Oncidium Business Consulting Case Analysis

Oncidium Business Consulting is a company that traces its roots back in the 1970s. The Richard Ivey Business School at The University of Western Ontario was operating summer assistance programs for small and native businesses in Southwestern Ontario through the subsidies it was getting from the Federal government.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Oncidium Business Consulting Case Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The programs were soliciting the services of 15 students each summer since undergraduate and graduate students sought relevant work during their four-month break. At some point, the programs lost the federal support hence making it necessary to reduce the number of students who were initially participating in the program. Ivey continued with the program under the name Ivey Business Consulting Group. Some of the restrictions that characterized the program were eliminated but its startup was ne vertheless characterized by many problems. The program was run each summer by different groups of students. Jane Richards, the Founder of Oncidium Business Consulting joined the IBCG program in 2001 and was elected the practice’s manager. Richards graduated from the university in 2001, a period during which IBCG was experiencing many problems and the firm was unstable. As a result, she proposed that the program be converted into an arm of Ivey and be operated all year round. She argued that Ivey had enough resources and the Canadian market was in dire need of ideas on how to increase its growth. She was given an office in the school in order to anchor the idea firmly and in 2002; she transformed IBCG into a proprietorship.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Richards constituted an advisory board comprised of academicians and entrepreneurs to advise and mentor her. I BCG opened an office in Toronto in September 2003 and hired additional staff. It continued to grow exponentially year after year between 2003 and 2005. Ivey decided to withdraw from the firm in 2004 and that was when Oncidium Business Consulting was born. Its services included strategic plans, market assessment, and market research to clients of all natures. Oncidium continued to register remarkable growth in 2006 and 2007. However in 2006, Richards started feeling like a stranger in her own company. This was happening despite the fact that she had founded the company and worked hard to see it grow. She could see a promising financial future for the company but the present had turned into a disappointment and unhappy scenario for Richards who wondered what she was doing in the company. Richards revisited revenue generation which was the performance metric agreed upon during the formation of the company. This was an easily measurable and quantifiable metric but only Maria had achieve d it. However, she got the lowest equity while Simon and Stephen who had not hit the targets got the highest and even Richards doubled theirs. Richards struggled to make the decision on whether to give them the equity when they had not achieved the performance metric since her mentors had suggested that nobody was to deviate from the set performance metrics. However, she felt that failure to give them the equity was bound to cause them to leave and she was not ready to build new relationships. She also felt that they were not skilled in revenue generation but they compensated in execution and delivery.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Oncidium Business Consulting Case Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Currently, the ownership of the stakes is perceived as inequitable by the other partners in the company. Simon and Stephen deal with delivery which is scalable since they have the support of other emplo yees in the company. Richards on the other hand deals with revenue generation which is an individual effort and feels that she bears the brunt. Whenever she is in the office, she feels Simon and Stephen feel that she should be outside selling projects. As a result, Richards feels that what she has done for the company is not appreciated and Simon and Stephen feel that the internal management of the company they are concerned with has a greater value than what Richards does. Differences have been growing everyday between Richards and her three partners in the company. This has been heightened by the fact that the three partners have been conducting secret meetings to strategize on how to throw Richards out of the company. Simon and Stephen have constituted a projects delivery team that is comprised of young individuals in their early 20s while Richards is in her mid 30s. This group bonds very well and after office, they go clubbing while Richards does not. This makes her an outsider in her own company. As the firm continues to grow in the presence of younger staff, the skills-set has been broken down. Richard’s idea of focusing on strategy-based assignments which bring in more dollars per assignment has been highly contested by the other partners. Simon and Stephen feel that the strategy is too competitive and Oncidium lacks the resources and skills to measure up to the standards of well established and financially stable consultancies.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From the financial statements, it is evident that Oncidium Business Consulting has been registering remarkable growth since 2005. The firm therefore has potential for continued growth in the future if the current problems are comprehensively addressed. The firm has strong capital base as portrayed by the revenue collected in the financial statement. However, there is need to regulate the equities and liabilities since they seem to go up every subsequent year. This is not a good sign because it might destabilize the firm. Generally, the profits of the firm portray an impressive potential since there is increment in every subsequent year. It is important for Richards and her partners to work together for the sake of the success of the firm. The following are some of the recommendations that may be useful in a bid to resolve the current standoff in the firm. The first recommendation is that Richards should hold a meeting with the rest of the partners and discuss with them the concerns that make her feel no longer comfortable in the firm. The second recommendation is that Richards should contact her advisory team and inform it of the current situation in the firm for appropriate advice on how to approach the matter. The third recommendation is that a review of the nature of the roles of each one of them should be reviewed. The fourth recommendation is that a strict and open system should be put in place to determine who should join the firm. Richards should also be involved in selecting individuals who join the firm. The sixth recommendation is that she could consider the short gun clause in the partnership agreement and leave the firm. The best recommendation is to conduct a review of the roles and responsibilities of all the partners in the firm. This includes reviewing the practicality of the metrics set for each partner. The best way to do this is to conduct the advisors of the firm and hold a meeting with all the partners. Since the advisors are knowledgeable people in such matters they can advise on the most appropriate course of action in such situations. They would also reiterate on the importance of valuing the input of all the partners in the firm. This case study on Oncidium Business Consulting Case Analysis was written and submitted by user Jeram1ah to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Edible Glowing Blood Slime

Edible Glowing Blood Slime What couldnt Halloween costume or party benefit from some blood slime? This particular slime is also edible, non-sticky and glows blue-white under a black light. Its easy to make! Glowing Blood Slime Materials 1 teaspoon soluble fiber (e.g., Metamucil)8 ounces (1 cup) diet tonic water red food coloring Make the Slime! Stir the fiber into the tonic water.Add a drop or two of food coloring. The slime gets darker during preparation, so dont add too much food coloring.Heat the liquid in a microwave-safe container until it boils. Depending on your microwave power this may be anywhere from 1-4 minutes. When the mixture boils, pause the microwave and stir the slime.Cook the microwave another 1-2 minutes. Stir it.Repeat the cooking/stirring cycle a total of 4-5 times, until the slime develops a gelatinous consistency. Carefully remove the slime from the microwave. The container will be very hot!Let the slime cool before you handle it. You can play with it, decorate with it, or even eat it. No matter what color you made your slime, it will glow blue-white under a black light or ultraviolet light. The glow is fluorescence from the quinine in the tonic water.Store your slime in a sealed bowl or plastic bag. If you are just decorating with it, its fine at room temperature, but if you plan on putting the slime in your mouth, its a good idea to refrigerate leftovers. While the slime wont stick to most surfaces, the food coloring will cause it to stain fabrics and skin. Clean up slime with soap and water. Your favorite stain remover will take out the food coloring. Watch a video of this project.

Produce a report on the marketing of a consumer product of your choice Essay

Produce a report on the marketing of a consumer product of your choice utilizing some of the techniques discussed on your course - Essay Example In fact, Nokia Smartphones have pushed the company out of losses and set it on a path of reclamation and growth (Garside, 2013). 2. Key Market Segments for Nokia Lumia and Size of Market   2.1 Customer Segments Targeted Nokia smartphones are now available for many different customer segments as shown below: Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 These phones are based on the Windows 8 platform, are 4G enabled, and target customers who can purchase higher end products and who desire latest technology and a large variety of apps (Aulakh, 2013). Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 These smartphones target the price sensitive customer segment. These are priced at low and mid-range and provide almost similar hardware as its sophisticated higher end sets. However, the services provided are lesser. The concept behind these phones is to target customers who cannot afford high end phones but who still need cell phones for net connectivity and functional utility (Spence, 2013). Nokia Lumia 700 and 800 These are the lo w range of smartphones that were initially launched to create interest and awareness among the new customers (Spence, 2013). It can therefore be observed that Nokia Smartphones cover nearly all the customer segments with the variety of products that they have in the market. 2.2 Market Size and Growth The market for the smartphones is in the stage of rapid growth as can be seen from the growth statistics for the last year. In the second quarter of the year 2012, the mobile market grew at the rate of 1% with 406.0 million units of mobiles being shipped during the quarter (IDC Press Release, 2012). However, the smartphones market grew at a much higher rate of 42.1% in 2012 with 153.9 million  units being shipped worldwide (IDC Press Release, 2012). The main competitors in the smartphone market are Samsung and Apple. These two players have captured diverse market segments ranging from low priced to high priced. Samsung focuses on a diverse strategy where it introduces smartphones for a variety of customer segments so that it covers all sections of the market. On the other hand, Apple targets only the high end customer segment with sophisticated and highly priced smartphones. Smartphones growth markets largely consist of the European countries as well as emerging economies of Asia and Latin America. There is a continuous rise in the demand of smartphones in countries like India and China which provide a huge market due to their large populations. However, in spite of the large growth and expected progression of the smartphone market, Nokia has fallen behind the two main competitors – Samsung and Apple. The reason is largely attributed to the introduction of the Microsoft Windows Phone 8 that prevented existing uses of Nokia Lumia to upgrade to the new operating system (Garside, 2013). This restriction led to a decline in the sales of the Nokia Lumia though it is expected that the upgradation will eventually happen for the existing users. Like Samsung, Noki a also follows the strategy of penetrating diverse customer segments and has developed smartphones of varying prices and sophistication. The following graph shows the BCG matrix for smartphone market and the market position of Nokia: Figure 1: BCG Matrix for Smartphone Market and Market Position of Nokia Lumia 3. Future Trends in Smart Phone Market