Managerial Communications Essay

Hynes introduces a calculated approach to managerial communication by dissecting it into three separate, yet mutually dependent functions. Hynes believes that with these approaches, management and employees alike can learn to adapt to one another to create an effective work force. The first layer is based on the idea that an employer and his employees can create a positive work atmosphere with the communication climate they set with one another. If a manager and his employees have an open and trusting relationship, it makes communications much easier for the both of them, regardless of their status. By allowing employees to contribute their thoughts and opinions without the fear of backlash, managers will see better job performance within their workers. Employers can often create an open communication climate through regular team building meetings and workshops. Communication climate also challenges managers to do their part by listening to their employees’ feedback. In order for effective communication to occur, an employee should feel comfortable in their work atmosphere and fully believe that their manager will take their words into deep consideration. Founder and President of Pillar Consulting LLC , Joelle K. Jay, PhD states, â€Å"On a personal level, people feel acknowledged when others validate their feelings. Managers who ignore feelings can create distance between themselves and their employees, eroding the relationship and ultimately affecting the working environment (Jay, â€Å"Communicate Well: Five Strategies To Enhance Your Managerial Communication Skills†). † From that statement, managers must also learn the boundaries within successful communication. In Hynes’ text, he also states that, â€Å"a positive climate is fragile†¦after only one or two critical errors, a positive environment can quickly change to one of distrust and closed communication, making future communication more difficult† (28). Managers must also learn to face the challenges of workers who become too comfortable in their environment. For example, Manager A and his Employee B, may have a friendly and casual relationship—one in which they may feel so comfortable that they talk about their personal and/or family business with one another. This is good in the sense that Employee B learns to trust Manager A and feels he can chat comfortably about his feelings toward his job. Now, if Employee A begins to feel so comfortable that Manager A is finding consistent errors within Employee B’s work, it is only right for Manager A to step in and confront him about the matter. Depending upon the choice of words used by Manager A and how Employee B feels about the situation, it can change the communication climate. One bad meeting can leave Employee B feeling angry with Manager A. He may no longer wish to have such a friendly demeanor towards him in the future. This can cause a strain on their communication with each other in the future. Another way to open a communication climate is through organizational culture. In an age of such advanced technology, many businesses no longer feel the need to speak to a person directly, either face-to-face or over the phone. The use of email has become a strong tool in business as it allows users to speak to each other without having to schedule a set time for both parties to meet only to say a few words. From the previous example, Manager A may be in a business that is highly dependent on email to speak to his employees in order to give clear, direct orders. Employee B may have previously come from an organization where meeting face-to-face was the ideal way to speak to anyone—management or employees alike. If Manager A decided it would be easier to email Employee B of the mistakes that he’s been making, Employee B may take that as a sign of disrespect. Employee B may not understand the tone that Manager A is reflecting in the email, leaving Employee B with the notion that Manager A couldn’t take time out of his schedule to speak with him directly. Their different perspectives of organizational culture could cause their gap in communication to widen tremendously. Organizational culture can help managers to better understand Hynes’ second layer in his approach to strategic communication. As the sender, Manager A’s personal characteristics can greatly affect the way he communicates with his employees. Before speaking with Employee B about his mistakes, Manager A must first reflect on what he will say to Employee B and how he will say it to him. Efficient communication can be the determining factor for communications in the future. While an employee only has to adjust his communication for his manager, a manager will need to find a way to relay his message to each employee in the most comfortable and appropriate manner they deem fit. The manager must constantly adjust this speech for each person that he meets with to ensure a satisfactory outcome. Though employees must mainly focus on how to communicate with management, there are various factors they must also take into consideration. How an employee takes in what an authority figure is saying to them greatly depends on their closeness with management, how they feel about the subject, concern for the subject, their current mindset, and their differences in position. As a receiver, an employee can choose how to accept a message being given to them by their employer. In the previous example between Manager A and Employee B, it was said that Manager A would have to speak with Employee B about the mistakes he’s been making in his work. Since both parties already have a close relationship, Employee B will be more open to hearing what Manager A has to say. Employee B may have had a bad morning and doesn’t want to talk to anyone, let alone hear what Manager A has to say about his errors. By having a platonic relationship with his employee, Manager A is at an advantage because Employee B will respect him for their friendship. Employee B will be more willing to take Manager A’s words into consideration and change his future actions. Managers must also be mindful of the language they use when speaking with their employees. If they are knowingly using jargon that their employee will not understand, communicating properly will be a difficult task. Not all conversations between employers and employees are ones that criticize their work. Before speaking to their employees, whether in a group setting or a one-on-one conference, a manager must first carefully examine the topic. He must verify that the subject matter would be something that is beneficial to the work force, or something that is unnecessary to building the work morale. In Hynes’ third layer, it is learned that in order to measure how successful a communication approach is, managers must also consider how to get their message across to their employees. As stated before, Manager A may want to email Employee B on the subject of his work. Before doing so, Manager A must fully analyze the words he will be saying to Employee B and recognize if the matter is something that may be better said in person. Also, in Employee B’s organizational culture, he may not be acclimated to receiving the critique of his work in writing. By speaking to Employee B personally, Manager A has the chance to show him that he respects him by meeting him face-to-face. To ensure a message is clearly stated to employees, managers must also take the necessary steps to find a comfortable place and time for them to meet. If the place of employment is one that deals with much noise such as a construction site, managers should take his directed employees to a comfortable place away from many outside distractions. Managers must also consider the amount of time it may take to speak to his workers. On a construction site, more time wasted can also lead to more money wasted. Managers must carefully plan their speech in an amount of time that does not interfere with the actual workload. By using these tactics laid out by Geraldine E. Hynes, managers can begin to set up their own communication strategies to ensure future success. Managers can compare and use these strategies as a baseline to communicating efficiently.

Nintendo Marketing Plan

| Marketing Plan Nintendo Encore| | | | | | | | | | | | | TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Executive Summary4 2. Problem Statement4 3. External Analysis5 3. 1 Macro Analysis5 3. 1. 1 Demographic5 3. 1. 2 Economic5 3. 1. 3 Social-Cultural6 3. 1. 4 Technological6 3. 2 Meso Analysis7 3. 2. 1 Global Video Game Industry Sales7 3. 2. 2 New Trend in Video Game Industry8 3. 2. 3 Porter’s Five Forces9 3. 3 Competitors Analysis10 3. 3. 1 Sony10 3. 3. 2 Microsoft11 3. 3. 3 Apple12 4. Internal analysis13 4. 1 The Company13 4. 2 Current Marketing Strategy13 5. SWOT Analysis16 5. 1 Strengths16 5. 2 Weaknesses16 . 3 Opportunities16 5. 4 Threats16 5. 5 Confrontation Matrix17 6. STP17 6. 1 Segmentation17 6. 2 Target Market22 6. 3 Positioning22 Strategy23 7. 1 Market Share Strategy23 We focus our area of expertise which is to entertain everyone, especially the household. We do not enter the segment that we don’t excel such as hardcore video games (wars, violence, etc. )23 7. 2 Product Strategy23 We e nter mobile gaming sector as the mobile gaming industry is booming. People are buying games and applications on every available device including iOS devices, smartphones, tablet PCs and more.Our main competitors, Sony and Microsoft are also jumping into the mobile gaming industry, in order to compete with them, we need to focus on the mobile industry. 23 We should continue to Improve our current consoles. Some of the ways that we can do this is by letting the consumer play DVD and MP3s, giving the Wii remote a rechargeable battery, and allow the consumer to save games on an SD card. 23 Product improvement will enable consumers to play social network games on Wii consoles, 3D games on Wii consoles. 23 7. 3 Pricing Strategy23 8. Objectives23 8. 1 Long Term Goals23 8. 2 Short Term Goals25 8. 2. Operational Goals25 8. 2. 2 Financial Goals25 ?To increase a 3% of growth rate in UK operation by the end of 201225 ?To reduce costs of goods sold by 10% in the end of 201225 ?To increase profit margin by 5% from UK operation by in the end of 201225 ?To invest 5% more on promotional cost by the end of 201225 9. Marketing Mix25 9. 1 Product25 9. 2 Price25 9. 3 Place25 9. 4 Promotion26 10. Budget26 11. Recommendations26 12. References27 13. Appendix28 1. Executive Summary At the moment, Nintendo is facing some serious problems regarding to its decreasing sales revenue, less productive and less innovative.It is important that in the coming three until five years that the company can gain back or even increase its sales and thus to reach higher annual growth rate. To overcome those problems mentioned above, Nintendo needs to focus on their competitive advantage and also entering new segment in the mobile gaming as well as social media gaming. From the external analysis we can see that UK is one of Nintendo’s most potential markets since it holds 12% of market share in video game industry. Furthermore, the increase use of mobile devices and internet connections have also been new opportunities for the company.Meanwhile, strong competitors (e. g. Sony and Microsoft )and the existence of substitute products (e. g. mobile gaming and social network gaming )have also caused serious threats to our company to lose more market share . Our company offers various product lines for its Nintendo Wii, namely â€Å"Wii Fit† which is a fitness game,† Wii Balance† Board which enables players to â€Å"head† virtual soccer balls and to experience ski jumping on a TV screen. Besides, handheld console like Nintendo DS is also our second best product. However, all these current product lines are apparently not sufficient in strengthening our sales revenue.Therefore new strategies formulated, they include improving our current Nintendo Encore consoles, inventing new 3D game consoles, and also switching handheld gaming to mobile devices and social network gaming. In short, we will mainly use line extension in our strategy. In addition to that, h igher investment on our Research and Development Department and stronger promotion activities will also be implemented in the coming 3 horizontal years. We will use our current distribution channels including retailers and outlets.Online selling through company websites and another webshops are also included. Some promotion activities include advertisement through TV commercials, newspapers, posters, billboards, social media pages and special display spaces in retailers and outlets. Finally, the budget highlights some key financial figures such as an 10% decrease in COGS by the end of 2012 2. Problem Statement For many years Nintendo had been number one console manufacturer in the video games industry. However, the company is losing sales as well as market share to its competitors for some reasons.First, some competitors have become more innovative because they have improved the technology discovered initially by Nintendo in creating their Wii. It is very important to remain innovat ive in this highly competitive industry and we could say that the company might stayed too long on their ‘comfort zone’ with the launch of the Wii which was a massive success. It did not take long before the competitors created imitations of the similar technology and, even more they developed further making other game consoles (Xbox360 and Play Station) which are more appealing due to the new features.As a consequence at the moment Nintendo has been a step behind them. Furthermore the needs of the gamers are changing in the day by day basis. Nowadays more and more people do not play video games in front of the TV like they did before since the development technology has made the TV unnecessary. The introduction of smart phones and tablets have change the gamers’ way on playing video games. These new gadgets allow people to be 24-7 connected on the internet and the amount of games available online that can be play on a telephone or a tablet is huge.Therefore, mob ile device gaming is a segment with a fast growth rate at the moment, though the world is in a recession. All these developments have created a new type of market. The video games industry has changed dramatically, from a teenage boy playing in front of the TV to a business man or woman playing on a smart phone, blackberry or tablet. Video games are socially accepted as an entertainment tool and has being viewed positively. Finally new online companies are creating new games that do not need a console so they can be played easily, anytime and anywhere.This factor affects our sales dramatically because our product might be seen as old fashion. Nintendo however is not present in this new market and therefore it is very important to take in consideration to enter this new area because at the moment the company does not have products that satisfy those new needs resulting in the loose of sales and consequently revenues. 3. External Analysis 3. 1 Macro Analysis 3. 1. 1 Demographic The cu rrent population in the United Kingdom (UK) has reached 62. 3 million based on mid-2010 estimation and this puts UK on the 22nd position worldwide based on total population point of view.This number has increased by an average of 0. 6 percent each year since 2001. Furthermore, natural change which is the difference between births and deaths has accounted for an increasing proportion of the total population change in this country. In 2011 there are 17. 9 million families in the UK and of these 12 million consisted of a married couple with or without children. There are also 26. 3 million households of which 29% consisted of only one person while almost 20% consisted of four or more people. The density in this country is around 255. 6/km2. 3. 1. 2 EconomicUK’s economy has been the sixth-largest national economy measured by nominal GDP and seventh-largest measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). The total GDP has accumulated to $2. 253 trillion in 2011 and $35,646 per capita w ith 0. 8% of annual growth and 1. 2% projected for 2012. The main sectors include agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services industries. The number of real GDP fell slightly in the last few years due to the recession that hits EU region. Meanwhile the current unemployment rate in UK is 8. 4% compared to its employment rate of 70. %. According to the report from the Office for National Statistics, the inflation (CPI) in UK stands around 4. 2% in December 2011 with the largest downward pressures of change in CPI came from petrol, gas and clothing 3. 1. 3 Social-Cultural British people show high appreciation on certain cultural issue for example literature, education, sports and another sociological aspects. Over 75% of UK citizens consider themselves to belong to a religion while only 27% of them who regularly attend religious services according to a report from Gallup International.Weekends are considered important occasion for families in the British society because paren ts are free after working for five days during the week and therefore the chance when families can spend time together. An Euro statistic survey showed that UK citizens spend about 45% of their free time watching television, 24% on socializing, 22% on sport and hobbies and 10% on other activities. Some popular sports in UK are rugby, tennis, cricket and football. Meanwhile, average of only 15 minutes a day are spent on doing sports by the either young or old British people. 3. 1. 4 TechnologicalThe technology sector has shown big changes through the years. The use of mobile phones as well as internet services has increased dramatically in the last ten years. For example in the UK there is a significant growth in the use of mobile internet in the previous 12 months with an extra 6 million people using their mobile phone to access the internet from 44% to 71% in one year. The graph below shows us some information about the use of internet from 2009 until 2011 divided in 6 groups of ag e categories. Graph 1. Mobile Phone Internet Connections 2009-2011 Source: Office for National Statistics, 2011We can see that the most active internet browsing are the first 3 groups which range from 16 until 44. Moreover, the usage of mobile internet has doubled from 2009 to 2011. This will be a perfect chance for companies that are related or engaged to this field to strengthen their position in the market. 3. 2 Meso Analysis 3. 2. 1 Global Video Game Industry Sales The gaming industry is one of the most dynamic growing sectors in the last century. The projected total sales of video game industry in 2011 was around $65 billion compared to the revenue in 2007 which was $41. billion as shown in the next graph. This number will keep growing in the future. According to the Price WaterhouseCooper’s report â€Å"Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2008-2012†, the console games category is growing by 6. 9 per cent annually. Meanwhile the global video game industry is g rowing at the annual rate of 10. 3 per cent. By looking at the graph we might conclude that this particular industry is currently still growing at relative high speed. This means great opportunity for companies whose main focus are on this field. Graph 3. Global Video Game Revenue Source: PriceWaterhouseCooperFurthermore, the table below shows us the top ten markets for global video game business. It reveals the average amount of money spent on game consoles, revenues and percentage of market share of each country. The USA has the biggest market share about 40% with the revenue around $22 billion, while the UK is on the second position with 12. 57% of market share and total revenue $6. 825 billion. After that Japan follows with 11. 87% of market share and revenue of $6. 443 billion. Table 4. Major Markets of Video Game Industry Source: VGsales 3. 2. 2 New Trend in Video Game IndustryAs stated in the introduction part, the video gaming on mobile devices is the current trend worldwide . People feel the need of playing game everywhere and anytime when they are not at home. Another supporting factor is the availability of internet access to mobile devices. By referring to the Graph 1. Mobile Phone Internet Connections 2009-2011, the numbers of people who use the internet connection through their mobile devices has doubled in the last three years. It has created more options for the consumers on the video games they wish to play and how or when they want to play. 3. 2. 3 Porter’s Five Forces . 2. 3. 1 Threat of New Competition In UK video game industry, the threat of new competitors will be unlikely occurred due to many barriers in this sector. These barriers prevent new entrance to the industry and this means that company like Nintendo do not need to worry about the possible new competitors in a certain length of period. 3. 2. 3. 2 Threat of Substitute Products Nowadays people travel more often that includes longer time and distance than few decades ago. The needs of having mobile devices or portable electronic devices such as tablets during their travel time become significant.This segment creates the threat of substitute product to Nintendo with their mobile video gaming. Another substitute product for Nintendo is social network gaming, in which consumer can play games through their social network pages or account. 3. 2. 3. 3 Bargaining Power of Customers Heavy gamers might have formed strong attitude towards their favorite game consoles. However, for majority of casual gamers, most video game consoles deliver more or less the same value that is to entertain during their leisure time.Therefore, choosing another video game consoles when the first choice is not available can be easily done and this means that our consumers have high bargaining power 3. 2. 3. 4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers In manufacturing video game consoles, Nintendo’s suppliers might have high bargaining power since the company depends highly on suppliers in producing specific custom-made computer chips which are used in the consoles. Moreover, our suppliers might also decide to enter the same market where Nintendo is currently serving by producing their own consoles.Therefore, the possibility of our suppliers becoming our competitors is always a concern in this business. Moreover, the decision of switching from one supplier to another can also be very difficult due to time, costs and energy consumption. 3. 2. 3. 5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry Big market players in UK video game industry are always at the edge of inventing and producing the newest innovation in the shortest period as possible. When one company starts to introduce a new product in the market, then the competitors will also do the same or even develop a higher level roduct. This means that in video game industry Nintendo is facing a high intensity of competitive rivalry. 3. 3 Competitors Analysis 3. 3. 1 Sony Profile of competitor: ‘’Sony is committed to developing a wide range of innovative products and multimedia services that challenge the way consumers access and enjoy digital entertainment. By ensuring synergy between businesses within the organization, Sony is constantly striving to create exciting new worlds of entertainment that can be experienced on a variety of different products’’, says Sony about their company.The 8 major product categories Sony is active in are: Audio, Video, Photography, Home Cinema, Computers, Communication, Semiconductors, Electronic components . Threats they can pose: Sony has recently registered for a patent on incorporating real-life with video-games in the form of a â€Å"depth sensing device†; â€Å"a three-dimensional camera† that uses â€Å"controlled infrared lighting† to scan an area. This is proof that they are thinking ahead to a new console already, which means we need to make haste in our development. Objectives of competitor:Sony’s areas which t hey are focusing on to expand can be divided into four parts: Networked Products and Services, 3D World, Competitive advantages through differentiated technologies and Emerging markets. Strategies they are pursuing and how successful are they: They are introducing the Sony tablets S1 and S2 to enter the media entertainment on tablets market, and while this could very well be successful it is not a market we are currently aspiring to enter so the effect on our sales needs to be researched further.Another broad strategy they are incorporating is to lower their prices since sales of certain products have been low due to high prices. They have consistently been cutting the prices of their products, including their games and game consoles, so meeting these prices is imperative. Strengths and weaknesses: An example of Sony’s strengths is the fact that they have a strong brand image, as people who have had their most successful console, the PlayStation 2, will have positioned them f avorably in their minds as ‘the company who produced the PlayStation 2’.This means that they do have meanly loyal consumers. One of Sony’s weaknesses is that while they are present in many markets (ex. Gaming, photography, home cinema’s, computers, etc. ), they are not the leading company in any of them. Their product lines are too broad and they have to focus on too much to be able to be the market leader in specific markets, where Nintendo focuses on the gaming industry alone and Apple mainly focuses on its own software on computers, cellphones and IPods. This gives them an advantage and Sony a disadvantage.Another weakness is that the pricing of their latest PlayStation 3 has been relatively high compared to the other newer consoles on the market, and many consumers found this price to be too steep. Sales of the PlayStation 3 have therefore been slow, and Sony was not able to make the PlayStation 3 the success it should have been. Their new product pric ing strategy is something for us to focus on and to use to our advantage by pricing our products lower than theirs if possible and using market penetration as a pricing strategy. 3. 3. 2 Microsoft Profile of competitor: ’We are committed long term to the mission of helping our customers realize their full potential. Just as we constantly update and improve our products, we want to continually evolve our company to be in the best position to accelerate new technologies as they emerge and to better serve our customers’’ says Microsoft about their own company. They have 8 business divisions they focus on, namely: Interactive Entertainment Business, Windows Phone, Windows & Windows Live, Online Services, Server and Tools, Microsoft Business Solutions, Microsoft Office and Skype.Threats they can pose: The fact that they already have new products planned for release is a disadvantage as they will hit the market before our new product will, and they could benefit from that with their sales. Objectives of competitors: The objectives of Microsoft or 2012 are; to make the Windows Phone weather the strong competiton they expect to get from other mobile companies, to engage in media partnerships to make the Xbox a connected TV and media device and to make their PC Windows 8 program work on every platform (tablets, PC, etc. ).Strategies they are pursuing and how successful are they: One strategy of Microsoft to compete with the Nintendo Wii is the Xbox Kinect System, which allows users to play controller free (a feature the Nintendo Wii does not have) and has a similar motion detection play which Nintendo used for the Wii. This has enables them to fiercely compete with the Wii and gave the them an advantage that made many consumers consider buying the Xbox Kinect System over the Wii. Another thing they are focusing on is the incorporation of Xbox Live into the Windows phone platform. ’ Mobile phones as handheld gaming consoles are very challengi ng markets as phones have got better design and technology, and we’ve chosen to make our bet around the phone instead and add Xbox Live services to Windows Phone 7 instead’’, stated by Microsoft in their press release . The big hit for the future will be the release of the Xbox 720 late in 2013, and it is said that it will have 6 times the graphic capability of the current Xbox 360. This new Xbox will also be accompanied by a new version of the Kinect system which will have an on-board processor to be able to detect user motion better.Strengths and weaknesses: A major advantageous factor of Microsoft is that they already have some new developments and products coming out in the future. They are already one step ahead of us, both in terms of the phone as a handheld gaming-device as the new version of their Xbox 360 (with an even better version of their very competitive Kinect system)23/24. The sales of the Xbox 360 and Kinect have been good since they introduced the products, as they sold 66 million consoles and 18 million Kinect systems so far. A newer version of the Xbox would have many followers who were satisfied with the Xbox 360.A weakness is that, compared to Nintendo’s prices, the Xbox series has been priced relatively high. Even the games themselves rate $20 to $40 dollar more per game compared to Nintendo Wii games. 3. 3. 3 Apple Although Apple is not aiming for a top spot in the gaming industry, the convenience of the Iphone as a handheld gaming device has risen through the roof as many consumers download apps and games on their mobile to entertain them during their day. Why should consumers buy a separate Nintendo DS or other handheld device when they always carry around their mobile phone?This is a threat to us on the mobile phone platform, yet is it also a threat to our competitors who also have plans of integrating mobiles with handheld gaming. 4. Internal analysis 4. 1 The Company Nintendo is a company that manufactur es and distributes interactive entertainment products. It was founded and located in Japan with its main focus on the home entertainment and portable game devices. Nintendo also provides hardware and software for its video consoles. The company operates primarily in Japan, however its business has expanded globally.The main factory is located in Japan with subsidiaries in the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and Australia. Moreover this firm is also involved in the manufacturing and distribution of poker cards (Pokemon). 4. 2 Current Marketing Strategy Nintendo’s products include home video game consoles and handheld video game systems, such as Game Boy and Nintendo DS. The company also offers various product lines for its Nintendo Wii, namely â€Å"Wii Fit† which is a fitness game,† Wii Balance† Board which enables players to â€Å"head† virtual soccer balls and to experience ski jumping on a TV screen.The basic strategy that Nintendo has been usi ng is the expansion of the world wide gaming population. The company is encouraging people from all over the world, regardless of age, gender, language, cultural background or gaming experience, to embrace and enjoy video games as a way of entertainment. The firm wants to expand his market, by creating Nintendo DS which is a portable game system that has the goal of attracting the new gamers that demand a portable gaming device and, with a Wii console that targets the families because it put smiles in the people around the gamer.If we look at video games we can see that nowadays they are more accepted in society than before. Video games are used as a learning and entertaining tool for the youngest, a way of staying fit for the house wife and finally and more importantly playing a video game is something that the whole family can do together in the living room of the house so the family can have some quality time together. At the moment Nintendo wants to further the penetration of Wi i by encouraging communication in the living room of each user through continuous software launches which will positively surprise consumers with brand new game play.In addition, Nintendo will release Nintendo 3DS that allows people to play video games in 3-D without the need for any special glasses, and will strive to satisfy more people by offering innovative game-play with Nintendo 3DS. The brand Nintendo is one of the most recognized brands in the video games industry. The company has been operating since 1977 with color television games, and is consider being the oldest in firm in the market. It is one of the largest console manufactures in the world, and is a leader in the handheld console market.The company has released four generation of gaming console devices in the past 20 years; (Nintendo entertainment system, ; Super Nintendo Entertainment System; Nintendo 64; GameCube; Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi and Wii). In the handheld device segment, Nintendo DS hardware sold 27. 11 m illion units in 2010, Nintendo DSi which was lunch in 2008 sold more than 100 million units, faster than any console in the history of video games. In the console area Wii hardware achieved world sales of 70. 93 million units and Wii software achieved 16. 4 million units, Wii fit plus use to help people to be fit, sold 12. 65 million units globally, The new Super Mario Bros which allows four players to interact at the same time sold 14. 7 million units in 2010 . Due to all the previously mention Nintendo is well established Brand name in the Video game industry with 47. 2 percent of the market. Graph 5 & 6 Console Sales Market Share by Company & Positioning Key Consoles Source: The Video Gaming Industry Outlook, Business Insight, May 2011 The company can be found in countries such as in Japan, US , South and North America and Europe.The manufacturing premises are located in Japan and it operates throughout subsidiaries in US, Canada, the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and Austra lia. Moreover his global presence allows Nintendo to sell his products to most of the world. The company get his revenues as follows: 44% from America,33% from Europe,16. 1% from Japan and the rest from other countries . However not everything is good news for Nintendo, the company has been experiencing a decline of sales in 2010, The earthquake in Japan affected sales in that country. The operating profit in 2009 was 30. 9% going down to 24. 85% by 2010. Moreover declining operating profits affected the making profit capacity of the company affecting the confidence of the shareholders of the firm. In 2011 sales are declining as well falling below predictions. Heavy completion and the appreciation to the Yen against the Dollar, and the low price of the Wii consoles are affecting the profit were affecting the operating profits of the company Nintendo have only one source of income which is selling video consoles and video games. However, Sony and Microsoft have more sources or income .For instance Sony is a leader in the production of electro domestics, phones, computers, smart phones, tablets, audio systems among others. This gives to this company more resources that can be invest in R&D without taking a big risk. Microsoft is the world lieder computer manufacturer and this products are known globally. These two competitors improved the technology created by Nintendo with the Wii. Play Station and Xbox 360 have lunched better game consoles base on the revolutionary technology of the Nintendo Wii. Graph 7 Comparison between key video game consolesSource: The Video Gaming Industry Outlook, Business Insight, May 2011 The company depends heavily on outside manufactures for some of the parts of his products, moreover most of this suppliers are located in other countries. This could become a problem if any of the suppliers interrupt production, this could have a devastating effect in the company business performance. Also de possibility of any disagreement with these producers can create a problem for Nintendo 5. SWOT Analysis 5. 1 Strengths * Nintendo’s well-known brand * Existence in global market * Specialized in-house R&D department 5. Weaknesses * Limited source of income * Declining profit margins * Dependency on suppliers * Low investment in R&D compared to main competitors Sony and Microsoft * Low brand loyalty 5. 3 Opportunities * Dynamic growth of video game industry * The increasing use of mobile devices (iPhones, iPads, Smartphones, etc. ) * The easy access to internet connections * UK as the second biggest country holding video games market share * The high amount of average money spent on video consoles by UK consumers 5. 4 Threats * Strong competitive markets * Cheaper by-products (softwares) from competitors High varieties of competitors’ softwares (types of games) * Competitors’ better technological improvements 5. 5 Confrontation Matrix Graph 8 Confrontation Matrix 6. STP 6. 1 Segmentation Geographic in UK : | | Country | Unite Kingdom – is the largest video games market in Europe with the sales of $6 billion in 2008, however, the market has been fallen by 13% in 2011. | Major Cities | Birmingham EdinburghGlasgowLeedsLiverpoolLondonManchesterIn the major cities, there is a limited space and choices for children to play outside or adults to interact with each other. Climate| Rainy, cloudy and foggy. People prefer to stay at home rather than going out in such weather. | Density| Urban, suburban, rural | Population| The UK population is 62. 3 million by mid 2010. 16 – 59 year-old people are 43. 3 million; they are the major working people. ? The average gaming age is now 23+. ? 38. 2% of the UK population is an active computer gamer.? 51. 2% of British men and 25. 1% of British women aged 10-35 play games regularly. ? The average computer gamer has been playing for over 10 years. On average, gamers play for 11 hours per week. ? 27. 2% of all active gamers in the UK are wome n. ? The average age of the UK female gamer is 30-35 years old. | | | | | Demographic in UK: | | Age: 6 – 55 year-old| Consumer needs and wants change with ages. As we offer game players to not only 12-16 years old boys, but also to mature generation. â€Å"Heavy† (At least once a week and up to daily: the younger the gamer, the more likely they are to play daily)48% of UK 6-65 year olds (21. 6m) – 27% male (12m), 21% female (9. m)â€Å"Medium† (1-3 times a month)7% of UK 6-65 year olds (3m) – 3% male (1. 4m), 4% female (1. 6m)â€Å"Light† (Less than once a month) 4% of UK 6-65 year olds (1. 9m) – 2% male (0. 7m), 3% female (1. 2m)Age 6 – 10: Light users. They like to play games with their friends and classmates either by internet or individually. Age 11 – 15: Medium users. Most of people from this group are still at school; they play games via mobile and internet with friends and classmates. Age 16 – 24: Heavy us ers.These people are very busy with establishing a career, starting a family, getting started in their home and have a bit of fun as well. Age 25 – 35: Heavy users. Age 36 – 50: Medium users. As for this group, besides males, the females who plays games, most of them are housewives and have several children at home. The purpose they play it because their children are at school or they want to keep fit. They are not heavy users. Age 51 – 65: Light users, most of them are either housewives or retired people.Some of them are still very active and play Nintendo with their grandchildren. | Gender: male, female| We are offering a game machine to both males and females. As we know, boys like soccer and fighting games better, but girls like sports and dancing games more. To make sure that we will fulfill the wants, we have to develop games, which fit for both genders at the same time. | Family size: 2-4| Most families nowadays have 2-4 people, but we have to say there a re some over 20 year-old young adults are living by themselves. | Income: | Average income is 1200 pounds. Generation: Baby blooming generation,Generation X, generation Y| For the baby blooming generation, we say that most of them are over 40 years old. They could use our product because they are either housewives or have children, in that case they are light users and just want to keep in fit. With the younger generation, we should realize that smart phone are their â€Å"best toy† for people under 18 years old, and for people over 18 years old, mobile phones are their â€Å"best mate† which could help them to find friends, places, read a book and etc.If we want to develop a new product, we need to relate our games with their so-called â€Å"toys† or â€Å"mate†. | | | Behavior: | | Benefits:| Fun, entertaining, keep fit, increase self-esteem, improve social skills, stress relief, improve eyes and hands coordination and learning. | User status:| We defin ed a â€Å"gamer† as someone who had played a game on a mobile, handheld, console, PC, Internet or interactive TV at least once in the last 6 months: a broad definition designed to capture any â€Å"light† gamers as well as medium or heavier gamers. Loyalty status:| No brand loyalty, since consumes are easier to switch to a new and better quality and technology game machine. | Usage rate:| – â€Å"Heavy† (At least once a week and up to daily: the younger the gamer, the more likely they are to play daily)48% of UK 6-65 year olds (21. 6m) – 27% male (12m), 21% female (9. 6m)- â€Å"Medium† (1-3 times a month)7% of UK 6-65 year olds (3m) – 3% male (1. 4m), 4% female (1. 6m)- â€Å"Light† (Less than once a month) 4% of UK 6-65 year olds (1. 9m) – 2% male (0. 7m), 3% female (1. m) | Attitude toward product:| 6 – 25 years old: Enthusiastic26 – 36 years old: Positive neutral37 – 65 years old: Neutral There are certain amount of people in the above groups are Negative about our products. | | | Psychographic in UK Social Class| The Upper ClassOften people with inherited wealth. Includes some of the oldest families, with many of them being titled aristocratsThe Middle ClassThe majority of the population of Britain. They include industrialists, professionals, and business people and shop owners. Lower or Working ClassPeople who are agricultural, factory workers.The British Class System todayAlthough some people in the UK still refer to themselves as â€Å"working-class†, â€Å"lower-middle† or â€Å"upper-middle† (and of course there are those who think of themselves as the â€Å"elite† class), to the majority of the British the meanings don't seem to matter much these days. | Lifestyle| Teenagers: They use mobile phones a lot for gaming, communicating and Facebook. (Mobile heavy users)Adults: They use mobile phones also quite often for communication, agendas a nd few of them use that for on-line gaming.Retired people: Most of them who have a mobile phone are used as just a phone, to communicate with people for emergency. | Occupation| Kindergarten children Primary school studentsMiddle school students High school students College studentsHousewivesWorkers Retired people| 6. 2 Target Market After analyzing the segmentations, we are targeting the groups of people as follow: – All the 7 major cities in UK. | -16 – 59 years old people are 43. 3 million, they are the major working people . (But however we also target the people from 6-16 years old)| – Occupation: Children, teenagers, workers, housewives, retired people. To make these targeting groups, we based our brand image and our products functions. The main point is to entertain people, it doesn’t certainly mean that we have to fulfill only young boys’ needs and wants, but we are targeting more variety groups of people. For example, as in one family, if there are 4 members who are a housewife (43 years old), husband- businessman (45 years old) and a son (16 years old), a daughter (10 years old). They just have to buy one gamer to entertain the whole family. For housewife, she could keep herself still in shape by doing some yoga while the kids are at school. * For husband, he could play some games as darts or golf during the weekend. * For the little son, he can play super Mario or online game with his classmates after school. * For the daughter, she can invite her friends over to play the †just dance† game. 6. 3 Positioning Nintendo has been a major contender in the video industry for past several decades, and has faced the challenge of developing and maintaining the competitive advantage over the years.With the introduction of Nintendo Wii console, the company gained a stronghold as a leader in the video game industry. However, Sony and Microsoft are quickly gaining on Nintendo’s competitive advantage, forcing t he company to monitor to reevaluate its strategies. To maintain the competitive advantage, Nintendo must looking forward influencing the customers of Sony and Microsoft, continue developing innovative technologies, and also consider the impact of the social networking and mobile devices on the gaming industry.Nintendo is delivering the fun gaming experience to customers. Since it has a unique advantage to its competitors. They do not providing the violence games as shooting for teenage boys which are the common gamer user in the society. That’s the reason Nintendo could target a wide age and occupation range customers. Strategy 7. 1 Market Share Strategy We focus our area of expertise which is to entertain everyone, especially the household. We do not enter the segment that we don’t excel such as hardcore video games (wars, violence, etc. ) 7. 2 Product StrategyWe enter mobile gaming sector as the mobile gaming industry is booming. People are buying games and applicati ons on every available device including iOS devices, smartphones, tablet PCs and more. Our main competitors, Sony and Microsoft are also jumping into the mobile gaming industry, in order to compete with them, we need to focus on the mobile industry. We should continue to Improve our current consoles. Some of the ways that we can do this is by letting the consumer play DVD and MP3s, giving the Wii remote a rechargeable battery, and allow the consumer to save games on an SD card.Product improvement will enable consumers to play social network games on Wii consoles, 3D games on Wii consoles. 7. 3 Pricing Strategy We are focusing on keeping the existing product, however we should be not expanding ; improving current product that we have in order to attract more consumers and keep developing product till it meets consumer’s needs. Since there is strong competition in a market from Sony and Microsoft, often customers are faced with a wide choice of who to buy from. They may buy fro m the cheapest provider or perhaps from the one which offers the best customer service.Nintendo, being the cost leader therefore can offer prices lower than the competitors. 8. Objectives 8. 1 Long Term Goals * To be the biggest video game manufacturer in terms of market share in UK in the coming five years (2013-2017) * To realize a total 15% of annual growth rate of the UK operation in the first five years starting from January 2013 * To make the Nintendo Encore brand the most preferred video game brand of 6 – 65 years old of family and casual gamers in UK by January 2017 8. 2 Short Term Goals 8. 2. 1 Operational Goals To realize a total sales of 6 million units Nintendo consoles in UK market by December 2013 * To increase UK customers’ brand awareness by December 2012 through intensive advertising programs * To invest 10% of UK’s annual revenue in Research ; Development Department starting by beginning of 2012 * To put the Wii encore on the market by July 201 2 in the UK market * To train * To maintain good relationship with customers through social media pages by updating newest product information starting from June 2012 8. 2. Financial Goals * To increase a 3% of growth rate in UK operation by the end of 2012 * To reduce costs of goods sold by 10% in the end of 2012 * To increase profit margin by 5% from UK operation by in the end of 2012 * To invest 5% more on promotional cost by the end of 2012 9. Marketing Mix 9. 1 Product For the UK market our main focus on the product will be Nintendo Encore consoles. Meanwhile our handheld consoles such as Nintendo DS and its product lines will still be manufactured and sold as they are at the current moment.However, new improvements will be created to fulfill consumer’s needs in mobile gaming sector. This can be in the form of mobile games applications (Apps) and it will allowed consumers to play Nintendo’s games through their mobile devices. Below are more options on our product development: * Development of more varieties of new games * Concentration on 3D consoles * Reintroducing old famous games in new Nintendo consoles and mobile gaming application with better quality and features. 9. 2 Price * Using the current consoles price as the basic price reference * More for less strategy will be implemented Bundle price(Wii+ Super Mario New Limited Edition, buy 2 get 1 free, Wii Encore+ accessories) 9. 3 Place * Current distribution channels ; outlets (big retailers, smaller digital shops, toy stores) * Online selling through company websites and another online stores such as Amazon, eBay, etc. 9. 4 Promotion * Advertisement through television commercials, posters, billboards, social medias. * Buy some display space in outlets * Training and distributing the specialized sales team in outlets and retailers that sell our consoles 10. BudgetOur budget is based on the 3-year forecast starting from 2012 and can be found in the appendix. Some important points are: * Cost of goods sold is expected to decrease 10% in 2012. * Advertising/ promotional costs are increasing * Income tax is 10% 11. Recommendations If Nintendo want to recover sales and become number one in the video games industry is necessary to take some actions: One way to accomplish this is to extend or expand its video game genres to attract more gamers than the family-friendly games. If we look at our competitor we can see that they ocus on intricate fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) for mature audiences. When we develop games for this groups the company will be in better position to compete with Sony and Microsoft, however, this could risk damaging Nintendo’s brand and to move from one public to another can have possibly more negative effects than positive. Another option is for Nintendo to continue developing innovative games and technology. As an example we can mention Nintendo’s recent introduction in Japan of the 3DS, a hand-held console that allows users to pl ay games in three-dimension.Because of this we can say that the company is a leader in handheld consoles, and this new console definitely helps the company maintain its competitive industry in that field, moreover Nintendo could start to develop a similar 3D capability for the Wii to further revolutionize the gaming experience. Lastly Nintendo should consider to expand to social networking and mobile devices, which is growing rapidly. More than one third of mobile phones owners play video games whit their telephone. To enter this market Nintendo could consider develop simple, puzzle-type games for Facebook and mobile devices.As a consequence the company would align with the current focus on simple and casual gamers and more importantly it can open a brand new market with enormous potential given the popularity of smart phones and tablets at the moment. The company can further develop its capabilities to allow users to play social networking games on the Wii console. As a conclusion Nintendo must continue with the development of innovative technology and new game concepts. It is necessary to be realistic and in to take in consideration that the company has very strong competitors in this market.Moreover it is necessary to pay attention to the change in needs of our current and not customers so the company can deliver customer satisfaction if we want to remain profitable. 12. References Bob Holt, freelance writer – http://www. newjerseynewsroom. com/science-updates/xbox-720-release-may-compete-with-nintendo-wii-u Consumer Price Indices, December 2011. http://www. ons. gov. uk/ons/rel/cpi/consumer-price-indices/december-2011/index. html, accessed by March 2012 Daniel Eran Dilger, magazine writer – http://www. roughlydrafted. om/2006/11/22/playstation-3-vs-xbox-360-vs-nintendo-wii/ Howard Stringer, CEO Sony – http://www. sony. net/SonyInfo/IR/info/strategy/message. html Leisure activities in the UK, http://guides. wikinut. com/Leisure-activiti es-in-the-UK, accessed by March 2012 Microsoft, http://www. microsoft. com/about/companyinformation/ourbusinesses/en/us/business. aspx Most Britons, Canadians â€Å"Unchurched†, http://www. gallup. com/poll/19267/Most-Britons-Canadians-Unchurched. aspx, accessed by March 2012 Organization for National Statistics UK, http://www. ns. gov. uk/ons/rel/family-demography/families-and-households/2011/stb-families-households. html Pascal Gobry, Senior Research Analyst at Business Insider Intelligence – http://articles. businessinsider. com/2012-01-10/research/30610635_1_windows-phone-steve-ballmer-microsoft-ceo Robert Purchese, Senior Staff Writer of Eurogamer. net – http://www. eurogamer. net/articles/2012-02-21-sonys-ps-eye-creator-patents-kinect-like-tech Sony, http://www. sony. net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/ United Kingdom, http://www. imf. rg/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata, accessed by March 2012 What do British people like doing at the weekends, http://www. woo dlandsjunior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/weekends. htm, accessed by March 2012 Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer news editor – http://www. eurogamer. net/articles/2010-10-25-nintendo-apple-is-our-greatest-threat Zach Honig, Senior associate editor – http://www. engadget. com/2011/08/16/sony-drops-ps3-price-to-250-in-us-250-in-europe/ 13. Appendix ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. ons. gov. uk/ons/taxonomy/index. html? nscl=Population,

Chalice Wine Essay Example for Free

Chalice Wine Essay Chalice Wine Group is a publicly traded company that, through numerous partnerships, owns and/or operates a number of vineyards and wine manufacturing companies in California’s Sonoma valley. Previously, they enjoyed a time of profitability. Yet in recent years, expansion has saw a decrease in their level of profitability, followed by a repeating period of net income losses. The goal of the case is to determine whether the operation of a small winery can be a profitable venture. Upon reading the Chalice Wine Case, the primary issue that I have identified, is that the management of the company has not crafted a clear and identifiable mission. †¢As currently structured, Chalice Wine Group is attempting to be a â€Å"vertically† integrated company. In this they are attempting to accomplish ever step in the wine business. They are making their own grapes, processing their own grapes, bottling, and lastly shipping them to various distribution outlets. This is fine, as long as they are able to create an extremely efficient model to do so. But unfortunately, as their results indicate, they are not efficient enough to make this current model work. There are a number of possible avenues that Chalice Wine Group needs to explore, among those are: -Why are they paying a price for grapes(from themselves! ) that is so in excess of the market rate? There are currently some transfer issues in place, management needs to explore these costs. -Pressing and manufacturing of the wine: The costs of the machinery involved, is extremely expensive. What is Chalice doing with their equipment during the time periods in which there is no production? How are they utilizing this excess capacity? They can either outsource this to another company, or utilize this capacity to process wine for others. -Shipping and distribution: Why are they handling this process themselves? This is easily something that should be handled outside. †¢Secondly, they wish to be a niche wine provider, by manufacturing a high quality, high cost product. The problem is that this statement essentially contradicts their company’s vertical structure. This is illustrated through examination of some of their shipping/bottling practices and part of their distribution chain. -They do not package and bottle their products according to the same quality standards. For example, they are using different quality bottles and boxes for different products. In this eyes of the consumer, this can be inferred as different levels of wine quality. -Next, the desire to be a small niche provider is a direct contradiction to the thought of distribution through food markets. This alone can allow the consumer to infer a mass marketed, broadly distributed product of lower quality. If they want to be a niche provider, they need to market and distribute themselves as such. Chalice Wine Group needs to decide what kind of company they want to be, and as such, needs to structure themselves in a way that will help best meet that mission and goal in the most efficient manner possible. Chalice Wine. (2017, Mar 18).

Accounting Information System in Companies in Australia Research Paper

Accounting Information System in Companies in Australia - Research Paper Example The increasing role of AIS in strategic decisions of companies has drawn the attention of management and researchers towards the role of AIS in companies. Toluyemi (1999) argues that accounting information is important for the management of an organisation just like any large stock holdings therefore, to make informed decisions through this information, it should be distinctively stored, updated, retrieved and disseminated. Shareia (2006) adopted a different approach and he studies the present and potential role of AIS in improving the developments in developing economies especially in Libya and he argues that to achieve the goal of developments in the countries like Libya, development and use of accounting information systems and assessment of the factors affecting them is important. Hall (2001 cited in Valdez, 2008) argues that accounting information system which is well organised will make everyday business relatively easier and more effective. Carlson and Parker (1998) emphasises on the importance of computerised accounting information systems in success of businesses and argues that average number of companies facing computer outage for ten years will never fully recover and fifty percent of them are out of business within five years. Sajady, Dastgir & Nejad (2008) studied the role of accounting information systems in companies listed on Tehran Stock Exchange and found that AIS improved internal controls, decision making, companies’ transactions and quality of financial reporting.

World civilization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Heart of Darkness - Essay Example He says: He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him. The fascination of the abomination—you know. Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate. This quote serves as pre-emptive explanation for why Marlow could not deny the power Kurtz held over other humans, despite his barbarity. Marlow then goes on to establish his love of reason and things that are real. In describing the appearance of several natives along the shore, Marlow relates: It was something natural, that had its reason, that had a meaning. Now and then a boat from the shore gave one a momentary contact with reality. It was paddled by black fellows. You could see from afar the white of their eyeballs glistening. They shouted, sang; their bodies streamed with perspiration; they had faces like grotesque masks—these chaps; but they had bone, muscle, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement, that was as natural and true as the surf along their coast. They wanted no excuse for being there. They were a great comfort to look at. For a time I would feel I belonged still to a world of straightforward facts; but the feeling would not last long. Something would turn up to scare it away. The love of the real and tangible, of work, effort and improvement are themes Conrad returns to again and again through Marlow. The character Marlow likes belonging to a world where things really are as they appear. He does not like intrigues, rumors, or deviousness. He likes steel plates and rivets, honest emotion and truthfulness. The honest work, the seat and effort of the natives was solace to Marlow as he was surrounded by plotting privateers. Marlow’s distain for intrigues and falsehood is embodied by the station manager. Of him, Marlow says: He was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness. That was it! Uneasiness. Not a definite mistrust—just uneasiness—nothing more. This character is so loathsome to Marlow that he doesn’t even inspire a single honest emotion. The manager is held in contempt in every way by Marlow. The only possible complement that can be said of the man is that he survives, but even that is not attributed to any sort of effort on his part. It is simply a result of his constitution. In fact, the whole of the station is repugnant to Marlow. He states: There was an air of plotting about that station, but nothing came of it, of course. It was as unreal as everything else—as the philanthropic pretense of the whole concern, as their talk, as their government, as their show of work. The only real feeling was a desire to get appointed to a trading-post where ivory was to be had, so that they could earn percentages. The station was a mash of plots and intrigues that were so contrived as to never even come to any account. The inhabitants of the station held titles but acted in no manner to accomplish the work associated with the title given. Work, and the importance of it is mentioned by Marlow on several occasions in telling his story. This is important because it is a vital link between himself and Kurtz. Marlow reveals his feelings towards work when he stated: I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work,—the chance to find yourself. Your own reality—

ORGANISATIONAL RESEARCH METHODS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

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Microprocessor Industry - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Intel has a competitive advantage creating its brand image; a point that effects from numerous competitive advantages indulging technological, distribution marketing as well as the ownership of Intel manufactures PCs. However, to improve on their value Intel is trying to keep their clients as their priority and promote dynamics on a regular basis to meet the demand of the employers. Product penetration and market penetration is very instrumental as they center on the existing markets. Moreover, relevant diversification for Intel will be a huge triumph especially as they have centered on broadband and portion. In conclusion, Intel has been very instrumental in the microprocessor industry and might have had some lapses last year that it is never too late to correct. The researcher thinks the company should put the customer’s interests at heart to make more sales and avoid what had happened last year when the world was going tablets. This report will analyze the business strategy of Intel Company looking into details at its resources and capabilities. It will also look into the Critical appraisal where the author compares the Intel’s business strategy to the success factors in this industry. The semi-conductor industry lives and perishes- by a simple creed: smaller, cheaper and faster. The advantage of being tiny is simple: finer lines insinuate more transistors can be fixed onto the same chip. The more the number of transistors on the chip the more efficient it is. Thanks in the large chunk to the competition and to new technologies that reduce the cost of production per chip, in just months; the price of a new chip can fall to 50%. As a result, there is a constant pressure exerted on the chipmakers, to improve their chips and come up with something better and more pocket-friendly than what redefined state-of-the-art a few months ago.

Business Start-Up from Scratch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Start-Up from Scratch - Essay Example Smart thinking should be employed in order to have potential for growth (Marinel 5). Factors to consider when starting There are various factors to consider before starting a business. One factor is the area of expertise and knowledge. The entrepreneurs must come together and evaluate the level of expertise in providing the good or service they intend to market through their business. For a business to be successful, the business partners must have some experience in the field in which they want to invest. Many businesses fail due to lack of knowledge. The exposure could come from employment in other companies or organizations offering similar products or services. The knowledge should be reinforced by research into the prospects of the product faring well in the market to avoid frustrations. Every niche of a business requires a specific set of skills and, therefore, some require more expertise than others. The knowledge should be coupled with the desire to succeed. Many starters fai l in business due to diminishing passion once they face hardships. The people who want to start the company must, therefore, have a culmination of passion if the business is to take off the ground (Marinel 5). The second factor to consider is the market and demand for the product. Before investing in the product, it would be necessary to determine how much of the product will be sold in certain duration. This is a crucial marker for projecting the profitability. The main reason for starting a business is to make a profit and profit involves sale volumes. The product should be sold in areas where its demand is felt. Some products do well in the local market while others would do well in the international market. Extensive research should be done in order to determine the area in which the product will have enough demand to sustain the development of the business. The target customers should also be established. This helps in demarcating the market into various segments based on facto rs such as the lifestyle, age, and income. Accuracy in determining a market segment is essential to facilitate the recouping of the initial cost as well as driving the business forward. This becomes facilitated by the products ability to satisfy a need in the market. The product launch should also be timely in order to develop a customer base (Longenecker 28). Competition should be the next factor to consider. The entrepreneurs should be able to determine the level of competition they expect when entering the market. This is critical in determining whether they have a competitive advantage against the already established would be competitors. The competitive advantage receives creation if the customers perceive the product to be of superior quality than the others in the market. The product concept should be judged on the opportunity, for business it creates. A brilliant concept does not necessarily imply a fantastic investment opportunity (Longenecker 29). Technology of making the product should also be considered. With time, technological advances evolve in production of many goods in the market. Technological aspect makes a key factor in increasing the competitive advantage by being able to produce higher units of the product, and increasing the cost effectiveness. Once the product to be marketed has been determined, the investors should evaluate their technology to determine if it will help them satisfy the demand effectively, and whether it will reduce

Mexico Country Report Essay Example for Free

Mexico Country Report Essay The measures of economic development in Mexico include per capita GDP of about 9,000 dollars. Mexico has a population of about 110 million people. It has a relatively well developed infrastructure and communication systems. Adult literacy is about 94% for the males whereas 91% for the females. Most of the labor force is concentrated in the agricultural sector (4%), industries (26%) and service industry (70%). The life expectancy in Mexico is about 75. 19% at birth. This encompasses all the races and sexes (Kohler and Tausch, 2002) Dependency theory versus modernization theory Dependency theory describes poverty as a consequence of the manner in which a country is integrated into a system rather than lack of integration. Mexico is mainly involved with other developed countries in terms of exports and the imports as the main economic activities. On the other hand, the developed countries are rarely involved in such activities with the developing countries. They are mainly involved with other countries that are well developed as well as internal trade. This consequently leads to less bargaining power in the world market (Kohler and Tausch, 2002) Religion and politics There has been considerable shift as far as religion is concerned. This also involves the relationship between the church and the state. Mexico is primarily a Roman Catholic nation though there has been continuous expansion of other evangelical churches. Despite the several constitutional bans imposed on the churches, they have continued to involve themselves in political issues. The Catholic Church, for example, has continued to involve itself in sensitive issues which concern the public. Mexico is now a multireligious nation since other evangelical churches have continued to grow in numbers. This can be attributed to the recruitment efforts in the earlier years (in the 1980s and 1990s). There are a number of protestant churches in Mexico today such as Seventh Day Adventist, Assemblies of God and the Mormons. The growth was greatly reported mainly in the south eastern part of Mexico. These areas include Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana Roo and other States in Mexico (Nesvig, 2006). The church state relations in Mexico have been reported to be one of the main causes of confrontations in Mexico. The Catholic Church has continued to play multiple roles in this nation. The government’s effort to curtail this influence has not been very successful. The catholic involvement in several areas (such as charities and institutions) and their rising numbers was seen as a threat to the government. The church’s involvement in politics is currently seen as a move to express their democratic rights and fight for the rights of the citizens. Their aim is to fight for good governance and correct the State. Currently, the relationship between the church and the state is a realistic one. This is due to the abolishment of most restrictions that had been imposed in the past (Camp, 2007). Ethnic-cultural divisions There are several indigenous groups found in Mexico. They belong to different ethnic groups and political affiliations. It is worth noting that the Indians are not just one group but comprise several ethnicities with a common background (historical and the cultural backgrounds). There are several cultural subdivisions in Mexico. One of the main subdivisions identifies the central, south eastern, northern and south Mexico. The northern part of Mexico which had been sparsely populated for a long time is now occupied by a small group of indigenous people. It is referred to as the frontier culture and it has a sparse population. The central and western part of Mexico has dense population. There are a number of indigenous populations in the central parts, coastal plains and the sierras. The culture in Mexico is a diverse one made up of different kinds of identities (Camp, 2007). Women and development It is reported that women participation in economic issues has greatly increased compared to the past. Most women are also involved in other activities in the nation and are paid better wages compared to the past. Despite the fact that men are the main persons in politics, women have also begun to be involved. This has been seen in the leadership roles in certain political parties in Mexico. On the other hand, women have also been involved in other social organizations and movements. Despite the fact that the law clearly advocates for equality between women and men, there is still differences between the two. This can be seen in the types of privileges and their authority. Women are mostly involved in religious issues in Mexico (Roberts and McBee, 2008) Agrarian reform and the politics of rural change The agrarian reforms in Mexico have been one of the main accomplishments in Mexico though it was not an easy task. It is reported that most people had small plots of lands which were not enough to meet their needs. Most of these people were the campesinos. However, most of the privately owned lands were taken and redistributed. The ejido or community plots were the mode of redistribution of the lands. In this arrangement, the government was petitioned by the citizens to seize most of the privately owned properties. The land was owned by the state but every person was free to farm. This was done either individually or as a group but the land could not be sold by the Ejidatarios. They were also compelled to continue using the lands or else the right of use is withdrawn. Every person had the right to use the land including the Comuneros. The current scenario in Mexico is the continued struggle to redistribute the lands to the poor who are landless. This is carried out by most organizations (Roberts and McBee, 2008) Rapid urbanization and the politics of the urban poor The rapid urbanization in Mexico can be attributed to certain policies which had positive impacts ion the industrial sector. They led to an increase in industrial production. Despite the rapid urbanization, several problems have also been encountered. For example, most cities do not have efficient way of distributing water supplies. Secondly, the sewerage system is not a good one in most areas. The factors which have contributed to urban growth are population increase and urban migration. Migration can be due to the search of better opportunities or lifestyle (Roberts and McBee, 2008) Despite the fact that the poverty trends in Mexico have been improving since 2002, the urban poverty has continued to rise. This is the greatest challenge as far as the equitable distribution of resources is concerned. The rural areas have continued to be improved with time and the level of poverty reduced in these areas. Several factors can be attributed to this change. These include; diversified incomes from economic activities and other services like tourism. The main area that needs improvement is the urban areas. Most people in these areas usually toil very hard but are paid less. Most of their incomes are got as a result of manual labor (about 60%). Accessibility of opportunities to the poor has not improved in the urban areas. Revolutionary change/Soldiers and politics The revolution in Mexico began as early as 1910 and it involved several movements. It kept changing from not just a revolt but into a civil war which involved several parties. It led to the establishment of the constitution in 1917 by the representatives. The beginning of the revolution was in 1929 with the establishment of National Revolutionary Party (NRP). It hang on to power until the year 2000 (Hart, 2007). This revolution involved everyone including Mexican women and their impacts were felt during this period. It is reported that they took part in several activities, professions and took part in wars. Some of the famous known women participants were known as the Soldaderas who were closely involved with the militias. It is reported that the main reasons why women joined in such risky affairs was due to fear of being left alone by their husbands. Some were also involved because they saw this as a collective duty. Some of the women who took part in the revolutionary process include Hermila Galindo and Dolores Muro (Jandura, 2009). The political economy of third world development Mexico experiences a wide gap more as far as wealth distribution is concerned. The level of inequalities has continued to rise in this country especially with the introduction of certain economic policies. It has been reported that a lot of people live below the poverty line with a small number of people in the middle class. The level of poverty and marginalization has continued to spread in many parts of the country but are mostly seen in the southern and central parts of rural Mexico. Most settlements do not have the basic services and social amenities. Most of the poorest groups are the Indians who are also highly marginalized (Anderson and Glade, 1963). On the other hand, the wealthiest groups of people are mostly the whites. The differences between the rich and the poor are easily noticed in the modes of dressing and the lifestyles of the people. The usage of facilities also shows a difference. Wealthy people have access to the best facilities and institutions whereas the poor are not allowed to. These differences have led to discrimination in Mexico and ethnic rivalry. Most of the government’s help is directed to the urban areas (Villareal, 2010). References Anderson, C. W. Glade, W. P. (1963). The Political Economy of Mexico. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Camp, R. A. (2007). Crossing swords: Politics and Religion in Mexico. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Hart J. M. (2007). Revolutionary Syndicalism in Mexico. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://libcom. org/library/revolutionary-syndicalism-mexico-john-m-hart Jandura T. (2009). Revolutionary Mexican Women. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://www. ic. arizona. edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/mex-jand. htm Kohler G. and Tausch A. (2002) Global Keynesianism: Unequal exchange and global exploitation. Huntington NY: Nova Science. Nesvig, M. A. (2006). Local Religion in Mexico. Gainesville: University Press of Florida Roberts E. R. McBee G. W. (2008) Modernization and Economic Development in Mexico: A factor analytic Approach. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://www. jstor. org/pss/1152237 Villareal A. M. (March 31, 2010). US-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues and Implications. Retrieved on 22 August 2010 from http://www. fas. org/sgp/crs/row/RL32934. pdf

School Ethos and Policies Essay Example for Free

School Ethos and Policies Essay The phrase above is the school’s ethos and was inspired following collaboration with the children, staff and governors of the school; with all believing and accepting they have an equal part to play in ensuring all children have a right to quality first teaching. It is felt that the ethos reflects the vision of the school community and yet it is easy to be remembered and understood by all. It is used regularly to praise the children of their positive actions and if necessary remind them of what is expected of them. The schools aim is ‘To develop a shared love of learning between our children, staff and parents and the wider community. The school’s ethos is displayed outside the school building so even visitors and the wider community know what are aims are. The ethos appears on letters that are sent home, on the school website, in every class and in the hall. The children eat in the hall, with different members of staff also eating there in order to maintain sensible behaviour but also to enjoy the more informal time to chat together. We have assemblies in the hall, often inviting members of the wider community to hold assemblies; there have been cookery demonstrations, the police have been in to talk about internet safety and local religious practitioners give assemblies. The aims and ethos are reinforced in assembly as children share work, achievements and stories; learning from one another and from a variety of adults. The School’s rules support the ethos and aims; and are displayed in prominent places in the classroom and corridors so they are visible to all. (image 1)* We use kind hands and words * We are safe and sensible at work and play * We listen and work and learn together * We look after our school. Image 1 Image 2 The staff have an important responsibility in modelling standards of behaviour both with the children and with each other as colleagues as it is their example that has such an influence on the children. An optimistic and positive environment should be emphasised by all adults in the school to encourage children through example to have relationships based on fairness, kindness and understanding of the needs of the other children within the school. The staff attend regular meetings to share good practice, monitor the children’s learning and work cooperatively; they also attend INSET days to learn together. The children communicate the ethos and aims to visitors through their exemplary behaviour and joy at sharing their learning with each other, visitors and their families. We have class sharing assemblies for parents and families to see examples of current learning and for the children to talk about what they are doing in class. Families are always welcome to leave messages in the message books and they are also welcome to come in to school as parent helpers, help on school outings or to come in and share their skills e.g. RSPCA officer, fireman, grandparent to talk about being an evacuee. The school has a behaviour ‘traffic light’ system (image 2) which was instigated following discussions with the school council about having a visible system that is a constant reminder to children. Forgiveness is an important element and the fact that it is not the child who needs to change but the behaviour; therefore all children start afresh each day on the green lily pad regardless of anything that occurred on the previous day. Children move their name on to the amber lily pad if they break a school rule and have already been reminded beforehand. They then put a mark next to their name in one of the three circles on their lily pad. A ‘think sheet’ will then be completed by the child in their own time to reflect on the rule they have broken. This also enables the staff to keep a record of behaviours in school and to gain an overall understanding of certain behaviours over time. If that behaviour continues then another mark is made next to the name and the child is sent to the key stage leader and if is still continues the child is sent to see the head teacher to discuss their behaviour. All staff follows the same procedures and all keep a record of children who move in to amber and red. Children are motivated by positive praise. When the whole class remain on green they are awarded a ‘letter’. Foundation and KS1’s letter spell out ‘Super class’ and KS2’s ‘Super class award’. Once a class has received all their letters they are able to choose a class treat. The treat could be a disco, playing board games or talent shows to name a few! Those that get on to the gold lily pad are rewarded with a gold stamp and the child is rewarded with a ‘great to be gold’ sticker. A child who receives ten gold stamps has a lovely letter sent home. The school communicates its ethos and values to the staff through a number of different policies. The behaviour policy clearly states the guidelines which are to be followed so that each individual child is treated equally. The midday Managers also has a policy which enforces the school rules. Both positive and negative lunchtime behaviour is sanctioned in the same way by the lunchtime assistants so to provide continuity throughout the day. The school also communicates its ethos and values to the staff through the school rules which are displayed clearly throughout the school. I asked a number of parents if they knew what the school ethos and values were. Although they were not able to recite it word for word all knew the synopsis of it. All were also able to tell me that they were aware of it being in all the classrooms, at different points in the school, outside the school and on letters home. Someone also said with the words aside they feel the ethos and values are demonstrated in the way in which the children behave and in the atmosphere as a whole in school. Schools need to ensure that policies are in place and revised on a regular basis. Each policy should show both the date it was updated and also the review date. Model policies are available on the internet through local education authorities and these can assist the school when either drawing them up or when updating them. Both policies and procedures are updated regularly and monitored by senior management team, all staff and governors. The Local Authority and SIP also evaluate school policy regularly. The school also takes the views of parents seriously and will adapt should the need arise. In my opinion it would be interesting to provide feedback to behaviour policies by reviewing the behaviour management folders of each class on a monthly basis. My aim would be to collect the folders and look at the behaviours that are or have been an issue that month. It would obviously differ for each year group as each teacher will have a different behaviour focus and what is regarded as poor behaviour in reception would be totally different in Year 6. However, there may be certain issues repeating themselves across the school such as, forgetting PE kit, being unkind on the playground (anti bullying), not concentrating in class, not bringing reading diary into school. Once I had collated the information I would then analyse it and feedback to the head teacher so that an assembly could focus on the prominent issues so to emphasise the importance of bringing in a PE kit etc. A note could go on the website and also in the newsletter to communicate with parents. Also I would review the rewards achieved and investigate whether these impacted the child’s behaviour in a positive way. The review of the behaviour management folders could also be cross referenced against children who have an abnormal number of absences and also those who arrive late on a regular basis. By monitoring this cohort of children it would highlight if or where intervention may be needed. As a parent governor of the school I am regularly involved in the reviews of policies. I have a responsibility to review and give input to all policies that are being updated.

Nanostructure Optical Biosensors

Nanostructure Optical Biosensors 5.1 Mach–Zehnder nanowire biosensor for detection of E.coli Silica nanowires [208] offer several advantages over other types of nanowires since they are based on materials used in the most important photonic and opto-electronic applications within the visible and the near-infrared ranges and as a result their optical properties are familiar [209]. Light guided along the optical nanowire leaves a large fraction of the guided field outside the wire as evanescent waves [210], [211] making it highly sensitive to the index change of the surrounding medium. Phase shift of the guided mode caused by index change of the surrounding medium is used as a criterion for sensitivity estimation. Our simulation shows that optical nanowire waveguides are very promising for developing high-sensitivity optical sensors of significantly reduced sizes. In the aforementioned work, changes in the optical field profile, the power confinement, and the propagation constant of the guided optical mode along the sensing arm have been studied. In the present work, the aforementioned structure has been analyzed using the more rigorous and versatile FEM approach and the variation of the effective index; the optical power distribution of the guided optical mode in both the reference and the sensing arm of the sensor have been studied, by optimizing the sensitivity of important silica nanowire parameters, such as the fibre core diameter, the specimen refractive index, the wavelength, and the temperature. 5.2 Mach–Zehnder based sensor structure The proposed Mach–Zehnder-based biosensor system is formed by using two uniform silica nanowires: one used as a reference arm and the other as a sensing arm is presented in Figure 5.1(a). Both arms are immersed in aqueous solution and the surface of the sensing arm is silanized and biomodified with specific receptors for higher selective detection. A layer around the wire is formed by the complex of chemical linker, antibody and E.Coli respectively as shown in the cross section of the composite waveguide in Figure 5.1(b). The chemical linker is MUDA [mercapto undecanoic acid], its RI is 1.463 and thickness is 1.69nm and is used as linker for antibody (RI is 1.41 and thickness is 2.98nm) and the target antigen is E.coli with average RI of 1.37 and average thickness of 0.4 – 0.7 microns [212]. (a) (b) Figure 5.1: Schematic diagram of (a) the proposed sensor and (b) the cross section view of the composite waveguide, with a specimen layer. A probe light that is launched through the nanowire propagates through the first 3 dB coupler, operating as an optical splitter, which divides it between the sensing and the reference arms, and it finally recombines via the second 3 dB coupler, working as an optical combiner, as shown in Figure 5.1(a). The phase shift caused by the index change due to the specimen placed in the sensing arm is numerically calculated and evaluated from the simulated signal output of the lower nanowire, as presented in Figure 5.1(a). 5.2.1 Modal Solution Initially, the optical properties of the reference and the sensing arm of the single mode silica nanowires immersed in aqueous solution have been examined, where the latter is coated with the linker, antibody and E.coli under detection and the 3-D optical field profile of the mode of the two arms, for a core diameter, D, of 400 nm is presented in Figure 5.2. Figure 5.2: (a) 3-D field profile of the Hx mode for the reference and the sensing arm for D = 400 nm The refractive index of the single-mode silica nanowire and the aqueous solution were considered to be 1.482 and 1.355, respectively, at an operating wavelength of 325 nm [213]. As can be seen from the field profiles of the optical mode for a core diameter, D, of 400 nm, in the reference arm shown in Figure 5.2 (a), the optical field is more confined in the silica core and the aqueous solution does not have much effect on the field profile. However, for a core diameter, D, of 400 nm, in the sensing arm shown in Figure 5.2 (b) a small change in the refractive index profile produces a larger change in the field profile. As can be concluded evanescent field in the sensing arm expands more outside due to change of refractive index in the aqueous solution. The optical field confinement in the reference and the sensing arms can be better viewed from the normalized field profile along the horizontal (x)-axis, as presented in Figure 5.3 for nanowire core diameter, D, of 150 nm. As can be seen from the earlier curves in Figure 5.3, the normalized optical fields for the reference and the sensing arms have small variation in the optical field profile. Figure 5.3: Hx along the x axis for a fibre diameter of D = 150 nm. 5.2.2 Effective Index Variation Next, the variation of the effective reactive index of Hx11 in the reference and the sensing arms with the silica nanowire diameter, D, has been examined, and the results are presented in Figure 5.4. Here, the effective index of the reference arm and the effective index difference between the two arms is plotted against core diameter, over a range of 100 nm to 800 nm. As can be seen from the aforementioned characteristics, as diameter, D, decreases, the effective index also reduces, and the rate of reduction slowly increases. The effective index difference between the reference and the sensing arm is presented in Figure 5.4. It is shown in the Figure 5.1, the effective index difference between the reference and the sensing arm decreases with the increase of the core diameter. However, for a core diameter, D, of 100 nm, peak value in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff is obtained and as the core diameter increases the effective index difference decreases. Figure 5.4: Effective index (ne) and effective index difference (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff) between the reference and sensing arms as a function of the fibre diameter (D). The effective index of the sensing arm is higher than the reference arm. It is due to increase of refractive index in the sensing arm with the addition of linker, antibody and E.coli. It can be noted that as the nanowire diameter is increased, the effective index asymptotically approaches that of the Silica refractive index, when most of optical power is confined in the Silica core. The effective index is dependent on the refractive index of surrounding medium. Therefore, single mode nanowires are suitable for sensing elements and sensitive to the index change of the surrounding medium. Figure 5.5: Change in effective index (ne) and effective index difference (à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff) as a function of the wavelength (ÃŽ ») Next, the effective index for the reference arm and the effective index difference between the reference and the sensing arms are presented, with the variation of the wavelength, in Figure 5.5. As can be seen from the Figure 5.5, the effective index of reference arm decreases with the increase of the wavelength and the effective index difference increases linearly with the increase of the wavelength for core diameter of 400 nm. When the wavelength increases, the mode is weakly confined and penetrates more into the sensing region of the sensing arm hence increases the effective index. However, when the wavelength decreases, the mode is well confined and decays more into the core region hence decreases the effective index of sensing arm. 5.2.3 Power confinement Further, the power fraction in the aqueous solution for the reference and the sensing arm has also been studied with the variation of the nanowire core diameter and the result is presented in Figure 5.6. As can be seen from the aforementioned characteristics, for a core diameter, D, of 100nm the field extends mostly in the aqueous solution for both the reference and the sensing arms. However sensing arm exhibits more power in the aqueous solution than the power in the aqueous solution of reference arm. It is due to refractive index change in the aqueous solution of sensing arm when target antigen (E.Coli) is attached to immobilised antibody. As the value of D is increased further, the power in the aqueous solution is reduced since the field is more confined in the core region. Figure 5.6: Power fraction in aqueous solution for the sensing and the reference arms as a function of the fibre diameter (D). The change of the power fraction in the different regions of the sensing arm has been studied and is presented in Figure 5.7. As can be seen from the characteristics, shown in Figure 5.7, when the wavelength increases, the mode is weakly confined, and hence, less power is seen in the core region and more power is present in the cladding aqueous region. The mode is well confined for smaller wavelength values and more power is present in the core silica region. However, as the wavelength increases, the mode becomes weakly confined and more power is present in the aqueous solution region compared to the silica core region. Figure 5.7: Power fraction for the sensing arm as a function of wavelength for a fibre diameter of D = 400 nm 5.2.4 Effect of thickness Next, the change in the propagation constant ÃŽ ² of sensing arm and the power fraction in the aqueous solution of sensing arm as a function of the E.Coli thickness, for a core diameter of D = 400 nm, have been investigated and are presented in Figure 5.8. As the E.Coli thickness increases, both the propagation constant and the power fraction in the sensing arm decrease linearly. Figure 5.8: Change in propagation constant (ÃŽ ²) and power fraction in the E.coli with the variation of the E.coli thickness. As the thickness of E.coli increases the power fraction in the sensing arm and propagation constant of the sensing arm mode decreases with the increase in thickness of E.coli. This is due to the penetration of evanescent field into the sensing region decreases with increase of E.coli thickness. With the increase of sensing layer thickness evanescent field will not penetrate deep into the sensing region. However smaller nanowires with diameter of 100 nm and 200 nm may be used to penetrate more evanescent field into the sensing region. 5.2.5 Sensitivity The effective index change is produced either by a change of cover medium refractive index (homogeneous sensing) or by a change of thickness of E.coli which is immobilized on nanowire (surface sensing). Adlayer thickness and change of cover medium refractive index affects the effective index of the propagating optical mode. Measurement of sensitivity depends on optical field distribution in the sensing medium therefore the most important design task is to maximize the sensitivity of the biosensor. Figure 5.9 shows the change in effective index and waveguide sensitivity decreases with the increase in diameter, D, of silica nanowire. The larger effective index variation and waveguide sensitivity is achieved at a D = 100 nm. The greater the change in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff more sensitive the biosensor will be. Therefore, when D = 100nm maximum index difference is achieved. When the nanowire dimension becomes too large, most of the power is confined in the silica core and a smaller effective index difference is achieved hence lesser sensitivity. Figure 5.9: Variation of effective index difference, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  neff and waveguide sensitivity with Diameter, D (nm), of silica nanowire. When designing a sensor, the sensitivity is a very important parameter to evaluate the device performance. To study the sensitivity of our device, we use the sensor to detect the change in the effective index of mode with the change in the refractive index of surrounding medium. When there is an extremely small index change around the nanowire, the guided light is changed in its optical phase. We assumed the sensing area length, L = 75 µm. Calculated Δneff is about 0.0131/ÃŽ ¼m at the wavelength of 325 nm induced by coating the nanowire with E.coli layer for a 400nm diameter silica nanowire. Figure 5.10a: Sensitivity of the sensor as a function of the wavelength The phase shift (Δφ) of the sensing arm can be obtained as; (5.1) Where L is the effective length of sensitive area and Δneff is the effective index difference between the sensing arm and the reference arm, respectively. It is shown in the Figure 5.10a that the sensitivity of the device decreases with the increase in the wavelength and higher sensitivity of 697nm/RIU is achieved at wavelength of 325 nm. For comparison, the sensitivity of conventional Mach–Zehnder sensors based on integrated planar waveguides is much lower [209], showing that much higher sensitivity, or equivalently much smaller size can be achieved when sensing with silica nanowires. Figure 5.10b shows the variation of output power as a function of wavelength. MZI has two arms, one is used as sensing arm and another used as reference arm. The sensing arm is where the interaction between the biolayer and the optical signal takes places. After the propagation in these two arms, the two optical signals accumulate a phase shift Δφ. The optical power (Pout) at the exit of the interferometer is determined by the phase difference Δφ between the two waves at the junction which can be obtained as; Pout = 1+Cos Δφ (5.2) Figure 5.10b: Combined power as a function of wavelength, ÃŽ » (nm) In all variation of the wavelength, Δφ ≠  0, this is caused by the deposition of a biolayer around the sensing arm, therefore, the optical output power is different too in all variation of the wavelength. 5.3 Slot-waveguide biosensor for detection of DNA hybridisation. Slot waveguides present an interesting alternative when compared to rib or strip waveguide based biosensors where light is predominantly guided in the high index material. The light thus has little interaction with the biomaterial. This is a drawback for biosensing applications where small refractive index variations caused by biomolecular interactions are monitored. In case of slot waveguide, light is confined in a low index slot region sandwiched between two high index rails. Due to the discontinuity of the electric field at the interface between the rails and slot, a significant fraction of the electromagnetic field is localized in the slot. The sensitivity of an optical waveguide sensor relies on the amount of light in the medium to be sensed. Due to the increased amount of power confined in the slot region higher sensitivities will be achieved as compared to other waveguide based biosensors. Author of [128] has compared conventional slot waveguide, slot rib waveguides and Si wire for sensing of aqueous solution. However the work presented here is based on the slot waveguide micro ring resonation for the detection of DNA Hybridization binding of complementary DNA strands (targets) to DNA probes. Moreover we have calculated wavelength shift, device sensitivity, detection Limit, and power density and compared with the experimental work published in [214], [215], [216] and [217]. In the present work, the H-field Finite Element Method (FEM) based full-vector formulation is used for the solution of the TE and TM Slot Waveguide modes where the TE mode is highly confined in the slot region as compared to TM mode. In the FEM, a problem domain can suitably be divided into a patchwork of a finite number of subregions called â€Å"elements†. Each of the elements can have different shapes and sizes and by using many elements a complex problem can be accurately represented. In using the aforementioned approach, the field distribution in the transverse plane is obtained by the application of the variational formulation in the region. More recently, slot waveguide based biosensors have been investigated using Finite difference time domain method (FDTD) and Finite Element Method [218,219,220]. In the present work by optimising the slot waveguide parameters such as the slot width, guide width and guide height a compact biosensor is proposed. The aim of this work is to provide a novel comprehensive analysis defining the modal characteristics, effective index variation of ssDNA and dsDNA, surface sensitivity and power confinement in the DNA layer of a slot waveguide biosensor with a nanoscale cross-section, and in doing so, the effects of the critical size of such waveguide are also presented. To undertake such analysis, an accurate and numerically efficient vector-H-field finite-element method (VFEM) [221] is used to calculate the propagation constant, effective index, power confinement factor and the full-vectorial modal field profiles of the waveguide. The full-vectorial electric field (E) is also derived from the vector H-field obtained to characterize modal properties of such waveguides. 5.3.1 Slot waveguide structure Figure 5.11: Slot Waveguide Biosensor A slot waveguide is investigated for the biosensing applications. The slot waveguide is formed by two Si wires close to each other having nanometer dimensions as shown in Figure 5.11. Refractive index (RI) of silicon, silicon oxide and water is taken as 3.476, 1.444 and 1.31 respectively at an operating wavelength of 1550nm. The sensing structure is first coated with a linker layer (silanes) whose refractive index is taken as 1.42 [222] having a thickness of t=1 nm. The refractive index of ssDNA and dsDNA is taken as 1.456 and 1.53 [223] respectively. The thickness of the DNA probe layer is taken as n=8 nm and remains unchanged when binding of complementary DNA strands (targets) to DNA probes happens i.e., only refrective index changes from 1.456 (ssDNA) to 1.53 (dsDNA). A waveguide height, GH = 320 nm and high index region width, GW = 180 nm [128], slot width, SW = 100 nm, linker layer thickness of t=1 nm and DNA probe thickness of n=8 nm is considered for the initial simulation study. 5.3.2 Modal solutions In the study of modal field profile, the H-field based VFEM is used to obtain the modal solutions of such a waveguide. For this study, due to the availability of two-fold symmetry of the waveguide structure, only a half of the structure is considered, in which more than 80,000 irregular sized first order triangular elements have been employed to represent the waveguide structure. It takes about 2 minutes cpu time on a dual-core Pentium processor computer running solaris platform. Figure 5.12: Hy field of the Hy11 mode Figure 5.13: Hy Contour of Hy11 mode The structure supports both fundamental quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes. For the quasi-TE mode the Hy field component is dominant, and Hx and Hz are the nondominant components. The dominant Hy field component of the Hy11 mode is shown in Figure 5.12 for the waveguide width, GW = 180 nm and height, GH = 320 nm In its contour plot as shown in Figure 5.13 it is clearly visible that the modal confinement is much stronger in the slot region. Due to the large index contrast at interfaces, the normal electric field undergoes a large discontinuity, which results in a field enhancement in the slot region.