Drafts by Alireza Esfandiari
Commissioned by the national theatre and obtained from a design report by Howarth Tompkins, the b... more Commissioned by the national theatre and obtained from a design report by Howarth Tompkins, the brief entails the construction of a temporary theatre in absence of the cottesloe theatre in order to allow the continuation of artistic developments and cultural life contributions of theatre in the south bank and London. In addition, this transitory installation aims to attract attention from Queen’s Walk and alleviate the fatigue of the on going construction.
The intended auditorium should have the capacity for 450 seats and contains a temporary foyer. The foyer will operate as the NT box office for period of 6 months. This is after the closure of the temporary theatre. Both elements of the design are selected to be temporary and will be removed after a period of 18 months. Therefore, components must be chosen in a way to allow full flexibility and demountablility and leave minor traces after the final detachment.
In order to meet the floating essence of the architectural proposal, it was decided to elevate the theatre. This was done not to only avoid the blockage of the main passageway but also to enhance this route. However, this would immediately rise major structural and environmental considerations. The structure has to be made as light as possible without jeopardising the thermal properties as well as acoustic performance of the theatre. Elevating the structure to be as efficient as possible without occupying a large foot print area. And last but not least, ensuring that aesthetic of the structure is in tact. Consequently, materials are designed in such a way to provide maximum reflective quality in order to eliminate the high urban noise level and provide a high thermal quality. Cluster columns would ensure that minimum foot print area would be occupied at ground level as columns are chosen to be converging at single points to the ground level. These convergent points were then architecturally modified by provision of seating areas. Inclination and the mid-span growth of these columns would not only create a unique shadow effect during nighttime but will also increase the buckling capacity of the column by increasing the depth of the columns where its actually needed to satisfy the structural integrity and feasibility. Also, the the semi-parasitic quality of the structure would mean that the building will take advantage of sanitation systems and avoid unnecessary pipe works which responds well to the temporary design criteria.
Beam deflection analysis is a crucial aspect in building and construction and is vital in ensuri... more Beam deflection analysis is a crucial aspect in building and construction and is vital in ensuring that the structural elements are safely supported under the serviceability conditions. The main objective of this dissertation is to combine structural optimisation with an iterative methodology to predict the load<deflection response of fabric formed reinforced concrete beams under different loading regimes. Previous studies on fabric formed beams were mainly focused on the improvement of the casting procedure rather than the mechanical optimisation of the variable<section geometries. Several algorithms have been developed to iteratively predict variable sections in fabric formed elements but the geometrical complexity of such algorithms make them almost unfeasible for inclusion of engineering considerations.
Therefore there is a great scope in development of more efficient and coherent techniques for the use of engineers. To this end, a simple rational method for optimisation of conventional rectangular beams is developed. This is achieved by producing an iterative computational framework using Excel spreadsheet, which estimates the required variation of sections under a user defined loading envelope and predicts the deflection of the fully optimised beam. The procedure allows optimisation of the variable<section beams by taking into account the detailed characteristics of the reinforced concrete elements, such as properties of reinforcing materials and various loading envelopes. Finally, the results were checked against the previous experimental data to ascertain their validity.
Named after Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes, the Navier Stokes Equations are the fu... more Named after Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes, the Navier Stokes Equations are the fundamental governing equations to describe the motion of a viscous, heat conducting fluid substances. These equations are obtained by applying Newton’s Law of motion to a fluid element and are also called the momentum equation. Supplemented by the mass conservation equation, these equations are also referred to as energy equation or continuity equation. Navier Stokes equations assume that the stress tensor in the fluid element is the sum of a diffusing viscous term that is proportional to the gradient of velocity, plus a pressure term (Batchelor 2000).
Navier Stokes equations have wide range of applications in both academic and economical benefits. They are used as the basic algorithms in computational tools to simulate ocean currents, fluid flow in pipes, airflow around a foil and model the weather (Dean 2012). A Beam-warming algorithm coupled with Euler/Navier-Stokes equations can be applied for simulation of a transonic viscous flow over wings and the design of aircrafts. They can also help with the design of cars, mathematical modelling of the arterial blood flow in human body, and the design of power stations (Batchelor 2000). Last but not least, Maxwell’s equations in conjunction with Navier-Stokes equations can be used to design and study magnetohydrodynamics. (Dean 2012)
The aim of this essay is to initially describe the properties of the Navier-Stokes equations and then create a simple way to understand the main components of the equation by describing the mass conservation, momentum conservation and heat equations. The paper only focuses on the motion of incompressible fluids.
Report introduces remodeling of a single storey part of 1 West Building at the Claverton Down cam... more Report introduces remodeling of a single storey part of 1 West Building at the Claverton Down campus. New structure will accommodate Physics Department of the University of Bath and is required to have general teaching areas, meeting spaces and offices. Focal point of the design was to provide modern and highly efficient building with regards to increasing environmental awareness. Also, new structure had to be architecturally integrated to the surrounding environment and improve aesthetics of the campus. All of the mentioned goals were achieved with particular attention to occupant comfort levels. Open floor plan introduced into the building is expected to
improve social interaction and efficiency of the department. In response to client`s requirements, proposed design showcases number of innovative features to provide high levels of natural daylighting, passive heating and environmentally friendly desiccant cooling system. Both, cooling and heating, work in conjunction with solar collectors, double façade and thermal mass of the structure. Improved environmental cautiousness is also highlighted by the of rain water harvesting, which is combined with a vacuum flushing system. High operational efficiency was achieved with cautious regard to embodied material energy and adequate waste management scheme.
This detailed study delivers a critical analysis of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. The article mainly... more This detailed study delivers a critical analysis of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. The article mainly revolves around structural analysis, loading conditions, foundation and geotechnics, consequential construction methods and non-serviceability challenges as well as the serviceability designs. The paper also includes the aesthetics, environmental aspects and future developments and improvements of the bridge. All the analysis methods are under the British Standards Design models.
Companies within the oil and gas industry are under an immense obligation to respond to the conc... more Companies within the oil and gas industry are under an immense obligation to respond to the concerns rising due to environmental issues and climate change as well as the pressure to replace the depleted crude oil reserves. Consequently, the stock values of oil organisations have seen substantial falloffs since 2008 (The World Bank). Essar Energy Corporation is amongst these affected companies, having suffered major losses within recent years resulting in its cumulative negative net return. Nonetheless, Essar Energy is striving to compensate for its recent losses through exploitation of its resources and competences to gain a competitive edge within the industry. (EES, 2013)
The paper primarily focuses on the environmental factors affecting the industry. The Conducted environmental audit introduces the key external affecting drivers as political stability in major oil producing countries and the technological advancement coupled with the technical know-how for oil excavation and exploration. According to the Porter’s Five Forces the industry, the industry can be considered unattractive mainly due to its monopolised characteristics creating a high level of rivalry as well as existence of entry/exit barriers. Concluded from the TOWS matrix, Essar should position itself to create more vertical and horizontal market in Europe, lower its distribution and transmission costs through effective management and cutting its dependency from the Iranian crude oil. Results are in high correlation with the analysis concluded from the Ansoff’s matrix.
Analysing the company’s growth strategy indicates that Essar is mainly capitalising on market and product development through innovation and augmentation of its valve technologies and production of heavy crudes as well as geographical expansion of its market to target new areas in Australia and Japan. The assessment of the company’s portfolio through a BCG analysis reveals that the main source of income of Essar is through CBM exploration as well its production of coal in India. Essar has also generated a cumulative net margin of $313.5m from its exportation of petroleum-based products to Europe and Australia from which the company should invest the to capitalise on its high potential business units to create a higher market share. Ultimately, through the SAFS evaluation filter, the companies strategic choices are assessed and following recommendations are proved to be plausible for company’s implementation.
Ø Consolidation in order to capitalise on economies of scale to reduce its import dependency to particular oil producing countries with less political stability including Iran and Iraq.
Ø At the corporate level strategy, Essar needs to emerge into the Eastern European market using its existing resources in Europe. It should further extend its market share in South America as well as in the Asia/Pacific. This can be done through internationalisation, and joint ventures with oil industry supermarkets.
Ø Consideration of possible acquisition or merger with oil industry’s supermarket owners on strategic geographical locations to enhance its proven reserves as well as creation of more dominance and market share in the industry.
Ø Increasing its organic growth through investing and innovating on product development by investing on new valve-control technology in order to produce modified range of products. (Product development strategy) and development and maintenance of its Hydrodec technology to recycle more used lubricants and transformer oils.
SUMMARY OF THE STRATEGIC POSITION
External Environment Analysis
PESTEL Framework Analysis
Political and Economic Factors
Key drivers
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Industry Life-cycle.
ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Resources and Competences
Threshold and Distinctive Capabilities
VRIN Analysis
Porter’s Value Chain Analysis
SWOT ANALYSIS
TOWS Matrix
STRATEGY DIRECTION.
Porter’s Growing Strategy
Business Strategy Clock
Ansoff’s Matrix Market Penetration
Product Development
Market Development
Diversification
Vertical Integration
BCG
Stars (Cash neutral/generator)
Cash Cows (Cash generator)
Question Marks (Cash user)
Dogs (Cash neutral)
Limitations
STRATEGIC EVALUATION
Suitability
Acceptability
Feasibility
Sustainability
According to a study at University of Nottingham, the recent financial and economic crisis has ha... more According to a study at University of Nottingham, the recent financial and economic crisis has had a colossal impact on reducing the public trust to financial services that even after 7 years, great amount of remediation must be done to regain the consumer’s trust (Uppal, 2011). A survey conducted by the American Individual Investors indicates that financial services and specifically banks behaved in a “greedy manner” during the crisis (Springford, 2011). As stated by Mervyn King (2011), the former Governor of the Bank of England, the public trust is vital to a competitive and a healthy financial system, yet its fragility implies that once dented it takes time to restore.
Therefore, the financial services sector is required to develop sustainable marketing plans and ensure that the implementations are mainly based on creating customer value as well as maintaining a high profitability. With the highest market share of 16.7%, Lloyds Bank is the market leader amongst its competitors in the UK and has a major responsibility in re-establishing this customer trust and value through efficient marketing strategies (Lloyds, 2012).
The report primarily encompasses the situation analysis of the Lloyds Bank Plc. focusing on both macro and micro environments to determine the potential external factors as well establishing the company’s current position. Next, the company’s future direction in terms of its marketing objectives is investigated and filtered through the SMART framework. The marketing mix will be discussed to analyse the implementation of such objectives and finally the control and evaluation strategies will be identified to ensure the success of the marketing plan.
As stated by Fama (1970) the efficient market hypothesis indicates that securities markets are hi... more As stated by Fama (1970) the efficient market hypothesis indicates that securities markets are highly efficient in reflecting news and information with regards to individual shares and the share market in general. According to Hillier (2013), main driving forces for an acquisition is to achieve revenue and cost synergies. Hence, in an efficient market, assuming that the announcements of acquisitions are predominantly seen as optimistic news, share prices must be denoted positively. However, this conclusion is inconsistent with majority of US studies including Morellec (2008), Hackbarth (2009) et al, indicating that abnormal responses to acquisitions were either negative or neutral.
In addition, a considerable amount of literature has been published in support and critique of the hypothesis. Empirical studies on 130 acquired companies, revealed that during the three-day announcement period [-1, +1], the acquiring company shows an increasing trend on the day before with a subsequent fall and a regain on Day 0 and next day respectively (Tjurins, 2011). This is partially consistent with studies conducted by Choi (1991), Ruback 2000, indicating that targets of acquisitions tend to gain in share prices, whereas the increase in the acquirer’s share price is positively correlated to the acquirer firm’s balance sheet. Similarly, studies by Lunar (2011), Richie (1999) have identified that typically there is an upward drift in share prices before the announcement of acquisition. The study relates this increase to possible information leakage.
The paper primarily provides a comprehensive analysis of the financial statements of the Essar Oi... more The paper primarily provides a comprehensive analysis of the financial statements of the Essar Oil Limited. Methods of studies include horizontal and vertical analysis of the consolidated Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account as well as a financial ratio analysis of the company within the two fiscal years of 2012-13. Findings indicate a 51.8% increase in the EOL’s annual turn over in FY2013 and increase of 73.8% in the company’s operating profit to GBP 365,068. According to the comparative analysis against an industry leader, Essar has shown a poor performance in terms of its inventory policies. In addition, current liabilities of Essar include 40% of trade payables to its suppliers, which is relatively higher than the BP’s in FY2013 at 30%.
Finally, Essar Oil Ltd is analysed against four major KPIs including its gross profit margin, EBIDTA, return on assets (ROA) and return on capital employed (ROCE) to introduce a benchmark criteria for the control and future management of the company. According to the trend analysis conducted, for EOL to have a sustainable future growth it has to increase its GPM and ROA to 10.9% and -1.5% respectively within the period of FY2013-14. Next, critical evaluation of the company investigates the company’s financial ratios. . Essar needs to implement remedial actions to increase its return on net assets (RONA) as it has gone through a 40% further deterioration in FY2013, indicating that the company is not using its assets and working capital effectively. This inefficiency is further supported by the low ratios of -48.24% and 36.51% in FY2013 and FY2012 respectively. Finally some limitations and advantages of the analysis of techniques are mentioned.
The aim of the paper is to provide a detailed business report to the Board of Directors at the Essar Oil Limited business unit. The report proposes both financial and non-financial objectives in a structured Balanced Scorecard for the performance improvement of the company. Strategic objectives are balanced uniformly considering four objectives for each perspective mainly focusing on customer’s satisfaction in terms regulatory and social processes including health and safety improvements. Areas considered within financial perspectives cover Essar’s ability to boost its sales volume and market dominance in India through active participation in promotional campaigns to stand out from its main competitors. Internal processes perspectives address product quality augmentation through upgrading the manufacturing process of the low distillates products to achieve customer expectations in terms of quality as well as benchmarking. Finally, growth and learning perspectives revolve around the EOL’s ability to increase EOL’s organic growth through innovation and development of new products and market diversification. Finally, the author investigates the performance management of the proposed objectives through identifying several methods including the ‘super-bowl approach’, personal BSC techniques and the four processes of strategy management developed by Kaplan and Norton. A major limitation of the balanced scorecard is briefly discussed with respect to the Oil & Gas industry.
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Drafts by Alireza Esfandiari
The intended auditorium should have the capacity for 450 seats and contains a temporary foyer. The foyer will operate as the NT box office for period of 6 months. This is after the closure of the temporary theatre. Both elements of the design are selected to be temporary and will be removed after a period of 18 months. Therefore, components must be chosen in a way to allow full flexibility and demountablility and leave minor traces after the final detachment.
In order to meet the floating essence of the architectural proposal, it was decided to elevate the theatre. This was done not to only avoid the blockage of the main passageway but also to enhance this route. However, this would immediately rise major structural and environmental considerations. The structure has to be made as light as possible without jeopardising the thermal properties as well as acoustic performance of the theatre. Elevating the structure to be as efficient as possible without occupying a large foot print area. And last but not least, ensuring that aesthetic of the structure is in tact. Consequently, materials are designed in such a way to provide maximum reflective quality in order to eliminate the high urban noise level and provide a high thermal quality. Cluster columns would ensure that minimum foot print area would be occupied at ground level as columns are chosen to be converging at single points to the ground level. These convergent points were then architecturally modified by provision of seating areas. Inclination and the mid-span growth of these columns would not only create a unique shadow effect during nighttime but will also increase the buckling capacity of the column by increasing the depth of the columns where its actually needed to satisfy the structural integrity and feasibility. Also, the the semi-parasitic quality of the structure would mean that the building will take advantage of sanitation systems and avoid unnecessary pipe works which responds well to the temporary design criteria.
Therefore there is a great scope in development of more efficient and coherent techniques for the use of engineers. To this end, a simple rational method for optimisation of conventional rectangular beams is developed. This is achieved by producing an iterative computational framework using Excel spreadsheet, which estimates the required variation of sections under a user defined loading envelope and predicts the deflection of the fully optimised beam. The procedure allows optimisation of the variable<section beams by taking into account the detailed characteristics of the reinforced concrete elements, such as properties of reinforcing materials and various loading envelopes. Finally, the results were checked against the previous experimental data to ascertain their validity.
Navier Stokes equations have wide range of applications in both academic and economical benefits. They are used as the basic algorithms in computational tools to simulate ocean currents, fluid flow in pipes, airflow around a foil and model the weather (Dean 2012). A Beam-warming algorithm coupled with Euler/Navier-Stokes equations can be applied for simulation of a transonic viscous flow over wings and the design of aircrafts. They can also help with the design of cars, mathematical modelling of the arterial blood flow in human body, and the design of power stations (Batchelor 2000). Last but not least, Maxwell’s equations in conjunction with Navier-Stokes equations can be used to design and study magnetohydrodynamics. (Dean 2012)
The aim of this essay is to initially describe the properties of the Navier-Stokes equations and then create a simple way to understand the main components of the equation by describing the mass conservation, momentum conservation and heat equations. The paper only focuses on the motion of incompressible fluids.
improve social interaction and efficiency of the department. In response to client`s requirements, proposed design showcases number of innovative features to provide high levels of natural daylighting, passive heating and environmentally friendly desiccant cooling system. Both, cooling and heating, work in conjunction with solar collectors, double façade and thermal mass of the structure. Improved environmental cautiousness is also highlighted by the of rain water harvesting, which is combined with a vacuum flushing system. High operational efficiency was achieved with cautious regard to embodied material energy and adequate waste management scheme.
The paper primarily focuses on the environmental factors affecting the industry. The Conducted environmental audit introduces the key external affecting drivers as political stability in major oil producing countries and the technological advancement coupled with the technical know-how for oil excavation and exploration. According to the Porter’s Five Forces the industry, the industry can be considered unattractive mainly due to its monopolised characteristics creating a high level of rivalry as well as existence of entry/exit barriers. Concluded from the TOWS matrix, Essar should position itself to create more vertical and horizontal market in Europe, lower its distribution and transmission costs through effective management and cutting its dependency from the Iranian crude oil. Results are in high correlation with the analysis concluded from the Ansoff’s matrix.
Analysing the company’s growth strategy indicates that Essar is mainly capitalising on market and product development through innovation and augmentation of its valve technologies and production of heavy crudes as well as geographical expansion of its market to target new areas in Australia and Japan. The assessment of the company’s portfolio through a BCG analysis reveals that the main source of income of Essar is through CBM exploration as well its production of coal in India. Essar has also generated a cumulative net margin of $313.5m from its exportation of petroleum-based products to Europe and Australia from which the company should invest the to capitalise on its high potential business units to create a higher market share. Ultimately, through the SAFS evaluation filter, the companies strategic choices are assessed and following recommendations are proved to be plausible for company’s implementation.
Ø Consolidation in order to capitalise on economies of scale to reduce its import dependency to particular oil producing countries with less political stability including Iran and Iraq.
Ø At the corporate level strategy, Essar needs to emerge into the Eastern European market using its existing resources in Europe. It should further extend its market share in South America as well as in the Asia/Pacific. This can be done through internationalisation, and joint ventures with oil industry supermarkets.
Ø Consideration of possible acquisition or merger with oil industry’s supermarket owners on strategic geographical locations to enhance its proven reserves as well as creation of more dominance and market share in the industry.
Ø Increasing its organic growth through investing and innovating on product development by investing on new valve-control technology in order to produce modified range of products. (Product development strategy) and development and maintenance of its Hydrodec technology to recycle more used lubricants and transformer oils.
SUMMARY OF THE STRATEGIC POSITION
External Environment Analysis
PESTEL Framework Analysis
Political and Economic Factors
Key drivers
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Industry Life-cycle.
ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Resources and Competences
Threshold and Distinctive Capabilities
VRIN Analysis
Porter’s Value Chain Analysis
SWOT ANALYSIS
TOWS Matrix
STRATEGY DIRECTION.
Porter’s Growing Strategy
Business Strategy Clock
Ansoff’s Matrix Market Penetration
Product Development
Market Development
Diversification
Vertical Integration
BCG
Stars (Cash neutral/generator)
Cash Cows (Cash generator)
Question Marks (Cash user)
Dogs (Cash neutral)
Limitations
STRATEGIC EVALUATION
Suitability
Acceptability
Feasibility
Sustainability
Therefore, the financial services sector is required to develop sustainable marketing plans and ensure that the implementations are mainly based on creating customer value as well as maintaining a high profitability. With the highest market share of 16.7%, Lloyds Bank is the market leader amongst its competitors in the UK and has a major responsibility in re-establishing this customer trust and value through efficient marketing strategies (Lloyds, 2012).
The report primarily encompasses the situation analysis of the Lloyds Bank Plc. focusing on both macro and micro environments to determine the potential external factors as well establishing the company’s current position. Next, the company’s future direction in terms of its marketing objectives is investigated and filtered through the SMART framework. The marketing mix will be discussed to analyse the implementation of such objectives and finally the control and evaluation strategies will be identified to ensure the success of the marketing plan.
In addition, a considerable amount of literature has been published in support and critique of the hypothesis. Empirical studies on 130 acquired companies, revealed that during the three-day announcement period [-1, +1], the acquiring company shows an increasing trend on the day before with a subsequent fall and a regain on Day 0 and next day respectively (Tjurins, 2011). This is partially consistent with studies conducted by Choi (1991), Ruback 2000, indicating that targets of acquisitions tend to gain in share prices, whereas the increase in the acquirer’s share price is positively correlated to the acquirer firm’s balance sheet. Similarly, studies by Lunar (2011), Richie (1999) have identified that typically there is an upward drift in share prices before the announcement of acquisition. The study relates this increase to possible information leakage.
Finally, Essar Oil Ltd is analysed against four major KPIs including its gross profit margin, EBIDTA, return on assets (ROA) and return on capital employed (ROCE) to introduce a benchmark criteria for the control and future management of the company. According to the trend analysis conducted, for EOL to have a sustainable future growth it has to increase its GPM and ROA to 10.9% and -1.5% respectively within the period of FY2013-14. Next, critical evaluation of the company investigates the company’s financial ratios. . Essar needs to implement remedial actions to increase its return on net assets (RONA) as it has gone through a 40% further deterioration in FY2013, indicating that the company is not using its assets and working capital effectively. This inefficiency is further supported by the low ratios of -48.24% and 36.51% in FY2013 and FY2012 respectively. Finally some limitations and advantages of the analysis of techniques are mentioned.
The aim of the paper is to provide a detailed business report to the Board of Directors at the Essar Oil Limited business unit. The report proposes both financial and non-financial objectives in a structured Balanced Scorecard for the performance improvement of the company. Strategic objectives are balanced uniformly considering four objectives for each perspective mainly focusing on customer’s satisfaction in terms regulatory and social processes including health and safety improvements. Areas considered within financial perspectives cover Essar’s ability to boost its sales volume and market dominance in India through active participation in promotional campaigns to stand out from its main competitors. Internal processes perspectives address product quality augmentation through upgrading the manufacturing process of the low distillates products to achieve customer expectations in terms of quality as well as benchmarking. Finally, growth and learning perspectives revolve around the EOL’s ability to increase EOL’s organic growth through innovation and development of new products and market diversification. Finally, the author investigates the performance management of the proposed objectives through identifying several methods including the ‘super-bowl approach’, personal BSC techniques and the four processes of strategy management developed by Kaplan and Norton. A major limitation of the balanced scorecard is briefly discussed with respect to the Oil & Gas industry.
The intended auditorium should have the capacity for 450 seats and contains a temporary foyer. The foyer will operate as the NT box office for period of 6 months. This is after the closure of the temporary theatre. Both elements of the design are selected to be temporary and will be removed after a period of 18 months. Therefore, components must be chosen in a way to allow full flexibility and demountablility and leave minor traces after the final detachment.
In order to meet the floating essence of the architectural proposal, it was decided to elevate the theatre. This was done not to only avoid the blockage of the main passageway but also to enhance this route. However, this would immediately rise major structural and environmental considerations. The structure has to be made as light as possible without jeopardising the thermal properties as well as acoustic performance of the theatre. Elevating the structure to be as efficient as possible without occupying a large foot print area. And last but not least, ensuring that aesthetic of the structure is in tact. Consequently, materials are designed in such a way to provide maximum reflective quality in order to eliminate the high urban noise level and provide a high thermal quality. Cluster columns would ensure that minimum foot print area would be occupied at ground level as columns are chosen to be converging at single points to the ground level. These convergent points were then architecturally modified by provision of seating areas. Inclination and the mid-span growth of these columns would not only create a unique shadow effect during nighttime but will also increase the buckling capacity of the column by increasing the depth of the columns where its actually needed to satisfy the structural integrity and feasibility. Also, the the semi-parasitic quality of the structure would mean that the building will take advantage of sanitation systems and avoid unnecessary pipe works which responds well to the temporary design criteria.
Therefore there is a great scope in development of more efficient and coherent techniques for the use of engineers. To this end, a simple rational method for optimisation of conventional rectangular beams is developed. This is achieved by producing an iterative computational framework using Excel spreadsheet, which estimates the required variation of sections under a user defined loading envelope and predicts the deflection of the fully optimised beam. The procedure allows optimisation of the variable<section beams by taking into account the detailed characteristics of the reinforced concrete elements, such as properties of reinforcing materials and various loading envelopes. Finally, the results were checked against the previous experimental data to ascertain their validity.
Navier Stokes equations have wide range of applications in both academic and economical benefits. They are used as the basic algorithms in computational tools to simulate ocean currents, fluid flow in pipes, airflow around a foil and model the weather (Dean 2012). A Beam-warming algorithm coupled with Euler/Navier-Stokes equations can be applied for simulation of a transonic viscous flow over wings and the design of aircrafts. They can also help with the design of cars, mathematical modelling of the arterial blood flow in human body, and the design of power stations (Batchelor 2000). Last but not least, Maxwell’s equations in conjunction with Navier-Stokes equations can be used to design and study magnetohydrodynamics. (Dean 2012)
The aim of this essay is to initially describe the properties of the Navier-Stokes equations and then create a simple way to understand the main components of the equation by describing the mass conservation, momentum conservation and heat equations. The paper only focuses on the motion of incompressible fluids.
improve social interaction and efficiency of the department. In response to client`s requirements, proposed design showcases number of innovative features to provide high levels of natural daylighting, passive heating and environmentally friendly desiccant cooling system. Both, cooling and heating, work in conjunction with solar collectors, double façade and thermal mass of the structure. Improved environmental cautiousness is also highlighted by the of rain water harvesting, which is combined with a vacuum flushing system. High operational efficiency was achieved with cautious regard to embodied material energy and adequate waste management scheme.
The paper primarily focuses on the environmental factors affecting the industry. The Conducted environmental audit introduces the key external affecting drivers as political stability in major oil producing countries and the technological advancement coupled with the technical know-how for oil excavation and exploration. According to the Porter’s Five Forces the industry, the industry can be considered unattractive mainly due to its monopolised characteristics creating a high level of rivalry as well as existence of entry/exit barriers. Concluded from the TOWS matrix, Essar should position itself to create more vertical and horizontal market in Europe, lower its distribution and transmission costs through effective management and cutting its dependency from the Iranian crude oil. Results are in high correlation with the analysis concluded from the Ansoff’s matrix.
Analysing the company’s growth strategy indicates that Essar is mainly capitalising on market and product development through innovation and augmentation of its valve technologies and production of heavy crudes as well as geographical expansion of its market to target new areas in Australia and Japan. The assessment of the company’s portfolio through a BCG analysis reveals that the main source of income of Essar is through CBM exploration as well its production of coal in India. Essar has also generated a cumulative net margin of $313.5m from its exportation of petroleum-based products to Europe and Australia from which the company should invest the to capitalise on its high potential business units to create a higher market share. Ultimately, through the SAFS evaluation filter, the companies strategic choices are assessed and following recommendations are proved to be plausible for company’s implementation.
Ø Consolidation in order to capitalise on economies of scale to reduce its import dependency to particular oil producing countries with less political stability including Iran and Iraq.
Ø At the corporate level strategy, Essar needs to emerge into the Eastern European market using its existing resources in Europe. It should further extend its market share in South America as well as in the Asia/Pacific. This can be done through internationalisation, and joint ventures with oil industry supermarkets.
Ø Consideration of possible acquisition or merger with oil industry’s supermarket owners on strategic geographical locations to enhance its proven reserves as well as creation of more dominance and market share in the industry.
Ø Increasing its organic growth through investing and innovating on product development by investing on new valve-control technology in order to produce modified range of products. (Product development strategy) and development and maintenance of its Hydrodec technology to recycle more used lubricants and transformer oils.
SUMMARY OF THE STRATEGIC POSITION
External Environment Analysis
PESTEL Framework Analysis
Political and Economic Factors
Key drivers
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Industry Life-cycle.
ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Resources and Competences
Threshold and Distinctive Capabilities
VRIN Analysis
Porter’s Value Chain Analysis
SWOT ANALYSIS
TOWS Matrix
STRATEGY DIRECTION.
Porter’s Growing Strategy
Business Strategy Clock
Ansoff’s Matrix Market Penetration
Product Development
Market Development
Diversification
Vertical Integration
BCG
Stars (Cash neutral/generator)
Cash Cows (Cash generator)
Question Marks (Cash user)
Dogs (Cash neutral)
Limitations
STRATEGIC EVALUATION
Suitability
Acceptability
Feasibility
Sustainability
Therefore, the financial services sector is required to develop sustainable marketing plans and ensure that the implementations are mainly based on creating customer value as well as maintaining a high profitability. With the highest market share of 16.7%, Lloyds Bank is the market leader amongst its competitors in the UK and has a major responsibility in re-establishing this customer trust and value through efficient marketing strategies (Lloyds, 2012).
The report primarily encompasses the situation analysis of the Lloyds Bank Plc. focusing on both macro and micro environments to determine the potential external factors as well establishing the company’s current position. Next, the company’s future direction in terms of its marketing objectives is investigated and filtered through the SMART framework. The marketing mix will be discussed to analyse the implementation of such objectives and finally the control and evaluation strategies will be identified to ensure the success of the marketing plan.
In addition, a considerable amount of literature has been published in support and critique of the hypothesis. Empirical studies on 130 acquired companies, revealed that during the three-day announcement period [-1, +1], the acquiring company shows an increasing trend on the day before with a subsequent fall and a regain on Day 0 and next day respectively (Tjurins, 2011). This is partially consistent with studies conducted by Choi (1991), Ruback 2000, indicating that targets of acquisitions tend to gain in share prices, whereas the increase in the acquirer’s share price is positively correlated to the acquirer firm’s balance sheet. Similarly, studies by Lunar (2011), Richie (1999) have identified that typically there is an upward drift in share prices before the announcement of acquisition. The study relates this increase to possible information leakage.
Finally, Essar Oil Ltd is analysed against four major KPIs including its gross profit margin, EBIDTA, return on assets (ROA) and return on capital employed (ROCE) to introduce a benchmark criteria for the control and future management of the company. According to the trend analysis conducted, for EOL to have a sustainable future growth it has to increase its GPM and ROA to 10.9% and -1.5% respectively within the period of FY2013-14. Next, critical evaluation of the company investigates the company’s financial ratios. . Essar needs to implement remedial actions to increase its return on net assets (RONA) as it has gone through a 40% further deterioration in FY2013, indicating that the company is not using its assets and working capital effectively. This inefficiency is further supported by the low ratios of -48.24% and 36.51% in FY2013 and FY2012 respectively. Finally some limitations and advantages of the analysis of techniques are mentioned.
The aim of the paper is to provide a detailed business report to the Board of Directors at the Essar Oil Limited business unit. The report proposes both financial and non-financial objectives in a structured Balanced Scorecard for the performance improvement of the company. Strategic objectives are balanced uniformly considering four objectives for each perspective mainly focusing on customer’s satisfaction in terms regulatory and social processes including health and safety improvements. Areas considered within financial perspectives cover Essar’s ability to boost its sales volume and market dominance in India through active participation in promotional campaigns to stand out from its main competitors. Internal processes perspectives address product quality augmentation through upgrading the manufacturing process of the low distillates products to achieve customer expectations in terms of quality as well as benchmarking. Finally, growth and learning perspectives revolve around the EOL’s ability to increase EOL’s organic growth through innovation and development of new products and market diversification. Finally, the author investigates the performance management of the proposed objectives through identifying several methods including the ‘super-bowl approach’, personal BSC techniques and the four processes of strategy management developed by Kaplan and Norton. A major limitation of the balanced scorecard is briefly discussed with respect to the Oil & Gas industry.