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Wiki Wiki Summary
Diversification (marketing strategy) Diversification is a corporate strategy to enter into a new products or product lines, new services or new markets, involving substantially different skills, technology and knowledge.\nDiversification is one of the four main growth strategies defined by Igor Ansoff in the Ansoff Matrix:\nAnsoff pointed out that a diversification strategy stands apart from the other three strategies.
Additionality Additionality is the property of an activity being additional by adding something new to the context. It is a determination of whether an intervention has an effect when compared to a baseline.
Stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include securities listed on a public stock exchange, as well as stock that is only traded privately, such as shares of private companies which are sold to investors through equity crowdfunding platforms. Investment is usually made with an investment strategy in mind.
Risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities.\nRisks can come from various sources including uncertainty in international markets, threats from project failures (at any phase in design, development, production, or sustaining of life-cycles), legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, natural causes and disasters, deliberate attack from an adversary, or events of uncertain or unpredictable root-cause.
Competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individuals, economic and social groups, etc.
2000s energy crisis From the mid-1980s to September 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of crude oil on NYMEX was generally under US$25/barrel in 2008 dollars. During 2003, the price rose above $30, reached $60 by 11 August 2005, and peaked at $147.30 in July 2008.
Net income In business and accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, and taxes for an accounting period.It is computed as the residual of all revenues and gains less all expenses and losses for the period, and has also been defined as the net increase in shareholders' equity that results from a company's operations. It is different from gross income, which only deducts the cost of goods sold from revenue.
Additional Mathematics Additional Mathematics is a qualification in mathematics, commonly taken by students in high-school (or GCSE exam takers in the United Kingdom). It is applied to a range of problems set out in a different format and wider content to the standard Mathematics at the same level.
Latin Extended Additional Latin Extended Additional is a Unicode block.\nThe characters in this block are mostly precomposed combinations of Latin letters with one or more general diacritical marks.
Superintendent of police (India) Superintendent of police or SP is a senior rank in Indian Police Service or IPS. Superintendent of Police in Hindi means पुलिस अधीक्षक. They have one Star and one Ashoka emblem on their shoulders and below IPS is written.
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Government.
Additional member system The additional member system (AMS) is a mixed electoral system under which most representatives are elected in single-member districts (SMDs), and the other "additional members" are elected to make the seat distribution in the chamber more proportional to the way votes are cast for party lists. It is distinct from parallel voting (also known as the supplementary member system) in that the "additional member" seats are awarded to parties taking into account seats won in SMDs (referred to as compensation or "top-up"), which is not done under parallel voting (a non-compensatory method).
Porter's five forces analysis Porter's Five Forces Framework is a method of analysing the operating environment of a competition of a business. It draws from industrial organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and, therefore, the attractiveness (or lack thereof) of an industry in terms of its profitability.
Competition (economics) In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firms are in contention to obtain goods that are limited by varying the elements of the marketing mix: price, product, promotion and place. In classical economic thought, competition causes commercial firms to develop new products, services and technologies, which would give consumers greater selection and better products.
Arithmetic Arithmetic (from Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós) 'number', and τική [τέχνη] (tikḗ [tékhnē]) 'art, craft') is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th century, Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano formalized arithmetic with his Peano axioms, which are highly important to the field of mathematical logic today.
Operation Mincemeat Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed personal items on him identifying him as the fictitious Captain (Acting Major) William Martin.
Bitwise operation In computer programming, a bitwise operation operates on a bit string, a bit array or a binary numeral (considered as a bit string) at the level of its individual bits. It is a fast and simple action, basic to the higher-level arithmetic operations and directly supported by the processor.
Surgery Surgery is a medical or dental specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pathological condition such as a disease or injury, to help improve bodily function, appearance, or to repair unwanted ruptured areas.\nThe act of performing surgery may be called a surgical procedure, operation, or simply "surgery".
Financial statement Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.\nRelevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to understand.
Profit (economics) An economic profit is the difference between the revenue a commercial entity has received from its outputs and the opportunity costs of its inputs. It equals to total revenue minus total cost, including both explicit and implicit costs.
Profitability index Profitability index (PI), also known as profit investment ratio (PIR) and value investment ratio (VIR), is the ratio of payoff to investment of a proposed project. It is a useful tool for ranking projects because it allows you to quantify the amount of value created per unit of investment.
Customer Profitability Analysis Customer Profitability Analysis (in short CPA) is a management accounting and a credit underwriting method, allowing businesses and lenders to determine the profitability of each customer or segments of customers, by attributing profits and costs to each customer separately. CPA can be applied at the individual customer level (more time consuming, but providing a better understanding of business situation) or at the level of customer aggregates / groups (e.g.
Small Is Profitable Small Is Profitable: The Hidden Economic Benefits of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size is a 2002 book by energy analyst Amory Lovins and others. The book describes 207 ways in which the size of "electrical resources"—devices that make, save, or store electricity—affects their economic value.
Profitable growth Profitable Growth is the combination of profitability and growth, more precisely the combination of Economic Profitability and Growth of Free cash flows. Profitable growth is aimed at seducing the financial community; it emerged in the early 80s when shareholder value creation became firms’ main objective.
Customer profitability Customer Profitability Analysis (in short CPA) is a management accounting and a credit underwriting method, allowing businesses and lenders to determine the profitability of each customer or segments of customers, by attributing profits and costs to each customer separately. CPA can be applied at the individual customer level (more time consuming, but providing a better understanding of business situation) or at the level of customer aggregates / groups (e.g.
SAP ERP SAP ERP is an enterprise resource planning software developed by the German company SAP SE. SAP ERP incorporates the key business functions of an organization. The latest version of SAP ERP (V.6.0) was made available in 2006.
Automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such as in France up to 40 % to countries like Slovakia).
Price A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. Prince is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states.
Pricing strategies A business can use a variety of pricing strategies when selling a product or service. To determine the most effective pricing strategy for a company, senior executives need to first identify the company's pricing position, pricing segment, pricing capability and their competitive pricing reaction strategy.
Market trend A market trend is a perceived tendency of financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. These trends are classified as secular for long time frames, primary for medium time frames, and secondary for short time frames.
Volatility (finance) In finance, volatility (usually denoted by σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time, usually measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns.\nHistoric volatility measures a time series of past market prices.
Stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors.
Electricity market In economic terms, electricity is a consumable energy resource capable of being bought, sold, and traded. An electricity market, also power exchange or PX, is a system enabling purchases, through bids to buy; sales, through offers to sell.
Non-price competition Non-price competition is a marketing strategy "in which one firm tries to distinguish its product or service from competing products on the basis of attributes like design and workmanship". It often occurs in imperfectly competitive markets because it exists between two or more producers that sell goods and services at the same prices but compete to increase their respective market shares through non-price measures such as marketing schemes and greater quality.
Market reforms of Alauddin Khalji In the early 14th century, the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316) instituted price controls and related reforms in his empire.
Risk Factors
MILLER HERMAN INC Item 1A RISK FACTORS The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered
The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face; others, either unforeseen or currently deemed less significant, may also have a negative impact on our company
If any of the following actually occurs, our business, operating results, cash flows, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected
We may not be successful in implementing and managing our growth strategy
We have established a set of key strategic goals for our business
Included among these are specific targets for growth in net sales and operating profit as a percentage of net sales
Our strategic plan assumes our growth targets will be achieved by pursuing and winning new business in the following areas: • Primary Markets – Capturing additional market share within our primary markets by offering superior solutions to customers who value space as a strategic tool
• Adjacent Markets – Further applying our core skills in space environments such as healthcare, higher education, and residential
-6- _________________________________________________________________ [44]Table of Contents • Developing Economies – Expanding our geographic reach in areas of the world with significant growth potential
• New Markets – Developing new products and technologies that serve wholly new markets
While we have confidence that our strategic plan targets appropriate and achievable opportunities and anticipates and manages the associated risks, there is the possibility that the strategy may not deliver the projected results due to inadequate execution, incorrect assumptions, or changing customer requirements
There is no assurance that our current product and service offering will allow us to meet these goals
Accordingly, we believe we will be required to continually invest in the research, design, and development of new products and services
There is no assurance that such investments will have commercially successful results
Certain growth opportunities may require us to invest in acquisitions, alliances, and the startup of new business ventures
These investments may not perform according to plan
Future efforts to expand our business within developing economies, particularly within China and India, may expose us to the effects of political and economic instability
Such instability may cause us difficulty in competing for business
It may also put at risk the availability and/or value of our capital investments within these regions
Pursuing our growth plan in new and adjacent markets, as well as within developing economies, will require us to find effective new channels of distribution
There is no assurance that we can develop or otherwise identify these channels of distribution
The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and we may not be successful in winning new business
We are one of several companies competing for new business within the furniture industry
Many of our competitors offer similar categories of products, including office seating, systems and freestanding office furniture, casegoods, storage, and residential furniture solutions
We believe that our innovative product design, functionality, quality, depth of knowledge, and strong network of distribution partners differentiates us in the marketplace
However, increased market pricing pressure could make it difficult for us to win new business, at an acceptable profit margin, with certain customers and within certain market segments
Additionally, in recent years we have seen an increased market presence from international competitors
We expect this to continue, particularly in the area of low-priced imports into the United States
There is a risk that this competitive pricing pressure could make it difficult for us to raise prices in response to increasing raw-material prices and other inflationary pressures
Adverse economic and industry conditions could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition
Customer demand within the contract office furniture industry is affected by various macro-economic factors; general corporate profitability, white-collar employment levels, new office construction rates, and existing office vacancy rates are among the most influential of these
History has shown that declines in these measures can have an adverse effect on overall office furniture demand
Additionally, factors and changes specific to our industry, such as developments in technology, governmental standards and regulations, and health and safety issues can influence demand
There is no assurance that current or future economic or industry conditions will not adversely affect our business, operating results, or financial condition
Our business presence outside the United States exposes us to certain risks that could negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition
We have a significant manufacturing and sales operation in the United Kingdom, which represents our largest marketplace outside the United States
In addition to this, our products are sold internationally through wholly-owned subsidiaries or branches in various countries including Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Singapore, China, and India
In certain other regions of the world, our products are offered through independent dealerships and licensees
-7- _________________________________________________________________ [45]Table of Contents Doing business internationally exposes us to certain risks, many of which are beyond our control and could potentially impact our ability to design, develop, manufacture, or sell products in certain countries
These factors could include, but would not necessarily be limited to: • Political, social, and economic conditions • Legal and regulatory requirements • Labor and employment practices • Cultural practices and norms • Natural disasters • Security and health concerns • Protection of intellectual property In some countries, the currencies in which we import and export products can differ
Fluctuations in the rate of exchange between these currencies could negatively impact our business
Additionally, tariff and import regulations, international tax policies and rates, and changes in US and international monetary policies may have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition
Disruptions in the supply of raw and component materials could adversely affect our manufacturing and assembly operations
We rely on outside suppliers to provide on-time shipments of the various raw materials and component parts used in our manufacturing and assembly processes
The timeliness of these deliveries is critical to our ability to meet customer demand
Any disruptions in this flow of delivery could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition
Increases in the market prices of manufacturing materials may negatively affect our profitability
The costs of certain manufacturing materials used in our operations are sensitive to shifts in commodity market prices
In particular, the costs of steel components, plastics, particleboard, and aluminum components are sensitive to the market prices of commodities such as raw steel and aluminum, crude oil, lumber, and resins
Increases in the market prices of these commodities may have an adverse impact on our profitability if we are unable to offset them with strategic sourcing and continuous improvement initiatives or, as a result of competitive market conditions, we are unable to increase prices to our customers
Disruptions within our dealer network could adversely affect our business
Our ability to manage existing relationships with our network of independent dealers is crucial to our ongoing success
Although the loss of any single dealer would not have a material adverse effect on our overall business, our business within a given market could be negatively affected by disruptions in our dealer network caused by the termination of our commercial working relationships, ownership transitions, or dealer financial difficulties
If dealers go out of business or restructure, we may suffer losses because they may not be able to pay for products already delivered to them
Also, dealers may experience financial difficulties, creating the need for outside financial support, which may not be easily obtained
In the past, we have, on occasion, agreed to provide direct financial assistance through term loans, lines of credit, and/or loan guarantees to certain dealers
There is no assurance that these dealers will be able to repay amounts owed to us or to banks with which we have offered guarantees
Increasing competition for highly skilled and talented workers could adversely affect our business
The successful implementation of our business strategy will depend, in part, on our ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce
The increasing competition for highly skilled and talented employees could result in higher compensation costs, difficulties in maintaining a capable workforce, and leadership succession planning challenges
-8- _________________________________________________________________ [46]Table of Contents Costs related to product defects could adversely affect our profitability
We incur various expenses related to product defects, including product warranty costs, product recall and retrofit costs, and product liability costs
These expenses relative to product sales vary and could increase
We maintain reserves for product-defect-related costs based on estimates and our knowledge of circumstances that indicate the need for such reserves
We cannot, however, be certain that these reserves will be adequate to cover actual product defect-related claims in the future
Any significant increase in the rate of our product-defect expenses could have a material adverse effect on our operations