...PIAGGIO (A) By: Elena Bueso #10297661 This case study case will be addressing three main topics of discussion regarding Giovanni Agnelli’s strategy for growth as Piaggio’s CEO. The topics are the following: 1. Is Piaggio’s decision about building a new “green” engine manufacturing facility to be a strategic one? Why or why not? 2. The comparison and contrast of the strategies chosen by Piaggio, Yamaha, and Aprilia for competing in the PTW market. What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each? 3. State whether or not Giovanni Agnelli should build the new engine facility First, I do not think that manufacturing a "green" engine is a good strategy. It is a good initiative but we cannot disregard that fact that ultimately, generating profits are the main goal of any company. Yes, they are looking into the future and planning ahead how to adapt to upcoming regulations on new environmental standards, but instead they should think outside the box, and come up with different possible solutions to ensure and to make this market breakthrough a success. I think they are under looking the possibility of having "green" engine external suppliers. Even though this may contradict their manufacturing standards, there are many hidden benefits. They could do a pilot of this genius idea without putting at stake the company's well being and further more take as an example Aprilia's recipe for success. This should give them a more broad range of possibilities and help them focus...
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...Walmart- China 1. Customers patronize Wal-Mart China stores because they have low prices which are a great asset to china’s consumers who are more cost sensitive than other countries. Although, China’s consumers like to go to store after store to find the cheapest price, and of course Wal-Mart contains those low prices. Wal-Mart also established through studies and research that China’s customers valued great customer satisfaction which in return they displayed their loyalty by coming back over and over. Therefore, making some consumers skeptical to shift to Wal-Mart. Sustainability means everything to customers in China because like mentioned before consumers are loyal to the companies in which they have previously interacted with. Consumers in China become return customers if you have to sustain the great service expected from the customers. China’s consumers are not to kind on change, but as long as you provide the best service possible over and over they will continue to comeback. 2. Wal-Mart also has to consider sustainability when deciding their vendors. In order for Wal-Mart to be as successful as they are, they have to have top of the line products from top of the line vendors. Therefore, reliability is a must. As mentioned in the case, there were complications between Wal-Mart and the vendors specifically when it came to the Return to Vendors Programs. There was no control over the time the vendors had to collect the products that were unusable or destroyed which was...
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...FIN 6416 Case 1: Valuing Coca Cola stock Executive Summary The case that has been presented is a valuation of Coca Cola, its current stock price, and whether Coca Cola has the potential to be a good recommendation for clients to add to their portfolios. The analysis herein takes into account historical Coca Cola financial information, and uses the information to ascertain whether or not Coca Cola, at its current stock price of $58.00 a share, is a viable security for investors to add to their portfolios. Methodologies The completed analysis of Coca Cola’s investment potential required the use of a few calculations to gather enough information regarding the selling price of its stock. The first of these calculations used is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (Exhibit 1). This model was used to calculate the required rate of return for an investor in Coca Cola. In this calculation, Beta was set at 1.24, and the risk free rate was set at the 30-year government bond rate of 6.22%. The market risk premium was set at the stated 6.00% rate, resulting in a required rate of return of 13.66%. Once this required rate of return was calculated, the Dividend Discount Model (Exhibit 2) was used to calculate a forecasted 1997 stock price for Coca Cola. Using the required rate of return of 13.66%, a forecasted dividend of $0.62, and the expected constant dividend growth rate of 12% for this calculation, the model has forecasted a 1997 stock price of $37.35. For this analysis, a...
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...Harvard Business School Case Study Analysis Harvard Business School Case Study Analysis Description At the end of 2014, Apple Inc. recorded the most profitable quarter of any firm in history, and its market capitalization soon topped $700 billion. 'Apple Inc. in 2015' explores the history of Apple, its successes under Jobs, its continued growth under Tim Cook, and the challenges facing the company in 2015. With iPod sales continuing their freefall, tablet sales in decline, and the Macintosh's market share remaining small, Apple was increasingly dependent on the iPhone to drive its growth. Could Cook continue Apple's dominance in the smartphone market in the face of growing competition? Could he revitalize the iPad business, become a leader in payments, with Apple Pay, and replicate Apple's success in other device categories, such as the Apple Watch, the first new product the company had released since 2010? Introduction: Apple Inc has been an icon in American industry over the last three decades. The CEO Steve Jobs did a remarkable job turning around the company that was nearly bankrupt in 1996, however after his death in 2011 the questions has been brought forward of how sustainable will Apple be without Steve Jobs. Apple has always been trying to be simple and bring easy to use products to a large market of consumers. On the beginning Apple focused on producing low-cost computers merged with...
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...Financial Markets Q1. HMC’s aims to provide relatively predictable cash flows from the endowment to the different schools within the university. As stated in the case, “the general objective was to preserve the real value (adjusted for Harvard’s expense growth) of the endowment and its income distribution in perpetuity”. In recent years, the payout ratio (Endowment spending as a % of total Endowment value) has had a target range of 4.5% to 5.0%. In the case’s example, the average growth rate of Harvard’s expenses is 3% above CPI inflation rate and annual gifts to the endowment average about 1.5%. Hence, with a payout ratio target of 4.75%, we would get an Expected Return of 6.25%: 4.75% + 3% - 1.5% = 6.25% Q2. The Policy Portfolio is the “neutral” guide of long-term asset allocation set by the HMC board and it serves as a benchmark of actual performance and as a metric against which compensation of portfolio managers is measured. The aim of the Policy Portfolio is to provide targets for different asset categories as a percentage of the total portfolio, in order to achieve a long-term expected return with the least risk possible. The policy portfolio is reviewed every year and it is modified as a result of changes in market conditions, needs for long-term expected returns, and risk aversion. Jack Meyer’s vision was to keep the actual asset mix “fairly” close to the Policy Portfolio. Fairly close means that the Policy Portfolio included a minimum and a maximum percentage...
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...Financial Markets Q1. HMC’s aims to provide relatively predictable cash flows from the endowment to the different schools within the university. As stated in the case, “the general objective was to preserve the real value (adjusted for Harvard’s expense growth) of the endowment and its income distribution in perpetuity”. In recent years, the payout ratio (Endowment spending as a % of total Endowment value) has had a target range of 4.5% to 5.0%. In the case’s example, the average growth rate of Harvard’s expenses is 3% above CPI inflation rate and annual gifts to the endowment average about 1.5%. Hence, with a payout ratio target of 4.75%, we would get an Expected Return of 6.25%: 4.75% + 3% - 1.5% = 6.25% Q2. The Policy Portfolio is the “neutral” guide of long-term asset allocation set by the HMC board and it serves as a benchmark of actual performance and as a metric against which compensation of portfolio managers is measured. The aim of the Policy Portfolio is to provide targets for different asset categories as a percentage of the total portfolio, in order to achieve a long-term expected return with the least risk possible. The policy portfolio is reviewed every year and it is modified as a result of changes in market conditions, needs for long-term expected returns, and risk aversion. Jack Meyer’s vision was to keep the actual asset mix “fairly” close to the Policy Portfolio. Fairly close means that the Policy Portfolio included a minimum and a maximum percentage...
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...Gregg was convicted of two murders and armed robbery, the penalty for which would be death. He went to Georgia’s Supreme Court and they upheld the decision under the murder convictions, although they threw out the robbery convictions because robbery wasn’t generally a capital offense. Gregg appealed to the Supreme Court, and they took the case He desired to make the death penalty unconstitutional Gregg had two trials: one to assess his guilt and the next for sentencing Issue: “Is the imposition of the death sentence prohibited under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments as "cruel and unusual" punishment? (cruel and unusual punishment)” Decision of the Court "Holding": The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Georgia, deciding that, as long...
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...Case: Ledina Lushko The case of Ledina Lushko, a patient enrolled in a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois individual plan, highlights many of the issues that have plagued the United States healthcare system for some time. As an insurance plan provider, BCBS of Illinois takes pride in the health outcomes of our members and has a responsibility to contribute positively to their care. The fractured, ineffective care Mrs. Lushko received is disappointing, however, this case provides strong support for a shift in focus towards managed care and specifically, the Accountable Care Organization structure. The following details several aspects of Mrs. Lushko’s experience and how her care could have been improved by enrollment in BCBS of Illinois’ private ACO plan. 1. Issue: Repeat & Poorly Documented Testing One concerning aspect of Mrs. Lushko’s experience was the lack of proper organization of test results and test history. Beginning very early within her first contact, a repeat abdominal CT was performed after this test was already carried out just a few weeks earlier by a health system in Albania. Although there is not an obvious connection or relationship with an overseas health system of this sort, Mrs. Lushko had no knowledge that repeat tests could have been avoided prior to the appointment if she had obtained her files ahead of time. Additionally, there were several occasions throughout her care where providers did not have readily available access to recent...
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...Nguyễn Lê Việt Anh - 1314140007 Anh 28 – CTTTKT K52 December 21, 2014 CO150 College Composition 2014: Fall 2014, Instructor: Phuc Vu Project 3: Annotated bibliography Academic Actions, Academic Integrity Chace, William M. “A Question of Honor.” The American Scholar 81.2 (2012): 20-32. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. Chace raises our awareness about many problems that American higher education is confronting such as the decreasing of quality and student integrity. At first, he pointed out the declining of academic quality. The tuition fee is raising, but the outcome is not. Then he tells us the biggest reason that causes the problem – it is academic dishonesty. Later, Chace highlights why students cheat and how college cheating damages academic integrity and harms collegiate institutions’ reputations. Finally, he strongly states “To do nothing is not an answer”; therefore, we must find some solutions. William Chase is both President and Professor of English Emeritus at Emory University as well as Honorary Professor of English Emeritus at Stanford University. The American Scholar, the publisher of this article is a very famous magazine in American, as they describes themselves in the website “The American Scholar is the venerable but lively quarterly magazine of public affairs, literature, science, history, and culture published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society since 1932. In recent years the magazine has won five National Magazine Awards, the industry’s highest...
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...Every step that is taken in the research process begins with the information that is gathered, documented, and even published so deviations may be within the law but are considered to be unethical practices. It is through researchers that new developments are made and may lead to better insight in things that others have already shed light and gathered information on. It is not uncommon for some researchers to taster between what is ethical and what is considered unethical. A psychology professor and scientist from Harvard University by the name of Marc Hauser had crossed the line between what was ethical and what was not. In an article that the Harvard Crimson ran September 2012 it stated that after a two year federal investigation, the Office of Research Integrity found this former Harvard psychology professor had doctored results of his research and was accused of 6 counts of research misconduct, lying about his data, and misrepresenting research methods in his Harvard lab in research that the National Institute of Health supported. {Jain, Sept} Marc Hauser conducted research that involved and was...
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...Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose history, influence and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature and soon thereafter named for John Harvard (its first benefactor), Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning, and the Harvard Corporation (formally, the President and Fellows of Harvard College) is its first hired corporation. Although never formally united with any money, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, and by the 19th century Harvard had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's long tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a modern research university; Harvard was a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College. The University is organized into eleven separate academic units—ten faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study—with campuses throughout the Boston metropolitan...
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...always what they are touted to be. In this section we will discuss the less often discussed or considered facts that reveal the negatives of pursuing a college degree. The popular notion that obtaining a college degree will elevate one’s overall skill set and knowledge in general can be deceiving. A recent study conducted in 2011 concluded that half of all college students will not see any improvements in their abilities to solve problems, write and reason throughout their first two years of college and more than a third will see absolutely no improvement in these areas their entire academic career. [http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/18/106949_study-many-college-students-not.html?rh=1] Although the academic environment can foster the awareness and refinement of such skills, one must vigorously engage themselves in the knowledge and use of these skills to actually develop them. However, the reality is that many students and universities alike view higher education as a necessary commodity in today’s economy and therefore in exchange for dollars students who make the grade can obtain a degree. This paradigm shift is at the heart of the problem cited in the aforementioned study. Just because you subscribed to the notion of attending college and obtaining a degree doesn’t guarantee that you’ll obtain or develop these critical real world skills. Another negative aspect of the college experience is the process of professors being rated and evaluated by their students. This practice...
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...the act. Yet many in the hall do object, and Sandel, stalking the stage, scanning the room, wants to know why. When one student suggests that the act would have been justified had the boy, Richard Parker, consented, Sandel replies, in an amused tone: "What would that scenario look like? Dudley is there, penknife in hand, but instead of the prayer, or before the prayer, he says, 'Parker, would you mind?'" Students seem to think the proposed lottery would have justified the killing. Sandel probes: Can a fair process sanction something so abhorrent? And what if the loser changes his mind after the fact? What's more, doesn't the student who says "You shouldn't be eating human, anyway!" have a valid point? As many as a thousand students pack Harvard U.'s Sanders Theater for Michael Sandel's popular introductory course on moral and political philosophy. Sandel has taught the course, known as "Justice," since 1980. "I don't believe that it's possible fully to replicate the in-person...
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...1. Inditex financial results compare to competitors. The four companies shown above have very different business models. Inditex owned much of the production and most of its stores. Inditex is thus a vertically integrated company. This made Inditex gain a competitive advantage, which is quick response to the market requirements. On the other hand, The Gap and H&M have a different business model. They owned most of the stores, but outsourced all the production. Benetton had a third business model. It invested heavily in the production, but licensees ran its stores. The most interesting company to compare Inditex is The Gap. Although The Gap has much higher revenues than Inditex (almost five times Inditex), it incurred a net loss, as opposed to Inditex, which achieved a 23%, return in investment. This is due to the extremely high costs of good sold for The Gap. This could be caused -at least partially- by the complete outsourcing of the production. They do not have enough control over the production costs. Although The Gap has larger market share than Inditex and has equity almost double that of Inditex, Inditex is much more profitable. 2. How specifically do the distinctive features of Zara business model affect its operating economics? Specifically, compare Zara with an average retailer with similar posted prices. Zara sources fabric, other inputs, and finished products from external suppliers. It has purchasing offices in Barcelona and Hong Kong. This gives Zara a competitive...
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...Can Harvard Pilgrim Health Care help you pay for rehab? The answer to that question is yes! Thanks in large part to the guidelines set forth by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), your Harvard Pilgrim Health Care rehab insurance is required to cover addiction rehab services as though they were like any other injury, illness or disease. About Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a regionally based healthcare provider in the Northeast. The company's headquarters is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where they serve more than 1.3 million members in the New England area. Additionally, the company serves another 1.4 million members through a subsidiary named Health Plans Inc., which provides services throughout the United States. Most of the company's plans are employer-based group insurance plans for the...
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