A Day in the Life of Alex Sander Essay Example for Free

A Day in the Life of Alex Sander Essay I had to plunge in and make a lot of snap decisions in these areas. Looking back, I can see one poor strategy decision, but on the whole my judgment has been right on target. And if being pushy and commanding is the only way to get the job done—to get two new products out in one year—then it’s worth it to me. Even if I have to steamroll over someone’s feelings, or ignore the way a colleague would like to handle a project. Sander: Well, I get ticked off pretty easily. For example, I can’t stand explaining something more than a couple of times. But what really bothers me is lack of commitment—for example, if a long-time employee isn’t willing to put in extra hours to meet an important deadline. But you know what? After I really become angry, there are people at Landon whose output will jump for at least a couple of weeks afterwards. My temper is actually an effective management tool. 9:00 A. M. Leong nodded apologetically to Garrison as she left and said, â€Å"The interviewer from your alumni magazine is here. † The magazine was interviewing Sander for an article on â€Å"high-potential† product managers as part of a career development issue. He did not want to further embarrass Garrison, a 20-year veteran of the company, by interrupting; still, he needed to talk to Sander. op yo Neighbor: I remember you mentioning some sparks with your assistant when you first started at Landon. rP os t A Day in the Life of Alex Sander: Driving in the Fast Lane at Landon Care Products | 2177 and so on. But you’re never in charge of your own creation. That’s the main reason I accepted a job at Landon. Landon is a pretty small shop, and I’ve been involved in every detail of my product launches. I’ve really enjoyed the strategy piece—gathering data about market share, figuring out the most profitable positioning for my brands. As a product manager, you have to talk to RD, then work with market research to see whether you have a feasible idea that will attract consumers. Then you work with advertising. You partner with all the departments to synchronize the program’s details. A product manager must ensure a targeted, quality product, whose distinctive features will be clear to the target consumer. Then you have to make the product right and get it to market. At that moment, Sander’s BlackBerry buzzed and, with a quick apology, Alex picked up the call. â€Å"I need to get a piece of data from this market researcher before my team meeting this afternoon,† Sander explained. While waiting for Sander to finish, the interviewer glanced around Alex’s office. It was large for so new a product manager, and the interviewer noted the award plaques on the credenza behind Sander’s desk. Sander finished the brief phone call, and the two continued talking. For the last question, the interviewer asked, â€Å"Alex, in your opinion, which type of person is best suited to being a product manager?

Pagan Burial Rites in the Epic of Beowulf Essay -- Epic of Beowulf Essa

Pagan Burial Rites in the Epic of Beowulf Scores of essays are written about the Christian influence on the Beowulf poet. Most notable Beowulf scholars such as Kl‘ber, Robinson and Whitelock do not fail to address the matter. Given the complexity of the issue and the proliferation of evidence within the poem, we can understand the universal appeal of this topic. The poet transposes his Christian convictions onto a story which formed in a culture devoid of Christianity. In many instances, however, the poem's pagan basis shines through. Among these idiosyncracies it is important to note funeral rites and the pagan practices that surround them. When missionaries first introduced the Christian ideology to the Anglo-Saxons, they left the people with a clear choice; Pagan deities could not coexist with the Christian God. Therefore, they must abandon these ancient icons in order to hold a more monotheistic view. Unfortunately, most of their culture is built around upholding a heroic code instead of a single deity. Rather than completely forsake the standards that they had lived by for so many generations, they incorporated their old ideals into the new Christian dogma (Ogilvy, Baker 27). In a similar fashion, the poet's task was to apply this same transformation to a story deeply rooted pagan society. The Beowulf poet "was concerned to extol the virtues of ancient Germanic heroes while acknowledging regretfully that the were deprived of the Christian revelation enjoyed in [the poet's] own era" (Robinson 1). Many flaws originate from this change, however. According to Kl‘ber, "heathen practices are mentioned in several pla ces, such as the vowing of sacrifices at idol fanes, the observing of omens and the burning of the dead, whic... ...s in Beowulf do not hold the same sentiments about Christianity that the poet holds. If Beowulf truly possessed the Christian ideals that the poet often insinuates, he would not find it necessary to be cremated, nor have his tomb adorned with riches. These elements reveal to us the difficulty of infusing a Christian dogma into a heathen society. The Beowulf poet is successful with this task in some respects, but in the case of cremation he is somewhat remiss. Works Cited Barber, Paul T. Cremation. Journal of Indo-European Studies v.21 (1993) : 379-387 Klà ¦ber, Friedrich, ed. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburgh. Third edition. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company, 1950. Ogilvy, J.D.A. and Donald C. Baker. Reading Beowulf. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983 Whitelock, Dorothy. The Audience of Beowulf. New York: Oxford University Press, 1951

Sales Management Project Report

We were tasked with interviewing the sales manager of a firm, in order to analyze the working of their sales department. We chose Atlas Honda as our company for this project and secured an interview with their sales manager, and questioned him in detail about the operational procedures of the sales department of Atlas Honda. This report contains his responses that shed light on the workings of Atlas Honda’s sales force, as well as our evaluation of their sales operations.Selected CompanyAtlas Honda is a joint venture between Atlas Group of Pakistan and Honda Motor Company of Japan. We chose Atlas Honda as it is the market leader of motorcycles in Pakistan, and thus conducts hefty sales of motorcycles every month, employing a number of effective sales techniques in order to make new customers and to retain old customers.When asked why he chose to pursue a career in sales, he expressed his gratification in working to achieve a target of sales against his competitors, the incenti ves offered for achieving more than the target, and the freedom and travel opportunities that only a sales job could provide. His philosophy regarding his sales career resides in giving a proper product to the customer for the money spent by him, and to create customer lifetime value and build long-term relationships with customers.InterviewQ1. How do you see the marketplace today-changes and trends? Ans. â€Å"In terms of motorbikes, there has not been much of a change in the market in reference to commuter bikes, hence little changes have been made to the existing CD70 model as it is still used as a simple commuter motorcycle. The CD125 model has received a deluxe edition, giving it a sporty look to appeal to more image conscious segment.The Pridor was introduced as a 100cc sporty bike, targeted at customers who wanted something in between the existing 70cc and 125cc motorcycles. The most significant change in the market has been the developing interest in sports bikes. To meet t his new growing  segment in the market, we have launched the Honda CBR150 and Honda CBR500 sports bikes. Atlas Honda closely observes market changes and trends and adjusts its product line accordingly.†Q2. How do you view the importance of cultural diversity in the marketplace? Ans. â€Å"Here in Pakistan when we talk about cultural diversity, it is not particularly significant in terms of commuter motorcycles, as customers looking for commuting motorcycles generally have the same needs such as low price and economical fuel consumption, making the difference in culture largely irrelevant. However, diversity in culture has led to a new market of customers who want high-performance sports and are willing to pay more, a market that we have tapped with the launch of the CBR150 and CBR500.†Q3. How do you define the role of sales support? How important are ethics? Ans. â€Å"Sales support forms an important part of the sales department here at Atlas Honda. They assist the salespersons by various means, such as market research, lead generation, making travel arrangements, scheduling meetings, sending out sales materials and review and reporting of sales. As for ethics, we have always believed in serving the customer in the best possible way so as to cultivate long-term relationships.†Q4. How do you expect sales force to follow a sales process? Ans. â€Å"The sales process followed consists of an initial contact, an approach where needs of the customer is evaluated, followed by a presentation or proposition, finalizing the sale, and lastly follow up. Salespersons are encouraged to close sales using minimum amount of resources and with minimum sales calls.†Q5. How do you organize the sales force-is it local or centralized? Ans. â€Å"Organization of sales force is localized, that is to say that it is decided upon by the regional sales managers, who assign the number of salespersons to specific areas based in the amount of current and poten tial customers.†Q6. How do you select salespersons when positions become vacant? Ans. â€Å"Our Human Resource department is responsible for hiring of new salespersons. They prepare a list of candidates and determine which candidates are most  suitable for the position through interviews. Salespersons with prior experience are naturally given preference, however we also take fresh graduates, in which case they undergo a short period of training before starting work.† Q7. How do you train new personnel? Train experienced salespersons?Ans. â€Å"Our training here is very strong because Atlas Group believes very strongly in development of human resources. The more effort is put into developing our human resources the more the company will grow. We generally avoid hiring people from the top universities. Instead, we take mediocre students who are willing to learn and work hard. In this company there is much to learn and we provide training for new employees. As for train ing experienced personnel, every year we send our employees to study at IBA and LUMS.Additionally, every year one person is selected to study at Harvard University. So training and development is constantly observed here. Here we have SAP system in our computers and for human resource we have HAY system. So every person is evaluated quarterly and then half yearly and then yearly. Then the company goes over their weaknesses and provides relevant training and coaching to overcome their limitations.†Q8. How do you select and interact with partners? Determine sales force size? Ans. â€Å"We have a system in which we divide Pakistan 7 regions. Every region has a head called Regional Manager. Then above him there is a National Manager. Then there is General Manager Marketing. Then Vice President Marketing. And then there is CEO. Every region has a geographical distribution in which there may be four or five territories according to that area. We make territories under the regions. In every territory under the Regional Managers there is a Head of Sales, a Head of Services and a Head of Parts.† Q9. How do you motivate the sales force? Use monetary and non-monetary incentives?Perceived success of these actions? Ans. â€Å"There is a monthly target which the salesperson has to achieve and upon achieving that target he gets an annual raise. We use a scale to classify how good a salesperson is at closing sales. If he is close to the target that means its fair. If he achieves his targets that means his is good. If he goes 10% above his target that means he is very good. If he goes beyond that then it means that he is outstanding.So basically there are four categories on which a salesperson is evaluated for the raise in his salary; fair, good,  very good, excellent. Additionally, the advantage for salespeople is that after a year or two there are foreign vacations awarded to them. They may win by achieving the most sales. They are sent to places like Europe, Brazil etc. They get extra money for it in addition to the vacation to enjoy and relax.†Q10. How do you reimburse the sales force for expenses?Ans. â€Å"Laws are defined here for the reimbursement of expenses. No one is allowed to interfere whether it may be Vice President or General Manager. The laws defined here are working on two systems. The first is called Management Executive Committee (MEC). Then there is Group Executive Committee (GEC). Only GEC has the right to change laws because only high profile members are allowed in it. So everything is defined.Every person has a grade wise allowance. Kilometers are standardized. Whether a General Manager uses it or may it be an ordinary sales representative. It is already defined that a particular amount per kilometer would be paid when travelled. If he has to stay overnight then there is hotel allowance. If there is no hotel then there is an independent allowance given to that person. So a healthy amount of incentives are gi ven and they are clearly defined and no one can misuse them.†Q11. How do you evaluate the sales force? Frequency and methods? Ans. â€Å"As I have mentioned we have got HAY system in which objectives are defined. They are evaluated on quarterly, half yearly and yearly basis. After three months an analysis is done on the objective to check whether that salesperson is achieving his target or not. We work on a PDCA format which is Plan Do Check Action. We see whether the targets are being achieved or not. If they are, then good.If not, then we examine targets are not being achieved. What were the problems faced and how can we counter them? This is PDCA. Every person’s job is defined. What he has to do, what he doesn’t, and his responsibilities. He knows the result that he has to produce after a year. Hence, salespersons are evaluated on their achievement of target sales.†Q12. How do you play a role in forecasting? What methods are utilized? Ans. â€Å"For fo recasting basically two methods are used. One of them is by using  historical growth data. We take the data of last three years, sum it up and forecast the market growth. Then there are assumptions and usage of alpha. Factors like history, assumption and the economy are always studied closely when forecasting.†Q13. How do you contribute to the firm’s strategies and annual planning? Ans. â€Å"As a sales manager, the forecasts that are generated by my department affect the company’s strategies and operations. For example, new strategies may need to be formulated when attempting to penetrate new markets, or when introducing new products into existing markets. Forecasts of sales also affect the company, for example if forecasts show an increase in sales, then more salespersons may need to be hired.†Q14. How do you utilize CRM and practice relationship marketing? Ans. â€Å"It has been almost 50 years since people are related to this company. By this you ca n imagine the worth of the company. Atlas Honda has worked hard to develop brand loyalty with its customers. We are providing our customers with services throughout Pakistan. There is hardly a single town where you cannot find a Honda service facility. Almost every city has got Honda’s sales dealerships. At this very moment there are 650 dealers across Pakistan. Then we have developed the 5S concept as opposed to the 3S concept.Normally companies provide only 3S that is Sales, Service and Spare parts. But in addition to that we also provide additional Second exchange which means you can trade in your old motorcycle for a new one. Then there is Safety. Then to satisfy the customers we have customer care department. There’s a telephonic department which takes care of the customers. We are going to introduce new CRM software next month. If you buy a motorcycle today all your information will be entered. Previous issues will also be displayed in it. You would be greeted by your name upon calling the department and your picture will also be shown.†Q15. How have you successfully managed portfolio of products? Ans. â€Å"We currently have 7 models in production. Everything is controlled by the General Manager. We have a very big setup. A very vast one. There are many things under the General Manager which are being monitored by different  people. We have a department of product planning. All the pros and cons of all models are discussed there. Then the marketing department is also related to them.They decide the best way to sell the product. There are no bookish systems here in this company as you study in the university. Many of the books and theories that you have studied, you won’t find them here. We have got a very straight system here. There’s only one channel of distribution. The company makes the product and then gives it to the dealer. There is no such thing as sales dealer or this and that dealer. More than 90% of the pla nning done here is successful.†EvaluationQ1. How effective is this sales manager? Ans. He is a very effective sales manager. He has effectively organized the sales force in such a way so that no territory is left out. He is vigilant about providing training to employees so that their skills may be developed and they are able to work to their full potential. He is a good leader and actively motivates his sales force to achieve their targets and instructs his sales force to foster long term relationships with their customers.Q2. Which of his/her activities are reflective of what you learned in class and what activities differ? Ans. He organized his sales force and divided the market into territories in order to use his sales force efficiently. He instructs his sales force to use CRM to better manage and service customers and to retain their information about previous purchases and problems for easy access. He gives great importance to training and developing his salespeople so t hat they may overcome any weaknesses. And he gives great importance to generating customer relationship value rather than just making a one-time sale to a customer.Q3. How do they differ and why do they differ? Ans. There is hardly anything among his activities as sales manager that differs from what we studied in class, as he has organized and developed his sales force very effectively, hardly leaving any room for improvement.

Essay on The Need for Brutality in A Clockwork Orange

Burgess A Clockwork Orange, a critically acclaimed masterstroke on the horrors of conditioning, is unfairly attacked for apparently gratuitous violence while it merely uses brutality, as well as linguistics and a contentious dà ©nouement, as a vehicle for deeper themes. Although attacks on A Clockwork Orange are often unwarranted, it is fatuous to defend the novel as nonviolent; in lurid content, its opening chapters are trumped only by wanton killfests like Natural Born Killers. Burgess Ted Bundy, a teenage Lucifer named Alex, is a far cry from the typical, spray paint-wielding juvenile delinquent. With his band of droogs, or friends, Alex goes on a rampage of sadistic rape and ultraviolence. As the tale unfolds, the†¦show more content†¦The movie was pulled from British theaters in the early seventies and is still illegal, in any form, in the United Kingdom (Contemporary Authors 491). In addition, ripples from the film tarnished the novels popular image. On account of the movie, some readers regard the book as a flip testimonial on behalf of mindless, juvenile violence (Edelheit 126), and Burgess is dubbed an antisocial writer and the stepfather of a punk cult (Burgess, A Clockwork Orange: A play with music) which sprung up around the Kub rick film. Compiled upon the movie-galvanized image of the novel, the handiwork of ignorant critics cements Oranges reputation as a phantasmagoria of sex and violence. An anonymous reviewer for the Times Literary Supplement once labeled the tome a nasty little shocker (qtd. in Burgess, A Clockwork Orange: A play with music), and the pithy epithet now graces the cover of the novels most recent American printing. Yet, through it all, the author maintains that he took no pleasure in documenting Alexs brutality and even invented Nadsat in an effort to make the violence symbolic (Burgess, Contemporary Literary Criticism 38). He never seeks to justify Alexs actions and believes that his crimes must be checked and punished in a properly run society (Burgess, Contemporary Literary Criticism 38). In addition, Burgess bases the most horrific scene in the novel -- the rape of the writers wife -- on personal experience. During aShow MoreRelatedDissecting a Clockwork Orange1815 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å" You men need to tuck away your penises and surrogate penises (guns), because you will never get anywhere with them. Masculinity is a myth and a dead end.† - Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 classic A Clockwork Orange is an interesting beast. The film has been vilified, banned, condemned on artistic grounds and yet it survives. The film’s hallucinatory visuals depicting a strange, narcissistic modernistic society, steeped in seventies art deco and harsh, contrasting lighting, paint aRead MoreComparison of a Clockwork Orange and Lord of the Flies2273 Words   |  10 Pagesâ€Å"Goodness is something chosen. 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Through ingenuity, stealth, and brutality, you must escape Carcer City. And the path to freedom just happens to involve lots and lots of graphic, easily-imitated violence. (The kind that could lead to the game being bann ed or censored in multiple countries.) This is why I say that ManhuntRead MoreSynopsis Of A First Outing On A Wedding2821 Words   |  12 Pagesset out his navy blue loafers. The debate arose with whether he should wear the periwinkle blue socks to complement the shirt, or the royal blue socks with obsidian stripes to make his loafers stand out. Quite the Dandy, the rest of his outfit would need a quick cleaning and pressing in order to enhance the ensemble. It has been a hectic week, but his eyes, meeting someone at a coffee shop should give no excuse to dress like a peasant. 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Socialist idealism in 1984 had turned to a total loss of individual freedom in exchange for false security and obedience to a totalitarian government, a dysutopia. 1984 was more than a simple warning to the socialistsRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesabout Juanitas and Emilios credentials. Lets see—Juanita is a student majoring in psychology, and Emilio is a communications major and works at a pet store. Does that make them authorities on Giardia and the safety of drinking water? No. So if you need an expert, you will have to search elsewhere. But you ask yourself: Is it really worth your trouble to search for more information from an expert? That search will probably require a hike back to the ranger station near the parking lot. Rangers