The current business environment

The current business environment is characterized by a considerable level of competitive rivalry and as a result businesses have to constantly reengineer their internal processes in order to develop a sustainable competitive advantage.This is the situation in the airline industry and as a result Air Asia has to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. It is believed that the installation of the e-commerce application will facilitate the implementation of the most important strategy: maximizing access to information.This is one of the most important strengths for the company not only because the company will be in a position to collect more information about its customers, but also because the customers will be able to get more information as well. As a result, this will serve as an advertising tool for the company. In this respect, the company will not be facing any problem because the strategy is being implemented through a joint venture with Microsoft.The airline industry is ch aracterized by a high level of competitive intensity and therefore Air Asia has to constantly reengineer its internal operations in order to build and maintain a competitive edge. In this respect, the strategic focus of the company is cost minimization.uAccording to Michael Porter’s framework for strategy formulation, a business organization has three strategies at its disposal in order to build and maintain a competitive advantage. These are differentiation, cost minimization and focus (cited in Fred, 2006). Although Air Asia might be said to be implementing all three strategies, its focus is on minimizing costs.The company is implementing the strategy of focus by targeting underserved markets while it is implementing the strategy of differentiation by adding value-added services to its repertoire.However the reasoning behind choosing to adopt these strategies has been to locate opportunities for ensuring customer satisfaction through focusing on areas of the market which ha ve not been targeted by competitors. As a result, Air Asia manages to charge lower prices than many of its competitors while maintaining comparable standards of quality.Mobile commerce is an extension of e-commerce according to which computer systems can be accessed through the internet on mobile devices such as PDA, smartphone or a cell phone (cited in Hitt, 2007). Mobil commerce has greater flexibility than e-commerce because it has satellite connectivity.As a result, devices which do not have internet connectivity but which have satellite connectivity can conduct transactions via m-commerce. In this respect, it must be mentioned that m-commerce can conduct video and audio conferencing. Therefore the application of m-commerce leads to greater scope for business-to-business and business-to consumer exchanges.This has become the crucial business model in the current business environment which is characterized by a high level of competitive rivalry. This means that businesses must fo cus on the process of cost minimization. This is facilitated through both e-commerce and m-commerce applications as they facilitate the development of B2B and B2C frameworks. However m-commerce is more convenient because of its greater accessibility.Air Asia’s application of Windows Vista can be extended to m-commerce because Microsoft has already developed operating systems for mobile phones.Therefore Microsoft will be in a position to create interoperability between e-commerce and m-commerce through the Air Asia gadget. Although m-commerce is wirelessly connected, it has the flexibility of being connected through e-commerce as well. This means that any solutions developed for e-commerce can be accessible through m-commerce.This will benefit the consumers because they will not have to be connected to the internet once the Windows Vista application is made compatible in the m-commerce platform. In this respect, the costs of conducting e-commerce applications are higher than m -commerce applications. E-commerce requires connectivity via a personal computer. With m-commerce the same amount of information can be processed through a cell phone.

Riordan Supply Chain Evaluation Essay

The management team at Riordan has completed a high-level strategic business initiative to improve its supply chain as a competitive advantage to ensure customer satisfaction. After extensive market and financial analysis a decision to create a new line of plastic perfume bottles has been proposed. The following executive summary outlines the business model implementation plan needed to introduce the new product line. Customer Value Supply Chain Management is about the delivery of a product to a customer in a timely manner regardless of its location of the globe. Providing the right component, the correct quantity ordered, and at the right price is what customers value the most. To enhance customer value and satisfaction a customer relationship integration team should exist and bring together each facility, its services, and its employees into the CRM process. Integrating the available information of an organization allows employees to have immediate access that may be crucial to a customer’s delivery. Customers value the open visibility of their supplier to track any material that has been shipped. Strategic Goals, Core Competencies, and Competitive Advantage Riordan’s strategic goals and objectives are to leverage its successful supply chain to integrate easily the production and distribution of the new bottle line. Riordan has the relevant experience and the necessary resources to integrate successfully the new bottle line into our supply chain with the minimum of disruption. After the integration of the new bottle line is complete, the supply chain will be subject to continual monitoring and improvement. Riordan’s core competency is manufacturing quality plastic products. Riordan’s competitive advantage is the organizational focus solely on quality plastic products. The in-house R&D team means that Riordan possesses the ability to design and produce custom products with low turnaround times. Riordan’s Brand Reputation Riordan Manufacturing is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of 1 billion dollars (Riordan Manufacturing, 2012). Riordan is a leading competitor in the polymer  materials industry. Its brand reputation includes plastic beverage containers, custom plastic parts, and plastic fan parts. Most of the customers served by Riordan are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance manufacturers. Riordan strives to exceed industry standards by maintaining rigorous quality controls, innovative solutions, and reasonable pricing. Supply Chain Strategy Riordan’s supply strategy is to strengthen the Riordan brands by adopting the next generation of bottling materials using innovative and environmentally friendly products in a effort to become the best global plastics manufacturer in the industry. Riordan also has plans to make their supply chain leaner incorporating ERP systems, TQM and other programs. Riordan has many reasons to strive for excellence in by implementing high-level standards accordingly while maintaining a lean supply chain. One way RMI could increase its visibility and control of quality standards could be to modify its quality inspection process to use source inspection. Source inspection is when the company has its own quality representatives at the source of supply rather than only locally. Possessing an inspector directly at the supplier, especially those used frequently, allows the company to have a hand in the final acceptance of material against its own quality standards while minimizing the bottleneck of a receiving inspection department at the facility. Supply Chain Value Configuration Riordan Manufacturing will create lean a lean value chain to produce and deliver the new plastic perfume bottles to customers. According to â€Å"TBM Consulting Group† (n.d.) â€Å"The purpose of a value chain is to get the required product or services to the consumer in the most efficient way, on time and with minimum inventory† (para. 2). Riordan will use the Albany, Georgia facility to manufacture the new bottles and continue to use Huffman trucking for the distribution of orders. The manufacturing plant will order and store material for production based on marketing forecasts. Inventory levels are determined by the supply planning team who will determine the  amount of safety stock to carry so the plant can cover orders although not carrying excess inventory. Alternate methods of delivery are employed for the perfume bottles, depending on the urgency of the orders. Orders will have express freight when critical on time shipment is required and bulk train freight if time permits for large noncritical orders. Supply Chain Proposal and Partnerships To set up the manufacturing process, Team ‘A’ recommends that Riordan leadership create a team to develop the manufacturing process in the Albany plant. The team will consist of members from Riordan’s Research and Development (R&D) department, marketing and sales department, both the Pontiac and Albany plants, and suppliers. With R&D’s design plans and the Pontiac plant’s knowledge of custom plastic fabrication, those members will provide the technical knowledge in ensuring that the manufacturing process is effectively set up to meet design requirements. Albany plant team members will understand how to efficiently set up the manufacturing process at the Albany plant and integrate those processes with existing bottle manufacturing processes (University of Phoenix, 2012). Team members from the marketing and sales departments can provide forecasted demand information to help the Albany plant determine cycle time requirements. Cycle time will be set based on demand customer demand requirements using takt time. Takt time is the maximum cycle time allowed to produce a product in order to meet demand. Takt time sets the pace for production lines in manufacturing and is calculated by dividing available work time per shift by customer demand rate per shift (Breyfogle, 2008). Creating a team to implement the manufacturing design will enable the Albany plant to efficiently meet customer demand with high quality custom designed bottles. The new manufacturing process will significantly contribute to Riordan’s overall supply chain efficiency to deliver the new bottles to its customers on time and at the right value. Distribution Channel Riordan’s strategy is to target customers who may benefit from using their products designs and services by branding its own abilities. Statements such as these are Riordan’s method of delivering its value to its customers. Riordan must convince the customer Riordan’s products and services will add  value to the customer’s product. Riordan Manufacturing is resolute to be the industry leader using polymer materials as a method to solve customer’s issues and goals. The CRM function would enable individual customer requirements to be visible although their flexibility provides added value as well. . Conclusion Aligning supplier involvement during the initial development stages of the project is Riordans’ objective. The supplier ability to assign personnel to work with Riordan personnel will enable Riordan and the supplier to collaborate on the design, specifications, and type of material that will provide the customer value. It will also enable the supplier to support Riordan objectives as the personnel develop an effective relationship. References Breyfogle III, F. W. (2008). Integrated Enterprise Excellence (3rd ed.). Austin, TX: Bridgeway Books. Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminski, P., & Simchi-Levi, E. (2008). Designing and managing the supply chain: Concepts, strategies, and case studies (3rd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. TBM Consulting Group. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tbmcg.com/consulting-service/lean-value-chain.html University of Phoenix, (2012). Riordan Manufacturing. Retrieved from: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/Marketing/MIS.asp Words: 1217 Pages: 5 Highlight Text Print Paper Save Paper Report this Essay Similar Documents Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Evaluation Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Commonalities And Differences Between Service And Manufacturing Supply Chains: Combining Operations Management Studies With Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Strategy Research Methodologies In Supply Chain Management Dynamics Of Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Assignment Dell’s Supply Chain Supply Chain Analyst Evaluating The Value Of Information Sharing In a Supply Chain Discuss The Key Difference Between The Supply Chain For a Service And Manufacturing Organizations. Riordan Manufacturing Gap Analysis: Riordan Manufacturing Riordan Manufacturing Business Systems Riordan Manufacturing – Outsourcing Plan Production Plan For Riordan Manufacturing Team Project Riordan Manufacturing Business Systems Virtual Organization e-Business: Riordan Manufacturing Supply Chain Management Comments There are no comments for this essay yet. Be the first to post one Add Comment Grade: 1 2 3 4 5 Heading Comment Privacy & Terms actionjack23 My Account Help Logout RSS  ©2013 TermPaperWarehouse.com Privacy Policy Terms of Service Copyright Information Contact Us Help Advertise With Us

Writing two responses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Challenges Faced By Healthcare Leaders In Terms Of Decision Making Assignment

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DU (The Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company that operates Research Paper

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Team Leadership Essay Example for Free

Team Leadership Essay One of the key facets of being a good manager is being able to bring people together that have many different personalities, and forge them into a team that works like a well-oiled machine. In the case of my marketing team, including myself I have four personalities, which to work from to put together a marketing team that will work efficiently with one another. The people in my marketing team were analyzed on the Jungian 16-Type Personality test, and the personality types in my group are two ESTJs, one ISTJ, and one ENTJ. These personality types are overall very similar to one another and that fact should make forming an effective marketing group that much easier (University of Phoenix, 2013). The first personality that I will analyze will be I and another person in my group, the ESTJs. 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Since ESTJs are very good at making decisions quickly, a trait that is necessary in order to efficiently collaborate, the collaborative leadership theory is a theory that can be easily used to direct ESTJs. The next personality type that is to be evaluated is the ISTJ. Similar to the ESTJ in that the person has a great focus on taking in facts and making logical, clear decisions, the main difference is the way in which the ISTJ communicates to others. Being an Introvert does not necessarily mean that this person is shy; rather, being an Introvert usually just means that interpersonal communication takes more effort and energy to do effectively than Extroverts. ISTJs function on the principle of quantifiable, measurable means of data and actions, and thus are very effective at analyzing situations and processing a decision to be made and held to in a very short amount of time. ISTJs are very determined, and will usually pursue a job or a goal in an effective and efficient manner. When they see other people that do not follow through on their goals or responsibilities as the ISTJ would, this causes the ISTJ to become frustrated, as others inconsistency is something the inhibits their progress. The final personality type in my marketing group is the ENTJ, a personality type that often embodies the traits of leadership that are often looked for in managers. ENTJs are those personalities who become world leaders or powerful people, as they are unequivocal in their resoluteness to accomplish whatever goals are set before them or by them for their own sake. ENTJs are decisive, and have the inborn ability to delegate and assign roles to their peers efficiently, traits that management and leadership laud and constantly search for. In the midst of conflicts, problems, or any other kind of issue that arises before and ENTJ, they remain calm and persistent in their efforts to take care of the problem in a manner that will efficiently close it. The situation in which my marketing team is one where we will need to come together in order to accomplish group goals that will be set by the leader of the group. Since all of the personalities in the group share common characteristics, the TJ part of their personality test, then it would follow that our group will be able to easily and efficiently communicate and work together on these goals. The urgency within the group will be to find and make someone a leader, establish goals, divide and assign labor, and then begin work on those goals. Since all four people in the group could possibly be an effective leader, picking a leader will not be an especially urgent task, as each group member has a personality type that is conductive to being self-motivated and accomplishing tasks that have been set before them. The matter that will be of the most urgency is the division of labor within the group, because one of its biggest strengths, the above-mentioned fact that all members could be possible leaders, is also one of the groups biggest possible weaknesses. Making sure that everyone knows his or her job and that no one bumps over into someone’s work territory will be an important first step for my marketing team to take (University of Phoenix, 2013). Since I have been chosen to take charge of this group, I will use the fact that all of us in the group share the TJ characteristic to being communicating the different duties that will be assigned to each person. By dividing the labor and clearly establishing who needs to do what, and what lines are to be drawn, the members of my group will be able to operate within clear guidelines that all of our personalities tend to crave. Two leadership theories that will be able to be practically applied in this situation will be the theories of relational and collaborative leadership. Relational leadership theory focuses on the importance of the relationships that are established in leadership roles. Making sure that the relationship between me and my co-workers, and my co-workers and themselves is an essential facet of having a successful team. Without the trust and confidence that is given through effective and meaningful relationships, leadership in a group such as this will be difficult to exercise. The collaborative leadership theory applies here because in such a small team, making sure that everyone is collaborating on work is a critical part of making sure that everyone is on the same page. In conclusion, I believe that the teams of people that have been assigned to me as my marketing team are serendipitously set to be a powerful and effective team. 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Carnatic Music: An Overview

Carnatic Music: An Overview This paper is on the essence of carnatic music. The topic of carnatic music is indeed an ocean and just a glimpse of the same is presented in a very concise format. The paper explores the difference between Hindustani style and the formers norms. The role of carnatic music in Indias branding is focused upon. The paper also deals with how this ancient form of art has helped to seed various forms of music delivery to soothe as well as energize to jump in joy and tap our feet, with vitamins. The use of music in treatments is also touched upon. The paper also explores on why the music is tapering off in the current day and its counterpart still appraised. The strategies and innovations which still helps the ocean of music to reach and help quench the thirst of the music lovers, is explained. The major lesson stressed in the paper is, Carnatic music still prevails like a diamond and to acquire the jewel is in our hands. Kausalya Suppraja is the first rendition echoed in the air in the temple capital of India when the Sun unhides itself to glow and brighten the sky. Every south Indian would certainly affirm that this is the popular rendition worldwide by our famous Carnatic musician, Bharath Ratna winner Ms.Subbalakshmi. The hymn is a classical portrayal of mantra, requesting the Divine to wake up and enlighten the world with His gracious eyes for blessings. India well known worldwide for its rich cultural and traditional values, is rich with immense treasure of music in all forms and this goes unsaid. The main unique differentiation factor is the Classical form of music and this surely helps in branding India worldwide. . Carnatic music, a branch of Classical music form, a sibling for its counterpart the Hindustani style of music form, is in itself a deep ocean to dive in and feel. The classification and differentiation can be detailed in a very lame format as follows: Carnatic music stresses on the semantic compositions decorated with various beautification factors of music like the swaras, aalapanas, etc while its counterpart aims at routing to the meditative mood of the listener. But ultimately the ambiences of music whether carnatic or Hindustani is simply amazing and breezes off all the negatives and drives the listener to the ocean of peace at least till the tenure of the rendition. Classical Music: Music is a wonderland as iterated many times, is skeleton by the main elements namely shruti(musical pitch),swaras(musical sound for single notes),raga (melodic path) and last being the tala(rhythm).Swaras are basically the alphabets in the form of mighty drops to form the sea of music. Be it carnatic or Hindustani, the skeleton remains the same but the rendition differs, the mood changes, the ambience is altogether different for both. The alphabets are only 7.But these sapthaswaras SA, RI, Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni make the music finally. The tonic difference in singing each swara thus helps in creating 1000s of different ragas and spreads the aroma of emotions. There are 72 main ragas known as the melakarta ragas, which have given birth to several other wonderful ragas. A raga is branched out with the above mentioned 7 swaras(each swara in different tonal way).But to notify the fact that the tone of first and fifth swara i.e. SA and Pa remain the same and no modification can be done. The swara Ma can have two styles of rendering while the rest are flexible to be modified in 3 forms. The exact combination of different tones of each swara is weaved to make the beautiful fabric of a melakarta raga. And each Melakarta raga then seeds out various other ragas wherein certain swaras are subtracted. Shruti can be metaphored to a railway track. The pitch is designed to be on a particular track. A slip outside this track causes a mishap and flops the beauty of the music. Finally the tala to clock the rhythm. This factor is to produce a systematic flow. Distinguishing features: The aroma of Hindustani music lies in innovating or exploring the raga with hardly any lyrics. A simple tone of Aa can run for hours. A concert of Hindustani style extends for almost 3 hours wherein the singer explores and experiences the beauty of each node and each tone of every swara. The ragas are classified as evening ragas and morning ones. The classification can be concluded because each raga spurs our either of the moods specified. The experimentation with the raga and exploring the same with the innovated rendition makes the Hindustani form. The nectar of carnatic lies in melting the hearts with beautifully composed lyrics blended with emotions, due to the raga and the feel donated by the singer. It concentrates on the meaning and thus the created emotion. Carnatic style of rendition mainly pertains to the emotional art. Various rasas or emotions are poured by carnatic music. Its termed as Navarasas, i.e 9 different emotions namely anger, beauty, love, fear, wonder, compassion, valor, peace and amusement. Every raga conveys one of the mentioned emotions. The emotion to ultimately melt a heart or trigger the energy levels is totally confined to the performers ability, knowledge of the raga and also his emotional level. Ancients quote that the carnatic music is the pathway to the divine, if divinely performed, the best illustration being M.S.Subbalakshmi who is often termed as the Bhakti Idol for our nation. A demonstration of a simple raga in the pitch of the adroit triggers a divine vibration and thats the reason why her Venkatesha Suprabatham album still peaks in the market. She demonstrates the bhakti rasa. Style: Filled with rasas and the porridge of divine stories with rich values, every song is beautiful in its own way. With diverse permutations and combinations each raga thus formed and apt lyrics blended, sprouts out meanings. Vedas and scriptures essay that carnatic music is a pathway to the divine. Gone are the days when people used to spend hours reciting mantras and performing rituals. Indeed the global development and personal development factors prune us to abide with work for belly concept. India once known for traditional yagnas and rituals, accepts the phrase Work is worship. Any work devotedly done is worship. Music if considered is also an art of worship. You vent your anger in tune or you melt a heart with melody but in a style. The style or uniqueness differentiates and brands the singer. For instance, in bollywood industry there are so many singers who aped the stalwart Lata Mangeshkar, but hardly attained fame. But the queen of music Lata Mangeshkars sound and songs still r esonates throughout. Reason being she ventured into her own style and stuck to the same. Featuring more on carnatic, every musician triggers an ambience with his/her voice and creates a rasa as mentioned earlier. But the notification and identification matters only with an adherence to a unique style. Bombay Jayasri, carnatic musician from South is famous for her soothing and sober style of rendering. While the famous Hariharan is known for his experimental and innovative style of performance, hardly can anyone ape his singing. And this quality is mandatory to exist in the market. A marketing requirement to sustain in the competitive market is ultimately the unique feature and quality that a product possesses. Innovations and uniqueness always rocks and the same formula is utilized in the form of ragam tanam pallavi. This artistic piece in a carnatic musical concert grants the autonomy of experimenting and portraying the art of creativity with ragas, for the artists. The rhythmic sounds used in dances called tanam are followed and finally a small line in praise of divine is rendered in innumerable ways and styles. Artists enjoy this independence and audiences also enjoy the extent of creativeness in the artists by expressing their happiness with their body language. The pallavi has a rain of swaras followed which forms the spectacular moments during the concerts. Carnatic music therapy: Therapy with music as medicine sounds stunning but its true. Each raga emits a particular emotion which in turn helps in curing certain ailments. An ancient story states that once a disciple, who had resided at his teachers place one night, woke up suddenly in the midst of the dark night as he was disturbed by the hisses of venomous snakes. He was scared to see the queue of wild animals enjoying the songs rendered by his teacher. With this story as a base, research states, if wild animals can be controlled then human minds can be controlled and tamed easily. With yoga, meditation and reiki getting popular and serving as free medicines even the use of music should be optimally used. A study in Japan states that the herbs, bushes and plants grow better with music around. Music increases the metabolism rate even in humans. Carnatic music with various ragas proves to be medicines to cure various ailments without any side effects. Raga Thodi is recommended for high blood pressure patients. Thodi has a medical effect to help bring the pressure to a normal scale. It melts down all your rage and cools and brings the pressure to a balanced level. The 72 ragas as quoted previously have major effect to all the 72 nerves in human body according to various studies. The control on these nerves can be easily gained with the strong effect of these medically built ragas.Neelambari and Bageshri ragas can help insomnia. Anger and inner control can be attained by Sahana and punnagavarali. Laziness can be erased by a tune in Kapi raga. T.V.Sriram, commissioner of central excise Mumbai had penned on music therapy and his popular works are endorsed in France to help regain the clarity of speech in patients with music. Medicine in the form of music to soothe and sue the ailments and gift a life full of energy is thus amazing. Bitter facts and the truth: This is rather disheartening to quote but is the fact and has to be accepted that by and large south Indians hear the tunes of carnatic music. To rather emphasize, the westernization has tamed us to tap our feet with jazzes and hip-hops, forgetting our rich tunes. Indeed the beats and drums boost the energy in us and make us dance and rock the party, a feeling of attaining the ninth cloud is amazing. Thus energy in the western music pales off the strengths of carnatic music and hence has less attendance in carnatic concerts. The young budding generation can hardly pace with slow intensity sound cum rhythm and thats the conclusion for low attendance. Second factor can be the language problem, as most of these compositions are restricted to 4 major south Indian languages (tamil,telugu, malayalam and kannada) the other chunk of population i.e. our north Indian friends can hardly enjoy the same. Other existing problem is that, the interest in learning the same is fading off as its gettin g commercialized. After all, business rules the globe. A senior carnatic musician gets paid 3 or 4 times lesser compared to a Hindustani musician. A strange fact to be asserted here is that, carnatic concerts possess the usual flow of a varnam, keertanas(compositions),small thukadas(small pieces of songs),followed by main piece of the concert which runs for 1 hour minimum, and then small songs,thillanas and mangalam(concluding songs) plus a Hindustani piece(either in the form of bhajan or abhang).On the other hand, a Hindustani concert strict by principle is chalked to have just 3-4 songs maximum, all in hindustani style. Carnatic promotions: Marketing theories have helped the south Indians to devise or strategize innovative ways to attract audience and to an extent has gained victory also. View the south channels coming up with music reality shows. Asianet channel (Malayalam) with show called Idea Star singer has helped many tiny tots to young youths to learn music. The well learned judges like S.Chitra, M.G.Sreekumar, Music Director Sharath (disciple of famous Dr.Balamuralikrishna) and pop idol Usha Uthup always vouch on the positives of learning the carnatic music and have shaped the contestants to wonderful singers with comments and trainings.Jaya TV had come up with Carnatic Idol contest, another reality show which aimed at providing a platform for proving the talent in Carnatic music for children. Again learned artists like Soumya(carnatic musician),Kumerasan and Ganeshan(famous violin brothers) and Neyyvellai Santhanagopalan(noted carnatic singer in south).The show aimed at giving the comments for improvement to th e young budding singers by judges and helping them groom for better renditions. These shows though commercial are still promoting the rich carnatic music. The brand of Carnatism still shines in low intensity because of these strategies. Every December Jaya TV airs Margazhi Maha Utsavam with renowned artists like Dr.Balamuralikrishna,Sudha Raghunathan,Nityashree Mahadevan,Aruna Sairam and many others. Even if its 1 hour show tamilians still stick to their seats and enjoy the tunes. But Jaya TV could target the 50+ audience only, to the maximum. Movies, surely are promoting to preserve our treasure by making films like Marghazhi Ragam by P.C Sreeram starred by T.M.Krishna and Bombay Jayasri. The stars in the film do not narrate any dialogues but just render lovely tunes with different shades of lights generating different moods. It was a new concept of airing the concert in the form of movie and Chennai theatres flocked with ladies in kancheevaram sarees and white or bald headed mamas. The movie played by Shabana Azmi named Morning Raga essayed on the fusion world and popularized the concept. The world of fusion surely gives a stratum for carnatic jewel which still shines brightly in its own spectrum. The famous old Balachander movie which won national award for Suhasini(Kamal Hasans niece) also revolves on the carnatic subject. The entire content mentioned above is beautifully directed into a play by Balachander. Various movies in Malayalam also devote on carnatic subjects and give the carnatic lovers a smile with a message that Carnatic music still stays and shines brightly in its own reach. To add on, sabhas or associations like Keraleeya Samaj, Tamil Sangam, Shanmukhananda fine arts, etc. aim at granting knowledge to the interested students and develop them. They also help the students to gain additional knowledge by conducting competitions and arranging a platform to perform before the stalwarts. Shanmukhananda fine arts in Mumbai conducts a particular competition and the winner is awarded the Thambura (instrument used to generate the shruti is recognized as a boon). Bombay Jayasri (singing fame of Zara Zara), a Thambura award winner herself had quoted that she still possesses that treasure and is grateful to be gifted with the same. All the above mentioned encouragements would surely give impetus to many carnatic gems which would certainly glow the beauty of the same. Conclusion The classical music which has granted immensely to Indians has to be graciously acquired to gain the optimal happiness from the same nectar. Great pioneers of carnatic music have devised and helped the younger generations learn this art of music in varied formats and with the technological developments online trainings on carnatic music has really granted us audio gurus. Lets not forget the culture and tradition of Indian land of Lords and sages and their works and learn or help learn the art of carnatic music along with the western beats. International Financial Reporting Standards: Pros and Cons International Financial Reporting Standards: Pros and Cons The joint project between the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in developing a common accounting language for the world has gained much attention after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in United States (U.S.) announced its plans to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). As investments by U.S. investors in foreign public corporations have grown drastically, it is timely for the U.S. to adopt a uniform set of accounting standards to facilitate comparative analyses of foreign and U.S. corporate financial statements. Pros and Cons of U.S.-GAAP and IFRS The broad conceptual difference between GAAP and IFRS is that GAAP is rules-based and IFRS is principles-based. As such, the IFRS is considered more thoughtful, transparent and reflective of the true nature of each transaction. Pros IFRS is less detailed than U.S. GAAP  [i]  , thus reducing complexity that masks economic reality IFRS is easier to use (principles-based) and will result in better reporting (substance over legal form) IFRS is a global approach;comparability to financial statements from other countries that have already adopted IFRS  [ii]   Reduce costs for companies and smooth cross-border investing for investors Cons Management is given more discretion in the interpretation of economic events due to the lack of specific rules Enforcement and cultural interpretations vary (risk of comparability) when individual countries added their own exceptions to the rules, defeating the purpose of a global standard Accounting under IFRS tends to lead to higher earnings  [iii]  , thus inflating earnings of U.S. companies and misleading investors More extensive audit procedures are required to test the reasonableness of financial reporting determinations made by management IFRS on relevance, reliability and decision usefulness IFRS places more emphasis on relevance than reliability. Reliability is associated with accuracy but faithful representation simply means to capture the economic substance, thus giving management the opportunity to reflect the true economic phenomena that the transaction purports to represent rather than be constrained by its accuracy of information. The adoption of fair value accounting in IFRS will incorporate more timely information about economic gains and losses. Incorporating more information in the financial statements will typically make them more informative and improve decision usefulness for users. However, for fair value accounting to be relevant, there must be an active market with observable market prices where managers cannot materially influence. When an active market is not available, fair value accounting becomes mark to model  [iv]  accounting and firms report estimates of market prices, which may not be a faithful representation  [v]  of the underlying asset or liability. In my view, reliability is a necessary precondition that must be met for information to be relevant. Fair value measures can be considered reliable only if the variability in the range of reasonable fair value estimates is not significant. Therefore, there is the risk that speculative future income may be used to justify reporting the asset at a higher carrying amount, which, in turn, would result in reporting a speculative gain. It also means that a significant proportion of a companys reported income could well be represented by calculated net present value growth, not the results of real transactions. In addition, powerful local economic and political forces will lead to an uneven implementation of the IFRS, thereby leading to increased information processing costs, by burying accounting inconsistencies at a deeper and less transparent level than more readily observable differences in standards. Hence, investors may be misled into believing that there is more uniformity in practice than it actually is. Therefore, only when there is balance between relevance and reliability, decision usefulness of financial statements to report on stewardship and provide useful information to present and potential investors can be achieved. Improvement in accounting quality and valuation of firms Although the adoption of the IFRS in the U.S. will inevitably impose hefty transition costs  [vi]  , the move will presumably improve accounting quality and the valuation of firms as it: reflects economic gains and losses in a more timely fashion than U.S. GAAP, makes earnings more informative and provides more useful balance sheets (with fair value accounting) With improved financial statement information, this should lead to more-informed valuation in the equity markets and consequently, lower risk to investors. Small investors are less likely than institutional investors to be able to anticipate financial statement information from other sources so improved financial reporting quality allows them to compete better with professionals and reduces the risk of adverse selection  [vii]  . Reducing the cost of processing financial information will also increase the efficiency in which the stock market incorporates it in prices and thus, with better firm valuation, investors can be expected to gain from increased market efficiency. Corporations might also benefit from a reduction of its cost of capital with increased market depth  [viii]  and lower bid-ask spread  [ix]  . With fair value accounting, reported earnings are less noisy and hence, accounting information are more accurate and more value relevant. However, investors in the U.S. will need to be more discerning in distinguishing between objective andsubjective figures, between realised gains and losses, and gains and losses based on hypothetical calculations. With the adoption of IFRS, the balance sheet becomes the primary vehicle for conveying financial information to investors. As all assets and liabilities are recorded at fair value on balance sheet date, the Price/Book ratio will be equal to 1.0. Consequently, accounting quality is improved as the balance sheet satisfies the valuation objective while the income statement provides information about the risk exposure  [x]  and managements performance.

A Critique of The Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays

A Critique of The Taming of the Shrew      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Taming of the Shrew is one of the earliest comedies written by William Shakespeare.   Some scholars believe it may have been his first work written for the stage as well as his first comedy (Shakespearean 310).  Ã‚  Ã‚   The earliest record of it being performed on stage is in 1593 or 1594.   It is thought by many to be one of Shakespeare's most immature plays (Cyclopedia 1106).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio was the only suitor willing to court Kate, the more undesirable of Baptista's   two daughters.   Kate was never described as unattractive (Elizabeth Taylor played her role in one film of the production), but was known for her shrewish behavior around all of Padua. Bianca, on the other hand was very sweet and charming and beautiful; for these reasons many suitors wooed her.   Kate was presented to be much more intelligent and witty than Bianca, but, ironically, she could not compete with Bianca because of these witty comebacks and caustic remarks she made (Dash 830).   All of the men who desired Bianca needed somebody to marry Kate, as it was customary for the older daughter to be married before the young one.   Finally, Petruchio came along to court Kate, saying he wanted to marry wealthily in Padua. It appeared, though, as if   Petruchio was the kind of man who needed an opposition in life.   The shrewish Kate, who was known to have a sharp tongue, very adequately filled his need for another powerful character in a relationship (Kahn 419).   When Petruchio began to woo Kate, everybody was rather surprised, but Signior Baptista agreed when Petruchio wanted marry her on Saturday of the week he met her.   Clearly, he was not opposed because he wanted to hurry and get Kate married so she would not be in Bianca's way anymore.   Petruchio showed up to the wedding late and in strange attire, but nevertheless they were married that Saturday.   Petruchio began his famous process of taming his bride.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the beginning, Petruchio wanted to dominate a relationship of two dominating personalities.   He sought to tame her in a nonviolent but still somewhat cruel fashion.   Petruchio's method of "taming" Kate featured depriving

Presidential Election Speech :: essays papers

Presidential Election Speech Hello my as many of you know my name is John Moriarty. I am running as the Democratic Candidate for President of the United States of America. So that you understand my positions on certain issues I will tell you a little about myself. I was born on August 16, 1948, my father was a former U.S. senator. I grew up in the Bronx, of New York, and I received a degree in Government from Harvard University. After I graduated I volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Army and I served in Vietnam. When I returned to civilian life I married a woman named Nicole Swift, who is my wife to this day. We then started a family, in 1973 I had my first son named John, and in 1980 I had another son named James. I then studied Law at Vanderbillt Law School. In 1976 I was elected to represent New York in the U.S. House of Representatives, I was also elected to U.S. Senate in 1984 and again in 1990. I will now state my position on 4 separate issues that are current in the United Sates today. The first issue I will talk about is abortion. I am pro-choice, I do feel that women should have the right to choose if they want an abortion or not. Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in the United States today. One out of every three pregnancies never takes place because a woman has an abortion. It is understood that a new individual human begins growing in the mother’s uterus at fertilization. The term abortion refers to any premature expulsion of a human fetus. Approximately 93 percent of all induced abortions are done for elective, non-medical reasons. In 1973, the Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions legalizing abortion in all 50 states during all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason, medical, social, or otherwise. This problem has split America in to two sides; pro - choice and pro - life. In January 22, 1973 U. S Supreme Court declared that a women had the " Fundamental Fight" to have an abortion. I agree with the ruli ng the Supreme Court made I will stand by it. The next issue I am going to elaborate on is gun control. I am very supportive of controlling the amount of guns that are distributed, I feel that there is too many crimes with illegal guns that happen everyday.

A University Student Budget Sheet :: Papers

A University Student Budget Sheet In this assignment I will be consulting a university student’s Budget schedule I will be offering the student advice on how to solve problems when in dept by offering an student loan, grants etc. I will be referring to the budget schedule to what areas the student can cut sort on to cover the other costs mostly needed to be covered. UNIVERSITY STUDENT BUDGET SCHEDULE Mouthly Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Total INCOME DESCRIPTION University Student (Grant)  £142  £142  £142  £142  £570 Interest and dividends  £0  £0  £0  £0  £0 Savings  £150  £0  £0  £0  £150 TOTAL INCOME  £292  £142  £142  £142  £720 EXPENSE DESCRIPTION Beauty shop and barber  £5  £0  £5  £0  £10 Cable TV  £15  £0  £15  £0  £30 Clothing  £50  £0  £50  £0  £100 Credit card payments  £25  £0  £25  £0  £50 Electricity  £50  £0  £0  £0  £50 Entertainment and recreation  £25  £25  £25  £25  £100 Gas company  £50  £0  £0  £0  £50 Gifts  £15  £0  £0  £15  £30 Groceries and outside meals  £15  £0  £0  £0  £15 Household  £15  £10  £10  £5  £50 Laundry and dry-cleaning  £3.

Prisoner’s Education Essay

Should prisoners be allowed access to online education at community colleges?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Distance education for prisoners is a good solution for instructional problems that were noted among prisoners. Lack of education would mean lack of the basic skills to create a better life and find a better paying job. Lack of education would mean lack of information and understanding about economics, business structure and social or community life. Failure to understand the environment will most likely result to challenge behavior. And that challenge behavior will grow to worst if one’s situation won’t change from worst to better in a given time. Access to education is very important to prisoners provided that the kind of subjects or coursework they are allowed to take will be limited and subject to higher approval.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Attitudes may change for the better but there is a big possibility that some prisoners may proved to be real problematic that a monitored coursework is better so access to education materials and information may also be limited and does not put the society or the police force at risk. It is advisable that a series of psychological test will be performed to the prisoners in order to assess and determine their potential and their ability to handle intellectual programs like distance learning. Internet access must also be limited to the sessions and all the homework will be done at the library of the correctional facility. Proper monitoring eliminates any potential risk in the system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although there are a lot of learning and training programs provided by community colleges, prisoners access and allowed opportunities must be limited and carefully studied. The offender’s attitude can be determined on how they take the distance education delivery system. This formal education will make them earn a degree while in prison. What is important is that they get out of prison with a diploma (Wilson & Ruess 173) and is ready to face the challenges of the labor market. Lower educational level does not compel these people to commit crime but it is indeed a great factor that influenced the person’s decision making process.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I firmly believed that prisoners are victims of their own environment and experiences. People and environment interaction have the ability to make and unmake people. Education will attempt to enhance basic skills and their ability to learn and assess certain situations that may be good or detrimental to their being and the well being of their community. Know that a person of limited options has much to tackle within himself in terms of self confidence or low regard to self, frustrations to alleviate life and the absence of voice in society. A person who does not understand the pathology of addiction and experience what acceptance to society and good life is will never grasp the meaning of being good to live a good life. He does not have any idea of what a good life is. He was so used to being bad he does not even know the meaning of good.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yes, for me prisoners need to be given the chance to access distance learning education in a limited coursework and selected programs that involves no risk at all. Police work or study of law is simply a no go or they may be able to study the system well. Prisons and correctional institutions should take advantage of technology to educate their prisoners. Technology has just given correctional institutions a very flexible and easier channel for the education of its prisoners. The only way to bring a nation down is to stop educating its people. The only way to improve the economy of a nation is to begin educating its people and giving them the skills needed and required by the labor workforce.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I am certain that education is not to be regarded as their second chance. Education is to be regarded as the responsibility of the state and the community to help the person obtain the basic skills for survival and obtain comprehensive knowledge that will make him understand life, society and morality. The No Child Left Behind Act was very effective. Well then let us consider those who were already an adult when the Act was initiated. We are not to leave behind any member of the community. We are not to disregard their needs and discriminate them because of their challenge behaviors. They are a challenge to the state and to the society. And the only way I find that will bridge the gap of talking between an uneducated man and a moron is education. It helps sharpen the intellect to understand policies, law and their moral obligation to safeguard the well being of other people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We eliminate an enemy of the state by providing a structured online education. Structured is not brainwashing, structured means appropriateness of the courses that they are allowed to avail. Prisoners of higher age who are not adept to technology may be taught on how to make wise investments online. The process may be simpler and they only have to study the market fluctuations. Teach them to be entrepreneurs and keep them busy with school work. The key is teaching them to adapt the new lifestyle behind bars. Education is an opportunity for change not only for the prisoners themselves but for the state. This way the state will be able to increase the population of its professionals even behind bars. Society is not to condemn prisoners but they are to help them out of compassion. Negative reactions would mean no acceptance and outright denial of their ability to seek for a better life. Negative reactions solicit rebellion and feeling of abandonment which will result to commission of more crimes. I certainly agree that the only way to eliminate crime is to educate the person committing the crime. Works Cited Page Wilson, David and Ruess, Anne. Prison(er) education: Stories of change and transformation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Winchester, UK: Waterside Press, 2000.

Constitution vs. Articles of Confederation

M. S. 226 Syed Faridi 701 3/16/13 Constitution Vs. The Articles of Confederation were the first governing policy for the United States of America and were in place from 1781-1789. However it is governing power was extremely limited. There were many differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. At the end of the American Revolution the free states needed some sort of control that would generate to a unified country. Issues arose such as: How should power be divided between local and national governments? How should laws be made, and by whom?Who should be authorized to govern those laws? How could the government be designed to protect the unalienable individual rights? Their first attempt at solving this issue was the Articles of Confederation, which was a failure for the most part, but not completely. After the failure of the articles, the state delegates tried to revise the articles, but instead, constructed the Constitution. There were so many changes made and very little remained the same. The states attempted to limit the power of the national government because they feared that it would become a monarchy.In an effort to limit the power of the national government, Congress created one without enough power to govern effectively, which led to serious national and international problems. One of the main weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation was its incapability to regulate trade and levy taxes. The states controlled all of their â€Å"cash flows. † Sometimes, the states were in debt because of tariff wars that they would engage in with one another. Because of these debts, the states refused to give the national government the money it needed.Hence, the government could not pay off the debts it had gained during the revolution, including paying soldiers who had fought in the war and citizens who had provided supplies to the cause. Congress could not pass needed measures because they lacked the nine-state majority require d to become laws and couldn’t amend articles because unanimous consent of the all states was required. The states largely ignored Congress, which was powerless to enforce cooperation, and it was therefore unable to carry out its duties.The national government could not force the states to adhere to the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the American Revolution. Foreign countries saw lack of unity in states. Because of the lack of income the national government collected, the new nation was unable to defend its borders from British and Spanish abuse because it could not pay for an army when the states would not contribute the necessary funds. The country would not get rich as a whole because states controlled all interstate commerce.States coined their own money and regulated its supply, so values of currency varied from state to state. In conclusion, In 1781 American colonists took hold to the Articles of Confederation, their first outline of democracy. The Articles set up a good base for government, but it was soon realized that it needed a lot of work. In Philadelphia a group of the most well educated and experienced men of America met to revise the Articles of Confederation. The result of this meeting was not a revised Articles of Confederation, but a new document that outlined the government we have today. This was the Constitution.

Hybrid Marketing Channels in the Service Sector

EXCUTIVE SUMMARY Being famous brand in food and beverage manufacturing industry, Universal Robina Corporation Vietnam (URC Vietnam), a subsidiary company directly under International Robina Corporation has got significant success since it started business in Vietnam in 2004. URC Vietnam joins the market with four main product catergories: Snacks, Biscuits, Candies, and Beverages. Considered as a strategic product of URC Vietnam, C2 is now known as one of the leaders in green tea market, a popular name with many Vietnamese people in spite of the fact that when it was launched to market, 0 Degree from Tan Hiep Phat Corporation had already been sold and attracted a large number of consumers. Always, URC strongly aim is to provide its customers with the best products. They build up quality policies on purpose of making everything in line with the company’s mission. Being a part of URC International, URC Vietnam also indicates its ability. Facing with the great competitiveness in beverage market, URC Vietnam has implemented a plenty of suitable measures to overcome their fierce competitors. Assessing Vietnam as greatly profitable market for alcoholic and soft drink commodities, there are more and more investors jumping into this market. It is obvious that C2 has to compete with many strong companies in both sides: indirect and direct opponents. Among them, 0 Degree and Lipton Pure Green are rated as the two big competitors who are fighting with C2 for gaining market share in green tea manufacturing field. Customer element is all the time the focus of any business, including this market. In detail, the Vietnamese have tradition of drinking tea; green tea can remove people from tiredness also; that why C2 are preferred a lot especially in summer. C2’s users are primarily students and officials in urban area; they highly appreciate brand differences. C2 operation is at the growth stage with significant increase in sales figure through the year and is the second leading position in the so attractive healthier green tea segment. C2 can be so successful like that because they have employed an effective 4ps marketing-mix: product (diversified flavors, prestigious supplier and good-looking package), price (4000 VND/ bottle 360ml), placement (urban areas, strong distribution channel), promotion (advertising in various media means) C2 has its own strengths and weaknesses; from that, URC Vietnam can make a positive progress in its performance. Studying opportunities and threats is an essential work that company should do as well, so that they can make appropriate and timely strategies to further develop their business. . INTRODUCTION â€Å"Universal Robina Corporation is committed to bringing Filipino taste and culture worldwide, in line with JG Summit’s vision to make life better, not only for Filipinos, but for the rest of the world† That is what URC claims itself and reality has shown URC’s success. As one of the leaders in Food & Beverages market in Philippines, URC has expanded its busine ss in Singapore, Hongkong, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. URC Vietnam, which started the operation in Vietnam in late 2004, is the newest addition to URC International. URC invested 15 million dollar into Vietnam market, and located company in Vietnam- Singapore industrial zone. Typical products are Funbites, Cream-O, Magic, Dynamite Big Bang, Beverage C2,†¦ that are brand-promoted by Hollywood actor Johny Tri Nguyen, Mat Ngoc Girl Band, and Actress Nha Ky. URC Vietnam is the very first URC subsidiary outside the Philippines to successfully produce and market C2 Green Tea. C2 is now one of the two market leaders in Vietnam bottled green tea field and its manufacturing is being expanded to meet highly demanding market. 2. COMPANY ANALYSIS 2. 1. Mission statement The following statement was announced by international URC CEO: â€Å"Our leading brands offer customers the best in enjoyment, quality, value and convenience†. To attain the mission, URC set up their quality policy. â€Å"The Universal Robina Corporation policy is to make consumers' lives more fun and enjoyable through convenient, quality and value for money branded food products. This will make URC the customer's first choice, a market leader in its major food brands and a key player in the Philippines and the Asian region. † Along with the vision of the parent company, URC Vietnam carried out the same line as international URC. URC Vietnam understands that to achieve the given mission, they have to make continuous improvement and training efforts through cost-effective strategies and fitting means to address the changing demands of the consumers. These efforts focus on the quality and freshness of products initiating from raw materials till they are provided to the customers. They endeavor to predict possible problems, provide preventive measures and correct non-conformities. Moreover, it is strongly emphasized that the quality of each URC product is the responsibility of every URC employee. 2. 2. Company objectives It was an outstanding year for URC Vietnam which saw sales surge from 6 million dollars in fiscal 2007 to 31 million dollar last year on the back of the unprecedented growth of the C2 brand. To date, C2 holds a leading market position in Vietnam (which has URC's first C2 plant outer the Philippines), and is now exported to Malaysia and Indonesia. Although in general international URC is suffering from the serious effects of the world financial crisis, it seems special to URC Vietnam case; C2 still continues to affirm its leading position in Vietnam market. At the present, C2 is mostly consumed in urban areas where the competitiveness is really noticeable. In the coming time, in order to remain the current growth, URC Vietnam should set the priority of providing Vietnamese consumers, both in urban and rural areas, with the high-quality goods and meeting their changing demands. 3. ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS 3. 1. Economic issues [pic] Figure 1: Monthly income per capita e Figure 2: Monthly total consumption expenditure per capita (Source: www. gso. gov. vn) As the result of the ever-increasing average per capital income, the living standards of all social strata continued to be improved. In the whole country, the monthly average expenditures in 2006, by current prices hit 511,000 VND, an increase of 28. 9% compared with 2004. The Vietnamese did not stop in essential products for life only; they had more choices when go shopping. There were great opportunities for companies in various fields of launching their business. As an attractive piece of the pie, beverage firms penetrated potential Vietnam market and gained enormous benefit. The difference in monthly income per capital between urban and rural area would lead to the difference in monthly consumption spending between those two regions. 3. 2. Demographic factors This entry provides the distribution of the population according to the age classification. Information is included by sex and age group (0-14 years, 15-64 years, 65 years and over). 0-14 years: 25. 6% (male 11,418,642/female 10,598,184) 15-64 years: 68. 6% (male 29,341,216/female 29,777,696) 65 years and over: 5. 8% (male 1,925,609/female 3,055,212 (Source: CIA World Fact book, Dec, 18. 2008) The country with young populations (high percentage under age 15) is a flexible environment. Its residents seem to be easy to accept changes and the new things. Additional, their taste has the own features. Marketers need the information on the population so that they can position which is the target segment for their products. With the type of drink like C2, analyzing age structure is a necessary work URC have to carry out carefully; from that they can make a suitable strategy when doing business in Vietnam – big market with population of 86 million people Natural conditions Three quarters of Vietnam's territory consists of mountains and hills. Vietnam is located in both a tropical and a temperate zone. It is characterized by strong monsoon influences, but has a considerable amount of sun, a high rate of rainfall, and high humidity. These factors help Vietnam to be a place with many advantageous conditions to grow green tea tree; as a results, URC Vietnam is able to acquire a largely available supply of raw material, especially from Thai Nguyen province, the major supplier. Social concerns Drinking tea is Vietnamese’s long-standing cultural custom. It can be said that tea plays an important role in Vietnamese’s life. In modern society, people get acquainted with fast food and gas drinks but green tea is still the preferable drink many people choose. Moreover, due to the recent increasing trend of low-carb drink, people gradually change to take interest with the natural product. Green tea is produced in industrial scale and added more flavors, it becomes the favorite drink not only with the elders but also the young. 4. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS According to Vietnamnet, â€Å"Vietnam’s great thirst for alcoholic and soft drinks flags the local industry’s fizzing potential and the participation of big foreign investors. † Vietnam market becomes more and more attractive for investors from all over the world, especially in the alcoholic and soft drink fields. Therefore, Universal Robina Corporation (URC) with the product of sweeten green tea, C2, has to face with a great deal of fierce competition that not only encompass the competitors with the same product like 0 Degree, Lipton Pure Green, 100 Green Tea, Wonderfarm and other brands, but also involve those from other kinds of drinks such as beer, carbonated drinks, fruit juice, tonic water and milk. 4. 1. Indirect competitors Thanks to the fast economic growth rate and enormous potentiality of soft drink market, many giants of beer, alcohol and soft drinks industry has come o Vietnam such as Denmark’s Carlsberg and Heineken with beer, Pepsi and Coca-Cola with carbonated drinks, La Vie and Aquafina with tonic water†¦Vietnamese brands like Vinamilk, Tribeco, Hanoimilk has also built up a strong reputation. Hence, Vietnamese people can enjoy a very large variety of drinks but this is also the great threat of C2, especially the threat from Pepsi and Coca- Cola which hold 60% of s oft drink’s market share. 4. 2. Direct competitors In recent years, Vietnam soft drink market has been developing eventfully and the segment of green tea has made so obvious advances that any kind of other soft drinks can do. Vu Quoc Tuan, public relations manager at PepsiCo International Viet Nam, said that the bottled green tea market has grown 300 percent in 2007. â€Å"No drink has grown like that,† he added. Although at the moment there are many brands of sweeten green tea on the market, a lot of products are â€Å"dependent†. They just follow all the thing that create success of market leader’s product For this reason, in part of direct competitor analysis, the report only focuses on studying two major competitors with similar products as C2: 0 Degree and Lipton Pure Green. 4. 2. 1. 0 Degree Tan Hiep Phat Group (THP Group) is the first mover in this segment. After observing the lifestyle changes of greater mobility and the need of healthier beverages, they made tea, part of Vietnamese culture, a ready- to- drink in a very convenient PET bottle, which is heatproof and easy to use. THP invested US$20 million in production equipment from Canada to launch the popular 0 Degree brand. In early 2006, 0 Degree green tea bottle were sold on the local market with a large and effective advertising and promotion campaign (TV, newspaper ads, editorials, PR, sponsor†¦) and considerable distribution over the nation thanks to the foundation that Number 1 has built up. From 11/2006 to 11/2007, THP had the growth rate of 190% by this product, which made green tea became an extremely attractive market segment. First mover is the most significant competitive advantages of 0 Degree over C2, which came to the market a little bit later. However, C2 is considered more convenient than 0 Degree because of the bottle capacity. The 0 Degree net content is quite big for one person while the bottle of 360 ml C2 is much more suitable. 4. 2. 2. Lipton Pure Green Just enter the market in August, 2008, Lipton Pure Green expressed that it is one of the fiercest competitors of C2 with the exceedingly strong reputation of 2 giants: Lipton and Pepsi. Lipton Pure Green is made 100% from the best young tea leaves chose by the rule of â€Å"2 leaves and 1 bud† and it has Antioxidants (AOX), the substance that can naturally prevent people from getting old. However, Lipton Pure Green has only 2 flavors in comparison with 4 flavors of C2; moreover, the tastes of Lipton are not as flavorsome as 0 Degree and C2 by many customers. In addition, the price of this green tea is not one of its competitive advantages because its price is above C2 price and little below 0 Degree with inconsiderable difference in bottle capacity. Furthermore, Pepsi and Lipton are strong brand names that are affirmed but the break out of their marketing campaign and their advantage of powerful distribution seems not to work effectively. Many people are not aware of Lipton Pure Green, a green tea product Pepsi Co. after 8 months of launching. Additionally, as 0 Degree, their bottle capacity is not really convenient. According to statistical data, 450 ml bottle is still quite great for one person. [pic] Figure 3: Volume per one drink To see clearly how these three products positioned in the market, let’s look at the positioning map below: Figure 4: Positioning map 5. CUSTOMER ANALYSIS 5. 1. Behavior To identify and analyze market segments, behaviors variables should be the starting point. In this part of the situational analysis, the variables of purchase occasion, benefits sought and loyalty status are selected to illustrate another base of market segmentation, the behavioral. In summer, the demand for soft drink that is tasty and healthy, especially the one that contains substance- hypothermia, like green tea, increases sharply. URC identifies these typical occasions as a major point for market segmentation. C2 products are made from green tea that can help people feel comfortable even in the hottest days of that most unpleasant time in year with four fruit tastes that can make people more cheery. While looking for a nourishing beverage, C2 appeals to the segment of consumers wanting to have a â€Å"Cool & Clean† product that make from green tea, a traditional remedy for good health. C2 can bring â€Å"cool† feelings and â€Å"clean† drink to customers by verified quality and delicious taste. In the case of sweeten green tea market; the differences among brands are not extremely significant. Sometimes, if the store does not have any more bottled green tea of the brand that customer want, he/she will easily convert to another brand that is available in that store. It may clearly illustrate the customers’ loyalty to C2 products. Hence, C2 concentrates on those who are interested in two or three brands or on those whose purchasing decision is favorite one brand but sometimes trying others. . 2. Demographic Bottled green tea is a product that is utilizable for many people even they are young or old, men or women, married or single. Therefore, in demographic segmentation URC Vietnam just groups their product by nationality and occupation. C2 targets to customers in the nation that have the traditional culture of drink green tea, a typical example -Vietnam, to develop a product which actually familiar with the users. The person who acknowledges of how marvelously good green tea is will be more ready to purchase a bottle of C2 than person who does know nothing about it. As indicated by the statistical data of the company, here is the occupation variable of C2: [pic] Figure 4: Occupation variable of C2 As a result, the advertising of C2 focuses on the young who are both students and staffs with colorful and cheerful ads on TV, newspapers and magazines. 5. 3. Geographic Do not have the competitive advantage of strong distribution channel as 0 Degree, C2 practices geographic segmentation by emphasizing on urban areas which enjoy higher living standard, higher income, and higher density of population, and are easier to approach its marketing campaign. . 4. Type of buying decision behavior Customer decision making varies with type of buying process. To determine which decision type of customer that C2 goes for, there are two factors that URC has to consider: involvement and differences between brands. Sweeten green tea belongs to the product category that has low customer involvement but significant perceived brand differences, variety- seeking buying be havior. Customers often do a lot of brand switching. When they buy a bottle of green tea, they choose a brand without much evaluation, and then evaluate it during consumption. The next time when they buy this kind of product again they will pick another brand in order to look for something different. To become the market leader, C2 should have the marketing strategy that differentiates it from other brands and try to promote habitual buying behavior by dominating shelf space, keeping shelves fully stocked and running frequent reminder advertisings. 6. BRAND ANALYSIS 1. Brand’s current performance 6. 1. 1. Portfolio analysis – BCG matrix BCG matrix, also known as relative growth and market share matrix, was built at the end of the 1960s by Boston Consulting Group, an American trategy consulting company. The real purpose of this matrix is to evaluate the company’s ability to make profit by analyzing its portfolio and put them in four components of the matrix (star, question mark, dog and cash cow) as following graphs: [pic] Based on the studying of the products’ growth rate and market share, the companies are able to establish and develop timely strategies. In C2’s case, they are now placed at Star level with a high market share and rapid growing in the sweeten green tea market. Specifically, in 2007, this ready – to- drink green tea’s growth rate was about 7% equivalently to total sales revenue of 6 million dollars and increased considerably 17%, which brings the company with 31 million dollar revenues in 2008. C2 is currently ranked the second who performs well in the so attractive healthier beverage market- the green tea segment. 6. 1. 2. Product life cycle After taking the Philippines by storm, URC started launching C2 green tea with various flavors in Vietnam in 2007. The company has reached a significant achievement up to now, and become one of the most popular ready-to-drink green tea beverages for sale in that country. Their sales grew slowly as the products were firstly brought into the market, however. At that time, because of the so strong influence of 0 degree brand and also of the company’s weak distribution channel, customers did not pay much attention to and highly assess C2 products. Only when URC Vietnam made some major changes in its promotion and distribution channel, the company experienced a so impressive sales figure, three million bottles sold out in six months. From that time on, C2 operation is positioning at the growth stage with rapid increase in sales through the years. In detail, according to the overview report of TNS Vietnam Consumer Trends Q4/08, that C2 products stood at the sixth position in the 10 fastest growing brands preferred by Vietnamese consumers in 2007, while they kept on doing business successfully in 2008 with the forth position in that selection. Moreover, it is obvious to see that C2 will continue holding higher market share, especially in this coming 2009 summer. . 2. 4Ps- Marketing mix Revenue from C2 products accounted for around one- half of total URC Vietnam‘s profit in 2008. One of the major factors contributing to the company such an incredible success is thanks to marketing strategy based on 4Ps. 6. 2. 1. Product URC Vietnam offer diversified tastes of healthier beverage under C2 brand name. That C2 drink can be divided into four main flavors: lemon, peach, apple and forest fruits green tea among them t he first one is the most preferable to customers. Thai Nguyen tea, a very well-known and favorite Vietnamese brand, is chosen to be the major material utilized to produce such fresh green tea bottles. In addition, each C2 product is packaged in PET type which brings in a number of benefits for the customers. For instance, it has ability to keep the original taste of the natural green tea without any preservatives and artificial color. Furthermore, producers can economically take full advantages of the space in tea bottle’s package for their products’ advertising. Until now, there have been two styles of C2 tea launched on the market, the 360ml and the 1000ml bottles, which will make the users even more convenient. 6. 2. 2. Price According to URC’s research report about customers’ response (posted below), nearly two-third of those who were conveyed agreed that the reasonable price for each 500ml green tea bottle should range from 5,500 to 6,500 VND. Seeing that important factor, the company has established reasonable price using market-penetration pricing corresponding to customers expectation. It is suggested that producers can set a low initial price to penetrate the market quickly and deeply in order to attract a larger number of buyers in short time (Philip Kotler, Principle of Marketing, page 355). Typically, each 360 ml C2 green tea product costs customers from 3,500 to 4,500VND, which is approximately 5,700VND for one 500 ml bottle. In comparison with 6,000 and 7,000 VND for Pure Green tea 450 ml and 0 degree 500 ml, respectively, URC’s products are more favorable, which creates a competitive advantage over their competitors. [pic] Figure 5: Consumers’ opinion of price 6. 2. 3. Placement When first launching in Vietnam, URC did not pay adequate attention to develop or expand its distribution channel, which leaded to an unexpectedly low sale. To deal with that problem, the company has strived so much with the aim at building a strong distribution system. The most important change the company made to improve this ineffective system was to influence on marketing push. They persuaded the retailers or outlets to purchase products by providing so attractive promotion as well as added supports. For instances, URC Vietnam would offer 10 to 15 % discount if those outlets accepted to display C2 products on their shops. Moreover, the company allowed a number of professional sales person and marketing staffs to work with those stores to support and supervise these areas whenever necessary. Thanks to such hard effort, till the present C2 products have been allocated widely in almost all of supermarkets, convenience stores, discount stores, retailers, distribution outlets and so on. In detail, URC Vietnam sells nearly a half of C2 volume through big supermarkets such as Citimart, Big C, Co. pMart, MaxiMart, Vinatex and the like. However, that ready- to- drink tea products has just allocated mostly on cities and urban areas. At the moment, when the summer is gradually coming, URC must take actions to establish a stronger distribution system to make their products more available on the market in order to satisfy a very high demand of Vietnamese customers. 6. 2. 4. Promotion Apart fr om placement, unlike the case of THP Corporation which has spent a huge amount of money on advertising, URC just save their capital invest on other fields rather than such costly activities. For instance, after failing to transfer message to consumers in the first two trials in Vietnam, the company decided to redeem themselves with new advertising to revitalize C2. They created new TVC – Television Commercial, with the participant of Johnny Tri Nguyen, a very cool, good looking, a wushu expert and stunt man, which later was voted among the top 10 â€Å" Most favorite TVCs† by Vietnamese televiewers. Those activities just costed only a half in comparison with the promotion campaign beforehand. That successful results obviously illustrate that â€Å"good advertisings need not be expensive—it must be creative and effective† as URC consultant, Willy Arcilla said. At the moment, not only to be advertised on TV but C2 products also are promoted on newspaper and internet; for example, gia dinh & tiep thi, www. kienthucngaynay. vn. , etc. 7. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT, the analysis refers to the strategic method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of each company. It is considered to be a crucial tool for auditing the overall strategic position of a business and its environment. SWOT of C2 bottled green tea are summarized as below. 7. 1. Strengths C2’s positive outcomes have been in part due to a number of factors. First of all, one important key contributing to such high sales revenue of the company is because of reliable tea supply. As mentioned in the marketing mix- 4Ps, strong point-of-difference- C2 brews tea leaves grown in the northern highlands of â€Å"Thai Nguyen,† renowned as the source of the best tea in Vietnam. Furthermore, each C2 bottle encompasses the natural flavor extracted from green tea (23%) and also citric acid, an essential element which helps people lose weight effectively. Likewise, C2 products are perfectly brewed and bottled at the same day, still keep totally clean and fresh tea taste. This benefit makes the tea users feel safer and firmly reliable when consuming the product. An additional feature that builds C2 brand popularity is its competitively-lower price in comparison with other brands in the same market. Before making final purchasing decision, people often carefully take price into consideration besides some important criteria such as products’ quality, brand, benefit and features. By impressively influencing on that consumer’s psychology, C2 has got the initial success in catching the attention of potential customers. 7. 2. Weaknesses Although URC Vietnam has made many acquisitions with a large number of retailers or distribution outlets, these stores are located mainly in cities or municipal areas such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong, Da Nang and so on. Whereas, in the local or rural regions, the volume of C2 consumed seems to be much lower than that of 100 tea or 0 degree green tea. Thus, C2 should invest more money on their distribution channel, not only tighten current contracts but also expand new relationships with new local stores. The company can offer retail shops benefits with high premium or build its own retailers initiatively throughout the country. This action will has positive effects on making condition for the company to approach their potential customers more. By narrowing down the potential customers segment on its initial advertising is thought to be one more weakness that URC Vietnam should pay attention to. Specifically, the advertising with the attendance of Johnny Tri Nguyen persuaded consumers who habitually prefer carbonated beverage to convert to green tea products. That message implicated that C2 itself restricted the targeted clients to those who usually consume soft drink. Instead, the company could orient its products to the mineral or pure bottled water and the other beverage market rather than carbonated drink. For that reason, URC Vietnam had better make some new meaningful advertising to draw the attention of higher level of customers. . 3. Opportunities The recent scientific research of England Hospital of Pediatrics has marked out 10 most significant advantages of using tea on people health, among which the best five benefits are utilized to produce new sweeten green tea bottles such as antipyretic ability, decrease in death due to heart diseases (from 28 to 44%) and prevention of being old as well as cancer possibility. Seeing so many advantages of using green tea, Vietn amese people tend to choose tea as their daily preferable product. Through conveying heir opinions, producers have developed and launched new products to meet their essential need (The result is posted as the table below). Most of people believe that employing green tea products will help them have antipyretic ability, reduce the possibility of cancer and purify the body. This rapid change in Customer Behavior creates a valuable chance for the company to keep on producing ready- to- drink tea. [pic] Figure 6: Tea’s Effects In addition, the summer, hottest period in the year, is upcoming. Consequently, people’ drinking demand will increase dramatically the following time. Catching this thirsty need, beverage manufacture should prepare very strong marketing plans (may be in terms of marketing mix) to further satisfy their customers. Particularly, up to now, green tea drink has a quite strong position in customers’ drink options. As a result, C2 should make use of this valuable opportunity to widespread or quickly expand its market in this period. At the end of 2008, there was a quite serious recession occurred in Vietnam economy which affected negatively on Vietnamese lives and reduced their consumption need. However, the quantity demanded for foods and beverage was slow down much less heavily than other sectors, less than 25% (according to the report of TNS). This means that demand for foods and the like can not be replaced in human being life. Hence, it also generates big chances for any company in that industry, including C2. [pic] Figure 7: Consumers’ reaction in the recession Last but not least, C2 products are currently utilized to be the promotion of a number of companies to offer to their customers. For example, whenever customers buy one product of Mobil1 Racing, they will be given one cold C2 bottled green tea. This indirect promotion makes a good condition for URC Vietnam to increasingly raise its sale figures. 7. 4. Threats There are many external forces that have a direct impact on the company’s performance. Currently, C2 has to face up with a very fierce competition in the beverage market, which composes of both carbonated and healthier drinks (indirect and direct competitors). In the same market, there exist many powerful competitors such as 0 degree, Pure Green and 100 in which 0 degree of THP is occupying the largest market share now. Although C2 has been positioned quite strongly in Vietnamese consumers’ drink option, that THP’s product has the advantages of being the first mover in the sweeten green tea segment. Lately, THP has introduced new product, Dr. Thanh herbal tea, which has been consumed with a very fast sales since the first days launching. Hence, it is considered to be one of the biggest competitors in that market. Besides, among a lot of indirect competitors, Coca Cola and Pepsi, the heaviest and strongest ones that account for 60% beverage field in Vietnam, also take a lot of C2’s concerning. . CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS In all, according to the findings above, it can be said that C2 continues maintaining its high position in Vietnam bottled green tea market with outstanding attainment while it also has to share this market with other strong competitors like 0 degree or Lipton Pure Green. Holding a number of internal strengths greatly contributes to C2 such an incredible suc cess whose outstanding example is its appropriate marketing strategies- market penetration pricing. However, URC Vietnam should make some changes in order for a stronger distribution system. They can build up new relationship with the local outlets rapidly by employing marketing push and pull also. In addition, good news from outside has created a lot of valuable chances to boost C2’s development. Especially, URC Vietnam can make the best use of the approaching of special occasion – the summer time to expand its market share as well as consumer’s brand awareness. Nevertheless, the recent appearance of Dr Thanh, a new comer in the healthier beverage market, creates a fiercer competition in that so attractive segment. Therefore, C2 needs to establish better preparation to get a win in that competitive battle. From the study above, some suggestions for improving C2’s performance are introduced. To begin with, advertising is always a very useful way to inform publicly and fully the information about the products and their services. In spite of the fact that C2 has made several qualified advertising, the televiewers are somehow not really pleased with those advertisings’ message. Then, it is proposed that URC Vietnam should concentrate on improving their advertising‘s quality; for example more meaningful ones which transfer expected information to the customers. To compete with the enlarger development of Dr Thanh, the company had better invest money on Research and Development department so that they can produce further diversification in flavor such as strawberry or mix ones. Available on market at the moment there are mainly four tastes among which only the lemon green tea are being consumed with rapid sales. With the variety of healthier drinks sold on the market, the consumers may be confused of which products should be used; for that reason, the company needs to provide differentiated products to gain the competitive advantage over their competitors. 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Philip Kotler, Steward Adam, Linden Brown and Gary Armstrong (2002), Chapter 10: Pricing considerations and approaches, Pearson- Prentice Hall, p. p 355,356. ———————– Extreme convenience Bad promotion campaign Good promotion campaign Extreme inconvenience C2 0 Degree Lipton Pure Green