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Theodor Valentin PURCĂREA Editorial: The month of March 2013 in Romania, and the imperative of the “fight” to correlated unfolding of understanding and action of the evolution in society and nature
Victor GREU The pace of the development in communications and information technologies is driving the information society to yesterday’s incredible steps
George Cosmin TĂNASE Organization and planning of global marketing operations
Nicolaie MIHAIESCU Where to repair my plane…
Cosmin PAVEL Bitdefender®, the award-winning provider of innovative antivirus solutions
The responsibility for the content of the scientific and the authenticity of the published materials and opinions expressed rests with the author.
Editorial:
The month of March 2013 in Romania, and the imperative of the “fight� to correlated unfolding of understanding and action of the evolution in society and nature
The month of March 2013 in Romania was full of hope as to what concerns the significance of a new partnership in finding solutions concerning a correlated unfolding of understanding and action of the evolution in society and nature, while responsibly assuming the control of risks generated by the actual evolution in the new complexity of the world of uncertainties. Friday, March 22, 2013, in Bucharest, the Capital of Romania, took place the works of the inspired and inspiring Forum celebrating “World Water Day” (22 March) and “World Meteorological Day” (23 March), organized by the “Group of Ecological Initiative and Sustainable Development – GIEDD in collaboration with the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences „Gheorghe Ionescu-Şişeşti” (ASAS), “Romanian Waters” National Administration and the National Meteorological Administration. GIEDD was represented by the distinguished Members of the Executive Board: the former President of Romania, His Excellency Mr. Ion Iliescu, President of GIEDD, Dr. Eng. Cristiana Sîrbu – Executive President of GIEDD, and HRH Prince Michael of Laufenburg. The lively debate on this special occasion (http://www.distribution-magazine.eu/an-inspired-and-inspiring-forum-tocelebrate-world-water-day-22-march-and-world-meteorological-day-23-march/ ) allowed the clarification of questions and concerns. As a confirmation of the solidarity and confidence needed to tackle complex problems – that President Ion ILIESCU made reference to also in the end of the Forum works, while drawing valuable conclusions – allows us to emphasize two other significant contributions in the qualitative manner of carrying out the Forum: •
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the special contribution brought by the multiple World and Olympic champion, Mr. Ivan Patzaichin, President of “Ivan Patzaichin - Mila 23” Association, a great friend of the water, a real model of devotion in encouraging young people to love nature, to appreciate water, the most precious natural resource, to love sport and performance (http://www.rowmania.ro/ ); Mr. Ivan Patzaichin (born in the village “Mila 23” in the Tulcea county) aims at achieving and promoting sustainable development projects of local and regional interest, promoting the cultural profile of his native area, and encouraging healthy living, in a sustainable environment, encouraging ecotourism in rowboat; the inspirational cultural message of the sculptor Doru Dragusin: “water passes, the stones remain… polished; …each type of material has its valences and must be respected… I love this very hard work so much that I sometimes wonder why so soon is dark outside…”. Mr. Doru Dragusin (http://www.dorudragusin.com/ ), born in the village “Nicolae Titulescu” in the Olt county, confirmed both, the words of Nicolae Titulescu (by understanding that each of us has its mission and the success comes from the unity, the feeling of confidence being an essential condition for any productive work, and that the ideal is in itself a becoming reality, because the honest people always proceed in the same direction under the command of the conscience), and the words of Constantin Brancusi (by acting accordingly, proving the understanding that in order to express something essentially we need to see the essence of things and to go from here towards the right direction).
It is also worth to highlight the cultural moment represented by the Vernissage Sculpture Doru Dragusin (on “Diplomacy through Art” dedicated to the year “Constantin Brancusi”) on the occasion of this inspired and inspiring Forum, Mr. Doru Dragusin being the well-known author of the bronze statue of “Nicolae Titulescu” (former Romanian diplomat and statesman, twice President of the Assembly of the League of Nations in 1930 and 1931) unveiled in April 2002 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva (on the occasion of marking the 120th Anniversary of Nicolae Titulescu); within the context of the discussions
during the Vernissage, Mr. Doru Dragusin rediscovered the temporal coincidence with my intervention (as President of the Romanian Competition Council: http://www. crd-aida.ro/our-team/theodor-purcarea/ ) in the same month, April 2002, in Geneva at the level of World Trade Organization (this intervention was presented in position 1 of the Final Report of the Working Group for Trade and Competition Policy - document also presented in a “Diplomatic and Protocol Customs” Book introduced by the “Diplomatic Gazette”, Brussels, No. 45/December 2004). There is no doubt that water is key to development, becoming an increasingly important strategic issue, not only a public health and environmental issue. There is a real need to consider both, the dynamic links between water, energy, and farming, and to build resilience against climate change, including by improving the ability to project future climate through adequate monitoring and research. Taking into account the importance of appropriate dosage between science and policy in order to align the activities on key priorities, policy responses should include adaptation to climate change and adequately addressing issues such as water-related disasters, health and the role of ecosystems. At the beginning of the same month, on March 7, 2013, the Romanian-American University hosted two other significant events: •
The works of the General Assembly of the Association of Faculties of Economics in Romania (AFER). AFER is aiming at economic development and improvement of Higher Education reform in Romania in the European spirit, being a powerful forum for discussion of specific problems, identifying best practices in academic education and research dedicated to promoting national and international benchmarks for economics education in Romania (http://www.ssmar.ase.ro/news.asp ). The rigorous agenda of the March 2013 General Assembly of AFER expressed both the objectives assumed with responsibility and determination in addressing the quality and consistency of the values and expectations specific to the academic model serving economic needs and aspirations of Higher Education in Romania at the confluence of globalization and integration.
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The national Conference of the Romanian Scientific • Society of Management (SSMAR), “SSMAR Experiment – COMOR Project”, “Exploratory Research: The Managerial Behavior in Romanian Organizations”” (exploratory research project aimed at identifying the managerial behavior in Romanian organizations both, at counties and development regions and at national level), whose findings and recommendations outlined the need to complete the experiment within the time limit, obtaining results confirming the value of the predictive method (http://holisticmarketingmanagement.ro/ ordinary-working-session-of-the-senate-of-the-romanian-scientific-society-of-management-ssmar-march7-2013-the-senate-hall-of-the-romanian-american-university/ ). The ordinary working session of the Senate • of SSMAR following the Conference confirmed the increased proactive attitude of SSMAR members, being a true expression of an increasingly recognized organizational dynamics (culture, politics, reputation) both at national and international level, the interventions on this occasion revealing consensus on long-term planning and aligning activities to key priorities, and on developing best internal practices and processes.
On March 18, 2013 (see “Diploma of Special Merit” awarded to Professor Beniamin Cotigaru in “Health Value for Sustainable Development, a Real Challenge”, http://crd-aida. ro/RePEc/rdc/v3i4/3.pdf ), I had the joy of meeting my mentor again, the distinguished Professor Beniamin Cotigaru (“The Second International Congress SANABUNA…Professor Beniamin COTIGARU, Honorary Member of the Romanian Distribution Committee” ; http://www.sanabuna.ro/ the-second-international-congress-health-nutrition-fitnessand-wellbeing-for-central-southeast-europe-sanabuna2012-took-place-on-the-19th-21st-october-at-the-art-museum/ ). The venerable Professor Beniamin Cotigaru (born in Bucharest on November 27, 1921), stays concerned about our significant common project: “Creating a socio-cultural space that can receive development issues - a Romanian cultural renewal action”, improving our existence from one generation to another. This noble “project work” should start from the truth, the beautiful, the good, the justice and the freedom. Society needs to be restored into a new phase of spirit of the formation process, and the only institution that can do this is the School. Even if today we possess knowledge, we do not have the knowledge of methodologically using it to create this socio-cultural space. The evolution must be understood correlatively, not distinctly. It requires a project that should work simultaneously, globally and locally. Is not about a transition but a change in human behavior optics within the context of human-nature interaction, finding out the coherence behind the apparent disorder of valuable concepts, drawing the necessary lessons from valuable concepts. The venerable Professor Beniamin Cotigaru is even viewing the anniversary event of 100 years since the founding of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest as a starting point to this project, taking into account both:
the Symposium “The Economy of Ideas and Sustainable development”, Romanian Parliament House, May 16, 2000, organized by the Romanian Distribution Committee together with the “International Foundation Health – Environment – Sustainable development ” and in partnership with “Ion Ratiu” Romanian Parliamentarians Club (on the basis of the study “Sustainable development : principles and action”, Beniamin Cotigaru, Theodor Purcarea, coordinators, Millenium Publishing House, May 2000, interdisciplinary research representing a turning point in developing a national strategy for sustainable development (http:// www.crd-aida.ro/originsvocation/dezvoltare-durabila/ ); the Symposium “Institutional-spiritual reconstruction of enterprises, requirement for sustainable development in the knowledge society”, May 24, 2006, Calarasi County Hall, organized by the Romanian Distribution Committee (RDC) in collaboration with the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE) and UGIR 1903 (on the basis of the volume which appeared in April 2006 at ASE Publishing House and in which, at page 488, reference is made to „RESPAD Trophy” offered by RDC, among other things emphasizing the correlation between real success and the vision of the training team (http://www.crd-aida.ro/originsvocation/ comitetul-roman-al-distributiei-trofeul-respad-2006/ ).
The end of March 2013 reconfirmed the fact that time is the father of truth, graciously contributing to the chain of events within the context of celebrating the centennial of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE), whose graduate I also am. On March 22, 2013 the National Bank of Romania stated that beginning with March 25, 2013, it will issue a numismatic issue dedicated to the centennial anniversary of the Academy of High Commercial and Industrial Studies (the present-day Bucharest University of Economic Studies). On March 27, 2013, in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies Hall began “ASE 100” Conferences cycle with a presentation delivered by the Academician Mugur Constantin Isarescu, the Governor of the National Bank of Romania (graduate of ASE and Professor at ASE, the theme being: “Degrees of freedom in the calibration of monetary policy”), in the presence of the Romanian Minister of National Education, Professor Remus Pricopie (see Professor Remus Pricopie in Brussels, at the headquarters of Diplomatic Club of Belgium, “Château Sainte-Anne”, http://www.crd-aida.ro/2013/02/leon-f-wegnez-doctor-honoris-causa-prestigious-snspa-bucharest-romania/ ), and other distinguished guests and an impressive auditorium.
Theodor Valentin Purcărea
Editor - in - Chief
Beniamin Cotigaru, Raducu Filipescu, Constantin Popescu, Theodor Valentin Purcarea
Oscar Hoffman, Beniamin Cotigaru, Aurel Dobre, Dumitru Petronel
The venerablle Professor Beniamin Cotigaru speaking on the occasion of the Romanian Distribution Committee “RESPAD Trophy� awards ceremony on May 24,2006, Calarasi County Hall
THE PACE OF THE DEVELOPMENT IN COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IS DRIVING THE INFORMATION SOCIETY TO YESTERDAY’S INCREDIBLE STEPS Prof. Eng. Ph.D. Victor GREU
Abstract The paper presents an analysis of the detailed mechanisms and models implied in the actual development of communication and information technologies (CIT), as the main factors which determine the pace of (CIT) and its major consequences on Information Society (IS.) The main issues of analysis are focused on identifying some deep links between CIT development’s models and pace, on one hand, and IS radical progress steps, on the other hand. The prominent result of this analysis is reflected in a 3-dimensional global influence (volume of changes) on IS as model: horizontal diversity of activity fields, vertical/depth of the changes in the field and time - by the period and speed of the generated influence. On the issue of CIT development the paper includes the new approach of the 3-D transistor, developed by Intel and other important players, because this model comes with the extension from the planar model (2 dimensions) to the spatial 3-D model and so the number of transistors on chip could be radically increased, as an essential support for the integration capacity on the chip (the storage capacity) that must face the exadata era by speed, memory and computing power. Among conclusions, the paper points the CIT mechanism and pace which determine, by refining data and producing new knowledge, premises for optimized solutions, irrespective the application but especially where the efficiency and the radical progress in the field were difficult to obtain or long time expected. Keywords: communications and information technologies, information society, mobile communications, Moore Law, exadata. JEL Classification: L63, L86, M15, O13, O33
1.The amazing speed of the processes in the communications and information technologies (CIT) generates premises for social and economical milestone changes Almost everyday we see how media is presenting new products, services or events which reflect the exponential development of CIT, as smartphones, TV sets and many other applications of the new technologies. The real dimension of this iceberg is difficult to estimate, but it is obvious that the entire environment which is associated with the information society (IS), from people habitudes to the global social and economical life on Earth, is changing under the tremendous influence of CIT. A pertinent evaluation of these processes has to remark the fact that CIT are only a part of the relevant technologies or economical fields which generate the mankind development, as energy, chemistry, transportation etc. The true picture of our World progress factors must also include, among others, the education, the scientific research and eventually all the cultural creation. At this point one could say that CIT are “just a piece of the puzzle”, along with so many important pieces, which are linked in very complex processes and globally generate the mankind progress. In fact it is important to notice that even the partial picture, in spite of the appearance that CIT is only one among so many factors, is a clear opportunity to observe an essential true: CIT is inside of every other factors we have mentioned or not. This way, the real weight and importance of CIT, in the “puzzle”, is multiplied by all the other factors and the depth of CIT inside each of them, so we also have a relevant image of the mechanisms by which the CIT development is driving the World and eventually the IS. Therefore we have advanced a first step on the above mentioned evaluation of CIT dimension, as CIT image is very similar with an iceberg, where we can see a piece in the “puzzle”, but under the surface CIT could be largely extended as a dynamic support for the visible environment. Although the paper space is not aiming an exhaustive analysis, the next step is to observe, as a consequence of the previous step, that the amazing pace of CIT development will strongly influence all the mankind activity fields by a multiplying mechanism, which will generate this way impressive global changes on IS. This mechanism could be further evaluated, as a model, if we consider its global effect as depending on 3 dimensions: -on horizontal, by the number of influenced mankind activity fields – i.e. almost all; -on vertical, by the depth of the influence inside every field; -in time, by period and speed of the generated influence. As a consequence, with this model, one could evaluate/ illustrate the global effect of CIT development as a multiplication of the above 3 dimensions and the result could be similar with a “volume” – we may call the volume of changes. In the same time, it is fair to notice that a further concrete evaluation, with the model, could be done only if we identify some appropriate metrics for each of the 3 dimensions, so this complex analysis could be the aim of other papers. On the other hand, we may conclude that it is clear now
why and how the exponential pace of CIT development could induce real premises for social and economical milestone changes, as these premises are directly depending, as a probability to have milestone consequences/changes, on the volume of changes. It is also correct to observe that the above conclusion is a qualitative one, because, for every activity field, the concrete consequences of the implemented CIT products and services, which will depend also on the pace of CIT development, could be accurately evaluated only along with the specific stage and challenges of the field. A common feature of all fields is the fact that CIT models, more than their products and services, have a great power to leverage the human creation in all fields, by the way they refine data and produce new knowledge, as optimized solutions, irrespective the application but especially where the efficiency and the radical progress in the field were difficult to obtain or long time expected. Now it is also clear how the amazing pace of CIT development could determine the conditions where deep changes in many activity fields will generate the progress of IS on yesterday’s incredible steps. Usually an example is the shortest way to confirm the theory and what can be more significant than the historical step made by the mankind in the space research than “the man on the moon” in 1969? Without neglecting the other technologies, where again energy and chemistry would be in top, how that achievement could be imagined without computing and communications even at those distances and in those conditions? The point of this example comes when we see that the computing power of an actual smartphone is higher than in the case of Apollo mission. What could we expect tomorrow as a consequence of this speed of change in CIT? Today we look with powerful “eyes” to the next galaxies. And if the example is not relevant because of those long 40 passed years, we can continue with the Internet in the last 20 years and so on. As we have earlier mentioned [9], it deserves to watch, even by only some examples, the impressive evolution of CIT, although this is an exercise which becomes more difficult everyday, in order not lose anything but especially notice the milestone changes this evolution will induce to the IS. 2.Tendencies in the development of CIT models and their major impact in the IS Perhaps the “mobile revolution” is the most prominent class of technologies, products and services, rapidly followed by their amazing consequences on mankind life and eventually on IS. That is way we consider very relevant the global image of CIT that was presented by the recent Barcelona Mobile World Congress - BMWC (February 2013). BMWC has clearly described the features of the mobile broadband communications revolution in the next 5 years (2012/2017) by some estimations: -6.8/9.7 billions mobile global connexions to Internet (2012/2017); -exadata mobile traffic: 0.1→11 exabit/month (2012-2017); -the high efforts for a green CIT model: 1.2 billions saved
trees in the next 5 years. Among the above and an impressive gallery of gadgets, besides facts like the on-line games industry which is going to explode with about 1 billion USD/year, BMWC showed some deep issues like high efforts for spectrum efficiency solutions and already mentioned green CIT. In general the CIT achievements and tendencies could be observed everyday and they are generated as a response to a global and complex superposition of factors, where the market, the social, political and cultural are the main [9]. Still the last decades proved that the Moore Law (doubling the number of transistors on a chip every 2 years) is generally the main “motor”, or the driving force, of the CIT, without neglecting other CIT mechanisms and models, as we will further present. On this context it is essential to notice that this “law” could not last forever, as many specialists already said [3], [5], [8]. The last years confirmed these opinions and the CIT estimations for post - 2012 present a decline, as the reference period of 2 years will go to 3 years and perhaps so on. This situation was for sure considered by the CIT industry, as research and many forecast scenarios were presented. We already have mentioned [8], that the mankind and so the CIT research has to learn from the nature, because a “research” of millions of years is sedimented there. As concrete personal opinion, we think that the study of human brain and generally of the biology could give the answers for the future computing and communications models, useful for the post-semiconductors or post-“nano MOS channel” era. For instance, we notice as prominent a new model, the 3-D transistor, developed by Intel and other important players, because this model comes with the extension from the planar model (2 dimensions) to the spatial 3-D model and so the number of transistors on chip could be radically increased. Such of improvement could appear not so important as a model of development for CIT, but we remind the huge impact that the processors and the memories – the most largely used and with the maximum impact on performances – have on all applications (the horizontal dimension of the volume of changes) [4], [5], [8]. This way Intel has launched three new research centres focused on the same challenge: developing supercomputers with Exa-scale performance levels (1 billion computations per second). The relevance of such a goal starts from the fact that if about 7 billion people on Earth would solve mathematical problems with a rate of one per second, it would still take more than four years to calculate what an Exa-scale supercomputer could do in a single second. The integration capacity on the chip (the storage capacity) that must face the exadata era is not independent but strongly linked with speed and computing power. An other reason for the new supercomputer is the aim to create the complete map of human brain circuitry (about 1 000 000 mm3), but 1mm3 will request about 1 petabyte (1000 terabytes), so eventually about 1000 exabytes. On the same depth level of the volume of changes, but at other horizontal dimension, in order to simulate the long term climate changes on Earth, it will be necessary a similar computing power as in the above cases. At this point it is interesting to observe that all the above examples represent milestones for the respective fields and
yesterday’s incredible steps for the IS. On the other hand, the same example has a common essential feature: they would not be conceived, in a foreseen future, without the premises which will be created by the performance of the new model for the development pace of CIT. Perhaps one could naturally ask: how this pace and performance level is still possible, especially taking into account that this race is not starting from scratch (zero). For somebody the question could contain a contradiction in terms: it is obvious that now CIT is not starting from zero – and this is shortly the answer. On the other hand, with a little effort we have to recognize that such revolutionary challenges, as these milestones appeared impossible to reach in the recent past, represents new races even for the “experienced” CIT specialists. Coming back to the question, a true but very partial answer could come from a relatively simple but essential model of CIT: reuse knowledge [1]. A young researcher was recently asked: how can you achieve the job of designing a VLSI chip with more than 2 billions transistors? The young simply responded: “reusing the knowledge”, i.e. all the previous research results. Of course this simple truth is known before CIT and we also observed [9] that the fundamental principle of CIT is to reuse the logic, as well hard and soft, in a practical infinite diversity of structures, applications and levels of knowledge. These are the CIT, the power of the IS! All the above examples may be assigned to the main sphere of CIT progresses, sometimes called “nanotechnologies”, although, as we have mentioned above, the “nano MOS channel” model is only the main but not the only one technology among CIT. In addition, we have to mention that, especially in the next future, other two “spheres” will grow and grow with the CIT high pace support: - genetic engineering (GE); - artificial intelligence (AI). The complexity and revolutionary consequences of GE and AI need a further larger space than the actual paper, but we shortly have to observe that GE will address milestone progresses in health aiming diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart diseases, respectively AI in competing human brain with all unprecedented applications including intelligent robots.
3.Conclusions Analyzing the CIT development pace and its impact on IS as milestones steps for the mankind progress is a complex and difficult approach, but even in a short form we identified some deep links between CIT development’s models and pace, on one hand, and IS radical progress steps, on the other hand, reflected in a 3-dimensional global influence (volume of changes) on IS: horizontal diversity of activity fields, vertical/depth of the changes in the field and time - by the period and speed of the generated influence. Among the most prominent tendencies in the development of CIT models we presented, the actual step of “nanotechnologies” based on the new model of 3-D transistor will have a huge impact on processors and memories and further on speed and other performances of CIT applications. The most significant above presented issue is the CIT mechanism and pace which determine, by refining data and producing new knowledge, premises for optimized solutions, irrespective the application but especially where the efficiency and the radical progress in the field were difficult to obtain or long time expected.
REFERENCES [1] Robert W. Lucky, Other people’s knowledge, IEEE Spectrum, January 2013. [2] Jean Kumagai, Virtual power plants, real power, IEEE Spectrum, March 2012. [3] Paul McFedries, The coming data deluge, IEEE Spectrum, feb.2011. [4] Glen Anderson et al, Power Efficiency and Sustainable Information Technology, Intel Technology Journal, dec.2008. [5] Sean Koehl, The Exa-scale Supercomputer of 2020, Intel European Research and Innovation Conference, September, 2010, www.intel.com. [6] Abdulaziz S. Almazyad and Farooqui N.K., Towards Knowledge Based Society, Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2009 Vol II, WCECS 2009, October 20-22, 2009, San Francisco, USA [7] *** Towards a knowledge based Europe The European Union and the information society, European Commission Directorate General Press and Communication, October 2002.
ISSN:2069-0134
[8] Victor Greu, Evaluating the development steps based on life-inspired information and communications technologies, Romanian Distribution Committee Magazine, Volume 2, Issue4, Year 2011. [9] Victor Greu, Searching the right tracks of new technologies in the earth race for a balance between progress and survival, Romanian Distribution Committee Magazine, Volume 3, Issue1, Year 2012.
ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING OF GLOBAL MARKETING OPERATIONS by George Cosmin Tănase
Abstract The capstone of a company’s global marketing activities will be its strategic marketing plan. To implement the global plans effectively, a company needs to reflect on the best organizational setup that enables it to successfully meet the threats and opportunities posed by the global marketing arena. The vast majority of multinational companies prepare a global strategic marketing plan to guide and implement their strategic and tactical marketing decisions. Such plans are usually developed on an annual basis and look at policies over multiple years. Running a multinational organization is a tremendous challenge. Local managers need empowerment so that the local unit is able to respond rapidly and effectively to local market threats, grab opportunities, and stay in tune with local market developments.
Key words: business asymmetry, communication flows, competitive climate, company heritage, planning, product diversity, global overview
JEL Classification: L22, M31 The content of a global strategic marketing plan can be very broad in scope but usually covers four areas: 1. Market situation analysis. A situation analysis on a global basis of the company’s customers (market segments, demand trends, etc.), the competition (SWOT analysis), the company itself, and the collaborators (e.g., suppliers, distribution channels, alliance partners). 2. Objectives. For each country, management states goals that are achievable and challenging at the same time. 3. Strategies. Once the objectives have been determined, management needs to formulate marketing strategies for each country to achieve the set goals, including resource allocation. 4. Action plans. Strategies need to be translated into concrete actions that will implement those strategies. Specific actions are to be spelled out for each marketing mix element. Although these are the core areas of a global strategic marketing plan, such a plan will also discuss anticipated results and include contingency plans. International planning can be top-down (centralized) or bottom-up (decentralized). Obviously, hybrid forms that combine both options are also possible. With top-
down planning, corporate headquarters guides the planning process. Bottom-up planning is the opposite. The bottom-up approach has the advantage of embracing local responsiveness. Top-down planning, on the other hand, facilitates performance monitoring. A centralized approach also makes it easier to market products with a global perspective. External factors can interfere with the strategic planning process. Changes in the political and the economic environment can upset the finest strategic plans. Other external factors that can hamper strategic marketing planning include changes in the competitive climate (e.g., deregulation), technological developments (e.g., 3G wireless technology), and consumerrelated factors. Environmental factors in global organizational design
Competitive Environment. Global competitive
pressures force the multinational companies (MNCs) to implement structures that facilitate quick decisionmaking and alertness. In industries where competition is highly localized, a decentralized structure where most of the decision making is made at the countrylevel is often appropriate. Nevertheless, even in such situations, MNCs can often benefit substantially from
mechanisms that allow the company to leverage its global knowledge base. Rate of Environmental Change. Drastic environmental change is a way of life in scores of industries. New competitors or substitutes for a product emerge. Existing competitors form or disband strategic alliances. Consumer needs worldwide constantly change. Businesses that are subject to rapid change require an organizational design that facilitates continuous scanning of the firm’s global environment and swift alertness to opportunities or threats posed by that environment. Regional Trading Blocs. Companies that operate within a regional trading bloc (e.g., the European Union, NAFTA, MERCOSUR) usually integrate their marketing efforts to some extent across the affiliates within the block area. A case in point is the European Union. In light of the European integration, numerous MNCs decided to streamline their organizational structure. Many of these companies still maintain their local subsidiaries, but the locus of most decision-making now lies with the pan-European headquarters. As other trading blocs such as Asia’s APEC and South America’s MERCOSUR evolve toward the European model, one can expect similar makeovers in other regions. Nature of Customers. The company’s customer base also has a great impact on the MNC’s desired organizational setup. Companies such as DHL, IBM, and Citigroup, which have a ‘‘global’’ clientele, need to develop structures that permit a global reach and at the same time allow the company to stay ‘‘close’’ to their customers.
Strategic Importance of International Business. Typically, when overseas sales account for a very small fraction of the company’s overall sales revenues, simple organizational structures (e.g., an export department) can easily handle the firm’s global activities. As international sales grow, the organizational structure will evolve to mirror the growing importance of the firm’s global activities. For instance, companies may start with an international division when they test the international waters. Once their overseas activities expand, they are likely to adopt an areatype (country- and/or region-based) structure. Product Diversity. The diversity of the company’s foreign product line is another key factor in shaping the company’s organization. Companies with substantial product diversity tend to go for a global product division configuration. Company Heritage. Differences in organizational structures within the same industry can also be explained via corporate culture. Nestle and Unilever, for example, have always been highly decentralized MNCs. A lot of the decisionmaking authority has always been made at the local level. When Unilever realized that its marketing efforts required a more pan-European approach to compete with the likes of Procter&Gamble, the company transformed its organization and revised its performance measures to provide incentives for a European focus. One of Unilever’s senior executives, however, noted that the changeover ‘‘comes hard to people who for years have been in an environment where total business power was delegated to them.’’ As long as a given formula works, there is little incentive for companies to tinker with it. Revamping an organization to make the structure more responsive to new environmental realities can be a daunting challenge.
Quality of Local Managerial Skills. Decentralization could become a problem when local managerial talents are missing. Granted, companies can bring in expatriates, but this is typically an extremely expensive remedy that does not always work out. For instance, expatriate managers may find it hard to adjust to the local environment. Most companies that engage in global marketing initially start by establishing an export department. Once international sales reach a threshold, the company might set up a full-blown international division. The charter of the international division is to develop and coordinate the firm’s global operations. The unit also scans market opportunities in the global marketplace. In most cases, the division has equal standing with the other divisions within the company. This option is most suitable for companies that have a product line that is not too diverse and does not require a large amount of adaptation to local country needs. It is also a viable alternative for companies whose business is still primarily focused on the domestic market. Over time, as international marketing efforts become more important to the firm, most companies tend to switch to a more globally oriented organizational structure.
Conclusion Companies can pick from a variety of structures, ranging from a single international division to a global network operation. Formal and informal (culture, management development) control mechanisms are available to run global operations. The dynamics of the global marketing arena means that building a global organization is much more than just choosing the ‘‘right’’ organizational configuration and control systems. Global players constantly need to reflect on how to strike the balance between centralization and decentralization, local responsiveness and global integration, center and periphery. As with many other challenges in global marketing, there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. However, there are some strategic vectors which MNCs should take into consideration: •
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Recognize the need for business asymmetry. Due to relentless environmental changes, power sharing between the centre and the periphery will vary over time, over business units and even across activities (product development, advertising, pricing) within business units. Different business units within the organization have different needs for responsiveness and global coordination. Especially widely diversified companies should recognize that each business unit needs a different format, depending on its particular circumstances and needs. Adopt a bottom-up approach. Getting the balance right also requires democracy. When building up a global organization, make sure that every country subsidiary has a ‘‘voice.’’ Subsidiaries of small countries should not be concerned about getting pushed over by their bigger counterparts. Importance of a shared vision. Getting the organizational structure right—the ‘‘arrows’’ and ‘‘boxes’’ so to speak—is important. Far more critical though is the organizational ‘‘psychology.’’ People are key in building an organization. Having a clear and consistent corporate vision is a major ingredient in getting people excited about the organization. To instill and communicate corporate values, companies should also have human resource development mechanisms in place that will facilitate the learning process. Invest heavily in horizontal communication channels and information flows. Very often multinational corporations focus primarily on vertical communication channels going from the country unit to corporate (or regional) headquarters but neglect horizontal information flows among the different country affiliates. As a result, country units become isolated and try to achieve their own profit goals instead of the overall company profit. Ensure that somebody has a global overview of each product line or brand. Global oversight of a product line or brand is needed to facilitate transfer of learning and knowledge among markets and to leverage new product and marketing mix programs. The central hub could be corporate or regional headquarters or the lead market with the category’s most sophisticated customers and/or distributors and in which most product innovations debut. Lenovo’s global marketing hub is located in Bangalore: Lenovo’s India team develops global marketing campaigns targeted for dozens of countries, including the United States, France, and Brazil. Need for a good mix of specialists of three types— country, functional, business. There is no such a thing as a transnational manager. Companies should breed specialists of three different kinds: country, functional and global business (SBU). Country managers in particular - once feared to become part of the endangered species list - play a key role. Moving unit headquarters abroad seldom solves the organization’s problems. In recent years, several companies (e.g., IBM, HP, and Siemens) have moved business unit headquarters abroad. Several of these moves were done for very sensible reasons: getting closer to the customer or supplier, being in the big guys’ backyard, cutting costs. For instance, the Japanese company Hoya, one of the world’s largest makers of spectacle lenses, moved the headquarters of its vision care business to the Netherlands. The move was prompted by Europe’s technological prowess in this sector. Unfortunately, in many cases the relocation typically turns out to be mere window- dressing in a drive to become more global-oriented. Sometimes transfers can even be counterproductive, weakening the corporate identity or the ‘‘authenticity’’ of the brand when it is strongly linked to the firm’s home country.
References [1] Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal: ‘‘Matrix Management: Not a Structure, a Frame of Mind’’, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1990, pp. 138–45. [2] David Lei and colleagues, ‘‘Global Strategy and Reward Systems: The Key Roles of Management Development and Corporate Culture”,Organizational Dynamics, 1989, p. 39. [3] David Arnold: „The Mirage of Global Markets. How Globalizing Companies Can Succeed as Markets Localize” (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2004), pp. 200–201. [4] Douglas J. Dalrymple and Leonard J. Parsons: „Marketing Management” (New York: JohnWiley & Sons, 2000), Chapter 17. [5] Myung-Su Chae and John S. Hill: ‘‘The Hazards of Strategic Planning for Global Markets’’, Long Range Planning, (1996), pp. 880–91. [6] Giancarlo Ghislanzoni, Risto Penttinen, and David Turnbull: ‘‘The Multi-local Challenge: Managing Cross-border Functions’’, The McKinsey Quarterly, 2008 (2), pp. 70–81. [7] Masaaki Kotabe & Kristiaan Helsen: “Global Marketing Management”, Third Edition John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004.
Where to repair my plane‌ by Nicolaie Mihaiescu
Abstract
We all know that the European Commission’s strategic vision is aiming to maximize consumer participation and trust in the market by reinforcing consumer safety, enhancing knowledge, stepping up enforcement and securing redress, aligning consumer rights and policies to changes in society and in the economy. The European Union has indeed a substantial corpus of consumer law, and consumer rights exist in practice thanks to continuous improving of enforcement and securing redress. Consumers are really empowered if they can have their rights properly enforced within a robust framework which allows them to participate actively in the market. Any comments on potential ambiguities in the Consumer Rights Directive, while respecting the meaning and intent of this Directive, could bring necessary clarification, either in guidance or in the legislation itself, which would be beneficial to consumers.
Key words: Consumer protection, empowered consumers, improved legislation JEL Classification: D18, L81 Still looking for the best solution Suppose you traveled around Europe and consider a nice mechanical toy, a car or a plane, to make your boy happy. You were visiting some big or small commercial sites and finally you are home now and enjoy the happiness on your son’s face. Some toys are so nice and well-designed that even parents may join playing with their children or happens that friends or neighbors come to your house to the same purpose. In such rapid usage after a short while your wonderful gadget stopped working. You may have a certificate of conformity and wish to solve the problem very quick. If you live in Romania you are lost and deserve the complaint of your boy. You find no place to solve your problem and I think that if the commodity is not of an international brand you can repair that gadget only in the country you bought it no matter where you live. In my opinion this is not normal since we are part of a very advanced technical era. Consumer protection is still a matter of consideration in almost all countries of EU. In Romania gradually ,from 1998, legislation have been put on the track of Europe good practice in the customer protection but still there are many things to be done. I can say that even EU as a whole is still looking for the best solution. In 2008 I used to be cooperating with the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry and tried to start a research on this matter but unfortunately the state commission managing EU fund for Research on social economic program chapter 9.1 rejected the project as unimportant!!! Yet I think that the problem of how to manage complaints aroused from keeping with the conformity of goods is a key one mainly for customers living in other country that where commodities come from. In the case of Romania you find no shop to repair goods out of work that were bought elsewhere even during the guaranty period. Five years ago EU start formalities of improving legislation of customer protection. Today we have an EU Directive 2011/83/UE adopted by the EU Parliament and the EU Council in October 2011 .The new Directive is a step forward in the matter but make no reference to the protection of customer buying goods from other country on the continent then their residence. The issue of goods taken from abroad might concern casual people and tourists all over Europe even they travel from East to West or from West to any other corner of the continent. The tourism today as well as simply traveling abroad are flourishing and sometimes good impressions on what you have seen in a country is badly damaged when the present you bought proved to be not useful soon after coming back home.
How to solve this problem? In my opinion since the new Directive asked the national authorities to adopt specific legal paper in all countries of EU to comply with it, Romanian Government may produce ordinances to inform national customer how to protect themselves in cases shown above. It is also recommended that the Government and the institutions connected to consumer protection to suggest the EU Parliament and the Council ways and methods to improve the legislation that protect consumers that bought technical commodities abroad and claim their non-conformity legally. I think solving these unpleasant issues might be a way to further enhance the pleasure of traveling and shopping abroad. And at least you can repair the damaged plane…….
Bibliography 1.A new European Consumer Agenda – Boosting confidence and growth by putting consumers at the heart of the Single Market, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP12-491_en.htm?locale=en 2.A European Consumer Agenda - Boosting confidence and growth, SWD (2012) 132 final, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/ docs/consumer_agenda_2012_en.pdf 3.BIS Consultation- implementing the Consumer Rights Directive, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32690/12-999-consultation-implementation-of-consumer-rights-directive.pdf 4.Consumers at Home in the Single Market? Questions and Answers on the 7th Consumer Scoreboard, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-12-381_en.htm 5.Alternative and Online Dispute Resolution soon to become a reality for European consumers, http://europa.eu/ rapid/press-release_IP-12-1381_en.htm
Bitdefender®, the award-winning provider of innovative antivirus solutions by Cosmin Pavel
*Sursa www.brandient.com
*Sursa www.brandient.com
*Sursa www.brandient.com
Abstract We are living in a world full of security threats that can harm our computers, the information in them, our businesses and most important our financial data. Bitdefender provides the best security solution available worldwide. Key words: Internet intrusions, antivirus solutions, technology JEL Classification: L86, M15 E-threats in the 21st century Today, the rates of Internet intrusions are the highest they have ever been. The total financial damage did by hackers in 2012 was of approximately 1.000.000.000 $. Yes, surprisingly the number is correct but not to mention people around the world that just don’t know they were victims of financial fraud. Sadly not only financial threats exist. Some
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learn the hard way. Imagine what consequences can an unsecure folder in an unsecure company computer cause. It isn’t that pleasant to know that marketing campaigns, company strategies, future plans leaked and revealed to hackers that ultimately sell the information to interested parties. Malware authors go to great lengths to distribute their wares, and they invest significant resources into finding victims and avoiding detection by antimalware products. Attackers experiment with different methods and mechanisms for distributing malware, ranging from exploits to pure social-engineering–based approaches. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses in software that enable an attacker to compromise the integrity, availability, or confidentiality of the software or the data that it processes. Some of the worst vulnerabilities allow attackers to exploit the compromised system by causing it to run malicious code without the user’s knowledge. Source: http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/one-in-two-us-execs-worried-about-data-security-and-cybercrime-study-shows-3141.html
*Sursa www.brandient.com
“We need to be smart, we need to be more agile,” says Motorola’s Senior Manager - Information Security Solutions, Paul Carugati. “My biggest concern right now and one of the things we’re focusing on is information sharing.” Some of us learn the hard way the benefits of a good security solution. Mark Patterson learned the lesson when hackers planted a Trojan named Zeus in his company managing in stealing bank account usernames and passwords causing in just a week more than one million dollars that were moved overseas. As Patterson puts it: “I think an AV is worth the investment”. Source: http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/hollywood-celebrity-hacker-sent-to-jail-4856.html
What is the answer? Bitdefender’s mantra is “Awake” – meaning that it is always aware and ready to protect sensitive information, from known and unknown internet assailants for home users and corporate users. The developed software protects over 400 million users worldwide that benefit from the best security solution available at the moment. In its 17 years of activity, Bitdefender has been an industry pioneer and many new technologies were introduced and patented to modernize and innovate the ability to deflect security threats like “BHAVE” or “Active Virus Control”. Source: http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/fbi-software-pinpoints-top-phrases-used-by-corporate-fraudsters-4935.html
Bitdefender includes a technology called Auto Pilot that can make security decisions for you. So once you install the software and adjust the settings initially it will not bother you again. However, if you are the type that likes to tweak and customize your security software you can do this with Bitdefender too. This internet security software also actively combats phishing efforts that attempt to trick you into sharing your usernames, passwords or credit card numbers. Another level of personal protection is chat encryption that will encrypt your chat conversation on Yahoo Messenger. Bitdefender opens a secure browser whenever it detects that you are banking or shopping online. SafePay™ is used to protect transactions details while shopping or banking online while SafeGo™ enhances Facebook™ and Twitter™ protection. The scanning system enhanced by SmartScan™ not only performs scans at user demand but also scans the device while it is in idle mode. Continuous quality protection updated to the latest virus definitions. Web sites are scanned element by element and are displayed only after Bitdefender
clears them. We can only imagine the speed of the scan since web pages are displayed in real time, without delay. Source: http://www.hotforsecurity.com/blog/cyber-crooks-steal-180000-from-small-business-via-advanced-persistent-threat-4290.html
The Bitdefender products feature antivirus and antispyware, personal firewall, privacy control, user control and backup for corporate and home users. PC Tuneup and Performance Optimizer are available in the Total Security Suite. The independent organizations which reward their outstanding results through numerous prizes and certifications are: AvTest.org, Virus Bulletin, ICSA Lab, Checkmark, PC World Top 100, just to name but a few. Austrian antivirus testing institute AV-Comparatives declared Bitdefender Antivirus 2013 the best antivirus of the year. Andreas Clementi, CEO of AV-Comparatives declared: “Bitdefender has become the industry leader thanks to a strong mix between signature-based detection and behavior-based detection. Bitdefender software is a powerful tool and we could see test after test. Bitdefender clearly deserves this award”. “The pace at which new threats are developed is becoming more alert, so antivirus technologies have quite a bit slower market place. The secret of our success is a good ratio between automated processes and human resource involved” said Viorel Canja, head of Bitdefender anti-malware laboratory. Thankfully, Bitdefender understands that their customers do not just use their computers from 9 to 5. Maybe you opened an infected email at 2 a.m. and you need assistance right away. They offer free telephone support 24/7 to Australia, New Zealand, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. They also provide telephone support during set business hours to Brazil, Canada, France and Spain. Free chat support and e-mail support is available as well. Bitdefender is an organization that believes in heroism, integrity, inquisitiveness, and innovation. References
“A Marketing Survival Guide”, http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/special-offers/a-marketing-survivalguide-20378/ David Gorodyvansky – “Best Way to Keep Your Company Computers Safe”, http://www.inc.com/david-gorodyansky/ antivirus-software-still-a-necessary-tech-expense.html Robert McMillan – “Is Antivirus Software a Waste of Money?”, http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/03/antivirus/ Virus Protection Brochure, www.researchandmarkets.com%2Freports%2F238661%2Fantivirus_market_opportunities_ strategies_and.pdf&ei=BB0QUf38CIfJswaCh4HwBg&usg=AFQjCNEX_NAmOlBLIsSm3F6mwLIl8LOq1w http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitdefender www.hotforsecurity.com (Blog Bitdefender) http://ro.stiri.yahoo.com/bitdefender-2013-fost-declarat-produsul-anului-catre-av-110038157.html http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/which-is-the-most-popular-antivirus-software/12608
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