The US Airline Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The US Airline Industry - Essay Example This would include a political, legal, and economic perspective. Porter Five Forces Model and four Ps of marketing would also be used. Discussion Four Ps of Marketing Product/Service The service provided by the airline industry is of air travel. However, over the years, the scope of the service provided by the airline has widened and now it is only about air travel or the core service but it about the augmented service as well. These include food, internet, TV, comfortable seats, business-class travel experience, and other benefits. Consider the example of JetBlue, which has emerged as a serious player in the industry in almost 12 years. The airline is following the same business model of low cost as introduced by Southwest and followed by Frontier Airlines, Horizon Airlines, Air Tran and others. However, JetBlue has been doing one thing different, which is that, unlike other low cost players, it has extended its augmented product to include many other amenities, which has attracted thousands of customers to JetBlue (Vasigh et al., 2008, pp. 105-106). Promotion As mentioned earlier, airline industry also faces a seasonal demand pattern where there are more passengers during the vacations and holidays to specific destinations, therefore, airlines engage in aggressive promotional activities in order to ensure that they capture the most share of the pie. Furthermore, slowing growth, saturating market and high fixed also force the airline industry to engage in active and aggressive advertising. This is also the reason why that sales promotion is common within the airline industry in an attempt to attract customers (Belobaba et al., 2009, pp. 52-54). Direct marketing and personal... The airline industry is at the heart of US economy because of the direct and indirect GDP and employment it generates. The essay explores application of international business theories on the US airline industry. Although the core service is of air travel, the augmented service that includes secondary benefits such as food, entertainment, comfort and other have been in the spotlight lately. US airline industry actively uses dynamic pricing to ensure that it could squeeze maximum possible revenue from the customer, which they are willing to pay. The promotional mix used by the industry includes advertising, public relations and active sales promotion. Agents also engage personal selling and direct marketing to the big clients as well. In light of the Porter Five Forces Model, it appears that the US airline industry faces heightened competitive pressures with increasing bargaining power of customers, threat of substitutes and supplier power. The macroenvironmental analysis reveals that the airline industry will continue to face political legal pressures because of its economic and security importance. Although, if the current wave of mergers and acquisitions continue for a while then it highly likely that it would decrease the competition, rationalize pricing and remove the excess capacity. Nevertheless, smart players are more likely to come with the right marketing mix and positioning strategy and would leverage their strategic positioning to make profits as Southwest airlines has been doing for the past many years.

Dodge Ram Essay Example for Free

Dodge Ram Essay †¢ During an executive test drive just months before product launch, Daimler Chrysler officials declared a no-launch decision because of excessive vehicle vibration for the companys newly designed Dodge Ram Mega Cab 44 pickup. †¢ Cummins Inc. , manufacturer of the trucks diesel engine, immediately chartered a Six Sigma team and employed the DMAIC problem-solving process to diagnose and correct the factors leading to the high vibration levels. †¢ Through extensive testing, the Six Sigma team determined that by increasing the crankshaft counterweight radius, vibrations were significantly reduced. †¢ The Cummins team completed the DMAIC project in an extraordinary time frame — just over four months — resulting in a 16% reduction in vibration levels and a 100% increase in sales of the truck in the first year compared to sales projections. It was less than nine months before Daimler Chrysler launched its new 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab 44 pickup when top company executives tested vehicle prototypes during a semi-annual executive ride-and-drive session. During the test drives, the automakers executives determined that excessive engine vibrations felt in the cab created a no-launch situation. The company then turned to Cummins Inc. , supplier of the vehicles 5. 9-liter turbo-diesel engine, looking to dramatically reduce the vibration levels—and quickly! Cummins, which already had a successful companywide Six Sigma program in place, immediately launched a Six Sigma project to tackle the vibration problem. Cummins Inc. deployed a Six Sigma team to reduce engine vibration just six months prior to the September 2005 launch of the new Dodge Ram Mega Cab 44 pickup. Recognizing consumer demand for better fuel economy and reduced emissions, both Toyota and Honda have introduced hybrid vehicles to the American market. Toyota introduced the Prius to the U. S. in 2000. Honda began selling the hybrid two-seater Insight in the U. S. in 1999. U. S. Sales in the hybrid vehicle industry have increased over 570 percent since model year 20001. Today, hybrid vehicles hold a 1% market share in the U. S. ,2 and there are three models of hybrid vehicles dominating the market: the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, and the Honda Civic Hybrid. The Toyota Prius Toyota’s initial marketing strategy for the Prius targeted innovators and early adopters of new technologies. * The 2000 â€Å"Prius/genius† campaign focused on highlighting Toyota’s commitment to creating environmentally responsible vehicles4 and on using online space to engage technophiles early on in the production process. Toyota enabled interested customers to visit a special website about Prius development as early as two years before the introduction of the product. Toyota used focus groups and clinics with target consumers to evaluate different aspects of the Prius. Toyota found that the consumers valued high technology, affordable price, clean operation, comfort, quality, convenient design, and safety. Toyota’s television and print ads underscored the evolutionary aspects of hybrid technology and freedom from dependence on oil. Toyota created online e-brochures with a 17-second video clip that were sent to the almost 44,000 people. 5 In addition, Toyota benefited from various celebrity endorsements that attracted attention to the new Prius.

Effects of globalization on supply chain management

Effects of globalization on supply chain management Executive Summery This report evaluates and analyses the effects of globalization on supply chain management (SCM). on the other hand it depicts the reconfiguration of business Further more it reveals supply chain management with five different drivers and those are Production, Inventory, Location, Transportation and Information. Production is first driver in supply chain management which describe Dell production system. Second driver in supply chain management is Inventory, which has explained with the help of Hewlett Packard. Where as third driver in supply chain management is Location, which tells about Toyota, world wide manufacturing operation. Transportation is fourth driver, which discussed about FedEx. and last driver in supply chain management is Information, which has explained by Procter Gamble. 1.GLOBALIZATION â€Å"Globalization is defined as set of beliefs that foster a sense of connectivity interdependence and integration in the world community the towers of globalization are open trade and vital civil and legal institutions that uphold individual and group rights while facilitation social and economic integration†(Christopher, 2005). Globalization is a set up a world community that is prosperous and tolerant, and on process that enhances and strengthens global understanding and improves the quality and effectiveness of business, professional, and personal interactions through unrestricted access to world commodities, technology, and information. â€Å"Globalization is not synonymous with trade volume and export profits, it is an orientation that seeks to enhance and strengthen global understanding and effective business, professional and personal interactions† (Larsen, 2007). Naturally question arises in our mind what are the reasons for globalization? A company explores global production for a variety of reasons. While there are costs associated with managing and operating a multinational organization, many companies pursue global production because it offers several benefits (1-a) Access to cheaper labour and operation costs is one of the most common reasons for location production facilities overseas, labour rates vary considerably among nations. Therefore, for many specific types of production activities, it is cheaper for companies to produce overseas than to extend in their home countries. For many specific types of production activities, it is cheaper for companies to produce overseas than to expand in their home countries. For example, many manufacturing facilities have been set up in china and Bangladesh to take advantage of those countries, lower labour costs. Similarly, many telephone and internet-based customer support centres have been established in India during recent years of lower operating costs. (1-b) Sometimes, companies locate their facilities in another country to get access to the knowledge and skills of people in that country. For example, many information technology-based operations have recently been established in several eastern European countries and in India because of the vast pool of highly skilled workers in those areas. It should be noted that access to knowledge and skill does not necessarily come at lower cost. Switzerland, Germany, and Japan are examples of countries where companies locate facility to get access to populations who are highly skilled in financial services, engineering and technology, even though the labour costs are higher. (1-c) Yet another reason for globalization of industries involves access to resources, certain parts of the world are rich in natural resources. For example, many of the minerals-based in south American countries, which have some of the words largest mining industries. (1-d) Globalization also allows companies access to new markets, by locating facilities in new countries firms can market their products and services to a new set of customers. Therefore, firms always look for growth opportunities abroad. For example, we can see the outlets of many well -known America brands. For examples McDonalds, Marriott, and Star bucks around the world. (1-e) Facilities at strategic international locations can also reduce logistics and distribution cost. A foreign location can become a hub for distribution of a firms products to markets in the neighbouring region. For example, apple, Sony, and other electronics producers operate distribution and warehousing facilities at various strategic locations in north America, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world. (1-f) Sometimes firms locate their facilities internationally to take advantage of tax and financial incentives provided by local governments. To encourage development, many emerging nations have established â€Å"tax-free production zones† within their borders. The companies operating within these zones get significant tax rebates and access to cheaper capital. For example, the software development facilities of many international firms are located in SEEPZ,(Santacruz electronics export processing zone) Mumbai, India. because of very attractive tax incentives provided by the local government. (1-g) Finally, firms also locate internationally for political and industry-specific reasons. For example, by locating a production facility in a country, providing employment, and participating in various community activities, a firm can slowly become â€Å"local† rather than stay a â€Å"foreign† entity. For example, Holden cars are commonly considered to be Australian, but they have been part of the general motors family since the 1920s. (2)RECONFIGURE Today, many multinational companies have reconfigured their supply chan. Their are many reasons behind this, such as advance ICT (information and communication technology), increased focus on market requirements, global rivalry, development in international fright transport system, global rivalry etc. Market requirements obliges the companies to reconfigure their supply chains and increased pressure on time to delivery requires organisation to be in close immediacy to their consumers, not necessarily in terms of physical distance, but in terms of time twenty four hours lead time demands world for example, such type of condition quite normal in several industries. so these conditions indicates that, organisation need to have reconfigure their distribution centres structure in order to meet requirements. In few industries, for example electronic and automobile industries, the focal company requires inventory close to the focal companys assembly plants. on the other hand, organisation a re moving their manufacturing plants to low-cost countries, in order to be more cost-efficient. Further more, global rivalry has forced the organisations to relocate their distribution centres and manufacturing operations in order to be both cost efficient and competitive. for example, most of the fashion and shoe industries have moved their manufacturing plant toward East. Regarding automobile industry, German car manufactures has step by step moved to south Africa, Czech republic, Hungary, Poland. logistics. Logistics postponement highlights that few regional distribution centre to single distribution centre to centralization of inventory, until the actual order received. full postponement is the delay of manufacturing until the order received and after the assembly process. At this stage, the finished goods are shipped by rapid distribution to the customers. The customized products are shipped directly to the customers. â€Å"Postponement of production or logistics is a strategy, which can be achieve flexibility and rapid response when addressing changes demand. Production postponement means that modular components are produced according to forecasts, and then assembled, packaged or otherwise completed at a point downstream in the supply chain, closer to the customer. Example at the logistic centre of a third party† (Shah, 2009). (3) SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT â€Å"Supply management is the coordination of production, inventory, location, transportation, information among the participants in a supply chain to achieve the best of responsiveness and efficiency for the market being served† (Brindley,2005). Difference between traditional logistics and supply chain management Supply chain management  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Traditional logisticsSupply chain management covers all traditional activities and also includes activities such as customer service, promotion, funding, new merchandise development,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Its concentrate on activities like procurement, distribution, maintenance, and inventory managementSupply chain refer to integration of organisations that coordinate their actions and work together to distribute a merchandise, to marketplace. Traditional logistics occurs within the boundaries of a single organization (4) FIVE MAJOR SUPPLY CHAIN DRIVERS The right combination of responsiveness and efficiency in each of these drivers allows a supply chain to â€Å"increase throughout while simultaneously reducing inventory and operating expense† (Cohen,2005). (4.1) Production It is first driver is supply chain management. Production is the strength of supply chain regarding to constructing and accumulating products. Production services are warehouse and factories. if warehouses and factories are built with a lot of excess capacity, then its become very easy to organisations or companies to respond quickly for customers demand. Production activity covers manufacturing, equipment safeguarding and quality control. From the above fig responsiveness versus efficiency, it is clear that, production indicates, which product should be produce? How much need to produced? What is market demand? When should be produced?. (Sheikh, 2003) â€Å"Factories can be built for manufacturing of product focus, a factory that takes a product focus performs the range of different operations required to make a given product line form fabrication of different product parts to assembly of parts.† Example:- Dell According to Dell sources, limerick factory have built with a lot of excess capacity. that why its become very easy to Dells to respond quickly for customers demand. They also claim that, limerick factory have already bay geared up for upcoming capacity, further more they are planning to increase the server lines capacity in the upcoming year. Dell has little bit contrast to above theory, i.e. they dont have warehouses. one more important thing for dell is that, they are not assemble a single processor until it has been demanded by customer and credit cleared, because they dont want to take any risk. Dell think that, computerization bring dynamic revolution in services, such as orders are receiving at business units, then downloaded to personal computer after every quarter. After that, orders are forward to factory planner who consider inventory photograph and proceeds material requests. Then in very short spam of time Dell distribution centre responses to request. Normally distribut ors have local network and constrained for supply prepared. Dells factory has five assembly lines for desktop PC, two for notebooks and a server line. However, all the lines can be changed according to demand. Lines 4 and 5 are flexible and can build portables or desktops as per demand. The process begins in the kit area, moves to the build area, the may go to the custom factory line for anything not usual that need to be done (Dell, 2009a). Dell technical team does quick test for assembled personal computers with respect with customers order. The reason behind this is to verify the product. Dell technical team oblique to finish test very quickly i.e. not more than 5 minutes, then assembled personal computer send back to conveyor. Then Dell engineers team load software by braking the seal on the personal computers, and verifying all the application. loading of software in a personal computer is time consuming and normally it takes four to five hours for each unit. Then finally, labels with authenticity are added with different companies such as Intel, Microsoft. Next step is personal computer get a general clean, goes in a box, and a barcode label is put on the box. then 10% of products are audited on a random basis, to verify all the work process done in the personal computer. Dell want to ensure its not affecting its liability or the customer experience (Dell, 2009b). 4.2) Inventory Second driver in supply chain management is inventory. Primary purpose of inventory is to act as a buffer against uncertainty in the supply chain. Holding large amounts of inventory allows a company or an entire supply chain to be very responsive to fluctuations in customer demand. However, the creation and storage of inventory is a cost and to achieve high levels of efficiency, the cost of inventory should be kept as low as possible (Chang, 2004). It covers three types of inventory such as Cycle inventory, Safety inventory, Seasonal inventory. Normally cycle inventory fulfilling requirement for the merchandise. on the other hand, safety inventory assumed buffer aligned with insecurity. Where as, seasonal inventory based on prediction which happen in definite time of period. Example:- HP imagine and Printing Group Hewlett Packard imagine and printing group is one the leading player in inkjet suppliers and printing products. Hewlett Packard previous practice was, to allocate similar capacity or similar life cycle phase product at a same location. By using a multi-echelon optimize tool Hewlett Packard inkjet slashed generally inventory by fifty percent. Hewlett Packard uses the tool in mechanized yields, pipeline levels, forecasts correctness, previous variables to produce target safety supply, time phase. etc. With the multi echelon tool, HP found it was carrying too little inventory for items with special packaging, which had lumpy demand, and too much inventory for low variability, high volume packaging operations. the group also found that for items with long lead times, it had to increase buffer inventory at certain points in the supply chain, but that by doing this the overall service levels to customers could be improved. in aggregate, this new approach both reduced inventory and improved customer satisfaction (HP, 2009). 4.3) Location Third driver in supply chain management is location. Location is one of the most important factor in supply chain management, because correct location decision give half of the business success, in other words location decision is strategic planning which commits long term schedule for huge amounts of money. Before selecting location for any business it is very important to consider various factors which covers infrastructure, availability of customers and suppliers, availability of skill workers and non skill workers, tax and tariffs, other facilities in low cost. Once location is fix, that leads the product to the final consumer. important think in location is that, all this activities should be control form common place. Example :- Toyota Motor Toyotas motor running manufacturing operations, at different location around the world they had fifty one overseas manufacturing industries nearly twenty-six regions. as per above mentioned theory Toyota running manufacturing operation in low labour cost, countries like India, china, Thailand, South Africa, Venezuela, Malaysia etc. On the other hand they are running manufacturing operation in best facilities providing countries like Germany, UK, USA, Australia, Mexico, Canada etc. Facilities includes good infrastructures, with modern technical facilities .But all these activities are control and centralize from the Toyotas headquarter Japan. (4.4) Transportation:- It is the fourth driver in supply chain management is transportation. From the figure (Responsiveness versus Efficiency) it is clear that, transportation indicates that, how to move product? and when to move product? There are many modes to move product from one place to another such as fast mode and slower mode. Usually fast mode of transport are expensive for example Airplanes. On the other hand slower mode of transport is chief, for example rail, ship etc. now a days most of the companies receiving order by catalogs or internets and try to deliver product as soon as possible through airplanes, rail, ship or their own modes. Apart from this pipeline transport and electronic transport are in use. pipeline transport are basically useful to transport gases or liquid like natural gas, oil and water. Where as electronic transport is another fastest mode of transport which move certain type of products only like text, pictures, music etc. transportation will be effective when it is contr ol from central hub rather than controlling form many branches. Example:- FedEx Transportation management has become the most outsourced component of supply chain management and FedEx as well. From above fig it is clear that FedEx receiving customer order by telephone or by internet tools like shipment visibility, web order entry, event management /altering etc. Web-based management of customer order allows customer to review, confirm and even change order attributes, no just once but at multiple stages before dispatch. Then customer can view inventory motion, receive event alerts as they occurs, as supply proactive notification to customers before an event becomes an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. And then order transfer to FedEx transportation management, which perform various roles like, verification of order, planning for dispatch, financial settlement and operational reporting that can reduce administrative costs further more FedEx monitor customer compliance, validate order accuracy, and employ sophisticated planning processes to minimize overall transportation expense. FedEx also give customer the confidence of knowing that there is a group of dedicated, experi enced professional making sure customer shipments come and go as planned. With such kind of visibility and peace of mind, FedEx can deliver reliability to customers, then FedEx transportation management pass the tender with various options such as FedEx express, FedEx ground, FedEx fright, FedEx custom critical, FedEx trade networks, after that status for delivery transfer to again FedEx transportation management and finally FedEx transportation management load plan to shipper facility. Shipper facility at FedEx transportation management is very flexible which help customer for lower transportation expense through a process of consolidation, aggregation, mode selection, and service levels. Shipment management at FedEx transportation delivers customer products where, when, and how they want. According to my opinion if supply chain management is not FedEx core business, it can take too much attention away from what is. And that is not the way to stay competitive in todays apparel marketplace, where late arrivals can mean lost sales and excess inventory. (4.5) Information:- Information is last driver in supply chain management. Importance of this tool is increasing every year in supply chain management because of this companies are able to take correct decisions in business. Information plays important role in supply chain in two ways, such as Coordinating the daily activities andby Planning and Forecasting. Basically Coordinating daily activities connect to other four drivers of supply chain management such as production, location, transport, inventory on the other hand Planning and Forecasting predict and try to fulfil the upcoming requirements of consumers. Information help the companies to make future planning. It is an important tool in making strategies, that helps the companies to about whether to stay in market or exit from market. Example :- Procter and Gamble Previously Procter and Gamble had lot of issues with retailers and distributors by supplying excess quantity, of popular product like Pampers disposable diapers because market demand was less. The reason behind this is lack of correct information. So re-evaluation team of Procter and Gamble started to work back all the way through supply chain information sharing system. hence, because of supply chain state of the art information sharing system Procter and Gamble had able to solved the issues with retailers and distributors also information sharing system helped to Procter Gamble to gain a competitive advantage on competitors, and to make future planning for manufacturing, and distributing of Pamper disposable diapers. So by continuing through the supply chain sharing information system today Procter and Gamble is able to do maximum profits. Information in supply chain management, â€Å"much like money, is a very useful commodity because it can be applied directly to enhance the performance of the other four supply chain drivers. High levels of responsiveness can be achieved when companies collect and share accurate and timely data generate by the operations of the other four drivers† (Gattrona,2009). 5. Conclusion In conclusion, I would like to emphasize  that supply chain management provides  a huge number of ways to enhance output and effectiveness and consequently bargain unit expenses. Furthermore, effective supply chain management gives the competitive advantage over the competitors. So, competitors realised that actual rivalry is not organization versus organization but moderately supply chain versus supply chain. â€Å"Each supply chain has its own unique set of market demands and operating challenges and yet the issues remain essentially the same in every case. Companies in any supply chain must make decisions individually and collectively regarding actions in five areas such as production, inventory, locations, transportation, and information† (Handfield, 2002).

Of Mice And Men Essay On Loneliness -- essays research papers

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck looks at the theme of loneliness as it affects many characters on the ranch. Crooks, Curley's wife, and Candy are the most excluded characters on the ranch, because they all have dreams that they will not be able to live out and they all are at loss when it came to companionship. Crooks is lonely because he is the only black man on the ranch. Since this book is set during the Depression, Jim Crow laws are still in effect, whites and blacks had separate facilities for socializing and living. Crooks comments that he can't live in the bunkhouse, and cant even play cards in there. "I cant' play because I'm black. They say I stink."(68) This quote illustrates that Crooks feels the pain of rejection more that he let's people see. In fact, Crooks protects himself by acting like a "proud and aloof man."(67) The full extent of Crooks's suffering is made clear in chapter 4 when Crooks lashes out at Lennie. Viewing Lennie as a symbol of all the white men who had hurt him, Crooks strikes out in anger, saying "You got no right to come in my room...Nobody got any right in here but me."(68) Steinbeck states that "Crooks's face lighted with pleasure in his torture."(71) Crooks's anger, though, is really just a cover for the pain he experiences from constant isolation. "A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody ... A guy gets too lonely and he gets sick."(73) This desire to have a connection is apparent later in the scene when Crooks hears Lennie and Candy's plan to buy a little ranch. Wistfully, he suggests, "If you guys want a hand to work for nothing, just his keep, why Id come and lend a hand."(76) No matter how hard Crooks may try to hide the hurt he feels, he clearly would like to be included in this venture with the other men. Crooks's dream, however, lasts only for a few minutes. When Curley's wife threatens Crooks with a lynching, he quickly remembers the terrible reality of his situation . Steinbeck writes "Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego - his voice was toneless."(81) The character of Crooks reflects the universal need for human connection as well as the brutalizing effects of racial prejudice. Like Crooks, Curley's wife is very lonely, but she is lonely for different reasons. Like Crooks Curley's wife suffers from... ...ion. But Candy gets some life back in him when he hears George and Lennie talking about their dream farm. Hearing this gives Candy a reason to live. He would love to join George and Lennie on there farm and he even tells them that he'll give them money to help finance it "I aint't much good with on'y one hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch...an' they give me two hunderd an' fifty dollars ‘cause I los' my hand. An' I got fifty more saved up right in the bank, right now...and I got fifty more more comin... S'pose I went in with you guys. Tha's three hundred an' fifty bucks I'd put in."(59) When George agrees to let Candy jump on the wagon and join the farm, you can tell Candy is extremely pleased. But with death of Lennie the dream of the farm dies to. Like the other characters Candy's dream was stolen from him. Candy's character was lonely because he needed human contact but his only companion was his dog which was killed. Loneliness affected many characters in John Steinbecks novel, Of Mice and Men. Crooks, Curley's wife and Candy were affected the most by this loneliness because none of them had a real companion and all of them had dreams which were shattered.

Belief Fact Infer

There is this one belief that I feel strongly about and that is religion. I believe that it is important to have a religion. A religion where you can rely on, where in your faith is based on having belief towards God. Religion is a man’s expression of his acknowledgement of the divine. Throughout the ages and throughout the world, people have been baffled by the unknown and the mysteries of life for which they have no ready answer. As I look around and observe the magnificent things, I can really say to myself that how awesome is he who created the heavens and the earth.I can truly say to myself that there is someone up there, who is greater than us and omnipotent. There are times that I try to figure out things but the truth is I cannot fathom it; thus, that is how religion came in. But there is one thing that I have great doubts with, and that is if Religion is still important today as it was before? Are the religious convictions still present in this generation? Many people nowadays are much busier than before. They are too preoccupied with other things such as money, success, fame, treasures and material possessions.And even if they do not religiously go to church and have an established religion, they still manage to be so happy and successful. I really wonder why. And there are others who have an established religion, but live their lives with miseries. Is not it unfair? As we all know critical thinking is a process where in one carefully analyzes a certain situation that serves as a tool for something to achieve or to be done. Suppressing critical thinking is sometimes the effect of minding too much of other things and avoid getting so stressed out and pressured.Sleeping, eating, winding up and having fun are some of the methods used to suppress one’s critical thinking. Fact is the truth. A thing can be made a fact when it is being supported with theories, and evidence. A fact is real when it is already accepted by great theorist, scientist , sociologists and others and also backed up with tangible evidences. Yes, facts are open to subjective interpretation, since we have our own ways of conceiving things.Some of us do not accept established facts while others do. To infer means to prove, to display truth. No, I think it is not the same as fact. Because in fact, it is already made evident or true while to infer is to make something into a truth or a fact. There is still a process involved in it. For example; The student is asking their professor to infer that humans really came from apes; The student nurse is to infer that the reason why she was absent from her duty was due to her hospitalization.

Peace Like a River

You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. ‘ This is verse 14 from Psalm 77 in the Bible. This verse shows that God is constantly working in people's lives. It also shows us that He wants their faith to grow in Him. The miracles of Reuben continuing to live in spite of hardship, Jeremiah walking on air, and Jeremiah surrendering his life for Reuben are Important In the novel because they help him build his relationship with God. The first miracle Reuben witnesses is during his birth.After not breathing for twelve minutes, his father revives him. This miracle is significant for Reuben because he realizes that God is capable of doing anything. Also, He has something planned for Reuben because he lived and did not die. The miracle of Reuben's birth starts off with an understanding of how God works in mysterious ways. The second miracle Reuben witnesses is when he sees his father actually walk on the air. While he was walking, he was deep in pr ayer. This is Important because Reuben sees his father â€Å"walk on the hand of God†. This miracle shows Reuben that with God, all things are possible.It also pulls him Into a relationship with God. The third and final miracle that Reuben witnesses is the death of his father in a valiant effort to save his life. The miracle is important because Reuben realizes how blessed he is to have a humble, self- sacrificing father who loves him and would do anything for his children. Jeremiah's death symbolizes Christ's death on the cross for us. His love for Reuben represents Jesus' love for everyone. This miracle shows Reuben that even through tragedy; God will always be there and will never leave nor forsake him.Thus, allowing him to grow a close relationship with the Lord. ultimately, miracles are only miracles If they are witnessed. Reuben, the witness, develops an Inseparable relationship with God through the miracles of his birth, his father walking on air, and his father sacrif icing his life for him. Reuben knows that God is always with him because of the many hardships he has been through. This contributes to the meaning of Peace Like a River which Is: there Is more to life than the bad things. Life Is about witnessing to the good things that are more important than the bad things. Peace Like a River You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. ‘ This is verse 14 from Psalm 77 in the Bible. This verse shows that God is constantly working in people's lives. It also shows us that He wants their faith to grow in Him. The miracles of Reuben continuing to live in spite of hardship, Jeremiah walking on air, and Jeremiah surrendering his life for Reuben are Important In the novel because they help him build his relationship with God. The first miracle Reuben witnesses is during his birth.After not breathing for twelve minutes, his father revives him. This miracle is significant for Reuben because he realizes that God is capable of doing anything. Also, He has something planned for Reuben because he lived and did not die. The miracle of Reuben's birth starts off with an understanding of how God works in mysterious ways. The second miracle Reuben witnesses is when he sees his father actually walk on the air. While he was walking, he was deep in pr ayer. This is Important because Reuben sees his father â€Å"walk on the hand of God†. This miracle shows Reuben that with God, all things are possible.It also pulls him Into a relationship with God. The third and final miracle that Reuben witnesses is the death of his father in a valiant effort to save his life. The miracle is important because Reuben realizes how blessed he is to have a humble, self- sacrificing father who loves him and would do anything for his children. Jeremiah's death symbolizes Christ's death on the cross for us. His love for Reuben represents Jesus' love for everyone. This miracle shows Reuben that even through tragedy; God will always be there and will never leave nor forsake him.Thus, allowing him to grow a close relationship with the Lord. ultimately, miracles are only miracles If they are witnessed. Reuben, the witness, develops an Inseparable relationship with God through the miracles of his birth, his father walking on air, and his father sacrif icing his life for him. Reuben knows that God is always with him because of the many hardships he has been through. This contributes to the meaning of Peace Like a River which Is: there Is more to life than the bad things. Life Is about witnessing to the good things that are more important than the bad things.

The Trumpet - A Delight for the Primal Senses essays

The Trumpet - A Delight for the Primal Senses essays The trumpet invokes the primal sense stimuli of sound, sight, and touch through its evocative use of melody, tone, and rhythm. The trumpet, of all the brass instruments, is the one that sounds the most like a human voice. It usually provides the melody of a jazz work because of the clear, bell-like sound of its notes. Its tone is one of clarity that can cut through the noise of a crowd or audience at an orchestra. Its noise rises above the dull thump of the lower-toned base instruments like the tuba, the drone of the woodwinds, and the buzz of the string instruments. Even an untrained ear can identify the sound of a trumpet, almost as if its sound was hard-wired into the brain from birth. When there is no singer, the trumpet is the voice of the orchestra. Like children respond to their mothers voices, so we respond to the voice of the trumpet out of this primal memory, this love of speech and articulation. The trumpets quick notes of brightness, unlike the more mellow and difficult tones of different sections of the orchestra need no training to understand because they speak to the heart of the listener. Because of its communicative power, a trumpet has been used when fighting wars and training troops. Once upon a time, no fighting unit was complete without a trumpet. A trumpet can speak to sleeping solders when it acts as a bugle to rally people awake, or to send the soldiers asleep during taps. Even many childrens camps have buglers to rally the young campers awake and to send them to sleep at night. A trumpet can also sound a call of triumph, one reason that angels are often depicted playing trumpets. Trumpets caused the walls of Jericho to come tumbling down with their clear tenor voices, enabling justice to triumph, and announced the birth of prophets. In many Christmas carols, the sound of the trumpet is one of the featured instruments, like Hark the Herald Angels Sing. ...

Politicians and Humpty Dumpty

Politicians and Humpty Dumpty Politicians and Humpty Dumpty Politicians and Humpty Dumpty By Maeve Maddox When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less. The question is, said Alice, whether you can make words mean so many different things. The question is, said Humpty Dumpty, which is to be master thats all. (Through the Looking-Glass Chapter Six) I was in Arkansas the year that then-governor Mike Huckabee refused to sign a tornado relief bill because he objected to the conventional term act of God: act of God uncontrollable natural force first recorded 1882. (Online Etymology Dictionary) On December 31, 2007. the Los Angeles Times reminded the nation of this incident in an article that has stirred up a lot of blog commentary. In order to mitigate fears that the Baptist presidential hopeful would permit his religious beliefs to interfere with decisions of state, Huckabee apologists have come to his defense. They argue that Huckabee merely wanted to change the terminology so that insurance companies would pay. According to a NY Times story dated March 21, 1997, however, Huckabee refused to sign the bill because doing so would violate his conscience: Mr. Huckabee said that signing the legislation would be violating my own conscience inasmuch as it described a destructive and deadly force as being an act of God. Mr. Huckabeesuggested that the phrase acts of God be changed to natural disasters. All language is metaphor. The word is not the thing. The map is not the territory. I am reading a book, livre, boek, Buch, biblio, libro, livro. A rose by any name Words are labels. They mean what we say they mean. Changing acts of God to natural disasters will not alter the fact that insurance companies dont want to pay for damages caused by tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods. When a word or expression becomes a shibboleth, people suffer. shibboleth 1382, the Heb. word shibboleth flood, stream, also ear of corn, in Judges xii:4-6. It was the password used by the Gileadites to distinguish their own men from fleeing Ephraimites, because Ephraimites could not pronounce the -sh- soundA similar test-word was cicera chick pease, used by the Italians to identify the French (who could not pronounce it correctly) during the massacre called the Sicilian Vespers (1282). (Online Etymology Dictionary) The consequence of the wrong pronunciation for both Ephraimites and French was death. TIP: Relieve the tedium of political coverage during the next ten months. Keep a notebook by your TV chair. Collect words and expressions. Record those that upset the candidates, and the words they all use, but which carry no specific meaning and can therefore mean anything they want them to. Remember Humpty Dumpty. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Royal Order of Adjectives What to Do When Words Appear Twice in a RowWhat the heck are "learnings"?

On Merck Corporation and Social Responsibility Essay

On Merck Corporation and Social Responsibility - Essay Example People today can notice that global responsibility is becoming more and more promoted. Everywhere, we see forms of encouragement on sensitivity to issues like environmental and ethical issues. In the past two decades, the business world has also adapted this movement in the form of the corporate social responsibility awareness. As Solomon (2004) says people can no longer accept the unethical idea that "business is business". This belief Solomon adds, was no longer excusable and just a pretext to be "socially irresponsible and personally insensitive". With this concept, businesses are to function in a responsible manner and by that make an effort in putting the business's stakeholders in consideration when company goals are dealt with. One such company is the Merck Corporation. In a time where businesses normally went for profit, Merck Corporation changed its direction to make a difference.It was in the late 1970's when researchers of Merck Corporation first had an indication that Ive nnectin (antiparasitic compound for animals) might have the ability to cure the disease called river blindness. River blindness was a disease that was predominant in third world countries like Africa and in some parts of Latin America and the Middle East. Clearly, the profit of such medicine for river blindness was already questionable. Dr. Vagelos, who was then Merck executive head for the research laboratories, was faced with the decision of approving further research that would cost a lot of money. Nevertheless, further research was done because of its potential to cure and not on its potential to profit. A considerable amount of money was already spent in developing the animal medicine ivermectin and developing another one fit for human consumption was premeditated to cost less than developing a new medicine. And so, Merck Corporation was able to produce a cure and named it Mectizan. When government agencies of the third world countries were unable to purchase the medicine for their people, Merck Corporation headed by Dr. Vagelos, who was then CEO of Merck Company, agreed to give Mectizan to countries that badly needed it for free. Through the years, it has become to be known as the MECTIZAN Donation Program, a fusion of partnerships between private and public agencies to aid developing countries in their fight against river blindness. We see a commendable company that takes risks for the betterment of those who they know badly need it. As one of the top pharmaceuticals company in the world, Merck Corporation is expected to profit from the drugs produced in their laboratories and not to give them away for free. On a HolmesReport (2002) article, Dr. Vargelos was quoted in saying that "many companies do not realize the benefits in better employee morale and favorable press coverage that comes from doing good deeds." It is a boost in the morale for people who work under a business that gives help for many people. Like Merck Company, who have always invested a lot of money in research, this move has no doubt fueled the minds of their researchers who are given freedom to explore possible cures to diseases that are known to have no cure. Especially since, those diseases that have no cures are dominant in poor countries. Every time the company is given an award or praise, the pride and prestige also goes down to the company employees especially the researchers who developed the much needed medicine. For any worker, the drive to succeed and work properly is much more invigorated with the knowledge that you are working in a way to help others. A good image also aids in the problems of human resources because applicants are more than willing to apply for an admirable company in comparison to typical companies. A lot of younger generations today say that they would prefer to work because it is worthwhil e and not just for the compensation. Many applicants mean a wider choice of candidates where the suited employee will be chosen from. Not only does good morale and good image

Renaissance Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Renaissance Art - Essay Example nimity is neither dependent upon his genealogy nor upon his extraordinary achievements as a statesman or a brave warrior- unlike Agamemnon or Achilles. On the contrary, man’s intellectual achievements, as personified by Faustus, coupled with his ceaseless passion for rediscovery were for Marlowe, the sole criteria for ascertaining a man’s greatness. In addition to this, through his awe-inspiring tragedy, Marlowe also revolutionized the much popular debate between fate and free-will. According to the ancient Greeks, fate almost always superseded free-will. They believed that destiny was unalterable. Once his unintentional sin is disclosed to him, the Greek tragic hero, Oedipus considers himself as the victim of the malevolent forces of nature. However, instead of waging a battle against the Oracle; he realizes his limitations as a mortal, indulges in self-martyrdom by blinding himself and surrenders himself to the ominous fate that awaits him. Dr. Faustus, on the other h and, emerges out as an apostate by exclaiming that, â€Å"a sound magician is a demi-god† (I. i. 61). He undoubtedly epitomizes the Renaissance individual- one who unlike the classical Greek heroes, defies the dictates of Divinity. Moreover, Faustus also contests the notion that man’s abilities are limited. He is enticed by the secular-humanistic assertion made by Mephostophilis, â€Å"But think’st thou heaven is such a glorious thing?/I tell thee Faustus it is not half so fair/As thou or any man that breathes on earth† (II. ii. 5-7). Thus, Faustus adheres to the belief that Heaven is great, but man is greater still. Thus, by negating the supreme role played by fate and by placing much more emphasis on individual responsibility, Marlowe has iterated that the Renaissance individual’s suffering is... This paper work describes a period of ‘rebirth’, resulted in the flourishing of arts and literature. During the Reneissance skepticism, humanism, emphasis on rational thought and reformulation of traditional belief systems were the hallmarks. The practice of viewing everything with an eye of skepticism and daring to explore the unexplored led to the formulation of: the notion of Copernican motion, the acknowledgement of the unimaginable potential granted to man by Providence and most importantly the conviction that dogmatic religious ideology or a puritanical belief system is not the absolute. In the literary realm, Marlowe’s ‘Dr.Faustus’, can be categorized as a paradigmatic example of the Renaissance literature. With the emergence of Renaissance, art in general and painting in particular assumed an altogether different dimension. In the classical Greek and Roman eras, decorated vases and sculptors were in vogue. Likewise, the Golden era of Byzantine had also seen a flourishing of arts and culture. However, in these afore-mentioned eras, not much emphasis was placed on making art life-like. The endeavour of making paintings and portraits resemble real life and of depicting man as a sentient being, was taken up by the renowned artistic masters of the Renaissance period- Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Mossacio (also known as Tomasso Guidi) and Rembrandt. Rembrandt was undoubtedly one of the most accomplished Dutch artists of the late Renaissance period- the seventeenth century.

Activity Based Costing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Activity Based Costing - Essay Example More than that, it traces back the cost to the activities and processes (Heisinger, 2010). Above all, use of activity based costing (ABC) method especially in companies with diverse centers and distribution channels has proven to be suitable. Unlike other methods, the activity based costing (ABC) method ensures that there exists a direct correlation between the related overhead costs and the occurrence of an activity (Chang, 2010). Without doubt, the marketing manager decision to use the activity based costing (ABC) method, as a way of critically analyzing the customer support and distribution costs is more suitable, as compared to taking the store with the highest contribution margin ratio.... Without doubt, the marketing manager decision to use the activity based costing (ABC) method, as a way of critically analyzing the customer support and distribution costs is more suitable, as compared to taking the store with the highest contribution margin ratio. Workings Cost allocation based on revenue Total revenue is $ 500,000 1) Department Stores = $150,000/ $500,000 = 0.3 2) Specialty Shops = $100,000/ 500,000 = 0.2 3) Gift Shops = $250,000/500,000 = 0.5 (Bragg, 2002) i) Variable production cost is $150,000 Department Stores = $150,000 * 0.3= $45,000 Specialty Shops = $150,000 * 0.2 = $ 30,000 Gift Shops = $150,000 * 0.5 = $ 75,000 ii) Production Overhead $120,000 Department Stores = $120,000 * 0.3= $36,000 Specialty Shops = $120,000 * 0.2 = $ 24,000 Gift Shops = $120,000 * 0.5 = $ 60,000 iii) Selling & Distribution Costs $180,000 Department Stores = $180,000 * 0.3= $54,000 Specialty Shops = $180,000 * 0.2 = $ 36,000 Gift Shops = $180,000 * 0.5 = $ 90,000 Activity Based Costin g (ABC). Total costs/No of orders places $40,000 10 90 900 Cost drive is the number of orders placed Department Stores = $40,000 * 10/1000= $400 Specialty Shops = $40,000 * 90/1000 = $ 3,600 Gift Shops = $40,000 * 900/1000 = $ 36,000 (Finkler, Ward & Baker, 2007) Total costs/No of sales calls 80,000 5 195 800 Cost drive is the number of sales calls Department Stores = $80,000 * 5/1000= $400 Specialty Shops = $80,000 * 195/1000 = $ 15,600 Gift Shops = $80,000 * 800/1000 = $ 64,000 Total costs/No of shipments 60,000 20 480 1,000 Department Stores = $60,000 * 20/1500= $800 Specialty Shops = $60,000 * 480/1500 = $ 19,200 Gift Shops = $60,000 * 1000/1500 = $ 40,000 Allocation of other costs is based on the

2.To what extent does Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas fulfil Essay

2.To what extent does Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas fulfil the stated aim of the Voyage extraordinaires series to provide instruction which amuses an - Essay Example It still finds its place in hearts of many people. One of the most famous and iconic characters of this book is Captain Nemo. True to his name Nemo was an enigma to Aronax, the narrator and the professor in the story, Ned land, the Canadian harpooner and Conseil, loyal servant of Arronax. To really look into characteristics of Nemo, let’s briefly sum the concise idea about this classic. While idea of the story is being told we will analyze the character of Captain Nemo. The story is being narrated by Pierre Aronnax, who is a famous marine biologist. It all starts with a theory of narwhal being sighted in various places. Aronnax along with his servant and Ned Land follow the path of seas only to understand that narwhal is a submarine which is led by a certain captain called Captain Nemo. The story then revolves around the expedition of Nemo, Aronnax, Conseil and Ned wherein they travel under sea for sixty thousand kilometers or twenty thousand leagues. The book became a cult success and has achieved the tag of classic not only because the central idea of Verne but also the style, characterization and treatment given to the plot to make it more entertaining and astounding. Captain Nemo is the central character of the story. Nemo in Latin means no one or nobody and that name aptly suits him because of his mystical attitude and mystery behavior in the course of the book. Let’s take the book analysis in more detail to understand the iconic character of this great captain. The name has lot of significance to the character and the outcome of book and we shall unravel the mystery behind it now. The first meeting with Captain itself was the one to remember. When Ned, Conseil and Aronnax were being taken as captives in the submarine ‘Nautilus’, each of them explain their situation in different languages of English, French, German and Latin. Captain Nemo does not reply and walks away. Later when he confronts the group he was attacked by Ned and

Evaluation in human services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation in human services - Essay Example Additionally, the staff may fear negative effects that evaluation can have on their employment. This negative implication of evaluation can include lost jobs for employees perceived to have underperformed or due to restructuring those results in elimination of some organizational functions and therefore role of some employees. Employees might also fear evaluation as it might result in increased workload for them especially when there is merging of some functions and roles. Therefore, fear and resistance to evaluation is as a result of employees not knowing the changes that this process will bring in the workplace; therefore, preferring maintenance of the status quo (Shell, 2002). Employee resistance to change is a widespread phenomenon in many workplaces since most of them do not want to be challenged by being asked to abandon routine and adopt new ways of doing things. Consequently, association of evaluation process to change in the way employees perform their duties is likely to en counter resistance (Austin, 2002). Evaluation has an important role in creating efficiency in organization functioning especially if it helps identify areas of waste, even in programs that seem to run successfully. Therefore, it is important that there is cooperation among everyone involved including staff and the management. When evaluation meets staff resistance, this indicates there is a problem that needs to be addressed through either the evaluation itself or prior to conducting staff evaluation. Therefore, the first area of concern when planning to undertake evaluation is to increase staff awareness of the process and possible actions based on results. Fear of evaluation is as a result of the unknown effect it will have on the staff especially as many of the employees wonder if they are going to lose their jobs, have increased workload or be held accountable for negative results. Consequently, evaluation should be done after employees have had adequate information access

Financial management;Mergers and Acquisition Assignment

Financial management;Mergers and Acquisition - Assignment Example The major reason for citizenship change was to reduce the tax base as it reduced to 26% when both companies combined. Canada usually has a lower tax rate compared to the United States. This move was marred with controversy as many claimed that was tax inversion and it even attracted the attention of president Obama as it was viewed the country’s economy would suffer. Over and above there was no illegality in the relocation hence the company would enjoy lower tax rates ultimately improved the company’s profitability (Shabi, 2012). One of the synergy to be enjoyed by burger king includes revenue synergy. One of the revenue synergy to gain from would be an increase in its market share as by acquiring TimHorton the company also acquired its customers. The company would easy penetrate the Canadian market as TimHorton controlled a large stake of the Canadian market. The acquisition would result to a combined 18000 restaurants in over 100 countries with total sales amounting t o $ 23 billion. Based on burger king would be listed on both the New York stock exchange and Canadian stock exchange. Burger king would also enjoy distribution channels used by TimHorton. Companies buy companies to reach new markets and grow revenues and earnings. A merge may expand two companies marketing and distribution, giving them new sales opportunities. A merger can also improve a companys standing in the investment community: bigger firms often have an easier time raising capital than smaller ones. Burger king would enjoy cost reduction synergies, which include increased economies of scale. The bigger the company the better the purchasing power as size matters. The increase of size would lead to increase in goods sourced from suppliers. Greater quantities would result to increase in discounts offered. This would result in cost reduction and hence increase the organisation productivity. Due to acquisition, there would be reduction of staff, as some would have to lay off to cut

2.To what extent does Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas fulfil Essay

2.To what extent does Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas fulfil the stated aim of the Voyage extraordinaires series to provide instruction which amuses an - Essay Example It still finds its place in hearts of many people. One of the most famous and iconic characters of this book is Captain Nemo. True to his name Nemo was an enigma to Aronax, the narrator and the professor in the story, Ned land, the Canadian harpooner and Conseil, loyal servant of Arronax. To really look into characteristics of Nemo, let’s briefly sum the concise idea about this classic. While idea of the story is being told we will analyze the character of Captain Nemo. The story is being narrated by Pierre Aronnax, who is a famous marine biologist. It all starts with a theory of narwhal being sighted in various places. Aronnax along with his servant and Ned Land follow the path of seas only to understand that narwhal is a submarine which is led by a certain captain called Captain Nemo. The story then revolves around the expedition of Nemo, Aronnax, Conseil and Ned wherein they travel under sea for sixty thousand kilometers or twenty thousand leagues. The book became a cult success and has achieved the tag of classic not only because the central idea of Verne but also the style, characterization and treatment given to the plot to make it more entertaining and astounding. Captain Nemo is the central character of the story. Nemo in Latin means no one or nobody and that name aptly suits him because of his mystical attitude and mystery behavior in the course of the book. Let’s take the book analysis in more detail to understand the iconic character of this great captain. The name has lot of significance to the character and the outcome of book and we shall unravel the mystery behind it now. The first meeting with Captain itself was the one to remember. When Ned, Conseil and Aronnax were being taken as captives in the submarine ‘Nautilus’, each of them explain their situation in different languages of English, French, German and Latin. Captain Nemo does not reply and walks away. Later when he confronts the group he was attacked by Ned and

Financial management;Mergers and Acquisition Assignment

Financial management;Mergers and Acquisition - Assignment Example The major reason for citizenship change was to reduce the tax base as it reduced to 26% when both companies combined. Canada usually has a lower tax rate compared to the United States. This move was marred with controversy as many claimed that was tax inversion and it even attracted the attention of president Obama as it was viewed the country’s economy would suffer. Over and above there was no illegality in the relocation hence the company would enjoy lower tax rates ultimately improved the company’s profitability (Shabi, 2012). One of the synergy to be enjoyed by burger king includes revenue synergy. One of the revenue synergy to gain from would be an increase in its market share as by acquiring TimHorton the company also acquired its customers. The company would easy penetrate the Canadian market as TimHorton controlled a large stake of the Canadian market. The acquisition would result to a combined 18000 restaurants in over 100 countries with total sales amounting t o $ 23 billion. Based on burger king would be listed on both the New York stock exchange and Canadian stock exchange. Burger king would also enjoy distribution channels used by TimHorton. Companies buy companies to reach new markets and grow revenues and earnings. A merge may expand two companies marketing and distribution, giving them new sales opportunities. A merger can also improve a companys standing in the investment community: bigger firms often have an easier time raising capital than smaller ones. Burger king would enjoy cost reduction synergies, which include increased economies of scale. The bigger the company the better the purchasing power as size matters. The increase of size would lead to increase in goods sourced from suppliers. Greater quantities would result to increase in discounts offered. This would result in cost reduction and hence increase the organisation productivity. Due to acquisition, there would be reduction of staff, as some would have to lay off to cut

City of Atlanta Essay Example for Free

City of Atlanta Essay Atlanta, the center of higher education in the South East United States with more than 15 colleges and universities, has a student population of over 77,117. Major universities include Emory University, University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, and Oglethorpe University, which are all situated strategically in and around Atlanta. With an adult population of around 4,536,323, Atlanta is a key location that CoViTek should target. The average household income is between $50,000 $74,999 which compromises 21. 3% of the total population of the city. Students age 18-34 have an income that is between $30,000 $74,999 which compromises around 113,362 households. Atlantas congested areas include Clifton Rd. , College Park, UGA Campuses, and the Midtown area. Market Data Credit Card Usage: Over 3 million people in Atlanta own and use credit cards. 84% of the population has a Bank Card, 29% have gas/department store credit cards, and 18. 7% of the population has at least some kind of travel/entertainment credit cards. Only 200,255 of the population of the city do not carry credit cards. With 5. 8 million students enrolled in 4-year colleges around the United States, they have an aggregate spending power of more than $90 billion. $30 billion of the spending is from personal earning and parents. Almost two thirds of college students in Boston carry a credit card while spending an average of $1,213 per month, with up to 10% of expenditures on some form of entertainment, including video rentals. CoViTek will have to hire a market research firm to indicate (in each city): 1. Average spending dollar per household on video rentals a year 2. Total number of students who rent videos (how many per year) 3. Total students with the relevant purchasing power 4. Entrepreneurial activity in and around the city 5. An overall business climate, which includes: consideration of transportation, banking, professional services, economic base, and growth trends Travel / Entertainment 425,723 13. 2% Bank Cards 1,912,341 59. 6% Gas / Department Stores 669,319 20. 8% No Credit Cards 200,255 6. 4% Credit card usage/ year in the city of Atlanta. Areas of Volume We will also need to negotiate with all kind of locations that drive a lot of traffic such as stores, buildings, and large apartment complexes. We are interested in any strategic location that is frequented by a high volume of pedestrians. We would also have to negotiate with them the same terms of revenue sharing agreements as with the universities. Nevertheless, we see a very interesting opportunity in negotiating alliances with retail chains that occupy strategic locations such as Starbucks. We would offer such companies with profit sharing plans in CoViTek, and in return, we would get the right to implement a machine outside their stores. This type of agreement would enable us to gain several key locations, saving us time and money. Metro Stations The T in Boston is the most frequently used method of transportation, which accounts for more than 695,000 passengers a day. Other forms of transportation include buses and taxis. A large percentage of professionals use the T every day for commuting back and forth from work. Marketing CoViTeks advertising plan will be based around the individual cities we choose to place machines in. Our first city, Atlanta, was selected because the CEO and COO live and work there. Advertising on college campuses can be very inexpensive, and we will focus our efforts there. At least one machine will be on each of the following schools campuses: Georgia State University, UGA, and Emory University. Our advertising methods for all of our campus locations will be similar. We will target residence halls and popular campus locations with posters and fliers posted on campus bulletin boards, distributed in residence halls, and advertisements in the schools newspaper. Campus advertising should not cost more than $1,000 per school, most likely less, depending on the schools population. We will also hire a full-service advertising agency, but not until we expand to other cities. We want to see how much awareness we can achieve in Atlanta without an agency campaign. Once we expand to other cities, we will need an agency to create a consistent and strategic brand image for CoViTek. All of our advertising will stress our convenience and value, to deliver a clear brand image in the consumers mind. In addition to our marketing efforts, CoViTek will employ a variety of other marketing strategies: Viral Marketing CoViTek will aggressively target and distribute e-mails to potential consumers featuring promotional deals, newly released videos, as well as a direct link to CoViTeks web page. Public Relation CoViTek will use a top New Media public relations firms to promote the company and secure write-ups in prominent Internet/Technology and business magazines. Online Advertising CoViTek will place online banner advertisements on popular B2C web sites that our profile user would frequent. Feedback We will encourage our customer to give us feedback on what they would like to see in our machines through our and offer them incentives to do so such as free rental or coupons. While our selection will be smaller than our brick and mortar competitor, our market will be more targeted. Rather than having everything, we are striving to provide our market with the exact products that meet their needs. Thus this narrower selection can be seen as an advantage for us as it demands that our company remains focused on our customers and our competitors, to ensure that we are providing our customers with what they want to see. We will also encourage our customers to give us feedback on what they would like to see in our machines. This will be done through our website by offering incentives and free rental coupons. Distribution Michel Khoury and Sina Mouloud will be in charge of the maintenance of up to ten machines at one point in time. We will hire students as our operation expands onto more universities across the US. Suppliers Video Vending North American VVNA is the creator and market leader in the production of video rental machines. Its system is exclusive in its combination of both VHS and DVD formats. VVNA has been manufacturing video-dispensing machines since the early 90s. VVNA machines are the most innovative and modernized in the market. To maintain the maximum market value of their products, VVNA manufactures sturdy, reliable machines, made to last many years and capable of providing thousands of rentals without requiring machine alteration. VVNA machines have been designed using a unique, patented technology proven to provide the markets most reliable and safe equipment, while reducing the level of maintenance intervention to a minimum. A central computer is used to remotely manage all the dispensers via DSL networks. Personalization of the Video Dispensers VVNA, the manufacturer of the video vending machines is willing to customize the design of the machine for us. Therefore we need to develop a design for our machine that will efficiently promote our company. The design and the logo must attract attention while being contemporary and functional. We want the machine to catch the attention of pedestrians who walk by the machine in order to drive more traffic to it. Production Companies Ninety percent of our videotapes will come from one of the six major production companies (Buena Vista, Warner Bros. , Universal, Fox, Paramount, or Columbia-Tri-Star). The power of these suppliers is very high, as they hold the rights of the movies they produce. We will be working with Video Bicicling. They will give us a competitive price on Videos and DVD. Our experience has shown us that it is better to own a rentable video in order to use it for resale after complete amortization. This system will allow us to sell the movies that are not in high demand after using their complete value in rental time. CoViTek may consider the selling of consumer information gathered from their database technology to research companies primarily dealing with entertainment studies.

History Of Lg Electronics Global Company

History Of Lg Electronics Global Company INTRODUCTION In 1947, LG was born as the Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Co. by Mr. In-hwoi Koo for manufacturing cosmetic creams. After that, the company produced radios, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners as Goldstar Co. (currently LG Electronics) in 1958. The LG group was a merger of 2 Korean companies, Lucky and Goldstar; the current LG brand name was acronym from the name of these companies. With more than 82.000 employees and 110 subsidiaries and marketing units all over the world  [1]  , LG Electronics Inc. (LGE) was a successful company of Korean electronics that got the revenues of more than $43 billion  [2]  . Its products involve 4 strategic business units: Mobile communications, Digital appliance, Digital display, and Digital media such as CDMA handsets, DVD players, air conditioners, micro ovens, consumer electronics, and so on. In this report, we are going to discuss the key strengths of the Korean electronics industry during their formative years and how firms leverage these advantages to enter developed country markets. After that, the report mentions particularly about the strategic growths of LG Electronics to approach the emerging markets; and we are going to find out the commonalities across its strategies in the BRIC countries. Finally, the report will be ended with the points of learning that can be distilled from its success in emerging market and if these advantages help firms to compete in developed country or not. PART II Case Question 1 What were the key strengths of Korean electronics industry during the formative years? How did firms leverage these advantages to enter developed-country markets? During the formative years, almost Korea electronics is an Original Equipment Manufacturer such as Goldstar, Samsung, and Zenith; which received orders from global companies. This should bring them a lot of experiences on customer demand, the characteristic of markets, the customized products of some countries. The combination between innovate and education policy encouraged more students for technical education, the low-cost skills of Korean employees, the access of effective technology across all firms, the strongly development of technology in all country. Korea electronics companies can learn quickly knowledge, technologies, skills from Europe, US, Japan because government allows these foreign firms become joint venture with domestic firms. For example: LG Hitachi, Deawoo GE, Samsung Sanyo, so on. Besides that, government also focused on most sectors of Electronic industry of country, so they supported so much to develop this industry. Foreign investment was supported to develop the intermediate parts and component industry, while prohibiting foreign investment in companies producing finished goods. Korean firm with letters of credit for exports automatically received access to preferential loans. Export companies were exempted from various indirect taxes and received tax breaks for depreciation and tariff payments; they also had access to duty-free imports of capital goods. Government helped to encourage firm creating their local RD. With the developing and investment of technology, some firms stared to export their products by their own logo, not as OEM anymore like LG and Samsung. Because they were OEM of some global markets, so they already had the reference of consumers and global standards. After that, with many supporting of government, they had their manpower supplying with skills and abilities from university. Government has the tax breaks for depreciation and tariff payments for exporting companies. And the RD department had enough experience to recognize the market and give the best solution for company. As the Glodstar product lines, LGE established a central RD to develop and manufacture color TV (CTVs), VCRs and computers. PART III Case Question 2 Were there any distinct patterns in terms of the companys approach to emerging markets? Trace the commonalities across its strategies in the BRIC countries. Brazil Brazil is a country in South America wide more than 8.5 million km2, rich in mineral resources, population 190 million people with diverse cultures. Brazil is the leading economy in Latin America, ranking 10th in the world. Brazil chooses the path of economic model: fast growth with the advantage that fast economy flourishes, the growth rate in average income is very high. Besides that, government has some regulations to promote investors such as preferential tax rates, land subsidies in country, especially in some underdeveloped rainforest region. With these advantages, LG began attacking the Brazilian market in the mid-1990s. But during that time, Brazil also faced a lot of difficulties. Because their economic model is fast growth, so it also makes unequal economic, political; social increasingly fierce; the quality of life is not considered. At the late 1990s, almost global companies had to exit the market because of very high import tariffs, significant competition from the gray goods market, very low brand awareness. Inflation rate increased with high speed, local currency became unstable, exchange rates started to plummet with increasing levels of uncertainty. LG decided to make a long-term strategy, and also expanded their brand name in India. They had 2 factories in Manaus and Taubate to produce their products, this strategy made Brazil as a regional manufacturing hub to serve South America and US markets. LG also let Brazilian government know that they are a credibility partner in term of national growth by join with government to combat the problem of the rampant smuggling of gray market goods. Everybody knows that Brazil is a country passionate about soccer, Brazilian live for football. So LG had one strategy to reach millions of football fans sponsored a football club in Sao Paulo that most popular among the top clubs in the country  [3]  . By providing official uniforms with the LG logo for Sao Paulo club, LG get the instant brand recognition and fixed image in consumer. India LG began in 1993 as a form of joint venture with a consumer products company named Bestavision. They chose the Goldstar line of products to distribute in India. Since the government allowed foreign companies set up their own firms without local partnership, and the business of LG and Bestavision failed, LG decided to launch LGE India Ltd. (LGEIL) in 1997 with their own wholly owned subsidiaries in India. There were many challenges that LG had to overcome like: low brand awareness about LG brand name; LG was one of the last MNCs entered in India; high import duty of government; price sensitiveness of the Indian consumer and competitors. Following the global strategy, LG still entered and focused on the rural market. Because there are a lot of competition from local and global players in urban market; big population of rural market but also large untapped; etc. There is 1 year for them to set up manufacturing operations in Greater Noida to manufacture televisions, washing machine, etc. to over some the high import rate cost. At the first time, LG created an RD teams by local employees to customizing its products lines to meet local needs. It helped LG distribute their existing products and also customizing the new unique characteristic of products that matched the consumers expectations. This is an important resolution for LG to achieve both objectives: marketing and produce. LG had differentiated its product using technology and health care system like golden eye technology of CTVS, health air system for air conditionals, so on. They focus on emphasizing good-quality products, with prime technology and network. For customized products, they did not cut prices in manufacture existing product lines, but they decided to built new version with less material cost and also catch the needs of consumers. They kept the engineered quality of the appliances and focused on value engineering and design to manufacture at the lower cost. Such as microwave ovens with cooking menu including 77 kinds of Indian dishes  [4]  , television is displayed by 10 regional languages, washing machine with sari cycle, and so on. It helped LGEIL have all levels of consumers, especially low-class consumers, because company served exactly the need of them high quality but not expensive products. The price range of the products of LG India is quite reasonable and affordable so as to make it easier for every class of people to go for it thereby increasing the consumer level. For example, the price of Sampoorna reduces from 9000 to 5050. This shows R D team has worked very well and complete their tasks, it helps the production of LG reasonable based on deep understanding of Indias cultural and linguistic diversity. LG Company invested and created the distribution network encompassing with 65 Remote Area Offices, 60 central area offices, near to 4.000 access points in all areas, and they also had their online channel lgezbuy.com to provide information of products, comparison of prices and qualities across geographic, accept the individuals buyers. These regional distribution networks helped LG E to penetrate the B, C and D markets faster and wider. http://htmlimg3.scribdassets.com/6q46i2mohe5bi0w/images/14-631b49b1d4/000.png As same activity in Brazil, LG started sponsoring to catch more customers. LG became the largest single sponsor of cricket in the world, although they came from a country where cricket was not played. It immediately attacked to millions of cricket fans in this country and prelude to the success of the cricket-game TV set lines. LG also brought their products to 4 capitals of Indian cricket team for endorsing. Another strategy for other field of India, LGEIL promoted their products by Indians leading film stars. This is considered the largest film producer in the world by number of films produced annually and the number of tickets sold at cinemas, it has its owned name Bollywood to describe the effective to local consumers. After that, LG had another long-term strategy in trying to care about the social welfares in India initiatives. It created a friendly look to the company, people knew that company really did not just trading on their own country, but also cares for their lives. They subsidized the primary school education and books for children, built a village school. While most of employees of company in India were local people, they provided medical clinics for the health care strategy to employees as well as the local community. Also there were some basic levels, but LG shown that their corporation social responsible done well. As mentioned above, LGEIL put local employees staffed as the main labor force in their manufacturing. With the local employees, company could get great resource of engineering and design skills. LG Indias purposing is satisfying the needs of its consumers not only in the domestic market but all across the globe. Company is trying to make India as their training hub for global strategy. The company had begun rotating some of these managers into positions in third countries in the middles east and Africa. This is one of advantages of LG to acquire a leading position by providing fast and innovative techniques on their products. They always create new products with the best technology possible. Russia LG first entered Russia for the purpose to sale products; they imported goods manufactured from other countries and sale in Russia. Not the same as Brazil and India, LG operated themselves in and around the city of Moscow, and they just focused on Goldstar brand. LG set up an RD center and regional office in St. Petersburg for their first strategy. Till Russian engineers were known for their ability and skills in technology, company looked for talent employees to support their global employees. LG promoted their reputation by opening LG brand shops, retail channels with LG brand portfolio, culture marketing events such as LG festivals, cooking events, and so on. 1998, Russia was affected by the severe economic crisis; it made Russia faced the debt moratorium problem. This was the time LG shown their long-term strategy and loyal attitude to all Russian local and government. The more they pushed the mode of operation to dominate the market dropped; they enhance the image with consumers through the sponsorship of events, more carefully to the requirements for each market. These activities created a foundation for their premium strategy and image to local. In 2005, government allowed company to use the Narodnaya Marka logo for their products. This is an important event for LG officially recognized as a national brand, the successful of foreign company of their localization strategy. China In this market, LG first reason for entering china is lower-cost production, and they spent a lot of time to understand the local market conditions and assessing the feasibility to be successful. Since LG Electronics established its local subsidiary in Huizhou in 1992, the LG Groups 12 subsidiaries have come to manage some 34 local companies, including 22 manufacturers. LG Electronics took the top position in the Chinese domestic market in the area of TV export, CD-Rom drivers, washing machine, and air conditioners during that time because of their advantages of technological prowess and the marketability of their products. In china, they used the new strategy as a bipolar strategy a strategy offer high value-added digital home appliances to the high income earners living in the coastal areas, and low-priced household electronically appliances to general households living in the interior. China is a great resource for operating a business. With many advantages such as low labor cost, low material cost, government regulations, geographic proximity to Korea market, 16 corporate entities of LG were built in the country which focused on manufacture Plasma TV, white goods, and important research, development in 2006. LG expanded their brand to set up a manufacturing network to serve countries such as Russia and US. As 98% off employees were local Chinese and RD center, this is a smart strategy of LG in case of localization in China. For their promoting image, LG initiated an I love china campaign and passed out free sanitary masks to local citizens during the SARS crisis in China. This activity really effected to customers while others competitors tried to rundown their business. LG also well done with their Corporation Social Responsibility by launching schools, offering scholarships to economically disadvantaged students, sponsoring a touting cultural festival that would bring traditional Chinese cultural experiences to small towns and villages, founding a hospital program to provide surgical treatment to children with cleft palates. Common strategy across BRIC At the first time, LG Electronics always put up their local manufacturer and RD team with local employees to understand the need and characteristic of each market. They depend on these researches and created some specification for local. Such as in India, most of consumers require on cheap price of products, but still have the same quality of international; LGEIL decided to produce the television with a smaller screen size and scaled-down sound system. They did not forget to serve the high-end products to all markets. This is really the big success of their RD activities. They are supporting global strategy by looking for talent local employees, meaning they localize with a purpose for global market. And with local operation, they can save much of manufactured products such as materials, employees, etc. Second thing for their global strategy is they always established their brand name on rural market, where avoid the competition of those large corporations around the world. This is one unique strategy of LG because they focus on lower-class consumers and appropriate way to satisfy consumers in cheap prices but still benefit. The population of rural areas is always greater many times than urban areas. In 2007, LG Electronics reached the $2 billion marks in revenues in India; this is a good result for their strategy. By recruiting the local employees, LG E knew well about the characteristic of their consumers and this is an advantage to attack them. The company is always looking for talent employees to train them as a global standard. LG E did sponsors to the passionate of the country, such as cricket game in India, football in Brazil. Otherwise, they had good corporation social responsibility that shown local and government their loyalty. All strategies of LG E in BRIC countries are long-term commitment; this make LG has a different position compare with other operations. LG still tries to overcome all the barriers if they believe that a market is really profitable. PART IV Case Question 3 What are critical points of learning that can be distilled from its success in emerging market? How these advantages are leveraged to compete in developed countries? Are there advantages transferable? By some successful experiences of LG in BRIC countries, LG brought to people the strategy to run well an operation in emerging market. Some of their success experiences are do sponsorship, event to create an image to customers; they always had their RD team to customization their product to satisfy the markets based on localization. They still kept the global standard on their product lines and put it into new products for each market. By this way, their brand name will have the image of globalization and also get benefit for customized products. And LG focused on rural market and they know that major population of BRIC countries is poor, so they give what the customers want low price. In case of operate in developed country, LG can also use this strategy to attack their customers, but its harder. Because in developed countries, there are many sponsorship and activities daily, if their marketing strategy is not unique, LG can get many difficult to compete with others like Sony, Phil lip, etc. Foreign businesses always focus on 2 things: outsourcing and marketing when enter a country. LG really did 2 things above in BRIC countries because they built their own factories, using local people, manufacture products on their factory in each country. They produce their customized products and sale them. But maybe this strategy will not work in developed country, because of the highly cost rates. The purpose for building their outsourcing is reducing the cost, but in developed country, the cost for these activities is very expensive. There will be better for them if they just do marketing and sale activities in developed country. Other thing is their distribution network. They expanded their brand name by a lot of retail channel, offices to most areas of each country. They also can save the cost for import, export, transfer, and quickly accessible to consumers. This will be the prepare strategy before LG enter a developed country. PART V References Career LG. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 24, 2010, from LG Electronics Inc.: http://www.lg.com/global/about-lg/careers/faq.jsp Corporate infomation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2010, from LG Electronics Inc.: http://www.lg.com/africa_en/about-lg/corporate-info/global-sports-sponsorship/sao-paulo-football-club.jsp Grand Finale Of LGS MALLIKA E Kitchen 2010. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2010, from Food and Nightlife: http://www.foodandnightlife.com/content/grand-finale-of-lg-s-mallika-e-kitchen-2010 LG Record sales and products. (2010, 1 28). Retrieved 11 19, 2010, from Consumer Lifestyle News: http://www.cln-online.org/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=511:lgprofitscatid=40:industryItemid=135 LOUIS VUITTON IN INDIA Table of Contents Louis Vuitton Background Introduction 24 Case Question 1 Why do people buy luxury goods? 25 Case Question 2 Louis Vuitton is a high-end product. India is a low-income economy. Can this dichotomy be reconciled? 28 Case Question 3 What are the external factors kindering the purchase of luxury goods in a country like India? 30 Case Question 4 Why do luxury goods marketers form retail clusters? 33 Case Question 5 Why do certain luxury brands look for store locations in luxury hotels? 35 Case Question 6 How does a luxury mall work for luxury goods marketers? 37 Conclusion 39 References 40 PART I INTRODUCTION Louis Vuitton, a French fashion house officially founded in 1854, is the worlds leading of high-end fashion brand in international fashion industry. The well-known label is LV monogram which is featured on most products ranging from luxury trunks to leather goods is also as a way to deter counterfeiters. Founder of LV first launched a small leather shop in 1821 with the original products specialized in crafting fine leather luggage ware. But since recognized the demand among prestigious travelers who wanted premium steamer bags, flat cases, and weekend bags, the namesake designer, Louis Vuitton, gradually grew into a brand that offered deluxe travel goods. Back then, as successfully in establishing LV initial reputation, LV expanded the assortment to include carry-on-bags, toiletry cases, small trunks, jewelry boxes, and eventually luxury watches. Today, over one hundred and fifty year brand Louis Vuitton has been spread throughout Europe as the fashion icon of the most exquisite sy mbol. In this particular case study, we are going to discuss the reason why people purchase luxury goods, especially is LV; and how the dichotomy between a high-end product and a low-income economy to be reconciled. Then, the report will be continued with the external factors that hindering the purchase of luxury goods in India, culture typically. After that, mentioned more in international marketing, we are going to find out the reason why luxury goods marketers form retail clusters, why certain luxury goods look for store locations in luxury hotel. And finally, the report will be ended with the way of a luxury mall work for luxury goods marketers. PART II Case Question 1 Why do people buy luxury goods? Nowadays, when the world becomes globalization, there are no more barriers in the integration process of every country. Therefore, people are entitled to purchase and use global products made by international companies. Not the same as consumer goods or necessity goods, luxury goods are cyclical and correlate with GDP in specific regions, often exaggerating the up- and down-swings; in boom times, consumers demand tends to grow faster than the growth of economies (as measured by GDP)  [5]  . More precisely, luxury goods are goods for which demand is not related to income. Basically, there are three main factors that lead people by luxury goods. Especially in todays consumer-driven economy, people spend proportionately less on basic necessities and more on things based upon emotion and desire. Firstly, they buy luxury good because of its superior functionality and quality. Most of them were old because of hard working time period, so they were wealthy enough that willing to pay premium for products that had enduring value. They usually conducted extensive pre-purchase research, then making logical decisions rather than emotional or impulsive. This action highlighted the messages of product quality. And that message were information-intensive appealed to them. Consisting of connoisseurs, this category was the largest. Secondly, they are people who perceive luxury products as a reward. They saw these products as status symbols which make the personal statement that they had arrived. Highly driven, they were motivated by a desire to be successful, eager to showcase their success to others. They also were keen on appearing lavish or hedonistic. They wanted to make seemingly smart decisions that demonstrated the importance of their purchase while not leaving them open to social criticism of any kind. Thirdly, this is the smallest and consisted of younger consumers, with a higher proportion of males than the other categories. They saw luxury products as a means of self-indulgence. They enjoyed luxury products for their feel-good factor. They were emotional in their purchase decisions and were not concerned with product longevity or its enduring value. Particularly, in India, people who buy luxury goods fall into the second category. As we know, maharajahs are the most wealthy and powerful in India in the late 19th century. They are the one who prefer everything luxury to showcase their positions as great king. It was the ongoing orders from Indian royal families, among other wealthy customers, that had helps Louis Vuitton survive the Great Depression of the 1920s  [6]  .After that, although the changes in 1971, these maharajahs lost their traditional hold in post-independent India and their riches with the abolition of annual financial grants from federal government, many of them became entrepreneurs; but accidentally, the new generation of customers for LV was formed in India including start-up owners of myriad new businesses, professional CEOs in their thirties and early forties, non-resident Indian, small and medium retailers, big-brand franchisees, Bollywood actors and closet spenders. This new generation of customers coul d be the third category of who purchase luxury goods. They are new and not too many of them are really rich, but they still purchase LV as the feel good factor. Hence, they are very essential in long-term strategic development in Indian market. PART III Case Question 2 Louis Vuitton is a high-end product. India is a low-income economy. Can this dichotomy be reconciled? India, throughout history, has been a land of extremes and known for the indulgence of its opulent classes  [7]  . Typically, there are more than 600 maharajahs existed that time. They are truly powerful and wealthy enough to be considered as great king. As a positive result, most of global brands were looking India as a market with long-term potential whereby there are high demands of luxury goods from Indian royal families, so does Louis Vuitton. Until now, almost luxury brands are still survived in Indian market despite of global economic crisis. Clearly evidences are the Indian market has increased a significant percent of consumption this year when customers are more interested in walking into the outlets and, importantly, buying rather than just looking. Besides that, India is known as a low-income economy, but there are really have several wealthy people who are superior to the average population. Since Louis Vuitton made an important observation that the rich in India were flying to London, Dubai, Singapore, New York, and Paris to shop because there were noting available in India for them to buy  [8]  , the company has articulated the clear long-term goals in India that is open store in every Indian city so that the wealthy class can buy the needed items right in their home country. The World Wealth Report 2005-06, published by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, put the number of dollar millionaires in India at 83,000 in 2005. The report also said that India recorded the worlds second fastest growth in the number of HNW individuals, 19.3 per cent in 2005  [9]  . Thus, we can easily realize the potential market of Indian consumers purchasing power. Currently, due to the capitalist mind set and growing young population, India offers to luxury brands favorable advantages such as more wealthy people, increasing awareness, increasing consumerism, and greater supply of luxury goods. Firstly, luxury product companies strategizing their entry into India were primarily targeting high-net-worth individuals because they are those with a million dollars or more in liquid financial assets. They are the largest category of spending on luxury goods as the number of them as well as their demand increased. Secondly, India young generation is now travelling abroad more than before, thus, the foreigner brand awareness is also increasing. The more they go out of the country, the more they exposure with international brands, especially luxury brands. Then, the demand of these kinds of global brands is increased in India but domestic market can not satisfy their demand. That is the reason helps luxury goods generally and Louis Vuitton particularly still existed and developed gradually in this market. Thirdly, there are also an increased numbers in consumption of non-essential items. The world is getting globalization day by day; the demand of human is not only the needs but also the wants, so that their life becomes more convenient and sophisticated. They dont afraid of giving a large amount of money to spend on a luxury product that it is worth for and satisfied their wants. Of course, there is no more guilt feeling associated with spending on luxury nowadays. Finally, together with the boom of expanding global, luxury brands opened more and more outlets in as many countries as possible, including India. Generally, in the world of opposition, this dichotomy entirely can be reconciled. PART IV Case Question 3 What are the external factors hindering the purchase of luxury goods in a country like India? Depend on several conditions of each country; the factors that are hindering the purchase of luxury goods are various. In this particular case study, we are finding out the external factors in Indian market. Advertising platform: Nowadays, Advertising is a service to the community  [10]  . It is usually revealled the latest fashions and the new popular novelties on the market. Therefore, the effect of adverting to the community is essential. Advertising has the power of persuade and influence consumer. Advertising has short-term power (conveying new information, building awareness, enhancing credibility, etc.) and long-term power (conveying brand image, attaching emotional values to the brand, building positive reputation, etc.)  [11]  . Actually, there is lack of advertising platform in Indian market. No famous magazines or newspapers are found in India at tha