Behavioral Perspectives

Follet, Munsterberg and Mayo are mostly known for behavioral- science approach theory. They are more focused on the human and psychological factors, which are likely to affect the workers. A considerable philosophy of the theory illuminates employee relationship and motivation, information processing and organizational development. The three are also considered the founders of organizational psychology and behavioral approaches in the theories of management. Follet is an American social worker, a pioneer in the organizational theory and organizational behavior. He is works as a management consultant. Her theory criticized the poor handling of employees and urge managers to be friendly. In doing so, they should grant them the liberty to collaborate, socialize and work in teams. Munsterberg, on the other hand, states that only workers with standard mental capability and moral standards should be hired. Moreover, increased employee motivation, job performance, and employee retention are very imperative. In other words, he encourages matching an employee merits with his or her job description. Elton Mayo, who started human relations movement is best known for Hawthorne studies which were conducted at the western electric company. His theory is based on the soft ways for successful management. According to him, individual's work performance depends greatly on job satisfaction. He contributed significantly to behaviorism movement in the management field. However, Marx, Weber, and Taylor oppose such positions and call for employees liberations. For instance, Marx is against the bourgeois who use other people to become rich. They are uncomfortable with the states of affairs that use other people as instruments of making wealth. Even though Marx, weber and Taylor contrast them, Follet, Munsterberg and Mayo transformed the way modern employers relate to their employees. Q2Organizational structure defines how organizational activities are coordinated, and directing supervisions of the allocated tasks towards the achievement of organizational goals. Major types of the organizational structure include functional, divisional and matrix. Functional structure refers to the grouping of the organization departments according to purposes. It is useful for small organizations with flexible departments which can solely rely on the skills, talents, and knowledge of employees. Divisional structure is used by large organizations which operate in different geographical areas. The organization is divided into divisions which areas separately managed towards achieving the common set goals. It is useful in the sense that its desires can be met rapidly and more specifically since each division operates independently. Q3Everyone in a workplace possesses different personalities. The use of personality test immensely employs the use of the big five personality traits which includes openness, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. In a workplace, personality traits can help in revealing strengths and weaknesses of the employees. Moreover, it helps in determining levels of emotional intelligence among employees, a key tool for effective communication. In addition to this, personality traits help in creating awareness and enhancing excellent teamwork among employees. Finally, personality traits it helps in promoting a deeper understanding of employee capabilities based on their strengths and capabilities, thus making it easier to delegate the duties. Q4 Perceptual distortions refer to the variations of a person's response to a stimulus from the common perception. Majorly, it occurs as a result of intellectual biases of an individual. The major causes of perceptual distortions include but not limited to stereotyping, halo effect, pre-deposition, recency effect, pre-deposition effect, primacy effect, and prejudice. An example of perceptual distortion is that of an individual who is suffering from anorexia and holds a biased self-image. Such people see their bodies as overweighed and unsightly whereas others perceive them as the undernourished as well as underweighted. Q5 Impression management refers to a self-presentation system which focuses on improving a person's image in the eyes of others. Typically, it refers to a process in which people attempt to influence the perception of others. Managers synonymously implement the use of impression management to present themselves to their employees, the public and to their peers as a way of impelling the insights of their appearance. The underlying motives and basic governing factors of impression management culminates in the awareness of being a potential monitoring instrument and the kind social status. Additionally, cultural norms, personal goals, and social perspectives form other impression motives and governing factors for managers. The duo reveals the assertions, which leads to a dynamic way of presentational aspects. Managers tend to impress their employees, peers and the public through the types of clothes they put on, which have specific designs and fashions. Politicians wear nice suits, carries an expensive suitcase and move inexpensive cars so as to impress the public as they woe for votes. Christianity is another strategy used by managers to impress peers and the public alleging that their ways are pure. Q6 Stress refers to a hypersensitive response of the body to any kind of emotional strain. It occurs as a result of personal conflict between the job workload or demands and the little amount of time an employee has to meet these demands, hence lack of control. The common demands that may lead to stress in the workplace include poor organization of the work, poor work design, poor working conditions, poor management and lack of supervisory support. Moreover, job monotony and excessive workload are also sources of stress in a workstation. The general responses to stress that can be experienced are majorly classified into physical, Emotional responses. Physical stress occurs in the general body and includes pains, aches and other diseases that may be caused by stress. Physical stress is accompanied by frequent headaches, chest problems, back pain and aching stomach. It is also characterized by insufficient sleep and high blood pressure. On the other hand, Emotional responses are experiences involving feelings and thoughts during stressful circumstances. Such responses include depression and anxiety, withdrawing socially and becoming more forgetful. Anger, lack of focus and becoming more restless are other emotional responses to stress. Excessive stress is fatal and prevention measures should be put in place. In order to deal with stress, one should first trace the origin and know the causes of stress and develop healthy responses to curb the situation. Relaxing the mind and having sufficient sleep are important techniques suppressing stress. Avoid being lonely, talk to other people and seek for their help. Finally, talking to the supervisor about the stressing issue can help solve the situation. This can be perfected by improving working conditions.

CMR Enterprise Essay

This particular case depicts the history and issues faced by a relatively small company active in the custom architectural millwork industry for the past 25 years. The new owners wanted the newly-acquired company to grow even further. The first few months seems to have been a success – Marcus spent a lot of his time with employees and customers, learning the field since he was, as mentioned in the text, an â€Å"outsider†. However, keeping the company’s integrity and image intact was a priority. However, the problems outlined in the case seems to start – or at least have been worsened – with what will become CMR’s largest account, Blackstone Homes. Problem Identification After reviewing the text in question, three major problems stand out: 1) Customers change requests: When Blackstone Homes sell a house, it does – of course! – come with a pre-finished and installed kitchen, included in the price. However, if the customer wishes, he or she would visit CMR’s showroom and they would build these woodwork according to their new specifications. The added cost will then be charged to the contractor, which will later add it to their bills. This takes time and lead to price increases. This is, in part, what contributed to the clash with Blackstone Homes. 2) IT solution not adapted: InfoCentral, the software implemented by Marcus, does not work out as intended and do not fit the business needs. It is not always updated as required by the employees. According to the text, it may be helpful for the commercial and financial/accounting side, but is lacking several features for its residential counterpart to be really as useful as it can be. 3) Deteriorating business relationship The business relations between the two companies started well and was fulfilling for both part. When the business expended, so did the problems. The root cause seems to be the change requests made by the homeowners. This lead to late delivery, poorly reviewed performance and then the 7% price increase. Future homeowners started considering the prices charged by CMR to be too high. We could therefore expect lower level of sales and revenues in the future. Alternatives generation While we will mostly concentrate our alternatives on the three points mentioned above, we will also include other alternatives, even if they may not be realistic or feasible in the short/medium term. 1) Review customers change requests: We obviously cannot stop change requests and modifications made by the customers. The company and its employees pride themselves by offering flexibility and higher customers’ satisfaction. It would be therefore self-destructive for CMR to put a term to these showrooms. Any person also deserve to have reasonable alternative options when they are buying an object, a home more than anything. However, there is a clear misunderstanding between CMR and Blackstone Homes regarding the fixed allowances for kitchen ($6,000) and the final cost of the installation. In order to solve this issue, it may be a good thing to review the billing part: Instead of having the installation costs â€Å"forwarded† to the contractor, all expenses over $6,000 (parts + labor) should be charged to the homeowners themselves; customers can have access to all options made available by CMR, whilst eliminating cost forwarding and the said related disagreements. 2) Software adaptation It seems clear from the text that the whole issue also come in part from InfoCentral. In order to remediate this issue, we would suggest that all account managers from CMR and employees involved with this software should meet and discuss its performance. What should be changed, what must be kept, or what should be included in order to fit everyone’s needs. However, for any IT solution to bring tangible additional value, it must be easy to use and should not impose additional work. It is supposed to simplify the work, not making it more complicated. 3) The right people on the right place Again, according to the text, there was a clear misunderstanding between both parties; it was even referred as a â€Å"shouting contest†, which is far from being a normal and healthy business relationship. The Key Account Managers (from both sides) could not agree on contract terms and conditions. It could therefore be a good thing to change points of contact and see if the situation can be resolved; a stronger relation, transparency, honesty and â€Å"business awareness† between the two companies might also help straighten things out. 4) Additional ideas The solution to increase profit may not be by simply increasing selling price. We would suggest CMR to run an audit on their Supply Chain, Logistics and Selling, General & Administrative Expenses to see if cost reductions are possible. Could modern machinery help cut their production costs? Could they outsource some of their non-core business or reduce raw material costs by creating a joint-venture with a competitor? Chasing down inefficiencies in the production line can be even more effective than a price increase. Recommendations Using the previous points, we would suggest the three following recommendations: 1) Change the billing process: If possible, all additional costs over $6,000 should be charged to the homeowner directly. In order to make this easier for the customers, offering various financing options may be a good idea. 2) Adapt InfoCentral: Review, correct and revamp the software in order to meet real business needs. May be a good thing to check what competitors are using. 3) Organize recurrent meetings: The situation with Blackstone did not get bad in one day. It may be a good idea to set up weekly or monthly operational reviews; meetings lasting no longer than 30 minutes, where all potential issues can be discussed among stakeholders and managers. The idea is not to let such situation worsen and take the correct actions as soon as possible.

Explaining my scheme Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Explaining my scheme - Essay Example In this chapter, an overview is given in Section 4.2. Then, Section 4.3 illustrates how the initial labels are allocated and how the different relationships are determined. Section 4.4 describes how insertions are handled and how different relationships are preserved. A validation of the relationships using algebra is shown in Section 4.5. Finally, in Section 4.6, the chapter ends with a general conclusion that leads to the following chapter which discusses the scheme from the point of view of implementation. The proposed scheme is based on the parent-child grouping to facilitate the identification of parent-child and sibling relationships faster, based on a simple comparison. Parent-child grouping was also selected due to the high number of xml documents that come with this type of relationship (Goldman & Widom, 1997). Again, parent-child and sibling grouping facilitate smother insertions of new nodes, given the fact that in this form of grouping only a simple tree structure will be dealt with rather than the whole tree (Cohen, Kaplan & Milo, 2002). The advantage of allowing smoother insertion builds on the prefix GroupID labelling scheme but does not determine a fixed number of nodes to be inserted. Gusfield (1997) also observed that when dealing with parent-child groupings, labelling can be thought of as being easier, faster and more accurate as it deals with a simple tree structure. The simple structure has to do with a root node and its direct children nodes. Another critical characteristic of the scheme is that it uses two labels for each node in order to facilitate the processing nodes within the same group that uses their simple local labels. This is in contrast with multiplication-based scheme where the global label is used to connect a group to the whole tree which helps in identifying relationships between nodes belong to different group (Milo & Suciu, 1999). Based on existing schemes such

Parenting stratagies in Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Parenting stratagies in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example Families, or more specifically parents, have the greatest impact on children’s development and characters (Sanders, 2012). Methods of education differ according to differences in communities. Sumargurgi et al. (2013) studied an Indonesian community and they indicated that many Indonesian parents still use ineffective methods of dealing with their children, such as screaming. Developing countries tend to have high rates of behavioural and emotional problems in children (Mejia et al., 2012). My own philosophy about psychologists came from working in a parenting program in Saudi Arabia. It can be linked to Foucault’s philosophy, which focuses on parenting without using violence-based strategies because these are incompatible with learning. Some research is based on explaining the parenting methods used in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia and whether they using positive or negative strategies with children. A Saudi study indicated that 7% of parents were satisfied with their parenting performance and reported that did not need to know more about parenting techniques (â€Å"King Abdulaziz ...†, 2011). This essay aims to understand the parental methods used by Saudi parents with their children, to explain the education methods utilised by the Saudi community, and to identify whether those methods are effective or ineffective. It also assumes that there are differences in the parenting methods of Saudi parents, which are linked to Foucault’s concepts of an ethic of care, discipline and punishment, knowledge, governmentality, and pastoral power. An explanation is provided of how these concepts operate within my personal philosophy and professional philosophy of Altuwajery. From my perspective, Saudi families have strong relationships between children and parents, even after the children marry. There is a strong correlation at the relationship level between discipline and family cohesion. The relationship between Saudi families is closer than average

Management (definition) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management (definition) - Essay Example The perspectives hence interpolate the events in the organization for instance rules and regulations, trade unions, conflicts differently, (Dale 2001). The unitary organization is viewed as being harmonious and integrated whole unit just like a united family. The management and the rest of the staff members all shares a common goal and they lay a lot of emphasize on cooperation that is mutual. This perspective approaches the organization paternally where it requires all the employees to be loyal. 1. This perspective approaches the organization as a one harmonious and integrated entity. This makes the employees feel wanted by the organization. They hence develop a lot of commitment, derive job satisfaction from what they do and this in the long run increases the organizational productivity. The organization life is mutual and people are friendly towards each other, (Mark 2001). 2. The organization is guided by a common objective. This is very advantageous as all the members of the organization including the management and staff cohesively works towards the attainment of a common goal which is unanimously agreed upon by the two parties as a whole. There is therefore the spirit of togetherness in the every day life of the organization. 1. ... The trade union serves as a representative of the employees to the employer and assists the employees in making trade agreements, in collective bargaining and negotiations. In a unitary organization therefore, the employees are not represented and their voice is not raised. They remain loyal to the organization and cooperate with the management, (Hoyer 2001). 2. Organizational conflicts are perceived to be disruptive to the normal running of the organization. They are associated and are said to result to the breakdown in communication, friction between individuals, and agitation. By shielding the organization from healthy conflicts, this perspective bars the organization from realizing the benefits of a healthy conflict. Healthy conflicts keep the employees and the management as well informed on the general feeling of the organizational issues. The conflicts also bring home the various points of views from the different people in the organization. 3. The organization only recruits employees who do not demonstrate a pluralistic character. This blacklists potential employees from working in the organization. In regard to this, the organization may leave out the best talent. This may affect the firm's productivity as well as the life of the organization. The pluralist perspective From this perspective, the organization is viewed as having divergent and powerful sub-groups of which each group has its individual loyalties that are legitimate, set objectives as well as its own leaders. These sub-groups primarily are the employees and the management, (Thomson and Rampton 2003). Advantages The responsibilities or the management lessens since all the management does is co-ordinate the employees in the organization as well as the organizational life. The burden

Math paradoxes - geometric series Speech or Presentation

Math paradoxes - geometric series - Speech or Presentation Example The key concept here is that there are an infinite number of rooms, so that our logic – which would terminate in the ‘real world’- can go on forever. This is called ‘Hilbert’s infinite hotel paradox’ and the famed hotel is often jokingly referred to a â€Å"Hilberts† analogously to â€Å"Hiltons†! Infinity is a very hard concept to understand and possess the most absurd properties of any mathematically definable object. Cantor was the first mathematician to study the properties of infinite sets in greater detail. Suppose you group together all the even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, 10†¦) and all the perfect squares (1, 4, 9, 16†¦) separately into two groups. Which group has more members? If selection was from a small set, say from the first 100 numbers, then the answer is fairly obvious. There are 50 even numbers in the list from 1 to 100 while there are only 10 perfect squares. As the set grows larger, we expect the ratio to remain the same. However, if the grouping is from the entire set of integers, then lo and behold, we find the rather unusual result that both the groups have exactly the same number of members! This is because, for every even number from the first set we can find a perfect square in the other set. Thus, since for every element in the first set there i s a corresponding element in the next set, we have to conclude that no set has more members than the other; as if this were to be so, some even number would have no perfect squares to relate to. Series’ show the remarkable properties of â€Å"Convergence and â€Å"Divergence†. These properties happen to be very well studied as they find applications in most branches of engineering. Take an apple pie and cut it in half. Cut one of these halves in half again and repeat the process. Initially you have 1 object (in this case a pie). It then becomes . The third iteration reduces it to . It is easy to see where we are going.

Byzantine Women and Their Role in Byzantine History Essay

Byzantine Women and Their Role in Byzantine History - Essay Example The focus then becomes women and their roles in Byzantine society. Women’s challenges, power relationships, and even their daily routines are revealed in these stories of holy individual women, from all walks of life. Each of the saints is used to illustrate to a greater or lesser degree, the following aspects of Byzantine women’s lives: Marital violence Transvestite monks Travel for women Married women as saints The conclusion is then reached that the Vitae of the Holy Women of Byzantium are valuable historical tools, of interest to modern audiences because of their relevance to modern women’s rights movements. The Essay Introduction This paper explores the information to be gained from accounts of the lives of holy women in Byzantium as they are recounted in texts called vitae – the stories of these women’s lives as summarized by biographers, showing their holiness and aspects of their lives relating to their sainthood (B). The stories are used to illustrate how such accounts are highly valuable to assist the modern historian to derive some knowledge and clarity about these women and their lives and position in their society (A). While the focus will remain on the women and their role in Byzantine society, some points are also to be made about the social, economic, cultural and political conditions within Byzantine society (A). Women’s challenges, power relationships, and even their daily routines are revealed in these stories of holy individual women, from all walks of life (D). With this in mind, the essay begins with an overview of the contents of these vitae. It then explores the dynamic and relevant information revealed through these texts, in the descriptions, sometimes seemingly incidental descriptions, giving clues as to the politics and culture of the time. Especially the roles, conditions and behaviors of these women are then highlighted, and provide insight into the lives of these historical women, for comp arison with modern women, and their striving toward equity and respect in modern, western societies (C). It is concluded that the texts provided, while not completely factually accurate as they could be, do give a modern reader and researcher valuable insight into more than just the biographical details of a group of admirable and notable Holy Women in Byzantium. The Vitae and Byzantine Society Written to prove the holiness of a particular person before the recognition of a person as holy by the church, a person’s vita would illustrate why that individual had the qualities required to be what is today understood as a Saint (General Introduction, p. viii). What is convenient to the modern historian, though, is that the descriptions and comments the writers of a vita would use to illustrate the life of the potential saint, are valuable personalized and direct clues which reveal many aspects of the daily lives of people in Byzantine society. To some degree, also, historical even ts described in these texts assist to verify dates, rulers, political conditions and even the general societal and cultural attitudes of ordinary people in this society. It appears that the outward signs of religious devotion in this society often depended on the philanthropic acts of

Are Voltaire's and Goethe's social criticisms responsible for their Term Paper

Are Voltaire's and Goethe's social criticisms responsible for their protagonists' different ends - Term Paper Example The overview of these stories will provide some striking similarities in authors approach to magnify the evil elements of the society. Both protagonists had an ongoing journey of pain and agony which was the product of their personal believes and notions clashing with that of the society. As Voltaire pictures the horrific outcome of war: After passing over heaps of dead or dying men, the first place he came to was a neighboring village, in the Abarian territories, which had been burned to the ground by the Bulgarians, agreeably to the laws of war. Here lay a number of old men covered with wounds, who beheld their wives dying with their throats cut, and hugging their children to their breasts, all stained with blood. There several young virgins, whose bodies had been ripped open, after they had satisfied the natural necessities of the Bulgarian heroes, breathed their last; while others, half-burned in the flames, begged to be dispatched out of the world. The ground about them was covered with the brains, arms, and legs of dead men† (Voltaire 10, 11). Candide tried to flee from the place as soon as possible reflecting his hatred for war and to some extent his dissociation of emotions towards the victims. Here, Voltaire tried to highlight one of the dark sides of the society where woman were brutally victimized and used as a source to satiate the animal hunger of human flesh. Even the main characters of the novel Cunegonde, the old woman and Paquette were raped or made sex slaves. Moreover he criticized the psychology of the army men who proudly kills innocent people and quench their animal thirsts by sarcastically entitling them as ‘heroes’. Similar incidence happened in the other novel when Werther showed grieve over the heartache of country lad who tried to rape her mistress though he loved her so much. Goethe’s character also questioned the dim line between love and lust which

Influence of Recreation Essay Example for Free

Influence of Recreation Essay ?I. Introduction Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. People have always traveled, whether it is to conquer worlds, discover new places, for business or for pleasure. This need of man has consequently led to the development of different attractions whether man-made or natural. Recreation, it is a term that denotes the refreshment of ones body or mind after work that stimulates amusement or play. People have become too busy to take out time to look within, no time to interact, and have become so dedicated to work. Working can lead to increased stress, illness, disease or more. People werent meant to work themselves to death. There should be a balance of work and recreation. Our bodies need rest, relaxation and enjoyment every once in a while. Recreation is an activity, rather an opportunity to take a break, the much-needed break from work. The more recreation one engages after work, the happier and enjoyable life becomes. Recreational activities are widely popular across the globe. Some enjoy exploring to beautiful places around the world whereas others take interest in pursuing their hobbies as a means of recreation. Whichever way, recreation needs to be made a vital component of the fast life of the present times. Positive and enjoyable recreation experiences can decrease stress and psychological tensions. Leisure activities offer people with the opportunity to boost energy and emotion not being released in other aspects of their lives. Family bonds are enhanced by the sharing of leisure time. Families that do recreational activities together tend to be closer and improve their chances of staying together. There are a lot of activities to choose from with recreation. Some people prefer to do adventurous sporting activities and experience the thrills and excitement, while others prefer to light activities. Adventure and recreation in Philippines has been a part of the Filipino culture. The tropical weather allows Filipinos to spend most of their free time outdoors; children commonly play outside with friends. With this condition, the researcher is highly interested to propose a Recreation Center to cater tourists, families, sporting enthusiasts and host events which will enable to develop the tourism strategy of Batangas City. This center can provide best service that every individual should experience. Near in the future, it will be famous to everyone. II. Pre-Feasibility Nowadays tourists are discovering a lot new things especially to the place where they can visit. They really want to explore unique places for them to meet their expectation and satisfaction. From this, feasibility study regarding to the development of a recreation center will meet its objectives as part of our industry. These are the condition that will justify its objective: (a. ) The Recreation Center as part of Hospitality Industry (b. ) To increase the number of customers by at least 20% per year through superior customer service and word-of mouth referrals. (c. ) To create a service-based company which exceeds customers expectations. (d. ) To provide high quality equipment use in the recreation center (e. ) To provide extraordinary, proficient and suitable architectural design for the proposed â€Å"Recreation Center† that will accommodate tourists and the locals by introducing innovative activities to further promote tourism and exposure to the local market. (f. ) To provide excellent child play care in a eco-friendly atmosphere while ensuring our customers, receive excellent service in a playful, educational, and safe environment. III. Detailed Economic Feasibility Study In this part of our feasibility study, it contains the four analysis that tackles about the potentiality of the place to become a tourist destination, its future outcome and structure, what strategies we used in promoting the plan to the public and the possible expenses of the project. 3. 1 Site Analysis In establishing a business, location is always considered. The transportation that will be use is the primary needs of this business. In this study, this is well analyzed all the details according to the distance from the nearest town center. The next is the site itself. The property of the business and how the transaction of all the papers includes. It will not be successful without the environmental issues, because the recreation center that will be build involves with this condition. This market research show that these are the customer groups that are likely to be served. The business will serve a relaxation area because of the different activities it offers. For the building aesthetics of our project, we choose the ecological architecture. It is also known as environmental design combining aspects of landscape design. This building character will complement the outdoor scenes especially designed for leisure and sporting activities whilst considering appropriate facilities for the users. It deals with building materials and aims at minimizing the use of not replenishable raw materials. This means preferring such building materials as wood, stone, earth and recycled material like used boxes and barrels, and naturally it necessitates a peculiar style of architectural design as well. This design follow the concept of â€Å"GO GREEN† because of its efficiency and sustainability. Many eco-friendly building techniques with aesthetics that match the natural surroundings are now being incorporated in the designs. Ecological architecture is the most suitable character that works best for developments that are bounded by nature and caters leisure facilities and outdoor activities. The character of the structure will complement the nature where recreation and sporting activities occur. 3. 2 Economic Feasibility Study The researcher conduct some research and it’s true that tourism is one of the basic aspects that really affects the economic status of our country. In this feasibility study, the researcher aims to help in contributing to its aspect with the help of this tourist destination. This business will be known by giving and providing the best facilities and activities whoever will visit the center. The income of the business itself will increase and also its production. 3. 3 Market Analysis When it talks about marketing, first thing that comes to the mind of a person is about promotion, advertising and something that has to do in catching the attention of the tourists. The researcher’s marketing strategy is focused on establishing and promoting our project through a variety of marketing channels. An overview of our marketing strategy includes: Identity Development. This plan will be promoted through a broad mix of identity pieces including business cards, stationery, car signage, and other communications. Brochures. A brochure will be designed to communicate our presence, the services we offer, and the clients we serve in the community. Flyers. Flyers will be designed for posting at community locations that attract high traffic volumes of consumers within our target market. Public Relations. As owners, we will promote our company and its benefits to the community through efforts to have articles published in new media and efforts to gain coverage on local radio and television programming. Website. All brochures, flyers and other marketing tools will promote our website, detailing our services that benefit the community. Our website will also provide all information about us, our operational hours, schedules of events, and a registration form for online enrollment. Email. Email will be used to connect with our clients frequently through monthly newsletters and updates on upcoming events and special offers. 3. 4 Cost/Benefit Analysis One of the key of the business is to meet their costs and especially the benefit it have. Without the help of our generous sponsors Lucio Tan and Henry Sy, the researcher will not be able to operate without their financial support. The following lists will show the total cost in establishing the business. Expenses: Property/Land – 4 Million Php Corporate Sponsorship – 10 Million Php Installation of Machine – 1 Million Php Researcher’s Savings – 8,050,000 Php Increased Revenue – 250,000 PhpTotal Budget – 10 Million Php Material Cost – 2. 5 Million PhpTotal Cost – 18,050,000 Php Labor Cost – 3 Million Php. Operator – 600,000 Php Utilities – 1. 5 Million Php Insurance – 750,000 Php Operating Licenses/Permits – 350,000 Php Pest Control – 300,000 Php Minor Repair Maintenance – 800,000 Facilities – 3 Million Php The proposed project entitled â€Å"Batangas City Recreation Center† intends to introduce new innovative facilities to the locals and tourists with advanced, effective and functional design. This study will be beneficial to the following: Province of Batangas This study may serve as a reference to whatsoever future developments and plans that will be conducted by the city or the province in relative to the tourism industry. To the Local and Foreign Tourists This study is significant to the tourists as a reference for their activities to be conducted during vacations or leisure. To the Enthusiasts and Professionals This will serve as a guide in choosing the ideal location for team building activities. It will also aid professionals in selecting the perfect venue for their programs and competition. For everybody (families, couples, single) The Recreation Center was designed with you and your family in mind. We focus on providing an environment to bring the community together. It is a place for children, teens, adults, families, and seniors to socialize and exercise. The Center Focused on family entertainment in a family-oriented community, the Recreation Center is a project primed to take advantage of an expanding and profitable industry. IV. Conclusion The researcher therefore conclude the factors that influence the people to come to the recreation center. These are divided into five characteristics: 1. The Recreation Center can be used in any activities whether in group or individual. 2. The Recreation Center can provide highest quality performance that every individual can experience. 3. The researcher provide strategies on how they can meet the target market and how the profit will increase. 4. The Recreation Center, as describes above, offers numerous advantages for developers and also for the people who lives in Batangas. 5. The implementation of a Recreation Center here in Batangas City is highly successful because it will surely be a famous tourist destination. V. Recommendation After analyzing all the details of this project, the researcher recommended and suggested five criteria on how the business will achieve success in the future. 1. The People in-charge of the center should increase the number of supported services in order to maintain the clients and at the same time, they should continue attracting more tourist. 2. The developers should always give and furnish the best amenities and facilities to the tourist who will stay in the center. 3. The developers should have proper and wide marketing in advertising globally. They could make use of new techniques that will help gain more tourists. 4. Giving opportunities by hiring of employees coming from the people living in Batangas. 5. Continuing to give a hundred percent best service to the visitors.

George Walker Bush Essay Example for Free

George Walker Bush Essay George Walker Bush became the President of United States of America on January 20, 2001. As the President of U. S, he had taken many wrong decisions that affected the economy and foreign policy of U. S. He was successful in lying, cheating, killing and drinking his way to the top. He was victorious in his supposed war of terrorism on two countries and continuously killing and harming innocents. George Bush’s War on Terrorism George Walker Bush has not been successful as a President. As a leader, he assumed near absolute power soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks. He led the war against terrorism and championed both the USA Patriot Act and Homeland Security Department domestically which allowed his government’s to take up absolute power over the aspects of the international war on terrorism which included establishment of military tribunals and removing fundamental rights long recognized under the American law. Again Bush was successful in acting unilaterally by expanding his authority as he saw fit to accomplish his aims and objective without any regard to any of the fundamental rights of human beings which all people have whether they are American or not (Altman, 24). He was successful in launching his war of terrorism shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Like a dictator, he ordered the Taliban to surrender Osama Bin Laden. In response, Taliban tried their level best to bring Bin Laden to be trialed under Islamic law. At this, Bush made the decision to invade Afghanistan. After successfully capturing Afghanistan, the U. S captured various prisoners who he believed were associated to Al-Queda. The trouble was that many of the so called accomplices to Al-Qaeda were teenagers. Bush next target was to attack Iraq. In early 2002, Bush declared that Iraqis were developing weapons of mass destruction. He also announced that Iraqi regime was responsible for developing anthrax, nerve gas and nuclear weapons for over a decade (Andrew, 52). Based on this assumption, the United Nations sent a group of inspectors to Iraq to investigate on it. After a systematic and comprehensive search, the UN announced that were no nuclear weapons in Iraq but this was not sufficient answer for Bush. He took the decision to invade Iraq in March, 2003. There was no approval of force found with the United Nations. By doing this, Bush broke all global war agreements. His main intention to wage war on Iraq was for oil. By attacking Iraq, he is getting $5million out of Iraq per week. On attacking Iran, Bush decided to withdraw from the World Court of Law and made a decision that the policies and guidelines of United Nations were completely irrelevant. This showed that Bush’s intentions were to invade Iraq at any cost in order to get control of the oil fields. Bush as a leader George Bush with the help of Clarence Thomas has taken the most far-reaching and drastic standpoint, encouraging the government’s right to confine even American citizens as adversary opponents without allegations. The former deputy assistant legal representative in Bush’s Office of Legal Counsel, John Yoo, stand for president’s right to order torment if he considers it essential for nationwide security. It’s not surprising to know that Bush is considered an imperial president who is transgressing assembly and establishing is own laws (Bacevich, 36). The significance of this is the detail that Bush is implementing unrestricted authority and influence and getting away with it because of his campaign in the name of freedom and terrorism. As the president of United States of America, Bush has failed to defend America’s freedom and has given birth to his own democracy. He views all threats to his ultimate power as unpatriotic and he had used this early in the war effort and removal of Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan and invading Iraq on false account. Because of his actions, the constitution of United States of America has become meaningless. George Bush has acted more like an imperialist rather than president by imposing his views on the local and overseas affairs calling for removal of other nation’s leaders for the name of democracy. Bush and Education in United States He had passed the No Child Left Behind Act which was suppose to aid schools achieve better grade levels and improved state tests. However, Bush had failed to provide adequate resources to help schools to accomplish the standards of the act (Balmer, 69). Bush and United States Economy When Bush started his term as the president of United States, he made many tax deductions that generally assisted the wealthy. Money that was earned through stock ownership was not taxed but money that was earned by hardworking individuals was to be taxed. The unemployment rate in Bush reign has increased from 4. 2% to 5. 6%. About 2. 4 million jobs were lost in 2003. The unemployment rate went to 9% in 2005. Surveys conducted in 2005 showed that there are 9 million American who are unemployed. The unemployment rate among those aged 16-24 was 13% in 2005 (Blumenthal, 74). Although Bush proposed to eliminate Youth Opportunity Grant program that aims to give training to youngsters. A $225 million program in 2002 was being done away. His proposal of free trade agreements resulted in the loss of job in the United States of America to global market and taking advantage of workers from developing countries (Barber, 39). Bush and Environmental Issues Bush had approved the Clear Skies Act that challenges the Clean Air Act. The Clean Skies Act allows about 9. 9 million tons of varied chemical toxins to be released in air than the Clean Air Act would have if it was implemented. Bush also failed to defend 3 million acres of Tongass National Forest from logging and also had the maximum concentration of bald eagles on earth. He also withdrew from the Kyoto agreement on global warming which had been agreed upon by more than 170 countries (Benjamin, 98). He had also made frequent efforts to authorize oil drilling in the National Wildlife Refuge. Other Facts about Bush He has cut funding for about 375000 low income college students and reduced Pell Grant amounts to such a drastic level that it efficiently caused about 84000 students to be no longer being suitable for Pell Grants. Pell amounts have been cut down for 1. 5 million students. He backed out from the International Criminal Court. He was also the first president in US history who rejected the United Nations Election Inspectors. He had taken 11 authorized measures to undermine reproductive rights. He is also the first president of United States who had criminal record. He had also slashed financial support that was provided to women against violence. He also responsible for 521 billion dollar financial plan shortage in less than period of four years after inheriting 200 billion dollar surplus Conclusion The evaluation of George Walker Bush as the President of United States and compared to previous presidents proves that he was the wrong choice for United States of America. With military troops dying and no end to war, Bush has strained relations with other foreign countries. The strong backing of many nations has been lost by the United States because of Bush’s wrong choices. There have been immense modifications that have occurred due to Bush Administration. Digging deep into the economical, social and political features of U. S, Bush has changed the face of U. S. Work Cited: Altman, Daniel. Neoconomy: George Bush’s Revolutionary Gamble with America’s Future. New York: Public Affairs, 2004, 2005. Andrew, Christopher. For the President’s Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency From Washington to Bush. New York: Harper Collins, 2007. Bacevich, Andrew J. American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U. S. Diplomacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002. Balmer, Randall. Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threaten’s America, An Evangelical’s Lament. New York: Basic Books, 2006. Barber, Benjamin R. Fear’s Empire: War, Terrorism, and Democracy. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003, 2004. Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon. The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam’s War Against America. New York: Random House, 2004. Blumenthal, Sidney. How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.

Strategic analysis of WalMart

Strategic analysis of WalMart The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience. Sam Walton (1918-1992) (WAL-MART FOUNDER) Wall mart bought a revolution in the field of retail industry with its tag line low Price Always. This is achieved through large scale of operation and bulk buying. Though it has a wafer thin profit margin, it is able to retain its cost leadership in market. Company History: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is not only the largest retailer in the world, it now also ranks as the largest corporation in the world. The retail giant dwarfs its nearest competition, generating three times the revenues of the worlds number two retailer, Frances Carrefour SA. Domestically, Wal-Mart has more than 1.2 million workers, making it the nations largest nongovernmental employer. U.S. operations include 1,478 Wal-Mart discount stores (located in all 50 states); 1,471 Wal-Mart Supercenters, which are combined discount outlets and grocery stores (and which make Wal-Mart the countrys top food retailer); 538 Sams Clubs, the number two U.S. warehouse membership club chain (trailing Costco Wholesale Corporation); and 64 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, smaller food and drug outlets also offering a selection of general merchandise. International operations, which commenced in 1991, include Wal-Mart discount stores in Canada and Puerto Rico; Wal-Mart Supercenters in Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; and Sams Clubs in Brazil, China, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets are grocery stores that average about 42,000 square feet (3,901.9 m ²). They offer a variety of products, which include full lines of groceries, pharmaceuticals, health and beauty aids, photo developing services, and a limited selection of general merchandise. The first Neighborhood Market opened in 1998 in Bentonville, Arkansas. As of November 30, 2007, there were 128 Neighborhood Markets in the United States. Sams Club Sams Club is a chain of warehouse clubs which sell groceries and general merchandise, often in large quantities. Sams Club stores are membership stores and most customers buy annual memberships. However, non-members can make purchases either by buying a one-day membership or paying a surcharge based on the price of the purchase. Some locations also sell gasoline. The first Sams Club opened in 1983 in Midwest City, Oklahoma under the name Sams Wholesale Club. Sams has found a niche market in recent years as a supplier to small businesses. All Sams Club stores are open early hours exclusively for business members and its slogan, as such, is Were In Business for Small Business. WAL-MART GOING GLOBAL Wal-Mart and International Expansion Wal-Mart was entered into international markets by a conviction that it could achieve competitive advantage abroad by applying its combination of technology, logistics and human resources with its tremendous buying power with multinational consumer goods suppliers. Wal-Marts strategy has been to acquire companies and convert them into the Wal-Mart way stores. European retailers like Carrefour and Ahold, have more than 20 years of international experience than Wal-Mart. Multinational retailers entry is usually by mergers acquisitions, which is what Wal-Mart did in its initial entry into Mexico, with a joint venture with CIFRA, the most powerful retailer in Mexico. Models For Strategic Analysis ENVIORNMENTAL SCANNING OF WAL-MART External Environment Socio-cultural Throughout the world there is a large shift in our demographics. There currently is a larger aging population than ever before, and at the same time the birthrate in developed countries is decreasing, as it is increasing in underdeveloped countries. Due to advances in medicine individuals are living longer and longer, as it seems we can beat any disease. Health is becoming more and important to individuals as they exercise and eat better; everyone wants to stay healthy longer. At the same time in the United States in particular the population is getting fatter and fatter, preschool age children are being labeled as obese. Shopping has turned into a favorite pastime for the whole family, and when buying big-ticket items, everyone has a say. Increasingly there are more single-parent households, which does not leave much disposable income. Most two-parent households have both parents working and earning more, living in bigger houses, taking more vacations, and owning more cars. On the o ther hand we are currently experiencing a great deal of the American public has been downsized, and may be unemployed, starting a new career, or back in school. Technological Due to the current recession the government has been looking for any way possible to save money, and unfortunately research and development, non-military that is, was one of the first things to go. However many of the suppliers to retail are forced to continue their RD programs as competition is stiff and their product line needs to continually be updated. Technology is growing at an incredibly rapid pace that no one can keep up with it. There have been amazing growths in the areas of health, consumer goods, and food due to technology. As consumers are used to the ever-growing technology they are not as wary of it as in the past, but do not buy the newest thing, as quickly because the item it replaces is less than a year old. Production is becoming more and more automated which is pushing individuals out of jobs. The Internet is widely available in the United States, but that is not the case in the rest of the world. Even in parts of Europe many houses do not have computers much less access to the Internet. Telecommunications structures continue to be improved upon or even built. Politico-Legal USA has democratic form of government. In fact it is the one of the worlds oldest democracy of more than 200 years where everyone has a saying in the government. Pressure groups play a vital role in US democracy, a retail chain giant like Wal-Mart have their representatives in congress and senate. Hence , they keep a keen eye on all the policies and laws so that it is conducive with the Wal-marts future plans In case of any blockage lobbying is used by them. Economic US has capitalist system of economy, the mode of production is controlled by private enterprises. The economic conditions are favorable for operation of private firms. In fact big retail chains like Wal-mart has revolutionized the US economy Always Low Prices- ALWAYS .With trends of globalization Wal-mart is able to spread its wings in Asia-Pacific region where the economy is liberalized . Globalization, Liberalization and Privatisation gives economic policy that are is consonance with growth and expansion strategies of Wal-mart. Internal Environment Being the largest non-government employer and corporation in the world, Wal-Mart is bound to have an interesting internal structure put in place. So what exactly is the method to all the madness? Lets look inside Wal-Marts Internal Environment. Corporate Structure Wal-Mart is a public corporation, however the majority of the stock is still held by Walton family members. Therefore, there is lots of family involvement at the top level. The headquarters are in Bentonville, Arkansas, along with the control and decision making ability of the organization. There is a very hierarchical structure in place which only fuels the good old boys club for top management. The other unique element in Wal-Marts corporate structure is a strong culture that is fueled by the Wal-Mart way of doing things, which as far as they are concerned is the only way. WAL-MART ANALYSIS INTERNAL ANALYSIS ANALYZING RESOURCES Financial Resources Wal-Mart is the worlds largest and most profitable retailer. Wal-Marts pre tax return on sales was 8% during 1989 which was double the industry standard and it continues to be the front runner till today. Wal-Mart commands market value 10 times more than its book value. Wal mart stores FISCAL YEAR SEGMENT NET SALES SEGMENT OPEARTION INCOME 2007 7.8% $17029 2006 9.4% $15324 2005 10.1% $14163 Sams Club FISCAL YEAR SEGMENT NET SALES SEGMENT OPEARTION INCOME 2007 4.5% $1512 2006 7.29% $1385 2005 7.59% $1280 International FISCAL YEAR SEGMENT NET SALES SEGMENT OPEARTION INCOME 2007 30.2% $4259 2006 12.7% $3509 2005 19.3% $3197 Human Resources Wal-Mart promotes internal staff development and over 60% of its store managers are promoted internally then direct recruits. Wal-Mart believes in recruiting people with a flair for customer service and trains them accordingly to its strong company values. Employees are treated as owners as more than 70% of employees have shares of the company and incentives are paid in stock options too. Physical Resources Wal-Mart developed its computerized inventory system way back in 1970 that decreased check-out and reordering times and built highly automated distribution centres, reducing shipping cost and time. Wal-Mart has continued to be an innovator and has this has led it to create and sustain its competitive advantage by being the first and to be continuous to replace systems and processes replicated by competitors. Intellectual or Intangible Resources Wal-Marts core resources are its customers which total over 40 million per year. Wal-Mart has over 1.3 million associates (employees) at its stores, worldwide. The author feels this itself is unique which helps Wal-Mart get 1.3 million unique, hardcore loyal customers. Wal-Mart uses its technological capabilities to sustain its cost leadership in distribution and superior inventory systems. Culture Analysis Wal-Marts culture is as unique and distinctive as possible considering the mammoth that it has grown into today. Usually firms even of a small and medium company find it hard to maintain and build good customer service but Wal-Mart has always had it as its foundation and till today preaches and practices exemplary customer service. Wal-Marts Corporate Citizenship actively helps development of the community with programs spread across education, health, and environment. Wal-Marts Code Adam, a tribute to a lost child in a retail store helps prevent children getting lost in stores today which make it a safer place for families to shop. Wal-Marts Ten Foot Rule and Sundown Rule all promote the employees to treat the customer right, first time, always. Employees are treated as Associates inspiring their status. The everyday morning cheers act as a ritual and cheer and energize the associates making them part of the organization. Associates acting as greeters at the entrance of every store worldwide is unique and makes the customer more welcome and special. P.E.S.T. ANALYSIS FOR WAL-MART P.E.S.T. Analysis Political Influences à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ European Customs and Regulations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ FDI Restrictions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ UKs Zoning Regulations Economic Influence à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ War in Iraq à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Global Terrorism à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Exchange Rates à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Low levels of productivity in Asian Countries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Wall Street Improvements Social Influence à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Marketing strategies ineffective à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Absence of Bulk Buying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Language and Cultural Barriers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Anti-Globalisation Movements Technological Influence à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Advances in Technology and Satellite systems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lack of basic infrastructure Political Influences The political influences in this industry is probably the most burning concern with organizations going global and many countries restricting the growth of companies by many countries. European Customs and Regulations heavily hamper expansion plans. FDI in many countries are still heavily regulated and global companies are yet to set foot into emerging markets like India. Economic Influences War on Iraq has had a negative impact on consumer spending and outlook. Disproportionate levels of income and consumer spending in developing countries like India and China will impact growth of global companies. Exchange rates affect global sourcing and pricing policies on a day to day basis. Recent developments with Wall Street have helped foster a better relation and helped in Wal-Marts listing and ratings. Social Influences Developing countries are not used to push type marketing and aggressive selling. Bulk buying patterns predominantly present in USA, is non-existent in Asian countries. Language and cultural factors is a barrier to globalisation. Anti-Globalisation movements in the recent past has affected growth of global companies, especially companies originated USA. Technological Influences Development in technology and satellite systems has given a boost to Wal-Mart. Basic infrastructure still lacks for effective warehousing and distribution, the lifeline of a retail chain. PORTERS 5 FORCES ANALYSIS FOR WAL-MART Porters Analysis SUBSTITUTES CUSTOMERS SUPPLIERS MARKET NEW ENTRANTS Horizontal Forces Mature markets Vertical Forces Growth Markets Vertical and Horizontal Competitive and changing markets WAL-MART SUPPLIERS POWER Wal-Mart enjoyed a 50 percent market share position in the discount retail industry. Procter Gamble, Clorox, and Johnson Johnson were among its nearly 3,000 suppliers. Though Wal-Mart may have been the top customer for consumer product manufacturers, it deliberately ensured it did not become too dependent on any one supplier; no single vendor constituted more than 4 percent of its overall purchase volume. Further, Wal-Mart had persuaded its suppliers to have electronic hook-ups with its stores. About 85 percent of all the merchandise sold by Wal-Mart was shipped through its distribution system to its stores. (Competitors supplied to their retail outlets on average less than 50 percent of the merchandise through their own distribution centers.) Wal-Mart used a saturation strategy for store expansion. The standard was to be able to drive from a distribution center to a store within a day. A distribution center was strategically placed so that it could eventually serve 150-200 Wal-Mart stores within a day. Stores were built as far away as possible but still within a days drive of the distribution center; the area then was filled back (or saturated back) to the distribution center. Each distribution center operated 24 hours a day using laser-guided conveyer belts and cross-docking techniques that received goods on one side while simultaneously filling orders on the other. The company owned a fleet of more than 3,000 trucks and 12,000 trailers. (Most competitors outsourced trucking.) Wal-Mart had implemented a satellite network system that allowed information to be shared between the companys wide network of stores, distribution centers, and suppliers. The system consolidated orders for goods, enabling the company to buy full truckload quantities without incurring the inventory costs. The bargaining power of suppliers and buyers is low with Wal-Mart having established a near monopoly in its home market and increasing its market-share in its overseas operations. Wal- Mart is already Canadas and Mexicos top retail chain and in UK is at the third position. Threat of entry remains low in the home market and globally. The entry scene is limited to existing retail chains as the cost of setup is substantial. Regulatory restrictions are also a concern here. Threat of substitute products is low to medium with consumers having a choice from different stores to buy the same product at highly competitive prices. A sixth force, called the complementors enable the firm whose products or services work in conjunction with enabling a synergistic effect .Wal-Mart sees more customers than the banks do these days. Recent antitrust lawsuits over Visa and MasterCard by retailers, headed by Wal-Mart, alleging the use of expensive debit cards and the costs borne by the retailers may upset the market .The intensity of competitive rivalry can be classified low to medium The power obtained by the low bargaining power of suppliers and buyers is offset by the threat of substitutes and threat of entry. Overall a substantial amount of power still lies with Wal-Mart considering the scale of operations and maturity in its industry. WAL-MART S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS Strengths Wal-Mart is the largest corporation in the world giving it enormous status and recognition in the industry and new markets. Wal-Mart is great at building and maintaining relationships with suppliers. Wal-Mart is a continuous learning organization with integrated systems and frequent meetings with store and aisle managers and systems that receive 8.4 million updates every minute on transactions from its stores. More than 70 million customers roam Wal- Mart aisles each week (Fortune, 2003). Wal-Marts distribution centre and logistics capabilities are a key strength adding value to its entire system. Wal-Marts cross-docking and effective inventory managements gives its a 3% cost advantage which helps sustain its Every Day Low Price strategy . Weaknesses Wal-Mart shows little adaptability to its formats in overseas expansions. Wal-Mart is still to develop its expertise in international marketing. Shows weakness in its expansion by not fulfilling expansion plan of opening 50 new stores in Germany during 2001. Opportunities Growing middle class of consumers in emerging markets like China and India, gives Wal- Mart a tremendous opportunity for global expansion. There is growing consolidation in the market with the weak economy which is also leaving many competitors up for sale at below book value. Growth of e-commerce enables a new business channel and Wal-Mart has aggressively trying to capture and create its presence in this medium too. Threats Recent years have witnessed anti-globalisation movements affecting global companies and American companies in general and Wal-Mart can face stiff resistance from consumers in new markets. Recent wars and outbreaks have affected sales globally. Increased competition in mature markets like Germany and U.K. with established retail chains dominating despite Wal-Marts entry. Growing trade blocks and zoning regulations hamper Wal-Marts expansion plans. Summary The beauty of Wal-Marts Value Chain is the scale of operations and the control it exercises over each activity. Wal-Mart takes care of all the activities internally except partially outsourcing its logistics requirements. Its systems integration from inventory, to stores, to headquarters to suppliers is the lifeline of its success. Transportation undertaken by its own fleet of trucks is an added advantage. The core activity remains in its bulk buying and inventory management which supports Wal-Marts competitive advantage of pricing and every element shows traces of cost leadership. Total integration is key here. Wal-Mart located its discount stores around regional warehouses allowing a streamlined and low cost physical distribution . CONCLUSION Wal-Mart considering its scale and scope of operations has given a dynamic perspective in analysis of the many frameworks analyzed with. Strategists like Govindrajan and Gupta, who specialize in globalisation, endorse and acknowledge Wal-Mart as a global organization and highly lauding Ironically, Rugman, argues, Wal-Mart as a regional player with regional strategy considering that Wal-Mart has only 9.6% of its stores outside its home region and only 16.3% of revenue is generated from stores outside its home country. Again considering classification such as the NAFTA and the TRIAD, large economies (Countries) are clubbed together and treated as one which the author disagrees to justify as one. Arguments such as only a certain percentage of business is generated outside the TRIAD making a business less global are arguments the author disagrees with. With the EU becoming as one then soon, the world will become large chunks of amalgamations. The simple definition or presence in different markets should be taken into consideration of being global. Many strategists do not give concessions for the time the business has started to expand globally. Wal-Mart for instance has grown to such a strong position over 40 years, this would take considerable time to replicate and adapt in international markets. Analysis using Yips Globalisation / Localisation Drivers shows the industry and Wal-Mart in general moving towards globalisation but yet maintaining key aspects to localisation. This could be the way ahead. The Transnational Model illustrates the same key aspect. Marketing strategy and product variation though it can be global, it needs to be tuned to the local market catered considering the emergence of localisation preference in consumers. The market has gone too global, that consumers place an emphasis of localisation. Acknowledgements are made that the industry is maturing far greater than Internationalisation but its yet to be seen as a global player. But its a matter of time before it expands it to new markets and creates a foothold. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR WAL-MART Analysis of the generic strategy and the supporting value chain, gives us a good insight into sources of Wal-Marts competitive advantage. When two or more firms compete within the same market, one firm possesses competitive advantage over its rivals when it earns a persistently higher rate of profit . Wal-Marts capability to outperform its rivals is achieved with its ability to outperform its competitors quickly and effectively. Supporting this is its, highly integrated systems, technological advances, highly efficient inventory management skills, few markdowns and few stock-outs. This is supported also by its corporate culture encouraging and rewarding initiative and innovation. Low cost leadership helps the firm above average returns in the industry despite strong competitive forces . Traces of cost leadership are noticeable in the value chain. Wal-Mart saves costs by holding stocks for less than 48 hours in its inventory. Wal- Mart is known to negotiate with suppliers for the lowest cost of the product without any frills and marketing expenses which adds to the cost later. Wal-Marts purchase by the truckload saves costs again by bulk purchasing. Wal-Marts inventory handling and logistics distribution with its own fleet of 2000 plus trucks help attain a cost effective distribution channel than relying on unreliable suppliers networks which costs in delays. But is Wal-Marts strategy based solely on cost or does it have any other attributes based on its characteristics. Wal-Mart appears to have a differentiation strategy. The differentiation strategy is one of differentiating the product or service offering of the firm, creating something that is perceived industry-wide as being unique. It can be design or brand image, technology, features, customer service, dealer network or other dimensions High degree of customer service with store greeters and no questions asked policies reaffirms Wal-Marts differentiation from its competitors. Every Day Low Price strategy helped reinforce Wal-Mart was the lowest price. The third generic strategy advocated by Porter is the focus strategy. The focus strategy is focusing on a particular buyer group, segment of the product line or geographic market as with differentiation, focus may take many forms .Wal-Mart right from its foundation located its stores to out of town areas with small populations. This was a segment ignore by its competitors giving Wal-Mart an edge over competition by locating itself in a low competitive environment before it creates competition. Wal-Marts focus on the segment of people targeted as well as its location of stores, does give it an attribute of the focus strategy. Effective implementation of any of these generic strategies usually requires total commitment and supporting organizational arrangements that are diluted if there is more than one primary target .Arguably Porter termed organizations attempting cost leadership and differentiation together as stuck-in-the-middle and it does not lead to competitive advantage and its sustainability. Academic criticism is not new and Porter has received his share of it. Most strategists feel low cost leadership alone, does not lead to competitive advantage unless there is an element of differentiation. A strategy combining elements of low cost, price and leadership is known as hybrid strategy .Mintzberg advocated the hybrid strategy for it combines both elements of low cost leadership with differentiation. However, the fact can not be denied that Wal-Mart has a focus strategy as well as a differentiation strategy. Overall the company thrives on cost leadership. The global validity of these are tested with Wal-Marts core strategy in every market it operates, it maintains cost leadership in all activities as well as it maintains its differentiation by having exemplary service. The adoption of the focus strategy globally can be critiqued as Wal-Mart is unable to expand into most markets like UK and Europe with tight zoning regulations and its entry into these markets have been through mergers and acquisitions. But the focus of the segment of customers targeted remains undiluted though the focus of location geographically is understood to be compromised considering the market conditions. SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Wal-Marts sustainable competitive advantage can be attributed to its cost advantage supported by its inventory management skills and processes and expertise in supply chain management (which can not be replicated considering the scale of operations) and its culture which promotes aggressive customer service and satisfaction through satisfied and happy associates.The ability to build and maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers, and its associates and its speed in innovation and initiative ness is also a source of sustainable competitive advantage. CORE COMPETENCIES FOR WAL-MART Prahalad and Hamel (1990) define core competencies as the collective learning of the organization, especially how to co-ordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies. The cumulative learning acquired with experience in an industry enhances a firms competence. Wal-Marts core competence can be said to be its knowledge achieved by its inventory management skills with its supply chain management facilitated by its innovations like the cross-docking techniques and its innovation in information technology and in relationship strategy maintained with its customers, suppliers, and associates and its cost strategy achieved with its scale of operations. This passes the three tests whereby its providing added value to customers and is difficult for competitors to imitate considering the scale of operations to achieve such economies and provides access to wider markets. Wal-Marts achieves competencies from: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cross docking à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Supply chain management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Communication strategy with suppliers and associates à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Relationship strategy with suppliers and associates à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ People strategy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cost strategy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Location and market strategy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ability and inspiration from Sam Walton à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Customer service strategy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Knowledge management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Innovation in I.T. and warehousing and inventory management Although an exhaustive list, Wal-Mart does achieve and maintain the above in proportions unseen in its industry. Although they are imitateable, competitors have been unable to replicate the entire series and sustain it. Profit verses non-profit objectives: We can see one difference in both the objectives i.e. in profitable objectives we have to emphasise revenue, profit growth and our product must be able to fulfil our customer demands. But non-profit objectives are just to complete the need of our organisation i.e. general community, health and welfare.

Child Abuse: Frank and Ileana Fuster :: essays research papers fc

The term child abuse was once as rarely heard as that of pink elephants. However rare the term has once been, it is now a term used consistently throughout the news and various other publications today. Along with the progressing decline in society's morals, has come the rapid increase of crime. One such crime is child abuse. Although child abuse is common, the act is defiling. As a result of the abuse, children who fall victim to this often need psychological treatment and counseling. Often, the child is never the same as he or she once was before. The dictionary defines child abuse as: "the physical, or emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse. The abusers range from parents, friends, total strangers, to even day-care workers. One case involving the abuse of children in their care is that of Frank and Ileana Fuster. The two were accused in 1984 of molesting children in their home. Frank was a 36-year-old Cuban immigrant and was married to 17-year-old Ileana who was Honduran. Frank and Ileana Fuster were residents of Country Walk, Florida where they held a home-based babysitting service (Pendergrast). The case was then known as "Country Walk" because of the city in which the two, Frank and Ileana resided. "The case began when a 3-year-old boy asked his mother to "kiss my body" when she was giving him a bath. He said, "Ileana kisses all the babies' bodies." The mother became concerned and reported the comments to the Dade County child protection authorities ("A Summary of the Frank Fuster..." NP). Fuster seemed to be living the American dream before the accusations were presented against him. Frank and Ileana were newly weds, owned a new home in the suburbs and a landscaping business that was doing well. However, Frank was not living the American dream. He was still on probation for a 1982 child molestation conviction for fondling a nine-year-old girl and manglaughter, for shooting a man after a traffic accident ("Debunking Frontline's Did Daddy Do It?" NP). Frank had been "arrested on September 21, 1982 for lewd and lascivious assault on a minor - a nine-year-old girl whose breasts and genitals Fuster fondled while driving her home. The jury heard from the girl, who was cross-examined at length. They found her credible and convicted Fuster" ("Fuster's Manslaughter Conviction" NP). Child Abuse: Frank and Ileana Fuster :: essays research papers fc The term child abuse was once as rarely heard as that of pink elephants. However rare the term has once been, it is now a term used consistently throughout the news and various other publications today. Along with the progressing decline in society's morals, has come the rapid increase of crime. One such crime is child abuse. Although child abuse is common, the act is defiling. As a result of the abuse, children who fall victim to this often need psychological treatment and counseling. Often, the child is never the same as he or she once was before. The dictionary defines child abuse as: "the physical, or emotional, or sexual mistreatment of children" (Dictionary.com). Everyday thousands of children are the victims of this abuse. The abusers range from parents, friends, total strangers, to even day-care workers. One case involving the abuse of children in their care is that of Frank and Ileana Fuster. The two were accused in 1984 of molesting children in their home. Frank was a 36-year-old Cuban immigrant and was married to 17-year-old Ileana who was Honduran. Frank and Ileana Fuster were residents of Country Walk, Florida where they held a home-based babysitting service (Pendergrast). The case was then known as "Country Walk" because of the city in which the two, Frank and Ileana resided. "The case began when a 3-year-old boy asked his mother to "kiss my body" when she was giving him a bath. He said, "Ileana kisses all the babies' bodies." The mother became concerned and reported the comments to the Dade County child protection authorities ("A Summary of the Frank Fuster..." NP). Fuster seemed to be living the American dream before the accusations were presented against him. Frank and Ileana were newly weds, owned a new home in the suburbs and a landscaping business that was doing well. However, Frank was not living the American dream. He was still on probation for a 1982 child molestation conviction for fondling a nine-year-old girl and manglaughter, for shooting a man after a traffic accident ("Debunking Frontline's Did Daddy Do It?" NP). Frank had been "arrested on September 21, 1982 for lewd and lascivious assault on a minor - a nine-year-old girl whose breasts and genitals Fuster fondled while driving her home. The jury heard from the girl, who was cross-examined at length. They found her credible and convicted Fuster" ("Fuster's Manslaughter Conviction" NP).

Poetry Styles of the Victorian Period Essay -- Realism, Naturalism

The Victorian Period (1833-1901) brought about the expansion of Britain’s booming economy. In Britain, around the beginning of the Victorian Period, the consequence of industrialism brought much unrest across the land. The factories were notorious for their horrible working conditions, and the common workers’ housing was atrocious. Victorians were struggling with religious, philosophical, and social ramifications (854-856). The complex background to what was happening in Britain at the time led to a new and interesting literature period. There happened to be three influential types of literature during the Victorian Period. The first of these types was Realism. â€Å"When Victorian writers confronted the rapid technological and social changes amidst which they lived . . .† (857) realism evolved. Realism centered on â€Å"ordinary people facing the day-to-day problems of life, and an emphasis that reflected the trend toward democracy and the growing middle-class audience for literature† (857). The second type of literature that began to show up in the Victorian Period was Naturalism. Naturalism â€Å"sought to put the spirit of scientific observation to literary use† (857) by including lots of details into literary works. This literature type appeared to contradict Romanticism and painted â€Å"nature as harsh and indifferent to the human suffering it caused† (857). Thirdly, the Victorian Period brought about the Pre-Raphaelites literature. Pre-Raphaelites didn’t accept â₠¬Å"real† life and instead found spiritual inspiration in â€Å"medieval Italian art, . . . before the time of the painter Raphael (1483-1520)† (858). The Victorian Period of literature brought about many poets and poems. The poetry of the Victorian Period mostly dealt with... ...assing on my daily trot. I am sorry, but I quite forgot It was your resting-place† (974). This poem dealt with the Realism of the Victorian Period because this was an ordinary person after death wondering what ordinary person was digging on her grave. There was nothing special about the people in this poem and this was sort of a figurative â€Å"day-to day† problem because people do wonder about who would think about them after they die. â€Å"Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave† also had Naturalism aspects in it. Nature is portrayed as harsh and indifferent about human suffering in this poem because the dog gave no care about its owner and only cared about its bone. Overall the Victorian Period was an interesting literary portion of time. It brought about many works of poetry that deal with characteristics of Realism and Naturalism in the authors’ own respective ways. Poetry Styles of the Victorian Period Essay -- Realism, Naturalism The Victorian Period (1833-1901) brought about the expansion of Britain’s booming economy. In Britain, around the beginning of the Victorian Period, the consequence of industrialism brought much unrest across the land. The factories were notorious for their horrible working conditions, and the common workers’ housing was atrocious. Victorians were struggling with religious, philosophical, and social ramifications (854-856). The complex background to what was happening in Britain at the time led to a new and interesting literature period. There happened to be three influential types of literature during the Victorian Period. The first of these types was Realism. â€Å"When Victorian writers confronted the rapid technological and social changes amidst which they lived . . .† (857) realism evolved. Realism centered on â€Å"ordinary people facing the day-to-day problems of life, and an emphasis that reflected the trend toward democracy and the growing middle-class audience for literature† (857). The second type of literature that began to show up in the Victorian Period was Naturalism. Naturalism â€Å"sought to put the spirit of scientific observation to literary use† (857) by including lots of details into literary works. This literature type appeared to contradict Romanticism and painted â€Å"nature as harsh and indifferent to the human suffering it caused† (857). Thirdly, the Victorian Period brought about the Pre-Raphaelites literature. Pre-Raphaelites didn’t accept â₠¬Å"real† life and instead found spiritual inspiration in â€Å"medieval Italian art, . . . before the time of the painter Raphael (1483-1520)† (858). The Victorian Period of literature brought about many poets and poems. The poetry of the Victorian Period mostly dealt with... ...assing on my daily trot. I am sorry, but I quite forgot It was your resting-place† (974). This poem dealt with the Realism of the Victorian Period because this was an ordinary person after death wondering what ordinary person was digging on her grave. There was nothing special about the people in this poem and this was sort of a figurative â€Å"day-to day† problem because people do wonder about who would think about them after they die. â€Å"Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave† also had Naturalism aspects in it. Nature is portrayed as harsh and indifferent about human suffering in this poem because the dog gave no care about its owner and only cared about its bone. Overall the Victorian Period was an interesting literary portion of time. It brought about many works of poetry that deal with characteristics of Realism and Naturalism in the authors’ own respective ways.

Organized Marketing of Agricultural Commodities in India Essay

In India, the organised marketing of agricultural commodities has been promoted through a network of regulated markets. Most state governments and UT administrations have enacted legislations to provide for the regulation of agricultural produce markets. While by the end of 1950, there were 286 regulated markets in the country, their number as on 31 March 2006 stood at 7566. In addition, India has 21780 rural periodical markets, about 15 per cent of which function under the ambit of regulation. The advent of regulated markets has helped in mitigating the market handicaps of producers/sellers at the wholesale assembling level. But the rural periodic markets in general, and the tribal markets in particular, remained out of its developmental ambit. 11.2 Present Constraints in the System: The purpose of state regulation of agricultural markets was to protect farmers from the exploitation of intermediaries and traders and also to ensure better prices and timely payment for their produce. Over a period of time, these markets have, however, acquired the status of restrictive and monopolistic markets, providing no help in direct and free marketing, organised retailing and smooth raw material supplies to agro-industries. Exporters, processors and retail chain operators cannot procure directly from the farmers as the produce is required to be channelised through regulated markets and licensed traders. There is, in the process, an enormous increase in the cost of marketing and farmers end up getting a low price for their produce. Monopolistic practices and modalities of the state-controlled markets have prevented private investment in the sector. Post-harvest losses are estimated to be of the order of 5-7 per cent in food grains and 25-30 per cent in the case of fruits and vegetables. 11.3 Need for Reforms: The agriculture sector needs well-functioning markets to drive growth, employment and economic prosperity in rural areas of India. In order to provide dynamism and efficiency into the marketing system, large investments are required for the development of post-harvest and cold-chain infrastructure nearer to the farmers’ field. A major portion of this investment is expected from the private sector, for which an appropriate regulatory and policy environment is necessary. Also, enabling policies need to be put in place to encourage the procurement of agricultural commodities directly from farmers’ fields and to establish effective linkage between the farm production and the retail chain and food processing industries. Accordingly, the state governments were requested to suitably amend their respective APMC Acts for deregulation of the marketing system in India, to promote investment in marketing infrastructure, thereby motivating the corporate sector to undertake direct marketing and to facilitate a national integrated market. 11.4 The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation also formulated a model law on agricultural marketing for guidance and adoption by the state governments. The model legislation provides for the establishment of private markets/yards, direct purchase centres, consumer/farmers’ markets for direct sale and promotion of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the management and development of agricultural markets in India. Provision has also been made in the Act for constitution of State Agricultural Produce Marketing Standards Bureau for the promotion of grading, standardisation and quality certification of agricultural produce. This would facilitate pledge financing, direct purchasing, forward/future trading and exports. Several state governments have initiated steps for amending their respective APMC Acts. A table indicating the state-wise status of reforms in APMC Acts as on 31 December 2006 is given below: Sl No. Stage of Reforms 1. States/ UTs where APMC Acts have Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, been suitably amended. Sikkim, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chandigarh. States/ UTs where reforms to APMC Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat and National Acts have been partially modified: Capital Territory of Delhi a) by amending APMC Act/ Resolution b) by Executive Order Uttar Pradesh. States/ UTs where there is no APMC Bihar, Kerala, Manipur, Andaman & Nicobar Act in operation Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep States/ UTs where APMC Act already Tamil Nadu provides for the reforms States/ UTs where administrative Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, J&K, action has been initiated for Uttrakhand, Goa, West Bengal Pondicherry and introducing the reforms Jharkhand. 11.5 Terminal Markets: The Department has recently taken the initiative to promote modern terminal markets for fruits, vegetables and other perishables in important urban centres in India. These markets would provide state-of-the art infrastructure facilities for electronic auction, cold chain and logistics and operate through primary collection centres conveniently located in producing areas to allow easy access to farmers. The terminal markets are envisaged to operate on a ‘hub-and-spoke’ format, wherein the terminal market (the hub) would be linked to a number of collection centres (the spokes). 11.6 The terminal markets would be built, owned and operated by a corporate/private/co-operative entity, either by itself, or through the adoption of an outsourcing model. The enterprise could be a consortium of entrepreneurs from agribusiness, cold chain, logistics, warehousing, agri-infrastructure and/or related background. The enterprise would charge a user charge for the services provided. The total financial outlay for implementation of the above component during the Tenth Plan Period is Rs 150 crore. The proposed expenditure will be met from the budget outlay of the National Horticulture Mission. The operational guidelines of the scheme have been circulated to the state governments, which have amended their respective APMC Acts to allow the setting up of markets in the private sector. 11.7 Organisations Dealing with Marketing: The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has three organisations dealing with marketing under its administrative control, namely, the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), Faridabad; the Ch. Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur; and the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), New Delhi. 11.8 The DMI is an attached office of the Department and is headed by the agricultural marketing adviser. Its head office is at Faridabad (Haryana), and branch head office as well as 11 regional offices and the Central Agmark Laboratory are located at Nagpur (Maharashtra). Besides these, there are 26 sub-offices and 16 Regional Agmark Laboratories (RALs) spread all over India as per the details given in the table below: Regional Offices 1. Delhi 2. Kolkata 3. Mumbai 4. Bhopal 5. Chennai 6. Kochi 7. Hyderabad 8. Guwahati 9. Lucknow 10. Jaipur 11. Chandigarh 11.9 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Agmark Laboratories under Regional Office 1. Dehradun 1.Okhla 2.Ghaziabad 1. Patna 2.Bhubaneshwar 3.Ranchi 1.Kolkata 2.Patna 3.Bhubaneshwar 1.Nasik 2.Ahmedabad 3.Rajkot 4.Surat 1.Mumbai 2.Rajkot 5.Panaji 6.Pune 7.Sangli 1.Raipur 1.Bhopal 1.Bangalore 2.Madurai 3.Hubli 1.Chennai 2.Bangalore 1.Calicut 2.Thiruvananthapuram 1.Kochi 1.Guntur 2.Vishakhapattanam 1.Guntur 1. Shillong 1.Guwahati 1.Kanpur 2.Varanasi 1.Kanpur 1.Jaipur 1.Jammu 2.Amritsar 3.Abohar 4.Shimla 1.Amritsar Sub-Office under Regional office The main functions of the Directorate are as follows: Rendering advice on statutory regulation, development and management of agricultural produce markets to the state governments/UT administrations; Promotion of standardisation and grading of agricultural and allied produce under the Agricultural Produce (Grading & Marking) Act, 1937; Market research, surveys and planning; Training of personnel in agricultural marketing; Marketing extension; Agricultural marketing information network; Construction of rural godowns; and Development of agricultural marketing infrastructure. 11.10 Grading and Standardisation: The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 empowers the central government to fix quality standards, known as ‘AGMARK’ standards, and, to prescribe terms and conditions for using the seal of AGMARK. So far, grade standards have been notified for 181 agricultural and allied commodities. The purity standards under the provision of the PFA Act and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986, are invariably taken into consideration while framing the grade standards. International standards framed by Codex/International Standards Organization (ISO) are also considered so that Indian produce can compete in international markets. 11.11 During the year 2006-07, the following rules have been prepared and are in the process of being notified: (i) the Fruits and Vegetables Grading and Marking (Amendment) Rules, 2006, containing grade standards for capsicum, okra, strawberry, cherries, chillies, melons, watermelons, sapota, custard apple, cauliflower, beans, gherkins, carrots and pears; (ii) the Tapioca, Sago Grading and Marking Rules, 2006; and (iii) the Sattu Grading and Marking Rules, 2006. The grading standards of honey, cut flowers, cereals, oilseeds, tamarinds, mahua flowe rs etc., are also under preparation. Four commodities identified by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED), namely, jatropha seeds, myrobalans, karanja seeds and puwad seeds have been taken up for analysis as a part of a collaboration effort between TRIFED and DMI. 11.12 As a result of special efforts initiated to promote grading under AGMARK, commodities valued at Rs 153.31 crore were graded for export purposes during the year 2005-06. During 2006-07 (up to 30 November 2006), commodities valued at Rs 65.00 crore were graded. By the end of March 2006, 192 certificate of authorization holders were operating for grading of agricultural and allied produce for exports purposes under AGMARK. During 2005-06, commodities worth Rs 4998.85 crore were graded for internal trade. During 2006-07 (up to 31 November 2006), commodities valued at Rs 2800.00 crore (estimated) were graded for internal trade. There were also 5958 authorized packers that were operating for grading agricultural commodities for internal trade. During 2005-06, a total revenue of Rs 10.01 crore was realised on account of grading charges etc. During 2006-07 (up to 31 October 2006), an amount of Rs 6.00 crore (provisional) has been realised. 11.13 Marketing Extension: AGMARK quality control programmes as well as improvements in marketing practices and procedures are given wide publicity through mass media. The information is disseminated through documentaries, cinema slides, printed literature, exhibitions, conferences, seminars and workshops. Agricultural Marketing, a quarterly bi-lingual journal, is also published regularly. 11.14 The Directorate participated in the India International Trade Fair, 2006, and will also participate in AHARA-2007. As a part of its normal activity, the Directorate through its regional/sub-offices participated in 11 exhibitions arranged by other organisations at different places during 2005-06. On the eve of World Consumers’ Day, the Directorate organised symposia and mini exhibitions on AGMARK at 14 places. One exclusive AGMARK exhibition is being organised at Ernakulam in Kerala during January 2007. Another is being organised in Haryana. 11.15 Marketing Research and Information Network (AGMARKNET): This is a central sector scheme that was launched by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation in March 2000. The scheme aims at progressively linking important agricultural produce markets spread all over India and the State Agriculture Marketing Boards/ Directorates and the DMI for effective exchange of market information. The market information network, AGMARKNET (agmarknet.nic.in), is being implemented jointly by DMI and NIC, using NICNET facilities available throughout the country. The objective of the scheme is to facilitate collection and dissemination of information for better price realisation. The scheme provides funds to state- and national-level institutions managing the markets and executing market-led extension activities and thus, has no separate gender-specific provisions under the scheme. The portal covers market, price, infrastructure and promotion-related information for efficient marketing. 11.16 During the Tenth Plan, an outlay of Rs 35 crore has been approved for the implementation of the scheme. This includes networking of markets, development of regional portals, market-led extension activities and development of market atlas on Global Information Systems (GIS) platform, etc. During 2006-07 (31 December 2006), as against a budgetary provision of Rs 3.55 crore, an amount of Rs 1.44 crore has been released to NIC for computer connectivity for 121 nodes, and 18 crore to Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka for market-led extension activities. 11.17 The markets are reporting daily prices and arrivals data using a comprehensive national-level database at Agmarknet Portal (www.agmarknet.nic.in). Information on wholesale prices and arrivals in respect of 300-plus commodities and 2000 varieties are being disseminated through the portal on a daily basis. More than 1900 markets have been linked to the Central Agmarknet Portal and more than 1500 markets reported data during the month of November 2006. Weekly prices and arrivals trends are also being disseminated using the portal. Monthly prices and arrivals bulletins are being generated using the national database. In addition to price, other market-related information is provided through the portal. These relate to accepted standards of grades, labeling, sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirement, physical infrastructure of storage and warehousing, marketing laws, fees payable, etc. Similarly, commodity profiles are being loaded on the portal. Commodities already covered include paddy/rice, wheat, Bengal gram, black gram, red gram, mustard/ rapeseed, groundnut, soya bean and sunflower. 11.18 Further, the portal provides information about schemes of DMI, weather information, e-directory of markets, CODEX standards, etc. The portal is also constantly being enriched. Information on prices and arrivals is being disseminated in nine languages. The database developed under Agmarknet is also serving various commodity directorates of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation by providing customised hyperlinks to data pertaining to specific commodities. An arrangement has been worked out with Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) for regular transmission of prices and arrivals data from Agmarknet to the touch screen multimedia kiosks being installed by them at the rural cooperative societies. 11.19 Construction of Rural Godowns: The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation introduced a central sector scheme, the ‘Grameen Bhandaran Yojana’, in March 2002 to promote the construction of rural godowns. The main objectives of the scheme include the creation of a scientific storage capacity with allied facilities in rural areas to meet the requirements of farmers for storing farm produce and to prevent distress sale of produce. Initially, the scheme was approved for two years i.e., up to 2003. The scheme was later approved for implementation up to 31 March 2007 with some modifications. Under the revised scheme, a subsidy at the rate of 25 per cent was given to all categories of farmers, agriculture graduates, cooperatives and the Central Warehousing Corporation/State Warehousing Corporations (CWC/ SWCs). All other categories of individuals companies and corporations are entitled to a subsidy at the rate of 15 per cent of the project cost. In North-Eastern states/ hilly areas and SC/ST entrepreneurs and their cooperatives, subsidy is provided at the rate of 33.33 per cent. 11.20 A total of 90-lakh tonnes capacity of rural godowns was targeted during the Tenth Plan period. However, the target has now been revised upwards to 140 lakh tonnes as the target of 90 lakh tonnes was achieved during 2004-05 itself. Till 31 December 2006, 13030 storage projects having a capacity of 180.88 lakh tonnes have been sanctioned under the scheme. . 11.21 Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardisation: The scheme for the development/strengthening of agricultural marketing infrastructure, grading and standardisation was launched on 20 October 2004. Under this scheme, a credit-linked investment subsidy is being provided on the capital cost of general or commodity-specific marketing infrastructure for agricultural commodities and for strengthening and modernisation of existing agricultural wholesale markets, and rural or periodic markets in tribal areas. The scheme covers all agricultural and allied sectors including dairy, po ultry, fishery, livestock and minor forest produce. The scheme is reform linked and is being implemented in those states/UTs that permit the setting up of agricultural markets in the private and cooperative sector and allow direct marketing and contract farming. 11.22 A sum of Rs 67.00 crore has been allocated for implementation of the scheme during 2006-07, of which an amount of Rs 25.00 crore has been provided to NABARD during the current year up to 30 November 2006. During this year, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and the UTs of Chandigarh and Lakshadweep were notified for implementation of the scheme. These are in addition to the states of Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and the UTs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli which were notified in the previous year. There were 22 training and awareness programmes that were conducted. The operational guidelines of the scheme have been modified to permit the state agencies to take up projects from their own funds without availing credit from the financial institutions. The condition of altitude of location of the project has been relaxed and all projects in the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are now eligible for a higher subsidy of 33.33 per cent. An amount of Rs 9.74 crore has been released by the NABARD as subsidy for 703 projects in the states of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh during 2006-07 (up to 30 November 2006). Since inception and till 30 November 2006, 881 projects have been sanctioned and a subsidy of Rs 13.82 crore released to the beneficiaries. 11.23 NIAM: Set up in August 1988, NIAM has been imparting training to senior and middle-level executives of agricultural and horticultural departments, agro industries, corporations, state marketing boards, agricultural produce market committees and apexlevel cooperatives, commodity boards, export houses recognized by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (APEDA), CBs and NGOs. Besides these clients, the NIAM also imparts training to farmers on marketing management. 11.24 NIAM is managed by a governing body under the chairmanship of the union minister of agriculture and an executive committee under the chairmanship of the secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. 11.25 Training Activities: The Institute organised 18 training programmes, workshops, awareness programmes and management development programmes during 2006-07, up to 31 October 2006. 11.26 Management Development Programmes (MDPs): This initiative was started in the year 2003-04. Four MDPs have been successfully organised during 2006-07 for leading companies like Bayer Crop Science, MICO BOSCH etc., for the benefit of executives of these companies working in various capacities. The participants rated all these MDPs as excellent programmes and many other companies have shown keen interest in organising such events by NIAM. 11.27 Project Formulation: In order to generate resources and ensure optimum utilisation of the expertise of the NIAM faculty, the Institute has taken up several consultancy projects in the year 2006-07. NIAM has completed infrastructural development project of fruits and vegetables cold store, grading line, ripening chamber etc., for the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) at Shahabad, Sirsa, Rohtak, Karnal and Jhajjar. The Institute has also undertaken project formulation for the following, which are in progress: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Setting up a Special Export Zone (SEZ) for mushrooms at Sonipat for the HSAMB; Modernisation of agricultural markets in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Orissa; Modern terminal markets for Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Orissa; and Controlled atmospheric storage for apples at Kolkata for the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir. 11.28 Education: The Institute introduced a postgraduate programme in agri-business management as a sub-centre of MANAGE, Hyderabad with effect from July 2001, and 50 students (26 students in the first year and 24 in the second year) are presently enrolled. The programme is designed to assist agricultural graduates to acquire the critical knowhow to compete in the domestic and global business arena to make them efficient agri– business managers. 11.29 The SFAC was registered by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, on 18 January 1994. It is managed by a board of management consisting of 20 members and chaired by the union minister of agriculture as its ex-officio president, and the secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation as its ex-officio vice president. The managing director is the chief executive of the SFAC. It has established 18 state-level SFACs by contributing a corpus fund. The mission of the Society is to support innovative ideas for generating income and employment in rural areas by promoting private investments in agri-business projects. 11.30 The central sector scheme for agri-business development is being implemented by SFAC in close association with CBs for (a) providing venture capital assistance to agribusiness projects; and (b) assisting farmer/producer groups in preparation of quality Detailed Project Reports (DPRs). The scheme envisages providing venture capital assistance to 85 agri-business projects, and assist farmers/producer groups in preparation of 100 DPRs during the Tenth Plan period. An amount of Rs 38.00 crore has been allocated for the implementation of this scheme during 2006-07. For its effective implementation, the SFAC has already signed an MOU with 15 CBs including the Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Commercial Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank, Vijaya Bank, The Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd, Bank of Maharashtra, United Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur and Indian Bank. 11.31 Under the scheme, the SFAC during 2006-07 (up to 31 January 2007) has sanctioned venture capital assistance to 27 agri-business projects with varied agribusiness activities involving Rs 6.88 crore. Since the inception of the scheme, 71 agribusiness projects have been sanctioned involving venture capital assistance of Rs 18.21 crore. These projects are expected to mobilise private investments of Rs 194 crore, which will provide an assured market to 36000 farmers for their produce, and create direct employment for 6200 persons. 11.32 Programmes being implemented in North-Eastern States: The details of the programmes being implemented in the North-Eastern region are indicated in Annexure – 11.1