Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Using Medicine Without a Prescription Is Illegal

Using Medicine Without a Prescription Is Illegal Addiction Drug Use Prescription Medications Print Using Drugs Without a Prescription Is Illegal By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on February 06, 2020 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD on February 06, 2020 Shana Novak / Getty Images More in Addiction Drug Use Prescription Medications Cocaine Heroin Marijuana Meth Ecstasy/MDMA Hallucinogens Opioids Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery You may have heard that using and sharing prescription drugs is legal. Many teens believe that if they get pills from their familys medicine cabinet, instead of a street dealer, then its not against the law. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are both federal and state laws that make using or sharing prescription drugs  illegal.?? If you take a pill that was prescribed to someone else or give that pill to another person, not only is it against the law, its extremely dangerous. Why Teens May Try Prescription Drugs Teens may abuse prescription drugs because theres less of a stigma than there is with street drugs.?? If there are prescription drugs in the household medicine cabinet, they may be easy for teens to get, and since theyre prescribed by a doctor, theres a perception that these drugs are safer than street drugs. But with the growing opioid epidemic, its especially important for parents to curb any prescription drug abuse, and treat it as seriously as if they caught their teen with another illegal street drug. Federal and State Prescription Drug Laws Prescription drugs are considered controlled substances. The U.S Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration, Title 21 Controlled Substances Act, makes it clear that the only legal way to access prescription drugs is to have a doctors prescription. This law states that no controlled substance ...    may be dispensed without the written prescription of a practitioner.?? Sometimes even when a doctor does prescribe a drug, it may violate the law. For example, if a doctor writes a prescription for too many pills, either knowing that they are going to be resold or knowing that the amount is way too much medication for a single patient, that could be considered a criminal act. Possession With Intent to Distribute Some states have laws making it illegal for you to be in possession of your own prescription drugs under certain circumstances, including laws that make it illegal to carry around pills that are not in their labeled prescription bottle.?? In other words, if you are carrying around pills that your doctor prescribed to you, but you have them loose in your pocket or purse, it may be considered illegal. The presumption may be that you are carrying them in that manner so that you can distribute them. When Prescription Drugs Are Illegal No matter what your middle school or high school friends tell you, using and sharing prescription drugs can be just as illegal as possession of certain street drugs. And  taking drugs not prescribed for you is very dangerous. You have no idea what effects a drug may have on you. Not only can taking prescription medications make you very sick, it can potentially land you in jail. Just because you got them out of your familys medicine cabinet doesnt make them legal.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Gopaljee and Amul Milk Products - 5554 Words

Market reaction around the Announcement of Stock Split and Bonus Issues in India: An Empirical Analysis Dr. Vibha Dua Satija, vibha.dua.satija@gmail.com, Reader, Delhi Institute of Advanced Studies, Affiliated to G.G.S.I.P University, Delhi Dr. Harsh Purohit , iic@banasthali.in, Associate Professor Chair- ICICI Bank CBFSI , WISDOM, Faculty of Management Studies, Banasthali University, Banasthali Vidyapith Haritika Sabharwal Chhatwal , haritika@rediffmail.com, Senior Lecturer , Delhi Institute of Advanced Studies, Affiliated to G.G.S.I.P University, Delhi Abstract Volatility and uncertainty persists in the financial markets across the world. In this environment, each small and big event affects the markets. Therefore, it†¦show more content†¦This is because the dividend rate (% of face value) is not expected to change after bonus issue. When the company makes bonus issue, the shareholders perceive that management is confident of future. A study done by Gupta (1973) finds out that as many as one third of the companies issuing bonus shares did not increase the total dividend payment. According to Ross (1977), Leyland and Pyle (1977) managers use financial decision of stock dividend to convey favorable private information about the current value of the firm. Klien and Peterson (1989), Grinblatt, Masulis, Titman(1984)Brenan and Copeland (1988) Asquith(1989) Lakonishok and Lev(1987) provide further support for this. Abhijit Dutta (2001) has examined the investor reaction to information using the primary data collected from 600 individuals and observes that the individual investors are less reactive to bad news as they invest for longer period. Hari Om Chaturvedi (2000) in his doctoral thesis observed that the cumulative abnormal returns (CAAR) between the portfolios with positive and negative unexpected half yearly earnings were significant. A few studies have been carried out in recent years to test the announcement effects of bonus issue in Indian stock market. Ramachandran (1988) found out mixed evidence for semi strong form of efficiency in Indian stock market. M. Obaidullah (1992) and Rao (1994) found positive stock market reaction to equityShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"Trade Promotion Incentive Scheme: Concept and Implementation Synergy†9222 Words   |  37 Pagesmany government offices, it was likely for the milk sales to fall. To retain the sales of Poly Pack Milk, Mother Dairy proposed an incentive scheme to the Retailers, Wholesale Dealers and Home Delivery Agents that sold Mother Dairy milk. The scheme was proposed in all regions of Delhi/NCR. The offer given was of an additional incentive of up to [pic]1.5 per liter for volumes of milk converted from other competitor brands like Amul, Paras, Gopaljee, etc., to Mother Dairy. The scheme was available

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

An Controversial Issue Of Drinking Water Crisis - 923 Words

Clean water crisis One of the most controversial issues today relates drinking water. It could be defined as drinkable water or potable water which is safe enough for drinking and food preparation (Charitywater.org, 2016). Many people argue that some countries are meeting rising problems of not having enough drinking water. For example in Africa, a lot of people suffer and die daily from various diseases because they have unclear, dirty, contaminated water. This essay partly agrees with this statement and will illustrate this issue in term of how important the water is, the causes of getting less clear drinking water, two technological solutions which is waters desalination and groundwater wells and how to apply these solutions to Chad in Africa. Widely, clear water has been getting less because of many reasons. The most two effect causes are the increase of people number and the pollution of rivers (Eschooltoday.com, 2016). This is because, the world wants more drinking water for the huge people and it is not like the past when there were a few people and at less 1 liter for one person a day. For example in China and India, it is difficult for Chinese and Indians governments to give enough drinking water for the people, so water is so expensive there. Furthermore, the rivers was one of the sources for having good drinking water, but farmers and some companies had contaminated the river until the they have been damaged completelyShow MoreRelatedFracking Outline Essay707 Words   |  3 Pageseye, people here about fracking a lot. But is it really a â€Å"QUOTE AGAIN†, or something completely different entirely? Thesis: Hydraulic fracturing is not â€Å"the energy solution to the future† (Johnson). Through an in depth look at the current energy crisis, a detailed study of the processes used during fracking, and analysis of the possible health and environmental effects, it is clear that fracking is not a clean, safe way to retrieve energy. I. Current Energy situation: a. Statistics:Read MoreFracking Is A Dangerous Process That Should Be Banned Immediately1328 Words   |  6 PagesFracturing (fracking) is the process of drilling into the ground and pumping sand, water, and fracking fluid at high pressures in order to extract natural shale gas that was previously unattainable. This process comes with environmental issues: the chemicals from the fracking fluid can contaminate nearby drinking water wells and harm the citizens of that area. Despite the fact that there have been several contaminated drinking water cases reported, there is little being done about this matter. This paper analyzesRead MoreAn Inconvenient Truth1551 Words   |  7 PagesAn Inconvenient Truth The climate crisis that our planet faces has become an ever-increasing and extremely controversial issue. In the book â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth,† Al Gore goes beyond the political and economic implications of this crisis and states that global warming is a moral issue that humans need to address. For years, scientists have been examining the reasons for the changing climate and have come to the conclusion that global warming is real and it is serious threat to the world. EventuallyRead MoreThe Effects Of Hydraulic Fracturing On The American Economy1398 Words   |  6 Pagesusing an absurd amount of water to complete these wells. Not only is the amount of water usage detrimental to our water supply, but oil companies are showing no signs of slowing down. On top of the high water usage, fracturing is physically crippling our environment with the injected fluids. With over 600 different types of chemicals added into the water mixture, how sure can we be that it isn’t c ontaminating our food and agriculture? The only 2 solutions to this energy crisis are to slow down, maybeRead MoreFracking And Natural Gas Should Be A Good Thing For The Economy1958 Words   |  8 PagesJeff Goodell, a leading staff writer on energy and environmental issues for Rolling Stone magazine once stated, â€Å"Nobody disputes that cheap natural gas would be a good thing for the economy. The question is, is this a sustainable new development that can be counted on for decades to come, or simply a bubble brought on by a land grab and drilling frenzy?† (â€Å"Jeff Goodell Quote†, 2013). Goodell states the undeniable truth about natural gas. This is that the federal government regulating the frackingRead MoreNuclear Energy : Nuclear Power1251 Words   |  6 PagesNuclear fusion is also an excellent energy source because it produces no greenhouse gases or combustion products which are not radioactive. The drawback is that it takes too much energy so we are stic king to nuclear fission. Nuclear power a controversial issue because of accidents in previous years and the amount it costs to build advanced reactors. These accidents still have lasting effects that we as a country are working to fix. However I believe the most promising form of energy is nuclear powerRead MoreWe Want Clean Water1550 Words   |  7 Pages We want clean water In America, many practices take place that the majority of people are not aware of, and corporations who do promote their latest adventures to the public do not reveal the whole truth about their objectives, positive and negative. The American people get confused and wonder why they must investigate American companies in order to separate the lies from the truth. The Oil and Gas Industry have been fracking, a process that has been met with controversy, to obtain naturalRead MoreImminent Water Crisis in India3840 Words   |  16 PagesImminent Water Crisis in India Nina Brooks, August 2007 There will be constant competition over water, between farming families and urban dwellers, environmental conservationists and industrialists, minorities living off natural resources and entrepreneurs seeking to commodify the resources base for commercial gain -UNICEF report on Indian water.[1] Intro More than two billion people worldwide live in regions facing water scarcity[2] and in India this is a particularly acute crisis. MillionsRead MoreHolding Government Responsible for Pollution in China Essay1482 Words   |  6 Pagesbecause of air pollution issues in China. Government supported projects and multinational corporations are both contributing to the pollution in China. The Chinese government is aware of the environment issues, such as air pollution, water contamination and soil erosion, however, the authorities see the environmental degradation as part of a tradeoff for economic prosperity. As the situation becomes increasingly severe, public starts to pay attentions on to the environment issues. Especially after theRead MoreThe Keystone Pipeline Is A Oil Pipeline2068 Words   |  9 Pages The United States’ constant desire for being independent of foreign oil is a long-going issue. The government is constantly trying to find any solution and investing in technologies to cover its consumption. Being dependent on Middle Eastern countries is a costly as well as risky with the on-going Arab Spring uprising. One of the proposed solutions was the Keystone Pipeline. The Keystone Pipeline is a crude oil pipeline that runs from Alberta in Western Canada to Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma

Forecasting Effects of Cultural Changes Free Essays

Within today’s increasingly globally-infused corporate workplaces, conventional wisdom holds that demographic and/or cultural diversity contribute positively to enhanced performance by groups, teams, or other divisions of a trans-global corporate entity, thus ultimately enhancing, by association, company products and/or services and the company itself, at home and abroad. As corporate giant Nokia’s website states, for example (2005), of its own global workforce: â€Å"Respect for individual qualities, as well as a willingness to work together in a constructive, positive, even enjoyable, way [,] are all essential for high-quality results. † Much related research suggests, however, that while diverse employee skills and abilities in and of themselves may enhance group or team performance, demographic diversity (e. We will write a custom essay sample on Forecasting Effects of Cultural Changes or any similar topic only for you Order Now g. differences among workforce members, in terms of language; cultural; referential; or social background), may detract from it (Knight, Pearce, Smith, Olian , Sims , Smith Flood, 1999; Jackson, 2003; Hamilton, Nickerson, Jackson, Owan, May 2004). I will examine factors that, based on research and anecdotal evidence combined, may inflect corporate workforce compatibility or success, exploring both positive and the negative potential effects of demographic and cultural diversity on global and other workplace behavior and performance. In a telephone interview conducted by this researcher, on October 6, 2005, with a friend who is a human resources assistant manager at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) based in San Jose, California, a recently-merged company created by the Hitachi-IBM HDD (Hard Disk Drive) company merger of January 2003, â€Å"[A lack of] enough good and clear intercultural communications is still contributing a lot, I would say, to lower than expected employee morale† (Sindai). However, despite the inevitable difficulties, misunderstandings, and other company challenges it inevitably brings, globalization is here to stay. According to Alden, for example, in an article on UPS’s expansion, â€Å"Over the past 40 years the number of multinational corporations in the world’s fourteen richest countries has gone from 7,000 to 24,000. (6-7). Moreover, as Alden observes, while many companies have marketed internationally for years, more and more companies are looking to enter the arena of global competition. However, according to Wilbur (2005), in terms of global workplace (or any team or group) performance or behavior, in and of itself, mere diversity of a workforce, or group, team, or other entity within that workforce, is non-conclusive. HP [High Performance] teams are built with . . . complementary skills. . . . a Blend and balance of social styles . . . technical skills, problem solving skills, and political savvy. . . . They treat differences with respect realizing the survival value in versatility, . . . develop mutual accountability that builds respect, commitment. High performance teams blow away barriers and boundaries. Typical demographic and/or cultural diversity increasingly found within global conglomerates or other entities like Worldwide Telecommunications, Inc. nd others, may contribute to or detract greatly from performance, depending on specific aspects of diversity; management communications, actions, and philosophies, and various other factors. Optimal workplace performance itself, on the part of any group or team, whatever its internal composition, generally springs from commitment, shared values, and pursuit of a common goal (Knight, Pearce, Smith, Olian , Sims , Smith Flood, 1999; Jackson, 2003; Wilbur, 2005). Demographic characteristics and/or cultural diversity may contribute to or detract from high-performance teams, but these characteristics alone will not determine performance. They may, however, influence it, in combination with other factors, such as shared or common goals; shared values; group commitment and support, and group synergy (Jackson, 2003; Wilbur, 2005). As Sindai (telephone interview, October 7, 2005), of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) also stated: After the merger almost three years ago [of IBM’s and Hitachi’s Hard Disk Drive HDD) entities in January 2003] about our making more videos and doing more training sessions to keep enhancing diversity training. Our office wanted to do more, not just [what we had done] up to the merger, and everyone agreed it was needed. But little by little it got moved to the back burner. I think there’s been a feeling, or a hope at least, that it would all work itself out in time. But it Sindai added that, after IBM and Hitachi’s respective hard drive divisions (HDD’s) merged in 2003, various clashes, miscommunications, and misunderstandings of two distinct types of cultures emerges. One was the inevitable initial clash between IBM (an American company) versus Hitachi (a Japanese company) corporate cultures. Another, which proved to be more chronic, was based on demographic, social, cultural and other miscommunications and misunderstandings, sometimes although not always based on language incompatibilities, among workers from the United States; Japan; Pakistan; China; India; Sri Lanka; Singapore; India; Mexico; Bulgaria; and (as Sindai put it) â€Å"at least ten or twelve other places. † Results of a more formal study, on effects of diversity on group management performance, seem to confirm Sindai’s anecdotal observations. Knight, Pearce, Smith, Olian, Sims , Smith Flood (1999) concluded that: â€Å"Diversity in ability enhances the team productivity if there is significant mutual learning and collaboration within the team, while demographic diversity is likely to harm productivity by making learning and peer pressure less effective and increasing team-member turnover. † Hamilton, Nickerson, Jackson, Owan (May 2004) found, in a similar study, that: Data from 76 high-technology firms in the United States and Ireland were used to examine three alternative models. The results showed that while demographic diversity alone did have effects on strategic consensus the overall fit of the model was not strong. Adding two intervening group process variables, interpersonal conflict and agreement-seeking . . . greatly improved the overall relationship with strategic consensus. For the most part, TMT [Total Management Team] diversity had negative effects on strategic consensus. Jackson (2003) further concluded that: Informational (education and function) diversity was negatively related to group efficiency when social category diversity (sex and age) was high, but not when it was low; consequences . . . for team conflict were best understood by taking into account interactive effects for specific dimensions of diversity. (p. 803) An interesting and arguably related example, from the world of professional football, and one that starkly and vividly exemplifies workplace diversity training gone awry (i. e. the San Francisco 49’ers controversial diversity training tape that was leaked to the press (Ryan, Sunday June 5, 2005)) painfully illustrates how management attitudes anywhere, with any diverse group of people in any occupation, especially vis-a-vis other groups of people, strongly inflect â€Å"accepted† or perceived â€Å"normal† workplace attitudes about diversity (be they positive or negative), potentially polarizing, not unifying, workplace group members. As Ryan states, in analyzing this incident: . . . the video, which the team was required to watch, was particularly insulting o deeply religious players. Imagine if a corporation made it mandatory for employees to watch a training video that featured soft-core lesbian porn and a racist depiction of a bumbling, bucktoothed Chinese man. . . because the employees happen to be football players, people seem willing to dismiss it as This incident effectively lampooned diversity training and workplace diversity itself, within an extremely high-profile professional, organization, and geographical location (one that possesses enormous cultural diversity among its residents and sports fan â€Å"customers†) instead of promoting it. The incident also likely reinforced pre-existing stereotypes of many sports and related industry professionals: as boorish, intolerant, ignorant, or racist. Admittedly, the San Francisco 49ers football team and its management are non-equivalent, structurally, functionally, or in terms of goals or purpose, to Worldwide Telecommunications; Nokia, HGST, or any other large global corporate entity. Nevertheless, the implied lesson, for corporations and managers, contained within this incident is clear (at least to this author): company and group attitudes about diversity and its desirability and value to (and within) an organization, come from the top and migrate downward. Further, positive attitudes about workplace diversity and about diversity in general (which affect workplace attitudes and behaviors, consciously or unconsciously) must be practiced; reinforced; repeated, and encouraged, in order for workers to embrace and maintain them. One other fact that emerges from research combined with interviewee observation of effects of diversity on group performance, and reality combined, is that genuine appreciation for demographic and/or cultural diversity is most powerful and lasting when it grows from within a diverse group itself, rather than being imposed from the outside. Jackson (2003) further explains that â€Å"most [diversity] studies assumed that diversity influences affective reactions and social processes within teams and organizations. Social processes in turn were assumed to provide the explanations for the effects of diversity on team and/or organizational performance† (p. 803). Moreover, according to Jackson: Decades of research on similarity and attraction indicate that people tend to dislike dissimilar others, all else being equal. By extension, it has been argued that diversity is likely to have negative consequences for affective reactions such as cohesion, satisfaction, and commitment . . . Several early studies showing that diversity was associated with higher turnover rates seemed to support that conclusion. Recent research on team and organizational diversity: SWOT analysis and implications. ) Demographic and/or cultural diversity within transnational corporate workplaces may or may not enhance company performance, depending on the group; its members; its management and other influences; and its implicitly shared (or not shared) values, goals, motivations, and work and other philosophies. Diversity of skill and ability is more likely to enhance group performance than is cultural diversity (Knight, Pearce, Smith, Olian, Sims , Smith Flood, 1999; Jackson, 2003; Hamilton, Nickerson, Jackson, Owan, May 2004). Winning performance, though, is determined not so much by cultural and/or demographic diversity as by complementary skills; synergy; shared values and goals, and commitment. For optimal transnational workplace performance, demographic and/or cultural diversity must clearly be accompanied, in order to be effective, by personal and heartfelt cohesion among group or team members. In forecasting cultural changes, at World Telecommunications, Inc. and at other, similar entities, then, that particular conclusion, arrived at by researchers; managers, and others, alike, might well be kept closely in mind. How to cite Forecasting Effects of Cultural Changes, Essay examples

Friday, April 24, 2020

Dell vs Hp Essay Example

Dell vs Hp Essay Both Dell and HP are two strong players in PC industry which refers to an industry where companies produces PCs (desktops and notebooks), handheld devices (smart phones and tablets), and workstations. However, with growing global expansion, Dell and HP’s performance differs. Dell, once the world’s largest PC maker in 2001, has continually lost its market share to HP and Acer since 2007 (Guglielmo 2009). The cause is rooted in two differences of these companies: company diversifications and core competences.Therefore, how firms can continually survive in the PC business is more of an issue for Dell than for HP. Nevertheless, survival is not enough. Mainly because of the fast declining average selling prices (ASP) annually, both Dell and HP’s PC business face pressures from thinner profit margins (Menn 2010) Therefore, to win the battle, finding a new growth opportunity should be in the center of Dell and HP’s future strategy. Hence, this essay first present s the background of these two companies. It then looks at how PC business can survive by analyzing the causes of Dell and HP’s different performances in PC business.Thirdly, it briefly evaluates four options as a future growth engine. 2. Background 3. 1. Motivations Motivation| Dell| HP| Pre 1970sMarket and Resource Seeking| Not born yet| Provide growth1959: Establish the first foreign marketing organization and manufacturing plant in Europe, but did not focus on PC business | 1980s-2000sCompetitivePositioning| Capture global scale1990: Expansion to EMEA: Europe, the Middle East and Africa 1993: Entries into APJ: Asia Pacific and Japan| Match Dell’s scale in PC2002: Merger with Compad Computer Corp. 1990s-2000sWorldwide Learning| Recruit skills, expertise2007: Decide to refocus on innovation and set up more Ramp;D centers. 2009: 7 design centers | Leverage global intelligence1990s: HP Labs opens in Japan and Israel2010: 23 HP Labs operate in 7 countries| TABLE 1 Motiva tions Comparison Historically, HP started its global business earlier than Dell, but the focus was not on PCs until 2000. In contrast, Dell, focusing on PCs, quickly expanded its business globally since 1990 (Dell 2011). Therefore, to match Dell’s scale, HP merged with Compad in 2002 (HP 2011).In terms of worldwide learning, HP began to leverage global expertise much earlier while Dell did not realized the importance of worldwide learning until 2007 (Dell 2007). 3. 2. Means Means| Dell| HP| Pre-requisites| One competenceLow cost business model| A portfolio of Ramp;D competencesMeasurement, computing and communications, summarized as HP=MC2| Process| Born Global1990: Greenfield factories| Buy Global2002: Acquiring a global PC company, Compad| TABLE 2 Means Comparison Apart from motivations, companies need to possess specific competences to succeed in foreign markets (Bartlett and Beamish 2011).Dell’s innovative direct sales and build-to-order model, which eliminates mid dlemen, gave it a unique low cost advantage. Since this advantage was embedded internally, Dell started its expansion by Greenfield rather than cooperate with local companies. On the contrary, HP had a portfolio of Ramp;D competences rather than one (Prahalad and Hamel 1994). Instead of â€Å"Born Global†, HP’s PC business can be regarded as â€Å"Buy Global† since it expanded its global PC business by buying up global companies. 3. 3. Evolving Mentality | Evolving Mentality|Dell| Pre 2007Global perspective | Transnational Perspective| HP| Pre 2002:Multinational perspective | | TABLE 3 Mentality Comparisons HP once had a multinational mentality, as evidenced by its decentralized organization structure and culture (Accenture 1998). In contrast, Dell once had a more global mentality because in the early years, Dell did not adjust its direct models and products that much from country to country (Hill and Jones 2007). However, both companies have shown a trend movin g towards a transnational mentality in recent years.For example, Dell claimed its Shanghai Ramp;D center would focus on local and regional customers’ needs (Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China 2010) and it also introduced retail sales model in 2007 (Dell 2007), while HP reorganized its units to centralized divisions and laid off redundant workers in 2002 (McShane and Glinow 2002). 3. Survive the PC Business 4. 4. The Battle Although both companies have diversified into other industries, PC industry is still their most important source of revenue. For years, these two giants are battling for lead in PC market.When measured by market share, HP has taken place of Dell as No. 1 seller in PC market since 2007 (FIGURE 1). When measured by revenue, HP also wins over Dell for almost five years (FIGURE 2). Also, Acer grew rapidly in market share partly because of its merger with Gateway in 2007 (Einhorn 2007), and almost matched Dell in 2009. FIGURE 1 Global PC Market Share (HP 2006-2010; Dell 2006-2010; Acer 2006-2010) FIGURE 2 Revenue from PC Sales (HP 2006-2010; Dell 2006-2010) 4. 5. Issues PC industry is characterized by fast declining ASP year over year.Together with the increasing component costs from 2009, both Dell and HP are facing squeezing profit margins (HP 2010; Dell 2010). In the first quarter of 2011, HP’s gross margin for its Personal System Group (PSG) is as low as 6. 4% (Epstein 2011). Similarly, Dell’s gross margin of PCs is often 3 to 5% (Wang 2010). This indicates that if both companies want to keep their PC business profitable, they have to further lower their costs and/or boost increasing demands every year. However, Dell faces a more severe problem than HP for three reasons. First, Dell shows its inability in creating demands.Since 2006, Dell started losing market share to other competitors such as Acer, while HP continued to win customers during the same period (FIGURE 1). Second, although PC busin ess is both Dell and HP’s core business, Dell’s revenue has a much greater reliance on PC sales, accounting for more than 50% of its total revenue (FIGURE 3). This makes Dell more vulnerable than HP to falloff in demand. Third, Dell shows little progress in cost control (FIGURE 4). Its past success in 1990s was based on its low cost business processes, which is already quite superior.Therefore, limited room was left to Dell to further reduce costs. Moreover, after its entries into emerging markets, costs even grew higher with the introduction of retail sales to its old model. FIGURE 3 PC Sales as a Percentage of Total Revenue (HP 2006-2010; Dell 2006-2010) 4. 6. Sustainable Global Success? The primary reason for Dell’s non-sustainable success is its specialization in PC combined with its emphasis on the old success model, which prevented Dell from reaching any of the following goals or a combination of them at a high level: global efficiency, flexibility and wor ldwide learning.In other words, Dell’s past success was largely based on supply chain efficiency, but with limited help of global efficiency which defines the firm’s ability to cut costs by global integration and to increase value of outputs through local responsiveness (Bartlett and Beamish 2011). In contrast, since 2002, HP was trying all three means: economies of scale, economies of scope and national differences to achieve those goals. That is, HP quickly established competences in global efficiency, flexibility and worldwide innovation and closing efficiency gap with Dell (FIGURE 4).Although in 2007 Dell began to shift from the old business model, its only core competence as a low cost leader was eroded. Also, such shift did not give Dell a new competitive advantage. Therefore, this fundamental difference has led to today’s enlarging gap between Dell and HP’s performance. In this regard, HP’s leadership in PC business will prove more sustainab le than that of Dell. FIGURE 4 Inventory Days (HP 2006-2010; Dell 2006-2010) 4. 7. 1. Global Efficiency With a quick global expansion, Dell’s direct sale and build to order model limited its ability to leverage global efficiency through economies of scale.For example, when it entered the emerging markets such as India, Dell once intended to increase economies of scale by centralizing the assembly activities in its factory in Malaysia which serves all markets across Asia Pacific (Fortune 2011). However, unlike customers in US, customers from emerging markets prefer retail sales to direct sales. Such preference made Dell’s products not as competitive as those of its competitors, and thus sales volume was seriously affected with only 7% market share, while HP had 20. % market share in 2006 in India (Singh 2007; Corcoran 2006). Because Dell built to orders, low sales volume led to low production volume. Therefore, Dell had difficulty in reaching high economies of scale by expanding its direct sales into emerging markets while centralizing the production. Moreover, such business model incurred long delivery time and high transportation costs, which could be borne only by Dell. In contrast, for HP, since it used intermediaries, a large part of the transportation costs were shared by intermediaries.Thus, in terms of markets where customers prefer retail sales, direct model and centralized production activity are almost mutually exclusive. That is, Dell could either stick with its direct sales model but build a local factory to reduce the high transportation costs and delivery time, or centralize production in its Malaysia factory but turn to a retail sales model to ensure that production volumes are enough to generate economies of scale. Indeed, Dell chose the former, though it also used retail sellers later on.Additionally, other means such as economies of scope also did not work well for Dell, because of Dell’s specialization in PCs. Unlike HP who sells a mix of products, Dell relied too much on PC business. Therefore, it seems not possible for Dell to share physical assets, external relationships and learning across many different products. However, HP has done well in this regard (TABLE 4). By comparing HP with companies who best developed scope economies, HP is getting close to them (TABLE 4). Economies of Scope| HP| Benchmarks|Shared Global brand name| HP * Value: 26867 million USD, ranking 11th , 2010 * Growth Rate: 12% * Product Variety: full range of printers, scanners, cameras, PCs, smartphones as well as a variety of IT services| Coca Cola * Value: 70452 million USD, ranking 1st , 2010 * Growth Rate: 2% * Product Variety: More than 500 different products| Shared external relationships| HP * Common distribution channels are maintained so that if any master data related to one distribution channel can be viewed and used by other distribution channels. Matsushita * It markets its diverse product mix through the same distribution channel. Matsushita, as a follower, surpassed Philip partly because of its high global efficiency. Philips operated in a more decentralized way. | Shared Ramp;D Capabilities| HP * It plans to develop a Web Operating System (WebOS) in 2011. WebOS will then be installed in all HP’s products: Printers, Computers and Smart phones. | Apple * IOS, an advanced operating system, is shared by all Apple’s products: Ipods, Ipads, Iphones and Mac computers. | TABLE 4 The Extent to Which HP Achieves Scope Economies Interbrand 2010; Bartlett and Beamish 2011) Indeed, HP’s supply chain efficiency is still lower than that of Dell (FIGURE 4), partly because it sells a range of products through distributors. Demand visibility is reduced and thus it makes sale forecast more difficult for HP than for Dell. However, HP achieved and is more able to achieve higher global efficiency, which partly defines a successful global company (TABLE 5). Moreover, even Dell introduce d retail sales model in 2007, it has already lost the battle because retail sales model eroded Dell’s only core competence of low costs.Costs were not just from growing supply chain costs but mostly from increasing marketing budgets. Means| Dell | HP | Economies of Scale| * Moderate scale economies| * Great scale economies since 2002 | Economies of Scope| * Limited diversification leads to limited scope economies| * Effectively achieve scope economies| National Differences| * Almost fully use of factor cost differences | * Almost fully use of factor cost differences| Table 5 Global Efficiency Comparison 4. 7. 2. Flexibility and ResponsivenessIn terms of the input side, HP had more flexibility than Dell in balancing the operations in three regions: EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia), Americas (US, Canada and Latin America) and APJ (Asia Pacific and Japan). Because growth rates in these regions are various, companies who have relatively equal presence in these regions can bett er ward off the external risks and take advantage of national differences (Bartlett and Beamish 2011). Prior to 200, Dell focused more on mature markets, mainly the Americas markets (FIGURE 5). However, at the same time, HP has already presented in most emerging markets mainly in EMEA and APJ (FIGURE 6).One reason that Dell had to rely on the revenue from mature markets is that its direct sales model works well for those customers. However, since 2007 Dell has increasingly used third party resellers to increase flexibility, it claimed to shift the focus to emerging markets. Hence, HP and Dell could ultimately reach parity in terms of supply side flexibility. FIGURE 5 Dell: Revenue by Region (Dell 2006) FIGURE 6 HP: Revenue by Region (HP 2006) When it comes to the output side, Dell’s direct sales model should have given it advantages in sensing and responding to changing customer needs.However, it did not. Specifically, Dell failed to foresee the changing trend towards persona lized notebooks in non-commercial markets. It was not until 2008 did Dell start to focus on product design (Dell 2008). By contrast, as early as 2006, HP has already launched a range of personalized design notebooks targeting a mass consumer (Krazit 2006). The cause was partly due to Dell’s organizational structure. Before 2007, Dell adopted an area division, and both commercial and non-commercial customers were not clearly divided within one area division (Dell 2006).However, these two groups of customers’ preferences became more and more differed. If Dell changed product strategies, both groups might be affected. Therefore, even if Dell had sensed the change in then non-commercial market, it could not respond effectively to the changes On the contrary, although HP benefited limitedly from direct contact with customers, a capable manager and a clear division of commercial and consumer clients within PSG, had given HP more flexibility in sensing and responding to marke t changes. Todd Bradley, the former CEO of Palm joined HP, as the vice president of PSG in 2005.He predicted that the future trends would go to personalized PCs, and HP should emphasize heavily on marketing (Lal and Ross 2009). Thus, in terms of timing, HP gained an advantage in marketing in the consumer client markets earlier than Dell. 4. 7. 3. Worldwide Learning When flexibility and global efficiency reach parity, achieving worldwide learning may be a solution to survive in the PC industry. TBD 4. Win Globally 5. 7. 4. New growth opportunities comparisons 5. 7. 5. IT Services? 5. 7. 6. Integration 5. 7. 7. A Evolving Global Role