Gerry Conway – American Entrepreneur

Gerry Conway was the classic American entrepreneur – visionary, charismatic, driven, impatient, and impending. Born in Cleveland in 1931, Conway was the ninth of 13 children. His love of the retail environment, his strong interdependence, and his deep appreciation of people appreciation of people stemmed from his childhood experience: claiming that he has been in retail for over 60 years, working at some of his fathers 200 food stores. After college, Conway and his wife, Marty, returned to Cleveland. He began working for an industrial firm and quickly learned that, while sales attracted him, working in a large corporation did not.After working at some small firms, Conway decided to found his own company, Gerald A. Conway & Associates, being display-printing broker. One day, a colleague suggested that he sell the plastic parts that retailers used to display signs as part of his printing broker business. The advantage of selling accessories was that he could sell the same produc t to many companies simultaneously, which was not possible in display printing, for which each printing job was customized. An early product idea was the Arrowhead fastener, which was designed to hold coupons and signs on store shelves.It was a best seller from the start. During this time though, Conway had struggles with alcohol, stating that it was a problem, but through a self-help program he chose sobriety and regained focus in his life. The following year, his first year sober, his income shot up by about 35 percent-a direct correlation. He celebrated the event saying that was a significant event in the business and for his family. In the mid 1970s, now sober, Gerald Conway and Associates was renamed Fasteners for Retail (FFr) to acknowledge its exclusive focus on display accessories and fasteners within the point-of-purchase industry.The P-O-P product includes signs, displays, devices, and structures that are used to merchandise services or products in retail stores. The acces sory hardware segment was highly fragmented. No single supplier had more than 10 percent of the sub supplier market, and many competed in only a few product categories. FFr was the largest company in this niche, with a market share of approximately 7. 5 percent. The company distinguished itself from its competitors in several important ways. It offered a broad and innovative product line, free samples, quick turnaround on orders, and a liberal sales return policy.The willingness to emphasize new products also became a defining characteristic for the business. While the company’s early expansion began with imported Swedish design accessories, the product line grew because of Conway’s creativity and dissatisfaction with status quo. Two products in particular, the Shipflat literature holder and SuperGrip sign holders, were critical to FFr’s success in the early 1980’s. In the 1980s, FFr grew consistently and at a steady pace, having five employees and sales of $3 million. As stated above, business began to boom as a result of a expanding product line and larger sales force.The company grew steadily, adding employees in accounting, customer service, product design, and marketing. Its opportunistic philosophy supported the company’s growth. The business was always profitable, there was no debt, and the company never got tied up in long-term commitments. Production and most warehousing were subcontracted, and office space was leased. The company made quick decisions, and arrangements with vendors were frequently based on handshakes. The flipside of FFr’s opportunism and speed was that it lacked a business plan and strategic discipline.To keep the company growing, Conway realized that he needed to hire a president with managerial expertise. Although he understood the value of management, he was an entrepreneur, not a traditional manager. The company went through several presidents. FFr, for a time, was a company with an organ izational chart but not a lot of organization. That changed in the late 1990’s. In the early 1990’s, Conway and his wife, Marty, joined Case Western Reserve University’s Partnership for Family Business. This led to Conway realizing the importance for such things as an advisory board, which was made up of four independent current and former company CEOs.It also led Conway to begin thinking of the furture of the company, and the possibility of passing it down to one of his sons. Family involvement in the company began in the 1970s, when the Conway children earned extra money by putting adhesive on the back of Arrowhead fasteners. They had all done odd jobs for FFr, but of the seven children only three worked in the business as adults. Kevin, the eldest, joined in the early 1980s and became an outstanding salesman, Paul, the youngest, eventually became the international sales manager, and Neil, the fourth son, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in college and found w ork in the warehouse.Out of the three sons, Paul was seen as the most serious contender, but after some time in the company and deliberation, he decided that being CEO was not for him and went on to become a teacher. Now Gerry was left with a huge predicament. Kevin was out of the picture, his son Stuart had, long ago; decided that he didn’t want the responsibility. None of the kids were interested. Gerry’s problem was not only his lack of succession planning, but also his lack of retirement planning. He had done some retirement planning but the demands of running a business didn’t leave him time to establish an actual plan.So where does this leave Gerry, his company, and his family’s future? (Source: Poza PG 141-155) My first step of advice for Mr. Conway would be to take step a back. Even though he is experiencing a very rough time right now with his succession planning, it is very important to note what he has done for the company and his family. He ha s managed to start up a successful business in which his family is involved and with net sales in the millions. He also made sure that he set up certain things like an advisory board for the company, which was made up of his son, brother, and two independent CEO owners.He and his wife also made family meetings a regular event for everyone to gather at. They even went so far to go over their estate plan to make sure that their children gained a substantial amount of value from FFr over their lifetime. These are all great things that Gerry and Marty did for the family business and they should be recognized. After taking some time to admire their contributions to the company, its time to move on to the next step and tackle the problems head on. Gerry needs someone to take over the company, and his kids were not an option.After reading the case several times though, I determined that there was someone that Gerry could entrust with the company, his chief advisor and wife Marty. Marty pla yed a very pivotal role in the company, being a person who signed the checks and overlooked the company’s finances. She also had a public role at company functions and was a people booster. She played a more significant role behind the scenes, supporting Gerry as he considered important business changes, such as handling over administrative reins or making personal changes.Both family members and outsiders described Marty as the glue that worked behind the scenes to hold the family together through the predictable challenges that families who work together faced. (Source Poza PG 154) Marty seems more than qualified to take control of business, which would also give Gerry time to iron out his retirement plan. This would also give Gerry the opportunity to have another talk with his son Paul about running the company. The text states that Gerry was a loner in the way that he ran his business.Paul may not have realized that he could do the job differently- probably in a more dece ntralized and collaborative way. (Source: Poza PG 154) I feel that it is crucial that Gerry makes Paul realize that if he decided to be CEO he can take a different approach to running the company, his own. He could run the company and instill the values that he thinks is important into it. After realizing this and the possible opportunity that he his passing up, not only for himself but also his future family, he will have to at least reconsider his father’s offer and most likely come back to work for the company.If this still does not work, Gerry is left with the option of finding someone else in the family to run the company, find a trusted family friend to run the company, or sell it all together. In conclusion, Gerry Conway has managed to take his company Fasteners for Retail and turn it into a huge family company. He had been with so much with the company and realized that it was coming to the time to pass it on. He tried passing it on to his children, but he failed in a ll his attempts. Now left with little time and money, Gerry needed someone to run his company. I felt that the answer came in his wife, Marty.She was his chief advisor at the company and new how to read all the financial data associated with it. Family members and outsiders alike referred to her as the glue that held the company together. With her running the company, it would allow for Gerry to manage all his retirement issues and give his talk with son Paul another shot. After making Paul realize the opportunities that he is passing up, I am sure he will come back to the company and began work. References Poza, Ernesto J. , 2007. Famly Business Third Edition. South Western Cengage Learning 5191 Natorp Boulevard. Mason, Ohio 45040, USA.

Sinking of the Lusitania - World War I

Sinking of the Lusitania - World War I Sinking of the Lusitania - Conflict Dates: RMS Lusitania was torpedoed on May 7, 1915, during World War I (1914-1918). Sinking of the Lusitania - Background: Launched in 1906, by John Brown Co. Ltd. of Clydebank, RMS Lusitania was a luxury liner built for the famed Cunard Line. Sailing on the trans-Atlantic route, the ship gained a reputation for speed and won the Blue Riband for the fastest eastbound crossing in October 1907. As with many ships of its type, Lusitania was partially funded by a government subsidy scheme which called for the ship to be converted for use as an armed cruiser during wartime. While the structural requirements for such a conversion were incorporated into Lusitanias design, gun mounts were added to the ships bow during an overhaul in 1913. To hide these from passengers, the mounts were covered with coils of heavy docking lines during voyages. With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Cunard was permitted to retain Lusitania in commercial service as the Royal Navy decided that large liners consumed too much coal and required crews too large to be effective raiders. Other Cunard ships were not as lucky as Mauritania and Aquitania were drafted into military service. Though it remained in passenger service, Lusitania underwent several wartime modifications including the addition of several additional compass platforms and cranes, as well as the painting black of its distinctive red funnels. In an effort to reduce costs, Lusitania began operating on a monthly sailing schedule and Boiler Room #4 was shut down. This latter move reduced the ships top speed to around 21 knots, which still made it the fastest liner operating in the Atlantic. It also allowed Lusitania to be ten knots faster than German u-boats. Sinking of Lusitania - Warnings: On February 4, 1915, the German government declared the seas around the British Isles to be a war zone and that beginning February 18, Allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. As Lusitania was scheduled to reach Liverpool on March 6, the Admiralty provided Captain Daniel Dow with instructions on how to avoid submarines. With the liner approaching, two destroyers were dispatched to escort Lusitania into port. Unsure whether the approaching warships were British or German, Dow eluded them and reached Liverpool on his own. The following month, Lusitania departed for New York on April 17, with Captain William Thomas Turner in command. The commodore of the Cunard fleet, Turner was an experienced mariner and reached New York on the 24th. During this time, several concerned German-American citizens approached the German embassy in an effort to avoid controversy should the liner be attacked by a u-boat. Taking their concerns to heart, the embassy placed ads in fifty American newspapers on April 22 warning that neutral travelers aboard British-flagged vessels en route to the war zone sailed at their own risk. Usually printed next to Lusitanias sailing announcement, the German warning caused some agitation in the press and concern among the ships passengers. Citing that the ships speed made it nearly invulnerable to attack, Turner and his officers worked to calm those aboard. Sailing on May 1 as scheduled, Lusitania departed Pier 54 and began its return voyage. While the liner was crossing the Atlantic, U-20, commanded by Captain Lieutenant Walther Schwieger, was operating off the west and south coasts of Ireland. Between May 5 and 6, Schwieger sank three merchant vessels. Sinking of the Lusitania - Loss: His activity led the Admiralty, who was tracking his movements via intercepts, to issue submarine warnings for the south coast of Ireland. Turner twice received this message on May 6 and took several precautions including closing watertight doors, swinging out the lifeboats, doubling the lookouts, and blacking out the ship. Trusting the ships speed, he did not begin following a zi-zag course as recommended by the Admiralty. Upon receiving another warning around 11:00 AM on May 7, he turned northeast towards the coast, incorrectly believing that submarines would likely keep to the open sea. Possessing only three torpedoes and low on fuel, Schwieger had decided to return to base when a vessel was spotted around 1:00 PM. Diving, U-20 moved to investigate. Encountering fog, Turner slowed to 18 knots as the liner steered for Queenstown (Cosh), Ireland. As Lusitania crossed his bow, Schwieger opened fire at 2:10 PM. His torpedo hit the liner below the bridge on the starboard side. It was quickly followed by a second explosion in the starboard bow. While many theories have been put forward, the second was most likely caused by an internal steam explosion. Immediately sending an SOS, Turner tried steering the ship towards the coast with the goal of beaching it, but the steering failed to respond. Listing at 15 degrees, the engines pushed the ship forward, driving more water into the hull. Six minutes after the hit, the bow slipped under the water, which along with the increasingly list, severely hampered efforts to launch the lifeboats. As chaos swept the liners decks, many lifeboats were lost due to the ships speed or spilled their passengers as they were lowered. Around 2:28, eighteen minutes after the torpedo hit, Lusitania slipped beneath the waves approximately eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale. Sinking of the Lusitania - Aftermath: The sinking claimed the lives of 1,198 of Lusitanias passengers and crew, with only 761 surviving. Among the dead were 128 American citizens. Immediately inciting international outrage, the sinking quickly turned public opinion against Germany and its allies. The German government attempted to justify the sinking by stating that Lusitania was classified as an auxiliary cruiser and was carrying military cargo. They were technically correct on both counts, as Lusitania was under orders to ram u-boats and its cargo included a shipment of bullets, 3-inch shells, and fuses. Outraged at the death of American citizens, many in the United States called for President Woodrow Wilson to declare war on Germany. While encouraged by the British, Wilson refused and urged restraint. Issuing three diplomatic notes in May, June, and July, Wilson affirmed the rights of US citizens to travel safely at sea and warned that future sinkings would be viewed as deliberately unfriendly. Following the sinking of the liner SS Arabic in August, American pressure bore fruit as the Germans offered an indemnity and issued orders prohibiting their commanders from surprise attacks on merchant vessels. That September, the Germans halted their campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare. Its resumption, along with other provocative acts such as the Zimmermann Telegram, would ultimately pull the United States into the conflict. Selected Sources PBS: Lost Liners - LusitaniaFirst World War: Sinking of the LusitaniaThe Lusitania

Copyright and Democracy

Copyright and Democracy Chapter four of Neil Weinstock Netanel’s essay discusses the democratic paradigm of copyright and democracy. Netanel attempts to find the link between democratic governance and civil society. The first part of the chapter discusses the role of civil society and its association with democratic governance. Shared purposes and norms identify various civil societies. Civil society plays an active role in bolstering democratic governance.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Copyright and Democracy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Civil societies are participatory. They help in fostering a democratic culture. In addition, civil societies provide avenues for self-rule that are outside the control of the government. Civil societies facilitate debate and determination of various policies and social norms. However, civil societies are not completely autonomous. Government intervention helps in sustaining the acti vities of civil societies. In addition, government intervention ensures that civil societies engage in activities that provide opportunities for democratic governance. The market may be a barrier to the advancement of the democratic character of civil societies. It may facilitate the development of disparities of power. In addition, it may provide people with uneven opportunities to engage in civil life. However, the market may also play a critical role in enhancing democratic governance. It may facilitate the development of centers of power that are not under the control of the government. This helps in reducing citizen’s dependency on the state. It is a fact that democratic governance should also be a critical component of the governance of civil societies. It would be contradictory to claim that civil societies foster democratic governance when it is clear that they do not have democratic governance in their management. The author did not provide insights on civil societie s and democratic governance using this perspective. The government uses copyright as a tool that enables government institutions to support democratic civil societies. Copyright’s production and structural functions help in supporting a democratic civil society. Copyright laws have various incentives that encourage free communication. Electronic communication is one of the fastest developing communication mediums. It facilitates the broadcast, distribution, and transmission of millions of works of original authors. Democracy enables people who have high rhetorical skills to acquire the greatest share of political power. Therefore, free communication is an essential component of a democratic culture. In some instances, free communication may violate copyright laws. The author did not explain how free communication may pose a serious threat to copyright.Advertising Looking for critical writing on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 1 5% OFF Learn More Copyright enables authors to have a proprietary entitlement to their works. This facilitates the development of an autonomous sector that encourages the formation and distribution of novel expressions. Copyright enables creators and publishers of the novel expressions to earn financial support for their undertakings in the sector. This enables them to cease from depending on the government or the assistance of the elite. The paying audience is the source of funds. Copyright imposes certain restrictions on the exclusive control of cultural works. This enables the government to diversify the communicative power structures without unwarranted interference on the expressive content. However, the restrictions of copyright law do not provide a neutral endpoint. The endpoint of copyright law may signify the beginning of another proprietary right. Therefore, the restrictions may portray the ability of copyrights to enhance democracy. They enhance the democr atic notion that expressions and ideas should be free for all people. The limits on the duration and scope of copyrights act as a boundary on the private control of publicly distributed expressions.

Eotyrannus - Facts and Figures

Eotyrannus - Facts and Figures Name: Eotyrannus (Greek for dawn tyrant); pronounced EE-oh-tih-RAN-us Habitat: Woodlands of Western Europe Historical Period: Early Cretaceous (125-120 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 15 feet long and 300-500 pounds Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; relatively long arms with grasping hands About Eotyrannus The tiny tyrannosaur Eotyrannus lived during the early Cretaceous period, about 50 million years before more famous relatives like Tyrannosaurus Rexand, following a common theme in evolution, this dinosaur was much smaller than its giant descendant (the same way the first, mouse-sized mammals of the Mesozoic Era were much smaller than the whales and elephants that evolved from them). In fact, the 300- to 500-pound Eotyrannus was so slender and wiry, with relatively long arms and legs and grasping hands, that to the untrained eye it might look more like a raptor; the giveaway is the lack of single, giant claws on each of its hind feet, as sported by the likes of Velociraptor and Deinonychus. (One paleontologist speculates that Eoraptor was actually a non-tyrannosaur theropod closely related to Megaraptor, but this idea is still being digested by the scientific community.) One of the most remarkable things about Eotyrannus is that its remains were discovered on Englands Isle of Wightwestern Europe isnt exactly famous for its tyrannosaurs! From an evolutionary point of view, however, this makes sense: we know that the earliest tyrannosaurs (like the 25-pound, feathered Dilong) lived a few million years before Eotyrannus in eastern Asia, while the largest tyrannosaurs (like the multi-ton T. Rex and Albertosaurus) were indigenous to late Cretaceous North America. One possible scenario is that the very first tyrannosaurs migrated west from Asia, quickly evolving to Eotyrannus-like sizes, and then reached the culmination of their development in North America. (A similar pattern held with horned, frilled dinosaurs, the tiny progenitors of which originated in Asia and then made their way westwards to North America, spawning multi-ton genera like Triceratops.)

Putting In the Hours Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Putting In the Hours - Essay Example The reader is likely to be hooked into reading this article because it gives insight into certain things that are often overlooked by many people when they look at the work of the professors. The author is an expert in this field because he vividly describes different types of professors and how they schedule their office hours when they are not delivering lectures in classrooms. The author’s main idea in this particular article is that work schedules for the professors depend on how they wish to spend their office hours in a productive manner. Some prefer to schedule their office hours early in the morning while others like to use their time during the day. Different professors display attitudes that differ from person to person depending on how they wish to conduct their office business. The author’s main purpose of writing is to enlighten the readers about different types of professors found in North America. He wishes to emphasize the point that a work schedule is e ssential when one is to successfully carry out tasks related to teaching and dealing with students during office hours. It may not be possible to simply approach the professor during his office hour since he or she may be somehow committed with other tasks. The author tries to portray a professor in North America as someone operates according to a schedule which ought to be maintained in order for him or her to achieve the desired goals. The author uses descriptive vocabulary in the article and the tone is intended to compel the readers to share the same ideas and opinions with him. For instance, the author describes different types of professors using descriptive terms and these make it quite simple for the reader to imagine what he is trying to say. Lang (207) describes the professor who prefers to use their office hours in consultation with the students as â€Å"Early bird† while those who do not want to be disturbed as â€Å"Door closer.† This type of vocabulary ma kes the reader imagine how this person looks like and the way he or she is likely to behave. Some of the terms used to describe the different types of professors by the author are self explanatory and they are quite simple to understand. For example, the Early bird derives from the adage: â€Å"The early bird catches a fat worm.† This implies that he who performs his work early is likely to achieve the desired goals on time. On the other hand, Lang (208) uses the phrase, â€Å"Door closer† to describe a person who closes the door when he or she does not want to be disturbed. Through this phrase, the reader is compelled to imagine the behaviour of such kind of person and how she or he is likely to impact on the students’ perception about them. The author’s presentation is valid in the sense that he uses information that was derived using the observation method. This method is reliable in that first hand information is obtained when one observes the action of a particular person. Lang (207) says, â€Å"Working our way up and down the halls of one faculty office building, checking out the office hour schedules posted below the nameplates and observing the work and leisure of these specimens...† and this statement reveals that the article is based on real observation of how the professors schedule their work. In presenting his argument, the author tries to convince the reader that this article is

Contemporary Entrepreneurial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Entrepreneurial - Essay Example Information was also sourced from reliable online sources such as newspaper articles of major media houses such as CNN, and reports posted on websites of international financial and economic organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation-operation and Development. These online reports were used because they obtain their information from official government sources and thus this information is valid. In addition, online articles of peer-reviewed economic and business journals were used because in some, cases hard copies were not available. The Greek small and medium enterprise (SME) sector plays a very crucial role in the country’s economic development. The SME sector employs the majority of Greece’s labor force and accounts for two thirds of the non-primary sector sales volume. The SME sector has particularly been important in the wake of the debt and economic crises that have been facing Greece for a couple of years now. As numerous companies went bankrupt and retrenched thousands of workers, the SME sector proved to be a valuable source of employment as it absorbed many of the employees who lost their jobs (Markatou, 2012, 56 – 65). Although many SMEs also went bankrupt because of the crisis, majority of them survived, and many start-ups are still coming up as a result of entrepreneurship driven by innovation. The general decrease in demand for goods due to falling income levels led to fierce competition among SMEs forcing businesses to initiate value-driven innovations in a bid to obtain an ed ge over competitors. Through the PESTLE analysis, this report evaluated the competitiveness of Greek SMEs by analyzing the factors that affect the ability of businesses to become or remain competitive. Factors that this report analyzes are the PESTLE factors which include political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. The political factors that affect the ability of

PUBLIC RELATIONS APPROACH TO UTILITIES TO WIN MONDALE 2022 Essay

PUBLIC RELATIONS APPROACH TO UTILITIES TO WIN MONDALE 2022 - Essay Example Public relations deals with people, organizations and companies. Public relations includes activities like giving holding press conferences, speaking in various fora and communicating with employees in the company. The role of public relations is to create awareness and a positive public image (Rubel 2007, p10). Public relations helps in deciding what information will reach the employees, and how it will reach them so that the company’s image is maintained. Stockholders, potential investors and other interested people would be interested in a company’s financial information all of which is availed by public relations. Crises such as bankruptcy and product failures in any business are communicated using the same means. It is in the interest of public relations to make sure that the community is aware of anything going on around them and how it will affect them. It is quite clear that this is the epitome of awareness and communication in any field. It has been seen that public relations companies in Qatar use the available utilities in order to win Mondale 2022. There are many ways with which this is done among them press releases, blogs and media. The most modern means of doing this include the use of the four models of public relations suggested by James Grunig. At this point however, it should be noted that the perception of public relations in Qatar is very different from that applied in other countries. Before any operations are done in this field, companies have the role of understanding the way people view public relations as a whole. Because the targeted population in most cases is not a single entity or tribe, it is important to put all their needs together. This is one of the factors that make public relations a very complicated sector in this growing economy. Qatar is a conservative country whose economic growth is described as astounding with one of the highest growing gross domestic products (GDP) in the world. In 2010, the