Me, Myself: A Rolling Stone Out to Gather Mosses!

Old proverbs made new, so is the scripting of my life so far. Thus at the outset I thank the Almighty for presenting me a unique kaleidoscope to look through and to bask in the joy of discovering the unknown! The Journey I breathed first at Taiwan, then turned into teens at Shanghai and now I'm busy shaping my life in US. My horizon zoomed on gradually, and surely, it couldn't have been better! I hope someday I could boast about myself as a happy citizen of a global village. Thankfully, it was not the case of uprooting, and instead it all went like a series of happy adventure so far. Of course, a few hiccups were there, but who cares if it took some sweat to rise from a non-starter to a first boy in English Class at 7th grade (Shanghai), or for that matter, to adapt to the ethnic cuisine there? Who cared either, when it took some extra effort to excel in the Basketball Varsity Team in spite of a shorter height! Challenges actually serve as springs beneath the launching pads – so I have learnt from my experience – the greater the challenge, the greater the scope to attain a new height! I liked them all. With this spirit, this humble fish has now reached the sea, thankfully with time and tide by its side as guardian angels – one to provide the power of young mind, and the other, which is YOU, to provide me the scope to utilize that power, let alone guiding and governing me towards the right direction. As for the rough shades, I am lucky to have seen off the monotony of a run-of-the-mill life or political storms at places. I still detest the identical uniforms and rigid routines at Taiwan School, or political tension between Taiwan and Shanghai. These are the humdrums I've left behind. Yet I will obviously carry with me the simplicities of Taiwan and the financial/economic knowledge that I could garner from Shanghai. I would always salute my teachers at Villanova (the premier school of Shanghai) for cementing my basement of knowledge and rousing my craving for more of it. And why not? This business school has equipped me bit by bit, to meet all the challenges of academic and social circumstances whatsoever anywhere! And my parents! Words would fall short to describe their contribution in my life. It's because of them I could develop the attitude to find rhythm in diversity, to walk through the tough terrains of the unknown and to appreciate anything good anywhere.   It's this attitude that has made my transitions smoother and enjoyable – why, today I love English language no less than Taiwanese, or for that matter Chinese. Thanks to the unique and varied grooming, today I comprehend one adage from my heart:   â€Å"The more you learn, the more it opens up for learning.† Coming of Age I love my pond, I love that bigger lake too and now I'm excited about my prospect in the sea! So what if I think to raise more capillaries in my brain through varied social, academic and spiritual sparks? The bigger the canvas the bigger scope for its painter! I dream to be a part of the US society, an active molecule to its social, academic and cultural chemistry. I dream to be a big fish in Economics. Big fishes need sea, and so I am here! And yes! It would never be all about taking. Thanks to the new age gurus, I'm a firm believer of the Law of Giving. Thus it has to be a unique symbiosis between my world and me. And this is the world for me. Study and masterminding scopes cannot be better than what is available here. The fuss about politics is absent; the freedom of expression is highly regarded. These are the ideal conditions for a student to grow. Here I will be able to continue my co curricular activities too – I can brush up my Basketball skills again, or the debating skills I earned from the Student Association body. I can renew my writing or editing skills. I can unwind with community services. I can bask in the warmth of friendship. Here's the scope. Here I will be able to light a thousand bulbs in the hall of my heart. It's here I'll be able to air, care and share all of me. This place is the ideal example to establish the law of giving. This is my choicest springboard for actions. And who doesn't know, actions speak louder than words? That is my mantra and with that I'm merrily waiting at your gate. Knock knock knock! Open the door and let me in! I've wonderful dreams waiting to be unearthed. Let that happen here! Ends

Friendship and Love in the Little Prince

Friendship and love are essential topics in anyone?s lifesince through them we can feel complete and alive. In The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery novel, elemental, but not always taken into account, aspects of life are highlighted from a deep point of view differentiating the perception an adult and a child can have from the same subject, being Friendship and love the prominent ones in my consideration. Firstly, Friendship is seen as the pure communion between an experienced man and an innocent child. The writer emphasizes the importance of a friend from the point of view of a child,this innocence is clearly opposed to the perception of an adult. Seen through the eyes of a child what is important are the perceptions, ideas and emotions that a child posses which makes friendship concrete and worthwhile. The Little prince points out that a friend is not valuable because of the material belongings someone has, but the qualities he or she posses. What makes a friend is the smile on her or his face, the sound of the voice and the desire to have or do something that makes somebody real. Alive and interesting. On the other hand, love is profoundly connected to friendship. In this case the superficial man becomes one with the imaginative child, being love the point in which they found each other and by means of which they would be one. The pilot finds in the sky a way of meting the Little Prince again, he says â€Å"look at the sky. Ask yourselves: Is it yes or not? Has the sheep eaten the flower? And you will see how everything changes†. In these meaningful lines, love, fraternal love is conveyed; whenever they look at the stars they will be together again. The feelings about friendship are arm to arm with love. In conclusion, the opposition made between adulthood and chilhood, the Pilot and the little Prince emphasize the importance of sentimental values in life. Friendship and love come up over any other subject.

Arnold Palmer Hospital Supply Chain

Arnold Palmer Hospital’s Supply Chain Case Arnold Palmer Hospital is one of the nations leading hospitals for women and children. It is located in Orlando, Florida, and is apart of a national purchasing group. Even though being apart of the purchasing group has some advantages, there are also many disadvantages. These disadvantages forced the hospital to change its supply chain strategy. After leaving this group the hospital along with several other hospitals from the group formed their own smaller, but still powerful group, Healthcare Purchasing Alliance.The company saved its members $7 million in the first year with two main changes. First, it was structured and staffed to assure that the bulk of the savings associated with its contracting efforts went to its eight members. Second, it struck even better deals with vendors by guaranteeing a committed volume and signing not 1- year deals but 3- to 5- year contracts. There are several issues facing the Arnold Palmer Hospital (APH) that led to the revising of the supply chain strategy.The main reason for the revision of the strategy was because of the frequent changing of products every year by the purchasing group, because of lower cost bidders. Another reason for the change in strategy is the fact that the purchasing group drops products that are familiar or preferred to APH, and stocked products that were not famili ar to the physicians at the hospital. The final reason the case stated that the hospital changed its strategy was because the buying group was not able to negotiate contracts with local manufacturers to secure the best pricing.Because APH left the large purchasing group and formed their own group they were able to save their members $7 million, even though they had an internal cost of $400,000 to run HPA the savings and ability to contract for what the member hospitals really want makes the business a good one. The reason that Arnold Palmer Hospital’s strategy differs from a manufacturing firms strategy is because an effective supply chain strategy in manufacturing focuses on development of new product innovations and efficiency through buyer-vendor collaboration, where-as the approach in a service industry has a slightly different emphasis.Because APH is a service industry it focuses more on the people side of the supply chain. Using the people who actually use the product and taking their input when buying the objects. The alternative to the problem with the purchasing group would be to do exactly what APH did, leave the group. Although instead of forming their own group they could have joined another group in the area. With them forming their own group they can set their own rules, and regulations, and if they had joined another group they would have had to conform to the already set rules and regulations. I believe that the best alternative that they could have chosen was forming their own purchasing group. That way they can do what was best for them, their patients and their employees, and the other hospitals in the group. They can come up with their own rules and regulations, who they wanted their supplies from, and who to negotiate contracts with.

Why have the western and melodrama featured so prominently in genre Essay

Why have the western and melodrama featured so prominently in genre criticism - Essay Example 2). The sentiment was rather exaggerated yet films shown in different forms of media such as television, theaters and video cassete are absolutely the channel of the general public’s entertainment and are the embodiment of a democratic cultural framework. However, the primary significance of the film industry in the creation of pleasure for the general public does not necessarily imply that it can be a dimension of the cultural and historical indication. But the reality that films get in touch with the mass audience means that they represent some of the unconsious and conscious experiences of the general public, or probably a considerable portion of it (MacBean 1975, p. 48). Nevertheless, in the case of the American film industry, it is painstaking for many art scholar and historian to discern the relationship between Hollywood films and popular consciousness from the time 1940s until the contemporary period. The popular mind itself is multifaceted. It is inticately divided into different categories such as age, gender, ethnicity and social class and is habitually inconsistent and unstable in response. During the late sixties and early seventies, in the span of four or five years, the general movie audience shifted away from compassion towards social deviance of Bonnie and Clyde (1967) to the justice and regulate vigilantism of Dirty Harry (1971), and it is uncertain if that constant alteration of movie preference is in commune with some deep-seated transformation of popular feeling. However, it is probable that these divergent outlooks toward wickedness and crime coexisted in the American society, and the films further influence the already heteregenous American public. Likewise, it is difficult to determine the factors that contribute to the popular success of a particular film (Neale 1981, p. 11). For instance, did the movie Rambo garner its popularity because of its political underto ne such as

Amendments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Amendments - Essay Example Prior to these amendments, some states had already made their own ratifications of the constitutional contingents, which prompted the need to limit the powers of the federal government with regard to investigation, prosecution and punishment of crime (Calvin, 2009). The original constitution offered very little provisions touching on criminal processes (Calvin, 2009). A majority of the constitutional amendments were mainly focused on addressing issues relating to criminal processes. Fifteen of the twenty six rights contained in the first eight amendments to the constitution focus mainly on addressing the criminal and judicial processes. These amendments were created based on a perspective that emerged in the late 18th century about individual rights. Initially, the amendments were meant to only be applicable to the federal government, but with time, states started adopting most of the provisions in the amendments (David & James, 2008). In order to fully understand the impact of these amendments on the judicial processes in both juvenile and adult courts, it is important to first and foremost understand the phrase â€Å"principles of due process† as used in the 5th amendment (John, 2006). Due process of law implies that all laws be applied equally and fairly to all American citizens, and most importantly those suspected to have committed crimes. The fourth amendment protects citizens from unreasonable seizures and searches of their houses, and their property (John, 2006). This amendment limits the powers of the central government when conducting criminal investigations. The government cannot unlawfully enter a suspect’s house or any of his or her property, papers among other things to look for evidence. Search warranties supported by affirmation or Oath have to be issued so as to enable the police to conduct searches. Interpretations of the amendment by the Supreme Court restricted police searches and seizures only to the suspect’s bodies an d clothes, the things they have in plain sight, the places or things that the accused is in control or which he could reach and property where the police strongly suspect that a person could be in danger (Calvin, 2009). This amendment had a great impact on criminal proceedings. It restricted the powers of the government in investigating crimes (Calvin, 2009). The amendment made it unlawful for the federal police to break in to suspect’s houses with the intention of searching and seizing some of the property purported to provide evidence of a crime. The police need to follow certain procedures, including obtaining a search warrants so as to be able to conduct houses and properties belonging to criminal suspects. The Fifth Amendment protects individuals from ‘double jeopardy’ (Calvin, 2009). This refers to the process of initiating a second trial for a person suspected to have committed the same crime. This amendment requires that before a person is any serious cri minal offence, there must be a thorough investigation by the jury linking him to the offense. This amendment also gives the defendant in a court process the right not to testify against himself, commonly known as the right to remain silent. The main intention of the

Topical References Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Topical References - Assignment Example The purpose of this research is to understand the various types of disorders that are covered within the context of Child and Adolescents Psychiatry while the research is based to answer this question which type of interventions may be utilized to enhance productivity of children and adolescents suffering from mental health issues and also how these disorders impact the productivity. References Angold, A. and Costello, E. J. (2000). The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 39 (1): 39–48. Abstract: To describe the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (CAPA). The base interview covers the age range from 9 to 17 years. The interview glossary that provides detailed operational definitions of symptoms and severity ratings is described, and psychometric data and further developments of the interview are presented. Across 5,962 parent-child interviews, the core sections of the CAPA (psychiatric sym ptoms, functional impairment, demographics, family structure and functioning) took on average 59 minutes for children and 66 minutes for parents. Test-retest reliability for diagnoses ranged from ? = 0.55 for conduct disorder (CD) to ? = 1.0 for substance abuse/dependence. Validity as judged by 10 different criteria was good. Developments of the CAPA include a shorter â€Å"gateway† version using core symptoms as screen items, a Spanish version, and versions for twin studies, use with young adults (YAPA), and preschool-age children (PAPA). There is a place in both research and clinical settings for a rigorously operationalized interview (such as the CAPA) that focuses on ensuring that respondents understand what is being asked and on clearly defining levels of symptom severity and functional impairment. [Abstract from author] Classi, P. M., Le, T. K., Ward, S., and Johnston, J. (2011). Patient characteristics, comorbidities, and medication use

Why can't we outlaw war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why can't we outlaw war - Essay Example War has existed from the dawn of humankind. Six thousand years ago, wars existed between tribes. A classic example is cemeteries found in the Nubian valley, people who died because of conflicts. Zulu kingdom is another example; in 1820s, Shaka fought the tribe of Ndwandwe and killed more than 40,000 people. War as gone through evolution, from using of stones and slings to the present nuclear bombs. A case in hand was the Second World War, where nuclear bomb was used, and over 70 million people died. However, what triggers war? It occurs because of several reasons. It could be a territorial dispute, minerals, and oil, example Iraq invading Kuwait in 1990s. Making wars involves the use of weapons. There has been an evolution of weapons from the use of crude ones like spears to the deadliest ones like the nuclear bombs. Bombs are now more deadly and accurate than before. This is evidenced by the case of precision guided bombs that only kills and destroys where it was intended. Atomic bomb, which kills many people, destroys property, and has prolonged side effects, has ushered in the era of the nuclear age (Eichensehr and Reisman54). The effects of war are adverse, diseases, hunger, pandemics and famines are just but a few. Given the above facts, we keep asking is war justified. Actually, we should not fight rather look for other options to our difference. Critics argue that war is necessary for a prosperous society. The results of any war are killings, destruction and loss of property. Wars dominated the past century. In the First World War, nearly eleven million people lost their lives, around fifty in the Second World War. The new century has ushered in the shed of blood such as the attack of Afghanistan and Iraq by the US forces. The causes of war in most cases are not natural but rather the divisions amongst us in form classes. People in a certain class find ways and means of protecting their

Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Power - Essay Example These three C's in many ways mirror the three branches of government within the United States: the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Therefore, one may describe the balance of power with the following phrase: "The commission proposes, the Council decides, the Court interprets." However, some differences remain, and perhaps the internal structure of the European Community may best be understood as a combination of "different conceptions of democracy" (Craig, 1997, 105). The EU is not a state, but a combination of states and therefore it derives its authority from its members. "Under the present organization of the EU, its balance of powers does not correspond to the classic principle of the separation of powers. The interplay of checks and balances does not give a necessarily weaker result, but it is different" (Pris, 2000, 4). Because of this distinct separation of powers that isn't "really" a separation of powers; it is difficult to determine who the head of the EU is or how, if the bodies were to disagree, such a disagreement would be handled if not by the Court. The Council or the Commission could emerge at the dominant body depending upon political circumstances. Each entity has its own strengths and weakness. "Secondly, EC law is not stable. It is dynamic. The boundaries of the EC's powers move with the adoption of decisions, regulations, directives and the conclusion of international agreements" (Pris, 2000, 4). The Commission members are appointed by their respective governments. Seats are not elected. Therefore, the risk is that the Commission might become too powerful and lack sufficient checks upon who may rise to enjoy such authority. The primary power of the Commission is its soft power; it has a tremendous ability to advise and lead interest groups in a manner that is consistent with the strategies and goals outlined by the European Union. Rather than create a top-down regulatory strategy, it employs consensus building and negotiations as tools of intervention in competition issues. When needed, the Commission may choose to issue a public outcry against a faulty competitive practice. However, such an instance is rare and can be explained by the strongest competitive disadvantages, such as that imposed by a monopoly or too much state intervention into economic affairs. These issues concern the Commission because its main goal is to ensure a fair trade and competitive platform for transnational industries. The main purpose of the Union is to enable economic development and such actions are contrary to free market liberalization principles. While not the 'neoliberalism' that has at times been advocated by countries like the United States and criticized by others who saw the destruction created by strict adherence to the "Washington Consensus" advocated by aid lender institutions like the IMF, the European Union's Commission does take the opportunity to stop monopolistic and anti-competitive practices.In this way, the European Union may offer a middle strategy that is neither Washington based neoliberalism or strong, state driven economic practices followed by Commun ist China or other Asian nations. Europe's socialist democratic mix has worked thus far to tailor the economic environment to fit economic necessity. This can be seen in the dramatic economic success stories of nations like Portugal, who has been cited as an example of EU economic success. The Commission's role in EU

Marketing for small business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing for small business - Essay Example preneurial marketing operations, and has compared them to the marketing theories given by marketing books, with the aid of focus groups and interviews with entrepreneurs. The author begins his argument by establishing differences between the operations of a normal company and those of an entrepreneur’s business. While his analysis of the traditional marketing approaches is correct in pointing out that they are planned, formal, and largely backed by thorough research, his views about entrepreneurial characteristics being unplanned seem questionable. It is true that entrepreneurial activities can be classified as being ‘informal’, and intuitive, but this does not imply that entrepreneurs do not make use of careful planning to run their businesses. In fact, planned processes play as important a role in the operations of entrepreneurial businesses as in those of corporate giants. According to Delmar and Shane (2003), entrepreneurs are better off using careful planning than learning through trial and error because it enables efficient utilization of already scarce resources. Hence, this distinction made by Strokes in his article appear s questionable to some extent. However, the other arguments presented in the article to establish the significance of entrepreneurial marketing are stronger than the one analyzed above. The author has correctly identified the marketing-related problems of entrepreneurial businesses, including less focus on marketing operations, limited customer base, scarce resources, as well as lack of specialized skills since there is too much reliance on the owner’s competencies. By conducting focus groups of the owner-managers of different entrepreneurial businesses, he has maintained that entrepreneurs see marketing as merely a tactic to attract customers through promotion, and are not aware of its strategic meanings like fulfilment of customer needs and product development. In addition, the observation that entrepreneurial operations are

Project feasibility study report through Primary Research Assignment

Project feasibility study report through Primary Research - Assignment Example This paper will examine how the differences achieve different outcomes and goals between the various universities. By looking at the different universities, there will be different insight into the effectiveness of specific programs as well as the similarities that may be between different regions because of the expectations in design entrepreneurship for the current work force. Introduction Creating a different understanding of design entrepreneurship leads to specific careers and studies in the field. More important, it establishes distinct differences in how individuals receive training and what the outcome is of the education that is received (Reynolds et al, 2005: p 205). When looking at different concepts that are a part of design entrepreneurship as a part of the educational field, it can be seen that cultural and social influences directly impact those which are involved in this career field. More important, there are distinguished alternatives that are used by the teaching m ethods and expectations which are associated with various universities (Henry, Hill, 2005, p 98). ... ave individuals who have the capability to work as their own business while creating teams and working as leaders is one of the main proponents that is associated with this. From the entrepreneurship trends that are a part of society are also new economic standards and expectations that are leading to new types of training needed for those who are going through educational programs. Building ways to train individuals in legitimate areas then becomes a main proponent for the entrepreneurship. For those interested in design, this is furthered with the expectation that most who graduate with a degree will move into an entrepreneurial position, even while working in a specific career field or with a business. The nature of this work has made it pertinent for universities to establish a different option for individuals to understand how to work as design entrepreneurs (Kuratko, 2005: p. 577). Another concept which is specifically associated with entrepreneurship is based specifically on t he expectations for the changes in culture. The different universities which are now creating curricula for students are building on the global nature of a workforce as well as how this is directly associated with entrepreneurs. There is an understanding of how the universities can move to offer more options for a global corporate structure. At the same time, there is the need to understand how to create a different structure based on setting each university apart. Through current studies (Kothari, Handscombe, 2007, p 43), there is an understanding that universities are trying to educate students for a global work force. However, many are also using cultural differences as a way to create differences between the schools, specifically so there are distinctions for national prosperity as well

Marketing of Service - Restaurant Chain Essay Example for Free

Marketing of Service Restaurant Chain Essay With the rise in disposable income, dining outside has become a staple part of the modern world. This has been a phenomenon of most of the cities across the continent. The beautiful and pristine continent of Africa is no exception with the spurt of the cities and the settlements from the outside countries. An interesting cradle of development in the continent is the country of South Africa. As the standard of living of most South Africans has risen over the last decade, eating out has become a popular leisure activity. According to Statistics South Africa, restaurants and coffee shops are steadily growing their businesses year on year. Take-away also did well, with businesses growing at an annual rate of around 15%. These increases were in spite of rising interest rates. In recent years, this market has grown and more restaurants have opened – offering a wide variety and an improving quality of food. So, while the market offers plenty of opportunity for a small business, it also demands quality and preferably a special or different offering. We, at Golden Restaurants , in our explorations to roll out across the seas , couldn’t help overlook this burgeoning market. Hence, going ahead with our vision of taking our Flagship Restaurant Brand ‘The Golden Bowl’ to the International Market, we have thought of setting our eyes on the Africa’s , the beautiful South Africa to begin with . Being in the Indian Restaurant Market for quite sometime and having burnt our kitchens to serve clients from different classes , particularly , the rich and the creamy , we would like to conjure our expertise in positioning ourselves as a class apart and an amphitheatre for the Rich and the Super Rich Indian South Africans . This document provides a peek into the South African Indian Market and our strategy to market and promote the experience of Dining in a different way to the Rich Indian populace. Introduction Setting up a restaurant means first deciding what type of food to serve. South Africa has plenty of ‘traditional’ dishes of its own, and has long been a fertile market for cuisines from India, Italy, Greece, France, China and Japan. This exposure has grown in the last decade, and will continue as the country has become home to thousands from other African countries. Knowing our expertise in the Indian Cuisines, we plan to target High-earning individuals or families of the large Indian Diaspora with plenty of disposable income but not much time as well as dual-income family groups and the Flux of Indian Tourists to the country. Though there are a sizeable number of Indian Restaurants, around 40, located in the Indian strongholds like Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria catering to the different strata of the diaspora, we intend to focus ourselves on the niche rich segment and provide an enriching experience with differentiated Service Value Addition. We plan to start with Johannesburg, as our strategic location , it being a hotspot of Indian settlement and also one of the wealtiest cities of the country . We would like to offer our guests a dining experience like no other. A unique, interactive dining experience creating memorable moments with family and friends or the corporate honchos. From the time the first piece of bread is dipped and the last piece of dessert is savored, youll be graced with the time to discover new things about people you thought you knew. And, those youre getting to know. The emphasis would be on the first impressions and the power of contrast, simplified but exhaustive dining, an engagement of the senses and a choreographed ambience. The pick of the cuisines of the four corners of India would be on offer and the Indian exotic feel would be the main forte. Indian Diaspora in South Africa The history of the Indian diaspora in South Africa is a fascinating saga of almost a hundred forty years. Indian South Africans are people of Indian descent living in South Africa and mostly live in and around the city of Durban, making it the largest Indian city outside India. Many Indians in South Africa are descendents of migrants from colonial India (South Asia) during late 19th-century through early 20th-century. At other times Indians were subsumed in the broader geographical category Asians, including persons originating in present-day Iran and parts of the small Chinese community. The modern South African Indian community is largely descended from Indians who arrived in South Africa from 1860 onwards. The first 342 of these came on board the Truro from Madras, followed by the Belvedere from Calcutta. They were transported as ndentured laborers to work on the sugarcane plantations of Natal Colony, and, in total, approximately 150,000 Indians arrived as indentured laborers over a period of 5 decades, later also as indentured coal miners and railway construction workers. The indentured laborers tended to speak Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, and the majority were Hindu with Christians and Muslims among them. The remaining Indian immigration was from passenger Indians, comprising traders, and others who migrated to South Africa shortly after the indentured labourers, paid for their own fares and travelled as British Subjects. These immigrant Indians who became traders were from varying religious backgrounds, some being Hindu and some being Muslims from Gujarat (including Memons and Surtis), later joined by Kokanis, and Urdu speakers from Uttar Pradesh. . There was also a significant number of Gujarati Hindus in this group. Indian traders were sometimes referred to as Arab traders because of their dress, as large numbers of them were Muslim. Passenger Indians, who initially operated in Durban, expanded inland, to the South African Republic (Transvaal), establishing communities in settlements on the main road between Johannesburg and Durban. Natals Indian traders rapidly displaced small white shop owners in trade with other Indians, and with black Africans, causing resentment among white businesses. | Population, Regional Linguistic Distribution The South African Indian origin community currently numbers around 1. 15 million and constitutes about 2. 5% of South Africa’s total population of 45. 45 million. About 80% of the Indian community lives in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, about 15% in the Gauteng (previously Transvaal) area and the remaining 5% in the Cape Town area. In KwaZulu-Natal, the major concentration of the Indian population is in Durban. The largest concentrations of Indian settlement are at Chatsworth, Phoenix, Tongaat and Stanger in the Durban Coastal area, which covers approximately 500,000 of the Indian origin community. Pietermaritzburg – noted for its link with Mahatma Gandhi has a community of approximately 200,000. Smaller inland towns in KwaZulu Natal such as Ladysmith, Newcastle, Dundee and Glencoe make up the bulk of the remaining Indian population. In the Gauteng area, the Indian community is largely concentrated around Lenasia outside Johannesburg and Laudium and other suburbs outside Pretoria. There are also smaller groups in towns in the Eastern Cape and other provinces. Settlement of Indian origin people in a particular area, as with other South African peoples, came about as a result of the Group Areas Act that forced racial division into particular designated areas. According to the figures provided by the Department of Education and Culture, in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, the linguistic break-up of the Indian community is as follows: Tamil 51%, Hindi 30%, Gujarati 7%, Telugu 6%, Urdu 5% and others 1%. Starting a restaurant in South Africa Product is a key element in the overall market offering. Marketing-mix planning begins with formulating an offering that brings value to target customers. This offering becomes the basis upon which the company builds profitable relationships with customers. A company’s market offering often includes both tangible goods and services. Each component can be a minor or a major part of the total offer. At one extreme, the offer may consist of a pure tangible good, such as soap. Toothpaste, or salt—no services accompanying the product. At the other extreme are pure services, for which the offer consists primarily of a service. Examples include a doctor’s exam or financial services. Between these two extremes, however, many goods-and-services combinations are possible, the best examples is â€Å"Restaurant†. A restaurant is an ideal case of a product meets services story and the success of the greater concept as a whole depends on the combined successes or excellence of the entire gamut of offerings right from the food served to the services rendered to the ambience offered. We are not just offering our core Product with an elite Service but we blend it with a rich dining experience, one that would linger on for quite sometime. Now that we have identified the country, learnt about the population and have good statistical information which support the opening of an Indian Restaurant in South Africa, let’s put on the Thinking Hat and do some Brainstorming like a marketers. We have the vast South African Market which is more or less a mixed kind of market with heterogeneous culture. So, at first we need to identify our target market and position our pro-ser-exp (product served in a unique manner to give an experience of lifetime) by the process of S. T. P (i. e. Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning)

The Black Economy In India

The Black Economy In India It has been reported that, Black money today is created at every level of the Indian economy. As the Parallel Economy is unaccounted for, the official National Income accounts do not represent the true state of the economy. In light of this statement, Give the future directives on the parallel economy and cite the practical obstacles faced on the way to fight the black economy. INTRODUCTION Parallel economy connotes the functioning of an unsanctioned sector in the economy whose objectives run parallel, rather in contradiction with the aroused social objectives. This is variously termed as black economy, unaccounted economy, illegal economy, subterranean economy, unsanctioned economy or hidden economy. A hidden economy in its broadest sense may consist of a) illegal economy, such as money laundering, smuggling, etc; b) unreported economy including tax evasion; c) unregulated economy, ie economic activities outside regulations. The money laundering is a lack of transparency standards in bilateral and multilateral trade with flourishing offshore banking in tax havens has allowed it to grow unabated in past couple of decades. Experts estimate that around 50 per cent of GDP-or about Rs 33 lakh crore of black money-is generated every year through corruption at various levels. While black money which operates within the country can be productive, what goes overseas is seen as non-productive. Impact of Black Money The circulation of black money has adversely affected the Indian economy in several ways. It leads to the misdirection of precious national resources. It has enormously worsened the income-distribution. The fixed income salary class finds itself ever be the lower rung of the income-ladder as they pay taxes. They are not able to catch up with the people in business, or in professions, or many of those employed who make money by black activities. Many high placed official and honest employees earn much less than an average small shopkeeper in big cities like Bombay and Delhi. The existence of a big-sized unreported segment of the economy is a- big handicap in making a correct analysis and formulation of right policies for it. Black money results in transfer of funds from India to foreign countries through clandestine channels. Such transfers are made possible by violations exchange regulations through the device of under invoicing of exports and over-invoicing of imports etc. Black money requires for its protection, proliferation and expansion of a service organization composed of musclemen, touts and brokers to combat the forces of law and order on the one hand and on the other hand, there are income tax advisers, or chartered accountants in the pay of black money operators. There are contact men, liaison officers, Dallas , who negotiate favors from top bureaucracy and political bosses through bribes of black money. Black money has corrupted our political system in a most vicious manner. At various levels, MLAs, MPs, Ministers, party functionaries openly go on collecting funds for party or elections. Ministers dole out favors of crores by accepting black money donations of a few lakhs from businessmen National policies are, therefore, being bent in favor of the big business under the pressure of black money. Causes inflations- The politics of black money thus has corroded the moral fiber of Indian polity. Ministers dole out favors of crores by accepting black money donations of a few lakhs from businessmen. National policies are, therefore, being bent in favor of the big business under the pressure of black money. Due to the pernicious impact of black money on the Indian economy and polity that the Wanchoo Committee concluded: It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that black money is like a cancerous growth in the countrys economy which, if not checked in time, is sure to lead to its ruination. Survey on Bribery and Corruption India lost a staggering $462 billion in illicit financial flows due to tax evasion, crime and corruption post-Independence, according to a report released by Washington-based Global Financial Integrity. The document on the Survey on Bribery and Corruption was released at the first annual fraud conference organized by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners here on June 21, 2011. The report stated that 68% of Indias aggregate illicit capital loss occurred after Indias economic reforms in 1991, indicating that deregulation and trade liberalization actually contributed to or accelerated the transfer of illicit money abroad. Reports that wealth is stashed in offshore destinations and tax havens also goes to indicate the extent of the problem, the report said. The KPMG India Fraud Survey 2010 suggested that today India is faced with a different kind of challenge. It is not about petty bribes, popularly known as bakshish anymore, but scams to the tune of thousands of crores that highlight political and industry nexus which if not checked could have far reaching impact on the economy. India has been facing governance challenges from within at various levels for a long time. Rigid bureaucracy, complex laws and long-drawn judicial process deter people from considering legal recourse in corruption cases. India has around 35 million court cases pending. Besides lack of manpower and poor infrastructure facilities, other factors hindering the anti-corruption drive include lack of teeth in the legal framework, the study said. A large number of respondents stated that organizations pay bribes to win and retain businesses. This is a typical scenario where organizations tend to overlook the implications of encouraging these practices and often look only at short term benefits achieved. They fail to realize that what has worked in their favor could also land into trouble later and lead to adverse consequences for them, the report said. The study noted that another key area where business is impacted is in the area of mergers and acquisitions. Nearly 37% respondents opined that the corruption could impact the valuation of a company thereby denying shareholders of a fair price. Moreover, it could also make it difficult for them to find a suitable business partner, thereby seriously impacting the growth prospects of the business, the study said. MEASURES TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT TO TACKLE BLACK MONEY There is no reliable information about the money of Indians in undisclosed bank accounts outside the jurisdiction of the country. There are various estimations based on various assumptions and presumptions which may not be correct. Further there is a marked difference in the amount of these estimates. A proposal for getting a study conducted to estimate the quantum of black money both inside and outside the country has already been approved by Union Finance Minister. The following Government institutes have been approved in March, 2011 for conducting separate studies on black money: National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP); National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM); National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). Memorandum of understanding has been signed between CBDT and each of three institutes on 21.03.2011. The study will be completed within a period of 18 months from the date of MOU. Government has formulated a five pronged strategy to tackle the menace of black money which is as below: Joining the global crusade against black money, Creating an appropriate legislative framework, Setting up institutions for dealing with Illicit Funds, Developing systems for implementation (new manpower policy); Imparting skills to the manpower for effective action (constant training for skill development). In line with above strategy, the Government has taken several steps in the last two financial years, the details of which are discussed in the following paragraphs. Joining the global crusade against black money: Black money does not limit itself to the geo- political boundaries. It transcends borders and has become a global problem. The countries across the world have started a concerted global effort and as a part of global effort against black money, India has played a proactive role in pointing out deficiencies in the assessment of various countries by the Peer Review Group of the Global Forum. Government is also playing an active role in ensuring that these countries remove the deficiencies to bring more transparency. India has joined the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development in order to bring greater transparency and accountability in the financial system. India has joined as the 34thmember of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 25th June 2010. FATF membership is important as it will help India to build the capacity to fight terrorism and trace terror funds and to successfully investigate and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing offences. India has j oined the Asia Pacific Group (APG)against Money laundering. The 14th annual Plenary of Asia Pacific Group (APG) was held in Kochi from 18-22 July, 2011. More than 320 delegates from 41 jurisdictions, observers and various organizations attended the Plenary which was inaugurated by the Union Finance Minister. India is the co-chair of this forum till July 2012. India has gained Membership of the Eurasian Group (EAG)in December 2010. India has joined the Egmont Groupwhich is an international network fostering improved communication and interaction among Financial Intelligence Units (FIU). India is an active member of G 20 and has played a key role both in identifying issues and drafting communiquà ©s. In the G 20 Seoul Summit, November 11-12, 2010, a clause countries to further enter into Tax Information Exchange Agreements wherever required by the partner country was incorporated in the communiquà © at the instance of India. Creating an appropriate legislative framework: The Government has been constantly trying to strengthen the legislative frame work to control generation of black money in the country as well as control the flight of such illicit fund to foreign shores. In pursuance of this India has so far completed negotiations of 22 new Tax Information Exchange Agreementswith various tax heavens. Nine of these agreements have also been approved by the cabinet. India has initiated process of negotiation with 75 countries to broaden the scope of Article concerning Exchange of Information to specifically allow for exchange of banking information and information without domestic interest. As on date, it has completed negotiation with 18 existingDouble Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) countries to update this Article. These agreements have also been initialed. 22 new DTAAs have also been finalized where the Exchange of Information Article is in line with the international standards. In short negotiations/renegotiations of DTAAs with 40 countries have b een completed. DTAAs with Switzerland (amendment), Norway (revised), Mozambique (new), Colombia (new), Ethiopia(new), Georgia(new), Taipei(new), Lithuania(new) and Tanzania(revised) have been signed. The protocol amending our tax treaty with Switzerland was signed on 30th August 2010 and has been approved recently by the Swiss Parliament (on 17thJune 2011). After following the mandatory constitutional process the DTAA will become operational. It will enter into force when Switzerland completes its internal process. Upon entry into force it will allow India to obtain banking information (as well as information without domestic interest) from Switzerland in specific cases for a period starting from 1st April 2011. There are certain countries or territories outside India which do not effectively exchange information with India as an anti-avoidance measure. The Government has enacted legislation to prescribe a tool box of counter measures against these non-cooperative jurisdictions. For this purpose, section 94A has been inserted into the Income-tax Act through Finance Act, 2011. This section gives an enabling power to the Central Government to notify any country or territory outside India, having regards to lack of effective exchange of information by it with India, as a notified jurisdictional area. Once the country/territory as such is notified as a non-cooperative jurisdiction, transactions with residents of such country/territory are subject to higher withholding, certain disallowances and the transactions are also subject to transfer pricing regulations. The Government has proposed the following specific new measures for unearthing black money in the Direct Taxes Code Bill:For the purpose of levy of wealth tax, taxable assets have been defined to include deposits in banks located outside India in case of individual, unreported bank deposits in case of others, interest in a foreign trust or any other entity (other than foreign company) and any equity or preferential shares held in a controlled foreign company. The General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR)has been incorporated to deal with aggressive tax planning devices used to circumvent tax laws. Specific Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules have been incorporated to bring to tax passive income earned by residents from substantial shareholding in companies situated in low tax jurisdictions. A reporting requirement has been introduced making it obligatory on the part of resident assesses to furnish details of their investment and interest in any entity outside India in the form and manner as may be prescribed. According to the Global Financial Integrity Report, major channel for illicit outflow is transfer of funds through mispricing which accounts for 77.6% of total illicit outflows. The existing transfer pricing provisions of the government, which were introduced in the year 2001 are not detailed provisions as compared to transfer pricing provisions of developed countries. It was felt that there is need to upgrade these transfer pricing provisions to meet the challenges of growing intangible economy and various complex cost sharing arrangements. As per directions of FM, DGIT (International Taxation) has constituted a committee to look into the issue of revising the transfer pricing provisions. The committee has already submitted its interim report which is under consideration.The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)was amended on 1st June 2009, whereby the predicate offences listed in the Schedule of the Act were substantially increased. This amendment has tremendously widened the s cope of Money Laundering Investigations. Setting up institutions for dealing with Illicit Funds; Government has decided to set up Exchange of Information (EoI) Cell for an effective exchange of information to curb tax evasion. Efforts are on to put the cell in place under Foreign Tax Division of CBDT. Government has approved the creation of the Directorate of Income Tax (Criminal Investigation), in the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The DCI will perform functions in respect of criminal matters having any financial implication punishable as an offence under any direct tax law. Government has set up Income tax Overseas Units in two Indian Missions abroad. Eight more such units are being setup in the current Financial Year to strengthen information exchange mechanism. In order to augment the reach of the Directorate of Enforcement, the Government has approved upgradation of five existing Zonal offices as Regional offices and five existing Sub Zonal offices as Zonal offices. It has also approved creation of a new Zonal office and 16 new Sub zonal offices of Enforcement Directorate a cross the country. The Process of filling up the additional posts sanctioned by the Government as also for upgradation of the existing offices and setting up of new offices of Enforcement Directorate has started. As per the Action Plan, the Ministry of Finance is filling up the Group A posts of the Directorate in three phases. Developing systems for implementation: Government has doubled the strength of Foreign Tax Division, which deals with the work of exchange of information. The Directorate of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing in the Income Tax Department have also been strengthened as major part of the flow of illicit money outside of India takes place through mispricing of international transaction.In a bid to strengthen the Enforcement Directorate, the Government has approved creation of 1318 new posts at various levels. The process of filling up of these posts has already been started by the Deptt. of Revenue. Imparting skills to the manpower for effective action: As a part of capacity building and skill development, 51 senior Officers were sent abroad for specialized training in the field of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing in F.Y. 2010-2011.Since skill up gradation in international tax and transfer pricing require substantial time and resource, a posting policy has been approved which provides that officers may be posted in the Directorate for the period not less than five years. Apart from the above the Government has also taken the following measures- The Government has constituted a Committee on 27th May, 2011 under the Chairmanship of Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine ways to strengthen laws to curb the generation of black money in the country, its illegal transfer abroad and its recovery. The Committee include Member (LC), CBDT, Director Enforcement (ED), Director General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Director General (Currency), Joint Secretary (FTTR), CBDT; Director,(FIU-IND) as Members. The Committee will examine the existing legal and administrative framework to deal with the menace of generation of black money through illegal means including, inter alia, (a) Declaring wealth generated illegally as national asset; (b) Enacting/amending laws to confiscate and recover such assets; and (c) Providing for exemplary punishment against its perpetrators. The Committee will also consult all stakeholders and submit its report within a period of six months. 6.1 The second meeting of the Committee on the Black-Money was held on 29th July, 2011 and it has been decided that the Committee would hold its next meeting in September 2011 and in the meanwhile; (i) Letters have been written to various Industry Associations, Voluntary Organizations, ICAI, ICWAI and NASSCOM requesting them to give suggestions/views on existing legal and administrative framework available under the various laws to deal with the menace of generation of black money through illegal means, (ii) More than 3300 comments on the issue of black money have been received from the public via-e-mail which are being examined. (iii) Suggestions for improving the respective laws sent by the organizations, as well as gist of useful suggestions received through email, would be compiled and circulated. (iv) Reminders will be sent to industry and trade associations, ICAI and ICWAI for expediting their suggestion. (v)Letters have also been issued to Chief Commissioners of Income Tax (Cadre Controlling Authorities), Director Generals of Income Tax (Training), National Academy of Direct Taxes, requesting them to give suggestions/views on existing legal and administrative framework available under the various laws to deal with the menace of generation of black money through illegal means. PRACTICAL OBSTACLES FACED ON THE WAY TO FIGHT THE BLACK ECONOMY Pricing Goods acquired illegally take one of two price levels: They may be cheaper than legal market prices. The supplier does not have to pay for production costs or taxes. This is usually the case in the underground economy. Criminals steal goods and sell them below the legal market price, but there is no receipt, guarantee, and so forth. They may be more expensive than legal market prices. The product is difficult to acquire or produce, dangerous to handle or not easily available legally, if at all. If goods are illegal, such as some drugs, their prices can be vastly inflated over the costs of production. Black markets can form part of border trade near the borders of neighboring jurisdictions with little or no border control if there are substantially different tax rates, or where goods are legal on one side of the border but not on the other. Products that are commonly smuggled like this include alcohol and tobacco. However, not all border trade is illegal. Consumer Issue Even when the underground market offers lower prices, consumers still have an incentive to buy on the legal market when possible, because: They may prefer legal suppliers, as they are easier to contact and can be held accountable for faults; In some jurisdictions, customers may be charged with a criminal offense if they knowingly participate in the black economy, even as a consumer; They may feel in danger of being hurt while making the deal; They may have a moral dislike of black marketing; In some jurisdictions (such as England and Wales), consumers in possession of stolen goods will have them taken away if they are traced, even if they did not know they were stolen. Though they themselves commit no offense, they are still left with no goods and no money back. This risk makes some averse to buying goods that they think may be from the underground market, even if in fact they are legitimate (for example, items sold at a car boot sale). However, in some situations, consumers can actually be in a better situation when using black market services, particularly when government regulations and monopolies hinder what would otherwise be a legitimate competitive service. For example: Unlicensed taxicabs. In Baltimore, it has been reported that many consumers actively prefer illegal taxis, citing that they are more available, convenient, and priced fairly. Illegal Drugs From the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many countries began to ban the keeping or using of some recreational drugs, such as the United States war on drugs. Many people nonetheless continue to use illegal drugs, and a black market exists to supply them. Despite law enforcement efforts to intercept them, demand remains high, providing a large profit motive for organized criminal groups to keep drugs supplied. The United Nations has reported that the retail market value of illegal drugs is $321.6 billion USD. Although law enforcement agencies intercept a fraction of the illegal drugs, and incarcerate hundreds of thousands of wholesale and retail sellers, the very stable demand for such drugs and the high profit margins encourages new distributors to enter the market without an increase in the retail price. Many drug` legalization activists draw parallels between the illegal drug trade and the Prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1920s. In the United Kingdom, it is not illegal to take drugs, but it is illegal to possess them. This can lead to the unintended consequence that those in possession may swallow the evidence; once in the body they are committing no crime. Prostitution Prostitution is illegal or highly regulated in most countries across the world. These places form a classic study of the underground economy, because of consistent high demand from customers, relatively high pay, but labor intensive and low skilled work, which attracts a continual supply of workers. While prostitution exists in every country, studies show that it tends to flourish more in poorer countries and in areas with large numbers of unattached men, such as around military bases. Prostitutes in the black market generally operate with some degree of secrecy, sometimes negotiating prices and activities through codewords and subtle gestures. In countries such as the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal but regulated, illegal prostitutes exist whose services are offered cheaper without regard for the legal requirements or procedures- health checks, standards of accommodation, and so on. In other countries such as Nicaragua where legal prostitution is regulated, hotels may require both parties to identify themselves, to prevent the rise of child prostitution. Learning from the Article Through this Article we learn that:- Introduction to Black Economy in India. The Measures taken by Government to curb Black Economy. The Challenges faced while tackling Black Economy CONCLUSION Parallel economy is a new threat for the Indian economy. In India parallel economy is expanding very rapidly. Government of India introduced commissions under Kaldor, Wanchoo, Rangnekar, Chopra, and Gupta for estimating black economy. There are many factors like Controls and Licensing System, Higher Rates of Taxes, Ineffective Enforcement of Tax Laws, Inflation, Funding of political parties etc. that influence its growth. In India amount of black money are increasing continuously which badly impacts the economic growth of the nation. Such money is a new challenge for Indian economy. Indian economy is badly affected by black money as it is underestimating GDP, increasing inequality of income, increasing illegal activities etc. Over the past 50 years, the government has at various times announced several schemes offering opportunities to bring black money overboard but the result are not so effective. Some of these schemes are: introducing the scheme of Special Bearer Bonds, demonetizi ng high denomination currency notes, stringent raids and scheme of voluntary disclosures. These instruments are expected to reduce the volume of the black economy.

Relationship between price earning ratio and stock returns

Relationship between price earning ratio and stock returns There have been a large number of literatures during the past years on price earnings and stock return. The existing literatures propose different theories to how the price earning ratio may affect the performance of a company and also the factors that may influence it. Price-Earning Ratio There are several measures to determine the valuation of a security. Most often, the measures are determined by comparing the securitys price to different fundamentals such as earnings and dividends. One of the most respected stock valuation measures is the Price Earning ratio, which compare the price of the security to the companys earnings. Graham (1933) was the first to introduce the concept of the price earning ratio as a measure of performance of the stock market and the application of the P/E ratio was based on the idea that earning are related to value. Basu (1977) identified P/E ratio as predictor of subsequent performance and in particular high P/E firms underperformed and low P/E firms outperformed. The study done by Basu (1977) also state that P/E ratio, due to exaggerated investor expectations, may be indicators of future investment performance and he also validated Nicholsons results which state that low companies having low P/E ratios on average subsequently yield higher returns than high P/E companies. Gonedes and Dopuch (1974) declared that price models are conceptually inferior to return models under the presence of under-developed theories of valuation. Additionally Christie (1987) argues that price models present more econometric problems than return models. On the contrary there is a majority of studies that declare the superiority of the price model on explaining the return-earnings relation such as Bowen (1981), Olsen (1985), Landsman (1986), Barth et.al (1990, 1992) Barth (1991). However, the P/E ratio as it is commonly used is the result of network of influences, similar to the way in which a companys share price is influenced not only by idiosyncratic factors particular to that company, but also by movement in prices on markets as a whole, and the sector in which the company operates. Four main influences on a companys P/E ratio have been identified: The year the average market P/E varies year by year, as the overall level of investor confidence changes The sector in which the company operates. The size of the company there is a close positive relationship between a companys market capitalisation and the P/E accorded. Idiosyncratic effects. Companies examined in the same year, operating in the same sector and of similar size nevertheless have different P/Es. Idiosyncratic effects, that do not affect any other company account for this. Stock returns The CAPM developed by Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966) has been the most widely accepted among the many models developed to explain the relationship between expected returns and risk. According to the CAPM, the market can only compensates the investors for bearing systematic risk or common risk, which is measured by the assets beta. The beta measures the contribution of the risky asset to the riskiness of the entire efficient portfolio. The relationship between the expected return and risk can be expressed in CAPM model: E(Ri) = Rf + ÃŽÂ ²i(E(Rm)- Rf) Where E(Ri) = the expected return on the ith risky asset Rf = the expected return on a risk-free asset E(Rm) = the expected return on the market portfolio ÃŽÂ ²i = beta coefficient of the ith risky asset The establishment of the CAPM are based on the following assumptions: Investors are risk averse. Therefore investors prefer the highest expected return for a given standard deviation and the lowest standard deviation for a given expected return. The returns from investment are normally distributed. Therefore two parameters, the expected return and the standard deviation, are sufficient to describe the distribution of returns. All investors have a common single-period time horizon for their investment decision making. All investors can borrow and lend unlimited amount of money at a given risk-free rate. All investors have the same estimates of the expected return on each asset, the variance of return for each asset, and also the covariance between returns for each pair of assets. All assets are traded in the perfect markets; that is, all assets are marketable, there are no transaction costs or taxes, and all investors are price takers. The CAPM is challenged by the evidences on anomalies in stock returns. The CAPM says that all diversifiable risks will not be compensated and the only relevant risk is the market risk. Therefore, besides the market factor, no other factors should systematically affect the stock returns. The firm specific factors are capture by the error term, which is random. But the findings of the anomalies such as size, book-to-market equity and earning-to-price ratio suggest that investors can earn abnormal returns based on these trading rules. This may imply that the CAPM is mis-specified. Many empirical studies have been conducted and it has been found that stock returns are affected by some factors such as: Book-to-Market Equity effect Rosenberg, Reid and Lanstein (1985) and Stattman (1980) found that there is a positive relationship between stock returns and book-to-market equity. By the means of the time-series regression, the t-statistics obtained clearly show a positive result for their hypothesis. In study of Lakonishok, Scheifer and Vishny (1994), all the stock in the US market was divided into ten deciles portfolios from 1968 to1989 based on the book-to-market equity (BM) ratio. The results show that the average annual returns for deciles with the highest BM was 10.5 percent higher than the lowest BM deciles. Size effect The size effect is among the most prominent phenomena identified. Banz (1981) documents that there is size effect in the US stock market, using a test period from 1963 to 1975. The result of this study shows that small firms (measured by market value) on the average earn higher risk-adjusted returns than big firms. Seasonal effect Another evidence of the existence of the anomalies is the seasonal effect. In certain period of the year, stock returns are found to be higher as compared to the rest on the calendar year. The most common example of the seasonal effect is the January effect where stocks repeatedly earn higher returns in the month of January than the rest of the months in the year. The seasonal effect is also found in countries including Japan, Australia and Canada documented by Officer (1975), Berges (1984) and Jaffe Westerfield (1985) respectively. Many researches illustrate the relationship between the price earning ratio and the stock return of a company. Lakonishok, Scheifer and Vishny (1994) implemented P/E ratio as an expected future earnings growth indicator, in an excessive cross- sectional analysis. They proved that investors tend to favour stocks with exceptional past and current performance glamour stocks as they believe that past success will continue in the future, that is, they attribute the extra returns from value shares to psychological factors affecting market participants. According to Burgstahler and Dichev (1997), when the earnings to book value ratio is high, earnings are a more important determinant of equity value and vice versa. Moreover, Kormedi and Lipe (1987) and Collins and Kothari (1989) among other, identified that the earnings persistence is one of the major determinant of the magnitude of the earnings-return relation. EMPIRICAL REVIEW Several papers examined the ability of price and return models (along with some alternative forms) to accommodate the return-earnings relationship. An important ratio for the more low-risk, defensive investor was introduced by Graham and Dodd in 1933. They introduced the Earnings/Price ratio which is simply the Price/Earnings Ratio but flipped around as a benchmark for equity valuation. After the 1929 stock market crash, they recommend the investors that rather by trying to guess what the future bring, they should concentrate on other factors such as the companys past earnings or the value of its assets. According to Graham and Dodd, a company with strong profits and a relatively low stock price was probably undervalued. Also the fact that each share is value a number of times its current earnings became commonly satisfactory as a specific P/E level enables financial investors to make their buy/sell decision. The authors specified that P/E ratio, which is calculated by current fundam entals, never provide an exact appraisal for stocks. As a conclusion, P/E ratio was first regarded as a rough benchmark for selective stock investment and a tool for applying specific financial strategies so that in the long term, above-market returns can be generated. One of the first works showing the effect of the Price Earnings ratio was done by Nicholson (1960). The first study was based on a sample of 100 stocks which were mainly from industrial issues of trust investment quality and the stock was taken from the period 1939-1959. The stocks were arranged into groups of five according to their P/E ration in ascending order and were rebalanced every five years. The author found out that the twenty lowest multiple stocks had larger price gains as compared to the twenty highest multiple stocks. Those with the lowest P/E would deliver 14.7 times its original investment after the 20-year period, whereas the portfolio with the highest P/E stocks only earned 4.7 times its initial investment. Eight years later, Nicholson (1968) conducted another study where he looked at the earnings of 189 companies between 1937 and 1962. By dividing companies into groups of five, he found out that the average return for companies with a P/E ratio below ten was 12.7% per annum as compare to companies with a P/E ratio above twenty which had an average return of 7.97% per annum. Another studies done by Basus papers (1977) confirmed the results of Nicholson. The author tried to find the relationship between the investment performance of common stocks and their P/E ratio. He studied the price performance of NYSE industrial firms from 1957 to 1971. Two or more portfolios will be computed whereby risk-return relationship is weighted against each other and their performance is measured in pre-determined terms. Price to earnings ratio for every sample was calculated and they were ranked. Five portfolios were formed according to their P/E ratio. Considering the inter-quartile range, dispersion of the P/E ratio over the 14 years period can be noted where the low portfolio earned a return of 16.3% per annum compared to 9.3% for the high portfolio. Later researches (Jaffe, Keim and westerfield (1989) and Fama and French (1992)) supported the effectiveness that stocks with low P/E ratios produce higher returns. However a possible rejection of Nicholson and Basus studies on the Price Earnings ratio was made by Ball (1978). He conceded the apparent of such effects and argued that abnormal returns could not be produced on the basis of information available in the public area as they are of little or zero costs. Other reasons that could account for this irregularity are the systematic experimental error, transaction and processing costs and failure of Sharpes two parameter CAPM model. Beaver and Morse (1978) found out that when combining stocks into portfolios based on their price to earnings ratio, the differences among the portfolio continued up to the 14 years and that growth is not able to explain the existence of these little differences. I the years in which the portfolios are created, the price earnings are negatively correlated with earnings growth but positively correlated with earning growth in the next year implying that investors are considering only short-live distortions. In the study, the correlation of earnings growth in 1957 is negative 0.28 and the median correlation over the 19 years is negative 0.28. This is due to investors belief that earnings have been affected by temporary, random events or accounting management policies (rate of inflation, change in accounting treatment), firms which have low earning growth tend to have a high P/E ratio in the same year. As the portfolio are formed on the basis of ratio of price to realised earnings, stock s with transitory earnings will be grouped together meaning portfolio with the highest P/E ratio will be likely to include firms with negative transitory elements, that is, realized earnings are lower than the expected earnings. In the next year, while investors expectations are confirmed and earning growth increases, there is a positive correlation between P/E ration and earning growth. The author concluded that differences in accounting methods are the most evident explanation in differences in the P/E ratio rather than risk and growth. Studies that relate to accounting and price data normally derived the accounting measures from the COMPUSTAT database and for the quality returns they use CRSP data. However some difficulties may arise when using the COMPUSTAT database and Branz and Breen (1986) explained on the two possible problems that may crop up, that is, the ex-post-selection bias and the look-ahead bias. The ex-post-selection meant that companies which have merged, gone bankrupt or otherwise disappeared are no more included in the COMPUSTAT database and also new companies appeared with a full accounting history which does not exist before. The look-ahead bias resulted because of a dating problem where investors would not have access to portfolios that were formed at the end of the year and they had to wait several months before having access to it. Branz and Breen eliminated these factors by collecting certain COMPUSTAT items on a monthly basis that contain information on companies that was available to the in vestors and which also include all companies that had gone bankrupt, merged or disappeared on the COMPUSTAT. They concluded that even though the size effect was present, the Price Earning ratio was no more important as it is the data biases that had generated the evident P/E effect. Alford (1992) studied the accuracy of the valuation of the price to earning ratio when comparable firms are selected on the basis of industry, risk and earning growth. Alford (1992) used a sample of NYSE, ASE and OTC firms for the years 1978, 1982 and 1986 to analyse the accuracy of the price earning valuation. Each of the selected comparable firms predicted stock price is compared to its actual price and the author found that the price to earning ratio is an accurate measure of equity valuation. The findings of his research concluded that much of the diversity of P/E is attributed to the variety in the level of risk and earning growth of the individual firm. In addition, the industry factor appears to be a good proxy for risk and earning growth realed to the P/E ratios. Alford (1992) showed that the use of the industry P/E multiplied by the firms earnings per share (EPS) was proved to be an accurate estimator of its equity. The assessment of the accuracy of the P/E estimator was mad e under the efficient market hypothesis. In an efficient market, the market price changes randomly to reflect all new information. Thus, it can be used to test the accuracy of the theoretical price that Alford (1992) calculated, using P/E ratio. However this condition might not hold for different market. Value strategies have been defined by lakonishok, Schleifer and Vishny (1994) as the buying of stocks whose price are low as compared to other indicators of fundamental values such as earnings, dividends, historical prices, book asset or other measures of value in a comprehensive treatment of the issue of value strategies versus glamour stocks. They collected and studied stock prices between the periods 1963 to 1990. Firms are then classified into value or glamour stocks based on their past growth in sales and expected future growth as implied by the then-current P/E ratio. Differences in the expected future growth rated between the value and glamour stocks were found and as shown by the P/E ratio, investors were always overestimating them. For the first couple of years, the glamour stocks grew more quickly but afterwards the growth rates for the two types of stocks were almost identical. Glamour strategies were outperformed by 10-11% per year by the value strategies which used both past low growth and low multiples. Thus, glamour stock became overestimated, failed to meet investors expectation and were gradually abandoned. Stocks with temporarily depressed earnings are lumped together with well-performing glamour stocks in the high expected growth/low E/P category. These stocks with depressed earnings do not experience the same degree of poor future stock performance as the glamour stocks, perhaps because they are less overpriced by the market is the possible reason why the P/E did not produce a large effect as he other measures of fundamental value such as price-to book value or price-to-cash flow. Lakonishok, Schleifer and Vishny (1994) argued that such strategies offer higher return because they take advantage of investors sub-optimal behaviour. They came across little, if any, support that the value strategies were riskier and also found that the value stocks performed better than the glamour stocks. As a conclusion we can say that there has been much research that has been done on the price earnings ratio. Also many studies have been done throughout the world on different stock exchange market such as the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE). These studies concentrate on the impact of the price earning ration on the stock returns and it has been seen that price earning ratio do affect the stock returns, for example, Basu (1977) confirmed that stocks with low P/E ratio produce higher returns. However these researches had focus mainly on the empirical review rather than the theoretical review and this is the reason why we concentrate more on the empirical review.

Slave Life Essay -- essays research papers

As slavery continued and grew, complicated systems of social status developed on plantations. The lowest ranking slaves, the backbone of the plantation economy, were the field slaves. The field slaves were divided into ‘gangs’ according to their physical strength and ability, with the strongest and fittest males and females in the first gang. The highest ranking slaves were the domestic servants who worked in the owner’s house. The difference in status between field and domestic slaves caused a division between the slaves on most plantations. Field work on the sugar plantations was intense and exhausting, particularly the digging of holes for planting and the cutting of canes when it was time to reap them. The incentive used to encourage hard work, was lashes of the cart whip, which were freely administered by the drivers, who were ‘privileged’ slaves under the overseer's supervision. During crop time, work in the factories was equally intense and the hours were long. The cruel pace at which slaves were driven effectively shortened their lives, and this continued to be the case despite legislation, which claimed to restrict how severely enslaved Africans were treated. Plantations throughout the Caribbean were organised in much the same way, though there were differences amongst the islands. In Puerto Rico for example, the Spanish established slave codes that gave enslaved Africans more rights than in many other colonies. These codes allowed some enslaved Africans to own pr...

There is no clean getaway :: essays research papers

There is No Clean Getaway   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story of Bandits is told in a flashback form, starting off in a standoff with the police at a bank called the Alamo. Which appeared to have gone very wrong, and then going back in time via a homemade interview made at the home of the host of Criminals at Large( An Americas Most Wanted type show). We first get to know Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) breaking out of an Oregon State Prison with the aid of a borrowed cement truck crashing through the prison gates all on a whim. That leads to an impromptu bank robbery started with a highlighter. Then two unsuspecting teenagers get to spend the night with the stars. Terry then came with a great idea, instead of charging into their targets with guns blazing, they spend the night before the robbery with the bank manager, and his lovely family and have a nice evening at home, and then walk into the bank before it’s open the next morning. So Joe and Terry start their careers as the â€Å"Sleep over Bandits.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joe is a man with a plan. His plan is to enjoy an early retirement as a resort and nightclub owner in Mexico. Well that's ok with Terry, only if he gets to be the chef in their dream resort. So now they are on their way, financing their dream with a few more bank robberies. They are lacking a few things including who will drive their getaway car. They need Harvey(Troy Garity) an amateur stunt guy and love to be lit on fire, after all of the screw-ups, he surprisingly saves the day in the end. All that is needed now is a cute girl for the boys to fall in love with. Well here she comes, as Kate (Cate Blanchett) comes cashing into the scene quite literally, she hits Terry with her car, so slightly insane she starts her career in being their â€Å"full-time hostage† for the movie. As the twisted love triangle goes on so do the robberies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All in all this movie is good the only thing that it could have done different is an ending about 20 minutes earlier. It has its drag ons and loopholes. When we first see Kate, she is doing an unusual song and dance routine while cooking, and her husband comes and as fast leaves for some clients.

me :: essays research papers

I am currently taking an art class, which I love, some psychology classes (I had to pull strings to get into those ones, because they are only for juniors and seniors!) and a comp class (yours). Yo soy tanbien en espanol dos :) es muy interesante. (I am also in Spanish Two, it is very interesting!!!!!!!!)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I’m the oldest in my family, and I have a younger sister (12) and a younger brother (6). Since I was 11 years old, I have wanted to be an occupational therapist and teach disabled kids how to ride horses; it is something that I really enjoy doing. I also enjoy drawing (I'm in drawing two) and hablando en espanol. (Talking in Spanish). I am currently taking an art class, which I love, some psychology classes (I had to pull strings to get into those ones, because they are only for juniors and seniors!) and a comp class (yours). Yo soy tanbien en espanol dos :) es muy interesante. (I am also in Spanish Two, it is very interesting!!!!!!!!)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I’m the oldest in my family, and I have a younger sister (12) and a younger brother (6). Since I was 11 years old, I have wanted to be an occupational therapist and teach disabled kids how to ride horses; it is something that I really enjoy doing. I also enjoy drawing (I'm in drawing two) and hablando en espanol. (Talking in Spanish) I am currently taking an art class, which I love, some psychology classes (I had to pull strings to get into those ones, because they are only for juniors and seniors!) and a comp class (yours). Yo soy tanbien en espanol dos :) es muy interesante.

Blair Water Purifiers India

Blair Water Purifiers India strategic marketing planning process Presented by : Reham Mohamed Moustafa Yara Shahwan Dian Zorkany Rania Zeid Tarek Zeid Strategic analysis ? The Audit Stage ? Scanning the External Macro environment ? Political legal ? Economic factors ? Sociocultural factors ? Technological factors ? Scanning the internal and external micro environment ? Internal-environment analysis ? External microenvironment analyses ? Demand forecast ? End Users needs ? Factors affecting consumer behavior ? Consumer buying decision process ? Competition analysis The market sales chart in 1996 ? The product mapping technique ? Weighted competitive strength assessment ? SWOT analysis ? TOWS analysis ? Setting objectives ? Setting Strategies ? Our suggestions ? Porter Generic Strategies ? Mckinsey matrix ? Ansoff Growth Strategy ? Segmentation ? Targeting ? Positioning ? Entry Strategy recommended Strategic analysis: Strategic planning precedes marketing planning by providing a framew ork within marketing plan might be formulated. Based on the assessment of: 1. Organizational capabilities 2. Threats from environmental forces 3. Competitor’s strength and weaknesses 4. Customers’ needs 5. Demand This must be done through the following steps: The Audit Stage Step one: Scanning the External Macro environment: Any marketing strategy must develop out of a detailed understanding of the environment. This is important to: Identify organization’s strategic position. Decide on the future of the organization. Matching organizational resources and capabilities For scanning external environment we should use the PEST model, as it will scan the whole external environment to give management clues about strategic decisions [pic] pic] Chatterjee analysis in the two visits was centred only on the urban cities neglecting the rural ones and this is a drawback as the rural cities in India count for around 80% of the population, his purpose was to make recommendations on market entry and on elements of entry strategy. Political legal: †¢ Chaterrjie confirmed that India is attractive to foreign investment through liberalization †¢ Foreign companies were taxed on income arising from Indian operations and pay taxes on any interest, dividends and royalties received The government offer favourable tax treatment if foreign investors will locate on one of the free zones †¢ Tax rate is higher than the USA, however the return on investment is higher than USA †¢ Trademarks and patents were protected in India †¢ Legislation in India was expensive and protracted that foreign firms prefer arbitration Our suggested improvements and comments: He should have analyzed the following: †¢ Monopolies legislation: to hedge against any monopolistic actions that may appear in the future †¢ Environmental protection law Employment law and this is important if the market entry will be joint venture or acquisition Economic factors: Chatterjee analysis completely missing the economic factors, as he didn’t analyze the Indian economy in any way He should have analyzed the fol lowing: †¢ Interest rates †¢ Inflation rate †¢ Business cycles †¢ Unemployment rates †¢ Disposable incomes As these factors are important to give insights about the economic conditions and the economic growth for the next years so as to know whether the market is potential for entry or not Sociocultural factors: Chaterjee identified his target market to be around 40 million households and he identified their needs and behaviour, but he missed identifying the whole sociocultural factors from the following perspectives: †¢ Population demographics: population size, age distribution , religion ,social class are important factor to be analyzed by any firm before entering any market †¢ Income distribution †¢ Levels of education †¢ Social mobility †¢ Work and leisure time These factors are important especially that the target market for him was the rich well-educated high social class so it’s important to identify this class and its growth Technological factors: Chatterjee analysis emphasized that technology was only available in large Indian cities; the lack of adequate distribution and communication infrastructure in rural India meant that any market entry would begin with larger Indian cities most likely in the west coast. But he should have analyzed many other aspects regarding this issue: †¢ Government spending on research Government and industry focus on technological efforts †¢ The speed of technology transfer †¢ New discoveries and development †¢ Rate of obsceneness Step two: Scanning the internal and external micro environment In this step we will start by analyzing the internal and external microenvironment then finalize it by the swat analysis, which was missing in chatterjee’s study. He ignored mainly the microenvironment regarding the suppliers, stakeholders and intermediary’s . He only analyzed consumers and competitors. [pic] 2-1 internal-environment analysis: Employees: Blair Company employed over 4000 people with 380 having technical backgrounds and responsibilities Cash Flow: company sales revenue for 1996 would be almost $400 million with an expected profit close to $50 million Annual Growth in sales revenue: averaged 12% for the past 5 years Capital assets: ignored by Chatterjee Sales in the international division: would reach almost $40 million in 1996, about $70 million would come from Latin and south America, $30 million from Europe and $40 million from south Asia and Australia Materials: ignored in the analyses though it’s important to scan the need materials for operation and theirs availability in the market, he only pointed that importing a few key components would be necessary at the start of the operations The Mckinsey 7 S model must be used here to finalize the step of internal marketing audit and this wasn’t done by chatterjee Mckinsey 7S [pic] By analyzing these 7S we can know the firm’s core competences and it’s competitive advantage, which can be augmented for new market entry. Check List for internal audit: While doing internal audit for strategic analysis, we can also use the below check list to recognize the organization’s strength and weaknesses and it must be weighted because some weaknesses are of less importance than others , while other strengths are of more importance than others 2-2 external microenvironment analyses: Stakeholders: these were ignored in the analyses although it’s important to scan the stakeholders for the organization Suppliers: again it was ignored in the analyses, our suggestions that the analyses of the suppliers must have be done from the following perspectives: Their number, their prices, their bargain power (if any), their strategic alliances with competitors (if any present), their distribution channels, their management structure Consumers and demand forecast: Consumer’s analysis is essential for any strategic planning as they are the main concern for the organization and this must be done through: Demand forecasting Consumers (end users needs) First: Demand forecast: Chatterjee estimated the market potential based on collecting unit sales estimates for a 10-year period for 3 similar product categories –vacuum cleaners, sewing machines and colour televisions. In addition a Delphi based research firm had provided him with estimates of unit sales of Aquagard, the largest selling water purifier in India. Chatterjee had used the data in two forecasting models available at Blair Company along with three subjective scenarios -realistic, optimistic and pessimistic. But it was conservative as they described only first time sales not replacement sales and it only applied to industry sales in larger urban areas which was the present industry focus. Second End Users needs: The target segment was around 40 million households plus those in another 4 million households that share common needs. They valued comfort and product choice. They liked foreign brands and would pay higher price for such brands. One thing that seemed certain was that many Indians felt the need for improved water quality. Folklore, newspapers, consumer’s activities and government officials regularly reinforced this need by describing the poor quality of water. Quality suffered especially during the monsoons and because of numerous leaks and unauthorized withdrawals from the water system Better educated, wealthier and more health conscious consumers took steps to safeguard their family ‘s health and use water purifiers to purify the water all over the year. This is the target segment for Chatterjee. They are people who value comfort and product choice. They saw consumption of material goods as a way to a higher quality of life. o His analysis was missing forecasting the growth of this segment as his potential market is based on the educated aware segment but he missed forecasting the growth of this segment as the growth of the segment closely relates to the growth of the sales The analysis also missed a deeper look at the target segment. From our point of view, market survey should be conducted to show in details the target segment preferences, their demographics (age, social class, occupation, style of life) whether they like flavours to be added in the water or not, their ethnic direction, even their political views (if they are anti-Americans or not) as thes e factors may affect potential sales in the short and long terms . Consumers in the target market needs (according to Chatterjee) can be summarized as the following 1) Product performance to remove sediments, bacteria and viruses ) Purchase price this is only concern for consumers who boiled water who count for 50% of the target market 3) Ease of installation 4) Warranty and availability of financing for purchase Factors affecting consumer behaviour: We should analyze the uncontrollable and controllable factors affecting the Indian consumer behaviour, the uncontrollable factors are the sum of the macro environment analysis (PEST) but the controllable factors reflect the marketers efforts in designing the 7 PS in a way that make the product convenient for the consumer so from the analysis of the target market done by chatterjee. Also there are other factors like motivation, life style, consumer perception and attitudes towards the product From the consumer analysis we can summarize that consumers in the target market need product of high quality, medium price (to be able to target a wider segments especially in the rural areas as they count 80% of the population and if they were successfully penetrated this will result in huge sales), ease of installation, warranty is needed, the emphasis on the need of healthy life style and better water will be a motive for consumers to buy the product. For consumer analysis, we suggest that he should have used also the decision making process to know exactly what are the forces that affect the consumer’s buying behaviour Consumer buying decision process: [pic] So according to this model we should analyze how consumers in India become aware of the water problem and so the need for purifiers is recognized, then from where consumers get the information (from magazines, newspapers, reference groups) , then how they evaluate alternatives (based on price or quality or warranty or capacity ,,,,) . Then the purchase and post purchase evaluation Competition analysis: It is very important for any strategic marketing plan to deeply analyze competition especially when it is done for new market entry Steps of Product /Market analysis 1. Identifying the generic need satisfied by the product categories (The need for improved water quality) 2. Identify the product categories (types / Classification) The need for water purifiers for household 3. Identify the specific product-markets Water purifiers, candle filters 4. Identify the product-variants (brands) competing with each other. Chatterjee analyzed the competition in a detailed way, which can be summarized in the following: The market sales chart in 1996: Product |Price |Strength (competitive advantage) |Weakness | |Aquaguard |RS 5500 |Huge personal selling force |Needs electricity | | | |Sales calls |Enormous fixed costs for sales efforts | | | |TV commercials |(100-120 millions on sales commissions | | | |Magazines and newspapers advertising |only) | | | |Advertising expenditures RS 1 million |No st orage capacity | | | | |Slow flow rate | | | | |Stop functioning at 190 volts | | | | |Couldn’t eliminate strong odours | |Puresip |RS 2000 |Water could be stored safely for later usage |Promotional tools was limited as it was | | | |Doesn’t need electricity |sold only by small no of independent | | | | |dealers | |Zero B |RS 2000 +RS 200 |3 stage purification process |Lack of onsumer’s awareness | |(Puristore) |yearly |Prevent iodine deficiency diseases |No heavy advertisement | | | |Water can be stored up to 8 hours |No sales efforts | | | |No electricity or plumbing is needed |Limited distribution | | | |Store 20 litters of water | | | | |TV advertisements and point of sales brochures | | | | |Marketing expenditure RS 3 millions | | |Aquarius |RS 4000 |Remove sediments, heavy metals, bacteria, fungi|Life of the device was listed as 40000 | | | |No electricity is needed but need water |liters | | | |pressure | | | | |Heavy advertising (TV, magazines, newspaper s) | | | | |Perfect design | | | | |Superior distribution channels | | | | |Knowledgeable personnel | | | | |3000 independent dealers | | |Delta brand | |More eye pleasing design | | |Alfa Water |RS 4300-RS 6500 | | | |purifies | | | | |Spectrum |RS 4000 | |Remove only suspended sediments not heavy | | | | |metals or bacteria | |Water Doctor |RS 5200 |Third stage ozonator to kill bacteria | | | | More attractive countertop 6-12 litre | | | | | | | | | | | | |Candle Filters | | | | |(Bajaj ) | | | | The analysis shows that the market is Oligopolistic structure The product mapping technique: Quality Puristore Puresip Aquaguard Weighted competitive strength assessment: We should do the weighted competitive strength assessment in the analysis to be able to see the relative importance of key success factors and the relative strength of each competitor on each of these factors |Key success factor |Weight | | O | T | |-Poor water quality in India as a result of infrastructure. |- Competition in India market regarding water purifies. | |-Reinforcement of government officials and newspapers to improve water | | |quality. Regarding Eureka Forbes | |-Life styles of Indians that value comfort and product quality choice. | | |-Ineffectiveness of traditional methods in bacterial and viruses’ elimination. |Huge sales force that highly motivated and well managed. | |-Liberalization and opened Indian economy to foreign investment. |- Tremendous brand equity. | |-Market in India requires more than one design. | | |-skilled labor in India was around Rs. 20to Rs. 25 per hour less than if |Regarding Ion Exchange. | |compared to that in USA. | |-The weak st rategic component of Aqua guard |-ZERO-B purifies marketing efforts will intensify to increase awareness | |-No filter or purifies in India market can remove iron contamination to a |-New advertising program to increase awareness. | |satisfactory level. | | |-No company in India target rural areas. |Regarding Singer. | |* lack of consumer awareness of the consumers of the ZERO-B | | |*the upper middle class households prefer high price and high quality for |-It was superior in comparison to other primitive products in the markets| |foreign brands |in design and distribution channels | TWOS ANALYSIS | | | |Past Huge success of Blair company. | -Product should be worked by | | |-Brand name in USA. |electricity | |Internal elements |-Regarding water purifies company | | | |experts as superior in term of quality|-Lack of sales office in India. | | |and performance. |*lack of sales force | | |-High technology that certified by | | | |WHO. – Product name (Delight) not knowing | | |- Design distinguished from |it might infringe on any existing | | |competitors |brand in India. | | |-Blair Company employee (4000 people | | | |with 380 having technical background) |-They still faced major issues in | | |-Strong financial position |configuring technologies into physical| | |*sales in the international division |products. | |reach almost $ 140 million in 1996 | | | |* Deligth has a distinguish western | | |External elements |design | | | |*the option of using battery is | | | |available | | | |Strategic options | | |-Poor water quality in India as a |S-O* using high technology that is |W-O | |result of infrastructure. certified by WHO to satisfy the need |*We can use the low cost skilful | |-Reinforcement of government |for pure water in India |labour in India to overcome the | |officials and newspapers to improve |*Using the strong financial and |shortage of sales force in India | |water quality. |international division to build up an | | |-Life styles of Indi ans that value |opportunity in the liberalized Indian | | |comfort and product quality choice. |market | | |-Ineffectiveness of traditional |* Using the high tec. to attack the | | |methods in bacterial and viruses’ |Aquaguard weak strategic components | | |elimination. * Using the high quality products to | | |-Liberalization and opened Indian |satisfy the needs of the upper middle | | |economy to foreign investment. |class | | |-Market in India requires more than | | | |one design. | | | |-skilled labor in India was around | | | |Rs. 20to Rs. 5 per hour less than if | | | |compared to that in USA. | | | |-The weak strategic component of | | | |Aquaguard | | | |-No filter or purifies in India | | | |market can remove iron contamination | | | |to a satisfactory level. | | |-No company in India target rural | | | |areas. | | | |* lack of consumer awareness of the | | | |consumers of the ZERO-B | | | |*the upper middle class households | | | |prefer high price and high quality | | |for foreign brands | | | |*to trade up the users of candle | | | |filters to a better safer product | | | |- Competition in India market |S-T |W-t | |regarding water purifies. |*Using the high technology to compete |*we must try to cope the product tec. | | |with the other brands |with India to be able to overcome the | |Regarding Eureka Forbes. *Using the western design to compete |Indian market competition | | |with competitors | | |-Huge sales force that highly | | | |motivated and well managed. | | | |- Tremendous brand equity. | | | | | | | |Regarding Ion Exchange. | | | | | | |-ZERO-B purifies marketing efforts | | | |will intensify to increase awareness | | | |-New advertising program to increase | | | |awareness. | | | | | | | |Regarding Singer. | | | | | | | |-It was superior in comparison to | | | |other rimitive products in the | | | |markets in design and distribution | | | |channels | | | Step three: Setting objectives: The main objective is to consolidate the Indi an market and stimulate tremendous growth, as the situation in India is attractive for foreign investment and considered to be a window of opportunities The objective is smart as it is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time framed Step Four: Setting Strategies: Based on the above situational analysis, we can now choose the strategies that will be used to achieve Blair Company’s objectives According to Chatterjee, he identified two entry strategies †¢ Skimming strategy: which means high price (RS 5900) and high quality Where the product design would be superior with higher performance and quality, longer warranty period, more features and more attractive appearance †¢ Penetration strategy: which means low price (RS 4400) and lower quality Our suggestions: First: Porter Generic Strategies [pic] Using Porter’s Generic Strategies, since the competitive scope is broad and competitive advantage is higher cost. We suggest using Differentiation strategy to enter the Indian market . y using the high technology strength of the Blair Company, the product must be high performance regarding to quality and western unique design. Second: using Mckinsey matrix: [pic] Since the competitive position of the firm is considered strong du e to high technology and strong financial position and the market is attractive, we suggest adopting the Protect Position strategy where the company has to invest to grow at maximum digestible rate and concentrate efforts in maintaining strength From our strategic point of view Blairwater must enter the Indian market by acquisition (high investment) using the low cost Indian labour force and the liberalized investment atmosphere in India. Third Ansoff Growth Strategy: [pic] According to Ansoff growth strategy matrix, Blair Water Purifier Company will adopt the Market Development strategy as the market is new but the product is the existing product. Regardless that the product must have some modifications regarding the Indian market, for example it may need extra purifying stage that the Indian water require, may be a whistle that tells the purifiers users that the unit is functioning probably, a small battery to operate the filters for several hours in case of a power failure (a common occurrence in India and other LDCS) or even permitting users to add fluoride, vitamins or even flavourings to their water. Step Five: STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) [pic] 5-1 Segmentation: Previously we focused on approaches to environmental, customer and competitor analysis, and the frameworks within which strategic marketing planning can best take place. Against this background we now turn to the question of market segmentation, and to the ways in which companies need to position themselves in order to maximize their competitive advantage and serve their target markets in the most effective manner. In Blair’s company case Chaterjee analyzed his target market to be the better educated, wealthier, and more health-conscious consumers who took steps to safeguard their family’s health hand often continued these steps years around. By estimation Chatterjee thought it would be around 40 million, these consumers were similar in many respects to consumer in middle and upper class households in the US and European Union who valued comfort and product choice they saw consumption of material goods as a mean to a higher quality of life, they liked foreign brands and would pay a higher for such brands He reached the conclusion that his target market is these 40 million households plus those in another four million households who had similar values and lifestyles Chatterjee divided the target segments 40 million as follows: *50 % from the target market boil water *10% from the 50% filter the boiling water *40% used a mechanical device in improving water divided to consumers who use candle filters and consumers who use water purifiers *10 % remaining consumers who know nothing about the problem and if they know they don’t want to pay There are three marketing distinct approaches to marketing strategy which exist s uch as 1 Undifferentiated or mass marketing Product-variety or differentiated marketing 3 Target or concentrated marketing These are well illustrated in Figure Marketing segmentation: Dividing the total market into different units, the units are heterogynous with each other We see that chatterjee divided the market using the following 4 segmentation factors into 4 segments: He used the demographics (age) , social class (to show the buying power ,income and education ),Family size (to show the demand volume ) ,geographic (between rural and urban ) and volume of usage 5-2 Targeting: Choosing one or more segment Chatterjee chooses segment 1,2 and 3 and ignored segment 4 5-3 Positioning: Positioning is determined according to the price strategies that Chatterjee mentioned whether if it skimming or penetration, product design for the skimming strategy would be noticeably superior with higher performance and quality longer warranty period, more features and more attractive appearance than the design of the penetration There are several positioning possibilities performance and taste, value for the money/low price, safety, health, convenience, attractive styling, avoiding diseases and health related bills and superior American technology. The only position he considered taken in the market was that occupied by Aquaguard protect family health and service at your doorstep. According to the differentiation entry that we selected, the positioning should be Superior American technology and design, performance and taste. Due to the three segments that we mentioned above, Chatterjee must design three different marketing mix as shown below: Model of smaller capacity for segment 1, model for larger capacity for larger houses for segment 2 and 2 models for segment 3 that would remove iron, calcium and other metallic containments that were peculiar to particular regions, for example Calcutta. Question 2: The 3 ways to enter the Market: †¢ Joint working arrangement †¢ Joint venture company †¢ Acquisition Main three Factors while selecting the best entry method: Litigation Problems could extend a case for easily a generation †¢ Foreign companies were taxed on Income arising from Indian operations †¢ The foreign company should pay taxes on also any interest, dividends, and royalties received and on any capital gains received from a sale of assets. Licensing Consideration: Chatterjee Analysis †¢ Blair Company Financial Position will be minimal †¢ Expenses: 30,000 in capital for production facilities and equipment , another $ 5,000 for office facilities †¢ Annual fixed costs should not exceeds $ 40,000 †¢ these investments would be offset by the Licensee’s payment to Blair company for technology transfer and personnel training †¢ Decrease of annual fixed costs to $ 15000 once Indian national are hired, trained and left in charged †¢ Duties of the Indian Labor will include seeing how the units are produced in USA with Blair company specification. The licensee would pay to Blair company around 280 R. S for each unit solid in the domestic market and 450 R. S for exported units, so the average will be around 300 R. S Licensing Analysis Brief: †¢ Indian company would manufacture and market the product. †¢ Licensee fees would be remitted to Blair company per unit basis over the term of the agreement Licensing Definition: A contractual agreement whereby a multinational marketer (the licensor) makes available intangible assets – such as patents, trade secre ts, know-how, trademarks, and company name- to foreign companies in return for royalties or other form of payments Licensing Pros and Cons: Pros: †¢ Quick and easy way to enter the market. Could be the only way to open the market. †¢ Provides life extension for products in the maturity stage of their life cycles. †¢ Is a good alternative for foreign productions and marketing? †¢ Royalties are guaranteed and periodic. †¢ Licensing can overcome high transportation costs which make some exports noncompetitive in export market. †¢ Licensing is immune to expropriation. Cons: †¢ No full control over production and marketing. †¢ Royalties are negligible compared with equity investment potential. †¢ There is a danger of creating competition in third country, or even home country markets if the licensee violates territorial agreement. Joint Venture/ Acquisition: Chatterjee Analysis: Financial investment and annual fixed costs would be higher and depnd on the scope of operations. †¢ Estimates of annual fixed expenses via acquisition would be same for joint venture †¢ Estimates for the investment might be considered higher/lower depend on what will be purchased. †¢ Assumption where made on the skimming, penetration pricing strategies Joint Venture Brief: †¢ Blair company will be a partner with an existing Indian company specially for manufacturing and marketing the product †¢ Profits will split between the two companies according to their agreement Acquisition Brief: †¢ Blair company will purchase an existing Indian company †¢ Profits will belong to Blair company Join Venture Definition: A long term partnership between two or more companies sharing equity and risk with the purpose of making profits in a target market. Pros: †¢ Potential for higher profits. †¢ More control over production and marketing. †¢ Better market feedback. †¢ More experience in international marketing. Cons: †¢ Great investment of capital. †¢ Higher level of risk. †¢ Potential conflicts between partners. Acquisition Definition: Ownership by the international firm in foreign markets Pros: †¢ Maximum profits. †¢ Full control over production and marketing. †¢ Better market feedback. †¢ Great experience in international marketing †¢ Integration of operations on a worldwide basis. Cons: High capital and management resources requirements. †¢ Higher risk of expropriation Why Acquisition is the better entry way for Blair Company : Based on all the mentioned analysis we have found that the Acquisition will be the best entry way due to all the acquisition pros the maximum profits, the full control and the better market feedback. In addition it will avoid the Licensing problems example no control over production and marketing as the Indian labor will know how the units are produced and their specifications as they must be trained in order to reduce the cost as the Indian Labor cost is less than the American Labor cost. Therefore, this is considered a negative point; As for the joint venture it is not considered a good entry way as in India the Litigation Problems could extend a case for easily a generation in addition to the higher level of risks and the potential conflicts between partners. ———————– WEAKNESSES Areas of relative disadvantage that: Indicate priorities for marketing improvement Highlight the areas and strategies that the planner should avoid OPPORTUNITIES Environmental trends with positive outcomes that offer scope for higher Levels of performance if pursued effectively: Highlight new areas for competitive advantage THREATS Trends within the environment with potentially negative impacts that: Increase the risks of a strategy Hinder the implementation of strategy Increase the resources required Reduce performance expectations STRENGTHS Areas of (distinctive) competence that: Must always be looked at relative to the competition If managed properly, is the basis for competitive advantage Derive from the marketing asset base S3 Adults 25-45 Social class A, B High income Healthy life style Regions with iron contaminants S4 Adults 25-45 Rural areas Social class c Low income Low infrastructure S2 Adults 25-45 Social class A, B High income Healthy life style Large family size Big houses High volume usage S1 Adults 25-45 Social class A, B High income Healthy life style Small family size Flats residence Low volume usags1e Project content [pic] Submitted to Dr Usama Saleh