Starbucks Attractiveness

THE INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVE? WHY AND /WHY NOT Starbucks currently operates within three industries: Fast-Food Restaurants, Coffee and Snack Shops, and Specialty Coffees. Which are defined by NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). Although all three are separate segments Coffee and Snack Shop and Specialty Coffee basically carry various similarities. Despite this fact that this industry is somewhat narrower when compared to the fast food industry that they are also considered to be a part of, the coffee and snack shop aspect of their overall industry. Attractiveness is their bread and butter.Starbucks currently represents 32% of this industry and continues to grow, making them one of its largest players. This is the industry that they need and have focused the most on. One of the main factors of success are clearly related to their plans for global expansion because Starbucks has all but halted their domestic expansion (Global Data) and focused almost exclusively on the fo rmer. Another fact that illustrates the need to concentrate on this segment is the advancement of overall industry attractiveness their specialty coffees segment (consisting of retail store sales) only comprises 7% of their total revenue.Starbucks operates its largest segment in Fast Food Restaurant Industry, despite their relative insignificance as compared to giants like McDonald’s. It is worthwhile for them to pay close attention to this segment, because McDonald’s and Starbucks may differ in market share, but Starbucks holds a larger market share of the segment that McDonald’s wants/needs to capitalize on: Coffee. So to operate in parallel industries makes for a key success factor dependent on the level of information on competitors that also drive change.Although focusing on its most important segment, the Coffee and Snack Shop, Starbucks should also pay careful attention to this segment as well in order to achieve their optimal industry attractiveness. I h ave come up with a couple options that Starbucks could consider from the information above. First, expanding into international markets is the best way to capitalize in this industry, so continuing expansion is key. China is their primary target currently, as stated above. Continuing to seize international opportunities at a constant but steady pace would be very beneficial.Second, expanding the menu, given this, Starbucks can implement a proactive strategy that includes new and improved menu and convenience items; like, implementing deli items such as Panini’s or wraps. This would continue to further separate the Starbucks brand, which, I’ve determined is the key, in competitive markets. Third, create a new marketing strategy to grab attention. There is much more room for expansion and growth, Starbucks has only touched the available and potential global markets.With its financial strength, international experience, and long standing relationships, Starbucks can spike into an international business powerhouse in no time. However, this process must be at a steady pace. The expansion strategy must incorporate the core capabilities and advantages of the company. They must find excellent people to execute the process of expanding to a new country. The business ties they have created over the years must be used carefully, not to add too much strain on any suppliers.Expanding internationally would also force the company to rely on other markets other than the United States. Being an industry leader, many companies are benchmarking Starbucks. From relatively spending very little, the company could boost spending to include things such as TV ads and other untested marketing outlets, at least on a trial bases. This could possibly be an opportunity to expand their brand recognition, especially with the new logo. Referring back to my second suggestion and inform loyal customers of new menu items. Overall Industry Attractiveness As we have mentioned,

Outline the Inequality Problems That Persist in Terms of Pay for Men and Women.

Wikipedia The Equal Pay Act 1970 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which prohibits any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. It was passed by Parliament in the aftermath of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike[1][2][3][4] and came into force on 29 December 1975. The term pay is interpreted in a broad sense to include, on top of wages, things like holidays, pension rights, company perks and some kinds of bonuses. The legislation has been amended on a number of recent occasions to incorporate a simplified approach under European Union law that is common to all member states. Equal pay for women is an issue regarding pay inequality between men and women. It is often introduced into domestic politics in many first world countries as an economic problem that needs governmental intervention via regulation. The Equal Remuneration Convention requires its over 160 states parties to have equal pay for men and women. A report commissioned by the International Trade Union Confederation in 2008 shows that, based on their survey of 63 countries, there is a significant gender pay gap of 15. 6 %. Excluding Bahrain, where a positive gap of 40% is shown (due possibly to very low female participation in paid employment), the global figure is 16. 5%. Women who are engaged in work in the informal economy have not been included in these figures. Overall, throughout the world, the figures for the gender pay gap range from 13% to 23%. The report found that women are often educated equally high as men, or to a higher level but â€Å"higher education of women does not necessarily lead to a smaller pay gap, however, in some cases the gap actually increases with the level of education obtained†. The report also argues that this global gender pay gap is not due to lack of training or expertise on the part of women since â€Å"the pay gap in the European Union member states increases with age, years of service and education†. [4][5] www. employeebenefits. co. uk/item/11642/pg_dtl_art†¦ /pg_ftr_art †¢Under the Equality Act 2010, employers can no longer use secrecy clauses to prevent employees from discussing pay rates. †¢According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, the median gender pay gap for full-time workers in the private sector is 20. %. †¢Employers can identify any pay gap via pay audits and job evaluations. †¢Issues making it difficult for women to get to top jobs should be tackled. Yahoo answers; assume you employ 7 women and 7 men, all the same age, and you pay them all the same wage for the same job.. then 3 of the women tell you that they want to leave, to have a child.. you have to pay them â€Å"maternity leave† and hold their job open, in case they want to return, after they have had their child.. t costs you a fortune to employ 3 other people, and the pregnant women as well.. so, do you pay them the same as a man.. who will not cost you the same even if their wife gets pregnant.. or do you pay the men more, because they will not leave.. or do you just employ men, and then you do not have the problem in the first place !! http://www. tuc. org. uk/equality/tuc-14435-f0. pdf Explaining the gender pay gap There have been a number of studies that have used statistical modelling techniques to explain why we have a gender pay gap. A comparatively recent and very thorough study, using data from the British Household Panel Survey (a large up-to-date survey, that that looks at how people’s lives change over time) explained the gap in terms of four explanations:35 †¢ 36 percent of the gender pay gap could be explained by gender differences in lifetime working patterns, including the fact that women, on average, spend less of their careers than men in full-time jobs, more in part-time jobs and have more interruptions to their careers for childcare and other family responsibilities. 18 percent is caused by labour market rigidities, including gender segregation and the fact that women are more likely work for small firms and less likely to work in unionised firms. †¢ 38 percent is caused by direct discrimination and women and men’s different career preferences and motives (some of which are in turn the result of discrimination). †¢ 8 percent is the result of the fact that older women had poorer educational attainment. Another way of explaining the gaps is to analyse the problem in terms of three broad themes: †¢ Under-valuing of women’s work †¢ An employment penalty for mothers Gender segregation http://assembly. coe. int/documents/workingdocs/doc05/edoc10484. htm C. The wage gap 17. There are several dimensions to the problem of the wage gap: First, there is the classic case of a man and a woman doing exactly the same job (whether in a factory or on the stock market floor), but the woman being paid less for it. This used to be a common problem, especially in Western Europe, and many countries have outlawed this type of wage discrimination – there even exists an ILO Convention designed to eliminate it21, dating back to 1951, as well as a 1975 European Council Directive22. But, as several recent studies conclude, even this type of classic wage discrimination persists in many countries, which prompted the European Commission to issue a (non-binding) â€Å"Code of Practice on the implementation of equal pay for work of equal value of women and men† as recently as 199623. For example, a Eurostat study of 2003 showed that the average earnings of women in full-time employment in the EU (at that time, of 15 member states) stood at only 70-90% of those of men. Similarly, the 2004 UNIFEM study I mentioned in the previous chapter shows that the annual average earnings of women in the year 2000 stood at 73. 28% of men’s in the Czech Republic, 79. 96% in Poland, 75. 01% in Slovakia and 88. 82% in Slovenia24. 18. Second, women are often paid less than men for work of equal value. This type of discrimination is usually based on â€Å"horizontal occupational segregation by sex†. For example, the level of education and experience required to work in a certain job might be the same, but women are paid less (e. . chauffeurs/taxi drivers are usually paid more than cleaners or receptionists). In some countries, wage levels have gone down in certain professions when more and more women enter them (for example, doctors and teachers in Central and Eastern Europe). 2002 data cited by Mrs Leitao relating to the average salary of women working full time compared with that of men in the same circumstances show that, in the 18 countries covered by a recent European survey, the average difference, to women's disadvantage, is till approximately 20%, with wage discrimination in the strict sense being estimated at 15%25. Various other international studies have shown that around one-third of the female-male pay differential is due to occupational segregation by sex, and that about 10 to 30% of the gender pay gap remains â€Å"unexplained† – i. e. due to discrimination26. 19. In the Central and Eastern European countries, certain professions have â€Å"gained† the connotation of being feminized as these professions (the above mentioned teachers, nurses etc. are dominated by women. Nevertheless, even these professions are highly segregated – although women account for more than 70% of all teachers, there is proportionally a larger number of men school directors. This is very often the result of a â€Å"reverse action†, when the need for more men in the profession is felt, and thus their pay-ris e and promotion is faster. When we compare it to the situation in politics, where there are more men than women, the society does not feel any similar need. 20. Third, women earn less, on average, than men in their lifetime (and thus also receive smaller pensions when they retire). In addition to the two factors mentioned above, there are several other possible explanations for this phenomenon: Women work less during their lifetime (calculating periods of maternity leave and part-time work) – and women have less of a career, as they are often discriminated against when it comes to promotions to higher-earning posts27: this is usually called â€Å"vertical occupational segregation by sex†. As the ILO points out: â€Å"Women’s lower educational attainments and intermittent career paths are not, contrary to conventional belief, the main reason for gender differentials in pay. Other factors, such as occupational segregation, biased pay structures and job classification systems, and decentralized or weak collective bargaining, appear to be more important determinants of inequalities in pay. †28 21. Apart from women’s lower pensions, it is important to see the tight interrelation of female length of life and feminization of poverty: since women live longer, for some period of their life, they share their pension with their partner; however, when he dies, they are left to live on their pension which is usually much lower than their living standards. One example connected to women’s pensions is pension insurance – as women live longer and although they generally earn less, to attain a final sum similar to men they are expected to pay higher sums for their monthly pension insurance. 2. Furthermore, economic recessions often affect women more than men as far as unemployment is concerned (many companies unfortunately still believe that it is more important to keep a male â€Å"breadwinner† in employment), and women’s needs or the determination to keep on working therefore leads them to accept levels of pay not consonant with the principles of equali ty and fairness or dissuades them from reporting cases of discrimination for fear of losing their jobs. This is why, as Mrs Leitao correctly pointed out, all those involved in combating wage discrimination (bodies promoting equality, labour inspectorates, courts, trade unions, NGOs etc) should step up their capacity to intervene to try and close the wage gap. 23. This issue can be illustrated with an example common to all European countries: when textile companies, which employ mostly women earning very low salaries, were threatened with closure, no major discussions were held about unemployment issues. But as soon as coal and other mines, where male â€Å"breadwinners† worked, were being closed down, those discussions were launched widely. There are a number of barriers to women’s career development – here are a few examples32: – lack of management or line experience; – lack of mentoring and role models for women at the highest levels; – exclusion from informal networks and channels of communication (the â€Å"old boys network† is apparently still going strong in many countries); – stereotyping and preconceptions of women’s roles and abilities, commitment and leadership style; – sexual and moral harassment, bullying and mobbing; – unfriendly corporate culture.

Advertisements: Create Articial Needs Essay

* Advertisement introduction * Disadvantages of advertisements * How are dey harmful? With respect to dffrnt walks of lyf? * Examples justifying this motion * Conclusion * Whole debate conclusion. Advertising a product is the medium of introducing to customers, therby increasing the product sales. Some people say that advertising encourages us to buy that we really do not need which is actuliee true for a larger extent. I agree with the topic that due to advertisements most of the time people are encouraged to buy things they really do not need. And it creates artificial needs. Advertising or advertizing is a form of communication for marketing and used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to continue or take some new action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common. Some advertisers cleverly create a misleading impressions of their goods. They present a very rosy picture of their products, before the consumers with the object of increasing their sales. See more:Â  Manifest Destiny essay Advertising manipulates us to buy things we don’t need by playing on our emotions. It creates artificial needs. Sometimes they create confusion in the minds of people which brand of the product to buy. This is why The content of advertising has long been subjected to much criticism. With the advertisement of proucts on cigarettes, alcoholic products, poeple are tempted buy them, which will harm their health.

A part of an author's life that heavily influenced their writing Essay

A part of an author's life that heavily influenced their writing - Essay Example Sylvia Plath was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1932(â€Å"Sylvia Plath Biography,† 2011). Her early life was marred with tragedy when, at just eight years old, her father died(â€Å"Sylvia Plath Biography,† 2011). Plath’s experience with her father’s death influenced many of the poems that she wrote as both a child and an adult. It was due to this realism that she incorporated into her written works that an eight year old Plath received a measure of success when she had her first poem published in The Boston Herald(â€Å"Sylvia Plath Biography,† 2011). Her poems and stories are said to be primarily autobiographical which illustrates that Plath lived by the motto of writing what she knew. Perhaps the best example of Sylvia Plath’s writing being influenced by her own life can be found in her most famous work The Bell Jar. This novella is about a severely depressed woman who seeks help from a psychiatric hospital. The main character ends up being able to conquer her mental illness by the end of book and appears to go on to live a happy life(â€Å"Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar†). The book is said to be largely autobiographical and many of the experiences that the main character has in the book are similar to those experienced by Plath who attempted suicide in 1953 and received treatment at a hospital in Massachusetts(â€Å"Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar†). The main character deals with common treatments of the time such as electroshock therapy and psychoanalytic therapy which mirrors Plath’s ordeal at the hospital(â€Å"Plath, Sylvia : The Bell Jar†). Plath dealt with chronic mental illness, and it was her own life experiences that influe nced this particular book as well as her poetry. The happiness that the main character in The Bell Jar displays at the end is likely wishful thinking on Plath’s part as she

A critical discussion of Porters view that the economic structure of Essay

A critical discussion of Porters view that the economic structure of the restaurant industry determines the pattern of competition in that industry - Essay Example The global restaurant industry is highly saturated and in a mature stage of development along the industry life cycle, a factor that is driven by the economics of the industry. The economic structure is influenced by the tangibles along the value chain for food services organisations, including the volume of suppliers along the supply chain and the pricing structure of procurement, which impacts all restaurant organisations. The industry is also impacted by the demographics of the consuming public in terms of income as well as the availability of financial capital or ability to raise capital in the regions where the food services organisations operate. Hence, there are a variety of factors that will determine the methods and strategies by which competitors attempt to compete to attain some form of competitive advantage that are all linked with the economics of the industry. The restaurant industry In China, as one example, there is a high concentration of Western fast food companies that have saturated the industry. Growth in consumer demand for Western food brands has given food service companies ample opportunities for expansion out of the North American and European markets. However, it not only consumer demand that has provided these opportunities, it is the investment by a more liberal Chinese government that has stabilised the regional economy that provides advantages for market entry and expansion. The government has injected considerable financial capital into urban development, there is more interest by venture capitalists for this same pursuit, and government policies have provided much more incentives for foreign direct investment in the country (Areddy 2009). Inflation has been largely stabilised by government intervention and policy development, thereby offering consumers much more disposable income that is crucial for sustaining profitability. In 2012, the government invested 57.92 billion USD to motivate more effective corporate borrowing and to control interest rates (Safe Trading 2013). From a social perspective, as Chinese culture begins adopting more ideologies and principles associated with a capitalistic economy, lifestyle preferences are changing that are favourable for new entrants in the fast food industry. In contemporary China, 50 percent of consumers prefer eating in restaurants over that of household consumption (Ganster 2006), which provides a potential market of approximately one half billion consumers. In 2008, consumers in Shanghai spent approximately seven percent of their total disposable income on restaurant dining which represented a whopping 20 percent increase in spending from that of 2007 (Rentz and Xu 2010). Therefore, the economic structure of the industry, coupled with higher guarantees of consumer expenditures on food services, establishes an industry environment that can satisfy profit expectations for a variety of major competitors and new market entrants into the country. The entire fast food industry in China, from a market value perspective, increased 16 percent between 2010 and 2011 and is estimated to be worth 74.8 billion USD in revenues to all competitors (Ho 2011). Therefore, major fast food companies, such as KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, have found considerable profit success by entering the Chinese fast food market. Prior to recent years, however, in order for the aforementioned companies (and their large variety of other competitors) to achieve market success, they were forced to import food products from the West which significantly raised operating

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

Reaction paper - Essay Example American opposition argued that those people who had stay in Britain already for a long period of time had adequate understanding of states’ needs. Thus, in Article I Section 2 of the Constitution the attention is paid on defining candidates who are permitted to be elected to represent American states in the Congress (â€Å"Transcript of Constitution†). Special Section 4 is devoted to local elections of state senators to be sure there are actual representatives of a public will on all levels of governmental hierarchy (â€Å"Transcript of Constitution†). Another important consern of the pre-revolutionary time was a question of taxation. It embodied American opposition’s general worries that laws and obligations for colonial citizens are established only by up-high authority, the British monarchy, without considering American point of view. Thus, to prevent a monarchy-like governmental system in future, and instead, to establish a democratic federative union, Section 7 and Section 8 in Article I correspondently regulate the law making powers of U.S. President and determines powers which the Congress shall have (â€Å"Transcript of Constitution†). Also with a view of a recent relief from the British patronage, Article IV Section 3 proclaims the Congress’ control and ban of a new state formation and any other unions’ formation (â€Å"Transcript of Constitution†). Thus, despite the social and political uncertainty, which according to J. J. Ellis, â€Å"was the dominant mood at that moment†, the Constitution points were quite logical with a view of timely national concerns (Ellis 9). Even the most argued and critiqued nowadays law on â€Å"keeping and bearing arms† was historically reasoned (â€Å"Transcript of Bill of Rights†). The fact was that in pre-revolutionary time America experienced a military presentence of British contingent which represented a militia, and American

Business Codes of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Codes of Ethics - Essay Example A well designed code of ethics will help highlight the resources available to achieve various goals set at the personal and corporate levels. A good code of ethics document will inspire confidence in all business associates – like suppliers, clients and employees. The rest of the essay will critically analyze the codes of ethics of two accounting firms and evaluate their merits in the process. The two firms chosen for the exercise are KPMG and Grant Thornton (Budd, 2007). â€Å"At KPMG, our promise of professionalism to each other, our clients, and the capital markets we serve, compels us to align our culture of integrity with our values, words, and actions. By setting high standards for ourselves, and our clients, our commitment to upholding KPMG’s values is clear: There is never a situation when compromising our standards is either expected or acceptable. To support our culture of integrity, KPMG has further developed a robust ethics program that includes our Code of Conduct, as well as the Ethics and Compliance Hotline†. (Budd, 2007) The above passage captures the essence of what KPMG stands for as an organization. The language is unambiguous and the sentences are well structured – two essential qualities for business writing. It also makes it clear how imperative ethics are to the firm – not compromising their standards in any situation. Keeping pace with the times they have developed a easy to use Ethics and Compliance Hotline, which can be availed by all business associates. So, in this regard, KPMG adheres to international standards of maintaining ethical business conduct (Shearer, 2002). â€Å"Being at the cutting edge of professional development is vital for an accounting and advisory organization operating in a dynamic business and regulatory environment. By taking an active role in entities that liaise with regulators, promoting high-quality professional standards and insisting upon high standards of ethical behavior, senior

Knowledge mangemen assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Knowledge mangemen assignment - Essay Example Of the numerous activities constituting the knowledge management process, the most commonly discussed is knowledge transfer or knowledge sharing (Al-Alawi et al, 2007). Hislop (2009) observes that in the first generation of knowledge management literature, organisational socio-cultural factors were marginalised, and were not taken into consideration. However, the significance of organisational culture in knowledge sharing behaviour has now been established. Employees’ motivation and willingness to share knowledge emerges from the organisational culture, which is defined as the shared, basic assumptions that an organisation learnt while coping with the environment and solving problems of external adaptation and internal integration, taught to new members as the right way to solve those problems (Park et al, 2004). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organisational culture can influence knowledge sharing behaviour in the workplace. Organisational Cu lture Influences Knowledge Sharing Behaviour While the strategies and the technologies for knowledge management enable the proper channelisation and dissemination of knowledge, the culture of the organisation directly influences knowledge sharing among employees. Knowledge sharing is also related to the importance given to intellectual capital in an organisational culture. In a rapidly developing economy such as India there is considerable emphasis on intellectual capital in various spheres including organisational knowledge management. Cheema (2010) asserts that education in knowledge management is critical for organisational managers and human resource personnel, and their leading with knowledge helps the organisation to achieve sustained competitive advantage in the growing global market of today. The key debates and the various perspectives in organisational knowledge management begin with the origins of the study of knowledge, or its epistemology, argues Hislop (2009). The proc essing of knowledge within the organisation, and its connection to human motivation are also essential factors. Social and cultural issues particularly those pertaining to the workplace, play vital roles in knowledge management and in the sharing of knowledge. Organisational knowledge is of a collective and shared nature, and its different dimensions are reflected in the dynamics of knowledge production and dissemination. Further, knowledge processes pertain to conflicts and politics at the workplace , which are inherent parts of organisational culture. They reveal the ways in which knowledge and power are mutually related, states Hislop (2009). Each organisation has a distinctive culture which reflects the organisation’s identity both in the visible and in the invisible dimensions. The visible aspect of culture is found in the values, philosophies and mission of the company, while the invisible dimension is formed by the unspoken set of values directing employees’ act ions and approaches in the organisation, state McDermott and O’Dell (2001). The critical success factors in organisational culture that influence knowledge sharing included mutual trust between employees, with a high expectancy of reliability of the promise or actions of other individuals or groups. Only when there is trust do team members respond openly and share their knowledge (Politis, 2003). Further, top

Blog exercise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Blog exercise - Assignment Example As a result, ‘white’ fails to commonly qualify as a racial marker. Being white is often not associated with ethnicity or collective social groups that make up a race. In this respect, it would appear that race and whiteness are two independent factors, such that they do not relate or interrelate in any way. Therefore, the perceived disconnection between ‘white’ and race fails to account for ‘white’ as a racial marker. Finally, the attitude, environment, beliefs, and social perceptions towards whiteness shape the underlying notion relative to racial marking. The aforementioned factors inform the superiority aspect attributed to being white. Whiteness is mostly associated with the best and perfect things, thus the reluctance to use ‘white’ as a racial marker. The documentary, Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAljja0vi2M) presents the whiteness factor in the western context. The film shows just how much white people denounce racism. A global perspective of racial marking is highlighted, alongside how the white people constitute the white

A press kit about Intensive English Program (IEP) at Western Assignment

A press kit about Intensive English Program (IEP) at Western Washington University (WWU) - Assignment Example Pitch letter Western Washington University ‘Western Front’ [Date] Karen Smith Communications Facility 255 Western Washington University (360) 650-3252 Dear Ms. Smith, On November 11, 2013 Open Doors – an Institute for International Education published a report indicating the drastic rise in the number of international students at colleges and universities across the United States with most of the growth driven by students from non-English speaking countries i.e., China and Saudi Arabia, for the 7th consecutive year. The Western Washington University currently houses 63 international students from over 15 countries including Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Russia, Germany, Italy, Venezuela, Columbia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Kuwait, and Japan. Such influx of international students is indicative of a trend that demands a supportive framework in the form of a formal educational / training program tailored to suit the English language needs of such students. The Intensive English Program at the WWU (Western Washington University) in Bellingham is designed especially for international students offering a mix of educational and non-educational programs for students as well as professionals. This program would benefit not only the prospective students planning to enrol in graduate and post-graduate courses but also those intending on learning English purely for business and / or social communication purposes. The program aims to welcome all international applicants including those who do not meet the university's English language requirement and offer appropriate courses for preparation. The IEP promises to open a world of possibilities for all those aspiring to learn the English language from a group of well-qualified and dedicated staff with impressive professional achievements in the field of language teaching. The process of application is relatively easy and does not require the submission of IELTS or TOEFL test scores. Evan Ryan - Assistant secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs stated that "International education promotes the relationship building and knowledge exchange between people and communities in the United States and around the world that are necessary to solve global challenges". An English language program such as the IEP is a step forward in that direction. The Western Front has had an impressive history of catering to its vast student community and has consistently been a source of vital information for them for over 3 decades now. We are sure that the readers of The Western Front would want to access more information about IEP and we look forward to addressing all their queries and concerns in whatever we can. Please do feel free to contact - [include name here], principal / co-ordinator [of the program] at [insert phone number here]. For further information about the program, and other related issues we invite you to explore our website at: [insert link here] or contac t us directly at: [insert email here] for an opportunity to discuss it further. Regards, [Name] [Phone Number] [Organization] 2. Press Release The Bellingham Herald 1155 N. State St., Bellingham, WA 98225 Celebrating 30 glorious years of one of the most popular and highly successful educational programs – the Intensive English Program, offered at the country’s best learning institutions- The Western Washington University, Bellingham. The Intensive English Program offered at the Western Washington University's Bellingham campus offers a variety of programs aimed at regular and degree program students with at least 23 hours of instruction per week. WASHINGTON, Date: _ _/_ _/ _ _ _ _ There has been a steady rise in the number of international students in colleges and universities across United States. In the academic

Answers Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answers - Coursework Example Partnership with several big brands and acquiring several potential outlets. Effective business expansion strategy. Effective employee strength. Significant reputation among the target customers. Weaknesses Major of the outlets are located only in UK, therefore, they are failing to capitalize on the potential global opportunities. Due to this, they are lacking to achieve the advantages of economies of scale. Only provide Italian style foods and major of the brand names are not known to people. Inadequate food sector than other existing competitors. Lack of change process adoption. Limited presence in global market place. Depending on one supplier. Opportunities Product diversification strategy and implementation of internet cafe in business process. Further 450-500 store expansion in both international and domestic market within 2015. Future international business expansion plan due to the economic development of several countries. Change of social trends to hang around in a coffee b ar for several purposes. Threats Huge competitive market place due to the presence of potential organizations, such as Costa, Starbucks, Subway, Greggs and Bakers Oven. Fluctuating currency exchange rate in global market. Economic downturn and low disposable income of middle class people and political instability. High bargaining power of suppliers and high price of coffee can affect the business output. If people change their trends in near future, such as from coffee consumption to tea, then it will affect the overall industry. Answer 2 UK coffee and sandwich market is significantly growing due to the presence of several leading branded coffee and sandwich chains. Caffe Nero Group Ltd. is one of the popular coffee chains in UK. The organization is popular for its high quality coffee and effective fresh food items. The organization has followed Italian style in its product differentiation strategy. However, in terms of segmentation strategy, the organization has implemented Demogra phic and Geographic segmentation. In terms of Geographic segmentation, the organization has majorly focused on the people of UK. It is the social trend of UK people to consume coffee products, such as cold coffee, regular coffee from the coffee chains. Moreover, the organization has, established their stores in major cities in UK in order to achieve potential target customer base. However, the organization has understood the geographical potentiality of places and established the stores according to the trends. In terms of demographic segmentation, the organization has classified its target customers in three groups, such as income, age and gender. It is evident that, women are the maximum users of coffee shop comparing to the male users. Therefore, the organization has targeted the ladies to achieve growth. The target customers are aged between 35 and 55. Busy office goers are the major target customers Caffe Nero. Finally, the organization has targeted people of high income group as they are the potential customers of coffee and sandwich shops. Answer 3 This part will propose a marketing mix strategy to Caffe Nero for further improvement. Marketing mix strategy consists of product, price, place and promotional marketing strategy. Product The major product of the organization is coffee. Due to this, everybody knows that, Caffe Nero is a coffee house and serves fresh foods, pasta, sandwiches and parties. In UK the organization

Joseph Estrada and National Service Training Essay Example for Free

Joseph Estrada and National Service Training Essay Republic Act 9163 is an act establishing the National Service Training Program (NSTP) for tertiary level students. Its short title is National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001. It was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines on December 19, 2001. It was subsequently approved by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last January 23, 2002. RA 9163 or the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001 NSTP is a program aimed at enhancing civic consciousness and defense preparedness in the youth by develop-ing the ethics of service and patriotism while undergoing training in any of its three (3) program components. (RA 9163). Section 2 Rule 1 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the NSTP Act states the role of the youth in nation-building. It says: 1.  In recognition of the vital role of the youth in nation-building, the State shall promote civic consciousness among them and shall develop their physical, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. It shall inculcate the ideals of patriotism, nationalism, and advance their involvement in public and civic affairs. 2. As the most valuable resource of the nation, they shall be motivated, trained, organized and involved in military, literacy, civic welfare programs and other similar endeavors in the service of the nation. ROTC is a program institutionalized under Sections 38 and 39 of Republic Act 7077 designed to provide mili-tary training to tertiary level students in order to motivate, train, organize and mobilize them for national defense preparedness. (RA 9163). CWTS refers to programs or activities contributory to the general welfare and the betterment of life for the members of the community or the enhancement of its facilities, especially those devoted to improving health, education, environment, entrepreneurship, safety, recreation and morals of the citizenry. (RA 9163). LTS is a ? program designed to train students to become teachers of literacy and numeracy skills to school chil-dren, out of school youth, and other segments of society in need of their service. (RA 9163). NSTP Act states that all incoming freshmen students, male and female, starting School Year (SY) 2002-2003, enrolled in any baccalaureate and in at least two (2) year technical-vocational or associate courses, are re-quired to complete one (1) NSTP component of their choice, as a graduation requirement. (RA9163 IRR). More-over, NSTP component chosen by the student shall be undertaken in two (2) terms and be credited for a 3-unit subject per term. Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values have major influence on a persons behavior and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations. Some common business values are fairness, innovation and community involvement. 2. The monetary worth of something in areas such as accounting, economics, marketing or mathematics. A value can be defined as your personal belief on a moral or ethical issue. For example, those who have strong family values believe that families should always eat meals together. Those who have strong Christian values find it important to attend church each sunday. Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through autodidacticism. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. The wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something. Education requires instruction of some sort from an individual or composed literature. The most common forms of education result from years of schooling that incorporates studies of a variety of subjects.

The Negative Impacts Of Soil Erosion Environmental Sciences Essay

The Negative Impacts Of Soil Erosion Environmental Sciences Essay Soil erosion is a process whereby soil (mostly the top fertile soil) is transported or swept away from its natural environment then deposited to other places. This usually happens as a result of blowing wind, water flow, rainfall, by the force of gravity (down slope movement of soil) and human together with animal activities. Erosion is a natural process although it has been seen to rise due to extensive use of land and more so in the agricultural industry. The reduction of soil cover and the cutting down of trees also triggers soil eroison. Agricultural land that is used on the industrial scale is seen to be the most affected as it is subjected to greater rates of erosion. This is evident especially when there is the use of tillage which clears vegetation covering the soil while disturbing soil structures together with roots holding soil particles together. Soil erosion triggers a number of impacts but the main area of concern in this report is soil degradation by erosion affecting the worlds food supply. Soil is taken to be the worlds most valued resource. The loss of this resource, through land degradation processes such as wind and water erosion, is one of the most serious environmental problems we are faced with as it is destroying the means of producing food (Willett, 89). This is a problem that affects the whole world as food is a basic need. Erosion, takes away the best organic matters, it tempers with the depth of the top rich soil, reduces the soils capacity to hold water, and affects the soil biota. Rainfalls beneficial impacts are reduced too due to increases in water runoff and reductions in the soils water holding capacity. Taken together or separately, these factors limit the soils productivity and, as a result, can reduce crop yields from 15 to 30 percent (Pruski, 15). A research carried out by the U.N showed that about 11% of the worlds best soils (which are as big as size India and China put together) have been spoiled by our activities from as early as 1935. About 9 million hectares of arable land have been irreversibly damaged by erosion through overgrazing, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices. A further 1.25 billion hectares is considered to be seriously degraded and could be restored only at great costs (Hinkel, 81). There are many examples showing that erosion has really affected the worlds food supply. This one is explained by Lal who reveals that: Erosion is very significant in land degradation that leads to decline in crop production which eventually leads to a drop in the worlds food supply. On a global scale, the annual loss of 75 billion tones of soil through deforestation as a major cause of soil erosion costs the world about US$400 billion in a year (at US$3/ton of soil for nutrients and US$2/ton of soil for water), or approximately US$70 per person a year. It is estimated that the total annual cost of erosion from agriculture in the US is about US$44 billion in a year or about US$247/ha of cropland and pasture. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is much larger; in some countries productivity has declined in over 40% of the cropland area in two decades while population has doubled. Overgrazing of vegetation by livestock and subsequent land degradation is a widespread problem in these regions (Lal, 157).   The production ability of most land that has been subjected to soil erosion is seen to decline up to 40% due to soil erosion brought about mainly by deforestation. The reduction of yields in Africa as a result of erosion is about ten to fifty percent. The total mean loss for the whole continent stands at 9%. Africa is perhaps the continent most severely impacted by land degradation due to soil erosion, with the global average being lower, possibly in the range of 1-8% (Baanante, 224). With increasing land degradation due to erosion and deforestation triggering erosion on a bigger scale, food productivity might actually drop up to 50% necessitating international aid which in turn affects the supply from wherever the food is coming from. With the current rate of population growth and soil erosion it is said that by 2050 there would be a humanitarian crisis as far as food supply is concerned. Another good example is of an East African country (Kenya) which has had severe famine due to lack of enough produce. In Kenya agriculture is taken to be the backbone of the country. The country was initially self sufficient in terms of feeding its people. The famine that affected the country was attributed to soil erosion that occurred mainly by the use of unsustainable agricultural practices that exposed soil to erosion and deforestation. Kenya being a hilly country is highly prone to erosion by gravity. This issue is made worse by unsustainable agriculture that does not take care of the issue of soil erosion. Top fertile soil was extensively carried away leaving behind soil that was not good for agricultural food production. Due to lack of produce in the year 2007 and later rains were not sufficient in the year 2008 a great famine ensued leaving people to boil poisonous wild fruits for hours to extract the poison in order to fix a hot plate (Kamau 17). Research shows that lack of rain again was due to deforestation that is helping desertification in this nation. The country was forced to use all its food reserves to the extent of asking for emergency relief food from international organizations. Generally soil erosion occurs where there is lack of adequate soil cover, putting this in consideration; the situation can only worsen when necessary measures are not taken on time. When erosion continues all fertile soils will be swept away leaving behind soils that are not good for crop production or farming activities. Because of the lack of vegetation on land, rainfall attraction does not take place then a famine may be realized. Many countries having this problem rely on other countries for food supply thus creating imbalance in the supply of food. All this is brought about by not tackling the initial problem that is soil erosion. The percentage of desertification is very high in the world today. In deserts and arid areas very little crop production can take place. Deserts do occur because there is lack of vegetation which is responsible for rainfall attraction and soil cover for water preservation. When soil erosion takes place these areas lack the ability to have vegetation and thus there wont be water retaining capabilities or factors influencing rainfall attraction. What will be left is the soil exposure to wind and other factors that influence soil erosion. The main factor influencing this is deforestation. After sometime these areas lose all agricultural relevancies thus having a negative impact on food supply. Across the world research shows that after soil erosion (especially after over use of agricultural land or tillage erosion) has taken place the remaining soil is not good quality soil for food crops. What is normally done with this is the planting of other crops which can survive harsh conditions and the soils that are left behind. These crops are normally cash crops as food crops need more nutrients to grow. With the current rate of soil erosion most parts of the world lack the capacity to produce food crops and rely on other countries to produce food crops for them. This is also a negative factor to the worlds food supply since the initially food productive areas are unproductive at the time when the populations are high needing more food crops. This also has a negative effect on the worlds food supply. Soil erosion does not only create unfavorable conditions for crop growth through land degradation but as shown by Matende: The implications of soil erosion extend beyond the removal of valuable top soil. This is in regard to erosion brought about by water or rain. Crop emergence, growth and yield are directly affected through the loss of natural nutrients and applied fertilizers in the soil. Seeds and plants can be disturbed or completely removed from the eroded site by water erosion. Organic matter from the soil, residues and any applied manure is relatively light weight and can be readily transported off the field, particularly during spring thaw conditions. Pesticides may also be carried off the site with the eroded soil. This can effect negatively on the supply of food particularly when corrective measures are not taken on time or generally poor yields will be realized (Matende, 234). Wind erosion has also been seen to cause significant losses on food crops. The unavailability of lasting vegetation cover in a lot of areas has led to widespread wind erosion (Bramson, 21). Loose, dry, bare soil is the most susceptible; however, crops that produce low levels of residue also may not provide enough resistance. Wind erosion may also create adverse operating conditions in the field (Mathews, 67). Food crops can be destroyed completely bringing about expensive delays and necessitating reseeding. If not the food crops could are sandblasted and destroyed with the end result being no yield, low yield and poor quality yields that impact negatively on food supply. Off-site impacts of soil erosion are not always as apparent as the on-site effects. Eroded soil, deposited down slope can inhibit or delay the emergence of seeds, bury small seedling and necessitate replanting in the affected areas (Knight, 212). This kind of erosion is normally brought about by water or rainfall. When there are heavy rainfalls soils that are unprotected and do not have adequate cover or are loose due to tillage and human activities can easily be swept away. This type of erosion has its own share of negative effects as far as food supply is concerned as in the event of erosion taking place in wide areas crops will not only be buried but some will be left bare and thus germination will either not take place or the exposed seeds can be devoured by birds and other animals. If corrective measures are not taken on time there will be little or no production at all. This also affects the general food supply in the world today. Therefore as shown in this report various types soil erosion has adverse impacts on the worlds food supply. Nevertheless, enhanced land use practices if embraced can mitigate this situation, using techniques such as terrace building, conservation tillage practices, and tree planting can help reduce soil erosion. When these practices are used properly soil erosion can not only be reduced significantly to about the same rate of soil reform but also the world will realize better food crop production and there will be sufficient food security. Using these methods again food crop yields could increase up to 20% this is in northern America and from about 4 to 17% in Africa.

Khajuraho Tourism: Issues and impacts

Khajuraho Tourism: Issues and impacts India is famous for its great ethnicity and diversity among the cultures and these two main elements reflect in the level of tourism development in any region of the country. Apparently this has led the government and other respective authorities of tourism to call out the importance of heritage tourism in this 21st century. This report is based on the issues and impacts of tourism in Khajuraho, a UNESCO listed world heritage site, famous for its exotic sculptured temples. Khajuraho is a located in a central state of India, and one of the oldest heritage sites in the world. The temples were built a thousand years ago and still they stand dazzling with all the ancient glory. The tourism development in the area has changed many features of the destination and there has been some issues regarding the level of tourism. The place was found only in the early decades of 20th century and even from that time Khajuraho still took so many decades to be printed in the world famous heritage sites. The basic aim of this report is to identify the tourism developments and impacts of tourism in the selected tourism site and it is structured by beginning with a concise glimpse about the destination and followed by explaining the tourism developments in the area, discussing the influences of tourism and its impacts among locals and suggestions to improve the practice of tourism followed by a conclusion which will sum up the overall report and research conducted. Background of the study India is a large nation with huge number of population and great numbers of both cultural and heritage spots. This exclusivity has made the county, a world famous tourism destination in the global tourism map and regarded as a country, famous for its great cultural diversity. Many of these heritage sites are secured by UNESCO- and are still striving to find a place in their destination list. Ethnicity and diversity are the two main key elements of Indian cultural Heritage tourism, and it is really difficult to focus on the whole countrys tourism development and the impacts being facing currently. To understand the effects of tourism on culture, environment and economy it was therefore, I decided that this study should look further deep into the heart of the countrys heritage spots which are commonly unknown for its own nationalists but relatively known by other parts of the world. Khajuraho, a world heritage tourism site in the Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh was chosen and examined to articulate the nature and dimensions of some of the common issues from the impacts of local and international tourism. The study materials used mainly are reliable sources from the internet and also referred to the theories used in the tourism industry by linking to some of the case studies conducted in the subjected destination. Moreover some parts of the report will be reflecting from my personal experience in the destination. The facts and figures received from the Indian government tourism website back up and gives an overall glimpse of the importance of international tourism occurring in that place. Khajuraho: A mirror of Indian Heritage Khajuraho, a Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh is world famous for its UNESCO recognized heritage sites and practices great heritage tourism. The site is well known for its imposing temples by reflecting the beauty of antique sculptures and structures carved in huge single sand stones (http://www.mptourism.com/dest/khajuraho.html).These temples, mirroring the sensuous images of both men and women also lead to shed some lights on the medieval Hindu and Jain cultures Pic1-Khajuraho TempleThe history of temples in Khajuraho village is believed to be dated back to a thousand years ago, erected by the great Chandela Rajput Dynasty of Central India, by taking a century to build more than 85 glorious temples with richly carved unique and magnificent sculptures. (Gill, 2008).During the depredation of time only 22 are managed to survive and they stand still calling out the glory of medieval architectural masters. Some of the temples are sculptured with enticing erotic structures representing the Tantric Vedas which the people in the village used to practice. Area 16.93 sq. km. Altitude 257 m above Sea Level Temperature Summer: Max 47Â °C, Min 21Â °C. Winter: Max 32Â °C, Min 4Â °C. Rainfall 114 cms annual Languages English, Hindi. Table1-General InformationThe other Tourism activities include Khajuraho Dance Festival, organized every year in the month of February or March for one week and the Daily Sound Light Show ((Khajuraho, n.d.). Table-1 shows some general Information about Khajuraho (http://www.delhitourism.com/khajuraho-tourism/) Level of tourism development Pic2-LocationEver since the airport is opened, a daily flight operated from Delhi, the capital city of India connected Khajuraho with some other famous destinations. These made the visitors to reach there without any inconvenience and also the ground transportation facilities improved, while connecting to nearby important towns and railway station by running daily trips to Khajuraho. The main significant changes in the level of tourism happened was the creation of a Master Plan to guide the growth of Khajuraho and the institution of the Khajuraho Dance Festival, a successful event that has, to some extent given Khajuraho a classical image (Menon,1993).D:ACADEMIC6th SemesterTOUR310reportkhajuraho-map.jpg What was Khajuraho before Pic3-SculpturesKhajuraho or the ancient name Khajurapura is believed to be derived from the word Khajurvahila meaning the garden of dates surrounded the village at that time (Krishnamurthy, 1996). Deserted after the 14th century, the area was completely unknown to outside world until it was discovered by a young British Army officer T.S. Burt in 1838 (Menon, 1993). According the Ministry of Tourism, (http://www.mptourism.com/dest/khajuraho.html) after the turn down of the Chandela dynasty in the 13th century, the temples were hidden from outside world by dense forests and shrubs around. Nobody knew the epitome of Indian Architecture was diminishing dawdling in the rampage of time. Many of the structures were destroyed by weather, the slackness and laxity of surrounding world. But this hidden identity must have saved the remaining temples from the early Muslim invasions in the past (Hegewald Mitra, 2008). According to Menon (1993) the temples were unknown to the world until 1950s and it was only the foreign journalists and photographers who published the photos to the open world. The place was opened to the tourists only a few decades after the Independence of India from British in 1947 after building adequate facilities for transportation to get there. Changes after the tourism developments Today, Khajuraho is a booming tourist spot for both domestic and international travelers. The infrastructure is modified significantly by the government to the needs of thirsting travelers, as the years pass by. According to (UNESCO, 2005) few modest hotels were built in the early sixties to attract foreigners and domestic tourists and the number of people coming to visit Khajuraho has changed dramatically ever since the airport was built as the surface transportation was not convenient enough. The draft Development Plan produced by Indian Government in 1975 is also guided consequent development of the area (Menon, 1993). Now the old village of Khajuraho is changed absolutely into a place with a number of 8 star hotels including 2 five star chains affiliated hotels and other budgeted hotels also, in an area of just few kilometers (http://www.tourism-of-india.com/hotels-in-madhya-pradesh.html) equipped with efficient roads access, other transportation and accommodation facilities. Subsequently areas around Khajuraho have also flourished and harvested the benefits from these tourism developments. Tourist profile There have been a lot of changes happened during the last few decades and this has led to have a significant change in the demographics of travelers arriving in Khajuraho. Menon (1993) stated that a few decades back, the foreign tourists visiting Khajuraho comprised 3.3% of total number of visitors to India and most of the tourists were independent and included in low budget category, half of the group tourists who visited India visited Khajuraho also. Table2-Statistics from 1984-1992The statistics published by the government a few years back, shows the tremendous hike in the number of tourists visited the destination and it gives a lucid idea about the expansion of the Khajuraho tourism plans (Menon, 1993) Table3-Statistics from 2004-2006 The number of people visited in the early 80s were higher than in early 90s in the domestic travelers as it is believed to be the reason of political instability at that time. But the number of foreign travelers remained constant between these periods. Table 2 shows that total numbers of tourists in 1985-1986 were around 203,646, but in the early 90s it was decreased to 151,350. (Appendix I-IV)There is a significant percentage of increase in the number of foreign visitors to Khajuraho in the current decade almost double the numbers in previous decades while the number of domestic tourists remained constant apparently. This increasing number of tourists mainly depends on the level of promotions of the destination or and the transportation facilities. Driving force It is not only just some sandstone structures to see in Khajuraho, but it is the picturesque depiction of medieval existence of village people ruled under the great Chandela kings portrayed by the maestros of stone architecture about a millennium ago. It is the thrusting force of quaint beauty to lead the travelers to Khajuraho from around the world. The main motivation of travelling to Khajuraho is the splendor of these sculptures in the temples. The government tourism board and other tourism agencies have recognized the demand for tourism in the region and offer various tourism packages including the nearby cities of Khajuraho. It is another value added benefit for the travelers and a motive to visit Khajuraho. Although it is an icon of Heritage Tourism, the erotic sculptures, illustrating the tantric arts in the sandstones attract many of the tourists from around the world. Rise in the economy- A positive impact Though there are many identified impacts of tourism in Khajuraho, the most significant one is the rise in the total economy, as the level of tourism in the destination parts a major share in the total number of foreign tourist flow into the country (Appendix V) As a result of tourism development programs which eventually offered more than 3,000 job offers to the local community made the status of lifestyle to go up resourcefully as there was significant growth in education and health care systems. The other noticed results are in the local handicraft industry and the offering of large scale indirect employment in other sectors especially in the farming (UNESCO, 2005). The development of tourism in the region have also reduced the level of poverty than the neighboring villages as this mass tourism has helped the local people to indulge in increasing their personal income through various tourism activities. All those improvements in the public utility infrastructures and transport infrastructures in Khajuraho show the positive economical impacts and it has been forecasted to make a dramatic change in the future number of tourists (In 2015, expecting 1,00,965 domestic tourists and 8,59,701 foreign tourists with a total number of 19,60,666) App endix-VI Negative economic impact The level of tourism has made some negative impacts in the local economy to a certain level, especially the development programs by the government which brought many outsiders into the village economy. Instead of using the natural resources, things are being imported from outside by the migrants. Most of the imported goods are manipulated as local art work and being sold to the tourists which is a leakage in the integration of locals and the government systems (Menon, 1993). Moreover, the inflation has increased due to the less supply for the high demand for local items caused by the tourism development program. According to Menon, (1993, p.37) a local guide explains that 20 years ago people were friendlier and close together: tourism, he said, has made the people money-minded. Positive Environmental impact The wild shrouded temples are titivated by the government by the level of tourism in Khajuraho. According to UNESCO, (2005) the place is now equipped with complete infrastructure including transportation, electricity, water supply, hotels and hospitals. The temples are now protected by the Indian Central Government with the help of archeological and tourism departments to preserve the Indian heritage, as they are wall protected by the security systems in order to avoid intruders and vandalisms. Now the temples are surrounded by gardens which are not truly, a part of original temple designs, to enhance the beauty of temple premises. Apart from that, a central museum is located in the village to keep the valuable broken parts from the temples and show case the ancient artwork to the visitors and the excavation areas are restricted for public .One can clearly see that the old sleepy image of Khajuraho is completely changed by the changes happened in the environment due to the tourism (M enon, 1993). Negative Environmental impact Due to the characteristics of the destination, Khajuraho poses very less detrimental effect on the physical environment as the tourists who visit are particular nature of sightseer activity and their primary intention is just to see the sculptures in the temples (Menon, 1993). Thus rate of losing the natural resources will be very less in the region comparing some other tourist destinations, however the mass amount of tourist flow into Khajuraho must have changed the environment negatively due to the air pollution and solid wastes disposal. Moreover the destruction of unique flora and fauna in the area, due to the excavation work happening nearby the temples reduced the wild life in the surrounding region. The other considerable negative impacts are the air pollution caused by the aircrafts flying. A study conducted by Indian central archaeological department found out that aircrafts flying over the temples produce a certain level of vibrations which could damage ancient monuments(Ar chaeological Survey of India, n.d) According to a monthly social awareness magazine (Khajuraho Special, 2004) land pollution and air pollution are some of the major environmental issues in Khajuraho faced by tourism. None of the hotels in Khajuraho have proper waste management system or recycling system which persuade them to litter openly and so do the tourists, especially the canned foods and other disposable items. In the same way, increasing number in tourism has caused the same number in vehicles for transportation which pollutes the air by emitting dangerous gases and causing to change the atmospheric temperature. The final thought is about the shrinking of water bodies in the area, where the improper land usage reduced the natural water resources drastically. Positive socio-cultural impact The lifestyle in Khajuraho is being affected by tourism activities as a natural consequence of socio-cultural impact. People have been more aware of the tourism needs and other cultures, to mingle with other nationalities flawlessly. The dance festivals and other cultural activities unite the local community and also portray the true image of Khajuraho to tourists. It has been proved that there hasnt been any complaint of sexual harassment or prostitution, which shows that the local community is more responsive about social norms (Menon, 1993) and some of the local people have managed to make marriage relationship with foreigners. After all, some of the local community still indulge in their daily prayers and go to the temples for worshiping which point towards the conscientious tourism in the area. Negative socio-cultural impact The migration and settlement of outsiders have changed Khajuraho social and cultural environment, as now the local populations is consisting of various ethnic groups who drifted to make business via tourism. The local language spoken is very less in Khajuraho as majority of people living in Khajuraho are nonnative. From my personal experience in Khajuraho, what I could see mainly was the children and young people are following the path of tourism to make money easily rather than going to schools and colleges. Most of them are grabbed by travel agents to become guides and receive commission from them. Ultimately tourism has brought in these multi cultural societies who sell the true art for money into Khajuraho and broken the integrity of local culture. Recommendations and final thoughts The promotional material and the information available to the tourists, reduce Khajuraho to a single-issue destination Menon (1993). This image of Khajuraho is more likely a single point destination where the tourism is only focused on the sensual sculptures in the temples. Instead of publicizing the true illustration, the tourists are falsified by the travel agent mafias which make them to take pleasure in the erotic part of the heritage art worked temples instead of understanding the true principles of an ancient civilization existed there. Hence the government should be more responsible to stop these misleading by establishing examples such as providing proper tourism marketing campaigns, awareness seminars and cultured guiding system. Instead of focusing only on the temples, tourism board should take hand in developing the vicinity and neighboring locality as they are still under poverty and the wildlife around Khajuraho still remains unguarded though it is reserved. Over the past years Asian countries have on looked incredible social, cultural, political and technological changes (Pandey, Chettri, Kunwar and Ghimire, 1995).These significant changes have been received by the far-fetched development of tourism in the subjected countries. Despite the fact that tourism fosters the national economy to a certain extent, it has definite impacts on countrys enlightening ethnicity and legacy while leaving the natural possessions to an economic item of trade for income. According to Bandyopadhyay, Morais, Chick (2008, p.791), Tourism is not just an aggregate of merely commercial activities; it is also an ideological framing of history, nature and tradition; a framing that has the power to reshape culture and nature to its own needs. It is apparent from this report that, these factors have certainly affected either positively or negatively on the values of economic, environmental and socio cultural in Khajuraho. The final say is tourism in Khajuraho has fo stered over the years and it has changed many factors, it is the obligation of each and every single tourist who comes to visit Khajuraho to practice responsible tourism while mesmerized by the prehistoric sandstone shades of ancient arts.

Abortion Essay -- social issues

Abortion From 1973 to 1987, over 22 million abortions have been performed. Pro-lifers would call that a terrible waste of humanlife. True, 22 million lives were taken, but I believe that we are better off without those. Webster's dictionary defines abortion as "the expulsion of anonviable fetus." Abortion might possibly be the mostcontroversial topic right now. I'm sure by now that you've heard of all the different types ofabortion. Almost all abortions performed in the US are surgicalabortions, where the fetus is removed by suction or other means.(Medication offers another option, to be discussed later in thisreport.) During a suction abortion, the fetus is dismembered anddisposed of by a small tube. This process takes but about 10 minutes, and the mother experiences very little or no physicaldiscomfort. Pro-lifers immediately say that emotional trauma andguilt haunts every woman after she has an abortion. However,during my research, I found numerous women who led (and continueto lead) prominent and scot-free lives after their abortions. Ithink that the mental state of the mother depends very much onher personal feelings toward abortion, and the actual experiencethe had before and during the abortion. I have found that most of the time,they employ the use of a few strategies for making their viewsknown. One tactic pro-lifers use to convince people of theirviews is to play on fear and emotions. Their graphicdesc riptions and gruesome pictures are a crude attempt to "scare" people out of abortion, while their pious talk andsobbing try to make us feel sorry for them and the unborn.Another popular strategy of pro-lifers is to protest things like"Life begins at conception! The fetus is human!" Science hasproven these facts, and pro-choicers are by no means trying todeny them. However, pro-choicers feel that the rights of theparents (namely the mother) override the rights of the unbornchild.Neither of these tactics work on pro-choicers like myself. True,pro-lifers are entitled to voicing their opinion (just as I am),but I feel that some of their methods (as illustrated in thenext section) are very unorthodox. A new bill was introduced in April 1994. The Freedom of Accessto Clinic Entrances Act (aka FACE or FACEA) protects womenseeking abortion, and the facilities performing them.Specifically, FACE protects reproductive health service staffand patients from vi... ...arepeople out of abortion. Judging by the reaction of the class,people have wised-up to pro-lifers. People will no longertolerate being bombarded with graphic descriptions, gorypictures, and sorrowful testimonies. To but it bluntly, I am fedup with extreme pro-lifers. Granted, not all of them are as badas I make them out to be, but about a year ago, while walkingout of my dad's office at Jewish Hospital, we were "harassed" bythree pro-lifers. At first I thought they would respect ourprivacy and let us pass. However, they blurted out "Did you knowthat there are abortions being performed at Jewish Hospital?!"What did they intend that question to accomplish? We tried toignore them kept walking, but they persisted and attempted toforce their pamphlets and handouts on us. I would have had noproblem had they simply offered us a pamphlet, but I feltviolated when they thrust them into our faces. After researching this report, I still hold my ground about being pro-choice. I think that th e woman's rights override thoseof the fetus. Regardless of the reason or circumstances safe,reliable abortion should be made available to any woman. Acts of Violence Against Abortion Providers and Clients.

Tragedy Through Misreading in William Shakespeares King Lear Essay

Tragedy Through Misreading in William Shakespeare's King Lear Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear, portrays many important misconceptions which result in a long sequence of tragic events. The foundation of the story revolves around two characters, King Lear and Gloucester, and concentrates on their common flaw, the inability to read truth in other characters. For example, the king condemns his own daughter after he clearly misreads the truth behind her â€Å"dower,†(1.1.107) or honesty. Later, Gloucester passes judgment on his son Edgar based on a letter in which he â€Å"shall not need spectacles†(1.2.35) to read. While these two characters continue to misread people’s words, advisors around them repeatedly give hints to their misinterpretations, which pave the road for possible reconciliation. The realization of their mistakes, however, occurs after tragedy is inevitable. Gloucester and Lear, create their eventual downfalls due to their inability to read deceit. Though these characters share the same tragic flaw, the means by which they make their errors is completely different. Gloucester remains a poor reader because he is quick to believe his sense of sight. When his illegitimate son, Edmund, reveals a deceitful letter designed to incriminate Edgar, Gloucester is quick to believe him. â€Å"Abominable villain†(1.2.74) he cries out before he even examines the letter with his reading glasses. Edmund’s trickery is conducted cleverly, but Gloucester’s lack of disbelief is unexplainable. Even though Gloucester is a fundamentally good man he tends to have a pessimistic view on his situation, as well as the rest of the world. Gloucester displays his inability to read and comprehend reality once more when he begins to read the skies. â€Å"... ...able to regain his ability to see but it is during the last act of the play in which the circumstances are completely out of his control. These characters both die because they are pushed way past the limits of human fortitude and competence. When Lear tells Gloucester â€Å"A man may see how this world /goes with no eyes† (4.6.146-47) he displays both of their misfortunes, but it is too late to prevent ultimate tragedy. Shakespeare proposes that their tragic saga is a mere game to the heavens. â€Å"As flies to wanton boys, are we to th’ gods,/They kill us for their sport† (4.1.37-38). This line generalizes the overall simplicity behind the tragedy of King Lear. Even though Gloucester and Lear made terrible, fatal errors the reader feels at the end as if it is intended to be their destiny. Work Cited Shakespeare, William. King Lear . New York: Oxford UP, 1994.

Levi Jeans

1. ) In the year 1873, when Levi Strauss first invested jeans, its target market was comprised merely of individuals who needed to wear durable, extra strong pants when seeking gold. The target market and the marketing techniques changed in many ways over the existence of the brand. Instead of people wanting just wanting a comfortable jean when working they began to want something stylish and that celebrated the history of the product. For today’s market for jeans I would target the male and female demographic from ages 16-24.It said in the case that males and females from ages 20-30 could not recognize the GWG brand and i believe that a new jean with flare and teenage appeal can do very well in the market. For this market segment I would focus my effort on making my jeans Fashion forward, proper fit, cool and the image of the brand. I chose this target market because the clothing market itself is being dominated by these young individuals looking for the next â€Å"hip† trend.I believe that these teens have the ability to make their parents buy these products because they may become popular with the acquisition of the coolest jeans. By appealing to the market as a new hip jean you can price jeans for a higher price than the original jeans. I believe that the older demographic 40+ may already be loyal to a particular brand of jeans but the young adult demographic has not been tapped and the ability for growth is massive. 2) I believe for this target market the largest competition is higher class brands mentioned in the case such as Guess and Calvin Klein.These brands appeal to the younger demographic and are known as the popular and premium brand of jean. These are the closest competitor because young adults see movie stars on TV wearing these popular jeans and believe that is they buy these jeans they can emulate there favorite athletes or actors. By gaining access and being known as a stylish and premium brand of jean the new line will appeal to the target market of 16-24. 3. ) The GWG brand has a limited target market and does not represent a very big market share of the industry.The GWG brand has a fairly simple and traditional value proposition; this benefits the brand because the GWG jeans are remembered as an iconic symbol of the quintessential everyman’s working jeans and as a  pioneer in the jeans  industry. The favourable points of the  GWG brand are specific qualities that are valued by consumers. The brand enjoys a long-standing reputation as one of the very first to enter the industry. These are customers that are loyal to the brand and can rely n the quality and comfort of the jeans, GWG is valued by the comfort, durability and the fact that customers can rely on brand. These points of parity have come about because GWG is known as the working men’s jean with the older demographic (40+) can always rely on GWG as producing a quality pair of jeans that they can go back to. As one 44 year old m ale said â€Å"GWGs are rough, rugged and a good fit. They’re are not fashionable, but can take more washings and last longer before tearing apart at the seams. . This quote epitomizes what a GWG jean represents and this is the reason they still have favourable points of value. I think comparing them to a company such as Carharrt can benefit the brand. Both brands are known for being clothing that is used by the working man. I think that the resonating focus of GWG is that it is a brand that was around for both world wars and is a product that can be recognized for its comfort and its ability to appeal to the working man. 4. I believe that the most appropriate distribution channel for the new type of jeans is to market it through boutiques in malls and other popular retail chains. If the young adult demographic can recognize these jeans while in the retailers this will draw the individuals to the product. I think with the resonating focus of being a reliable brand, parents w ill recognize the brand of Levi and will support the kids more if they decided to buy a product this new product because they have notion that this pair of jeans aren’t just stylish but also can be reliable and long lasting.

Opportunities for Students to Practice Speaking in Class

This class is composed of 30 students in Grade 6 aged from 13 to 14, whose English level is quite deferent. About 20% of them are good at English, and they are active and participant in class, while 40% of them are poor at English, so they often remain quiet In class and sometimes can't follow the teacher. And the rest of them are of average level. They want to learn English well and are trying as hard as possible, but sometimes they are shy in class and like to be audiences rather than getting involved n class activities themselves.In this lesson, I want to focus on helping students compare and describe life in different places by using different sentence patterns to express past and present events. In addition, during the whole lesson hope to crate more opportunities for students to practice speaking in class as well as encourage the weak and average students to speak out their Ideas bravely. Sample 1. Context: At the beginning of the class, I showed students two maps of Kitty's ol d and new flat and asked them, â€Å"Did she live near or far away from school? However, one of the students answered, â€Å"Yes, she lived far away from school. Comment: Since this was the second period of a new lesson, I intended to check how much the students had learned about the text in the previous period, so I started it with an alternative question. However, the student didn't answer it right, which was beyond my expectation. To grade 6 students, the lead-in sentence seemed to be too complicated with alternative question for them to grasp though they were simple. They weren't able to respond correctly both In content and grammar. Appropriately In engage grading plays a vital role In a language teacher.Therefore, Instead of Glenn a confusing lead-in instruction, I could have simply elicited a question, † Did Kitty live near school? Which would be easy for them to answer without feeling nervous after answering it wrong. And I can lead in the new lesson in an more effec tive way. Sample 2 Context: in the final part of the lesson, I asked students to work in pairs and talk about their deferent school life by using the given sentence patterns and key words. While one pair was doing the practice in front of the whole class, another pair of dents was still talking to each other about the class activity.In order to keep the class under control, I neglected the two students who were doing the practice and simply said In a loud voice, † Let's listen to them carefully and no chatting! † However, embarrassed. Comment: Although classroom management is a must for an effective lesson, my tone of instruction to keep the class under control was not very friendly. I shouldn't have interrupted the students because it broke their chain of thought suddenly and they didn't know what to do in that situation. Instead, I could have monitored the class in an more effective way by walking to them and asking them to stop talking with my body language.Sample 3 C ontext: In order to have a smooth transit from Kitty's life in different places to students' real life in different schools, I created a situation by saying, † Tom is a photographer( stress on the first syllable) for our school newspaper, and he has taken many photos about our school life. Please look at his pictures on the PPTP and think about the life in your primary school. Let's work in pairs and finish the speaking activity together. Comment: Accuracy in word pronunciation when giving a clear instruction is a basic requirement for a language teacher.Here, I gave an inaccurate stress on the word : photographer. The correct stress should be on the second syllable instead of the first one. Enough attention should be paid next time I speak out the word. Sample 4 Context: In a drill related to the key sentence patterns of the lesson, I showed students two pictures of a swimming pool and the sea and elicit a dialogue for them to practice as follows: T: What did Kitty and Ben do when they lived in the city enter? S: When they lived in the city center, they swim in the swimming pool. T: They swim? S: Oh, they swam in the swimming pool.T: Now they live in the suburbs. Where do they swim? In the sea. S: Now they swim Comment: In order to make the student aware of his mistake in grammar, I repeat the mistake with rising intonation and stress on the mistaken word so that he can pay attention to it and correct themselves immediately. Here I tried to get students to self-correct with echo correct clearly and effectively and I got instant expected feedback. Sample 5 Context: Two pictures were shown on the PPTP about Kitty and Ben getting up when they lived in the city center and when they live in the suburbs.There was a clock elicit the following questions: T: Look at the picture. What time did Kitty and Ben get up in the past? S: They got up at seven o'clock in the past. T: Did they get up late? S: Yes, they did. T: Now look at this picture. What time do they get up now? S: Now they get up at half past six. T: Do they get up late now? S: No, they don't. They get up early. T: Can you finish the sentence now? When they lived in the city center, they Now they live in the suburbs, and they After answering these questions, students can finish the sentence easily and correctly.Comment: In order to check whether students have understood the target sentence structure â€Å"When they lived †¦. , they got up I elicited several concept checking questions to make sure that they have grasped the meaning of a new sentence structure. I broke down the meaning or concept of the target structure into a number of simple questions for students to have a clear idea of it. Besides, I also showed the employed sentence on the PPTP to make the pattern of the grammar clear so that the students can memorize it better.Sample 6 Context: Two pictures were shown on the PPTP. One was a TV set and the other was the sky full of bright stars. T: Now let's look at the t wo pictures. (Teacher points to the pictures). They are about Ben and Kitty's life at night. This time let's do a pair work in two minutes. (Show students the pattern of pair work) Let's go! SSL: What did Kitty and Ben do at night when they lived in the city center? SO: When they †¦ , they SSL : Now they live in the suburbs. What do they do at night? SO: Now they K, time is up. Let's come back.Any volunteers? (Students raised their hands). K, good. Stand up please. Comment: Although it is not always necessary to use Instruction Concept Questions, they can often make sure that the learners know exactly what they are asked to do in class step by step. Here I broke down my instructions into a series of simple chunked statements so that students could understand and respond to them quickly. As a result, they could be more involved and participant in the class activities and contribute more to the class. Candidate Name: Lion Gonzalez

Food and beverage manager Essay

1.1Describe with examples, some of the characteristics of food production and food beverage service systems that is in use within the hospitality industry. The centralised Production System is the modern methods used in bringing together production and beverage activities in the hotel industry. Food that is centrally produced is easier to distribute to the point of service than for it to be produced in batches or separately. Centralised production system may be transported in a ready to serve state made e.g. hot or cold if it needs some form of regenerator for chilled or frozen food. The advantages of centralised production include, lower food cost and supply cost are lower In centralised production methods you need to employ a few staffs in the kitchen. The kitchen can also be operated in a cheaper location. The disadvantage of the centralised production methods is if there is a case of food poison the effect will be more spread and can cost loss of business, these can affect the finances of the hotel. When food and beverage come in by centralised system, they were then distributed into different departments. Main Restaurant A coffee shop Chinese food shop Fine restaurant Is the Traditional Parties’ production system, this is a table service. Table service, where cook or chill are served Table service, for Tradition Parties production. Table service (British table service or French. Also Traditional Parties’ production. Bars: are for drinks only 1.2For the systems discussed in 1.1, discuss factors that can affect recipes and menus. These are factors affecting receipts and menus. Guest religion and health, has remained a very important issues, religion of the guest and health restrictions Some people have allergy to e.g. crabs meat, protein, and fibre/vegetable, these can affect receipts and menu in the hotel. Financial resources, restaurant and guests types & cost: types of restaurant, Guest, spending power, age Group, labour cost. Chinese food is only prepared by Chinese people these can also affect the receipts and menu, Time factor, if the food is not serve at the right time the food may be too cold or if care is not taken the food may not be ready in time for serving. Pricing of food: because of the market is not stable for price; the pricing of the food may change, and can affect the receipt and the menu, by buying a alternative price or brand. 1.3For the systems discussed above, compare the cost and staffing implications. Outlet COST OF FOOD STAFF Main restaurant The cost is moderate and affordable Many staffs are required, can be service from office or home A coffee Shop The cost is affordable and low price Few staffs are needed a serve customer. Speciality restaurant serving Chinese food. The price is low and affordable by class. Few staff is needed, and can be operated by member of the family. Fine dining restaurant The price is high and can some be for special occasion e.g. anniversary, birthday, or business meetings. Few staff are required e.g. silver service, wine steward. Bar There are high class bars that are very expensive or common bar for everybody. Few staff are needed to operate. 1.4A justification with examples regarding the suitability of systems for different types of food and beverage outlets. For coffee shop is non-alcohol beverage services The fine dining restaurant sales food and beverage is based on good quality at the high prices In the bar >selling different types of drinks or beverage Chinese serving food is about culture food, which is served by the Chinese 2.1Taking in to account, the various needs for financial statements, discuss the use of financial statements in food and beverage operations. Financial statement or financial operations; these outline the finance of the revenue and expenses over a period of time. Which gives the production budget, the units that have been produce to the sales of the company, the production budgets also estimates the cost involved in material and labour. Operating budget: these gives the estimate of the income expenses based on sales, manufacturing costs, labour etc. Cash flow Statements: Is receipt from the business these help the business, when income will be enough to cover expenses or when the organisation needs help. It helps in taking loans from the bank and repayment. Balance Sheet; is statement of the total assets of what the company own or owe. Income statement: A finance statement that shows earnings report, operating statement, profit and loss. 2.2 To demonstrate the use of cost and pricing processes. To be able to demonstrate the assess cost and pricing will need the following methods, the purchase price per item, we then divide the food into different packs, for example if chicken are brought for  £10 per pack and the meal are going for  £15 per plate as a meal. It may sense to add the extra with the meal e.g. the rice or chips. List of the purchasing methods: Central purchasing is used by chains organization. This enable the hotel to buy their food stock in one location, all the services need will be in on site and contain the buying power and be able to negotiate the price at reasonable cost. The disadvantage; are that the individual outlets can’t complain regarding the suppliers, if one is receiving better offer than the other, These may affect the quality of the food, if too far from the site. Total supply: This method is new, these allowed the hotel to buy from one supply, these cut the papers work, the administrative work and can be expensive. 2.3 Implement effective purchasing process of the five Star Hotel Food and beverage managers we can attend industrial events and trades show in order to get new innovation ideas and learn above new products. We can communicate with functional departments regarding pricing trends products variations and inventory when available. Food and beverage manager provide effective and strategic re port to corporate the hotel catering office supplies on inventory and costing performance and recommendations. We also go to menu and catering seminal to identify new inventory that are in demands, including schedules and procurement needs.

Dow Chemical Case

Dow Chemical Case Question 1 Polyethylene is the world’s most widely used plastic. Polyethylene plastic’s principal application was in packaging, from trash bags to milk jugs. It was widely used in the manufacture of everything from trash bags, picnic cutlery and garbage pails, to plastic toys. Polyethylene also replaced glass, wood, and metal in certain applications. There were three types of polyethylene, Low-density polyethylene, High density polyethylene and Low linear density polyethylene. Polyethylene produced from ethylene. Ethylene is produced from oil or natural gas. Ethylene plants separated either naphtha molecules (derived from crude oil) or ethane molecules (derived from natural gas). The ethylene derived from this process was used to produce polyethylene. The critical success factors in this business were capital intensive and economies of scale. Polyethylene was a global commodity product and pricing worldwide typically fell into a narrow band. The demand for polyethylene was large because it was the world’s most widely used plastic and polyethylene customers were typically small and medium-sized plastic processing companies. The big Risks in the industry: * The raw material risk – Cracking naphtha (the raw material derived from crude oil) required much more energy, manufacturing intensity, and equipment than cracking ethane (derived from natural gas). Supply of primary materials and electricity are crucial to success of polyethylene production. * Cost risk – large plant sizes and the need for economies of scale rendered the ethylene industry highly capital intensive. A plant for cracking ethane was estimated to hundreds of millions and the cost for a plant for cracking naphtha is double. Capacity additions or reductions could significantly affect balance of supply and demand, influencing capacity utilization rates, prices, and profit margins. * Ethylene profitability was tightly links to its global operating rate. The ethylene business links to oil companies, governments, pure chemical companies, conglomerates, private investors, and joint ventures. * Competition of polyethylene industry in Argentina and in the global market. The government operator was directly or indirectly financing capital – intensive ethylene plants in order to stimulate downstream business. Some of countries, the government contribute the investment. * The margins for producers of ethylene and first-order derivatives (mostly plastics) were highly correlated because the producers for them were highly integrated. Question 2 The stages of the project: * Stage 1: involved taking control of PBB, which comprised the ethylene cracker and polyethylene plant, and then upgrading the facilities in order to make them internationally competitive * Stage 2: involved acquiring Polisur’s two polyethylene plants * Stage 3: involved building a new ethylene cracker and a polyethylene plant These three stages are closely related to each other. The next stage would be reached only if the previous stages achieved, and the followed stages ensure the success of the previous stages. Acquiring PBB offers Dow the opportunity to enter Argentina market, and this is the first step for Dow to take over control of Bahia Blanca’s polyethylene activities. Dow is bidding not only for PBB in the privatization, but also an overall plan for the development of Dow’s polyethylene business in Argentina. Dow will decide on the price to bid for PBB in the upcoming privatization, the price is based on the valuation of the entire project (stage 1, 2 and 3). The three stages are one big project. Dow’s bid for PBB should not be based solely on the value of Stage 1 of the project. Gaining control of PBB would be the first step in the project. But taking all the factors discussed above into consideration, Dow should value all the 3 stages in order to bid on the PBB project. Dow believed that it had the opportunity to become the number-one player in the Latin American polyethylene industry. To achieve this goal, Dow would also have to acquire Polisur’s two polyethylene plants (stage 2) and expand existing capacity. The expansion of its polyethylene capacity in Bahia Blanca would require the company to build a world-class competitive cracker (stage 3). Doing so would nearly triple PBB’s ethylene capacity. Therefore, Dow had to not only consider what to bid for PBB in the privatization, but also develop an overall plan for the development of Dow’s polyethylene business. Dow had to incorporate the terminal value of each stage of the project. Question 3: The followings are the arguments that support the acquisition of PBB: 1. The whole project will increase Dow shareholder’s wealth. As a public company, the first aim of the management team is to increase the shareholder wealth. The project proposed by the management team is definitely consistent with this goal. And bidding on the PBB is the first stage of the whole project. The exact increase in shareholders’ equity may be various at this point as it depends on lots of other factors ( we will discuss the risk of valuation thought the whole case. , but in general, the management team is confident in the future outlook. 2. The other important strategic purpose of acquiring PBB is that it is the first stage towards consolidating all Bahia Blanca’s polyethylene activity under Dow’s control. The 3-stage project will make Dow to be the leading company of polyethylene in Argentina, even in Latin America because of its MNC background. This will have a long term positive influence in Dow’s stock price as well as shareholders’ equity. 3. Also, as indicated in the case, the demand of polyethylene will increase in the next couple years. Argentina is an emerging market, which is facing a rapid transformation. Dow’s vice president anticipated continued improvement in standards of living, which will lead to increase demand for polyethylene in Argentina, as well as in Latin America. The expected growth in polyethylene demand made PBB a potentially attractive acquisition. 4. PBB right now is a government controlled complex which is going to privatize. For Dow, it is a perfect opportunity to build long term relationship with Argentina government. It will give Dow more opportunities in the market of Argentina and Latin America. Question 4: The followings are the mains risks of the project for Dow beyond the general industry risks discussed in Question 1: 1. Country risk. Argentina is an emerging market. It is widely agreed that when we estimate the risk of emerging market by using the traditional model like CAMP, the result also unfavorable. Some reasons are the market is highly concentrated and integrated. And also the country risk cannot be diversified. So it brings the uncertainty to Dow’s valuation. 2. Political risk. Political risk is part of country risk. It is identified as the potentially adverse impact a country’s environment has on a firm’s future cash flows. And it will affect Dow’s future expected returns and valuation measures. If there is some major political unrest in Argentina, the government expropriates PBB, Dow will face a significant loss. Also, if the Argentina government default on its debt, Dow would face the bad debt which is an huge cost and will drag down the expected cash flows. 3. Economics risk The privatization in Argentina was the progress to control the fiscal problems, like hyperinflation, stagflation and huge fiscal deficits. As an emerging country, Argentina had not developed a healthy financial market within the country. The unstable economy would lead to a huge possibility of default. Another possible aspect was the economics risk of the world. If there was an economics downturn, the huge investment of the project would worth less and Dow will facing difficulties to rise equity to finance the project. 4. Unexpected risk: (1) Unexpected shortage of energy. The industry is really energy intensive. If there is a energy shortage such as the decreased supply of oil, the whole project will face negative return. (2) Unexpected rise in variable cost, such as transportation cost. The unexpected rise in variable cost will have negative impact on Dow’s cash flow. The decrease of expected cash flow will lead the decrease value of the project. (3) There are 3 stages of the whole project. If one of them did not work well, the overall goal will be affected and the whole project would have the risk of failure. Question 5: Given in the case that Dow’s cost of capital for similar U. S. based projects is 10%, thus we chose to use NPV to evaluate the different stages of the project, by discounting each year’s expected cash flow (Exhibit 9, 10 & 11) to the base year-1995. Stage 1 Valuation Given in the case, Dow is bidding on the sale of 51% of PBB, therefore, if we calculate the Present Value of the cash flow, Dow should get 51%. Dow’s total investments for PBB Ethylene cracker and PBB Polyethylene cracker between 1996 and 2000 are $128. 9 million and $28 million in Exhibit 7 from the case. If we compare these figures with Exhibit 9A & 9B investment numbers between 1996 and 2000, they are the same (shown in Table 1); this means that the cash flow of PBB in exhibit 9A is the cash flow after only deducting the investment from Dow. So, we add back Dow’s investment to get the actual cash flow of PBB. Since Dow’s share in PBB is 51%, it gets 51% of PBB’s cash flow and we discount the cash flow. Next we calculate the sum of Present Value of Dow’s investment in each year, and subtract it from Dow’s 51% share in PBB. This number reflects the actual net cash flow been distributed to Dow. The followings summarize the steps of the thinking process: Step 1: Add back Dow’s investment to PBB’s cash flow, this gives the total future cash flow to be distributed among Dow (Dow owns 51% of PBB) and other owners. Step 2: Find the PV of total future cash flows Step 3: Distribute the 51% of the PV of total future cash flow to Dow Step 4: Deduct PV of Dow’s investment from Step 3 The value of Stage 1 is $345. 71 million as shown in Table 2. Stage 2 Valuation In Stage 2, we took polyethylene CFs directly from Exhibit 10, and discount them by appropriate discount rate, and summing up these PV of the cash flows we get the value of Stage 2, $399. 76 million. Another point worth mentioning is the calculation of the terminal value in 2010. Given in the case, the growth is 3. % constant for the project, we took the cash flow in 2010, which is $82 million; multiplied it by (1+g)/(k-g), and discounted it by 16 years to get the present value. Stage 3 Valuation Stage 3 involves building a new ethylene cracker and a polyethylene plant. We summed up the total cash flows of them and find PV of the cash flows in each year. The total of all the PV of the cash flows is the value of Stage 3, $ 993. 69 mill ion shown in Table 4. Now we have the value for each stage, and we get the total of the project, it is worth $1739. 16 million with the value of Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 are $345. 1 million, $399. 763 million and $993. 690 million respectively, under the assumption that each stage is successful just like Dow has planned. Question 6: There are two ways to do Discounted Cash Flow analysis in an international context. We can adjust the discount rate by adding a country’s political risk premium or, adjust the cash flow of the project. In this question, we will discuss the appropriate method of the project’s discount rate. In a country, the higher risk that investors perceived, the higher discount rate that should be applied to the project’s cash flows. The risks we are talking about are not diversifiable. Since November 1995, the Convertibility Law tied the peso to the U. S. dollar, even thought the market thinks the fixed exchange rate would last for several years, but as the executives of Dow, Virgnar and Marcer need to consider the possibility of future crises. Uncertainty about future currency thus will increase the discount rate of project in Argentina, which means that Dow’s cost of capital is increased. Possible impact of government policies relevant to foreign investments is another issue, example increased tax rate. This will leave Dow with a lower investment return than before. In practice it is often difficult to quantify the likelihood and impact of political risk on international investments; given US and Argentine Yields in the case, we can adjust the discount rate by adding the sovereign yield spread between U. S. and Argentina. The idea is that the bond spreads between two countries with same maturity reflects country risk. The country with the higher yield in this case is Argentina; it offers approximately 10% more than the U. S’ yield shown in Exhibit 12. The reason behind that is Argentina has a higher country risk than U. S. , so it has to offer a higher yield in order to compensate the investors for taking additional risks. Therefore Dow should take these additional risks into consideration when evaluating the project. The adjusted discount rate for the project should be 20%, 10% ( cost of capital for similar U. S projects from Q5) + 10% (Argentina’s country risk) and this change in the discount rate will have a big impact on the value of each stage in the project which we will examine later. There are two major advantages of adjusting the discount rate by adding the sovereign yield spread. One of the advantages is the countries’ bond yields are easy to find, observe and access, investors can easily calculate the country risk by subtracting the two bond yields. Another advantage is that the yield of bond is forward-looking, it does not only incorporate today’s condition, also the yield reflects the market’s future expectation of a country’s risk and return so it is a good representation of cost of equity in a particular country. Salomon Smith Barney model is similar to the model that we just described, but with additional inputs and refinements. If we have more information from S&P country sovereign ratings, country ratings, and macro variables, we could adjust discount rate for the project more accurately. Furthermore, the political risk premium that we can add to the discount rate can be scaled up or down based on subjective scores for Dow’s access to capital, susceptibility of the project investment to Argentina’s political risk and the importance of the investment for Dow. Therefore, the more relevant information we have, the more accurate discount rate we can construct to help evaluate the project. Question 7 The calculation process for is basically the same as in question 5, except here we use the cost of capital 20% instead of 10% to discount expected cash flow. Calculation shows in Table 5 (in Million U$). The project worth is $464. 734 which about only 20% of the project value if it located in US. The largely decrease in project value is due to the higher country risk in Argentina than in the US. The higher country risk was reflected in the higher discount rates which lower the present value of the cash flow. In stage 1, the present value of expected cash flow (CFs) is 160. 32 which is 54% lower than the stage 1 value in question 5. The percentage of decrease is lower than the total project value’s decrease, since most of the value in stage 1 was generate from early years cash flow. The country risk in the short run is lower than in the long run. Because in the long run there are more chances for uncertainty events to happened. In stage 2, the present value of CFs is 194. 81 and it is 51% lower than the project value in US which also less than the percentage decrease of the total project value. And this is due to the same reason as in stage 1. In stage 3, the value is $109. 837 which is 89% lower than the question 5’s value. The significant decreasing value is due to the value of stage 3 is mainly from terminal value. Since there are higher country risk and more uncertainty in the long run, stage 3’s long run cash flows ( include terminal value) are heavily discounted which lead to low present value. Question8 Dow should bid for PBB no matter the project is in US or Argentine, since the total project values and stage 1 values are both positive in these two countries. Because Dow is an American company, the shareholders care about the US returns. The Project cash flows and stage 1cash flows are discounted by the cost of capital in US and get positive present values, which mean the PPB will increase Dow’s shareholder wealth. To determining how much Dow should bid, the company should aware that there are some requirements made by the Argentina government. First, the government set the minimum accepted price is 150million U$, which is the lowest range for Dow’s bid. Second, the government requires the bidder to have a statement of net worth of at least 5 billion U$. While, Dow has two other competitors Copesul and Perez also want to bid PPB. However, Copesul only has net worth $929,538,000 and Perez has net worth $1,461,000,000. Even if Copesul and Perez combine to bid PPB, their total net worth around $2,391,000,000 will be smaller than the $5 billion requirement. Therefore, Dow should not been threatened by Copesul and Perez’s bid, and they should not affect Dow’s biding strategy. Therefore, for the bidding price: Value of the bid= Value of (stage 1+2+3)-cost of PBB- cost of Polisur The cost of stage 3 is already included in the value of stage 3. In question 3, we obtain the Value of (stage 1+2+3) equal to$464. 734 million. Since the Value of the bid>0, then cost of (PBB+ Polisur) < $464. 734million According to the government requirement, Dow could bid PBB for $150 million, then their higher range for Dow’s bid should be $ 314. 734 million ($464. 734million- $150 million). Table 1: Table 2: Table 3: Table 4: Table 5: