Technology Replacing Human Contact Essay Example for Free

Technology Replacing Human Contact Essay In my personal opinion, yes, technology is replacing human contact. I have many friends that are high school teachers and they are being trained on how to teach online courses. While this makes sense for college students, I don’t think online courses are the proper way to go with high school students. In college people need the flexibility for work, families, etc. In high school, students do not need the flexibility, high school teaches more than just knowledge, you get social skills, meet people, have to work with other people and physical activity. I think this changes society in a big way, social skills are extremely important in many different aspects of life. I think that businesses should be allowed to use technology freely, if it is able to help improve their work flow and their productivity, they should be allowed to use it. People need to be careful with keeping up on technology so as businesses further their practices with it, people are able to keep up. I think there should be more training options out there to help people especially when more technically advanced employees are more likely to get hired/promoted versus ones that may not have those skills. I think that the government should not have control over what is posted on the internet, people should know how to tell whether the information is good information or not. While this does make it hard, trusted sources are easy to come by and the government should not be able to decide what information the citizens get access to and what information they don’t. It makes it harder for them to hide things happening in the world from us like they sometimes do but at the same time, the internet helps them catch a lot of criminals that they wouldn’t have caught in another way.

Energy Drinks Market in Denmark Essay Example for Free

Energy Drinks Market in Denmark Essay 1. Introduction Danish soft drinks sales have recorded positive volume growth in recent years. Strong volume growth was recorded in energy drinks sales attributed to the aggressive marketing and new product launches. Some of the major players in the Danish energy drink market are Burn and Red Bull. Accordingly, the main aim of this report will be to identify and analyze the possible ways for Burn energy drink product to compete with the world famous energy drink Red Bull which has recently entered into Danish energy drink market in 2009. 1. 1 Problem Description In 2009, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration approved the increase of caffeine level in energy drink. This has given a wide-open-door for beverage companies to develop in this segment. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Red bull the world’s most famous energy drink company, started to compete within the Danish energy drink market. On the other hand, Coca-cola Denmark also considered it as an opportunity to further develop product chain of its energy drink Burn. In Denmark, Burn has been dominating the energy drink market so far but now with the entry of Red Bull into the market it will now have to strategically develop its marketing mix to find a better way to compete with Red Bull and maintain its dominant position. 1. 2 Problem Statement We define the problem question for our research as follows: How could Burn compete with Red Bull on the Danish energy drink market? To support main question we have formulated some sub questions. They are as follows: 1. 2. 1 What is the preference of customers between Burn and Red Bull? 1. 2. 2 How should Burn products be developed and how should they be priced? 1. 2. 3 How should Coca-cola Denmark promote and distribute Burn? 1. 3 Definitions 1. 3. 1 Energy drink Energy drink can be defined as a drink or the beverage that contains higher doses of caffeine and other stimulating agents that give you instant energy. The doses of the caffeine and the stimulants are legally approved by the government health authorities. The main purpose of drinking an Energy drink is to get an instant energy to your body. 1. 3. 2 Burn energy drink. Burn Energy Drink is a functional beverage, mixture of 14 ingredients that come in a 16 ounce can and is available at almost every grocery store or convenience store across Denmark. It is one of the products of Coca-Cola Company. 1. 3. 3 Red Bull energy drink Red Bull Energy Drink is a functional beverage, specially developed for periods of increased mental and physical exertion. It can be drunk in virtually any situation: during sports, at work, whilst driving and during leisure activities. 1. 4 Demarcations (Scope and limitation of the study) As every report has its limitations, this report is also subject to various limitations. This report is based on two products, Burn and Red Bull which are the products of The Coca-Cola Company and The Red Bull Company respectively. These two companies have various product categories; however this report will be focused only on those two products among wide category of energy drink in energy drink sector. As far as the market place is concerned, this report is limited to the Danish market. Most of the consumers of energy drinks in Danish market are mainly the younger people aged 18-25. Considering this fact we have selected this age group as our target group. 2 Theoretical Background. This section of the report helps to provide the broad theoretical framework used for interpreting the research presented in this report. Various marketing theories have been applied as a background in this report. Theory of Market segmentation is used to analyze Burn and Red Bull in the Danish Market. To analyze the competition between Burn and Red Bull, Competitor Benchmark Analysis is used. Finally Using the theory of Marketing Mix (4 Ps), recommendation to Burn has been made to successfully develop its marketing campaign so that it can increase its sales and compete with Red Bull. 2. 1 Market segmentation. Market segmentation will be identified by taking into consideration the demographic variables (like gender, different age group and life style) and geographical locations (various cities of Denmark) like Center of Copenhagen, Sj? lland, Fyn and Jylland 2. 2 Competitive Benchmark Analysis Competitive benchmark of Burn will be made with its direct competitor, Red Bull. For this we will take various factors which are flavor, taste, brand, price, place (convenient to buy), packaging and effectiveness of the products. During our group discussion these factors came up as the most relevant criteria for making competitive benchmark. Accordingly, respondents were asked to rate and evaluate both Burn and Red Bull on those factors during the online survey. 2. 3 Marketing Mix (4 Ps) Marketing Mix i. e. 4 Ps will be taken as theoretical base for providing recommendation to Burn after the analysis of data and findings are presented. Accordingly, Product, Price, Place and Promotion Strategy will be presented in order for Burn to successfully compete against its rival Red Bull. Then after, the conclusion will be made. 3 Methodology Description This section of the report gives information about the stages that we went through while doing the research and writing the report. 3. 1 Research Design We chose exploratory design as our research design. We have a research problem which is unstructured. We do not have enough information about our topic for which we have to investigate more on our topic. Both Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods are used. To gain more and more information and insights about the problem topic, Qualitative research design was chosen. Using qualitative data collection method, it became easier for us to change translate and reformulate our unstructured questions. Quantitative method is also used in order to check the validity of the results obtained from qualitative method. For quantitative data collection we tried to get as many respondents as possible who can represent the total population. 3. 2 Primary and secondary data collection For this research we have chosen both Qualitative and Quantitative data collection method for primary data. Similarly, wherever required, we have also used secondary data from the articles, publications and website of the company as well as blogs and other relevant news articles. 3. 3 Qualitative data collection To collect the qualitative data, a focus group interview was conducted. We prepared the interview guide for the focus group which is attached in the appendix. The focus group contained 11 members who are the students from 2nd semester class at Niels Brock. After the completion of interview process we also took a blind test among the focus group interview participants plus 15 other students. Students were chosen randomly. Each of them were given to drink two glasses, one filled with Burn and another filled with Red Bull and were asked which one they like and how they taste. The responses from the participants were used for the analysis. 3. 4 Quantitative data collection To collect quantitative data, we prepared structured questionnaire. It consisted of 15 questions (open and closed ended questions). We posted our research questionnaire in the Facebook blogs and invited 600 Facebook users through simple random method. We got only 116 responses and of which only 77 respondents answered all questions of questionnaire. So in this research 77 respondents are our total number of observation. In other words our sample size is 77 which represent the total population of energy drink customers in Denmark. 4 Presentation and analysis of data The presentation and analysis of data has been categorized as Market segmentation and Competitor Benchmark. 4. 1 Market Segmentation of energy drinks 4. 1. 1 Analysis of Focused group interview: During the focused group interview, 11 participants were asked about the consumption of energy drink every week. Among the participants, 1 participant consumes 5 or more cans per week. 4 respondents consume 3 to 4 cans and 1-2 cans as well. Whereas, 2 respondents consume less than 1 can of energy drink. Thus their consumption habit is around 1-4 cans per week. When there was a discussion about the occasions during which they consume the energy drink, most of the answers was during workout, training or going to sports and when mixing with alcohol. There was also a discussion about having coffee instead of energy drink when one is tired. 6 participants said that they prefer coffee whereas others preferred energy drink. Regarding price, most of the respondents voted for cheaper one, less than 20 DKK and between15-17 DKK. 4. 1. 2 Analysis of Online questionnaire survey The willingness of various age groups towards energy drink is illustrated in the diagram below. It shows that 56% of respondents from age group 18 to 25 years are interested in energy drink. Figure 1 Willingness of various age-groups towards energy drink Source: Appendix 4 Similarly, 20% of respondents from the age group below 18 and 26-35 years age group showed their interest in energy drink. But only 4% of the elderly respondents are interested in energy drink. Thus, it can be seen that the highest number of people from the age group 18-25 years are interested in the energy drink. Figure 2 Willingness towards energy drink by gender Source: Appendix 5 The above figure shows that 68% of male population is interested in energy drink whereas only 32% of female population is interested in Energy drink. Figure 3 Willingness towards energy drink by location Source: Appendix 6 According to the above figure, most of the respondents from center of Copenhagen are interested in energy drink. 68% respondents from the Copenhagen region and 32% respondents from Sj? land region showed interest in energy drink. While analysisng the age wise consumption of energy drink which is illustrated in the figure below it has been seen that the data is bit conflicting. Figure 4 Age wise consumption of energy drink Source: Appendix 7 As shown by the diagram, those who almost never drink energy drinks are higher in age group 18 to 25 years. But again, those drinking from 1-2 cans per week are also higher number in age category 18-25 years but less compared to those who never drink. But what can be concluded that those who drinks energy drinks they normally consume 12 cans per week and are higher in 18-25 years category. Analyzing the preferred occasions when customers usually like to drink energy drink, the research show that customers usually prefer it to mix with alcohol as their first preference and then drinking when they are tired. Figure 5 Occasional preference of Energy Drink by gender Source: Appendix 8 The above graph shows most of both females and males consume energy drink when they mix with alcohol. 22 females out of 35 female respondents (63%) and 19 males out of 42 male respondents (45%) said they consume it when they mix with alcohol. Similarly 43% of female and 40 % of male respondents answered that they take energy drink when they are tired. Likewise, 11% female and 33% male said that they take it when they go to sports. 14% of female and 21% of male chose energy drink when they are thirsty and 6% of female and 7% of male chose for other occasions. Figure 6 Customers willingness to pay for the energy drink Source: Appendix 9. Relating to the price it can be clearly seen from the figure above that 18-25 years age group which is the target customers for energy drinks are willing to pay 16-20 DKK for the energy drinks where as 26-35 years age group are willing to pay 10-15 DKK for the drink. 4. 2 Competitor Benchmark (Burn and Red Bull) 4. 2. 1 Analysis of Focused group interview: During the focused group interview, 8 out of 11 participants preferred Red Bull. Only 3 preferred Burn. When there was a discussion of product features like taste, flavor and effectiveness of the products; participants said that effectiveness of the product is important. During the blind test 26 participants were made to taste both Burn and Red Bull drinks blindfolded. Table 1 Preference of product by tasting without knowing the product (Blind Test) BurnRed BullBoth Total no. of participant (26)9152 The research showed that Red Bull was highly preferred by the participants with 58% appreciating the taste of Red Bull. Burn was preferred by only 35% of the participants. 4. 2. 2 Analysis of Online questionnaire survey The illustration of various measures to which the consumer gave importance when buying energy drink is shown in the figure below. Figure 7 Customers’ emphasis when buying energy drink. Source: Appendix 10 We found data of customers according to the importance they give to various measures or elements when they want to buy an energy drink. The above graph shows that 53% of the total respondents said flavor is very important when they buy energy drink. About taste, 60% said it is very important. None of the respondents said that it is not important at all. Talking about brand, only 19% said very important, 34% said important, 30% said not so important and 17% said not important at all. About price, 51 %( more than half population) said that it is very important. Only 5% said not so important and no respondents said that it is not important at all. So far as convenient place to buy is concerned, 29% said very important, 54% said important. When packaging is concerned 16% said very important, 29% said important 39% said not so important and 16% said not important at all. When it is about effectiveness, 44% said it is very important, 38% said important. Thus the analysis shows that flavor, taste, price, convenient buying options and effectiveness of the drinks are important for customers where as brand and packaging are not that important in buying decision. Based on the various factors to which the consumers give preference when buying energy drinks, comparative analysis between Burn and Red Bull has been carried out. This can be described from the figure given below. We asked the respondents to evaluate Burn and Red Bull giving them 4 options (Very Good, Good, Bad, Very Bad). But here in the analysis we have taken only two options as we think these two options are sufficient for comparative analysis. Figure 8 Comparison of Burn and Red Bull based on the various factors Source: Appendix 11 The above figure shows the customers preference between Burn and Red Bull on the various factors which are important for their buying decision. 34% of the total respondents said the flavor of Burn is good and 23% said very good while 48% and 29% said the flavor of Red Bull is good and very good respectively. Similarly, 39% and 13% of the total respondents said the taste of Burn is good and very good respectively while 52% and 29% respectively chose good and very good for the taste of Red Bull. As far as brand is considered, 39% and 26% said the Burn brand is good and very good respectively while 42% and 45% said Red Bull brand is good and very good respectively. When it is about price, 27% and 12% chose good and very good for Burn while 16% and 12% for Red Bull. 35% and 23% of total population said Burn is good and very good respectively when considering convenient to buy whereas for Red Bull it is 38% and 17% respectively. About packaging 36% and 22% answered good and very good for Burn while for Red Bull its 45% and 18%. Finally for the effectiveness of the product, 39% and 18% respectively chose good and very good for Burn while it is 45% and 25% for Red Bull. Thus the analysis shows that customers highly prefer Red Bull while relating to flavor, taste, and brand. On the other hand, with relating to price, convenient to buy and nice packaging, customers seemed to prefer Burn. So far as the effectiveness is concerned, Preference towards Red Bull is high but the difference is not so much. 5 Findings and summary of the analysis According to the analysis presented above, it can be seen that the energy drink market segmentation is more concentrated on the costumers between age group of 18-25 and that the customers are dominantly male rather than female. Looking at the geographic distribution the market segment is undoubtedly concentrated on Copenhagen with to some extent also in Sj? land. However, the other fact is also that since Copenhagen is the largest city with dense population this result is quite obvious. The other important findings of the study regarding the life style of the customers relating to the consumption of energy drinks is that energy drinks are excessively consumed as a mix in alcohol and then it is consumed while people get tired. Also energy drinks are often consumed just 1 or 2 cans per week. Normally customers are willing to pay 16-20 DKK for the drink. The analysis shows that in general the customers give high importance to the flavor, taste, price, effectiveness and buying convenience while making their buying decisions of energy drinks and that the brand and packaging are not of importance for the customers. Keeping this in mind the competitor benchmark of Burn and Red Bull Red Bull clearly shows that though Red Bull being a new entrant in the Danish market it has succeeded in taking good share of energy drink market in Denmark. Red Bull is preferred by customers in terms of its flavor, taste which are important factor in general for customers while making their buying decisions. Similarly, with the effectiveness as well Red Bull is preferred by customers in comparison to Burn. Burn is preferred by customers in packaging which not of important factor for customers. But Burn still dominate Red Bull in terms of its easy availability at stores which is due to the fact that it is distributed by Carlsberg Brewery which is considered to have a very strong distribution channel in Danish market. (footnote) Again at price Burn is rated better owing to the fact that they are cheaper than Red Bull. Of course with the brand Red Bull is rated much better as it is an internationally recognized brand. 6 Recommendations Based on above findings following recommendations have been suggested for Burn to improve its products, promotion and pricing strategy. The recommendations will be based on the marketing mix (4 Ps) which is product, price, place and promotion. 6. 1 Product Since the research findings show that Red Bull has dominant preference by customers in terms of flavor, taste and effectiveness, therefore Burn has to come up with innovative product development in order to provide added value to its product so that customers preferences divert towards Burn. Therefore, considerable amount of resources and time should be spent on research and development of variety of flavors and appealing taste with its product. Since the market segment of the energy drink is mostly 18-25 years old and that they consume it as mix in alcohol so the taste preference of these age group should be taken into consideration and the flavor and taste should be developed which is appealing while mixing with alcohol as well. 6. 2 Price Relating to the price, Burn is cheaper that Red Bull and realizing the fact that Red Bull is gaining market share it is wise to maintain its low price strategy. 6. 3 Place The research show Burn with strong placement but since strong distribution channel is its one of core competencies it has to fully utilize this competences to move ahead form Red Bull to place its products at all the convenient stores. The major priority should be given to Copenhagen since it’s the main market segment but again taking advantage of its well managed distribution channel it should also focus on other cities where Red Bull are not able to reach due to lack of experience with the Danish market. 6. 4 Promotion A well planned advertising strategy should be developed mainly targeting on the 18-25 years age group and again the male customers who are the major customers of energy drinks. Though Red Bull is world recognized brand, Burn also has its brand reputation as it is a product of world class Coca Cola Company. Thus advertising campaign should also be focused to create awareness of the Coca Cola brand among the customers while promoting Burn which can positively influence customers’ choice. 7 Conclusion Based on the research analysis and findings, it can be concluded that within the Danish energy drinks market Burn is definitely getting a tough competition from Red Bull despite the fact the Red Bull is a new entrant in Danish market. Its global brand recognition has provided Red Bull with competitive strength which can be a serious threat to Burn in coming future. Therefore it is a must for Burn to take timely action and initiate necessary marketing strategies to compete with Red Bull. Burn has low price advantage as well as strong distribution channel which provide Burn with an edge in the competitive market and therefore it needs to look more into product development and promotion strategy in order to compete with Red Bull and thus gain success in the competitive energy drink market. 8. References Books David Jobber. (2007). Principles and Practice of Marketing. UK. McGraw-Hill Education Pervez GH, Kjell Gr. (2005). Research Methods in Business Studies. UK. Pearson Education Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. 2nd Ed. UK. Oxford University Press Burns, A. C. and Bush, R. F. (2006) Marketing Research, 5th ed. , Prentice Hall Kotler, P. and Keller, K. L. (2006) Marketing Management, 12th ed. , Prentice Hall Svend Hollensen, (2007) Global Marketing – a decision-oriented approach, Websites http://www. euromonitor. com/Soft_Drinks_in_Denmark http://advantageaustria. org/dk/news/local/Red-Bull-und-Shark. en. jsp http://www. aeofooddrink. com/34. php http://www. dietspotlight. com/burn-energy-drink-review/ http://www. redbull. com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Products/Red-Bull-Energy-Drink-021242751115866?p=1242745950125#/product-FAQ 9 Appendices Appendix. 1 Questionnaire Dear respondents, we make this survey in order to obtain more comprehensive knowledge about the energy drink sector in Denmark, particularly the two big brands: Burn and RedBull. So we would highly appreciate if you spend a few minutes answering our questionnaire. Your information will be treated anonymously! 1. How interested are you in energy drinks? oVery interested oInterested oNot very interested oNot intererested at all 2. How often do you drink energy drinks? oAlmost never oFrom 1 2 cans per week. oFrom 2-5 cans per week oMore than 5 cans per week 3. ON WHAT OCCASIONS DO YOU DRINK ENERGY DRINKS? oWhen Im tired oWhen Im thirsty oWhen I go to sports oWhen I mix with alcohol oOther (please specify in the box below) 4. Where do you often buy energy drinks? oIn the super markets oIn the bars oIn Seven Eleven oIn small shops (eg: gas station, kiosk etc) oOther (please specify in the box) 5. How much would you like to pay for an energy drink? o10 15 Kr o16 20 Kr o21 25 Kr oMore than 25 Kr 6. How important are the following factors when you buy energy drinks? Very important Important Not so important not important at all Good flavor Good taste Good brand Reasonable price Convenient to buy Nice packaging The effectiveness of the drinks 7. Which of these brands do you know? oBurn oRed Bull oNone of them 8. Which one of these brands do you prefer? oBurn oRed Bull oNone of them 9. How do you evaluate RED BULL in the following factors? Very goodGoodNot good-not badBad Very bad Brand Taste Flavor Price Convenient to buy Packaging Effectiveness 10. Do you have any recommendations for RED BULL to better meet your satisfaction? oI dont know oIm already very satisfied oI would recommend as follows: 11. How do you evaluate BURN in the following factors? Very good Good Not good-not bad Bad Very bad Brand Taste Flavor Price Convenient to buy Packaging Effectiveness 12. Do you have any recommendations for BURN to better meet your satisfaction? oI dont know oIm already very satisfied! oI would recommend as follows: 13. What is your age? oYounger than 18 years old oFrom 18 25 years old oFrom 26 35 years old 14. What is your gender? oMale oFemale 15. Which part of Denmark do you live in? oCenter of Copenhagen oSj? lland oFyn oJylland Appendix 2 Interview guide for focus group What criteria do people choose when they buy energy drink products? Are different flavors important? What occasion do they drink energy drink? Eg: when they’re tired, or mix with strong alcohol, etc. What product name(s) do they like? Why? Do they know Burn/Red Bull? Where do they buy? Do they like Burn/Red Bull products? How much should a can of energy drink cost? Appendix 3 Fokus gruppe analyse 2. Semester klasse Niels Brock Lien, Niraj, Silas og Michelle Market research Alle kender begge 11 deltager 8 ud af 11 kan lide red bull Dog viste det at 6 ud af 11 faktisk kun valgte Red Bull efter blinde smagning Smagen er bedre, burn er for sodt. (inden smagning af begge m? rker) Hvor mange energidrinks drikker du per uge? 1 drikker 4-5 cans a week 4 3-4 cans 4 1-2 cans 2 mindre end 1 Hvornar drikker du energidrinks? Sprut, tr? ning, Det er meget i forhold til det at man drikker alkohol. Enighed blandt minimum 8 af deltagerne Dog drikker mange det ogsa hvis de er tr? tte eller skal til tr? ning efter en lang dag i skole. Kaffe frem for energi drink hvis man kan lide det hvis man er tr? t og skal videre, dette mener 6 ud af 11 af deltagerne hvor de andre ikke kan lide kaffe eller mener at en energi drik er bedre†¦ Hvor meget vil du betale for en energidrink? Ikke mere end 20kr, mellem15-17kr ca er de fleste villige til at betale Men ville kobe den billigste hvis de stod mod hinanden pa hylden i super marked. Energien er mere vigtig end smagen. Irriterende reklamer – for meget nogenhed – provokerende reklamer – mener 2 af deltagerne, Red Bull promoverer ikke sadan (I Dk hvert fald).

Determinants for the Exchange Rates in Long Run

Determinants for the Exchange Rates in Long Run Table of Contents (Jump to) 1. Introduction 2. Determinants can affect the foreign exchange value of a currency in a long term 2.1. Purchasing power parity (PPP) and inflation rates 2.2. Growth rate of the economy 2.3. Interest rates 2.4. Commodity prices 2.5. Foreign direct investment and international speculation 2.6. Exchange rate expectations 2.7. Intervention into the foreign exchange market from authorities 3. Conclusion Reference list Introduction The foreign exchange market is primarily a wholesale market, where transactions are of the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars or even greater. The marketplace can consists of a telecommunication network and a range of information technology system, which help provide a mechanism for the exchange of currency around the world. The retail market where small volumes can be handled is often at a shop front location, such as an exchange bureau, a bank. In fact, the currency exchange rate is not only impacted by the law of demand and supply but also other determinants. The paper identifies and evaluates many determinants for the exchange rates in long run. These determinants are (1) purchasing power parity and inflation rates, (2) growth rates of the economy, (3) interest rates, (4) commodity prices, (5) foreign direct investment and international speculation, (6) exchange rates expectations, and (7) intervention into the foreign exchange market from authorities. The relative impact of structural shocks on the movement of exchange rates after the Bretton Woods period has examined multivariate processes. Determinants can affect the foreign exchange value of a currency in a long term 2.1. Purchasing power parity (PPP) and inflation rates If a domestic economy has higher inflation than the rest of the world, a decrease in demand for exports will result in the local currency exchange rates, which become less competitive in world market. Accordingly, there will be less demand for the local currency. On the other hand, when an increase in demand for imports as overseas goods become cheaper, compared to the domestic market, there will be an increase in supply of the local currency exchange rate. The PPP theory is based on traded goods and services. The determination of the exchange rates has sustained the maintenance of purchasing power parity between currencies. ‘PPP is indeed an important determinant of nominal currency valuation. ‘The law of one price’ asserts that, absent impediments to free trade, goods and services should have the same relative price regardless of the country in which they are sold.’[1] Which goods and services are cheaper in one country than another will be brought where they are cheap, and then to be sold where they are more expensive. From the viewpoint of exchange rate determination, PPP is useful as a reminder that the monetary policy has no long-run influence on the exchange rate. ‘When PPP diverges more than 15-20 per cent from its historical mean, that has proven to be among the most accurate indicators of a pending change in currency trends,’ [2] observed Mr. Eric Lonergan, global strategist for Cazenove in London. Nevertheless, the exchange rate can stray away from its PPP. In fact, PPP exchange rates are determined by comparing the national prices for a large volume of goods and services. A weaker PPP has contented in inflation rate, rather than actual prices of goods. The fall in the value of domestic currency results in reducing local currency rate, compared to the rest of the world. This phenomenon can offset the pricing impact of inflation. As a result, nations with different inflation rates can expect their exchange rate to adjust to offset these differentials in long run. ‘Real exchange rate movements do not completely coincide with perceived changes in competitiveness, reflecting a basic flaw in the PPP approach. Instead, the likely effects of exchange rate changes on the trade balance are often difficult to predict without further information regarding the source of the shock.’[3] The theory seems to equalize interdependence between the exchange rate and inflation rates. It seems impossible to have inflation, if the domestic market value of the currency exchange is increasing. On the other hand, it is also impossible to avoid inflation if the market value of the currency is decreasing. 2.2. Growth rate of the economy If a nation experiences higher economic growth rate than its major trading partners, the income and demand for import-export goods and services will grow at a faster rate. As a result, paying for the growth of imports will consequently result in an increase in the supply of the local currency in the foreign exchange world. ‘Productivity differences were found to have a negative and statistically significant effect both in the short-run and the long-run. This suggests that if the US becomes more productive relative to its major trading partners, incomes and imports rise, causing depreciation of the US dollar.’[4] ‘In particular, structural components in both the current and capital accounts underlying each countrys net trade and net foreign asset positions are shown to influence the path of the long-run real exchange rate for each country.’[5] The supply impact is to reduce the price of the local currency exchange while the demand impact is to increase the price of local currency. The net impact will depend on the strength of each separate cause. 2.3. Interest rates Fiscal considerations become fundamental determinants of the decision of different foreign exchange regime. ‘In the long run, in contrast, exchange rate movements are driven by the fundamental, leading to a relationship between interest rates and exchange rates that are more consistent with UIP [Uncovered interest parity]’[6]. What has happened in foreign exchange market might not accord with what happens a country where experiences higher interst rate and a fall in the value of its currency. If interset rates are constant, a country which has higher interest rate will result in higher inflation. Higher inflation will cause a depreciating currency. The relationship between the impact of distinguishing interest rate movements on exchange rates can provide different impacts in terms of local currency exchange rate experiencing higher interst rates than the rest of the world. In fact, higher interest rates will encourage capital inflow to the domestic economy and discourage capital outflow. This phenonmenon will result from oversea investers who have tried to place funds in dosmetic market in order to take advantage of higher returns. As a result, a domestic buyer can invest in a greater proportion of funds in domestic financial markets. 2.4. Commodity prices If export from a nation becomes more expensive due to inflations, oversea importers will turn to other nations. As a result, the value of the exporting nation will fall, together demand for and the value of the domestic currency. On the other hand, if particular goods and services in a nation become more expensive because of the growth in commodity prices, the importers cannot choose other suppliers since commodity prices are a worldwide incident. As a result, the importers will continue to import commodities from that nation. The total value of the exports will go together with the demand for the domestic currency. The value of domestic currency will increase. The relationship between the trade balance and the exchange rate might not reveal the whole picture of the impacts of real depreciation on the trade balance and import-export flows. ‘There exists a significant long-run relationship between the-dependent variables and their determinants in most cases. A real depreciation of US dollar will decrease US imports and increase US trade balance overall in the long run.’[7] The import-export trading functions have shown that currency depreciation has different impacts on imported-exported goods; the authority should take into consideration in a nation’s trade policy. 2.5. Foreign direct investment and international speculation Foreign direct investment and international speculation can drive the domestic economy changes. Capital inflows to strong economies and outflows from weaker economies depend on how foreign investors speculate the perspectives of a domestic economy. Likewise, a recent decline in domestic currency as its economy becomes less attractive for investment compared to that of world’s largest strong economy. ‘Determinants of the equilibrium real exchange rate also include factors that affect the net trading position of the home country in world markets, as well as the underlying propensity of the home country to be a net lender or borrower of capital. In other words, the interaction between the permanent structural components in both the current and capital account jointly determine the sustainable real exchange rate.’ [8] Globalization has increased the differential between growth of world trade volumes and growth of world GDP as well; thereby enhance import-export activities of a nation. ‘The Brazilian real displays useful information about the long-run path of other currencies in the region. In terms of volatility dynamics, while most currencies display evidence of time-varying variance, the volatility movements in the foreign exchange market seems to be mainly country specific.’ [9] Evidence of common elements in the foreign exchange markets becomes substantial applications. From a macroeconomic standpoint, the movements have been towards financial integration; from the investors’ standpoints, the implications have in term of the assessment of risk and hedging strategy development. 2.6. Exchange rate expectations One of primary impacts on exchange rate movement is the exchange rate expectations. Speculators have formed expectations about the future exchange rate movements and then will take action to fulfil the impact. If participants in foreign exchange market have expected the future value of domestic currency to reduce, they will sell domestic currency. This phenomenon will increase its supply in the foreign market which then causes a fall in its value. On the other hand, if participants speculate the value of domestic currency to increase, they will buy domestic currency, increasing demand for that currency and bring about an appreciation. ‘The exchange rate expectations are incorporated into a switching cost model via the method of exchange rate pass-through on product-specific and country-specific approach.’[10] Foreign exchange traders shift the demand for a currency in expectation of making profits. These traders’ expectations might be wrong sometimes, and thus they might disturb the foreign exchange market ‘unnecessary’. However, they have to speculate correctly on average; otherwise they would lose their money and close their business. 2.7. Intervention into the foreign exchange market from authorities Government or central bank can intervene into foreign exchange markets. They can exert a significant impact on the value of that country’s currency. Official intervention can happen through the activities of central bank, or directly regulate the foreign exchange market by rules, regulations or laws. For instance, the authority can choose a number non-bank authorized foreign exchange dealers. ‘A disequilibrium in the money market significantly affects the level of the reserves in each country. The impact differs in magnitude from country to country depending on the degree of sterilization and the exchange rate regime.’[11] The central bank can intervene by establish to ‘buy time’ for the participants in the currency market. ‘If inflation is 10 per cent higher in Mexico than in the US, the peso would be expected to depreciate against the dollar by 10 per cent to maintain PPP. However, the success of central bankers in controlling price inflation over the past decade has drastically cut inflation differentials between countries to the extent that PPP has only a minimal impact now on nominal exchange rates.’[12] A government has been challenged by a time consistency phenomenon and commitment in technology that results from uncertainty and fixed cost. It will have to look for its choices to optimize the exchange rate arrangements by depending on past currency movement history for a given set of fiscal conditions. That is why with the same basis, some nations sometimes experience fixed or low inflation and other time confront the floating or high inflation in exchange rates. 3. Conclusion Many determinants have impacts on the currency exchange in the long run. Sometimes, these determinants have mutually influenced on the currency exchange system. These determinants among the markets are pronounced in the long-term, where the short-term movements are usually in line with the long-term adjustments. The effects of these mentioned determinants are not uniform among nations. In fact underlying the movements in price, money and currency exchange rates are mutual and complex. Reference list Al-Salem, H., Ph.D. 2005, ‘The demand for international foreign reserves of energy-exporting countries’, Clark University, 222 pages; AAT 3163350 Chinn, DM Meredith, G 2004, ‘Monetary Policy and Long-Horizon Uncovered Interest Parity’, IMF Staff Papers, Washington, vol.51,no.3, p.409,viewed 12 May 2007 http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/series/sfb-373-papers/2000-44/PDF/44.pdf> Faruqee, H 1995, ‘Long-run determinants of the real exchange rate: A stock-flow perspective’, International Monetary Fund Washington, vol.42,no.1, March, p.80, viewed 12 May 2007 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9370615_ITM> Huang, JC Brahmasrene, T 2003, ‘The effect of exchange rate expectations on market share’, Managerial Finance, Patrington, vol.29,no.1, p.55, viewed 12 May 2007 http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/009/2003/00000029/00000001/art00003> Ruiz, I. Ph.D. 2006, ‘Essays on the Latin American foreign exchange market’, Western Michigan University, 145 pages; AAT 3243164 Trygubenko, VO 2006, ‘Effect of oil prices and other determinants on the United States dollar effective exchange rate’, Southern Methodist University, 81 pages; AAT 1430298 Uhlfelder, E 2005, ‘Riding the dollar roller coaster For eurozone investors, the weak US currency could provide an opportunity to profit from individual securities,’ Financial Times,London (UK), 4 April, p. 5. Wang, Yongqing, Ph.D. 2005, ‘United States-China commodity trade and the Yuan/dollar real exchange rate’, The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, 111 pages; AAT 3185620 Woolfolk, M. 2005, ‘Why Dollars’s trend has been downward’, Financial Times. London (UK), 10 January p.12, viewed 12 May 2007 http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=050111001040> Page 1 [1] Woolfolk, M 2005, ‘Why Dollars’s trend has been downward’, Financial Times.London (UK) 10 January, p.12 viewed 12 May 2007 http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=050111001040> [2] Uhlfelder, E 2005, ‘Riding the dollar roller coaster For eurozone investors, the weak US currency could provide an opportunity to profit from individual securities,’ Financial Times,London (UK), 4 April, p. 5. [3] Faruqee, H 1995,’Long-run determinants of the real exchange rate: A stock-flow perspective’, International Monetary Fund. Washington, vol.42,no.1. March, p.80, viewed 12 May 2007 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9370615_ITM> [4] Trygubenko, VO 2006, ‘Effect of oil prices and other determinants on the United States dollar effective exchange rate’, Southern Methodist University, 81 pages; AAT 1430298 [5] Faruqee 1995, p.80 [6] Chinn, DM Meredith, G 2004, ‘Monetary Policy and Long-Horizon Uncovered Interest Parity’, IMF Staff Papers, Washington, vol.51,no.3, p.409,viewed 12 May 2007 http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/series/sfb-373-papers/2000-44/PDF/44.pdf> [7] Wang, Yongqing, Ph.D. 2005, ‘United States-China commodity trade and the Yuan/dollar real exchange rate’, The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, 111 pages; AAT 3185620 [8] Faruqee 1995, p.80 [9] Ruiz, I. Ph.D. 2006, ‘Essays on the Latin American foreign exchange market’, Western Michigan University, 145 pages; AAT 3243164 [10] Huang, JC Brahmasrene, T 2003, ‘The effect of exchange rate expectations on market share’, Managerial Finance, Patrington, vol.29,no.1, p.55, viewed 12 May 2007 http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mcb/009/2003/00000029/00000001/art00003> [11] Al-Salem, H., Ph.D. 2005, ‘The demand for international foreign reserves of energy-exporting countries’, Clark University, 222 pages; AAT 3163350 [12] Woolfolk, 2005

Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Essay -- essays re

Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Like many of Edgar Allen Poe's works, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect and add to the madness the narrator portrays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poe's use of the point of view device is very evident in ?The Tell-Tale Heart?. The madman that speaks through the entire story talks in an unreliable first person view. Because of the man?s obvious madness you are not sure what is taking place in the introduction and what the actual events of the story were. Although there is a definite madness in the man?s attitude and he is constantly aware of it yet he makes many claims that he is not mad at all. ?You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded-with what caution-with what foresight-with what dissimulation I went to work!?Ha!-would a madman have been so wise as this He is obviously well aware of his madness but he tries to justify it by saying that he is not mad because he puts so much effort and wisdom into his deeds. It is kind of an ironic statement that he justifies his madness in the wisdom he shows in the insane act itself. This is like a student saying he is not cheating because he had to ?do work? to get the plagiarism. There is ironically no ?method to the madness? in his argument. After the narrator commits the murder he again tries to justify his present madness. ?If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence.? Even after the thought of possible murder has left his mind and he has done the act, he again justifies his deeds by his precautions. In his mind things are not what they actually are in reality in the least bit. In another part of the story the narrator tries to explain wha t he says we see as his madness. ?And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses The resulting madness the narra... ...The end of the story however is when the heartbeat really does take on meaning though. Even though he had been good to get rid of the body and the policemen in his house did not suspect anything, it was the ?beating of the heart? that gave him away. ?The ringing became more distinct:?until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears?I gasped for breath-and yet the officers heard it not?It grew louder-louder-louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled?no, no! They heard!-they suspected!-they knew!-they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think?I felt that I must scream or die!-and now-again!-hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! louder!? I think that the beating of the heart the narrator is his guilt for killing the old man, and just like in the old man's room, it derived from his madness. His madness was the thing that drove to murder and to confess to it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?The Tell-Tale heart is kind of saying that your own heart knows what you?ve done and in the long run guilt will find you out. In this story Poe used point of view and symbolism together so that this truth could be seen actually how it is written. Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Essay -- essays re Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Like many of Edgar Allen Poe's works, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect and add to the madness the narrator portrays.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poe's use of the point of view device is very evident in ?The Tell-Tale Heart?. The madman that speaks through the entire story talks in an unreliable first person view. Because of the man?s obvious madness you are not sure what is taking place in the introduction and what the actual events of the story were. Although there is a definite madness in the man?s attitude and he is constantly aware of it yet he makes many claims that he is not mad at all. ?You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded-with what caution-with what foresight-with what dissimulation I went to work!?Ha!-would a madman have been so wise as this He is obviously well aware of his madness but he tries to justify it by saying that he is not mad because he puts so much effort and wisdom into his deeds. It is kind of an ironic statement that he justifies his madness in the wisdom he shows in the insane act itself. This is like a student saying he is not cheating because he had to ?do work? to get the plagiarism. There is ironically no ?method to the madness? in his argument. After the narrator commits the murder he again tries to justify his present madness. ?If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence.? Even after the thought of possible murder has left his mind and he has done the act, he again justifies his deeds by his precautions. In his mind things are not what they actually are in reality in the least bit. In another part of the story the narrator tries to explain wha t he says we see as his madness. ?And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses The resulting madness the narra... ...The end of the story however is when the heartbeat really does take on meaning though. Even though he had been good to get rid of the body and the policemen in his house did not suspect anything, it was the ?beating of the heart? that gave him away. ?The ringing became more distinct:?until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears?I gasped for breath-and yet the officers heard it not?It grew louder-louder-louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled?no, no! They heard!-they suspected!-they knew!-they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think?I felt that I must scream or die!-and now-again!-hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! louder!? I think that the beating of the heart the narrator is his guilt for killing the old man, and just like in the old man's room, it derived from his madness. His madness was the thing that drove to murder and to confess to it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ?The Tell-Tale heart is kind of saying that your own heart knows what you?ve done and in the long run guilt will find you out. In this story Poe used point of view and symbolism together so that this truth could be seen actually how it is written.

Rhyme, Scheme and Meaning in A Poison Tree :: Poison Tree Essays

Rhyme, Scheme and Meaning in A Poison Tree In many cases, poems are very abrupt and awkward sounding when read or spoken aloud.   A simple solution to end a poem’s awkwardness is a rhyme scheme.   Many poems don’t rhyme for reasons of subject matter but to make the poem more interesting and easier to read the poet uses rhyming words.   In many cases, poets use end rhyme, which is using words that rhyme in the end of the phrase or sentence of each sentence.   â€Å"A Poison Tree† by William Blake is a great example of end rhyme used in poetry.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When one looks at the title, â€Å" A Poison Tree† one can assume the poem is going to be about some sort of fauna.   When the reader goes on to read the poem in its entirety, one sees â€Å" A Poison Tree† is simply a symbolic title.   The poem begins with someone telling of his wrath for a friend.   He had once told a friend why he was mad at or angry with him. When he spoke to the friend, the irritation went away.   In another instance, he was also angry with his enemy.   He had never told his enemy basically that he held him with the title of â€Å"enemy† and his angst or hate for him grew.   The poem takes on an â€Å"AA, BB† end rhyme scheme in that a sentence (in a group of two) will rhyme with the next.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The poet continues the poem exclaiming what he had to deal with while trying to hide his hate for his enemy.   He had basically tried to hide his hate or anger for his enemy out of fear. â€Å"And I sunned it with smiles, and with soft deceitful wiles† is a phrase in the poem that shows that the person speaking in the poem also tried to hide his hate for his foe.   The sentences in the poem continue to rhyme one after another in groups of two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third part in the poem exclaims what happened to the hate and anger he tried to hide while hiding it from his foe.   His hate â€Å"grew both day and night† which can basically sum up that what the speaker really has is angst towards his enemy.   Finally his angst grew so much that it could not be hidden anymore and his enemy found out about his â€Å"secret†.

Coastal Restoration in Louisiana Essay -- Environmental Management

Geologically speaking, Louisiana is a very young state. Environmentally speaking, Louisiana is a very fragile state. Louisiana has always been dependent upon the nutrient rich deposits from the Mississippi River to build up the land. Centuries ago the Mississippi River periodically changed its course, building up Louisiana one delta at a time. The erosional forces of the Gulf of Mexico and annual hurricanes depleted Louisiana’s coastline, but the mighty Mississippi River would replenish the land losses. Such is the relationship that forces of nature have with one another. Place mankind in the mix, and the relationship becomes stressed and dysfunctional. The present day Louisiana coastline is a mere shadow of its former self. Let’s look at how Louisiana came to its current demise and what is being done to rectify the situation. Historical Data As sea level rose and fell over Louisiana in previous centuries, the Mississippi River carried large loads of sediment to the Gulf Coastal area from the core of the North American continent and deposited it on the rim of the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to the twentieth century, 5 million acres of land were compliments of the large influxes of mud from the river’s mammoth basin, extending from Montana to New York State. Organic matter from highly productive marine waters has been deeply buried under the whole state and far offshore, turning into petroleum. During other dry periods, large beds of salt were laid down through evaporation. Human engineering has temporarily tamed the river, most of the time, preventing it from dumping its valuable land building sediment all over the place. As a result, coastal Louisiana is sinking out of sight, starved of fresh material. The Mississippi Delta was... ... University of New Orleans. "That's not even possible. The goal is to restore healthy natural processes, then live with what you get." (Bourne) Sounds like a good attitude to this happy Cajun. Works Cited Alden, Andrew. About.com Guide. 4 December 2010 . Bourne, Joel K. National Geographic Society -Environment-The Big Uneasy. 4 December 2010 . State of LA, Gov. Bobby Jindal. Coastal Protection and Restoration. 4 December 2010 . Tibbetts, John. "Environmental Health Perspectives." January 2006. Louisiana-A lesson in Nature Appreciation Vol. 114, Number 1. 4 December 2010 .

Proctor and Gamble – Strategic Management Case Study

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Proctor and Gamble (P&G) over its journey of about 175 years has become one of the world’s largest consumer goods Company with sales of nearly $80 billion and a net profit of about $10 billion. P&G has a presence in more than 180 countries with brands that accumulate to in excess of $25 billion. The company has achieved success by creating high quality brand recognized products that are sold on multinational level.It enjoys one of the largest brand names in household products like Pampers, Gillette, Tide, Ariel, Downy, Pantene, Head  &  Shoulders, Olay, Oral-B, Crest, Dawn, Fairy and Always and segments like household care, beauty, grooming, and personal health care. Although, P&G has world renowned brands, P&G needs to adopt strategies that enable it to maintain its competitive advantage over its rival. Consumer Goods industry where P&G operates has matured reaching the consolidation stage and competition amongst rivals is intense.P&G has many strategic options create competitive advantage over its rivals such as further market penetrations by rebranding its current line of products and selling them at a lower price. Another option for P&G is to expand in the emerging markets by collaboration or alliances with local businesses in various geographical regions. Lastly, P&G can specialize in skin care/beauty segment of consumer industry. P&G can provide consumers with products that are made with natural ingredients as trend in health and wellness is growing along with providing specialized products for men.INTRODUCTION P&G is a part of a competitive industry, and as such faces very stiff and fierce competition from its rivals. The competition faced by the company is virtually on every front like, market share, product line up, innovation of new products, R&D for new and existing products. It has witnessed a drop in market share and revenue from the developed market and but sustained appreciable performance in the developing markets.Th is report provides a thorough internal as well as external analysis of P&G, identifies its mandate, along with certain strategies that would help it increase its profitability, profit growth and sustain its competitive advantage in both developed and developing markets. The limitations of this report are due to the fact that it primarily relies on the information and facts as presented in Case 27, Proctor & Gamble: The Beauty/Feminine Care Segment of the Consumer Goods Industry.External references were also used and information was sought from the Proctor & Gamble Company 2012 Annual Report and the Proctor & Gamble website. COMPANY OVERVIEW Procter & Gamble was founded in 1837, by William Procter and James Gamble, who laid the foundation of P&G by initially making and selling soap and candles. By 1879, founders of P&G developed Ivory soap and established their own laboratory, and by 1935 the company established another factory in the Philippines after its acquisition of the British soap manufacturer, Thomas Hedley & Sons.In January 2005, P&G announced an acquisition of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company and placing Unilever into second place. At present, Procter & Gamble sells more than 300 leading brands, such as Pampers, Tide, Pringles, Ariel, Downy, Pantene, Head  &  Shoulders, Olay, Cover Girl, Pantene, Crest, Duracell, Secret, Folgers, Hugo Boss, Mr. Clean, Oral-B, Old Spice, Clairol and Zest. The company markets its products through mass merchandisers, grocery stores, membership club stores, drug stores, high-frequency stores, department stores, perfumeries, pharmacies, salons, and e-commerce.It markets its products to over 160 countries, and operates a total of 115 plants in more than 80 countries all over the world. Procter & Gamble’s headquarters are located in Cincinnati, Ohio and it employs more than 98,000 employees worldwide. Off late, the company’s performance has dwindled as the company has been shuffling its strategy and has not been able to keep competitors at bay (Chung, 2012). Recently the company’s Board has unanimously accepted CEO McDonald, who had joined in July 2009, as the one who would plan and head the company’s turnaround of performance (Chung, Jul 2012).As such the company has adopted a multi-fold strategy to cut costs by a big chunk and bring up new and innovative products to shore up sales and profits. Example being the fact that â€Å"the company will launch at least nine new products in the next four months, many of them priced at a premium to generate higher profit margins† (Monk, 2012). MANDATE The mission of the company is to â€Å"provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world’s consumers, now and for generations to come†.And this would automatically generate value for all its stakeholders in form of higher sales and returns. The vision of the company is to be recognized as à ¢â‚¬Å"the best consumer products and services company in the world†. P&G has kept is vision powerful and yet pretty clear. This vision of the company is simple enough be easily comprehended by all its stakeholders. The core values of the company rotate around the consumers, its brands and its employees. These values are leadership, ownership, integrity, passion for winning and trust.The company, through all its core values, has tried to address the fact that they seek to work and deliver a trust to their consumers with the help of their employees, who are expected to work with leadership and ownership and must have a passion for winning so that they can together work to strive to achieve the vision of the company. Just like the vision of the company, the core values also are very clear and straight forward that define the reason for the existence of the company. P&G’s stakeholders are its customers, shareholders, employees, uppliers and communities in which it operates. P&G’s customers are the ones who ultimately use the products and given the fact that the industry is highly customer oriented and demand driven. The shareholders invest in P&G’s shares providing the company with capital and the company rewards them by consistently creating and increasing the shareholder value. Proctor and gamble employees worldwide are considered its most important asset who are the back bone of this giant corporation, they expect ethical treatment along with fair wages and good working conditions.Another important stakeholder of P&G is its suppliers whose organizations heavily rely on the business agreements with P&G, and the businesses who sell and distribute P&G products. Also, different communities all over the world from Cincinnati, Ohio to the many communities around the world who are provided with jobs, employee education, stability and who pay taxes because of Procter & Gamble. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 1. Competitive Rivalry: The industry that P&G op erates in is highly competitive and it has emerged as one of the leaders in the industry.This industry has five major competitors and has reached the stage of consolidation. Due to industry consolidation, changes made by one company forces other competitors to react and follow suit. This increases rivalry and might lead to price wars. The demand for beauty and personal hygiene products is on the rise due to many factors such as; the growth in the economies of developing world has improved the standard of living of people in those regions; men are becoming more interested in beauty and skin care; and also due to the growing demand for products made with natural ingredients and raw materials.This increase in demand and potential for growth has provided stability in the industry. 2. Threat of New Entrants: Five major competitors in this industry have captured most of the market share through economies of scale and brand loyalty. The wide range of products in major competitor’s p ortfolio makes it extremely difficult for the new entrants to compete and gain any significant market share. Potential entrant would require an enormous amount of capital for manufacturing alongside a huge budget for marketing activities, R&D, supply/sales channel in order to compete at the same level as major competitors.This creates a very high barrier to entry in the industry that makes the threat of new entrants, very low for the industry. The patents held by the company on various products also act as barriers to entry. 3. Bargaining Power of the Buyers: Businesses in this industry rely heavily on its buyers to generate a considerable portion of revenue. Buyers of this industry are mainly distributors like Walmart, Macy’s, Target etc. These distributors buy in large quantities which increases their buying power allowing them to bargain lower prices.As a result, over exposure of sales to any single buyer could pose a serious threat to this industry if competitors do not h ave their own customized distribution network. 4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: There are almost no substitutes for raw materials being used in products manufactured by this industry which is a cause of concern. Suppliers seem to enjoy high bargaining power but the sheer size and quantities purchased by major competitors in this industry tends to scale back the supplier power as competitors can move towards vertical integration.Hence, the buying power of suppliers is medium. 5. Threat of Substitutes: There are no known substitutes for this industry which places the threat of substitutes at a very low level. Macro Environment The raw materials used to manufacture products in various segments of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry are regulated by governments in many countries. There is a risk that currently used raw materials may be considered potentially dangerous and therefore restricted in their use due to the increase in health consciousness especially in western markets. Product testing can take months even years before getting an approval for consumption and during this time regulations can change preventing a product from ever being introduced to the market resulting in large R&D expenses which may never be recovered. Social forces can have an effect on this industry such as the desire for organic products as consumers become concerned that chemicals currently being used can cause long-term health ailments like cancer and skin diseases.Men are also fast becoming more interested in beauty and hygiene products and populations in developing countries are also turning towards beauty and personal hygiene products as their living standards improve. The future for this industry is bright with potential for growth but for some companies this can be a threat if they fail at product innovation and strategizing their business as per the changing trends. Technological changes such as exponential growth in internet and ecommerce provides a great platform to th is industry to market its products directly to target demographics and also to raise awareness of personal hygiene.On the internet, there is a massive potential to target consumers based on their web searches, previous online purchases, etc. Advancement in technology can also help this industry’s distribution systems such as emergence of real-time inventory systems allows inventory levels to be replenished on time and prevent excessive inventory on-hand in factories or warehouses. The reduced barriers to international trade give companies in the industry the opportunity to expand into various regions of the world. Many regions like China, India, and South America are opening up to the world providing an excellent opportunity for expansion.However, the reduced barriers to international trade can also be considered a threat if international companies expand into home bases such as Europe and North America which will in turn give rise to the local competition. INTERNAL ANALYSIS P&G is the industry leader because of its ability to maintain a competitive advantage over its rivals resulting in higher than average profitability. P&G has many resources that contribute towards gaining and maintaining competitive advantage over the rival. One ofP&G’s main strength is its strong financial position which allows it to acquire other companies. P&G has acquired Gillette boosting its competitive advantage over its rivals as Gillette mainly caters to Men which is growing market. Strong financial position also allows P&G to incur high R&D costs i. e. in excess of 2. 2 billion dollars. P&G is constantly investing in product innovation and improving its current line of products. The company over the past many years has successfully launched and managed new products.As such, P&G has the ability to push for innovation and ensure faster commercialization than any of its competitor in the industry. This investment in improving brands and innovation also promotes brand l oyalty. P&G operates in various segments of FMCG industry such as Personal hygiene, Household care, and Beauty. This variety of products offerings from P&G caters to almost all demographics; throughout different ages, genders, countries and cultures. P&G operates in various regions across the globe and has successfully managed to establish itself as a leader in these markets across many segments.This diverse range of product offerings along with its operation in various geographic regions allows P&G to reel through the recessions in the economy and maintain its profitability. Any slowdown in the economy of anyone region or segment is countered by growing economy and segments in other regions. Also, type of products offered by P&G are considered to be recession proof as they considered to necessity such as soaps, shampoos, personal health products etc. P&G derives its strengths from its various capabilities. First of all is that P&G has the marketing of its products in the industry.T his enables P&G to convince its consumers to buy products and also keeps them up to date with new products as well as about any improvements in the current line of products. P&G also has an efficient distribution system which allows it to distribute its products in various region of the globe at a lower cost than its competitors. P&G also collaborates with distributors like Wal-Mart, Target etc. to keep supply chain functioning efficiently. This allows restocking of shelves at distributors much easier as it provides real time data to P&G as stock levels deplete.This allows P&G to save costs associated with huge inventories and warehouses. Also, P&G owns and operates almost 115 manufacturing facilities across 80 countries around the globe. This is a great asset of the company which provides it with the capability of saving on cost of shipping products from one region to another. All these sets of co-related resources and capabilities allow P&G to save on costs and provide high qualit y products at a reasonable people which in turn has generated above average profits in the industry making P&G the industry leader.Along with strengths, P&G also has certain weaknesses and threats that can offset its competitive advantage and affect its profitability. In the current global down turn commodity prices across the globe are increasing due to transportation costs associated with higher oil prices. This will force P&G to raise prices on many of their products which might affect market share because some consumers may switch to cheaper low quality products. This is further exacerbated by the fact that switching costs for consumer are quite low between the competitors in many segments of this industry.While P&G has great collaboration with Wal-Mart, which allows it to maintain an efficient supply chain management but this is also one of the weaknesses of P&G as Wal-Mart is its number one buyer as considerable amount of P&G sales are accounted to Wal-Mart and followed by oth er major retailers like Target, Zellers, etc. This provides buyers with immense buying power and any decrease of sales at any of the top customers can affect P&G effecting its revenues and subsequent profitability.P&G is also exposed heavily towards the matured markets of Europe and North America. STRATEGIC OPTIONS Further Market Penetration – In this strategy, P&G should increase market penetration its current skin care and personal hygiene segments. P&G should look towards in its customer base and specifically targeting low income consumers in mature markets. P&G can achieve economies of scale in its current product mix by rebranding such as packaging or size/volume of the product. This way P&G will be altering its existing products at a low fixed cost.By harbouring this strategy, P&G will be able sell its products at a cheaper price and increase its revenue and subsequent profits. This is low risk strategy because P&G has managed to achieve strong brand recognition and cus tomer loyalty so P&G does not have to incur huge marketing costs in order to introduce its products to the market. P&G already and effective supply chain management and it has good relationship with mega distributors like Wal-Mart, Target etc. so it will be much easier for P&G to introduce these rebranded products to consumers.Furthermore, P&G has a strong financial position which is essential in case the strategy fails to garner expected results. Further Market Penetration| Arena| All markets where P&G currently has a presence| Differentiator| Price, Quality| Vehicles| Rebranding, marketing| Staging| Rebrand products in different packaging with less volume quantities| Economic Model| Sell rebranded products at lower price to the low income consumers| Pros| Enhances existing capabilities and resources Low Risk| Cons| Short to medium term solutionBrand loyalty is scarce in consumers looking for lower priced products| Table 1There are some drawbacks in this strategy which must be cons idered such as the lack brand loyalty in low income consumers. Low income consumers tend to prefer products that are competitively priced so if another competitor implements the same strategy they can take away P&G’s market share. Hence, this strategy is only viable from short to medium term. Global Expansion in Emerging Markets – P&G derive most of its revenues from matured market of North America and Europe where market has reached the saturation point and revenue growth is stagnant.Unlike the mature markets, emerging or growth markets have a lot of potential for growth and there is a lot of market share up for grabs. As P&G looks to gain greater share in the developing countries, it needs to adjust its planning according to the demographics of such country i. e. ethnic groups with different skins, hair types etc. As P&G already has a strong set of products, it must be relatively easier for P&G to penetrate into emerging markets especially in terms of brand recogniti on, mass market presence, and brand loyalty.P&G can avail this opportunity by introducing quality products based on the specific needs of the local population or by acquisition of businesses who produce such products. This strategy would help P&G in the long run as it would allow P&G in keep its revenues up during the economic downturns in mature markets as sales in emerging markets will offset the recessions in the mature markets. Rules and regulations vary country to country so some countries can have stringent rules for Multi-national Corporation to protect its local businesses.Global Strategic Alliance or collaborations with local businesses will enable P&G to expand in to the local market in areas such as China, India or South America. The extensive knowledge of consumers, market trends, laws and regulations that Partner Company brings to the table can be considered an excellent distinctive competency. Global Expansion in to emerging Markets| Arena| Emerging Markets| Differenti ator| Price, Quality| Vehicles| Collaborations (Global strategic alliances), Acquisitions,| Staging| Collaboration with local businesses and then move towards acquisition of the same. Economic Model| Provide quality product at reasonable price to consumers in the emerging markets| Pros| Great long term potentialDiversification through operations in various regions which provides an opportunity to keep revenues up during recession in one region| Cons| High risk involved in collaboration/acquisitions along with the instability of economic growth in emerging marketsCompany can lag behind in innovation| Table 2 P&G should select it partner carefully in emerging markets keeping in mind the risks associated such as rules, regulations etc.P&G must form a structure where the share, responsibilities of each party is clearly defined along with contingency plans to mitigate various risks involved. P&G should protect its trade secrets and product formulas so manufacturing facilities must have s eparate units, and PG should also get all its patents recognized in the region where it will operate. Some of the cons of this strategy are embedded with the collaborations with local businesses and the instability in the emerging markets.Also, P&G will essentially be rebranding most of the products it sells in mature markets along with selling some products of its partners which means there will be less spending on R&D and company might lag behind in innovation of new revolutionary products. Differentiation in Beauty/Skin Care Segment – In this strategy, P&G will offer unique and innovative products that address special needs of various market segments and demographics such as products with natural/organic ingredients, products for certain demographics such as men, ethnic groups etc.Beauty/skin care segment of consumer goods industry is growing as consumers are more interested in grooming themselves with better products and growing trends in health/wellness. P&G can create a competetive advantage by specializing in products made for men and products made with natural/organic ingredients. This strategy will require acquisition of products or spending in R&D to innovate such products in house. This will also require aggressive marketing and branding of such products to introduce them to the consumer.These products must be priced at a premium price based on the advertising costs, acquisitions and R&D spending. Many features of the products along with quality will offset and justify the higher price for such products. With continuous R&D spending over time, advancement in technologies and increasing competition, prices will eventually reduce. If P&G is able to acquire or create new line of specialized products which caters to certain market segments or demographics, it will be a competitive advantage for P&G over its rivals.Differentiation in Beauty/Skin Care Segment| Arena| Mature Markets first and move into growth/emerging markets| Differentiator| Select ion, Quality| Vehicles| Acquisitions, Signalling| Staging| Acquisitions of major business involved in organic and men beauty/personal hygiene segments| Economic Model| Sell specialized products targeting certain customers with premium prices i. e. organic products| Pros| Leverages existing resources and capabilitiesLong Term potential| Cons| High Risk with acquisitionsHigh costs associated with R&D spending| Table 3This strategy has some disadvantages as well such as it requires a lot of capital investment either for acquisition or R&D to create new products. REFERENCES Mockler, R. J. (2007). â€Å"Procter & Gamble: The Beauty/Feminine Care Segment of the Consumer Goods Industry† In C. W. L. Hill & G. R. Jones, Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, 6th Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Chung, J. (2012). â€Å"P&G's Board ‘Unanimously Supports' CEO McDonald† Retrieved from http://online. wsj. com/article/SB10000872396390444464304577534930564069566. tm l Mo nk, D. ( 2012) â€Å"Procter ; Gamble planning nine new product launches† Retrieved from http://www. bizjournals. com/cincinnati/blog/2012/09/procter-gamble-planning-nine-new. html Annual Report (2012) Retrieved from http://annualreport. pg. com/annualreport2012/files/PG_2012_AnnualReport. pdf P;G History (2012) Retrieved from http://www. pg. com/translations/history_pdf/english_history. pdf P;G Purpose, Vision and Principles. (2012) Retrieved from http://www. pg. com/translations/pvp_pdf/english_PVP. pdf