Bank of America Essay Example for Free

Bank of America Essay The apparent problem in the Bank of America case study is that Jen McDonald (head of the Bank of America digital marketing group), and Douglas Brown (senior vice president of mobile product development) received requests to create mobile apps more specific for individual businesses as a way to gain leverage (Supta Herman, 2012). Brown, specifically, was hesitant to add additional mobile app features as he feared it would make the application far too complex. Not only would it prove to be difficult for some users to understand, more features often make applications run more slowly, which could complicate the idea of mobile banking. In addition this could possibly give the customer a more negative experience. To cite the problem specifically, Brown stated â€Å"App complexity has led to some high-profile failures in the market place. This carries a huge risk† (Supta Herman, 2012). Furthermore, Bank of America was provided $20 billion in capital from the United States government during the financial crisis under leadership of CEO Kenneth Lewis (Supta Herman, 2012). Lewis had concerns that certain investors and customers would start to correlate Bank of America with Citigroup, who had previously given up 36% of its ownership to the federal government (Supta Herman, 2012). This resulted in Brian Moynihan (head of consumer and small business banking) taking over as CEO on January 1, 2010 (Supta Herman, 2012). Constraints and available options One of Bank of America’s options was to create different apps to target different groups and market segments, which proved to be somewhat of a risk. Not only was the organization concerned for the customers reaction, Bank of America was also hesitant because mobile apps are costly and in doing so, technology resources would be taken from other essential areas of banking such as online banking and atm machines. At this time customers were not completely trusting in working with their banks, as financial struggles were becoming more and more apparent. In order to give theBank of America the trusted name and customer loyalty it had previously held for so long, executives decided Mobile banking was the right path to take in order to save the company. Analysis and Evaluation The bank of America officially launched their mobile banking application in May of 2007. This included the ability to bank on the customers phones either by application or by accessing the mobile web through their phones browser. Douglas Brown confirmed that the success of the mobile application was astounding as the company gained four million mobile banking customers over the time span of less than three years (Supta Herman, 2012). Because of the high level of success, business managers were eager to update the applications, in an effort to raise the level of functionality even higher. This proved to be a decision that had to be carefully considered by the Bank of America corporate team. Strengths: The Bank of America already holds the title of being one of the most prestigious banks and a leading company in the U. S. Because of their household name, marketing new products prove to be fairly easy; however identifying a product that customers will adopt and figuring out the target market are essential to Bank of America’s success. An additional strength of the mobile banking application was the timing in correlation to the launch of the application and the launch of the iPhone, making Bank of America the first bank to be able to offer a banking application on the iPhone. The most used features of mobile banking came from viewing account balances and viewing transaction details, making debit card holders the most popular users. After the mobile banking launch more customers opened checking accounts in the months of the introduction of mobile banking and did in fact use the application during that time. Weaknesses:  A weakness shown by Bank of America proved to be within technology adoption and which smart phones the mobile applications could be used by. The Bank of America was slow to adopt SMS technology and access to mobile banking was limited. It was only available to those who used online banking with Bank of America, therefore leaving a huge portion of customers out and feeling negatively about the new product. Another weakness in the new mobile application was that it had to be created with more features than competing mobile applications, which added the risk of making the mobile app more complex. Complexity is a weakness when striving to offer a simple and functional upgraded product to customers. Furthermore, the bank was recovering from the financial crisis, which caused a great loss for a company as big as themselves, as customers had to put a curb to their spending. They also feared they damaged their name in asking for $20 billion in federal backing which proved to be a huge mistake. Bank of America did not want to be associated with other banks that had borrowed capital, but in turn were forced to give up a percentage of their company. Opportunities: In analyzing the Kotler Keller text, marketing opportunity is described as a buyer taking interest in something that has the probability to make a profit (Kotler Keller, 2009). The introduction of mobile banking was a huge opportunity that the Bank of America capitalized on. When mobile banking was introduced costs per transaction started at 10 cents and were expected to drop to 3 to 4 cents. ATM costs were already 1. 34 per transaction which provided an advantage to debit card holders with low account balances. They also benefited in that they could easily check their account balance through their phones before making a purchase. The Bank of America capitalized on the opportunity to offer this feature to customers for absolutely no cost. This was a huge plus in gaining additional customers and fans of mobile banking, as other banks had already begun to waive ATM fees during the times of the market dropping. Mobile banking was a way for Bank of America to bounce back after financial crisis and offer users an experience they had never before been exposed to. The novelty of the design and idea would bring trust and value back to the company. Threats: A potential threat of mobile banking was that expanding on apps and adding new features can turn potential customers off because it tends to make banking more complicated throughout the introduction process. Surveys and research also showed that 44% of customers did not see a need or any type of value within mobile banking. When introducing a new product, buyer behavior tends to be very guarded as customers are reluctant to trust a pone application to keep their banking statements and accounts secure at all times. Major competitors are also a threat that the Bank of America faced. Major Banks such as Wellsfargo, Citigroup and PNC, to name a few, also offer mobile banking with virtually the same functions and applications. Mobile banking was also seen as a threat because of the high initial costs, however, from a marketing perspective, if the Bank of America were to pay extra costs to set their mobile applications apart from competing banks, the additional features would be worth the price in customer popularity and satisfaction. Recommendations Because mobile banking has been introduced by so many other banks, the best recommendation would be to create a form of mobile banking that is more secure and user friendly than competing applications. These are the two issues that customers seemed to have the most doubts about, so putting extra emphasis on these areas will surely set the Bank of America apart from others. Another recommendation is to target one particular audience and market to them specifically, therefore making age and stage in the life cycle of great importance. It is likely that the younger generation will be much more open to yet another phone application, as it is the norm for them, and will provide huge ease to another aspect of their lives. This may result in the younger generation taking more initiative when it comes to banking and gaining more responsibility in this aspect of their lives. Phone applications makes it easy to transfer money and to check balances, providing an awareness of your funds 24/7, opposed to only during banking hours. Kotler Keller advices marketers to take the following three steps when marketing a product: 1. Compare it with a product that consumers already know about, making it more comfortable for them to base the purchase off of a past decision (Kotler Keller, 2012). 2. â€Å"†¦The lure of â€Å"free† is almost irresistible† (Kotler Keller, 2012). 3. Consumers often experience the â€Å"optimism bias† or â€Å"positivity illusion. † They tend to overestimate their chances of experiencing a positive outcome and underestimate their chances of experiencing a negative outcome (Kotler Keller, 2012). These steps are recommended to the Bank of America’s target audience in order to raise popularity and awareness of the mobile banking application. In other words, it is essential to understand the meaning of consumer behavior. Kotler Keller define consumer behavior as how individuals come up with ideas and experiences that work to satisfy the customer’s wants and needs. The customer’s desires will be met in that the mobile banking app will be free to current customers, which will already account for a huge part of the appeal. Compared with online banking, which customers are likely to be more familiar with, the target audience will see the mobile app as an easier, faster version of a feature they already value. Furthermore, because of the optimism bias and positivity illusion, customers using this product are more likely to feel it will improve their financial security and well-being. Lessons Learned In the review of the entire Bank of America case study, it is apparent that control was an issue that was brought up as the main concern of the customer in accepting the new application. Customers were weary at first, as they had concerns for the security of their finances and feared they were giving up control of their bank accounts to a mobile application. In retrospect, the customer actually gained more control over their finances as they were able to access them from nearly anywhere in the world. This goes to show how identifying with the customers emotions and providing them with a product that gains their trust and eases their concerns, will make the innovation and the company that much more successful.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

As readers, we saw Scout mature and grow as our narrator and as a person. She learned many things, but also lost many things. As she grew up and changed, she began to see how things really were, and gained the knowledge of the pure hate that one man can show another. Scout lost her innocence when she found this out. She began to see how cruel the world could be to someone who is a little different or strange. She saw this in the prejudice that was shown to Tom Robinson, Walter Cunningham, Miss Maudie and even herself. She gained the wisdom of the world outside her back door and began to see how society works, (it is very cruel and cynical). Although this may not have been a good thing, she could now see how unimportant it was. Atticus taught Jem and Scout to be polite, caring kids. He instilled in them a great sense of love for their neighbor and told them things that would help them get on in life. Scout was very lucky to have someone to guide her along the way. Although she was faced with â€Å"the real world†, she had lots of people who would willingly explain to her and guide her. Scout really matured during the course of this book. She went from a six-year-old child with no knowledge of the real world to a ten year old who had a lot of life’s most important lessons shown to her at a very young age. She had to learn, very quickly, that life would not always be easy and fun. She learned of the horrible ways men can treat other men and of the ugliness of station, poverty and hate. The author, Harper Lee, picked an interesting person to narrate the story. This had some advantages and disadvantages as the story progressed. This writing technique is a very versatile one. When the author uses Scout as the first person, she opens the reader’s eyes to the way children think and act. She also offers a fair opinion of the affairs of Maycomb, and doesn’t dwell on adult matters and make it boring. Some disadvantages of picking Scout for the first person viewpoint were that even though she was smart, she didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about. She was too innocent and young to really grasp the point sometimes and tell the reader, about it.

How Has Globalization Affected Corporate Strategy in the 21st Century Essay

In the last 21 years the notion of a multinational company has changed significantly. This is best demonstrated by the 1973 United Nations definition, which clearly stated an enterprise is multinational if it â€Å"controls assets, factories, mines, sales offices, and the like in two or more countries† (Bartlett, Ghoshal 2000 p.3). As we know a multinational corporation is much more then just that it controls foreign assets, it must also have a substantial direct investment in foreign countries, as well as engaging in some form of management of these foreign assets. The evolution of corporations over this time has been somewhat difficult and by no means is the process of change finalized. As with most things this evolution and learning process could be seen as being life long. The environment in which we operate clearly evolves each year and to stay ahead businesses are now required to stay ahead of developments to compete. Some of the slower players, such as Phillips (Bartlett 1999) merely lost market share through this evolution, others in the past and perhaps in the future will lose their businesses. To understand the importance of multinational corporations in relation to the world economy we see that they account for over 40 percent of the worlds manufacturing output, and almost a quarter of world trade (Bartlett, Ghoshal 2000 p.3). Although the focus is often on the larger players such as Ford, Procter and Gamble, or Coca Cola as time progresses it is more the smaller companies which we will need to keep an eye on, as they become important players, especially in international niche markets(Bartlett, Ghoshal 2000 p.3). Traditionally there were three motivations for most organisations to enter international markets, or to undertake investment overseas. These were: 1. Suppliers – the ongoing need to source supplies for operations (adapted from Bartlett, Ghoshal 1989, 2000). 2. Markets – seeking additional markets to sell products. Traditionally companies went international to sell excess production lines, or to meet one off needs. The market then moved to increased competition where players were keen to be the first mover to a market, so as to gain a competitive advantage. Corporations were often driven by the home country size, with the need for further consumers for ongoing viability and growth (adapted from Bartlett, Ghoshal 1989, 2000) 3. Lower Cost – by seeking production facilities which would attract lower labor costs and hence higher profits. Clothing and electronics were the first movers in this strategy, usually looking to developing countries such as China or Taiwan. This is still used somewhat today as a strategy, such as large call centers providing services in India for most Australian banks (adapted from Bartlett, Ghoshal 1989, 2000) It is not my intention to go into the advantages and disadvantages of a corporation entering an international market, or to continue to operate in an international market, beyond the above three initial drivers. What is imperative that in the 21st Century an organisation must seek a strategy that meets the organisations ongoing needs which is clear and precise so as to provide direction for future growth. Due to the ongoing worldwide demand after WWII, most organisations prospered when entering international markets. Often however the strategies to entry were ad hoc and did not provide clear objectives or guidance for ongoing management. Operations were based on an ethnocentric approach. Even though at the time they were referred to as Multinational Corporations, literature now refers to them as ‘International Corporations’. As international operations expanded and took on a more important role in the organisation, such as being a key profit centre, or perhaps a product innovation being conceived in an offshore operation, they tended to come under increased management scrutiny, such as the case with Fuji Xerox (Gomes-Casseres, McQuade 1991). This then progressed the corporation to a multinational approach, international markets being as important or even more important then the home market, which is more a polycentric approach to management. The potential from these operations were reviewed by management; the possibilities for cost reductions due to standardization moved most corporations onto the next phase being the global corporation mentality. This is that the entire world is a potential market. Retaining a image from their initial home country, such as McDonalds, they seek to enter all markets to service all customers, hence a regiocentric or geocentric philosophy of management. Bartlett and Ghoshal have gone beyond this to advocate the development of the transnational corporation. This takes the concept of global corporations one step further. Corporations to prosper in a globally competitive environment, should concentrate wherever possible on responding to cost pressures, leveraging of knowledge and information, whilst ensuring local responsiveness to consumer needs (1989 p.13). Cost reduction are imperative to ensure the ongoing viability of corporations. The sharing of costs globally for items such as R & D and mass production both provide examples of significant cost reductions, while enhancing learning and knowledge. By increasing the availability of information across the group you are more likely to also encounter a higher quality product as the innovation and knowledge is shared for the corporations greater good. Often companies forget that knowledge does not just reside in just the home country. Important information such as the local consumer market are often best to be determined by local managers so as to respond to local needs. In relation to local responsiveness Theodore Levitt (1983) provides a somewhat extreme view of the global market. His philosophy is that technological, social and economic developments over the last two decades have combined to create a unified world marketplace in which companies must capture global-scale economies to remain competitive. As we have discussed, the need to become competitive through reduction in costs is imperative for every business. However Levitt’s concept of a unified marketplace with homogenous needs has still some way to go. As researched by Procter and Gamble even how we wash our clothes differs throughout the world, sometimes even within each country. The provision of a standardized product to suit all in this industry would be a failure due to not meeting the needs of local consumers (Bartlett 1983). When we review these three elements of cost reduction, leverage of knowledge and local responsiveness we are aware that these terms are somewhat contradictory. History tells us that to provide local responsiveness you need to increase costs to increase the number of products which meet a specific consumer groups needs. The alternative is to standardize products to achieve economies of scale during production and marketing. Caterpillar has somewhat successfully implemented such a strategy. They redesigned their products around the use of standardized components. These are produced on mass through large production facilities to reduce the component costs and provide economies of scale. Machines are then transported to foreign markets where localized knowledge and components adapt the machines to the needs of local consumers (Srinivasa 1985). The overall approach is that they are able to combine all three elements of the transnational approach. Corporations also need to be aware of the increasingly complex nature of undertaking business in an international market. Social, cultural, and political environments, as well as currency fluctuations, and geographic diversity need to be considered carefully in any decision to undertake a foreign operation. It is best to research thoroughly and constantly review any strategy for overseas ventures as situations can change as in any business venture quite quickly. An example of this would be the increased use of Indonesia as a low cost production base for Australian corporations. With the increased political instability and also terrorism most corporations would be considering the ongoing viability of continuing in this market. Finally corporations need to be aware that to make any significant changes to an corporation strategy or structure it is both extremely complex, time consuming and challenging. As Ford has discovered, by constantly changing strategies to seek higher profitability, all they have been able to achieve has been another announcement of huge losses in 2001 from failed global ventures (Hill, Jones 2004 p276). The move to a transnational approach for most corporations would need to be a slow progression, while for some it is even perhaps out of reach. By focusing on the main elements of cost reduction, knowledge leveraging and local differentiation perhaps this will provide an avenue in the future for continued competitive advantage in an environment which is slowly moving towards Levitt’s concept of the ‘global village’ (1983). Perhaps the key lies with Bartlett and Ghoshal when they tell us that companies â€Å"must now respond simultaneously to diverse and often conflicting strategic needs. Today, no firm can succeed with a relatively unidimensional strategic capability that emphasizes only efficiency, or responsiveness, or leveraging of parent company knowledge and competencies. To win, a company must now achieve all three goals at the same time† (1989 p 25). REFERENCE LISTING Bartlett, Christopher A. 1983 â€Å"Case 6-1 Proctor and Gamble Europe: Vizir Launch†, taken from Bartlett, Christopher A. & Ghoshal, Sumantra 2000 Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill International Editions, Singapore, pp 632 – 647. Bartlett, Christopher A. & Ghoshal, Sumantra 1989 Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution, Harvard Business School Press, Boston Massachusetts. Barlett, Christopher A. 1999 â€Å"Case 2 -4 Phillips and Matsushita 1998: Growth of 2 Companies†, taken from Bartlett, Christopher A. & Ghoshal, Sumantra 2000 Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill International Editions, Singapore, pp 164 -180 Bartlett, Christopher A. & Ghoshal, Sumantra 2000 Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill International Editions, Singapore. Gomes-Casseres, Benjamin & McQuade, Krista 1991 â€Å"Case 4-1 Xerox and Fuji Xerox†, taken from Bartlett, Christopher A. & Ghoshal, Sumantra 2000 Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill International Editions, Singapore, pp 418 – 443 Hill, Charles W. L & Jones, Gareth R. 2004 Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, 6th Edn, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Levitt, T. 1983 â€Å"The Globalization of Markets† Harvard Business Review, May – June, pp. 92 – 102. Srinivasa, Rangan V. 1985 â€Å"Case 3-1 Caterpillar Tractor Co.†, taken from Bartlett, Christopher A. & Ghoshal, Sumantra 2000 Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill International Editions, Singapore, pp 259 – 279.

Analysis Of Shakespeare s Othello - 1131 Words

An Analysis of Othello by Shakespeare Shakespeare is known for his use of recurring themes throughout his work, including love, death and betrayal. These themes are present in his work of Othello. However, the most fundamental issue is jealousy. The lives of the characthers in Othello are ruined by jealousy from the beginning to the end of the play. The telling of the story is carried out by passion, jealousy, and death. Shakespeare’s Othello reveals devastating tragic inevitability, stunning psychological depth, and compelling poetic depth; the fragility and mysterious power of love, as well as demons of doubt, and how suspicion can be triggered by manipulative villain (Barthelemy 12). In the play, evil intentions destroy what we know of a pure heart as well as trust and genuine honesty by this falsehearted deception. The agony of the tragic play is captured in a nutshell when Othello admits to Desdemona â€Å"when I love thee not/chaos is come again.† There is some misunderstanding of tragedy of love between the two characters. Trust is misplaced, honesty smeared out and finally, lives are ruined by denigrating fabrications and outright lies (Lupu, Jeffrey and Westmaas-Jones 12). The tragic cautionary of Shakespeare offers a supreme warning over jealousy which is referred as â€Å"the green eyed monster with doth mock the meat it feeds on.† At First , Roderigo is envious of Othello because he wanted to be in love with Desdemona. This is the beginning of jealousy which runsShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Shakespeare s Othello 1567 Words   |  7 PagesWOMEN’S ROLE IN SOCIETY: DISECTING THE MISOGONY IN SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO Judging Othello from a self-proclaimed feminist Audre Lorde’s perspective allows the reader to see the double standards women faced in the Elizabethan society. 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This gives the reader an inside look on Iago’s evil plans, which also leads to a better understanding of all of the other characters, but Iago especially. The reader sees how Iago manipulates so many of the characters, like Roderigo and MontanoRead MoreAnalysis Of William Shakespeare s Othello 992 Words   |  4 PagesElleana Morrison Professor Connor Shakespeare 340 Midterm Paper, Prompt 5 7 April 2016 A Black Iago Othello is, in the opinion of many, one of Shakespeare’s most prolific plays. It broke the mold by assigning the lead protagonist role to a black man, and the central love story is of that between this older black man and a young white woman. Othello has perhaps the most wicked- and likable- villain in all of Shakespeare’s work. It has love- both fulfilled and unrequited, family conflict, rebelling