Leadership and Strategic Management of Hallmark Essay

Leadership and Strategic Management of Hallmark - Essay Example Brand image is the latest method through which companies are trying to retain loyal customers. Hence brand image is a vital marketing activity. A brand is not merely a name or a logo or a slogan. It is the customers’ perception of the stimulus when the brand is presented.2 Three important guiding principles for developing strong labor-intensive brands are orchestrating the clues, connecting emotionally and internalizing the brand. Hallmark has not only tried to build its brand image but also used its brand to diversify into other sectors. Very recently, Working Mothers magazine has named Hallmark Cards Inc as one of the 2008 Working Mother 100 best companies. Hallmark has thrived on being a family-friendly company and supporting families have been a vital part of its culture. This is the reason the brand image of Hallmark has enhanced and they utilized the opportunity to grow. According to Working Mothers magazine, Hallmark’s HR policies are employee-friendly which make s them employers of choice. Hallmark employs renowned writers and editors, artists, art directors and other experts that help in giving the best to the people. Organizations become more innovative by capitalizing on their employees’ ability to innovate.3 This is something that can give the competitors something to worry about because Hallmark scores high on people management. A counter trend that can be found in the Hallmark products is the use of celebrity Humor cards. They use parodies of celebrities and politicians for their cards and they claim that they are not violating the right of these public figures. At times they do take permission from the celebrity concerned and they also pay royalties for it.  

Management Accounting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management Accounting - Case Study Example Management accounting is â€Å"the process of identification, measurement, accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation and communication of information used by management to plan, evaluate and control the activities of an organization†. As this definition suggests our management accounting department has a wide scope of responsibilities that involves the presentation of information to all levels of management within our company. This information is further used by management to assist in planning and decision-making activities. Our Management Accounting department is also heavily involved in budgeting process along with establishing procedures and culminating subsidiary budgets into an overall master budget. This report aims to acquaint you with how the Management Accounting department uses variance analysis within the management processes of the company. As variance analysis has become an integral tool in decision-making within the organization, it is important that a ll everyone grasps this important concept. In relation to this, this report will compare traditional variance analysis and operational and planning variance. A major source of data for our department is the costing records and accounts. Cost accounting is the essential aspect of every business organization. In the simplest sense, cost accounting can be defined as â€Å"process of tracking, recording and analyzing costs associated with the activity of an organization, where cost is defined as 'required time or resources' (Cost Accounting 2006).† In essence, cost accounting is a field in management accounting which is tasked to give numerical values or figures to each activity in a company's supply chain. The method which is