Business Strategy in Kellogg Company Term Paper

Business Strategy in Kellogg Company - Term Paper Example The main external environment that necessitates firms to develop strategies include the general environment which entails demographic, economic, political/legal, socio-cultural, technological, global and physical trends, the interplay of the industry environment that often impact on the relationship between its customers and suppliers and competitors environment and analysis (Ireland, Hoskisson, & Hitt, 2008:59). Business strategy is a key plan of action for companies after the assessment of the above market factors and business environment and is often aimed at positioning the company, influencing the market balance and exploiting changes in the industry. This paper examines business strategies that have been employed by Kellogg Company and the reasons why such strategies have proved to be successful to the firm. Kellogg Company Business Strategy Kellogg Company is the leading producer of cereal and convenience foods such as cookies, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruits snacks, fro zen watts, and veggie foods in the world. Kellogg Company manufactures its products in more than seventeen countries and markets them across the world (Kellogg Company, 2012). The core reason for the establishment of Kellogg Company was for the Company to produce high quality, nutritious and great tasting food. The company has made tremendous growth and this can be evidenced by its ever-expanding market share and increased profits. The success can be attributed to the existence of key business strategies that ensures the growth of Kellogg Company amidst increased competition and entry of other players and dynamics of the market. Key Terms Kellogg Vision To be the food company of choice Mission statement To drive sustainable growth through the power of our people and brands by better serving the needs of our consumers, customers and communities. Objectives Encourage and support of among all sectors of the population Use of resources to run and sponsor community programmes for its con sumers and public Increase the association between Kellogg and physical activity Use the cereal packs to communicate the ‘balance’ message to consumers Introduce food labeling that would enable consumers to make decisions about the right balance of food Goals Remain consumer centric Product innovation Priority to win Continuous efficiency improvements Core Competence Baking The Vision and Mission Statements Business strategies of firms can be evaluated based on the design and definition of their vision and mission statements. This is because of the crucial role that vision and mission statement play in current business environment as they convey the aspirations of the organizations. Kellogg Company has exploited this concept and has formulated a vision and mission statements that focuses on sustainable growth of the company, social responsibility, its stakeholders (people) and its brands. Whereas the vision statement of Kellogg Co

Does Silver Alloy Coated Foley Catheters Reduce Urinary Catheter Research Paper

Does Silver Alloy Coated Foley Catheters Reduce Urinary Catheter Infections - Research Paper Example The use of catheters causes one of the most common health associated infections and is known as CAUTI or Catheters Associated Urinary Tract Infections. As CAUTI can deteriorate into a serious condition, preventive steps have to be taken to minimize it in the hospital environment as well as in other settings. One of the steps that are being carried out is the use of Foley catheters coated with silver alloy. These catheters, when used as part of indwelling catheterization, are said to reduce CAUTI sizably. Although other studies show that it provides only negligible positive results. So, this paper after analyzing six journal articles, its purpose, its results, strengths and weaknesses, will discuss whether silver alloy coated Foley catheters reduces UTI. The article, Audit of catheter-associated UTI using silver alloy-coated Foley catheters written by Coral Seymour discusses the advantages of using the silver alloy-coated Foley catheter in reducing the threat of CAUTI in an acute gene ral hospital. As part of the study, even before the use of silver alloy coated Foley catheters, the standard catheters were used for 10 weeks on particular patients and the prevalence of CAUTI was audited. Silver alloy-coated Foley catheters there were introduced among 117 newly catheterized patients, and they were monitored for signs of CAUTI for another 10 weeks. Then the results were audited and analyzed, and it clearly emerged that CAUTI incidence rate has decreased by 20%. Although, the period of 10 weeks for monitoring may seem little short to fully analyze the course of UTI, the fact that emerged is â€Å"silver alloy-coated Foley catheters proved to be cost-effective given the recognized additional costs of CAUTI and prolonged in-patient stay† (Seymour, 2006). The article, A prospective, controlled, randomized study of the effect of a slow-release silver device on the frequency of urinary tract infection in newly catheterized patients was authored by Reiche et al., an d it focuses on the efficacy of silver ions releasing systems including silver alloy coated Foley catheters regarding CAUTI. The study focused on 213 patients as part of a prospective controlled randomized trial. At the end of the trial, the authors state that there were reductions in UTI among subjects, who either used antibacterial devices like the Unometer 400 metering system or PP 2000N closed urine-bag system, as well as coated Foley catheter. However, the limitation with this study is, the difference between infection and non-infection in the subjects were not statistically significant (P < 0.05). In addition, the authors come to the conclusion that modifications to the Foley catheters and the urine-collecting systems in the form of silver coating and silver releasing may yield positive results, care should be taken to block the internal and external pathways of infection. In the article, The efficacy of silver alloy-coated urinary catheters in preventing urinary tract infecti on: a meta-analysis written by Sanjay Saint et al. discusses about the effectiveness of not only silver alloy coated Foley catheters, but also silver oxide coated ones as well. Instead of conducting trials directly, â€Å"published or unpublished articles were sought using MEDLINE, reference review, and correspondence with original authors, catheter manufacturers,