Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 5

Management - Essay Example Figure 1 shows how this disruptive model works. The focus of this paper is to ascertain the secrets of success in sustaining long-term performance and growth; in essence, how to become an innovator. In MGT class, we have asserted that it is no simple matter for a firm to be a long-term innovator and that accomplishing this requires capable performance in corporate strategy, culture, architecture, leadership and decision making (taken from topic question). During the process of researching this paper, the realization I came to is that sustainable growth comes from many different factors but they are all under one subheading: This one heading encompasses the myriad of topics that were and still are discussed in MGT. These areas also contain the seeds of creating sustainable growth and innovation in companies. I will discuss how these areas manifested in various companies for their betterment or their detriment. My position is that I agree with Christensen and Raynor in that disruptive sustainable growth, while not yet fully experienced by any company to date (except possibly for Microsoft), is within the realm of possibility. Sustainable growth and innovation is a product of one seamless thread of business concept and application from top to bottom. How this thread is severed can come from many different areas, one of the most important being from the management team level. Executives are charged with the task of creating profit in various business and product lines within their companies. How does a manager allocate his time and resources to do this? For me, the concept of disruptive growth is a Rosetta stone in this topic. To me, it holds within it the essence of growth and success along with chaos theory. These two concepts create a complexly rich look at how managers can conceptualize and manage their businesses without forcing control onto their businesses. Chaos theory ‘deals with unpredictable complex systems’ (â€Å"What is Chaos

Describe the main features of virture project management techniques in Essay

Describe the main features of virture project management techniques in the digital age and provide a critieal reflection on their use in managing projects - Essay Example The study has been conducted in several stages. The first stage was a review of relevant literature, followed by a discussion on specific topics. Leading textbooks on PM and publications in various journals have been referred to. The study has been laid out in several sections. Sections include principal characteristics of virtual and global projects; attributes of virtual teams and communication channels; motivating teams and PM environment; agile PM; change management for agile PM; and conclusion. Throughout the study, the focus has been on the agile aspect of PM. Ideas, human resources, products, services, and skills move freely regardless of boundaries in global economies. The flow of knowledge, products and services, and capital reflects the economic interdependence between organizations and countries. In globalized economies, resources could be obtained in one market and used for business in another. For example, it is possible to purchase manufacturing equipment from Germany, make products in Greece, and sell products all over Europe. In summary, a firm’s competitive environment is shaped by the global economy. A significant change in the practice of PM has been information management. Burke (2008) observed that the availability of powerful software has seen a shift in data processing from a separate department to the professional’s desk. Project planning software helps the project manager plan and control projects. However, it can be effective only when planning and control techniques are clearly understood. Projects are generally subdivided into different phases for ease of management. These phases are collectively termed as the project lifecycle. According to Burke (2008) techniques for PM include critical path method; work breakdown structure; earned value; resource smoothing; and configuration control. According to Cadle and Yeates (2004) characteristics of projects include finite and transitory nature; uniqueness;

Indian Automobile Industry Analysis Essay Example for Free

Indian Automobile Industry Analysis Essay Today the automobile sector in India contributes 5% to the nation’s GDP, making it a prominent player in the economy. It will contribute around 19% of the Tax collection for financial year 2009-10. Following have been the features of Auto industry in the past financial year. The following tables and charts consist of the performance of Auto industry in past few years. Industry Aggregate (Rs in million)| | AMJ 10 (E)| Net Sales| 363904. 38| Change (%)| 39%| EBITDA| 64665. 22| Change (%)| 94%| Depreciation| 7303. 60| Interest| 3348. 58| Other Income| 7118. 93| PBT| 61131. 97|. Tax| 16645. 21| Effective tax rate| 27%| Reported PAT| 44486. 77| Change % (Reported PAT)| 92%| Market Cap (Rs in bn)| 1647. 17| Source: BSE India; Cygnus Research| Note: The aggregate consists of the following companies- Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, TVS Motors, Force Motors, Hero Honda, Escorts Ltd. , Eicher Motors, Maruti Udyog Limited, Punjab Tractors Limited, Mahindra Mahindra, and Hindustan motors Source: QPAC Indian Automobile industry Apr-Jun 2010 INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY AND TRENDS Overview The auto industry in India is the ninth largest in the world. After Japan, South Korea and Thailand, in 2009, India emerged as the fourth largest exporter of automobiles. Several Indian automobile manufacturers have spread their operations globally. Indian auto industry, which is currently growing at the pace of around 18 % per annum, has become a hot destination for global auto players like Volvo, General Motors and Ford. The Indian automobile industry is going through a phase of rapid change and high growth. With new projects coming up on a regular basis, the industry is undergoing technological change. The major players are expanding their plants and focusing on mass customization, mass production. Yearly-Analysis Year on year as the Indian population grows the requirement for the transportation will also grow, so it is clear that the industry demand is directly proportional to the population. Presently in India there are 100 people per vehicle while the figure in china is 82. Indian automotive industry is strong and productive sector for the economy growth. It gives nearly 5% of the employment to the country’s population. Continue improving quality results in exports of automobile and ancillary industry is boosting out the demand in oversees business. The Indian auto-players are expanding their presence in oversees market. In the last 5 years the foreign investment in this sector nearly doubled. Production Trend: The Indian automotive industry face a tough time during FY08 and its production were almost stagnated. From the early FY09, the industry started showing marginal growth in terms of production and reached to 14. 04m units till FY10. Due to the huge insist in the domestic market company’s sale nearly 88% of their total production in the country and rest 12% vehicles they export. Domestic and Exports sales trend: In terms of domestic sales the industry is showing positive approach from the last 3-years. During FY10 the industry domestic sales reached to 12. 29m units. The Indian exports are increasing gradually form the past 5-years and reached to 1. 80m units in FY10. Earlier the industry depended on the foreign auto parts, but due to the increase of the global players in the country and establishing the plants ended painless move to the Indian auto-players. INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE (YEARLY) Indian Automobile Industry Performance (Apr-Mar)| | Production| Domestic Sales| Exports| | 2009| 2010| %| 2009| 2010| %| 2009| 2010| %| Passenger vehicles (PVs)|. Passenger Cars| 1516967| 1926484| 27| 1220475| 1526787| 25| 331535| 441710| 33| UVs| 219498| 272848| 24| 225621| 272733| 21| 3034| 2823| -7| MPVs| 102128| 151908| 49| 106607| 150256| 41| 1160| 1613| 39| Total PV| 1838593| 2351240| 28| 1552703| 1949776| 26| 335729| 446146| 33| Commercial vehicles (CVs)| MHCVs| | | | | | | Passenger Carriers| 40995| 46026| 12| 34892| 43081| 24| 7456| 6069| -19| Goods Carriers| 151288| 204145| 35| 148603| 201977| 36| 9363| 14354| 53| Total MHCVs| 192283| 250171| 30| 183495| 245058| 34| 16819| 20423| 21| LCVs| | | | | | |. Passenger Carriers| 28635| 34751| 21| 26952| 34421| 28| 5426| 2708| -50| Goods Carriers| 195952| 281686| 44| 173747| 251916| 45| 20380| 21876| 7| Total LCVs| 224587| 316437| 41| 200699| 286337| 43| 25806| 24584| -5| Total CVs| 416870| 566608| 36| 384194| 531395| 38| 42625| 45007| 6| 3-wheelers| Goods Carriers| 417434| 530203| 27| 268463| 349662| 30| 146914| 172505| 17| Total 3-Wheelers| 79586| 88890| 12| 81264| 90706| 12| 1152| 777| -33| Grand total| 497020| 619093| 25| 349727| 440368| 26| 148066| 173282| 17| 2-Wheelers|. Scooter| 1161276| 1494409| 29| 1148007| 1462507| 27| 25816| 30125| 17| Motorcycles| 6798118| 8444852| 24| 5831953| 7341139| 26| 971018| 1103104| 14| Mopeds| 436219| 571070| 31| 431214| 564584| 31| 7300| 6905| -5| Electric Two Wheel| 24179| 2558| -89| 26445| 3001| -89| 40| 50| -| Total 2-Wheelers| 8419792| 10512889| 25| 7437619| 9371231| 26| 1004174| 1140184| 14| Grand Total| 11172275| 14049830| 26| 9724243| 12292770| 26| 1530594| 1804619| 18| source: SIAM; Cygnus Research| Demand-supply mismatch: The new capacity addition till 2012, may anticipate a demand and supply mismatch in the short term. Demand is only expected to grow by 10-12% every year. In 2009-10 the domestic auto industry was utilizing 80-85% of its capacity, but this may drop to 65% by 2012. India may be in a similar position in 2012 as the global auto industry is in right now. The global capacity utilization in 2009-10 was around 65%, down from 80% in 2008-09. In the near future it is expected that the mismatch is going to see between Demand and Supply. Capacity addition: Accoding to Fitch Ratings, by 2012, the existing players in the market are expected to add 0. 9m units to the 2. 6m units’ capacity of the passenger vehicle segment and 0.6m units to the 0. 75m units’ capacity of the commercial vehicle segment. Meanwhile, global automakers who currently only assemble in India, are expected to set up production units, in order to be more competitive with local players. Quarterly-Analysis Production Trend During AMJ10, the segmental market size of 2-wheeler stood at 77%, followed by Passenger vehicles at 16% and then followed by 3-wheelers at 4%. In this quarter the total industry production increased by 33. 27 to 4. 09m units from 3. 06m units in the previous year same period. The commercial vehicle segment production has increased by 57. 11% to 0.16m units and recorded top among the segments. Sales and Exports Trend From the past two years the sale of the vehicles are increasing during this quarter due to the domestic demand made by the festive season and the exports are declining. In terms of sales commercial vehicles sales had increased by 55% during AMJ10 and stood in top against AMJ09. Passenger vehicle sales increased by 33% next to Commercial Vehicles and stood at 0. 55m units followed by 2 and 3-wheelers. The total Indian automobile exports during AMJ10 increased by 59. 30% to 0. 58m units against 0. 36m units. The 3-wheeler segment stood in top in- terms of exports by 150. 33% increase followed by C. V and P. V. SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE INDUSTRY (QUARTERLY) Automobile Sales Performance in AMJ (in terms of Volume)| I PASSENGER VEHICLES| | AMJ09| AMJ10| % change| A. Passenger Cars| 324,985| 433,641| 33%| B. UVs| 60,969| 76,432| 25%| C. MPVs| 31,965| 44,493| 39%| TOTAL (A+B+C)| 417,919| 554,566| 33%| II. COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (CVs)| MHCVs| | | | A. Passenger Carriers| 7,482| 11,574| 55%| B. Goods Carriers| 31,408| 59,642| 90%| TOTAL (A+B)| 38,890| 71,216| 83%| LCVs| | | | A. Passenger Carriers| 9,601| 11,566| 20%| B. Goods Carriers| 48,376| 67,095| 39%| TOTAL (A+B)| 57,977| 78,661| 36%|. TOTAL COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (CVs)| 96,867| 149,877| 55%| III. THREE WHEELERS| A. passenger carrier| 72,339| 84,298| 17%| B. goods carrier| 18,963| 20,855| 10%| TOTAL (A+B)| 91,302| 105,153| 15%| IV TWO WHEELERS| A. scooters| 317,400| 470,323| 48%| B. motor cycles| 1,689,716| 2,097,415| 24%| C. mopeds| 128,738| 157,588| 22%| TOTAL (A+B+C+D)| 2,135,854| 2,725,326| 28%| Total volume (units)| 2,741,942| 3,534,922| 29%| Source: SIAM; Cygnus Research| SEGMENTAL PERFORMANCE Two-wheelers Note: Demand is expected on the base of country population bases and the base year is taken as 2000 for projections. The Indian 2-wheeler industry has reported a 26% (Y-o-Y) growth in FY10 with sales at 9. 37m units as against 7. 43m units sold in FY09. On the exports front, the 2-wheeler industry with 1. 14m shipments in FY10 posted a growth of 14% (Y-o-Y). Hero Honda Motors Ltd. (HHML), the worlds largest two wheeler manufacturer continued to dominate the total 2-wheeler industry with a market share of 48. 10%. In the motorcycle segment, the domestic sales grew 26% (Y-o-Y) to 7. 34m units while the exports grew 14% (Y-o-Y) to 1. 10m shipments in FY10. Hero Honda dominated the motorcycle space with a market share of 44% followed by Bajaj Auto (21%) and TVS Motors (15%). Market Penetration The two-wheeler industry is growing at a good phase in the country and expected a presence of 92 per every 1000 people at the end of 2010. The segment expects huge demand in the next 5 years. The industry is expected to sell nearly 26. 56m units till 2015. The segment is expected to face a tough time in 2011, due to the heavy compilation by the low cast cars and the alternative electronic vehicles. From 2012 the segment is expected to grow at the CAGR of 19% till 2015. Segment Boosters. New launches, coupled with low base and festive (marriage) season, helped the 2- wheeler industry post an impressive volumes growth for the month of May 2010. While the low base helped Bajaj Auto Ltd. (BAL) posts a growth of 62% (Y-o-Y) in total sales over the same month of the last fiscal. Three Wheelers The 3-wheeler industry posted an impressive growth of 26% (Y-o-Y) to 0. 44m units in FY10 as against 0. 34m units sold in the last fiscal. On the exports front, the 3-wheeler industry reported 17% (Y-o-Y) growth with 0. 17m units shipments in FY10. The passenger carrier segment reported higher growth in the domestic market at 0. 34m units 30% (Y-o-Y), while the goods carrier segment posted a 12% (Y-o-Y) growth for FY10. On the exports front, the passenger carrier segment posted a 17% (Y-o-Y) growth with 0. 17m unit shipments, while the goods segment posted a 33% (Y-o-Y) decline with exports of 777 units in FY10. Market share and players performance: Piaggio Vehicles continued to dominate the 3-wheeler industry with a market share of 41% followed by Bajaj Auto (35%) and Mahindra Mahindra (11%). In this 3-wheeler segment 81% sub-segment is captured by Passenger carriers, which is primarily for the rural people moving long distances. The remaining 19% is covered by cargo or goods carriers; there are the versatile vehicles suitable for both intra and inter-city transport. Segment Boosters In suburban and rural areas 3-wheelers are primarily used as substitutes for buses. They thrive because of very poor public transport and on shorter trip distances. Some of the opportunities of this segment are; the inability of state government to provide the required number of buses, lack of political will to privatize public transport and free up fares. Increasing number of 3-wheelers on these routeswill bring download availability form 10-12% to 6-8%, people for 80% of the trips. PRINCIPLE APPLICATION OF 3-WHEELERS| Segments| Primary uses| Fuel used| Forecasted 3-yearsCAGR| In-city| Home-Office,Home-shopping,Schoolchildren, Home-Railways or Air port. | Petrol/LPG/CNG| 10%| Rural| Stage coach| Diesel| 11%| Cargo| Wholesaler to retailerRetailer to end user distribution| Diesel/CNG| -6%| Growth drivers and Indian in the world automobile industry (2010) Growth Drivers of Indian Auto Market| India in world production| ? Rising industrial and agricultural output? Rising per capita income? Favourable demographic distribution with rising working population and middle class? Urbanisation? Increasing disposable incomes in rural agri-sector? Availability of a variety of vehicle models meeting diverse needs and preferences? Greater affordability of vehicles? Easy finance schemes? Favourable government policies? Robust production| ? Well-developed, globally competitive auto ancillaryindustry? Established automobile testing and RD centers? Among one of the lowest cost producers of steel in the world? Worldssecondlargestmanufactureroftwo wheeler? Fifthlargestmanufacturerofcommercial vehicles? Largest manufacturers of tractors in the world? Fourth largest passenger car market in Asia? India is the second largest two-wheeler market in the world.? 11th largest passenger car market in the world? Expectedtobetheseventhlargestauto industry by 2016| Inter- firm Comparison: Two – Wheelers Operational Performance The sales figure of Hero Honda is estimated to increase by 33. 73% in revenue terms from Rs3824. 40m in AMJ09 to Rs51116. 77m in AMJ10. Hero Honda scooter segment, pleasure sales have been growing at an average of 16000 units per month, it also crossed its land mark of 4. 5m unit sales for FY10. Bajaj Auto is estimated to show a sharp increase in sales figure by 33% from Rs 233384. 70m in AMJ09 to Rs31230. 88m in AMJ10, this has been led by its two game changing brands, Pulsar and Discover, with clocked robust volumes. TVS Motors is estimated to show an increase of 34% in sales from Rs9886. 97m in AMJ09 to Rs13254. 32m in AMJ10. Its scooter and motorcycle segment sales grew by 24% and 15% respectively; exports were increased by 22% to 20067 units during May. The newly launched TVS Jive and the TVS Wego have supported better volume growth for the month of March. Two-Wheeler Rs (m)| | AMJ 09 (A)| AMJ 10 (E)| Growth| Bajaj Auto| 23384. 70| 31230. 88| 33. 55| Hero Honda| 38224. 40| 51116. 77| 33. 73| TVS| 9886. 97| 13254. 32| 34. 06| Source: BSE India; Cygnus Research| Financial Performance The overall sale of all the companies is expected to rise. In case of TVS Motors OPM will improve mainly due to reduction in other expenses and raw material cost. The operational performance of Hero Honda has also improved and is directly reflected in its OPM and NPM growth which has increased by 837bps and 486bps respectively. Bajaj Autos OPM and NPM have been increased by 94bps and 170 bps points respectively. Overall in terms Hero Honda stood in top position in terms of operational and financial performance. | Bajaj Auto| Hero Honda| TVS| | AMJ 09 (A)| AMJ 10 (E)| AMJ 09 (A)| AMJ 10 (E)| AMJ 09 (A)| AMJ 10 (E)| Net sales| 23384. 70| 31230. 88| 38224. 40| 51116. 77| 9886. 97| 13254. 32| NPM (%)| 12. 55| 14. 25| 13. 08| 17. 95| 1. 84| 2. 85| OPM (%)| 18. 45| 19. 38| 17. 01| 25. 38| 6. 33| 6. 01| Source: BSE India; Cygnus Research| Cost Structure Analysis Cost Structure (as % of Net sales) AMJ09 Vs AMJ10| Company| Hero Honda| Bajaj Auto| TVS Motors| Industry| Year| 09| 10| 09| 10| 09| 10| 09| 10| (Increase)/Decrease in Stock| 0. 33| -2. 33| 2. 04| 1. 34| 3. 15| 4. 49| -0. 74| 0. 68| Consumption of raw materials| 67. 42| 62. 86| 60. 60| 64. 04| 67. 61| 60. 50| 65. 91| 62. 41| Purchase in stock in trade| 0. 00| 0. 00| 3. 51| 3. 67| 1. 62| 1. 88| 4. 44| 5. 55| Staff cost| 3. 62| 2. 76| 4. 83| 2. 98| 5. 29| 4. 87| 5. 34| 3. 86| Other expenditure| 11. 62| 11. 32| 10. 57| 8. 59| 15. 99| 22. 26| 12. 33| 9. 73| Depreciation| 1. 19| 0. 86| 1. 41| 0. 12| 2. 57| 1. 89| 2. 63| 2. 01| Interest Financial Charges| -0. 14| -0. 10| 0. 26| 0. 00| 1. 73| 0. 91| 1. 25| 0. 92| Tax| 3. 99| 7. 69| 5. 22| 6. 11| 0. 19| 0. 76| 2. 62| 4. 57| Source: BSE India; Cygnus Research|. Raw material cost forms the major chunk of cost for two-wheeler companies followed by other expenditure, staff cost. In terms of raw material, staff cost and other expenses the performance of Bajaj is better compared to its peers. Overall, Bajaj auto is efficient from operational point of view. It has declined its overall cost structure by 159 bps to 86. 84% from 88. 44% as the percentage of sales during AMJ09. Porter Five Forces model Here is the analysis of Auto Industry with help of the porter’s five forced model. This is common for auto industry in India. Supply | Some amount of excess capacity.while India would be capable of producing 5. 4 m cars a year by 2014, domestic demand is likely to edge up to between 3. 5 and 4. 8 m units. | Demand | Largely cyclical in nature and dependent upon economic growth and per capita income. Seasonality is also a vital factor. | Barriers to entry | High capital costs, technology, distribution network, and availability of auto components. | Bargaining power of suppliers | Low, due to stiff competition. | Bargaining power of customers | Very high, due to availability of options. | Competition | High. Expected to increase even further. | Now if we make the five-force model for two wheelers:

Country Of Origin Effects Commerce Essay

Country Of Origin Effects Commerce Essay HASSAN and SAMLI (1994, page 99.) define the effect of country of origin as the influence that the manufacturer country has on the positive or negative consumer judgment. One of the most famous books of this topic is JAFFES and NEBENZAHLs work (2001). It opens the introductory chapter with the following provocative question: Please, fill out the following sentence: A luxury car made in Greece is The question shows the essence of country of origin effect very well. According to ROTH and ROMEO (1992) the COO effect is how consumers consider a product coming from a given a country. Empirical studies have shown that when a customer becomes aware of the country of origin of a product his/her image about the product is influenced either positively or negatively according to his perceptions. Consumers tend to have a stereotype about product and countries that have been formed by experience, hearsay, myth. These stereotypes are generally broad and vague according to which they judge a specific country or a specific product to be the best : French Perfumes, Italian Leather, Chinese Silk and Japanese Technology are all examples of such stereotypes. Therefore the country, the type of product, and the image of the company all its brand play a crucial rule in deciding whether the country of origin will engender a positive or a negative reaction. Country Image : Precursors to Country of Origin Effects Country image can be defined as the sum of information in the consumers mind about a nation/country. In this regard, SULLIVAN MORT and HAN (2000) said, the less information we have about a given country the more dangers the sales of its products will encounter. It has been a long known fact that Made In label is just as powerful and just as valuable as a Made By label. German engineering, Japanese miniaturization, Italian flair, Swedish design, British class, Swiss precision those are brand values which rub off onto all the products that come from those countries Country Image is the reason why, in the early 1990s, Americans bought Toyota Corollas (which were quite expensive) rather than Geo Prizms (which were quite cheap), even though they were exactly the same car, made in the same factory. This is because the American consumers believed that Japanese cars offered greater value than American cars. Countries thus try hard to maintain their images and hence generate a positive reputation for their products in international market. Country image (as suggested in Henry Stewart Publications 1744-0696 (2005) Vol. 1, 2, 164-172 Place Branding) is propagated through channels that can be described in a Hexagonal Pattern of communication : Each of these components has a huge impact on the image that country projects : The loudest branding effort comes from countrys tourism promotion, and peoples experience of visiting the country as tourists or business travelers. The countrys exports with a clearly marked Made in label are powerful ambassadors of the countrys image internationally. The policy decisions made of the countrys government. Policy makers are nowadays much closer to the international media than they ever used to be. From the way company attract the investment, foreign talent and foreign companies to work with it. The countrys cultural activities and cultural exports: a world tour by a national opera company, the works of a famous author, the national sports team. The people of the country themselves: the hospitality they provide to the visitors coming from abroad and the way they behave when abroad. In this regard an under the realms of an experiment asked young people to freely associate the five words they think (adjectives, product categories, food products, values, etc.) are the most consistent with the countries under analysis (this part were inspired by the contributions of Kayanak, Kucukemiroglu 1992; Usunier 1993; Usunier, Lee 2005). The results show that the consumers clearly classified each country with a few product types, this is the stereotype (or the consumer perception) that contributes to country of origin effects while evaluating the available product. The salient result as observed is tabulated below : Country Association Country Association Italy Art History culture China Plagiarism design fashion Cheap Food and Wine(psta, Pizza, Vino Communism Elegance Style Economic and population growth Quality Food and Rice France Fashion Luxury Japan Innovation New Tech Elegance Precission Quality Quality Food(Sushi) Culture Population Food and Wine(Cheese, Baguette, Champagne) Tokyo Germany Cars USA Innovation Beer Freedom Industry Technology Leader ower superiority arrogance Engineering Food (Fast Food) Discipline Organization Multiculturalism Strongness solidity Associated Concepts to Country of Origin From a conceptual point of view it is particularly important to underline that the notion of Country of origin is by no means plain and univocal. Initially, the concept of Country of Origin (COO) was considered as the Made in Country (see the review by Nebenzahl et al., 1997), or the Country of Manufacture (COM) (see the review by Samiee 1994). This was the country which appeared on the made in label, which would generally be the country where final assembly of the good took place. For example designer labels from Gucci, Versace loose their sheen when they include Made in China label because part of the manufacturing tool place there. In contemporary world though other concepts have progressively emerged in the COO literature, such as Country of Design (COD) in the review by Nebenzahl et al., 1997; Jaffà ©, Nebenzahl 2001), referring to the country where the product was designed and developed. For example the latest Audi TT luxury car model was designed in Germany but is being manufactured from Hungary, but with Germanys known reputation in engineering field the model is promoted by the name of country it is designed at. Moreover, global companies nowadays are manipulating brand names to suggest particular origins (country of brand (COB) effects). Thus COO is increasingly considered as that country which consumers typically associate with a product or brand, irrespective of where it is actually manufactured. For example, even though Nike Apparels are manufactured in low cost destinations like India, China etc. the brand recognition of Nike overcomes the country of manufacturing effect and the products are considered to be American. Manifestations of Country Of Origin Effect The country of origin effect can be realized in various different forms among the consumers. The major manifestations are : Individualist / Collectivists Where Individualist favor country of origin bases to ascertain the superior attributes of the product, the collectivists favor home country of origin products over the foreign ones. On Basis of Industrialization Countries are categorized on the levels of industrialization they have achieved. Consumers in such cases are lesser product specific. They believe the products from industrialized nations are superior in quality and thus the products from developing nations suffer bias. Ethnocentrism Under the feeling of national pride, consumers like to purchase the products of home country. For example, the buy American effect, Honda recognized it and specifically mentioned how many component were manufacture in America when launching its models there. One might generalize that for more technical product, there is a less positive perception towards product of developing nations. Similarly, less developed nations have a tendency to favor products from developed nations. Strategies for Usage of COO Effect in International Marketing In contemporary world, companies have come to realize the importance of coutry of origin effect and have started to give it due importance while strategizing their international marketing plans. Nowadays, a companys marketing strategy is dependent not only on the strength of its brand image but the country image as well. According to Jaffe and Nebenzahl (2001), four possible strategies can be used. First scenario considers companies having both, a strong country and brand image. Second scenario considers companies with a weak country image but a strong brand image. Third Scenario looks at companies with a weak brand image, but a strong country image, and fourth scenario looks at companies having both a weak country and a weak brand image. 1. Strong Country Strong Brand Image This is the best position for a company when both the product and the country have strong brand images. In this case, strategically, both the brand and the made in country should be emphasized, especially if it is a global one. Some major examples of this are: Buick (made in US),Sony (made in Japan) and Zeiss (made in Germany). 2. Weak Country Strong Brand Image The scenario of a weak country image but a strong brand image generally refers to products whose production or assembly has been outsourced to developing/emerging economies. In this condition, the emphasis should be placed on the brand name, while the country of origin needs to be de emphasizing as much as possible. BT provides an excellent case of neutralizing the country of origin. A few years ago British Telecom researched the aptness of their brand in overseas markets. The results showed that they had problems with the companys name in Japan where British was synonymous of the past, colonial and not for innovation or moving forward. That is when they decided to become BT 3. Strong Country Weak Brand Image This category contains products which are perceived to be of lower quality vis à   vis the competitors from same country. Strategically, these brands should try to piggyback on strong country image by emphasizing their made in attribute. This strategy works very well for brands/products with bad image or without any image. Some examples include Japanese brands like Suzuki or Miranda Cameras and/or Daihatsu automobiles. 4. Weak Country Weak Brand Image This category contains products that have weak country image as well as a weak brand image. In this case one potential strategy is strategic piggybacking on some strong local brand. For example, Samsung, the South Korean products manufacturer, gained entry into the US in microwave ovens segment distributing them through General Electric under the GE label. Similar strategy was followed by Mitsubishi in its entry into the United States using the Chrysler distribution network. Country or Origin Effect : Critical Results When the influence of country of origin effect and brand perception was studied for convenience, shopping and specialty goods, empirical results (from the paper Luxury brand and country of origin effect: results of an international empirical study, Prof. Gaetano Aiello, Dr. Raffaele Donvito, Prof. Bruno Godey and Prof. Daniele Pederzoli) revealed : Brand Perception and Country of origin have medium and medium high impact on perceptual evaluation of shopping goods and a medium high and high impact on luxury goods. Brand and Country of origin decrease their impact on purchasing decisions; The Country of origin has a medium influence only in the purchasing decisions of luxury goods, while the brand maintains its influence also on shopping goods. Country of origin do not affect evaluation and purchase of convenience goods. Brand affects evaluation and purchase decisions much more than Country of origin in shopping and specialty goods The study also reveals the top most criteria in evaluation and purchase of convenience goods is Price, and Design for specialty goods. Brand Perceptions ranks second in this hierarchy Country of origin is instead around the last of within the items considered. References Astous A., Ahmed S.A., (1999), The importance of country images in the formation of consumer product perceptions International marketing review, vol. 16, n.2. Bilkey W.J., Nes E., (1982), Country of origin effects on product evaluations, Journal of International Business Studies, 13, pp.89-99. Nebenzahl I.D., Jaffe ´ E.D., Lampert S.I., (1997), Towards a theory of country image effect on product evaluation, Management International Review, 37, pp. 27-49. Roth M.S., Romeo G.B. (1992), Matching product categoriey and Country Image Perceptions: A framework for managing Country of Origin Effects, Journal of International Studies, Winter. Jagdish Agrawal, Wagner A.kamakura, Country of origin: A competitive advantage International Journal of Research in Marketing Vol. 16, No. 4 December (1999) P.255 267 International Marketing, Thirteenth Edition, Philip R Cateora, John L Graham and Prashant Salwan SULLIVAN MORT, Gillian Maree HAN, C. Min 2000: Multifaceted country image impact on purchase intensions for goods: a study in the asia pacific economic conference region. (www.digital.re.kr/hanlab/private/discussant.PDF) A Chapter taken from the book Brand America: The mother of All Brands by Simon Anholt and Jememy Hildreth, published by Cyan Books, 2004.

Curleys Wife in Of Mice and Men :: John Steinbeck

OF MICE AND MEN Essay. Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her. Curley’s wife is a beautiful woman, whose blossoming with love, with big hopes for the future. She dreams of becoming a big actress n Hollywood. She wants to become rich and famous, and have nice cloths. She wants to make something from her life. Because of her beauty she was promised great things. But in reality her dreams never came true, the letters she awaited never came, the promises that were maid to her were never fulfilled. â€Å"Could’ve been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes†. She refused to stay where she would be a nobody. â€Å"Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of my life†. So one night she meat Curley at the Riverside Dance Palace, and she married him, he became her ticket out from her desperate life. She never married him out of love and passion just of desperation. â€Å"I don’t like Curley. He aint a nice fella†. Curley’s relationship with his wife is very distant. He treats her with no respect, his very possessive of her, he tries to control who she talks to and what she can and can’t do. His also disloyal. Only after weeks of their marriage his already going to â€Å"cat houses†. His cheating her left right and center. And like any person she needs to be loved, she needs to be cared for, she needs attention and she needs companionship. Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men :: John Steinbeck OF MICE AND MEN Essay. Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her. Curley’s wife is a beautiful woman, whose blossoming with love, with big hopes for the future. She dreams of becoming a big actress n Hollywood. She wants to become rich and famous, and have nice cloths. She wants to make something from her life. Because of her beauty she was promised great things. But in reality her dreams never came true, the letters she awaited never came, the promises that were maid to her were never fulfilled. â€Å"Could’ve been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes†. She refused to stay where she would be a nobody. â€Å"Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of my life†. So one night she meat Curley at the Riverside Dance Palace, and she married him, he became her ticket out from her desperate life. She never married him out of love and passion just of desperation. â€Å"I don’t like Curley. He aint a nice fella†. Curley’s relationship with his wife is very distant. He treats her with no respect, his very possessive of her, he tries to control who she talks to and what she can and can’t do. His also disloyal. Only after weeks of their marriage his already going to â€Å"cat houses†. His cheating her left right and center. And like any person she needs to be loved, she needs to be cared for, she needs attention and she needs companionship. Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men :: John Steinbeck OF MICE AND MEN Essay. Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her. Curley’s wife is a beautiful woman, whose blossoming with love, with big hopes for the future. She dreams of becoming a big actress n Hollywood. She wants to become rich and famous, and have nice cloths. She wants to make something from her life. Because of her beauty she was promised great things. But in reality her dreams never came true, the letters she awaited never came, the promises that were maid to her were never fulfilled. â€Å"Could’ve been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes†. She refused to stay where she would be a nobody. â€Å"Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of my life†. So one night she meat Curley at the Riverside Dance Palace, and she married him, he became her ticket out from her desperate life. She never married him out of love and passion just of desperation. â€Å"I don’t like Curley. He aint a nice fella†. Curley’s relationship with his wife is very distant. He treats her with no respect, his very possessive of her, he tries to control who she talks to and what she can and can’t do. His also disloyal. Only after weeks of their marriage his already going to â€Å"cat houses†. His cheating her left right and center. And like any person she needs to be loved, she needs to be cared for, she needs attention and she needs companionship.

Bram Stokers Dracula vs. Miyazakis Princess Mononoke :: essays research papers

Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, as well as, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated feature, Princess Mononoke, deal with the prevalent theme of good verses evil. On the surface, both stories seem like typical hero verses villain tales, but once their plots are more closely analyzed it is evident that there is not a bold line between the two extremes. Both pieces explore the idea of evil being in the eye of the beholder and being interpreted completely differently from contrasting perspectives. Princess Mononoke is the tale of a young prince, Ashitaka, who battles a demon bore, only to become possessed with its evil spirit. Ashitaka then travels to Irontown, seeking to find the reason for the bore’s anger and thus, a cure for himself. When he arrives, he finds that the citizens of the town, under the rule of Lady Eboshi, have been mining iron from nearby mountains and, in turn, disturbing the animal Gods of the forest. The animals and the humans have been in a constant battle over who has the right to the land and both have been lead to believe that the other species is purely evil. Ashitaka believes that the humans and the animals can get along peacefully through compromise and finds himself in the middle of their conflict. From each side’s perspective, the other seems inherently evil, but from Ashitaka’s perspective, and the perspective of the audience, neither side is truly corrupt and they are both just feeding off of each other’s anger. Alt hough the animals seem evil and barbaric to the humans, they are just being protective over their land and are acting off of their fear of the humans. On the other hand, the humans are seen as evil by the animals because of their selfish use of resources, but they are just trying to financially support their community. For example, Lady Eboshi, the leader of Irontown, is seen as evil for orchestrating this exploitation of resources from the animals, but the humans see her as a compassionate, God-like figure. She does many positive and kind things for the human community, such as taking in women from the streets and brothels and giving them a place to live and work. Even though she is, in essence, destroying the animal’s habitats, she is saving the lives of many humans while doing it. The animal characters are also portrayed as compassionate in many respects. For example, when the leader of the wolves finds an abandoned baby, she takes her in and raises her as if she were her own daughter. Bram Stoker's Dracula vs. Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke :: essays research papers Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, as well as, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated feature, Princess Mononoke, deal with the prevalent theme of good verses evil. On the surface, both stories seem like typical hero verses villain tales, but once their plots are more closely analyzed it is evident that there is not a bold line between the two extremes. Both pieces explore the idea of evil being in the eye of the beholder and being interpreted completely differently from contrasting perspectives. Princess Mononoke is the tale of a young prince, Ashitaka, who battles a demon bore, only to become possessed with its evil spirit. Ashitaka then travels to Irontown, seeking to find the reason for the bore’s anger and thus, a cure for himself. When he arrives, he finds that the citizens of the town, under the rule of Lady Eboshi, have been mining iron from nearby mountains and, in turn, disturbing the animal Gods of the forest. The animals and the humans have been in a constant battle over who has the right to the land and both have been lead to believe that the other species is purely evil. Ashitaka believes that the humans and the animals can get along peacefully through compromise and finds himself in the middle of their conflict. From each side’s perspective, the other seems inherently evil, but from Ashitaka’s perspective, and the perspective of the audience, neither side is truly corrupt and they are both just feeding off of each other’s anger. Alt hough the animals seem evil and barbaric to the humans, they are just being protective over their land and are acting off of their fear of the humans. On the other hand, the humans are seen as evil by the animals because of their selfish use of resources, but they are just trying to financially support their community. For example, Lady Eboshi, the leader of Irontown, is seen as evil for orchestrating this exploitation of resources from the animals, but the humans see her as a compassionate, God-like figure. She does many positive and kind things for the human community, such as taking in women from the streets and brothels and giving them a place to live and work. Even though she is, in essence, destroying the animal’s habitats, she is saving the lives of many humans while doing it. The animal characters are also portrayed as compassionate in many respects. For example, when the leader of the wolves finds an abandoned baby, she takes her in and raises her as if she were her own daughter.

Gough Whitlam Policies

GOUGH WHITLAM POLICIES Social Justice and equality is the meaning of all humans in society have the same and equal rights regardless of their gender, race or religion etc. it works on the universal principles that support people through the advantages and disadvantages within the society. The commitment of the Gough Whitlam government was based on social justice and equality and supported areas in the society such as, education, migrants and health reforms. Whitlam and the government changed these laws and others with debates, conventions and policies.PARAGRAPH 2: EDUCATION REFORM- Before the Education reform there was increased University fees, that was unaffordable for most Australians. Until the Whitlam Labour Government abolished the Uni fees and introduced tertiary education assist to help support students with fee costs which then lead to increase educational opportunities for all Australians. PARAGRAPH 3: MIGRANT REFORM- Policies related to migration went from Assimilation to Integration and now to multiculturalism.The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 banned all forms of discrimination on the basis of colour, race or ethnic origin. The Discrimination Act aided to the development of multiculturalism and tried to prevent division within society. The Whitlam government policy tries to promote the benefits of multicultural Australia and encourage people from non-English speaking backgrounds to become part of the community. PARAGRAPH 4: HEALTH REFORM- In 1973 a compulsory national health insurance scheme was introduced by the Whitlam Labour Government called Medibank.The purpose of Medibank was to help provide many benefits to Australians and their families regardless of wealth. It gradually involved to a free medical service, which means providing health insurance coverage for all Australians leading to increased spending on health. CONCLUSION: The Gough Whitlam Labour Government reforms, education, health, migrant and etc have received a number of good and ba d outcomes leading towards created policies for all Australians in society to have the same and equal rights.