The Play of Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon Essay

         The story, â€Å"Flowers for Algernon†, is one that has been written using the first person narration and makes use of progress reports hence making the reader to be part of the story an understand the story as it happens through each of the reports used (Rogers, and Daniel, 5-15). The first person technique is important in that it allows all the changes that are seen to take place in Charlie, who is the main character of the story, to be clearly visible both at an external and internal level. It is to be noted that Charlie Gordon is the center of the whole story whereby he is the main character that is subjected to a scientific experiment that is aimed at increasing his intelligence level. In addition to that, Charlie is also the author to the narratives provided through the progress reports.          The reader of this story is able to get a view of life throu8gh the eyes of Charlie who is the main narrator and character in the story ((Rogers, and Daniel, 5-15). The reader is able to understand and follow the progress and development of Charlie through the spellings and the evolution of Charlie’s syntax. The operation that Charlie undergoes fails to work and proves to be detrimental because Charlie gets to find out that his â€Å"friends† are not actually true friends. Furthermore, Charlie becomes arrogant and cannot relate to people after the experiment and his is not able to impress his family which is his true motivation.            Charlie undergoes an intelligence operation which transforms him to become more intelligent than he was before. He ends up getting a job at the bakery with the help of his uncle, Uncle Herman (Coules, Daniel, and Robert, 87). Charlie meets Gimpy, Frank Reilly and Joe Carp, people that he considers to be his friends at the bakery and ones he could rely on. However, as it turns out, these are not his true friends. Gimpy, Frank Reilly and Joe Carp result to making fun of Charlie and resent him for being more intelligent after the operation when he goes back to work with them. The three make fun of Charlie and eventually gets him fired because they never liked him despite the fact that the boss, Mr. Donner, believed in Charlie.            At this point, Charlie gets to know that the people that he considered to be his â€Å"friends† were actually not his true friends based on their actions towards him. However the attitude of the three changes towards Charlie as the story comes to an end and Charlie’s intellectual ability starts to recede drastically. One thing that the reader gets to learn from the actions of Charlie’s â€Å"friends† is that not everyone in your life is your true friend. There are others who may not have good intentions yet they claim to be your friends hence the need to be cautious with people that say they are your friends.            Another issue that is portrayed in the story is that Charlie becomes an arrogant person and is not able to relate with people hence showing that the experiment was detrimental. The lack of proper relationship with other people and Charlie shows that the experiment turned out to be quite detrimental to the life of Charlie (Coules, Daniel, and Robert, 87). It can be observed that after the experiment, Charlie starts to lose his intelligence and he starts to spend less time with his girlfriend Fay. However, it reaches a point whereby Charlie wants to get back with Fay but she cannot accept due to Charlie’s condition which makes her afraid of him. This results in the collapse of their relationship.             Furthermore, the experiment affected how Charlie relates with his family which is seen when he chases his sister out of his room and does not want to talk to her. The issue that one gets to learn from this is that not all experiments have positive impacts in the lives of human beings and it is important that people should accept who they are instead of trying to change themselves.          From the on-set of this story, Charlie is seen as less intelligent and retarded by his family members. The inspiration and motivation to volunteer for the procedure which was aimed at enhancing his intelligence comes from need to impress his family (Coules, Daniel, and Robert, 87). Charlie agrees to undergo the procedure so that he could be what his mother and father wants him to be, an intelligent child. Charlie is rejected by the family that motivated him to get the procedure done. After becoming intelligent, he is also rejected by the foster family for being too intelligent.            Charlie undergoes through a rough time especially when his acquired intelligence starts to recede causing him to become alienated from people and instead spends time alone. From the experiences that Charlie goes through in this story tells the reader that life is full of challenges and that there are appreciating what one has is of great importance than to seek for something that will only result in to misery. References Coules, Bert, Daniel Keyes, and Robert Chambers. The Play of Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon. Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 1993. Print. P.47 Rogers, David, and Daniel Keyes. Flowers for Algernon: A Full-Length Play. Chicago: Dramatic Pub. Co, 1969. Print. P.5-93 Source document

Hypercompetition

Jouma! of Marketing Management, 1997, 13, 4 2 1 ^ 3 0 Evert Gummesson Stockholm University, School of Business, Stockholm, Sudden In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing Versus Hypercompetition This paper is a discussion on work in progress conceming tke development qf relationship marketing (RM). It is particularly focused on the concept of marketing equilibrium which is a marketing management correspondence to market equilibrium, the traditional concept of neoclassical economic;. The paper starts with a brief introduction to the author's approach to RJ4.It proceeds with a summary of the concept of marketing equilibrium. The next section is a discourse on hypercompetition, a partiailarly intense type of competition that has been observed by several authors. RM offers a marketing theory based on collaboration with various stakeholders through long-term relationships, customer retention and loyalty. In contrast, hypercompetitiett claims that customers uHU switch bet ween suppUers at an inaeasingly faster rate and that competitors will become increasingly hostile to one another.Two basic questions are raised: do RM and hypercompetition represent two conflicting but coexisting trends that arc both growing in intensity? and How can this coexistence or conflict be conceptually handled? Tlie aim qf this paper is not to be complete and provide an answer, only to draw the reader's attention to hypercompetition as an opposite trend to RMand to offer a platform for further analysis and constructive and reflective scholarly dialogue. The 30R Approach to R M The 30R approach to RM is the outcome of an ongoing research project on â€Å"the new markedng† (Gummesson 1994, 1995). 0R refers to thirty reladonships that were found to exist in marketing. During the research process, three core variables stood out: relatiorahips, networks and interacdon. A consequent definidon of RM then became â€Å"RM is marketing seen as reladonships, networks and inter acdon†. The 3ORs wiU not be listed here, but their basic structure wiU be given. A distinction is made between market reladonships (reladonships between actors in the market such as suppUers, customers, compedtors and intermedieiries), nd two types of non-market reladonships which exercise an influence on market reladonships, but are not part of the market propier. These are mega reladonships (reladonships in society, above the market reladonships, such as reladonships to governments) and nano reladonships (reladonships inside organizadons, such as intemal customer reladonships). Services markedng and ttie network approach to industrial marketing have provided the primary theoredcal impietus for the author to explore the shortcomings 0267-257X/97/050421 + 10 $12. 00/0  ©1997'nte Dryden Press 422Evert Gummesson of traditional marketing management theory. ^ Both theories were bom in the 1970s and have continued to giow in importance. The author's idea to merge the two goes bac k to 1982 and has since been pursued and broadened (Gummesson 1983, 1987, 1995). The term RM, however, was not used in a general sense until about 1990 (see e. g. Christopher et al. 1991; Groru-oos 1994; Gummesson 1994; Hunt and Morgan 1994; Sheth 1994). Instead, terms Uke long-term interactive relationships, interactive marketing, network approach and a new concept of marketing were used.My resejtrch approach is theory generating and based on comparative, qualitative analysis and syniiieses between data from inductive, real-world studies^ received theories and new theories in the process of development. Marketing Equilibrium This section is an introduction to the general concept of marketing equilibrium and a discussion on certain aspects of the equilibrium. Marketing equilibrium is a serendipitous outcome of the author's research on RM. The concept is further elaborated in Gummesson (1995, 19%). The three forces of marketing equilibrium are competition, collaboration and regulatio ns/institutions.Although Western economies are repeatedly referred to as market economies with free competition as their ethos, in reality they are mixed economies in which competition coexists with collaboration and regulations/ institutions. Marketing equilibrium contends that a sound market is the outcome of an optimal combination of the three forces of competition, collaboration and regulatiorw/institutions. As all kinds of equilibria in dynanuc envirorunents are unstable, it is a matter of heading toward a moving target, orJy rarely reaching it and only rarely staying there for any longer period of time.Whereas traditional marketing management literature primarily deals with competition, RM highlights collaboration. Collaboration implies that aU parties actively assume responsibility to make relationships functional. The author's conclusion is that: The focus on collaboration is the most important contribution from RM, with an impact on both marketing management and economics, and that collaboration in a market economy needs to be treated with the same attention and resped as competition. Although the third force, regulations/institutions, is not the theme of this paper, a few words will be said about it.Regulations indude both formal regulations through legislation, and informal codes of conduct through culture; institutiorts are both formal authorities whose task is to ascertain that regulations are enforced, and phenomena such as the family or religion that enforce a certain behaviour. In marketing rhetoric, regulations/institutions—and to a large extent also collaboration— are treated with suspidon and as inhibiting competition and the dynamics ^Inputs to the 30R concept also came from traditional marketing management, sales management, quality management, orgaruzation theory, and other areas. The term real world data is iised here instead of empirical data. Thereasonis that too often researchers in business subject mistake empirical for qiiantitative, while in the geiieral language of sdence empirical refers to all types of data, whrther they come as qualitative, quantitative, or in any other format. In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Rdationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 423 of an economy. In narketing practice, however, they are ubiquitous. Douglass North, Nobel Prize laureate in the economic sdences in 1993, has shown that regulations/institutions are dynamic and necessary elements of a narket economy (North 1993).Marketing equiUbrium attempts to see the role of marketing management in the context of sodety and on an industry and economics level. It should not be confused with the market equiUbrium of neoclassical theory of economics (also referred to as microeconomics or simply price theory). ^ In neoclassical economics, the core variables are supply and demand balanced by the invisible hand of price in a market of free competition. The market is assumed to be striving in the direction of a longterm equiU brium in which aU prices are equal and all products are standardized. Customers and suppliers are anonymous masses.Companies and industries are not managing their production and sales, they are orUy adjusting to exogenous market influences. All deviations from this idealized model axe referred to as unwanted imperfections. Although marketing management is offen described as an adaptation of neodassical economics, it is blatantly obvious from even a simple real-world study of markets, industries and individual companies, that a different foundation for a marketing management theory is imperative. For example, services which constitute anything from 60 to 90% of today's economies (depending on definition) are not considered.The assumptions of neoclassical economics are simply not vaUd. There are signs that the interest in coUaboration is gaining ground not only in real business life but also in marketing theory; the most obvious being the upsurge of literature on RM and related subjec ts such as customer loyalty and alUances. Brandenbui^er and Nalebuff (1996) introduce the term â€Å"co-opetition†, which is a combination of co-operation and competition. They show that game theory is one possible way of exploring this combination (â€Å"the prisoners' dilemma†).Gray (1989) points to coUaboration as a solution to multi-party problem and says (p. 54): â€Å"Despite powerful incentives to collaborate, our capacity to do so is underdeveloped†. In the same spirit Senge (1990), in his treatise on learning organizations and the need for dialogue says (p. 10): â€Å"Interestingly, the practice of dialogue has been preserved in many â€Å"primitive† cultures†¦ but it has been almost completely lose to modem sodety. Today, the prindples and practices of dialogue are being redbcovered and put into a contemporary context†.EMalogue UteraUy means â€Å"tlunking together† There is ein extensive literature on competition both in mark eting and economics. Particularly the books by Porter (1979, 1985) have received the attention of marketers. No effort wiU be made here to review the various aspeds of competition; the treatment of competition will be directed to its role in the marketing equilibrium and to the properties of hypercompetition. In market economies, competition is hailed as the driver of economic evolution and a necessary condition for wealth. The customer is given a choice, and a supplier can never be sure to have the customer in its pocket.ITiis is a traditional view advocated by the business community, and to an extent also by the pubUc sector in many countries where deregiilation and privatization have become foreeful strategies. The countries of the Westem world—the capitalist sodeties—are not genuine ^See Hunt and Morgan (1995) for further analysis of the shortcomings of neoclassical theory. 424 Evert Gummesson market economies. They are mixed economies in which market forces and re gulations have entered into wedlock. In totally unregulated markets only few can obtain the necessities of life.For example, free markets give large corporations the freedom to offset competition, and those who cannot compete on the labour market are left to charity or misery. The opposite—total regulation — leads to rigidity. There is no general formula that tells us in what projx)rtions individual discretion and collective regulation should be mixed. Every market and period have to find their own specific solution. Competition is a driver of certain types of change. Even if RM puts emphasis on collaboration, I would like to see RM as a synthesis of competition, collaboration and regulations/institutions.The issue is which combination of these will create the balance—the marketing equilibrium — in each sptedfic situation. If either of the three forces becomes unduly powerful, the economy will suffer; regulations/institutions is the sole force of a planne d economy. To some extent there is a naive belief in competition to set everything right. The global wave of privatization and deregulation is a reaction in markets that have become stified. It is an effort to find a marketing equilibrium. Bureaucratic and legal values have often led to a misguided interference by politidans and an unreal belief in centralized control of sodety.Although the term deregulation implies that regulations are abandoned, it is a search for more adequate laws and institutions which can become supportive to constructive forces of sodety and hold back destructive forces: Deregulation is reregulation! Some of the more conspicuous results from deregulation are found in the split up of Bell in the US and national telecom operators in many countries have lost their monopoly; the privatization of British government bodies such as the British Rail and the Airport Authority; and the most dramatic of all, the breakdown of the communist planned economies.However, nobo dy so far has been able to overview the long-term effects of deregulation and privatization. There are necessary elements of the market economy that competifion and the free market forces do not master. They can be expressed in two paradoxes. The first paradox says: regulations are needed to secure that free competition will not be curbed. In spite of adl sweet talk about competition, every individual company or industry prefers to be spared the hazards of competitions (but they consider it essential for other comparues and industries). The second paradox says: The purpose of competition is to get rid of competition.Competition attempts to reduce the infiuence of other suppliers by lower costs and prices, differentiated and difficult-tocopy offerings, or dominance of selected market niches. Hypercompetition The ideas on a new type of competition will be assembled under the umbrella concept of hjfpercompetition. They are taken from many sources, among them D'Aveni (1994), Hamel and P rahalad (1994), Moore (1996), and Verbeke and Peelen (1996). The term hypercompetition was first found in D'Aveni and the ensuing discussion on hypercompefition is mainly based on his concepts, but the comparison with RM strategies and the conclusions are my own.In marketing management and strategy, the recommendation is usually advanced that companies should build a sustainable competitive advantage, thus limiting In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 425 price competition or even creating a monopoly-Uke situation. Hypercompefition is the opposite: a company should actively disrupt status quo and the current competitive advantages, both its own and those of competitors, in an environment of hypercompetition, advantages are rapidly created and eroded.Hypercompefition trends are identified in four arenas of traditional competition (D'Aveni 1994, pp. 13-17): /. Cos/ and quality arena For example, upstarts Uke Southwest Airlines attack estabUshe d carriers by slashing costs or enhancing quaUty, thus lowering the bottom of the market and raising the top of it. This behaviour counteracts the RM strategy of frequent flyers' programmes. 2. Timing and know-hot/' arena The first mover in the nnarket may create an advantage and sets up impediments to imitation. Followers quickly try to overcome these, fordng the first mover to change its tactics.The know-how exploited by one company is imitated by another and imitation becomes faster and faster; eventually the innovator cannot recapture its R&D investment. 3. Strongholds arena Companies create entry barriers to keep the competition out Entrants circumvent the barriers, giving rise to a series of attacks and counterattacks. This is currently happening in inten:ontinental air services between major American carriers and national European carriers. The current war for mastery over the Intemet, with Microsoff and Netscape as the combatants, is another example. 4.Deep pockets arena Thi s means having more money than the competition. The finandally stronger and usuaUy bigger companies can endure price competition from smaUer companies. The latter, however, can caU upon govemment regulations and form aUiances with others, thus balancing out the financJal advantage. In marketing equilibrium, regulations is one of the balancing forces, and alliances is a collaborative RM strategy. For example, Microsoff's financial advantage has been counteracted by the aUiance between IBM and Apple. Information technology is a driver of hypercompetition.By using databases it is possible, and wiU be more so in the future, to quickly survey prices and other conditions, and select the best combination at each point of time. Purchasing then becomes close to the system of exchanges. But even if comparisons of suppUers are made easier for customers, so many conditions are not comparable, for example, to 426 Evert Gummesson what extent can you trust the supplier. Trust and security are basi c condidons for collaboradon and trust has proven to be a driver of business in all types of sodedes (Fukuyama 1995).D'Aveni concludes that the battle for comp>eddve advantage is eventuaUy driving the market back into a price-compieddve market. The outcome is the neodassical long-term equilibrium, although the road to this equiUbrium goes via marketing equilibrium and not just via price adjustments. He refers to the old compedfive equilibrium as looking stable because it moved so slowly that it appeared stable. Hypiercomp>eddon is a coristant state of disequiUbritim. D'Aveni deploys a revised 7Ss framework to propose hypiercompeddve strategies.The original 7Ss — designed by the McKinsey consulting company—comprise seven factors for success: structure, strategy, systems, style, skills, staff, and shared values. Successful hypiercomp;eddve firms need a new set of Ss in order to create disrupdon (p. 31ff). The first new S is stakeholder satisfacdon, referring to new ways of creating satisfied customers and a modvated eind empowered work force. The second is strategic soothsajdng â€Å"a process of seeking out new knowledge necessary for predicting or even creating new temporary windows of opportunity that compiedtors wiU eventuaUy enter but are not now served by anyone else† (p. 2). The comparafive advantage of these two factors is â€Å"†¦ the abiUty to win each dynamic strategic acdon with compiedtors† (p. 32). The third and fourth Ss are spieed and surprise, both capabiUdes for disrupdon. The hypercompeddve company both reacts more quickly and is proacdve, thus taking the market with surprise. The final three are tacdcs for disrupdon. Shifting the rules includes new ways of sadsfying the customers and playing the marketing game with a new set of rules. Signals refer to announcements of strategic intent with the purpose of stalling acdons and misleading compiedtors.For example, a preannouncement of a coining product may make cus tomers wait to see the new version and postpone planned purchases of competing products. Simultaneous and sequendal strategic thrusts â€Å"†¦ are used by hypercompieddve firms to harass, paralyze, induce errors, or block compiedtors† (p. 34). Several acdons are taken at the same dme in combinadons that make it difficult to understand what a compiedtor is actuaUy up to. In summary, whereas RM strives for stabiUty through long-term reladonships, hypercompieddon strives for continuous disrupdon at an increasingly faster rate.In RM, security is found in stabiUty; in hypercompeddon it is fotind in the ability to continuously counteract instabiUty. The RM concept is by many authors broadened to comprise more than the suppUer—customer dyad,'* for example, reladonships through alUances which is a way of counteracting hyp>ercompieddon. The imaginary organizadon^ is a network-based company which transcends the tradidonal organizadonal boundaries. It can more freely acquire Jind drop resources through outsourcing (or rather: resourcing) instead of investing in tradidonal growth (intemal or through acquisidon); the advantage of the deep pocket is thus offset. †¢See Christopher et al. (1991), Kotler (1992), and Hunt and Morgan (1994), who have approached marketing as relationships with a series of stakeholders. This is in line with the 30R approach, but flie 3ORs go further and also establish relationships based on other than the stakeholder dimension. ‘See Hedberg et al. (1994). Other terms representing the same phenomenon are virtual organizations, boundarykss organizations, and rwtwork organizations. In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercmnpetition 427D'Aveni (1994) discusses the role of co-operation and collusion and says that they should only be used for hypercompetitive purposes. They are not long-term relationships, they are merely temporary strategies. He lists a number of generic instances of hypercompet itive use of collaboration (pp. 338-339): to gang up against others groups; to limit the domain of competition; to biuld resojirces; to buy time; to gain access; and to leam. Hunt and Morgan (1995) suggest a comparative advantage theory of competition within a marketing management paradigm, and they present a devastating critique of neoclassical economics.D'Aveni's conclusions are contrary to Hunt and Morgan's; he rewrites neoclassical theory, using marketing management theory as a lever. Interpreted in my terms, we depart from the original and simple form of neoclassical market equilibrium, go through a phase of marketing equilibrium, and arrive at a more sophisticated level of market equilibrium. Hjrpercompietition goes beyond the neoclassical theory of perfect connpetition and restores it on a new level. Through a series of disruptive moves, where competitive advantage is surpassed, an escalation toward perfect competition develops.This means that we are back in transaction marke ting, the very evil to which RM is held to be the antidote. Conclusions for Discussion This paper has dealt with certain aspects of marketing equilibrium, one of several RM issues that preoccupy the author's nund during the ongoing research joumey into the world of RM. ‘The paper is limited to the two trends of collaboration, advanced by the RM concept, and hypercompetition, advanced by authors on strategy and competition. A paradox is seemingly a contradiction; it is not in actual fact a contradiction. An oxymoron is a combination of two phenomena that cannot be combined.So the first question in the beginning of the paper could be rephrased: are RM and hypercompetition forming a paradox or an oxymoron? When I read up on the current literatxire on competition, I found that the â€Å"new† competition was described as more fierce and faster than ever before. It had affinity with marketing warfare which was in vogue in the 19S0s. It certainly seemed contradictory to the RM idea of long-term relationships and collaboration. In my present state of ignorance the answer is: within the concept of the marketing equilibrium, both competition and collaboration coexist. They can do so and will do so.Our attention has to be directed to both of them. When competition becomes hypercompetition, collaboration may become hypercollaboration. Could it be that hypercompetition is the current driver of the upsuiging interest in RM and that RM tries to neutralize the effects of hypercompetition? To be Continued As this is work in progress, the issues that have been presented are not complete and the views are tentative and wiil be further studied. Among other issues concerning marketing equilibrium that are also being studied are the following: Tlie marketing equilibrium which has so far been described could be seen as 28 Evert Gumntesson partial marketing equiUbrium. The RM researdi project is suggesting an extention into complete marketing equilibrium. It consists of a synthesis of RM and the theory of imaginary organizations where not only the market but also the organizations (suppUers, customers, competitors and others) and sodety are included in a network of interactive relationships (Hedberg et al. 1994; Gummesson 1996). In traditional marketing management and economics, the market is outside the company and n «rketing activities are directed toward extemal customers.But there are also markets inside the company and marketing activities take place between intemal customers. This is laid bare in the treatment of the nano relationships of the 30R approach. Both intemal and extemal customers interact in networks of relationships. The boundaries between the â€Å"inside† and the â€Å"outside† have dissolved and both can be seen as parts of the same networks. Another area is the black economy with tax evasion, bribery, fraud, and organized crime as additional and disrupting forces of competition. One of the relationships in the 30R approach is named The Criminal Network.For example, Blumberg (1989) has pointed out that the strength of the market economy — competition and the profit incentive—encourages fraud. It pays to cheat! He calls this the paradox of the market economy. Everybody is familiar with it from jobs and private consumption, but it is swept under the carpet in marketing theory and textbooks. The Literature prefers the idealized image: competition as the driver to create customer satisfaction and customer perceived quality; to give customers everything they want and are willing to pay for; and to offer numerous options for consumers.Customers are asked about satisfaction and quality, but their knowledge is limited and the ignorance of the customer is exploited. Neither market economies through competition, nor command economies through regulations, have proven themselves capable of handling environmental and ecological issues. What has been achieved is primarily the outcome of vo luntary pressure group activity and law enforcement. Competitive forces have clearly not provided enough incentive for the market to innovate and reinnovate in the field.One of the relationship in the 30R approach is The Green Relationships, adding a relationship angle to environmental issues. Probably most of the achievements for a long time will only come through legislation (regulations), tight control and litigation (institutions). Can the marketing equilibrium conceptually include environmental and ecological issues? After the Paper Presentation: An Addendum In the discussion following its presentation, the paper was criticized on two points in peirticular: (1) The choice of the term â€Å"marketing equiUbrium†.The critics said — and some were dearly provoked by the term — that it gives the wrong connotation and that the term is so heavily committed to neoclassical economic theory that people will not be able to see my point. Suggested substitutes were â₠¬Å"dynamic balance† or â€Å"optimal combination†. EquiUbrium, it was claimed, conveys the idea that such a state exists and it is just a matter of time {long-term, though) before it is reached. In defence of the term {but I intend to give it more thought) I would like to claim that equilibrium can be perceived as dynamic and unattainable, but still have a value n Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 429 in providing direction, although the journey is a never-ending journey. Perhaps the provocation as such is o( value. When a new thought or term is met with aggressions from several established scholars it may have hit a sore spot; it may even be important. The original intention was to show that equilibrium from the idealized and imrealistic assumptions of neoclassical theory could be supplemented by a marketing management-oriented equilibrium based on real-world premises.Neoclassical economics currently seems to be no more than a computer game for adult entertainment and career boosting under the disguise of â€Å"sdence†. To me, the contrast between â€Å"market† and â€Å"marketing†, designating an economics versus a management approach but still indicating affinity, makes the term expressive. Whatever term I choose, however, I am confident that economists and â€Å"me-too† researchers wiU not be impressed. 2. â€Å"Hyper† was claimed by Americans to mean â€Å"too much†, for example a hyperactive child is active to a degree that implies mental and/or physical disorder.The British perceived it as â€Å"very much†, for example a hypermarket which is a bigger European version of a supermarket. Maybe this is evidence of the validity of Oscar Wilde's statement that â€Å"England and America are two countries separated by a common language†. On the other hand, maybe â€Å"too much† is also a correct interpretation. For many of us, hypercompetition i s probably too much. Personally, it makes me nervous. References Blumberg, P. (1989), The Predatory Society, New York, Oxford University Press. Brandenburger, A.M. and Nalebuff, B. J. (1996), Co-opetition, Boston, MA, Harvard Business School Press. Christopher, M. , Payne, A. and Ballant)Tie, D. (1991), Relationship Marketing, London, Heinemarm. D'Aveni, R,A. (1994), Hypercompetition, New York, The Free Press. Fukuyama, F. (1995), Trust, New York, The Free Press. Gray, B. (1989), Collaborating, San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass. Gronroos, C. (1994), â€Å"Quo vadis, marketing? Towards a relationship marketing paradigm†, Joumal of Marketing Martagement, 10, No. 4 Gummesson, E. 1983), â€Å"A New Concept of Marketing†, paper presented at the 1983 EMAC Annual Conference, Institut d'Etudes Commerdales de Grenoble, France, April. Gummesson, E. (1987), â€Å"The New Marketing: Developing Long-term Interactive Relationships†, Long Range Planning, 20, No. 4, pp. 10-20. Gum messon, E, (1994), â€Å"Making Relationship Marketing Operational†. The International Joumal of Service Industry Management, 5, No. 5, pp. 5-20. Gummesson, E. (1995), Relationsmarknadsforing: Frdn 4P till 30R (Relationship Marketing: From 4Ps to 3ORs), Malmo, Sweden: Liber-Hermods (forthcoming in English).Gummesson, E. (1996), â€Å"Relationship Marketing and Imaginary Organizations: A Synthesis†, European Joumal of Marketing, 30, No. 2, pp. 31-44. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C. K. (1994), Competing for the Future, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994, 430 Epert Gummesson Hedberg, B. , Dahlgren, G. , Hansson, J. and Olve, N. -G. (1994), Imagindra organisationer (Imaginary Organizations), Malmfi, Sweden: Liber-Hermods. Hunt, S. D. and Morgan, R. M. (1994), â€Å"Relationship Marketing in the Era of Network Competition†. Marketing Management, 3, No. 1, pp. 9-28. Hunt, S. D. and Morgan, R. M. (1995), â€Å"The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competitionâ⠂¬ , Joumal qf Marketing, 59, April, pp. 1-15. Kotter, P (1992), ‘Total Marketing†, Business Week Advance, Executive Brief, Vol. 2. Moore, J. E (1996), The Death of Competition, Chichester, UK, Wiley. North, D. C. (1993), â€Å"Economic Performance Through Time†. Stockholm, The Nobel Foundation, Prize Lecture in Economic Science in Memory qf Alfred Nobel, Stockholm, December 9. Porter, M. E. (1980), Competitive Strategy, New York, The Free Press. Porter, M. E. 1985), Competitive Advantage, New York, The Free Press. Senge, P. M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Sheth, J. N. (1994), â€Å"The Donnain of Relationship Marketing†. Handout at the Sectmd Research Conference on Relationship Marketing. Centre for Relationship Marketing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, June. Verbeke, W. and Peelen, E. (1996), â€Å"Redefining the New SeUing Practices in an Era of Hyper Competition†. Paper presented at the workshop Relationship Market ing in an Era qf Hypercompetition, Erasmus University and EIASM, Rotterdam, May.

Case Study: Starbucks

1. Starbucks laid down its Market Segmentation in the following ways: a. Geographic Segmentation: Starbucks primarily laid down its segmentation in order to spread its outlets around various parts around America. It was not only targeting to settle its bases all over the country, but basically planning to be easily accessible, which is why it was also placed enormously in the same zone. b. Demographic Segmentation: Age= 24- 44 yrs. Gender= Predominantly Female Income= Comparatively Wealthier Race= Predominantly Caucasian c. Psychographic Segmentation: Social Class= Upper Middle Class Lifestyle= Better Educated and/or More Professional . Behavioral Segmentation: Benefit Sought= Premium Coffee, Customer Service, Friendly Environment User Status= Potential and Regular Users Loyalty Status= Strong 2. With the overflow of options, Starbucks grew into a lesser quality place. The Starbucks experience thus, changed first before the customers made their way. Although, Starbucks primarily focu sed on Concentrated Marketing, with the maximization of stores, changing economy, and competitions, it took a different turn. Starbucks was rather following Undifferentiated Marketing, as traditional customers were no longer as loyal as they were with the changing environment.Instant beverages were on demand, so Starbucks had its Market segments spread out to a larger segment, whose focus was not a premium product, but an instant, faster service. 3. Starbucks Market Segmentation is based as follows on the present day: a. Geographic Segmentation: Starbucks today, is not only a part of American culture, but also many different nations worldwide. Although its revenue is majorly sourced from within America itself, it has its grounds set internationally, as a huge potential is identified. b. Demographic Segmentation: With the broadened market segmentation, the demographic segment has taken a pace too.It is no longer consumed by only people of higher income. Having set up less-expensive p roduct lines with availability instance, there’s a larger segment of population who make up potential consumers disregarding the age, race, gender, or generation. c. Psychographic Segmentation: Social Class: Larger class expansion including Lower-Middle to Higher due to less-expensive products Lifestyle: Consumers with high preference of instant and/or household consumption. d. Behavioral Segmentation: Benefit Sought: Accessibility, Brand Value, Instant Consumption, Home Products User Status: Wide range . Starbucks is a potential company with a strong legacy behind its coffee-making. It has now, a higher target markets, and has spread not only limited to its franchise outlets, but also various contractors and other franchises. It can generate its revenue through potential consumers of all social classes and economic ranges, as its products are no longer high-end expensive as it primarily was. It is a big name in Coffee business, and is a developing, high-yield company. Thus, it can potentially return to its previous successful revenue it once enjoyed.

Ethics and governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics and governance - Essay Example The action by the Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) to investigate BP was to audit its safety standards. Hence, this decision was based on the oil fire incidence at BP which killed 15 of its workers and injured 170 others as well. This is due to the fact that the company had ignored this issue for a long time. The report notes that this company was plagued by years-of cost cutting which in turn increased its vulnerability to this catastrophe in its refinery in Texas. The other actor in this case is BP Company itself through its management and workers; in which case its decision was based on the need to improve its image in the oil market according to Mortishead, (2005, p. 8). From the above BP’s case, there are a range of possible consequences based on the reports findings. One such possible consequence is the remarkable improvement in the compliance to safety standards by BP and other companies as well. In so doing, these oil firms would have to embrace the tenets of ethics and governance. In this regard, they shall have to implement fundamental organizational changes to ensure for them to be virtuous. The other actual consequence is the loss of market leadership position by BP to its competitors. According to the CSB report, the company had been noted to be more concerned with profit maximization through cost cutting at the expense of ensuring that its employees were safe. As noted by Carl, BP’s main concerns were in terms of meeting its production targets, budgets and operational goals but not safety. This is best captured by the management’s decision to opt to cut- costs with the main emphasis being on saving of such costs for ot her uses. To the other companies, this action by CSB would result to them being under both public and government over safety compliance. One of the key decisions which are culpable in BP’s case can be

T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land - Essay Example Attractive to current readers insofar as it resists coherence, the poem has lately been interpreted as a critique of literary and sexual proprieties. It lacks "respect for tradition, " is fascinated with "mutation, degradation, and fragmentation, " split between a longing for "'improper' sexual desires" and a wish to be "rid" of them. (Charles W. Pollard, 2003, pp 90-110). In a curious twist of literary history, recent critics of The Waste Land have returned to the questions that concerned its initial readers, before its elevation to the status of a classic. Troubled by its disorderliness and its debasement of literary value, Eliot inserts beautiful quotations into ugly contexts, and that his poem is a considerable affront against aesthetic sensibilities. Trying to recapture this sense of The Waste Land's offensiveness, critics at the end of the century stress its chaotic structure, its multiple voices, and its internal conflicts, which render it an unfinalized, open text. In so doing, however, they continue to beat a dead horse.

Breast Cancer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Breast Cancer - Assignment Example Overall, women’s risk of getting breast cancer is said to increase by 35-50% (GÃ ¸tzsche and Nielsen, 2011). Another risk factor has to do with lack of activity. In this, there continues to be variable rates of increase in risk. The main issue however remains that activeness is very necessary for all women to ensure that they are kept safe from the risk factor of inactiveness. The third major lifestyle related risk factor has been found to be the use of oral contraceptive, where premenopausal breast cancer is said to be the most likely in this situation (Wallace, 2012). This means that the onset of breast cancer with the use of oral contraceptive is very high as compared to the rate of onset for other risk factors (GÃ ¸tzsche and Nielsen, 2011). The last risk factor under lifestyle is diet, where high fat and high alcohol intake have been noted to be major risks. In terms of genetic risk factors, Nelson, Smith, Griffin and Fu (2013) mentioned that there are genetic susceptibility that play minor part in some cases of breast cancer. The causes of breast cancer as associated with genetics have however been quoted to be less than 10% in most of the case. The average range has often been given as 5% to 10% with variations occurring, depending on the number of relatives with the situation. GÃ ¸tzsche and Nielsen (2011) actually stressed that the probable rate of cause for people with 0, 1 and 2 relatives with the disease is 7.8%, 13.3%, and 21.1% respectively. There are actually women who have been found to develop hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome as a result of genetics but the rate given in this instance has been found to be only 5%. On medical conditions as risk factor, Nelson, Smith, Griffin and Fu (2013) mentioned that there are some diseases that increase the risk of women of getting breast cancer. Typical example of this has been mentioned to be diabetes mellitus. What is more, fibrocystic breast has been found to be common among those with benign

Plato and Solomon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Plato and Solomon - Essay Example In contrast, Solomon is of the view that that love is rather a convergence of various desires i.e. sexual, ethical or other practical emotions which makes love a matter of rational choice based on human`s subjective understanding of phenomena. Thus, it is clear that on one hand where Plato treats love as a philosophical entity, on the other hand Solomon takes love as reciprocity of emotions based on one`s past experiences. To further elaborate, it is crucial to discuss in detail separately how Plato and Solomon perceived the concept of love. In one of his speeches, Plato clearly reinstated the idea that seeking love is parallel to seeking wisdom. In other words, there is no wisdom in suppressing one`s sexual desires or other similar emotions, rather wisdom lies in training and refining these desires to acquire higher levels of wisdom (Plato 84-85). One of the speeches where Plato presented his idea of love was at a symposium which was central to the social life of Athens, during a discussion on the concept of love. During the speech, the central argument of Plato was to prove that love surrounds the concept of philosophy always, and can`t be understood otherwise. More so, he treats philosophy as the highest of the expressions that love may acquire and further prompts that this philosophy drives us in our everyday affairs (Santas 33). This could further be augmented by the fact that humans develop a se nse of attraction and appeal to beautiful people or aesthetic music as a direct appeal for ‘beauty’ and philosophy is what directs one to desire what is considered to be beautiful. This concept can be related to Aristophanian view of love, alongside Socratian analysis of the conception of love. Aristophanes understands love as one of the forms of some myth. He presents his myth as the genesis of human race, where they had four legs and four arms, also two heads where a few were males and other were females, and yet a few hermaphrodites. Thus, we were

Discribe the parliamentary sovereignty from constitutional prespective Essay

Discribe the parliamentary sovereignty from constitutional prespective - Essay Example According to the conventions of the British constitutional law in the past century, it is indicative that the dicey theory was the most influential one among all that were advanced in the century. The theory advanced by lord dicey postulates that the parliament has the right under the English constitution to make or repeal any law irrespective of circumstances. The theory goes further to state that there is no one under the constitution that has the right to override or amend the legislation made by the parliament. Therefore, the theory posits that the sovereignty of the parliamentary made legislation is absolute as long as it is working within the scope of the constitution. Notwithstanding the above ideal postulated by the theory, there are some sophisticated arguments that can be levelled against the doctrine that lord dicey fronts. The argument, notably, challenge the validity of the theory in the light of devolution, European convention on human rights and European union laws. This means that the point of absolute power of the parliament is not valid since there are limitations imposed upon it on the issues stated. Therefore, due to lack of the common point of reference on the absolute power of the parliament made legislations, various authorities in constitutional law have suggested an evaluation of the sovereignty of the constitution from a purely conventional approach. This approach seeks to remove the notion postulated by dicey theory on the supremacy of the parliament made law. As indicated earlier the power of the parliament in making the laws is absolute and it can only be repealed by another parliament. However, some of the scholars in law insist in the absolute power of the parliament in making the laws. This means that the parliament still harbor the right to make the unquestioned law as it is a convention under the British constitution. Others argue that in as much as the sovereignty of the constitution forms a

Reading Reflection In Mixed Company (Rothwell) Essay

Reading Reflection In Mixed Company (Rothwell) - Essay Example Rothwell (2007) says that every group member should first generate their own list and then for the group to come together so everyone’s ideas can be ranked in order of importance. This helps group meetings function smoother because it cuts down on ideas that are of no relevance. However, this only works as long as everyone in the group can come up with their own ideas. From a personal perspective, I can incorporate this concept with my father’s appliance repair business. I live in San Diego and he lives in Orange County, so it is really important that on the occasions when we can meet that we have prepared ideas first. This will make our decision making more efficient because we will already have a list of ideas to work from the moment we begin our discussion. Identify an idea from the reading that connected with other things you already knew. How can you connect it to your present job or life circumstances? Please use pages 273-275 from In Mixed Company and expand on m y responses Thank You. Brainstorming is something that I am already familiar with because I do it often in my daily life without realizing it. There are some days when I wake up and don’t know what to do, so I think of a few options and pick the one that appeals to me the most. Rothwell (2007) tells of nine different ways how brainstorming can function during a business meeting. After reading these few pages, I realize that already use many of these nine techniques when I’m brainstorming. Perhaps that one that I use the most is that our ideas stay focused on the topic. It is, however, still important to promote creativity, so I will make sure that these guidelines are followed when I’m working in my father’s appliance repair shop. Identify an Idea from the reading that something you already know or read about make much more sense; this would be an idea that created an â€Å"ah-hah† moment for you. How can you connect it to your present job or life circumstances? Please use page 273-275 from mixed company My â€Å"ah-hah† moment once again came during when I was reading the nine things to avoid or carry out while brainstorming in a meeting. This made me realize that many of my failed meetings in the past have been due to not following the nine techniques. Now that I understand how to brainstorm properly, I will make sure that I remain on track while still encouraging creative thoughts. I hope to apply these techniques not only in my work setting but also in my personal life because brainstorming is one of the basic things that we do in life. Based on the reading for this week, what is one thing you could do differently in your job tomorrow to improve your work performance? Identify specific behaviors you would perform. Please use page 278 in mixed company The one thing that I could do differently in my job tomorrow to improve my work performance is to expand the pie or use the bridging technique. In my father’s b usiness, we work in groups of three to sell appliances. Sometimes the groups are competitive and wish to only sell the best appliances at all times. The problem is that only one or two groups ever sell anything because they have the best appliances and leave the other groups with the poorer quality machines. One way to solve this would be to give an equal amount of each machine to each group so there would be no complaining. This way, it would be left up to the marketing techniques of each individual group to sell more products than the other groups. Discussion question for

Conflict Theory in Garage Sale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Conflict Theory in Garage Sale - Essay Example Competition among groups in society is always the cause of conflict (Hensli, 12). Most often the cause of conflict is when the garage sale is more patronized by the buyers where it may create possible closure of legitimate businesses because of scarce customers. Looking at the assumption of conflict theory, it dictates that conflict arises when there is a scarce resource (customers). When this happens, owners of legitimate businesses would dictate the situation prohibiting individuals to engage in garage sales. They could enforce laws because they are considered the dominant group in selling by virtue of their business permit. Being a dominant class or group means they could impose rules to protect their privilege and interest to the expense of the inferior group. However, individuals involved in such business who want to earn a living doing garage sale may repulse the idea through protesting causing tension between the two groups. Conflict theory assumes that the economic factor is always the cause of conflict. In addition, tension continues to occur because of exploitation or manipulation of others. Reference Henslin, James. Sociology. A Down-to-Earth Approach. Allyn and Bacon publishing. 2007.

Importance of Qualifications from an Aviation Manager’s Perspective Essay Example for Free

Importance of Qualifications from an Aviation Manager’s Perspective Essay Aviation is described as aircraft operation with the objective of providing air transportation. Air transportation can further be defined as all the civil flying which is performed by air carriers which are certificated and also the general aviation. The industry of air transport can be credited for its vital role it plays in the today’s global world. Management of the aviation industry is complex and thus it requires one to be competent so as to be able to deal with the challenges that face this industry in our modern world. In addition, the organizational and industrial overview of the air line business is also a complex task and can not be managed by a person who does not have qualifications in aviation management. One needs to have qualification in aviation management so as to make the organization to excel in the job market as well as to manage the other employees so as to improve performance of the organization (Yilmaz, 2008). To be able to manage the organization effectively, one need to understand on the quality of services that the company should produce so as to attract more customers and also he should have leadership traits which can enable him or her to control the behavior of the employees toward achievement of the organization. He should also be able to control conflicts that may be arising in the organization to make sure that workers are satisfied and thus they are working in a conducive environ Aviation industry need a management personnel who is competent so that he or she can be able evaluate the quantitative methods and applications in the organization. The personnel should be able to use the scientific management theories so as to support the situations of decision making by giving sound decisions which can help the organization to grow and even run profitably (Yilmaz, 2008). He or she should be able to use and apply various concepts in the organization such as the techniques of linear programming, the simulation methods, and the models of inventory control as well as the decision theory to ensure the organization is running efficiently. Furthermore, there is need for management personnel in the field of aviation to have knowledge about managerial accounting since it is a necessity in management. This will enable him or her to identify, accumulate, report and interpret the information about cost so as to make decision and control the general operation context (Yilmaz, 2008). It will also enable him to utilize and evaluate information supplied to him or her from accounting department. Having knowledge on managerial accounting can enable the management personnel to be able to have accounting tool which can enable him or her in determining on the performance of the organization. Aviation management personnel should be also qualified in the non profit and governmental accounting to enable him or her to be able to investigate the environment for decision making from a perspective of non-profit entity or public sector. This will enable the personnel to be able to analyze the consequences and also the regulation impact and the established pronouncements by governmental Accounting standards board, which is the comptroller of US and also the office of the general accounting for the federal. Aviation management personnel should also have knowledge on the financial management so that he can be able to have financial analysis, have measurement on the capital costs, capital management, capital budgeting, valuation and also in determining the analysis of the capital structures. A manager in the aviation industry should be competent and should be aware on the impact of the government as well as the current issues concerning aviation industry. He should be aware of this issue not particularly in the country but at a perspective of the world or globe. Aviation management personnel should be able to identify the market segment, to identify the trends that the organization must follow to achieve performance of the organization as well as identifying the developments that need to be introduced in the organization depending on the change in technological know how (Yilmaz, 2008). He should also be aware of the international standards required in the air transport industry so as to be competitive the market. Also being qualified will enable one to understand on the regulations and rules that govern air transport industry and make decisions on how to manage the operation of the organization according to such rules. The personnel should be able to forecast on the future trends and challenges using the present and the past trends of the industry so as to make the organization to be competitive in the market. There is also need of management aviation personnel to be competent so as to be able to identify the output and demand determinants in the organization as well as the labor relations. All in all, it is important for one to be qualified in aviation so as to be competent in the field of management in aviation industry. This is because one will be able to control all activities necessary in such industry so as to make it run efficiently and effectively for the growth or profitability of the organization.

Movie review on Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Essay Example for Free

Movie review on Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Essay Though the movie can be considered to be masterful and superior as far as the visual and technical factors are concerned, the Kingdom of Heaven (2005) becomes a less outstanding epic film since there is a great alteration on the focus of the central theme of the story. Screenwriter William Monahan writes well about the story but Ridley Scott seems to become more interested in searching and probing the evils of religion rather than making a medieval epic. The fighting scenes are even mechanical. Leading actor Orlando Bloom, furthermore, though he has fine screen presence, inadequately assumes his role since his performance was monochromatic and subdued compared to the other leading actors of the different epic films. Aside from his not totally outstanding performance, Bloom seems to sound like the character in the Lord of the Rings. It seems that the dialogues of the main character are just stolen or adopted from the other movie (The Internet Movie Database 2010). Nevertheless, the movie is not a total frustration to the audience since the movie has undeniably almost perfect visual and technical factors. The portrayal of the medieval France and the city of Jerusalem was considered to be a brilliant technical accomplishment. Other characters such as Balian’s father (Liam Neeson), Tiberias (Jeremy Irons) and the king (Edward Norton) were successful in assuming their roles. They indeed portrayed an authentic characterization for a medieval knight. In total, the movie is worth watching if and only if it entails originality, focus on the theme, and some polishing on the characterizations of the characters. References The Internet Movie Database (2010). Kingdom of Heaven. Retrieved August 1, 2010, from http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0320661/plotsummary.

Supply chains and distribution in India

Supply chains and distribution in India Abstract Indias FMCG industry has emerged as a distinct sector over the last few decades. Multinationals are seeking to pursue growth opportunities in emerging markets due to increased globalization and competition. India is one such emerging market that not only provides multinational companies with a large customer base but also welcomes western products. Having a presence in India means sourcing, moving and processing up to one billion or more units. In addition, the cost expectations and the larger size of the consumer market will have implications on supply chains. Excellent supply chain strategies for India will involve adopting efficient processes enabling products to smoothly change hands from the supplier to the consumer while adapting to the constraints of cost, infrastructure availability and market size of the economy. Other constraints associated with political, religious or cultural barriers may also need to be considered. The report is divided into two major parts. One deals with the distribution chains prevalent in the urban market while the second part delves into the intricacies of the rural distribution market. We follow the same format for both the parts starting with an introduction into the current trends found in the urban or rural market, then clearing our point with a case study and finally presenting what are the challenges faced by the companies. Supply Chain Management in Urban region- Introduction The FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the country and has been growing in folds in the past few decades. The sector has both organized and unorganized players and the number of players in both the segments are on increase, in addition to this there is also an increase in the number of products introduced every year. Since the sector is characterized by the fast movement of goods and services its dependence on effective supply chain is higher than that of any other sector so supply chain management is become one of the most vital functions. Supply chain management in urban sector typically refers to procurement of raw materials, processing them into finished products and distributing them in the urban region till its reaches the end consumer. Every company/ firm in the FMCG sector has its own supply chain models which are similar yet different from one another. Below are two examples of the supply chain models. The supply chain management in urban regions is more to do with choices for instance in logistic a firm can choose to transport the product via railways, roadways, airways or in some case even waterways. An effective supply chain will enable the firm to minimize the cost, maximize returns, match the supply to the demand and ultimately satisfy the customers. An urban supply chain in most cases has clear cut distinction between the inbound supply chain (pertaining to providing raw materials and components), in house supply chain (conversion process), outbound supply chain (distribution of good and services. The profile of the urban consumers plays a crucial role in determining the supply chain because at the end without the consumer there is no point in building up the supply chain model. Strategic decisions like number of outlet the firm would have to distribute its product, the kind of outlet, method to transport the product, places from were the raw material is procured, manufacturi ng method (automated, semi automated or manual) etc are taken keeping the consumer and the utility of the product to the consumer in mind. This is on account that the urban consumers are well informed and there are many competitors fighting for that consumer. The Supply Chain of Dominos Pizza (India) Dominos Pizza in India Dominos Pizza opened its first store in India in 1996. Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, a Jubilant Bhartia Group Company holds the Master Franchisee Rights for Dominos Pizza for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Prior to Sep 24, 2009, the company was known as Dominos Pizza India Limited and underwent a name change, rest of the terms remaining the same. The promoters of the company are Mr. Shyam S Bhartia, Mr. Hari S Bhartia and Jubilant Enpro Private Ltd. Today Dominos has more than 300 stores in India with more than 9000 employees. According to the India Retail Report 2009, we were the largest Pizza chain in India and the fastest growing multinational fast food chain between 2006-2007 and 2008-2009 in terms of number of stores. Over the years Dominos Pizza has focused on:- Delivering great tasting pizzas Superior Quality Exceptional Customer service Think global and act local Value for money offerings Being a home delivery specialist capable of delivering pizzas within 30 minutes or else FREE Revenue in India 70% of the revenue comes from home deliveries 30% of the revenue comes from OTC sales 30 minute Guarantee Dominos has its unique proposition that they deliver pizza at a customers doorstep within 30 mins of placing the order or they would receive the pizza free. They have positioned themselves as a brand that delivers happiness home (Khushiyon ki Home Delivery) has an emotional benefit which they offer to their customers Dominos Supply Chain Integration Shown below is a high level flow of the supply chain followed by Dominos Pizza, India:- Raw Material Procurement Distribution Logistics Inventory Management Operational Strategy Production Process Quality Initiatives Customer Service R Raw Material Procurement Dominos has 4 commissaries or production kitchens-cum-warehouses (Regional Centralized Facilities) in India Delhi Caters to 54 outlets in NCR region including 33 outlets in Delhi City itself Bangalore Caters to 90+ outlets across south zone Kolkata Caters to 15+ outlets in Kolkata Mumbai Caters to 80+ outlets in Maharashtra including 51 in Mumbai and 15 in Pune Raw materials like Wheat is brought in from Jalandhar and sent to commissaries in refrigerated trucks. Pizza dough is prepared using a proprietary recipe in the commissaries. They are then made into dough balls and sent to retail outlets in refrigerated trucks. Vegetables like tomato, capsicum, baby corn, onion and spices are purchased locally. Cheese is brought in from Karnal, Haryana. Food which is frozen is sent in these trucks at -18 deg Celsius. It uses a hub and spoke model with commissaries as Hub and retail outlets as spokes. Logistics Wheat (Jalandar) Dough Vegetables (Local) Cheese (Karnal) Commissary Refrigerated Trucks Retail Outlets Inventory Management Major inventory consists of perishable items with a very small shelf life. Some of the items are tabulated below:- ITEM SHELF LIFE Dough Ball 3-4 days Seasoning and Toppings 4-5 days Onion, Capsicum , Tomato 5 days Cheese Blend 4-5 days Chicken Meat 2-3 days Cheese Dip 4-5 days Mexican Wrap Base 3-4 days Each store maintains approximately 4 days of inventory since most of the items have a shelf life of around 3-4 days. Inventory is refilled by trucks from the commissary every 4 days. There is a mini cold storage in every outlet. Inventory levels are monitored centrally by POS (point of sales) data using Intura Vision (POS management system) installed in every outlet. Intura Vision is the simplest and most reliable point-of-sale management system available for delivery and quick service restaurant operations. Intura Vision streamlines every aspect of your operation, including order taking, credit card processing, kitchen management, deliveries, inventory, and customer marketing, to make your business more efficient and profitable. There are two POS per outlet. Orders are received in telephonic form also there are in-store orders. Production Process The entire production process is streamlined into three stages:- Dough Table Here the pizza base is prepared. It is rolled out of the dough ball. There are three standard sizes Personal (8 inches), Medium (10 inches) and Large (14 inches). Personal, medium and large serves one, two and four persons respectively. Then cheese blend is applied on the base. The entire process of making a pizza base takes 1-2 minutes. Bake line In this stage toppings and seasonings are applied on the top of the prepared base. The choice of toppings depends upon the pizza ordered. Customers also have the facility to customise their own pizza by choosing their toppings from a variety of toppings available. Toppings can be veg, non-veg or both. Customer can also choose the seasoning they prefer depending upon the spices they would like to have in their pizza. The entire process of make line is 1 minute. Ven The pizza is then ready to be baked in oven. The temperature maintained is 470 Fahrenheit. Oven has a capacity to bake 6-7 pizzas in one slot. The pizza needs to be baked for about 5-6 minutes. The ovens used now-a-days are fully automatic along with a conveyer belt, so that the flow is continuous. In case of production in India, Dominos has a turnout of 1 pizza per minute. This meets the current demand requirement. The constraint here is the oven. They have overcome this by withdrawing the 30 min guarantee during festivals like New Year, Christmas, Diwali and rush-hours. Operations Strategy Dominos follows a hub and spoke distribution network wherein the 4 commissaries are the hubs and the retail outlets are the spokes. The raw material is replenished in the outlets from the hubs every 4 days or when it gets over, whichever is earlier. Vegetables are purchased locally (delayed differentiation). They have incorporated IST (interstore transfer) to cater to sudden spikes in the orders during special occasions wherein inventory falls short. In such cases material from nearby store is transferred to the critical store so that there is no halt in operations. They also have performance based costing for their employees where employees are given incentives depending upon the volume of sales which they achieve. Higher the sales better the incentives. Present status due to mismanaged Supply Chain in India: In India, about 60% of food value is mislaid in the supply chain from the farm to the final consumer. Consumers end up paying approximately 35 percent more than what they could be paying if the supply chain was refined, because of wastage as well as multiple margins in the present supply structure. Comparing with what returns farmers in India get (30%), in the USA the farmers can receive up to 70 percent of the final retail price and wastage levels are as low as 4 to 6 percent. Therefore we can appreciate the benefits that could be generated from implementing those practices and tapping those skills for the supply chain in India. The significance can be understood by the fact that the logistics  cost component in our country is as high as 7 10 percent against the global average of 4 5 percent of the total retail price. Therefore, the margins in the retail sector can be improved by 3 5 percent by just improving the supply chain management. Supply Chain Challenges Urban India Some key reasons of underperformance of supply chain management in urban India 1. Supply chain risk mitigation in an economic downturn: supplier financial risk, volatility in energy, commodity, labor rates and currency exchange, unpredictable economic recoveries. 2. Searching for working capital: FMCG companies will look to reduce inventory and lower operating or carrying costs. Buyers will look to extend payment terms Suppliers will drive to collect receivables more quickly, creating the need for a liquidity buffer such as supply chain financing 3. Shortening the supply chain by making proper use of transportation facility: Companies will need to plan a distribution system that takes care of the realities of domestic transportation infrastructure. Indias supply chains must contend with slow transit networks and inadequate infrastructure. For example, 70 % of Indias seaborne trade is handled by just 2 of the 12 major ports. The Railways is also constrained when it comes to freight movements. Historically, the countrys rail capacity was limited to passenger traffic, and people protested the use of rail for freight movement. Only of late has the government initiated efforts to promote rail shipments. Most commercial shipments in India make their journey aboard a truck. Hiring a carrier meant working with a small trucking company, as the country has no large, national transportation companies. A recent study of the transportation industry found that the majority of carriers had less than five trucks in their fleets. Scheduling deliveries and pickups also can be tricky. At present, most warehouses are located in the heart of Indian cities, and many municipalities prohibit large truck movements during daytime hours. It is possible to negotiate special exemptions in some places, but generally shippers must plan on nighttime movements. Another alternative is to unload large shipments at a cross dock outside the city and move orders to smaller vehicles for delivery. 4). More free-trade agreements and more scrutiny: The entry of foreign players in the retail segment will increase competition even further. More importantly multi-national companies might be having more money at their disposal. Thirdly they will also have access to latest technology and a ready highly efficient model to implement from.   5). Push-pull boundary: Increased competition, and fluctuating demand will make it difficult to identify the points at which the flow of goods switches from being pulled by consumers to being pushed by extractors.. 6). Maintenance of safety stock: Instead of having huge safety stocks at different places, centralized place will have to be used to have even more cash liquidity and lesser availability of godowns. 7) Judicious use of newer technologies and decision making tools: Use of newer technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) continue to change the way SCM systems are designed and managed. Until recently, barcodes were the primary means of tracking packages. The advent of cheap, reliable RFID technologies have eliminated the need to physically scan packages in shipment, storage, etc, since packages with the embedded chips can be remotely scanned. 8) Creating a demand-driven supply chain To support a demand-driven supply chain, FMCG companies must deploy performance-oriented supply chain practices, such as continuous monitoring and alert notification. This will give them a clear idea of their total supply network to adapt to changes in demand and adjust based on real-time insight into global operations. A reliable demand plan provides the foundation for sales and ops planning (SOP) which helps FMCG companies better arrange daily operational; more effectively balance supply and demand; and make better decisions that impact both the top and bottom lines. 9) Other problems faced:. Inadequacies in infrastructure such as lack of high quality road networks, power shortages and insufficient storage spaces. The current rise in property prices and rentals may render a few retail business models unviable. The retail industry loses to the tune of US$120 to US$130 million every year in frauds, thefts and employee pilferage, shop lifting, vendor frauds or inaccurate supervision despite using standard and modern security features Multiple taxes at the federal and state level Rural Market Introduction The FMCG sector in the urban areas is becoming quite saturated (though it will continue to dominate in the next 8 10 years) while the penetration in the rural areas are only about 1%. The rural areas have and will continue to make up more than 50% of Indias total households and accounting for more than its current 66% contribution to total FMCG consumption. Rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent of Indias middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income. Currently, nearly 34% of the off take of FMCG companies come form rural areas. Companies like HUL, ITC and Colgate have already established good distribution networks in these regions. Other companies would start catering to these regions in near future. Figure 1: Urban and Rural growth rates (Personal Care products) A huge segment of this market is currently flooded with obscure brands that are largely manufactured and distributed by small and medium enterprises. However, with the growing competition in the FMCG business, it has become difficult for SMEs to market their products sustainably. This is mainly due to the solidly established brand images of bigger players and the increasingly sophisticated demands of the urban customer. SMEs also lack the capital investment needed to compete with bigger players. However, with the growing economy, substantial business opportunities for FMCG producers have emerged in the Indian rural sector. The rural FMCG market is growing with a CAGR of 3-4%. In the case of products like soaps, talcum powder, cooking oil, tea, cigarettes and hair oil, the share of rural market crosses 50%. The capital expenditure of urban consumers on FMCG products is Rs. 49,500 crore, while that spent by rural population is over Rs.63,500 crore. This is indicates the growth rate and participation of rural FMCG markets in India. Despite the huge scope for FMCG products in the fast-emerging rural markets, some gray areas need to be worked out before SMEs can establish sustainable businesses: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rural India does not represent a homogeneous market. The tastes and preferences of the consumers vary from district to district in the country. With changes in the language and dialect, advertising has to be tailored specifically for different target consumers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Networks are not efficient to tackle the distribution demands. Problems exist in reaching the interiors of the country. Initial expenditures to develop distributor networks are immense, because in Roads and communication networks are not efficient to tackle the distribution demands. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ As there is little consumer research regarding the rural markets, companies commit the folly of overestimating the awareness of product usage in the rural market. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Indian consumer is traditionally price sensitive and more so in the rural parts. Multinational companies that modify portions and packaging to create a greater value proposition have succeeded in targeting the rural consumer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The rural distributor cannot stock a large variety of products because of credit problems. Also as the retailer plays a vital role in the village in convincing the consumer about the usage of the product, it becomes imperative to provide sufficient information and infrastructure support to stock adequate inventory of goods. Major global brands have included villagers in their distribution channels, not only providing employment but also extending the reach in the rural markets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ While increased penetration of telecommunication has resulted in an increased awareness among villagers, it is still important to understand that a major chunk of rural community is not educated enough to comprehend the technicalities of the product/brand usage. Models for Rural distribution chains Approach 1 : Dedicated Rural Entrepreneur: The Individual is preferred to have a two wheeler and act as the spoke between the super stockiest and the villages in a hub and spoke model. He is expected to know the area well and has sufficient education to run a business. He is recruited to cover the nearby areas as well ( upto a 40KM range). He acts as the point of contact to receive and deliver the goods to the respective stores in his area of service. The analysis says this model works well for products that cost more than 75 per Kilo and the important part is that the company need not worry about the administration part of the operation. Approach 2: Distributor consolidation for urban and rural markets: Here we are to consolidate the urban distributor and the super and sub stockiest into a single group to serve the retail outlets. This entity is supposed to cover the town and the villages nearby. Approach 3: Consolidated Distribution with tele-order booking: Rural tele-density in India is expected to go up in the near future. This would help to remove the role of saleman an facilitate direct communication with the rural retail outlets to the super stockiest. However the drawback is that the company might loose on the relationship with the retail store in the absence of a sales person. Approach 4: Distributor choice based on unutilized reverse logistics potential Another non-traditional form of Collaboration for rural distribution could be to partner with other partner low-margin, high-reach players in rural markets. An example could be that of the dairy industry. The vehicles form the Dairy factories goes empty to the rural areas for collection and comes back with the milk. So it could be used for the transportation of goods from the factory site to the rural areas. Pepsico Distribution Chain Pepsico Indias distribution in rural areas thrives on two major factors :- Third party outsourcing Hub and spoke model in the rural areas. This mechanism is followed in the urban areas as well but in the rural regions the local entrepreneurs from the smaller spokes of the distribution channels. In all its operations the transportation is outsourced to the third parties. However there are some cases in which large distribution centres have their own fleet for transportation of finished products. The major two challenges faced by the company in the Indian context are the insufficient distribution in the rural sector and the inherent market risks. Distribution forms a major part of the companys concerns as it not only accounts to the revenues lost but also the potiential market share. The concern is primarily because of the Physical conditions of the Indian market and also the low purchasing power of the rural customer base this results in the setting p of the distribution centre cost being high. Coupled to that we have the insufficient sales offsetting the set up cost. Another concern is the taste of the rural customer who is more attracted to the local juice store or the fruit stall thereby increasing the competition from the unorganized sector. In case of distribution we have the issue of the size of retail store. The retail outlets in rural areas are more or less Kirana stores and there is near complete absence of the retail chains. So the amount of inventory that can be stocked in the small retail stores is very small. Apart from the distribution channel issues we have the risk of the market conditions. The small shops in the rural areas lack the refrigeration or storage capacities. The inventory is kept to meet the demands for the day and most of it is kept out in the open dues to lack of storage facilities. Thus many a time during the rainy season we can see the closure of these shops and sales of the products getting stalled. Pepsico has implemented the following strategies to overcome these concerns Utilizing the collective efforts of the small scale farmers, land holders and regional government Alliances with other multinationals Promoting entrepreneurship It started with a strategy similar to project Shakti used by the Hindustan Lever, but alliances were with local entrepreneurs and other multinationals. Its started by making the entrepreneur the spoke of its regional distributional network in the rural areas and then went along with Hindustan levers to share its distribution network. This helps the entrepreneur having a larger spectrum of products for distribution and hence a better prospect. The distribution chain of Pepsico India has a fragmented design which can be largely attributed to the lack of transportation infrastructure. And this resulted in the creation of collaborative and entrepreneurial partnership that thrives with symbiotic existence. An example could be that of a supplier who Is willing to lease land holding from other farmers Supply Chain Management in Rural Market- Challenges The following are a few of the challenges that a company faces while managing its supply chain in rural markets. Multiple Tier, Higher Cost and Administration Problem In the first place, the rural supply chain requires a larger number of tiers, compared to the urban one. The long distances to be covered from the manufacturing points to the scattered consuming households cause this situation. At the minimum, the rural supply chain need the village-level shopkeeper, the mandi-level distributor and the wholesale/stockiest in the town. And on top of them are the manufacturers own warehouse and branch office operations in selected centres. Such multiple tiers and scattered outfits push up the cost and make supply chain management a major problem. The scope of manufactures direct outlet such as showrooms or depots is quite limited in the rural market unlike in urban areas. It becomes expensive as well as unmanageable. The dependence of the firm on intermediaries is much greater in rural areas as direct outlets are ruled out. But controlling such a vast network of intermediaries is a difficult task. Control is mostly indirect. And because of these factor s the firm has to be more careful while selecting the supply chain members in rural areas. Non-availability of dealers Another problem is the availability of dealers. Many firms find that there are limited numbers of suitable dealers. Even if the firm is willing to start from scratch and try out rank newcomers, the choice of candidate is really limited. Poor Viability of Retail Outlet Retail sales outlets in the rural market suffer from poor viability. A familiar paradox in rural distribution is that the manufacturer incurs additional expenses on distribution, still the retail outlets find that the business in unremunerative. The scattered nature of market and the multiplicity of tiers in the supply chain use up the additional funds the manufacturer is prepared to part with. And no additional money comes to any of the groups. Moreover, the business volume is not enough to sustain the profitability of all the groups and the retail outlet suffers the most. Inadequate Bank Facilities Supply chain in rural markets is also handicapped due to lack of adequate banking and credit facilities. Rural outlets need banking support for three important purposes. To facilitate remittances to principals and to get fast replenishment of stocks To receive supplies through bank (retiring documents with the bank) To facilitate credit from bank As banking facilities are inadequate in rural areas, rural dealers are handicapped in all these aspects. It is as estimate that there is only one bank branch for every fifth village. Inadequate Credit Facilities Inadequacy of other institutional credit is another constraint. Rural outlets are unable to carry adequate stocks due to lack of credit facilities. They are unable to extend credit to their customers. Thus there is a vicious circle of lack of credit facilities leading to inadequate stocking and loss of business, finally resulting in poor viability of outlets. Lack of Transportation Facilities Many rural areas are not connected by proper transportation facilities. There are a very few villages with railways lines. Atleast 50 percent of the rural roads are poorly surfaced, and many totally destroyed or severely damaged by the monsoons and remain unserviceable. Also the use of bullock carts looks inevitable for many years into the future. In such a scenario distribution of goods via any supply chain is a huge challenge in itself. Lack of Proper Communication Facilities Communication with these villages is difficult and highly expensive. Moreover, 300,000 villages in the country have no access to telephone. This acts as a hindrance to proper supply chain management. Other Challenges Apart from the above there are various other challenges that firms face on day on day basis like. Low literacy rate Difference in languages and Dialects Prevalence of Seasonal Demand Rural policy Caliber of the rural community- they have great acumen but they need intensive training Supply Chain Management in Rural Market- How to tackle the Challenges In order to tackle the problem of supply chain management the following strategies can be implemented. Satellite Supply Chain In this system stockists are appointed in the major towns and feeder towns. They by and large discharge the following functions; (a) Financing (b) warehousing and (c) sub-distribution. Retailers in and around feeder towns get attached to these stockists. The manufacturer supply goods to the stockists either on consignment or on cash/credit basis. Further these stockists deliver the good to the retail market points or satellite markets. Over a period of time some retailers grow in stature and importance. If such retail points also coincide with centres of demand and transportation within the feeder town area, they are elevated to stockists points. If 15-20 retailers were operating as part of the original stockists network, 5 or 6 get elevated over a period of time to stockists. Fresh retail points get established simultaneously out of which some get attached to the original stockists while others to the new one. This process continues as long as the market and consumption level keep expanding and the supply also catches up via such a supply chain. Just like second-generation stockists, set of third generation stockists get established with the passage of time. At any point of time, a certain number or retail points hover round a particular stockist. Hence the system is called Satellite Supply chain distribution. The satellites have their own satellites too. The advantages of this system are Market penetration takes place without manufacturer having to expand his direct stock points. This system can bring in ample rewards in terms of increased sales and lesser distribution costs. Syndicate Supply Chain This solution is essentially for small companies: tie up with leading companies that already has a presence in rural market and distribute products through there supply chains. Relying on Private Village Shops Tie ups with the village private shops are the cheapest and most convenient channels in the rural markets. Supply Chain Management in Rural Market- Opportunities In the present scenario, companies operating in India will have only two options: either

Emily Dickinson :: essays research papers

Dickinson, Emily Elizabeth (1830-1886), America’s best-known female poet and one of the foremost authors in American literature. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson was the middle child of a lawyer and one-term United States congressional representative, Edward Dickinson, and his wife, Emily Norcross Dickinson. From 1840 to 1847 she attended the Amherst Academy, and from 1847 to 1848 she studied at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, a few miles from Amherst. Dickinson remained in Amherst, living in the same house on Main Street from 1855 until her death. During her lifetime, she published only about 10 of her nearly 2,000 poems, in newspapers, Civil War journals, and a poetry anthology. The notion that Dickinson was extremely reclusive is a popular one, but it is at best a partial truth. Although she never married and certainly became more selective over the years about the company she kept, Dickinson was far more sociable than most descriptions would ha ve us believe. Biographers are increasingly recognizing the vital role of Dickinson’s sister-in-law, Susan Dickinson, in her writing. For more than 35 years the two women lived next door to each other, sharing mutual passions for literature, music, cooking, and gardening. Emily sent Susan more than 400 poems and letter-poems, twice as many as she sent to any other correspondent. In 1998 Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson’s Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson was published, documenting the two women’s friendship. Dickinson enjoyed the King James Version of the Bible, as well as authors such as English writers William Shakespeare, John Milton, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Eliot, and Thomas Carlyle. Dickinson’s early style shows the strong influence of Barrett Browning, Scottish poet Robert Browning, and English poets John Keats and George Herbert. In the early stages of her career, Dickinson’s handwritten lyrics imitated the formalities of print, and her poetic techniques were conventional, but she later began to attend to the visual aspects of her work. For example, she arranged and broke lines of verse in highly unusual ways to underscore meaning and she created extravagantly shaped letters of the alphabet to emphasize or play with a poem’s sense.

Judgement Day :: Free Essay Writer

Judgement Day â€Å"They’re freaks.† These words, however small, were used to abuse two young men in life, and denounce them in death. After years of inner turmoil and over twelve months of meticulous planning, 17 year old Dylan Klebold and 18 year old Eric Harris unleashed a rampage that would cause over 5 million dollars worth of damage, ruin the lives of countless people, and send the entire nation into a state of shock. April 20 1999 started out as a normal day at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The only thing that seemed out of place was a cryptic message displayed at the end of the Columbine video announcements, reading â€Å"I bet you wish you weren’t here today-4-20-4-20-4-20†. At the time, students thought nothing of it. Now, the mention of this message will send chills up the spines of students as they picture what this warning foreshadowed. At 11 AM, Dylan and Eric carried two 20-lb propane tank bombs into their school cafeteria. The plan was to have these explosives go off at 11:17, the start of the first lunch period, and send students fleeing into the parking lot, where Dylan and Eric would be waiting with guns ready. Instead, the explosives did not go off at all. The two gunmen were frustrated that their original plan had failed, and they began to arbitrarily shoot in the cafeteria, killing three. 11:27 AM. Eight minutes had passed since the first shots were fired. Dylan and Eric entered the school library. Students huddled in fear under tables. A teacher called 911 but dropped the phone. The dispatcher listened for the next nine minutes as Dylan and Eric shot round after round. The sound of the gunmen’s laughter could be heard of the steady stream of gunshots. After killing 7 students, Eric and Dylan left the library and returned to the cafeteria. The two young men fired their guns at the bombs, trying to set them off. At 11:57 the boys returned to the library. Here this tragedy will come to an end. After placing their last bomb on a table, Eric Harris pointed the gun at himself and fired. Seconds later, Fate’s vengeful eye turned on Dylan Klebold as he shot himself in the left temple, his Red Sox hat galling on Harris’ legs. Official time of death: 12:03 PM. After the deaths of Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, and 13 victims, investigators searched the young men’s rooms.

Faulkner Essay -- essays research papers

Stunning Comparison in Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning In the words of Oscar Wilde, "The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves." Conflict between the "well-bred" people and their "wise" counterparts satiates William Faulkner's short stories "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning." The inability of Emily Grierson in "A Rose for Emily" and Abner Snopes' father in "Barn Burning" to accept and cope with their changing environments leads to an even greater quarrel with their neighbors; in each of Faulkner's stories, this inability escalates into a horrific murder. "A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning" are filled with gross contradictions that make conflict unavoidable. In "A Rose for Emily," different characters hold two opposing views of time itself. The first interpretation of time is that of a "world as present, a mechanical progression" (West 75). The narrator, the new Board of Aldermen, Homer Barron, and the newest generation represent this interpretation. These individuals, holding a new, less restricted point of view, prefer to keep everything set down in books, a practice strongly disapproved of by those who interpret their time as a "world of tradition, divided from us by the most recent decade of years" (West 75). Emily Grierson and her Negro servant, Colonel Sartoris, and the old Board of Aldermen represent this...

International Mareketing Management Of Mcdonald’s Essay

McDonalds one of the largest fast food selling restaurant chains in the world was established in 1940 by two brothers Richard and Maurice McDonalds. This restaurant started its business as a barbeque restaurant but latter specialized in making ham burgers, the restaurant got the attention of Ray Kroc an American businessman who became the franchising agent of McDonalds in 1955 and took McDonalds to its international growth. Ray Kroc made the McDonalds Corporation and added certain training facilities for employees which made McDonalds a divine training institution for student. McDonalds Corporation also introduced the Hamburger University which laid the very sole of quality management in students and provided scholarships to excel students and student employees of McDonalds. 1) International And Domestic Marketing Principles Of McDonalds: McDonalds, the global fast food giant with more than 34,000 local eating joints serving nearly 69 million people in 119 countries each day,[1] has a substantial presence in Pakistan. Though McDonalds insists on a universal standard the fast food behemoth still allows customization of its products and services meeting a particular business need. Yet the company’s franchisees across geographies have a similar approach to business in multiple parameters. A marked compatibility with regard to quality and service between McDonald restaurants, even they are far apart from each other in terms of geographical location, is the hallmark of the fast food giant. McDonalds Pakistan recognizes its socio-cultural context, hence has replaced traditional hamburger for halal food free of pork. The fast food chain also prefers to procure meat from local halal abattoir. The product promotion strategies, one of the key areas of marketing principles, always need to be agreed upon in order to optimize the market performance of McDonald. The US based company’s expansion in Pakistan would require working on commercials that can appeal to the local customers under the guidelines of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). 2) Growing Global Market Environment Of McDonalds: McDonald together with Lakson Group has incorporated Siza Foods (Pvt) Ltd to own a chain of 22 restaurants in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad & Faisalabad. McDonald relies on franchisee, or affiliated or organic expansion as a model for its growth. McDonald’s overseas growth plan including its Pakistan market must be in line with its current revenue, if not more. Also, the food chain would like its primary products to top its menu such as cheeseburgers, chicken, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts. However, certain regional markets such as Pakistan must adapt to local demand for halal meat which would require hamburger to be replaced by halal meat. Also, the company should always remain prepared to changing consumer tastes – many regional customers forced McDonald to include salads, fish, wraps, smoothies and fruit. The local delicacies of Pakistan such as grilled Tandoori chicken may in the future menu of McDonald. Acquisition of rival businesses In this era of development and innovation McDonalds USA being highly flourished in its domestic market is spreading its business internationally. In growing globally McDonalds USA considered franchising as their mean, which is a safe, less costly and easy method with minimum legal obligations. McDonalds opened its first franchise in 1955 by Ray Kroc, who also established the McDonalds Corporation. Since then McDonalds is growing its business and now operates in 119 countries. In Pakistan McDonalds has given franchising rights to Lakson Group of Companies headed by Mr. Amin Lakhani. McDonalds Pakistan opened its first franchise in September 1998 in the city of Lahore, a week later it opened another franchise in Karachi and thus it went on increasing its franchises in 8 big cities of Pakistan. McDonalds USA however has taken over few small scale fast food retailers, who were facing difficulty in competing with competitors in the business. 3) Practical Marketing Cross Cultural Implication Of McDonalds Operation Abroad: McDonalds USA being in its domestic market is well aware of the cultural implication prevailing in USA, which tends the growth of McDonalds as it knows the language, culture, society and laws of the country. In case of McDonalds Pakistan there are barriers to McDonalds USA on various grounds like power distance, individualism, uncertainty, masculinity and long term orientation. In Pakistan the society is based on certain social and cultural grounds that does not allow people will less experience to participate in decision making, in this way there is an unjust power distribution were people are feel bound and limited as to decisions made by elders. In Pakistan in all most all fields of business individualism is observed where task are being created by directors which are then followed by managers and carried on to subordinates, in a way were the directors take all stress of creating the idea rather than considering a group discussion on the point. In Pakistan the uncertainty element is high due to lack of security issue in the country and unstable law and order prevailing in the country, which tends businesses to be very cautious when taking certain business decisions. The socio-culture environment in Pakistan is based on a male dominant society, were the decision making is restricted to male members of society and there is a lack of equality of thoughts as women mostly are not allowed to part in decision making. Pakistan being one of the underdeveloped countries is far from looking at long term orientation as country faces many financial and economic crises which restricts businesses to look at long term orientation and compels them to take part in short term goals. 4) Current And Potential Cultural Differences: Food industries wither prevailing in its domestic or international market has to follow cultural trends of the country in which it is to operate. In the context of McDonalds USA and McDonalds Pakistan both prevail in countries with entirely different cultural grounds. The culture prevailing in USA is quiet broad minded, where they consider freedom of speech, less religious resistance and equality of gender. Being so McDonalds USA enjoys many privileges due to freedom of speech and less religious resistance, where they can sell their products without any regards of being halal or haram, they can make advertisements keeping away from certain explicit materials which are exempted by American law. In American society equality of gender allows women to work for their living which has helped McDonalds USA to recruit female staff in their stores. The culture of Pakistan is narrow minded as compared to USA , where freedom of speech is limited within social, moral and religious grounds, religion plays a vital role in almost every expect of life and gender equality is not observed as women are not encouraged to work and participate in career building activities. In this case McDonalds Pakistan has to work in limitation of Islamic Sharia and has to make its products with halal ingredients. McDonalds Pakistan also has to make advertisement of its products in limitation of rules set by PEMRA. In Pakistan women are not allowed by their families to work in an environment where they would be serving men or dressed in an uncultured manner which restricts women to work in a food chain like McDonalds. First and foremost, according to a Hadith in Al-Tirmidhi, it has been narrated by Hadhrat Abu Darda (Radi Allah Anho) that alcohol is the key to all evil; this is consuming it or selling it. It is totally Haraam to sell alcohol and the income earned is also Haraam. It is Haraam for a Muslim to sell something that is Haraam for him to eat or use. The Holy Prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, â€Å"If Allah Taa’la makes Haraam the consumption of something; He also makes Haraam its transaction.† (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith no. 2546)[2] (2.1) Project Management Techniquesof McDonalds: McDonalds USA a company form by merger of two companies initiated its project with a franchise selling burgers and milk shakes. The company followed the traditional approach of project management techniques were they planned and designed their production, quality, distribution, staffing criteria and location. After the planning and designing of these ideas by McDonalds USA they started execution of these ideas and concentrated on further construction of these ideas. McDonalds USA after putting its ideas in action worked on ways to control and monitor it by making certain software that would allow it check its sales, inventory and financial summary in real time. This project development technique used by McDonalds USA has made its business successful in USA to a great extent and has also created an image in the international market which is spreading its business across the globe. Pakistan’s market being a complex and unfamiliar market for McDonalds USA has led to providing franchising authority to Lakson group of companies a leading business group in Pakistan, which knows the business trends in the country and how to act in according to it. This group has helped McDonalds Pakistan to grow in a flourishing manner as most elements in the country are against American commodities. (2.2) Different Stages of McDonalds international marketing development including: – Domestic – Ethnocentric – Polycentric and – Geocentric. These different stages were introduced Howard V in 1969. These stages indicate the staffing preferences of any firm in an international market. The Domestic stage refers to allocating or recruiting staff from within the country of the company. The Ethnocentric stage is similar to domestic stage in terms of staff recruitment but the country in which the company recruits staff is not its own country. The Polycentric stage refers to employ staff from the country in which you are doing business. The Geocentric stage refers to employ staff throughout the globe in order to achieve the objectives of the firm by using skillful people of the world. These stages have emerged due too certain aspect prevailing in the world, which tends multinational companies to adopt these stages. McDonalds being a multinational fast food chain has adopted different stages in different countries. In Pakistan McDonalds has adopted Polycentric view of staffing. This is due to many reasons like language barrier, religious aspect prevailing in the country, lack of security reasons for foreigners and high ratio of unemployment of the locals in the country. As compared to McDonalds in America where there are both domestic and geocentric views of employment. This is due to the difference in their countries environment, thinking and political condition. (2.3) Market Research Process of McDonalds in International Marketing: McDonalds being world famous in its fast food chain and delivering its best in making delicious and unique burgers has to go through certain market research process for the international market. This marketing research process has to be worked out by following a range of steps in order to accomplish tasks which curtail the research. These tasks are related to problem identification, setting objectives, data collection and analyses and finally preparing the report of the research. Before entering the Pakistani market McDonalds had to do a thorough market research in which they firstly highlighted the areas of problem they will have to work on, secondly they made objectives to solve these problems, for this purpose they started collecting data through both primary and secondary sources which would provide helpful information to them regarding their problems and after collection of the data through public serves, various economist, external sources and advertisement, they analyzed these collected data and got solutions through their problems. Due to the through market research by McDonalds it is now successfully flourishing its business in Pakistan. (2.4) Market Choice and Market Entry Strategy Options Used By McDonalds: When deciding to start a fast food chain of the west like McDonalds in a country like Pakistan who follows and practices Islamic Laws and Sharia McDonalds will have to face many Barriers of its entry, to overcome these barriers McDonalds will have to make certain strategies. The first and foremost barrier is socio cultural barrier which states to the religious aspect in the country that allows to deal only in Halal commodities, to overcome this McDonalds will have to provide its franchise Halal meat and ingredients. The second barrier is the source of capital for running its business, to see through this problem McDonalds has started subscribing its Franchising to the locals of Pakistan and does not have to invest on its own and enjoys loyalty from them. The third barrier is the terms and tariffs prevailing in Pakistan, to face this barrier McDonalds will have to organize its business in the prospective terms and tariffs of the country. (2.5) Impact Of Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus On Branding, Brand Strength and Recognition in Country Specific Markets of McDonalds: Cost leadership is a process through which a company focuses on producing commodities or product at lowest cost. This process is dependent upon the companies prospective of its performance, size, scale and experience. A fast growing worldwide food chain like McDonalds also focuses on branding, brand strength and recognition of it brands in country specific markets. Branding refers to making an indication of a specific company in terms of logo, picture, mark or delivering a certain look of a commodity. McDonalds also make certain analysis on its brand strength in terms of its competitors by making Qualitative and Quantitative analysis on its customers. The outcome from these researches helps McDonalds in making any changes to its products for gaining strength of its brand and also making its recognition in the country specific market. The restaurant industry is known for yielding low margins that can make it difficult to compete with a cost leadership marketing strategy. McDonald’s has been extremely successful with this strategy by offering basic fast-food meals at low prices. They are able to keep prices low through a division of labor that allows it to hire and train inexperienced employees rather than trained cooks. It also relies on few managers who typically earn higher wages. These staff savings allow the company to offer its foods for bargain prices.[3] (3.1) International Product Strategies ofMcDonalds: In international product strategies McDonald USA uses different strategies as compared to its international market in McDonalds Pakistan. In USA the company produces its product in a standard manner, where commodities are prepared as per the standard of the people in the country. The America food cuisine mostly consists of burgers with western mild spices and a preference of tender burger patties not considered overcooking the meat and removing its flavors. In McDonalds Pakistan the taste preference of the people is different as compared to the American society. In Pakistan people follow the Indian cuisine of curries, tempting spices, rich flavored food, and nicely cooked meat. In this case McDonalds USA cannot adopt the same standards of taste in McDonalds Pakistan as it would not satisfy the customers in the country, who are not familiar with the taste of western community. In this case McDonalds Pakistan will be on a different verge of innovation rather than extending on the same methods of production of USA. (3.2) Pricing Strategies For Market Penetration Used By McDonalds: McDonalds USA has adopted a reasonable pricing strategy for its market, which makes McDonalds USA affordable for the people with different level of income. McDonald’s is using Value-Pricing Strategy whereby its offer just the right combination of quality and good service at a fair price to their consumers.[4] This shows McDonalds USA competitive pricing strategy, which is keeping it above its competitors and helping it to become people’s choice. In McDonalds Pakistan the same Value Pricing strategy is being adopted by Lakson group, but the company is not prospering in the same capacity as McDonalds USA as the level of income of population in Pakistan is low and a majority of people cannot afford a quality meal. This has limited the market penetration of McDonalds in Pakistan as people expect low prices on food products, which the company cannot beer. (3.3) Objectives of International Communication Campaign: McDonalds being recognized by the world as a great food retailer has to maintain an international communication campaign, which tends to keep in touch with customer feedback as well country or region feedback, but this international communication campaign has laid certain issues when concerned with McDonalds Pakistan and other such country were polices are similar to Pakistan. In Pakistan the national language is Urdu, the country is an Islamic state, target audience is completely different from USA or other countries and it has a different culture and feedback of the people for the communication campaign. Hence McDonalds follows different communication campaign in different country and is making progress towards it development. McDonalds however has raised a slogan which say â€Å"I’m lovin’ it† is set on international standard and is being followed in all the countries were McDonalds is operating. (3.4) Elements of Marketing Mix In Relation to International Markets: McDonalds being spread around the globe on the basis of franchising has less to do with international delivery as its main purpose is to monitor the standard it has set for its product. McDonalds however uses different packaging, storage and delivery procedures in USA and Pakistan. In Pakistan the storage and packaging standard are being checked and prepared by Lakson Group, this group is also responsible for sending the supplies to the franchises prevailing in the country and making shore that these supplies come from a halal source. The delivery of the products to the customers are being monitored by a call center who checks the availability of the products and sends the order to most nearest franchise of the corresponding customer, that can deliver the product in a reasonable amount of time. In USA the same procedure is being followed however the regulatory body is the McDonalds organization itself. (3.5) Importance of E-Services to Other Countries: In this new era of innovation of and improvement e services has played a major role by making sharing of information, transaction and techniques easy, simple and quick. McDonalds USA being a spread across the globe has made its mark by these services by aware people of their products and deals. These e service has helped McDonalds USA in many ways, firstly by transmitting its idea to the public, secondly by gaining feedbacks from its customer through their website, thirdly by collecting data from its operating franchises and fourthly by collecting information from different sources for new potential markets and their requirement. McDonalds Pakistan has also made benefits of these e services and provided various useful information on its website and certain suggestion and feedback form for inquire of their customer. This e services also make customer aware of their future events and new products and deals to be offered.