Take home exam. 3 cases not to be more then 6 total pages Essay

Take home exam. 3 cases not to be more then 6 total pages - Essay Example 10 (par. 1)2, of the Constitution.3 The Court’s majority opinion (delivered by Chief Justice Taney) found for the defendants (Warren Bridge proprietors). After first citing the relevant language in Court’s prior holding in Satterlee v. Matthewson (27 U.S. 380, 1829)—â€Å"If the State law is said to be retrospective, be it so. But retrospective laws which do not impair the obligation of contracts or partake of the character of ex post facto laws are not condemned or forbidden by any part of the instrument [Constitution of the United States] (Id., at 413)†Ã¢â‚¬â€and admitting quite candidly that the free passage character of the Warren Bridge had rendered the Charles River Bridge franchise of no value, stated that nonetheless the complainants’ saw â€Å"None of the faculties or franchises granted to that corporation †¦ revoked by the Legislature, and its right to take tolls granted by the charter remains unaltered [36 U.S. 430, at 549].† Of greater import than the specifics of the case in question was the thinking of the Court on the implications of a decision in favor of the complainants. Chief Justice Taney addressed these in a series of rhetorical questions and answers. â€Å"And what would be the fruits of this doctrine of implied contracts on the part of the states and of property in a line of travel by a corporation if it were now sanctioned by the Court? To what results would it lead us to? If it is to be found in the charter to this bridge, the same process of reasoning must discover it in the various acts which have been passed within the last forty years for turnpike companies. And what is to be the extent of the privileges of exclusion on the different sides of the road†¦ The millions of property which have been invested in railroads and canals upon lines of travel will be put in jeopardy [Id., at 552].† Justice Story argued in dissent. While he detailed a number of points at

Thai - Writing System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thai - Writing System - Research Paper Example One adds special markings to the main sign that makes the syllables have a different vowel and becomes an alphabet. Thai writing system is based on Brahmi script developed to write Siamese or Thai language. Thai script invention was attributed to King Ramkhamhaeng during his reign. Khmer had the possibility of influencing Thai alphabet. The oldest Thai writing dates from 1283. The pronunciation of letters in Thai script is restricted with complex rules where most letters represent similar sounds. The fact was that many sounds established in Indian languages were not categorized in the Thai language; therefore, the same letters came to represent similar sounds in Thai (Suthiwan 23). The phonological changes have made Thai language to combine different sounds into a single sound. The sounds of various Thai letters vary depending on where the letters occurs either on the start or the end of a syllable. The syllable can be ended by six consonants, including /k/, /m/, /p/, /t/, /ng/, and /n/. In Thai alphabet, the beginning of a syllable is represented by letter C- while at the end of the syllable represented by letter –C. In Thai language there are blue letters including L, H and M, below every phonetic value of the letters. The blue letters denote the class in which letters belong. Another feature of the Thai alphabet is that every letter is categorized into one of the classes including high, middle and low (Suthiwan 37). When the letter appears at the start of a consonant or the syllable ending, the inherent vowel is always left unpronounced. Extra marks and strokes are added around the essential letter in order to create a different vowel rather than the inherent. Loan words from Pali and Sanskrit are also examples of vowel markers and Thai letters. Thai is categorized as a tonal language such that the pitch is the important to the proper pronunciation of a syllable and how it sounds. There are five different tones in Thai including

Competition of Coffee Makers: Nespresso vs Keurig

Competition of Coffee Makers: Nespresso vs Keurig Laura L. Gay Abstract My paper will address the supply chain of Nespresso and its competitor Keurig to other coffee machines. Coffee is not just a drink but an addiction to some. The summary you will review provides a description of the companies along with some historical facts of interest. Specific details are provided for each companies supply chain and sustainability from products offered, purchasing of coffee beans, to interest in farming of the coffee plant for a quality product. My summation will give recommendations as to what Nespresso can do to improve their supply chain to be more in-line with Keurig, while increasing profitability. The Competition of the Coffee Makers Coffee is not merely a drink, to many it becomes an addiction so much so they can’t live without their daily dose. In 2011 up to over 400 million cups of coffee were consumed a day. The choice is to pay the prices of you elixir of choice at a barista or to purchase your own coffee machine making the brew of your craving. Though so many still get their choice of coffee at coffeehouses over 86 percent of Americans get their fix at home. Now comes the important part. What machine do you choose the simple coffee maker or a more complex model that will provide the ultimate barista coffee from Black Decker, Bun, and West Bend to your more sophisticated electric machine Nespresso or Keurig? In my paper I will discuss the supply chain of Nespresso verses Keurig. Organizational Profile In this section I will address the concept of the company along with their focus on business. I will also provide information on where the corporate headquarters are located, number of locations along with the number of employees it counts among the business. The roadmap of the sustainability will show how key it is to growth of the organization. Profile of the Organization Nespresso began in 1986 on the concept to enable anyone to create their own perfect cup of espresso coffee. The company created a product to revolutionize the way people enjoy their coffee shaping global culture. Their focus is on delivery quality coffees with consumers having the ultimate experience. Nespresso competes on the business-to-consumer and business-to business segments. The concept is to allow consumers to enjoy coffee at the highest quality at home recreating the barista experience. The Nespresso system is designed to insure consistent quality in the portioned coffee sector as one of the fastest growing global beverage brands. The production of the Nespresso capsule is produced in one of two state-of-the-art centers in Switzerland. The company is a globally managed business of the Nestle Group. The corporate headquarters is located in Lausanne, Switzerland, in almost 60 countries and counts for over 9,500 employees worldwide. Business Strategy and Structure Nepresso business strategy is the driver for the companies innovation, quality and consumer demand. Their passion for quality and exceeding consumer expectations is the driving force for their continued growth. Their business model masters the quality of coffees from the farmer to the consumer. The company has three Key Growth Drivers: creating highest quality Grand Cru coffees, creating long-lasting consumer relationships and creating sustainable business success. The quality of beans is of the finest selection. Only an estimated 1-2% of the coffee grown meets the Nespresso specific taste and aroma profiles. The innovation of the Nespresso systems deliver a balance of water temperature, quantity, speed and pressure while producing consistently exceptional coffee for their consumers. The company is constantly in touch with its consumers developing interactions that allow them to evolve and anticipate consumer needs. Over 70% of Nespresso employees in the markets are in direct contact with the consumers. Building on Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s â€Å"Creating Shared Value† principles allowed the development of the Ecolaboration consolidating all the company’s efforts into one framework for partnerships and innovation. Recognizing their responsibility to the environment the company balances economic, environmental and social impact launching the Nespresso AAA Sustainability Quality Program. Supply Chain The supply chain in our book refers to the process that moves information and materials to and from the manufacturing and services processes of the company. Including the supply chain is the process of the products to the consumer. We will discuss how the company promotes sustainability, performance and patterns of change. Current Supply Chain Performance Nespresso reaches its goal for 2013 with meeting its goals the company seeks to further enhance supply chain performance but continuing to focus on key inputs. The company has set new goals for 2020 with expanding its farmer training program in Africa; expand its capacity for collection of aluminum capsules for its coffee pods, and increasing agroforestry program that was rolled out in the supply chain. To support this the company will source 80% of its coffee from AAA certified farms, offer 75% for collection capacity supporting recycling and reducing 20% if its carbon footprint for each cup of coffee. Patterns of Change in the Supply Chain Recently announced Nespresso invested about $500 million in Ghana and many other countries in Africa to boost the production of coffee. The investment is to be broken down over a seven-year period. As part of the supply chain performance the company has launched its AAA program to improve the well-being of farmers while increasing the quality of the product. This opportunity will increase quality beans for coffee production by further increasing sales for the companies coffee machines. The forward thinking will help to acknowledge the growing taste America has for coffee along with the increasing elixir choices. Key Issues in the Supply Chain One key issue for Nespresso machines as a single-serving coffee pod is the company is no longer alone in the market. Keurig Green Mountain a key competitor is now the dominant player with an estimated 130 competing coffee pod makers with over 50 of them designed to fit the Nespresso Machines. With the NE SN.VX + 0.22% for Nespressor and GMCR +1.33% you can see the impact Keurig has to Nespresso’s profitability. In order to combat the competition the company has expanded its sales of the machine in new markets and is keeping its pods competitive. Another key issue is rivals have alleged the company has set unfair hurdles. Competitor Analysis Now that we have completed the analysis of Nespresso we will review several key competitors. The top three competitors will be Keurig, West Bend and Bun. I will provide a brief organizational profile that will reflect the history of the companies. In review of the companies we will address their supply chain performance and their similarities. Key Competitors Keurig was founded in 1981 has more than 6,000 employees, 460 engineers and scientist, over 8 production facilities in America and offers over 250 beverage varieties for their customers. The company believes all consumers deserve to drink for themselves, enable consumers to self-create high quality beverage that will suit their own needs. The company value â€Å"Our purpose create the ultimate beverage experience in every life we touch from source to cup transforming the way the world understands business.† A powerful statement for the transforming the way the world sees business. West Bend is a leader in electric kitchen appliances and has been in business since 1911. The company offers a variety of products delivering performance, quality and value to consumers. Founded in West Bend, Wisconsin the company strives to make kitchen activities easier. It is a privately held company by Focus Product Group International, LLC. The company offers a multitude of coffee machines from commercial to single cup. Bun founded in 1957 developed the first coffee maker for commercial use. They offer both commercial and home coffee makers. The company’s headquarters are in Springfield, IL founded on the core values of honesty, integrity and courtesy. The â€Å"My Cafà ©Ã¢â‚¬  model the company’s first single cup coffee debuted in 2005. The company continues to design and manufacture brewers such as the Phase Brew which heats and only releases water at optimal temperatures developed in 2010. Competitor Supply Chain Performance In review of the similarities of the key competitors they all focus on key initiatives such as quality and innovation. Companies such as West Bend and Bun focus on various electric kitchen products designed for consumer performance and ease. Unlike companies such as Nespresso and Keurig that focus strictly on coffee machines, coffee and tea for consumers as specialty items. The performance for these companies has proven competitive. Keurig the key competitor with Nespresso continues to advance building a resilient supply chain. They support fair trade, building relationships with their suppliers, and track issues driven to impact the company’s business and communities around the world. The company focuses on fair trade that helps to build their supply chain ensuring a stable supply of high quality coffee. Keurig much like Nespresso is at the heart of their fair trade model with a target date of 2020 to improve farmer living under Keurig’s Resilient Supply Chain model. Strategic Considerations and Recommendations In this section we will address the alternative solutions proposed to increase supply chain performance for Nespresso. We will discuss alternative solutions the company can use to enhance profitability. One item of interest in the news we will address is the lawsuit against Nespresso, the lawsuit address unfair changing of the capsule to eliminate competition. Alternate Solutions Proposed One key issue I found upon researching the companies is that Keurig applies research technology for addressing the Rust Leaf problem that impacts coffee bean plants. While Nespresso focused on further education of its farmers to insure quality they should also consider the disease problem that affects the coffee plant. Nespresso is on track with their commitment and goals set for 2020 deadlines. The second key issue is to focus on product offerings such as that of Keurig giving consumers more options for elixirs and broaden its tea products. The company also may want to focus more on consumer feedback like Keurig to gather their interest, what is their likes and dislikes focusing on improvement in these areas. The limited offering of 22 coffees for enjoyment does not address the broader range of coffee coinsures. A solution to Nepresso lawsuit is to meet it head one. The company offers a machine with Pods that are easily duplicated allowing competitors to infringe on the company’s profit margin. Due to the ability of 50 other competitors offering similar products Nepresso decided to change the pod 4 times in one year and then decided to discontinue the warranty on their product if found consumers were not using their pods. With the multiple changes to the pod and the discontinuation of the warranty they not only upset their buyers but the competition. Recommended Solution My recommended solution for the company is to develop a newer more innovative model like Keurig where the ability to copy the pod is near to impossible while phasing out prior models slowly to not have a dramatic impact on its consumers. They need an innovative way of advertising the company’s new offering with the addition of more coffee offerings. The constant changing of the pods has to be costing the company money. Recognize the error in the changes and focus more on your product availability. Addressing a new innovative model, stepping up to address the lawsuit and offering more to your consumer based on feedback will help to improve the brand name along with the company’s profitability. Conclusion A company needs to look for solutions to their supply chain utilizing information with its competitors recognizing what works best. The consumer’s opinion has a valuable impact on your business; making negative changes to help incur your profitability may not be in your best interest. Promoting recycling of the Pod from Nespresso will help members understand the sustainability of the product noting its ability to be reused and the material aluminum is to help preserve the taste of the product. References http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44718031/ns/business-cnbc_tv/t/coffee-addiction/#.VCbG7010xMs http://www.nestle-nespresso.com/about-us/our-company http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/09/24/how-coffee-can-change-world-nespresso-style http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/09/24/how-coffee-can-change-world-nespresso-style http://gbcghana.com/1.1852324 http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/04/17/bad-news-for-nespresso-pioneer-of-the-coffee-pod/ http://www.keuriggreenmountain.com/en/OurCompany/OurValues.aspx http://www.bunnathome.com/about-us http://westbend.com/ http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/07/george-clooney-coffee-pod-problem/

The Contributions of Isaac Newton Essay -- Sir Isaac Newton Essays

Isaac Newton was born in Lincolnshire, on December 25, 1642. He was educated at Trinity College in Cambridge, and resided there from 1661 to 1696 during which time he produced the majority of his work in mathematics. During this time New ton developed several theories, such as his fundamental principles of gravitation, his theory on optics otherwise known as the Lectiones Opticae, and his work with the Binomial Theorem. This is only a few theories that that Isaac Newton contributed to the world of mathematics. Newton contributed to all aspects of mathematics including geometry, algebra, and physics. Isaac Newton was born into a poor farming family in 1642 with no father. Newton's father had passed away just a few months before he was born. His mother intended Newton to become a farmer but his lack of interest and the encouragement of John Stokes, Master of the Grantham grammar school and that of his uncle, William Ayscough, led to his eventual admission to his uncle's college. Trinity College, Cambridge, as a student on June 5, 1661. As a boy in Grantham, Newton had been intolerable to his servants and found it difficult to get along with his fellow grammar school peers. As a student, he bought his own food and paid a reduced fee in return for domestic service, a situation that appears unnecessary in view of his mother's wealth. In the summer of 1662, Newton experienced, some sort of religious crisis which led him to write, in Sheltonian shorthand, his many sins, such as his threat to burn his mother and step-father. As a student at Cambridge Newton found himself among surroundings which were likely to develop and enhance his powers. In his first semester Newton happened to discover a book on astrology, but cou... ...Works Cited: 1. Isaac Newton. Picture of Artwork. 17 Feb. 2015 http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/newton.jpg>. 2. Newton' Telescope. Picture of Object. 1670-1720. 17 Feb. 2015 http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/telescope.gif 3. Newton Refracting Light. Picture of Artwork. 17 Feb. 2015 . 4. Newton Sees Falling Apple. Drawing. 17 Feb. 2015 http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Science/Scientists/Scientists-36.html 5. Principia. Picture of Book. 17 Feb. 2015 http://www.manhattanrarebooks-science.com/images/newton%20daniel.jpg 6. A. "Isaac Newton." Galenet. 16 Feb. 2015 . B. "The Newtonian Moment." ProQuest. 17 Feb. 2015 http://proquest.umi.com/>. C. "Newton on Mathematics." ProQuest. 17 Feb. 2015 http://proquest.umi.com/>.

Modern Frankenstein Essay

In today’s society there are many people that could be considered as ‘modern Frankensteins’. Scientists have made it possible for us to choose the sex of our child by gender selection, clone sheep-remember Dolly the Sheep? And of course, let us not forget the huge growth in cosmetic surgery. Have today’s scientist’s, like Frankenstein, gone too far in trying to create the perfect human? The following video charts Michael Jackson’s ever increasing cosmetic surgeries. This world renowned superstar wanted to have the ‘perfect’ face and science made this possible. But did they go too far? Based on this video and the text, is there a danger in wanting to achieve ‘perfection’? Do these forms illuminate the dangers of becoming ‘Godlike’ by changing your physical appearance (which is God given) and by creating life? Is Michael Jackson now the ‘modern monster’? He like Frankenstein’s Monster is isolated and not understood because of his frightening and grotesque appearance, but there is the underlying need for acceptance in a society that is very much focused on looks. Whilst you’re watching this video I want you to think about the following things and be able to complete the attached questionnaire. Parallels that can be drawn between Frankenstein and today’s scientists: Both are actively playing with life. Both wanting to achieve the ideal. Parallels between Michael and the Monster The Monster was created to be an ‘angel’ but his appearance did not match his personality. Frankenstein made a gross oversight by not making his creation look angelic, and as a result, he was marginalised, hated, feared, abused, taunted and unloved by society. Similarly, Michael has made himself a social outcast and extremely isolated by having too much cosmetic surgery. Both are products of maybe the extremes of the successful advances in science-science used in the wrong way but for good reasons. It is said on the video of Michael Jackson’s father Joe Jackson ‘that he wanted to create the right thing but did this in the wrong way. ‘ Much like Frankenstein. Both Michael Jackson and The Monster are concerned with acceptance. They have an overwhelming need for this because both want a life filled with peace, love and kindness, yet because of the way they look, this is almost impossible. Would you consider Michael Jackson to be a Monster based on his appearance? Would you consider Frankenstein’s Monster as a monster based on our understanding of what a Monster is and on what you have read? Do you have any sympathy for the Monster because he found it difficult to be kind and loving because he was met with so much hate because of how he looked? Do you think that the cosmetic surgeon who worked on Michael Jackson went too far? Is being a Monster based on one’s appearance or one’s personality? Think about comparing The Monster or Michael Jackson to someone like Hitler who did monstrous things? Think about whether you judge people based on their looks? Have you ever misjudged someone by doing this? Questions Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Difference Between Group and Team Diversity and Dynamics

The Difference between Group and Team Paper Difference between Group and Team Diversity and Dynamics Team The composition is planned and is set. People are recruited, groomed and trained or specific jobs that match their interest. People are recruited, groomed and trained or specific jobs that match their interests and the needs of the team. Each job has a specific set of skills. People with those skills or the ability to acquire them are recruited for the job. Teams have rookies and understudies who learn from those who are accomplished. They are preparing for the day they will lead. When people do not perform well, the team suffers. The team has ways of assisting the person or has systems for building their person's skills or moving him or her to another position. The planning by teams is called practice, run-throughs, or rehearsals. No matter how talented any individual team member, everyone plans. Teams have rituals, routines, and ceremonies that everyone learns and shares. Teams regularly review performance. Teams often prepare for the next piece of work based on the evaluation of the last piece of work. Teams know at most times how they are doing – if they are winning, scoring, or moving toward their stated goals. Teams often establish â€Å"Halls of Fame† retiring an honored jersey. Those who have performed well are held in high esteem. Members of teams are easily recognizable. There are usually colors, logos, T-shirts, and most important, common slang, songs, language, and history to link them to each other and the team. Time is important to teams. Most events have specific starting and ending times. Teams are often judged by what they can accomplish within a certain time frame (Klein, 2009, p. 77-80). Teams understand how important it is to consider the fans, the audience, everyone affected by the game. Teams know and respect the game's many stakeholders. Teams build team spirit into their plans and make sure to affirm and celebrate the work they accomplish together (Klein, 2009). Group The composition of the group changes from meeting to meeting – often without forethought. Members of groups are encouraged to take on jobs, positions, or tasks even if they are unprepared or not skilled in that area – and everyone knows it! People move in and out of jobs based on their inability to say no when asked. Little or no training or support is given by the group to individuals accepting jobs. . Leadership is often one-person deep, with the group highly dependent on a handful of people. When people either do not perform well or fail to perform at all, the group rarely acknowledges the failure. Groups often resist planning and use planning as corrective rather than proactive or preventive strategies. Planning is mostly done by a few people. Groups rarely create routine operations. Groups usually do not celebrate or debrief victories or defeats. Groups rarely assess their progress in achieving their stated goals or objectives in order to chart and measure their work. Groups rarely assess their progress in achieving their stated goals or objectives in order to chart and measure their work. Members of groups are often hard to identify. There’s rarely anything linking them to the group. Groups are often inconsistent in what time things start and end – especially meetings. Groups sometimes operate without thinking about their constituency (Klein, 2009, p. 77-80). Groups sometimes fail to develop a sense of team spirit. They assume everyone understands and works together. (Klein, 2009). Diversity and Dynamics Conclusion Reference Johnson, Heiman, & O'Neal. (2000). ProQuest. Journal of workplace learning, Vol_. (12),Iss_4, Laroche, Lionel. (2009). ProQuest. CMA Management. Vol. (75). Iss. 2; p. 22-26.

Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel

Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel Introduction Various companies present diverse working terms and conditions based on the business environment and other factors such as such business profitability. Globalization issues have been shown to impact performance outcomes of business establishments across the world. Increased adoption technology and expansion of businesses continuously make firms enter into emerging markets to increase their sales.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The entry into new markets often disrupts long running standards. This paper considers two options of working in international companies. One options involves making a decision about working for a MNE, such as IBM moving into a developing country, for example, India. The second option involves deciding to work for a company from an emerging economy, such as Bharti Airtel, moving into a Western market, such as Fr ance. The first option (working for a Western MNE) It is crucial to consider important aspects with regard to many MNEs in the developed world that focus on moving into developing markets in order to make a decision whether to work for them. The most recent global meltdown caused many MNEs in the US to rethink abut their operations and focus on entering developing markets such as India. Based on the growth of about 70% that is expected from the emerging markets, I would choose to work for an MNE moving into a growing market. In fact, it has been projected that India and China would contribute to 40% growth of developing markets. This could imply that working for a firm establishing itself in such markets would provide an excellent opportunity for growth and expansion. It would be essential to consider the following external influences that would either negatively or positively impact the performance of a MNE in a foreign developing world: Cultural diversification Competitive models Technology trends Political issues Legal matters Environmental issues Industry structure and drivers of the economy Customer expectations I would play an important role in offering the management advice with regard to setting operations in a global market characterized by a relatively high level of market growth. A comparison between the expected gains and challenges would be made. Ultimately, a decision would be made on the grounds that there will be more benefits than challenges. On the contrary, it would also be important to make a decision to work for a MNE in a developing market on the premises that the management plans to execute strategies that would aim at preventing negative impacts of external factors in a new international market.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An analysis of internal factors of a company would also be helpful when making a decision about working for a MNE. First, an analysis of the management vision would help. The vision should be structured in such a way that it supports the operations of the company in international markets. Second, the strategy of the firm being considered would help an individual to realize whether or not it is destined to realize excellent growth trends in the future. For example, it would be important to consider if the firm has adopted strategic marketing and management models for short-term and long-term goals. Third, it would be essential to analyze the extent to which the management creates value of the investments made by shareholders. If there would be a high level of value creation, then it would greatly determine the decision to work for a MNE. On the other hand, a firm that does not have excellent value creation trends would not present an important avenue in which to work. The fourth internal factor to be considered is the past performance trends of a MNE. It would be practica l to think that a firm with a good history of performance trends would also perform excellently in new international market. On the contrary, it would be quite difficult for a firm that has not been successful in local markets to perform well in an international market. The option has the following advantages: High chances of exploitation of local economies Achievement of economies of scale Cost leadership However, the option would be characterized by the following disadvantages: High competition from established companies Pressure from global integration Product customization issues Second option (working for a company from an emerging country into a developed market in the west) It is apparent that emerging and developed markets have different opportunities and market characteristics. For example, a developed market in the US would be characterized by a much higher level of competition from business rivals than an emerging one. In addition, a developed market would require a h igh degree of product standardization and customization than it would be expected in an emerging market, such as India and China. In order to make a decision to work for a firm such as Bharti Airtel in a foreign market, it would important to consider essential factors that would help in the short-term or long-term realization of goals.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Working for a MNE and Bharti Airtel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Organizational structure would be analyzed because it would determine the extent to which a firm would operate in a new market. If a firm’s organizational structure would allow efficient flow of management information, then it would result in excellent performance outcomes. Pricing strategy adopted by MNEs in emerging market would probably be utilized in establishing operations in the developed world. For example, Kenya’s Safaricom and India’s Bharti Airtel have p rovided excellent low pricing models that have generated the best revenues for the two firms. Therefore, the adoption of low pricing strategies in the developed market would also help firms to record very good performance outcomes. The achievement of globalization goals would be based on ideal chain value models that focus on prices and customer satisfaction. In the past, many firms from emerging economies have proved to be successful in developed countries, including Ranbaxy, MISC, Embraer, Teneris, and Sasol, among others. Before making a decision about working with a MNE from an emerging market, it would also be critical to take into account the drivers of internal integration. Pressures for global integration and pressures for local responsiveness would influence the drivers. Thus, the catalysts for internationalization would be utilized to maximize efficiency and facilitate the processes of assembling differentiated portions of a product into a standardized whole. I would go fo r the choice of working for a MNE originating from a developing market on the premises of its level of IT integration in its operations. In the contemporary world, the use of IT is essential for all operations of a business, including product design, production, marketing, and distribution. The advantages of this choice would be the following:Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consumer divergence High chances of a firm’s leverage Low pressure for global integration Increased avenues of sources of global expansion operations However, the option would be faced by the following disadvantages: High competition from multinational firms Threat of substitute products Adverse government policies

Transitional Expressions - Definitions and Examples

Transitional Expressions s Definition A transitional expression is a word or phrase that shows how the meaning of one sentence is related to the meaning of the preceding sentence. Also called a  transition, transitional word, or signal word. Though important for establishing cohesion in a text, transitional expressions can be overworked to the point that they distract readers and obscure ideas. Overuse of these signals can seem heavy-handed, says Diane Hacker. Usually, you will use transitions quite naturally, just where readers need them (The Bedford Handbook, 2013). See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Exercise in Identifying Transitional ExpressionsTransitionCoherenceCohesion Exercise: Combining and Connecting SentencesCohesion Strategies: A List of Transitional Words and PhrasesCue WordSample Paragraphs: Junk Food Junkie and Confessions of a Slob Paragraph Transition Transitional Paragraph Examples and Observations Far to his left, in the northeast, beyond the valley and the terraced foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the two volcanoes, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, rose clear and magnificent into the sunset. Nearer, perhaps ten miles distant, and on a lower level than the main valley, he made out the village of Tomalà ­n, nestling behind the jungle, from which rose a thin blue scarf of illegal smoke, someone burning wood for carbon. Before him, on the other side of the American highway, spread fields and groves, through which meandered a river, and the Alcapancingo road.(Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano, 1947)The secret is that our holidays should rest not only our minds and bodies but our characters too. Take, for example, a good man. His goodness wants a holiday as much as his poor weary head or his exhausted body.(E.V. Lucas, The Perfect Holiday, 1912)Over the years his family had turned ironical and lost its gift for action. It was an honorable and violent family, but eventually the violence had been deflected and turned inward.(Walker Percy, The Last Gentleman, 1966) Santayana was the last aesthetician to describe beauty without self-consciousness; and that was in 1896. As a result, we now live in a relativists world where one mans beauty is another mans beast.(Gore Vidal, On Prettiness, 1978)If Larry shoots field goals at 0.6 probability of success, he will get five in a row about once every thirteen sequences (0.65). If Joe, by contrast, shoots only 0.3, he will get his five straight only about once in 412 times. In other words, we need no special explanation for the apparent pattern of long runs.(Stephen Jay Gould, The Streak of Streaks, 1988) Using But as a Transitional ExpressionLearn to alert the reader as soon as possible to any change in mood from the previous sentence. At least a dozen words will do the job for you: but, yet, however, nevertheless, still, instead, thus, therefore, meanwhile, now, later, today, subsequently, and several more. I cant overstate how much easier it is for readers to process a sentence if you start with but wh en youre shifting direction. . . .Many of us were taught that no sentence should begin with but. If thats what you learned, unlearn ittheres no stronger word at the start.(William Zinsser, On WritingWell, Collins, 2006) Using Specific TransitionsTransitional expressions within a paragraph and between paragraphs help the reader move from one detail or supporting point in an essay to the next. When first learning to organize an essay, beginning writers may start each body paragraph and every new example with a transitional expression (first, for example, next). These common transitions are useful and clear, but they can sound mechanical. To improve the flow of your ideas and the strength of your written voice, try to replace some of these expressions with specific phrases (at the start of the meeting or in some peoples minds) or with dependent clauses (when drivers use cell phones or as I approached the intersection).(Paige Wilson and Teresa Ferster Glazier, The Least You Should Know about English, Form A: Writing Skills, 11th ed. Wadsworth, 2012) It turns out . . .Incidentally, am I alone in finding the expression ‘it turns out’ to be incredibly useful? It allows you to make swift, succ inct, and authoritative connections between otherwise randomly unconnected statements without the trouble of explaining what your source or authority actually is. It’s great. It’s hugely better than its predecessors ‘I read somewhere that . . . or the craven they say that . . . because it suggests not only that whatever flimsy bit of urban mythology you are passing on is actually based on brand new, ground breaking research, but that it is research in which you yourself were intimately involved. But again, with no actual authority anywhere in sight.(Douglas Adams, Hangover Cures. The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time. Macmillan, 2002)

Business Law for Educational Administration

As observed in the given scenario, Jim and Steve were regarded to be the directors and shareholders of XYZ Pty Ltd. They have their own shares in this corporate trustee. Jim had engaged $3000 in a consulting firm named ABC Pty Ltd since it will help the business to grow. The issue that arose was that the moment Jim engaged himself into the business XYZ Pyt Ltd became insolvent. The individual who will be liable to ABC Pty Ltd for the $3000 consultancy fees is all the shareholders and directors of the pany. However, there was no contract formed between Jim and Leon from the ABC Pty Ltd. Jim realized that if he invests that amount in this consultancy firm then, his trustee firm would be able to stand or make a position in the market. Therefore, Jim without consulting the members of the pany invested the amount. It can be stated that Jim along with other shareholders and directors will be liable to ABC Pyt Ltd. According to the pany Law, the directors and shareholders of the pany will be liable if one of the directors is at fault. A pany is an artificial person and therefore it cannot be sued or be liable for the activities of the pany[1]. A shareholder of a pany is said to be limited by shares that has limited liability. However, the shareholders are said to be limited to the nominal value of its shares. The pany has a separate legal personality as pared to t he shareholders and a separate liability to the individuals associated with the pany. It can be analyzed that if a pany b es insolvent based on the director’s fault then, that particular director and other existing shareholders will be liable for it. A shareholder is said to be not that interested in the pany but since Jim was one of the directors of the pany he will be liable for such an occurrence[2]. Such a situation has been observed in the case of . Shlensky v Wrigley. However, the beneficiaries of the fixed family trust were their two adult children Mathew and Jenna. Anyhow, the XYZ Pyt Ltd was struggling to find a foothold in the market that Jim engaged $3000 to the consultancy firm of ABC Pyt Ltd. Jim was confident about his investment in the ABC Pyt Ltd. As per the panies Act, the directors of a pany are exposed to the liabilities as a consequence of a breach of their duties. Liabilities generally arise under various statutes but in this scenario, it arose under the pany Law. Lastly, it can be concluded stating that Jim and Steve will be held liable to ABC Pyt Ltd for the consultancy fees of $3000. In this given case, Cheryl and Beryl were business partners and had started a business called CB Investments. Both of them made a partnership deed with the help of a lawyer. Both of them buys a mercial plot of land from Arnold. Beryl also bought a residential block from Arnold that Cheryl was unaware about[3]. The mercial land bought by them was later sold and they earned a huge amount of profits. After twelve months or after a year, Cheryl found out that Beryl had purchased the residential block to make a lucrative investment. Cheryl and Beryl were partners and started a business of investment together. Therefore, they can exercise the rights of partners on each other and as well as on their purchases. In Australia, as per the Limitations and Partnership Act, a partner cannot sue the other partner based on an incident that happened a year ago[4]. The limitation of the time-period for suing the partner is less than twelve months. Being partners, they have equal rights and must have equal knowledge of the activities taking place in the business. If Cheryl had knowledge about this incident before the period of twelve months, she could have sued Beryl for keeping secrets from the other partner[5]. The profit earned on the residential property of $300,000 was also not informed to Cheryl. It was the duty of Beryl to inform Cheryl about the extra profit earned on the residential block. However, as per the Law, the partners will be entitled to receive the same amount of profits and should know about what the other partner is upto. Instead of suing Beryl, Cheryl can ask for her share from the $300.000 that was earned from the residential block[6]. Beryl will be liable for keeping secrets from Cheryl. According to law, an incorporated limited partnership where a limited partner is involved   will be liable only for a liability that has been acquired by the partnership. However, in certain circumstances, the limited partner will be held liable if the manner of the acts occur within the same State. A voluntary partnership can wind up if the agreement formed does not exist. As seen in the case of Griffiths CJ in Land v James Morrison & Co Ltd, one of the partners failed to sue the other partner because the duration was not less than twelve months. The CB Investments was a business set up by both Cheryl and Beryl in Queensland. The partnership deed should be a well documented one so that Cheryl can claim for her shares but since the limited period was twelve months and she found out about it a y ear later it will not make any difference[7]. However, Cheryl will be advised to sue Beryl for keeping secrets from her during the course of their partnership but will fail to do so because of the limited period. Lastly, it can be concluded stating that according to law, a partner can sue the other partner during their course of partnership based on the limitation period time. It can be observed it is important to discuss and disclose the activities of the partners during the course of partnership. Suing each other depends on the period of limitation[8]. Chen, Vivien, Ian Ramsay, and Michelle Welsh. "Corporate law reform in Australia: An analysis of the influence of ownership structures and corporate failure." (2016). De Silva Lokuwaduge, Chitra, and Anona Armstrong. ‘The impact of governance on the performance of the higher education sector in Australia.’  Educational Management Administration & Leadership  43.5 (2015): 811-827. Du Plessis, Jean Jacques, and Andreas Rà ¼hmkorf. ‘New trends regarding sustainability and integrated reporting for panies: what protection do directors have?.’ (2015). Lyons, Malcolm, and Amanda Stark. "Enhanced scope for extension of patent term for pharmaceuticals under Australian law."  Pharmaceutical patent analyst  4.5 (2015): 351-355. Mà ©ndez, Carlos Fernà ¡ndez, Shams Pathan, and Rubà ©n Arrondo Garcà ­a. ‘Monitoring capabilities of busy and overlap directors: Evidence from Australia.’  Pacific-Basin Finance Journal  35 (2015): 444-469. Murray, Philomena. "EU–Australia relations: a strategic partnership in all but name?."  Cambridge Review of International Affairs  29.1 (2016): 171-191. Voon, Tania SL, and Andrew D. Mitchell. "The Trans-Pacific Partnership as a Development of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement: Services Liberalization and Investment Protection." (2016). Warner, Michael, and Rory Sullivan. "Introduction."  Putting Partnerships to Work. Routledge, 2017. 12-23.

Animal Make Us More Human Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Animal Make Us More Human - Essay Example Naturally children, when left to their own devices, will take the first step and form activities and other stories in the world which is around them. With children who have passed their toddler age, most imaginative games and plays begin because of parental guidance or supervision. Unstructured free play takes place in many varying environments, but, the outdoors may give more chances for free play because of movable items, such as dirt, sticks, rocks, leaves, which provide them with the opportunity of creation and exploration. Some parents do not find it easy to give unstructured play time for the kids. Giving kids time without continuous supervision and guidance, in particular outside play, is difficult. It feels difficult to find reasonable concern, over-attention and the yearning to get kids familiar with freedom and learned from their own experiences and mistakes. Emotional intelligence and socialization is increased through physical movement and shared interactions. Children also work together to come up with what game they have to play and then agree the rules and how to deal with scenarios that always involve the varying perspectives of all. These works they do together build in the social qualities that everyone want for their kids. Children are building with self-awareness, compassion, empathy, flexibility and self-regulation. This emotional development is endorsed with the physical health as kids playing outside move a lot. In children and adults alike the level of physical activity has been well recognized to reduce the anxiety, stress and despair and to enhance the overall mood. This research is thin in young adults and youngest kids get the most advantage as well. Free play in young children and toddlers most often involves the burst of gross motor activity over a time period with numerous ones over a time period. Most of the children are laughing

Management information system Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management information system - Assignment Example This has direct impacts on the business by touching on such aspects as finance, sales, marketing, accounting, customer service as well as the human resource aspects. It is the postulation of this paper that the adoption of e-commerce strategies is an effective tool towards reforming the cafà © especially in the modern day era of technological advancement. The Broadway cafà © would be more suited in adoption of electronic marketing strategies, computerized information management as well as adoption of an online system of ordering and correspondences. These are among other emerging features especially within the food industry such as in which the Broadway cafà © operates in. e-marketing strategies are not only convenient and efficient in saving costs of marketing but they increase the capacity of the advert to reach large number of target audiences easily (Baltzan, 2012). The internet has eased the mechanisms of advertisement and as such, the Broadway cafà © would have itself to blame in the event of failure to exploit the great opportunities brought about by internet and technological advancement in general. Information management as well as data handling is poorly done in the cafà © hence necessitating the adoption of the more improved systems of data/information management through computerized systems. Though the initial costs o f installing computers systems in the cafà © may be considered high, the efficiency realized through the system by far outweighs the costs incurred in installation. This would equally enable the management of the cafà © to adopt advanced services of data handling such as cloud computing. Moreover, this system would enable easy correspondences with customers through social media platforms among other improvements. This would be effective in business transactions of ordering and reservation placements as well as

Traditional And Citizen-Based Forms Of Journalism Essay

Traditional And Citizen-Based Forms Of Journalism - Essay Example The professional media draw their organizational authority and charge from their production of their work within the journalism norms. This means that traditional journalism entails professionally paid staff, officially recognized by the press (Reese et al., 2007). Such members of staff are trained and proficient in the journalistic dexterity and often have formal or ceremonial training. Advertising and subscriber support provides traditional journalism with the means to extensively distribute their listed product such as news, shows, and events. On the contrary, citizen journalism has its emergence from individuals and citizenry interest factions seeking to articulate thoughts or position within the civic discourse. Participants in the citizen journalism need not hold traditional journalistic code as a prerequisite for participation. By designation, these citizenry media command less financial feasibility and may be based on a subsidy, non-profit, or no revenue model at all (Reese e t al., 2007). Contributors only require motivation and willingness to have a word with the public. Unlike traditional journalism, citizen journalism creates lively and interactive conversations on personal sites, NGO) websites, chain emails, social media platforms, and message boards. Apparently, as shown above, the two models of journalism though having the same objective- informing the public of trends and news, they have distinct structures and approaches in operations for efficient service delivery.  

Multilingual Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multilingual Students - Essay Example The question then becomes; how do you teach these students and how do these conditions impact on the teacher’s teaching duties. This paper identifies the strategies to employ in ensuring that children do not feel that their language represents a deficit because it is not the norm. The first problem comes in when grading papers since the teacher could find it difficult due to language errors. Other papers could be understandable but still consist of language errors. Some of the students in the class may also avoid oral participation in the classroom due to fear that their classmates will make fun of their language errors and faulty pronunciations (Ana, 2010). In most cases, this is caused by anxiety while in other cases; the student may be actually difficult to understand. One way of encouraging these students to participate in the classroom is to keep in mind that high-level language acquisition occurs, when the student is taking part in the regular curriculum. Therefore, the teacher needs to avoid using separate language courses for the children at this stage and, instead, support language learning embedded in the normal school and classroom curriculum (Ana, 2010). By modeling good English usage in the classroom, the students will learn a great deal. All students, not only the ones that are multi-lingual, learn concepts much faster if the teacher provides a visual aid in accompaniment of their lesson plans (Ana, 2010). This could be in books, projections on the wall, maps, lists of words, and overheads. The teacher does not need to feel obligated to reproduce all the words they use, but they should give the students an outline of the lesson’s key words and their definitions. As the teacher is speaking, he or she could also draw visual representations on the black or white board. While it may seem that using these aids is a burden to the teacher and adds to teaching time, the preparation actually prevents the occurrence of misunderstandings that t he teacher could actually take more time explaining. The first matter that the teacher should deal with when confronted by a non-English student is his or her survival in school. The teacher should ensure that the student could give his or her name, home phone number and address. The teacher also requires finding out the literacy backgrounds of the close family members and the student. Students who come from backgrounds of English speaking parents or siblings will find it easier to learn English. Additionally, students already literate in their native language, such as Spanish in this case, come to the task of writing and reading English with an enhanced comprehension of writing and reading processes (Ana, 2010). Additionally, students who possess literary skills in their native language skills have the ability to record learnt information in this language instead of attempting to remember everything. The teacher should also attempt to find out the schooling background of the studen t. The information should include whether the student has never learned in a classroom setting prior to coming to his or her classroom, adjusting to the cultural practices and routines of the American school system may require a considerable amount of time and energy (Creese & Martin, 2011). Some of these students may view the school system as unstructured and may not be used to movement around the classroom or even raising their hand before asking

Online trust in Singapore context Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Online trust in Singapore context - Assignment Example 8 (a). The table below shows Spearman correlation analysis between â€Å"good product guarantees† and â€Å"products arrive in good condition†, where the rows represent the respondents’ opinions in good services and the columns represent the frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to the opinions. 8 (b). The table below represents spearman correlation analysis between â€Å"security information explained† and â€Å"safety of credits cards guaranteed†, where the rows represent the respondents’ opinions in good services and the columns represent the frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to the opinions. 8 (c). The table above shows spearman’s correlation between â€Å"uses of personal details explained† and â€Å"personal details kept confidential† where the rows represent the respondents’ opinions in good services and the columns represent the frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to the opinions. The 8 (eight) tables above are frequency tables that represent various variables analysed in question 10 of the survey. The variables are ‘Agree’, ‘Number of respondents’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Not sure’, ‘Strongly Agree’, ‘Strongly Disagree’, ‘skipped’ and ‘Total number of Respondents’. 10. The table below shows Spearman correlation between, â€Å"Whether the website looks and works generally the same as other online stores† and â€Å"The whole website experience is normal and without any unexpected situations (e.g. the appearance of pop up ads)† where the rows represent the respondents opinions as regards their trust in an online store and the columns represent the extents and frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to their reasoned levels of trust. 12 (a). The table below shows Spearman correlation between â€Å"presence of forums in the online store for you to check and discuss issues with other customers’’ and â€Å"if users post incorrect

Intercompany Profits Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Intercompany Profits - Case Study Example There are factors that the company considers in deriving the method to use, such as ownership and influence. In this case, the analysis of the subsidiaries is included in the consolidated financial statements. The principles of accounting state that the intercompany inventory transfers, such as a transfer between Verizon Wireless and Wireline, must eliminate all the revenues and expenses recorded by the involved parties in the preparation of the consolidated income statement. The profits or losses that are accrued in the transfer of inventory are deferred, to the point where the inventory is sold to a non-affiliate (Christensen, Cottrell, & Baker, 2013). The intercompany profits that are realized by Verizon and its subsidiaries are considered as a single entity to ensure that the only historical cost of the inventory is included in the business’s balance sheet. As such, the profits that may be realized by the parent company (Verizon) are eliminated until when the goods are sold to a non-affiliate. In preparation of the consolidated financial report, the gross profit that is realized by Verizon is only when the inventory has been sold to a non-subsidiary since the intercompany profit s are eliminated. Arguments are that, in the inventory inter-transfer, regardless of the price at which the exchange has taken place, no actual profits have been realized, from the consolidated perspective, but the profit is realized upon reselling of inventory to non-affiliates (Christensen et al., 2013). Verizon eliminates all the intercompany profits, as it no longer applies the provisions and regulatory accounting provided by the FASB 71 (1994). Harley-Davidson is registered as the parent company to two businesses. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) deals with motorcycles and related products while the Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) provides financially related services to other clients. In Harley-Davidson’s consolidated statements, the  entities are sourced from both company subsidiaries and other owned entities by the company.

Online trust in Singapore context Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Online trust in Singapore context - Assignment Example 8 (a). The table below shows Spearman correlation analysis between â€Å"good product guarantees† and â€Å"products arrive in good condition†, where the rows represent the respondents’ opinions in good services and the columns represent the frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to the opinions. 8 (b). The table below represents spearman correlation analysis between â€Å"security information explained† and â€Å"safety of credits cards guaranteed†, where the rows represent the respondents’ opinions in good services and the columns represent the frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to the opinions. 8 (c). The table above shows spearman’s correlation between â€Å"uses of personal details explained† and â€Å"personal details kept confidential† where the rows represent the respondents’ opinions in good services and the columns represent the frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to the opinions. The 8 (eight) tables above are frequency tables that represent various variables analysed in question 10 of the survey. The variables are ‘Agree’, ‘Number of respondents’, ‘Disagree’, ‘Not sure’, ‘Strongly Agree’, ‘Strongly Disagree’, ‘skipped’ and ‘Total number of Respondents’. 10. The table below shows Spearman correlation between, â€Å"Whether the website looks and works generally the same as other online stores† and â€Å"The whole website experience is normal and without any unexpected situations (e.g. the appearance of pop up ads)† where the rows represent the respondents opinions as regards their trust in an online store and the columns represent the extents and frequencies of the respondents structured answers in relation to their reasoned levels of trust. 12 (a). The table below shows Spearman correlation between â€Å"presence of forums in the online store for you to check and discuss issues with other customers’’ and â€Å"if users post incorrect

Asian American and Jeremy Lin Essay Example for Free

Asian American and Jeremy Lin Essay â€Å"Linsanity† Jeremy Lin. Some say he is a god-send, literally. Others say he’s just a one hit wonder who’s had his fifteen minutes in the spotlight. However, many argue especially from the Asian American community, that he’s not just a fad or trend but a full blown star athlete, pushing the envelope not just for Asian Americans, but athletes across all social classes, races, and creeds. So really, with all the media hype and hysteria, who is Jeremy Lin? Why is he the chosen one? More importantly, what has he been labeled and how has he faced this discrimination? What is the cause of this â€Å"Linsanity†? Before the question, â€Å"Why Jeremy Lin? † can be answered, we have to start at his roots. Jeremy Lin was born August 23, 1988, to a Taiwanese emigrant couple. He grew up playing basketball in Palo Alto, Northern California. He excelled not only as an athlete in his young school years, but was also an exceptional student. He went onto Harvard, a fallback school, and continued his academics, majoring in economics. While at Harvard, Lin played for the Ivy Basketball League and quickly made a name for himself. This is where he first encounters racism and discrimination. In short interviews throughout his college days, Lin spoke of his opportunities and how his race had been a factor in his recruitment. Im not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers, but I do think (my ethnicity) did affect the way coaches recruited me. I think if I were a different race, I wouldve been treated differently. He was never drafted after graduating college and continued to play basically for free as a D-League athlete with the Golden State Warriors. He never sees much action on the court in California and is quickly shuffled across the country during draft season. Rex Walters, an NBA veteran and Asian American says, â€Å"People who dont think stereotypes exist are crazy. If hes white, hes either a good shooter or heady. If hes Asian, hes good at math. Were not taking him. Lin had a brief stint at the Houston Rockets before being traded once again to the New York Knicks. Here, his time came to shine, and he lit a fire under everyone’s collective rear ends that had ever doubted him. It was as if the stars and the heavens lined up for a once in a million year eclipse; so too did Lin’s fortune. He took all his frustration, all his doubts, and all the racism he’s ever faced on and off the court, and brought it to the best, which included the Los Angeles Lakers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks. With every successive and progressively impossible win, his infamy grew and so did the media hype. â€Å"Linsanity† had come to full term. â€Å"Linsanity† and many other coined adjectives became headline news. His fame crossed oceans and racial lines making him an overnight media sensation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, during a victory celebration on February 10th of 2012 against the Lakers, Fox News columnist Jason Whitlock posted on his Twitter account, Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight, a sexual reference to an Asian male stereotype. A few days later after a loss to the Orlando Hornets, ESPN’s Max Bretos reported during a taping of SportsCenter, â€Å"We have found a Chink in the Armor†. Floyd Mayweather Jr., a professional boxer and fellow athlete tweets, Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because hes Asian. Black players do what he does every night and dont get the same praise. â€Å"Linsanity† was bringing in a negative backlash that Lin was all too familiar with. He looked past it, and went even as far as to forgive. I expect it, Im used to it, it is what it is, says Lin. On the â€Å"Chink in the Armor† slur, Lin responds, â€Å"I don’t think it was on purpose or whatever. At the same time, they’ve apologized, and so from my end I don’t care anymore. [You] have to learn to forgive. And I don’t even think that was intentional, or hopefully not. He was willing to brush it off and be the bigger man and not let it affect his game. But aside from the blatantly racial comments from the media, is â€Å"Linsanity† a breeding ground for unintentional stereotyping? As many members of the Asian American communities can attest, stereotypes of Asian Americans are seen everywhere. A case in point, the corporate world of advertisement tried to cash in on â€Å"Linsanity†. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory tried capitalizing on Jeremy Lin by coming up with a new flavor called â€Å"Taste the Linsanity†. The ingredients were basically vanilla ice-cream with a hint of caramel and the addition of fortune cookies. Many members of the Chinese/Taiwanese American community cried foul in this instance, as it did play to some degree more or less on Lin’s Chinese/Taiwanese heritage. In response, an Asian American protestor went as far as to picket the Ben Jerry’s store on Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco. He held a sign that read, â€Å"Taste of Lebron – Watermelon and Fried Chicken in every scoop†. Now piggy-backing on another racial stereotype isn’t exactly politically correct, but it did bring awareness. â€Å"Taste of Linsanity† quickly made its way off of shelves and into trash cans. However, it wasn’t only corporate America playing on stereotypes for publicity. It was the Asian American community itself looking to address positive stereotypes. In the Youtube video â€Å"Superior Lintellect† by studio64comedy, creators Lawrence Kau and Kunal Dudheker (both Americans born of Asian descent) portray Lin solving complex math equations in his mind in order to best his competition during tough situations on the basketball court. Each playback of Lin’s on-court moves are narrated by a forced Chinese accent, and are accompanied with on-screen quadratic formulas and physics theory. It’s no doubt that Asian Americans are poking fun at the â€Å"Asians are good at math† stereotype. But yet in some ways, it just feeds fuel to the fire that stereotypes are okay. The question ultimately comes down to, â€Å"How far is too far? † and â€Å"Who can and who can’t stereotype against Asians? † In conclusion, Jeremy Lin is a unique individual. Yes, he is a Harvard graduate. Yes, he is an incredible athlete. Yes, he is a fiercely loyal Christian. And finally; Yes, He’s Asian. But despite all his unique attributes, why is his race the only thing that seems to overshadow his qualities? After all this time, when the name Lin appears on TV based on performance and skill, the media is still focused on what school he went to and what GPA he had or whether he was Chinese or Taiwanese. Is it the scarcity of Asian Americans in the media that makes it so socially acceptable to shift focus? Is it the Asian American fans all across the country coming to support him, regardless of team pride that focuses the media’s attention to his ethnicity? Is it the blatant ignorance of the general populace? Maybe it’s all of that and then some. But regardless of where all of this attention originates, it is safe to say that Jeremy Lin is on to something very special. He’s allowed Asian Americans into mainstream sports and has brought a positive light to an arena once absent of it. All racial jokes and stereotypes aside, no one can deny his ability and talent, doubt his fierce sense of faith, or question his moral fiber. Jeremy Lin is definitely an Asian American all Asian American’s can be proud of.

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘ Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘