Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Customer Journey Is Dead A Dawning Of Behavioral Data With Judd Marcello From Cheetah Digital [AMP 137] - CoSchedule Blog

The Customer Journey Is Dead A Dawning Of Behavioral Data With Judd Marcello From Cheetah Digital [AMP 137] Blog Marketers try to map and meticulously outline their customer’s journey to convert a lead into a paying customer. Instead, maybe they should focus on behavioral data to deliver the right message on the right channel at the right time.    Today, my guest is Judd Marcello, executive vice president of global marketing at Cheetah Digital. He believes the customer journey doesn’t exist. Instead, figure out why data is important and how to leverage it between brands and customers. Judd’s Career Journey: B2C to B2B martech firms; it’s all about your contacts and who you know As the number of channels increase, buyers jump around brands on their journey Fallacy of falling into trap of using phrases that become commonplace Consumers, not marketers now predict the path they take from researching to buying a product Marketers can still be proactive by using data to drive smart insights and technology from an AI perspective to provide a great customer experience Customers are going to do whatever they want to do; marketers should: Create unique, compelling, and consistent brand experience Deliver the right messaging Hyper personalize efforts    Create connection between your brand and customer Deliver personal and custom experience through data management Cheetah Digital’s Website revised to reflect how prospects look for information Indicators of Success: Team members, content, client summit; digital evolution What’s working and what’s not; prioritize performance to identify gaps Links: Judd Marcello on LinkedIn Judd Marcello’s Email Cheetah Digital ExactTarget Experian Friction by Roger Dooley Write a review on iTunes and send a screenshot of it to receive cool swag! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Judd Marcello: â€Å"Consumers have more tools than they’ve ever had before to either research or access products or be influenced by other consumers.† â€Å"I don’t think it is a journey, I don’t think it is any one tool that can actually deliver on what a consumer wants. I actually think it’s a number of things.† â€Å"If you are a company that lives and breathes your purpose, your clients will feel that. They will want to be a bigger part of your overall offering or way forward.† This idea of unique value exchange and making that a personalized value exchange is really what our job is today, and why people are going to keep coming back to you or stay with you.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Influence of the Renaissance in Shakespeares Work

The Influence of the Renaissance in Shakespeares Work It’s very easy to think of Shakespeare as a unique genius with a singular perspective on the world around him. However, Shakespeare was very much a product of the radical cultural shifts that were occurring in Elizabethan England during his lifetime. When Shakespeare was working in the  theater, the Renaissance movement in the arts was peaking in England. The new openness and humanism are reflected in Shakespeare’s plays. The Renaissance in Shakespeares Time Broadly speaking, the Renaissance period is used to describe the era when Europeans moved away from the restrictive ideas of the Middle Ages. The ideology that dominated the Middle Ages was heavily focused on the absolute power of God and was enforced by the formidable Roman Catholic Church. From the 14th century onward, people started to break away from this idea. The artists and thinkers of the Renaissance did not necessarily reject the idea of God. In fact, Shakespeare himself may have been Catholic. The Renaissance cultural creators did, however, question humankind’s relationship to God. This questioning produced enormous upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy. And the new focus on humanity created new-found freedom for artists, writers, and philosophers to be inquisitive about the world around them. They often drew on the more human-centered classical writing and art of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. Shakespeare,  the Renaissance Man The Renaissance arrived in England rather late. Shakespeare was born toward  the end of the broader Europe-wide Renaissance period, just as it was peaking in England. He was one of the first playwrights to bring the Renaissance’s core values to the theater. Shakespeare embraced the Renaissance in the following ways: Shakespeare updated the simplistic, two-dimensional writing style of pre-Renaissance drama. He focused on creating human characters with psychological complexity. Hamlet is perhaps the most famous example of this.The upheaval in social hierarchy allowed Shakespeare to explore the complexity and humanity of every character, regardless of their social position. Even monarchs were portrayed as having human emotions and were capable of making terrible mistakes. Consider King Lear or Macbeth.Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when writing his plays. Before the Renaissance, these texts had been suppressed by the Catholic Church. Religion in Shakespeares Time Elizabethan England endured a different form of religious oppression than that which had dominated the Middle Ages. When she took the throne, Queen Elizabeth I forced conversions and drove practicing Catholics underground with her imposition of the Recusancy Acts. These laws required citizens to attend worship in Anglican churches. If discovered, Catholics faced stiff penalties or even death. Despite these laws, Shakespeare did not appear to be afraid to write about Catholicism nor to present Catholic characters in a favorable light. His inclusion of Catholicism in his works has led historians to hypothesize that the Bard was secretly Catholic. Catholic characters included Friar Francis ( Much Ado About Nothing),  Friar Laurence (Romeo and Juliet), and even  Hamlet. At the very least, Shakespeare’s writing indicates a thorough knowledge of Catholic rituals. Regardless of what he may have been doing secretly, he maintained a public persona as an Anglican. He was baptized in and buried at  Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, a Protestant church.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Pervious Studies about abnormal behavior ( sociology ) Assignment

Pervious Studies about abnormal behavior ( sociology ) - Assignment Example They are negatively distinguished from heterosexual homeless youth (Cochran, Stewart, Ginzler, & Cauce, 2002). The authors of the two research studies I chose, for this summary, have pointed out reasons why the topic of lesbian and gay youth’s reflection and challenges are areas of great importance. The author of the study on television programming says that there are very few lesbian and gay characters, especially positive role models, in television programming. Yet television is an important resource for lesbian and gay people to have vicarious experience and shape identity, beliefs and values, especially in the case where their own literal experience is limited. (Fisher, Hill, Grube, & Gruber, 2007) A consequence is that the lesbian/gay community is kept invisible, when there are insufficient models, and is undeservedly portrayed in stereotypically negative ways when the models are negative, reinforcing judgmental heterosexual stereotypes (Fisher, Hill, Grube, & Gruber, 2007). Another reason why the study is important is that there is very little research done on this specific topi c (Fisher, Hill, Grube, & Gruber, 2007), and so this study will be able to contribute to the field. The author of the other study, on homeless lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered youth, feels the topic is important because gay and lesbian adolescents, in general, are at increased risk for physical and mental problems (Cochran, Stewart, Ginzler, & Cauce, 2002). Studies indicate that between 11% and 35% of homeless youth are lesbian or gay. This led the authors of this study to suspect that being homeless and a member of a sexual minority would likely increase their risk (Cochran, Stewart, Ginzler, & Cauce, 2002). The challenges of surviving on the streets, on top of the challenging histories that lesbian and gay youth may already have, are enormous. This makes it a critical study. The first research article is, â€Å"Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Content on

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Managing Innovation at St. Lukes Medical Center Essay

Managing Innovation at St. Lukes Medical Center - Essay Example Every organization exists to achieve a purpose. In order to attain organizational goals, a set of policies and strategies are defined and developed by management. As averred by Christensen, Andrews, & Bower (3), policy is â€Å"the study of the functions and responsibilities of senior management, the crucial problems that affect success in the total enterprise, and the decisions that determine the direction of the organization and shape its function†. One of the strategic management decisions undertaken by aggressive and competitive organizations is innovation. Most business practitioners have grown accustomed to innovation stemming from new inventions and advancing technology. But suiting policy to changing circumstances includes also the application of a firm’s long-established strengths to unexplored segments of the market via innovations in price, service, distribution, or merchandising. Innovation is the â€Å"process by which an idea or invention is translated into a good or service for which people will pay. In business, innovation results often from the application of a scientific or technical idea in decreasing the gap between the needs or expectations of the customers and the performance of a firm's products.† (Business Dictionary 1) One of the most innovative organizations in Asia is St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Philippines. It is the number one hospital in the Philippines but its vision is to be one of the top five medical institutions in Asia by 2010.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Natural monopoly Essay Example for Free

Natural monopoly Essay The concept of â€Å"Natural Monopoly† comes from economics. It is a situation in which majority of the portion of market is covered by a single firm or company. The goods, services or products offered by the company covers the maximum portion of the market. A Natural Monopoly is a situation in which the cost of producing the product (goods or services) is lower due to economies of scale. In a situation of Natural Monopoly, there are no close substitutes to offer the same product or services. Economies of scale is a situation or condition in which the cost to a company of producing or supplying each additional unit of a product or service decreases as the volume of output increases. Economies of scale is not the only reason for the existence of monopoly. A Natural Monopoly also exists because of sole access to a particular resource or technology and because of the use of non-market means to eliminate competition, including buying up competitors and colluding with customers or suppliers to discriminate against competitors. A Natural Monopoly also exists even if there are multiple competitors in the market. In such case, the firm which can attain the largest volume of output and the lowest production cost will be called as a Natural Monopoly. All the other firms will have to exit the industry because they are unable to compete on a price basis. Basically, it is very difficult for any competitor to enter the market of natural monopoly because of very high cost of production facilities which includes the cost of infrastructure. There is also a high uncertainty among the intended competitors that they will be able to oust the existing monopolist. Some of the most commonly used examples for natural monopoly are utilities such as water supply system, electric power transmission system, railroads and pipelines. Though it is very difficult for any intended competitor to enter the market of natural monopoly, but it is very important for us to remember that natural monopoly is not permanent. This is because technological advances can lead to the development of new forms of competition for an industry, change its cost structure and affect the demands for its products. For example, canals were once a natural monopoly for bulk transport in parts of Europe and the U. S. , but these monopolies disintegrated during the nineteenth century as a result of the development of railway.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Is Sherlock Holmes an Individual or a By Product of the Victorian Age? :: Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Essays

Is Sherlock Holmes an Individual or a By Product of the Victorian Age? To the ignorant onlooker Sherlock Holmes is simply a clever detective amongst a horde of similar duplicates from various tales and myths of the crime-solving era. Sherlock Holmes is the culmination from a culture of detectives. Francis Eugene Vidocq, a â€Å"Holmes† in the making, with an utter disregard for the official police, an ability to disguise himself, and clever plans to catch the criminals accompanied by an excellent knowledge of the criminal underworld. Lecoq, used science and his cleverness to solve his crimes. Dupin, a detective who possessed powers of deduction and reasoning. Conan Doyle used all these essential ingredients and through an ingenious metamorphosis produced the ultimate detective; the meticulous observer Sherlock Holmes. If we delve deeper into the infinite chasm of Holmes' character we reveal more about the enigmatic figure that masquerades inside his majestic exterior. The entwining, interlocking tentacles of Holmes' deceivingly simple demeanour knot together to conceal his true being. His character cannot be confined to the restrictive boundaries we use for one and another. His character is far more complex and intelligent than his middle class placement in Victorian society would like to divulge. Conan Doyle created a character, blessed with gifts of deduction, intuition and a genius ability to solve crimes. But in forming this wonderful concoction he thus morphed many other sides to Holmes, seemingly oblivious to his adoring followers. He formed an untouchable creature, unable to feel emotion and passion. "He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer" Emotions would only make Holmes weaker, and Sherlock Holmes did not do weakness. A cold calculated scientist, an ostentatious performer, an arrogant conceited artist, a character arisen to a higher level than us 'inferior beings' Holmes' the bohemian, Holmes' the scientist, Holmes' the detective, Holmes' the gentleman, Holmes' the musician. Clever, genius, conceited, arrogant, patronising, condescending. His character is more than dual-natured. His multiple sided personality forms a complex persona to investigate. To dissect the inner chambers of Holme's thoughts, I will protrude into the depths of a classic narrative; The Red Headed League which embodies many of Holmes intricate characteristics. In this classic narrative Mr Wilson, the stereotypical ignorant victim is used as a long-suffering pawn in a game of cruel political chess, he is obliviously trapped in a criminal masterminds scheming plan to gain his revenge on society. The 'red headed league' is an exuberant ploy to keep Mr Wilson out of his lodgings for days on end under the preface that his "Real vivid flame coloured tint" had earned him a place in the ambiguous "red headed league". He has

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Carlos Ghosn Nissan Ceo

Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Nissan and Renault: Can He Rework the ‘Nissan Magic'? â€Å"We knew some people were concerned about the potential for culture clashes, between the French and the Japanese, but it was not an issue. Cultural differences should be used as a catalyst for change, not as a crutch that inhibits change. You can learn a lot from somebody who is not like you. â€Å"1 – Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan. â€Å"Make sure you are focused on your own people. Bring in them motivation and sense of ownership, then you can do your miracle. 2 – Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan. Introduction In 2002, Louis Schweitzer, CEO of Renault announced that Carlos Ghosn, the president and CEO of Nissan would also take over the reigns at Renault in April 2005, while Schweitzer would remain the chairman of the board. With the new position , Carlos Ghosn would lead two companies Nissan and Renault. As of 2004,Renault held 44%stake in Nissan and Nissan owned around 15%of Renault's shar es. ‘Turnaround artist', as Carlos Ghosn was called was behind the industry's most remarkable turnaround at Nissan.After he became the CEO of Nissan in 1999, he had brought in many un-Japanese changes in the Japanese company and had actively persuaded the employees to accept change. Carlos Ghosn was credited for reviving the company from$254million losses and $19billion debt in 1999 into profits within two years. After taking up his position as the CEO of Renault in April 2005,CarlosGhosn is likely to face many challenges. Heading two different automobile companies from two different countries was first of its kind and industry observers expressed doubts whether Ghosn would be able to take up the pressure and rework the ‘Nissanmagic'.Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic'In March 1999,Renault, the then ninth carmaker in the world announced its alliance with Nissan investing $5. 4 billion. Nissan was in losses for many years from 1990-1999 except for profits reported in 1 997(Annexure I) and looked out for partners to recover from the troubles. The brand recognition was very low and it was estimated that Nissan was losing $1000 for every car it sold in US. By the end of 1990s,Nissan exported cars to Europe and Australia and some parts of Asia. The company was in losses to the tune of $5. billion, had debts totaling around $19 billion and was suffering from a poor product portfolio and diminishing brand value. Nissan’s market share had dropped from 6. 6 %in 1991 to 4. 9%by late 1990s. Renault at the same time was expanding internationally through acquisitions. After the unsuccessful merger with Volvo, Renault under Louis Schweitzer entered into an alliance with Nissan acquiring a 36%stake in the company. Triggering the alliance was Nissan’s strength in product designs and sophisticated manufacturing that blended well with the engineering quality at Renault.For Renault, the alliance would help in international expansions in the long-term while for Nissan; it was to get rid of its short-term troubles that had accumulated. Initially industry observers were skeptical about a non-Japanese manager successfully leading a Japanese firm. While Carlos Ghosn was successful in cutting costs and had sometimes imposed hard regimes during his tenure atMichelin3  , many were apprehensive if he would be successful in Japan. | | He was 46 when he joined Nissan and was far younger than the middle-level managers in the company.Carlos Ghosn knew nothing about Japan and had no knowledge of the culture there. He once said that he had a ‘very vague' idea about the country and accepted, â€Å"I did not try to learn too much about Japan before coming, because I didn’t want to have too many preconceived ideas. I wanted to discover Japan by being in Japan with Japanese people. â€Å"4  On the first day, when Carlos Ghosn arrived at Nissan, he took an elevator to reach his office. As he entered the lift, which was already pa cked with workers who were coming up from garage, everyone knew he was the new CEO. To his surprise, at every floor the lift stopped, none got down.Finally, when he got down, the employees bowed as he left and went back to their floors. After such an unexpected incident, which reflected major cultural difference, Carlos Ghosn realized how important it was to understand them. Since the first day, Carlos Ghosn had made the cultural diversity a catalyst rather than a crutch for the company. 5 Next >> 1]Carlos Ghosn's interview, â€Å"Interview: The road to ruin†, www. themanufacturer. com, December 2002 2]Parachkevova, Anna â€Å"CEO outlines Nissan’s resurgence†, www. thedartmouth. com, May 12th 2004 3]Carlos Ghosn joined Michelin in 1974, where he was chairman and CEO ofNorth American operations and had undertook several cost cutting initiatives. 4]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, http://web-japan. org, April 5th 2002 5]†Th rowing away the culture crutch†, 2000 Automotive News World Congress, January 18th 2000 Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ However, since the beginning, Carlos Ghosn was in a Catch-22 situation as Japanese were not used to dictatorship kind of leadership. He knew that if he tried to dictate terms, that could lead to bruising employee morale, and if he remained lenient, it could hinder the required change.Instead of imposing change ,CarlosGhosn brought about the need for urgency in operations by mobilizing   them an agers. Carlos Ghosn identified that the basic flaw with Nissan’s culture when he took over was that employees were reluctant to accept the failures and held other departments or economic conditions responsible for them. This resulted in a lack of urgency among employees as everyone assumed the other would take action. He found that instead of solving the problems, they were trying to live with them.Nissan throughout 1990s, had been concentra ting on short-termmarket share growth rather than long termgrowth and instead of investing its profits towards product portfolio improvement itwas spending themtowards equity purchases of other companies especially its suppliers. Its product profile was comparatively outdated with old designs when customers craved for stylish designs while competitors were steadily focusing on new product designs. By 1999, it had around $4 billion held in the form of shares while its purchasing costs remained very high, around 20-25%more than that of Renault's.The employees openly resisted cross-functional teams, as they strongly believed in territories and sectionalism, which was a major part of their culture. Carlos Ghosn explained, â€Å"Engineers work very well together, financial people work very well together, salespeople work very well together. But when you start to add an engineer, a marketer, a salesperson, and a manufacturer, here all the strengths of Japan in teamwork disappear. â€Å" 6  To overcome the resistance, he had to explain to the employees why the cross-functional teams were important and how they would impact the overall benefits.Carlos Ghosn believed that the general human tendency was to resist anything different. He considered that by accepting change, people tend to become stronger, as they understand the differences and try to analyze the causes for such differences. Cross-functional teams were formed and employees were involved in the revival process. This helped Carlos Ghosn explain his plans and gain acceptance easily. Through these cross-functional teams, employees were made to look beyond their line of responsibilities, understanding the nitty- gritties of the other departments as well.After the cross-functional teams were in place, people owned up responsibility whenever something went wrong. â€Å"The solution to Nissan’s problems was inside the company. The main [idea] we would have for revival of the company would be a rebuilt m otivation of Nissan employees and partners,† he explained. 7| | Immediately after appointing the teams, they were asked to submit plans to achieve the maximum possible output in each area and within a week decisions were made. The outcome was the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP).After the NRPwas announced, every aspect from the timing, the plan schedules and the commitments as well as targets were clearly stated. Shiro Tomii, vice president, Nissan Japan remarked, â€Å"He establishes high yet attainable goals; makes everything clear to all roles and levels of responsibility, works with speed; checks on progress; and appraises results based on fact. â€Å"8 Next >> 6]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, op. cit 7]Saadi, Dania â€Å"Nissan's miracle man offers clues to solving national economic woes†, www. lebanonwire. com   8]David Magee, Turnaround: how Carlos Ghosn rescued NissanCarlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ Listening to the employees and facilitating their participation in the decision-making process, was key aspect of Carlos Ghosn's leadership. By avoiding impersonal meetings through mails, he stressed the need for face-to-face communication. He believed that the people close to the company could come out with better solutions than an outsider like him. In contrast, the Japanese were polite, reticent and never spoke about the plans to their boss. Carlos Ghosn had to repeatedly explain to the employees that he needed their viewpoints and would not mind if they speak out.This, according to him was the greatest hurdle. While in France at Renault, he emphasized on teamwork, in Japan he believed it was not required and instead individuality was given more prominence. Price Water house Coopers in a report on change management listed Carlos Ghosn's key human resource management techniques calling them very simple and straightforward By maintaining transparency from the stage of planning to action, he ai med at the best possible out comes while also lifting the morale of the employees who were particularly distressed after the crisis at the company.He invited suggestions from every influential individual from suppliers, Nissan’s ex-employees, dealers etc. He explained, â€Å"As you know credibility has two legs, performance, and transparency. Performance, we had none to show at the time, so we were determined to be highly transparent. â€Å"9  He called the NRP, an ‘organization's collective effort' involving thousands of employees at every managerial level. To show his commitment to the plan, he declared that he would resign along with other top executives if the plan fails in bringing in the benefits. Carlos Ghosn wanted immediate results by fixing short-term targets.While he called the passive style of management-by-consensus a killer, an active and constructional version could work miracles, according to him. He believed that an 85%consensus was enough and 100%w as not always essential. While cultural adaptability had been his key, he was also at the same time affirmative about giving more priority to the bottom-line growth rather than just to the cultural aspects. He remarked, â€Å"I do not want to intentionally offend people, but I am more concerned about making Nissan profitable again than being culturally sensitive. â€Å"10| | The first phase of NRP focused on cutting the costs and improving profits.The first major step Carlos Ghosn undertook was divestments from subsidiaries to reduce the debt. Suppliers accounted for major part of costs of production and the age-old Keiretsu system and the obligations that came with it were adding to heavy costs11  . Deviating from the system, Carlos Ghosn opened the purchasing offer to all the suppliers encouraging new suppliers who were ready to supply at low prices. As part of the revival plan, suppliers were forced to offer discounts to the tune of 20-30%and the number of suppliers was broug ht down to 600 from 1145 while the purchasing costs were reduced by 20%.During a meeting with the dealers of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn announced, â€Å"I don't want any excuses. I want to know what you are going to do to make things better. â€Å"12  Cost cutting at each stage began to be regarded as the need of the hour as the employees were encouraged to reduce expenses through all possible ways. The cross functional teams were given one month time to identify areas to cut costs and increase the profits through bottom-line growth. Next >> 9]Ibid. 10]Larimar, Tim â€Å"Japan, Nissan and Ghosn revolution†, www. sb. columbia. edu 11]The Keiretsu system, in which the companies maintained partnership with each of its suppliers, holding shares in those companies, transferring managers characterized the big family of companies and its suppliers were both shared relationships 12]Larimar, Tim â€Å"Japan, Nissan and Ghosn revolution†, op. cit. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Ni ssan Magic' Cont†¦ The most un-Japanese practices like closing plants and cutting work force, in a country, which believed in lifetime employment, were the biggest of all challenges.When he planned to close five plants which included both assembly plants and power train plants, the board of directors were not informed until the night before, as Carlos Ghosn knew some people within the company wanted his plans to fail. After he announced, he was reported to have threatened, â€Å"If this leaks out, I'll close seven plants, not five. â€Å"13  For Carlos Ghosn, convincing the labor unions over the disadvantages of rigid job definition was a big task. The seniority-based promotion that was entrenched in the Japanese firm was replaced by a performance based and merit-based incentive system.Instead of sacking people, which was against the culture in Japan, 21,000 jobs were cut through retirements, pre-retirements and golden handshakes out of which 16500 were in Japan alone. The plants were closed, while offering alternative jobs to the employees in other plants of the company. The complex manufacturing structure, which involved 24 platforms at seven assembly plants, was brought down to 12 platforms, which were shared by four plants. Around 10%of the retail outlets were closed and 20%of the dealer affiliates was streamlined to further reduce selling and marketing expenses.After the phase one of the revival plan was over, Nissan reported profits of $1. 5 billion for six months between April to September, which was the best results the company had ever seen. At the same time, Carlos Ghosn began to be called an iconoclast, who had brought in some un-Japanese, western style of culture in the company’s operations. He, in contrast to the traditional Japanese business etiquettes, shook hands with his partners and other executives. As a result, there was discontent among the traditionalists and other industry associations in the country.And his bold decision s like closing plants, had invited repugnance among many including the insiders and Ghosn began to take along a bodyguard wherever he went| | The cross-cultural merger between a French and a Japanese firm, raised several other challenges. The alliance aimed at cost savings through sharing of platforms and engineering capabilities. Initially though the employees and the design engineers were convinced over the superiority of the platforms brought in from the Renault plants, they were reluctant to adopt them.To overcome resistance, regular meetings were conducted among the Nissan and Renault employees. While at the same time, Carlos Ghosn began to recruit more designers from Japan to design new models. He maintained that the best way to solve the cultural differences was to avoid forcing the cultural blend. Rather, he believed in appreciating the differences between the cultures and minimizing the cultural clashes by bringing in a performance-driven management. To ensure that the Japa nese staff understands what the French managers spoke, English was made the common language in the company.A dictionary of 100 key words used by them management was prepared to solve the differences in the way each work was interpreted by French as well as Japanese. The words included ‘commitment', ‘transparency', ‘objectives', and ‘targets' etc. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦ In Japan, attending all formal parties of suppliers was very important and one was not supposed to miss them unless there was a strong reason. When Carlos Ghosn missed the New Year Party hosted by the suppliers’ association, it was considered as a sign of disrespect to their culture.Carlos Ghosn had attended all such gatherings since then. Carlo sGhosn understood all these subtle aspects, which were an essential part of the culture, as he began adapting to them. In the second phase of the revival plan, which started in 2001, Carlos Ghosn stressed on selling mo re cars, improving the top line growth as well. Dropping non-performing products from its portfolio, the company introduced trendy new models in SUVs and minivans category. An updated Z sports coupe was reintroduced in the market. The phase two increased sales by one million and debt was brought down to zero.With his unconventional leadership style and charisma, he began tow in praises from the employees of the company as well as from the industry and the public. Sometimes, people in streets would stop him and wish him success saying, ‘Gambatte [go for it]'. TIME magazine named him the most influential global business executive and more and more Japanese companies were embarking on the gaijin [Foreigner]-Ghosn’s style for attaining maximum benefits in a short time. His colleagues at Nissan were particularly impressed by his dedication towards achievement of targets and his 24/7 work ethics reinforcing the importance of hard work.His devotion towards the revival of the c ompany from problems, for which he was not in any way responsible, encouraged his peers to work hard and contribute towards a common goal. Toshiyuki Shiga who was made in charge of the Nissan’s expansions in China had once remarked, â€Å"He told me to make a clear strategy for Nissan in China, and he gave me two months to do it. †Ã‚  14  While he ensured that the progress was undertaken without holding any individual responsible for the past crisis, he was also at the same time particular about results. | Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, Nissan Europe, said, â€Å"To people who don't accept that performance is what is at stake, he can be ruthless. â€Å"15 Calling his turnaround at Nissan a ‘near death experience', Carlos Ghosn said he had experienced extensive cultural diversities during his tenure at Renault, Nissan, Nissan’s North American business and Samsung motors, a Korean based company acquired by Renault. His management style is wov en around two attributes- ‘value and motivation'. He believed in motivating employees and demanding performance by empowering them. Your employees must be interested in what is going on in the company. Nothing is more inefficient than a boring company. You have to create an interesting environment where people are interested in the story you are creating and want to hear the happy ending†, he said. He was called ‘Ice Breaker' by Daimler Chrysler's Chairman Jurgen E. Schrempp because of his unconventional thinking and implementing western style of management in Japan breaking the prevalent myth in the industry. Carlos Ghosn: The ‘Nissan Magic' Cont†¦The biweekly comic series, ‘The true life of Carlos Ghosn' featured Nissan's CEO Carlos Ghosn, depicting his popularity in the industry as well as the country. Some others called him ‘an ambassador of change', ‘the troubleshooter' and considered him as a role model for all those business exec utives who were seeking solutions to the poor state of their companies in Japan. After the implementation of the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP), within two years, the company recovered from the losses and reported a 10. 2%increase in its revenues and nearly 84%increase in its operating profits .Though the sales had not considerably improved, the cost cuttings contributed towards improving the bottom line. In May 2001, the company reported its largest net profit of $2. 7 billion. Carlos Ghosn was named the ‘Businessman of the year' by Fortune magazine in 2002 and Auto mobile Magazine called him' man of the year' for his contributions to Nissan. Renault increased its stake in Nissan to 44. 4%while Nissan owned 13. 5%of Renault's share capital. However, by 2003,Nissan started experiencing a downward trend in its sales, as the volume of goods that passed out from dealers was dropping in size.Customers regularly complained of quality defects and Nissan’s rank in overall quality ( as per a survey by J. D. PowerAssociates) dropped to 11th in 2004 from6th in 2003. It looked as the rigorous emphasis on the faster execution of the restructuring had resulted in these quality defects while Ghosn assured he would fix them. To counter the situation, in May 2004, he sent a quality control team of 220 engineers to the Nissan plant in Smyrna (Tennessee) and every part of the assembly line went through a detailed scrutiny.Subtle issues like the workers who wore studded jeans and rings causing scratches to the freshly painted cars, etc came to light. Ghosn was amazed at some very obvious ones, which could be rectified at the plant, like defective doors and reading lights etc. Carlos Ghosn had already achieved two of the three goals that were set for NRP, the debt was cleared and profitability was achieved. | | The Nissan 180, an extension of NRP was launched and aimed at additional sales volume of one million annually from 2005, the third objective of NRP. US market was c onsidered to play a key role in achieving the goal of additional one million sales.A new plant was set up in Canton, the first in North America where Nissan was facing challenges from other Japanese automakers, Toyota and Honda. Mean while, Nissan was planning an alliance with Mitsubishi after Daimler Chrysler gave up its plans of partnership with Mitsubishi. The partnership would help Nissan enter the mini car segment while Mitsubishi would be able to reduce cost burden of new product development. The shortage of steel supplies forced Nissan to reduce its production in 2004, affecting production of 15,000 units amounting to $58. 5million of loss in sales.Nissan closed its plants for five days following the shortage of supplies, as steel prices in creased with demand for steel increasing after the economic boom in China. While halting production was considered a sign of mismanagement many felt that Carlos Ghosn's attempt to bring down the number of suppliers as part of NRP, had resu lted in over-reliance on few suppliers . However, Ghosn defended himself saying that the savings achieved during that phase were far more [$9. 7 billion] than the losses incurred due to loss of sales. Renault – The French Automaker Renault was a state owned government enterprise since 1945.It was started as a motorized vehicle assembler in 1898. Renault built trucks, airplane engines and heavy vehicles during the World War II and after the war and with the economic boom, Renault achieved high volume sales with its low cost cars like 4CV, Renault 4 and Renault 5 through the 1970s and 1980s. During early 1980s, Renault expanded into US by acquiring half the shares of American Motor Corporation. However, the deal was unprofitable and the company had to withdraw from the market in 1987. A similar deal failed in Mexico, and with both the deals financed through debts, Renault was left ith huge debts accumulated by the end of 1980s. It reported losses of $3. 5 billion between 1984 a nd 1986. Further, because it was a state owned business, obligations with labour unions led to more costs for the company. When Louis Schweitzer joined Renault in 1986,Renault had accumulated debts to the tune of $9 billion and was in huge losses. Its proposed merger with Sweden based ABVolvo in 1993 failed due to unfavorable French political climate and with Swedish shareholders expressing reservation. The company continued to be in losses till 1996,when Schweitzer brought in Carlos Ghosn as the executive vice president.Under the duo, product quality was improved, outsourcing secondary activities and overheads were reduced along with reduction in workforce. The same time, French government started setting ground for its IPO when Louis Schweitzer discovered that privatization of the company could only save it. In July 1996, the IPO was completed. By 1998,with the midsize model Scenic, Renault was successful in European market and in 1998 alone it made profits of $1. 4 billion from$4 0 billion sales. 16 While Renault became the No. 1 automaker in Europe, to be a global player, it had to expand its operations further.By the end of 1990s, it had a very small presence in Asia and was totally absent in the North American market. After the merger of Daimler and Chrysler in 1998, for Renault, expansions became a requisite. And, Nissan seemed a lucrative opportunity, as an alliance with Nissan could help in easier market expansion for Renault in developing markets. While others including Ford and DaimlerChrysler had earlier attempted a deal with Nissan, they later withdrew keeping in view the huge debt that Nissan held and its culture that was inflexible. | After the alliance, Renault managed to reduce its launching and warranty costs for new product introductions by recruiting managers from Nissan to undertake the launch. At the same time, it sent its employees to Nissan to oversee manufacturing, to achieve cost efficient production. Later Renault acquired Samsung Mot ors in South Korea and Roman automaker, Dacia as part of its international expansion. With the launch of multi purpose vehicles, Laguna II and A van time in 2001 and Espace IV in 2002 , and after its association with Formula One racing between 1992 and 1997, its brand popularity improved.By 2004,Renault held strong foothold in European market and reported a 6. 5%increase in sales by the first half of 2004 and was the fourth largest auto company in the world. It held nearly 11%market share in Western European market in passenger car and light vehicle cars. At the same time, Renault performance in large cars segment was sluggish and was struggling to achieve operating margin of 4%, when the demand for cars in the European market was low. Some of the new launches like the Vel Satis, a tall saloon luxury model, were not very successful in the market. Are launch in the US market was also underway.Renault was facing other challenges along with Nissan and other automakers. Environmental fr iendly cars, which seemed a likely potential opportunity, were costly to manufacture at the price the customers were ready to pay. Renault was planning for expansions in Chinese market and South Korea and other parts of Asia through alliance with Nissan. Next ;gt;;gt; 16]†For Renault, a new chance to take on the world†, www. businessweek. com, November 15th 1999 Carlos Ghosn as CEO of Renault and Nissan By 2010, Nissan and Renault would build their cars using the common building blocks.Ghosn viewed the alliance as â€Å"managing contradiction between synergy and identity†17  and confirmed that while gaining synergies, the individual identity of each brand would be safeguarded. The other major alliances in the industry, the DaimlerChrysler and the GM/Fiat had not proved to be very successful because of improper management of merged assets, trans-atlantic product development and failed attempt in understanding local market; Ghosn confirmed that Nissan's alliance w ith Renault would creatively achieve it. At the same time the alliance would avoid merger and would maintain ‘a spirit of partnership'18  .The alliance would be the fourth largest automobile group in the world. In October 2004, the first car was built using a common platform of Nissan and Renault. Modus, a subcompact minivan of Renault shared its base with Nissan’s Micra saving $500million for Renault every year. After Carlos Ghosn succeeds Schweitzer at Renault's in April 2005, he would also continue as the CEO of Nissan. Carlos Ghosn was affirmative that he would not leave the company unless he finds the right person who would succeed him at Nissan. He stressed on the need for a Japanese as the CEO of Nissan in such a culture sensitive country.While at Nissan, he had transformed himself into a Japanese, adapting to the culture, analysts feared if he would breach the French business etiquettes as he takes up the rein at Renault. 19  Two of the five vice presidents at Renault would retire soon, and Carlos Ghosn was to take up the reigns at both the companies, during such senior level management changes. At the same time, many feared if the sense of urgency brought through NRP would continue at Nissan or will the company slip back to its old habits, when Carlos Ghosn leaves.The pressure was considered to be very high, as an analyst stated, â€Å"He will be less present at Renault than he was at Nissan, and less present at Nissan that he used to be. I believe this challenge will be more difficult. â€Å"20 The alliance had helped both the companies equally, in terms of cost savings from not requiring to construct new plants where the alliance can use common buildings, common platforms etc. This had also helped them enter new markets faster and gain other synergies . The purchasing power had also increased as they ordered and bought components through Renault-Nissan purchasing organization for both the companies at a time. | The alliance had fr om the beginning ensured that the inter-company cultural clashes do not exist, by maintaining individual cultural identities. While a merger had been avoided since the beginning, Carlos Ghosn confirmed that it would be its agenda in future also. Carlos Ghosn remarked that when he takes up the two positions, he would blend the strengths of the people at the companies, the innovation excellence of the French and the dedication towards manufacturing of the Japanese. 21  He affirmed that his tenure at Nissan had allowed him to learn the real essence of successful leaders, and would drive his success in future also.He called himself, ‘not a theorist of citizenship but an expert in multi nationality’. 22 Carlos Ghosn called the three major attributes, ‘Value, Transparency and Performance' as the ones that would determine the competence of any CEO. He believed that they act as standards for leadership in global business, in the light of growing corporate scandals, when the top executives of the companies were increasingly coming under scrutiny. He explained that the actual results that are delivered along with simultaneous value creation to the customers and the other stakeholders through maintaining transparency, reflect an efficient leadership.By communicating every strategy to every person concerned, he maintained that it would facilitate a faster reaction to dynamics in the fiercely competitive global market place. An analyst once called Carlos Ghosn, ‘amanager without borders, polyglot and cosmopolitan'. Talking about his dual roles and the cultural barriers that he will have to face as he moves to Renault while also heading Nissan, Carlos Ghosn said, â€Å"Global is global. In my opinion, this is going to be the story of the twenty-first century.This is what's going to happen in the twenty-first century – you're going to see the emergence of more ‘global' standards, some kind of global references; you're going to see mor e and more of it. But ‘globality' doesn’t mean ‘uniformity. ‘ It doesn't mean that. You’ll still have different cultures, you’ll still have different tastes, and you’ll still have some adaptations to make to different countries, but you'll have some basic things that will be common globally, especially in the economic area. â€Å"23 17]†Renault's alliance with Nissan†, www. economist. om, August 16th 2001 18]Parachkevova, Anna â€Å"CEO outlines Nissan's resurgence†, http://thedartmouth. com, May 12th 2004 19]†Carlos Ghosn- Nissan motor†, www. businessweek. com, January 8th 2000 20]Tierney, Christine â€Å"Leadership, bold moves help Renault save Nissan†, www. detnews. com, October 24th 2003 21]Smith, Duvergne, Nancy â€Å"Nissan Renault alliance faces down few challenges†, http://web. mit. edu, November 18th 2004 22]Abescat, Bruno â€Å"I am an expert of multi nationality†, http://liv res. lexpress. fr 23]†Carlos Ghosn: standing at the global crossing†, op. cit

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Response to Peter Singer’s Speech

Peter Singer’s speech on a solution to world poverty made a lot of good points concerning how to help those in need. He states that most people can afford to help starving children and that people are turning their backs on the needy. Where he fails though, is in actually providing a solution that will hold up over time. His focus on guilting those more fortunate into action and then guiding them to give $200 is no solution, but a call to give to those less fortunate instead of fixing the problem for good. In his speech he gives examples to try to guilt those listening into giving charitably. He sites a book by NYU philosopher Peter Unger, titled, â€Å"Living High and Letting Die†. He goes on to paraphrase an example from the book that he thinks gives a great example towards American’s lack of charitable giving. His example is about a man named Bob who is nearly retired and has invested most of his savings into a rare and valuable old car. He has a lot of pride in the car and he enjoys taking care of it. He also enjoys that its rising value means he will always be able to sell it and live comfortably. He is out one day for a drive one day and park the car along some railroad tracks and goes for a walk along the tracks. As he is walking he sees that a runaway train with no one aboard is headed for a small child farther down the track. The child is too far to warn of the danger and will be killed unless Bob throws a switch to put the train on the siding where his beloved car is parked. Throwing the switch will destroy his car and therefore his long time investment. Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch and the child is killed. He uses this example comparatively to how the average American reacts to charitable giving. He labels them as cruel people who choose their own livelihood over the lives of dying children, which is unfair. Commonly, those not giving are not looking into the eyes of a dying child but rather into a scary world where finances are always unsettling. In my personal experience guilting someone into doing something is the worst way to evoke passion for action. Forcing someone to do something is not nearly as effective as creating a want to do something. Over time guilt tripping makes the action lose steam while making someone want to do something can create a passion that lasts for a long time. Let me follow Singers lead here and provide an example. Suppose that you would like to have your friend go to a new sushi restaurant with you. Would it be smarter to guilt him into going by using something against him to make him go, or would it be smarter to talk about how good the atmosphere and food is? Obviously it is much smarter to talk up the restaurant instead of sending your friend on a guilt trip. The guilt trip may only make your friend go once but making the friend want to go will result in many visits to the restaurant. Creating a passion is the best way to call people to action and singer failed to do this. Instead, he should have used a more indirect method like talking about the benefits and contentedness that one can receive from charitable donation and selling them on the concept Another spot where his speech falls short is in providing a plausible solution to world poverty. Having everyone with disposable income give $200 to help feed hungry children solves none of the problems having to do with poor villages not being able to support their people. In the article, â€Å"We can end global poverty†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the author describes a plan laid out by David Cameron that includes over 10 steps to end global poverty by 2030. Including such ideas as going green, going for growth, good government, and global partnership. The final report comes after 8 months of consultation with more than 5,000 public groups across 120 different countries. Citizens, governments, businesses, local charities, community groups and development experts all had a chance to contribute their ideas. This type of initiative is what it takes to create a true end to world poverty, not just simply pleading that people give $200 to charity. I feel as if Singer never really thought to develop his idea thoroughly and just wanted something quick that he could easily get people to support. This is where his ethos breaks down. He no longer seems to be a person worth speaking to about the subject, but rather someone who wants a problem solved but doesn’t want to put in effort to come up with a real solution. After analyzing his speech thoroughly I feel that Singer has a lot of passion for what he speaks about but fails to come up with real plausible solutions to the problems he is addressing. Singer may believe he has World Poverty all figured out but there are a few points he’s not thinking about. He used emotional stories about dying children to guilt his listeners into giving money. Though, Peter Singer makes a valid point that we should be helping children in need, what happens when everyone stops blowing their money on luxury items? In his speech he says, â€Å"The formula is simple: whatever money you're spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away. † If we were to spend only money on necessities and donate the rest it would, in turn, cause economic distress. Jobs will begin to slowly deplete from our own economy here in America. Manufacturing jobs such as, furniture, computers, televisions, housing, retail, and many more would disappear. The sad fact of the matter is that poverty is a necessity and just like with all things you have to take the good with the bad.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Florida Expeditions of Ponce de Leon

The Florida Expeditions of Ponce de Leon Juan Ponce de Leà ³n was a Spanish conquistador and explorer, best remembered for settling the island of Puerto Rico and for directing the first major explorations of Florida. He made two trips to Florida: one in 1513 and the second in 1521. It was on this latter expedition that he was wounded by natives and died shortly thereafter. He is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, although it is likely that he was not actively looking for it. Juan Ponce de Leà ³n Ponce was born in Spain around 1474 and arrived in the New World no later than 1502. He proved to be industrious and tough and soon earned the favor of King Ferdinand himself. He was originally a conquistador and assisted in the wars against the natives of Hispaniola in 1504. Later, he was given good land and proved to be an able farmer and rancher. Puerto Rico Ponce de Leon was given permission to explore and settle the island of San Juan Bautista, today known as Puerto Rico. He established a settlement and soon earned the respect of the settlers. He even had decent relations with the islands native population. Around 1512, however, he lost the island to Diego Columbus (son of Christopher) due to a legal ruling back in Spain. Ponce heard rumors of a rich land to the northwest: the natives said the land, Bimini, had much gold and wealth. Ponce, who still had many influential friends, secured permission to colonize any lands he found to the northwest of Puerto Rico. First Florida Voyage On March 13, 1513, Ponce set sail from Puerto Rico in search of Bimini. He had three ships and about 65 men. Sailing northwest, on April 2nd they spotted what they took for a large island: Ponce named it Florida because it was Easter season, referred to as Pascua Florida in Spanish. The sailors landed on Florida on April 3rd: the exact place is unknown but was likely to the north of present-day Daytona Beach. They sailed up the eastern coast of Florida before doubling back and exploring some of the western side. They saw a good deal of Floridas coast, including the Saint Lucie Inlet, Key Biscayne, Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island, and Miami Beach. They also discovered the Gulf Stream. Ponce de Leon in Spain After the first voyage, Ponce went to Spain to be sure, this time, that he and he alone had royal permission to explore and colonize Florida. He met with King Ferdinand himself, who not only confirmed Ponce’s rights in regards to Florida but also knighted him and gave him a coat of arms: Ponce was the first conquistador so honored. Ponce returned to the New World in 1516, but no sooner had he arrived than word of Ferdinand’s death reached him. Ponce returned to Spain once again to make sure his rights were in order: regent Cardinal Cisneros assured him that they were. Meanwhile, several men made unauthorized visits to Florida, mostly to take slaves or look for gold. Second Florida Voyage In early 1521, he rounded up men, supplies, and ships and prepared for a journey of exploration and colonization. He finally set sail on February 20, 1521. This journey was a complete disaster. Ponce and his men selected a site to settle somewhere in western Florida: the exact place is unknown and subject to much debate. They were not there long before they were attacked by furious natives (likely victims of slaving raids). The Spanish were driven back into the sea. Ponce himself was wounded by a poisoned arrow. The colonization effort was abandoned and Ponce was taken to Cuba where he died sometime in July of 1521. Many of Ponces men sailed down to the Gulf of Mexico, where they joined Hernan Cortes expedition of conquest against the Aztec Empire. His Legacy Ponce de Leà ³n was a trailblazer who opened the southeastern US to exploration by the Spanish. His well-publicized Florida voyages would eventually lead to a number of expeditions there, including the disastrous 1528 trip led by the unlucky Pnfilo de Narvaez. He is still remembered in Florida, where some things (including a small town) are named for him. Schoolchildren are taught of his early visits to Florida. Ponce de Leà ³ns Florida trips are probably better remembered because of the legend that he was seeking the Fountain of Youth. He probably wasnt: the very practical Ponce de Leon was looking more for a place to settle than any mythological fountains. Nevertheless, the legend has stuck, and Ponce and Florida will forever be associated with the Fountain of Youth. Source Fuson, Robert H. Juan Ponce de Leon and the Spanish Discovery of Puerto Rico and Florida. Blacksburg: McDonald and Woodward, 2000.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Top teaching apps to download before the year is over

Top teaching apps to download before the year is over Attention teachers- are you looking for ways to maximize your effectiveness and improve your classroom experience, and make this year’s crop of students happy that they had the opportunity to work with you this academic year? As a teacher, you’re more than aware of the value of investing in additional resources and supplies to bolster your lessons and planning- in fact, for many teachers, these extras are absolutely essential. But did you know that thanks to the recent wave of technological innovation there are a wealth of free and low-cost resources that you can take advantage of to help support your teaching efforts? Yes, we’re talking apps, and we’re going to recommend some of the top ones for you to download before the school year is over. Consider the following four options to make your year get even better.KahootLearning doesn’t have to always be serious or boring, and Kahoot is proof- this helpful app let’s teachers take their lesson r eview questions and turn them into fun, interactive quizzes that students can use to practice and review key concepts and build their skills. It makes getting your students motivated to learn learn easier, and they get to have a little fun along the way- a total win-win situation.SeesawThis award-winning app is the perfect conduit between parents and student performance- it creates individual digital student-driven portfolios in which their classroom progress and best work can be posted and shared with their parents. Seesaw also allows students to help manage their learning in a new and creative way, and it helps you keep their parents in the loop and on top of every facet of their child’s development in your classroom- from strengths and weaknesses to changes in performance and skill acquisition. Best of all, the developers of this app have made it completely free for teachers.RemindWho among us doesn’t benefit from a helpful reminder every now and then? The folks beh ind Remind are fully aware of this, and have developed an app that helps teachers bolster their communication with students and parents- all in one helpful place. Everything from individual and group chats to sharing files and content and important classroom updates and announcements can be facilitated through the app (and translated into different languages if need be). It’s a great little teacher’s assistant that fits in your pocket.AdditioTake your classroom management to the next level (and out of the clunky notebooks) with this helpful all-purpose app, designed to help teachers handle some of the routine administrative components of their jobs- everything from attendance records to class and student notes and grades can easily be completed and stored here. There are also a host of planning and data analysis features that you can use to track and grade student progress and keep organized and on top of things. (Some of these features come at a cost, but it may be wo rth the investment.)We all know that being a teacher challenging, but there are tools designed to help make it a little easier. The apps mentioned here are specifically designed for teachers to help bolster classroom learning and skill building, keep the lines of communication with students and parents strong, and store all the files, records, and paperwork teachers are responsible for in one handy place.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Current status, Potential, Limitation of wind energy in Qinghai Term Paper

Current status, Potential, Limitation of wind energy in Qinghai - Term Paper Example This research paper focuses on the potential of wind energy generation and scope for future development in Qinghai Plateau in future. During the study data would be collected about the present status of wind energy in Qinghai; then depending on Qinghai Plateaus special topography and meteorology situation, an effort would be made to figure out the potential of wind energy in Qinghai. Well, the venture is not without its share of problems and limitations. Therefore, during the study it would also be my endeavour to find out the limitations in developing the wind energy. In general the study is being undertaken to understand the advantages of wind energy and the potential that Qinghai Plateau holds for future. The conversion of wind energy to various other useful forms, like electricity, is known as wind power. Wind energy is converted into these forms using wind turbines. It has proved its potential as a source of electrical energy in many parts of the world. The first use of wind energy was through wind mills. Wind mills had engines which were in turn used to produce energy using wind. This energy was usually used in rural and agricultural areas for grinding, pumping, hammering and various other requirements in farms. Even today, wind energy is used in large scale wind farms to provide electricity to rural areas and other outside locations (Yongjun Chen, Yong He, 08.2008). Wind Energy is advantageous over traditional methods of creating energy, in the sense that it is getting cheaper and cheaper to produce wind energy. Therefore, wind energy is bound to become the cheapest method of producing energy on a large scale in future. But, production of wind energy depends on geological, geographical and meteorological conditions prevailing around the region. For any given area, the direction, velocity, and duration of wind would be quite variable, depending on local topography and temperature differences in the atmosphere. Qinghai Plateau reaches to the middle of