...REQUEST FOR PROPSAL TO BRINGING IN OUTSIDE TRAINERS TO TRAIN STAFF ON THE USE OF MICROSOFT OFFICE PROGRAMS Prepared for Eng. 221 Technical Writing Fundamentals University of Phoenix E Campus By Larry Franklin Student July 19, 2010 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL COVER LETTER BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD INSURANCE COMPANY Mailing Address: 550 Club Dr. Suite #215 Montgomery, TX 77316 936.582.7120 FAX: 936.582.7130 Monday, July 19, 2010 Dr. Jamilah Abdush-Shaheed, Director Microsoft Corporation 1950 North Stemmons Freeway Dallas, Texas 75207 Dear Dr. Abdush-Shaheed: This RFP is submitted for your review and response in the form of proposal to bring in outside trainers to train our staff on the use of Microsoft Office Programs. This document is in response to Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s need to train its employees in the use of Microsoft Office Application packages that include Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. Thank you for taking the time to consider our need for your technical support. We look forward to your proposal in response to this RFP. Sincerely, Larry Franklin Marketing Director TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract……………………………………………………………………….5 1.0 Introduction / General Over View Of (RFP) .....................……………………….5 1.1 Organizational Overview………………………………………………………….5 2.0 Discussion…………………………………………………………………………6 2.1 Course Description……………………………………………….………………..6 2.2 Target Audience…………………………………………………………………...
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...also an expert in these areas and she holds the position of the highest placed woman on Thinkers 50, the global ranking of business gurus. Actually they both maintain the fifth position in this ranking together (full list here). This book is divided in to three different parts: * Part One: Blue Ocean Strategy * Part Two: Formulating Blue Ocean Strategy * Part Three: Executing Blue Ocean Strategy I'm going to introduce all the three parts straight from part one to part three. Part One (chapters 1-2) The first part introduces readers to books basic and the most important terms. The cornerstone of the blue ocean strategy is Value Innovation. It practically says that rather than concentrating on beating your competitors, you actually prioritize on making the competition irrelevant. This is done by creating more value for byers and your company which will open up a whole new uncontested market space, the blue ocean. Some cost savings are expected during the process, because the company will remove and minimize the factors which business competes on. Authors also compare Red Ocean and Blue Ocean Strategy and at the end of chapter two they reveal the six principles of Blue Ocean Strategy, which are the following: 1. Reconstruct market boundaries 2. Focus on the big picture, not the numbers 3. Reach beyond existing demand 4. Get the strategic sequence right 5. Overcome key organizational hurdles 6. Build execution into strategy These six principles...
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...This is an exciting time for Blue Tern Mills. We are proud to announce that the acquisition of Hello has been completed, and we are excited to introduce a plan of reorganization and transition that we feel will be beneficial to both companies. Of course our top priority in mind while creating this plan was the customer, and we hope they will continue to see both Hello and Blue Tern as the separate companies they were before. We hope to make this transition as seamless as possible in about six months. We propose the following: 1. The sales structure will still be structured both geographically and by product. Salespeople who work on non-key accounts will either sell Hello or Blue Tern products, and will either work in the east or west coast divisions of each brand. In order to create specific geographic territories for Hello, we plan to ask Hello for customer account records and information to make this distinction as best as we can. Each division within the product structure will also have its own manager trained by the old Blue Tern regional managers and chosen from the top existing district managers. 2. Top salespeople will be invited to join key-accounts teams that will be trained on both Hello and Blue Tern products. They will obviously maintain the larger accounts of both companies. Key account managers will be in charge of these teams, chosen from the remaining district managers. 3. Some of the non-key accounts salespeople from the Hello division will be asked...
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...Blue Ocean Strategy Paper Julian Mackie MKT/421 November 24, 2014 Stephen Grothe Blue Ocean Strategy Paper When you think about a Blue Ocean Strategy, there are three words that come to mind. The first one is innovative. Blue ocean strategy generally refers to the creation by a company of a new, uncontested market space that makes competitors irrelevant and that creates new consumer value while decreasing costs. It was introduced by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in their best-selling book of the same name. The second word would be intelligence.” The Blue ocean strategy made it so companies would be able to come up with a whole new way to do business in either an industry or invent a new way of doing business.” ("Financial Times", 2014). The third in final word would be strategic. There are a few guidelines that were proposed to companies seeking to create blue oceans. The first guideline would be to identify the key features/dimensions that currently define a product and or service. The second guideline is to identify a group of customers who only value a subset of these features. These customers may be currently using lower end alternatives, or maybe very different from the current customers while having needs that similar at some fundamental level. The third guideline is to make a product or service better on the dimensions valued by the new target customers. “This step is counter-intuitive but necessary in order to create value while decreasing cost. The final...
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...Final Blue Sky Management and Leadership Question 1 In the past, Blue Sky leadership led from an autocratic leadership style. An autocratic leadership is similar to a dictatorship where only one person has the authority over the followers or workers. The autocratic leader decisions are to be taken as the final authority and should never be questioned. This leader plans out all of the companies agenda and demands that subordinates work according to their rules. The former CEO but still remained the Board Chairman, Max Blue, believed that meeting was not necessary therefore planning was considered a wasted of time. None of his employees seem to question his authority. This leadership style led to very passive employees at Blue Sky because they were unable to make decision caused them to lack passion about their jobs. Although the past CEO leadership style was autocratic, there were several different leadership styles among the various departments. The structure of the organization was divided in to the CEO, VP of the division, director of marketing, CFO, and the regional directors, who were consider upper management level. With the regional directors being younger and being with the Blue Sky for relatively a short period of time, they were more aggressive wanting to expand different product lines and clientele. However, the younger regional directors were presented with many challenges from the older managers that were mainly in vice presidents roles. These managers wanted...
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...Introduction Blue Nile is the largest online retailer of diamonds in the United States. The company offers more than 60,000 diamonds on its website. The national average for an engagement ring is $3,200 but Blue Nile exceeds this number by having a $5,600 average price1. With no physical stores, no intermediaries and offering products four times cheaper than rivals, Blue Nile has proven to be a successful online retailer. Blue Nile is directly competing with both online diamonds merchants and physical stores diamonds retailers. Physical stores selling diamonds have tried to encourage customers that buying a diamond is a sensational experience that can only be realized in stores (and not online). They have highlighted the idea of seeing, touching and comparing diamonds that is exclusively possible in a store. Blue Nile has many competitors such as Tiffany and Co, Diamonds.com, and Zale Jewelers Stores. (Blue Nile. (n.d.)). These companies have tried to demonstrate that the price of the diamond is worth the unique and exclusive experience offered only in stores. Organizational background Everything started in 1999, when Mark Vadon, a consultant at Bain and Co. went to a Tiffany and Co. store in San Francisco, looking for an engagement ring for his future fiancée. He was a casual man wearing casual cloth. Vadon said that Tiffany and Co. salesperson ignored him and did not help him finding a ring because he did not look like a potential and interesting customer. After this...
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...| Syllabus | | | |Year |2014/2015 | |Semester |VIII Spring | | | |Course ID |MGT405080 | |Course Name |Strategic Management | | | |Type |core | |ECTS Credits |5 | | | |Language |Georgian/English | |Classroom Number | | | ...
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...Mauborgne authors of BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY 1) What is a blue ocean strategy? Kim & Mauborgne: Blue Ocean Strategy is a way to make the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for both the company and its customers. 2) What are red and blue oceans, and why do you use the colors red and blue? Kim & Mauborgne: We use the terms red and blue oceans to describe the market universe. Red oceans are all the industries in existence today—the known market space. In the red oceans, industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Here companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. As the market space gets crowded, prospects for profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cutthroat competition turns the red ocean bloody. Hence, the term “red” oceans. Blue oceans, in contrast, denote all the industries not in existence today—the unknown market space, untainted by competition. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid. In blue oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set. Blue ocean is an analogy to describe the wider, deeper potential of market space that is not yet explored. Like the “blue” ocean, it is vast, deep, powerful, in terms of profitable growth, and infinite. 3) How does blue ocean strategy fundamentally...
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...The Blue Ocean strategy in marketing is a unique approach to building a customer base. Instead of trying to compete in an overcrowded marketplace with existing companies, a Blue Ocean strategy seeks to build an entirely new market area. With the rapid growth of technology and globalization, the importance of a Blue Ocean strategy has grown in recent years. The “Blue Ocean strategy” is a term that originated from the 2005 book, The Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne that describes the opportunities of vast, untapped market spaces, or "Blue Oceans," that can be developed by expanding market boundaries or launching new industries. The concept of "Blue Ocean strategy" was first acknowledged by the business world in 2005 when the correspondence was initially released. In essence, Blue Oceans are associated with high potential profits. Since it’s released it has been translated in 43 languages. The authors discuss the benefits for business owners to leave the Red Ocean, characterized by the bloody, shark-infested waters of competition, and enter the Blue Ocean, where there is no competition and limitless space to create something new. According to inserts found throughout the book, it is important to evaluate your business to determine whether you should rethink your market strategy and enter the "Blue Ocean." The most important feature of Blue Ocean strategy is that it disregards the basic principles of conventional strategy: that a trade-off exists between...
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...and Renee Mauborgne authors of BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY 1) What is a blue ocean strategy? Kim & Mauborgne: Blue Ocean Strategy is a way to make the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for both the company and its customers. 2) What are red and blue oceans, and why do you use the colors red and blue? Kim & Mauborgne: We use the terms red and blue oceans to describe the market universe. Red oceans are all the industries in existence today—the known market space. In the red oceans, industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Here companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. As the market space gets crowded, prospects for profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cutthroat competition turns the red ocean bloody. Hence, the term “red” oceans. Blue oceans, in contrast, denote all the industries not in existence today—the unknown market space, untainted by competition. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid. In blue oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set. Blue ocean is an analogy to describe the wider, deeper potential of market space that is not yet explored. Like the “blue” ocean, it is vast, deep, powerful, in terms of profitable growth, and infinite. 3) How does blue ocean strategy fundamentally differ...
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...ue [pic] Final paper Lars Isaksaetre, Henrik Oiseth, and Jason Casey BUSA 499, Section One Professor Pham May 13, 2009 Table of contents Executive summary……………………………………………………………… page 2 Company profile…………………………………………………………………… page 3 Overview of the jewelry industry………………………………………………. page 4 External environment………………………………………………………… page 5 Industry analysis……………………………………………………………… page 10 Jewelry supply chain…………………………………………………………. page 16 Industry value chain, Jewelry Retail………………………………………….. page 19 Company analysis……………………………………………………………… page 24 SWOT…………………………………………………………………………… page 46 Financial ratios…………………………………………………………………… page 50 Strategies………………………………………………………………………… page 53 Preferred strategy……………………………………………………………….. page 60 EVA……………………………………………………………………………… page 62 Blue Nile balance sheet…………………………………………………………… page 63 References…………………………………………………………………………. Page 64 Executive Summary Blue Nile is a publicly traded company. The company was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA and is one of leading online retailers of diamonds and fine jewelry. In addition to serving the U.S. market, Blue Nile offers products to selected countries through its Canadian and UK websites. 70% of their sales are from engagement rings and wedding bands and they are known for being a high-end jewelry retailer. The company offers its products on its websites without actually holding the...
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...GM591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior Instructor: Michael McCarthy Submitted By: Cassandra Norton DSI#: D97056313 Date: November 8, 2009 Email: cassie.norton@comcast.net Overview of Organization The organization that will be the focus of my discussion in my final paper is Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). HCSC is the largest customer-owned health benefits company in the United States and is the fourth largest health insurer in the country overall. The organization is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and is the parent company to four regional Blue health plans: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma. HCSC’s line of business is to provide group and individual health plans, managed care programs, and Medicare supplemental coverage to its members. Beginning in the late 1990’s, the corporate culture started to deteriorate and employee morale took a turn for the worst amidst public claims of unethical business practices and poor corporate citizenship. In 1998, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) was involved in a public scandal and pled guilty to eight felony counts of Medicare fraud and agreed to pay $4 million in criminal fines and $140 million in a civil settlement for lying to federal auditors, destroying documents and mishandling claims. The company’s reputation suffered grievously and it seemed...
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...Final MGMT 435 Strategic Management and Planning 02/12/2016 1. How does Blue Nile create trust in buying an expensive item like an engagement ring * 2. How does BN educate potential customers * 3. How does BN get users to buy expensive diamonds on a mobile device 4. How does BN make the diamond buying process hassle free * 5. How can BN grow internationally if the internet is not always available* 6. Can BN expand its product offerings beyond diamond and jewelry* 7. Is BN “stuck in the Middle” APA 3-5 pages at least 4 references Blue Nile, Inc. is considered the world’s largest online retailer of diamonds. Founded in Nineteen-ninety nine, the Blue Nile offers gold, platinum, pearl and silver jewelry. The company’s headquarters is located in Seattle, Washington and operates in over twenty five countries, with products offered through their United States, Canada and United Kingdom websites. As of January 2012, the Blue Nile employed two hundred and six full-time employees and six part-time employees. Blue Nile creates trust in purchasing an expensive piece of jewelry by educating customers, offering competitive prices that are twenty to thirty five percent less than traditional retailers, lifetime insurance, prompt shipping, exceptional customer service and the opportunity to build their own features. Blue Nile educates prospective customers about their diamonds through their informative website. The website offers information about...
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...FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING Fall 2012 Yvonne Hinson Work: 704-365-4710 Home: 704-765-9782 Cell: 336-407-0161 Email: hinsonyl@wfu.edu Course Description and Requirements The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the concepts, vocabulary and uses of Financial Accounting. As we proceed, we will adopt several different points of view. ← We will take the perspective of preparers of financial information. Preparers include accountants who work for companies that must produce Financial Statements on a regular basis and file them with the various regulatory authorities, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These accountants may include the Chief Financial Officer, who, along with the Chief Executive Officer, is responsible for the Financial Statements. We will learn procedures and rules about how financial events are recognized and disclosed. ← We will take the perspective of independent auditors and regulators, who oversee the financial information that companies disseminate. Independent auditors work for an accounting firm and are hired to audit financial statements before these reports are filed with the SEC. Audit firms include PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst and Young, and Deloitte and Touche (which collectively are called the “Big 4”) and a host of smaller, regional firms. All firms with stock that is traded on an exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange, must have their statements audited by an independent audit firm...
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...Blue Ocean Thinking NAME MKT/421 October 30, 2013 INSTRUCTOR Blue Ocean Thinking Introduction Blue Ocean Strategy is a fairly new marketing concept developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. In this marketing concept there are two separate portions of the market, red oceans and blue oceans. This separation is very important to understand and must be discussed in-depth. This will be followed by an introduction to Chrysler Group LLC, which consists of Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat. However, there will be a focus on Fiat and Dodge as they have two small compact vehicles that appeal to a niche market. Blue ocean strategy can change where Chrysler Group LLC stands in the automotive industry and make for a much more profitable organization. Red Oceans Versus Blue Oceans Red oceans and blue oceans are extremely important to understand, otherwise the whole Blue Ocean Strategy would not make any sense. Red oceans is where competition is fierce between competitors trying to make their product stand out the most by differentiation or price. Red oceans also consists of all competitors trying to take advantage of demand that exists in their market. Blue oceans are completely opposite with the largest focus being on making the competition irrelevant. Blue oceans also focus on creating new demand instead of competing for it, which results in the creation of unchallenged market space ("Blue Ocean Strategy", 2012). Chrysler Group LLC Chrysler Group LLC is one of the...
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