A PERSPECTIVE OF SKILLS NEEDED BY MODERN PROJECT MANAGER TO AVOID Dissertation

A PERSPECTIVE OF SKILLS NEEDED BY MODERN PROJECT MANAGER TO AVOID DELAY PENALTIES IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS - Dissertation Example They face a number of challenges that revolve around construction issues such as time constraints, workforce considerations, safety and continually shifting nature of work. They also face non construction related challenges such as government regulations, legal issues, socio-political pressures and environmental concerns. It is thus important to find out how we can raise the efficiency of project managers to enable them in managing projects effectively and avoiding delays in the implementation of the project plan and in turn avoiding delay penalties. This research thus sets out to identify the skills lacking in project managers that result in failure to avoid delays in construction projects. The research question is thus – What are the skills needed by modern day project managers to avoid delay penalties in construction projects? The findings of this study will help in providing an insight into the skills needed by project managers to avoid delay penalties in construction proj ects. The research involved a questionnaire survey of 100 project managers in Kuwait. The survey findings showed that lack of experience, leadership skills, project planning skills, communication skills and knowledge related to contracts and project management are the major skills lacking in project managers. This calls for a more integrated approach towards developing their skills. Recommendations have been discussed. The research suffers from small sample size, lack of specificity to Kuwait, and bias due to no tests of significance. Acknowledgment I would like to thank everyone who gave me a hand to accomplish this research, and many thanks to my academic mentor – Mr. Tony Phillips. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those who have provided support, allowed me to quote their remarks and assisted in editing, proofreading and design. This research is the epitome of great efforts exerted to bring about such fruitful output. Last but not least, I appreciate and no t to forget the great help and the full support I received from my parents and my wife. Table of Contents List of Figures 7 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 8 Chapter 1 9 Introduction 9 1.1. Status of the Construction Industry in Kuwait 9 1.2. Construction Delays 13 1.3. Challenges of Construction Projects 13 1.4 Problem Statement 15 1.5. Aim and Objective of the Research 16 1.6. Rationale and Need for the Study 17 1.7. Significance of the Study 18 Chapter 2 20 Literature Review 20 2.1. Project Managers – Skills and Characteristics 20 2.2. Complexities of Project Management in the Construction Industry 24 2.3. Challenges Faced by Construction Project Managers 37 2.4. Research on Causes of Delays in Construction Projects 41 Chapter 3 46 Research Methodology 46 3.1. Type and Design of Research 46 3.2. Data Collection Methods 47 3.3. Analysis Methods 51 3.4. Ethics 52 3.5. Relevance of this Research to Project Management in Kuwait 53 3.6. Justification for Chosen Research Meth od 53 Chapter 4 55 Analysis of Data 55 4.1. Demographics, Education and Training 56 4.2. Understanding of Project Management 58 4.3. Holding Consultants Responsible for Penalties and Contractors for Delays 58 4.4. Knowledge Related Aspects 60 4.5. Skills that are Lacking 62 4.6. Problems of

Delphi Technique of Forecasting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Delphi Technique of Forecasting - Case Study Example There after results are tabulated and issues raised are identified one by one. This step helps the planner to carefully study the various important issues to be addressed in the next round. It needs to be mentioned here that it is the same questionnaire that is given to all the experts in the panel. These days the questionnaire is sent through mail. Now we come to the second round where the planar tries to hold a meeting with all the experts together and the results of the questionnaire are then return the experts. There are issues where experts agree where as there are some other issues on which they disagree. It is carefully noted by the planner and a general consensus is reached. Finally we come to the third round where the various factors are reevaluated by everyone together and the issues are carefully discussed. In this particular Delphi method group judgments are more important than individual judgments. Information processing. The experts collect the answers in the form of questionnaires and comments. The panel head controls the exchange of ideas among the experts by processing the data and deleting the unnecessary content. Usually the experts engage in disagreements during the panel discussion and hence it has negative effect. Anonymity of participants. ... Regular Feedback: The experts give comments on their own forecasts and it is very much valued by the planner. Anonymity of participants. There is complete anonymity of the participants because the nature of the experts might vary and during the discussion they may try to bully others or some not voice their opinion due to fear of opposition. Role of the facilitator. The role of the facilitator is very important during the discussion among the experts. He interprets the various view points raised by the participants and comes to a conclusion. Uses of Delphi Method in forecasting The Delphi method is very useful in the field of science & technology. Since my organization is into a broadband connection it is particularly very helpful in analyzing the market. The researcher of my organization through his questionnaire has tries to find out the demand of various broadband connection plans across the length and breadth of the country since India has a huge market which needs to be covered by the internet network the feedback given by the participants becomes very valuable to the company. The feedback highlighted various issues on which the experts agreed i.e. the example the different broadband scheme to suit everybody's budget. But they disagreed as to the pricing of the various connection plans. But however a general consensus was reached in the final round and the outcome was positive. The Delphi method however has its drawbacks and may not be always as accurate as it states but the method is not at fault rather the reporting or the interpretation of the feedback taken from the participants may not necessarily give us the true picture as to the future predictions. The

How sports affects people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How sports affects people - Essay Example It also contributes to civilization throughout the globe. For instance, sporting activities have dominated the current society. Thus, the reason people are engaging in the process to benefit themselves. Amongst professional sportspeople, the sporting activities are sources of income, whereas to others it is a pastime activity. According to Woods (127) sport is the common type of leisure activity that cuts across generations. This piece intends to inform the audience on the effects of sports to the masses. Engaging in sports of either kind has had both positive and negative benefits to various individuals. The activity is being associated with a healthy lifestyle; thus, many people in the society are being encouraged to engage in sports. In this case, the sporting activity can be either an indoor or an outdoor activity. Athletics is the most common sporting activity in the globe (Woods 179). Sport is a form of leisure activity enjoyed by the majority in the globe. It is a hobby to many individuals in the society since it propagates the charm to life (Prettyman & Brian 8). Children have benefited a lot from engaging in sporting activities since it is associated with brain development among teenagers and teamwork mentality that begins in childhood through to adulthood. The rating of pastime social activities indicate that people engaging in sports rank higher. Interestingly, sport has become an addiction to some. People are willing to do anything to explore the excitement that comes with sports. Watching sporting activities such as football motivates people with enthusiasm. According Kenney, Jack, Wilmore, David & Jack (1), the excitement that emanates from sports is useful. People learn to develop their personal goals that guide them in their lives. Therefore, it is important to discuss the effects of sports on the society and devise the best strategies of promoting sporting the activities for the benefit of all. Additionally,

The US military's role in domestic disaster response. Is it an Research Paper

The US military's role in domestic disaster response. Is it an effective use of resources or danger to civil liberties - Research Paper Example This same assistance was provided during the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2009 typhoon which flooded the streets of Manila, the Christchurch, New Zealand Earthquake, and other global disasters. The utilization of military disaster relief has not however been welcomed by some politicians, with most critics defining such relief as an ineffective use of military resources and as an interference with the civil liberties of citizens. Others have been quick to point out however that providing disaster relief is not a waste of military resources and in fact is a necessary function of the US military, an adjunct to their peace and order function. This paper shall now review this issue, specifically on the US military’s role in domestic disaster response and whether or not it is an effective use of resources or a danger to civil liberties. Disasters are significant and widespread events which involve the loss of life and which cause significant damage to property and infrastructures (Weeks, 2007). Accidents on the other hand are at a smaller scale with less lives and property lost. In these situations, failure of communication seems to be one of the more persistent issues often faced, along with the inability to establish clear links with other agencies. Disasters imply the significant loss of life and it usually occurs without warning (Weeks, 2007). It also has a significant impact on society, including its culture and geography. These events are difficult to assess because of the widespread impact they cause. The major challenges which first responders often face are difficult areas to evaluate. Much preparation must be carried out in order to evaluate disaster situations because they involve a significant amount of elements which cannot be easily controlled and observed (Weeks, 2007). Marret and Brimmer (2008) discuss that the military has increasingly found itself managing disasters and

Parliament between 1603-1629 Essay Example for Free

Parliament between 1603-1629 Essay The period 1603-1629 is perhaps better divided into two distinct sections 1603-1625 (reign of James I) and 1625-1629 (reign of Charles I) since these two monarchs had fairly different approaches to foreign policy, which in turn determined how Parliament responded to them. James I brought a peaceable approach to foreign policy, hoping to establish a reputation for himself as a mediator within Europe. One of his first actions as monarch was to negotiate peace with Spain in the Treaty of London in 1604. This was unpopular with Parliament for several reasons, the main one being that as Protestants many members of parliament were opposed to peace with Catholic Spain for religious reasons. However, with regards parliament, peace did have the benefit of saving a great deal of money which would have had to be raised by Parliament, and relations between parliament and James remained fairly constant over the next few years. James next major action with regards foreign policy was to support a Protestant successor to the Duke of Cleves-Julich in 1609, even to the extent of committing several thousand troops to the cause. This action undoubtedly gained Parliaments support, as did the marriage in 1613 of James daughter Elizabeth to the Protestant Frederick V of the Palatinate. Throughout these early years of James reign, his foreign policy did not seem to have a detrimental effect on his relations with Parliament indeed, his later actions in this period even served to improve his relations with Parliament. And although there were some disagreements between James and Parliament during this time, they were due to finance issues and not foreign policy. After this time, however, relations between monarch and Parliament began to sour, and one of the key factors in this breakdown of relations was the foreign policy pursued by James from 1614 onwards. From this time, James attempted to negotiate marriage first for his eldest son and then, after his death, for his heir and second son Charles with the Catholic Spanish infanta. This was deeply unpopular with most MPs, as they feared the influence a Catholic Queen of England would have on the continuing reformation of the Protestant church, and desired a foreign policy more hostile to Spain than any previous policy of James. The situation worsened as James first had the very popular Sir Walter Raleigh executed after he clashed with Spain on a trip to South America, and then as he distanced himself from the conflict between Catholics and Protestants over the Palatinate. At this point in time it appeared that relations between monarch and Parliament were very bad indeed, since James had been governing without Parliament since 1614, although this was more over disagreements about finance than anything to do with religious policy. However, when James finally did call Parliament after a seven-year gap, foreign policy became the main issue. James called Parliament in order to raise money to go to war to recover the Palatinate, an action which was widely supported. As time progressed, though, without any sign of James actually preparing for war since he was still pursuing negotiations Parliament began to demand a naval war and an end to the marriage negotiations with Spain. This angered James enough to lead him to reply that none [in the House of Commons] shall presume to meddle with anything concerning our government or deep matters of State, referring, in the main, to Parliaments rights (or not) to discuss foreign policy. This led to the Commons producing a Protestation, which claimed the right of Parliament to free speech, regardless of royal prerogative. James then dissolved Parliament and arrested several prominent MPs. Certainly, this rift had arisen mainly due to James foreign policy (although there still were other contributing factors, namely finance but also other domestic policies). However, it was not permanent as James called a final Parliament in 1624, in which he seemed to accept that he would have to go to war with Spain, especially since both his son Charles and his favourite, Buckingham, were now joining Parliament in asking for war, due to the breakdown of marriage negotiations. Parliament voted subsidies although they were insufficient for James to wage a land war and left satisfied with the situation, although no war was waged in the remainder of James lifetime (he died ten months after dissolving Parliament). So, when James died in 1625, it seemed that towards the end of his reign his foreign policies had been responsible for souring relations with Parliament, although it is worth noting that the resolutions of the final Parliament (if not fulfilled) had gone some way to repairing the relationship between monarch and Parliament. It also seemed as though, with the ascension of Charles I, who had openly supported war during the last years of his fathers reign, relations with Parliament would be improved. However, although Charles came to the throne full of plans for a war with Spain, Parliament only voted i 250,000 for a sea war and were unsure about the other plans made by Charles and Buckingham costing around i 2 million. These plans Mansfeld, the Cadiz expedition and the Isle de Rhe expedition became a series of failures, mainly due to poor training, and led to the unpopularity of both Charles and Buckingham. By 1626, relations with Parliament were very bad, and the main (although not only, since e. g. tonnage and poundage caused disputes), cause of this was foreign policy. The reluctance of Parliament to vote sufficient subsidies for war, the attacks in the House of Commons of Buckingham and the disillusion with the war caused by the failed expeditions, led to Charles dissolving Parliament in 1625. When Parliament met again the following year, Charles had married the French, Catholic, Princess, Henrietta Maria. Because of Charles need for parliamentary subsidies, he tried to reduce the MPs suspicions about pro-Catholic policies and therefore failed to carry out part of the marriage treaty. This eventually led to war with France at the same time as England was at war with Spain, a disastrous policy which caused real damage to the monarchs relationship with Parliament. Charles relations with Parliament only continued to deteriorate after this time, eventually leading to Charles pursuing Personal Rule from 1629, and the reasons for this deterioration stemmed from Charles foreign policy, mainly because of the money needed to fund the wars, for which Charles resorted to more and more desperate measures for example the forced loan, which led to greater discussion of the monarchs financial and religious policy. There is no doubt that foreign policy played a major part in the souring of relations between monarch and Parliament in the period 1603-1629. However, its influence can be seen to have increased later on in this period after Charles came to power. With James I, foreign policy did play a part in affecting his relationship with Parliament especially towards the end of his reign. However, it was his foreign policy combined with other issues particularly finance which led to a breakdown in relations in 1621. Perhaps if foreign policy had been the only issue things would not have reached such a crisis point. And, even after the breakdown occurred, the fact that James called another Parliament in 1624 showed that it was by no means permanent. In contrast, all of Charles problems and disagreements with Parliament appear to have stemmed from issues surrounding his foreign policy and the breakdown in 1629 was far more threatening to the continued existence of Parliament than any with James as monarch.

New product development

New product development Need in the Market The need for an eBook in the market was evident. In the information age, where volumes of data and information need to be exchanged, created, examined and organized, there was a huge void to be filled by a handy device capable of being carried around, having an interface big enough like a book, but not the limited capacity of a paper book. The books were omnipresent, even though depleting in number with the internet coming up. But for extended reading, the computer screen was too inconvenient. It took too much time to load up. It was unwieldy to carry around. Not everything was available in a format youd want it in. To look into what exactly the need was, lets us look deeper into some specific points. To fill the current void, the market needed a product that: Was not heavy on the environment, like books. There was too much paper and ink being used for relatively miniscule amounts of information. Replicated the book in terms of readability. The computer screen was strenuous to look into for too long. Further, the computer screen could not be seen in sunlight. It also was very hard to read at angles. Facilitated exchange of information without necessarily the constriction of holding a device and keeping the users eye fixed on it. For example, in the ultra mobile culture that is emerging, many users are either driving a vehicle for a big fraction of the day. They may be users who are working around the house too. Books, because of the undivided attention they required, were slowly being drifted away from. Did not require storage space. Books took up a lot of space. Theres only so much information that can be kept in the library in the form of books. Was not heavy. Books are heavy if you realize that just to move from your living room to the park outside with a few big books is not inviting. If youre travelling, its almost impossible. Was updated in real time. Books cant be, and computers are, as we saw, unwieldy. We now see how the Kindle fulfilled these needs. The Amazon Kindle and how it filled the gap The answer was an eBook reader. One such product is the Amazon Kindle. A quick glance at its features, benefits and how it fits with the market demand identified above is presented. Amazon Kindle: a software/hardware platform by Amazon.com for displaying e-books and sometimes, other digital media. The 3 versions are: Kindle, Kindle 2, and Kindle DX. The Kindle First Generation, which was Amazons first device, was released in the US in 2007 (on November 19). The Kindle uses an E Ink brand electronic paper display. It downloads content using Amazons Whispernet (propriety online store) using mobile networks. The Kindle 2 devices use the American ATTs service and some roaming partners that give wireless access internationally. Kindle does not have to be connected to a computer, and Amazon Whispernet does not require a subscription. All Kindles come with free access to the Internet over mobile networks in the US. Here is a look at the features and benefits you can find with Amazon Kindle. The screen looks like real printed paper. Kindle also became desirable because of its 3G connection service in more than 100 countries. Users are able to get the first chapters of books before purchasing them. The actual download takes 60 seconds. The Kindle DX features a larger screen and more memory to hold more e-books. The screen size is 9.7 inches which is pretty large for comfortable reading. Even the available memory of 3.3 GB is enough to keep to the tune of 3500 books. The screen boasts not having any glare or illumination. This doubles up as a major power saver. In addition, the words of the book, once displayed on the kindle, remain that way without consuming any power. So, in the domain of utilization of power, it is very efficient. About 500,000 book titles are available at its Kindle Store for international customers. Competitive analysis Porters analysis for the eBook industry Entry Entry barriers to the e-book industry are few, if any. The manufacturing process is relatively simple; except for the screen, the technology is well developed. The Kindle uses an electronic paper display manufactured by E-Ink Corporation and this same display can be found in the Sony Reader, the iLiad, the Cybook Gen3, and the Readius. However, there is a challenge of signing agreements with publishers so that the material can be released as an e-book. Perhaps the biggest obstacle that all the companies are facing right now is the lack of growth in the industry. Jinke has been in the business since 2000 but has sold only 150,000 readers, the most of all the companies. Rivalry The e-book market is still in an early stage and because of this, market price levels are still uncertain. There are significant variations in price between different producers of e-book readers. Amazon entered the market at a significantly higher price than Sony and many other competitors, but there are also other readers selling at $700 or more. Because the consumer base is so small, all producers would rather see it expand than steal customers from other manufacturers. Consequently, there is more incentive for manufacturers to improve their product and increase interest in e-books than to compete on price. Supplier Bargaining Power Supplier bargaining power is derived from the number of suppliers, availability of substitutes, and costs associated with switching to alternative inputs. There are two main inputs to the Kindle: screen and network technology. The technology used to create the specialized display on the Kindle is manufactured by the E-Ink Corporation. E-Ink is the leading firm in the electronic paper market and is a supplier to a variety of companies, including Sony and other e-book manufacturers. Since the electronic paper market is relatively new and does not consist of many firms, substitutes are limited. Given the state of the electronic paper market and the fact that electronic paper is a recently developed technology, E-Ink needs customers and hence E-Ink does not have much supplier bargaining power over Kindle. This could change in the future, depending on the popularity of the Kindle and the development of the electronic paper market. Amazon uses EVDO network technology, supplied by the Sprin t network. Kindle users do not need to pay to connect to the network, as Amazon covers the cost. Large EVDO network providers also include Verizon and Alltel, with other competing networks using a standard other than EVDO. This means that Amazons choice of networks for Whispernet is fairly limited. While not an issue now, if Kindle becomes much more widespread in the future, the company could face a holdup problem with Sprint if Sprint wants more of Amazons profits. Thus Kindles display and network suppliers currently do not have much bargaining power, but it is highly likely that if Kindle succeeds, supplier bargaining power will increase and may become a problem for Amazon. Publisher bargaining power is also important to consider since the Kindle is fairly useless without e-books. To increase the size of Amazons e-book library, it needs to obtain publisher permission for each book it converts. Publishers have a great deal of bargaining power in this respect; while there are many publishers, for each title one publisher has a monopoly. Thus, if Amazon wants a specific book for its Kindle, it will have to pay monopoly prices to the publisher. This effect can already be seen in the market for printed books, where much of the profit on a book is retained by the publisher. For a large publishing company like Random House, its profits are on the order of 10% of its revenue. On the other hand, a book retailer like Barnes and Noble has drastically lower profitability, with profits less than 1% of revenue. Thus publishers have a great deal of supplier bargaining power since they essentially decide which books become e-books and whether those books will be availa ble for the Kindle. Publishers can also require that Amazon sell only versions of their books that include Digital Rights Management (DRM), an attempt to prevent illegal copying of the content. Consequently, all books sold through Amazon on the Kindle are available only in the proprietary AZW format. Most competing readers also specialize in their own DRM format. Buyer Bargaining Power Kindle buyers have little bargaining power. Bargaining power is derived mainly from the ease of switching to a competing product and the value of the product to the buyer. Because both the Kindle and competing readers use DRM schemes, books purchased for the Kindle cannot be transferred to other manufacturers devices and vice versa. This is not the primary reason for DRM, but it is advantageous from Amazons point of view because it increases switching costs and helps to create buyer lock-in. The market for e-book readers is still young and small, so the majority of e-book reader buyers do not have a significant existing electronic library. Existing libraries are not yet an important factor in shaping consumers purchasing decisions. However, once the market matures a significant portion of sales will be to existing owners of e-book readers. Thus buyer bargaining power will decrease over time and be very weak in the mature market. Substitutes The main substitutes for Amazon Kindle are libraries, both brick and mortar and online bookstores, and Google Books. However, unlike the online bookstores and Google books, Kindle does not require a computer. Kindles free wireless connectivity which uses the same network as advanced cell phones enables buyers to shop from the Kindle Store directly from the Kindle device. Instead of having to travel to the local library or waiting for books to arrive from online bookstores, this wireless network can download a book in 60 seconds providing customers a more efficient and direct access to books. Although Kindle does not yet have access to as many books as some of these substitutes, it is progressively adding more books. Also, the Kindle stores everything a purchaser buys online; in this way, if a customer loses the Kindle, the reading material will not be lost, as would be the case if you had a paperback. The readers also do not have to deal with heavy or numerous books because of Kindle s light portability. The Kindle display looks like ink on paper, which is easier on the eye than LCD screens and comparable to printed media. It can also increase text size which is a clear advantage over books. Physical bookstores allow customers to browse books before purchasing. Amazon attempts to emulate this feature by allowing users to download and read the first chapter of any book for free. E-book versions of new releases and New York Times Best Sellers are $9.99, saving on average 60%, and many other books can be found for less. As for Google Books, Googles aim is to help people find and discover books and learn where to buy and borrow them. Although there are books that can be read online from start to finish, this is only the case for books in the public domain and out of copyright. For these reasons, Kindle compares favourably to these substitutes. Complements The size of the e-book library, other file types such as .pdf, .doc, and .jpeg, and the service to convert files to Kindle format are all complements of Amazon Kindle. The most important compliment required is the number of books offered to Kindle users. The day Amazon Kindle was released last year, the Kindle Store had more than 88,000 digital titles available for download and now has over 115,000 Books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Amazon also offers an email-based service that converts .html, .doc, .jpeg, .gif, .png, and .bmp documents to their Kindle format, AZW, or can load unprotected Mobipocket or plain text content. This AZW format is only for the Kindle which is a good strategy on Amazons part to tie the complement to the product. Kindle also supports formats for audio in the form of MP3s and Audible 2, 3, and 4 audiobooks, which must be transferred to the Kindle over USB or an SD card. With a variety of book options and supported formats to accommodate more customers a nd their various needs, the Kindle is a simple and convenient alternative to reading a paper copy book. Major Competitors This competitor analysis only compared the products on the basis of the technology but to sell the product, there is much more than mere technology which has to be projected. That is where marketing steps in and that is the area where Amazon has been at the forefront with its clear marketing strategy and its proactive and subtle innovations which keep them at the forefront of the E-book reader industry. Marketing strategy The marketing strategy of Amazon Kindle can be seen through the STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) analysis of the Kindle which would give way to the marketing mix followed by the brand. A typical buyer of a Kindle can be perceived as a businessman/businesswoman who does not have enough time and space to carry along the pile of books and newspapers when they go out on a trip or a business meeting. They want multipurpose equipment with no frills attached so that they can browse their favourite book whenever, wherever they can. The popularity of the Kindle can be seen in countries such as America and Europe where these kinds of users are easy in good number. The Kindle is sold on the website of Amazon that saves Amazon a lot of cost due to a direct supply chain. The communication is basically through a series of adverts whenever one goes to the website of Amazon. Amazon has positioned the Kindle as a book carrier for the people on the go. The product is marketed heavily in A merica and not so much in Europe as books have an aesthetic value in the Europe. It considers book as a form of art which is not a case with Americans. Methodology The methodology consists of both the primary and secondary research methodology. The basic aim of the methodology is to gauge the consumer perception of the Amazon Kindle and to analyze the gap between the Brand identity portrayed by the product and the brand image which is actually created in the mind of the consumer of an Amazon Kindle. Generally, it is seen that a new product has problems filling this gap and it is one of the major threat whenever the product is launched in the market. There is a need for the company to portray itself in a manner that the gap is minimized. In order to see the success of the Kindle we tried to visit the various blogs and the website of the Kindle to look for the consumer perception and the post purchase analysis. This methodology was validated by the questionnaire floated on various internet sites and the blogs in order to get maximum responses from the people. The scope of study was narrowed down on to finally three types of units: Users of Amazon Kindle Non-Users of Amazon Kindle People who havent heard of Amazon Kindle It is very important to gauge all the three responses in order to get the birds eye view on the product and the concept delivery. While hundreds of responses were analyzed in the secondary research, we came up with 54 responses in the primary research which was covering the geographical areas of USA, India, France, Germany, Greece, Australia, South Africa, Spain, Argentina and many more nations which make the study geographically significant. The responses were analyzed by the statistical tools such as excel and SPSS in order to come up with the impact analysis of Amazon Kindle and finally the recommendations that we came up to make this process of marketing the Kindle much more efficient and focused. Observations and analysis Secondary research observations: The secondary research was performed on the following web blogs and websites: inventorspot.com ireaderreview.com www.wired.com www.bestebookreaders.com reviews.cnet.com crunchbase.com blogs.techrepublic.com www.computerworld.com wiki.mobileread.com www.hanselman.com www.macworld.com gadgets.boingboing.net arstechnica.com www.digitaltrends.com Amazons Website The blogs are the major technology blogs which constantly receive the comments of the users and the non users and are a fair indicator of the trends and perception of the new product in the market. This is majorly significant in the case of the Kindle as the marketing mix of the product significantly enhances the importance of the blogs and reviews online. The product is sold online only and thus all the users or the people who are interested in the product are more likely to be avid internet users. The first step for adaptation of any new product is the search of the information about the product and the information, in case of Amazon kindle is majorly available on these websites and the Amazons site. The user therefore pays a lot more attention to these blogs in this case. Thus these blogs are very powerful in forming the perception about a product which is sold online. The E-Paper screen is slightly smaller than that on its primary competitor, the Sony Reader, but is still quite legible and roomy E-Paper has a long way to go before it replaces ink on paper, but its comfortably on the right path Youll need to use the Kindle in the same sort of well-lit environment that youd read a normal book or magazine Some of the features such as the expandable memory and the wireless services truly make using a Kindle an unforgettable experience. However, we can never call the Kindle a radical innovation as the concept was already put in to the market by Sony via their Sony reader. But as compared to its counterparts, it is perceived as a pioneer in innovation and technology. With the latest launch of the I-PAD, there has been a lot of speculation while we compare the I-PAD to the Kindle. While both Apple and Amazon maintain that the products are not in competition but there has always been a comparison made which can be unfair to the Kindle as it is not a multipurpose device as compared to the Kindle. But Kindle has been very proactive in ensuring that they come out with the subtle innovations that would keep their nose ahead at all times. This can be seen when they launched the Kindle application for the IPAD very recently just after the launch of the IPAD. Primary Research Observations The primary research was conducted on 51 respondents who were spread all over the globe on all continents of the world. The respondents were divided into 3 categories and the perception mapping was performed. The results show high involvement of Americans over the rest of the world. This can be easily explained by the history of the Amazon Kindle which launches the new version in America first and then another version is launched in the rest of the world. There is always an international version of the Kindle which is meant for the rest of the world except America. The research had 61 percent female respondents and 39 percent male respondents. There were many avid readers among the Americans who answered the questionnaire. The total avid readers were 55 percent and out of those, 80 percent were Americans. The value sought in the Amazon Kindle was very high among these groups of people which tell us that the Kindle is very popular among the people who love to read a lot. The people were mainly fond of the fact that the kindle is very compact and easy to operate. The peoples response was mainly hinting that the Kindle is surely a device that they would like to buy but the barriers that they have put either on the initial price and on the subsequent running costs is deterring them from having a Kindle with them. According to them, there is a special place of books in there and Amazon should not compete with them. The testimony of the fact is that the 90 percent of the people preferred paperback books instead of an electronic book if given a free choice. The reason given is that the book looks much more real and there is a sense of possession when we have a book in our hand rather than when we have an eBook in our laptops of our Kindle for that matter. The Kindle had the biggest advantage over the rest of its competitors due to its wireless capabilities which actually allow you to get your favorite books within a few seconds room anywhere in the world and anytime in the world. While Americans and Australians preferred the Kindle because it saved a lot of shelf space which in other cases would have been taken by the books, the Europeans preferred Kindle because it was su pposed to save a lot of paper and it looked elegant in the hand of the possessor. Some of the other findings include the fact that while 39 percent of the respondents were actually Kindle users, there were 21 percent of the respondents who were not aware of the Kindle at all. The reason that we could thought of was that it has something to do with the less popularity of Amazon in the countries of these people as most of these people were from India(50 percent) and Thailand and other parts of Asia. This throws light on the fact that for a product which mainly sells from the internet, it is very important for the parent company to have an established base of consumers who can then communicate with them and participate in the offerings given to them in the form of products such as the Kindle. There is no distribution channel where we can push the product. The other respondents who had heard of the Kindle but never thought of buying it thought that the price of the Kindle is the major factor that deters them from even thinking of having one. For the ones who want to b uy it and do not have it as of now, the major reason is that the people associate a lot of hidden costs with the product. This was a major finding as the company never projects the actual cost to consumer throughout the life of the consumers. While the possessors liked the fact that the Kindle has good connectivity which we too found out as the point of difference of the Kindle from its competitors, the non users liked the read without glare feature the most attractive one. This lead us to one more observation that the most attractive feature is not the unique feature of the kindle so the Kindle may or may not be the first choice of the people when they go on to buy an eBook reader. This is kind of disheartening for the company as the product is highly placed on the price and the technology table and the users may not find value for money once they look to buy a Kindle. There were some serious observations made in the value that the consumers attach regarding the price of the Kindle and that comes out to be around 140 Euros that is way less than the actual price of the kindle i.e. 250 Euros. This leads us to the observations is that the barrier is too high for a large amount of potential users which can be exploited if they agree to lower the initial cost. The people were very apprehensive of the actual cost to customer and Amazon can do well to enlighten the customers about the same. Success of the product to date The Amazon kindle is unarguably the best selling product for Amazon and the adverts on the website of Amazon are a testimony of this. It is the most wished for, most desired and most searched for product on Amazon site which tells us that the product is doing very well on the international scene as well. Some of the factual data released by Amazon can also be seen below. It tells us that the product is doing wonderfully well on the international scene. The product is a very successful one and the continual improvements that it has come up with are a major factor contributing towards such a success. The revenue percentage of Amazon is as high as 2.6 percent that tells us that it is the star performer for Amazon. The fact that is not taken into consideration is that there are huge running costs that are related to each Kindle that are unfortunately not mentioned in the data. But it is clear that the Kindle is doing cery well in the market since its launch in 2008. Recommendations Amazon should focus on advertising to attract new customers to the e-book market. A large potential for growth in its base of consumers is with commuters and business travellers, who will benefit from the convenience of the Kindles portability and also possess the disposable income to afford the device in its current price range. As Ron Hawkins, vice president for portable reader systems at rival Sony, points out, Digital readers are not a replacement for a print book; they are a replacement for a stack of print books. That is where we see people, on the go, in the subway and in airports, with our device. The Kindle delivers newspapers directly to users for, on average, $10/month. This enables commuters to easily read the newspaper on a smaller medium without the unwieldiness of the print version. Similarly, businessmen will find the Kindle appealing to avoid carrying multiple books while travelling. By targeting these consumers through increased advertising in subways, airports, and on airplanes, Amazon can expand the market and reach out to new adopters of e-books. In coordination with this advertising effort, Amazon should attempt to negotiate deals with major newspapers. At a time when newspapers are struggling with declining numbers in readers and revenue, Amazon can seek to capitalize on their situation. For example, the LA Times started a task known as the Manhattan Project seeking to investigate solutions to reinvent the paper for the future. Amazon has the opportunity to approach them with the Kindle as a new venue to revive their business through a younger tech-savvy audience. The primary goal of this advertising campaign is to increase the overall e-book market, rather than to steal customers from rivals, so competitors should not feel threatened by it. In fact, other firms may benefit from the increased awareness of e-book readers. Similarly, parallel campaigns by rivals do not pose a significant threat to Amazon, since the major challenge at hand is to grow the market and provide for future profitability. However, Amazon needs to ensure that rivals do not enter into exclusive contracts with newspapers or other content providers in general. These deals only serve to benefit individual firms in the short run and ultimately hinder expansion of a relatively small, nascent market. Long Term Positioning In the long run the market for e-books themselves is unlikely to support significant profits. The main issue stems from the large amount of publisher bargaining power that currently exists in the print book market. Publishers have a significant influence in the supply chain for books, retaining the largest portion of the producer surplus in print media. The retailer only receives a small fraction of the overall profits on the book, so it is presumable that Amazon will face similar difficulty in extracting profits from e-books. In addition, Amazons business model is reproducible and thus their current distribution advantage is not necessarily permanent. Amazons reputation would be their only substantial barrier to new entrants in the e-book sales market. Lastly, competition with free pirated e-books would present problems. Even if Amazon proves more successful than competitors in e-book retailing, as the market grows, piracy will inevitably emerge to erode profits. This has occurred o ver the last decade in the music industry as digital music and the Internet have matured. These pitfalls make it unwise for Amazon to pursue a partnership with a hardware-oriented company like Sony, in which Amazon would limit itself to selling e-book reader content. Instead, Amazon should continue to produce the Kindle itself. Due to the nature of the market, the selection of complements will not distinguish the Kindle from other readers. If Amazon can maintain comparable hardware quality to other manufacturers, switching costs and brand identity should allow Amazon to keep a stable customer base and to support some level of sustainable profits. Pricing It also might be tempting for Amazon to leverage their current advantage in e-book distribution into greater profits on the e-books. This trades larger short term profits for a weaker future position in the market, which will be much larger that it is now. Thus, Amazons pricing strategy should be consistent with the long term focus on hardware and a desire to prioritize market share over short term profits throughout the growth phase. Amazons recent price reduction from $399 to $359 reflects a shift from targeting quality sensitive early adopters to more price sensitive consumers. It should continue to drop prices in steady increments to attract wider consumer bases. Consumers are less sensitive to e-book prices than they are to hardware prices, and the decision to purchase a Kindle is more likely to be triggered by the cost of the Kindle itself. Hence, Amazon should not be overly concerned with further reducing e-book prices. These prices are currently lower than most hardbacks and trade paperbacks but higher than most mass market paperbacks. Attempting to compete with mass market paperbacks is infeasible because of publishers resistance to pricing e-books much cheaper than print versions. It already loses money on most of its e-books, priced well below what it pays publishers, and further price cuts would likely require Amazon to take losses unjustified by the small benefits in market share. However, if the Kindle is able to propel the e-book markets into a fast growing phase, publishing executives anticipate that it will not be long before Amazon begins using the Kindles popularity as a lever to demand that publishers cut prices. At this point , Amazons increased bargaining power will enable it to price more competitively without the losses from subsidies. Questionnaire Age Sex Male Female Nationality How much reading do you do in general? I am an avid reader, I cant live if I dont read I like to read, you would find me reading very often I like to read sometimes I read rarely I hate reading, i have better things to do in life What according to you is the most attractive feature of Amazon Kindle? Its sleek design and light weight The concept of an electronic reader The easy connectivity(Global 3G wireless) Long Battery Life Reads like real paper without glare, even in bright sunlight Holds up to 1,500 books Saves paper Lower prices than paper books Over 450,000 books and the largest selection of the most popular books people Other: What is it that would deter you from buying the Kindle? Price The concept of buying an E-book and limited number of reads Lack of Knowledge(less advertizing) Other: What according to you is the biggest competitor of the Kindle? Apples I-Pad The paper books Barnes Nobles Nook The Nook book reader Sony pocket touch edition

Mycenaean Civilization Essay -- World History

Mycenaean Civilization The Mycenaean civilization flourished for four hundred years in the late Bronze Age before collapsing in to small bands of subsistence farmers. Some historians attribute this decline to ‘the Sea People’ who terrorized the Egyptians, Anatolians and the Hittites. But could a mysterious people who left no archeological proof of their existence really bring about the collapse of entire civilizations? Mycenaean civilization is characterized by the large palace-like buildings that they created. These huge structures contained dozens of rooms used for a variety of purposes. The rooms were used for everything from industry to meeting places and even sleeping quarters. The main function of these palatial buildings seemed to be economical. From clay tablets that have been accidentally preserved through fire historians know that the Mycenaean employed a ‘palace economy.’ The tablets, written in an ancient script called Linear B, are mostly records of good coming in and out of the palace. A palace economy was maintained by trading the surplus of goods produced by farmers and craftsmen with other cities around the eastern Mediterranean. Mycenaean pottery has been found in ancient sites in Palestine and Syria as well as Miletus, Rhodes and Egypt and it is a testament to the extent of trade that Mycenaean had with other cultures . It was essential that the trade routes be kept safe in order to maintain the flow of goods. By about 1300bce Mycenaean wares had been so standardized that regional differences were impossible to detect . This suggests tha t during the late Bronze Age, Mycenaean culture had become increasingly unified economically. The tablets found at Pylos suggest that Mycenaean must have used slaves to d... ...at fragile. A collapse in trade due in part to overspecialization and increasing aggression by the ‘Sea People’ and others, catalyzed by natural disasters eventually led to the economic collapse of the eastern Mediterranean market. After this the large palaces with their complex administration were no longer needed and could no longer be sustained. People simply abandoned to cities and went back to subsistence farming until they slowly rekindled an empire. REFERENCES Huxley, G.L.. Achaeans and Hittites. Oxford, The Queen’s University. 1965. Palmer, Leonard R.. Mycenaeans and Minoans. London, Faber and Faber. 1961. Sanders, N.K.. The Sea Peoples. London, Thames and Hudson. 1978. Velikovsky, Immanuel. Peoples of the Sea. Garden City, Doubleday & Company. 1977. Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. London, British Broadcasting Corporation. 1985. Mycenaean Civilization Essay -- World History Mycenaean Civilization The Mycenaean civilization flourished for four hundred years in the late Bronze Age before collapsing in to small bands of subsistence farmers. Some historians attribute this decline to ‘the Sea People’ who terrorized the Egyptians, Anatolians and the Hittites. But could a mysterious people who left no archeological proof of their existence really bring about the collapse of entire civilizations? Mycenaean civilization is characterized by the large palace-like buildings that they created. These huge structures contained dozens of rooms used for a variety of purposes. The rooms were used for everything from industry to meeting places and even sleeping quarters. The main function of these palatial buildings seemed to be economical. From clay tablets that have been accidentally preserved through fire historians know that the Mycenaean employed a ‘palace economy.’ The tablets, written in an ancient script called Linear B, are mostly records of good coming in and out of the palace. A palace economy was maintained by trading the surplus of goods produced by farmers and craftsmen with other cities around the eastern Mediterranean. Mycenaean pottery has been found in ancient sites in Palestine and Syria as well as Miletus, Rhodes and Egypt and it is a testament to the extent of trade that Mycenaean had with other cultures . It was essential that the trade routes be kept safe in order to maintain the flow of goods. By about 1300bce Mycenaean wares had been so standardized that regional differences were impossible to detect . This suggests tha t during the late Bronze Age, Mycenaean culture had become increasingly unified economically. The tablets found at Pylos suggest that Mycenaean must have used slaves to d... ...at fragile. A collapse in trade due in part to overspecialization and increasing aggression by the ‘Sea People’ and others, catalyzed by natural disasters eventually led to the economic collapse of the eastern Mediterranean market. After this the large palaces with their complex administration were no longer needed and could no longer be sustained. People simply abandoned to cities and went back to subsistence farming until they slowly rekindled an empire. REFERENCES Huxley, G.L.. Achaeans and Hittites. Oxford, The Queen’s University. 1965. Palmer, Leonard R.. Mycenaeans and Minoans. London, Faber and Faber. 1961. Sanders, N.K.. The Sea Peoples. London, Thames and Hudson. 1978. Velikovsky, Immanuel. Peoples of the Sea. Garden City, Doubleday & Company. 1977. Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. London, British Broadcasting Corporation. 1985.