Williams Sonoma. Measuring the strategic readiness of intangible assets Essay Example for Free

Williams Sonoma. Measuring the strategic readiness of intangible assets Essay The marketing strategies that Williams-Sonoma is applying involve the extensive use of the internet to market its products to the masses. Online marketing and business provides numerous business opportunities across the globe since it is easily accessible to everyone. This creates opportunity for the company to access various customers as well as suppliers and even potential partners that they can do business with and ensure they provide quality products at affordable costs (Simonson, 1999). This as it has been seen has greatly contributed towards the success of the company. It has been able to increase its customer base, increase in sales of its products and in the long run an increase in its profitability. It is important to note that the internet is continuously growing day by day and there are lots of changes taking place. There are also a large number of people that are using and have easy access to the internet. It is apparent that over the next five years, Williams-Sonoma is likely to experience an increase in the number of customers that it serves (Marks, Frolick, 2001). Furthermore, there is a likelihood that the number of products that the company will provide to the customers will also increase. This means that in the next five years, Williams-Sonoma is likely to experience greater growth of its business and operations in general and may become a multinational company. Q2 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   As a CEO of an organization, one must be in a position to formulate and implement strategies that will help in achieving the mission band vision of the organization. Making the decisions on what strategies to undertake require sufficient information on the market and other elements that affect the performance of the company (Kaplan, Norton, 2004). In this case study, Williams-Sonoma is seen as a company that is ready to take risks and adopt new strat5egies in marketing its products. From the case study, it is to be noted that the target group for the company is limited to customers that are high income earners considering that it offers high-end products only. Therefore, a recommended strategy would to provide variety or practice product differentiation in terms of affordability (Kanter, 2001). This can be achieved by ensuring that the products are of high quality although affordable. Apart from offering affordable prices and quality products, the other stra tegy that I would recommend as the CEO would be offering of discounts for the products bought. Those customers that buy at least three different items should be offered a certain percentage of discounts to make the products more affordable (Marks, Frolick, 2001). Furthermore, the other strategy that I would recommend would be to increase advertising on social media sites since these have been a great avenue through which companies are able to reach out to customers. Finally I would recommend that the company increases its amount of imported as well as merchandise that is unbranded. Q3 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   One of the competitors of Williams-Sonoma is Crate Barrel. There is a lot of stiff competition for Williams-Sonoma due to the strategies which are applied by the competitors. In the case of Crate Barrel, the company is using the strategy of low affordable prices on its products as a way through which it is able to attract more customers (Marks, Frolick, 2001). It is to be understood that when the prices of products or even services are affordable, the demand is likely to be high and hence more customers and profitability in the long run. Williams-Sonoma on the other hand offers products at a very high price and hence only attracts the customers that are high income earners only (Kaplan, Norton, 2004). This means that Crate and Barrel has a larger customer base than Williams-Sonoma. The other strategy being used by the competitors includes the setting of their businesses in major locations unlike Williams-Sonoma. This means that the other competitors have been able to reach out to more clients hence becoming more competitive than Williams-Sonoma. Business location is of great importance for any given company. The location will determine the ease of access to the goods and the services of the company by the customers and hence affect the overall performance of the company. Q4 Â   Â   Â   Â   Â   The internet has become one of the avenues through which companies or organizations are able to do business especially marketing their products or even selling their products online. Different companies have employed the use of the internet in different ways and Williams-Sonoma is one those companies that has not been left out in the rush to make business through the internet. Williams-Sonoma is using the internet as a marketing tool for its products whereby it sells information to its customers such as information on recipes (Kaplan, Norton, 2004). The current use of the internet by Williams-Sonoma is the formulation of search for information on its products. The customers have to pay for the information that they get. However, for the future of the company, Williams-Sonoma can make use of the social media sites to promote its products to the numerous internet users available on social media. It would also benefit the company if it opens online stores where it can be able to sell its products online. References Kanter, R. M. (2001). The ten deadly mistakes of wanna-dots. Harvard Business Review, 79(1), 91-100. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (2004). Measuring the strategic readiness of intangible assets. Harvard business review, 82(2), 52-63. Marks, W. T., Frolick, M. N. (2001). BUILDING CUSTOMER DATA WAREHOUSES FOR A MARKETING AND SERVICE. Simonson, I. (1999). The effect of product assortment on buyer preferences. Journal of Retailing, 75(3), 347-370. Source document

Sex in Woman on the Edge of Time Essay -- Woman on the Edge of Time Es

Sex in Woman on the Edge of Time  Ã‚   In Marge Piercy's book, Woman on the Edge of Time, sex plays a major role in both the utopia and the dystopia. The portrayal of sex in the novel comes from a feminist point of view. The main character, Connie, is caught between a utopian world and a dystopian world where the takes on sex are on different levels. By using a feminist approach, the two worlds of sex can be examined and contrasted. In the dystopia that is Connie's present life, sex is a painful and often a violent experience. Rape, prostitution, and other sexual abuse are a dominant part of the characters lives. In the opening scene of the book, the reader is immediately introduced to this issue. Connie has to open her door to her only close relative, Dolly, only to see that she has been beaten by her fiancà © who is also her pimp. Connie has had to live her entire life with the thought that sex is violent rather than an act of love. Piercy uses the feminist ideals that men are the cause of the pain for women in a very explicit manner. For example, Geraldo, Dolly's fiancà ©, sho...

Truman Capote Research

Truman Capote was best known for his vivacious and eccentric way of life, as well as his works in the 20th Century. While reading his first novel ever printed by him, Other Voices, Other Rooms, the characters and story line that Capote created was one that would clearly strike a touching insolence to many readers. Not only does Capote fascinate readers with his life, but also with the heart of life and nostalgia that is created when reading any of his work. Capote’s writing career began very prematurely and increased throughout the years of his life. Once Capote finished school, he began writing for The New Yorker and eventually started writing short stories. At the age of seventeen, magazines published many of his stories, which eventually ended up leading to him writing his first novel. Capote ended up writing his first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, in 1948 and it brought almost instantaneous awareness and disgrace. Although it was not one of his most accepted novels, it without doubt got him on the right path. Truman Capote was born on September 30, 1924, where his life began in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he spent very little of his life (Jacob197). At the age of only four years old, Capote’s parents were divorced. Capote’s mother, Lillie Faulk, then left him to be raised by her family while she went to go become a star (Pimpton 7). Her family lived in Monroeville, Alabama, where Capote spent most of his life living amongst his aunts, uncles, cousins and his friends. People actually consider that when Truman’s mother neglected him, it was the establishment of their relationship in the future (Biography). Throughout his life, Capote grew up being influenced by many of his family members and other peers that bounded him in the small town of Monroeville. It wasn’t until 1933, that Capote’s mother intended to bring her son to come live with her and her new husband Joe Capote in Manhattan, New York. Capote abandoned the countryside life in Monroe and traded it in for a life in Manhattan with his mother. Joe Capote later on adopted Truman, and by 1935, he changed his name from Truman Streckfus Persons, to Truman Garcia Capote (Biography). In Capote’s later years, he went on to be a success. He lived a glamorous life. He enjoyed to party and never gave a care in the world. He entertained many of the elite people in the world and on August 25, 1984, Truman Capote died of liver disease at his old friend’s house in Los Angeles, California. Other Voices, Other Rooms is the piece work that he relates to most. In his own words, Capote says, â€Å"this symbolized my hunt for my own father, whom I hardly ever saw, and the fact that the man old man is crippled and mute was my way of conveying my own incapability to correspond with my father; I was not only the boy in the story but also the old man†(Pimpton80). It was recorded as public knowledge that Capote engulfed his stories with his own life experiences, but it was made incredibly apparent in this particular novel, with his expression and approach. One particular example would be the un-canny similarity of the main character Joel to Capote himself, â€Å"†¦too pretty, too delicate and fair-skinned†¦and a girlish tenderness softened his eyes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Capote4). Another method that Capote used a lot was his talent to describe a scene with incredible accuracy and portrayal, â€Å"A face shudder like a white stunning moth, smiled. She beckoned to him, shining and silver, and he knew he must go: unafraid, not hesitating, he paused only at the garden's edge where, as though he'd forgotten something, he stopped and looked back at the bloomless, descending blue, at the boy he had left behind. † (Capote231). Throughout his novels, Capote uses these strong metaphors and descriptive language to show that his character, Joel, came to the house as one person and leaving as another. One with new experiences with life. Many people knew Truman Capote as a literary genius (Biography). His work was different yet satisfying. Many of his characters are memorable, along with the places they lived and explored. Capote put us in his world and a large amount of readers enjoyed how he was able to grab your attention when you were reading. At times Capote may have been socially awkward, everyone remembers him as a very noteworthy author in American history. The beginning of Capote’s writing career began in his early years where he fell under the supervision of his instructor (Plimpton 470). Although he was very unsuccessful in school, and never attended college, many exams confirmed that he had incredible intellect. Many of his novels showed his intelligence by the way he would describe and lure readers into his stories. His personality was different and it got readers attention. Even as a child, Capote was regarded as â€Å"†¦Prim and proper Lord Faunteroy†¦Incredibly protective of his clothes [and look]† which made many believe is what had caused him to ultimately be publicly gay (Pimpton2). Although nobody knew Capote better then his friend Harper Lee; who actually based the character of Dill in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird on the young Capote (Pimpton 2). Despite the way he may have acted or done things, Truman Capote was nothing less then a mastermind. Many of his novels are remembered and loved by the various techniques used by Capote. He was truly unlike any other person in this world. Intelligent, different, and even socially awkward at times, Truman Capote is one of the most known and remembered authors of the 20th century.

How Strict Animal Shelter Policies Can Cause Pets

I Was Stressed so I Ate a Wall, Pooped White for a Week, Then Was Returned to the Animal Shelter Allison Gray in her article â€Å"How Strict Animal Shelter Policies Can Cause Pets to Suffer,† offers a harsh critique that animal shelters hold a very strict adoption process by not allowing unqualified pet owners to adopt. She argues that adoption shelters want to find the perfect owner, but the perfect owner does not exist by her claims. Therefore, pets are not adopted out and are left to suffer in animal shelters. With the guidelines for pet adoption already in place she states that most pets were not adopted out because prospecting owners had an intact pet at home, their current pet was overdue for vaccines and they wanted an outdoor cat. She exudes that it is the shelters harsh policies that are keeping pets from being adopted out and finding their forever home. In my view, however, it is the owners, and not the shelters fault that unwanted pets swarm animal shelters. While it is true that some shelters can be over zealous with adoption rules, it is still the owners fault that these animals ended up in animal control in the first place. According to the American Humane Society over 29% of pets are returned to animal shelters simply because a person’s place of residence does not allow pets (2). This means that the prospecting owner lied on the application to adopt. Steve Bruno in his article â€Å"Rescue Me† informs that â€Å"Rescue dogs suffer from disproportionately fromShow MoreRelatedDisaster Management : Preparedness, Response, Recovery, And Mitigation2071 Words   |  9 Pageslarger federal plan that is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. The first step to this plan is Preparedness. 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