Burj Al Arab Strategic Plan Essay

Executive Summary The following report aims making a strategic plan for the real-time company. The chosen company is The Jumeirah Group and the selected hotel is Burj Al Arab, which is the only seven star hotel in the whole world. The report presents a brief synopsis of the Hospitality industry in Dubai and briefly introduces the profile of Burj Al Arab. The company conducts an internal and external analysis with the help of SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Force Analysis to examine the current state of the environment and plan against future threats and opportunities. The report identifies the major competitors of Burj Al Arab. It then uses the above information to formulate strategies which would enable the company to maintain their profit levels and enhance their market share in a time of the economic crisis. It also designs an implementation plan that would identify the activities to be implemented by the company to achieve their desired strategic objectives. The report recommends that the company should avoid offering price discounts or adopt any strategy that would affect the market positioning of the company. Nevertheless, they should work towards offering more value for money to their customers and look for new ways to attract them. Introduction The following report aims making a strategic plan for the real-time company. The chosen company is The Jumeirah Group and the selected hotel is Burj Al Arab, which is the only seven star hotel in the whole world. The report conducts an analysis to understand the current trends in the internal and external environment of the company. It uses strategic tools to understand the positioning of the company in the Dubai market. It then formulates strategies which would enable the company to emerge successful in the current market environment. It also recommends activities to be initiated for the implementation of the strategic plan. Dubai Hospitality Industry Dubai has experienced tremendous growth in various sectors since it started diversifying their activities and building up their infrastructure. The  emirate gradually gained the reputation of being the business hub of the Middle East region. The emirate also experienced a heavy influx of tourists as the Government worked hard to promote the plus points of the place. The increasing growth rate of the Dubai tourism industry had a direct impact on the Dubai hospitality industry. The investment efforts of the government were internationally recognized with the launch of the Burj Al Arab, the first seven star hotel in the world. The below graph shows how the hotel room occupancy levels had increased between 2000-2006. In 2008, the hotel attracted more than 7 million hotel guests [1]. Source: DTCM Statistics, 2006 However, the global financial crisis affected many of the sectors in the Dubai economy resulting in a reducing growth rates in these sectors. These negative trends were also relevant in the Dubai hospitality industry which got majorly affected by the global financial crisis due to the decline in the number of tourists travelling to the country. â€Å"The hotel revenues in Dubai fell by more than 40% in May 2009 as compared to the figures during the same period in 2008. This was mainly because fewer people throughout the world were considering traveling due to the impact of the global financial crisis (Walid, 2009). The hotel occupancies in Dubai fell by more than 14.5% in May 2009 as compared to the figures during the same period in 2008 (Walid, 2009). Burj Al Arab â€Å"Burj Al Arab belongs to the Jumeirah Group. The legendry hotel has a symbolic value attached to it which has gained international attention and put them in awe of Dubai’s innovative capabilities. The hotel is one of the most photographed structures in the world. The hotel is shaped like a billowing sail and has the height of approximately 321 meters. The hotel stands illuminated during night times and is simply individual, inspired and impressive. This all-suite hotel reflects the very finest that the world has to offer. The hotel’s highlights include chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, discreet in-suite check-in, private reception desk on every floor and a brigade of highly trained butlers. These services and many more assure customers of the ultimate in personal service throughout their stay† [3]. Target Customers The profiles of the target customers for Burj Al Arab are as follows: Tourists who belong to the high income group and are willing to spend a premium amount for luxury, personalized service and comfort. Their main purpose is to enjoy leisure activities and/or shopping. Business professionals who value professional high-tech environments that enable them to keep in touch with the rest of the world while travelling. Families who value living spaces offering excellent views with high class service, relaxation and entertainment. Tour groups that value luxurious lifestyles and indulge in various types of activities and are willing to pay a premium for it. Customer Value Proposition The customer value proposition of Burj Al Arab is: â€Å"Offers high class customer service coupled excellent view, luxurious lifestyle, comfort, entertainment and relaxation to their customers. Offers 202 spacious duplex suites ranging from 170 to 780 square metres Six award-winning signature restaurants Facility of world class conference and banqueting venues In-suite check-in & check-out Butler service around the clock Helicopter transfers and scenic tours Majlis Al Bahar exclusive private beach Unlimited access to Wild Wadi Waterpark Yacht charter services† [7] SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a strategic tool that enables business planners to study the performance of the company and analyze its market position. Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Popular brand image throughout the world Over dependence on Dubai Government Expand into other countries of the world Declining growth rates in the tourism industry Support and patronage of Dubai Government Charges very high prices which limits them to a narrow target market Expand within the Middle East region Low demand due to the effect of the global financial crisis on the UAE market Financial Strength Invest in related services like sightseeing services, restaurants, etc. Spread of the swine flu Trained and customer focused staff Threat of a terrorist attack in Middle East region Excellent location Only seven star hotel in the world Personalized service coupled with luxury and comfort Porter’s Five Force Analysis This section presents the Porter’s Five Force analysis which is a strategic tool that the management utilizes to examine the power and weaknesses of each force operating in the external environment of the company. Threat of new entrants The hotel and its conception was the idea of the Dubai Government who launched it through its conglomerate Dubai Holding. Therefore, the hotel enjoys the support and patronage of the Dubai Government. Moreover, the Government also exercises control over the type and brand of hotels entering the Dubai market. Furthermore, entry into the UAE market with a similar concept would require the competing company to make huge investments in terms of location, view and promotion of the brand image. Therefore, there  exists a high entry barrier for new companies which reduce the threat of new entrants to the company. Threat of substitutes The only substitutes for the company’s products and services are the five star hotels that aim at matching the same level of experience and customer service. This is mainly in terms of the service offered to their suite customers. These hotels aim at attracting customers by offering highly customer focused service and charging a much lower price as compared to Burj Al Arab. Many customers get attracted towards these substitutes as they offer value for money and personalized services. Examples of such hotels are Emirates Palace, Atlantis etc. These hotels also have the advantage of offering an excellent view. Therefore, the company faces a high threat from these new entrants and should work towards communicating their Unique Selling Proposition to their customers which would make them stand out against their recent competitors. Bargaining power of suppliers The suppliers in the hospitality industry do not have a high bargaining power as there exist a large number of companies supplying the same kinds of products and services. Moreover, the companies are financially less powerful than the top hotels in the UAE market. Furthermore, these companies also aim at getting associated with these top brands of hotels as that would enhance to their brand image. These factors prevent the suppliers from exercising any control over the existing companies in the industry thereby reducing their bargaining power in front of the hotels. Bargaining power of customers The customers have the choice of selection between a wide variety of hotels in the Dubai market. Moreover, high income individuals are usually demanding in nature and have specific demands and expectations from companies. This makes it essential for companies in the industry to study customer preferences and demands and work towards fulfilling them. In fact successful companies aim at understanding customer demand even before the customer knows about the need himself. The customers in this industry enjoy a high bargaining power and have the capability to influence changes. Therefore, the luxury hotels in the market give high priority to the customer and constantly work towards pleasing them. Competitive rivalry within the  industry There exists a strong competitive rivalry between the companies in the hospitality industry. The major competitors of Burj Al Arab are Atlantis Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Tower Hotel, The Fairmont Dubai, Al Qasr Madinat Jumeirah, The Address Downtown Burj Dubai and Grand Hyatt Dubai. These hotels have excellent locations and work towards offering world class service to their customers with the aim of gaining a customer loyalty and a higher market share. Burj Al Arab should work towards establishing a unique place or position in the market and in the eyes of the customers in order to stand out from the competition. The company should also be alert against any new competitors entering the market. The forces operating in the environment are favorable for the company. However, the company should focus on adopting strategies that would enable them to better deal with their competitors. Competitors The major competitors of Burj Al Arab are as follows: â€Å"Atlantis Palm Jumeirah – The hotel has the strengths of excellent view, architecture and splendid service. The hotel comprises of 1,373 guest rooms and there are a separate 166 suites. The rooms are designed with oceanic and Arabic influence† [1]. â€Å"Emirates Tower Hotel – Jumeirah Emirates Towers is a city lifestyle destination beyond compare. Set in the heart of Dubai alongside Sheikh Zayed Road, a few minutes walk from the Dubai Metro Station and just a short drive away from pristine beaches, this established landmark encompasses a fully integrated five star business hotel with high octane luxury setting the scene with 400 spacious rooms and suites, paired with creative meeting and business facilities† [8]. â€Å"The Address Downtown Burj Dubai – Located in the happening heart of Downtown Burj Dubai, the hotel has the world’s tallest tower, Burj Dubai and the stunning Dubai Fountain on its doorstep and is flanked by Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment centre. The Address Downtown Burj Dubai reveals a new art in offering service and comfort, where every guest’s stay is treated as an individual experience. A combination of  outstanding facilities and superlative attention to detail makes it the premier lifestyle destination for international travellers. Standing an impressive 63 storeys high and featuring 196 lavish rooms and 626 serviced residences, The Address offers an extensive range of gourmet experiences, modern meeting and event venues, a signature Spa, a fully equipped Fitness Centre, chilled pools and indulgent amenities and services† [9]. Strategies to be adopted to survive the crisis The company should adopt the following strategies to maintain their profitability and market share in the Dubai market: Pricing Strategy – Burj Al Arab should revise their pricing strategy by including more products and services in their packages. This is because the hotel cannot reduce their prices as it might have a negative impact on the brand image of the company. The company should work towards offering more value for money to their customers as this would act as an incentive to people in times of economic crisis. For example, the hotel can include spa services in the room rates for a limited period of time. Promotion Strategy – Burj Al Arab should modify their promotion strategy whereby they should offer product bundle promotions to their customers. The company should avoid offering price promotions as this could negatively affect the image of the company. The company can offer promotions based on the usage of their services whereby more usage will result in more benefits. For example, the company can offer free lunch to customers who are staying for a minimum of three nights at the hotel. Innovative products and services – Burj Al Arab should work towards offering innovative products and services to their customers as this would add value to the current product and service portfolio offered by the hotel. This would attract customers towards the hotel and enhance their preference with the hotel in comparison with the other new hotels that have recently come up. For example, if the hotel starts offering the services of dermatologists then some customers might be likely to choose Burj Al Arab over Atlantis or other competitors. Target new customer segments – Burj Al Arab should work towards targeting new customer segments from different parts of the world. This can be done by targeting people from countries where the economic impact of the global financial crisis has not been much. They should work towards targeting business executives and high net worth  individuals. This would enable the hotel to get access to a new set of customers which would enable them to maintain their level of profitability and their market share in the time of crisis. The hotel should work towards maintaining their level of profitability and market shares in comparison to peak profitability levels in 2007. Promote new services – Burj Al Arab should also work towards promoting their other services like conference rooms, business halls, etc. The hotel should liaise with exhibition and event organizers who usually travel in groups. This would also give the hotel the opportunity to access the customer base of these companies. The company would therefore be able to expand their operations, enhance their profitability and increase their market share by targeting exhibitors and business officials who would utilize the other services offered by the hotel.

Dinner Table Conversations

Dinner table conversations had been considered as contributor to the learning of the child particularly to the language skills and reading skills. A number of randomly-selected parents were asked to participate in the study by allowing their dinner table conversations to be audio-taped. Their conversations were analyzed and it was found that the dinner table conversations the child has with his parents can be a basis for the learning output of the child. It has improved vocabulary and reading skills of the child. It can also be an avenue for the development of the social-well being of the child.DISCUSSIONIt is most probably that the family is complete in gathering during dinner. Because of that, of the three important meals of the day, dinner was viewed to be of importance not in terms of nutritional benefits but of learning. Dinner table conversations have been viewed as an important factor that affects a child’s learning positively. There could be a lot of ways that it could improve language and cognitive learning of the child. First thing that a dinner conversation can do would be to improve the faculty of language of the child. Learning and broadening the knowledge about the language starts early.It has been said that children speak the language even before they could understand it (Snow and Beals). During dinner, the parents of the child can help the child improve his vocabulary with the parent’s guidance. At dinner, many stories both by the children and the parents are told. In that case, explanatory and narrative talk is what being utilized. Results show that the degree of their explanation and narration depends on the level of vocabulary of the child. It was also found that narrative talks during a young age allow for an easy definition of terms when they get six years older.Results also showed that narrative talks at a very young age of two can help improve reading skills when the child gets into grade 2. It also showed that explanatory t alks are related to the scores the child can get in school. These findings only show that dinner table conversations with both the children and the parents participating on it can improve the language skills of the child by improving his vocabulary and the reading skills. And why wouldn’t it? The parent’s assistance helps them to recognize what they could have said wrong are what exactly are the words they are using.The parents also guide them to use the appropriate words. The child may use words that he has only heard of from other people of from watching the television and may not understand what it really means. The child would use those words and when the parents could hear of it, the parents could correct improper use of the words and if it is inappropriate to use. The parents also have the option to â€Å"filter† the words that the child may use by commanding the child not to use such words or by not introducing such words. Introducing new words is also a good way of improving vocabulary.Reading skills are improved because the child had already learned of the words and clearly understand what a certain statement conveys. When a child doesn’t understand what the word means, it is more likely that the child wouldn’t understand what he read or heard. These findings also tells that it is good that both the parents and the child are present during the meal especially while the child is very young since the child’s learning at that very young age is critical for the learning output a few years from now.If the child could start early with his improved language skills, he can do a lot better when he gets older. In some cases though, the contribution of the mother to the child is greater than that of the father probably because the mother is at the primary level of care giving to the child (Ely et. al,). But dinner table conversations not only affect cognitive learning of the child. It could also contribute to the social- well being of the child. The child can see many things from his parents and may look at it as examples.Parents may consciously shape up to be the best example for the child (Pontecorvo, et al. , 2001). The parents mold their kids through teaching appropriate use of the language. The parent may teach the child how to use words to convey a message that sounds polite and not being rude. Also, by having conversations, the child gets to have a wider perspective of a lot of things and can use those to analyze and critically think over certain things. During conversations, the child is also encouraged to participate by telling what goes through his mind and is encouraged to clarify his thoughts.That is a very important behavior especially in class. If the social-well being of the child can be molded while they are still young, then, they should be molded while still young. And if this can happen during conversations during dinner, then let it be. This only tells that parents have the respo nsibility to look forward to the future of their children and prepare them for what they could be. The study was conducted based on random sampling of the family. The study is more focused on the descriptive analysis of the data.It would be difficult, though, to quantify the results because words or language is involved. The method used to correlate the trend with practical implications was statistical analysis. Their correlation determined what it could contribute towards the conclusion, but, dinner table conversation can really be a basis for the learning output of the child. It is difficult to say, though, that there is an absolute relation between dinner table conversations with both the parents and the child participating on it and the child’s future learning output.One problem may have risen during the data gathering. It is possible that the parents were being conscious with the way they held their conversations with their children and was aware that they are being tape d. In that way, they may have deviated from their natural way of having a conversation within the family. The way they have behaved during the data gathering may be a bit different from how they behave when they are in that unsuspecting mood. They may have tried to be more polite and avoided making rude comments because they want to make an impression.The age of the children participating in this study was from two to five and a half. The learning output was taken into account several years after the dinner table conversations. The learning output cannot be attributed solely to the dinner table conversations the child had during his earlier years. There are a few questions that are yet to be answered by conducting further researches, like, how long a conversation should be to make it effective?Does the improvement in language skills due to dinner table conversations encompasses all types of people and all races? ; and would it matter if the parents are not the one present during the dinner and having conversation with the child? This study is very good basis for child development. Because of the findings, perhaps, even the government may promote complete gathering of the family during dinner time. Parents with very young children would surely be interested to start conversations with their child.

Local Color In Huck Finn Essay

Huckleberry Finn, a tale about a boy and his struggles with the society in which he lives, is written by Samuel L. Clemens. In the story, Huck manages to escape from the custody of Widow Douglas and travels down the river to a nearby island where he encounters Miss Watson’s runaway slave, Jim. Together, they float down the Mississippi River, to find a new life, where they can live freely and easily. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is perhaps the finest example of â€Å"local color†, an emphasis which is laid on the surrounding settings. Throughout the novel, Clemens accents â€Å"local color† by illustrating the natural scenery, the way of thinking, and the distinct practices and folklore encompassing the area. The novel’s plot revolves around the Mississippi River. The river breaks all the barriers of the time period, between black and white, young and old, slave and free. With their many journeys on land, they invariably return at the raft. While stopped in a near by village, Huck and Jim manage to escape the king and the duke, seeking refuge on raft. â€Å"It was the raft, and mighty glad was we to get aboard of it again†(Clemens 1309). Later on in the novel, at the Phelps Farm plantation, Tom and Huck learn that Jim is held captive in a hut just beyond Aunt Sally’s house. They devise a scheme to get him out, involving digging a tunnel, sawing off a leg of a bed which Jim was chained to, using a rope ladder, and having Jim flee from a makeshift window. The plan runs smoothly, all three exiting through the man made hole, until Tom gets caught on a piece of wood, which creates a clamorous noise. At that moment, they began their retreat in a hurry. Fifteen men, equipped with rifles and dogs, begin their hunt for the three outlaws: â€Å"Then we struck out, easy and comfortable, for the island where my raft was; and we could hear them yelling and barking at each other†Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Clemens 1442). They manage to, once again, get away seeking protection on the raft. The raft shielded both Huck and Jim from nearly every obstacle, yet slavery was still present no matter where they were. During the time this novel was set, just prior to the 1860’s, slavery prevailed all across the United States, especially in the South. Slaves were thought of as property for the white man to own, thus making them inferior. It was not until the Civil War where the slavery issue was addressed and eventually resolved. Throughout  the story, Huck and Jim travel down the Mississippi in search of freedom. Jim escapes from the possession of Miss Watson, fearing she was going to sell him down the river and thus separate him from his family. At one of their stops, at the Phelps farm, Huck hears a story from Tom’s Aunt Sally about an explosion on a boat: â€Å"It warn’t the grounding † that didn’t keep us back but a little. We blowed out a cylinder-head. Good Gracious! Anybody hurt? No’m. Killed a nigger. Well, it’s lucky; b ecause sometimes people do get hurt†(Clemens 1409). Ultimately, at the culmination of the novel, Miss Watson grants Jim his freedom, as stated in her will. Much of the population of this time based most of their practices and rituals on either the Bible or folklore. Jim, Miss Watson’s slave, had a hairball, taken from the fourth stomach of an ox. He believed this hairball was a prophecy, which truly spoke to him. In another episode, while Huck is stranded on Jackson’s Island, he hears loud explosions in the distance: â€Å"You see, they was firing cannon over the water, trying to make my carcass come to the top†(Clemens 1287). It was common knowledge of the time that when a dead body is in a river, the vibrations from the cannon ball will enable it to rise and float. Furthermore, residents believed that when quicksilver was put into loaves of bread, it would float to the dead carcass. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has numerous instances in which â€Å"local color† is present. Throughout the novel, heavy focus is laid upon the Mississippi River, and the villages close by. Common men and women used superstition and folklore to explain and solve life’s natural phenomena. Along with this is the portrayal of the brutal aspects, both physical and psychological, of slavery. At the conclusion of the novel, all hurdles are overcome, and Jim and Huck become free. Most of the population of this time was narrow-minded, being on the river, away from society, allowed Huck and Jim to overcome these bounds.

The Greatest Challenge Facing Organizational Behavior Research Paper

The Greatest Challenge Facing Organizational Behavior - Research Paper Example Creating a diverse workforce in a company with an existing culture and belief system can be a dilemma. Management has a reasonable desire to bring in people of different ages, gender, and ethnic backgrounds. It is also desirable for the new diverse workforce to accept the organization's existing values. Failure for the new employees to accept these values can result in the new employee not being accepted into the mainstream corporate core. Yet, for the employee to limit their diverse behavior, or act in the traditional corporate model, reduces the effectiveness and the value of the diversity. It is incumbent on the organization to assure that these new employees can be accepted and valued for their diversity within the existing system. The outdated concept of a melting pot culture no longer holds validity in today's world. The melting pot approach assumed that people would blend their differing cultures, ideas, and beliefs into a new and unique community. This previously held system eliminated the positive effects of diversity by demanding conformity. People of diverse backgrounds were forced to set aside their differences and in doing so limit their opportunity to effect positive change. Organizational management has an increased responsibility to bring in these new cultures and backgrounds into the existing system without disruption of the current system and create recognition of the need for change. Bringing these changes into the workplace and workforce is a major challenge for management. Thirty years ago the workforce was dominated by white males who supported a family and were the primary wage earner.  

Water incident Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water incident - Essay Example The company is no stranger to such incidents. It has been part of all major oil disasters in thee US for the last five years (Lustgartern). Since the explosion in the deep water rig causing death to 11 persons on April 20, 2010, the oil spill has continued to claim the lives of wild life; it has seriously threatened the travel and tourism plans of the region as well as affected the culture of the gulf coast. The oil rig that cme into causing an accident in the Gulf coast, The deep water horizon was a nine year old rig having a semi submersible mobile drilling unit.and a dynamic positioned drilling rig. The company has taken this rig on lease from Transocean. At the time of explosion, the rig was drilling an exploratory well at a depth of nearly 5000 feet under water The incident occurred on April 20 2010 at approximately 9.45pm. gas from the well under high pressure shot up and out of the well triggering into a huge explosion. Efforts made my ships to bring down the fire proved unsuccesful. The fire lasted for nearly 36 hours after which the platform sank to the deep waters. The spread of the oil was very rapid due to the strong southernly winds that was caused by the impending cold front. Five days from the blast, the spill spread to nearly 580 square miles. And was near to the ecologically sensitive Chandeleur Islands. By April 30, the spread widened to approximately 3850 square miles. The spill reached the Delta national wild life refuge and Bretton national wild life refuge. . By May 19 the spill reached the Loop current which flows around the Gulf of Mexico. It was found that about 35% of the oil leaked would evaporate, 50% will remain in the water and the rest would be dissolved in the ocean. It was also estimated that most of the oil would be floating within one foot of the surface of the water causing serious environmental damage to all living organisms. The

Ethics The Film The House I Live In Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics The Film The House I Live In - Essay Example This documentary is a powerful evaluation of the American futile and costly war on drugs that ranks the country as the globe’s largest injury. In his work, Jarecki declares that his catalyst for his project was spry in the documentary, the lady of African American origin who raised him as the parents were away at work. The lady is depicted as soulful and charming besides carrying the full weight of the world on her shoulders. In this film, it is easy to realize that simplicity is the pillar supporting the film. A spin from its center conjures a collection of a powerful dissection from frustrated and shamed agendas, compromised blood lines, inhumane decision making from the wealthy, compromised bloodlines, interviewing the jailed and their jailers, and credible persons who offer the opninions on why and how. The audience can decipher a laughable enterprise that from The War on Drugs, the phrase itself is absurd as lives are cost, families are destroyed. The American society is carefully cleansed off its enemies, racially. In this age, the drugs are purer, cheaper and easily availed than before. The documentary praises Richard Nixon in the charade’s beginning who supposedly and initially coined the media phrase with the Reagans driving it home in the 80s for vengeance. The documentary shows the audience that there has been no change, given the highly safer streets and prevalence of drugs. There is still a reckless abandon in spending.

Policy Lightening Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Policy Lightening - Essay Example The public should work together with the government to avoid recurrence (Kettl, 2014, p. 1). â€Å"Policy Lightening† was used to refer to anything that takes place when policies are blowing off by the lightening on striking occasion. There are inescapable conclusions, and they are two, this includes; a policy lightening that take place in excessive frequencies that is it keep on recurring. Another inescapable conclusion is that some changes are befalling and it make the situation worst, it causes many destructions if became more frequent (Kettl, 2014, p. 5). Many things have been happening in the government. The government has lost trust with the public. The government has repeatedly made so many mistakes; this includes; the misuse of public resources without clear explanation, like Bruno Iksil, who went to unknown with the finances, President and Chairman could not go through this failure. Ilksil lost a lot of money, which was more than 5 billion dollars. Another one was Hur ricane Katrina, which happened in 2005, the government failed to overcome the disaster though there was a forecast, and they did not prepare and mitigate the storm. Another failure that has recurred is when the private company failure of taking their responsibilities for the disaster that is when British Petroleum oil spillage and explosion in deep water. The spillage was devastating that it needed government to intervene in it.

How does middle school approaches particularly with an visual arts Essay

How does middle school approaches particularly with an visual arts focus help to reengage kids - Essay Example teacher is in a position to help the students’ development, especially children who may be disadvantaged due to any of several causes such as those from poorer socio-economic groups, the disabled, or children from diverse cultures with communication and language difficulties. Learning and working on visual arts help disadvantaged children to overcome psychological limitations or barriers, and grow to their full potential. The middle school child from ten through fourteen years of age, is in transescence, which is a period in human development that begins with late childhood and continues through the early stages of adolescence. During this time of rapid but irregular growth, most children develop to physical maturity. In the middle school years, teachers and students are involved with each other, the curriculum meets the needs of the students’ stage of development, education is exciting and enables the students to prepare for more advanced courses that will need to be tackled in high school (Glenn, 1986: 6, 5). In the case of disadvantaged children, the opportunities for communication and self-expression are crucial in engaging them towards improvement in their self-concept and a better quality of life. The school reform movement termed as multiculturalism requires changes to some extent in the roles of art instructors for middle school children. It is important to understand culture and cultural diversity because â€Å"culture provides beliefs, values, and the patterns that give meaning and structure to life† (Ballengee-Morris & Stuhr, 2001: 6). Such an understanding allows individuals belonging to multiple social groups to function effectively in their constantly changing social and cultural environments. Since education is part of cultural experience, it does not comprise only of the various disciplines, but includes concepts of history and self-identity. For the effective development of a sense of identity, the middle school visual arts education plays

Organ donation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organ donation - Essay Example Many people are not aware of this problem and this paper can help on this point. As a nurse, my profession had allowed me to see the deficiencies in the current system of organ procurement. Lack of organ donors - there is a dearth or shortage compatible organs for people who are waiting for suitable organs due to the requirements of a tissue and blood match, otherwise, the organs will be rejected by the body as a foreign object. I believe that all major donor agencies and even national governments should give a priority to these concerns such as tax incentives for the donors (McCarrick & Darragh, 2003). Other proposals were made to address a vital issue but the most common avenue is to conduct an advocacy campaign that will help to persuade people to become organ donors. Besides family members and close relatives, a search for viable organs has expanded to prison population as well. The current lack of organs is due to increased demand as the organ transplantation process is now a fairly routine surgical procedure. Black market - the urgent need for human organs has also caused a dark underside of a cottage industry which is the trafficking of illegal organs. In other instances, it is possible that poor people sell their organs, often with a devastating effect on donors health. A parallel market for organs obtained through illegal means has resulted into medical tourism that people desperate for organs go to poor countries (Connell, 2010). A proposal made to make all organ procurement subject to free market forces has not been well received (Mahoney, 2010); todays present system based on altruism cannot keep pace with the demand resulting in the illegal market for organs. While the surveys indicate widespread public support for organ donation, in practice, people are either reluctant or unwilling to voluntarily donate their organs or those of deceased kin. What peaked my interest in the topic of organ donations is that it is the responsibility of

Anything on a proposal arugment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Anything on a proposal arugment - Essay Example I consider this as a major social problem which must be taken care of in a serious way. This paper will follow the structure represented in Ramage's book and shall include the following: In general term, we can define child labour as a forced- work where children are put into and through which they get exploited in many ways. Children are forced to work in any place regardless of the suffering they meet. The problem of child labour is more in the developing countries like India and so on. We can say that the main cause for child labour is poverty, but it is not only this because we can see that innumerable poor children are getting educated. So, the responsibility goes to the family also. Many out there from the poor background are not aware of the problem at all. They do not know the damage it brings to the future of their children. Engaging children for work is a serious offence, but no one seems to take notice of it. Child labour spoils the educational growth of the child and always keep him out of the fast-developing and competitive society. A child labour does not face the world in a proper way; he will not develop a proper character or behavior. Here is an est imation of child labourers in the year 2002 by International Labour Organisation. According to it of about 246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in child labour, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8.4 million children were engaged in so-called 'unconditional' worst forms of child labor, which include forced and bonded labor, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking in children and commercial sexual exploitation. We cannot say that the problem of child labour has been decreased totally. This is a continuing problem which has been not properly considered by the government authorities. Effective measures have to be taken to eliminate child labour. According to the "Roots of Child Labor" in UNICEF's 1997 State of the World's Children Report, the parents of child labourers are often unemployed or underemployed, desperate for secure employment and income. Yet, it is their children - more powerless and paid less - who are offered the jobs. In other words, says UNICEF, children are employed because they are easier to exploit. With this, let us move on to the next part. A SOLUTION TO ELIMINATE CHILD LABOUR Though there are many solutions to overcome this problem, in my opinion it is rightly through providing proper education children can be taken out of child labour. It is not just giving education; my stress would be on making it free for the desperate and deserving section of people. Government should come forward to make it reach throughout the country. Children must be able to receive proper education and the government should also concentrate on providing some help for the family concerned for their survival. In this way, there will not be any problem from the parents' side for the children. If this can be implemented everywhere the risk of child labour will slowly perish and the future of these children can be saved. CONCLUSION In my conclusion, I would like to justify the mentioned solution as an

Role of education in changing gender relations and empowerment of Literature review

Role of education in changing gender relations and empowerment of women - Literature review Example This essay "Role of education in changing gender relations and empowerment of women" outlines the role of the schooling and equal rights and attitude to both genders in society. Findings from Wajcman (2013: p29) show that there is a complex relationship between overall education rates of penetration in countries and differences between these rates in men and women. A report on statistical analysis of various developed and developing nations found that relationships between overall literacy divide and gender divide is tenuous and is not supportive of the argument that literacy and gender move together. This shows that there is a need for the disentanglement of social aspects of education access from others that are more related to physical access. Groups with power and privilege normally leverage this combination of social and physical access in different ways, as compared to marginalized and vulnerable groups (Wajcman, 2013: p29). Most experts argue that the ethnocentric western way in which educational empowerment is interpreted does not take into consideration the social and historical contexts within which education is used and accessed. Time for women is a vital resource whose supply is short and, therefore, any educational solution that seeks to improve women’s lives and improve their choices and empowerment should be seen as accessible and relevant means to improve efficiency, instead of as an additional load to their already numerous responsibilities (Wajcman, 2013: p29).... Gender differences in education are variously described as rooted in perceptions and attitudes concerning education. For example, time for women is a vital resource whose supply is short and, therefore, any educational solution that seeks to improve women’s lives and improve their choices and empowerment should be seen as accessible and relevant means to improve efficiency, instead of as an additional load to their already numerous responsibilities (Wajcman, 2013: p29). Beyond the leisure time for women away from productive and reproductive tasks, which is limited, women usually do not have the required mobility to go to school, which may be symptomatic of carious socio-economic factors, safety precautions, and cultural restrictions. Improved education and literacy are linked with correlated improvements in participation in global and local communities, as well as in individual empowerment. According to Kane (2005: p78), women living in developing nations are in the deepest po rtion of the education divide and are increasingly removed from this experience by their male counterparts who share their poverty. Factors that are engendered, such as language, constraints of time, income, cultural contexts, and education, affect the access by women to employment, education, and to academic institutions. The limited access to education by women comes from illiteracy barriers, time constraints, and preoccupation with their survival in oppressive and egalitarian socio-cultural practices and norms, the predominantly urban nature of the academic facilities, and its high costs (Kane, 2005: p78). Therefore, literacy and education are

Church and Dwight Essay Example for Free

Church and Dwight Essay A. Executive Summary 1. Summary statement of the problem: Church Dwight, more commonly known by its brand name â€Å"Arm Hammer,† has held a commanding lead in the sodium bicarbonate product market for over 160 years with virtually 99 percent of all consumer products in households within the United States. However, in order to promote growth and diversity while maintaining a steady profitability rate of three five percent per year, the company has expanded uses of sodium bicarbonate products so that it is no longer the only focus. The acquisition of a diverse group of consumer products in international markets has been viewed as a viable option to sustain the profitability margins well into the 21st century (Wheelen Hunger). 2. Summary statement of the recommended solution: Since Church and Dwight is a relatively small company, when compared to competitors in household and personal care product markets they must recognize the challenges of growing sales through acquisitions to promote growth and competitiveness within those markets. Church Dwight must incorporate additional acquisitions of solid brands and products in order to grow market share through an expansion of product lines into a variety of â€Å"personal care, deodorizing and cleaning, and laundry products† as well as â€Å"specialty chemicals, animal nutrition, and specialty cleaners† (Wheelen Hunger). In addition, to maintain its position in the world market place, Church Dwight must expand into international markets and gain footholds in product markets through acquisition of manufacturing assets. Simply shipping domestic product lines overseas is cost prohibitive. Foreign manufacturing assets will allow product recognition by local consumers in foreign countries and markets. B. The Situation After 160 years, Church Dwight is a giant in the household domestic product market with brand name recognition more commonly associated with â€Å"Arm Hammer† products. However, this achievement in the market only nets $2.5 billion in annual sales worldwide. The company’s brand portfolio includes over 80 popular brands and competes for market share with other giants including Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox, and Proctor Gamble, which have combined sales of over $100 billion. The company has also expanded over the past decade into other household product lines through acquisitions of consumer brands including Mentadent, Pepsodent, Aim, and Close-up, as well as Trojan. Church Dwight has a core of specialty products primarily based on its successful sodium bicarbonate line of products. It currently holds 75% of the sodium bicarbonate market share. Expansion in the domestic markets has proven successful because of the â€Å"company’s pristine balance sheet†. Gro wth into the foreign markets has proven more challenging than domestic markets. Foreign market net sales in 2009 were only $393 million compared to domestic net sales of $1.8 billion (Cook). II. ANALYSIS A. Analysis of the Situation 1.Management – The Church Dwight Company has continued a tradition of slow and steady leadership with a solid focus on long-term goals. The steadiness of the company’s leadership can be primarily attributed to the fact that 25 percent of outstanding common stock is owned by descendants of the company’s original cofounders, a tradition that continues today. In addition, the management of the company over the past 160 years has been handed down from generation-to-generation until recently when Dwight C. Minton passed on the position of Chief Executive Officer in 1995 to an outsider, Mr. Robert A. Davies, III (Wheelen Hunger). This focused leadership style has enabled Church Dwight to overcome potential leveraged buy-outs and hostile takeovers with a series of calculated actions and savvy business decisions. These actions allowed the board of directors and management to amend the company’s charter and allowed shareholders four votes per share. The board of directors was also re-structured into classes, in which each class serves staggered three-year terms (Wheelen Hunger). In addition to staggering the tenure of the directors, the company initiated employee severance agreements with key officials, providing a severance package agreement to provide a â€Å"safety net† should any of the board member positions be terminated by a hostile takeover or leveraged buy-out by an unwanted suitor. By providing these lucrative packages for senior management, many were able to stay with Church Dwight. This allowed for continuity of leadership styles, vision and mission focus. Because of this steadfast devotion to principles, steady growth over the years has occurred, identifying Church Dwight as a Cash Cow, using the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Growth-Share Matrix. However, as the company focuses more on international markets and enters other potential avenues of growing product lines, it will surely find itself labeled as a Star. 2.Operations – Church Dwight have peacefully existed over the past 60 years with sustained growth and profitability because it virtually held the market in the palm of its hands as other companies searched for ways to enter the household and personal care product lines. As a result of the constant forces in emerging markets, Church Dwight has come to the realization that they have major challenges to overcome if they are to compete with other giants in the industry and continue to thrive. As the company gains a stronger market share in the international consumer products, the growth and profitability standard will continue well into the future. However, Church Dwight also recognize they must remain vigilant to quickly and adequately deal with Porters Five Forces: Bargaining power of suppliers; Threat of new entrants; Threat of substitute products or services; Bargaining power of buyers (customers); and Rivalry among existing firms (competitors) (Wheelen Hunger). When considering Bargaining Power of Suppliers, the force rating could be considered Medium as management must be constantly aware of any potential market shocks or trends. If an affiliate retailer is affected by unforeseen supply chain issues, like increased fuel prices, then those costs throughout the company may be affected to remain competitive. In addition, Church Dwight are well aware of the economic situations that may affect their trade customers who may reduce distribution of products in which sales may decline, or adversely affect the financial performance of the company (Craigie). There was never historically a threat of new entrants into the sodium bicarbonate market prior to 1970. However, since the company has developed new product offerings and other established consumer brands, they now face the same competition threats of mature and domestic and international markets for consumer products. This threat of new entrants has emerged over the past decades and may now be rated high. The threat of substitute products or services is always considered high, as well, because consumers might choose a substitute item, if it is cheaper. This is a problem for any company. Bargaining power of buyers (customers) is generally a medium concern as consumer satisfaction is evaluated in a variety of ways. Otherwise, dissatisfaction can drive prices up or down based on demand, or the lack of. Quality is a hallmark of Church Dwight and the perception by consumers of any potential lowering of standards to decrease prices will typically drive loyal customers away. Finally, rivalry among existing firms (competitors) is high as competitors try to achieve greater market shares to grow potential profit shares. â€Å"Church Dwight has in an enviable position to profit from its dominant niche in the sodium bicarbonate products market since it controlled the primary raw material used in its production† (Wheelen Hunger). 3.Marketing – The Church Dwight marketing strategy has been fairly simplistic since its focus has been on the sodium bicarbonate product lines for over a century. However, with additional acquisitions over the past 20 years, and the expansion into other household products, the brand recognition has become even more important. As a result, â€Å"marketing expenses for 2009 were $353.6 million, an increase of $59.5 million or 20% as compared to 2008† (Craigie). In addition, Church Dwight caters to people of all ages and backgrounds. This wide range of customers allows them to develop more and more organic products and services with large scale agreements to satisfy those demographics. As the company expands globally, markets for one region could also be satisfied by other regions as production opportunities allowed greater cost-effectiveness. Unfortunately, â€Å"attempts to enter international markets have met with limited success, probably for two reasons: (1) lack of name recognition and (2) transportation costs† (Wheelen Hunger). Finally, the company began a ground-breaking marketing campaign by airing commercials for condoms on prime-time television. This â€Å"shock† strategy increased its marketing strength and enabled the partnership with Quidel Corporation, â€Å"a provider of point-of-care diagnostic test, to meet women’s health and wellness needs† (Wheelen Hunger). There are potential problems if va rious brand names fall into â€Å"the precarious line-extension snare† (Wheelen Hunger). As the company expands and acquires more product lines bearing the â€Å"Arm Hammer† trademark, the potential for substandard quality or customer satisfaction could cause a back-lash resulting in reduced sales around the world. Therefore, product marketing is essential to reinforce brand name recognition so consumers never forget the value and quality of a company’s name and its product lines. 4.Finance – Initially, the company’s domestic markets have proven successful. However, in keeping pace with competition in expanding product line markets, acquisition of assets has taken place, which could negatively impact the overall financial picture if profitability is not maintained. In 2009, Church Dwight’s performance worldwide achieved an increase in sales of 4 percent; organic sales increased 5 percent, gross profit margin increased 44 percent while global marketing expenses only increased 20 percent; and the Net Cash Flow grew to a record level of $401 million (Craigie). Perhaps even more significant to investors is the report that earnings per share grew 23% and dividends on investments increased by 35 percent (Craigie). In contrast to the growing profits and expenses, the compa ny also jettisoned noncore assets for the first time, including â€Å"five domestic and international consumer product brands acquired during the 2008 Del Laboratories transaction† (Wheelen Hunger). This posturing of assets will enable a financially sound balance sheet in the future. Therefore, the financial status of Church Dwight continues to grow as it has achieved modest gains from year to year, with hopes of even greater revenue and sales. Finally, the CEO remains focused on â€Å"building a portfolio of strong brands with sustainable competitive advantages† and the â€Å"long-term objective is to maintain the company’s track record of delivering outstanding TSR (Total Shareholder Return) relative to that of the SP 500† (Wheelen Hunger). 5.Administration – Church Dwight enjoys a sound management strategy. It incorporates affiliates through agreements to sell its products. In addition, the former CEO, Mr. James R. Cragie, stated â€Å"†¦We have added $1 billion in sales in the past five years, a 72% increase, while reducing our total headcount by 5%, resulting in higher revenue per employee than all of our major competitors† (Wheelen Hunger). While it may appear unsympathetic to the employee perspective, technologic al advancements allow for increased productivity in various aspects of manufacturing and labor allowing for greater productivity without the added expense of additional manpower. Church Dwight also continue to operate with an ethical employment code in keeping with today’s expectations of utmost respect for both consumer and employee. The following is the company’s published Ethical Standards: â€Å"The reputation and integrity of Church Dwight Co., Inc. are valuable corporate assets, vital to the Company’s success. Each Company employee, including each of the Company’s officers and general managers and each Company director, is responsible for conducting the Company’s business in a manner that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of integrity. Specifically, we encourage among Company personnel a culture of honesty, accountability and mutual respect. Additionally, we provide guidance to help Company personnel recognize and deal with ethical issues. Finally, we have provided mechanisms for Company personnel to report unethical conduct. Dishonest or unethical conduct or conduct that is illegal will constitute a violation of these Standards and are grounds for disciplinary action† (Church Dwight). 6.SWOT a.Strengths – The Church Dwight Company has many strengths, with brand recognition being their greatest. In fact, Arm Hammer continues to be their greatest asset and strongest product on the market today; the little yellow box is in over 95 percent of all households across the country. The sodium bicarbonate product line has proven itself for over 160 years with uses in baking, cleaning, and deodorizing, and as an added ingredient for things like drain openers and neutralizing agents. While there may be other similar products, Church Dwight have virtually cornered the market by holding 85 percent of it. b.Weaknesses – A potential weakness within the company is the overextension of branding into many other product lines. â€Å"Until 1970, it produced and sold only two consumer products: Arm Hammer Baking Soda and a laundry product marketed under the name Super Washing Soda† (Wheelen Hunger). The company enjoyed success domestically, but â€Å"in the internat ional arena where growth was more product-driven and less marking sensitive, the company was less experienced† (Wheelen Hunger). Therefore, they relied on acquisitions and management changes to improve its international footprint and reach. With ever-expanding product lines, suppliers, and retailers, the potential for an inferior product or service can cause a negative reputation, impacting the overall brand. Therefore, brand recognition should continue to be the focus when researching future products or investment avenues to ensure the quality of the product/service in the name of the company. Entire corporations have gone away because of a negative connotation to its brand name in the eyes of consumers. c.Opportunities – The possibilities are endless as Church Dwight continue to pursue additional product lines in household, personal care, specialty, and international products. Future expansion in acquisitions and assets may prove more advantageous as potential consumer products become even more attractive to increase the profitability as the manufacturing base is expanded around the globe. Perhaps in 20 years, we may have cars manufactured by Church Dwight, as well. d.Threats – The primary threat to Church Dwight is competition. Competitors have an even greater market share and larger marketing campaigns to remain leaders in their respective niche. There are always going to be threats to its business operations, products, services, and reputation. Therefore, ongoing evaluation of partnerships, agreements, consumer satisfaction, quality of production, quality of service, etc. is always continuing. Without a continuous evaluation process, companies may find themselves outsmarted, out-marketed, out-produced, and out of a job. Church Dwight have done a great deal in maintaining a very loyal customer base through evaluations of consumer trends and ensuring affiliates maintain the highest standards to retain the reputation as the leading household product manufacturer 7.Products or Services – Church Dwight continue to produce some of the most widely known household care products. These products are based on differences in the nature of their uses and organized into three reportable segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International and Specialty Products (SPD) (Craigie). The company currently produces 80 different product lines, in which eight major brands make up a total of 80 percent of its business (Craigie). The most famous of the company’s products is Arm Hammer Baking Soda. As a company focused on quality and innovation, Church Dwight has â€Å"a discreet marketing team focused solely on new product development† (Church Dwight). In addition, the company is focused on goals to develop differentiated products with new and distinctive features, increased convenience and value, and engaging outside contractors for research and development activities (Church Dwight). B. Problem Definition 1.The Church Dwight case study identified a corporate problem needing to continue expansion in products and services, while presenting a consistent operating profit and increasing market shares of the household product industry. Expenses were continually evaluated and streamlined to reduce inefficiencies; including product research and development to identify â€Å"new uses/markets for an existing product† (Wheelen Hunger). Unfortunately, constant pressure from global competitors seeking to enter domestic and international markets, as well as an overall poor economy, is creating an atmosphere where continued growth must be developed through new opportunities for expansion into new geographical markets, new products/uses, all while striving to control increasing transportation costs. 2.In order for Church Dwight to retain its position as the leading household product manufacturer, it must continue to provide outstanding customer service, excellence in product quality, invest in cutting edge technology to remain a viable resource for consumers, as well as developing new uses for its primary product line to ensure customers remain satisfied with the product, as promised. In addition, expanding its share of other household product opportunities and innovations will be key to any future growth. Yet another opportunity for Church Dwight to grow is in the business-to-business exchange market for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to use. By providing this service to its affiliates and partners, they would be able to achieve greater operational efficiencies in their supply chains. 3.As Church Dwight enjoy a considerably large loyal customer base, competing with Proctor Gamble and other industry giants to get customers to switch competitors is no easy task. However, with any challenge comes greater innovation and new ideas. Relationships with suppliers, manufacturers and other retailers allow for greater efficiencies in costs by consolidating orders, developing greater discounts on shipping costs, or even creating greater financial incentives for affiliates to increase sales and customer satisfaction rates by increasing consumer awareness of the quality and reliability of services and products available to them. III. SYNTHESIS A. Alternative Solutions Brand recognition for ARM HAMMER brand products has already been established within the domestic markets of the United States. International markets continue to challenge emerging companies due to cultural differences in market populations, cultural differences in marketing strategies, and language barriers requiring new brand names more suitable for local languages/cultures. With low population growth rates and households in international markets, increasing transportation costs, and intense competition and higher commodities costs, manufacturers are turning to new and innovative processes to increase their share of the household product markets. For example, rising gas prices are a concern since it directly contributes to increased production costs. In response, household and personal care product companies are making efforts to stimulate sales in varying ways, such as entering new markets, creating new product segments, strengthening strong brand image, acquiring businesses, targeting market audiences, and increasing advertising budgets. Another alternative could be to develop joint-business ventures with suppliers, manufacturers, distributers, and retailers. The benefit to this option would be to streamline production and sales and allow the ease of marketing products and services to its affiliates and partners. This option would also allow greater operational efficiencies and translate into lower costs for Church Dwight and lower prices for consumers. B. Recommendations and Conclusions As Church Dwight look to satisfy competitive pressures while still reeling from the recent economic crisis, the following recommendation and solution is presented in hopes of reducing expenditures and continuing company growth through new product development and market expansion. Expanding into new markets with â€Å"major competitors jockeying for shelf space and retailers seeking to rationalize their breadth of product offerings, more changes may be considered† (Wheelen Hunger). Therefore, the best recommendation for Church Dwight at this point in time would be to implement the first alternative, delving into new product lines both in domestic markets and even greater exploration of international markets. This option would be advantageous because of the limited financial investment required to grow already established footholds in foreign countries to manufacture and transport new product lines. In addition, by improving upon past successes and avoiding past mistakes, a s ound marketing campaign could attract additional consumer traffic to its existing retailers and product outlets. Arm Hammer also has premier brand recognition within the United States, which would look to use its large customer base to compete against Proctor Gamble or Colgate-Palmolive, and Clorox. Finally, to satisfy any shortcomings in this solution, it is further recommended that Church Dwight initiate an aggressive marketing strategy incorporating foreign experts in business and marketing development to identify focus groups to better understand cultural differences and expectations in product innovations. Understanding why a specific culture or race chooses one brand over another is key to identifying potential aspects of a new product line that would be warmly received in another country rather than simply pushing an American-made product brand on a culture that has no experience with the product or whose name may have a derogatory meaning in their language. This option could also allow Church Dwight to market potentially less expensive alternatives to Proctor Gamble or other foreign corporations specializing in household products in another country or region. This recommendation provides a potential solution to increase sales while growing market share and staying ahead of the competition. References Church Dwight, Co. Inc. (web). Churchdwight.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2012 from http://www.churchdwight.com/index.aspx Craigie, J. R. (February 24, 2010). Church Dwight co., inc. 2009 annual report: Churchdwight.com. Retrieved on April 8, 2012 from http://www.churchdwight.com/PDF/AnnualReports/2009-CDH-Annual-Report.pdf Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D. (2012). Strategic management and business policy toward global sustainability. (13th ed., pp. 19-20). New York, NY: Pearson Hall.

Effect of the Weather on Agriculture

Effect of the Weather on Agriculture Executive Summary Agricultural activities are often affected by the weather. Weather is unpredictable as it changes from time to time. As the agricultural activities affected, the crops or the outcome of the agricultural activities would be affected as well and this caused the income of the farmers to be affected or causing the investors to lose money. Therefore, weather derivative is needed to protect the farmers and investors. So, this research is all about modelling and pricing of weather derivatives where the weather is based on the daily average temperature in Malaysia. In this research, there are two main objectives which include the modelling of temperature and pricing of weather derivatives. To complete this research project, there are 10 stages to be gone through. The details about the stages would be discussed in the methodology of this research. The model used to model the movement of daily average temperature in this research would be the stochastic fractional Brownian motion. This model is chosen because based on the past researches, this model fits the data well and successfully modelled the dynamics of daily average temperature. From this research, the daily temperature is expected to be modelled and described by the stated model well. Besides that, the pricing of weather derivatives will be encountered as well. Through this research, it provides a lot of advantages. For example, it provides a better idea in the process of modelling the temperature and the pricing method of weather derivatives. The outcome from this research can be used as a reference for future researchers that do research in this field. Details of Research Project (a) Research Background 1. Problem statement Agricultural activities are one of the main activities carried out by people around the world. It is one of the main sources of income for some of the countries like Africa, India and China. Even in this modern technological era, many of the agricultural activities still depending on the weather. Weather is the daily conditions of a particular place. For example, humidity, precipitation, the daily average temperature and visibility are all under the weather. Since weather is a thing thats beyond human control and agricultural activities are highly depending on weather, therefore, agricultural businesses are often referred to as a high risk business. In recent years, the weather insurance and weather derivatives are becoming more renowned as it reduces or hedge the risks faced by all farmers and investors that caused by weather. Jewson (2005) presented a few reasons why is the weather derivatives important and in Jewson (2005) and Cao and Wei (2004), a few weather hedging techniques were shown. The traditional agricultural insurance is the crop insurance. There are a lot of disadvantages of the traditional crop insurance. Some of the disadvantages include inefficiency due to poor contract structured, lack of information and high transaction costs involved. This caused those farmers could not afford for the insurance and hence the weather derivatives are highly needed as weather derivatives normally had a lower price than the weather insurance. Thus, weather derivatives play a very important role in helping the farmers and investors. The first weather related derivative deal was done by Aquila Energy in 1997 for Consolidated Ediso n Company, where a dual-commodity hedge was structured. Since the agricultural derivatives are getting more important, more financial researchers are doing their research on the pricing of weather based derivatives. Norton (2010) stated that the weather derivative is a way to share the risk for farmers in developing countries. Malaysia is lucky enough to be located in the equatorial region. Hence, the weather in Malaysia is hot and humid throughout the year. Therefore, in Malaysia, the crops are only affected by the daily average temperature and the amount of rainfall. Of course, there are catastrophes that happen in Malaysia too, like flash flooding, acid rain or drought. These catastrophes in Malaysia caused the damage to all the crops. But, the main problem that could affect the crops in Malaysia would be the amount of rainfall, the daily temperature or humidity. Hence, in Malaysia, to structure a weather derivative, it is easier as compared to other four season countries because the weather factors that taken into account are lesser. Moreover, there are lack of people doing research in this field, thus, this research is quite important as to solve the agricultural problems. 2. Research questions One of the problems faced by researchers in doing research about the pricing of weather derivatives is often the pricing model or the pricing technique that is used. Besides pricing technique, the model that used to describe the dynamic or the movement of the weather factors like amount of rainfall or daily average temperature in the research of weather derivatives is one of the problems faced by researchers as well. Hence, in this research, the focus would be on the modelling of the daily average temperature in Malaysia and the pricing of the weather derivatives. So, the questions to be answered in this research will be how well the model is, in describing the movement of daily average temperature and how to price the weather derivatives. 3. Literature review There are actually a lot of researchers had done their research about the weather insurance or derivatives. Some of the models used by past researchers include temperature modelling, Black-Scholes model, Time Series models, Brownian model, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model, Esscher transformation and more. Taib and Benth (2012) had done a research on the pricing of the weather insurance by using three different approaches which include burn analysis approach, index modelling and temperature modelling. The weather index is first calculated and then the price of the insurance contract is calculated based on the weather index. The weather index, which is based on the Cooling-Degree Day (CDD) is calculated by using the formulae of After calculating the , the price of the insurance contract can then be now determined by using the formulae P(t, ) = exp(−r( − t))E[)|Ft ] where the expected value of the claim size is found. The exp(−r( − t) is used to find the present value by discounting at time as Indicates the end of the period where insurance starts paying. The formulae of P(t, ) is a standard method to price the weather related insurance or derivatives. For burning analysis approach, it is firstly introduced by Jewson and Brix (2005) as a classic method in pricing weather derivatives. The payoff of the burning analysis approach is based on the empirical distribution of the sample data collected. While the mean value of observations of the sample data is used to calculate the price of the contract. The next method introduced by Jewson and Brix (2005) is the index modelling approach, and Taib and Benth(2012) modify a little bit of the model where the past claims are fitted into a distribution and the expected value of the distribution is used in pricing the contracts. Lastly, Taib and Benth (2012) proposed a new model where the changes of the daily average temperature are modelled using the autoregressive, a time series model. Besides Taib and Benth (2012), Campbell and Diebold (2003) also uses time series model to model and forecast the daily average temperature in certain cities of America for the purpose of weather derivatives. While Chang, Lin Shen (2009) constructed a theoretical model to price the weather derivatives and this is the extended version of the model of Cao and Wei (2004). In the research paper of Chang, Lin Shen (2009), the estimation value of future Heating-Degree Day(HDD) and Cooling-Degree Day (CDD) is predicted by using Mote-Carlo simulation and they successfully utilize the time series temperature model in Campbell and Diabold (2003). Mills (2009) also uses time series model to model the current temperature trend of Central England. In the research of Mills (2009), it is suggested that three other alternative ways could be used to model the temperature trend, which is the parametric stochastic trend model, the non-parametric local trend fit, and a low-pass filter. These 3 alternat ive techniques had been discussed in Mills (2003) and Pollock (2007). Other than time series models, other models were used by other researchers in pricing of weather derivatives. For example, Lee and Oren (2009) suggested a model of equilibrium pricing of the weather derivatives for various commodities. This model is built where the risk averse utility function is optimized by the agents, including the weather derivatives that have been issued. There are two types of agent. The first type is the farmers where they obtain the profit with the exposure to weather risks while the second type of agent is those financial investors where they hope to diversify the financial portfolio. Therefore, later in 2010 and 2011, Lee and Oren with Hà ¤rdle and Osipenko simulate the realistic market conditions to get the equilibrium price for weather derivatives. This equilibrium pricing method of Lee and Oren is actually based on the research of Cao and Wei (1999) where Cao and Wei generalize the model of Lucas (1978) and include the daily temperature as a fundamental variable. Since Black-Scholes Model is a popular method to price the European options, BotoÃ…Å ¸ and CiumaÃ…Å ¸ (2012) uses the Black-Scholes model to apply in weather derivatives. The aim of their research is to see how the Black-Scholes model can be applied in weather type derivative and to analyze whether it is a suitable model to price for weather derivatives. However, based on their findings of the research, they concluded that the Black-Scholes model is not a suitable model to price for the weather derivatives as the weather market developed very quickly and it is inconsistent. Due to the inconsistencies, the model is not preferable to be used for pricing of weather derivatives contract unless it is a part of the portfolio. Benth and Ã…  altytÄ-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Benth (2005) uses a stochastic model to model the variations of temperature in their research paper. They used the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck with the driven by Levy process and having seasonal mean and volatility. They find that this model is quite a success to fit the Norwegian temperature data. Besides that, Svec and Stevenson (2006) also use a stochastic model to model and forecast the temperature. Svec and Stevenson (2006) uses Fourier transformation and stochastic Brownian motion (SBM).They proposed a more generalized stochastic Brownian motion to model the temperature, that is, the stochastic fractional Brownian motion (FBM). The model proposed take account the low-frequency variability of weather where the SBM does not. The difference of the SBM and FBM is that the FBM included a continuous-time Gaussian process depending on the Hurst parameter. This research paper concluded that the Monte-Carlo simulation overly forecast while the autoregressive moving average (ARMA) time-series model under forecast the monthly accumulated Heating-degree Day (HDD) and Cooling-degree Day (CDD). They also concluded that the models they use in the research have better estimates than that of the Campbell and Diebold (2003) model. (b) Objective of Research There are two main objectives in this research, that is:- (i) To model the daily temperature based on the analysis of daily average temperature in Malaysia by using stochastic fractional Brownian Motion. (ii) Pricing of the weather derivative. (c) Methodology 1. Flow Chart of Research Activities 2. Gantt Chart of Research Activities 3. Milestones and Dates The flow chart, Gantt chart and milestones and date clearly show that the research activities of this research project. To complete this research project, there are 10 stages. The first stage is looking for a research supervisor so that this research is under supervision. Then, setting up of research title will be the next stage. After setting up the research title, studying and reading related journals needed as to get a rough idea of what is the research needed to be done and what actually the research is all about. The fourth stage will be fixing the model to be used in the research. After reading and studying of relevant journals, the model to be used could be determined. In this research, the model to be used in modelling the daily average temperature is the FBM. The FBM that will be used is as follows: This model was chosen because out of a few models studied in the past research papers, it is one of the best model that fits the movement of temperature. In this FBM, it consists of several components. That is, the mean reversion process, the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process and the fractional Brownian process which is a continuous-time Gaussian process. Besides that, the model used also included some seasonal and trend factors. With the combination of this few process and factors, it makes the stochastic FBM more efficient in describing the movement of temperature. As the fixing of the model is done, preparation of research proposal would be the next stage and it is now pending for approval by supervisor. After the proposal of research is done and it is approved, collection of data begun and then analysis works will be started. Analyses of data enable the temperature to be modelled by the model fixed in the earlier stage. In this research, the model to be used is the Stochastic Brownian Motion. Hence, the eighth stage is the modelling of daily average temperature using Stochastic Brownian Motion. After the modelling, pricing of weather derivatives can be start doing and finally, after the pricing is done, the research project is finished up and completed. (d) Expected results 1. New Knowledge Throughout this research, there are actually a lot of new knowledge could be obtained. As this research is all about modelling of temperature and pricing of weather derivatives hence, by doing this research, it provides a better idea on which model is better in fitting or describing the movements of daily temperature as a lot of other models are studied. Besides that, the steps to model the movements of daily temperatures also a new knowledge. It improves the knowledge about stochastic. Since this research is using stochastic fractional Brownian Motion to model the changes of daily temperature, through this research, the suitability of the stochastic model to describe the changes of daily temperature will be reviewed. Besides that, through this research, the application and the usage of the stochastic fractional Brownian Motion is known. Moreover, it will provide a better understanding of the method to calculate the price of the weather derivatives. 2. Research publications This research will be published as a thesis in semester II of 2014/2015. 3. Impact on Society, Economy and Nation Since in Malaysia, it is lack of researchers doing the research about the pricing weather derivatives, so, this research of modelling and pricing of weather derivatives gives some small impact on the economy. One of the impact is that it improves a little bit of the economic conditions of the agricultural field. As mentioned previously in this research, agricultural activities are affected a lot by the weather and agriculture activities are one of the largest activities in Malaysia. Hence, by doing this research, the forecasting of temperature can be done based on the modelling of temperature. With the forecasting of temperature, it can help the farmers to be aware of their crops and come out with a better strategy to handle and prepare for the worst. Of course, the forecast results might not be accurate, but, with the guides provided from the modelling and forecasting, it helps to reduce the risk of losing the money, be it the farmers or the investors. This helps to prevent the farm ers from stop doing agriculture activities. So, by doing this research, it indirectly affected a little bit on the economic condition of the agricultural field. References Benth, F., Ã…  altytÄ-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Benth, J. (2005). Stochastic Modelling of Temperature Variations with a View Towards Weather Derivatives. Applied Mathematical Finance, 53-85. BotoÃ…Å ¸, H., CiumaÃ…Å ¸, C. (2012). The use of the Black-Scholes Model in the Field of Weather Derivatives.Procedia Economics and Finance,611-616. Cao, M. and Wei, J. (1999). Pricing weather derivative: an equilibrium approach. Working paper. Cao, M., Li, A. and Wei, J., (2004). Precipitation modeling and contract valuation: a frontier in weather derivatives. The Journal of Alternative Investments 7: 93- 99. Campbell, S.D. and Diebold, F.X., (2003). Weather forecasting for weather derivatives. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 100: 6-16. Chang, C., Lin, J., Shen, W. (2009). Pricing Weather Derivatives using a Predicting Power Time Series Process*.Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies,863- 890. Hà ¤rdle, W. K. and Osipenko, M. (2011). Pricing Chinese Rain: A Multisite Multi-period Equilibrium Pricing Model for Rainfall Derivatives. SFB 649 Discussion Paper 2011-055. Jewson, S. and Brix, A. 2005. Weather Derivative Valuation: The Meteorological, Statistical, Financial and Mathematical Foundations. Cambridge University Press. Lee, Y. and Oren, S., (2009). An equilibrium pricing model for weather derivatives in a multi-commodity setting. Energy Economics, 31 (5): 702-713. Lee, Y. and Oren, S., (2010). A multi-period equilibrium pricing model of weather derivatives. Energy Systems 1: 3-30. Lucas, R. E. (1978). Asset prices in an exchange economy, Econometrica 46, pp. 1429-1445. Mills, T. C. (2003). Modelling Trends and Cycles in Economic Time Series. Palgrave Macmillan. Mills, T. C. (2009). Modelling Current Temperature Trends. Journal of Data Science 7, 89-97. Norton, M., Osgood, D., Turvey, C. (2010). Weather Index Insurance and the Pricing of Spatial Basis Risk. Retrieved from: http://ageconsearch.umn.edu /bitstream/61734/2/Norton%20Osgood%20Turvey.Weather%20Index%20Ins urance%20and%20the%20Pricing%20of%20Spatial%20Basis%20Risk%20_ AAEA2010_.pdf Pollock, D. S. G. (2007). Statistical signal extraction and filtering: A partial survey. In Handbook on Computational Econometrics (Forthcoming)2. Elsevier. Svec, J., Stevenson, M. (2006). Modelling and forecasting temperature based weather derivatives.Global Finance Journal,185-204. Taib, C.M.I.C. and Benth, F.E. (2012). Pricing of temperature index insurance. Review of Development Finance 2, pp.22-31.

GM Holden Ltd Analysis

GM Holden Ltd Analysis Introduction GM Holden Ltd, commonly designated Holden, is an Australian automaker that operates in Australasia and is headquartered in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddler manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the United States-based General Motors (GM) in 1931. After becoming a subsidiary of GM, the company was named General Motors-Holdens Ltd, becoming Holden Ltd in 1998—the current name was adopted in 2005. There is a high demand for Holden in New Zealand market. Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub set of a market made up of people or organization with characteristics that cause them to demand similar products based on qualities of those products or as price. True market segmentation meets all of the following criteria: it is distinct from other segments (different segments have different needs), it is homogeneous within the segment (exhibits and comm on needs); it responds similarly to a market stimulus, and it can be reached by a market intervention. The term is also used when consumers with identical product needs are divided into groups so they can be charged different amounts. In this assignment the New Zealand market for Holden products is segmented to understand the customer needs and provide them with different kinds of Model and developing a marketing mix that will sustain the target market. In this study segmentation is analysed in four stages: Assess the potential for market segmentation. Apply market segmentation process. Determine positioning strategies for chosen segments. Relate market segmentation to the marketing mix. Question 1: Assess the potential for market segmentation. Examine the implication of market segmentation to determine precise targeting of marketing in terms of the needs, wants and behaviours of markets. Ans. Reference to use of resources: The resources in the business can be people, money, place etc. The main resource to run the business is people and money. There is a need of investment to start and run the business in a profitable way. People are also very important in the business without people we can’t start our business. Holden establish its business at that places from where they can get raw material very easily and reduce transport expenses. Understanding and meeting customer’s needs: It is very important to find out what the customers want. Firstly Holden identify the needs of the customers and then according to the need of the customers they made different models. Identification of competitor’s activities: To gain the competitive advantages, Holden collect information about the competitor’s activity, what they are doing in the market to do more sales like as Toyota, Hyundai, Mazda and many more. Evaluation of market performance by segments: Market performance is the amount of sale in a business. There are different groups in a business which gives different turnover in the market. So it is necessary to find the most suitable group providing the expected market performance. Identification of significant cultural influence: New Zealand is a multicultural country. The customer’s priorities are affected by his/her ethnic background. So it could not satisfy all the needs of the market of cultural groups at the same time. Therefore, Holden make necessary efforts in the market to attract different cultural groups. Question 2: Apply market segmentation processes. Identify segmentation bases for markets and include geographic, demographic, psychographics and behaviouristic usage. Ans: Holden No. Name of product Income segment Product usage and potential Segment size and growth Segment attractiveness Objectives and resources Competition 1 Commodore Above $35,000 Low 10 % Average Average Low 2 Captiva $20,000-$25,000 Medium 30% Very good Sufficient Medium 3 Cruze Below $20,000 High 60 % excellent Plenty High Commodore: People buy this model that have above $30,000 income. The competition of this model in the market is low as the price is very high. Due to high price the usage of this car is also very low. Segment size and growth is also very less. Captiva: The usage of this car is medium in the market as the price is affordable to middle class family. Income group between $20,000-$25,000 buy this car. The competition of this this car in the market is medium. Segment attractiveness is also good. Cruze: Most of the people prefer to buy this car. Below $20,000 income group buy this model. The usage of this car is very high in the market. The competition of this car is very high because the price is affordable. Objectives and resources of this car are plenty. Segment attractiveness is excellent. Question 3: Determine positioning strategies for chosen segments. 3.1 Select target market segments and apply segmentation strategies. Ans: Positioning: A marketing strategy that aims to make a brand occupy a distinct position, relative to competing brands, in the mind of the customer. Companies apply this strategy either by emphasizing the distinguishing features of their brand (what it is, what it does and how, etc.) or they may try to create a suitable image (inexpensive or premium, utilitarian or luxurious, entry-level or high-end, etc.) through advertising. Once a brand is positioned, it is very difficult to reposition it without destroying its credibility. Undifferentiated Market: Sales-growth strategy that ignores market segment differences and attempts to appeal to all prospective customers with a single, basic product line through mass advertising and distribution. Differentiated Marketing: A sales growth strategy in which several market niches or population segments are targeted with different products for each niche or segment. Concentrated marketing: Growth strategy in which resources of a firm are focused on a well-defined market niche or population segment. Individualised Marketing: Any kind of communication to individuals by the companies or retailers can be termed as individual marketing. Individual marketing is often customized as per the individual customers. The demand can be directly communicated to the suppliers or manufacturers and they can be provided with customized products as per their demand. 3.2 Establish positioning variables for each target market segment and determine positioning strategies. Ans: Product Attributes: The HOLDEN produces all kind of vehicles, such as sports cars, luxury cars, sports utility vehicles and fuel efficient cars as well. These all are the product attribute. This provides a wide selection range to the buyers. That’s why, HOLDEN manufactures vehicles of all classes according to the demands of the people and their choice, in this way, the business can increase more value in the New Zealand market. Usage and Users: Usage is defined as the way that something is being used, or to the proper way to make use of something. In a market, it is very necessary to look into the usage of the products and the users. The use of the vehicles may vary according to the age group of users. The Holden made its product according to the different type of users. Such as luxury cars for elite class, sports racing cars for youngsters and fuel efficient cars for middle class. Product Class: Product class means that the group or range of products according to the class of people. For example, HOLDEN makes their cars to target the every class of society. They make cars from 1500-2000cc up to 7000cc sports cars. They are classified into different people according to their income, and class. Customer Needs and Benefits: It is very important in the automobile industry that the cars which are available for users are satisfying their needs and providing the benefits to them. That means the car which is purchased by customer is fulfilling his requirements and putting no additional pressure of maintenance cost on buyer. Competition: Holden have a lot of competitors in NZ automobile market. Everyone introduce cars with better features and affordable prices. So, it is necessary for HOLDEN to build such type of cars which are able to compete with the rival companies. It’s also very important to keep the price of newly built cars in the reach of customers. Cultural Factors: Culture is the most basic reason is that effects person’s choice while buying a vehicle in New Zealand. New Zealand is a multicultural country, so they need to make the cars for satisfying needs of all ethnic groups. Like, the people from Asian countries are always show interest to buy cars from Asian manufacturers because they are less costly as compared to other brands. This factor also effects the sale of Holden’s vehicles. Question 4: Relate market segmentation to the marketing mix. 4.1 Assess the implications of market positioning strategies for marketing mix decisions in terms of organisational marketing objectives. Ans: Marketing Mix: The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketing professionals. The marketing mix is a planned mix of the controllable elements of a product’s marketing plan commonly terms such as, Price, Product, Place and Promotion. Product: In every business, quality product is the main factor for running a business. So if the products are not qualitative enough, then there is more probability of losing the customer but if we have qualitative product, then more customer’s gets attracted and there will be more sale. Hence, qualitative product for the customers helps to make more profit in a business. As our Company is Holden, our products must meet that standard. All the customers must feel they are getting more than they paying. Price: If the price of the Holden cars are affordable and economic, and if there are more models and offers then it’s obvious the sales will increase. If the price doesn’t worth then people buy other brands of car because the competition is more in the NZ market so it will effect on the business. Promotion: To run the business, it is very necessary to do the promotion of the newly cars. There are various ways to promote the business such as give advertisements of the different models of cars. In this ways, we can create good picture of our product in different style into people’s mind. Place: In the car business, it is essential to choose the right place for the business to run successful. If the place is not suitable then no one will go there and buy. We should establish our car business in the city where people can see upcoming models. And can buy and fulfil their needs. 4.2 Recommend monitoring mechanisms for market positioning strategies according to strategic marketing plans. Ans. Plan Control: The Plans are done by the top and middle management to get the annual report of the results whether the results are achieved or not. With the help of plan control, one can compare the actual plans with the standard plans to get the variance between them and also it provides the sales and market share analysis. Feedback: we need to get feedback from our customers whether the like our new models or not. If not which feature they don’t like or what feature should include according to them. From the feedback we can know the need of the customers. Survey: in this survey there are questions and you needed to tick or give yes or no according to the customers need. From the question given in the survey we can find out the actual needs of the customers like any new features etc.

Evolution versus Creationism Essay -- Evolution Bible

Evolution versus Creationism Evolution is a theory that’s based on science and more detailed evidence while Creationism is a faith-based theory. In no way is faith, a factor that influences the ideas and theories supported by scientists. As such, you really cannot compare one to the other; you have to just choose which one you believe is true although it is possible to believe in both at the same time. Since the beginning of human life, there has been a single question that has puzzled even the greatest of philosophers and scientists. Humans are, by nature, interested in their past. As a result every civilization through out time has sought to find the origin of life, and answered it to meet their needs. Early civilizations taught that there was a group of gods located on a far off mountain at the edge of the earth. These gods were responsible for everything. Civilizations grew more complex and learned more about the world around them. Soon events that were once looked at as magical or supernatural were explained and proven through logic, mathematical reasoning, and the evidence available. In the early to mid nineteenth century a scientist named Charles Darwin proposed a theory that broke the away from the common threads of reasoning that looked to deity or a higher force intervening with humans. â€Å"Darwin’s proposition was labeled Natural Selection, or more commonly referred to as The Survival of the Fittest. Charles Darwin proposed that living beings evolve, or chang...