Outbreaks of viral disease are a continuing threat in the United States as well as abroad. The Centers for Disease control and other international agencies devote considerable resources to surveillance and detection programs as well as advancement of communicable disease prevention and mitigation measures. Preventing outbreaks is the ultimate goal, but establishing protocols that ensure preparedness in the event of an outbreak is also important. For this discussion you have an opportunity to characterize key features of a virus with epidemic or even pandemic potential and chose one disease you feel would be best suited for significant research and pre-emptive efforts.

Before beginning this discussion, please view the documentary the “Age of Viruses”:

The Age of Viruses (Video, 50:39 mins)

This video introduces you to some of the major challenges facing scientists and medical professionals as they try to combat emerging, highly infectious, and resistant viral diseases.

When you watch the video, make note of where many of these diseases emerge and how they emerge. Many emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic diseases and tracking down viral origins and reservoirs can be challenging. This video illustrates both the tremendous strides we have made in our understanding of viruses and how fragile humankind remains in the face of infectious agents. Keep the following questions on hand as you view the video.

1. What are the attributes of a particularly dangerous emerging infectious disease?
2. What features of modern society influence dissemination of viral diseases of this nature?

Using the information you learned from the readings and videos you have reviewed this week to support your answers, address these questions in your discussion post.

1. If you were in charge of distributing one-hundred million dollars in research funds but could only chose one viral disease to provide for, which disease would you endow and why?
2. How do you think the medical and scientific community should use your millions?

For information about writing your discussion posts, consult Discussion Tips. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it. When you are ready to make your initial posting, please click on the “Create Thread” button for a new thread, or “Reply” to respond to a previous post, copy/paste the text from your document into the message field and click “Submit.”

Your main post must be at least 150 words. It should include citations and references to support your conclusions. You must also respond to at least two of your classmates’ main posts in a substantial manner, and answer all questions from the instructor. Your main posts should be submitted by Thursday of each week. All discussions are evaluated according to the SLA Discusion Rubric and combined are worth 15% of your final grade.

Using the concept of Corporate Lattice, what do you learn about Blue Nile that is important to strategy implementation for them?

Summary of the Case

Blue Nile Inc. is the one well-known online traders of diamond rings. It started its business in Seattle, Washington in the year 1999. The one interesting aspect related to this particular company is that they are famous particularly for the engagement function rings. The unique perspective in case of Blue Nile, Inc. is that it has its operations completely based on online services without the consideration of in-person consultation services. The competitive environment is the one influential paradigm that is crucially involved in case of Blue Nile Jewelry, Ltd. (Thompson, 2008). The following company facing the challenge of competition that appears due to the existence of many different retail outlets of jewelry products. Competitive environment can assess in the form of the functioning of different jewelry store chains, online retailers, catalog retailers, discount superstores, etc. Barriers to entry is another crucial prospect that influences the strategic structure and functioning of the company in the market. Effective association with the supplier and the overall reputation are the two major components that determine the feature of barriers to entry the market. There is the consideration of different social trends that play a vital role in the provision of opportunities for the enhancement of business. The major strategic issue that can observe in case of Blue Nile Jewelry Inc. is that company only operates online as there is no consideration of storefront locations.

Barriers to Entry and Competitive Advantages

There is a number of factors which play their role as the barriers for the Blue Nile to successfully enters the market and sustain its strong position. Consideration of the strong form of capital in case of supplier relationships play a vital role to determine the market position. On-site inventory and the store labor are two important considerations that have the potential to influence the profitability level of the organization. The major feature of competitive advantage in case of following company can be identify as its own team comprises on the paradigm of customer service. The team provides the necessary consultation to the customers about the products offered by the company. The major obstacle for Blue Nile Jewelry Inc. is the unfavorable market conditions of the countries that are the major diamond source for the company. These countries mostly facing the challenges in the form of legal and political stability that ultimately affect the business of the organization.

Blue Nile’s Environment

It is notable to mention that the paradigm of the environment of the following company is unique as it comes up with many considerations. The effective form of reputable online service makes it easy for the company to successfully deal with the threat of the entrants in the market. The focus of the company is to expand its business internationally which come up with many considerations. There is the existence of the many market features that influence the specific approach of the organization (Rivlin, 2007). Lack of the consideration of the online purchasing can identify as the disadvantage for the following company that negatively affect its operations internationally.

Recommendation for the Blue Nile about Strategic Dilemma

The major strategic concern that appears in case of Blue Nile is to maintain the effective form of innovation and involvement of the customers as the online trading company. It is crucial for the company to adopt the alternative form of strategic functions to make it more responsive to the customers. A necessary form of feedback from the potential customers helps the organization to identify their specific demands and requirements related to the product services.

Conclusion

To conclude the discussion about strategic features of the Blue Nile, it is crucial to indicate the feature of decisions that are necessary for the organization to take in a different setting. There is the evidence of different operational aspects such as its quality services, shipping policy, return policy enhance the feature of customer satisfaction. It is important for the company to consider the potential threat related to the facet of the international market to be successful competing in the market.

References

Rivlin, G. (2007). When buying a diamond starts with a mouse. The New York Times.

Thompson, A. A. (2008). Blue Nile, Inc.: World’s largest online diamond retailer. AA Thompson Strickland. J. IIIGambleJ. E.(Eds.), Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.