Strategic plan Essay Example for Free

Strategic plan Essay The objective of this weeks assignment are to create a SWOT analysis for the Combat Sports Association to determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of the organization and the external opportunities and threats to organization. The assignment will also identify the legal and regulatory trends that need to be taken into consideration and how the CSA will adapt to changes in the industry. Major issues will be identified and classified to determine the importance of each issue in the analysis. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strength: Weakness Strategy- Provide quality service by staying true to the CSA vision, mission, and core values Structure- The structure for CSA is simplistic that it can be managed by the owner and an Administrative Executive and service rendered by contractors Resources- limited resources are needed for start up (capitol, facilities, computers, personnel Leadership- CSA leadership has a proven track record within the combat sports community Technology- CSA has very little knowledge of current technology application such as web design. Intellectual Property- All applicable regulatory requirements for SCA need to be written. Economic: Combat sports are currently the fastest growing sports in the U. S Technology: The growth in technology allows faster communication via social media, smart phones to allow for real time communication Innovation: By staying up to date on the changes/issues in the sports CSA will can stay of the leading edge of training officials and provide customers will the best service available Competitive Analysis: There is tremendous growth in the sports. There are more promoters than established sanctioning bodies. Resulting in a stronger market share for a reputable sanctioning body Legal/regulatory: Combat Sports legal/regulatory requirements vary from state to State Social: Changes in social values of promoters (ethics/morals) and competitors ( banned substances) require constant supervision Environmental: Exposure to blood borne pathogens by officials, competitors, and fans must be mitigated by ensuring testing and proper disposal of bio hazard materials Opportunity: Threat: The Combat Sports Association SWOT analysis provides key areas of focus for development of a strategic plan for operating a new sanctioning body for combat sports in Nevada. The external factors that will be looked at are legal and regulatory requirements in the combat sports industry and how CSA will apply these requirements to ensure customer compliance. CSA will look at the economical perspective in regards to the growth of combat sports in Nevada and the competitive analysis SCA will use to be a low-cost provider in a competitive market. These issues are classified as the external issues of CSA . The internal factor that will indentify the strengths and weaknesses of CSA will be Leadership, structure, resources, and intellectual property. The leadership provided to CSA customers and sub-contractors is a differentiating value chain activity that sets CSA apart from competitors. CSA is structured as a flat organization to provide a simplistic communication with customers and contractor and eliminate costs to maximize profit. Few physical resources and overhead are needed to develop CSA in the combat sports industry. The most significant hurdle to overcome fro CSA is the development of intellectual property that will set CSA apart from the competition. These issues are classified as the internal issues of CSA. The two largest hurdles for CSA are the legal and regulatory factors (external) and the intellectual property (internal). Legal and regulatory factors were identified as a threat based on governmental laws of the state of Nevada. The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) is the office of primary responsibility (OPR) that sets the regulatory guidance of combat sports in Nevada. This is accomplished through N. R. S 467 and N. A. C. 467 making compliance mandatory for all sanctioning bodies within Nevadas jurisdiction. CSA must comply with these standards and stay attuned to any changes, adapt to any changes of the law. One example is the policy changes for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) for combat sports athletes. The intellectual property for the SCA must be written to comply with the regulatory requirements of the NSAC. SCA classified intellectual property as an internal issue and weakness. CSA intellectual property is the policies and procedures that the organization will operate from and the standards operating procedures that its customers/promoters/athletes will abide by. The intellectual property has for CSA has yet to be written. Until the CSAs regulatory guidance is written CSA will be unable to operate within the state of Nevada. The economic factor was classified as an external issue and indentified as strength for CSA. Combat Sports in the U. S. , particularly Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is the fastest growing sport. With the interest in the sports growing more gyms that cater to the mixed martial artist are opening. Those athletes that wish to compete seek out organizations they wish to compete for. This results in more events being put on by promoters. There is more business minded people investing in becoming promoters. As this growth continues it means more opportunity and work for sanctioning bodies. The CSA can take advantage of this growth in the MMA by conducting a competitive analysis to determine its place in the market. The competitive analysis was classified as strength for CSA because it beat the competition in all but one category. This gives CSA a strong competitive position in the sanctioning body market. Competitive Analysis CSA Rival 1 Rival 2 Quality performance 10 8 7 Reputation/Image 10 7 6 Service Capabilities 10 8 7 Competence Capabilities 9 9 7 Financial Resources 8 9 8 Geographical Infrastructure 9 8 8 Un-weighted Strength Assessment 56 49 43 The leadership of CSA is classified as an internal factor and identified as strength. One of the key factors is the experience the leadership has in the combat sports industry and over 21 years of providing quality control for regulatory standards. CSAs leadership has a proven track record within the industry for adherence to regulatory compliance and leading promoters to compliance rather than forcing them. The leadership is recognized as a subject matter expert within the state for matters concerning combat sports and is often recommended by NSAC to consult with new promoters prior to state licensing. The CSA leadership is a resident of the state of Nevada; where-as rival companies are out of state residents. This allows CSA leadership to frequently meet with NSAC on key issues and provide on-site supervision for customers/promoters event. All the experience and expertise has allowed the CSA leadership to develop a vision, mission, and core values that will allow SCA to achieve unprecedented success in a growing industry. The Structure of SCA flat this allows for direct communication to all functional areas of the CSA. This also is effective in cutting costs. By maintaining a flat structure CSA management speaks directly with customers and subcontractors on all matter to facilitate continuous improve to relationships and processes. For example; if a customers CFO needs a specific information on CSA officials travel itinerary they can call CSA management or the officials directly or if the customers administrative executive needs statistical data from previous event they can call CSA management directly. One of the benefits of a flat structure is that CSA provides customers with a hands-on approach to dealing with the customers needs. This creates a friendly and trusting environment. Another benefit to a flat structure is that it alleviates the high costs of multiple management and employees costs. With a flat structure that outsources key positions to subcontractors CSA can focus directly on maximizing profits. Customers/promoter will pay the subcontractors directly and only pay CSA the event representative fee and the standard sanctioning fee for services rendered. The resources factors was classified as an internal strength because there are very little resources and overhead needed to start up a sanctioning body. Essentially the initial resources needed are a computer, home office, and standard office supply. Very little capitol is needed to start this business. Some additional costs will be a business license, incorporation fees, legal fees to ensure contracts with customers are properly written to reduce CSA liabilities. CSA has established relationships with the best subcontractor/officials (Referees, judges, timekeepers, scorekeepers, inspectors, and physicians) in the combat sports industry. These relationships will help CSA move forward to become the premiere sanctioning body in Nevada. By using qualified and training officials CSA will create a culture of safe and fair competition for its customers that will attract the best competitors. This will result in a larger fan base for the promoters thus generating higher ticket sales and increased revenue. The comprehensive SWOT analysis conducted by CSA has achieved compound result that provides CSA with multiple areas of focus. It identified the internal strength and weaknesses of the organization. The opportunity and threat identified external factor that need to be focused on. The competitive analysis provided a current snapshot of how CSA currently ranks within the industry. The SWOT analysis also shows CSA where it can make improvements. The overall assessment for CSA is that it can gain a considerable market share of the combat sports industry within Nevada considering the growth of combat sports.

Essay on Stagnant Lives in Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menagerie

Stagnant Lives in Streetcar Named Desire and Glass Menagerie   Ã‚  Ã‚   The Stagnant Lives of Blanche DuBois and Amanda Wingfield  Ã‚  Ã‚   "All of Williams' significant characters are pathetic victims--of time, of their own passions, of immutable circumstance" (Gantz 110). This assessment of Tennessee Williams' plays proves true when one looks closely at the characters of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie. Their lives run closely parallel to one another in their respective dramas. They reject their present lives, yet their methods of escape are dissimilar. Both women have lost someone they cared for, and so seek to hold, and unintentionally suffocate, those they have left. A major problem that both Blanche and Amanda face is their misconception of reality and the "New South." "The predominant theme of these plays is Southern womanhood helpless in the grip of the new world, while its old world of social position and financial security is a paradise lost (Gassner 78). They are victims of a society that taught them that virtue, attractiveness, and gentility all led to happiness. When tragedy strikes, Blanche and Amanda are unable to adjust to modem society and eventually withdraw into the securities of the past. "For Blanche and Amanda, the South forms an image of youth, love, purity and all of the ideals that have crumbled along with mansions and family fortunes" (Tischier 319). Tragedy after tragedy has struck the character of Blanche DuBois of Streetcar until nothing is left except her tenuous grasp on sanity. Her young homosexual husband, Allan, kills himself, leaving her racked with guilt with which she cannot deal. It s as if the "Grim Reaper set up his tent," taking the... ... New York: Chelsea Publishers, 1987. 99-112.    Gassner, John. â€Å"Theatre at the Crossroads.New York,† Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960. pp. 77-91, 218-231.    Howell, Elmo. "The Function of Gentlemen Callers: A Note on Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie." Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie: Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea, 1988. Contemporary Literary Criticism 11 (1979): 575-576.    Nelson, Benjamin. Tennessee Williams: The Man and His Work. New York: Ivan Obolensky, 1961.    Tischler, Nancy M. "The Glass Menagerie: From Story to Play." Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie: Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea Publishers, 1988.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Viking Penguin, 1976.   

My Hips My Caderas

In the excerpt, â€Å"My Hips, My Caderas† by Alisa Valdes, gives distinctive examples of her life story to develop a meaning for how society perceives women. America strives to fit the perception of beauty because it is the single physical characteristic that makes us matter. Her anecdotes show us how the world shapes our thoughts to brainwash us. Alisa Valdes personal experiences are a service to provide a better explanation of how we perpetrate in order to be welcomed in society. â€Å"Beauty is in the eye of the culture. † This is an essential quote that summarizes the moral of Valdes story.Being a biracial woman, she received perspectives from two cultures about the way she looks. Valdes is white and Cuban. She is a girl with hips and curves. She is seen as voluptuous. White Americans and Cubans have different viewpoints on how women should look and what beauty is considered to be. Valdes body type isn’t accepted in by all of her family because of the type o f the different type of society they live in. As a child it confused her as to what herself image should be. Her mother’s side of the family is white Americans who believed being skinny was the key to beauty.In America, we have several reminders of what we should look like. Our models are size zeros. All our foods are low fat or reduced in calories producing dieting. We also promote surgery to stay skinny. Hips or la caderas are seen as fat which is ugly, ugly being the antonym for beauty. On the contrary her father’s side believed that the thicker you were or the more curves that complimented one’s body made you more of a woman. That notion highlighted a woman’s beauty. Caderas, often referred to in her explanation, simply translated is hips.In Latin cultures caderas are the stomach, waist, and thighs. It’s all that makes a â€Å"real woman†. La caderas are the essence of a woman. Those who don’t posses these caderas are seen as sick . It’s unattractive to the eye. The different cultures that she exemplifies contradict each other. Valdes has significant times in her child hood where she remembers the two cultures impacted the way she thought about herself. Being involved in her father’s culture, being voluptuous was a blessing. When Valdes was 12 she remembers the Chicanos making catcalls at her because she was so curators.She took those signs of beauty for granted and started to diet, taking to the American way of beauty. She also talks about her and her friend going to dance and men lining up to dance with her and her turning them down because she said â€Å"I often say †no†, because I can†. This leads me to infer that she felt beautiful and she knew she was due to her hips. If she didn’t think so she wouldn’t turn the men down. That culture made her appreciate herself and have positive outlooks about how she looked. In America she remembers being in a step aerobi cs class and women making negative statements about how she looks.She sometimes hear the woman in the front row whisper â€Å"My God, would you look at those hips†. Her attributes are looked down upon as if they are a bad thing in America. She has experienced both cultures and have a gotten a different response on her body. Self image is destructive but it’s what makes civilization significant. The world revolves around images that are acceptable and it’s the drive around the world. In the society we live in, civilization is based on appearance. Our world rotates on its axis because of it. It’s deadly to walk outside without makeup on or above a certain weight.American’s have reality television that are designed just for losing weight and to critique the appearance of our celebrities. Everyone is a target in America to bee objectified. There is no discrimination. In middle school I was often picked on for being so skinny and I hated my body. When I got to high school I started to gain weight not in my â€Å"caderas† but my butt. I started to love my body more because everyone else did. Girls would tell me how they would kill for my shape and I would tell them how I would love to have theirs. I wanted breast and hips like those girls but they wanted to be a stick like me, I couldn’t understand.Those girls were envisioning themselves as being the females they see on the television and I was the closest thing to their dreams. Continuously taking my body for granted the next teenage girl was admiring my imperfections perfectly. I learn eventually to embrace my small figure but looking at celebrities like Beyonce’ and other full figured women I get self conscious sometime. It’s as if my body isn’t good enough and I fall back into the depression of why my body can’t look a certain way. It is a struggle in itself because your image is your introduction.

3.2 Aging . The Physiology Of Aging Hematopoiesis Represents

3.2 Aging The physiology of aging hematopoiesis represents an attractive research field given complex interaction between bone marrow microenvironment and hemopoietic stem cells. During aging, a gradual functional decline of various cellular subsets with different self-renewal and differentiation potential is dominant. However, it is recognized that shift toward preferential myeloid-biased hematopoiesis is a common event that anticipates disruption of normal molecular marrow homeostasis.(17) Among others, low bone marrow concentration of TGF-ÃŽ ² can provide signaling to induce myeloid-biased bone marrow microenvironment. (18) At the molecular level, in aging HSC, TGF-ÃŽ ² regulated genes, such as Nr4a1, Cepba, Jun and Junb were found to be†¦show more content†¦(22) In this context of subclinical mutational carriers, individual patient genetic, epigenetic and immunological variables that govern full acquisition of malignant potential are expected to have predictive and therapeutic im plications. In addition, investigation of clonal adaptive processes especially those associated with pre-MDS/MDS transition could facilitate understanding of disease pathogenesis. 2.2 Mutational analysis Advances in MDS therapy will derive from molecular precision and identification of potential druggable targets for the disease. In 2005, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and during 2008, The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) were designed as large-scale projects to improve understanding of cancer associated recurrent somatic mutations. In AML, robust prognostic relevant mutations were reported with mutational subgroups frequently observed in MDS suggesting similar ability to detect a significant impact on MDS outcome. Seven subgroups including activating signaling, DNA methylation, chromatin modifiers, spliceosome, myeloid transcription factors, tumor suppressor genes, and less commonly observed mutations including cohesin complex, BCOR, and BCORL1 (Fig.3). In this section, we will describe frequency, prognostic and functional implication of