine but such a difference between the two ratio indicate that Efficient distributors are parking a significant portion of their current assets in the inventory which is hampering their liquidity position on a short term horizon. Cash flow ratios Cash flow ratio has been calculated by dividing the operating cash flow with the net sales for the year. While the figure for 2015 was 0.26 that for 2016 is 0.19. The decrease in cash flow is due to decrease in depreciation expenses and increased tax payments. Activity ratios Inventory turnover Inventory turnover is obtained by dividing the total sales with the inventory. The number is a measure of the rotations of inventory done in a year and hence a higher number is always better.(Kirkham, 2010) Receivables Collection period Receivables collection period is obtained by using the formula 365/Receivables Turnover. Receivables turnover is gain given by the formula Accounts Receivables/Total Sales. Summary of the two ratios The inventory turnover while in 2015 was 3.87 has increased to 4.71 bodes well for the company as it means that they are managing their inventory better. Similarly, average collection period has also improved from 60 days to 45 days which means that the company is realising g their payments faster. This would mean a reduction in working capital. Cause of the current situation Poor inventory turnover can be seen as a probable cause for the current situation of Efficient Distributors. Not only does it severely impact that their liquidity ratios but also it means increased financing costs on the working capital which consequently affects the profitability as well. Even though the profitability ratios have improved not much can be seen in it as because as discussed earlier decreased depreciation expenses have inflated these ratios. Recommendations Proper inventory management techniques so that not too much capital is blocked in it would be recommended course of action for Efficient Distributors. Apart from that to further improve their receivables collection period would bode well for Efficient Distributors. It is seen from their financial statements that in 2016 41000 out of 69000 of current assets is invested in inventory which is almost 70%. Ideally they should aim to get this figure below 50%. b.) Limitations of analysis Apart form that the biggest advantage of financial ratios which is simplifying complex data can sometime be its biggest drawback as well as it tends to distort information. (Oysazar, 2012) For example, as seen in our scenario improvement in certain ratios would tend to paint a picture that company has improved its performance significantly however that is not the case and the real reasons behind improvement in the ratios has become evident only after close investigation of the reasons behind it which is not possible for a layman to do. c.) Additional information required For any ratios be it profitability, activity or liquidity are industry specific. Hence unless the nature of industry is known and industry averages are not known it is very difficult to determine whether the number is good or bad. For example, an inventory turnover of 4 might be considered very good for an automobile manufacturing industry whereas that of 4 for a retail business of fast moving items would be considered extremely poor. Therefore, having industry averages would have given us a fairer idea about the position of Efficient Distributors. Secondly statement of cash flows hasnt been provided and hence we are not able to ascertain where they are spending the money. Unless we have an idea as to where the money is going the analysis wouldnt be holistic. 2.) Executive Summary The purpose is to analyse the given information and charter possible future courses of action which would be in the best interest of all the parties involved and at the same time be ethical in nature. Facts Allendale is in the boat building business and has a debt of 10 million AUD for which they always need to maintain a current ratio of 2:1 and their post-tax ROA should be higher than 10%. Stake-holders The stake-holders of Allendale are its employees, its vendors and customers, the financial institution from which it has borrowed money and the owners, promoters and other share-holders. Problem Since an inventory item is valued at a higher price this has inflated the value of current assets and therefore increase the ratio as well. Since current ratio is given by current assets to current liabilities an increase on the numerator side with the denominator being constant would obviously deflate the ratio. The ROA which is given by Net income to total assets should never be less than 10%. Allendale has provision for bad debts on their balance sheet which is currently 0.3 million AUD however this would not be sufficient as the bad debts would be 0.5 million AUD since an account payable of 1 million would only be paid in half. Consequently, as a result of this ROA would fall. With the two requisite parameters falling below safety margin, the company would face threat of bankruptcy as the bank would pull its loan back and employees would lose the job. This would happen only if Tom the accountant was to report it. Hence he faces an ethical dilemma. Value and Principles The two ethical principles that are relevant to this particular problem is utilitarianism and deontology. The first principle states that any action should have the interest of maximum group of stakeholders whereas the second principle states that a person should focus on the action rather than the outcome.(Bazley, et al., 2014) Possible Course of Action Based on the problems there are the possible courses of action that Tom can opt for. He can choose to keep quiet about the matter thus helping the company stay afloat and everyone including himself keeps their jobs, The second course of action can be that he reports the anamolities observed without worrying about the outcome and fulfilling the ethical responsibilities that his role as as an accountant asks him to perform. Thirdly he can also opt to barely report the matter to higher authorities and chose to shrug off any responsibility that might come with him taking an action. Evaluation of Actions and Choice of Action While his first course of action would benefit maximum stakeholders group in the overall moral code of ethics it seems to be a very poor decision. The second course of action though might be detrimental for a lot of stakeholders seems the ethically right thing to do. (Chonko, 2012)Tom should go for the second course of action and that would be also in best interest of corporate governance as he and his company would be making balanced disclosure. Approach Used While facing an ethical dilemma a person should act in a morally correct manner and one which his profession demands. As an accountant it is Toms job to be balanced and make disclosures timely, fairly and in an unbiased manner. 3.) Executive Summary The purpose of this paper is to examine the case of Giggling brothers a wine retailer who have been facing problems due to lack in co-ordination between the accounts and the purchasing department. The problems are due to cash flows which occur due to excessive inventory. The management is of the opinion that the problems are a result of not having proper accounting systems in place. Hence we try to analyse whether computerised accounts can bring about a difference. Current accounting and reporting systems Currently the accounting systems in place at Giggling Brothers are manual. What happens is that the accounting department communicates to the purchasing department when their stocks are depleted to a certain point and then the purchasing department orders new stock. The inventory levels are maintained manually which can never be easy because it involves a lot of tedious work which is sometimes beyond the scope of manual systems.(Raoa Rao, 2009) Perpetual inventory system needs to be maintained for which a proper IT infrastructure needs to be enabled.(CMA, 2013) Benefits of a IT enabled system If an IT enabled system is in place the inventory levels would be reported properly. The benefits are twofold. First of all, inventory is managed properly, secondly reporting system when computerised would enable all departments to know about inventory levels on a real time basis. This would mean that less investments in inventory and hence the company wouldnt face problems of cash shortages which it has been facing frequently earlier. (Kot S., 2011)Secondly it would also mean that in times of high demand the company doesnt face stock outs which can be detrimental for their business. Similarly, another problem that the company seems to be facing is incorrect reporting of demands by the sales department. Again having computerised systems would enable forecasting of demand and it would enable the purchasing department to order better. This in effect would again reduce costs associated with holding excess inventory. Cost benefit analysis Cost benefit analysis is a useful tool which helps determine the usefulness of a capital investment. Now if we were to do a cost benefit analysis we would have to determine the benefits associated with implemented the computerised accounting and reporting systems and whether their benefits in the longer run exceed the costs.(Precision Group, 2010) A good tool for this could be taking NPV of the benefits after the implementation of IT enabled systems in both reporting and accounting departments. Suppose if we the company were to invest 25,000 dollars in getting their systems designed and their WACC is 8% a good way of doing cost benefit analysis could be whether their benefits provide them an IRR of more than 8% or else another way could be to see if the Present values of these cash flow discounted by 8% are more than 25,000 dollars which is the initial amount spent to get the system designed. Design and Development of the Accounting System Since the problem are arising due to lack of coordination between four levels or departments i.e. the management, sales department, purchase department and the account department it is necessary that all these departments be represented and have a say in the design of the accounting systems. (CMA, 2013)The sales department grouse is that management has unreal expectation of sales and hence they should be involved in how sales forecasts are carried by these systems. Sales department has grouse that the accounting department doesnt communicate them about the levels of account receivables. Hence systems need to be in place which update the sales team about status of accounts to be collected. For example, certain customers arent given more credit than warranted because that raises the risk of bad debts as well. Accounting department has a problem that they are not consulted about expenditures and are not updated about credit history of customers. If they are taken into the mix systems ca n be enabled where each customer would have a credit rating and payment history which would help the sales team to decide how much credit and on what terms should sales be made to certain customer based on patterns of their purchases over the course of time. Similarly purchase department and management also need to work in tandem and decide what purchasing patterns they want to establish so that they can achieve a balance. Neither do they want to hold excessive inventory nor do they want to face the risk of stock outs. Conclusion It is clearly evident from our analysis that comutersied accounting systems can sort out the various coordination problems between the various departments of Giggling which are leasing to issues such as cash shortages and mis timed marketing drives. 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