International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

International Business - Essay Example This essay describes these benefits and hindrances, referring to further case studies as justification for the arguments provided. The advantages of diversification There are many risks of servicing only a singular market with one product or service that has been attributed to placing all of a firm’s proverbial eggs in a single basket (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble 2013). Virtually every product or service offered by a corporation has an established life cycle, moving from a growth phase to an eventual decline along the life cycle model in which sales and demand begin to decline. The life cycle of the product is determined by a number of factors, including consumer behaviour changes, innovative product releases by competition that outperforms, competitive pricing instances that drive price-sensitive buyers to rival firms, or even new market entrants that increase choice and lower switching costs for consumers to defect to a rival brand. Whatever the case driving life cycle, corporations must be keenly and proactively aware of the ability of their singular product or service in sustaining long-run profit growth. Because of the risks of a stagnating local market, businesses achieve advantages by diversifying the business into a new international market. The most significant advantage is that diversification allows the business to spread risks (Thompson et al. 2013). Risk occurs through a variety of drivers, both internally-related and externally-driven. For a business operating in a single market with a lone product, any changes to demand can impact revenue growth and even complicate many of the value chain elements that support business, including human resources, supply chain and procurement, as... As illustrated by the essay, there are many risks of servicing only a singular market with one product or service that has been attributed to placing all of a firm’s proverbial eggs in a single basket. Virtually every product or service offered by a corporation has an established life cycle, moving from a growth phase to an eventual decline along the life cycle model in which sales and demand begin to decline. The life cycle of the product is determined by a number of factors, including consumer behaviour changes, innovative product releases by competition that outperforms, competitive pricing instances that drive price-sensitive buyers to rival firms, or even new market entrants that increase choice and lower switching costs for consumers to defect to a rival brand. This paper makes a conclusion that there are actually more advantages than disadvantages in selecting a diversification strategy. Revenue increases, better cash flow position, and cost reduction in a variety of support divisions along the value chain are the most prominent of these advantages. Inclusive in advantages are better scope of control, more efficient and cost-acknowledging logistics opportunities, and even currency valuation in favour of the diversified corporation. The described disadvantages of unsubstantial cross-cultural knowledge of the foreign market, high control and power of buying markets, and disruptive innovation threats would tend to offset advantages when these situations occur in the new international market. Despite the disadvantages, the long-run benefits of diversification supersede the potential hindrances of seeking this strategy for growth.

Agile software development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Agile software development - Essay Example Agile software has a lot of flexibility as opposed to the rigid waterfall. The main hallmark of the agile system is its adaptability and agility. The iterative nature of agile makes it to be able to work without following a given pattern. A lot of iterations are involved including testing, coding and designing. Agile is different from waterfall in the sense that unlike the waterfall system which cannot allow for any changes to be made once the design is already completed, agile has no rigidity and allows for changes to be made and improvements to be done even at the last stages of software development. Teams developing software through the use of the Agile process are usually cross functional in their nature. There have been always an expertise sharing and close cooperation unlike the case with waterfall. (Highsmith, 2002) The waterfall model happens in a manner that is sequential, moving from one stage to the other. This software development undergoes various stages including identifying the specification before conception, then analyzing, working on the designs, coding and testing, debugging then installing and finally, maintaining in the end. The developing team moves to the next stage only after the previous stage is completed. The engineers working on the software do spend much time at every stage and there is no chance of debugging once the software is made ready for the testing process. The Waterfall methodology considers documentation as an integral part of the software development. The Agile methodology has a team that is adaptive and that can easily respond and adjust to the changes in the requirements. Effort and time must not be invested on by the team thus reducing the chances of being irrelevant in terms of customers’ needs and wants. The team has a face to face communication with the customers hence having quality products at the required time. It is not always difficult to assess and establish the required