10 Things I Hate About You Film Review Example

10 Things I Hate About You Film Review Example 10 Things I Hate About You Film Review – Coursework Example Shakespeare Meets Modern Day High School 10 Things I hate about you. Director:   Gil Junger Karen McCullah Lutz,  Kirsten Smith, Stars: HeathLedger,  Julia Stiles  and  Joseph Gordon-LevittGood acting performances, mildly witty dialogues and a Shakespearean adaption ( Taming of the Shrew) make this 1999 teen oriented movie â€Å"10 Things I hate About You† and interesting watch. Although I am not much into teen movies and stumbled on this one due to entirely unforeseen circumstances, I was surprised to see a non-irritating teen movie.Kat (Julia Stiles future agent Parson in Bourne Identity) and Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) are sisters but despite their blood relation, their personalities are exact polar opposites. Bianca, the younger is one of those cheesy teenage girls in the college that are just too popular for their own good. On the other hand Kat (as in Shakespeare’s Kate), the older one, is one of those tomboyish girls in the college who are Emo enough to hat e everything but still have a soft yet unseen desire in their hearts." Kat and Biancas father, Walter (standup comedian Larry Miller), has a rule that in order to for Bianca to date someone her older sister Kat has to get a date first. As night of the prom party approaches Bianca finds herself being the object of affection of two boys, Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan) and a typically Hollywood style shy and kind guy ( a species that don’t really exist in real life) Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt – future Arthur in Inception!). As an unwilling duo (e.g. Pak and USA), Joey and Cameron select a prospective candidate for Kat: Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger future Joker in The Dark Knight), the local bad boy. They conjecture that (however unlikely it might seem) that of they could pay Patrick to hook up with Kat then one of them can then date Bianca. However, the following events turn out to be entertaining, as Patrick, like Shakespeare’s Petruchio, has to take extra o rdinary measures to tame the feminist and quick-tempered Kat.The unfolding plot then provides us with witty dialogues and we observe that the movie is almost loaded with double entendres and many dialogues have double meaning. Although the script language is a little weak (usual for a teen movie), Kat’s and Patrick’s acting as well as the accompanying music is a treat to watch and that is what makes it stand out among the flood of sub standard teen movies in the market.Director Gil Junger has done a decent job in directing the movie and has come up with a bright idea of adapting the Taming of The Shrew in a modern setting. The movie is rated PG 13 for sexuality-laced words, crude dialogue and alcohol fueled scenes.Baffa, Eric. IMDB.Com. 1999. .

economic growth essays

economic growth essays Economic growth refers to the rate of increase in the total production of goods and services within an economy. Economic growth increases the productivity capacity of an economy, thereby allowing more wants to be satisfied. A growing economy increases employment opportunities, stimulates business enterprise and innovation. A sustained economic growth is fundamental to any nation wishing to raise its standard of living and provide a greater well being for all. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the monetary value of all final goods and services produced in Australia over a specific period of time, usually a year. It is the total value of production within the economy. The total value of production is the total value of the final goods or services less the cost of intermediate goods purchased. GDP at market prices (nominal GDP) measures the value of total production at the present price level. That is, GDP at market prices measures both the total physical volume of goods and services produced and the prices at which these goods and services are sold. GDP at market prices has considerable usefulness when measuring the growth rates and relative importance of different industries or sectors within the economy. The method for measuring GDP at market prices is implied by the following formula; [(current year quantity) x (Current year price)]. However GDP at constant prices is the most common method of measuring economic growth. GDP at constant prices excludes the effect of price variations and allows for the measurement or comparison of real or actual production levels. Because of this, GDP at constant prices is usually referred to as real GDP. Real GDP is measured by the following formula; [(current year quantity) x (based year price)]. A more reliable measure of economic growth is real GDP per capita; this measurement takes into account both the total production of the nation and the total population. Real GDP per capita measures the ...

Aspects of sustainable transport mode. ( buses in scotland ) Thesis

Aspects of sustainable transport mode. ( buses in scotland ) - Thesis Example In any case, the success of such initiatives requires the active participation of governments. The above issue has been made clear in the case of Scotland where the private bus operators have introduced a series of schemes aiming to align their firms’ activities with the principles of sustainability. The success of this effort is examined in this study; the support of the Scottish Government towards these efforts seems to be important; it should be updated, though, in order to meet the needs of these firms in the terms of sustainability. It is proved that private bus operators across Scotland have made significant efforts in order to promote sustainability their firm’s daily activities; however, often the principles of sustainability are not fully applied; measures need to be taken in order for sustainability to become an actual part of bus industry in Scotland. Sustainability is a concept widely developed internationally; the increase of this concept’s power is mainly related to the deterioration of environmental conditions globally; sustainability can help to the limitation of the effects of human activities on the environment. However, the above target can be achieved only if the principles and the mission of sustainability are clearly understood by the initiators of the relevant projects. The needs of sustainability can be identified in the definition of Hakkinen (1997, 138): ‘the ecological criteria for sustainable development are the preservation of biodiversity and adaption of human activities to the natural resources and tolerance of nature’. The aspects of sustainability explored in this paper are related with a specific industry, the bus industry; therefore, it is in this context that sustainable policies in Scotland will be evaluated and criticized. Bus is an essential means of transport in Scotland; because of its importance for the

Curbing the Costs of College Textbooks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Curbing the Costs of College Textbooks - Essay Example The federal government has even involved itself in the issue by passing a recent law that forces publishers to tell professors how much-required texts will cost their students, and colleges must inform students during class registration what books they will need to purchase for each course. The best and most fair solution for everyone when it comes to textbook pricing is to move away from physical printed and bound books to electronic and downloadable texts. Publishers have every right to make money, but students should have the ability to save themselves money wherever possible while working towards their diplomas. Problems with the current system Students today spend a lot of time and effort when it comes to buying textbooks. Once their class booklists are in hand, the students have a few options as to where to buy their books. There’s the school bookstore, which will usually carry new and used copies of required books, and will buy back some books from previous purchases. S tudents may also look for their books online, at sites like Amazon.com or eFollet.com, which often offer a larger selection of used copies than the campus bookstore and often at a lower price (Bernard B5). Yet there are a lot of roadblocks when it comes to finding a cheaper, used copy of a textbook. According to a national survey conducted by the Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) of required college texts, the books are revised and issued as new editions â€Å"every three to four years regardless of changes to the subject† (Allen 6). Why is this a problem? Because the older editions are then considered outdated and are made unavailable to students by the publisher. The older editions cannot be traded in for cash or credit at the student bookstore or sold online at Amazon.com or eFollet.com. Students enrolling in classes where the new editions are required must buy the books new since used copies are not available. Students also complain that many times they are only requ ired by their professors to read a couple of chapters in a single textbook – despite having to purchase the entire book (Allen 7). In the 1980s through the early 1990s, it was a fairly common practice for professors to offer â€Å"course packets,† which were photocopied chapters from several different textbooks and were made available to students for only the cost of the photocopies. These packets were widely considered by publishers to be a blatant violation of copyright law, leading to a lawsuit against a Kinkos in Ohio who was handling the photocopying order for Ohio State University. The publishers won the suit and course packets began disappearing not only from OSU but from colleges everywhere. (O'Shaughnessy 1-2) In 2010, the federal government passed a law as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requiring that book publishers tell professors up-front, in all marketing materials, how much the book will cost the student. The idea behind this provisi on of HEOA was described as â€Å"an effort to get professors to be aware of what their choices were really costing their students† (Smith A5).  

Visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingh Essay Example for Free

Visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingh Essay Brief background on CBL (Munchee) It was the visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingha in 1960 who wanted to expand his family business from the chocolate market. It was at the same time that CARE looked at sources of nourishment for the poverty stricken. It was a substitute of a biscuit that Mr Wickramasinghe proposed looking to expand on those lines. At that time the market leaders were Maliban. They were the ones who were awarded the contract. Due to lack of space, CBL was first launched at Dehiwela in his own premises to produce a high protein biscuits for schools. From this footing Munchee, has marched forward to capture 80% of the market of the local market. For over 40 years the brand has developed a certain nostalgia that is irreplaceable by any other brand. The taste is enjoyed young and old alike. There vision is to become the number one biscuit in Asia. Product portfolio CBL now produces various food items which have become house hold names in Sri Lanka. CBL expansion is not only with biscuits to which consumers are more familiar, they also have chocolates under brand name ‘Ritzbury’ since 1990s. The other brands are Tiara and Lanka Soy. There are numerous subcategories under each product. There are jellies, soya base products, cereal products, herbal porridges, soups and much more. Sub Categories under the Munchee brand Sweet biscuitsCrackers Puffs Savory Biscuits Cream Biscuits Marie Cookies Assorted HerbalWafers These are premium and hand-moulded chocolates. They come in boxes and slabs. Can be as a coated biscuits or wafers or beans or candy bars. It is in different flavours, type, and size. Sub Categories Chocolate Coated Biscuits Chocolate Slabs Miniature Caterers RangeChocolate Coated Beans Chocolate Coated Balls Chocolate Coated Candy Bars Specialty ChocolatesChocolate Coated Wafers Soft sponge cake made to perfect texture and taste Layer Cake Portion Cake Butter Sponge Cake Swiss Roll Company performance Ceylon Biscuits is of undisputable quality. CBL has shown a growth both in sales and profit for the last 5 years. Revenue had doubled from Rs.1.9 to Rs 5,2 Billion by 2005. Group turnover grew by 48% that same year. Net profit that year was Rs.533 Mio. This was the highest recorded profit for this company. CBL profit gradually grew, as it caught on to an international market. By 2011 sales revenue has grown by 25% in comparison to 2010. The overall profit margin was around 9% for the recently past five years. If ever the company saw a small decline it was due to industrial unrest. This biscuit is spread over 95,000 retail outlets all around Sri Lanka. CBL exports to 36 international destinations. It has been able to spread it’s fame in South Asia as well. Some of the countries of export are USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, China, India, Maldives and even the Middle East countries. The annual export revenue is about US $ 4 to 5 million. CBL has many awards for its entrepr eneurship. These awards are Exports in the Gold Category, Product Brand of the Year for four consecutive years, Anugu International Food Fair award. The daily production is around 150 tons. The annual production is around 45,000 tons. The company’s labor force is about 3,500. Company sustainability relies on strict norms on quality, texture and taste. For this it uses the latest technology, innovative marketing, research and development. The three C analysis There are three phases that need to be carefully scrutinized in order get a total overview of the product. Customer analysis Of the main brand Munchee, the customer analysis will be done on a sub category -Marie widely known as â€Å"Tikiri Marie –or Munchee Tikiri Marie. It is a small sized biscuit. The market segment chosen were children. Presently it is packed in a ‘keep fresh pack’ sold at a economical price. The advertisement that was done on a range of media was presented in the most attractive way, backed by lyrics that set a smile on the lips of any child. It was later that Maliban put a Marie range into the market. But by then Munchee Tikiri Marie had taken the market by storm. Competitor analysis There has been great potential for a children’s biscuit in the market. CBL had limited resources, especially in production technology which restricted revenue. It was the consumer preference that motivated CBL to keep producing the Marie Biscuit. At one point in time 50% of the production was Marie. Yet, the company was unable to raise profits. Maliban held strong to its position. No advertising, trade promotions or merchandising was able take over the market share that Maliban held. Maliban Marie has an unique flavor that was unmatchable. Volume market share (Total Biscuit Market-February 2005) Communication analysis This is a (B2C) nature of business. The company has used campaigns such as Tikiri Marie scholarship program.-Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara. Expansion programs worth Rs. 500 million Rs. 300 million for state of the art plant. It was known as Plant 6 from Italy. CBL went to war using all types of media from TV, newspaper, radio, magazines, even websites to introduce a new Marie. There was a series of advertisement for Tikiri Marie- from ‘Kohomada Tikiri Mole’ to the first day in school. All campaigns had been embarked under their corporate moto-‘A crowning success’. This was CBL communication approach of tacking Maliban. Target market for Munchee Tikiri Marie The brand â€Å"Munchee† has not only spread over domestic market but also the export market. Munchee is now exported to over 36 countries. Munchee can be seen in Gourmet Shops in Australia, supermarket like Wal-Mart, K-mart worldwide in countries like UK, Germany , Italy , Middle-East , Canada and Japan. South East Asian region is spread over 11 countries. When Munchee is target marketed in this area, it must be the same target market as of the other South Asian countries. It is the high quality, texture and taste that captivate any child in any country. Because of this CBL must ensure that they do not loose the perception of ‘a biscuit for children.’ As it is not being partnered by any company as it was in UK the brand name can prevail. Here CBL needs to position its product, thus no private label will be needed either like NTUC of Singapore and Supreme brand in China. Segment for Marie Geographical segmentation-South Asia, Europe, America, UK Demographical Segmentation Age, taste, texture, income Behavioral segment- instant, nutritious Product positioning of Marie Brand Identity vs. Competition (Source- AC Neilson) Premium quality, Innovative and value for money brand available at arms length of desire. Scope of this Integrated Marketing Communications Plan It looks in to objectives, strategies, and tools in communication used to successfully bring about integrated marketing. The plan will discuss ways to launch a program to communicate product. Marketing objective Increase the sale of Munchee Buiscuits. CBL is looking to increase sales by 5% within the next two years. With this to increase the market share by 5% at the end of the second year. Increase the company profile while enhancing the product among the target market. Munchee also wishes to strengthen Brand image among South East Asian countries as a healthy, nutritious biscuit. Communication Objective Awareness program to reach 20% of target market through television, newspaper advertising and web promotions. At least 5% the target market must purchase the product. Issues and Challenges The target market may have other preferences in biscuits. This entirely depends on texture, flavor, taste, shape and size. Thus the promotions/advertising will have to be attractive, creative and innovative in order to reach the hearts and minds of South East Asian Children. Situational analysis Current problem facing product * The target audience may not be reached. * They may prefer other biscuits. * Difficult to build brand loyalty in the food industry. Identifying target * The target market is chosen taking taste and nutrition in to consideration. * Targeting people who looks for low price but has to be of quality. Selecting a Market to Target South East Asia Geographic segmentation Children of the age 1-16 , Middle class Demographic segmentation Target market Instant, nutritious Behavioral segmentation The target market that has been chosen is of the geographical location of South East Asia region among a demographic target of children between the ages of 1-16. In modern South East Asia food in freely available for purchases for people who are one the move. This biscuit provides nutrients that are good for children and is an easy snack in a keep fresh pack. It is instant food for hungry youngsters. Positioning through Marketing Strategies * Introductory price * Chance to taste Competition Product Comparison There are companies like DIMOs that offer discounts to Government servants but no company has offered it to Bankers. AMW is the first to get into this program. Barriers to Entry * The awareness in low. * Banks have tied with other automobile companies, on a separate basis for their leasing requirements and the staff gets their vehicles also leased through those companies. * Buyers may go for second hand as the economic situations are tough. Competitor Differentiation | Chery QQ| Micro Panda| Features | Small hatch back with comfortable interior, Three Cylinder DOHCMPI 12V Petrol 812 CC engine Chery is imported from China and marketed in Sri Lanka by David Peiris Motor Company| Micro car, Volvo tech, 1300 cc engine. Made in Sri Lanka. Comes with and without air bag.| Target Market| Working professionals| Working professionals| Strengths | Low price, Brand backing | Made in Sri Lanka| Weakness | Small range of customers, No discount| Small range of customersNo discount| Consumer Behaviour – problems faced in addressing communication message There is nothing extraordinarily attractive about the AMW Maruti. But the interior is appealing. It is economical on the fuel. There is a one year warranty on the car. These are some of the aspects in regards to the car that a consumer will look at. Then the consumer is going to look at the company that selling the car. Associated Motor Ways Ltd is one of the oldest automobile conglomerates in Sri Lanka. They are the sole distributors of Suzuki vehicles in Sri Lanka and are affiliated with several brand names in the motor industry such as Nissan, Yamaha, and Goodyear. Addressing the problems with the vehicle such as no extra ordinary beauty about the vehicle or that there is fume emission from the vehicles which is hazardous to the external environment, what AMW concentrates on is the interior of the car and how economical it is. The Maruti is good on fuel. The size makes it easy to handle. This car is val ue for money. Branding Bankers are likely for a discount program where the vehicles are leased giving a bank loan. Maruti is likely to stay in the minds of the buyer due to features of the vehicle, the interior and the engine capacity in relation to the other brands of this same model which where given under competitor analysis. The Maruti is a more durable and dependable brand. Position statement This promotion is available only for bankers that are permanent in their jobs and the loan facilities are available. Any other financing will not be permitted. The discount is available for all colours of Maruti. Promotion The promotion is done within Colombo and its near suburbs. For this promotion 50% of the budgeted funds are allocated. This was first circulated to family and friends, for the word of mouth is the cheapest and the best way of promoting a discount program. Gradually as the awareness starts to increase it will be circulated among banks, first on a personal basis to call whose contacts can be acquired. Then the leasing managers or the staff managers in charge of staff leasing will be approached. Depending on the geographical location, banks will be approached in regards to the promotion. Once the approval has been obtained by the management, posters will distribute to main branches. These are known as power position advertising. The dealership logo will be indicated in the poster. A list of the eligible staff members will be collected and a web based mailer will be sent out to them. Permission will be acquired to post the promotion on an intranet facility that is accessible only to the relevant bankers of the targeted bank. A car may be sent out to the main branch for display. Once the initial promotions have been done in and around the main branches where web may not be the best promotional attribute a news paper advertisement will be posted. The news paper will carry a pictureous depictation of the car with a Brand Ambassador. The Brand Ambassador can be a cricketer or any other sportsman who is working in a bank indicating that this is the best leasing offer ever. These adds will have to run every often and it must be made sure that the adds are not too small to see. It may be preferable to advertise in a Sinhalese paper when thinking of promoting the discount program among the suburbs. There has to be creativity, innovation and an even flow for an advertisement to catch the eyes of the reader. A Saturday or Sunday paper is preferable as people have more time than on a weekday to read the paper. Television can be used as last resort. This is expensive but can be the most influential method of advertising. This is a sure a way of information gathering for viewers. The television adds usually have a lasting impression on the viewer. This is a sure way of assuring results for IMC. There are many highly watched channels of those the cheapest but the most effective can be used. The TV add can play between programs. The programs after which the add will be aired will have to be carefully chosen. It will need to depend on viewer’s discretion. The advertisement can go on for a period of 6 months at least. The web based marketing is another method by which advisement can be done. This is the most modern method. Some of the websites frequently visited by banke rs are Facebook, ESPN, Google, YouTube, Digg.com, Myspace, and Perezhilton.com. The most popular of them all is Facebook, Google, and Youtube. All these websites focus on online advertisements. Websites like Facebook taps a large audience. This not only enables promoting to bankers but also lets others know the car sale. This is a good way to get other companies to tie up with the dealership of AMW. Communication Tactical Calendar | Jan| Feb| Mar| Apr| May| Jun| Jul| Aug| Sep| Oct| Nov| Dec| Poster| | | | | | | | | | | | | News paper| | | | | | | | | | | | | TV| | | | | | | | | | | | | Web| | | | | | | | | | | | | Display| | | | | | | | | | | | | Budget The largest potion that is 50% of the budget is for promotion. Of the 50% promotional budget 30% will be allocated for television commercials, the remainder 20% for news paper, posters, display and web. The remainder 50% will be allocated for Brand Ambassador and miscellaneous expenses. The total allocation for the budget is Rs. 2,000,000/- Measurement system Implementation Controls Monitoring, review and control will be done by the dealership company with the collaboration with the bank that is leasing the vehicle. The review to be done on a monthly basis. Progress against targets to be analyzed. For this a marketing plan has to be drawn out. A target market needs to be chosen and a pilot project done before, the discount program is advertised. Once the dealership feels that this can be a successfully implemented then monitoring has to be undertaken. This has to be done carefully. Gap analysis done on a regular basis. Correction actions need to be taken if there is no progress within the first three months of advertising. Dealership may go back to the drawing board and redo the marketing plan again. Quality Assurance Around this time the company was receiving a number of complaints regarding its biscuits breakages, poor taste, quality etc. Rather than ignore the issue, CBL decided to place an emphasis on investigating the cause of the complaints, and took corrective action, including formula changes, to reduce the high number of returns at the time. Setting up better procedures for packing, product handling and transportation, the company prepared for its future growth. It conducted daily taste tests of its own products and organized regular taste panels to compare its products with those of its competitors. It also methodically documented the specifications of all products being manufactured knowledge that had previously been passed on through practice and word of mouth. As the demands on the Quality Assurance department began to rise, the company decided in 1996 to seek ISO certification Today, quality assurance remains an area of particular pride for Munchee. The department plays a critical role in product testing and development of production process controls and systems. High hygiene standards for toilet habits and hair, together with regular swab tests of employees are strictly enforced. Every shipment of incoming materials is tested for quality and those that fail are rejected. Following a complaint, products are collected from customers and subject to laboratory analysis. In 2004, CBL received HACCP certification for food safety together with SLS certification for its biscuits23.. With these in hand CBL became the only confectionary company in Sri Lanka to acquire all relevant quality certifications for its line of business i.e. SLS, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 1400124 and HACCP. Product Development Product development also became an area of increased focus. While CBL had begun operations with a line of distinctive biscuits, along with some generics. However, in the recent years the push for higher turnover had resulted in innovation playing a secondary role. Some of the biscuits that had made Munchee distinctive, were neglected in favor of more mass consumer products. CBL began formulations and potential improvements to flavor and quality. The company also began to actively investigate and keep up with new technologies and machinery by participating regularly at trade exhibitions and through membership in industry associations. Distribution Around this time CBL took the decision to rethink its methods of distribution and undertook to overhaul its sales and distribution efforts in favor of a much bolder plan. Up to this point the company had depended almost completely on wholesalers to sell its products as a hassle free means of managing its distribution efforts. As a result, while CBL had the logistic and cost advantages of maintaining a lean sales team, the company suffered due to its dependence on the enthusiasm of its wholesalers to push its products. CBL decided to bite the bullet and invest heavily in its sales force. It expanded its distribution reach, increasing its number of distributors, changed the demarcation of sales regions into much smaller areas for more intensive sales efforts and recruited the regional and senior sales personnel required to cope with this new direction. 5.4.4 Customer Intimacy With the changes to its sales force, CBL was forced to face up to the fact that it was very removed from its consumers. The company recognized that it had been paralleling the moves and decisions made by Maliban rather than acting on real consumer insights. CBLs focus had been very much product centric concentrated on improvement of its formulation and production technology. It developed its products in isolation and once developed attempted to market them. Little attention had been paid to market research, even on an informal basis. Moreover, CBL began to understand that its customer was a new, youthful generation whose tastes and style were very different from the consumer of the previous ten years. Beginning in 1996, the Board itself acknowledged this changed attitude by beginning to go to the field on a regular basis to a top down attempt to gauge market perceptions and trends. The newly developed sales force provided feedback from consumers and distributors and the company took the further step of setting up a separate subsidiary to plan its marketing activities and to become more responsive to market needs an gaps. The holding company became primarily responsible for improving product quality and procedures. 5.4.5 Image Building CBL also recognized that in order to grow it had to become a better known name as a company. Partly as a result of its multiple brand names, CBL itself was relatively unknown as a corporate entity. Embarking on a campaign to raise the profile of the company, CBL engaged the services of a consultant, and set out to gain greater corporate recognition for itself among both consumers and the business community. The publics lack of knowledge of the breadth of the companys activities was hindering its activities as a holding company, particularly for purposes such as tapping the capital market. With the help of its consultant, CBL set about establishing a public image for itself. This was done primarily through the print media. Every week or so, an article regarding the company and its various corporate activities and Latest initiatives, including its export plans and CSR, appeared in the newspapers. Competitiveness Behaviour The Biscuit Wars Around 1995, CBL had hit a wall in terms of increasing its turnover. Limited by its existing production technology and consumer tastes, t its highest growth opportunity lay in the Marie biscuit market. While CBLs Marie25 biscuits now made up 50% of total production, the company was unable to meaningfully increase its sales and market share of the Marie category. It had attempted a variety of marketing activities including extensive advertising, merchandising and trade promotions, but was still not able to take sufficient market share away from Maliban. The Munchee Marie biscuit was at this time essentially a knockoff of Malibans Marie and used very similar packaging. However, despite much effort and testing, eBL was not able to exactly reproduce the Maliban Marie flavor. Although market share was a (then) respectable 10% and despite fervent urgings from its own sales team to the contrary to be more like Maliban, CBL decided that the time had come to change tactics and be different in order to try to break through the turnover barrier. The Tikiri Marie Campaign Munchee hit on the winning concept of launching its own Marie as Tikiri Marie – a petit sized Marie biscuit using an aggressive campaign entitled Tikiri Mole†, to bring the little biscuit to the attention of consumers. The campaign targeted children with the use of attractive advertising and proved a real turning point in Munchees growth and image. The biscuit was so successful that the smaller sized Tikiri Marie became the number one Marie biscuit in the Sri Lankan market, with a phenomenal 50 per cent of Marie market share and eventually forced the giant Maliban to acknowledge Munchee as a significant market player by playing copy cat and resizing its own Marie. 7 Part of Munchees success with Tikiri Marie stemmed from Malibans complacency and its failure to react to this attack on the Marie category. The Tikiri Marie campaign brought into effect other changes at CBL such as the introduction of Munchees keep fresh pack, which ensured better product freshness. Followin g its success with Tikiri Marie CBL expanded the use of the fresh pack to the entire Munchee biscuit range. The company also commenced a Tikiri Marie scholarship program for school children in 1997 entitled Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara which it continues to this day. Now in its eighth year, the program provides 120 deserving children with scholarships of Rs. 1000 per month for one year with fresh applicants being selected annually. By 1998, the cumulative effect of the changes made through the 1990s, resulted in CBL achieving a 30% market share of the biscuit market (up from 20% at the start of the 1990s) and topping the Rs. 1 billion turnover mark. This was a major milestone for CBL, both internally and externally. The company was becoming better known, both to consumers for its brands and quality products and to the industry for its investments in good technology. CBL reinforced this reputation by committing to a Rs. 500 million expansion program Rs. 300 million of which was spent on a large state of the art plant from Italy. Plant 6 as it was known, was CBLs largest capacity plant thus far with five lines that could handle both hard and fermented dough. This action by CBL sent a strong message, to its staff and associates, about CBLs optimism and confidence in the companys future growth commercialization of this new plant, CBL planned to introduce a new range of biscuits to tackle Maliban head-on. 6.1.2 The Lemon Puff Battle CBLs next strategic attack on Maliban came in 2001 with its Lemon Puff. The Munchee Lemon Puff had a solid 30% market share but as was the case with Marie, failed at growing sales further as a me too product. CBL decided to re-Launch Lemon Puff, by promoting it as a sandwich biscuit with a higher quantity of lemon cream. The campaign was heralded by an intensive television campaign directed at capturing the attention of a new market. What the company did not reveal in its advertising was that the cracker itself had been vastly improved, through a new formula and upgraded technology. It was in fact a noticeably better overall sandwich biscuit than Malibans Lemon Puff rather than just being a look alike with more cream. Going against the advice of its advertising company, Munchee replaced the traditional yellow packaging, synonymous with the Lemon Puff category, with a white wrapper. The superior moisture and odour barriers of the new metalized wrapper combined with the new pillow pack technology, which used only two seals to achieve increased air-tightness, better preserved the crispness and freshness of the sandwich biscuit. This had been a problem that had plagued both companies puffs for decades. Consumers who tasted the Munchee Lemon Puff for its extra cream (not enough cream was a complaint associated with both Lemon Puffs for years) were pleasantly surprised and rapidly switched loyalty to the Munchee Lemon Puffs. Thus Munchee demonstrated that it was in touch with tastes of its consumers and used their feedback to improve its biscuits. The impact of the product changes were felt immediately. Munchees market share in puffs went up from 30% to over 50% within a mere four months following this relaunch, and grew the entire puff category from 12 to 16%. As a result, Malibans share of Lemon Puff which had been a staggering 70% plummeted to 29%. By now Munchee had 45% of the local biscuit market and was vying with Maliban for market leadership. CBLs next big ch allenge was clear take on Maliban in the cream cracker market. Despite Munchees success at growing its sales, Maliban still had nearly 75% of the lucrative cracker market while Munchee was at a meager 23%. The Maliban cream cracker was well accepted and entrenched in the market. CBL had to find a way of breaking through with an innovative cream cracker to take on this market. 6.1.3 The Cream Cracker Assault The following year, in 2002, CBL re-Iaunched its cracker as a Super Cream Cracker, enriched with vitamins in a bold campaign, with live broadcast of two music shows held simultaneously in Colombo and Anuradhapura before massive crowds As they had done with the Lemon Puff, CBL used a new metalized pillow-pack with a contemporary look to break away from the traditional solid red Maliban packaging synonymous s with cream cracker and re-formulated the cracker to deliver a crisper and tastier product. The Munchee strategy of delivering a superior quality product that convinced consumers to switch brands proved a success and the results were phenomenal. Cracker sales grew, expanding its own market not merely taking over competitor share. Growth in sales nearly tripled and Munchees market share in cream cracker immediately doubled to 40%, reaching 50% the foHowing year. Today, of the total cream cracker category, which makes up 20% of the total domestic biscuit market, Munchee owns a 60% sh are. Super Cream Cracker accounts for 30% of the companys turnover, with a profit margin of over 25%. Munchee continues to fight aggressively for market share. Its most recent marketing campaign entitled Podi Badaginne† targets the large 500 gm pack market, previously serviced by loose crackers. The focus is to use the cracker as a substitute for a full meal for chummary factory workers who are already provided with two meals from their work place. The company has again demonstrated its knowledge of customer needs and changing trends and lifestyles in Sri Lanka as the record 128% growth of this heavy use pack from 2004 to 2005 shows. Business Expansion Beginning from the 1990s, CBL began looking at other areas in the food and confectionary industry to expand its businesses activities. 6.2.1 Ritzbury One of the first areas CBL explored was one naturally complementary to its existing line of business: chocolate. At one time, the company had produced chocolate for Nestle and had some exposure to Nestles chocolate operations. Launched in 1991, Ritzbury chocolates began with chocolate coated (enrobed) biscuits. The company went through much teething pain in developing the right quality chocolate for its use. It struggled to develop a workable formulation one that tasted good while withstanding the melting and rancidity caused by the tropical Sri Lankan weather. Ritzbury gradually developed its market by first growing its range of coated biscuits, then expanding to chocolate candies and hand made chocolates, and only recently moving into the traditional slabs the largest market category. The companys strategy is to provide innovative eye-catching products to its consumers and thus differentiate from its competition. Ritzburys first entry was Chunky Choc (chocolate covered biscuits sandwich with butterscotch cream filling), followed by Chit Chat (chocolate coated wafer with hazelnut cream) and Chocolate Fingers (chocolate coated finger biscuit). Another innovation for Sri Lanka was Pebbles (brightly colore d, sugar coated chocolate candies). The Ritzbury range includes Nik Nak, (chocolate coated vanilla cream wafer), Go Nuts (colored chocolate coated peanuts), Choosy (liquid chocolate stick) and Choco-La individual nuggets. Although it started out originally as a poor number four, Ritzbury recently beat Kandos (Ceylon Chocolates) to the number two spot in the chocolate market. However, at 21 % vs. 42% Ritzbury has only half the market share of market leader Edna and a long way to go to become number one. Further, Edna has itself shown to be very aggressive and quick in bringing out innovative products to the chocolate market. Ritzbury for its part, offers over 60 differentiated items, at the full range of price points and with a dedicated sales force certainly provides its consumers affordability and access. Despite being a small local brand, it offers consumers a complete range of chocolates and chocolate coated products and for other products frequently provides comparable alternati ves to more expensive imported products. Examples are Pebbles as an alternative to Smarties, Chit Chat to Kit Kat and Go Nuts to MMs. Yet, apart from the hand molded specialty chocolates and coated biscuits products, the company has yet to fully convince local consumers that the quality of its slab range is on par with that of imports or Kandos. By 1997, following its first biscuit war and having grown its market share in the biscuit market to a respectable 30%, CBL began to focus on sales of Ritzbury. One hindrance to improving growth CBL realized was the then single chain of distribution it used for both biscuits and chocolates. In practical terms what this implied was that once a retailer had gone through purchases of the more established Munchee list of biscuits they would have little money left for Ritzbury chocolates. Ritzbury sales were materially affected and it became evident that an alternative would have to be sought out. One option was to increase the breadth of the CBL range in order to afford to maintain a second line of distribution. 6.2.2 Pancho Snacks With this in mind, CBL decided to enter the snack food market in 1998 under Ritzbury. Named Pancho, this snack range was made up primarily of extruded snacks. However, despite the companys sustained efforts with Pancho and the separate sales force, the impulse buy snack market proved a disappointing arena for CBL. Despite the introduction of two products under a new line named Catch Me together with a re-Launch of Pancho in 2000, the company found that it could only succeed in this market with a near continuous stream of promotions. Although CBL persevered in snack foods for nearly five years, it was eventually forced to close up this operation and admit failure. With the aim of an expansion of its range still in mind, CBL next entered a completely unfamiliar food market. In 2000 due to its own financial difficulties, Yanik Incorporated, an investment bank, was selling its 79% stake in Soy Foods (Lanka) Limited, a public listed company manufacturing textured vegetable protein (TVP) n uggets. Soy Foods was a loss making number four player in the market but had pioneered a number of soy products under the brand Lanka Soy. CBL seized this opportunity to expand its range, encouraged by its present Managing Director who had experience in the soya area. CBL purchased the stake in Soy Foods at Rs.9/share and took over operations in September 2000; by 2002 the company had been successfully turned around and had become a viable entity. This was the success story that CBL had been searching for. The Soy Foods line allowed CBL to maintain a dual distribution network, one for its biscuits and another for chocolates and soy. The effects of this isolation of chocolate sales from biscuits were immediate and notable. By 2002 Ritzbury had made impressive inroads into its competition and grown market share to over 15%. 6.2.3 Lanka Soy In 2000 when CBL bought over management of Soy Foods (Lanka) Ltd. from Yanik it was a loss making company. Despite being the pioneer in the local soy market, Lanka Soy was at the time selling only 50% of the volumes of the market leader Raigam, with a 15% market share. The companys growth was stagnating in a rapidly growing market, and many smaller competitors were cashing on its market with lookalike products. The ambitious strategy set out for a turnaround of the company was to aim to make it not merely profitable but the market leader. CBL decided that not only was it necessary to grow Lanka Soys market share, through a fresh look and product, it was going to grow the total product market through a change in positioning. Thinking very innovatively, the company decided what was needed was to position soya not just as a vegetarian food, but as a more economical substitute for the protein content of a main meal. Touting advantages such as convenience, price and the lack of freezer requirements together with newly introduced catchy features such as interesting shapes and flavors, a whole range of new branded soy products were launched under the Lanka Soy umbrella. Given that at the time, chicken flavored soya was the most popular soya product the company decided it would introduce interesting flavors to accompany new presentation efforts. In order to take the competition head on, it improved the taste of its traditional range, while also increasing its product range. It developed not one but a range of chicken flavors, under the brand Chikosoy, consisting of tandoori, masala, roast and chilli chicken flavors. For the traditional vegetarian market, it introduced the Vegesoy range a further four flavors of mushroom, hot and spicy, Chinese chop suey and Indian rasam. But its piece de resistance was a completely new entrant Malusoy. This range of not merely fish but also seafood flavors truly tapped into a very strong local preference for seafood. Malusoy comprised spratts, devilled prawns, cuttlefish and ambul thiyal flavors. Packaging for the four new sub brands was done using a range of appealing eye-catching colors, with a unique logo designed for each. Advertising again interestingly was carried out individually on a sub brand basis. For example, Malusoy used a two column poster conveying the advantages over canned fish. The company also took the extra step of providing a sauce sachet to provide a one step cooking process. Emphasis was placed to introduce the cooked product to consumers by way of cookery demonstrations and street promotions. In particular, Malusoy was aimed at areas with little coastal access. Sales efforts were overhauled, re-demarcating a network to reach 35,000 outlets with designated representatives for supermarkets, catering and restaurant sectors. The results were strong. By early 2002 Lanka Soys market share had jumped to 25% hitting 30% and market leadership a year later. Malusoy to eBLs surprise turned out to be Lanka Soys front runner in sales. The strategy to offer consumers, as a household, their daily main dish at a price less than half the price of canned or fresh sea food was highly successful. Within 24 months Malusoy sales exceeded 500,000 packets a month, making up over 14% of the total soy market. Due to the sudden launch of many interesting products at the same time Lankasoy established itself as trend setter and frontrunner of the soya product market. 6.2.4 Tiara Cakes eBLs next expansion was within the local confectionary business -the lucrative Rs. 4 billion plus local cake market. eBLs main biscuit and chocolate operations had traditionally taken place at its home factory located along with its head office in Pannipitiya. However in 2002, the company invested Rs. 1.5 billion to set up eBL Foods International (eBL Foods), a Board of Investment (BOI) approved company in Rannala, about one hour away. Awarded a 10 year tax holiday, eBL Foods has a mandate to manufacture bakery products and chocolates the former includes a new line of cakes under the brand name Tiara. The new venture commenced operations in September 2004 with a new line of portion cakes individually wrapped sponge layer cakes, marketed under the Tiara sub brand Okay, The product line also includes swiss rolls. CBL Foods boasts a state of the art plant intended primarily for cakes and a Clean Room,,33 to guarantee freshness for a shelf life of up to eight months. Due to production constraints faced elsewhere however the 110,000 square foot modern facility also includes manufacturing and packing for chocolates, wafers and biscuits the latter including both hard and soft dough. CBL expects that its group tax slab will come down to 32.5% as a result of CBL Foods tax advantaged status and the shifting of these manufacturing of chocolates, wafers and biscuits, which previously came under Ceylon Biscuits tax slab. The company uses a formula to determine profit and is taxed at the preferential rate of 15% on its export. 6.2.5 Other Snacks In 2004, CBL invested Rs. 50 million to acquire a 60% stake in Cecil Food (Pvt) Limited (Cecil Food) an organic manufacturer of dehydrated fruit products, fruit juices, desiccated coconut and cashews primarily for the export market. Though the company had been in existence for 10 years and exported to 20 countries, it was facing financial difficulties. CBL brought to Cecil Foods the financial strength and management experience that it needed, while the founder retained a 25% stake. CBLs main interest in Cecil Food was its exposure to rural agriculture and its export and local market potential. The company presently exports to countries including the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Malta, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Armed with CBLs financial backing the company has overcome its working capital needs. CBLs infusion of capital has enabled the purchase of new equipment and is now looking at expanding sales to tap the local market. Cecil Foods also has a 100% o wned subsidiary Cecil Fruit Canneries which concentrates on natural fruit juices for both the domestic and export markets. CBL intends to launch this range to the domestic market by introducing a line of fruit juices in novelty pouches. Export Markets CBL has also set its sights on growing its revenues through tapping sales in overseas markets. Although CBL had been exporting biscuits from inception, around 1997, the company began to export regular container loads to the United States, Canada, Australia and India, while also investigating at lucrative export markets such as the Middle East. India became a particular focus, with the company beginning its own marketing effort there. By 2000 CBL was also exporting to the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Sweden, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Fiji Islands and the Maldives. Although the export sector took a long time to stabilize, export orders now go out to 36 countries, exceeding Rs. 110 million in value (USD$ 1 million) in 2004/5. Exports to the UK, Middle East and Canada are mainly to the so called ethnic markets catering to the Sri Lankan diaspora, but in other countries demand is slowly establishing into in the established biscuit market through chain distributors. While most e xports are under private labels that it, outsourcing for foreign biscuit companies CBL has managed in some instances to establish its own brand. This is particularly the case in Australia where the company has taken the additional step, as it did in India, of setting up its own marketing effort by establishing a company representative as market manager. Australia is now the main export market for CBL, having overtaken the United States. CBL also enjoyed some recent success making inroads into western Africa. 6.3.1 Entry into India There are four accepted methods for a company to enter a foreign market: exports, licensing, joint ventures and direct investment, which often represent an evolution in the degree of interest the company develops once it is present in the market. Beginning with straightforward exports from the mid 1990s and early exports of containers to India in 1999 CBL took the next step in developing the Indian market by investing Indian Rupees 3.6 crores (36 million) to purchase Parrys Confectionary based in Pondicherry, about an hour from Chennai. Setting up a 100% owned subsidiary Ritzbury India, CBL began manufacturing operations for the first time outside Sri Lanka. The acquisition provided CBL with a six line 350 ton a month manufacturing plant. The company entered the Indian market with the Munchee and Ritzbury brands, for distribution in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. While the chocolates were manufactured in Sri Lanka, most of the Munchee range was baked in India. CBL produced nine varieties of biscuits including Marie, Glucose biscuits and several creams at the Pondicherry plant. This manufacturing base in India proved to be both a blessing and a distress to CBL. On the one hand, it became a strong negotiating tool for CBL at a time of labour unrest. CBL was able to take a tough stance, threatening closure and the moving of its entire manufacturing operations to its base in India. However, on the other hand, distribution arrangements provided by Parrys proved to be less than satisfactory. The company began a losing battle in trying to distribute its products. Revenues were far below expectations and Ritzbury India further faced a number of detrimental tariffs in South India. Despite a Free Trade Agreement with India, and a reduction of duty to 3%, the state sales tax in Tamil Nadu was increased by 8% for imported goods effectively nullifying any duty concessions. Following a second acquisition in India, CBL decided to completely dispose of its Chennai operations at a loss , dissolving Ritzbury India. In 2003 CBL heard about the sale through court auction of Bakemans, once the third largest biscuit manufacturer in India with a market share high of 13% of the total Indian market. Outbidding its Indian competition in July 2004 CBL successfully acquired the assets of Bake mans at a cost ofRs .. 300 million. Along with the premises the company also gained six biscuit lines from the acquisition, two of which it chose to bring to Sri Lanka for installation at CBL foods to allay its present capacity constraints. Based in Patiala in the state of Punjab, CBL set up CBL India with plans to commence commercial production in the near future, using one biscuit line. Having recruited Bakemans former CEO, who had been directly involved in the companys rise to its one time number three position, CBL has ambitious plans for India and its manufacturing operations there in the future. Tentatively speaking of a Munchee-Bakemans brand name, CBL aspires to become number three in India within two years of operations and have the same type of success at retail that Dilmah has achieved in India CBLs challenge in India is to find a mass consume r line of biscuits similar to Marie and Cream Cracker in Sri Lanka. Glucose biscuits are an area that the company will have to examine, given their present popularity in India, but to compete with established players such as Parle-G and Britannia, CBL will need both a reliable distribution network and an attractive proposition for the Indian consumers to give it a try. The use of the Bakeman name, which would certainly aid the latter, is presently an issue. If CBL is able to use the Bakeman brand name in some form it will cut down market establishment time considerably. CBLs strength is that it has the innovation to develop a product to suit this market and it has proved in Sri Lanka that it has the quality and taste to convince consumers to switch to its brand. What remains to be seen is whether it will have sufficient insight into the Indian market to correctly select what that winning product and distribution strategy should be. Other Indian Ventures In 2004 CBL entered into an agreement with Ferrero of Italy to distribute and undertake manufacturing on Ferreros behalf. Ferrero is the world renowned producer of Nutella, Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher and Mon Cherie brands of chocolate and another family owned business. Presently the agreement entails the manufacture of boxes for Tic Tac, Ferreros signature mini mint, intended to be extended to the manufacture or finishing of the mint pill also. CBL distributes Ferrero Rochers foil wrapped boxed chocolates, Nutella and Tic Tac for Ferrero in Sri Lanka and India. Manufacturing commenced in August 2005, packing pills imported from Australia into the boxes. Distribution is intended for Sri Lanka, Africa, India and Pakistan. The linkup with Ferrero is another example of CBLs chairmans dynamic personality and relationship building skills. Following initial contact in India, CBLs directors visited Ferreros head quarters in Alba, Italy, which Ferrero reciprocated with a visit to Sri Lanka. The company has expressed an interest in using Sri Lanka as a base for South Asian activities, moving its present activities from India, convinced of CBLsabilities as a business partner. CBL in turn hopes the association will expand its knowledge base through contact with the 60 year old Italian family business. Business Unit Contribution Biscuits Turnover from Munchee biscuits, the biggest contributor to group turnover, grew 30% in the financial year 2004/5 and early results for 2005 show this trend continuing. Past years sales have grown at a similar overall pace, although specific products have shown even higher growth rates at times of changes and innovation. Profit margins on biscuits range from 20-25% with products such as Super Cream Cracker, Tiffin and Chocolate Puff being the most profitable. Biscuit sales are presently constrained primarily by production capability, with demand strong and the company intending to increase its production lines in 2005/6. To try to keep up with demand, CBL has brought down two lines already from its recent acquisition in India and plans to import a new 2 ton per hour machine from Italy, expected to be installed in early 2006. Group Performance While CBLs overall growth has been strong over the past five years with revenues more than doubling from Rs. 1.9 to Rs. 5.2 billion over the period, profit increases have been even higher due to various tax benefits. In 2005 CBLs group turnover grew 48% to Rs. 5.2 billion and net profit after tax grew 63% to Rs. 533 million, the highest ever in the companys 36 year history. Sales surpassed the previous year across all areas of biscuits, chocolates, Soya and exports. The tremendous bottom line growth clearly indicates the contribution accrued from CBL Foods tax advantaged status. In comparison the 2004 figures were 11% top line and 23% bottom line growth. On average, overall profit margin has been near 9% over the five year period. This is taking into account FlY 200112 which differs due to both the industrial unrest that CBL faced for two months of that financial year as well as the exhaustion of the tax benefits afforded by the 1988 Investment Tax Allowance. The companys latest earning per share figure (EPS) is an astonishing Rs. 53.12 and more impressively has grown from Rs. 36.75 in 2003. This EPS figure reflects the extraordinary growth that CBL has experienced over the last 10 years. EPS in the late 1990s was actually in the Rs. 3000 range on the companys original ordinary share capital of Rs. 390,000 (made up of 39,000 Rs. 10 shares). Path Forward Ceylon Biscuits faced with production capacity constraints for its biscuits, as demand has grown well beyond forecasts. It has adopted the following three pronged approach to increase capacity: a) bringing down two biscuit lines from India from its Bakemans operation for immediate capacity expansion, b) importing a brand new large capacity plant from Italy and c) future capacity expansion of its Indian manufacturing operations. CBLs future growth will come from increasing exports of its established products and diversifying by leveraging its domestic logistics and distribution capabilities to market its other products. The company is also increasingly open to looking at new opportunities, an example being manufacturing for Italian chocolate maker Ferrero. The companys core competencies for the future will be investment in technology, financial strength, sales and marketing competency and focused management. Key challenges will be dealing with its production restrictions and becoming able to compete on a global basis by 2007. CBLs greatest test will be when the Indo Lanka FTA final phase permits Indian biscuits to be imported duty free beginning 2007. CBL intends to examine becoming listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange over the next few years. Since the desire for listing does not seem to be driven by financial needs only, it is still unclear what CBL will gain from this step. The company wishes to formalize its procedures in order to firm up its financial transparency and professionalize its organization structure and operations to ensure future continuity and success. There is a sentiment that going public will enforce the discipline required to ensure this. CBL is well poised with a business model to ensure ongoing value creation. It has spent time building strong brands that have future earnings potential. The brands have proven their competencies in that they have been replicated across new markets with success. However there are some concerns that need to be explored. Managing export markets Export marketing could be more aggressive the model adopted by Munchee for Australia of establishing a marketing office seems the proven route to establish and develop key markets. We see some amazing possibilities for synergies for CBL in inviting someone of the caliber of Merrill 1. Fernando Chairman Dilmah to its board, perhaps even offering Dilmah some equity in an export division or forming a separate export company, who could help with establishing relationships with some of Dilmahs retailers and distributors in Australia. One way or another, the use of a different model to fast track export market expansion is advisable. 5. Managing Indian market entry This is the second greatest challenge facing the company. India is an amazingly dissimilar market to Sri Lanka despite certain cultural similarities. It is fragmented with over 15 million retail entities, the largest number in the world. The organized retail sector in India is only 3%. However, over 51 % of its population is under 25 years of age and the fastest growing sector is the retail high-end supermarkets -expected to grow over three fold in the next five years (from US$8 billion to US$25 billion). Beginning with three malls in 2003, India had 25 by 2005 and is building 200 more. The pace of change is phenomenal. It makes sense to enter this high-end retail Focus on core competencieslRefocus on Sales and Marketing CBLs passion for quality, capacity to build brands and technological and production innovativeness are great competencies to be retained. Skills like marketing and sales are always unstable. Such skills are in demand, pressures are great and often new challenges are looked for in different cycles of growth. No proper product management system or category management is in place. It is important to have some depth to the marketing department. And while CBLs success speaks volumes for the capabilities of its current Director of marketing there is a need for a diversity of approaches and opinions so that marketing efforts do not grow stale. Key mid level appointments need to be made. Customer intimacy! Product leadership / Managing brand TOM In spite of CBL making all the right moves, and succeeding in achieving higher scores than Maliban in most of the consumer research categories (see chart below), Munchee is still behind in brand Top-Of-Mind (TOM) recall. This is despite Munchee having strong market noise levels in share of voice and especially with the competition making so many mistakes. Part of the gap between Munchee and Maliban in top of mind recall can be explained by the long history of Maliban as a market leader, and that it was the dominant player for a very long time. Part of the gap between Munchee and Maliban in top of mind recall can be explained by the long history of Maliban as a market leader, and that it was the dominant player for a very long time.

raising cattle :: essays research papers

Raising Cattle across America Cattle are being produced all across the United States. From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and from California to the Atlantic Ocean there are several thousand head of cattle being raised. However these cattle are all being raised the some way or under the same conditions. Ranchers in the north have to deal with snow and ice while the southern ranchers are dealing with mud, water, and, mosquitoes. The people raising cattle in the Midwest are faced with droughts and having to keep their crops and cattle watered. Raising cattle in the northern part of the United States is more than just raising cattle and being cold while you do it. Keeping your cattle with fresh water, feed, and, hay is sometimes a task anywhere in the country much less when you have to deal with temperatures that are twenty degrees below zero. When it is this cold outside your cattle do not have fresh water until you go and break the five to ten inches of ice on top of their water trough. Feeding your herd also creates problems. When you get the hay for your herd to make it through the winter it can not be just any hay. You have to send your hay to a laboratory to get it tested. By having your hay tested this tells you if your hay has enough protein for your cattle to make it through the harsh winters. â€Å"We’ve had cattle starve to death with full bellies† says Paul Walker, extension livestock agent of Alamance County, North Carolina. â€Å"They received plenty of hay but it was not enough to meet the ir nutritional needs.† The hay you feed needs to be at least nine to fourteen percent protein. The higher the protein the better the hay is and the better the hay you feed the better your cows will be. Just below the extreme northern part of the country is where droughts are a

Interpersonal Relationships Essay

Interpersonal relationships can either be defensive or supportive. I find myself being both very many times because I can see things in all different aspects. I try to put myself in the persons shoes in order to determine what would be best in my eyes, A supportive relationship is one where you back up the persons ideas and actions. I believe a manager must always have a supportive relationship with their boss in order to enforce rules in the workplace. If the manager does not enforce their supervisor’s rules then things would go very wrong. A defensive relationship is something we see very often because we all have different opinions. In the workplace especially when working in the healthcare field being defensive can be mistaken for aggression. Having a defensive relationship means that although you work together you have different views and they are expressed. I had a meeting last week where I actually had to speak defensively towards the CEO of the company. Our quota was being held against us in a manner that I did not agree with and I advised the manager. Since she did not acknowledge my suggestion I brought it up in our meeting and not only was I acknowledged our quotas are being reviewed. Part of being a successful communicator whether it is defensive or supportive is being assertive. Being assertive is essential in our daily lives especially in the workplace. There are plenty of times when we are trying to submit claims to the insurance company but they require more information. Many times we try to request more information such as letter of medical necessities from the doctors and they refuse because they feel they documented enough. Because we work for them we are not allowed to tell them what to do but this is when being assertive comes in. You advise the doctor that the insurance company is requesting more information than what is in the medical records and that if the letter is not done by a certain time the insurance company will not pay for the services that were rendered. Being assertive means being straight forward and strong with your style of communication without being aggressive or demeaning. Being assertive is like demanding something without the umpgh. I believe I effectively communicate within my interpersonal relationships. I always am assertive when speaking. I stand my ground and make my point clear and aggression is rarely ever used. I do defend my ideas and my points fully with everyone I speak to. Even at home I do not yell at my son unless he has done something truly incorrect. I always talk to him and show him right from wrong and explain why things should be done a certain way. Interpersonal relationships are essential in life. We all need to work together in our everyday lives in order to accommodate one another and not to offend anyone. In the healthcare field we all have the same goals and that is to make sure that the patient gets the care they need while the insurance companies pay the claims for our doctors. The healthcare field is filled with interpersonal relationships. We all depend on one another in order to do our job correctly. The doctor needs the nurse the nurse needs the front desk and everyone needs the billers. In the healthcare field we must use our confidence in order to be assertive. Being confident means knowing and standing for what you believe is right and expressing that. Being assertive means standing your ground without proof and without being aggressive. Although I believe being assertive works much better when there is proof because it shows that you researched what you are discussing. Assertiveness is a need in any field because you must speak your mind in order to communicate effectively and if you work in the healthcare field than being assertive will make you a very successful healthcare professional.

Internationalisation and the European Nation State Essay

Question 1 It is undeniable that the state of world affairs has dramatically evolved since the end of the Second World War. More specifically, the surge of development in IT has been the chief reason that our world has become less a mosaic of nation-states and more a melting pot of societies, cultures, and associations whereby nation-states are inevitably bound to trans-national phenomena. As Cox notes, â€Å"globalization [generates] a more complex multi-level world political system, which implicitly challenges the old Westphalian assumption that ‘a state is a state is a state'† (Cox, in Pierson, p.181). This work shall support this notion of globalization by highlighting two problems from Pierson, namely decreased anarchy in the global political arena, and the influence of the global economy on nation-states. These issues will be defined and then discussed in relation to Lindensjà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conceptions of Realist democracy and Communitarian democracy respectively. Decreased anarchy refers to the marginalization of the autonomy of nation-states in the international order. The growing interdependence between nations across the globe has resulted in a redirection of respective national interests towards the sphere of global rather than domestic (Pierson 174). What this means for realist democracy is a skewed orientation of political candidates; they become no longer dedicated to domestic issues but those of an international nature instead. The problem with this lies in the fact that the success of the Realist democratic concept (in Lindensjà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s view) is dependent upon the competition of political leaders to win approval (via votes) from the citizens. There is a problem if politicians win a seat in office with a platform claiming to be ‘for the people,’ and then redirect their interests after election to the international sphere. The welfare of the citizens is left on the sidelines in place of external issues, and the fruits of Realist democracy are not enjoyed by the people who voted for it, thus the legitimacy of the democratic process diminishes. This is especially a danger in realist democracy since representation by political actors replaces active participation by the citizens; â€Å"[Realist democracy] thus does not entail, cannot entail, governance by the people in a real sense. It can only entail the people having the possibility to accept or reject pretenders, i.e. elect those that govern† (Lindensjà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 3). These elected representatives, are in turn subjected to a political framework where, â€Å"†¦international institutions, conventions and regimes moderate the extent to which inter-state relations can be conceived as genuinely and ‘actively’ anarchic† (Pierson 175). Thus, the validity of Realist democracy is compromised seeing as though anarchy is its cornerstone. Similarly, Communitarian democracy is also restricted by the over-arching nature of the international order. Lindensjà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conception of Communitarian democracy requires nations to be able to pursue interests in a collective manner, with its citizens as an intrinsic part of the democracy (Lindensjà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 11). There is a great emphasis placed on compromise – a sort of give and take to realize the maximum of individual ideals in a collective manner. This sort of idyllic outlook on forming a democratic community would be difficult to practice even in the small, cohesive communities of Ancient Greece. The decreased anarchy of the international order today magnifies the difficulty of assimilating different people, groups, and ideas under a collective banner. To imagine what Lindensjà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ refers to as a ‘homelike community’ seems like a far stretch seeing that an increasingly interdependent world melds such a sheer mass of different people, outlooks, and traditions. The scale of interdependency in today’s world most certainly underpins the ‘homelike’ values necessary for effective Communitarian democracy especially where individuals’ interests are drawn outside the domestic sphere. Perhaps the most influential factor working against the Westphalian concept of global politics is the nature of modern global markets. Today, domestic economies cannot escape the forces of the international economy (Pierson 171). As Cox notes, â€Å"†¦economic globalization has placed constraints upon the autonomy of states and, increasingly, states must become the instruments for adjusting national economic activities to the exigencies of the global economy† (Cox, in Pierson 179). This excerpt makes a direct reference to a lessening of state autonomy due to global economies. For this reason, it is clear that Realist democracy is challenged by the world’s economy and market forces that compromise autonomy. The economic implications of globalization mirror those associated with decreased anarchy; for example, if economic reforms are made to comply with the international system, this results in states focusing on international economic policies over domestic ones. The working class will most certainly lose out to those who hold political positions – the elites, who will mold economic reforms around the international order and, more often than not, their own interests. For Communitarian democracies, global economics impedes the possibility of creating cohesive and collective communities. With economic concerns subjected to the influences of global markets, Communitarian democracies cannot set there own economic agenda. Moreover, the Communitarian ideal of setting a collective goal as to what the ‘good life’ should be is nearly impossible since the international economic order infiltrates domestic affairs. As Pierson notes, â€Å"In practice, state organizations have multiple points of interaction with both domestic and trans-national actors and these interactions are very far from disclosing a single and unified will† (Pierson 185). By imposing an influence on states, global market forces combat the Communitarian ideal of forming a collective vision of the ‘good life.’ Chapter 8 of Holden, entitled The United Nations as an agency of global democracy (Falk) and Chapter 10, Global civil society and the democratic prospect (Archibugi, Balduini, Donati) both focus on the idea of strengthening and broadening the influence of civil society to combat (what Falk refers to as) globalization-from-above. The Archibugi, Balduini, and Donati text focuses on the Agenda proposed by Boutros Boutros-Ghali, which in turn places a large focus on the democratization of the international community as the key to better international relations. The Realist conception of democracy would embrace this sort of change. With a system that provides â€Å"a relevant representation of society† and de-monopolizes intergovernmental relations as the sole means of international relations, the citizenry of the world will realize a new possibility to voice concerns on an international level (Archibugi et al, in Holden 137). For people in Realist democracies this means that political involvement that was once only a mere ‘handing-over of power’ to a representative is now a legitimate voice to be heard beyond the confines of the state. An important feature of Ghali’s vision was the creation of UN Regional Organizations that would cater to civil society and make civil interests a higher priority. Falk’s concept of stronger social activism (globalization-from-below) to combat global market forces (globalization-from-above) would assist the Communitarian goal of correcting the growing imbalance between private and public goods (Falk, in Holden 163,173). Communitarians would support the equalizing aspects of this arrangement since it would contribute better to the philosophy of allowing a community to form its objectives without external influences. For Falk, the reformation of states to find a better balance, â€Å"†¦between the logic of capital and priorities of its peoples† is paramount in the effort to promote more effective democracy. In both the Communitarian and Realist views, a reform of the international political order in this manner would be a step in the right direction. BIBLIOGRAPHY Goldmann, Kjell, 2001. Transforming the European Nation-State. London: Sage Publications. Holden, Barry (ed.), 2000. Global Democracy. London: Routledge. Pierson, Christopher, 1996. The Modern State. London: Routledge. Stevenson, Nick, 1999. The Transformation of the Media: Globalization, Morality, and Ethics. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Swedish Government, 2002. The Swedish Government’s EU Policy Goals for 2002.

Sexual Suicide by Honeybees

Sexual Suicide by Honeybees The male honeybee, called a drone, exists for one reason and one reason only: to mate with a  virgin queen. He is entirely expendable after he provides this service to the colony. The drone takes his mission seriously, however, and  gives his life for the cause.   How Honeybees Do the Deed Honeybee sex occurs in mid-air when the queen flies out in search of mates, her one and only nuptial flight. Drones compete for the chance to mate with their queen, swarming around her as she flies. Eventually, a brave drone will make his move. As the drone grasps the queen, he everts his endophallus  using a contraction of his abdominal muscles and hemostatic pressure  and inserts it tightly into the queens reproductive tract. He immediately ejaculates with such explosive force that the tip of his endophallus  is left behind inside the queen and his abdomen ruptures. The drone falls to the ground, where he dies soon after. The next drone removes the previous drones endophallus and inserts his, mates, and then dies as well.  Ã‚   Queen Bees Really Get Around During her one nuptial flight, the queen will mate with a dozen or more partners, leaving a trail of dead drones in her wake. Any drones that remain around the hive in the fall will be unceremoniously  driven from the colony  before cold weather sets in.  Honey  stores are simply too precious to waste on a sperm donor. The queen, on the other hand, will store the  sperm for use throughout her life. The queen can store 6 million  sperm and keep them viable for up to seven years, with the potential of producing 1.7 million offspring during her lifetime, as she uses a few at a time to fertilize her eggs. Bee Egg Development In late winter, the queen then lays eggs in the cells of the hive, up to 1,000 in one day at the height of the season. The hive needs mature bees to be ready to go when flowers with pollen are emerging, but she will continue to lay eggs until fall. Worker bee eggs mature in about 21 days, drones in about 24 days (from unfertilized eggs), and other queens in about 16 days. The hive needs backup queens in case the queen dies, becomes incapable of laying eggs or is lost because a hive doesnt survive without one.   What Workers Do In contrast to the drones, female worker bees take on many jobs. They clean cells for eggs to be laid; feed larvae; construct the comb; guard the hive; and forage. They can lay an egg to become a drone if needed, but their eggs cant become workers or queens.

Margaret Murray Washington, First Lady of Tuskegee

Margaret Murray Washington, First Lady of Tuskegee Margaret Murray Washington was an educator, administrator, reformer, and clubwoman who married Booker T. Washington and worked closely with him at Tuskegee and on educational projects. She was very well known in her own time, she was somewhat forgotten in later treatments of black history, perhaps because of her association with a more conservative approach to winning racial equality. Early Years Margaret Murray Washington was born in Macon, Mississippi on March 8 as Margaret James Murray.  According to the 1870 census, she was born in 1861; her tombstone gives 1865 as her birth year.  Her mother, Lucy Murray, was a former slave and a washerwoman, mother of four to nine children (sources, even those approved by Margaret Murray Washington in her lifetime, have different numbers).  Margaret stated later in life that her father, an Irishman whose name is not known, died when she was seven years old.  Margaret and her older sister and next younger brother are listed in that 1870 census as â€Å"mulatto† and the youngest child, a boy then four, as black.  Ã‚   Also according to later stories by Margaret, after her father’s death, she moved in with a brother and sister named Sanders, Quakers, who served as adoptive or foster parents to her. She still was close to her mother and siblings; she is listed in the 1880 census as living at home with her mother, along with her older sister and, now, two younger sisters.  Later, she said that she had nine siblings and that only the youngest, born about 1871, had children. Education The Sanders guided Margaret towards a career in teaching.  She, like many women of the time, began teaching in local schools without any formal training; after one year, in 1880, she decided to pursue such formal training anyway at Fisk Preparatory School in Nashville, Tennessee.  By that time she was 19 years old, if the census record is correct; she may have understated her age believing that the school preferred younger students.  She worked half time and took the training half time, graduating with honors in 1889.  W.E.B. Du Bois was a classmate and became a lifelong friend. Tuskegee Her performance at Fisk was enough to win her a job offer at a Texas college, but she took a teaching position at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama instead.  By the next year, 1890, she had become the lady principal at the school, responsible for female students.  She succeeded Anna Thankful Ballantine, who had been involved in hiring her. A predecessor in that job was Olivia Davidson Washington, second wife of Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee’s famous founder, who died in May of 1889, and was still held in high respect at the school. Booker T. Washington Within the year, the widowed Booker T. Washington, who had met Margaret Murray at her Fisk senior dinner, began courting her.  She was reluctant to marry him when he asked her to do so.  She did not get along with one of his brothers with whom he was especially close, and that brother’s wife who had been caring for Booker T. Washington’s children after he was widowed.  Washington’s daughter, Portia, was outright hostile towards anyone taking her mother’s place. With marriage, she would become also the stepmother of his three still-young children.  Eventually, she decided to accept his proposal, and they were married on October 10, 1892. Mrs. Washington’s Role At Tuskegee, Margaret Murray Washington not only served as Lady Principal, with charge over the female students – most of whom would become teachers and faculty, she also founded the Women’s Industries Division and herself taught domestic arts. As Lady Principal, she was part of the school’s executive board. She also served as acting head of the school during her husband’s frequent travels, especially after his fame spread after a speech at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895.  His fundraising and other activities kept him away from the school as much as six months out of the year. Women’s Organizations She supported the Tuskegee agenda, summarized in the motto â€Å"Lifting as We Climb,† of responsibility to work to improve not only one’s self but the whole race.  This commitment she also lived out in her involvement in black women’s organizations, and in frequent speaking engagements.  Invited by Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, she helped form the National Federation of Afro-American Women in 1895, which merged the next year under her presidency with the Colored Women’s League, to form the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). â€Å"Lifting as We Climb† became the motto of the NACW. There, editing and publishing the journal for the organization, as well as serving as secretary of the executive board, she represented the conservative wing of the organization, focused on a more evolutionary change of African Americans to prepare for equality.  She was opposed by Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who favored a more activist stance, challenging racism more directly and with visible protest.  This reflected a division between the more cautious approach of her husband, Booker T. Washington, and the more radical position of W.E.B. Du Bois.  Margaret Murray Washington was president of the NACW for four years, beginning in 1912, as the organization increasingly moved towards the more political orientation of Wells-Barnett. Other Activism One of her other activities was organizing regular Saturday mother’s meetings at Tuskegee. Women of the town would come for socializing and an address, often by Mrs. Washington. The children who came with the mothers had their own activities in another room, so their mothers could focus on their meeting.  The group grew by 1904 to about 300 women. She often accompanied her husband on speaking trips, as the children grew old enough to be left in the care of others. Her task was often to address the wives of the men who attended her husband’s talks. In 1899, she accompanied her husband on a European trip. In 1904, Margaret Murray Washington’s niece and nephew came to live with the Washingtons at Tuskegee.  The nephew, Thomas J. Murray, worked at the bank associated with Tuskegee. The niece, much younger, took the name of Washington. Widowhood Years and Death In 1915, Booker T. Washington fell ill and his wife accompanied him back to Tuskegee where he died. He was buried next to his second wife on the campus at Tuskegee.  Margaret Murray Washington remained at Tuskegee, supporting the school and also continuing outside activities.  She denounced African Americans of the South who moved North during the Great Migration.  She was president from 1919 until 1925 of the Alabama Association of Women’s Clubs. She became involved in work to address issues of racism for women and children globally, founding and heading the International Council of Women of the Darker Races in 1921.  The organization, which was to promote â€Å"a larger appreciation of their history and accomplishment† in order to have â€Å"a greater degree of race pride for their own achievements and touch a greater themselves,† did not survive very long after Murray’s death. Still active at Tuskegee up until her death on June 4, 1925, Margaret Murray Washington was long considered the â€Å"first lady of Tuskegee.†Ã‚  She was buried next to her husband, as was his second wife.

Internship experience Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Internship experience - Term Paper Example This report develops a sense of women entrepreneurs on the basis of both current and academic literature reviews. In both cases, limited information and the unavailability of statistical data were the core problem to carry out the project. Gathering information from women is as difficult as MENA (Middle East and North Africa) due to cultural constraints. Many of the businesswomen do not operate their business publicly and cannot register their business officially. Design: Due to the lack of statistical data and difficulties in Arabian society qualitative research based methodology is considered here. The research comprised of 30 in-depth interviews with Saudi women entrepreneurs who were identified through referrals from my supervisor Marwah Asilan (Director of Chamber of Commerce and industry). Moreover the hypothesis of this project is also formed on the basis of some books like Global Empowerment of Women by Carolyn (2013) and Saudi Women by Fatany (2007). Purpose: The empowerment of women in different sectors is my area of interest and the subject of research. However due to lack of information in entrepreneurs’ business practice several questions regarding the survival and growth strategies, their perception of entrepreneurial carriers have yet not answered. To address this gap this study is done by me. The main purpose of this study is to examine their motivating factors, perception and business challenges. Findings: There is a Saudi chamber of Commerce and Industry in each major business center in Saudi Arabia. In Madinah this institution specially focuses on the formation of female oriented jobs. It provides helpful networking opportunities for women to the job market. Being a member of this organization I have also tried to find out some possible job opportunities for them. Here I have considered married women with their children and they operated service business. The business included spas and beauty salons, a computer graphic and repair shop, market consultants, public relations. All women had college education. In these findings some strategies are suggested that will motivate the women to be entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia. This research is evaluated on the basis of some questions. These questions were set up on the basis of their financial achievement and satisfaction from their working experience. The study has also emphasized on the problems faced by them being inhabitants of this country. Implication: The main constraint of this study is the limited source of data. A more extensive research is needed and the research area should have a number of dimensions including the selection of industries and countries. My role as an intern was to help the organization lay the foundation for women empowerment. Some advantages of the women entrepreneurship are as follows. Women become interested to pursue higher education. The females of new generation are more concerned about their valued in the society. The government has taken an initiative step to encourage the entrepreneurial women and has opened separate financial institutions for women. Unlike some countries they can easily get informal credit that helps them to explore their business. There are also some disadvantages. The women need male permission whenever they are going to take participation in the job market. Though the government has already taken some steps but it is not

Sudden Death Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sudden Death - Case Study Example The human rights mechanisms of the United Nations have addressed the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in a range of ways. From the various discussions and considerations of the United Nations human rights mechanism, it is clear that lesbian, gay men, bisexuals, etc. have the right to non-discrimination and that they have the right to equality before the law. (Ian Martin, 2006)1 The present study focused on the issue of a man who is identified as bisexual is found dead in his apartment and has not been seen by his neighbors for the past five months. He was dead for the past six weeks. At the inquest, it came to light that he was not known to anybody, only a friends number was found, when contacted revealed that he had no family, was bisexual and was feared of being infected with HIV+. Same sex couples do not enjoy the same rights and protections as opposite sex couples, and consequently suffer from discrimination and disadvantage in access to social protection schemes, such as health care and pensions. In the labour market, a majority of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people continue to hide their sexual orientation or to endure harassment out of fear of losing their job. In a book published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2003, Jordi Estivill explains that "social exclusion may be understood as an accumulation of confluent processes with successive ruptures arising from the heart of the economy, politics and society, which gradually distances and places persons, groups, communities and territories in a position of inferiority in relation to centres of power, resources and prevailing values". People can be socially excluded as a result of many different, and sometimes compounding, factors. While young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgend er people are at risk of being discriminated and excluded because of their sexual orientation. The exclusion experienced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people results mostly from the discrimination they face in all spheres of life, a discrimination which hampers their ability to have and access equal rights, and to participate fully in society. For one of the main characteristics of the social exclusion of LGBT people is their invisibility and marginalisation, or in more political terms, the lack of recognition of LGBT people as full members of a community and as citizens. (Judit Takacs 2006:5-11) 2 Social exclusion is a shorthand term for what can happen when people suffer from a combination of linked problems, such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdown. The issue of social exclusion is multi-dimensional and one form of exclusion will often lead to another. Social exclusion leads to poor self est eem, which is implicated in HIV risk taking. A study shows that groups primarily affected by HIV in UK are those who are marginalized or socially excluded by the society. 3 Social disorganization may be the cause for the death of person. According to Strain theory of Cohen Cloward & Ohlin Agnew, when individuals cannot obtain goals, hey experience strain or pressure. Under certain conditions, they are likely to respond to this strain through crime. The strains leading to crime, however, may not only be linked to goal blockage but also to the presentation of noxious stimuli and the taking away of valued stimuli. Crime is a more