Thursday, December 16, 2010

Paintball Industry Overview

International

Paintball has had explosive growth over the last fifteen years. It is now played in over 140 countries. It is a common casual sport worldwide and is also played professionally, with prizes in some areas as high as $100,000. The participation rate in paint ball has increased 29.6% from 1998 to 2001, and frequent participation (15+ days a year) has increased by 78% in the same 3 year period. Even though those stats are older, the trend in growth continues to this day. This means that the sport is enjoyed by a great many amount of people; some of them are quite casual about it, while for some people, the hobby borders on obsession. 

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Mac Commercial Analysis

Analyze Advertisement

I chose one of the many Mac ads to analyze.  The purpose of all Mac ads is to show how a Mac is superior to a Windows computer.  Each advertisement picks one of Mac’s strong points and focuses on how that point makes it better than a Windows computer.  This particular advertisement focuses on the ease of editing, and the quality of videos on a Mac.

The commercials are initially produced to be aired on television, but all Mac commercials can be found on YouTube as well.  So in that regard, their audience is television and You Tube viewers.  The audience can further be broken down into what demographic Apple markets. Apple’s main target is young adults, specifically, the trend setters within this demographic.

Employee Motivation in the Work Place

Employee Motivation in the Workplace
The motivation level of employees greatly affects the production level of a company.  Finding and implementing strategies to motivate employees is one of the most difficult responsibilities of managers. The main reason it is so difficult is the variety of personality types represented in employees, and the different motivation strategies appropriate for each type. HR managers once believed that motivation techniques should be based upon what generation an employee belongs to, we now know that most individuals regardless of generation are looking for the same benefits from their employer (Johnson 226).  This paper will discuss the differences and similarities between employees, and explore the best way to motivate employees based on these.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Canadian Biotechnology Industry Overview

Introduction
Canada has put much focus on the biotechnology industry.  The government, as well as private companies have committed tremendous amount of time and resources into the industry, specifically, into research and development.  The novel food, and pharmaceutical industry are the main focus of biotechnology in Canada, but there is also significant development in life sciences as well.  This essay will discuss these specific aspects of the industry, the Canadian biotechnology industry as a whole, the regulation of the the industry in Canada, and Canada’s standing in the international biotechnology community.



Industry Overview
Canada is one of the world leaders in biotechnology especially in terms of research and development. Canada is second only to the U.S.A. in terms of total biotechnology companies, at 450 companies as of 2006 (Littlehales, 2006). The country contributes almost 10% of the worlds total biotechnology revenues (Health Canada, 2010), bringing in 4.0 billion in revenues in 2009. This is projected to grow to $4.6 billion by 20014 (Biotechnology Industry Profile: Canada, 2010). Of this 4.0 billion in current revenues, the main contributor by far is the health care industry, making up just under 70% of the total revenue; this is closely followed by the agricultural industry which contributed around 25% (Biotechnology Industry Profile: Canada, 2010).

Globalization

Technology has advanced quickly in the last hundred years,  The results if this advancement has brough both wonderful, and terrible things into our world.  One of the results is globalization, but the ways in which we have reached this state, has at the same time made us isolated.
With trains, planes, boats, and cars we can go any were in the world any time we please, and the Internet has made the world’s information available to us at a moment’s notice. Yet, we choose to stay at home, inside our respective secure, dwellings.  Why do we choose to stay at home?

Friday, December 3, 2010

Example of a SWOT Analysis

Here's a SWOT analysis I did for a company. What is a SWOT analysis? It is a list of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats a company has/faces. To make it look better, I suggest making a square and splitting it into four equal parts as pictured below.

Many people get the four criteria of a SWOT Analysis confused, an explanation of the four criteria follows:

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Trade Show Project

Q17

1. Describe the planning stage of a trade show including the establishment of
measurable goals, the points to consider in selecting a show location and the
costs to anticipate in participating in the show.

You should have at least 6 months of planning for a trade show,
while one year would be more suitable. The first thing you should
decide is what is going to be the theme of your booth at the trade show,
specifically, which products are you going to present, or are you going to
promote the business as a whole.

After that you should look at your budget, determine what you
need, and budget accordingly, leaving some extra ‘wiggle’ room incase
something unexpected comes up.

The timeline is very important. You should look at everything that
needs to be done, and how long it’s going to take to get it done. These
tasks should be scheduled from the trade show back to the current date,
rather than from the current date to the trade show. You should have
certain checkpoints in your plan that you have to meet at certain dates.

2. Explain the important elements to consider when creating a display and
include the application of the AIDA principle to display design.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

First Post! About this blog...

This blog will contain random work that I've done either for College (which I have graduated), University or even just personal work.  I'm a business student in Canada.