Good, But Not Good Enough Essay

There are times when we feel we must be perfect in order to please others. No matter if we did the best we could do, if it wasn’t perfect we felt like a failure. We want the approval that comes with perfect ness. Every day we see a new commercial or magazine showing an image of a hunky, greased up muscle man or an anorexic model with tons of make up air brushed on her body and society compares you with that image. We as a people tend to use those false images of beauty as a scale to rate the rest of the population by and if you do not fit in that category you are not beautiful. So we strive to be accepted to be approved by the rest of society. In Janice Mirikitani’s poem â€Å"Suicide Note† a young Asian American college student apologizes to her parents for not being perfect. Perfect in school and perfect in life. Even though the girl worked very hard and did very well it wasn’t good enough in her mind and maybe in her parents’ mind to be worthy of her parents’ love or life itself, and so her only option was death to atone for her sin of imperfectness. The poem begins: How many notes written†¦/ ink smeared like bird prints in snow./ not good enough not pretty enough not smart enough / dear mother and father ./ I apologize/ for disappointing you / I’ve worked hard, / not good enough / harder, perhaps to please you.(373.1-9) Clearly the girl in this poem the girl is apologizing for much more than  grades. She has set unrealistic standards for herself and has a lack of self worth all because she cannot achieve these standards. She cannot change the way she looks, yet she is apologizing for not being â€Å"pretty enough†. She also goes on to talk about how life may have been better for her if she were a son instead of a daughter. She would be worthy of love because she associates strength, confidence, beauty and smarts with being male. â€Å"I would swagger through life / muscled and bold and assured,†(373.17-18). Who do we blame for this young girl’s negative self-image? Is it society’s fault that she values being a male more than her own life or is it her parent’s fault for not making her feel the love that she so desperately needs right now? Obviously she was never appreciated for her work because she’s constantly apologizing for not being â€Å"good enough† throughout the whole note and talks about how failure, disappointment and disapproval drive her closer to committing suicide. Maybe if her parent’s voiced how they felt about her this tragedy could have been prevented. Further into the poem she talks about how she will atone for her sin of imperfectness. â€Å"My sacrifice I will drop / bone by bone, perched / on the ledge of my womanhood,/ fragile as wings†(373-374.31-34). She is toying with the idea of jumping from a ledge knowing that death will be the out come of her actions. Who will be there to stop her since she doesn’t matter? † Not strong enough†(374.35) she utters next. She doesn’t yet have the courage to fly like a baby bird from a nest off of her window ledge. She pictures herself as a sparrow â€Å"sillied and dizzied by the wind†(374.39). The reason she pictures herself as a sparrow because a sparrow is a little bird that is not considered to be a really important creature. Compared to a hawk or an eagle, a sparrow is a peasant bird, or an everyday bird. People have noticed sparrows before, but never pointed them out like they would if they were a hawk or an eagle. They would praise a hawk or an eagle, not a sparrow. Each line in the poem is building the young girl up to that state of mind where only death is the escape. She’s thinking of all the things that have led her up to this point. â€Å"not good enough not strong enough / not smart enough†(374.48-49) Maybe this way someone will finally notice her. She hopes that † they will bury / my bird bones beneath / a sturdy pine†(374.57-59). The pine refers back to the beginning where she pictures herself as a male child. The pine represents what would have happened if she turned out to be a boy. This could also mean, that in the afterlife she wants to be as strong as a pine, hoping that she would be brought back in the afterlife as a boy. The suicide was a way for the college student to be noticed. It was very unfortunate that she had to take her own life just to get attention, and to get appreciation for all the things that she had done and still it wouldn’t be good enough for her parents.

Negotiation

Negotiating for a particular goal may sometimes provide some more insights as to how situations can be handled positively. In some cases however, it is also possible for a party to forecast that a certain negotiation is diverting towards a losing end. Negotiation is a process of deliberation between two parties to meet a particular agreement of mutual benefits (DFM Unitar, 2004). In this aspect, there are some popular points of views in negotiations which can provide outlooks in a win or lose perspective. One popular view is to consider negotiation to be a bridging platform. If the two or more sides of the agreement will mutually benefit and that the course practice will connect the parties towards respective self development, then most probably the discussion will reinforce a winning perspective for both parties. On the other hand, it is very possible that negotiations can impose a losing perspective to at least one of the parties involved. If the view of one party is to use negotiation to take advantage of the other side, and that the other side has no means to counter an imposed agreement due to other prioritized factors, then the latter will be on the losing streak. Therefore, views about a particular negotiation dramatically predict who will win or lose in an agreement. On a personal note, I had experienced losing in a conflict. This happened when I complained about the higher rates being applied to my credit card bill. I called the company and insisted that I did not deserve such monthly bill rate since I was actually paying a 0% installment plan for an appliance. The agent explained that an additional purchase outside from the installment program can actually increase charges. He pointed that out in the contract which I was never initially aware of. I was outraged by the seemingly unfair situation I had but when I read through the bill statement at the back of the bill page, the terms of agreement written was actually clear. It was actually my fault that I did not read through the note probably because of the excitement of having my own credit card account. In the end, I accepted my losing experience in the conflict. A negotiation is usually initiated whenever there is a looking conflict between individuals or entities (Wertheim). But even though it can resolve problems, there are times in which mutual benefits will not be achieved. To lessen the impact of this dilemma, it is only crucial that negotiating parties deliberate well to meet the needs of individual sides of the agreements. References DFM Unitar. 2004. Negotiations in Debt and Financial Management. Online Resource Center UNITAR. Retrieved February 21, 2008 from http://www.unitar.org/dfm/resource_center/Document_Series/Document4/3Theoretical.htm. Wertheim, E. N.D. Negotiations and Resolving Conflicts: An Overview. College of Business Administration, Northeastern University. Retrieved February 21, 2008 from http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/interper/negot3.htm. Â  

Analysis of the Introduction of Ariel and Prospero in Act I, Scene 2 of The Tempest

A Close Study of How Ariel and Prospero are Introduced in the Scene 2 of the First Act in the Tempest The introduction of Ariel in the second scene of The Tempest raises some of the central issues in William Shakespeares 17th-century play. Most notably, the themes of power, nature, and magic prove to be integral in shaping the audiences perception of Ariel, Prospero, and the island itself. Indeed, the concept of power and its use within this scene, particularly in the context of the era where the divine right of kings was unanimously accepted provides the foundation for a full understanding of the play. Shakespeares presentation of the nymph Ariel as both a powerful brave spirit and the slave of Prospero (is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains) raises the question of whether Prospero has the right to summon and dismiss Ariel in such a dictatorial manner (Go. Hence with diligence). Ultimately, Act I, scene 2, introduces characteristics of Ariel that suggest that he has both Prosperos respect and gratitude, but also that he is irrefutably subservient to his master. The relationship between Prospero and Ariel is a curious one. Firstly, their names have interesting connotations. Prospero brings to mind the verb to prosper suggestive of magic and conjuring, while Ariel, described as an airy spirit in the character list, has a name that notifies the audience that he is of the elements and can be considered a demi-god. Despite this elevated status, Ariel is obedient to his noble master even though it is he who conducts a great deal of Prosperos magic. Although there may well be a friend-like bond of mutual respect between the two characters, it soon becomes clear that Prospero is indeed in control of Ariel, who acts not unlike a right-hand man. The use of sir and master by Ariel to address Prospero provides evidence for Prosperos authority and power over his subject. Ariel appears to be indebted to Prospero, a fact emphasized to the audience by his exaggerated language. Shakespeares use of hyperbole to force the idea that Ariel serves Prospero is highly effective. For example, All hail, great master! and I come to answer thy best pleasure, portray Ariel almost as a sycophant to his master, desperate to appease him. This is continually reinforced throughout the scene, with Ariels responses to Prosperos questions becoming increasingly elaborate Not a hair perished; on their sustaining garments not a blemish, is Ariels answer when Prospero asks him whether all those who were entrapped in the tempest are still alive. This use of exaggerated tone and overtly descriptive vernacular intrigues the audience, as one wonders why Ariel might feel such an intense need to appease Prospero. The text answers this question by declaring that Prospero freed Ariel from the foul witch Sycorax. Prospero is eager to emphasise his control, as can be seen when he retorts to Ariels request for freedom by declaring him a malignant thing reducing him to inanimate object. He goes on to ask, dost thou forget from what torment I freed thee? When Ariel answers no, Prospero still takes the opportunity to retell just how compassionate he was to Ariel, highlighting the ways in which Sycorax imposed her age and envy to imprison Ariel within a tree painfully for a dozen years. Prospero uses sarcasm and rhetorical questions o was she so? to ensure that Ariel resists reiterating how he has done thee worthy service, told thee no lies, made thee no mistakes and served without grudge or grumblings. Shakespeare deploys imagery successfully in order to suggest Prosperos dominance over Ariel. Prospero, who initially treats Ariel in a manner that reflects admiration, soon begins employing threatening imagery in an effort to convince Ariel that he must serve his duty or face severe punishment. Prospero threatens, if thou more murmurst, I will rend an oak, and peg thee in his knotty trails, till thou hast howled away twelve winters. The use of metaphor when stating thy groans did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breast of bear in reference to Sycoraxs imprisonment of Ariel accentuates the idea that Prospero has acted as Ariels liberator. In Act I, scene 2, Prospero suggests that Ariel is very much indebted to his master. While it is clear to the audience that Prospero has been hypocritical toward Ariel by enslaving him in much the same vein as Sycorax did (although she simply imprisoned him), Ariel is forced to continue serving Prospero. After Prosperos threatening warning, Ariel reverts to his original subservience: Thats my noble master. What shall I do? Say what. What shall I do? However, Prospero does not treat Ariel as one who is among the lowest in the Jacobin social order like Caliban but predominantly as a respected servant, ensuring that he retains control but also eager to praise his quaint Ariel. The tone of Prospero is one of delight and pleasure at Ariels magic why, thats my spirit. Instead of overtly ordering Ariel to do his bidding, Prospero simply suggests that it is his duty to do as he says Ariel, thy charge exactly is performed. But theres more work. Ariel, meanwhile, generally responds with o bedience. Ariel is not the moody character that Prospero describes him as when he tentatively asks for his liberty, but is rather charmingly energetic and enthusiastic. When describing his actions, he uses expressive adjectives such as flamed amazement and Joves lightnings an insight into the potential power of Ariel. His references to Neptune and Jove, both ancient Greek gods, forms a direct comparison between his work and that of a god an idea that instantly prompts the audience to recognise that Prospero cannot govern Ariel exclusively as a servant. There is an aspect to Ariel that separates him from the earthly world of humans. Although he may well be subject to the magician, his own conjuring is more natural and of a higher order than that the powers learned from books. Ariel is associated with the power of the elements; images such as flame, thunder-claps, spirits and nymph o the sea all enhance the idea that his is a pure figure, a child of nature. While Prospero ultimately presides over Ariel, the audience is made aware that the relationship between the two cannot be defined so simply as master/slave. Prospero requires Ariels magic, while Ariel needs him to earn his liberty. Shakespeare presents the concept of mutual dependence in this scene so that as the play unravels and all achieve their aims, the conclusion is not alien to the audience, but rather relates to the beginning of the play. Ariel is presented more favourably than his master Prospero in Act I, scene 2. Although one expects Prospero to be a positive influence on the island due to the fact that he has been usurped from power himself, and assumed the role of leader of the island due to his noble status, one must consider Prosperos disruption of the natural order. While Prospero has seemingly convinced himself that he has the right to rule over Ariel, which in turn raises the question of whether Prospero can be considered a good character or not, he has dominated over the natural world in Arial and the rightful heir of the island in Caliban. In Act I, scene 2, Shakespeare introduces Ariel as both powerful and subservient, committed to the cause of his master, Prospero. Their relationship is one of mutual dependence, but is ultimately governed by Prospero, who consistently exerts his authority over Ariel. Ariels introduction is important in that he is symbolic of the beauty of the island. It is clear that Ariel, possibly like the island, wishes to be rid of the meddling Prospero, but he realises that he is under must obey his master: Pardon, master, I will be correspondent to your command, and do my spiriting gently. Ariels obedience to Prospero signifies the latters continual misuse of power; he utilizes Ariels magic to cause disturbances, but is unwilling to grant Ariel his rightful liberty. Ariels appearance as one who is both natural and powerful, but under the dictatorship of Prospero, implies that he is being ruled over unjustly. Indeed, Shakespeare forges their relationship either to provoke the suggestion that Pr osperos right as ruler is not indisputable, but open to debate, or in support for the continuation of the royal inheritance of kings.

Community Policing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Community Policing - Assignment Example By community partnerships, expected participation and collaboration by law enforcement agencies with other members of the community are seen to be instrumental in contributing to the peace and order of local communities. Organizational transformation, on the other hand, means â€Å"the alignment of organizational management, structure, personnel, and information systems to support community partnerships and proactive problem solving† (Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), n.d., par. 3). And, finally, the problem solving process includes relevant elements such as scanning, analyzing, providing immediate response, and evaluating the effectiveness and success of response programs and initiatives. The benefits of community policing programs (or foot patrol) were revealed by Trojanowicz and Pollard (1986) as follows: increased contact on a one-on-one basis between law enforcement officers and citizens; fostering of increased trust; enabling law enforcements to focus on eminent problems in the community; by being actively seen, this approach gives greater public support, and immediate availability to address emergency situations (pars. 16 & 17). As revealed in Pearson Education (2010), there are five distinct core police operation strategies that assist law enforcement agencies to meet their goals. These core strategies are as follows: preventive patrol, routine incident response, emergency response, criminal investigation, problem solving, and support services (an ancillary operational strategy). These were validated by Scott (2000) in his published work entitled â€Å"Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 Years†. A vivid example was clearly indicated by Trojanowicz and Pollard (1986) as follows: â€Å"one neighborhood may suffer a particularly large number of problems with juveniles, therefore the officer there devotes a greater share of his time to such concerns, perhaps

The Great Wall of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Great Wall of China - Essay Example The wall is built by Qin Shi Huang. Some of the additional purpose of The Great Wall of China includes encouragement of trade, border controls, control of emigration and permitting the imposition of duties on goods which are transported. Moreover, the defensive features of the wall is enhanced and developed by the construction of signaling capabilities, troop barracks and watch towers. (A) The Great Wall of China is viewed as one of the most recognizable symbol in the history of China. The best-preserves sector and best-known parts was built at the time of 17th century A.D. Moreover, the construction of The Great Wall of China has never entirely prevented invaders from entering in the area of China. But this vivid and long history of The Great Wall provided a psychological barrier between the world and Chinese civilization. The construction projects of the wall remained as a powerful symbol for entire country by enduring strength.One of the causes that led to the construction of The Great Wall is constant attack from the Mongol horde. At the time of Southern Song Dynasty, a new breed of ferocious warriors has evolved is china known as the Mongols. These ferocious steppe warriors were commanded by the one of the legendary Genghis Khan. This legendary great Khan came in to prominence by the unification of many nomadic tribes. These tribes are basically from northeas tern part of Asia. The formation of Mongolian Empire developed in to the major contiguous empire. Northern states have been united by the Mongolian Empire to create a well-organized, large and formidable group of military that was capable of frightening the whole empire of China. At the time of Mongolian Empire the wall was easy for warriors to overcome as it was largely earthen walls. In 1211, Genghis khan and inner Mongolian hordes could easily overcome the significant fortification and pass

Exploring the Metta Sutta Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exploring the Metta Sutta - Essay Example This is exemplified in the lines "This is what should be done by those who are skilled in goodness and who know the path of peace; Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied. Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful, not proud and demanding in nature." (Discourse On Loving-Kindness, n.d.). Also, the Metta Sutta develops towards the specific acts of goodness one should involve oneself in such as not going against the law. The fact that human beings are also emotional beings highly influenced by feelings in choosing a course of action, the law is an important guiding factor to successfully achieve peace and order in society. And as Buddhism accepts the idea of suffering which is inevitable in our society, the word "wise" in the lines "Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove. Wishing: in gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease,† for me, pertains to lawmakers who should be discerning in governing people and leading them to a better life so as to be able to avoid suffering (Discourse On Loving-Kindness, n.d.). After establishing ones responsibility to honing a peaceful society, it then likens the love and care people that people in position, people who are stronger, & richer should have towards those who are less fortunate to a mothers, which never fails, unconditional, forgiving, and enduring. This is being encompassed in these verses, "May all beings be at ease! Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life, her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart, should one cherish all living beings; radiating kindness over the entire world. Spreading upwards to the skies, and downwards to the

Exam 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exam 1 - Essay Example Did Don have duty of care? Absolutely, if a person gets into an automobile as a passenger it is entirely reasonable to assert that they expect and the driver accepts the responsibility of safely conveying them to their destination. In this case, if anything, Don had a greater than normal duty of care as, by the time of the crash, Paula was a virtual prisoner in the vehicle. She ‘repeatedly asked Don to stop and let her out of the car†¦. Don ignored her requests.’ Arguably, Don was a kidnapper at this pint with Paula confined by his refusal to let her out. Regardless of this tangent, Don was responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle and the safety of Paula, his passenger. He breeched that care when he drove, insistently, until exhausted and dozed off. A Techbyte employee had driven Paula to the conference and asked Don to return her home as he, the president, was staying at the convention for another day. Approached by the president, Don, ‘a trusted employee’ agreed. He was not doing a friend a favour he was acceding to his superior’s request. Further, during the trip they were to ‘discuss Techbyte’s future computer needs on the way.’ Ultimately, in this scenario, Don was ‘at work’ when the accident occurred and acting as an employee of Techbyte and not as an individual. This, then, gives rise to a second question: Could Techbyte be held liable for the injuries Paula sustained in the car accident that resulted from Don’s negligent driving? Yes, they could. It is difficult to defend against the claim that Don was acting as an employee when he agreed to drive Paula home. As a ‘trusted employee’, presumably a man the president had known for some time, he was a reasonable and responsible choice. At that point Techbyte’s duty of care was fulfilled and the duty of care passed to Don, the driver. This is not a strong claim, but there is a significant mitigating factor here. Don did not injure Paula in

Best Practice, Best Fit and Resource View of the firms analysis for Essay

Best Practice, Best Fit and Resource View of the firms analysis for relevance - Essay Example But these new concepts definitely did one thing, forced the organizations to focus on a neglected area. Similar is the case with "Best Practice", "Best Fit" and "Resource View of the Firms". The three concepts led to awakening which provided insights into organizations themselves on practices, organizational variables and the organizational resources respectively. Best Practice term arrived in the 1990s when the entire world of organizations were in a flux, the world became unipolar and the resources deployed hitherto for anticipated war between two poles of the world were suddenly available for better use, for business and the core of business is essentially the needs, desires of human beings and the ability to fulfill them. The geographical boundaries had suddenly collapsed and the resulting globalization created aggregation of these needs, desires and the abilities to fulfill them, unleashing a state of huge threats and huge opportunities. A plethora of business concepts arrived on the scene, quickly delivered by ICT elements across a wider spectrum of organizations. Best Practice concept was one of them. The search of reasons or factors behind a superlative performance led to a process-by-process analysis and its comparison with the more successful companies. Best practice is essentially kno... It is a quest for improvement through the use of experience behind creating a better practice by others. The comparison could be either through unstructured or structured mechanisms, documents, interactions. Benchmarking encompasses best practices and best practice results are the starting point in improvement through benchmarking partnerships. Normally two organizations enter into benchmarking partnerships and try to transfer the best practices from one context to another. It starts with regular comparison of performance measures in identified areas and when it is found that performance of some parameters is quite high, a detailed analysis is carried out to find out how it is done and what is the practice being adopted to achieve that superior result. Now the key is to understand and implement that practice, leading to closer people to people interactions, depending on the understanding and enthusiasm of the implementing organization. Another approach seen regarding best practice is industry or sector specific associations engaged in sharing and exchanging of data, experiences in seminars or workshops to facilitate the growth of the industry itself through capture of best practice and disseminating the same. The approach has definitely helped organizations to see the organizational activities in terms of a set of practices and look the process-wise comparison with others. The practice of comparison came down to the level of practices. Best Practice Blues There have been significant activities in the efforts to capture best practices from other sources and deploy in the own context. There are reasons to say that these efforts did not get a fair amount of success except the possible benefit of communicating a comparative message that someone

Is it necessary to use both demand and supple side policies to manage Coursework

Is it necessary to use both demand and supple side policies to manage the uk economy - Coursework Example Conversely, the supply side policies are key in the determination of the long term growth of the UK’s productivity. As is asserted by the literature of Keynes, the belief in his work was that whether the government distributed money to its consumers, the result would be demand for more commodities. This will result in creating incentive for the suppliers to provide more commodities. This implies that the major drive for economic growth is the demand (consumers). In relevance to this, for the optimal management of the economy of the United Kingdom, and for the economy to realize an increase in the GDP, the government should embrace the demand side policies. In addition, the government, should extensively and effectively focus on how to raise the expenditure of the average citizen. Demand side policies have the objective to cause a rise in the aggregate demand. If there exist negative production gap, the demand side policies are crucial in increasing the level of the economy. Conversely, if the economy of a country, in this case, the UK economy is at its full capacity in the rate of growth, inflation will be the consequence of a further rise in the aggregate demand (AD), as illustrated in the diagram 1 (Freeman, 2006, pg. 123). Among the aspects of the demand side policies which can control the economy is the monetary policy. The monetary policy is the basic instrument that can influence the activities of the economy. To increase the aggregate demand, the rate of interest can only be lowered by either the Central Bank or government (Langdana, 2009,p.27). A decrease in the rates of the interest lowers the cost of taking loans, increasing investment incentives, and expenditure by the consumers. Conversely, a decrease in the interest rates lowers the need to make savings, and instead creating attractiveness for spending. In addition, as a result of reduced

Planning (Local Development Framework) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Planning (Local Development Framework) - Essay Example The local development plan will consist of several Development Plan Documents (DPDs) and Supplementary Planning Documents(SPDs), conforming to the core strategic plans and policies. The salient features of the LDA are as follow: Will define the needs of the community in terms of the educational institutions, health related concerns and other social security requirements relating to employment, retirement, crime prevention etc. All the proposals and plans of the development plan documents and supplementary plan documents will have to undergo sustainability appraisal and must meet the criteria of environment baseline as set by the Borough. The reforms in the planning commissions have made it mandatory for the councils to prepare an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) for all the ongoing projects and programs of the development schemes and clearly state the present status as against the premeditated goals of the scheme for the previous fiscal year. The implementation process of the projects and programs involves categorical and well defined plan of stratifies development which is to be monitored regularly by the authorities and community. Your involvement is the key to the success of the development in your area. If you or any organization want to be consulted in the future planning of your area or would like to know about the status of the programs and projects of the community, please do get in touch with the us through the email at PlanningPolicy@rbkc.gov.uk or phone us on 020 7361

Jane Eyre Essay Example for Free

Jane Eyre Essay How does Charlotte Bronte engage the reader’s sympathy for Jane Eyre in the opening two chapters of the novel? Charlotte Bronte the third daughter of Patrick and Maria Bronte, who was born in 1816 at Thornton, a moorland village near Bradford and was almost four when the family moved to Haworth. There, she, like the rest of her family was to spend almost all her life. The family liked privacy and since Mr. Bronte was busy with work and their mother was ill with cancer and died after only 18 months at Haworth, the children spent all their time together and were extremely close. The nurse who looked after Mrs. Bronte said that they were different from any children she had ever seen because they seemed so quiet and serious. When Charlotte was eight, Mr. Bronte sent her, with Maria, Elizabeth and later Emily, to a school for the daughters of clergy at Cowan Bridge. He thought education would be useful to his girls in the future, but their experiences were all too similar to those Charlotte Bronte gives Jane Eyre at Lowood. Maria and Elizabeth both died of tuberculosis, after less than a year, and Charlotte and Emily were taken away from the school and returned to studying at home with their father. Charlotte considered herself to be very plain, even ugly, and did not really hope for marriage, although she received three proposals. Like Jane Eyre, she was always sad that she was not more obviously attractive. Beauty was something she admired and longed for. At Roe Head, she worked hard, was successful and made several long life friends. She hated the job but when she was not teaching or marking books she had to work at mending the pupils’ clothes. She became so depressed and ill that she had to leave. The next idea was that the girls should set up a school of their own. In order to finish training for this, Charlotte and Emily went to study in Brussels. As well as learning much, however, she fell in love with Monsieur Heger, the husband of the head of her school. No real relationship could ever develop, apart from friendship, and she left Brussels broken-hearted. This Experience provided the ideas for two of her books â€Å"The Professor† and â€Å"Villette†. At the age of 38, Charlotte agreed to marry Arthur Bell Nicholls, a curate who assisted her father for many years and who had loved her for a very long time. She had rejected his affection in the past, but their marriage was successful and they developed a happy companionship so it was all the more tragic that she enjoyed it for only one year. She died in 1855 of complications arising from pregnancy. Her father, who had outlived all her children, had said that â€Å"she was not strong enough/for marriage†. Bronte engages sympathy towards Jane because of the utilization of the first person by the narrator. â€Å"I was glad of it: I never liked long walks. † By using ‘I’ the writer ensures that we see things and feel things from Jane’s point of view. We have empathy for her. Jane is made to feel isolated when the Reeds sit together and exclude her. â€Å"The said Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mama in the drawing-room†. Also, we feel compassion when Aunt Reed talks to her and tells her that she does not want her to be in with her own children since she was very rude when she was near her elders. Sympathy is engaged again when Jane goes to the breakfast-room alone because she was told to sit somewhere else and be silent until she could speak pleasantly. In the Breakfast room Jane finds a bookcase. Soon she was â€Å"possessed† by a volume which she made sure should be one â€Å"stored with pictures†. As she looked the book she describes the landscapes in the book are and the places where they may be found. The reader is completely on Jane’s side when John Reed verbally and physically abuses her. â€Å"The volume was flung, it hit me, and I fell, striking my head against the door and cutting it† â€Å"I felt him grasp my hair and my shoulder†. The reason for this is because of the brutality described. Jane tries to fight back but Miss Abbot and the nurse pull her away from John, and they hold her down. â€Å"My impulse was to rise from it like a spring; their two pairs of hands arrested me instantly. † Although John is bigger physically she still wants to attack him, because he said, she was less than a servant to him. †Master! How is he my master? Am I a servant? † â€Å"No; you are less than a servant. † Nobody is on Jane’s side, not even the servants. They all came to rescue John Reed from Jane. Again, our sympathy for Jane is reinforced. The sheer injustice of Jane’s circumstances gets our sympathy. Nobody accepts her version of events, even though Mrs. Reed is aware that John has been bullying Jane. â€Å"He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually. † â€Å"Every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh in my body shrank when he came near. † â€Å"†¦the servants did not like to offend their young master by taking my part against him and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf in the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me†¦.. †. Again, the reader’s sympathy is engaged when we hear that Bessie will tie Jane to a stool in the Red Room. â€Å"If you don’t sit still, you must be tied down, said Bessie. † This is a complete over-reaction. Abbot and Bessie talked about their opinions of Jane in front of her which is very rude. â€Å"And you ought not to think yourself an equality with the Misses Reed and Master Reed, because Missis kindly allows you to be brought up with them. † Jane describes the Red Room as being very grand but cold. She also states that it is not frequented by people much because Mr. Reed had died there nine years ago. â€Å"Only the housemaid went there by herself on Saturdays, to wipe from the mirrors and furniture a week’s quiet dust: and Mrs.Reed herself, at far intervals, visited it to review the contents of a certain secret drawer in the wardrobe, where were stored divers parchments, her jewel-casket, and a miniature of her diseased husband; and in those last words lies the secret of the red-room – the spell which kept it so lonely in spite of its grandeur. † Jane’s childish imagination is engaged when she realises she has been locked into this forbidding room. She sees herself in the mirror – ghostly as she remembered Bessie’s stories about phantoms. Superstition is with Jane. We now hear Jane’s opinion about her unfortunate situation. Our compassion is with her as we hear her side of the story. â€Å"John Reed’s violent tyrannies, all his sisters’ proud indifference, all his mother’s aversion, all the servants’ partiality, turned up in my disturbed mind like a dark deposit in a turbid well. † She talks about John’s behaviour and tells us that he has mentally affected her and this indicates that she would be more that happy to run away just for his sake. â€Å"Georgiana, who had a spoiled temper, a very acrid spite, a captious and insolent carriage, was universally indulged. â€Å"

Global Household Brand Essay Example for Free

Global Household Brand Essay Executive summary After a review of the â€Å"Global Household Brand† article, I was assigned the task of reviewing your business and to provide a well-detailed critique on global households’ brands. I will develop a strategy; identify the likely cause of the company’s financial woes. The major factor on the poor financial performance of the company is that of competitive strategy and differences in operational effectiveness. Ineffective management strategies have led the company to lose lots of profit (Michael E, 1998). Its lack of a clear strategy on how to effectively compete with big marketers has made it either to exit the market or to end up in the financial mess.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The company must continuously improve the level of its operational effectiveness, and income must be increased and regulated. Sustainable performance will largely be dependent on global household brand having a strategic position (Tony P, 2000). There is need to evaluate consumers’ trend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Company and Industry Overview Global household brands has lost the image she built as a leading producer and marketer of a variety of â€Å"niche† dentifrice products that includes polident, powdered aspirin, household cleaning brands among a few others to company characterized with lack of customers and loss making one. The company initially thrived on venturing in new markets and exiting them when the competition became a little bit stiff. The restructuring of the company together with other measures to bring a change in the financial fortunes of the company have only helped to worsen the situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the firm has intention of reinventing itself to turn around its fortunes so as to be competitive and generate revenue in a continuous and sustainable manner. In the mid 1990s, when various big marketers such as Clorox, S.C Johnson, and Arm and Harmer began competing against global household brand’s 2000 flush automatic toilet bowl cleaners, X-14 mildew as well as soap scum removers and carpet fresh carpet refreshers, the company decided to exited the group of products due to their inability to gain substantial market share.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During this period the company was not anywhere close to the red line, actually it was worth around $1.5 million. The exit made by global households brand did not seem to affect its profitability within the markets. The items it dealt with were in areas considered less competitive which enabled her to rake in high amounts of profits on their line up to branded products. During the period 1995-98 the profits started to drop by about 10-15% per annum.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Their potential to stay at least in the market was waning. The sale of their brands as well as the hiring and restructuring their management executive did not seem to over turn the events. Eventually after global household brand had had their sales drop from $130million to $ 70 million they decided to hire Goldman Sachs to sell their brand of products. After about one and a half years with Goldman at the helm, the sales figures were not anywhere near $100 that Goldman had promised. The deterioration in the sales figure was as a result of lack of competitive marketing strategy and difference in operation effectiveness. This was in spite of the company being given the green light about their customers respect for their brands of products. Analysis In the mid 1990s the company was worth about $1.5 billion. In the period 1995 to 1998 the sales of the firm was falling at a rate between 10 and 15% per annum. This in effect demonstrates the ability of the company to generate high profits. During the late 1990s onwards the firm did not efficiently output. The consistent drop in the sales figure was a testimony to this. In spite of all the changes and various measures the firm was taking, it was still not able to generate the projected profit margins. Despite the fact that the consumers have greatly respected their brand of products it was not able to capitalize on this factor to turn into huge profits. Strengths Consumers for its high quality of products very well recognize global households brands. This in addition to the mature nature of the household cleaning products industry is a plus for the company. The company is also much leveraged in the industry. The company also has a superior marketing V.P with such attributes as unique talents and is also very experienced as well as brilliant strategies. This is in addition to the talented R and D director it has on its board. All these factors will aid the management in turning around the fortunes of the firm. With all these talent and experience at their disposal the company would be starting from a vantage position in its path to recovery. The industry also seems to be very mature meaning the future of the company with its continued operations is bright. Weaknesses The firm has not effectively and in most cases deliberately not considered heavily investing in advertising and marketing to compete with her competition. The new operations manager also seems to be having a bad inter personal relationship with other employees within the firm. Global sales department has not met its past targets. Opportunity Trends The general trend within the industry seems to be in favor of household cleaning products. The overview of the general industry seems to suggest that it is leveraged and that household cleaning products industry is mature. This presents the company with the chance to exploit and increase its revenue. The maturity of the company shows that if it can invest largely without so many risks involved as uncertainty. Competitive Analysis Such companies like Clorox, S.C Johnson among others seem to be the greatest competition for the firm. They have heavily invested in their marketing strategies and in the end endeared themselves to their customers. Strategic options Global households, has been constantly pioneering various ranges of products over the past years. Before the entry of the big marketers it was the seen as the pioneer of household cleaning products. In addition to this, it has produced quality products. In fact, a recent survey suggests that most customers acknowledge the high quality of their products. The strategy of quitting and finding a new brand of products has been its main stay and now that it has run out of options and its very existence is threatened it must consider other options (Michael E, 1998). Since global households brand has come to the acknowledgment that it has to alter its business strategy so as to keep alive in the industry, it has few options left. First, it can adopt the differentiation strategy. This would require global household brand to build customer loyalty. In order to accomplish this, it has to position its products as well as services in unique ways that would appeal to the customers. In other words, the products will seek to be better than those of its competitors. The second option that the business may explore is that of focus strategy. This alternative takes into account the heterogeneity of many markets and industries. As such, there exist a lot of various customer segments with varying needs, wants as well as characteristics. The basic principle under this strategy is to put emphasis on selecting one segment(s), identify customers with special needs, interests and wants among other things and approach them. Global households brand could also employ the third option of horizontal integration. Under this strategy will be selling its products in various markets. In order to acquire the market coverage, it will have small subsidiary firms created. This would enable it compete with compete with its competitors effectively. Recommendations Within the last few years, global household brand has undergone a number of drastic changes. It has been forced to sell part of its brands, and almost the banks are about to call the loans given to it. One of the primary reasons global households has failed to meet its sales target is its inability to effectively market and appeal to the market. This is what her competition have done and thereby edged her out. Since the competitors have done the marketing really well, GHB has to effectively market itself or just face the possibilities of winding up. The second problem facing the company has been that of management. The manager has to learn to develop interpersonal relationship with his juniors. Alternatively, the New CEO or management team should meet people who worked at the Block drug before and find out what really problem was. This would enable them to have a better understanding of the firm’s woes as well as its triumphs. The management should also approach the financing Bank, and talk them out of calling the loans on the investors. Finally the $5million should be reduced with picked interest       References: Michael E. Porter, on competition, 1998, Harvard Business School Press Tony Proctor, 2000, Strategic Marketing: An introduction, Rout ledge. Alfred D. Chindler, Peter Haqstom, Orjan Solvell, 1999, the Dynamic Firm. The role of technology, strategy, organization, and regions, Oxford University Press.

Red Bull International Marketing Plan Business Essay

Red Bull International Marketing Plan Business Essay Red bull with no doubt has been transformed to multinational company by the product which invigorates peoples mind and body .Red bull is multinational is company offering only two products invigorating peoples mind and body. Its international success has become subject of interest for many researchers in field of international marketing. The current report addresses international marketing strategies of the Redbull company as major international player in energy drink and beverage industry. Customer loyalty and relative production cost are main advantages of the company. But company is threatened by major players of international market in its penetrated territories. Still company is enjoying growth in its international energy drink markets. Internal analysis of Red bull strategies has reviled use of conventional and unconventional markets to expand its international markets. The sophisticated HR strategies of the Redbull is another propellers of the company in international markets. Redbull follows focus differentiation strategy in beverage industry. So Red bull has become selected choice of massive young population, which sales 1 million can of energy drink every year. SWOT analysis of the company depicted some strengths and weaknesses. The analysis showed proper adoption of generic marketing strategy, right international segmentation, right targeting, right positioning and good sales record. The marketing strategy of red bull can be easily applied to different cultures around the world that have sizeable youth population. History Background History Being dressed in special way is not enough to be good seller in beverage industry. In an industry which its products are found every where like hypermarket, supermarket, grocery and even in clubs selling is not easy. Red bull was first introduced by Dietrich Mateschitz Austrian business man who teamed up with Thai person to bring production of traditional Thai drink to international level. The product was canned in silver shiny can and named Red Bull because it showed head to head bull fight. (Red Bull Founder Rides Wave of Success) In 1987, the product was then taken to Austria where it had its first groundbreaking success in no time. In started going international in 1992, when they entered Hungary. Red Bull is currently active in over 100 countries, energizing the population and creating competition as they go along. One source mentioned that there are over 150 energy drink brands, however, all inferior to the mighty Red Bull (A REFRESHED CREW IS AN EFFICIENT CREW). With over 1 billion cans sold each year, Red Bull controls 70% of the worlds market share of energy drinks. Background Red Bull became strong when they created a high quality drink that is only made in Austria. Furthermore, all of its ingredients are synthetically made in pharmaceutical companies to grantee high quality and safety. Moreover, due to the ingredients of the product, it is said that Red bull (Red Bull FAQ): Improves performance Improves concentration and reaction speed Improves vigilance Improves emotional status Stimulates metabolism However, the main reason for the success of Red Bull is in its advertising style. Red Bull tends to spend very little on conventional or traditional marketing tools, like TV and Print ads. Their marketing strategy is usually out of the box and creative. Red Bull tends to be more active in sponsoring extreme spots and giving away samples in local events. Due to the fact that Mateschitz has been involved in Formula One racing for more than a decade, he used the events to draw attention to his brand. In addition, he sponsored the World Stunt Awards, an annual fund-raiser to help injured stunt workers (Red Bull Founder Rides Wave of Success). Moreover, some observers say that Red Bull uses the anti-branding method of advertising, where they broke the usual method of marketing and branding. Actually what they did was use the buzz marketing strategy or better known as word of mouth. With this strategy, they associated their brand with the youth culture and extreme and adventure-related spo rts, such as motor sports, mountain biking, snowboarding and dance music. Thus they targeted their brand directly to people from Generation Y, the so-called millennials: people born after 1981 who were believed to be cynical of traditional marketing strategies (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). The Buzz over Red Bull among the youth and their underground attitude has created Red Bulls reputation as the drink within that community. That is why Red Bull continues to use Viral marketing internationally, where the company would rather restrict the supply of Red Bull and not advertise it, expecting that growing numbers of target consumers to catch the bug and its reputation would spreads. Through this strategy, Red Bull has successfully captured 70% of the à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤1.6 billion market (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). External Analysis Porter Five Force Analysis External analysis is very important, the analyst taking this step should be aware of how competitive strategy has to be formulated. The analyst must bring all relevant social and economic factors in both micro and macro environment to consideration. The people in charge of formulating competitive strategy of the companies should know all strategic options available to the company. They should know all forces inside and outside industry affecting the company. Michael porter has unique framework for industry analysis and formulation of the strategy. Rivalry among existing competitors, buyers, suppliers, potential entrants into the business and Threat of substitute products are those five forces which can have positive or negative effects on industry structure by making the industry more or less competitive. Potential Entrants Redbull can produce bubble less energy drinks among other soft drink producers. If the barriers of entry are high, it is difficult for potential competitors to enter the market. Three main sources of barriers to new entry: brand loyalty of red bull customers, absolute cost advantages in Redbull s production line, and economies of scale enjoyed b RedBull. Brand loyalty Customers of RedBull have become loyal to the brand. The attend special events sponsored by the Redbull, respond to professional advertisement put by the company and name is known for its quality among its customers. Brand loyalty is a barrier for any new entrant to enter the energy drink industry. Cost advantage According to the Michael Porter, normally cost disadvantage is a big barrier for companies to enter an industry as new entrants because it can be cost advantage for existing companies in that industry. Also, companies with the help of cost advantages can compete and beat their competitors very easily because usually it is difficult for new entrants to match their companies with the lower cost structure. Therefore, Red Bull because of Red Bulls superior production and operation processes, and their experience in the energy drink industry, and control of its inputs according to their experience in producing red bull drinks, benefit the cost advantages with keeping its quality in the high level. Although there are many energy drinks existing in the industry with the lower price rather than Red Bull, as quality aspect they have not cost advantages both in quality and price, so Red Bull is steps ahead from its competitors in this case. Customer switching cost In food and beverage industry there is no switching cost for costumers with considering the level of quality, therefore it can be considered as threat for existing companies in this industry. In this case, Red Bull is not exceptional, so they need to keep their quality at the same level to not loosing their market share by coming new entrants because it is real threat for them. Government regulations One of big issues and always concerns for companies which like to go internationally is government regulation, also, in this case some Europe countries have problem with selling Red Bull and have tried to ban it. They claim that Red Bull was the cause of death of people in those countries. France, Belgium, and Sweden ban using the mixture of Red Bull and alcohol. So, it can be a threat for them in taking the market share and having a bad image for their brand. . (French Ban on Red Bull (drink) Upheld By European Court) Intensity of Rivalry Rivalry in some industries is characterized by such phrases as warlike, bitter, or cutthroat, whereas in other industries it is termed polite or gentlemanly. Energy drink industry has an intense rivalry because of a number of interacting structural factors: Industry competitive structure Due to the competition in the energy drink market, Red Bull focuses on non-price competitive weapon like offering exhilarating events, high quality products and sponsorship. In contrast with other competitors Red Bull attract more costumers to its company by growing in 45%marketshare. Accordingly Red Bull has a major influence on its competitors performance in the industry because Red Bull is one of the pioneers in energy drink industry and many companies try to obey and consider Red Bull as benchmark. Industry demand In the energy drink industry, because of the various proper advertisements to encourage people to use and drink energy drinks (giving the image that people can fly) the demand for drinks is increasing. Thus, this is a good point for the company because there are lots of opportunities for every company to fill the current demand and rivalry tend to reduce in the industry, also there is space for everyone to jump in enter the industry (growing stage), and the profit of the company is going to increase which is a goal that every company is seeking it. Buyers Having strong and stable costumers are suppliers and producers concerns, producers like to have costumers with large quantity level of ordering and stable financial status basically in energy drink industry especially Red Bull costumers (buyers) are wholesalers and big retailers. These buyers buy the energy drinks through the company or its representatives, and resell them to supermarket, bars, restaurants and end users. Red Bull faces buyers with high level of bargaining power, and it is real risk for Red Bull. Main reasons for this high bargaining power of buyers in this case are; the switching costs in the energy drink industry are very low. So, Red Bull buyers can switch from Red Bull to other energy drink companies which produce it with lower prices without any difficulty. Also, in most cases energy drink buyers (retailers and wholesalers) purchase products in large quantities, and it is obvious that the more buying in quantity, the more bargaining power the buyer has. So they c an use their power to reduce the cost of energy drinks. Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is the same story like bargaining power of buyers but from other side. Red Bull company has both kind of suppliers as bargaining power, some very strong and others weak, so they can balance between them. For instance, the supplier of Glucuronolactone is Glaxo Smithkline Company. Red Bull energy drink buys their Glucurnopolacton inputs from this company. So the bargaining power of this supplier is very high on Red Bull. But the other ingredients are assembled from several small suppliers, and Red Bull has the bargaining power on them. Also, Red Bull has many channels and substitutes suppliers for its normal raw materials, so they can switch from any supplier to cheaper and more flexible one. Substitutes All producers always carry the concern of substitute products for their products and always looking for ways to protect and survive themselves from this phenomenon. Energy drink industry isnt an exception, so players in this industry always try to keep level of quality high, convenience price and other thing which may make costumers more satisfy. Coffee industry can be a threat for energy drinks because of the existing caffeine in coffee and it can be a powerful potential product substitute for energy drink. Therefore, Red bull must take care of its pricing strategy and product quality to keep its costumers and satisfy them more day by day which they were successful due to reports not only Red Bull could protect its products against other substitutes but also, they have increased in their market share in US market by 45% . Industry Analysis and Peer Review Industry Characteristics Beverage industry is divided into many categories such as alcoholic vs. non alcoholic, (hard vs. soft drinks) and within soft drinks still there is other segmentation such as carbonated soft drink (CSD) and non carbonated soft drink. Carbonated Energy Drinks account for less than half of the total volume. This figure is heavily skewed however by the popularity of still brands in Asia (Canadean Press release) According to Beverage Digest, in 2004 the U.S. non-alcoholic refreshment market totaled 14 billion cases (192-oz). Carbonated soft drinks made up 73.1% of the total with non-carbonated products comprising 13.7% and packaged bottled water accounting for 13.2%. Americans spent roughly $92.9 billion annually on refreshment beverages. Energy drink is a relatively new product introduced in 80s and has been growing noticeably with the market more than doubling in size since 1998 (Canadean Press release). The following chart is evidence of this inevitable growth and the attraction of this growth for drink manufacturer. The industry has been experiencing a significant growth and still growing at the speed that draws the big players in soft like Coca Cola drink to enter to this high margin business. Food and beverage market are critical enough that out of 100 new product development 90 NPD fails. The failure results from a poor interpretation of consumers trend and translation of those to opportunities. Austrian company, Red Bull, as a pioneer trend settler has made its fortune from their unique strategies in advertising, marketing and other products characteristics such as Packaging, Flavor, color and Product claim. Global consumption According to Beverage digest report, Asia is the largest leading market in consumption of energy drinks followed by Western Europe and North America as the second and third markets. Asia has been loosing some of 20% of its market share is past 6 years. However, this decline has been offset by the second and third market mainly due to the steady growth in market of carbonated E.D in North America. North American market is now almost 40 times greater than it was in 1998 Peer Review In North America today more than 200 energy drinks existed in US. According to bevNET.com, after a rigorous marketing research the best energy drinks are AMP by Pepsi Cola, KMX Red by Coca-Cola Company Red Bull by Red Bull North America. Red Bulls market dominance seems assured. No other competitors have either the distribution channels or, more importantly, the posture of rebellious infamy to be considered real threats. Year 2001, in UK energy drinks market 21 new drinks have been introduced that would have force the red bull into a competition. However, red bull can still enjoy being a market leader. In the following table there are representations of top 14 non- alcoholic markets where some of them are in the specific market of the energy drinks. Coca-Cola(Juice, Soft Drinks, Water) ($21bn) Suntory(Water, Soft Drinks) ($4.4bn) Nestle(Coffee, Soft Drinks, Water) ($19bn) Starbucks(Coffee) ($4.0bn) PepsiCo(Juice, Soft Drinks, Water) ($10bn) Sara Lee(Coffee) ($2.7bn) Kraft Foods(Coffee, Powdered Drinks) ($4.6bn) Tchibo(Coffee) ($2.7bn) Unilever(Tea ) ($4.5bn) Red Bull(Energy Drinks) ($1.6bn) Cadbury Schweppes(Soft Drinks) ($4.5bn) Cott Corp(Juice, Soft Drinks) ($1.4bn) Danone(Soft Drinks, Water) ($4.5bn) Ocean Spray Source: http://www.mind-advertising.com/sectors/sector_softdrinks.htm Industry Life Cycle Energy drinks were originally pioneered by Asian companies, but they became popular in Europe the late 80s with the arrival of Red Bull. There are more than 200 energy drinks existed in US market only and this figure is increasing due to the high margin of this business. In 2004, carbonated soft drinks posted the growth of 1% which is unlike its usual trend, case of growing 2% to 4%. Noticeably, this inevitable growth was driven by Diet and Energy drinks. While other carbonated drinks posted volume change of one Digit, brands like Red Bull and Hansen Natural reported the 45% and 56% of positive volume change in 2004. The market, now estimated to be worth $10 million, has been predicted to grow to $300 million or even as much as $2 billion in the next few years. Double digit growth in the market is the main factor contributing to Energy drinks life cycle in its embryonic phase (growth). Since the market is not old enough, the number of players are increasing and even the Coca Cola and Pepsi are the new entrant which add to the well-built assumption of embryonic phase. Brand loyalty and high expectations are still questionable in this stage and its because the consumers are still exposing to new products and new claims. Thus, players are fighting for product feature extension such as low-carbs and sugar free plus new products claims such as improve concentration, reaction time and endurance. After introduction of Red Bull in late 80s, industry went to an introduction phase. By 1998, the size of the industry doubled and still growing with a fast pace following highlighted area in the graph is an approximate stage of the life cycle at the moment. Internal Analysis Value Chain Primary Activity: Inbound outbound logistics Logistical issues at Red Bull in of high importance. Due to the fact that all ingredients in the Red Bull drink is synthetically made by pharmaceutical companies, they make sure that their products are carefully handled to maintain the quality and avoid unnecessary costs. Red Bull always makes sure that they align with premium logistics provider to achieve their strategic goals. Red Bull aims to have web-based visibility on their supply chain, thus they base their logistical activities or selection on: Flexible warehouse network Transportation management capabilities Strong information technology offering With 1,600 employees working for Red Bull world wide (Gulf News, Red Bull plans to set up Dubai plant), Red Bull required those standards as they are experiencing year-after-year of high growth, which make the inventory forecasting and management challenging. That is why logistical issues have become increasingly important, and that is why they choose to outsource the logistics to companies that can comply with their network of multi-client warehouses needs (Red Bull OH Logistics). Interestingly, Red Bull uses small distributors in small regional markets, if those small distributors dont perform up to Red Bulls standards they establish a warehouse and push young people to stuff their vans with Red Bulls product and distribute it every where. This way, the small distributors generally break even within three months and are profitable within six (A Bulls Market The marketing of Red Bull Energy Drink). Primary Activity: Operations There is little information about the operations process of Red Bull. However we will enlighten you with the contents and brief information about the packaging company that Red Bull deals with. The great product which is provided by Red Bull one of its main elements of success. Known for improving performance, improving concentration and reaction speed, improving vigilance, improving emotional status and stimulating metabolism, Red Bulls secret is in its ingredients. The ingredients in each Red Bull drink (250ml) consist of: Taurine (1000mg) Glucuronolacton (600mg) Caffeine (80mg) Niacin (20mg) Vitamin B6 (5mg) Pantothenic Acid (5mg) Vitamin B12 (0.005mg) According to Red Bull, It is a combination of all the ingredients together, which result in Red Bulls benefits (Red Bull, Ingredients).. The packaging process of Red Bull is fully done in Austria. And the supplier of Red Bulls cans is Rexam, and they are considered to be the worlds largest provider of beverage cans. Rexam manufactures different types of cans for different industries, however almost half of their revenues come from Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. Moreover, industry estimates present that Rexam gained about $22 million from the sales of Red Bull cans (How Does Red Bull Package Its Product?). Primary Activity: Marketing and Sales: With the control of 70% of the à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤1.6 billion market (about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤1.12 billion), Red Bull has achieved all of this through intensive unconventional marketing strategies. Targeting young people, mainly the Y-generation, Red Bull has utilized eccentric marketing tools that has extremely effective on the target market. The strategy of sponsoring local activities like the Red Bull music academy in the USA, parachuting in South Africa, Go-Karts in Kuwait, and many more in different countries has achieved its target of attracting its target market which gets excited when viewing such sports. Some of the strategies used for marketing Red Bull include: Using pick-up trucks as mobile displays, painted blue and silver with a giant can of the drink mounted on top of the vehicle. Designed to be eye-catching, these devices were aimed at promoting the red bull brand as youthful and slightly off-the-wall. Cans of the drink were also given out free to people on the street who had been identified as being in need of energy. Red Bull was given to club DJs, empty cans would also be left on tables in hot spots such as trendy bars, clubs and pubs. Secondary Activity: Technology The information about the technology that Red Bull uses was quite scares. However we could safely say that Red Bull little activity done on their RD side because Red Bull does enjoy any sort of economies of scale. Red Bull has only one main product, which is the Red Bull energy drink and recently they introduced the new Red Bull energy drink sugar-free. Hence, the main difference between the original Red Bull drink and the sugar-free drink is that it has 0g of sucrose and 0g of glucose, where the original product has 21.5g of sucrose and 5.25g of glucose. Moreover, each sugar-free drink has only 8 calories (EU)/ 10 calories (USA), yet it does not loose any of its energetic effects (Red Bull, Ingredients). Secondary Activity: Human Recourse Red Bull is famous for practicing what they preach, especially when it comes to recruitment. Due to the fact that Red Bull promotes their product as a Hip and young product, they make sure to recruit staffs that are young, in touch with youth culture, dynamic and innovative. For example, they achieve that by recruiting university students as student brand managers to promote its product among young student groups (What Sort of People Work For Red Bull?). However their recruiting does not happen by Red Bull themselves, but they makes sure that it is implemented by all of the outsourced activities. However, it is known that most of Red Bulls 1,600 employees are marketing experts and are the real movers of the Red Bull drink (Marketing Eye, Red Bull Car). Group Customers and Market Segmentation As it is known any successful company should have a certain customer group. The customers that were targeted by Red Bull were the ones that were looking for excitement, alertness, and concentration depending on the age, status, and lifestyle. Four consumer categories were Red Bulls target under the age of 16-30: students, club people, sport people, and employees. College students were the main target of Red Bull. Since college students look for something that would enhance their concentration on doing their assignments and projects, and staying overnight for studying for exams then Red Bull is the best solution for them. It would improve their concentration in their studying Moreover; Red Bull has used this group to enhance their promotion. According to Biz/ed, throw parties those students were emboldened to market the product in the campuses of the universities as what they call them student brand managers. Those students collect the information and make a report of a market data research to the company. Depending on that strategy and the youth generation (high school and colleges students), Red Bull was able to spread the reputation and the popularity of the drink and concentrating on supplying the product rather than applying the traditional marketing ways of promotion (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). The second category of Red Bull customers are the night club people, since the drink has some substances that would increase the persons emotional status. Moreover, Red Bull is offered in the nightclubs depending on the cultural background. For example, nightclubs in Dubai offer Red Bull for the people who do not drink alcohol like the Muslims, which made it a major substitute for alcohol to that group. However, Red Bull is still individually mixed with alcohol to create both the Red Bull highness and the alcohol sensation. Furthermore, Red Bull has also made music events for those groups of customers like the Red Bull Music Academy in 2005 in Seattle, Washington in the United States. (Red Bull Music Academy 2005) For the physical exertion that the drink offers, Red Bull has also promoted the product for the sport people. Among those people, there are the athletes, the racing drivers, the airborne-sport people, water-sport people, the bikers, the skateboarders, and the skiers. Red Bull highly endorsed this group with many sport festivals, and one of the famous one among those is the Red Bull Dolomite Man that took place in Austria in 2005. (Red Bull Dolomite Man) Red Bulls minor groups are the white-collar and the blue-collar workers. Red Bull can support white-collar workers to concentrate more on the job to improve their performance, and it would also help them stay overnight if he or she needed. The drink would also allow the blue-collar workers to work extra hours with out the feeling of exhaustions for the physical exertion that the drink provides. However, Red Bull did not concentrate on this group, so there were no special efforts directed towards them. Within the four groups, there a considerable amount of customers who look for diet product. For that category, Red Bull produced the sugar-free Red Bull to combine the diet customers with rest of the customers that are within the four groups. Business Level and Generic Strategy In the generic strategy Red Bull there are two views, there is a generic strategy from energy drink market perspective, and there is a generic strategy from soft drink market perspective. From the energy drink market perspective, since Red Bull has few economies of scope, the strategy adopted by Red Bull to follow is differentiation. The price of the drink is about 5Dhs in the UAE, which shows the clear differentiation of the product, especially in a market where every body is competing on the same customer segment. According to Biz/ed, Red Bull was able to build a strong brand image through: using Red Bull cars that had big cans on them, giving free cans to people, and providing Red Bull cans to club DJs (A Look at a Key Feature of Red Bulls Business). This strategy made Red Bull to be the market leader of 70% market in the energy drink market. From the soft drink market industry wide perspective Red Bull applies the Focused-differentiation generic strategy. Red Bull has a very good brand image in terms of soft drinks industry. The drink can only maintain this image through focus-differentiating the product by separating their customers according to the demography (age, lifestyle, culture) and the geography, since the industry has many aggressive competitors with a powerful brand image like Coca Cola and Pepsi. SWOT Strengths Industry leadership Throughout the world, Red bull is the leader in the energy drinks market with annual sales of billion dollars. According to the statistics, in year 2003 red bull achieved 80% brand share of the energy drinks market in the UK. Also in the Europe, they produce two-thirds of overall volume in the region. Moreover, Red bull is competing in 13 West European countries and is the main leader in 12 of these and other top 20 brands are having only 17% of share. Since year 2000 (compare to 1990s), it has been a clear shakeout, and fewer new brands are launching new products to the market. Furthermore many products offered by leading drink manufacturers could not compete with Red bull in the market, such as Coca-Colas Burn. (Red Bull SWOT Analysis) Marketing capabilities The successful marketing strategies and consumer awareness of Red bull introduced stimulation drinks to the western market and has resulted functional drinks growth throughout these years. Red bull is increasing its consumer brand awareness by employing targeted marketing campaigns that focuses on 18-25 age groups. Also the company has been differentiating its product by sponsoring dangerous sports such as Formula 1 driving; free skiing; BMX biking etc. Furthermore, Red bull strongly promotes itself by using its slogan: Red bull gives you wings. (Red Bull SWOT Analysis) Alliance with major distributors Red bull has expanded its brands marketing distribution by establishing an association with Cadbury Schweppes in Australia. This association allows consumers to have access to Red bull across the nation. As a result of this partnership, sales of Red bull are 40% higher compared to last year and expecting to rise significantly year-by-year. Furthermore, this partnership can reduce competitive threats from Red bulls rivals and broaden its sales opportunities due to the fact that Cadbury Schweppes can help it to reach channels such as vending machines, food courts, colleges, sports a travel facilities, hospitals etc. Another partnership that Red Bull North America did was with Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, where Red Bull saw its supply chain get boosted last year. OH Logistics, Red Bulls single national provider, handled more than 16,000 shipments of the drink during 2004 and opened five locations in five states in the first 90 days of operation. (Red Bull OH Logistics) (Red Bull SWOT Analy sis) Weaknesses Lack of innovation In year 2004 some new energy drinks have been entered into the market. One of them is called Raw Energy Fuel Cell, which is Canadian vitamin and glucose drink and is certified by World Wrestling Entertainment. This product has quiet the same effects that Red bull has except that it does not contain Taurine and has less caffeine compared to other energy drinks. Furthermore it comes in 330ml PET bottles, which makes it look different compared to Red bull (250ml cans) and other competitors. However Red bull only made little changes to its product format throughout th

The Role Guilt Plays in Franz Kafkas The Trial Essay -- European Lite

What is guilt? Is Josef K. guilty? What is he guilty of? All of these questions come to mind when you read The Trial by Franz Kafka, but they are not easily answered. The question of guilt is a theme that runs through the entire novel, and it serves to enlighten the reader as to what, I believe, Kafka is trying to say. So what is Kafka trying to say? If one looks at the opening sentence, in the light of the rest of the novel, I believe that it helps to clue us into Kafka's message. The fact that K. believes he has not done "anything truly wrong" (3) harkens back to the question of guilt. So because K. feels he is not fully guilty of anything, why is he hounded by the law? This is where the main theme of the book comes into play in my opinion. Kafka wants us to recognize, with the help of the opening sentence, that K. has done something wrong: he has lived an unexamined life dominated by routine, normalcy, and other people. This is what K. is guilty of. Is living an unexamined life "truly wrong?" I think that Kafka is arguing that it is wrong because by leading that type of life one is merely walking through life blind and not reaching our full potential. The first inkling of the fact that K. lives his life with blinders on, focused merely on the day to day, is his lack of recognition about a number of things. He does not know if he might have committed some minor infraction for which he is now being arrested. He does not realize that the guards are men that work at the bank with him. Later on his way to the court for the first time he makes the realization that he noticed something he normally would not have. All these things point to the fact that K. just goes about his business and day to day affairs with out care for his su... ...comes quite evident. Kafka is calling for all of humanity to stand up and take control of their own lives. Through self-examination, Kafka believes, that we can come to terms with some personal truth that gives this life meaning. For years people have looked to worldly and spiritual vehicles to find meaning, Kafka is urging that we instead turn inside to within and find something in our own humanity that gives this life meaning. Much like Goethe, Kafka believes our free will is what makes us human, and the exercise of free will is what makes or lives truly meaningful. So, do not rely on the whims of the governing or even the church; make your own decisions. Kafka urges to decide every day how you are going to live your life and then do it because you never know when the Day of Judgment may come. Works Cited Kafka, Franz. The Trial. New York: Schocken Books, 1998.

The Great Gatsby and The Hollow Men Essay -- essays research papers

The Great Gatsby has been one of the classic novels of the twentieth century. It creates a unique society that makes the story such a masterpiece. Another magnificent work that relates to The Great Gatsby is T.S. Eliot's 'The Hollow Man.'; The lines in the poem portray the story so vividly that it should have been an epigraph for the novel. The poem's references to hollow and stuffed men, can describe different characters in The Great Gatsby. The hollowness of men represents ruthless barbarians with no respect for humans and no understanding of love. However, the stuffed men seem to be educated, wealthy, and respectful. The differences in these types of men can be seen through the events of the novel. Another aspect of the poem that represents the novel is the idea of the paralyzed force. This force symbolizes freedom and uniqueness. It also is captivating and serves as authority. So, the similarities between The Great Gatsby and 'The Hollow Men'; remarkably show the hollow and stuff ed characteristic of the people in Gatsby's secret society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first similarity between the two pieces of work is the hollowness in mankind referred to by the poem. In the novel there are two main characters that depict such hollowness. The antagonistic character of Tom Buchanan represents the ruthless and careless American whose dream is to use women and acquire money. In addition he has no respect towards others which creates pain for people around him. An example of this is when Myrtle repeatedly uttered his wife's name which was Daisy. Tom took this as an insult and viciously punched her in the nose. He never took into consideration that hitting a women is uncivilized. Another quality he has is to flaunt his wealth in other peoples' faces. This can be seen when he takes Nick around his colossal house. Tom wants others to feel jealous of his riches, when he is actually jealous of the others around him. Thus revealing his emptiness of heart and spirit. His hypocritical remarks show his hollowness towards other. During t he climatic scene in the plaza hotel he said 'I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to you wife.(137)'; He doesn't take into account that he has been doing the same thing with Myrtle and plenty of other ladies. Another hollow character in the novel is Daisy. Daisy portrays the conceite... ...ed to be in charge of the conversation. Also, Owl Eyes was one of the few honorable people who attended Gatsby's funeral. He had an admiration toward Gatsby and cherished his view toward life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So, 'The Hollow Man'; has many parallels that make it a perfect epigraph for The Great Gatsby. The three key aspects of the poem that relate it to The Great Gatsby were the hollow men, the stuffed men, and the paralyzed force. All three depict the society Gatsby lived in and the life he had to go through. The hollow and stuffed men showed the two types of people in Gatsby's society. The hollow men contain no inner spirit or love toward one another. However, the stuffed men consisted of bravery, self-control, and love. They were Tom, Daisy, Jay, and George, respectively. The poem categorizes where people fit in society. The final parallel is the paralyzed force including Owl Eyes and the billboard. Both had a frozen outlook on life and someone to look up to. In conclusion, Fitzgerald and Eliot created classics that will be analyzed for many years to come. However, no one will be able to make an epigraph for The Great Gatsby better than Eliot's 'The Hollow Man.';

Imperialists Climate after the Civil War :: essays research papers

At the end of the nineteenth century, the United States emerged as a world power. Although Congress was reluctant to endorse expansionist schemes, during the end of the nineteenth century many others had become convinced that the United States had to adopt a more aggressive and forceful foreign policy. Some believed expansion would be good for American business. Others felt America had a duty to spread its way of life to less fortunate countries. Behind all the arguments, however; the United States was a great and important country, and it should start acting the part.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With America’s Navy rebuilt there was an emergence of aggression in foreign policy. The two developments originated from the same source: a ready acceptance of force as the final authority of international disputes. That acceptance of force led to the Spanish-American War of 1898. Those same attitudes, during the presidencies of B. Harrison and G. Cleveland between 1885 and 1897, almost caused several other wars. America’s attitudes changed toward foreign policy first with their relationship to Samoa, a group of 14 South Pacific volcanic islands with splendid natural harbors. American negotiated a treaty with a tribal chief to grant the United States rights to a naval station. Unfortunately, Germany had also decided that Samoa should belong to them. Through some conferences and a natural typhoon that wiped both Germany and United States out of the Pacific they finally came to an agreement without going to war. American troubles were a little different with Chile. Trade and strategic policy were not the reasons for interfering with Chile, but more of touchy pride and patriotism. A revolutionary faction had taken control of the Chilean government. During that time some US sailors were docked in their country. A riot had broken out and some sailors got hurt and a couple even got killed. What made matters worse was that the Chilean police, who were there, did not intervene. However, they took the sailors away to jail. The Americans sought for reparations for the insult and Chile refused to apologize. After threatening them to go to war, they finally decided to back down, by apologizing for the attack on the sailors and paying $75,000 compensation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hawaii figured prominently in American foreign policy planning by its location. Not only were they ideally situated along the trade routes to Asia, but they offered a perfect site for protecting the Pacific sea lanes to the American west coast and to the potential locations of a cape canal.

Coffee retail Essay

1. Introduction The report revolves around the Retail Industry. As it is a very generic industry we have taken the Coffee Retail Market as the highlight of scrutiny. Our scope of study is focused taking in consideration only India as the geographic segment. We broadly look at the Porter’s Five Forces of the industry specifically. Also the complementors are observed and how they affect the retail business of coffee houses. The major players identified in the industry are Starbucks, Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, Costa Coffee, and Nescafe. Grilling down further the report includes SWOT analysis, External Factor analysis matrix ,Internal Factor analysis matrix and PESTEL analysis. 2. Porter’s Five Forces The porter’s five forces model framework is very helpful in understanding the industry and market closely. It further helps in determining the profitability of the industry as a whole. Also helps the management in taking strategic decisions accordingly. 2. 1 Threat of New Entrants In the present world coffee has become a really popular beverage among Indians. This makes it an attractive market for the potential companies who are looking up for opening their retail coffee houses in India. Entering the industry is not that cumbersome in case a business house admires to open up a small coffee shop. Problem arises in respect to entering the industry when they aspire to set up retail coffee chains or speciality coffee shops. Due to many established names in the industry like Cafe Coffee Day and Costa Coffee, establishing brand name also becomes an issue. Companies already with established brand names like Coca Cola, Starbucks can enter the industry easily without much caution as they already have marketing strategies designed in their favour. As a conclusion, we can state that barriers to entry are Low especially for global brands and they can easily enter the coffee retail industry with established marketing strategy, name, and huge capital and financial stability. Otherwise, hard for new and unknown firms admiring to be in the business. 2. 2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers The suppliers for the coffee retail industry in India generally come from southern India i. e. Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Though these days different types of coffee are becoming popular among the Indians like, Gourmet, Organic, Eco-friendly coffee, and they are being sold for better prices in comparison to the traditional brewed coffee. Still the situation is not really in favour of these suppliers. These coffee growers are poor, competitive and rely on the buyers to a great extent. Therefore, power remains to be limited. This proves to be good for the retail outlets in the business. 2. 3 Bargaining power of Customers. The whole retailing coffee industry depends upon the customers. So it is of vital importance to satisfy the customers in order to give them a reason to visit again. In this case word-of mouth plays an important role. So, if people appreciate about a particular coffee shop or chain, others are likely to try it. Thus, retailers must find new strategies and techniques of luring away the customers. But it is very important for the localities coffee retail shops to understand that they cannot charge prices as high as the industry players like Starbucks, Barista or Cafe Coffee Day. They need to maintain a low price profile in order to attract customers. So in case of these small locality retail shops the bargaining power of customers is very high. Otherwise the other coffee retail chains (industry players) do hold some control over the prices charged but it becomes important to consider the customers purchasing power. Otherwise they would switch over to other brand as there is no switching cost for them. This establishes that the bargaining power of customers is high and really important measure for the conduct of efficient business. Also these coffee retail chains should understand that the customers can also make the coffee at home which justifies their higher bargaining power. 2. 4 Threat of Substitute products There are a lot of substitutes for the coffee retail industry in general. Specially, the soft drinks industry has always given fierce competition. Also, other products like ice cream, candy, and beer are also a part of substitute products. It becomes important for these retail houses to make coffee more popular and drinkable amongst the masses. People should never consider switching from their coffee shops. But with changing preferences of Indian masses in favour of coffee the players within the industry are making maximum efforts in favour of differentiating its products from the substitute products. Also strategic decisions and marketing activities are initiated to shift the customer base from the substitutes resulting in high demand of coffee from the retail sector. So the threat of substitutes is also moderate. 2. 5 Competitive Rivalry within the Industry Considering the entire coffee retail industry as the scope of study, there are number of retail chains serving the industry effectively. To top the list is Starbucks, and than many more such as Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, Costa Coffee, Gloria Jeans, Nescafe, Bru Cafe, Dunkin Donuts, Mc Donalds, and small Kiosks and coffee points are also emerging in localities. They all are different in size and serve different segments of the society but are competing with each other in some or the other way. Each retailer follows different marketing strategy to lure away their target segments. Also with moving times the industry is occupying a stable position in the retail sector and is saturated . Therefore, we can say that the competitive rivalry though on the higher side does not affects the profit margins for the industry. 3. Complementors There is a sixth force to the porter’s five forces model, the power and competence that the complementors provide to the business. The complementors are those that help in selling and adding value to the existing products of the industry. When these products are used together they help in satisfying customer demands more effectively. It is also to be believed that these complementors play an important role in drawing in the demand for the industry. This in turn helps in scaling up the profits. Conversely, the poor products being manufactured or supplied by the complementors may harm the profits and demand. So it becomes important on part of managers to analyse all the six forces and then think systematically how their strategic choices would affect the industrial competition. Majorly the complementors can be associated with high-tech industries wherein they literally help in hiking the sales and profits for the industry. In our case, coffee retailing is not an industry that has any such complementors that would help in boosting sales or profits. But certain products are identified by us that in a slight way might affect the coffee retailing business. Like, merchandising, snacks offered for sale in coffee retail chains. Merchandising includes apparels and coffee mugs and other products such as soft toys and key chains available for sale by many coffee retail houses Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, Starbucks etc. Snacks are offered mainly by all the coffee houses in the form of cookies, patties, croissants, sandwiches, pasta, oats etc. So these complementors directly help in pushing up the sales of the business. 4. SWOT Analysis 5. External factor Analysis External strategic forces. Weight Rating Weighted score Comments Opportunities 1. India Large market .18 4 .72 Second most populated nation of the world 2. Increase in spending power .15 3 .45 The GDP or the purchasing power is rising adequately 3. Youth population .13 4 .52 Youth are the ones who are more prone and exposed to cafes 4. Favourable labour cost .07 2 .14 Easily available manpower at lower costs 5. Favourable infrastructure cost .07 2 .14 Low and easy access to infrastructure 6. Opportunity to serve the tea drinking segment .05 1 .05 A major portion of population is attracted towards tea drinking. Threats 1. Low per capita income. .07 3 .21 Huge requirement to extend products at competitive prices 2. Increasing health consciousness .04 1 .04 3. Competiton from fast food joints .04 3 .12 Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut, Subway 4. Hiking coffee prices .06 3 .18 5. Tea drinking segment .10 4 .4 This segment consumes tea at least twice a day 6. Rare habit of travelling to cafes .04 1 .04 Total score 1. 00 3. 01 The EFE matrix is made by comparing the coffee industry with the other beverage industry in India and weights and ratings are assumed according to personal knowledge. Considering the external factors effecting the industry EFE matrix is created. A score of more then 2. 5 reflects that the industry has more than average capability in response to external forces particularly the beverage industry in India. 6. Internal Factor Analysis Internal strategic forces Weight Rating Weighted Score Comments Strengths 1. Increasing Coffee demand .18 4 .72 Changing lifestyle leading to coffee adaptation 2. Favourable labour relations .15 3 .45 3. Non-perishable commodity .12 4 .48 Coffee is a non-perishable commodity which has no threat of being spoiled easily. Weakness 1. Low dominance over price .15 2 .3 Due to competitors in the industry. 2. Heavy export of coffee .05 1 .05 Low domestic consumption 3. High operating cost .2.5 1 .25 Total 1 2. 25 In the above tables, Column 1 depicts the strategic factors Column 2 depicts weight assigned to each strategic factor from 0 to 1 i. e. not important to most important Column 3 depicts the rating assigned to each factor wherein a scale of 1-4 is used. It signifies industry’s present response to each factor. In EFE matrix 1-4 is responses from poor to superior and In IFE 1-2 is major and minor weakness and 3-4 is major and minor strength. Column 4 gives in the weighted score. Column 5 represents the comments for the strategic factors Since internal factor analysis is used to judge wether the company is performing inline with the expected strengths and weaknesses or not. Generally an average score of 2. 5 on 10 is expected. After the analysis, we conclude that the internal weigted score of coffee industry in India is almost in line with 2. 5,reflected that the respected industry is running as astrong business internally as well. 7. Value Chain It is a series of activities aimed at delivering maximum value to a customer, through a product or service, at the minimum cost. This model analyses how a firm procures raw materials, adds value to these material through various processes and sells the finished product to the ultimate consumer. All these functions are performed with the objective of maximizing customer value at minimum cost. The value chain of the retail coffee industry consists of the following processes and activities: 7. 1 Primary activities 7. 1. 1 Inbound Logistics: This is primarily concerned with the procurement of raw materials in the form of coffee beans and various types of dairy products, required by all the coffee retail outlets. The aim is to procure high quality materials so that best of the flavours is served to the customers. Cafe Coffee Day does in-house sourcing through coffee estates owned by the company. Starbucks Coffee and Barista Lavazza chains have sourcing agreement with Tata Coffee. Cafe Nescafe, owned by Nestle works through community farming, where it provides high yielding quality, disease resistant seeds to the farmers for improved productivity. The company provides regular and fair remuneration to the farmers. Dairy products are also sourced through community farming. 7. 1. 2 Operations: There are various operations involved in the business of retail coffee outlets. The most important operation to be performed is roasting of the coffee beans, which gives the taste, flavor and smell to the coffee. Tata coffee provides roasting services to Starbucks and Barista through its own roasting facility. The outlets undertake all the operations to run an outlet like preparation of items, serving them to the customers and billing, etc. Starbucks and Cafe Coffee Day work on the model wherein order is taken and served to the customers on the table, whereas Barista works as self-service outlet. 7. 1. 3 Outbound Logistics: The customers are serviced through company owned or licensed retail outlets, which may be in the form of lounge, highway cafes or store-in-store. The stores are set up in centralized locations, which are easily accessible to the customers, in order to achieve maximum footfall. According to a business standard report, top 40 cities in India have around 1700 coffee outlets. CCD is the largest coffee chain in India with 1200 outlets, followed by Barista having 154 outlets and Starbucks having 21 outlets. Starbucks also sells some of its products through retail stores and super markets. 7. 1. 4 Marketing and Sales: Companies undertake various promotional activities to attract a large number of customers, which may be in the form of sponsorships and co-marketing initiatives. Customers are also benefited through loyalty card programs, carrying various offers and advantages. Value meal combos attract students who have low purchasing power. Marketing is also done through TV and media sources. All this is done to maximize sales. 7. 1. 5 Services: Coffee retail industry relies on the quality of service to the customers. These chains don’t sell coffee, they sell experience. For this, highly trained staff is recruited to provide high quality customer service. Other services offered are newspapers, magazines and free Wi-Fi to the customers. 7. 2 Support services 7. 2. 1 Firm Infrastructure: In order to have a smooth flow of operations, the companies need to have sound infrastructure for accounting, planning, finance, management, etc. The retail outlets have inviting interiors and comfortable seating space. 7. 2. 2 Human Resource Management: Human Resources are the most valuable assets of any organization, and same also goes with these retail coffee chains. Highly trained people are recruited to provide high quality customer service. Various training and motivation programs are conducted to further enhance the skills of these people, which will add to the customer value. 7. 2. 3 Technology: Companies have started using latest technology to perform their operations. Computerized roasting machines are being used to maintain the consistency in the flavour of coffee beans. Barista has installed control systems like Total Quality Management to ensure the quality of materials distributed. Latest software is being used to achieve maximum operational efficiency. 7. 2. 4 Procurement: In order to achieve maximum customer satisfaction, companies need to procure raw materials that are of best quality available in the market. Companies also need to source furniture, kitchen equipment, utensils, etc. , which act as complements in the operations of coffee retail outlets. All the above-mentioned activities aim to maximize the customer value at the minimum cost. 8. PESTEL Analysis A strategic framework of macro economic , political, economical, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors include :- 8. 1 Political factors. Indian coffee board has proved a helping hand to the coffee industry of the same after 1996 de-regulation of coffee marketing. after it it has grown up as a free market leading to a four times growth in its trade. around 70-80% of the country’s production is exported . A coffee produced with set standards named fair trade coffee is one of the major constituents to coffee retailing. the one managing this in the country is fair trade alliance , kerela. Starbucks in India is certified to fair trade coffee provider ,whereas barista lavazza has fair trade coffee compliance abroad buit not in India and same is the case with dunkin donuts. 8. 2 Economical factors Development in lifestyle of people and coffee turning as a delighting factor in the economy ,the consumption of coffee is taking a pace. Increase in consumption by urban young generation is expected to take the industry at a whopping business of around 2250 crores by the year 2017. Though it currently stands at Rs. 1100 with its major players trading like barista, CCd etc. The infrastructure developements, the enhancing demand and smoothing trade procedure leads to incremental trade for the industry. A coffeeproduced with set standards named fair trade coffee is one of the major condstituents to coffee retailing. The one managing this in the country is fair trade alliance,kerela. Starbucks inIindia is certified to fair trade coffee provider , whereas barista lavazza has fair trade coffee compliance abroad but not in India and same is the case with dunkin donuts 8. 3 Socio- Cultural factors Catering to the ever increasing population of the country, it is the responsibility of the businesses to look for to the socio economic factors in place . For instance, the development in lifestyle of people is leading to increase in the coffee consumption in the country. Keeping these factors into mind businesses like cafe coffee day claims of training 400-500mpeople every month to enhance employment and as a part of responsibility to the society, MC Donalds along with CCD keep staff to clean right under your feet. Similar to those dunkin donuts provides 21 day training program to the staff to help customers better. As a part of social responsibility 50% Costa coffee employees in Delhi and NCR are deaf people. 8. 4 Technological factors With the changing lifestyle and gezmo addicted generation, one cannot afford to have a internet free cafe . The presence of bluetooths and wifi within the outlets of coffee companies is the basic requirement to get on the customer to the shop. The comfort of checking the emails, organising commercial meetings in the coffee shops an sitting there for hours requires the business to have a wifi enabled cafe. For eg -starbucks (India) uses help AT&T(India) to provide a click, no password facility for easy internet accessSalong with there mobile apps and various online facilties. Moreover whotspot also helps in proving in these facilities. Barista lavazza uses strategy ‘ internet with mugs’ named strategy to lure customers in contract with spectranet. Along with this value addition it also provide facilities like hot deals with customers downloading deal on their tablets or smartphones and avail the services on the spot. 8. 5 Environmental factors The weather conditions play a major role in production of coffee. Environmental factors in case of coffee is the seasonal dependecy of the amount of coffee produced across different seasons. For instance:- with on time monsoon this year in the country,the coffee production in southern area of country raised upto 8-10%. in india other factors on which the coffee production depends are the pest infestation and limitation of mechanisation. conserving water, recycling,energy and plastic management etc are also few termenologies which companies takecare off. 8. 6 Legal factors Legal establishments popping up prooved as aiding cushions to the domestic market of the industry as well along with the outside trade. with liberalisation of industries in 1991 this particular industry was also benefited. One of the drastic help was with the FDI in retail industry i. e around 51% which turned trade more smoother then before. Tarrif charges in india are 40-605 on raw material and 60-100% on semi finished goods. Mc Donalds bring its coffee reatailing from its brand mccafe originated in melbourne,australlia. Starbucks got the way to enter in Indian markets after FDI was allowed by government but still restriction to get 30% of sourcing from SME’s of India. Indian institute of plantation management, Banglore (IIPM)usually takes up the responsibility of coffee retailing in the country along with its entrepreneurship and development. 9. Conclusion The coffee retail industry in India is on the expansion path and has doubled over the last decade. The present size of the market is estimated at Rs. 1520 crore, which is expected to reach Rs. 3775 core by the year 2018, a CAGR of around 20%. Earlier there was no such demand for moving out of the houses for coffee consumption but the emerging coffee retail chains have changed the scenario triggering consumption need amongst the young adults. Serving the evolutionary phase exceptionally well, these coffee retail chains are overwhelmed with the response in the Indian market are planning further expansion of their networks in the country. The above analysis of porter’s five forces highlights that the profitability of the industry is expanding with westernised culture being adapted by Indians. (Porters 5 force analysis). The snack and merchandise industry are complementing the coffee retail industry very effectively thereby leading to inflated sales and profits for these retail houses. (complementors). Reflected by the study of strategy of coffee industry hereby conclude that the Indian coffee industry is a strong respondent to the external factors (EFA matrix) as well as internally also industry is doing well(IFA matrix). To increase the figures of sales and profitability, a number of varieties of coffee and eatables are offered, targeted at different price-points of the market. The companies are using innovative strategies and marketing tactics. A large young population, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyle, coupled with not-so-difficult entry into the market have attracted a large number of domestic and foreign players in the country. Global brands like Starbucks are keen in investing in the Indian market due to the huge potential it displays. This is evident from the sizeable revenues that these brands have generated over the years. (PESTEL and Value chain). Only home grown coffee is served in the Indian market as coffee import attracts a duty of 120%. Coffee beans are sourced from company owned estates or through the means of community farming. Companies with established brand names are able to run their business successfully, whereas small business houses are in a way struggling to compete in the market. 10. Bibliography Unknown. 2013. [online] Available at: http://pure. au. dk/portal-asb-student/files/3785/khrystyna_diaz_final_theses. pdf [Accessed: 12 Oct 2013]. Unknown. 2013. 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