Reacton Paper for the movie “Boses”

Synopsis: Oboes is a tale of compassion, strength of the human spirit and the redeeming power of music. It tells the story of Nook, a 7-year-old victim of child abuse in the hands of his father. Rendered mute by a physical trauma that damaged his Larynx, Anonymously Duke), who lives with his father in a countryside village, Is rescued by police and taken to a shelter for battered children owned and run by the kindly Ms. Amanda(Cherry Pie Placate).HIS speech dillydally aggravated by the psychological burden of being kept away from his cruel father makes Nook despondent. One day, eyeing the other children taunting a man who lives in a house near the shelter, Nook becomes curious, especially as he later on hears violin music coming from the house. He soon discovers that the man is the violinist Ariel(Coke Ballista), the brother of Amanda who has abandoned his career as a concert violinist In Manila to live as a recluse, apparently In grief and guilt over the death of his woman Blanch(Me rely Syrians).Nook's fascination with violin music leads him to Investigate around Riel's house when it is empty. Sensing the boys interest, Ariel in time subtly manages to encourage Nook to try the violin, and soon discerns a prodigy in the timid boy. A friendship very gently blossoms between the recluse and the battered child, until the boy is ripe for a recital to be witnessed by his father. Reaction: Oboes Is a film which speaks to us a good message of hope despite of a tragic history and how music can change a life of someone.The message which was communicated through excellent direction, fine portrayals, and beautiful music was clear enough to let ourselves be aware of what is really happening around us and be enlightened in mimes of great darkness. The film has several sensitive topics and I'm impressed of how the way they treated these topics. It made the film worthy of being acclaimed. Child abuse Is the main issue that was shown in the movie – on doing harsh actions and making a child a human ashtray – and the worst was, by a parent Itself. The parents have no right to hurt their child Just because they are the parents.Parents are ought to teach moral and good things to their children. Of course, It is not right to make violence at a child's eyes because that could result to another violence, or rose, because of the boys early age, they are already poisoning his innocent mind which is really unfair. And the sad part is that they give the child a life full of fears, traumas and distress which steals the confidence and trust of the boy to himself and the world. Instead of having protection and care which every child ought to have,they create only something that a child can fear.They are depriving the freedom of the child. Sexual harassment was also one issue though it was not really shown in the film. It was actually Shirley story wherein she said the line â€Å"†¦ Anon aka in tatty†. It was really alarming because the one who molested her was her own father. And very distressing to think that she was only five, six or seven years old. Like sexual harassment which was not totally highlighted in the film but still has a great impact child abuse. It's illegal because it is a crime; equivalent to killing and stealing a life of a person. More than that, It is a mortal sin.Sexual harassments, abortion, live-in, pre- marital sex, and suicide were the sensitive topics Eve found out. These are only little tails in the story but still important. Though some weren't given emphasis but still supports the story which makes it worthwhile. The biggest lesson that I got was to keep the faith and hope despite the ruthlessness of life. Nook had lots of scars, both physical and emotional. Beaten by his father, tortured and forced him to eat as in forcing the spoon into his mouth. But at the end, he was able to get back his trust in the world and live a new life.Same as Ariel who was in sorrow and loneliness because of the death of the one that he loves, at the end, he mound the comfort and restored his spirit. And who says that bad people don't have the chance to be good? Of course they have like in the situation of Mans Marcelo (Risky Dave) who at the end was very sorry for the unkindness he had to his son. Basically, the film offers us hope in every problem that we face and might face in the future. Music has a very important role in the story because it is the instrument that healed both Ariel (Coke) and Nooks Aeolian) wounds of the past.Though it leave them scars but scars are physically not painful anymore. Through music, we can express what we feel in a more peaceful and beautiful way. As a music lover, I truly believe on how music can transform lives. Basically, Oboes is a very sensible story and I agree to that. Doses, speaks to us the voice of the children asking freedom from the chains of violence and abuse; crying and shouting out loud but never heard; seeking for themselves that was stol en from them; and the voice which may not be in the form of words, but in the form of something where they can find, somehow, a relief.

Petroleum and Supply Chain

A Report On Castrol India Ltd. , Mumbai Assignment: Supply Chain Executive Summary Castrol India LTD. Castrol India Limited is a Public Limited Company with 70. 92% of the equity held by Castrol Limited UK (part of BP Group). From a minor oil company, with a share of about 6% in 1991, Castrol India has grown to become the second largest lubricant company in India with a market share of around 28%. Castrol India manufactures and markets a range of automotive and industrial lubricants. It markets its automotive lubricants under two brands – Castrol and BP.The company has leadership positions in most of the segments in which it operates including passenger car engine oils, premium 2-stroke and 4-stroke oils and multigrade diesel engine oils. Castrol India has the largest manufacturing and marketing network amongst the lubricant companies in India. The company has 5 manufacturing Plants across the country, including a state-of-the-art plant in Silvassa. The company reaches its con sumers through a distribution network of 270 distributors, servicing over 70,000. retail outlets.From a minor oil company, with a share of about 6% in 1991, Castrol India has now grown upto a market share of around 28%. Product and services * Passenger car oil * Gear Oil * Diesel Engine oil * Two wheeler engine oil * Grease * Coolant * Castrol Supply Chain Network Overview * Manufacturing facilities : In India there are 12 production facilities with major ones at Patalganga, Silvassa, Tondiarpet, Paharpur. Each production plant has its own capacity in terms of different packing lines and not SKU. | * Plant and capacity dataDaily available filling capacities across current locations(in KL) – Single | Shift w/o overtime*Data taken by project Report | | | Distribution: Inbound Logistics: The base oil for Castrol is centrally purchased by British Petroleum. Some of the Indian refineries also provide base oil to Castrol India Limited. The oil is brought to the plants by tankers fr om offshore tanks. Castrol India Limited has four plants-Patalganga, Silvassa, Paharpur and Tondiarpet and in total 12 filling stations.Outbound Logistics: Castrol has three tier distributor structure-distributor hubs (CDC/RDC), carrying & Forwarding Agents (CFA) and Distributors. The transportation from manufacturing plant to distributor hub is called Primary Transportation (P0). Transportation from distribution centre to carrying & forwarding agency (CFA) (P1), from warehouse to warehouse (P2) and warehouse to customer and distributors is called Secondary transportation. The entire country is divided into four zones North, East, West and South.There are 30 CFA,2 DC and 4 Marine warehouses in India. The diagram below shows the supply chain distribution structure at Castrol India. There are five layers – Supplier, Plants, Distribution Hubs, Warehouses and Distributors. Castrol has recently implemented DRM in which demand is generated at the CFA level once the inventory at the distributor level falls below an established norm. * The diagram below shows the supply chain distribution structure at Castrol India. There are five layers – Supplier, Plants, Distribution Hubs, Warehouses and Distributors. Castrol has recently implemented DReaM in which demand is generated at the CFA level once the inventory at the distributor level falls below an established norm. Global Reach: The global reach of British Petroleum is shown in the below mentioned figure. Castrol is a subsidiary of that. Planning Process: Forecasting: Generating production forecasts is a key business process in the oil and gas industry. Production forecasts are used to calculate cash flow using economic models and to assess reserves in the corporate portfolio. These forecasts impact the financial health of the company and its market value.To generate forecasts, the super majors use in-house reservoir simulators and commercial simulation products, several of which exist on the market. Gener ally, companies use a variety of methods for production forecasting. Production forecasts for brown fields, i. e. fields currently in production, are regularly updated with production data acquired with off-take volumes. Many production forecasting software products on the market are generally applied on a fit-for-purpose basis. Reservoir simulation is a standard part of the reservoir engineer’s toolkit for generating production forecasts.The reservoir models have become more sophisticated over the years, due to the increasing computing power available, with the creation of earth models and use of high-technology tools to acquire data for history matching. For brown fields it is common practice to use a reservoir simulation model and history to match the model with new reservoir data on a regular basis and run the model in forward prediction mode to generate forecasts of oil, gas and water production volumes. Use of 3-D seismic data acquisition became widespread in the 1980s and 1990s.This has allowed construction of detailed reservoir models of the subsurface architecture and identification of additional oil (new zones, bypassed oil, etc. ). Increasing use of geostatistical models during the 1990s has raised the awareness of risk and uncertainty and their impact on decision-making. The driving force has been to reduce the bandwidth of uncertainty, i. e. to narrow the range of uncertainty by using multiple realisations. Systematic application of statistical techniques may be used to understand the predicted reservoir behaviour and the range of production forecasts.Production forecasts can also be generated using traditional methods, such as decline curves. Classical reservoir engineering methods, such as material balance, should also be in the reservoir engineer’s toolbox. It is important to recognise that the reservoir simulator should not be used as a ‘black box’. For history matching, the production data has to be quality-checked to ensure good quality control and validity. The forecasts generated by a reservoir simulator should be consistent with other reservoir engineering methods that are used, for example, in gas field P/Z plots (i. . the visual image of the gas material balance, where the original gas volume equals the remaining gas volume plus the volume of gas produced). Future trends in real time production forecasting with automatic history matching will include production data and 4-D seismic data, the creation of geo statistical models and multi-realization simulation models for forward prediction. This will still require reservoir engineering intervention to assure and control the quality of the output.With the advent of the e-field, an executive might be directly linked to the same computer as the reservoir engineer and can view, on a screen at his desk, the corporate production forecasts and the corporate reserves being updated in real time. Oil industry (Castrol) forecasts are generated using the best-practice techniques of time-series modeling. The precise form of time-series model used varies from industry to industry, in each case being determined, as per standard practice, by the prevailing features of the industry data being examined.For example, data for some industries may be particularly prone to seasonality, i. e. seasonal trends. In other industries, there may be pronounced non-linearity, whereby large recessions, for example, may occur more frequently than cyclical booms. Approach varies from industry to industry. Common to analysis of every industry, however, is the use of vector auto regressions. Vector auto regressions allow us to forecast a variable using more than the variable’s own history as explanatory information. For example, when forecasting oil prices, we can include information about oil consumption, supply and capacity.When forecasting for some of our industry sub-component variables, however, using a variable’s own history is often the most desirable method of analysis. Such single-variable analysis is called univariate modeling. We use the most common and versatile form of univariate models: the autoregressive moving average model (ARMA). In some cases, ARMA techniques are inappropriate because there is insufficient historic data or data quality is poor. In such cases, we use either traditional decomposition methods or smoothing methods as a basis for analysis and forecasting.It must be remembered that human intervention plays a necessary and desirable part in all our industry forecasting techniques. Intimate knowledge of the data and industry ensures we spot structural breaks, anomalous data, turning points and seasonal features where a purely mechanical forecasting process would not. Inventory Planning: The company recently had implemented an inventory optimization application from Tools Group, Amsterdam, called DPM (formerly, Distribution Planning Model). But Tenaglia knew that technology was only part of the solution.After gaining some experience with the software to understand its capabilities, the European division of Castrol undertook the hard work of organizational change, creating a supply-chain planning department that was totally separate from execution functions. Aggregate Planning Methodology: Castrol initiated a program to improve their Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes. The team was faced with reactive supply chains caused by forecasts that were inaccurate, unreliable and incomplete. The forecast did not extend to all SKUs and calculations required intensive manual work.The supply chain was still widely order-driven and structured to be reactive, rather than proactive. The demand forecast was carried out by sales and marketing, so the supply chain people reworked the forecast in order to trigger replenishments. We had a lot of uncertainty due to poor forecast practices. † The inventory side was also challenging. Most slow moving products had excess inv entory. Fast moving products were often out-of-stock. Safety stocks had been set manually, based largely on personal experience. In the calculations, there was little formal sense of supply and demand uncertainty.Safety stocks were infrequently adjusted, and when they were, it was often in reaction to a single event. For instance, an under stock situation would often trigger an increase in safety stock levels. addition, planners were expediting to constantly to overcome the poorly derived inventory targets. This expediting was triggering production reschedules and urgent deliveries, increasing costs and amplifying supply chain noise. â€Å"We’ve seen dramatic increases in our service level with significant reductions In inventory across Europe†.Castrol identified the need to build an effective S&OP planning process which they would implement in one country and then roll out across Europe. The resulting system would coordinate ten independent systems into one global and unified coherent planning process, encompassing the â€Å"downstream† portion of Castrol’s supply chain, from blended oils and packaging through to the end user customer. The system would insure high service levels to customers, reduce stock-outs and cut back on manual expediting. BP Castrol quickly came to the conclusion that to accomplish the above, they needed to include nventory in their S&OP process. Improving the forecasting process was clearly required, but alone it would not achieve the high customer-service levels they wanted. A Castrol uses software that analyzes demand history across multiple dimensions so you can obtain the best possible forecasts and inventory targets for driving your supply chain. Innovative and advanced technologies enable Castrol to improve and automate planning processes. Solutions span key supply chain planning areas such as Demand Planning, Demand Sensing, Promotion forecasting and Inventory Optimization.BP Castrol’s resultin g system delivered the target service levels, reduced out of stocks, and largely eliminated the expediting. Over a two year period, KPIs improved dramatically. Aggregate forecast accuracy improved by 15% on average and channel forecast accuracy* improved to 90% for retail. (* % of SKUs demand within 20% of a 2 months aged forecast) Total network inventories were reduced by 35%, 20% in the first year after implementation and then 20% again in the following year. Despite the lower inventories, service levels to customers, as defined by â€Å"line fill rates†, were up by 9% overall.The system has become a unique company standard for excellence in forecasting, customer service level planning and inventory optimization. The system now spans 29 installations, 25 countries and has been expanded to two continents. The Payoff: Reduced Inventory and Higher Service Levels The replenishment flows had to be synchronized with the demand signal through optimized inventories. They improved d emand sensing by generating more robust and reliable forecasts. They implemented an improved and standardized monthly demand forecast process cycle.A single point of accountability was instituted. Promotion planning and monitoring was also improved. They improved demand response by improving safety stocks using a solution provided by Tools Group. Reliable statistical modeling accurately measured demand and supply chain volatility. Reliable inventory modeling and mix optimization techniques accommodated this volatility and accurately set the inventory targets required to achieve a responsive inventory mix. The Payoff: Reduced Inventory and Higher Service Levels BP Castrol’s resulting system delivered the target service levels, reduced ut of stocks, and largely eliminated the expediting. Over a two year period, KPIs improved dramatically. Aggregate forecast accuracy improved by 15% on average and channel forecast accuracy* improved to 90% for retail. (* % of SKUs demand within 20% of a 2 months aged forecast) Total network inventories were reduced by 35%, 20% in the first year after implementation and then 20% again in the following year. Despite the lower inventories, service levels to customers, as defined by â€Å"line fill rates†, were up by 9% overall.The system has become a unique company standard for excellence in forecasting, customer service level planning and inventory optimization. The system now spans 29 installations, 25 countries and has been expanded to two continents. Pricing: The rising crude prices caused severe Base-oil supply imbalances. The shortage of raw material also severely impacted many of the small-scale players in the Indian lubricant market. (Castrol) Further, the supply uncertainty triggered rapid Base oil price increases. This in turn caused most lubricant players, including Castrol, to take multiple price increases during the year. . Economic slowdown the global financial crisis in the second half of 2008 severely i mpacted the Indian stock market and caused the rupee to depreciate by about 20% with respect to the US Dollar. The rupee depreciation offset benefits of softening Base-oil prices during the latter half of the year. The lower overall economic activity level and restricted availability of finance also impacted automotive sales and trucking activity in the second half of 2008. a slow-down in the construction sector earlier in the year due to the high interest rate regime was further affected by lack of credit in the second half.This has caused an overall slackening of demand in the lubricant market, particularly in the industrial, mining, off-road and fleet-operators segment, in the last quarter of the year. The lubricant channel partners reacted to this period of uncertainty by tightening their inventory levels, causing a one-off impact on lubricant volume in the second half of 2008. 2. Crude oil Crude prices continued to remain an important cost input element to Base-oil in addition to supply demand economics. In 2008, crude prices rapidly increased and crossed US$145 a barrel in July.This triggered steep increases on various crude derivatives including Base-oils across the globe. In the second half of the year the crude prices collapsed but the depreciation of the rupee against the US Dollar offset some of the increases. Refiners also carried inventory of high priced crude procured earlier and as a result, the benefits of the falling crude prices were not passed on by refiners to industrial customers in tandem with the crude prices. The following graph indicates the trend of crude prices 3. Base-Oils and AdditivesThe steep rise in crude prices severely impacted the Base-oil prices with multiple price increases charged by the Base-oil refiners. At its peak, the Base-oil price touched uS$1800 per ton in the second half of the year, almost doubling from 2007 exit levels. The increases were regular and quick until September 2008. Supply situation had further deter iorated due to refinery closures, production issues and turnaround at domestic and international sources. Due to limited availability, customers were put on allocation by major refineries.Post the crude prices falling from the high of over uS$145 a barrel and the economic slowdown, the availability of Base-oils witnessed strong improvement. However, there was very little reduction in prices till the last quarter due to the depreciation of the rupee against the US Dollar and the high inventory of Base oils held by refiners in anticipation of demand. Input costs of additive manufacturers witnessed a rapid increase and with the expectation of higher demand, the pricing balance tilted in favor of additive manufacturing companies.Additive prices witnessed an increase of circa 25% over the 2007 levels. However, Castrol has managed the volatile input prices by ensuring effective procurement and inventory management. Productivity of purchasing spends and working capital management has been an area of focus. Tight control of Base-oils and additives inventory has ensured higher inventory turnaround and release of cash in a timely manner for the business. EXCECUTION: Checking and Controlling of Inventory Plan: The management conducts physical verification of inventory at reasonable intervals during the year. b) The procedures of physical verification of inventory followed by the management are reasonable and adequate in relation to the size of the Company and the nature of its business. (c) The Company is maintaining proper records of inventory and no material discrepancies were Noticed on physical verification. Performance Evaluation Parameters: †¢ Facilitate planning, execution, and management †¢ Enhance visibility †¢ Reduced inventory and demurrage cost †¢ Improve productivity and operational efficiency †¢ Respond quickly and synchronize changes †¢ Reduced costs †¢ Improve decision making Increase customer satisfaction †¢ Build strategic relationships †¢ Improve agility, competitiveness, and business performance Information Technology : In the oil and gas industry, knowing where and what product is being produced or delivered is essential to an efficient and effective organization. The use of IT to offer possible remote control of equipment and facilities, transaction services monitoring, and even transportation management service is important. Firms like British Petroleum have developed new systems to aid in their business operations by using these technologies.Past and present methods of communication in the oil and gas industry have included satellite communications (on a limited basis), Cellular and Specialized Mobile Radio, fiber-optics, and general offshore telephone service using radio frequencies consisted of a radiotelephone based antenna/transmitter that would allow communications between any offshore oil platforms and land-based telephone networks. These systems required a team of employees to monitor and report to management on a continuing basis.Currently, cellular and specialized mobile radio services are in the process of providing better services to the offshore drilling platforms and are generally expected to replace the older offshore radiotelephone systems found primarily in the Gulf of Mexico region. Such systems make use of these technologies to reduce and/or eliminate on site monitoring by a team of employees. With respect to labor costs, the organization could save substantial amounts of money because there is no need to have personnel continuously on location to inspect, monitor, maintain, and/or report conditions.Wireless data provided by implemented wireless technology would automatically produce reports on processes. Adjustments could be made at appropriate times reducing any overtime payments. The benefits of IT integration to the Castrol as a whole could be substantial. Supply Chain Collaborations, Coordination, And Cooperation Supply-chain managemen t requires an oil and gas company to integrate its decisions with those made within its chain of customers and suppliers. This process involves relationship management by the company. Both customer relations and supplier relations are key to effective coordination of supply-chains.Often, the interaction between suppliers and their customers are adversarial in nature, based on a negotiated contract that spells out all the terms and conditions by which all parties are required to comply. Instead, a firm can create long-term strategic relationships with their suppliers. In most cases, it is a collaboration process between the oil and gas operating company and its suppliers. One of the weaknesses of a supply-chain is that each company is likely to act in its best interests to optimize its profit.The goal of satisfying the ultimate customer is easily lost and opportunities that could arise from some coordination of decisions across stages of the supply-chain could also be lost. If suppli ers could be made more reliable, there would be less need for inventories of raw materials, quality inspection systems, rework, and other non-value adding activities, resulting in lean production. Coordination from the perspective of British Petroleum Company involves the following issues: * ensuring supplier effectiveness n cost, timeliness and quality * setting appropriate targets for inventory, capacity, and lead time * monitoring demand and supply conditions * Communicating market and performance results to customers and suppliers. A typical challenge in the petroleum industry supply chain is the attitude and anxiety regarding collaboration and information sharing between supply chain partners. While collaboration and information sharing rep-resent a crucial factor for supply chain efficiency. Improved supply chain efficiency in the petroleum industry, therefore, needs a new philosophy in collaboration, even if this means working with competitors.

Should we Read Romeo and Juliet in School

Should we let go of everything from our past that holds  memories, simply because its old? Or should we keep on passing it  from generation to generation to keep a tradition? In schools is a great  example of that. A common debate is whether or not Romeo and Juliet  should be taught in schools. We should hold onto this tradition  because of the way it makes students think, and because of the  knowledge it provides to the students.For one, although the language in Romeo and Juliet is not how  we speak today, it still contains great lessons for students. While  reading Romeo and Juliet, your mind is constantly thinking and  deciphering what message Shakespeare is giving you. To make  students read Romeo and Juliet early in their high school years will  benefit them. The unique style of writing will make the students’ brains  work much harder to understand the message. If they were given a  book with language they see every day would not benefit their le arning  as much. By reading Romeo and Juliet students will receive more  knowledge.Another reason that reading Romeo and Juliet in schools is a  great idea is because it is a two in one lesson. As teachers they have  so much curriculum to teach the students and sometimes its hard to fit  it all in. Rather than teaching the students what similes and metaphors  are, students can read Romeo and Juliet and have perfect examples  right in front of them while not wasting any time. While reading Romeo  and Juliet you may notice that Romeo is a romantic and he loves  using metaphors and similes to compare Juliet to celestial objects. You  may ask so what? Well Romeo is one of the main characters which  means he speaks a lot, therefore there are many more examples for  students to learn those parts of speech. Reading Romeo and Juliet in  school makes teaching easier and makes learning a two in one combo.Last but not least as you move on to different levels of school   and in life, Romeo and Juliet will be referenced to. Not having read  Romeo and Juliet, students would have no idea what is being  discussed so being asked a question referring to Romeo and Juliet  might be tough to answer. Rather than not knowing the answer and  being dumbstruck in front of the whole class, it would be in a student’s  best interest to take a little time out of their life and read Romeo and  Juliet. Not to mention the benefit that after you read the book you can  watch the movie for more excitement.The knowledge provided to the students, the fact that Romeo  and Juliet will be referenced to later in life and the fact that it is a two  in one lesson are just some of the many reasons that reading Romeo  and Juliet in school should be kept a tradition. There is far too much  knowledge to be perceived because of the unique style of writing and  the rich vocabulary. After being studied for over a hundred years,  there must be somethin g great enough to keep the tradition.

Medical errors Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Medical errors - Research Paper Example Due to development in science and related ethical considerations in the western part of the world, patients and those related to them have more opportunities to be aware of mistakes and errors committed by their medical practitioners which further allows them to follow an appropriate course of action depending on the nature of MEs. Another significant factor that leads to formation of processes involved in disclosure of medical errors is Judeo-Christian traditions prevailing in western part of the world. Although these traditions are not universally applicable however secular western societies recognize them well. Some of the major Judeo-Christian expectations include confession, repentance and forgiveness. According to Berlinger and Wu (2003), When one misses the mark in terms of another person, Jewish and Christian traditions prescribe a series of concrete, reciprocal practices: confession, which includes disclosure and apology; repentance, which includes the actions that the person who has harmed another undertakes to compensate for the error; and forgiveness, through which the person who has been harmed signals that he or she has been adequately compensated. These practices may serve as a lifelong reference point for ethical conduct (106)i.† In order to devise a concrete mechanism of disclosure and apology by medical institutions to those directly affected by these medical errors, it is important to identify and understand expectations on part of patients and those related to them. Where apologies are the ultimate expectation of these parties, admitting fault and confessing them are the first step to resolutions of such situations. It is important to note that admitting fault may be sufficient enough to raise liability of medical practitioners and institutions in case patients and their relatives decide to enter into law suits. Another important element of accepting and disclosing medical errors is repentance on part of medical authorities involved

Online Casino Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Online Casino - Research Paper Example Certain online casinos publish the percentage audits of payouts over their websites while others claim increased payback percentages over the games of slot machine. Table games e.g. blackjack are provided with a house edge over other games given online casinos work according to a precisely programmed random number generator. The rules of games dictate the payout percentages for them. Companies that lease or sell software to the online casinos include but are not limited to International Game Technology, CryptoLogic Inc, Playtech, Realtime Gaming, and Microgaming. The future of a casino is shaped by a whole range of prudently worked out business strategies that help make the business successful. This sector has a wealth of tips and hints to offer that can be customized or adapted as such to make a variety of kinds of business successful regardless of their size or remit. Some of the business strategies commonly followed by casinos are discussed as follows: All sorts of casinos including both online and offline are equipped with a wide array of games ranging from craps to poker. The games are carefully chosen to suit the taste of customers of almost every class and age. Casino is not just a single unit where people come and play games. A casino is usually an interwoven system of different kinds of services and products. For example, customers at casinos get a chance to win money by winning the games. Very smartly, the casino owners have also developed a mechanism that ensures that the money thus earned by the customers is retained in the casino. This is achieved by providing the customers with access to eatables and drinks at the restaurants that are part of the casino and share the same theme. The intelligent business strategy is to ensure increased expenditure by the customers on the goods and services offered by the casino owners. Casino owners tend to cover as many areas of service and recreation as possible to optimize

12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

12 - Essay Example One example from history is the interaction between Europeans and American Indians in the colonial period in 1492 when 1-7 million American Indians lived in North America and European hunters migrated from northeast Asia into Alaska. They interacted with the native people through trade and agriculture. The Spanish and French are said to have developed good harmonious relations with the native people. The Spanish worked towards converting them into Catholicism after 1600. The English interaction with the American Indians was rather complex which involved mostly warfare and alliances. Another good example of cultural interaction is the development of understanding between Western and non-Western cultures over time. Non-Western cultures have adopted Western modernization without abandoning their own cultures, religious values and practices. Global trade has helped enhance this understanding. Both cultures have made efforts to start active communication across them and the pioneers of th is understanding are the philosophers of both the cultures who took extraordinary interest in the other culture to spread

Bowling for Columbine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bowling for Columbine - Essay Example Michael Moore unveils that in modern world, many teenagers follow the example of adults and film heroes trying to obtain guns and use force against innocent citizens. For most of them, guns represent "adulthood", a stylish and trendy way of life. According to Jasis Ordonez-Jasis (2003) "Moore's film explores issues of violence and fear in U.S. society, particularly surrounding the Columbine tragedy of the morning of April 20, 1999, when 12 high school students and one teacher were killed, and dozens of others were wounded, by two fellow classmates" (Jasis and Ordonez-Jasis, 2003, p. 127). In this documentary, Moore uses specific techniques and methods to unveil the message of the film. Traditional definition of a documentary states that "the film is only the sum of the facts recorded on film, or, if you like, not merely the sum, but the product, a 'higher mathematics' of facts" (Michelson cited Bruzzi, 2000, 11). In "Bowling for Columbine", Moore goes beyond traditional documentary practices and norms using elements of fiction. Some critics accuse him in using "false" facts and "deception" which help Moore to influence perception of viewers (Hardy, 2002, Galupo, 2002). For instance, Hardy comments that "Moore leads the reader to draw inferences which he must have known were wrong. Indeed, even speeches shown on screen are heavily edited, so that sentences are assembled in the speaker's voice, but which were not sentences he uttered. Bowling uses deception as its primary tool of persuasion and effect" (Hardy, 2003). Taking into account "Bowling for Columbine", the mix ture of different styles and tools can be interpreted as a specific style of Moore which distinguishes him from other filmmakers. Critics suppose that "Bowling for Columbine" "analyzes with irony and poignancy the corporate, media, and government involvement in creating a climate of pervasive paranoia, exacerbating threats, while glorifying, justifying, or trivializing violence here and abroad" (Ordonez-Jasis, Jasis, 2003, p. 127). To prove this idea, Moore uses military and diplomatic actions conducted by the USA. Throughout the film, Moore uses dramatization and summarization as the main methods to create the message in "Bowling for Columbine". From the very beginning, the signs in the film suggest that maybe evil can prevail even in the presence of good. The severity of this notion carries much weight in the "real" world. The documentary and gritty feel of the film also gives realistic mood and that might signify the reality of everyday life. The trend towards more graphic violence in movies parallels the transition of the general viewing audience to a higher shock level. Viewers are shocked by facts and events depicted in the documentary. Critics criticize Moore for "using too much jokey music, and also for making himself the focus of the story once or twice too often. Mostly, though, he listens to people, in sorrow and outrage and raucous amusement; and what he hears, he communicates without a dull moment, except maybe one" (Klawans, 2002, p. 44). In "Bowling for Columbine", Moore selects the most impressive facts and events creating atmosphere of fear and terror. Some critics (Hardy, 2002, Galupo, 2002) accuse Moore in subjectivity, because he presents one side of the problem only. This method is not typical for documentary films (Bruzzi, 2000), but it helps Moore to depict the gap between expected,

Arcor Case Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Arcor Case Analysis - Term Paper Example The company was founded in the year 1951, producing a wide range of products ranging from confectioneries to personal hygiene products and also frozen goods. At present the company operates in over 120 countries worldwide and Arcor was also ranked 14th amongst the top 100 candy companies at US in the year 2009 with a revenue of US $ 2.2 billion. The company provides high quality products and on the other hand to reduce the cost of the product Arcor vertically integrated the packaging system into their system. In the year the company was nominated as the ‘best company’ in Argentina from the chamber of commerce of US. This award recognizes the company who includes management sustainability in their corporate practices. The Company also encourages in promotion of education at Argentina and Brazil. This social responsibility is aimed to minimize the problems arising at workplace and the impacts of environment at the manufacturing plants (Innovalatino, 2010). Situation analys is SWOT Analysis The growth of the company and sustainable survival in the industry the SWOT analysis is conducted by the company. It helps the company to understand the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company identification of which can assist in the implementation of strategies according to the needs of development. Strength Arcor has a great brand name at Argentina. The company’s huge percentage in the domestic market share with around 54% in the candy and 33% at chocolate market gave the company immense popularity in the international market due to its strong base. International acquisition strategy of Arcor with small third party to reduce its price to the end user along with the vertical integration structure for manufacturing of different ingredients facilitates the process of reducing price for the company. This is the major strength of the company which keeps the price low for the firm without affecting the quality of the product. Weaknesses Th e production plants of the company are all located in domestic country thus distribution of the company is a very important aspect to look after by the company. Proper training of the distribution channel and salesperson are required by the company failing to which might create problem for the company to reach to the customers in foreign countries. Building own distribution system can help the company to cope with this problem. Opportunity New product line from the company with over 50 new candy compared to 10 from each competitor can create a huge potential for the company in developing countries where the demand for candies are growing in recent years. Demand for chocolate and confectionery are also increasing which can be a great opportunity for the firm to launch new products in this category (Ghemawt, Rukstad, Illes, 2009, p. 5). Threats Financial crisis and economical slowdown is one of the major threats for the company. While entering into new market the political factor is a lso a possible threat as change in policies of the government can increase the tax on import and export duties which might force the company to increase price for the products, thus loosing the title of being the cost leader in the market. Competitive analysis To get an extra edge in the competitive environment Arcor should analyze the external environment of the firm and understand the threats from different dimensions like new entrants, suppliers,

Ocean fishery sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ocean fishery sustainability - Essay Example This is in relation to the fact that these factors are the main contributors of overfishing. According to National Geographic (1), the 90 million tons of fish caught from the ocean by 1989 was the main contributing factor for the current low number of fish in the ocean. From this assertion, it is apparent that the population of fish in the oceans cannot withstand fishing that is beyond 90 million tons. Though challenging, it is possible to make ocean fisheries sustainable. One of the key things that need to be done in order to achieve the sustainability of fisheries include recovering the depleted fish stocks in addition to maintaining them at levels above that is required to generate Maximum Sustainable Yield (Juzgado 1). Restoring the destroyed marine ecosystems to a condition that is healthy will protect the ocean organisms (Juzgado 1). According to Ale and Howe (1), the logistic growth curve is used by scientists to predict the carrying capacity of fish in a given water body. Despite its extensive use in the field of fisheries, it is apparent that the population of fish continues to collapse. The main reason for the failure of the logistic growth curve in management of the population of fish is that predictions often are not useful because they do not involve the prediction of the community composition (Ale and Howe 1). In addition to the options of control of overfishing discussed above, elevation of the oceans to the topmost levels of the UN system will aid reduce the problems associated with overfishing (Juzgado 1). This will be achieved by the UN system enabling not only a cross-cutting approach, but also a timely response to key threats and opportunities to the oceans’ ecosystem. Since overfishing has become a menace in the whole world, it is essential for the marine sanctuaries to be established so as to provide a secure habitat for the fish.

PRSA as well as the GDC professional code of ethics Essay

PRSA as well as the GDC professional code of ethics - Essay Example Ethical decision-making will lead to a successful profession as well as understanding of each professional code. Also, in this course we learned the approach of developing individuals’ professional ethos. All of the material we learned, such as utilitarianism, social contractarianism, social justice/veil of ignorance, and duty-based ethics vs. situation-based circumstances, is significant to comprehend in order to effect a more well-rounded representation of ethics within the field of practice. Virtue ethics concentrates on â€Å"the development of a right character over time through correct habits† (Traditional Ethical Approach p.1). It is also important to understand that you cannot merely become a virtuous person in a day; rather, it comes with experience and time. Becoming a virtuous person is important not only due to the fact that it represents engagement through the rules of best practice, it also allows for a degree of character growth as well as the increased benefit that those working with you will take note of your ethical decision making and seek to mirror it or to reward you based upon this aspect of your character. The PRSA code primarily enforces ethical practice and values. It states that all members must be honest with the people each communicates and deals with. Naturally, this is straight forward enough; however, when one contemplates the severe lack of honesty and the level that individuals within the business and professional world are forthcomi ng, one begins to understand the ultimate rational for putting such a simplistic expectation first and foremost within the ethical expectation for stakeholders within the PRSA. Furthermore, the GDC code proclaims that all members should not compete amongst each other; since this will invariably lead to unethical communication and an attempt by some to get ahead by lowering the status or position, trust, or ability of others. Thus, becoming an honorable person will exclude me from ever having unethical communication or acting dishonorably with my future co-workers, boss, or people I might be assisting. The second classical approach to making ethical decisions that we discussed is known as the deontological approach. This approach proclaims that a person must act according to one’s morals, regardless of the outcome since it will always be virtuous. Moreover, the deontological view asserts that virtue in and of itself can be defined as that which one would wish to become a unive rsal law. In such a manner, the deontological viewpoint promotes the understanding that one should always seek to act in such a way that if their actions became a universal law they would have no issue with this. Naturally, this has a certain degree of the Golden Rule inherently built into the deontological approach to human behavior and ethical responsibilities. Yet, even if some of these approaches might not immediately be noted to have a strong or direct correlation to my professional code of ethics which have been discussed previously, they nonetheless can be applied to ethical situations in which the stakeholder is at something of a quandary with regards to what the best approach might be. Similarly, from the teleological standpoint, it must be understood that ethics and the code

Fraudulent Financial Reporting and Ethics at WorldCom Case Study

Fraudulent Financial Reporting and Ethics at WorldCom - Case Study Example As a result, the company incurred very substantial losses. These enormous losses meant that the business could not attain standards set by stock exchange analysts (Kaplan, Robert, and Kiron, 2004). WorldCom decided to hide these losses and buy time so that they could pay their expenses later. WorldCom’s senior management resorted to fraudulent practices to conceal these losses. The company agreed to have intentionally misappropriated over $3.8 billion. This amount was a line cost liability, but it was reported as a long-term capital investment. Line costs are funds that WorldCom paid to other telecommunication companies to lease their communication networks. Line costs were supposed to be as current liabilities in WorldCom’s profit and loss account. In 2001, $ 3.055 billion was said to have been wrongly assigned by the company. A sum of $797 million is supposed to have been allocated in 2002. WorldCom claimed that $14.7 billion was reported as line cost during the year of 2001 (Kaplan, Robert, and Kiron, 2004). Having allocated the expense as a capital investment, WorldCom increased its net annual income. This is because the line cost, a current liability, was inaccurately reduced. Following this, there were increments in the company assets since capital costs are considered investments. On 8th August 2012, WorldCom to have used its financial reserves wrongfully. Reports revealed that WorldCom used funds in reserve accounts to pay line expenses. Reserve accounts hold precautionary money for companies to use in case of an unforeseen event. The United States Stock Exchange Commission requested WorldCom to avail financial reports suspected to be.  

Divorce Bill Essay Example for Free

Divorce Bill Essay Underpinning this proposal is a commitment to the policy of the State to protect and strengthen marriage and the family as basic social institutions, to value the dignity of every human person, to guarantee full respect for human rights, and to ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men. In the Filipino culture, marriage is regarded as a sacred union, and the family founded on marriage is considered as a fount of love, protection and care. Philippine society generally frowns upon and discourages marital break-ups and so provides cultural and legal safeguards to perserve marital relations. Cultural prescriptions and religious norms keep many couples together despite the breakdown of the marriage. But the cultural prescriptions for women and men differ. Women are traditionally regarded as primarily responsible for making the marriage work and are expected to sacrifice everything to preserve the marriage and the solidarity of the family. While absolute fidelity is demanded of wives, men are granted sexual license to have affairs outside marriage. Yet when the marriage fails, the woman is blamed for its failure. Reality tells us that there are many failed, unhappy marriages across all Filipino classes. Many couples especially from the marginalized sectors, who have no access to the courts, simply end up separating without the benefit of legal processes. The sheer number of petitions that have been filed since 1988 for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code (commonly known as annulment) shows that there are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages. Even when couples start out well in their marriage, political, economical and social realities take their toll on their relationship. Some are not prepared to handle the intricacies of the married life. For a large number of women, the inequalities and violence in marriage negate its ideals as the embodiment of love, care and safety and erode the bases upon which a marriage is founded. The marital relations facilitate the commission of violence and perpetuate their oppression. Official figures in 2009 showed that nineteen women were victims of marital violence everyday. Among the different forms of violence and abuse against women committed in 2009, wife battery ranked highest at 6,783 or 72% according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) likewise recorded marital violence as highest among different forms of violence against owmen at 1,933. Previous reports of the PNP about three of ten perpetrators of violence against women were husbands of the victims. Husbands accounted for 28 percent of the violence against women crimes. Given these realities, couples must have the option to avail of remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and the protection of their human rights. Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights. To quote the Womens Legal Bureau, Inc. , a legal resource NGO for women: The present laws relating to separation of couples and termination of marriage are inadequate to respond to the myriad causes of failed marriages. Particularly, the remedies of declaration of nullity and annulment do not cover the problems that occur during the existence of marriage. Legal separation, on the other hand, while covering problems during marriage, does not put an end to marriage. Though both divorce and a declaration of nullity of a marriage allow the spouses to remarry, the two remedies differ in concept and basis. A declaration of nullity presupposes that the marriage is valid from the beginning and the court declares its non-existence Beyond [the] grounds specified [in the law], declaration of nullity is not possible. In annulment, the marriage of the parties is declared defective from the beginning, albeit it is considered valid until annulled. The defect can be used to nullify the marriage within a specified period but the same may be ignored and the marriage becomes perfectly valid after the lapse of that period, or the defect may be cured through some act. The defect relates to the time of the celebration of the marriage and has nothing to do with circumstances occurring after the marriage is celebrated. In annulment, the marriage is legally cancelled, and the man and woman are restored to their single status. Since August 3, 1988, couples have been given a way out of failed marriages through Article 36 of the Family Code  The remedy provides under Article 36 is declaration of nullity of the marriage. The article voids a marriage where one party is psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essentials of marital obligations. Consistent with the concept of void marriages (where the remedy is declaration of nullity), the law requires that the incapacity must have existed at the time of the celebration of the marriage In practice, Article 36 has become a form of divorce, as valid marriages are declared void every day in the guise of psychological incapacity. The innumerable Article 36 cases brought to trial courts is an indication of the elasticity of Article 36 to accommodate the needs of many couples desiring to terminate their marriages. It is proof that divorce is needed in the Philippines. Article 36 provides a remedy only for spouses who can prove psychological incapacity. The concept certainly cannot accommodate all cases where divorce would be necessary. What we need is a divorce law that defines clearly and unequivocally the grounds and terms for terminating a marriage . That law will put an end to the creative efforts played daily in courtrooms across the country to accommodate a wide range of cases in order to prove psychological incapacity. (Womens Legal Bureau, Inc. , The Relevance of Divorce in the Philippines, 1998) Thus, the bill seeks to introduce divorce as another option for couples in failed and irreparable marriages. The bill was crafted in consultation with women lawyers and inspired by the studies and inputs of various womens groups and the experiences of spouses gathered by GABRIELA from its various chapters nationwide. The bill seeks to introduce divorce in Philippine law with a strong sense of confidence that it will be used responsibly by Filipino couples. This confidence stems from the experiences of Filipino families that show that separation is usually the last resort of many Filipino couples whose marriage has failed. Cases of battered women also support this. Battered women invariably seek separation only after many years of tring to make the marriage work. Separation only becomes imperative for them when they realize that it is necessary for their and their childrens survival. Divorce could actually provide protection to battered women and their children from further violence and abuse. With the predominance of the Catholic faith in the Philippines, the fear that divorce will erode personal values on marriage appears unfounded. The experience of Italy, where the Vatican is located, and Spain, two predominantly Catholic countries which practice divorce, supports this. Those countries have a low rate of divorce. Italy registers a 7% rate while Spain registers 15%. The figures reflect the strong influence of religious beliefs and culture on individuals in deciding to terminate marital relations. Historically, divorce had been part of our legal system. In the beginning of the 16th century, before the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was widely practiced among ancestral tribes such as the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gadangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of the Cordilleras, and the Manobos, Blaans and Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Divorce was also available during the American period, starting from 1917 (under Act No. 710 enacted by the Philippine Legislature), and during the Japanese occupation (under Executive Order No. 141) and after, until 1950. It was only on August 30, 1950, when the New Civil Code took effect, that divorce was disallowed under Philippine law. Only legal separation was available. The same rule was adopted by the Family Code of 1988, which replaced the provisions of the New Civil Code on marriage and the family, although the Family Code introduced the concept of psychological incapacity as a basis for declaring the marriage void. In recognition of the history of divorce in the Philippines, the farmers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution left the wisdom of legalizing divorce to the Congress. Thus, the 1987 Constitution does not prohibit the legalization of divorce. This bill is respectful of and sensitive to differing religious beliefs in the Philippines. It recognizes that the plurality of religious beliefs and cultural sensibilities in the Philippines demand that different remedies for failed marriages should be made available. For this reason, the bill retains the existing remedies of legal separation, declaring of nullity of the marriage and annulment and only adds divorce as one more remedy. Couples may choose from these remedies depending on their situation, religious beliefs, cultural sensibilities, needs and emotional state. While divorce under this proposed measure severs the bonds of marriage, divorce as a remedy need not be fo the purpose of re-marriage; it may be resorted to by individuals to achieve peace of mind and facilitate their pursuit of full human development. This bill also seeks to make Philippine law consistent in the way it treats religious beliefs with respect to termination of marriage. Philippine law through the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 1083 [1977]) allows divorce among Filipino Muslims, in deference to the Islamic faith which recognizes divorce. Non-Muslim Filipinos should have the same option under Philippine law, in accordance with their religious beliefs. The bill proposes five grounds for divorce. All the five grounds are premised on the irreparable breakdown of the marriage and the total non-performance of marital obligations. Thus, the bill provides that a petition for divorce may be filed when the petitioner has been separated de facto (in fact) from his or her spouse for at least five years at the time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable, or when the petitioner has been legally separated from his or her spouse for at least two years at the time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable. Not all circumstances and situations that cause the total breakdown of a marriage could be defined in this proposed measure. Thus, the bill also provides that divorce may be granted when the spouses suffer from irreconcilable differences that have caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage. Spouses living in a state of irreparable marital conflict or discord should be given the opportunity to present their marital contrarieties in court and have those differences adjudged as constituting a substantial ground to put an end to the marriage. Another ground for divorce included in the bill is when one or both spouses are psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations. This provision will consequently repeal Article 36 of the Family Code. The bill seeks to include psychological incapacity in the grounds for divorce in the belief that the concept is consistent with the termination of marital ties rather than with a void marriage. This bill seeks to eliminate condonation of the act and consent to the act as grounds for denying a petition for legal separation and, by extension, a petition for divorce. Many spouses especially women ignore the offense because of the social and economic conditions they are in. Many women in the marginalized sectors tend to condone the offense because they are economically dependent on their spouses or because of the stigma attached to failed marriages. Some women who are perceived to be condoning the acts of their husbands actually suffer from the cycle of spousal abuse such that they have become so disempowered to address their situation.

A Critical Analysis Of Techno Change Information Technology Essay

A Critical Analysis Of Techno Change Information Technology Essay This report offers a critical analysis of the article A Techno-cultural Emergence Perspective on the Management of Techno-change written by Stephen Jackson and George Philip. The principal purpose of this analysis is to identify and criticise the original contribution of the authors in the study, to discover any deficiencies in the proposed perspective, to propose any improvements and to look for any future research in this field. A brief overview is provided at the first. Part II, III and IV outline the definition of techno-change, importance of techno-change and techno-cultural emergence perspective. This is followed by the comment on originality and contributions; adopted research method, its appropriateness and limitations; and theoretical argument made by the study in Part V, VI and VII respectively. Key findings and their implications are provided in Part VIII. Finally, Part IX and X provide the deficiencies of the study and some recommendations for future research in this field. I. ABOUT THE ARTICLE The article in press, A techno-cultural perspective on the management of techno-change, published in the International Journal of Information Management in 2010 by Stephen Jackson and George Philip, explores the function of culture in the management of techno-change or technological change applying Cultural Theory originated from Anthropology as a hypothetical lens. The current three foremost viewpoints on organisation culture in relation to the management of technological changes namely technological determinism, cultural determinism and techno-cultural emergence, have been examined in this paper. The innermost precept of this article as proposed by the authors is that first two of the three approaches the technological determinism which pays less importance on the organisational culture and cultural determinism which provides   few thoughts on the technology would not be appropriately thriving in the technological change management arena; rather the authors put emphasis on the techno-cultural emergence approach in the facilitating contours of hierarchism, individualism/market and egalitarianism that promotes an atmosphere which can effectively manage the technological changes. II. WHAT IS TECHNO-CHANGE? The phrase Techno-change relates to the organisational changes for technological drives and encompasses a wide variety of features that are connected to and have effects for the changes contained by the organisations (Harison and Boonstra, 2009). When organisations adopt pristine technology which usually prompts or necessitates focal organizational changes, we can call it as Techno-change or technological change (Nilsson, 2008). The term Techno-change was first conceived by Markus in Technochange Management: Using IT to drive organisational change in 2004 (Markus, 2004) and from then the term techno-change has been widely applied in the technological and project management field along with various organisational circumstances.   TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM: Technological determinism theory presumes that technological changes will drive cultural changes and social structure as well (Chandler, 2000). According to Chandler (2000), technological determinists usually try to account for nearly the whole thing in relation to technology: a perception is termed as technocentrism. CULTURAL DETERMINISM: Cultural determinism theory assumes that only culture determines our emotional and behavioural level. The supporters of cultural determinism view that culture is restricted, permanent, unitary and immobile over time (Jackson and Philip, 2005). III. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNO-CHANGE Now-a-days, techno-change is a critical incident and it is getting highly equal attention from both the profit and non-profit organisations (Harison and Boonstra, 2009). As innovations have been deluging in all aspects of businesses for the last couple of decades, the increasing introduction and implementation of large-scale information systems like the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems in business firms as well as higher education providing institutions have become a common phenomena (Chae and Lanzara, 2006; Harison and Boonstra, 2009). Although these wide spread applications of techno-changes, industry data revel that techno-change has high propensity to failure (Chae and Lanzara, 2006). A recent study by the Computer Associates (CA) in 2007 in the UK and Ireland reveals cheap visibility about the importance of IT projects and less management control over the project are costing more than  £256 million in the UK every year and one third of all the projects run-over of their actual budget by 10% 20% (CA, 2007). The KPMG (2005) survey of 600 organisations in twenty-two countries show approximately 50% of the participants experience at least one project failure in 2004 whereas KPMGs 2003 survey reveals 57% of the respondents had one or more IT projects failure in 2002 (KMGP, 2005) The Robbins-Gioia Survey in 2001 also states that 51% ERP implementations are unsuccessful (Basu, 2001). According to IT Cortex (available online: http://www.it-cortex.com/Stat_Failure_Rate.htm), the Conference Board Survey in 2001 also does not show happy results as only 34% ERP implementations are successful, 58% are moderate successful and 8% implementations are totally unsuccessful. The Chaos Report (1995) conducted by the Standish Group shows 31.1% IT projects are cancelled prior to their completion and 52.7% projects over run their original costs by 189%. The money spent on these collapses and overruns simply could be the apex of well-known iceberg. The gone opportunity cost could not be quantifiable but believed to be more than trillions of dollars in the USA only. According to the report, more than $250 billion are spent in the USA every year on nearly 175,000 IT based projects.   The above surveys outcomes substantiate that neglecting techno-change can cost considerable amount of money in terms of wastage and business failure.   IV. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNO-CULTURAL EMERGENCE PERSPECTIVE The authors have proposed to employ and create a new perspective the techno-cultural emergence perspective to manage the techno-change. What are the logic and influences behind this new perspective? According to Yates (2006), this emergent change is unanticipated and could be viewed as an opportunity rather than merely a hazard against the project. Equipped with resources, the actors could underpin and/or make way for the emergent change. The advantages and importance of this perspective is that it recognizes the unavoidability of unforeseen emergent and improvisation and admits those as possible optimistic events rather than a downbeat. As the authority of that project cannot always manage the change over the technology as is planned, they could employ resources to get benefit of the emergent development. The techno-cultural emergence perspective also critically examines the intricate connections among social, technical and interpretative issues that continuously put pressure on organisational contexts (Jackson and Philip, 2005). In their earlier paper which was published in 2005, these two authors argued that the techno-cultural emergence perspective incorporates human, social, political factors and the processes of techno-change that are ignored by the other two perspectives. V. ORIGINIALITY AND CONTRIBUTIONS Hereby the critique report has made an attempt to evaluate the originality of the study by comparing other researchers contributions and studies. From the study it is quite apparent that the authors have followed the central theme of Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970). Lots of studies and researches have been conducted in both technological determinism and cultural determinism and it seems none of the approaches are quite successful in the management of techno-change. The third approach, the techno-cultural emergence, which incorporates both the technology and organisations culture, works in both ways, focuses on the emergency and approaches in the incremental line for the change, has got very little attention and understanding from the researchers. The authors made an attempt to solve this problem incorporating Cultural Theorys three cosmologies enabling forms (hierarchism, egalitarianism and individualism/market) in the techno-cultural emergence perspective. As organisation s culture is complex, ambiguous and authoritative in nature (Heilpern and Nadler, 1992), it has become difficult to implement techno-change easily and the authors have argued that enabling forms of hierarchism (fosters visionary leadership and coordination), egalitarianism (fosters teamwork, mutual confidence and information sharing) and individualism/market (fosters imagination, motivation and novelty) will be successful in the techno-change management. The authors have made significant novel contribution by proposing the enabling forms of Cultural Theorys three mechanisms for the effective management of techno-change. Other researchers also mention about these three enabling forms of Cultural Theory for intranet, development of culture and inter-firm relations but none of them have proposed for the total management of techno-change by these three enabling forms. For example, Ruppel and Harrington (2001) mention that flexibility and novelty (individualism/market); faith and interest for colleagues (egalitarianism); and strategies and knowledge management (hierarchism) will optimize intranet implementation (techno-change). Hendriks (1999) argues the elimination of fatalism for the development of culture in the organisations. Adler (2001) also shows three enabling mechanisms of Cultural Theory market/price, hierarchy/authority, and community/trust will improve inter-organisations relationship. VI. RESEARCH METHOD, APPROPRIATENESS AND LIMITATIONS The authors have implemented Case Study and Multiple Methods, a part of Qualitative research method, for proposing the techno-change management by techno-cultural emergence perspective in the facilitating modes of hierarchism, egalitarianism and individualism/market.   According to Yin (1994, p 20), a case study research should have the following components: Æ’ËÅ"   Development of research questions Æ’ËÅ"   Development of propositions, if any Æ’ËÅ"   Analysis Æ’ËÅ"   The rationale connecting the data to the propositions Æ’ËÅ"   The decisive factors for interpreting the findings. The main research question was how does Cultural Theory offer a novel insight for better consideration of techno-change and its successful management? Beside this, the authors raised another question which perspective(s)/cosmology(ies) would be suitable for proper management of techno-change. The authors developed a fourth proposition. The authors collected coded, constructed theories and conducted analysis through the use of multiple methods and software package (HyperResearch2.6).  Ã‚   As technological determinism (Case study A) and cultural determinism (Case study B) did not achieve the expected changes; were unsuccessful in context of change outcomes; did not respond to the unanticipated improvisations to the technology and did not address properly to the unanticipated cultural issues arose from the techno-changes as opposed to the techno-cultural determinism (Case study C), the authors built their rationale for the fourth proposition on the basis of these comparisons. The decisive factors were enabling forms of Cultural Theory, namely hierarchism, egalitarianism, and individual/market as proposed by Douglas (1970) for successful management of techno-change. Stake (1995) and Yin (1994) recognized six bases for substantiation in the case study research method as illustrated in Tellis (1997) and these are: a.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Documents (internal documents were analysed) b.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Archival records (company literature were analysed) c.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews (total 46 interviews were conducted) d.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Direct inspection (Golds [1969] method was applied) e.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Users inspection (Golds [1969] method was followed) f.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Physical artefacts (company blueprints were analysed) The above discussion confirms the appropriateness of Case Study research method for this study. Overall, this type of research method has proved well-matched with the proposal as it provides the end to end analysis of the problem discussed and other researchers like Myers (1997) also supported case study research method in the IS field. However, there could be some limitations also recognised in this study. It seems the authors have applied Grounded Theory (Myers, 1997) which examined the initial evolution of cultural issues in the three different cases. A stage approach applying longitudinal or ethnographic method could be more useful in this type of research as both the methods examine the events and proceedings at every stage of techno-change life-cycle. As the project implementation periods were very lengthy in all the three cases, biasness of the participants could be a limitation in this study, which provided difficulties for the interviewees to recall the experiences throughout the project implementation period. Other researchers such as Orlikowski (1991) and Preston (1991) also support the use of ethnographic method in the IS field as illustrated in Myers (1997). VII. THEORETICAL ARGUMENT The authors proposed a techno-cultural emergence perspective to understand techno-change management, moving away from technological and cultural deterministic views of change, through the enabling forms of Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970). According to Cultural Theory, individuals social situation can be identified by two principal dimensions grid and group, ultimately produce four means of life (cosmology). The cosmologies are: fatalism, hierarchism, individualism/market and egalitarianism. Each way of life possesses facilitating/enabling and or constraining/impeding characteristics. Fatalism produces apathy and fear, thus, it is regarded as constraining form in the techno-change management. The enabling form of hierarchism inspires leadership and coordination; individualism/market inspires creativity, motivation and inventiveness; and egalitarianism inspires teamwork, confidence and information sharing. The authors in this study make a theoretical argument that because o f technological determinisms negligence in organisational culture and cultural determinisms negligence in technology, these three cosmologies enabling forms will lead to successful management of techno-change. The authors claim that change should be viewed as continuous and emergent rather than planned and managers should take their endeavour to lessen constraining cultural attributes and construct such environment that will promote the enabling forms and as a result techno-change management can be done successfully. No research substantiation for this claim is clearly apparent in the study. VIII. THE KEY FINDINGS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS Several important findings can be obtained from this study.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A new perspective: Management should not follow top-down technological or cultural driven method for the successful implementation and management of techno-change. As an alternative, the authors proposed an incremental/evolutionary style along with continuous adjustments and improvements in culture and technology will lead successful techno-change management. Stakeholders in techno-change should keep in mind that change is an ongoing process and it is made up of uncertain, questionable and unavoidable issues of both the technology and culture. In terms of implications, this new strategy might be quite successful as both the technological and cultural determinism approaches have proved unsuccessful in the techno-change. This strategy might get higher success rate in the successful implementation of ERP which aims to get visibility on inventories around the world or placing one face to the customer (Markus, 2004, p 14), on BPR (Business Process Redesign) or on various innovative and contemporary measurements and amendments in organisation structures. This strategy might be implemented in Supply Chain Management (SCM) as well which aims to address on the different productions and deliveries schedules, greater information sharing within the associated organisations and the ways of procurements.   Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More attention on techno-change process: Much concentration is needed in the field of software vendor and contract; training and encouragement of participation of the users; data transfer; interface development, system testing and coverage. In terms of implications, addressing these issues during the techno-change management process is vital. According to Markus (2004), although the management might know the need of a new system but might not be aware of huge variations between systems of the similar type recommended by various software vendors as well as the amount of flexibility around the softwares applications. She argues this superior awareness of the options will lead to successful techno-change. Sometimes, the management might decide to save money on software testing which can result buggy software, or on training of users which could result incompetent users who commit higher mistakes.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cultural issues: Organisations cultural issues must not be overlooked during the techno-change process. Constricting cultural cosmology must be minimised whereas facilitating cosmologies must be promoted within the organisations culture. Markus (2004) argues that every techno-change brings out probable provocation from human reaction which we term as resistance to change and any difference between the techno-change and organisations culture brings out conflict and chips in to resistance. She claims, because of their view to the devotion to the patients care, doctors and nurses usually resent those techno-changes which bring greater organizational competences. Individuals who like to work on their own might resent to the techno-changes which provide greater teamwork facilities. Markus (2004) also illustrates two national cultural misfits in the techno-change as well because of lacking in map culture, geographical information system (GIS) is not greatly used in India whereas ERP system is rarely used in China because managers have little confidence in their subordinates regarding the access in the business data. So managers should promote coordination among users (hierarchism); teamwork and confidence among users (ega litarianism); and inventiveness, motivation and creativity (individualism/market) whereas managers should try to minimise any apathy and fear to techno-change (fatalism). IX. DEFECIENCIES IN THE STUDY 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors proposed perspective is totally based on Douglass (1970) Cultural Theory which is not away from criticisms as well. According to Caulkins (1999), the first drawback is the outline of this theory has not been done through comprehensive cross-cultural testing. He also proposed for further testing of this group-grid framework. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the study, it appears techno-change and IT projects are the same although there is substantial difference in between these two processes. According to Markus (2004) IT projects aim to improve technical performances whereas techno-change heavily affects the users such as people, process and organisation performance. She also argues that although both IT projects and techno-changes heavily rely on IT but IT projects bring organisations success through improved functionality, reliability and cost of technology with no considerable amendments in the organisations operations whereas techno-changes generally improve organisations outcome measurements considerably like the process efficiency and cycle time. The authors did not distinguish techno-changes and IT projects in the study. 3.  Ã‚   There is no cross-case analysis for the same private sector enterprises. For example, the authors could select a retail business to compare with the business/technology solution provider. A further cross-case analysis could be done for public sector by including and analysing a health care service provider and a government organisation. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Case study research method is a multi-perspective analysis method (Tellis, 1997) which means the study does not count just the voice and perspectives of the actors but also needs to consider various relevant groups of actors and the relations among them. The cases in this study only considered actors within the organisations but ignored the external stake-holders and users like the students, customers and investors. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposition is not tested on different sectors like the NGOs and not-for-profit organisations. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The proposition is not tested on different countries culture as well. We cant get any idea in which country/location this study was conducted. Different countries have different cultures and cultures vary for the locations as well, the disclosure of location/country of the study would provide some idea about the perception and successful management of techno-change in the same geographic location. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Insufficient information can lead inappropriate implications. For example, we can find none of the cases in this study reveal the actual cost or the total cost of the techno-change. As cost is a major consideration for implementing IS project or techno-change, the information on cost for the organisations could provide insight for other similar types of organisations. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social, economic and environmental factors have not been analysed in the cases. None of the cases shows the social advantages, benefits or disadvantages of the employees/users for a techno-change. Economic benefits of the organisations have not been discussed. Every techno-change has impacts on its surrounding environment and that has not been mentioned anywhere in the study. A classic example was illustrated by Markus (2004) for Cigna. The firm launched its new CRM for the cost of $1 billion which ultimately laid off its customer service personnel department but the new system at the end could not handle 3.5 million customers complaints and eventually Cignas share price fell significantly. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors have not outlined how to implement emergence perspective throughout the organisations and the factors are needed to be considered while implementing it. The authors also have not mentioned how the organisations can create, support, maintain and promote the enabling forms and how organisations can avoid and discourage the constraining form.   11. The authors have not critically analysed the role of IT specialists and other internal staff specialists like the industrial engineering and strategic planners as they play vital roles in the implementation of techno-change (Markus, 2004). Besides the performances of organisational managers, internal and external change consultants and technology performances have not critically analysed in the study. The techno-change life cycle chartering, the IT project, start-up and shakedown (Markus, 2004) of the described three cases has not been properly stated as well. 12. According to the authors, an individuals membership in the cosmologies is not fixed or permanent and it is dynamic in nature. Our concern is possessing three cosmologies at the same time for an individual cannot it create confusion, conflict and overlapping situations in the individuals which might impede the process of techno-change? X. RECOMMENDATIONS Action Research could be applied instead of Case Study research method as it is now attracting more attention for researchers (Myers, 1997). Although action research is generally ignored in information systems aside from some notable experiments, for example, Checkland (1991) as illustrated in Myers (1997). Ethnographic research could be applied as it puts emphasis on social and cultural context. As ethnographic research encompasses a greater area including the study of the development of IS to the study features of IT management, multiple perspectives can be incorporated and has widely been used in the study of information systems (Myers, 1997), this type of research would be more accurate for the investigation and management of techno-change. Cross-case analysis can be applied. This type of technique examines pairs of cases, categorizes resemblances and dissimilarities in each pair which will lead to a certain type of pattern which may provide specific support or evidence in the case studies (Tellis, 1997). Although this study compared only one pair of public enterprises, it ignored other cross-case analysis in the private sector. Time and distance effects should be reduced as both of them affect the techno-change management (Markus, 2004). If we look at the Case B where TI/IS implementation time was 5 years (2001 2006) whereas Case A and C both took 2 years. This long period of implementation time could affect the users and members of IT/IS adversely where they may feel distant from the organisations and the ongoing operations of the organisations which might put question on the success of the techno-change. XI. REFERENCES Adler, P. S., 2001, Market, Hierarchy, and Trust: The Knowledge Economy and the Future of Capitalism, Organization Science, Volume 12, No. 2, Available online: http://orgsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/215 Basu, I., 2001, ERP implementation failures and the Philosophers Stone, Available online: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20071105/management04.shtml Caulkins, D., 1999, Is Mary Douglass Grid/Group Analysis Useful for Cross-Cultural Research? Cross-Cultural Research, Volume 33, No. 1, pp 108-128, Available online: http://ccr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/1/108 Chae, B. and Lanzara, G. F., 2006, Self-destructive dynamics in large-scale techno-change and some ways of counteracting it, Information Technology People, Volume 19, No. 1, pp 74 97. Available online: www.emeraldinsight.com/0959-3848.htm Chandler, D., 2000, Technological or Media Determinism, Available online: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/tecdet/tdet03.html Harison, E. and Boonstra, A., 2009, Essential competencies for technochange management: Towards an assessment model, International Journal of Information Management, Volume 29, Issue 4, pp 283 294, Available online: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science Heilpern, J. And Nadler, D., 1992, Implementing TQM: A Process of Cultural Change, Organisational Architecture, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hendriks, F, 1999, The Post-industrializing City: Political Perspectives and Cultural Biases, GeoJournal, Volume 47, Number 3, Available online: http://www.springerlink.com/content/pmtatt1umn2cej8t/ Jackson, S. and Philip, G., 2005, Organisational Culture and the Management of Technological Change: A Theoretical Perspective, Available online: http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20050109.pdf KPMG, 2005, Information Risk Management, Global IT Project Management Survey: How committed are you? Available online:   http://us.kpmg.com/Rutus_Prod/Documents/12/ITProjectAdvisorySurveyReport.pdf Markus, M. L., 2004, Technochange management: using IT to drive organizational change, Journal of Information Technology, Volume 19, pp 4 20, JIT Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Myers, M., 1997, Qualitative Research in Information Systems, Available online: C:Documents and SettingsuserDesktopQualitative Research in Information Systems.htm Nilsson, A., 2008, Management of Technochange in an Interorganizational e-Government Project, Proceedings of the 41st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Available online: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/HICSS.2008.240 Ruppel, C.P. and Harrington, S. J., 2001, Sharing Knowledge Through Intranets: A Study of Organisational Culture and Intranet Implementation, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Volume 44, Issue 1, pp 37 52 Tellis, W., 1997, Introduction to Case Study, Available online: http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-2/tellis1.html The Standish Group Report: Chaos, 1995, Available online: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/chaos-report.pdf The CA, 2007, Press Releases, Available online: http://www.ca.com/gb/press/release.aspx?cid=155480 Yates, J., 2006, Planned, Emergent and Opportunistic Change, Available online: http://icd.si.umich.edu/~cknobel/?q=node/41 Yin, R., 1994, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Second Edition, Beverly Hills, California, Sage Publication.

Marketing and market entry strategy in india

Marketing and market entry strategy in india A market entry strategy maps out how to sell, deliver and distribute HMs products in another country such as India. When products and services are exported to another country, the strategy will define ways of obtaining contracts and delivering them in that country. If HM has decided to conquer the international market in India, it is opened to many choices. These options may include the cost, risk and the degree of control that the company will encounter in the country. In entering an international business, it is important that the management of the HM should be able to choose marketing entry strategies and carefully choose the product that the company will market in India. Exporting, is the simplest form of marketing entry strategy which includes direct or indirect method such as using an agent, in the case of direct method and counter trade if the company opted to implement an indirect method. Due to technological advances, direct marketing is staging a comeback, leading to a relationship orientation. Moreover, since HM wants to be known globally, there are many other ways the company can choose from like joint venture or export processing zone. The management of HM may decide to choose the export strategy and include in their operation the specific channels to market their product. Relationship marketing has revolutionized the traditional marketing and has become the biggest paradigmatic shift in marketing practice in recent decades.It has not only changed customers to advocate by replacing customer satisfaction by customer delight but has also increased quality service offers that exceeds expectations. Similarly, it will open new horizons for HM. It will trigger the HM to introduce new products and services. According to Berry and Parasuraman (1991: 25) relationship marketing concerns attracting, developing and retaining customer relationships. Relationship marketing will provide HM with necessary selling approach to cope with various challenges, set by the modern market in India. Relationship marketing transforms single usage to multiple service usage and will strengthen HM by providing them the wherewithal with which they can carry out effective customer services in India. Nowadays, competition in fashion industry and demands of customers are increasing constantly. They demand for global fashion company like HM where there are provisions for an incentive to the customer. So, strong commitment to customer care, attraction and maintenance at all levels are the top priority of HM, while dealing with the customers. Relationship marketing will help HM to overcome these problems and make the sales procedures much simpler. Palmer (2001) enumerated the components of relationship marketing as being: a focus on customer loyalty and retention; long term orientation; tracing identifiable buyers; distinguishing different levels of relationship between the buyer and the seller; high levels of customer dedication; and service quality as being the responsibility of every employee. Relationship marketing will transform indifferent customers into loyal clientele and emphasizes on their retention. Customer retention is the means to delivering long-term profitability in H M. Customer relationships management focuses on customer retention, and customer retention is believed to be more profitable than customer acquisition. Dawkins and Reichheld (1990) found that higher retention rate leads to higher net present value of customers. The longer customers can be retained by HM, the more and more tangible benefits will accrue from a sustained income stream. The end goal of relationship marketing is profit for HM. Saren and Tzokas (2000) raised the usefulness of relationship marketing in creating unique, difficult to imitate knowledge through the processes of interaction and dialogue with the customer. Knowledge about customers can only be enhanced if HM is able to maintain lasting relationships with their customers. The determinants of store choice, customer loyalty, patronage behaviour, customer retention and relationship marketing have been widely studied around the globe. Therefore, a considerable volume of literature exists, especially regarding fashion industry. However, there is still considerable scope for research in this field as the environment of fashion industry is in a constant state of flux and the emergence of new store formats in India has led to dramatic changes in consumer behaviour. New and existing fashion industry tend to provide a completely new experience for their consumers by offering sophisticated customer service, a wide and assorted variety of goods, breakfast ambience, quality imported and branded products. Since, fashion has invading people style of living and HMs the product that has been chosen to go international market. Hence, this research will suggest a marketing entry strategy for HM using Porters Five Forces model (Porter, 1980) and SWOT analysis of other HM companies in other countries. The company is a new entrant to the Indian Market, thus, this paper will provide a marketing entry strategy analysis for the company as it invade the market in India. Competitors Analysis Competitors analysis is very important since HM is a new entrant within the market place. It is essential so that the HM will be able to know their competitors and the possible strategy that they may use to level up such competitors and know the needs of the target market. Thus, this means that HM will enter the India as a beginning industry considering many competitors within the market place. Marketing Entry Analysis Utilizing Marketing Mix Marketing is considered as one of the most important element underpinning successful business creation and because of its complex applications, marketing is defined in a variety of ways (Sheth, Gardner, and Garrett 1988). According to Elliot (1990), the marketing concept was first promulgated in the late 1950s. The importance of marketing concept incorporates oft-repeated elements such as: customer orientation; integrated marketing efforts; and resultant profitability (Elliot, 1990). The marketing mix principles can be adjusted on a frequent basis to meet the changing needs of the target market and other dynamics of marketing environment (McCarthy, 2004). In relation to marketing plan, marketing mix includes both short term and long term strategies makes for a more profitable marketing mix. Long term strategies build brand/company awareness and give sales revenue a permanent, gradual boost. Short term strategies create a temporary, immediate revenue boost by giving buyers an incentive to purchase. By implementing both long and short term strategies, you can attend to immediate sales goals while building your business reputation and goodwill (Kyle, 2004). 1.1. Product HM AB (originally known as Hennes Mauritz) is a Swedish clothing company, known for retail of low-cost designer clothings. It was established in Và ¤sterà ¥s in Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson, though at the time it only sold womens clothing and was called Hennes, which means hers in Swedish. Persson acquired the premises and inventory of a Stockholm hunting equipment store named Mauritz Widforss in 1968. Persson expanded into menswear and renamed the store to Hennes Mauritz, later abbreviated to HM (www.hm.com). H M is the worlds favourite and preferred designer of apparels and clothing for man and women. In addition, H M is also known not only for their fashion cosmetic but because of the quality of the clothes designed durability and the funkiness of its clothes. Through the online stores, HM provides the regional, continental and European Market an exclusive clothing designs. The main goal of HM is to provide innovative designs of apparels and clothes for different types of people in different countries all over the world. The company is known because of its strategy of providing clothing designs exclusively for each countrys preferences and needs. 1.2. Pricing H M is believed to have advantages when it comes to its pricing tactic. In order to be known into the market place and as a new entrant, the company will provide its target market with an affordable cost while providing them a high quality products and services. The company will be given the customer and client a price that is lesser than its competitors so that the consumer will be enhanced to buy and patronize the H M clothes and cosmetics. 1.3. Placement/Distribution The HMs products will be distributed directly to its clients and consumers in order to be known in the market place. HM products can utilize joint venture strategies with distinguished distributor of apparels, clothes and cosmetics, providing them with great offers, so as to market the product of the H M internationally. In 2003, HM announced its entry into the traditionally exclusive Milan fashion scene. It remains to be seen if HM and other low-end retailers will be able to find a market there. In February 2004, The Gap, another prominent international retailer, sold off all of its German outlets to its competitor, HM. HM launched its first American outlet on March 31, 2000 on New Yorks famous Fifth Avenue. Following the success its stores, additional outlets were opened in the SoHo, Gramercy, and Herald Square areas of Manhattan, followed by outlets in Upstate New York in Syracuse, Utica, and West Nyack. The brand then expanded to other regions of the country, including Chicago and its outlying suburbs. The first two HM stores to appear on the West Coast of the US opened in San Francisco, California on November 19th, 2005. HM opened its first Canadian store in Fairview Mall in Toronto and soon after, its store in Torontos Eaton Centre was opened in March 2004. Following great financial success, HM opened ten other stores within the Greater Toronto Area. Stores were also opened in Montreal in Spring 2006. HM continued its expansion in the Canadian market and doubled the number of stores in 2006. It planned new markets include Barrie, Hamilton, London, Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, St. Catharines and Windsor and Ontario market, Fairview (Pointe Claire) shopping centre, Rockland Centre, the Galeries dAnjou and the Carrefour Laval. (www.hm.com) 1.4. Promotion/Communication HM can use video advertisements, print advertisements and the concept of e-marketing to promote its products. These promotion and communication strategy will tend to meet the consumers form different places everywhere, especially those target markets or the consumers in the working place. Moreover, since the trend in the market place today is the usage of e-marketing, the company will provide a website that any client can access. The use of the Internet is changing technologically advanced marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It does not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services but it also become instrumental in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Donthu and Garcia, 1999). E-marketing is a powerful tool used that can be used by HM. E-marketing is defined as the process of achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications technology (ICT). Smith and Chaffey (2001) have provided a 5Ss learning devices on how the internet can be applied by all business firms for different e-marketing tactics. These 5Ss are useful for HM and are se lling, serve, speak, save and sizzle. E-marketing or online marketing strategy can be used by HM to market its products. Thus, the HM has created its own website (www.hm.com). HM will use the e-marketing strategy is to keep in touch to different internet users and to be able to attract more clients and consumers. HM will use e-marketing to accelerate its business portfolio whether the user of the website is a customer, employee, stockholders, vendors, retailers or end customers. 1.5. Market Segmentation Marketing segmentation is defined as an aggregating process clustering people with similar needs into a market segment (Perreault McCarthy, 2002: 74). According to Ravesteyn (2005), customer segmentation is critical for an effective relationship marketing strategy. HM will provide its target consumers for its product by using market segmentation strategy. The segmentation of the market is a critical aspect of relationship marketing and the segmentation of business customers by HM must be in line with the different levels of relationship offered by the company. They need to make use of relationship marketing and management at segment or market level to identify the target market they intend pursuing (Stewart, 1995). Primarily, the context of the market segmentation for this company will be the Psychographics. Strydom, Cant Jooste (2000) identify the following four types of segmentation: demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation. Psychographics includes soc ial class, lifestyle, and personality variables (Chiagouris and Kahle, 2000). The end result of using these variables is a psychological profile of each market segment. Issues also examined the customers loyalties, habits and self-concept. Social class describes how individuals want their office automation will meet their comfort and satisfaction, what they consider important about their immediate surroundings, their opinions on various issues, and their interests. As lifestyle studies concentrates on what the consumer requires, using these study results as marketing strategies eventually became a marketing concept. The marketing concept is a basic philosophy that maintains that HM should endeavour to satisfy the needs and wants of customers through a coordinated set of activities that also allows the HM to achieve its goals at a profit. The HM must be able to consider its consumer, especially the demands of the consumer so as to let the business have an opportunity of having an expansion of its business portfolio as required by the consumers. The focus of this overview is on the behavioural segmentation process, which refers to the segmentation of buyers or customers into groups on the basis of their knowledge of, attitude towards, use of or response to a product or service of a HM. The behavioural variables identified by Kotler (2000) include: Occasions occasional buyers develop needs, purchase, or use products. Benefits refer to the benefits that buyers seek. User status includes potential users, regular users, non-users, first-time users or ex-users. Usage rate will include light, medium or heavy users. Loyalty status are classified as hard-core loyals, split loyals, shifting loyals and switchers. Buyers-readiness stages where the customers are either aware or unaware of the product or service, informed, interested, have a desire for the product or service and have intent to buy. Attitude enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative and hostile. Research Objectives: Relationship marketing will contribute significantly to the development of HM in India. Therefore, it becomes essential to study its applications in a fashion company in India. This study fulfils this need. The study addresses the different pros and cons of relationship marketing in a fashion company in India. Thus, the general purpose of this research investigation is to identify, describe and analyse factors that have an impact on relationship marketing, customer retention and customer acquisition in Indian fashion context. The main objectives of this study are given below, To identify, describe and analyse factors that will have an impact on relationship marketing, customer retention and customer acquisition in a fashion company and at HM in India. To appraise the views of customers of HM in India, how they feel about the companys relationship with them. To gain insight on how HM in India build customer relationship marketing tactics. To understand and determine the mediating role of customer behavior between relationship marketing and customer retention and acquisition. To indentify the market entry strategies for HM in India. Research Questions: What is the relationship marketing tactics practiced by the HM in India? What is the market entry strategy practiced by the HM in India? Deliverables: As it has been described in the objectives of the research project that the main purpose of this study is to examine the market entry strategies and relationship marketing by HM in India and customer relationships in Fashion Company and to find out how fashion company relationships with customers promotes its entry in India. The final product of this research project will be a report, containing the HMs relationship strategy and market entry strategy in India, what are their advantages and disadvantages. The report will contain the perceptions of employee and customers. Finally, the report will highlight some relationship marketing problems of HM and a fashion company and suggest some guidelines to remove these problems and improve its customers base in India. Research Methodology: Interested customer and would be customers of HM in India will be approached to collect the data. There are two kinds of data. Primary data Secondary data Primary data includes the information about relationship marketing and market entry strategy available from customers of HM in India. This also includes responses by the different employee of HM on the shop-floor. Secondary data will tell about the impact of relationship marketing in the retailers and the data has been available in their system. To collect the data, retailers employees, posted at different positions, will be contacted. Similarly, to assess the changes in retail services, caused by the relationship marketing, customers views will also be found out. The tools to collect this data will be the surveys. For this, employees and customers will be interviewed, where as to know the views of customers, different questionnaires will be prepared to ask them different questions. To analyze the collected data, different statistical techniques will be used. Qualitative research can be referred to as the opposite of quantitative research method. Any research method has its advantages and it disadvantages. Qualitative research is a study done that produces its results and findings that do not result from statistical means or other method of quantification. This method of inquiry requires a high level of intelligence and experience from the researcher to arrive at a more realistic and targeted data from the respondent. Quantitative research is referred to as a measurement of how people feel, think or act in a particular way and that this survey tend to include large samples from fifty to any number of interviews, structured questionnaires containing mostly closed questions that require questions along with set responds. This involves the clear statement of variables i.e. specifying the dependent and the independent variable. Resources: The most important thing to carry out any research project is to know the background, research objectives, and research methodology of the research project. For this literature is searched out. The University Library will be the primary source to review the literature. Books in hard and soft form will be obtained from the library. Similarly, different research journals and articles in the library will be valuable assets to prepare a comprehensive research report. To prepare the questionnaires, surveys done by Fashion Company to know the relationship marketing and market entry strategy will be used. Similarly new questionnaires, depending on the situation, will also be prepared. Project Plan: The project is divided into three stages. Literature review Interviews of employees of HM and their customers Report writing Literature Review: To carry out any research project, a research must be able to review the literature. This makes researcher aware of work, done by other people in the respective field. The main source of literature is the journals, in which different researchers publish their findings of problems. Interviews of retail employees and customers: In order to collect information on the impact of market entry strategy and know impact on relationship marketing in the Indian fashion company, the employees of HM will be interviewed. They will be asked about the positive and negative points of relationship marketing utilization in their stores. Similarly, customer views will be taken through the interviews. Considering all these views, suggestion to improve the customer services will be advised. Report writing: The final product of the research project will be a written report. The structure of my report will be divided in following categories, Introduction: In the introduction, the market entry strategy and history of relationship marketing use in fashion sector will be discussed and how different relationship marketing systems will be used to address the issues of HM, with the passage of time. Aims and objectives: In this part of report, purpose of the research project will be stated very clearly; what are the aims of the study and what are the problems, which will be discussed in the report. Research methodology: This is the core part of the report. After stating the problem, different research methodologies will be explained to gather the data. The primary source will be the interviews of the employees and customers. From these interviews, impact of relationship marketing and market entry strategy of HM will be assessed. The questions asked to employees and customers will be provided in the appendix of report. Conclusions: After describing the problems and research methods, suggestion will be advised to eliminate the highlighted problems. Risk: In order to carry out any research project, it is very important to study all the aspects of the project. One of the main aspects regarding any project is the risks involved. There are also some risks involved, regarding the research project under consideration. One risk can be privacy. HM employees can be duty-bound and show reluctance to give information about their working procedures and on relationship marketing operations, used in the fashion company. Impact and Beneficiaries of Research: The main objective of this research activity is to investigate the market entry strategies and relationship marketing by HM in India and customer relationships in Fashion Company and to find out how fashion company relationships with customers promotes its entry in India. This research can be very helpful for the fashion sector. For instance, it will analyze the effectiveness of relationship marketing and its market entry strategies in India. It will determine the views of HM employees about the introduction of relationship marketing in their working environment. From this, both positive and negative points about the role of relationship marketing in the fashion sector, put forward by the HM employees, can be known. Similarly, the customers views about the insertion of relationship marketing and the effect of HMs market entry strategy can be found out. Customers level of satisfaction about the HMs customer services can be assessed. This report will also show the comparison of differe nt strategies among different HMs companies worldwide and how they use relationship marketing to achieve the same target. By knowing the views of customers through this study, their difficulties while dealing with HM, can also be discovered. This report will also address these issues and suggest solutions to eradicate these problems. So, the major beneficiaries of this report are the management of HM and by considering the suggestions of the report, they can improve their market entry strategies, customer services and hence the customer relationship from HM will be invigorated.