Strategic Planning For Digital Marketing Communications Research Paper

Strategic Planning For Digital Marketing Communications - Research Paper Example Based on the outcome of this analysis, the management of the organization gets a clear perspective of the possible ways in which it might utilize the opportunities and deal with the threats successfully. Although this analysis is similar to the analysis made for any other for-profit organization, there are certain key differences. Oxfam NGO also faces some of these problems. Managers in a non-governmental organization (NGO) need to consider the impact of factors such as volunteer staff, fundraising, volunteer staff and long-term goodwill. Since these organizations do not depend on profit for their survival, the above-mentioned factors play a major role in achieving success in the long run (Turkishweekly, 2013). From the analysis (see SWOT table in appendix), it has been found that in the NGO industry, organizations face several challenges in conducting marketing communication activities. Some of the noteworthy challenges are briefly discussed below. General issues Challenge Absence o f strategic planning Many organizations in the NGO sector do not run as proper business enterprises, they face the lack of strategic planning. However, this lack of planning often creates indecisiveness or barriers in the path of marketing. Oxfam faces this problem of strategic planning at the marketing level (Ngoconnect, 2009). ...NGO industry issues Challenge Lack of funds Fundraising remains one of the major concerns for non-profit organizations. 80% of Oxfam’s activities depend on the financial assistance provided by its members, associates, and private partners while the government provides 20% of assistance (Oxfam, 2013a). Finding private donors is a challenging task. Depending on the status of the economy, the financial conditions of the donors fluctuate. Poor networking Some NGOs are not very successful in establishing strong networks with clients and other NGOs.

Food Preservation Essay Example for Free

Food Preservation Essay Men have preserved their foods from ancient times in order to keep the results of harvesting for winter months, for resale, for storage, and for transporting from sea to inland, overseas, or cross-country. To do so, they generally used natures methods, which are drying, parching and fermenting. Parching is the most natural method, but for many thousands of years, others have also been used. Direct fermentation of liquids, usually by the introduction of yeast, has not only preserved liquids but also enhanced their quality, the same of course applying to salting. Smoking has preserved, and sometimes improved both fish and meat. Hickory wood is generally used for the fires, and natural juices are contained by a slight coating of wood creosote. It was not until recently that the causes of rottenness were understood, these being the reactions of bacteria, molds, yeasts and micro-organisms. Some fermentation and molds are, of course, necessary in the production of food and drink; molds, for example, being used in cheese-making. But the real breakthrough in preservation against the causes of rottenness came, when it was learnt how to deal with the micro-organisms present in all foods and drinks, and which react chemically over a period to produce unpalatable or poisonous food or drink. There are three basic methods. Firstly, food may be preserved by cooling or freezing, to a very low temperature when long-term preservation is required. This was originally done by packing in a mixture of salt and ice; today, cold storage is big business and refrigeration is a highly-developed science. Dehydration may be bracketed with this method, as the principle involved is the same, namely to suspend the operation of bacteria which requires normal temperatures for chemical reaction. This is why reconstituted eggs cannot against dehydrated, and melted ice-cream refrozen. The second method of destruction is by heat-processes, which destroy all the bacteria present in food and drink. This process is used before canning foods in hermetically-sealed containers, great care being taken not to allow the foods or drink s to become re-infested after cooling and before canning. The third method is to preserve by the addition of chemicals, which control or destroy bacteria. This is merely a follow-up of the old systems of salting, smoking and candling. Eventually, the method of cold sterilization is expected to supersede most of the others; this amounts to exposing the food-stuffs to ionizing radiation. Today more than mere food-preservation is sought by the consumer, and for this reason, processes are becoming more and more sophisticated. Quality, economy and convenience are sought by modern man especially modern woman convenience is important, the ready-cooked meal is popular, while, in Western, or Westernized communities, goods do not sell easily if they lack color, a good appearance, natural flavor, the right texture, and are free from defects.

In this experiment I am going to investigate how different :: Bilogy

In this experiment I am going to investigate how different concentrations of sucrose solution can alter the process of osmosis on a potato chip, and in what way it does this. Osmosis Aim: In this experiment I am going to investigate how different concentrations of sucrose solution can alter the process of osmosis on a potato chip, and in what way it does this. Prediction: I predict that due to osmosis and diffusion when there is a pure water solution the potato chip will swell as it absorbs the water to equalise. However, if there is a mild/rich sucrose solution on the out side of the potato chip it will shrink as water is sucked out of them by the process of osmosis. Research: If substance has a semi-permeable wall with holes small enough to allow small water molecules to pass through but not big enough to allow greater sized molecules such as sucrose molecules. Osmosis is a type of diffusion; when there is a higher concentration of a certain type of molecule on one side of a semi-permeable membrane, a process of diffusion (osmosis) tries to level out the balance of the highly concentrated solution to lower the concentration until it is equal on both sides. For example: Some water is placed in a science beaker (A), and then some 20% sucrose 80% water solution is placed in a piece of visking tubing (D). When this is placed in the water contained in the beaker (A) there becomes an imbalance of concentrations either side of the semi-permeable membrane, on the inside of the membrane there is a stronger concentration or ratio of sucrose against water than there is in the outside. Therefore the sucrose would be required to equalise, by 10% or so moving to the outside of the tubing, there comes the problem. Due to the size of the small holes in the visking tubing, big molecules, such as sugar, C6H12O6 that is 24 atoms big, cannot pass through, however small ones such as water, H2O with three atoms to a molecule, can. Therefore, since there is no way of moving the sugar, the best thing to do is to add more water to the inside of the visking tubing. By osmosis and diffusion, the smaller molecules move into the visking tubing whilst the bigger sugar molecules stay. That is osmosis. Plants also use this method to provide nutrients and various chemicals to their cells. Equipment: For my experiment I will need a total of: Four test tubes; one potato; 2%, 5%, 10%, 20% sucrose and water solution; one knife; one marble cutting plate; aluminium foil; four sticky labels. Method: 1. Cut the potato into equal strips and weigh them.

Meaning of life †Purpose Essay

Life is a gift. It is an honor, a spark, an excitement. We all have a world of our own. Albert Camus, once said, â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Camus, 1946). Life is about living to your fullest abilities. Why waste our time looking for the meaning of each breath we take? Each person is a part of life. Each life has a world of its own. I believe that the meaning of life, is to find meaning in our own life. The meaning of life is a philosophical question concerning the significance of life or existence in general. It can also be expressed in different ways, such as Why are we here? , What is life all about? , and What is the purpose of existence? It has been the subject of much philosophical, scientific, and theological assumption throughout history. There have been a large number of proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The meaning of life is in the philosophical and religious conceptions of existence, social ties, consciousness, and happiness, and borders on many other issues, such as symbolic meaning, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will, the existence of one or multiple Gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife. Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related experiential facts about the universe, exploring the perspective and parameters concerning the how in life. Science also studies and can provide recommendations for the pursuit of well being and a related origin of honesty. An alternative, humanistic approach poses the question â€Å"What is the meaning of my life? † The value of the question regarding to the purpose of life may agree with the achievement of ultimate reality, or a feeling of oneness, or even a feeling of sacredness (d2bb. org,2011). The meaning of life is a question that is thrown around from person to person asking them what they think. Some people have an idea of what the meaning of life is and other has no clue. Some believe that you just live life and others believe while living life you find the meaning. When I had a conversation with my father about what the meaning of life is all about he had the same response to the question that basically everyone else had came up with. The one difference that he said while we were talking was that life is full of choices and decisions. I thought for a while about what he said thinking that there was more behind it then just what he had stated. What I came up with was that maybe he was implying that what we do during our period of living is what sets up the next thing that happens in life. So each choice that we make is important in that it’s not the meaning of life that’s so important but the concept of what we do during life is the meaning. Some might disagree still thinking about what my father has said to, but its just another point of view and I have no problem looking at it from a different angle. Another big topic when it comes to the question of the meaning of life is music. Music is a great way to hear what other people and especially artist think about the meaning of life thought their songs. Sometimes it’s hard to hear but if you listen closely there is always a message somewhere that says something about the meaning of life. For example, in the song I don’t wanna be by Gavin Degraw, he speaks out about what he thinks about the meaning of life threw what other people are and what he doesn’t want to become. â€Å"I’m surrounded by liars everywhere. I turn. Imposters everywhere. I turn surround me. I’m surrounded by identity crisis everywhere. I turn Am I the only one who’s noticed? I can’t be the only one who’s learned I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately. All I have to do is think of me and I’ve peace of mind, I’m tired of looking ’round rooms wondering what I got to do Or who I’m supposed to be. I don’t want to be anything other than me† (azlyrics. com). What these lyrics are basically saying is that he can see that everyone around him is acting like something that there not. Then he says that he doesn’t want to act like everyone else and not know who he is but he just wants to be himself and live life the way he wants to. The next topic that is a good place to find out the meaning of life is the creative minds of artist and there art work. Art work is always a good place to find out the meaning of life because again the artist have a message in there work hidden and you have to find what there saying. The only difference from music is instead of saying the message they paint the message in a form of image weather it’s a paining or it’s a sculpture. There is many ways that you can discover meaning of life. In some ways its not what you find the meaning of life in its more about what you perceive of the meaning of life. When you look at something like a painting or a song what do you think it is trying to say? Does it paint a picture in your head and what does that picture look like? I find that the best way to see the meaning of life is threw movie. Movies are an image of the life that we live but it shows us the true meaning of life in a way that we can all understand. People are blind when it comes to what makes them in this world. Hope is another one, if you don’t have hope then you have nothing to look forward to so then what is the point of living. The main thought in a lot of movies are get busy living or get busy dieing. What this is suppose to mean is if your not going to start living and doing all the things you want to complete in life you might as well start on dieing. That brings me to my next question. Is there a God? If there is, why did he put us here? Any Christian asked will say our sole purpose is to serve God. First of all, what does that even mean? And second, I must ask why? Why would a supernatural being place us strategically on this planet strictly to serve him? That sounds pretty selfish to me. There has to be something more. Something solid or something greater. How could there not be (brainpickings. org)? The meaning of life is very complex and you can’t always pick up everything that it’s going to throw at you. That’s why movies, art and music in around so that other people who think about the topic more can show you there incite. If you listen and look at thoughts things you can learn things that will show you what the meaning of life is or at least what you can do to get started on living your life. I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Throughout my entire life, I have wondered what the purpose is. Why am I and every other human being even on this planet in the first place (thinksimplenow. com)? All my life I have worked hard to succeed. I have challenged myself and fought to do better than my best. Why? I asked myself. Why stress so much when I’m only going to die in the end? Pessimistic, I know. Finally, I thought, maybe the meaning of life doesn’t have to be so complex. Maybe the meaning of life is whatever we want it to be. Maybe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. I do what I do because I want to do it. It’s that simple. I do it because it means something to me. Everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal. The meaning of life is never complex. The meaning of life is actually quite simple to think about. Many people help the needy. Others play sports. Both activities add meaning to those lives involved. Purposes change, but the overall meaning of life will always stay the same. The meaning of life is simply to give life a meaning. This I believe. Reference Degraw, G. (2009). I Don’t Wanna Be. Retrived December 31, 2012, from AZ Lyrics website: http://www. azlyrics. com/lyrics/gavindegraw/idontwanttobe. html Calmus, A.(1946). The Strangers. New York, NY: Vintage Books Brian, M. (2011). The Meaning of Life. Retrieved January 1, 2013, from Deciding To Be Better website: http://d2bb. org/meaning-of-life. htm Popova, M. (2012). Charles Bukowski, Arthur C. Clarke, Annie Dillard, John Cage, and Others on the Meaning of Life. Retrieved December 28, 2012, from Brain Pickings website: http://www. brainpickings. org/index. php/2012/09/17/the-meaning-of-life/ Su, T. (2011). What Is The Meaning Of Life. Retrieved December 28, 2012, from Think Simple Now website: http://thinksimplenow. com/happiness/what-is-the-meaning-of-life/.

Hi-Value Supermarkets: Every Day Low Pricing Case Study Essay

Problem Statement Hi-Value Supermarkets located in the Centralia, Missouri area are faced with the problem of deciding whether or not to change their sales strategy to everyday low pricing. This has become an important subject for Hi-Value due to their loss in sales of the last few quarters, and a possible future loss in market share in their area. Hi-Value has three stores in the Centralia area and all are perceived as having a high market value in comparison to its competitors. They has attempted to determine the strengths and weaknesses in accordance to its competitors by conducting a survey and two focus groups which provided some very key results. Going further into this problem we must also assess whether all products within the stores should entail everyday low pricing, and if not all which ones. We must also determine how much lower the standard price will be set for all products in order to be considered everyday low pricing. The survey and focus groups also identified that the variety of pro ducts the consumers are looking for are not present as well, and that must also be assessed. Situational analysis Hi-Value Supermarkets have multiple key strengths with their current position in the Centralia market, and they must be considered when determining their next moves to attack this current problem. Having three locations within the Centralia area is a huge benefit with covering multiple geographic sectors. Especially when there is no other competing supermarket chain with that many stores in the area. The fact that they have had a strong market share from 1995 to 2002 with an estimated 23% share of the market in 2002 is also very important. Hi-Value is in the position where all they need to do is at the very least sustain their current positions and any increase in market share is just a bonus. Being the oldest supermarket in the Centralia area is a key strength because it makes them a well known and identifiable name. Their high quality products sets a standard that some of their competitors do not have building an important reputation within the community. Survey and focus groups ma de it very prevalent that most consumers think that their stores are very well put together, sanitary, and  up to date. Descriptions of other competing stores did not entail the same qualities which helps in consumer preference especially because they are purchasing consumable products. Although Hi-Value has many key strengths, there are still some attributes that hinder their chances of success in multiple sectors. Obviously their current pricing strategy is the largest problem for the store. Although their products are of high quality and most consumers seem aware of this, the high prices in many categories may not seem worth the trade off. From the survey of 400 Centralia residents 30% said Hi-Value prices were above average. The size of their supermarkets also poses as a weakness because they are smaller in comparison to many competitors which leads to less space for products. This means that it is more likely that a product has a higher chance of not being stocked and the consumer does not have as much variety to choose from. Each store has been renovated throughout the years, but they are still located in older buildings which does hinder their public image. With their current position, the company has multiple opportunities to focus on that could lead to future success. As the present time, there is not one food store in Centralia who advertises on television. By starting an advertising campaign after the decision on changes to be done to the store, Hi-Value has the ability to publicly announce their updated policies via television making the entire centralia sector aware. The ability to expand each store is also an option that may be worth investing in. Lack in variety was a very prevalent weakness that consumers pointed out and this could solve that problem. Centralia is also a very high traffic trade area in central Missouri leaving Hi-Value with a high opportunity to gain a larger consumer base if they make the right decisions to increase market desirability. There are three major competing stores within the Centralia area that must all be assessed and compared to when determining the right moves for Hi-Value to make. Harrison’s, Grand America, and Missouri Mart are all very different Supermarkets with a variety of strengths and weaknesses. As explained in its description, Harrison’s has a very positive image in the  eyes of its customers. Their store is 50,000 square feet which is over twice the size of Hi-Value’s average size. This gives them room to hold a very wide range of general merchandise. Their current strategy is also everyday low prices and survey results prove that consumers believe they have the lowest everyday prices which gives a current competitive edge. Grand America is a 39,800 square feet supermarket and has the newest building making it the most modern store in Centralia. The store is considered by Hall officials as a secondary competitor being highly regimented and lack innovative merchandising appeal. Their greatest product strength is the dairy department which is highly regarded by its customers. One thing to consider with this supermarket is that their competitive pricing strategy entails listing prices of their competitors for individual items. Missouri Mart is the food volume sales leader in Centralia. They are the main competitor of Superior supermarkets. Around 32% of Hi-Value customers shop Missouri Mart regularly and must be taken in the highest consideration when analysing competitors within the market. It is also important to note the key findings gathered from the two focus groups. Price was determined by both groups as the most important factor in store choice explaining a lot in the loss of market share that Hi-Value is facing. 20 of 24 participants also agreed that the quality of meat was the second factor in store choice. Hi-Value is ranked as a medium between its competitors. Produce quality, variety, and display is ranked third in importance and Hi-Value was ranked in the lower tier of those categories. Hi-Values best attribute in accordance to the focus group is their shopper convenience. Recommendation and Implementation My recommendation for Hi-Value is to remodel and expand all of their stores and implement an Everyday low pricing strategy. This strategy will be very costly upfront, but Hi-Value has been an existing store for a long time and in order to continue their existence they must evolve with current trends in the market. The two main problems that keep coming up are their lack in variety and high pricing. This recommendation would cover both problems and give them the ability to begin gaining market share from their competitors once again. This is definitely a strategy built for the long term and the  benefits may not be as noticeable at the very beginning, but it should be the most beneficial option for the future of the company. Multiple steps will be made in order for this strategy to become a reality. Each store must go through a construction process to expand and gain space which will take time and a possible loss in sales for the time being. This public construction will definitely be noticed by the consumers, and may help gain awareness of the companies changes. Updates in all store accessories should be implemented if necessary. This will increase efficiency for all aspects of the store and with a predicted increase in customer traffic it will be a necessary expense. Everyday low pricing should be set at a competitive level near Grand American and Missouri Mart prices but not to the point at which perceived quality is compromised. Due to each of its competitors having different strengths, it would be best to provide this pricing strategy for all products in the Supermarket. As stated in the text everyday low pricing also has the possibility of lowering operating costs with reduced inventory and handlin g costs due to more steady and predictable demand. It may also reduce labor costs related to less frequent temporary price reductions. It is also an option to conduct a local television commercial promoting Hi-Values positive new changes, but the possibility of this happening is determinant of how much expansion will end up costing.

What Are The Advantages and Disadvantages of Brand Stretching Essays

What Are The Advantages and Disadvantages of Brand Stretching Essays What Are The Advantages and Disadvantages of Brand Stretching Paper What Are The Advantages and Disadvantages of Brand Stretching Paper In addressing the above question it is first important to establish what a brand is and the implications this gives to both existing products and products that may be laundered using existing titles. This essay will examine articles written concerning the stretching of brands and identify which brands have been successful and unsuccessful in this pursuit and why. It will also examine the financial motives for companies to penetrate existing markets using already established new products or services has lead to prosperity or disaster. The American Marketing Association refer to branding as the use of a name, a term, a symbol or a design to identify the goods or services of one seller and to distinguish them from those of the competition (WK4 Lecture). This use of branding is said to create an identity of the product that quickly allows consumers to identify a desired item and also gives a guarantee of quality of the product. Branding is also seen as being mutually beneficial to Manufacturers as protection is offered from competition, it allows maintenance of a premium price, promotion is made more efficient because the brand helps to evoke an image, and it also helps in the introduction of new products with the same brand name (WK4 Lectures). King (1971 p.3/4) writes of the rise of power of manufacturers by branding their products, thus taking control of the market from the wholesalers, by allowing retailers and consumers to more easily identify products they wanted. This process was moved further forward by manufacturers creating direct links with the buying public through the use of advertising. King states that the basic motive for this was to stabilise demand, thus allowing regular large-scale production, free from the whims of the wholesaler. Partly because of this the advertising tended to be based on the idea of reliability and guaranteed quality. (1971 p.3). It was due to such strategies (according to King) that the manufacturers dominated the market from about 1900 to 1960. However since the 1960s the market has turned a full cycle, returning control to the retailers (although maybe not so much to the wholesalers). This is illustrated by Caulkin (1987) who states that over the last two or three decades there has been a massive shift in the balance of power form manufacturing towards the retail end of the economy (p.46). This Caulkin states, is particularly notable in food and fast moving consumers goods. Large supermarkets such as Tescos, Asda and Sainsbury started to implement own-label goods which over time sharply reduced the manufacturers share of the market within only a few exceptions (such as baked beans and pet food) (Caulkin 1987). In an attempt to combat what is discussed above many manufacturers are returning to what was described in an article in the Economist 10/90 as an old standby of marketing; brand-stretching (p.105). This based on the principle of using an existing established brand name to help the launch of new products into the market. However, the potential for this sort of practice is said not to be unlimited. Peter Philips of CPC International commented in the Economist article If you get brand-stretching right , you can travel further for less money. If your get it wrong, you risk weakening the core values of the original product (10/90 p.105). Although it is important to note that stretched brands have a better chance of survival than new brands, OC and C found that, of products launched by the same multinational six years ago, only about 30% of new brands exist today while over 50% of stretched ones do (10/90 p.105). With statistics such as these, one can see that it indeed may be advantageous to a company to exploit its name in the promotion of new products and when expanding into new markets. The Economist article stresses the popularity of brand-stretching in the areas of food and drink. Advantages may also be sought when one considers the point made above that the cost of promoting new products with already established brand names, which is said to be considerably cheaper. The Economist article (10/90) points out that promotional costs for stretched brands are in fact 36% cheaper when compared to completely new products. This is presumable due to the public already having an awareness of the brand name, so the only real cost incurred is raising awareness of the existence of the product itself. The use of a brand name also implies assurance of quality (King 1971). It may further be considered that the use of a brand name on its own may persuade people to try new products, such as the Mars Ice Cream Bar. This may be considered in particular when one looks at the larger supermarket chains such as Sainsburys. Over the last two decades Sainsburys have produced own brands to compete with nearly every product that they stock. Due to the image conveyed by Sainsburys that implies (or in fact, guarantees) quality, it has been possible for them to penetrate nearly all areas of the food market successfully. This success may be attributed to the analysis of what a product is as defined by Nickels (1978). Nickels sees a product as an intangible sense of value that a consumer perceives when he or she weighs the benefits and drawbacks of making an exchange. It may therefore be viewed that the success of Sainsburys is mainly due to the consumer seeing little difference in quality between branded goods and Sainsburys own label goods, with Sainsburys holding th e advantage when price is considered. This point is reiterated by Caulkin (1987), who states that growing public perception that the best own-brands are no longer cheap alternatives to the real thing, but comparable in quality as well as price with the main manufacturers lines. The phenomenon of brand-stretching has not been unique to the manufacturing and retail sectors, but has in fact been used by those in the sector of public service. Nickels cites areas, such public libraries that have sought the advantages of brand-stretching. He refers to increased success of libraries that reconsidered what to offer by viewing the service they provide from the perspective of the public. This has resulted in a marked change of service in some American libraries which now provide services such as the loaning of domestics pets, childrens toys and the provision of music rooms and access to such things as a printing press, (1978 p.195). Nickels continues to state that the product of a library today may be anything that will satisfy the needs of selected market segments Libraries are much more successful today because they have designed their products to fit the needs of people (1978 p.196). It can therefore be seen that brand-stretching can be of great advantage when a n eed or area of market penetration is correctly recognised. However, when a company seeks the advantages of brand stretching, they must take great care to ensure that they get it right. The Economist article (10/90) points out that brands are not endlessly elastic. Stretching can also undermine the credibility of the original product. Consumers may not believe that the new product shares any of the cachet or characteristics of the old, or they may simply forget what was attractive about the original item, (10/90 p.105). However, when one considers this comment, it may well be true to say that not all stretched brands will be successful, but that does not seem to generally render original brands obsolete. If one is to consider the failure of David Hunter, (a stretch by Levis), it does not seem to of had an adverse effect on Levis. The problem seems to have aroused simply due to the manner that the stretched brand was marketed, i.e. those who bought classic tailored clothes would not buy them form Levis and not vice versa. It seems more simply, that it was inappropriate for Levis to have used their name to penetrate this particular market. This story seems to be reiterated by Van Den Burghs and Jargons low calorie salad dressing that failed using the name of flora. This, however does not seem to have harmed flora margarine in its place of market leader. It should be noted though that it is felt by many in the field of marketing that a failed product could cause disastrous effects for established products. Prof. Birger Wernerfelt of the MIT Sloan School of Management stated in the Economist article that Umbrella branding means putting up the reputation of the old product as a bond for the quality of the new one (10/90 p. 105). However in the field of well established brands, stretching by own-brand manufacturers has not been so successful. Items such as baked beans are said to have made little headway and that Heinz still hold half the share of the market. The same is said to also apply to pet foods, with Mars Pedigree Pet Foods not having been toppled form their No 1 spot (1987 p.47). A further point that has been made concerning brand stretching as a disadvantageous pursuit was made by Messrs Al Ries and Jack Trout (Citied in the Economist 10/90 p.106). In their book Bottom Up Marketing they argue that by companies widening their products, (even those who have been successful) they have hurt their brand equity. This they attribute to the nature of communication in Western Society being so large that they feel that, you are lucky if your brand can mean one thing. Almost never can it mean two or three things, (10/90 p.106). Thus confusing consumers of an established image of original brands. From the above discussion it can be seen that brand-stretching can be a good way of penetrating new markets. by good use of an established brand name considerable savings can be made in the field of promotion, as there is already an existence of brand awareness so promotion can more easily be centred around the product itself, with the added bonus that consumers may feel more inclined to give an initial trail of products displaying brand names they already know, ( such as the Mars Ice Cream Bar). This too is now the case with established own-brand labels, such as Sainsburys which offer marginally cheaper prices of products now perceived to be of equal quality to that of established brands. However inappropriate stretches, or those which do not offer good quality products have a danger of undermining the credibility of already established brands. Although from the research this sort of practice on the whole seems to lead to failure of the stretched brand, generally leaving the origina l in tact.

RUIZ Surname Meaning and Origin

RUIZ Surname Meaning and Origin Ruiz is a patronymic surname meaning son of Ruy, a short form of the given name Rodrigo. Rodrigo derives  from the Germanic  name  Roderick (Hrodric), from the elements hrod, meaning renown and ric, meaning power. Ruiz is the 21st most common Hispanic surname. Surname Origin:  Spanish Alternate Surname Spellings:  RUIZE, ROIZ, ROIZE, RODRIZ, RUDERIZ Famous People With the Surname Ruiz Josà ©Ã‚  Francisco Ruiz: 19th century Texas pioneer and revolutionaryBlas Ruiz: Spanish explorerCarlos Ruiz: Panamanian professional MLB baseball playerBartolomà © Ruiz: Spanish conquistador Where Do People With the Ruiz Surname Live? Ruiz is the 201st most common surname in the world, according to surname distribution data from  Forebears, found in greatest numbers  in Mexico and with the highest density in Nicaragua. The Rivera surname is also very common in Spain (ranked 12th), Argentina (14th) and Paraguay (17th). Within Europe, Ruiz is most frequently found in Spain, according to  WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially in the Cantabria region, followed by the regions of La Rioja, Andalucia, Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha. The surname is also very common in Argentina, and found in lesser numbers in France and the United States. Genealogy Resources for the Surname RUIZ 100 Common Hispanic Surnames Their Meanings: Garcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 100 common Hispanic last names?How to Research Hispanic Heritage: Learn how to get started researching  your Hispanic ancestors, including the basics of family tree research and country specific organizations, genealogical records, and resources for Spain, Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean and other Spanish speaking countries.Ruiz Family Genealogy Forum: Search this popular genealogy forum for the Ruiz surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Ruiz query.FamilySearch - Ruiz Genealogy: Access over 3.3 million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Ruiz surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Resources and Further Reading Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Flodden - Battle of Flodden Field

Flodden - Battle of Flodden Field Battle of Flodden - Conflict Date: The Battle of Flodden was fought September 9, 1513, during the War of the League of Cambrai (1508-1516). Battle of Flodden - Armies Commanders: Scotland King James IV34,000 men England Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey26,000 men Battle of Flodden - Background: Seeking to honor the Auld Alliance with France, King James IV of Scotland declared war on England in 1513. As the army mustered, it transitioned from the traditional Scottish spear to the modern European pike which was being used to great effect by the Swiss and Germans. While trained by the French Comte dAussi, it is unlikely that the Scots had mastered the weapon and maintaining the tight formations required for its use before moving south. Gathering around 30,000 men and seventeen guns, James crossed the border on August 22 and moved to seize Norham Castle. Battle of Flodden - The Scots Advance: Enduring miserable weather and taking high losses, the Scots succeeded in capturing Norham. In the wake of the success, many, tired of the rain and spreading disease, began to desert. While James loitered in Northumberland, King Henry VIIIs northern army began to gather under the leadership of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. Numbering around 24,500, Surreys men were equipped with bills, eight-foot long poles with blades at the end made for slashing. Joining his infantry were 1,500 light horsemen under Thomas, Lord Dacre. Battle of Flodden - The Armies Meet: Not wishing the Scots to slip away, Surrey dispatched a messenger to James offering battle on September 9. In an uncharacteristic move for a Scottish king, James accepted stating that he would remain in Northumberland until noon on the appointed day. As Surrey marched, James shifted his army into a fortress-like position atop Flodden, Moneylaws, and Branxton Hills. Forming a rough horseshoe, the position could only be approached from the east and required crossing the River Till. Reaching the Till Valley on September 6, Surrey immediately recognized the strength of the Scottish position. Again dispatching a messenger, Surrey chastised James for taking such a strong position and invited him to do battle on the nearby plains around Milfield. Refusing, James wished to fight a defensive battle on his own terms. With his supplies dwindling, Surrey was compelled to choose between abandoning the area or attempting a flanking march to the north and west to force the Scots out of their position. Opting for the latter, his men began crossing the Till at Twizel Bridge and Milford Ford on September 8. Reaching a position above the Scots, they turned south and deployed facing Branxton Hill. Due to continued stormy weather, James did not become aware of the English maneuver until sometime around noon on September 9. As a result, he began shifting his entire army to Branxton Hill. Formed in five divisions, Lord Hume and the Early of Huntly led the left, the Earls of Crawford and Montrose the left center, James the right center, and the Earls of Argyll and Lennox the right. The Earl of Bothwells division was held in reserve to the rear. Artillery was placed in the spaces between the divisions. At the base of the hill and across a small stream, Surrey deployed his men in similar fashion. Battle of Flodden - Disaster for the Scots: Around 4:00 in the afternoon, James artillery opened fire on the English position. Consisting largely of siege guns, they did little damage. On the English side, Sir Nicholas Appelbys twenty-two guns replied with great effect. Silencing the Scottish artillery, they began a devastating bombardment of James formations. Unable to withdraw over the crest without risking a panic, James continued to take losses. To his left, Hume and Huntly elected to begin the action without orders. Moving their men down the least steep part of the hill, their pikemen advanced toward Edmund Howards troops. Hampered by the severe weather, Howards archers fired with little effect and his formation was shattered by Hume and Huntlys men. Driving through the English, their formation began to dissolve and their advance was checked by Dacres horsemen. Seeing this success, James directed Crawford and Montrose to move forward and began advancing with his own division. Unlike the first attack, these divisions were forced to descend a steep slope which began to open their ranks. Pressing on, additional momentum was lost in crossing the stream. Reaching the English lines, Crawford and Montroses men were disorganized and the bills of Thomas Howard, the Lord Admirals men slashed into their ranks and cut the heads from the Scottish pikes. Forced to rely on swords and axes, the Scots took frightful losses as they were unable to engage the English as close range. To the right, James had some success and pushed back the division led by Surrey. Halting the Scottish advance, James men soon faced a situation similar to Crawford and Montrose. On the right, Argyle and Lennoxs Highlanders remained in position watching the battle. As a result, they failed to notice the arrival of Edward Stanleys division on their front. Though the Highlanders were in a strong position, Stanley saw that it could be flanked to the east. Sending forward a portion of his command to hold the enemy in place, the remainder made a concealed movement to the left and up the hill. Unleashing a massive arrow storm on the Scots from two directions, Stanley was able to force them to flee the field. Seeing Bothwells men advancing to support the king, Stanley reformed his troops and along with Dacre attacked the Scottish reserve from the rear. In a brief fight they were driven off and the English descended on the rear of the Scottish lines. Under attack on three sides, the Scots battled on with James falling in the fighting. By 6:00 PM much of the fighting had ended with the Scots retreating east over the ground held by Hume and Huntly. Battle of Flodden - Aftermath: Unaware of the magnitude of his victory, Surrey remained in place overnight. The next morning, Scottish horsemen were spotted on Branxton Hill but were quickly driven away. The remnants of the Scottish army limped back across the River Tweed. In the fighting at Flodden, the Scots lost around 10,000 men including James, nine earls, fourteen Lords of Parliament, and the Archbishop of St. Andrews. On the English side, Surrey lost around 1,500 men, most from Edmund Howards division. The largest battle in terms of numbers fought between the two nations, it was also Scotlands worst ever military defeat. It was believed at the time that every noble family in Scotland lost at least one person at Flodden. Selected Sources North East England History Pages: Battle of Flodden FieldElectric Scotland: Battle of FloddenUK Battlefields Resource Centre: Battle of Flodden

Second Language Acquisition Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Second Language Acquisition - Thesis Example English is regarded as lingua franca and so notwithstanding your educational and cultural background, you have to obtain a minimum level skill in spoken and written English, if you want to be a global person. â€Å"For better or worse, by choice or force, English has ‘traveled’ to many parts of the world.† (Sharifian 2009) It is the circumstances which led me to become a multi lingual person. Learning English thoroughly and being a language teacher had never been my choice of career. English was not a completely new language for me as my parents knew English very well. I acquired the language in a quite easy and unconscious manner, as I had been learning English from the age of 6. I was born in Malaysia and later on my family transferred to Hong Kong, when I was just one year old. My kindergarten education was in Chinese medium. When we shifted to Hong Kong, my parents sent me to an International school. English then became my first language. The entire atmosphere in my school was utterly cosmopolitan. The students in our international school had come from different parts of the world. The teachers were from UK and they spoke to us in pure English. So we had an exposure to what we call a â€Å"Queen’s English.† I did not have to take much effort while learning English. It was a traditional method of teaching which the teachers used. Apart from that, it would not be difficult for me to grasp English. It was because the entire culture in my school was English. The books prescribed in our curriculum were typical language books, which consisted of innumerable pictures. It was really wonderful to read them and to watch the pictures. We would be having different tables, quizzes, games as our exercises. I was learning English very comfortably and naturally like I learnt my mother tongue. The medium of instruction was English, hence every subject was taught in English itself. Though I have never been a language person, I could speak En glish fluently. I could read English very comfortably. My listening skill developed automatically, as I was hearing English constantly in my school, and later, in the places where I travelled. As long as writing is concerned I was a little bit behind. For me, English had been the source of communication with my peers. I had absolutely no problem in speaking English. The atmosphere in the school was global and multicultural. We had no choice but to communicate in English with each other. I was accompanied by the children from different parts of the world. Among them, some children were from India, Philippines, Korea, and Japan. Some of them were also from United States and England. When we were in school, we used to learn lots of nursery rhymes and Christian rhymes as it was a Christian school. When the teachers would sing the rhymes, we would repeat them. We would follow the same accents. Thus we got acquainted with the accents and pronunciation without any effort. Acquisition of En glish as a foreign language was really not a matter of concern for me. In our school, French was another language for study. To be frank, I used to get bored. I was not good in French. Consequently, I know French very little. English and French actually are the language of same family. But like English I could not be fluent in French. It might be firstly because I was not a language person and secondly because we taught French as other language and it was not our medium of instruc

Case Study in Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Case Study in Human resource management - Essay Example This is why human resources should not be treated like physical, financial and technological resources. Every worker has needs, aspirations and expectations which he likes to be fulfilled at the place of work. It is the duty of management to provide opportunities to the workers to satisfy their needs and aspirations. The worker does not merely sell his services. He is a human being and wants good human relations at the work place where he spends between seven to eight hours every day. Good human relations are not created automatically. Deliberate efforts are required by the management to build and maintain good relations in industry. â€Å"Management must recognize the right of expression of the workers and give them adequate opportunity to have a say in the management of affairs, directly affecting their lives.† (Dr. Balu, V. R. 2002. (P.1-2, 5-10, 343, 346)). Thus, management of personnel or human resources encompasses not only the process of employment, training and development, communication, appraisal etc., but also achieving good industrial relations, which is a pre-requi site to sustain, which are higher productivity. Here, Grimshawls Quality Textiles, the clothing company has a reasonable reputation as a local employer. Their rates of pay are good for the area and they maintain an unproblematic industrial relations record through a most scientific and modern HRM practices because all these issues have to do with personal and industrial relations. In the textile company, the affairs were managed by the Managing Director and his Personal Assistant. The PA keeps the personal records of all employees in the company and the MD has published a number of personal policies to cover absence, discipline and regulation in the workplace. â€Å"The employees work behaviour, to great extent, will be affected by the work environment and the working conditions, such as working environment of

Current Event Perspective Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Current Event Perspective - Term Paper Example taxpayers of about $124 billion, the colossal corporate scandals of Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Global Crossing, WorldCom and others, the dot.com bubble between 1995 and 2001 and the 1998 Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) hedge fund fiasco. Their argument is that the corporate world has been heading down a dangerous path for more than 20 years while governments, regulators and the society failed to put the necessary checks to stop the big disaster that was looming. In short they are saying that we are now facing the consequences of our actions. Smiths contribution to the study of Economics lay primarily on his demonstration of the interdependence of the different segments of the economy and of the policies to be followed to promote the wealth of a nation. He advocated for competitive markets without government intervention on the assumption that natural process within the economy have the ability to resolve conflicts more effectively than any arrangements developed by man. From his book we get the following famous quote: With competitive markets and an absence of government regulation, the resulting natural prices bring about an optimum allocation of resources in that consumers receive the goods they want at the lowest possible cost and maximum rates of growth are ensured (Smith, 2009, p.24) Smith essentially was saying that self interest + free markets + deregulation results in prosperity for everyone. The global financial crisis has taught us otherwise. It has taught us that unrestrained capitalism that is obsessed with self-interest and is unconcerned about the long-run, can lead to monopoly, inequitable distribution of income, unemployment, and environmental disaster (Pitelis, 113). However we cannot put the blame on Smith considering that he was speaking in the 18th century when the context of Economics had not yet experienced the industrial

Reproductive System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reproductive System - Assignment Example Julia had been working as a computer engineer in an information technology firm and she described her job as â€Å"moderately successful†. She had never been pregnant in her life. Her menses had started at the age of 12 years and had been fairly normal regarding frequency, duration and bleeding. She had become sexually active at the age of 19 years and had variably used diaphragms, condoms and oral contraceptive pills for contraception. She weighed normal for her height, was a non smoker and occasionally consumed alcohol on social occasions. Apart from few episodes of urinary tract infection, last one 2 years back, her other medical and surgical history was remarkable. Ross was an architect and content in his professional and personal life. He had no significant medical, surgical or sexual history. He was physically very active and a non smoker. When they visited the infertility specialist, both of them were questioned regarding their medical and sexual history. They were educ ated regarding the physiology of reproduction and the possible causes of their infertility. Regarding the female reproductive system, description of the organs of reproduction in female and the steps of oogenesis and menstrual cycle was explained: Female reproductive system, oogenesis and menstrual cycle Organs involved in reproduction in a female are ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus and vagina internally and external genitalia and mammary glands externally. Ovaries are small glands located on the sides of uterus. Germ cells in the ovary are referred to as ooogonia. At nearly 8 weeks of gestation, oogonia become primary oocytes by entering prophase of first meiotic division andundergo further change only before ovulation. A layer of granulosa cells surround this oocyte to form a primordial follicle. Out of all of the follicles, one follicle becomes dominant 5-7 days after menses (Knobil & Neill 2006). Due to hormonal action, meiosis is resumed and expulsion of the egg and follicular fluid occurs. This expulsion is called ovulation. Uterus is the organ where implantation of a fertilised egg occurs. Fertilisation itself occurs in the fallopian tube which connects ovary to the uterus. Cyclic shedding of the internal lining of the uterus called endometrium occurs every 28-30 days in a process called menstruation. This cycle is regulated by a complex interaction of hormones produced by the hypothalamus, pituitary and ovaries (Look, Heggenhougen & Quah 2011). Menstrual cycle has two parts: follicular or proliferative phase; and luteal or secretory phase. Follicular recruitment is caused by FSH. Estrogen causes LH surge for ovulation. These steps take place during follicular phase which technically begins on the first day of menses and lasts for around 14 days (Carr & Wilson 1987). Figure 1. Female reproductive system (www.patients.co.uk 2012) Figure 2. Oogenesis and menstrual cycle (Carr & Wilson 1987) Corpus luteum remains after ovulation and is responsible for sec retory phase of the endometrium. If fertilisation does not take place, it degenerates after 10-14 days and this leads to shedding of the endometrial lining and bleeding (Knobil & Neill 2006). Thus, the couple were explained about oogenesis and menstrual cycle with the aid of above illustrations. Only when these hormonal and tissue changes occur in tandem, fertilisation can take place. Any hormonal or endocrine disorder such as that of hypothalamus, pit

Arts Advocacy Statement and Pamphlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arts Advocacy Statement and Pamphlet - Essay Example Artistic aptitude is an amazing ability and it is very significant for our children for their better mental approach. Art helps to enhance the childrens ability to have a better perception of the world and tends to get them to adopt a better way of communication and expression. Art helps children to make an open appearance and reveal their hidden talent and skills. Therefore, for a successful and flourishing life track, you must try to develop artistic skills in your child. Now a question arises as to what are the important factors that are necessary for the artistic development in your child. When your child starts performing certain activities, you need to develop art in his activities. Every child has a hidden artist in their inner self and parents or teachers can examine very well what kind of artistic intuition is growing within a child. Some children love to make drawings and some love to use brushes to handle colours. Some love music and few have the ability to be great composers. So every child has his/her own inclination towards various categories of art. The four disciplines of art have a diverse arrangement among artistic abilities such as drawing, print-making, painting, drama, music and dance. All these classifications are the basic skills that can be found in oneself to create a better perception of life. Home is the first basic learning institute and whatever skills a child uses to learn at home, no institute around the world could impart these skills to children. To develop art in your child and have your child able to have a better overview of any situation in life, you need to develop your child’s interest in all of the above given mediums of art. Education is an entirely different thing, but any skill or talent in a child can add more to his education with the help of artistic qualities. Art is the thing that never cares for substantial measures and children also

Reproductive System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reproductive System - Assignment Example Julia had been working as a computer engineer in an information technology firm and she described her job as â€Å"moderately successful†. She had never been pregnant in her life. Her menses had started at the age of 12 years and had been fairly normal regarding frequency, duration and bleeding. She had become sexually active at the age of 19 years and had variably used diaphragms, condoms and oral contraceptive pills for contraception. She weighed normal for her height, was a non smoker and occasionally consumed alcohol on social occasions. Apart from few episodes of urinary tract infection, last one 2 years back, her other medical and surgical history was remarkable. Ross was an architect and content in his professional and personal life. He had no significant medical, surgical or sexual history. He was physically very active and a non smoker. When they visited the infertility specialist, both of them were questioned regarding their medical and sexual history. They were educ ated regarding the physiology of reproduction and the possible causes of their infertility. Regarding the female reproductive system, description of the organs of reproduction in female and the steps of oogenesis and menstrual cycle was explained: Female reproductive system, oogenesis and menstrual cycle Organs involved in reproduction in a female are ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus and vagina internally and external genitalia and mammary glands externally. Ovaries are small glands located on the sides of uterus. Germ cells in the ovary are referred to as ooogonia. At nearly 8 weeks of gestation, oogonia become primary oocytes by entering prophase of first meiotic division andundergo further change only before ovulation. A layer of granulosa cells surround this oocyte to form a primordial follicle. Out of all of the follicles, one follicle becomes dominant 5-7 days after menses (Knobil & Neill 2006). Due to hormonal action, meiosis is resumed and expulsion of the egg and follicular fluid occurs. This expulsion is called ovulation. Uterus is the organ where implantation of a fertilised egg occurs. Fertilisation itself occurs in the fallopian tube which connects ovary to the uterus. Cyclic shedding of the internal lining of the uterus called endometrium occurs every 28-30 days in a process called menstruation. This cycle is regulated by a complex interaction of hormones produced by the hypothalamus, pituitary and ovaries (Look, Heggenhougen & Quah 2011). Menstrual cycle has two parts: follicular or proliferative phase; and luteal or secretory phase. Follicular recruitment is caused by FSH. Estrogen causes LH surge for ovulation. These steps take place during follicular phase which technically begins on the first day of menses and lasts for around 14 days (Carr & Wilson 1987). Figure 1. Female reproductive system (www.patients.co.uk 2012) Figure 2. Oogenesis and menstrual cycle (Carr & Wilson 1987) Corpus luteum remains after ovulation and is responsible for sec retory phase of the endometrium. If fertilisation does not take place, it degenerates after 10-14 days and this leads to shedding of the endometrial lining and bleeding (Knobil & Neill 2006). Thus, the couple were explained about oogenesis and menstrual cycle with the aid of above illustrations. Only when these hormonal and tissue changes occur in tandem, fertilisation can take place. Any hormonal or endocrine disorder such as that of hypothalamus, pit

Point of view of the speaker in Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night Essay

Point of view of the speaker in Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas - Essay Example The first line’s diction has been purposefully chosen to make it a command. The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are persuasive and encourage the father to show his â€Å"rage against the dying of the light† (Thomas). In the sixth stanza, the poet requests his father to be his usual self and scream and yell at him to signify his strength. The overall tone of the poem is an outcome of the form and diction used by Thomas. Thomas acknowledges the fact that life and death are interrelated by pairing â€Å"gentle† with â€Å"rage†, â€Å"light† with â€Å"night†, and â€Å"dying† with â€Å"good†. Nevertheless, Thomas has made use of such diction that allows him to place his emphasis on life instead of death. This can be estimated from his frequent use of the words like â€Å"blaze†, â€Å"fierce†, and â€Å"green†. Dylan Thomas is upset to see his otherwise robust and radical father become weak and blind in his eighties and thus, persuades him to revert to life. Works Cited: Grimes, Linda S. â€Å"Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle.† 20 Nov. 2006. Web. 10 July 2011. . Thomas, Dylan. â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.† n.d. Web. 10 July 2011. .

High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay Education Does the perfect high school exist? Is there a school out there in which the students are all nice and responsible, every teacher enforces learning on the classroom, and the school system always makes wise decisions? No, probably not. At least, not any school I have ever heard of. There are multiple problems affecting high schools today, usually being either issues personally affecting an individual student, or issues affecting the whole school. Some examples of these problems may be: bullying, dropping out, not studying or doing homework, getting pregnant, not being taught to a full extent, financial issues, and etcetera. Like most problems, there is always a solution that we could benefit from. One of the most major issues hurting high schools today has to do with students being lazy. Teens go to school for the majority of their day, which is typically seven hours. Once they finally get home, it is safe to assume that the last thing on students’ minds is homework. They think â€Å"I have been at school allllll day! This is my time to relax; I do not want to do school work anymore! † So instead, they choose to sit down and watch Jersey Shore or log onto their Facebook accounts. In â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† by Todd Gitlin, he talks about comedy writer Larry Gelbart referring to media as â€Å"weapons of mass distraction. † If you think about it, this is pretty accurate. Televisions, the internet, etc are nothing but examples of distraction. Most teenagers are not responsible enough to think â€Å"I cannot watch TV right now, I have to study,† so they usually spend the rest of their night watching TV, causing a failing grade on the next day’s test. Teens in high school are not fully matured. Obviously, if they were mature, they would realize the importance of their grades as opposed the importance of who got in a fight on Jersey Shore. Due to this fact, I think we should â€Å"Let Teenagers Try Adulthood. † In this passage, Leon Botstein supports his idea to give teens a chance at adult life. As I have mentioned, teenagers are not mature enough to make decisions that will be good for their future. So why not let them graduate at the age of sixteen in order for them to understand the significance of being a responsible, mature person? Letting them graduate earlier could more than likely help students realize that it is time to grow up and take action for their lives. And maybe then, less time will be spent watching television, and more time will be spent on productive things†¦ mainly because they would not have a choice! Another major problem in high schools is the extremely high rate of students dropping out of school early. Teens drop out of school for multiple different reasons. Some leave school to escape bullying. There is always that one kid who is bullied so much, he just cannot stand it any longer. This is usually the kid in the back of the classroom, trying to stay hidden from everyone else, not doing assignments or paying attention. Scurrilous peers tend to make students want to stay at home forever, and never come back to school. Dropping out of school may be the victim’s way of getting away. Some students drop school simply because of boredom. They get tired of doing the same thing, every day. They feel as though they are not getting anything from it. In David S. Broder’s â€Å"A Model for High Schools,† he states that â€Å"Too many students are dropping out of high school, bored or dissatisfied with what it offers. † Throughout my three years of high school, I have seen numerous issues arise. Due to these many issues, personally, I do not like high school a bit. The problem most chronic would definitely have to be teen pregnancy. I remember during my freshman year, there were about twenty different young girls roaming the halls with a baby bump. During my sophomore year, there were twelve. The majority of the young women in high school that are getting pregnant end up dropping out and totally ignoring their education in order to raise their child. Those who do not drop out still have to miss tons of days due to their pregnancy and child birth†¦ which means, these students will get very far behind in their work, and will have to catch up on their own. Now, I am not saying that these girls should not raise their children, or that they do not have a reason to be absent frequently, I am simply saying this: Do not get pregnant in the first place! Education should always come first. Once they miss that month of school, it is going to be extremely difficult for them to catch up on their work. Because of this, most students will just give up and drop out. No one wants to be stupid, have a child at 16, and have to work at McDonald’s just to buy diapers and a box of Cheerios! Although there are still many issues arising in high schools all throughout America, these are more than likely the worst. Laziness and irresponsibility, dropping out, and getting pregnant can all cause students to end up with no education whatsoever, and lead them to a life of serving customers at the local Wal-Mart.

Facility Operations

Facility Operations Introduction Facility Operations is a discipline of management devoted to provide care, maintenance, development of skills to facility the daily operations public, hospitality, educational and leisure venues. The activities of facility operations include from very basic activity like cleaning to a high skilled and technical jobs like maintenance of air conditioning system. It is the duty of facility operations team to coordinate with the organisation management to oversee the cost effective, safe, secure and environment friendly maintenance of the organisational assets and long term care and preservation of those assets value. The goal of facility operation management is to provide â€Å"end user† satisfaction, and also considered as the success criteria for the evaluation of facility operation team. In this assignment the requirement is to assess the responsibilities of facilities manger in an organisation like hospital, hotel, educational institution or super market etc, what are the legal, health and safety obligations in performing the duties as facilities manger, identification of the strengths in current facilities operations and what are the weak areas to be addressed in the current business and in the new establishment which the management is planning to start. The organisation I have chosen to complete the assignment task is â€Å"Serena Hotels, Islamabad Pakistan†. Serena Hotel The Islamabad Serena Hotel is at a very prominent location at the door step of Margalla hills on fourteen acres of areas with beautiful gardens and near the Rawal Lake in the young and dynamic city of Pakistan â€Å"the Islamabad†, one of the natural beautiful cities of the world. The architectural and interior structure of the hotel is a good combination of the heritage of Pakistani culture equipped with the latest technology. The hotel is having nine cuisine restaurant and roof top swimming pool, providing all the luxury facilities and health clubs. The Serena Hotel Islamabad contain 387 rooms including suite with function halls to accommodate about five thousand people, and all other facilities that of a five star hotel. What is Facilities Operations Facilities operations and maintenance encompasses all that broad spectrum of services required to assure the built environment will perform thefunctionsfor which a facility was designed and constructed. Operations and maintenance typically includes the day-to-day activities necessary for the building and its systems and equipment to perform their intended function. In broad perspective the facility operation is merged with maintenance known as Operations and Maintenance (O M) because facilities cant be provided efficiently without it is properly maintained, therefore these two terms are discussed as one term (Facilities Operation and Maintenance). Facilities Operations at Serena As a five star hotel the Serena Hotel provide all the services to their customers to keep them satisfied and accomplish the organisational goals and objectives. To have good services they have a very structured Facilities Operations and Maintenance system, which involve all the dimensions of facility operations. Some of the major operations of this department in Serena Hotel Islamabad are following. Building Maintenance As described above that Serena is having a very good looking prominent building at a very attract full and expensive location at the city, so the hotel management is very much focused about the maintenance of the building, as this is the main resource of the business. Catering As Serena is having nine restaurants within the complex, each restaurant offer different meals, like South Asian, African and Arabian foods, so this area of the business is also included in the work duties of the facility operational staff. Cleaning Is the one of the core functionality of the operational staff and support staff at every organization, at Serena Hotel this is a separate department for cleaning the hotel premises, the cleaning staff is 24/7 on duty to provide clean and neat environment at hotel. Consultancy continuous improvement Continuous improvement is a very significant area of facilities operations, so at Serena there is proper system of consulting for the operational staff and very structured program for continuous improvement. Gardens Maintenance At Serena there are multiple gardens with beautiful plants and flowers, to maintain the beauty of these gardens there is a well trained team to take care. Procurement Is a key activity in facilities operations, to procure all the requirements of the hotel, maintain sufficient stock of all required items and remain in contact with supplier to have on time delivery of the required items. Projects relocation Facility Operations and Maintenance also look at the areas which need immediate focus and also plain the long terms goals of their department. They start new projects and relocation of current projects like outsourcing some operations of the hotel. Mechanical Electrical Services Mechanical and Electrical services are also the responsibility of families operation management staff, to look after the machineries and electrical devices and supply there is a trained staff available at Serena. Security Services To provide security to customers and staff members the security services are outsourced by Serena, private company guards remain at duty all the time, while there is a latest setup of CCTV which remains in operation all the time to keep eye on any suspected terrorist activity. Waste environmental management To keep environment clean is a very big issue in todays world, so to properly dispose the wastes and remain the hotel environment clean there is a team of cleaners who work on disposing the wastages of the hotel, clean the rooms, gardens and corridors, kitchen and other premises of the hotel. Responsibilities as Facility Manager As facility management is a very vast field, and a diverse range of specialism and responsibilities in different combinations, depending on organizational structure. Facilities managers are involved in both strategic planning and day-to-day operations, particularly in relation to buildings and premises. Some of the main responsibilities and duties of Facility Manger at Serena Hotel Islamabad are stated below Skillful management of administrative activities like procurement, purchase of equipments, housekeeping, safety and health, security, employee induction etc. Maintaining monthly reports for the expenses incurred for maintaining office infrastructure and facilities. Monitoring of budget and cost controlling Provide assistance in project management and cost optimization Managing repair, maintenance replacement of office equipments, appliances, furniture, furnishings, vehicles, building etc. Purchase and implementation of security tools and surveillance cameras. Event Management, organizing meetings, conferences, making travel arrangements and hotel reservations for guests foreign delegates. Acting as info-hub for providing administration related information and supervising administrative activities like general admin, verification of stationery stock, petty cash, courier, florist, pest control, housekeeping, etc. Arranging for relocation of employees from different parts of country which includes arrangement for their home and family related needs such as school admission, transportation and taking care of their household requirements. Arranging accommodation for onsite employees by co-ordination with various companies providing accommodations and to continuously improve the quality of services. Legal, Health and Safety (H S) Obligations Anobligationis a requirement to take some course of action, whetherlegalormoral, so at Serena Hotel there is a proper system of carrying out care of legal, health and safety obligations. It is the responsibility of the organization management and Facility Manager to ensure the health and safety of their employee during their work. Facility Mangers responsibility also include to do risk assessment and analysis, purchasing compulsory employers liability insurance if they dont already have it, ensuring equipment is fit for its purpose, testing, certifying and maintaining electrical equipment, ensuring computers can be used comfortably and easily, making sure the availability of first aid boxes are easily accessible locations at work premises, avoiding the use of trailing electricity cables to reduce the risk of fire and electric shocks, ensuring staff are suitably trained to work safely, keeping records of, and if necessary reporting,any serious accidents, illnesses or injuries experien ced by hotel workers. At Islamabad Serena Hotel to provide the basic healthcare treatments there is a dispensary working round the clock with qualified doctor and other paramedic staff, the hotel has its own ambulance service to shift any casualties to hospitals in case of emergency. Health and Safety at Serena At work place the health and safety obligation is to keep your employees and yourself safe from all of the emergencies like fire, any terrorist activity and safety during work. At Serena Hotel employees of facility staff and operational staff are advised to Follow the instruction given by facility manger regarding health and safety Get trained about using personal protective equipments Not willfully or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for workplace health and safety at the workplace. The manger ensures that the workplace is safe and employee; customers can visit the hotel without any risk. the workplace is safe and without risk of illness or injury from any plant or substance used properly in the course of work The environment of the workplace must be such that it does not put the health of the workpeople at risk. Perform the risk assessment activities to minimize the risk involved in health and safety at the work environment. The facility manger continuously monitors and reviews the health and safety standards at the hotel. Constantly the activates of Safety sampling is done which involves inspecting the whole work area but looking only for particular types of hazard i.e. the sample, and Safety audits which Endeavour to obtain a numerical measure of the number of examples of each hazard found. A key element in achieving and maintaining high levels of safety is knowledge of the hazards, their effects and the techniques to avoid or ameliorate those effects. So at Serena the facility management team and co workers are constantly updated with latest tools and trainings to enhance their skills and capabilities. Administrative Systems at Serena There are two types of administrative computer systems operational at Serena Islamabad. The first one is Management Information System (MIS) and the second one is Security system. Management Information system is a big software system having different modules for each and every department; it includes modules like from room reservation to bill calculations, and dividing staff duties to procurement, recruitment and selection. All the management related activities are done through this software system at Serena. How can Serena improve the Facilities Operations As far as Serena is the best in providing facilities operations at their premises as compare to other competitors at hotels market, but I will suggest Serena that they is possibilities of improvement, as Facility Manager at Serena I will suggest the administration to take the following steps in order to improve the standard of facilities operations. At Serena Hotel there is a computerized system which I will suggest to improve it to Computerized Maintenance System (CMS). Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) enable the facility manager, subordinates and customers to track the status of maintenance work on their assets and the associated costs of that work. CMMS are utilized by facilities maintenance organizations to record, manage and communicate their day-to-day operations. The system can provide reports to use in managing the organizations resources, preparing facilitieskey performance indicators (KPIs)/metrics to use in evaluating the effectiveness of the current operations and for making organizational and personnel decisions. In todays maintenance world the CMMS is an essential tool for the modern facilities maintenance organization. I will suggest the administration to keeping in mind the current security situations at Pakistan, instead of having own guards, outsource the security, and also apply to the Govt of Pakistan to provide security commandos during the stay of elite in the hotel. The HR department is required to consult the facility manager in hiring the facility staff and operation staff. The facility manger is required to clearly identify the job descriptions and responsibilities of all manger and staff members in order to streamline the process, and provide the best facilities at the hotel customers and staff. Conclusion Facility managementis aninterdisciplinaryfield primarily devoted to the maintenance and care of commercial or institutional buildings, such ashotels,resorts,schools,office complexes,sports arenasorconvention centers. Duties may include the care ofair conditioning,electric power,plumbingandlightingsystems;cleaning;decoration;groundskeepingandsecurity. Some or all of these duties can be assisted by computer programs. These duties can be thought of as non-core or support services, because they are not the primary business (taken in the broadest sense of the word) of the owner organization. At Serena Hotel Islamabad the Facility Manger and Management of the hotel is very much focused about the facilities operations and maintenance. But some recommendations are provided for the management of the hotel to improve the facilities operations at Serena hotel. References http://www.facilities-management-companies.co.uk/index.php/types-of-facilities-management/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facility_management http://www.wbdg.org/om/om.php http://www.serenahotels.com/serenaislamabad/default-en.html http://www.citehr.com/99200-admin-facility-management-responsibilities.html http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/facilities_manager_job_description.jsp http://www.healthandsafety.co.uk/emplyr.htm http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?r.s=scr.l1=1073858799r.lc=enr.l3=1074402501r.l2=1074402480r.i=1074403745type=RESOURCESitemId=1074403738r.t=RESOURCESlang=_w http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace/rights/yourobligation/who/index.htm

I. C. T. :: Computer Science

I. C. T. DATA LOGGING AND CONTROL IDENTIFY My comrade (General Moeen Ahmed Abbasi) who was about to start his business of manufacturing new fighting jets had asked me to make him a system by which he could be able to see how his business was running. The reason for why he had asked me this is that I had my own business of developing new software and hardware. I went to meet him and he told me that he needed such an application by which he could be able to see his: Ø company details Ø employees details Ø customer details Ø shipping / importing / exporting details Ø sales Expenses And so forth. He wanted me to make this system of his ready in two weeks. This was of course more then enough, but as you should know that there are many people outside who haven't got a clue of what uses a computer is and how to use a computer is absolutely out of question. Now let's get back to the subject, as I was saying that it shouldn't take me too long. The longest it will take me should be no more than one day to design the database, one day to make it and two days to enter the company information. The manager had told me that to do everything manually would be like a migraine headache, because he also has a hotel that he used to run manually and therefore had the experience of running something manually is like "the horse riding you". So I have planned to split the database system into four parts. 1. company details (sales, employee details) 2. customer details 3. shipping details 4. query ANALYSE The most suitable package that I found for this database system is Microsoft Access ®. You must be thinking if we have a company of developing new software then why don't we use our own software, the answer to this is that we are develop only that kind of material which is yet not on the market. The reason for why I have chosen this package rather than any other package is that firstly this package is easy to use (a plus point for them), secondly it has several more facilities and finally I am more familiar with this package. For hardware/software there won't be any problems because luckily we had provided them with this. So the programs (software) will more likely be the same. However I will be using Windows XP ®, Pentium IV as my processor and I will be using Microsoft ® Office XP ®. For backup I shall most possibly use a CD-RW or a memory card should do.

Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited Essay

ITC Limited which previously stood for Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited is an Indian conglomerate with a turnover of US $ 4.75 billion. It ranks third in pre-tax profit among India’s private sector corporations. The company has its registered office in Kolkata. The company is currently headed by Yogesh Chander Deveshwar. It employs over 20,000 people at more than 60 locations across India and is listed on Forbes 2000. The Training Centre of the company is in Munger, Bihar. ITC is also known as â€Å"Chatkal† (especially in Munger). ITC Limited or ITC is an Indian conglomerate. Its diversified business includes five segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Hotels, Paperboards, Paper & Packaging and Agri Business. â€Å"A country’s brands are a reflection of its competitive strengths and a manifestation of its innovation and intellectual capacity. I strongly believe that a country’s economic capacity is significantly enriched when its institutions build and own internationally competitive brands. Winning brands serve as market anchors to support the competitiveness of the entire value chains of which they are a part. Strong domestic brands create much larger value since they create, capture and retain value within the country. ITC takes justifiable pride in creating world-class Indian brands that have demonstrated immense vitality in the global Indian market place.† Y C Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC Limited ITC’s Branded Packaged Foods business is one of the fastest growing foods businesses in India, driven by the market standing and consumer franchise of its seven popular brands – Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo!, Kitchens of India, mint-o, Candyman and Yippee! Over the past 5 years, the business has grown at an impressive rate faster than that of the industry. Given India’s rapid economic growth and rising disposable incomes, ITC’s Branded Packaged Foods business is well-positioned to ride this boom to secure robust, long-term growth. The business continues to invest in every aspect of manufacturing, distribution and marketing to ensure that it can leverage emerging opportunities and fulfill its aspiration of being the most trusted provider of Branded Packaged Foods in the country. HISTORY ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. As the Company’s ownership progressively Indianised, the name of the Company was changed from Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited to India Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. In recognition of the Company’s multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide range of businesses – Fast Moving Consumer Goods comprising Foods, Personal Care, Cigarettes and Cigars, Branded Apparel, Education and Stationery Products, Incense Sticks and Safety Matches, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business and Information Technology – the full stops in the Company’s name were removed effective September 18, 2001. The Company now stands rechristened Limited, ‘where ‘ITC’ is today no longer an acronym or an initialized form. A Modest Beginning The Company’s beginnings were humble. A leased office on Radha Bazaar Lane, Kolkata, was the centre of the Company’s existence. The Company celebrated its 16th birthday on August 24, 1926, by purchasing the plot of land situated at 37, Chowringhee, (now renamed J.L. Nehru Road) Kolkata, for the sum of Rs 310,000. This decision of the Company was historic in more ways than one. It was to mark the beginning of a long and eventful journey into India’s future. The Company’s headquarter building, ‘Virginia House’, which came up on that plot of land two years later, would go on to become one of Kolkata’s most venerated landmarks. 1925: Packaging and Printing: Backward Integration Though the first six decades of the Company’s existence were primarily devoted to the growth and consolidation of the Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco businesses, ITC’s Packaging & Printing Business was set up in 1925 as a strategic backward integration for ITC’s Cigarettes business. It is today India’s most sophisticated packaging house. 1975: Entry into the Hospitality Sector – A ‘Welcome’ Move The Seventies witnessed the beginnings of a corporate transformation that would usher in momentous changes in the life of the Company. In 1975, the Company launched its Hotels business with the acquisition of a hotel in Chennai which was rechristened ‘ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel Chola’ (now renamed My Fortune, Chennai). The objective of ITC’s entry into the hotels business was rooted in the concept of creating value for the nation. ITC chose the Hotels business for its potential to earn high levels of foreign exchange, create tourism infrastructure and generate large scale direct and indirect employment. Since then ITC’s Hotels business has grown to occupy a position of leadership, with over 100 owned and managed properties spread across India under four brands namely, ITC Hotels – Luxury Collection, WelcomHotels, Fortune Hotels and WelcomHeritage. ITC Hotels recently took its first step toward international expansion with an upcoming super premium luxury hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In addition, ITC Hotels also recently tied up with RP Group Hotels & Resorts to manage 5 hotels in Dubai and India under ITC Hotels’ 5-star ‘WelcomHotel’ brand and the mid-market to upscale ‘Fortune’ brand. 1979: Paperboards & Specialty Papers – Development of a Backward Area In 1979, ITC entered the Paperboards business by promoting ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited. Bhadrachalam Paperboards amalgamated with the Company effective March 13, 2002 and became a Division of the Company, Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division. In November 2002, this division merged with the Company’s Tribeni Tissues Division to form the Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division. ITC’s paperboards’ technology, productivity, quality and manufacturing processes are comparable to the best in the world. It has also made an immense contribution to the development of Sarapaka, an economically backward area in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is directly involved in education, environmental protection and community development. In 2004, ITC acquired the paperboard manufacturing facility of BILT Industrial Packaging Co. Ltd (BIPCO), near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The Kovai Unit allows ITC to improve customer service with reduced lead time and a wider product range. 1985: Nepal Subsidiary – First Steps beyond National Borders In 1985, ITC set up Surya Tobacco Co. in Nepal as an Indo-Nepal and British joint venture. In August 2002, Surya Tobacco became a subsidiary of ITC Limited and its name was changed to Surya Nepal Private Limited (Surya Nepal). In 2004, the company diversified into manufacturing and exports of garments. 1990: Paperboards & Specialty Papers – Consolidation and Expansion In 1990, ITC acquired Tribeni Tissues Limited, a Specialty paper manufacturing company and a major supplier of tissue paper to the cigarette industry. The merged entity was named the Tribeni Tissues Division (TTD). To harness strategic and operational synergies, TTD was merged with the Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division to form the Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division in November 2002. 1990: Agri Business – Strengthening Farmer Linkages Also in 1990, leveraging its agri-sourcing competency, ITC set up the Agri Business Division for export of agri-commodities. The Division is today one of India’s largest exporters. ITC’s unique and now widely acknowledged e-Choupal initiative began in 2000 with soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Now it extends to 10 states covering over 4 million farmers. Also, through the ‘Choupal Pradarshan Khet’ initiative, the agri services vertical has been focusing on improving productivity of crops while deepening the relationship with the farming community. 2002: Education & Stationery Products – Offering the Greenest products ITC launched line of premium range of notebooks under brand Paperkraft in 2002. To augment its offering and to reach a wider student population, the Classmate range of notebooks was launched in 2003. Classmate over the years has grown to become India’s largest notebook brand and has also increased its portfolio to occupy a greater share of the school bag. Years 2007- 2009 saw the launch of Practical Books, Drawing Books, Geometry Boxes, Pens and Pencils under the ‘Classmate’ brand. In 2008, ITC positioned the business as the Education and Stationery Products Business and launched India’s first environment friendly premium business paper under the ‘Paperkraft’ Brand. ‘Paperkraft’ offers a diverse portfolio in the premium executive stationery and office consumables segment. In 2010, Colour Crew was launched as a new brand of art stationery. 2000: Lifestyle Retailing – Premium Offerings ITC also entered the Lifestyle Retailing business with the Wills Sport range of international quality relaxed wear for men and women in 2000. The Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal wear (2002) and Wills Clublife evening wear (2003). ITC also initiated a foray into the popular segment with its men’s wear brand, John Players, in 2002. In 2006, Wills Lifestyle became title partner of the country’s most premier fashion event – Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week – that has gained recognition from buyers and retailers as the single largest B-2-B platform for the Fashion Design industry. To mark the occasion, ITC launched a special ‘Wills Signature’, taking the event forward to consumers. 2000: Information Technology – Business Friendly Solutions In 2000, ITC spun off its information technology business into a wholly owned subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited, to more aggressively pursue emerging opportunities in this area. Today ITC Infotech is one of India’s fastest growing global IT and IT-enabled services companies and has established itself as a key player in offshore outsourcing, providing outsourced IT solutions and services to leading global customers across key focus verticals – Banking Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Retail, Manufacturing, Engineering Services, Media & Entertainment, Travel, Hospitality, Life Sciences and Transportation & Logistics. 2001: Branded Packaged Foods – Delighting Millions of Households ITC’s foray into the Foods business is an outstanding example of successfully blending multiple internal competencies to create a new driver of business growth. It began in August 2001 with the introduction of’Kitchens of India’ ready-to-eat Indian gourmet dishes. In 2002, ITC entered the confectionery and staples segments with the launch of the brands mint-o and Candyman confectionery and Aashirvaad atta (wheat flour). 2003 witnessed the introduction of Sunfeast as the Company entered the biscuits segment. ITC entered the fast growing branded snacks category with Bingo! in 2007. In 2010, ITC launched Sunfeast Yippee! to enter the Indian instant noodles market. In just over a decade, the Foods business has grown to a significant size under seven distinctive brands, with an enviable distribution reach, a rapidly growing market share and a solid market standing. 2002: Agarbattis & Safety Matches – Supporting the Small and Cottage Sector In 2002, ITC’s philosophy of contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the entire value chain found yet another expression in the Safety Matches initiative. ITC now markets popular safety matches brands like iKno,Mangaldeep and Aim. ITC’s foray into the marketing of Agarbattis (incense sticks) in 2003 marked the manifestation of its partnership with the cottage sector. Mangaldeep is a highly established national brand and is available across a range of fragrances like Rose, Jasmine, Bouquet, Sandalwood and ‘Fragrance of Temple’. 2005: Personal Care Products – Expert Solutions for Discerning Consumers ITC entered the Personal Care Business in 2005. In eight years, the Personal Care portfolio has grown under’Essenza Di Wills’, ‘Fiama Di Wills’, ‘Vivel’ and ‘Superia’ brands which have received encouraging consumer response and have been progressively extended nationally. In May 2013, the business expanded its product portfolio with the launch of Engage – one of India’s first range of ‘couple deodorants’ 2010: Expanding the Tobacco Portfolio In 2010, ITC launched its handrolled cigar, Armenteros, in the Indian market. Armenteros cigars are available exclusively at tobacco selling outlets in select hotels, fine dining restaurants and exclusive clubs. PRODUCTS & SERVICES *FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS: 1) CIGARETTES: ITC is the market leader in cigarettes in India. With its wide range of invaluable brands, ITC has a leadership position in every segment of the market. ITC’s highly popular portfolio of brands includes Insignia, India Kings, Lucky Strike, Classic, Gold Flake, Navy Cut, Players, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol, Flake, Silk Cut, Duke & Royal. The Company has been able to consolidate its leadership position with single minded focus on continuous value creation for consumers through significant investments in creating & bringing to market innovative product designs, maintaining consistent & superior quality, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, & superior marketing and distribution. With consumers & consumer insights driving strategy, ITC has been able to fortify market standing in the long-term, by developing & delivering contemporary offers relevant to the changing attitudes & aspirations of the constantly evolving consumer. ITC’s pursuit of international competitiveness is reflected in its initiatives in overseas markets. In the extremely competitive US market, ITC offers high-quality, value-priced cigarettes and Roll-your-own solutions. In West Asia, ITC has become a key player in the GCC markets through its export operations. ITC’s cigarettes are manufactured in state-of-the-art factories at Bengaluru, Munger, Saharanpur, Kolkata and Pune, with cutting-edge technology & excellent work practices benchmarked to the best globally. An efficient supply-chain & distribution network reaches India’s popular brands across the length & breadth of the country. 2) FOODS: TC made its entry into the branded & packaged Foods business in August 2001 with the launch of the Kitchens of India brand. A more broad-based entry has been made since June 2002 with brand launches in the Confectionery, Staples and Snack Foods segments. The Foods business is today represented in 4 categories in the market. These are: * Ready to Eat Foods * Staples * Confectionery * Snack Foods In order to assure consumers of the highest standards of food safety and hygiene, ITC is engaged in assisting outsourced manufacturers in implementing world-class hygiene standards through HACCP certification. The unwavering commitment to internationally benchmarked quality standards enabled ITC to rapidly gain market standing in all its 6 brands: * Kitchens of India * Aashirvaad * Sunfeast * Mint-o *Candyman * Bingo! *Yippee! 2) INCENSE STICKS: As part of ITC’s business strategy of creating multiple drivers of growth in the FMCG sector, the Company commenced marketing Agarbattis (Incense Sticks) sourced from small-scale and cottage units in 2003. This Business leverages the core strengths of ITC in nation-wide distribution and marketing, brand building, supply chain management, manufacture of high quality paperboards and the creation of innovative packaging solutions to offer Indian consumers high quality Agarbattis. With its participation in the business, ITC aims to enhance the competitiveness of the small-scale and cottage units through its complementary R&D based product development and strengths in trade marketing and distribution. The Business continues to work on various exciting new offerings to the consumers and is planning to launch them in the near future. In line with ITC’s Triple Bottom Line philosophy of every business contributing to the nation’s economic, environmental and social capital, Mangaldeep agarbattis are manufactured by small scale and cottage units, providing livelihood opportunities for more than 14,000 people. Mangaldeep Agarbatti is manufactured at various centres & 5 of the manufacturing units are ISO 9000 certified. Mangaldeep ASHA (Assistance in Social Habilitation through Agarbattis) is an ITC initiative to improve the quality of raw agarbatti production and provide better livelihood for women rollers. ITC has also extended support to NGOs in states and like Bihar, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, who are setting up agarbatti units, training village women in rolling agarbattis and employing them in these units. ITC has signed a MoU with ORMAS (Orissa Rural Development & Marketing Society), an autonomous body under the Pachayat Raj in Odisha. This initiative provides technical training to rural women & provides employment opportunities to over 4000 rural women†¦ 3) STATIONERY: ITC made its entry to the education and stationery business with its Paperkraft brand in the premium segment in 2002; and later expanded into the popular segment with its Classmate brand in 2003. By 2007, Classmate became the largest Notebook brand in the country. Together, Classmate and Paperkraft offer a range of products in the Education & Stationery space to the discerning consumer, providing unrivalled value in terms of product & price. Classmate and Paperkraft have become a natural extension of the consumer. Meticulous understanding of consumer needs helped creating a relevant and comprehensive portfolio satisfying the needs of different sets of consumers. ITC is the manufacturer of India’s first Ozone treated environment friendly Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, paper and paperboard. It blends its knowledge of image processing, printing and conversion garnered from Packaging & Printing Business with its brand building and trade marketing & distribution strengths resi dent in its FMCG business to offer superior value products to consumers. Paperkraft Business paper and the papers used in Classmate and Paperkraft notebooks are superior in quality and environment-friendly. Other offerings available in education and Stationery range are safe and certified non-toxic. 4) LIFESTYLE APPAREL: ITC’s Lifestyle Retailing Business Division has established a nationwide retailing presence through its Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive specialty stores. Wills Lifestyle, the fashion destination, offers a tempting choice of Wills Classic work wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Club life evening wear, fashion accessories and Essenza Di Wills – an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care products and Fiama Di Wills – a range of premium shampoos and shower gels. Wills Lifestyle has also introduced Wills Signature designer wear, designed by the leading designers of the country. Wills Classic Wills Classic work wear was launched in November 2002, providing the premium consumer a distinct product offering and a unique brand positioning. John Players ITC forayed into the youth fashion segment with the launch of In December 2002 and John Players is committed to be the No. 1 fashion brand for the youth. .* HOTELS: ITC Welcome group Hotels, Palaces and Resorts is India’s second largest hotel chain with over 80 hotels. Based out of Hotels Division Headquarters at the ITC Green Centre in Gurgaon, ITC Welcome group is also the exclusive franchisee of The Luxury Collection brand of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in India. ITC entered the hotels business in 1975 with the acquisition of a hotel in Chennai, which was then rechristened ITC Chola. Since then the ITC-Welcomgroup brand has become synonymous with Indian hospitality with over 90 hotels in 77 destinations. * PAPERBOARDS & SPECIALITY PAPERS: ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited & ITC Tribeni Tissues Division are now under one roof – Paper Boards and Specialty Papers Division. There are 4 Units under one umbrella – Bhadrachalam, Tribeni, Bollarum and Kovai. ITC’s Packaging & Printing Business is the country’s largest convertor of paper board into packaging. It converts over 50,000 tonnes of paper and paperboard per annum into a variety of value-added packaging solutions for the food & beverage, personal products, cigarette, liquor, cellular phone and IT packaging industries. It has also entered the Flexibles and Corrugated Cartons business. *AGRI-BUSINESS: E-Choupal The unique e-Choupal model creates a significant two-way multi-dimensional channel which can efficiently carry products and services into and out of rural India, whilere covering the associated costs through agri-sourcing led efficiencies. This initiative now comprises about 6500 installations covering nearly 40,000 villages and serving over 4million farmers. Leaf Tobacco ITC is the largest buyer, processor and exporter of leaf tobaccos in India – creating a global benchmark as the single largest integrated source of quality tobaccos. Serving customers in 50 countries across more than 70 destinations, ITC co-creates and delivers value at every stage of the leaf tobacco value chain. Corporate strategies ITC is a board-managed professional company, committed to creating enduring value for the shareholder and for the nation. It has a rich organizational culture rooted in its core values of respect for people and belief in empowerment. Its philosophy of all-round value creation is backed by strong corporate governance policies and systems. ITC’s corporate strategies are: Create multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world class businesses that best matches organizational capability with opportunities in domestic and export markets. Continue to focus on the chosen portfolio of FMCG, Hotels, Paper, Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business and Information Technology. Benchmark the health of each business comprehensively across the criteria of Market Standing, Profitability and Internal Vitality. Ensure that each of its businesses is world class and internationally competitive. Enhance the competitive power of the portfolio through synergies derived by blending the diverse skills and capabilities residing in ITC are various businesses. Create distributed leadership within the organization by nurturing talented and focused top management teams for each of the businesses. Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes and systems to catalyze the entrepreneurial energies of management by striking the golden balance between executive freedom and the need for effective control and accountability. MARKETING STRATEGIES ITC pricing strategy: The pricing of the ITC food division depends upon the Customers’ demand schedule, the cost function and the competitors’ price. The pricing of the company is such that it caters to the need of all income groups of people but special provision has been kept for Low and middle income group, and their pricing are competitive with respect to other players like Britannia, Parle and Brisk farm. The company follows the Going rate pricing that is the price of the product depends upon the competitors price. The firm chooses pricing more or less the same as Market leader. ITC Promotional activities A particular budget is allocated for the promotion of the products, the local promotion scheme is decided by the Area Sales manages, it give its suggestion to the District office and that is forwarded to the Head Quarter in Kolkata. In another promotional scheme for Biscuits a particular number of cases is given freely to the distributors according to the amount of sale they make, this was a drop down promotion I.e. of the number of free cases that a particular distributors gets, off them ascertain part is reserved for the retailers and customer if they buy a certain level of biscuit quantity. ITC Distribution Buoyed by a strong distribution network ITC is likely to retain its market share in the cigarettes business; the ban on advertisements is likely to work in favor of ITC thanks to the recall factor. The company’s reliable distribution network also ensures superior inventory turnover than its peers. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SOCIAL PERFORMANCE As a Company that continuously strives to be ‘Citizen First’, ITC attaches critical importance to its responsibility to contribute to the ‘Triple Bottom Line’, namely the augmentation of economic, ecological and social capital. This commitment finds expression in the Company’s sustainable development philosophy, which recognizes the need to not only preserve but also enrich precious environmental resources. ITC’s social development initiatives harmonize the Company’s endeavour to create shareholder value with making a substantial contribution to society. In partnership with rural communities, ITC supports over 5 million livelihoods in India. The thrust of the Company’s social sector investment is in four areas: (a) Web-enablement of the Indian farmer through the e-Choupal initiative; (b) Natural resource management, which includes wasteland, watershed and agriculture development; (c) Sustainable livelihood creation, comprising gen etic improvement in livestock productivity and women’s economic empowerment; and (d) Community development, with focus on primary education and health & sanitation. MILESTONES 4 million farmers empowered, 6,500 e – Choupals installed 1,45,000 hectares greened, generating 65.67 million person – days of employment 1,21,000 hectares brought under soil and moisture conservation 18,700 women members, 1,494 self – help groups 314 Cattle Development Centers, Animal husbandry services provided to 4,90,000 animals 3,00,000 children covered through 2,845 Supplementary Learning systems 1) Initiatives taken- Let’s put India first ITC is committed to a national agenda of raising agricultural productivity and making the rural economy more socially inclusive. ITC believes that the urgency and scale of these tasks make market linked solutions and innovations more effective and sustainable than capital intensive approaches. 2) Social & farm Forestry ITC has helped to bring nearly 13,000 hectares of wasteland under social forestry benefiting more than 16,000 poor households in 466 villages. ITC’s social forestry programme simultaneously addresses the livelihood problems of marginal farmers and the ecological imperative of regenerating biomass and nurturing depleted soils. 3) Watershed Development ITC’s watershed initiatives have led to an improvement in soil and moisture regimes – there is more land under irrigation, water tables have risen and farmers can harvest more than one crop, making it possible to live off the land round the year. 4) Agricultural Development ITC offers facilitation to farmers to form agri-business societies, pool knowledge and resources, improve productivity and quality, and reach out beyond local markets to sell at better margins. 5) Women Empowerment The confidence and skills generated among women by forming credit groups and managing businesses become assets to their communities. 6) Livestock Development The milk marketing co-operatives represent exemplary change in rural enterprise, away from dependence on agriculture and local markets. 7) Primary Education School going becomes an empowering process for the child and the community. The awareness of entitlements like education and health grows, along with a sense of the community’s responsibility. INVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE Economic progress and long-term business sustainability are today threatened by the real and adverse consequences of global warming and accelerated climate change. ITC has responded to the challenges emerging from the threat of global warming by aligning its corporate strategy with national priorities. Accordingly, in line with the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), they have adopted strategies to address climate change-related impacts and developed appropriate mitigation and adaptation plans. Their unique approach has been to integrate these plans with their business strategies and not as separate activities. Their Strategies Include 1. Identifying and evaluating climate change risks for each business. 2. Reducing the environmental impact of our processes, products and services and working towards creating a positive environmental footprint. 3. Adopting a low carbon growth path through reduction in specific energy consumption and enhanced use of renewable energy sources. 4. Enlarging our carbon positive footprint through increased carbon sequestration by expanding forestry projects in wastelands. 5. Reducing specific freshwater intake and augmenting rainwater harvesting activities both on-site and off-site at watershed catchment areas. 6. Working towards minimising waste generation, maximising its reuse and recycling and using external post-consumer waste as raw material in our Units. 7. Creating sustainable livelihoods and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Global honors ITC constantly endeavors to benchmark its products, services and processes to global standards. The Company’s pursuit of excellence has earned it national and international honors. ITC is one of the eight Indian companies to figure in Forbes A-List for 2004, featuring 400 of â€Å"the world’s best big companies†. Forbes has also named ITC among Asia’s ‘Fab 50’ and the World’s Most Reputable Companies. ITC has several firsts to its credit: ITC is the first from India and among the first 10 companies in the world to publish its Sustainability Report in compliance (at the highest A+ level) with the latest G3 guidelines of the Netherlands-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a UN-backed, multistakeholder international initiative to develop and disseminate globally applicable Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. ITC is the first Indian company and the second in the world to win the prestigious Development Gateway Award. It won the $100,000 Award for the year 2005 for its trailblazing ITC e-Choupal initiative which has achieved the scale of a movement in rural India. The Development Gateway Award recognizes ITC’s e-Choupal as the most exemplary contribution in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development during the last 10 years. ITC e-Choupal won the Award for the importance of its contribution to development priorities like poverty reduction, its scale and replicability, sustainability and transparency. ITC has won the inaugural ‘World Business Award’, the worldwide business award recognizing companies who have made significant efforts to create sustainable livelihood opportunities and enduring wealth in developing countries. The award has been instituted jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the HRH Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF). ITC is the first Corporate to receive the Annual FICCI Outstanding Vision Corporate Triple Impact Award in 2007 for its invaluable contribution to the triple bottom line benchmarks of building economic, social and natural capital for the nation. ITC has won the Golden Peacock Awards for ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (Asia)’ in 2007, the Award for ‘CSR in Emerging Economies 2005’ and ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance’ in the same year. These Awards have been instituted by the Institute of Directors, New Delhi, in association with the World Council for Corporate Governance and Centre for Corporate Governance. ITC Hotel Gardenia, Bangalore is the first Indian Hotel and world’s largest, to get the LEED Platinum rating – the highest green building certification globally.