Monday, October 18, 2010
Second Life
Second Life is pretty cool. It is 3-D and virtual. It enables you to teleport within seconds to some of the most visited places in the world. The first place I decide to visit and found interesting was the Arc de Triomphe. This was an awesome experience for me because I have always wanted to go to Paris and visit historical sites, but I will probably never get the chance. The Arc looked almost the same as it would it real life except animated which was awesome since I got to do it for free and within seconds. As I was walking around, there was French music playing in the background that made it feel real and authentic. I really liked the music and realized I like French music. Something I learned from Second Life about the Arc de Triomphe is that there is a plaque and flag in the center underneath the actual arc. It was pretty cool. I really liked that I could fly around it and go to the top! The second place I decided to visit was Long Island, New York! It was night and the stars were shining! It was absolutely beautiful. Walking around I could visit the Info Center and see all of the ocean front houses. The houses were so big and gorgeous. All of the trees and green grass was beautiful as well. While I was walking there was classical music playing. It was relaxing and gave me a calming, happy mood to enjoy walking under the stars. After visiting these two amazing places, my experience with Second Life was awesome. It is amazing how technology allows things like this. It was entertaining and fun. It was a good way to travel all over the United States and even the world within seconds and for free. I will definitely be using Second Life. It was a great experience. Below are the snapshots from my experience.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Target: Porter's Value Chain Model
Target According to Porter’s Value Chain Model
Everyone knows Target. Most people would consider Target a very successful business. But is Target really successful? One can determine this through research and using Porter’s Value Chain Model.
Target’s competitive strategy is cost leadership. Their slogan is “Expect More. Pay Less.” They sell good quality products at a low price. Target’s major competitors are Wal-Mart and K-Mart. Target’s business model involves doing everything they can to sell good quality products at a price reasonable to the customers so they can make a profit. The picture below will help visualize what Target is about.
In Porter’s Value Chain Model, there are five primary activities a business should use. They are Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing and Sales, and Customer Service. There are certain tasks Target should accomplish for each primary activity. The first primary activity is Inbound Logistics. The tasks Target should accomplish for this activity are being sure that there is a supply schedule to delivery shipments on time, to make sure the products are of good quality, and that deliveries are done efficiently. The second primary activity is Operations. The tasks Target should accomplish for this activity are to be sure that the products being bought are manufactured correctly without any mistakes or faults and to be sure that breakable items are packaged so that they won’t break and become damaged. The third primary activity is Outbound Logistics. The task Target should accomplish for this activity is checking to make sure the products received are correct and ready to be put on the shelves to be sold to costumers. The fourth primary activity is Marketing and Sales. The task Target should accomplish for this activity is making sure that they do things appealing to the consumer. They should place little items that people forget and will pick up by the register. They should have good sales that bet their competitors. Their commercials should be entertaining and show why consumers should shop there. Marketing and Sales is a huge part of success in business. The fifth primary activity is Customer Service. The task Target needs to accomplish for this activity is making sure the Customer Service employees are nice, willing to help, and know how to help. This will make more customers return to Target if they have good experiences with getting help when needed. Another task is returns. Returns are taken to Customer Service so Target should make sure they ask why the product is being returned and what they could do to help.
Target uses computers to ring items up. They even have scanners to identify the prices for customers without asking an employee. They can use their computer system to find the same product at another store if it is not in stock or to find a store closer to the customer. These systems are a part of competitor advantages because it allows them to compete with other companies and become better is other companies do not have that advantage. For example, Wal-Mart does not have scanners to help customers identify a price without employee help. With the nature of Target’s business, they have to compete in every way possible in order to stay in competition.
Target is successful because they have goals and use a productive business model and use ideas from Porter’s Value Chain Model. Their competitive advantage allows them to be successful as well. In my personal opinion, I believe that Target beats Wal-Mart except for the grocery part.
Bibliography
"Target : Company : Company." Target Corporation Redirection Page. Web. 09 Sept. 2010.
"Target Corporation." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Sept. 2010.
Everyone knows Target. Most people would consider Target a very successful business. But is Target really successful? One can determine this through research and using Porter’s Value Chain Model.
Target’s competitive strategy is cost leadership. Their slogan is “Expect More. Pay Less.” They sell good quality products at a low price. Target’s major competitors are Wal-Mart and K-Mart. Target’s business model involves doing everything they can to sell good quality products at a price reasonable to the customers so they can make a profit. The picture below will help visualize what Target is about.
In Porter’s Value Chain Model, there are five primary activities a business should use. They are Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing and Sales, and Customer Service. There are certain tasks Target should accomplish for each primary activity. The first primary activity is Inbound Logistics. The tasks Target should accomplish for this activity are being sure that there is a supply schedule to delivery shipments on time, to make sure the products are of good quality, and that deliveries are done efficiently. The second primary activity is Operations. The tasks Target should accomplish for this activity are to be sure that the products being bought are manufactured correctly without any mistakes or faults and to be sure that breakable items are packaged so that they won’t break and become damaged. The third primary activity is Outbound Logistics. The task Target should accomplish for this activity is checking to make sure the products received are correct and ready to be put on the shelves to be sold to costumers. The fourth primary activity is Marketing and Sales. The task Target should accomplish for this activity is making sure that they do things appealing to the consumer. They should place little items that people forget and will pick up by the register. They should have good sales that bet their competitors. Their commercials should be entertaining and show why consumers should shop there. Marketing and Sales is a huge part of success in business. The fifth primary activity is Customer Service. The task Target needs to accomplish for this activity is making sure the Customer Service employees are nice, willing to help, and know how to help. This will make more customers return to Target if they have good experiences with getting help when needed. Another task is returns. Returns are taken to Customer Service so Target should make sure they ask why the product is being returned and what they could do to help.
Target uses computers to ring items up. They even have scanners to identify the prices for customers without asking an employee. They can use their computer system to find the same product at another store if it is not in stock or to find a store closer to the customer. These systems are a part of competitor advantages because it allows them to compete with other companies and become better is other companies do not have that advantage. For example, Wal-Mart does not have scanners to help customers identify a price without employee help. With the nature of Target’s business, they have to compete in every way possible in order to stay in competition.
Target is successful because they have goals and use a productive business model and use ideas from Porter’s Value Chain Model. Their competitive advantage allows them to be successful as well. In my personal opinion, I believe that Target beats Wal-Mart except for the grocery part.
Bibliography
"Target : Company : Company." Target Corporation Redirection Page. Web. 09 Sept. 2010.
<http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-030795>.
"Target Corporation." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Sept. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation>.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
CIS First Assignment about IT Salaries
Employment Opportunities in IT
When comparing IT salaries across different business professions, one would think that the harder the job, the more salary paid. After researching, it appears that on average accountants make $56k per year. Marketing Personnel on average make around $60k per year. Financing Personnel on average make around $90k per year. Operations Personnel on average make around $100k per year. Human Resources Personnel on average make around $111k per year. Also after researching, it is found that the more experience one has the higher pay. The salary also needs on the company and area.
IT salaries according to Computerworld’s annual salary survey depend on the region and the specific type of job. For example, the highest paid IT Director is in the Mountain region at around $136k. When looking at the regions, one would think the Southern Atlantic region IT Director would get paid more than listed because of the Charlotte, NC area. It seems the average of all the regions’ IT Directors’ salary is $109k.
After researching salaries and availability of IT careers, there are a lot of opportunities in some professions more than others. Considering I am a double major in Accounting and Banking/Financing, I have some advantage. I have an advantage because I can research two different professions. Research shows that Accounting has more job offers with IT than Banking does (according to the website researched about six times the amount). It seems extremely beneficial to have IT involved with any business profession.
Bibliography
"glassdoor.com: Salaries". Glassdoor. August 31, 2010
<http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/human-resources-it-salary-SRCH_KO0,18.htm>. For this website, I researched the salaries of different business professions with IT involved.
Rothberg, Steven. "College Recruiter.com: College Career Connecter".
CollegeRecruiter.com. August 31, 2010 <http://collegerecruiter.com/page/advanced-job-and-blog-search>.
For this website, I researched the availability of jobs in my chosen profession.
"Salary Survey 2010". Computerworld. August 31, 2010
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9174032/Salary_Survey_2010>. For this website, I researched the IT salaries of different regions in the United States.
Monday, August 30, 2010
My First Blog
Hello. My name is Laura Winfree. I am currently a junior at Appalachian State University, double-majoring in Accounting and Banking and Financing with a minor in Spanish. I am taking an 18-hour semester so it will be a long, hard semester but with patience and hard work, I know it will pay off. I was born and raised in Charlotte and my dream job would be to work for Bank of America Corporate in Charlotte. This was my first blog for my CIS class.
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