Measuring the Strategic Readiness of Intangible Assets - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 998 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Essay any type Did you like this example? In 2000, the market-to-book value, or in other words, the ratio of the stock-market value to accounting value of the largest 500 companies in the U.S, increased to 6.3. In simple words this means that for every six dollars of market value, only one dollar appeared on the balance sheet as a physical or financial asset. The cause of this large difference has been attributed to the rise in value of intangible assets. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Measuring the Strategic Readiness of Intangible Assets" essay for you Create order ( Source: Getting a grip on Intangible Assets, Harvard Management Update) In the past decade, there has been an increasing academic and corporate focus on the subject of intangible assets offering clarity to business leaders on the ways to measure and manage these assets in context of a businesss strategic goals. On regulatory front, European Union is soon to introduce standards for reporting on intangible assets. Our report aims to analyse one such academic framework, developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, which highlights the importance of strategic readiness of intangible assets. The methodology of this conceptual framework is creation of a Strategy Map on which intangible assets have been mapped and measured. Three key things that emerge from the analysis of this work named Measuring the Strategic Readiness of Intangible Assets and written for Harvard Business Review in 2004are: 1. Identification of the important intangible assets in a business organi zation. 2. Mapping these intangible assets to a businesss strategy. 3. Understanding the factors that enable these intangible assets to contribute to the success of the business. Introduction It is increasingly clear from the example at the beginning, that, in 21st centurys knowledge-driven, services-dominated, economy, it is the intangible assets, and not so much the physical and financial assets, which are playing an increasingly important role in shaping a businesss success. At the same time, it is realized by management, that there is a need to objectively evaluate the readiness of these intangible assets in enabling a business to achieve its strategy. For the benefit of analysis, we start by defining intangible assets as any nonphysical assets that can produce economic benefits. These cover intellectual capital, knowledge assets, human capital and organizational capital as well as more specific attributes like quality of corporate governance and customer loyalty. (Zadrozny, Wlodrek). So what is required to map and manage these assets for the success of a businesss strategy? Analysis of Situation According to Kaplan and Norton, while developing Balanced Scorecard (a concept for measuring a companys activities in terms of its vision and strategies, and helps to give managers a comprehensive view of the performance of a business), they identified three major categories of intangible assets: No. Intangible Assets Encompassing Elements 1 Human Capital Skills; Training; Knowledge 2 Information Capital Systems; Databases; Networks 3 Organization Capital Culture; Leadership; Alignment; Teamwork Further, while understanding the critical success factors that transform a business organization into a performing and strategy focussed entity, the article discusses how these assets need to be mapped to the organizations strategy on a framework called strategy map. Finally it explains the route by way of which, quantitative values can be assigned which clearly help an organization to understand the readiness of these assets in enabling an organization achieve its strategy. Discussions and Findings As we discover, there are unique features of intangible assets that make their behaviour different from the physical and financial assets. These are: 1. Intangibles assets mostly cannot create value for an organization in a standalone form. They need to be combined with other assets. The implication of this is on a firms ability to assign a value to these assets on a standalone basis. 2. These assets rarely affect financial performance directly, unlike physical or financial assets which immediately start paying off. Intangible assets contribute indirectly through a chain of cause and effect. For example, the investment in training a team in total quality management may decrease defects and therefore may give rise to customer satisfaction and heighten positive brand perception. 3. While human capital and information capital are easier to map and manage, organizational capital is much more difficult. 4. Human capital may be measured by mapping the jobs and identifying the strategic job families before focusing on getting these jobs ready for strategy implementation. Information capital may be evolved by identifying and creating a portfolio of transactional, analytical and transformational computer applications and sturdy network infrastructure that give a positive edge to the manner in which business is conducted. One such example is the complete transformation in retail banking with deployment of information systems that empower a customer exponentially. 5. Organizational capital is the most challenging element to map and manage because of the complete behavioural change required in conducting business at all levels. Changing the base culture that involves the employees shared attitudes and beliefs, and the Climate – which comprises of the shared perception of the organizations policies, procedures and practices, require a grip on deep-rooted, socio-psychological dynamics at work within the organization. For example, changing Na tional Health Services (NHS) culture from a budget oriented operations to a dynamic business plan oriented operations that focuses on health consumer, is more challenging than mapping the strategic jobs and putting state-of-the-art information capital. For bringing organizational capital readiness, leadership plays a very important role, as do communication and knowledge-sharing. 6. Once these intangible assets are brought in state of strategic readiness, they start contributing in generating cash for the business. For example, if McDonalds sets a service response time of 30 seconds and trains its human capital to achieve this target, the customer turnover at the counter will increase and lead to higher revenues. 7. Finally, for these assets to come into a state of strategic readiness, they need to be aligned with the organizations strategy. If they are not properly aligned, it can lead to chaos. For example, if McDonalds promises its customers a 30 seconds service but do es not care to bring its human, information and organizational assets up to required standards, there will be widespread dissonance amongst its customer base and the risk of erosion in brand value will be very high.

How Does Media Affect The Youth Of Today - 800 Words

English Draft Name: Anna Sunio Year level: 11 Date: 14 November 2014 Teacher: Miss Spermon Analysing Perfume Advertisements Imagine what will happen to the world without media and advertisements. Can we even try to limit how advertising floods our lives? Can our minds develop an intellectual way of thinking and behaving under a restricted amount of media? In the society that we live in today, seems like everywhere we look, we are surrounded by advertisements. These advertisements have negative influences on the youth of today. With your help as the Australian Censorship Board, we will discuss how media†¦show more content†¦Considering the three advertisements provided, this is very evident because women are involved in those three ads. There are better ways of advertising that will not necessarily corrupt the attitude, values and beliefs of the public especially today’s youth. Even though the use of sexual advertising grabs an immediate attention from the public, some form of it could also be a main reason of downfall of the product. Parents are strongly opposing this as it affects the you ng viewers by teaching them how to look and act sexy at a very young age. Advertisers may not exactly sell the product to people, especially parents, but it will certainly grab the attention and will force the consumer to stop and look at the advertisement closer. It is important that advertisements will not only attempt to make clear attributes of the product they are trying to sell but also guarantee that the advertisements actually mean something to us, the consumers. It is no wonder that advertising is constantly being studied and analysed by review boards such as the Australian Censorship board due to the constant speculation of ‘hidden meanings’ and underlying messages. Consumers will often look at the brand of the product that is being advertised, which suddenly generates values such as quality and style. Ralph Lauren and Gucci are one of the most famous brands for clothes and fragrances. Therefore it is important that the

Famous Explorers Of Africa Essay Example For Students

Famous Explorers Of Africa Essay Mungo Park was a Scottish explorer who led one of the firstexpeditions to investigate the course of the Niger river in Western Africa. Mungo Park was a 23 year-old scottish surgeon surgeon who had just returnedfrom a journey to Sumatra on a ship of the East India Company. There he haddiscovered 6 species of fish, he had published descriptions in a ScientificJournal. In 1795, Park had gone to Piscina, on an offer to research furtherinto Africa. Park had accepted and a severe fever overcame him during hisjourney. Park also had been captured by certain muslim leaders. After hehad got out of the Prison he had wandered around and had finally found theNiger River. Park was amazed at how beautiful the River was. Park hadstated I saw with infinite pleasure, the object of my, mission. Park hadreturned home to London where became famous on his publications of hisvoyage across Africa. Later in 1806 he sailed downstream to the Bussa rapids, where hedrowned, trying to escape an attack by the Africans. Rene Callie was a 27 year old man who was fascinated by the storiestold about peoples travels to Africa. His readings of Mungo park alsostimulated his fascination. Callie had entered a contest for the firstperson to reach Timbuktu and reach back. He had reached Timbuktu. DuringCallies trip he did not find it easy to prove to the French Authoritiesthat a young man with no experience could discover Timbuktu. On his wayback Callie had joined a Arab Caravan preparing to cross from WesternSahara to Morocco. Callie had stated I am the first European to cross fromthe sandy ocean from the south to the north. On his return to Paris,Callie was known as a hero. Later, questions were asked if he was tellingthe truth or not. Johann RebmannJohann Rebmann was a German missionary, who was not like Mungo Park orRene Callie. The purpose of Rebmanns explorations is to find a place wherehe might serve God. His most helpful weapon was a umbrella, which he usedto fight off lions and would be attackers. Rebmann was the europeanexplorer who kept a careful record of his journey. Together with hispartner he paved the way for later explorers. Rebmann had found the MountKilimanjaro which was located in Tanzania. His missionary work was moredifficult than his exploration efforts. David LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a scotsman who also was intrigued by themysteries of vast unexplored areas of South Africa. He as Johann Rebmannwas also a missionary. ivingstone started working at a mission in sotho andhad also left because of dissagreements with the boers. In 1849 Livingstonehad gone with 2 game hunters to be an interpreter for an expeditionnorthward. They had gone north to Lake Ngami in Botswana but they could notgo further because of Livingstones families sickness at the time. Afterabout a year Livingstone resumed his explorations. Livingstone had heard tales of the rushing waters of the ZambeziRiver. He wanted to know the source of this River. Livingstone had toreturn to England for his families safety and when he returned his missionwas destroyed by boers. Livingstone was ill and tired but he kept on hisjourney. In 1855 Livingstone had gone about two thousand miles when hereached the Victoria Falls. Livingstone had returned to Engaland in 1856. In 1862 Livingstone had returned to Central Africa with a backing of theBritish Government. He was on his journey and he become sick and was in aAfrican hut for 6 months. Livingstone had been in Central Africa for 8years and the outside world had little information of his health and hiswhereabouts. .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba , .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .postImageUrl , .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba , .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:hover , .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:visited , .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:active { border:0!important; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:active , .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u92944aeaa5e76d14101ffe889ae168ba:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Why The United States Dropped The Atomic Bomb: Per EssayIn 1871 Henry Stanley a 28 year-old foriegn correspondent had heardrumors that a white man was living at the Vilage of Ujiji near lakeTanganika. On November 10,1871 Stanley entered the village and there hefound the sick Livingstone. Stanley had brought the correct medicalsupplies to let Livingstone recover. In 1872 both Stanley and Livingstonehad gone to explore lakes and rivers of Central Africa. Livingstone haddied and was remembered as a hero for his explorations in Central Africa. Stanley had then left Livingstone to research further. Speke findsLake Victoria and names it after the Queen of England. Richard BurtonRichard Burton was one of the most famous explorers in Africa . Burtons Life story is filled with adventure. In 1853 Burton wasdisguiseeed as a Moslem he made dangerous pilgrammages to Mecca. In 1854 hewent to Harar in Ethiopia where capture meant death. Burton and hiscompanion John Speke were the first Europeans to visit Somalialand. In1856, again with John Speke, Burton returned to East Africa to look for thesource of the Nile River. The trip was dangerous from Zanzibar. In 1858they came upon Lake Tanganika but it wasnt the source of the NIle either. Burton returned home. But Speake had gone with James Grant to find thesource of the Nile. Six months later they saw a lake as large as a sea. Then they were convinced that Victoria Lake was the source of the NileRiver. John Speke had recieved most of the glory for his works on theexploration the source of the Nile. In 1860 James Speke and James Grant hadgone for further research of the Nile. On this Expedition Speke reported ofhow the kingdoms along the Nile. Speke had said I saw that old father Nilewithout any doubt rises in the Victoria Lake , and as I foretold, that theNile is the great source of the holy river which cradled the firstexfounder of our religious belief.

Information Communication Technology Project Essays -

Information Communication Technology Project Student Name: Institution: Date: Information Communication Technology Project Introduction About a decade ago, the campus facilities were advanced in terms of infrastructure and governance, this was considered a major component when most students were looking to apply for a course at a certain university. The level of structural development played a great role in the choosing of campuses and as a result, the campuses worked day and night with an attempt at being better than their counterpart at each ounce of improvement ( Mansfi eld Antonakos, 2010 ) . This made most campuses develop greatly and become major for the sake of attracting more students and generally improving the educational basis for the student body. Today, the infrastructural development is not even considered at all for by default they should be leveled up enough for this generation. The most looked at today is the technological advancement of any institution, in terms of their IT equipment, availability of internet or intranet and other advancements related to the technological sector . In the current technological age, it is awkward for a higher learning institution like a campus and university to lack state of the art technology that is found in almost every other institution (Andrews, 2016) . The need for an IT project in the institution is mainly because today everything is made easier thanks to technological advancement. The initial stage of school application that is done online whereby one fills it and upon confirmation, one knows it online without having to set a foot in that campus until being accepted in fact, what is left is emailing oneself to the school with one's luggage because surely everything else is online. It is, therefore, a core priority for each campus to be as technologically advanced as possible for ease of everything in the school. Phase 1 This phase illustrates all the problems that the installation of IT facilities will solve. Because it is one big school, the networks are recommended to be as few as possible for ease of synchronization. However, there should not be one network only because of security purposes. A network can be compromised or put under surveillance or just generally hacked. The quickest solution for this is to get into the other existing network there and install massive firewalls on the compromised network to lock out all cases or in the worst case scenario, the other network is tapped in and ant sensitive information from the compromised network is deleted, thanks to the availability of more than one network. Another essential reason for the initialization of this project, the campus management system will operate online whereby each student will have their own account where through it they will get enrolment issues that they need the address or have questions about and easily resolve them there. In addition to this, for the continuing students, they will get timetables, exam materials and even download lecture material. This is highly convenient considering about a decade ago if the students wanted such services; they had to go to the offices or administration block to sort these issues ( Doraiswa my, Shiv, 2012) . This was quite hectic considering the students are about 3,000 meaning that the administration blocks were always full of students with different needs that had to be resolved in one of the offices or a notice board to show the timetables and examination updates. The introduction of the current IT project will eradicate these hectic hours of waiting in line or having to postpone plans due to jam in the offices. Also, if the students want to air an issue to the school management board, there will be the creation of a portal to deal with that online by posting and the administration receives it and makes necessary adjustments. Another problem that the IT introduction will solve is reducing the workload for the lecturers to maximize their output. The lecturers will be able to post their lectures online and even teach online or use recordings for educative purposes thus having more time to teach more eventually covering more thanks to the IT project. Also, if students want lecture materials, they may just download them from the