Pestel Analysis Economic Factors That Affect To Beer Industry Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3423 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? According to Canadeans latest Global Beer Trends report, global beer consumption will increase 2 billion hectolitres by 2013.  However Canadean predicting an average growth rate of 2.8% between 2009 and 2015. According to Huanshu W., (12-02- 2009), the global high-end beer market will reach 65.5 million kiloliters by 2013, an increase of 74.7 percent over 2006. In Asia-Pacific, beer production will reach 13.5 kiloliters, an increase of 125 percent. Furthermore Huanshu W., (12-02- 2009), notes that the China will be one of the main market for beer industry. Global Beer Consumption Forecast Growth rate by Region Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Pestel Analysis Economic Factors That Affect To Beer Industry Business Essay" essay for you Create order Source: Canadean Beer Service, https://www.canadean.com/News/Beverage_Industry_News.aspx Heineken Geographic distribution of consolidated beer volume, 2009 2008 Region In thousands of hectolitres Source: Heineken International (2011), Annual Report (2009), [Online] According to Heineken International (2011), Annual Report (2009), Heineken has market leadership position in Western Europe. Heineken imported various group brands into several Western Europe markets, affects to increase of the consolidated beer volume in Western Europe. Also Heineken is the largest brewing group in Central and Eastern Europe. Acquisition of Amstel helps to expand brand name of Heineken to success in Central and Eastern Europe. Although Heineken expand distribution in Africa and Middle East by brewing varieties of local brands and export the Heineken and Amstel premier brands across the region. According to Heineken International (2011), Annual Report (2009), Heineken has also built a strong market position in Americas by acquisition of FEMSA in year 2010.This made Heineken the national importer, marketer and seller of FEMSAs brands and expand distribution of Heineken brands in Americas. Also Heineken expand distribution in Asia pacific by made joint venture with Fra ser Neave, Asia pacific Breweries. Heineken is brewed at several of Asia pacific breweries throughout the region. Also Heineken beer has a dominant market position, especially in Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan Heineken International (2011), Annual Report (2009). Number of rivals in beer industry and their world market share Based on 2007/2008 Beer volumes estimates Source: Beer Institute (2011), Research, 2008 Annual Industry Update According to Beer Institute (2011), Research, 2008 Annual Industry Update, The top 3 brewers are Anheuser-Busch InBevs (ABI), Miller and Heineken.These brewers now produce over 50% of worlds beer consumption. Although 70% 80% average beer market share hold in other developed countries. Beer Industry Growth in China According to Heineken International (2011), Currently China is the largest beer market with a sales volume of 291 million hectolitres of beer in 2004 and an annual growth rate of about 15% with a population of 85 million people. China beer market competition is growing at outstanding rate because all the major beer companies try to increase their share of the market. According to AP-Foodtechnology.com, (06-Aug-2004), In China since 1997 total consumption of beer grew by 16.79 % up to 2003 and reach 24.87 billion litres, also total expenses on beer has risen by 85.99 % in current value since 1996. China government economic reform policies affect to growth of China beer market. Heineken Asia Pacific Breweries combine operations in China According to Heineken International (2011), Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) was combining in year 2004.This combine leads Heineken to do production and marketing of beer and other strategic activities such as investments for plants, mergers and acquisition in China. Heineken beer will be locally produced to better fulfil the growing demand for Heineken beer in China. Heineken acquired Guangdong Brewery in China Heineken International (2011) noted that the total acquisition of Guangdong Brewery by Heineken is valued at EUR 57 million. Furthermore Mr Thony Ruys, Chairman of Heineken NV said, The Guangdong province is one of the most important beer markets in China. The strong position of Guangdong Breweries in this region offers an excellent platform for further growth of the Heineken brand in china. Guangdong is the largest and prosperous provincial beer markets in China with an estimated volume of 18 million hectolitres per year. Also the partnership with Guangdong Brewery will strengthen the position of Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries APB considerably in china. Social Issues According to Nugent A.,(25-02-2005), in USA most of beer lovers change their choice to strong beers to light beers (low-alcohol) because they believe that is healthier than regular beers. Light beers calorie percentage is lower than regular beers. However some people argue that light beers are nothing but marketing strategy. Heineken was Introduce to the market in 2005 Heineken Premium Light Larger to compete with other light beer rivals in the market, allbusiness.com (01-10-2006).Furthermore Consumers have reduced their beer consumption because diet and health issues. These consumers think beer effect to body fat because of the percentage of calorie, therefore consumers switch to wine, malt-flavoured alcoholic drinks, BBC News (08-03-2005). Political The beer industry mainly suffers from increase of excise tax by governments and regulations at both federal and state level. Federal and state level regulations affect to beer industry when production, distribution, advertising and labelling. Also percentage of alcohol include in beer, Brewers Association.org. Heineken is a worldwide brewing company therefore governments regulations where it operates heavily affect for Heineken product sales and profit. One example is that government excise tax affect to Heineken sales in Russia. According to Andrew Cleary (21-04-2010), in 2010 first quarter Heineken sales decreased in Russia because excise tax increase by Russian government. Technological Technology helps to brewing industry companies to develop more efficient distribution channels and upgrade facilities with technology that increase the brewing process and improve the quality of the cultivate ingredients and harvesting process. This helps to increase consistency and reduce costs. Heineken is very rich in using information Technology for their production process because its worldwide operations are highly dependent on the availability of information systems, Heineken International (2011). Legal Legal issues affect for beer industry when packaging, advertising and labeling. When advertising beer products target consumer age must be over 21 years. Also some of the countries such as Middle East and other Islamic countries advertising for beer products are banned. Therefore Heineken has to obey rules and regulations according to countries where it operates. Heineken Enjoying Heineken Responsibly is the new marketing strategy that follows obeying the rules, EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com. Environmental Factors that affect to beer industry Recycling Waste According to Beer Serves America (2009), Beer industry brewers and brewer suppliers improvement of the beer packaging lead to increase of the recycle rate of waste plastic, paper, glass, aluminium and cardboard that are used to package manufactured Beer bottles, beer cans and packs. Recycled glass accounts for more than 30% of the materials used to produce new bottles. Overcome from this problem every major brewer companies are successfully recycling waste packages on their own recycle production units. In addition to their own corporate recycling programs, brewers and brewer suppliers encourage the communities they serve to recycle as well. Heineken International (2011), points out that glass is use 76% as a packaging material for beer in Heineken and they distributed beers usually in returnable packaging for reduce waste material environment pollution. Water Conservation and Treatment According to Beer Serves America (2009), Water is the primary ingredient for brewing process. Regular maintenance of faucets and piping allows brewers to quickly identify and repair water leaks; also water meters helps to monitor overall water usage. Some of the brewers in the industry have built on-site water treatment plants for reprocess and purify water for the brewing process. Some brewing industries use Bio-Energy Recovery Systems (BERS) to treat wastewater, reducing its strength and volume while creating a renewable biogas that helps fuel their breweries, Beer Serves America (2009). Heineken International (2011), points out that Specific water consumption at Heineken breweries in 2003 were 5.4 hectolitres per hectolitre of beer and it decrease of 3% compared to 2002. This improvement is because of investment in new water treatment systems. Wastewater from 68% of Heineken production units is treated in on-site plants or in urban plants. Other remaining waste water in production units is discharge after the treatment of on-site wastewater treatment plants. Energy Management Most of brewing industries use alternative sources of energy, such as wind, sunlight and Biogas to power their operations. Furthermore through constant monitoring and maintenance of facilities and adopting technology innovations and techniques use by brewers helps to produce beer with energy efficiency, Beer Serves America (2009). According to Heineken International (2011), Heineken use Renewable energy sources to generate some of the heat required in brewing process. These biogases take from the anaerobic treatment of wastewater. Heineken has 19 anaerobic treatment plants and its the 7th largest user, that use biogas as an energy source. The causes that are affected to change competitive structure and business environment in Brewing industry Acquisition in Beer Industry According to Brown A.,(10-06-2002),Acquisitions accelerate global expansion giving beer companies competent market share in target markets, as well as produce and distribute their own brands through the acquired facilities. Adolph Coors acquisition of the Carling in year 2002 basically gives it position for leading UK lager brand and also offers it platform to extend its own Coors brand throughout the UK. Brown A., (10-06-2002) points out some of the major acquisitions are in beer industry, in 1999 Antarctica and Brahma merged to form AmBev in 2000, Scottish Newcastle Plc Acquired Kronenbourg in 2001, Carlsberg A/S and Orlka ASA completed merger of brewing operations to form Carlsberg Breweries A/S in 2002. Heineken Acquisitions and partnerships According to Heineken International (2011), Annual Report (2009), Heineken has wide international presence through a global network of distributors and breweries. Heineken owns and manages one of the worlds leading portfolios of beer brands and is one of the worlds leading brewers in terms of sales volume and profitability. These following Tables Exhibits some of the major acquisition and partnerships with other brewery companies made by Heineken past years (2004 2010) around the world. These acquisitions are key economic factors that help to drive Heineken to build the long-term future of Heineken brands and business. Also acquisition of other breweries and made partnerships with other brewery companies ensure to improve financial performance and distribution strategies that create values for the company. Heineken acquisitions and partnerships (2004 2010) Global economy crisis Beer industry research: Beer sales depression in recession According to Canadeans news (17/11/10), economic downturn has resulted in reduced sales of beer in Europe and North America. Furthermore Canadeans news (17/11/10), noted that worlds top 4 brewers sale rate is less than in 2008. However, expansions into emerging economies have ensured profitable for large brewers such as AB InBev prominent producer South America and SABMiller prominent producer in Africa. Asia overtakes Europe as worlds biggest beer producer McCurry J. (12 August 2010), noted that economic crisis affected beer sales in Europe, but 5.5% rise in Asias beer production followed .Furthermore he noted according to a study research by the Japanese brewing giant Kirin Holdings, Asia has overtaken Europe as the worlds biggest beer producer for the first time in 35 years. British economic crisis, the lowest level of beer consumption in the UK since 1948 -Star City News According to StarCityNews (03-09- 2010), noted that consumption level of alcoholic beverages in UK has been decrease. Furthermore StarCityNews (03-09- 2010), points out using APBI report, that beer drinkers consume only 13% lower than the year 2004. This percentage is below the average number of beer drinkers in Europe Union countries. Also StarCityNews (03-09- 2010), noted using APBI report data that decrease of the alcoholic beverage consumption affect due to the economic recession in UK and success of the message responsible drinkers which campaigned for the British society for reduce British people drinking habits.Furthermore StarCityNews (03-09- 2010), points out that according to Alcoholic Beverage Industry (APBI) report the tax on beer in the UK also affected to reduce the consumption of beer in UK. UK beer sales fall According to Canadean(27/10/08),news, noted that using British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) report results that overall sales of the beverage in UK decreased by over seven per cent between July and September in 2008, which is thought to be equal to a 1.8 million pint fall. Innovations to Beer Industry (Heineken Draughtkeg) According to TalkingRetail.com (04-05-2007), Innovation of the Heineken unique stand alone Draughtkeg beer system revolutionized the beer industry. Furthermore invention of the DraughtKeg system helps to increment the growth value of the beer category. Competitive Position of the Heineken by reviewing five competitive forces Threat of Substitute products (high) Heineken threat of substitute products is high because customers have many other substitute beverages, such as Liquor, wine, cider, flavoured alcoholic drinks, and non alcoholic beers. The mostly competition come to the industry from the Wine, Liquor and other malt flavoured alcoholic drinks, because they also target the same demographic group. Present market popular substitute product against beer is Smirnoff Ice which is an alternative beer that brewed using a malt base, www.smirnoff.com. Threat of new Entrants (low) Heineken is a large beer company therefore new entrants is low. Also there are many microbreweries throughout Heineken brand distribution countries. But it is difficult to microbreweries to compete with larger companies such as Heineken because advantage of economies of scale, Advertising expenditures and start up capital in beer industry is high. This makes the industry is not attractive for new entrants. Bargaining power of suppliers (low) Bargaining power of suppliers is low. Heineken operates some of own local sourcing projects and Agriculture projects to get raw materials such as Sierra Leone Sorghum Project which is local sourcing project in Sierra Leone is part of the companys Africa-wide strategy to procure at least 60% of its raw materials locally, Heineken International (2011). Due to the size of Heineken, suppliers would not want to lose business with Heineken. In addition Heineken manage supply chain code, both in terms of ethics and the environment therefore Heineken has control possibilities over many of its product inputs, Heineken International (2011). Bargaining power of customers (medium) The bargaining power of customers is a medium threat for the beer industry. Such as taste of the beer, calories, price, and alcohol percentage are concerned by customers when they are going to buy beer product. There is also price comparison and sensitivity in the beer market. According to (comparesupermarketprices.co.uk), Major companies are price their products to the market demand price because among competitors there is huge competitive for price, package and discounts that are given to customers. If one company give a discount other competitors also do. Therefore Customers also have low switching cost because of competitive price. Jockeying for position with rivals (high) Competive forces within beer industry are high. Heineken main competitors are Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller and Carlsberg. Anheuser-Busch has 26% global market share and SABMiller has 17% global market share, Beer Institute (2011), Research, 2008 Annual Industry Update. There is low variation in products and advertising within the beer industry, if one firm launches a new advertising campaign, others will follow. Similarly if one firm launches a new beverage, others will try to copy that beverage. One of the example is Light Beers, according to Miller Brewing Company they produce first Light beer to the USA market in 1977 after that Anheuser-Busch introduce their light beer Bud Light in 1982 and heavily advertised their brand to become first in the market. Furthermore in the beer industry there is competition from both local products and other major brands import products, therefore Heineken has to compete with many type of competitors. Also other threats that affected for competitive po sition are mergers and acquisitions in the beer industry. But Heineken is a large company and recent acquisition of Scottish and Newcastle in 2008 and FMSA in 2010 increased the Heineken global market share, Beer Institute (2011), Research, 2008 Annual Industry Update. Competitor Analysis Heineken Major Competitors are Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller and Carlsberg. Within these 3 competitors Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller are the main competitors to Heineken because of their global market share strength, beer brand and portfolio strength, company revenue and sale of beer volume. Anheuser-Busch InBev According to AB-InBev.com annual report (2009) Anheuser-Busch is the worlds largest beer company and it is the dominant market leader in USA. Furthermore it is the largest global brewer with 25% global market share and one of the worlds top 5 consumer products companies, based in Leuven, Belgium. Anheuser-Busch InBev generated revenues of US$36,758million for 2009 and it portfolio contains more than 200 brands. Anheuser-Busch InBev target consumers are from the lower class of society to the upper class. They have a wide range of precious beer brands and beverages to offer each social class.Anheuser-Busch InBev holds the 1st or 2nd position in 19 key markets. The company employment strength is approximately 116,000 people based in operations in 23 countries around the world, and manages a portfolio of over 200 beer brands including globally recognised brand Budweiser. (www.ab-inbev.com). Furthermore Anheuser-Busch InBev operates in six operational zones, Latin Am erica, North America, Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe. The company strives to be the Best Beer Company in a Better world. SABMiller SABMiller is the worlds second -largest brewing and bottling company measured by revenue and it is only second to Anheuser-Busch. SABMiller based in South Africa, operates in 75 countries across Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, China and India and sells nearly 213 million hectolitres per year and account for 13% global market share. According to SABMiller.com, its owned more than 200 brands and 139 brewers with total number of 69,116 employees. SABMiller revenue for 2009 was US$18,703million SABMiller.com, Annual Report (2009), [Online]. The SABMiller premium beer brand is Pilsner Urquell and also SABMiller is the worlds largest bottlers of Coca-cola products, SABMiller.com. According to SABMiller.com, their mission is to own and nurture local and international brands that are the choice of the consumer. Their strategic priorities are Develop strong relevant brand portfolios that win in the local market, Create balanced and attractive global spread of business, an d increase the profitability of local business, leverage skills and global scale, SABMiller.com. SABMillers significant presence in Africa is the major threat that Heineken to success in Africa. Moreover SABMillers strengthened than Heineken by revenue for year, market share, brewers owned worldwide where it operates. Carlsberg According to Carlsberg.com, Carlsberg is the worlds 4th largest brewery group based in Denmark and employing around 45000 people and account for 7% global market share. The Carlsberg portfolio includes more than 500 brands and well known international premium brand is Carlsberg. In 2009 Carlsberg Group sold more than 135 million hectolitres of beer and sold more than 150 countries, revenue for 2009 was DKK 59,382 million, carlsberggroup.com. Under Export and Licensing agreements Carlsberg sells its products to countries where it has no breweries. Furthermore Carlsbergs products vary particularly in volume, price, target consumers and geographic locations. Carlsberg.com notes that The Carlsbergs ambition is to be thefastest growing global beer company. Carlsberg does not have large footprint according to Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller. But its premium brand name Carlsberg has a significant position in Asia. Competitors Global Products Price and Market Share Comparison (Based on 2009 data) Company Name and Global Rank Global Market Share (2009) Revenue (2009) Globally available Brand Name Description about product Price in UK (02-03-2011) 01.Anheuser-Busch InBevs 25% global market share US $36, 758 million Stella Artois Number one Belgian beer in the world and is distributed in over 80 countries. 1.50 (660ml) Becks The Beck brand is the number one export brand in Germany, and present in more than 100 countries worldwide. 1.50 (660ml) Budweiser The leading brand of Anheuser-Busch InBev brewed to be universally popular brand and first national beer brand in USA introduce in 1876. Its called the Great American Larger. 1.94 (660ml) 02.SABMiller 13% global market share US$18,703 million Grolsch Available in over 60 countries worldwide and origin in Netherland. Unique Package style makes it stand out from others. 1.87 (450ml) Miller Genuine Draft Origin in United States, Available in over 68 countries. 1.16 (330ml) Peroni Nastro Azzurro Origin in Italy, Also Available in austrailia, Africancountries,France,india, peru,Poland,Romania, Russia,Japan,UK and USA. 2.13 (660ml) 03.Heineken 9% global market share ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¬16.13 million Heineken The Heineken the world drinks today is still brewed using the original, unrivalled recipe invented three generations ago by the Heineken family. Available in more than 170 countries. 1.99 (650ml) Amstel Amstel is the market leader or one of the top-ranked brands in Greece ,Netherlands, France,Hungary,Spain,Italy,USA and South Africa. Available in more than 120 countries. 1.46 (330ml) 04.Carlsberg 7% global market share DKK 59,382 million Carlsberg Carlsberg pilsner was launced in 1904, and its the flagship brand in the Carlsberg family. Available in where Carlsberg operate countries. 0.85 (440ml) Turborg Turborg origin was Denmark but now available in more than 70 different countries. Turbog is the youth brand in the Carlsberg international portfolio. 0.89 (275ml) Source: Above table Price Comparison according to https://www.comparesupermarketprices.co.uk,

Appreciating other Religions Essay - 684 Words

Appreciating other Religions Religion is a set of practices and beliefs that allow human beings to search for the meaning of life and the purpose of their existence. These common practices set the foundation for such beliefs to have validity. Every individual must wonder why he/she exists on earth. Questioning about the purpose in one’s life and whether or not there is meaning allows an individual to seek a supernatural, Supreme Being or some form of deity. Technically, religion is essentially the passing of stories, embedded with morals and values as well as being a way of life. During this course, I learned that religion is mainly needed for guidance, physically and psychologically. Since people are so easily vulnerable to be†¦show more content†¦For Muslims, the reward for following the 5 Pillars of Islam is pleasant dwellings in Gardens of Eternity. These are the sole reasons for having the religions in the first place. 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Ryanair Case Study Free Essays

Nova School of Business and Economics 2012/2013 DOGFIGHT OVER EUROPE: RYANAIR Case Study This set of questions refers to Version (A): 1. Which kind of customers was Ryanair trying to attract when, in 1999, Michael O’Leary took charge of the firm? Those with a low price elasticity of demand or those with a high price elasticity of demand? Explain. Considering that we are talking about the same product, in an industry with many firms, where producers and consumers know all quoted prices and where the consumers can identify the product as homogeneous, it is fair to say that we are talking about a scenario close to perfect competition, thus demand for the product is very elastic. We will write a custom essay sample on Ryanair Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now So, Ryanair is trying to attract high price elasticity customers. Accordingly to the article: Ryanair marketed itself as â€Å"the low fares airline†; before open new routes, the company cared about low landing fees, low turnaround costs in order to be able to charge low fares to customers; it made agreements with secondary airports, where they did not pays fees (in fact those airports paid to Ryanair to use their locales); it tried that 70% of the available seats in the two lowest fare categories; it made fewer restrictions on its tickets (important for who had extra bags, or who wants to change the flights in order to pay less); it observe competitors, so it would be able to apply a lower fare; its customers were a mix of leisure travelers (70-75%) and business travelers, mostly from small and mid-sized businesses (25-30%). ifferences in airfares could persuade some leisure travelers to visit one destination rather than another; it has chosen the cost leadership so it seeks to be the lowest cost producer in Europe by selling standardized, mass products and Ryanair’s profit maximization was through lower fares in order to attract more customers contrarily to competitors where they maximize their profits through find opportunities to increase fares without losing customers. So accordingly to the customers with a high PED (price elasticity demand) following the formula (Q/P) x (P/Q): a little negative variation in prices (decrease in fares), will originate a big positive variation in the amount sold. 2. Why was cost cutting so essential for the strategy chosen? First of all it is important to refer that in 1991, Ryanair was facing a bankruptcy. In response, ‘the company removed all frills from its service, cut its costs to the bone, and dropped its fares to levels unheard of in Europe’. It became priority, to connect all the efforts to preserve and generate cash. Company’s main concern was charge lower fares in order to attract high elasticity price demand customers, with this new strategy, the company became low-cost or low-fare airlines and to maintain it within these measures the firm needed to adapt its strategy to new restrictions, which means, cost cutting. The flag airline faced a really competitive market (in 1999), and to keep competitive the firm had to keep its strategy, and for that was necessary cost cutting. Cost cutting, if it is efficiently done, brings more profits. Besides, using the model used in classes, â€Å"Bertrand – Asymmetric Model† where it says that if certain firm charges ‘P1’ for its product, and other firm charges ‘P1-e’ (because it is able to reduce its marginal cost), so the second firm will get all the demand. Well, Ryanair did not get all the demand, but is observable in ‘Exhibit 4’ that the company carried approximately 60% (353/575) and 56% (180/321) of the passengers on the route ‘Dublin-Manchester’ and the route ‘Dublin-Glasgow’ respectively. 3. Ryanair uses a performance-based pay scheme to compensate its flight attendants. Why? A performance-based payment scheme combines the interests of both flight attendants and the company. This happens because obviously, the flag airline will gain more if the attendants are working efficiently (making an effort to sell the snacks, drinks, or whatever they have on board; being nice with the passengers, and h elp them as much they can), then if they are lazy during work. If a salesperson receives a fixed wage, no matter how much it sells, then he or she will not have any incentive to sell more than the expected. But, of course, if they receive an extra commission for each sale, then the salesperson will do the effort that it maximizes its utility. By having a higher effort, the workers have a higher payoff which maximizes its utility. A sector payment or an in-flight sales commission allowed flight attendants to earn 10% more than those from competitors and allowed the firm to fly to 50% more sectors than its rivals. Consequently, a higher number of flights increase the profits of Ryanair. The company’s rapid growth permitted job mobility, for instance, a flight attendant could take a job at the yield operations management on the headquarters; job mobility was a solution for the company to avoid coordination problems. 4. Why wasn’t this performance scheme also offered to maintenance personnel? The majority of European airlines pay their employees based on the length of their tenure with the company. However, Ryanair only applied this to their maintenance and engineering personnel. As a company obsessed with cash, the most important part of the business was the operational part, the one which actually gave money to the company: flights and duty-free revenues. So, this was the only personnel where it was justifiable to apply a performance-based pay scheme. Engineering and maintenance were paid based on their formal qualifications: more qualified personnel would do the job more accurately. Maintenance personnel only represented 9,34% of the total employees as of March 31, 1999. Besides the company concerns about security: let’s say that if they receive a fee for each plane that is ‘fixed’, they will want to fix the maximum planes, as fast as possible, and that may not be the best for the passenger’s security. It’s more important to seek personal with higher qualification, and pay them a reasonable (but fixed) salary, because this is kind of business where mistakes cannot happen, and so, the personnel has to be focus in its work, and not in the ‘extra money’. 5. Can you suggest means of rewarding maintenance personnel that would induce high productivity without hindering Ryanair’s strategy? Ryanair’s strategy is keep low fares so it will be able to keep â€Å"fiercely competitive† and â€Å"ferociously cost conscious†, which implies, minimize costs (everywhere where it is possible), so increase their salaries would hurt the company’s strategy. Given this, it would be a good idea to search for some ‘non-monetary’ alternatives. First of all give them some lectures about how important is to do a good maintenance of the aircraft, aware them that a single mistake can be fatal for hundreds of people (unless they are murderers or mentally sick people they will get alert! ). They can make promises to them in the long-run like if there are no mistakes, Ryanair’s credibility increases, and that will attract more passengers, which means more revenues, which means they can increase wages (and keep the same profit). Monitoring them is a good way of keep the high productivity, this measure leads to an increase in veracity of the employee’s reports, in other words, if an employee knows that he or she is being watched, then it will for sure do a better job. The creation of bureaucracy that implies the creation of rules in order to limit the employee’s actions, these rules can be benefit for the maintenance workers, for example, the creation of a rule that says it is mandatory to do a 15 minutes break, every two hours. 6. What are the likely consequences for Ryanair of a steep decrease in the price of jet fuel brought about by a significant decline in the price of oil? Consider both the direct and the strategic effect. All the airline companies are strategic complements, which mean that if one firm takes one action, the others will respond with aggressively actions (upward sloping). And they exhibit tough commitment, in other words, is a commitment that is going to have an adverse effect on the competitors. In Bertrand (this case), the company makes a tough commitment, no matter how much its rival changes the price, the firm’s price will be lower than it would have been if there were no commitment. The companies make tough commitment to avoid that new entrants increase the price competition. Given this, we built the following graph: The red line stands for direct effect and the blue line stands for substitution effect. The direct effect is the commitment’s impact on the present value of the firm’s profits, assuming that the competitors’ behavior does not change. Applying to the case is basically the profits that all the others airline companies would earn if Ryanair would not decrease its prices as well (point 1 to point 2). The substitution effect takes into account the competitive side effects of the commitment, this means, how much does the tactical decisions of the rivals change, under the commitment conditions. Basically is the adjustment made by Ryanair after the competitors decrease their prices (point 2 to point 3). Decline in the price of oil, brings a decrease in the price of jet fuel. With this shock, all the airline companies will decrease their prices, P1*’. As it was said before, Ryanair always observes its competitors, and then make its move, so they will decrease their tickets’ prices even more, P2*’(one of the principals of tough commitment). As it says in exhibit 2, ‘fuel ; oil’ constitutes approximately 16% of its costs (6. 0/37. ), so despite it is not visible on the graph (due to lack of data related to prices), the prices of the flight’s tickets will decrease considerable, because (repeat) this is a really competitive market, and the airline companies find themselves in a tough commitment, that it will originate a decline even bigger that the one it would happen without though commitment. It is important to refer that the company’s product has a low-level of horizontal differentiation because the difference between the products of each one of the companies is based on the quality in the in-flight zone. And there are tons of people who simply do not care about that. For those ones, their only concern is to get to their destination. 7. What are the most serious threats that Ryanair faces? Explain your perspective. Europe Union’s measure â€Å"Under the package, carriers were given full freedom to set fares. Any company was allowed to start an airline provided that it had majority European ownership, adequate financial backing, and the ability to meet safety requirements. The package permitted any European airline to fly any route between two EU countries and, starting in 1997, any intra-country route between two European cities. † This measure means no patents’ system, which means that as long as there is positive profit, other companies will enter in the market. Without proper cautions this may lead to perfect competition, where the companies will lower their prices until it equals the marginal cost, which implies that the profit will be zero. Even worse than that is if Ryanair adheres to a new technology (in order to decrease its marginal cost), and if we are in a situation where the other companies can copy and use the technology discovered by Ryanair, the company will have negative profits. Contrarily if the competitors are able to decrease its marginal cost, and the antitrust agencies that may lead to monopoly (if there is a patented system that says that is illegal to copy and use technology of others firms). Possible merges by competitors, which would increase their market share. For example, in 2002, easyJet purchased Go for ? 374m. Ryanair may face laws taken by the antitrust agencies that may limit its actions, for example the use of ‘dumping’ strategy (‘monopolistic strategy’ where the firm sells its products below their production cost in order to eliminate competition, and when it occurs, the firm increase its prices again). Ryanair has faced aggressive marketing campaigns and charity efforts by Virgin Express, subcontracts and reliability on third parties (lower costs), total direct selling and a very informal environment by easyJet, predatory pricing by British Airways’ Go and in-flight entertainment and comfort by Debonair. The last one went bankrupt but all the others provide serious competition to Ryanair despite not achieving the profitable results desired. How to cite Ryanair Case Study, Free Case study samples

Jane Fonda Essay Example For Students

Jane Fonda Essay Who is Jane Fonda? This is a question often asked by many people with no one right answer. She is an actress, a fitness guru, a former communist sympathizer, and most importantly, an antiwar activist during the Vietnam War. Although Jane Fonda was honored as one of the ?100 Women of the Century?, her infamous name is one Vietnam veterans will never forget. As American soldiers were losing their lives, she traveled into enemy-territory, defaming American POWs, many of whom were tortured to death. Jane Fonda, a revolutionary woman whose efforts not only demoralized American servicemen but also created a personal war that would last a lifetime, mixed politics with film to make her an infamous legend. Born into a family of wealth, Jane Fonda evolved from a distinguished actress to one of the most controversial figures in Hollywood. Descending from prominent figures in history, including Samuel Adams and Jane Seymour, Fonda grew up with very little parental love and attention. Her father, actor Henry Fonda, rarely saw his daughter except for the occasional publicity photo-shoot. Her brother, Peter Fonda, and Jane spent most of their childhood at numerous boarding schools. ?The beginnings of Fondas passion for communism can be ascribed to her early boarding school in Paris, where she befriended French communists and Vietcong representatives assigned in Paris? (Mraffin 1). Back in the United States, Jane made numerous theatrical appearances with her father. Developing her own fame, Jane began to take on numerous risque films, her most famous being Barbarella. Tired of her sex kitten roles and appearance, Jane took on a more serious role, titled They Shoot Horses Dont They? and also d eveloped an interest in politics. Jane watched ?women leading marches, women getting beaten up, women walking up to bayonets, and they were not afraid. That experience completely changed her, and it began her searching for what was behind it all? (Andersen 171). March 8,1970, marked Janes first entry into the world of militant protest. Jane, a strong advocate of ?Coffee houses?, or hangouts where servicemen could get a taste of antiwar propaganda and some coffee, was also drawn to the Black Panthers, the feminist movement, the plight of the American Indian, welfare mothers, and the farm movement. Jane decided that ?because of the success of my films, I have more power-and I intend to use it? (Andersen 169) and the best way to tackle all these issues was by way of a cross country tour. Using her acting fame, Jane obtained appearances on TV talk shows, and became a feature speaker at numerous college campuses, leading countless anti-war demonstrations. Her speeches could be summarized by her statement on November 22, 1970: ?I would think if you understood what communism was, you would pray on your knees that you would someday become Communists? (Mraffin 1). While traveling across country, Jane dropped in on Indian reservations, army bases, and G.I. coffeehouses, hoping to convert nonbelievers. Whenever Jane spoke at a Coffeehouse, she was speaking to the converted?mostly disillusioned draftees, rearing no more then a few thousand spread across the country, a small fraction of the nations fighting force (Andersen). Within time though, Janes interest in everything but the Vietnam war diminished. No longer content with spreading her radicalism within the home ranks, Fonda decided to trade her glamorous attire in for a pair of Ho Chi Minh sandals, and Vietcong pajamas. She left for her two week stay in North Vietnam on July 8, 1972. Jane, with several cameras slung around her neck, was led on a tour of bombed-out hospitals, schools, factories, villages, and dikes. T he devastation left Jane shaken, but not enough to stop her from doing some morale boosting for the enemy. It was then that Jane climbed aboard a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun, used to shoot American men, and peered through the gun sight looking for one of those blue eyed murderers (Sampley 1). Still, if She had stopped then, and returned home, her trip may have soon been forgotten. Instead, Fonda volunteered to make a series of ten propaganda broadcasts over Radio Hanoi, designed to demoralize American servicemen while encouraging the North Vietnamese to fight harder and kill more Americans. The broadcasts, along with torture and starvation were used in attempt to brainwash American POWs. Colonel George Day, a ranking officer at the Hanoi Hilton, when referring to the broadcasts, once stated Its difficult to put into words how terrible it is to hear that siren song that is so absolutely rotten and wrongIt was worse then being manipulated and usedShe wanted the North Vietnamese to win. She caused the deaths of unknown numbers of Americans by buoying up the enemys spirit and keeping them in the fight (Andersen 255). In addition to the broadcasts, North Vietnamese rounded up POWs to meet with Jane Fonda. Those who refused to meet with Fonda were tortured. Civilian Michael Benge, an official of the agency for International development, was captured in Cambodia, and when refused to meet with Jane Fonda, was forced to kneel on the cold cement floor of his cell holding a steel rod in front of him for two days. Every time the rod dipped to the floor, he was brutally beaten. When he finally returned home with the other POWs years later, he was missing part of his right foot (Andersen 256). Back in America, Jane informed the public that the American soldiers were being well treated and not tortured. Her outrageous claims were later exposed when American POWs returned home and told of years of agonizing torture and inhumane treatment. Fonda responded not with an ap ology but with an accusation calling the POWs liars and hypocrites (Sampley 1). Disillusioned, Jane took time to assess the damage she was doing to her career. .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 , .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .postImageUrl , .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 , .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:hover , .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:visited , .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:active { border:0!important; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:active , .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50 .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue1f21f5e8a4b4ef28b80d8967d59ba50:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Police brutality EssayThere was no official blacklist like the one that ended so many brilliant careers during the McCarthey era of the 1950s, but fewer and fewer scripts were heading Janes way. Jane was in the new age of being ?graylisted.? Robert Losey, a director who fled the country during the McCarthey era, understood Janes predicament. He invited her to play the lead in a film titled Dolls House, but Losey could not find a distributor willing to gamble with a film starring ?Hanoi Jane?. Convinced that she had alienated too many powerful producers, Jane formed her own production company called the IPC. Jane decided that the IPC would make socially relevant films whose profits would go to political causes. Most of the IPCs earlier films were failures until the year 1978 when Jane decided to do a Vietnam film. The movie titled Coming Home was about the consequences of war as seen through the eyes of a military wife (Andersen 283). Although the film was a major gamble for Jane, it proved to be a success. After Coming Home, films began rolling in for Jane. Her comeback in Tinseltown had been nothing less then phenomenal, but she had not and probably will never regain respect from Vietnam veterans. Even to her last years in acting, she had been forced from shooting locations.

10 Fun Facts About Ohio State University

If youre a big fan of College Football, you probably know all there is to know about Ohio State University. Not a fan of football, but thinking about applying to OSU this fall? Then, dont miss out on these fun facts about Ohio State! 1. The Ohio State Marching Band The Ohio State Marching Band has been a great showing of Buckeye pride throughout the years. Their spectacular half-time performances have made national headlines, while their viral videos have gotten a ton of hits and views. The Ohio State Marching Band is also known as The Best Damn Band In The Land. Dont believe us? Check out their Disney Tributefrom 2013! 2.The â€Å"Buckeye Battle Cry† â€Å"Buckeye Battle Cry† became the fight song for OSU in 1919 and has been a traditional song ever since. The song is sung during Script Ohio while the I is being dotted. 3. O-H-I-O Chant The O-H! I-O! chant is one of the more popular traditions in Columbus, Ohio. It is chanted at every football game and other exciting, major events to show OSU pride. 4. The Victory Bell After every victory, the Alpha Pi Omega fraternity rings a bell that hangs in the southeast tower of Ohio Stadium for 15-30 minutes. This tradition goes all the way back to Oct. 2, 1954 and the bell weighs almost 2,500 pounds and can be heard from 5 miles away! 5. Senior Tackle Every year since 1913, senior football players would line up to tackle the blocking sled in the last practice prior to their game against Michigan.This has been a ceremonial event that was once public, but has now gone private. 6. Buckeye Grove A ceremonial tradition that dates back all the way to 1934, one Buckeye tree is planted at the southwest corner of Ohio Stadium for each All-American the previous season. This is done every year before the spring game. 7. Brutus Buckeye This is the name of Ohio States athletics mascot. Brutus was first designed in 1965 by an art student and was chosen in a contest. The mascot had a funny appearance so it got a makeover in 1975, which was extremely disliked by the college students. The mascot got redone for the second time and has looked that way ever since. 8. The Michigan Game The Ohio State-Michigan football game is arguably the greatest rivalry in college athletics. This annual event was rated No. 1 before on a list of the 10 Greatest Rivalries in Sports by ESPN in 1999. 9. Buckeye Leaves Putting Buckeye Leaves on the Ohio State football helmets has been a tradition since 1968, when the uniforms were changed by Woody Hayes and trainer Ernie Biggs. It was considered a one of a kind uniform during its time. 10. Skull Session The Skull Session is a warm-up routine for the Ohio State Marching Band. It is a huge pep rally that draws over 10,000 fans in attendance. It is a free event and starts two hours before kickoff of every home football game. Want to be part of the frenzy at Ohio State football games?! Though well known for their football games, becoming one of the Ohio State Buckeyes is more than just enjoying Football. Find out why OSU students love being on campus and read their successful application essays to find out how they got accepted!

Essence Essay Example

Essence Essay Example Essence Essay Essence Essay The materials and design we chose before construction consisted of eight or more large pieces of wood, small and large nails, a hammer, screws, drill, bungee cords and screw hooks in order to create a large scale catapult. The design process included a rectangular base made from the large pieces of wood with more weight in the back to hold it down. Two medium size pieces of wood will be drilled into the the top of the triangles to hold the release. The release will be hooked to the PCP pipe so that it can swing freely. A second piece of PCP pipe will be placed Just so that the release stops at a 45 degree angle. The release will be held back tight with a bungee cord that will be pulled in order to create the tension that will allow the release to go and throw the egg. After some hard work and long discussion or design plan has changed. Time was of the essence and a large scale catapult Just wasnt feasible. We decided to create a small scale catapult instead. This small scale one still had the same idea as the large one but Just cut down. We created a 72 inch base with a height of 7 % inches. Two triangles were created on each side with a piece in the middle for the release to be ttached to so it could swing freely. There will be another piece on the back of the base that will hold the tension for the release. Because we switched to small scale, the materials changed. For the base we used a 72 inch piece of plywood. Then, in order to make the triangles, we used four Popsicle sticks that were super glued to the base. Then we broke a piece of barbeque stick in half, and glued it to the middle of the two triangles. Before we glued it we cut a piece of straw and placed it around the stick so that the release could move. We then used bottle cap and glued it to another Popsicle and glued that Popsicle stick to the straw piece of the catapult. Next we placed 2 paper holders on the back of the base holding a rubber band. We then super glued a paper clip to the bottom of the release stick that will connect to the rubber band creating the tension. Then we glued another piece of barbeque stick lower on the triangle so that the release would stop at 45 degrees. We placed a cell phone on the base to hold it down and the placed the ammunition in the bottle cap, pulled back and let it fly.

A portfolio about Mary Walker Phillips (an artist), and discussing the Essay

A portfolio about Mary Walker Phillips (an artist), and discussing the meaning of the work, it's form, its context, its qualities - Essay Example (Daniels, 1988) The Chinese in that period of time were migrating in search of better living conditions than were prevalent in China at the time, and the major incentive to go to America was the California gold rush which began in the 1850's. The gold rush attracted a huge immigrant population, and led to an economic boom, which created a large demand for labour. The Chinese arrived to fill up this demand: "The pull effect of California is reflected in the Chinese ideogram for California, "Golden Mountain." California, .......was just starting a spectacular economic boom based on the discovery of gold in 1848........... Services were not only high, they were virtually unobtainable........ It was this economic boom that first drew Chinese to California......"(Daniels, 1988) The Chinese were a hardworking people, and soon made a reputation for themselves as a bunch of people who earned their pay through disciplined, long suffering, honest toil. They became a favorite with the employers in America. Not only did they provide labor, some of the Chinese also were entrepreneurs, merchants and small time tradesmen, who were were welcomed into America for their reputation as honest, hardworking people with fair practices: " In actuality, the first Chinese immigrants were well and widely receiv

Compare and contrast the representation of women in the Iliad and the Essay

Compare and contrast the representation of women in the Iliad and the Odyssey - Essay Example On the other hand, the Iliad demonstrates the importance of women in the lives of the ancient Greece. Their roles are mainly depicted as mothers and wives. The Iliad has dedicated women to the role of helping men in different aspects, while at the same time playing the ritualistic roles that would see such men remain well protected during their war adventures. Looking at Hecuba and Andromache of the Iliad, women’s roles are mainly depicted as mothers and wives. The maternal and protective instincts of their sons are seen as an obstacle that the male hero has to overcome to fulfill his heroic destiny. Hecuba plays the caring role of being a mother to Hector. Therefore fore, when Hector arrives back at Troy with the message that women need to offer a sacrifice of the beautiful robes to Athena, Hecuba pleaded with him to first take some wine and relax, and then offer a sacrifice. To this, Hector objected, claiming that if he was to relax and offer a sacrifice, then he would need to cleanse himself first (Homer, n.p.). Further, after Hector has delivered this message, Hecuba and the rest of the women in Troy takes up their finest robes and goes to Athena’s temple, where they offered the sacrifice and prayed for the success of their warriors in the battle, and for their safe return (Homer, n.p.). Despite the fact that Hector did not succeed to return from the battle after he went back, his mother had played the caring role of a mother through playing for his success and his safe return. After Hecuba receives the news of the death of his son, Hector, she is deeply saddened, and makes his husband and the herald who were present during the delivery of the message to pour libations and pray (Homer, n.p.). This is yet a motherly role demonstrated of Hecuba, who feels that her son needs to be covered with rituals and prayers even in his death. Hecuba is also the first to throw herself at Hector’s body when it was finally returned back to

Buyer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Buyer Behavior - Essay Example Real world marketing strategies must account for this principle in a bid to lure consumers into buying, and actually draw them to certain products and not others. The personal factor in influencing buyer behavior is diverse and dynamic. Individual buyers exhibit different buying behaviors based on their tastes and preferences, and the actual product or service properties they look. Price and quality sensitivity also plays a fundamental role in driving individuals into buying. There are those that buy due to price favorability, while others will pay the given price provided the product or service meets the desired quality (Lunn, 2011). On the same note, there are persons who buy products or services because they are expensive; purchase of ostentatious commodities. Marketing in this line can also influence personal buying behaviors relative to meeting personal demands and properties in products and services (Lunn, 2011). Personal factor in the buying behavior of consumers cannot be ignored relative to the purchase process and buyer

Automotive Industry: General Motors

Automotive Industry: General Motors General motors Introduction Since, from the industrial revolution the automotive industry has been playing an important role in the growth of economies throughout the world. In the 21st century, greater challenges were face by the industry. During this time, the industry undergoes fundamental changes. GM is one of the largest automotive corporations operating in over 70 countries with a presence in more than 200 countries, they have more than 260 major subsidiaries, and they have 395,000 employees working with them in worldwide that translate in to global opportunities that span the planet. On 1908, General motors was founded since then 1931 it has been the global automotive sales leader. Its founder was William c. Durant, James whiting promoted his automobile in 1904. In the present time, GM is having its manufacturing operations in 32 countries and their vehicles are selling in more than 190 countries. General Motors, is also involved in telecommunication, Aerospace, financial and insurance service, Defence, locomotives, automotive systems and Heavy Duty Automotive Transmissions. Here are some of the popular brands of GM such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, HUMMER, Opel and some more. The vision of Generals Motors is to be the world leader in transportation products and related services. In addition, to earn customers enthusiasm through continuous improvement driven by integrity, teamwork and the innovation of GM people. The General Motors company officially became general motors corporation on October 13, 1916. During the Second World War, for helping the allies to victory GM manufacture trucks, tanks, aircrafts and a variety of other military supplies. GM became a dominant force, in the post-war period, a position it would maintain for decades. The post -second war was the golden period for the GM, with a variety of innovations that continually boosted sales. During the 1950s, Chevrolet and Pontiac introduces V8 engine. The CHEV small block V8, it has become one of the longest-lived engine designs in automotive history. By the year 2015, GM is deciding to launch near about nine Hybrid models for sale in the U.S. The Automobile industry has to cope with many unpredictable changes over the next coming years and they can only survived by appropriate strategic planning and implementing them in most suitable way. Analysing the micro economic factors in GM General Motor is an American multinational corporation and is one of the worlds largest automobile companies. According to the NADA, GM total revenue in 2006 was 207.349 billion and in 2008, 182.347 billion and currently employs 284,000 people and their average sales per dealership is 31.9 billion. Key macroeconomic factors that affect GM and the automobile industry are as following Gross domestic products (GDP), Automobile manufacturers policies and prices, Weather peaks Recessions, and Telecommunications and technology Gross domestic product Thegross domestic product(GDP) orgross domestic income(GDI) is a basic measure of a countrys overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. The automobile manufacturing industry is one of the largest industries within the U.S., and is a vital engine for the U.S. economy contributing greatly to employment and productivity. Reports indicate that motor vehicle production represents over 5 % of the U.S. private sector GDP.The U.S. is the worlds largest producer and consumer of motor vehicles with production reaching 12.2 million units in 2002.The U.S. automotive industry continues to experience on-going organizational and technological change, and have taken steps to increase its global presence by expanding global alliances and seeking greater collaboration with other U.S. automakers. The Big Three U.S. automakers makeup approximately 76 % of U.S. passenger vehicle production, while Japanese automakers, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu represents 18 %, and European automakers, BMW and Mercedes (division of Daimler-Chrysler) make up nearly 2 %. If they stay off the job to the end of the month, then automotive output, instead of adding 0.1% to third quarter GDP, will subtract 0.2%. If automakers stick to their previously planned reduction in assemblies for the fourth quarter, that quarters GDP will be reduced by 0.5% (at an annual rate). If the UAW stays out through the first week of October, that drag becomes 0.8%. If theyre out for all of October, that drag becomes 1.7%. If UAW members at Ford and Chrysler also walk out and stay out through all of October, fourth quarter GDP would probably shrink. (Economists currently project GDP to grow 2.2% in the current quarter and 1.9% in the fourth, according to a survey by WSJ.com.) According to a Reuters report over 3-thousand U.S. car dealerships could fail this fall and into 2009. All this because of weak sales and customers unable to get the credit they need. However, on a local level one car dealer says things are different. Gross domestic product includes all goods and services produced by either citizen-supplied or foreign-supplied resources employed within the country. The automobile manufacturing industry is one of the largest industries within the U.S. and is a vital engine for the U.S. economy contributing greatly to employment and productivity. Reports indicate that motor vehicle production represents over 5% of the U.S. private sector GDP. Automotive dealerships like GM are required to make profits in order to support their operations. Automobile manufacturers policies and prices The policies and pricing strategy help automobile dealers to create the operating environment for their business. From the 2008 to 2010 we have seen a lot of fluctuation in policies and price due to global financial downturn. The crises have mostly affected the American automobile manufacturing industry. Energy crises from 2003 have lead to the higher price for the automotive fuels discouraging customers to buy sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup trucks, which have low fuel economy. As SUV and pickup trucks was the main focus of big American automobile companies like General Motors which have few fuel efficient models to offer to customs due to which sales began to slide and with the beginning of 2008 situation had turned critical as thecredit crunchplaced pressure on the prices ofraw materials. Most of the American turned to Japanese car more fuel-efficient creating competition and prices war making huge loss for the GM. GMs most of the production line had SUVs and large pickup truck which were more profitable than smaller cars, they would have 15% to 20% profit margin on SUVs and pickup trucks , compared to 3% or less on small fuel efficient cars. Gasoline price rose above $4 per gallon in 2008 most of the Americans stop buying big vehicles that collapse the sales and profitability of the GM.Robert Samuelsonhas advocated a more consistent energy policy, arguing, Wild swings between low and high fuel prices have crippled the U.S. industry by erratically shifting buyer preferences to and from SUVs. In 2008, financial crisis was playing its role stock prices were fallowing down and people were less interested in buying new cars, GM shares fell below 1946 levels creating a panic situation for all the major car manufactures. There was a ray of hope when oil prices fall to $33.87 per barrel on December 19, 2008, but that could help them recover as financial crisis continues even after that. The graph below is showing gasoline prices from January/ 03/ 2003 to November/03/ 2008. We can see how it was steadily going upwards from Jan 2008 when it was $ 28 per barrel until it reached $135 per barrel on July 2008 then going steeply down to$33.87 per barrel on December 2008. Oil prices has a invertible effect on the car sales if oil price is cheaper then sales of big cars will go up and if oil gets expensive sales of cars goes down, though there are also other factors responsible for that but oil prices is definitely one of the major factor. Polices Pension and Health Care Issues A report issued on behalf of the GM stated that an average cost of per car would increase by $1200 per vehicle because of their aging work forces, increase number of retirees and old age benefits and healthcare. This will indirectly affect the sales and prices of the vehicles. Currency Exchange Rates Exchange rate highly affects the automobile industry as many automobile suppliers are from china or any other country. GM have complained to Automotive Trade Policy Council that exchange market intervention by Japanese monetary authorities has frequently prevented market forces from appreciating the yen and thus make difficult for GM to compete against Imports from Japan. Fuel Economy and Emission Standards U.S government has develop higher fuel economy standards and emission standard for carbon dioxide and other green house gases that has highly effected the GM as it mostly produces SUV and other light trucks as it needs to change the design and to introduces new technology which is more clean and reliable. Broader Issues of Automotive Trade Policy As most of the foreign government has trade restrictions and polices that prevent the GM to enter in those country effecting its growth and expansition.GM with the help of the U.S government they are being trying to be active in WTO aimed in removing trade restrictions and policies. Such countries are Brazil, India, Indonesia and the Philippines as they have discriminatory policies so that they are able to promote domestic vehicle and develop national automotive development strategies. Weather peaks The highest selling seasons for automobile dealers are spring and summer. During the spring and summer, the optimism index rises 141% from the downfall incurred during the fall and winter months Recessions From the begin of the 2008 automobile industry was hit hard by the credit crunch specifically U.S market. There was a panic situation people were losing jobs, stocks were going down and customers would not prefer to buy cars on credit or loans even if would buy car that would be more of fuel efficient rather than the GM pickup trucks. According to the John Fleming, president and chief executive of Ford Europe Sales are going down and markets are softening. Means that they are not able to control the market and they cannot predict where it will lead them. SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL MOTOR SWOT analysis will help to analysis market positioning and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable for the GM to achieving its objective. Strengths Large market share The market share of GM in the US is plummeting, rather than shrink; it has expected that global car industry will grow radically in the end. Sales growth is expected to come from Middle East, Russia, China and India. While in US and Europe, manufacturing is currently strong. After what happen with the GM, China gave them a good market. The year of 2009 was very successful in China for GM. Plant and equipment The GM has its plants almost all over the world; some of them are US, China, India, Russia, Europe and so many. The US plant was the one of the largest vehicle seller in the world until 2008. They adapt change according to the market and situation, they uses some latest technologies to give the people what they want. One of the technologies that they are using now days for their plants is 3D laser scanning, it can commonly seen in construction sites, GM use it to reduce the development plant layout and design. 3D laser helps them to scan the whole facility, from the roof trusses down to the plant floor. It gives us a complete 3D image, which can be viewed by the automakers throughout the world. According to Bill Campbell, they have scanned an average of 2million ft.2 per facility. The most recent projects was in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. They also believes that using of layout data derived from 3D scanning reduced travel cost and less time wasted. Innovative According to the BCG- business week 2008 survey, GM was ranked in top 20 Innovations Company in the world. Onstar satellite technology, was developed in 1996 it have 3 million subscribers and is standard on all GM vehicles. This is the technology, which helps us while in emergency and theft. Weakness Behind on Alternative Energy Movement This is GMs one of the biggest weakness. Because, in the market GM was one-step behind from the competition of alternative energy/hybrid vehicles. This create many problems for GM, includes loss of market share and the companies profit was affected by this also. Organisational structure In GM, there was a lack of information between employees from top to bottom, and this was one of the causes of falling behind of the alternative energy movement. There was a communication problem between the employees and employer. Stagnant profitability As we know GM is struggling now a days to get back in to the position where the GM was. The ROE has significantly decreased over the recent years it is now 10% and the margin of the company is 1.5%. This is also one of the falling point of GM , because the shareholders was thinking about their shares so they were not pleased with this situation. US market dependent GM became too dependent on US market. This was one of the causes of the failure. GM has been ignoring the competition in 1960s GM controlled half of the North American vehicle market and the latest figure shows its only now 19%. Poor credit The US auto industry is in a big slump. GM bank account is shrinking by $1 billion a month. The issue is can general motor will be their where it was. Since from 1992, the market share has fallen from 34% that year to 19%. The company wasted around $2 billion on an investment of Fiat and many billions on the Delphi. The management also wrecked GMAC its car loan subsidiary, by lending money to people who could not pay it back. Opportunity Globally expanding GM is the strong company with high quality production and has a range of new exciting products, which they can represent internationally. They need to inflate into the new markets and expand internationally. Many new countries have started free trade policies GM needs to explore these countries such as India and china, as its been assumed that within coming years Asia will be the biggest market for the car industries. Along the way, they need to continue to focus on there on home market. Available Governmental support GM has an immense support from the government. U.S government has supportive and encouraging polices for the American companies .GM can use government policies support to promote its growth outside the American continent. Development of the new models GM had worlds one of the first RD centre .They have scientific skills and expertise to develop new technological vehicle which are more fuel efficient and uses green technology. It is necessary for them to develop hybrid cars to protect them from enormous competition from japans car industry .the new government regulations tough and against high consumption cars which is the expertise of GM so they need to change the table round and change weakness into opportunity. They have the resources as well as technical skills all they need is the motivation and ability to do it. Threats Competition from foreign markets The slow death of GM, in the 1970 it had nearly 60% of automobile market and foreign share was only 10% that time in the US. Now the foreign brands dominate the GM market in the US and the GM shares little more than 20%. Reasons for GMs decline: GM major cost disadvantages was their production sites, which were in the U.S making their labour costly, then there competitor. Then strike threat came from sites around the country. They were threatened walkouts at plants in Parma, OH; Mansfield, OH; Grand Rapids, MI; Kansas City, KS; Flint MI and Arlington. Due to which they agreed to the demands of United Auto Workers (UAW) union that lead to increase in costs leaving GM to suffer higher loses.0 Financial slowdown From the year 2003 it has been a difficult times for GM firstly increased prices of the oil made it difficult for them to increase their sale and it decrease their profit margin, and years after they were hit by recession in 2008 that tumbled there whole industrial structure. The reason they were not able to cope up with the recession was there high cost of operation and over expansion that lead to disintegration leaving higher losses than ever. Secondly, high competition from japans companies made it difficult for the GM survival. GM and organisational development Organisational development is a soft methodology intended for use in complex situations to provide intervention strategy for the change management. GM has developed organisational strategy so that they have the ability to deal with organisational problems, cultural diversity, stability and political bargaining. Methodology for the OD was to develop unified system for the employees. However, one of the reasons it was introduce as employees of GM are quite inflexible and they could not cope with such pressure from the change. Change is never easy, especially in a vast, global organization like GM, which has been struggling with a change agenda for years and they have to change as shares are going down as last year it weathered an 18% dip in its U.S. market. GM finally understands that keeping its leadership position in the worldwide auto business demands deep-seated change. GM wants to develop the change management so that they are able to- Create a care work place in professional practice environment that promotes a high quality service, equality of opportunity, and political and public accountability. Making best use of money, people and other resources for and with the users of services to achieve the agreed objectives; Supporting best qualities direct and public services; Given clear messages to everybody about everything we do GM needs to diagnose the issue by theOrganisational Design Wheel that they are able to build momentum for change. Organisational tool gives us insight that for any organisational success its focus should be Mission and vision, which need to be align with organisation, process, people and direction setting and it should be backed up by the its organisational structure ,strategy,leadership,processes,culture and performances. This is the kind of the structure, which GM needs to develops but to reach here they need to go through a lot change management. For the development of the OD and change management, GM needs to Connect OD initiatives to strategic business models and Use the action research process to diagnose opportunities for improving the organisation. Define critical success factors and target specific interventions for hard-hitting, bottom-line OD. Articulate their role as an internal OD consultant. Leave with practical tools and advice that are immediately applicable to the companys OD initiatives. Organisational Analysis and Design The design of an organisation can affect everything as for the GM has gone through over expansion creating disintegration in controlling the organisation effectively. They will need to change the structure from the top to bottom so that they are able to develop proper workflow that will lead to ultimate success at the bottom line. GM needs to develop a change management program that targets GM employees that will help them to learn the dynamics, processes, and challenges inherent in analysing and designing an organisation to achieve business results. These applications of a systematic approach for guiding an organisational design effort, from problem identification, and planning the transformation, will ensure these efforts are align with the organisations mission and values. Organisational Culture and Change In todays worlds, Organisations today experience change in faster cycles than ever before. This is due to the mergers and acquisitions, turnaround situations, and organisational restructuring place pressure on strategy and performance. General motor has over expanded through merger and acquisition making them difficult to restructure their organisation. If they want to be able to deliver positive business results they need to competent internal change agents and access them, test their reliability. During the change management employees are most affected by it so GM needs to change in most appropriate way so that they are able to adopt it. According to the Bennis in his early work Organizational Development: nature, origins prospects defines OD as: a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change the beliefs, attitudes, values and structure of organizations so that they can better adapt to new technologies, markets and challenges. According to the change, curve employees go through five stages shock and denial, anger, depression and detachment, dialogue and bargaining and acceptances. Shock and denial- when organisation implements change management in the company employees at first avoid and as well, as get confused with it. Anger with the new regulation and rules make employees frustrated and irritated against the change, which for any organisation is difficult, and they need to overcome from it very quickly. Depression and dialogue are interrelated stage, which lead to the acceptances. Acceptances is when employees are able to understand and explore new system how is it more efficient and beneficial for employees and organisation. Best Practices in Succession Management Succession management is a critical determinant of marketplace longevity for organisations. To develop best practices that will help to sustain competitive edge. For the GM employees and HR managers have to develop skills of succession management such as- Select options for assessing the core talent pool, and identifying and supporting high potentials Set up and execute effective succession planning review meetings Integrate succession management within the broader human resource system Utilise techniques for knowledge transfer of critical intellectual property Implement new models for both technical and management succession planning Drill down into succession management beyond the top management layer Design and Implement Leadership Development Systems When it comes to developing the leaders within an organisation, the stakes are high and the potential payoff is enormous. How to create a rationale for developing leaders in the organisation Identifying the leadership capabilities required in the near future, and assess talent gaps Determine the most efficient and effective means of developing the talent to meet the organisations needs Incorporate action learning into leadership development initiatives Understand how to create a system that aligns the organisational leadership programs with elements of strategy, culture, and business initiatives Model for Change Management There are numerous well-organized models that can help in change management in the organisation and for the GM will be The McKinsey 7S Framework. Some of the approaches have been around for many years. For example, many organizations undertake strategic planning. The implementation of strategic planning, when done in a systematic, cyclical and explicit approach, is strategic management. Strategic management is also one model for ensuring the success of change efforts. The McKinsey 7S Framework There are many models for the analysis of the organisations position and its objects some of them will analysis internal factors, others will analysis external ones, some of them combines these perspectives, and others look for congruence between various aspects of the organization. At the end it comes down to which factors that will affect the organisation. Tom Peters and Robert Waterman developed the McKinsey 7S framework in the early 1980s while working at the McKinsey Company consulting firm, the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful. The 7S model has a ability to be used in variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful. It will help the company to develop better strategic planning process. It is used to analysis four basic things- Improve the performance of a company. Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company. Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition. Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy. The McKinsey 7S model involves seven either interdependent factors, which are categorized as hard, or soft elements: Hard elements are easier to identify and it directly influences management. These processes are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems. On the other hand, soft elements are much more difficult to describe, as they are less tangible and more influenced by culture of the organisation. However, these soft elements are as important as the hard elements if the organization is going to be successful. Figure 1 below the model is representing in a way that change in one element will create a change in other .in this way it shows how these are linked other. If these new model is added in the GM organisational structure it will give them the stability they need to regain their number one marketing position. Each element represent an organisational structure and it is very important to understand how it will affect the organisation as a whole. Strategy:the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition. Structure:the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom. Systems:the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done. Shared Values:called super ordinate goals when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic. Style:the style of leadership adopted. Staff:the employees and their general capabilities. Skills:the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company. This model will help and analysis GM performances. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change. Whatever the type of change restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration. You can use the 7S model to help analyze the current situation (Point A), a proposed future situation (Point B) and to identify gaps and inconsistencies between them. Its then a question of adjusting and tuning the elements of the 7S model to ensure that your organization works effectively and well once you reach the desired endpoint. Sounds simple? Well, of course not: Changing your organization probably will not be simple at all! Whole books and methodologies are dedicated to analyzing organizational strategy, improving performance and managing change. The 7S model is a good framework to help you ask the right questions but it wont give you all the answers. For that youll need to bring together the right knowledge, skills and experience. When it comes to asking the right questions, weve developed a Mind Tools checklist and a matrix to keep track of how the seven elements align with each other. Supplement these with your own questions, based on your organizations specific circumstances and accumulated wisdom.

Hagar is to Blame for her own Misfurtune in Margaret Lawrences The Stone Angel :: essays research papers

It is impossible to avoid unpleasant situations throughout an individual’s lifetime, especially if they are a result of bad luck or another combination of events beyond one’s control. Misfortune however can also be self-inflicted. This particular case is apparent in Margaret Lawrence’s The Stone Angel, a novel in which the protagonist, Hagar Shipley’s continuous misfortune is a direct result of several of her character flaws. An exaggerated sense of pride, a lack of compassion and empathy and an inability to communicate clearly are Hagar’s most prominent character flaws, and perpetually bring about misfortune. Many of Hagar’s relationships have been hindered, or have eventually deteriorated as a result of her exaggerated sense of pride. Because of this her misfortune in relationships is self inflicted, as she decides consciously or unconsciously to sustain her pride rather than her relationships. When Hagar decides to marry Brampton Shipley, a man thought to be unsuitable for someone of her social status, her father literally forbids her to wed. He tells Hagar that his thoughts are solely for her welfare and that to marry without a fathers consent is simply not done. More to spite him rather than to defend her personal conviction, Hagar says â€Å"It’ll be done by me.† (Laurence 49). This defiant and rash remark results in the loss of her father’s relationship, and the loss of of her sound financial future, as Hagar is left no money in her father’s will. Her decision is clearly based on pride. Similar behavior is seen throughout the novel. Another unattractive personality trait of Hagar’s is her insensitivity to others. Hagar consistently focuses on herself and does not empathize with others in a situation, regardless of their difficult circumstances. This is destructive to her relationships. Individuals would not feel as if they mattered. This lack of empathy also explains her inability to generate new relationships. An example is when Hagar’s son Marvin and daughter in law Doris, confront Hagar about their inadequate physical or emotional capabilities to care for her. They then suggest she move into a retirement home. After a long argument, Hagar is reduced to tears. Marvin and Doris are then distressed - Hagar simply says â€Å"Good. They’re frightened. I hope they’re scared to death.† (Lawrence 77). This lack of empathy causes Hagar’s insensitivity to Doris even though Doris herself is not in prime physical condition.