Troy v, Iliad

Guidelines for the Comparative analysis of the movie â€Å"Troy† and â€Å"The Iliad† Your comparative essay should be typed in single space paragraphing (font 12 Times New Roman) and it should be at least 500 words. (I will use the â€Å"word count† feature in Microsoft Word to check the number of words. ) Try not to exceed 1000 words at most. Your essay should be the result of your own contemplations, observations and conclusions. You can read other sources for this assignment but you should not copy at any form or to any degree the sources you have read. You can just use the ideas gained through sources in your own words. If you do so, however, you should definitely cite the references to your sources. In case you use a source and forget to cite it or even worse if you copy from a source the score for your paper will be zero. So please beware of intentional or unintentaional plagiarism. In writing up the paper first watch the movie completely and if needed take notes. (The DVD of the movie is provided to you. )Then, compare what you have seen with what you have read and try to find out the reasons for the differences. The followinig notes may help you: ?Note the changes in value systems in the past and present ?Note the reasons for the changes and modifications that have taken place in the creation of the movie. (including commercial, political, values, †¦) ?Focus on justification premises for the atrocities and savagery that is depicted as valor and courage in the Iliad. ?Explore the contributions (messages) that the two works make to human culture in their own context. Iliad vs. Troy Movie. Neither Athena with her matchless wisdom, nor Apollo with his talent of prophecy, could foretell that someday Prometheus’s fragile creature, human, would become rude in a scale that not only would turn his back to the gods, but also would distort their presence and effects in the human history. â€Å"Briseis: Well, then your men did. The sun god will have his vengeance. Achilles: What's he waiting for? Briseis: The right time to strike. Achilles: His priests are dead, and his acolyte's a captive. I think your god is afraid of me? Briseis: Afraid? Apollo is master of the sun, he fears nothing. Achilles: Where is he? †(Troy) The movie â€Å"Troy†, which is an adaptation of Homer’s Iliad, is an obvious twist of it, both historically and literarily. There are numerous differences between them that can be observed and revealed. Here, I am going to highlight some of inordinate modifications of Homer’s Iliad in Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy; and, then, try to go beyond the surface to discover the reasons for such changes. The movie duration is about 163 minutes; and it takes 50 minutes to reach to the starting point of the Iliad. Although there are, also, several rotations of the classical myths events in the first 50 minutes that even an amateur classic mythology reader can remark it fallacies, I will not enter that domain. I will just refer to the changes that are in contrary with the Iliad and can be retrieved by the information that Homer presents. For instance, in the Iliad we see that it was Paris’s doom to go to Sparta and fall in love with Helen. But the movie gives no account for the background of the story and the destination’s role. Another incident which is not mentioned in the Iliad is Achilles’s rapid action to siege the beach of Troy and invading Apollo’s temple. The major modification of the Iliad is the absence of Gods in the movie. There is no information about them but some names that elder characters mention and some statues. The only Goddess that we can see in the movie is Thetis, Achilles’s mother, who is a nymph according to the Iliad, half human, half fish. But the director of the movie does not want to put emphasis on the divinity part and although Achilles meets her in the water, picturing her fish part is cleverly avoided by the director. Apollo in the movie is just a wretched God who is not able to avenge the offence that Myrmidons have done to him. In the minute 42 of the story, Achilles beheads Apollo’s statue. While in the Iliad, Achilles respects Gods and makes sacrifices for them. In another scene, in the minute 29, while Hector is urging Priam, his father, to return Helen to Sparta to avoid a war, Priam tells him not to worry because, â€Å"Apollo watches over us. Even Agamemnon is no match for the Gods. †(Troy) But Hector replies, â€Å"And how many battalions does the Sun God command? †(Troy) This is not the only place in the movie that Hector, who is protected and respected by gods in the Iliad and highly believes in them, mocks the gods. It happens again in minute 54 of the movie when the high priest announces that two farmers have seen an eagle with a serpent in its talons, a good sign from Apollo. Hector mocks the priest and saying, â€Å"you want to plan a strategy based on bird signs? He concludes from Apollo’s inability to take vengeance on Achilles for insulting his statue and says, â€Å"The gods won’t fight this war for us† (Troy). The whole story is in contrary with the Iliad, because it is indicated that the Trojans see that sign while trying to push back the Achaean host to their ships, and predict it as a bad omen from Zeus who is the owner of the eagle, though. Moreover, in the Iliad, it is g ods’ war more than human’s. It seems that there is an intention beyond these manners of mocking gods by two of the best characters who the audience would love best and sympathize with. First assumption would be that the director of the movie wanted to make a realistic shot of the Iliad. But, after deepening in the story, another assumption may be that the director does not believe in God’s or divinity at all and try to inject his view through his best characters and he is doing this cleverly. Almost in the first scene that we see Achilles, when the messenger boy asks if the stories about him is true and if he cannot be killed, Achilles responds, â€Å"I wouldn’t be bothering with the shield then, would I? (Troy) a very logical and clever way to wipe out tendencies of believing in divinity from audiences mind in the beginning of the story and to appeal the skeptic generation of 21st century! Another major difference between Iliad and the movie is again in the process of adaptation of the Iliad according to the appetite of the audience. Every Iliad reader can understand in a glance that the honor codes and bravery values of those days is in contrary wi th todays. The most devouring and slaughtering characters were the most praised heroes of the Iliad. Achilles, Hector, Ajax and Diomede were a few samples of ancient world heroes. But, is it possible to picture those animalistic brutalities within Iliad these days and expect to attract people to pay for watching it? Of course not! Instead, we need to show a sentimental view of our heroes, heroes who despise war; heroes who are sorry for killing people. For instance, Hector while returning from Sparta provokes Paris who wants to fight with Menelaus and says that, â€Å"there is nothing glorious about it, nothing poetic† (Troy). But it is indeed glorious in the Iliad to fight. In fact Homer calls Hector the pair of bloodthirsty Mars as an honor. On the other hand, we need a kind, loving and caring Achilles with a masculine attractive figure to attract more audience. What about softening the violence with some romance scenes to guarantee our investment, no matter what was the story and what was the truth. So, let’s dismiss Diomede who is a brutal killer, kill Ajax and Menelaus at the beginning, and omit Aeneas and so many other valiant heroes to make the story more appealing and brief. But, let’s picture Agamemnon as he was to make people despise him. So tricky! Simply put, it seems that cinematographs own a mightier weapon that Zeus’s thunder bolt and Poseidon’s trident by which have sent myth gods and their offspring to the underworld. But, what if someday, they claim war against Semitic or early religions’ God? What if they twist the reality and feed that in a colorful tempting way to the people? (As Islamic Republic of Iran does it in regard to Baha’i faith). Do the audiences of those movies would accept what is being presented or investigate after the truth?

Bobbie Ann Mason-Shiloh- Setting Analysis Essay

â€Å"Shiloh† was written by Bobbie Ann Mason in 1982. The center of attraction of this narrative is a married couple, Leroy Moffitt and his wife, Norma Jean. During this story the characters are affected by their changing social rural Kentucky environment. In this time period, Kentucky transforms to a more suburb environment from their usual rural surroundings. Apart from their marriage changing with their social environment, so does their role of gender. Leroy and Norma Jean swaps traditional gender roles, which alters their marriage and leads to the breakdown of the Moffitts. The narrative is told from the perspective of Leroy Moffitt, a recent disabled truck driver. Although the injury leads him to sit home all day like a bored housewife, he pursues his hobby that is stereo typically feminine. He constructs craft objects from kits and sews needlepoint pillows, as a pleasurable interest. However, he dreams of building a log cabin for his wife from one of his craft kit model s, which symbolically portrays their marriage. The cabin is an unrealistic idea, and the project does not interest Norma Jean. Despite the fact that nothing dissuades him, he won’t let go of the idea of the cabin in the face of strong opposition that he won’t give up on his marriage in the face of clear evidence that his wife already has. Leroy sooner or later realizes that his marriage is as hollow as the boxy interior of their log cabin. Apart from Leroy’s lack of realization that his wife wants to adapt to her surroundings, and progress with her life, he is still stuck in the past and continues to pester his wife of living in an old log cabin. However, as Leroy builds craft kits and smokes marijuana all day, Norma Jean supports her and her husband by working at a Rexall drugstore. She eventually goes from a weightlifting class to a night composition class, reconstructing her mind and body and doing her best to adapt to change. In the meantime, Leroy resisting to do the same, is happy to be home and feels affectionate towards his wife, but he worries that she does not return these feelings. He wonders if his presence reminds her of their lost son, Randy, who died of sudden infant death syndrome. We have been informed that Leroy’s drug dealer, Stevie Hamilton, would of been the same age of Randy. This event tells the audience that Leroy refuses to move on from the past and continues to bring their marriage to an end. Consequently, the Moffitt’s gets one of their frequent visits from Mabel, the mother of Norma Jean and is constantly nagged by her to take a trip to Shiloh, a Civil War battlefield. This place is where Mabel and her late husband, Jet, spent their honeymoon and she thinks that such a trip will help them solve their marriage problems. After arriving at Shiloh, they see a log cabin, as Leroy expected. Close to the cemetery, they eat lunch. After they eat, Leroy smokes a joint, silence falls, and Norma Jean tells him that she wants to leave him. He suggests starting over, and she says they already did start over. After making her final decision, she travels down a serpentine brick path to begin her journey. Norma jean does not know where this path will lead her, but she knows that she is finally leaving. Leroy and Norma Jean are both victims of rapid social ch ange. Norma Jean was the most affected by her surroundings comparing to Leroy. Norma Jean had to marry at the age of eighteen to the man who got her pregnant, and in a cruel twist of fate, the child dies of sudden infant death syndrome. This event from her life prevents her to look towards the painful past. From the very beginning of the story, Norma Jean is portrayed as a woman continuously trying to better herself. She takes the opportunity of Leroy’s rehabilitation from his accident to start bodybuilding. After the bodybuilding class is over, she takes a composition class at night, and starts to cook more exotic food. Apart from Norma Jean’s efforts to self-improvement, Leroy refuses to move on from the past. While their surroundings are modernizing and changing to a more suburb area, Leroy continues to live in the past, such as living in an old log cabin. Leroy also relates the present to the previous, when he relates the doctor’s son to his own lost son. These two characters opposing each other, leads Norma Jean to her final decision of leaving her husband at the end of the story and the various aspects of her character revealing that desire. These aspects of her character were her devotion to progress in life, and her inability to communicate with her husband while he was still stuck in the past. The setting in the short story â€Å"Shiloh† by Bobbie Ann Mason works well to accentuate the theme of the story. The theme portrayed by the author is that most people change along with their environment, with the exception of the few who are unwilling to adapt, making it difficult for things such as marriage to work out successfully. As Norma Jean advances herself, their marriage ultimately collapses due to Leroy’s unwillingness to adapt with her and the changing environment. The author’s use of the difficulties of Norma Jean and Leroy’s adaptation to their changing environment, leaves the story to its central theme, change and transformation.

Reflections on ENGL393 Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflections on ENGL393 - Research Proposal Example Reflections on ENGL393 In addition, I also do not work well with traditional corrective feedback. When I read written feedback, sometimes, I do not understand exactly what they mean or what they expect me to do. I prefer student-teacher conferences or speaking or chatting with my instructors and peers to better understand the revision needs of the paper. For the first assignment, I did not fully understand the instructions and I was not familiar with the topic at all. As a result, my work is not what the professor expected and I got a low grade. For the second assignment, our topic was related to my major, which is very familiar to me. Furthermore, group working helped me understand the assignment better. Each member has a different perspective, thus, we improved the work more efficiently. So far, with three assignments, I think I have honed my research and interview skills. For example, I tend to be shy when approaching strangers with higher positions, but since this is a technical paper, I have improved my confidence and communication skills. I have more poise when talking to the apartment manager, for instance, regarding the no-party policy. I found that I prefer practicing how to speak with management-level people in advance because it can vastly improve my confidence. In addition, my strengths as a writer are my eagerness to learn through reading and actual research and my openness to feedback. I enjoy reading various materials related to writing itself and to my topic.

Timeline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Timeline - Essay Example From 1880 to 1884: According to Black, Herman Hollerith, an employee at the US census bureau got the idea and founded a punch card technology back then that was used to store information about people living in Germany. That is, perforated readable cards that could store details of each and every person such as names, gender, nationality and occupation (Black, 2001, p. 25). This was the year when the prototype was built of a counting machine that could store and use the data collected and stored in the punch cards. 1910 to 1923: This was when the US consensus changed and they stopped using Hollerith technology as it had some downfalls such as slow in speed and it was too expensive to maintain. The same year, Hollerith sold out his patented design technology to a salesman, Willy Heidinger, from a German established business company called Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen Gesellschaft (German Hollerith Machine Corporation) or Dehomag. Hollerith sells his remaining shares of his business to Charles Flint for $1.41 million. There occurred an inflation that caused Dehomag from German to delay payments on their scheduled royalty. 1924 to 1933: Watson Thomas, a businessman propelled by Flint assumed the role of CEO of CTR and renamed Dehomag to International Business Machines (IBM) (Black, 2001, p. 44). January was the month when Hitler came to power and made a promise to create a Master Race, dominate Europe, and decimate European Jewry (Black, 2001, p. 44). IBM strategic alliance with Nazi Germany. In March, Hitler established a concentration camp whose inhabitants were political prisoners in Dachau, ten kilometers north of Munich. Willy Heidinger controlled 90% of Dehomag. In April there was a delayed consensus as Dehomag assisted the German Nazi government in ethnic identification. In October: Watson supports the move and travels to Germany where capital is also invested to precede with the Nazi project. An IBM factory in

Newspaper report on the conditions in the factories and mining areas Essay

Newspaper report on the conditions in the factories and mining areas of Industrial England - Essay Example It is a fighting that has no productive end, in the same way that â€Å"intellectual pride† does not accomplish anything meaningful for its practitioners. Flannery O'Connor provides another exploration of â€Å"intellectual pride.† â€Å"Intellectual pride† relies on egocentric and illogical beliefs of one’s intellect, because it is characterized by the resistance to acknowledging one’s mistakes, strong belief in one’s ability to â€Å"read people,† and assertion of one’s intellectual superiority. â€Å"Intellectual pride† refers to that permanent resistance to admitting one’s mistakes. Mrs. Hopewell believes that she did not make a mistake in hiring the Freemans or in choosing Pointer as a potential boyfriend for Joy. Still, she suffers from Mrs. Freeman’s insistent presence during meals, and Pointer happens to be one of the greatest shams in her world of â€Å"Good Country People.† The grandmother a lso does not want to divulge to her son Bailey that she made a mistake in giving directions. Even at the point of impending death, she resists acknowledging that she indirectly killed her own family, because of her vain attachment to an illusory past. People with â€Å"intellectual pride† also insist that they know how to â€Å"read† people. Mrs. Hopewell thinks she knows who good country people are.

XBUS KJ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

XBUS KJ - Assignment Example According to Byloos (2011), the disagreement that arises between employers and employees is that most employers believe undocumented workers should not be accorded equal employment rights as U.S citizens since their being in the U.S is itself illegal and if they are protected by this law then it will be a violation of the country’s immigration laws. engaging in intentional discrimination of workers. According to the law, it is unlawful to discriminate individuals on the basis of their birthplace, ethnic group and ancestral culture. The purpose of this law is to prohibit employers from discriminating on employees since they cannot speak English or because they come from a certain country (Labor Employment Law Forum, 2012). Title VII requires that employees not be denied their employment rights since the law requires that any individual should not be discriminated in any aspect of employment. Whether an employee is a naturalized citizen of the United States or not they are supposed to be protected by Title VII against discrimination at the work place if they are legal aliens. Even though, Title VII of the civil rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of color, ethnicity, country or origin, sex, and religion, it is apparent from recent Court of Appeal rulings that undocumented workers are not protected by this law. For instance, the court of appeal seventh circuit ruled in Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Co that the employer was not in violation of Title VII when he terminated an employee based on their alien status (Labor Employment Law Forum, 2012). It should be clear that undocumented workers are not protected by this law since an employer has the right to terminate an employee based on his or her alien status. It is clear that when undocumented worker are protected by Title VII, it will bring a conflict since this will mean the nation’s immigration laws will be violated. 2. Who do you think has the stronger argument - employer or

Poltical science - political philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Poltical science - political philosophy - Essay Example This distinction would suggest that he held philosophy in high regard and felt it was even necessary for the proper function of a society. This seeming inconsistency between the rigid restriction of philosophy among the people and the importance of philosophy to the proper governing of that society prompts the question; did Plato believe the philosopher posed a danger to the state or a benefit? To answer this question, it is necessary to delve into Plato’s description of the perfect leader which includes an investigation into the concepts of morality and ethics as well as an understanding of the restrictions and opportunities he envisioned for his ideal society’s exposure to philosophy. As seen in the writings of Plato regarding Socrates, which some will argue is a blending of the two philosophers’ ideas, one of the requirements for a leader is that he be a moral and ethical man. To be a moral and ethical man, it is necessary that this man must first know â€Å"his spiritual self as it really is, including all its shortcomings, strengths and potentialities† (Sahakian, Sahakian, 1966, p. 32). As Plato was a disciple of Socrates and the source of much of the information we have regarding much of what this man had to say, Socrates’ concept of ethics is relevant to an understanding of Plato’s views. According to Socrates, it is the man who does not know himself who cannot accurately judge his own capabilities and his own unique path to the greatest good based on accurate use of his strengths and knowledge of his weaknesses. Socrates takes this another step by suggesting that knowledge of oneself will instruct from within regarding those thin gs which are good (moral and ethical) and those things which are not. He suggests this by claiming that things that are good will make us feel happy inside while things that are bad will be immediately

Family Counseling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Family Counseling - Essay Example One of the main reasons for the conflict within the family is the leadership. During the early stage of the family, the parents are the leaders and the children are the followers. As the children grow older, they begin to develop their own personality which includes independence and responsibility specifically in the decision making process. One example of conflict is when the children already have their own work. In this stage the parents face difficulties in letting the children go and make their own life decisions (Worden, 2002, p.97; Goldenberg and Goldenberg, 2008, p. 4). Clear communication and understanding is important between the parents and the children at this stage to resolve conflict at an early stage. II. Rigid and Diffuse Boundaries Rigid and diffuse boundaries are concepts used to describe the organization of a family. Rigid boundaries within a family can result to disengagement due to the fact that members do not feel the connection with each other. Each member is li ving their daily activities isolated and independent from the other members of the family. On the other hand, diffuse boundaries means that there are vague or unclear boundaries between the family members. This results to enmeshment or ‘over-involvement’ of the family members to each other’s lives. In our family for example, it is in our culture and traditions to have a close family ties. There are positive and negative consequences to this interaction within the family. One positive consequence is that every member has a ready support system in case of problems. On the other hand, the over-involvement of the family members can result to conflicts due to hindered independence of each member specifically in the decision making process (Goldenberg and Goldenberg, 2008, p. 467). III. Pretend Techniques and Family Metaphors Pretend techniques are â€Å"paradoxical interventions based on play and fantasy.† This is undertaken through the process of pretending sy mptoms. Another concept is the family metaphors which are used in different types of family therapy techniques, one of which is the narrative therapy. Narrative metaphor is any idea used in therapy which is maintained through stories that are related to the life and knowledge of a person about himself or herself. Long-standing metaphor systems are used to initiate a holistic change in the family which means different aspects such as language and interpretation of experiences can also be influenced (Goldenberg and Goldenberg, 2008, p. 365; 470). These adaptations are important in the current therapeutic era since one of the most important concerns within the family is the complexity of the way of life in the society wherein the whole family has to adapt. They can only achieve the proper adaptation skills when every member is working together. On a personal view, I would feel comfortable using the idea in therapy with clients since it encompasses the different aspects of the family wh ich is important since conflicts and problems that are needed to be resolved cannot be isolated or separated from the other issues within the family. IV. Haley’s Case Haley’s belief is common in the family. The example given which is that the mother becomes ill and cannot be left alone when the adolescent daughter wants to go out for the evening can be considered as a manipulative act on the part of the parent. This can only occur when there is lack of communication between the parents and the children. The said scenario can be considered as a last resort for the parent maybe due to prior events when the adolescent daughter did not follow her parents command and still went out without permission. Based on personal observations, another example is

New Balance Case study Essay Example for Free

New Balance Case study Essay Good Management structure e. g. Van Rooyen the general manager Wide range of products across every sporting category Functional technological design in terms of fit. Foot widths have been incorporated in the design of the shoe. This distinguishes/ differentiates New Balance product from its competitors. Brand has been kept affordable in terms of price Inspired well-taken care of employees who are performance driven because of the culture of the company Is established in many countries and has quite a big global footprint Good relationship with retailers. They have been accommodated and close bonds have been formed with them. Good marketing techniques, focussing on strategies that the major competition have neglected OPPORTUNITIES (in order of the most lucrative) Nowadays people wear sneakers for leisure/fashion purposes and New Balance could target that market. New balance could establish other lines within their range for Leisure or even high end market, kids market etc. Target the soccer/ black market ( new balance has made little advancement in this sector) New balance was places as number one in the trail category. They should ride this wave; sponsor the person who won in that category. Create branded/ concept stores South Africa has a strong sporting culture that the company could capitalise on ( Netball, court, walking), New Balance needs to have more market share in these sectors Advancement in technology and innovation. New balance has the opportunity to update its products and come up with new innovations to keep up and to penetrate the market. Make headway into the online retailing sector. There is a growing level of health awareness in the public and more people are leading an active lifestyle. This has led to more sales of the running/sports gear. And New Balance has an opportunity to grow. Sports has become a source of entertainment and therefore there is more demand for it, and an opportunity to grow within the market In South Africa particularly there has been large growth in the middle income sector, and that is an opening/ gap market for the company to target. More product lines. WEAKNESSES Limited product line. New Balance has focused mainly on running. However, the market has been shifting to not only include serious athletes, but it now also caters to the more fashion-oriented crowd. This crowd tends to be from the younger generation, the part of the population that New Balance has so far not been focusing on. New Balance needs to expand into new product areas and remain competitive in the changing market. Manufacturing costs. With its competitors outsourcing most of their manufacturing to other countries such as China, Nike, Adidas and Reebok have been able to cut their manufacturing costs significantly. New Balance on the other hand manufactures its shoes in the USA. Has to order stock from abroad. New Balance falls behind its other major competitors, Nike, Adidas and Reebok, in the area of marketing. Unlike its competitors, New Balance does not undertake celebrity endorsements. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to brand building. This also causes the company to be at a disadvantage on gaining awareness on a global scale and they lose out on publicity from major global events. Most global brand names generate strong brand recognition through celebrity endorsements in sporting events (e. g. soccer and rugby world cups) that would give them the needed momentum to carry their brand name further into the global market. The fact that new Balance has multiple widths also adds to the cost of manufacturing Van Rooyen’s statement of: ‘’not wanting the shoe to be a giant, but to become known as better’’. Bigger is better, the words are synonymous with each other; there is no need to sacrifice the one to have the other. The company can be both bigger and better. THREATS The sportswear industry is growing and becoming more competitive so the will be new producers and entries in the market with new ‘’aces up their sleeves’’. More competition in the market Sales on the technical running market have been on the decline according to (exhibit 1) in the New Balance Case Study, and this is New Balances’ stronghold. Becoming myopic and not scanning the periphery. Not seeing that there are gaps in the market and focussing mainly on running. Not considering fashion focussed brands such as Puma as competition. This is a myopic trait of assuming indispensability Summary Much of the strengths of New Balance lie in the quality of their product and the good relationships they have with their retailers/ distributers. Their weaknesses are in that they are too focussed on the functionality of product, whereas the market is constantly changing and they need to be evolving with the market. Opportunities lie in the diversification of the product and making it more contemporary. They also need to employ stronger marketing techniques. Question 2: Would you consider New Balance a niche player in the athletic footwear industry New balance is a niche player with regards to their marketing technique. They utilised niche marketing strategies that the bigger firms overlooked. 1. Van Rooyen chose to create awareness at smaller sports club levels e. g. life-saving clubs, rugby clubs and hockey clubs etc. Or doing in store promotions to create awareness about the shoes. These are clubs that the major competitors were not concentrating on, but rather focussing on big marathon races such as the Two Oceans and the Comrades. In store campaigns were a great way to connect with the customer personally. 2. Van Rooyen dedicated a big chunk of the company’s expenditure into the sponsoring of events. This gave the company a lot of exposure. These events ranged from the Total Sports Challenge’s Knysna Marathon, Surf Ski Series and school events. They also targeted top schools in South Africa that are well known for their cricketing, netball. And through this New Balance was on everyone’s mouth. 3. Another way they utilised in-store promotions was to assemble a Fit Tracks Machine, which is a foot scanner that advises a person which shoe product and size a new runner would need. This is a strategy the major brands were not using and this gave New Balance an edge above them, and it also marketed the functionality of their product. 4. Corporate branding and clothing. This is a growing gap in the market that the big giants weren’t focussing on. The opposition targeted soccer teams while NB went for the Army, air force, Police force. 5. Advertisements in running magazines. Other brands had stopped putting adverts in running magazines as this was costly. New Balance saw a gap and advertised in every single issue of Runner’s World Magazine. And this paid off to an extent that the competitors copied them and once more started advertising in athlete magazines. The above marketing strategies are typical concentrated (niche) target market strategies. Although the company did not suffer from limited resources, they chose this route because it was more effective and efficient for their brand. They had thorough knowledge of the market they were targeting (serious, technical sportsmen) and they used this knowledge to get their product into the market. Characteristics of niche targeting (pg. 11, Principles of Marketing Hand-outs): Strategic Factors Niche Targeting New Balance example Target Market One Narrowly defined consumer group Serious Athletes Distribution Carefully selected outlets. Few exclusive distribution New balance targeted independent retailers mostly ( big firms were not supplying these) and although they do supply big shops such as Edgars, Total Sports and such. The independent distributers make up a large portion of their share price Marketing Communication Specialised media e. g. specialised magazines The media strategy that New Balance chose to use was specialised in a sense that it wasn’t mass media and all over the place. They rather targeted specific sectors they wanted to make themselves known in. Sectors that other major players had neglected. Price One price range tailored to the consumer group. The entry level price for New balance ranges from R399-R599 where as for the competitors it ranged from R399-R1500 Strategy emphasis Appeal to one specific consumer group via highly specialised marketing programme New Balance’s appeal is to the serious athlete who prefers functionality over fashion. Their marketing programme (see numbered bullets above) was highly specialised and set them apart from competitors. Question 3: New Balance’s approach to segmenting the market New Balance’s market segmentation approach is that of a concentrated market strategy. New Balance’s segmentation approach is ‘functionality over fashion’. Therefore stressing the functionality of the shoe and targeting the technical sportsman is how New Balance ( pg. 5, New Balance Case Study) has segmented his market. New Balance has chosen this approach because of their: a. Product range/variability. They offer mainly specialized technical running shoes for professional sportsmen. b. Market variability, the market has various sectors but they have decided to target the specific market of running. c. Competitors marketing strategies. Their competitors are focussed on the larger chunks of the South African sporting market e. g. soccer Question 4: New Balance’s marketing mix Product New Balance offers technical running shoes for the serious athlete. They also have a wide range of products in every sporting category e. g. men’s footwear, trail walking, cross-training, court, children’s, soccer and athlesuire. Their product is differentiated from their competitors in that their shoes come in a form of multiple widths and lengths across all the product lines. In order to expand their product range and therefore have a larger customer base I would recommend New Balance: venture into the fashion/leisure market as there is a gap for them there create a line for the children’s market in future, get into the soccer / black market as that is one of the most popular sports in the country and demographically forms a larger part of South African sports players have a high-end line for the more exclusive market which, pricewise will be higher than the entry level of 399-599 that they currently have. New Balance also has the opportunity to do more research and development on their product and come up with other innovative technical features for their shoes. They could come up with other breakthrough technologies that will make them market leaders in speciality sportswear. Branding In branding their product, New Balance has taken an ‘’endorsed by no-one approach, which I believe works well with what the company stands for. There are pitfalls to having a celebrity or well-known sports star as the face of a brand as that places the brand’s image in the hands of one individual. A problem that has affected New Balance’s competition Nike in the recent months. New Balance has therefore kept their image of function over fashion and will be known for that . The company’s focus in on quality and performance which will therefore sell the brand. On the other hand it is good to note that the Michael Jordan and Nike collaboration brought about the world’s bestselling sneaker to date, and therefore meaningful endorsements can push the global image of the brand and give the brand and edge. New Balance could use the world’s best trail runner as the face of their trail category since they are the leading brand in that category. Price New Balances’ aim is to attain 38% to 40% margins and they therefore have kept the brand affordable at the price of R399-R599 for a new balance entry level shoe(pg. 3 New Balance Case study) . Considering that entry level shoes form the bulk of New Balance’s sales another strategy might be need. As mentioned earlier a new high-end line that is for the more exclusive target market can be made with the entry level shoes starting at a much higher price. The customers would be the kind of customers who associate price with quality, and functionality and prestige. The middle income market is growing in South Africa, and therefore with rising incomes people can afford more high-end products. Place New Balance’s retail strategy involved targeting independent sports stores that had been neglected by the their major competitors, these stores ended up making 36% of the company’s business while the bigger stores e. g. Edgar’s, Total sports etc. made the rest of the share. You could say that even their distribution technique was that of a ‘’niche’’ type of strategy, since they targeted what was bypassed by their major competitors. Opening braded shops in the weak areas like Namibia and ‘’keeping a low profile’’, is not a great move. I would recommend that new balance open branded shops in the cities as well. That’s where most activity and population density is, and also where the brand itself can showcase all the aspects of their brand and products that retailers cannot stock. They may be afraid of competing with their retailers, but I believe there is enough room for the retailers and New Balance concept stores to both thrive in the market without cancelling each other out. New Balance can also establish an online retailing system where consumers can order products directly online. Promotion Publicity New Balance has a good form of a public relations strategy to get the name of New Balance out there to the customers. . This infact, formed a big part of their strategy as they would sponsor events, and this made up a big part of their expenditure. This gave them a lot exposure through print media and television e. g. total sports challenge, school sporting events. Advertising New balance created awareness in smaller sports clubs and taking part bin promotions at shops. They also used direct marketing where they kept databases of their customer’s e. g runners in marathons and retailers and directly marketing their new products and events to them. They also advertised in magazines, and went the co-branding route to get their name out there. CHECK EXHIBITS AT THE BACK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS!!! Personal selling The instore campigns wre a graet way to establish a more personal relation ship and connect with the customer.

Customs and traditions in the USA Essay Example for Free

Customs and traditions in the USA Essay Customs and traditions are important part of our culture, of our lives. Customs and traditions unite, build community. They provide identity. They tie us to our ancestors and heritage. They remind us of where we came from. Every country and every nation has its own traditions and customs. Its very important to know traditions and customs of different people. It will help you to know more about the history and life of different nations and countries. Custom is a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time; a thing that one does habitually. Tradition is the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way; long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another All countries have their social customs and peculiarities, and the US is no exception. The first group of custom which is worth speaking about is connected with meeting someone. When meeting someone for the first time, it is customary to shake hands, both for men and for women. Hugs are only exchanged between close friends. Kissing is not common. Among friends, it’s common for men to kiss ladies on one or both cheeks. Men don’t usually kiss or embrace each other. Americans usually introduce themselves by their first name and last name (such as â€Å"Hello, I’m John Smith†), or, if the setting is very casual, by their first name only (â€Å"Hi, I’m John†). The common response when someone is introduced to you is â€Å"Pleased to meet you.† Americans generally dislike formality or any sort of social deference due to age or position, and most quickly say ‘Please call me Rick (or Rita)’. To Americans, informality shows no lack of respect. Because of the rise of women’s liberation in America, women may be introduced with the title ‘Ms’ (pronounced ‘mizz’) and some women object to being addressed as ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’. In some social circles, women are introduced after their husbands, e.g. Mrs Chuck Whizzkid, in which case you shouldn’t address her as Chuck! Americans often reply ‘You’re Welcome’ or something similar when somebody thanks them, and they may think you’re impolite if you don’t do likewise. If someone asks ‘How are you?’, it’s usual to reply ‘Fine thanks’ and don’t complain even if you feel dreadful. Americans don’t have status or inherited titles (e.g. Sir or Lord) but it is necessary to defer to people with a professional title which has been earned. These include foreign diplomats (e.g. Sir), members of the Senate (Senator) or Congress (Congressman/Congresswoman), judges, medical doctors and others with a doctorate, military officers (e.g. General, Colonel), professors, priests and other religious ministers (e.g. Father, Rabbi, Reverend). If you’re invited to dinner, it’s customary to take along a small present, e.g. flowers, a plant, chocolates or a bottle of wine (but nothing extravagant or ostentatious). But choosing flowers you should remember that American people pay attention to the meaning of flowers. For example carnations are associated with bad luck, chrysanthemums are for cemeteries and roses signify love. Guests are normally expected to be punctual with the exception of certain society parties, when late arrival is de rigueur (provided you don’t arrive after the celebrity guest). It’s usual to arrive half an hour to an hour after the official start of a dance. Invitations to cocktail parties or receptions may state 5pm to 7pm, in which case you may arrive at any time between these hours. Dinner invitations are often phrased as 8pm for 8.30pm. This means you should arrive at 8pm for drinks and dinner will be served at 8.30pm. Anyone who arrives late for dinner or doesn’t turn up at all, should expect to be excluded from future guest lists. On the other hand, you must never arrive early. The custom of not taking off the shoes is peculiar to Americans. That is why don’t think of whether you should take off your shoes or not. If it is necessary the host will warn you about it himself. When watching American films I always wondered why Americans did not take off their footwear. The matter turns out to be that there is no much dirty and dust in American streets. Some people who were in America say that it is possible to sit on some pavements and not to make oneself dirty. One more reason explaining this custom is that majority of Americans prefer driving but not going of foot. That is why they are not afraid of dirtying their houses. Some families say grace before meals, so follow your host’s example before tucking in. Table manners are more relaxed in the U.S. than in many other countries. The fork is held in the right hand and is used for eating. The knife is used to cut something. To use the knife, the fork is switched to the left hand. To continue eating, the fork is switched back to the right hand. Don’t overstay your welcome. This becomes obvious when your host starts looking at his watch, talking about his early start the next day. The custom which is also typical for the USA is tipping. Most Americans are shocked by anyone who doesn’t tip or who tips too little. The one you will encounter most often is at restaurants. American restaurants do not add a service charge to the bill. Therefore it is expected that the customer will leave a tip for the server. Common practice is to leave a tip that is equal to 15% of the total bill for acceptable service, and about 20% for superior service. If the service was unusually poor, then you could leave a smaller tip, about 10%. Other professions where tipping is expected include hairdressers, taxi drivers, hotel porters, parking valets, and bartenders. The general rule is to tip approximately 15% of the bill. In situations where there is no bill the tip may range from $1 to $5, depending on the type of establishment and on how good the service was. The custom of tipping came to America from Great Britain. In the 18th century in Great Britain the boxes with the inscription T.I.P.S. which was meant To Insure Prompt Service were on the tables during having tea. Then this term came to America. Baby showers have been a tradition in the US for a long time now, and are growing in popularity here, too. What better excuse is there for getting a group of friends together than to celebrate a new life? Plus, the mum-to-be get lots of great presents for her and her baby, result! The only person who shouldnt arrange a baby shower is the mum-to-be. The whole event should be great fun and completely stress-free for her. Friends, family or work colleagues are the usual organizers. You could either keep it as a surprise for the mum-to-be, or tell her what you are planning. Baby showers usually have some sort of baby theme to get everyone in the mood. Popular themes include: Teddy bears tea party. Get hold of as many teddies as you can and make sure each guest brings one, too! As presents, they could bring teddy bear-related books. The cake could be in the shape of a teddy bear. You get the general idea! Nursery rhymes. Arrange toys linked to nursery rhymes around the room , such as shoes (There was an old lady), a spider (Little Miss Muffet), a bucket (Jack Jills pail), and toy boats (Row row row your boat). Ask guests if they can count how many rhymes are represented. Books. Ask each guest to bring a book that meant something to them as a child. Its a great way for mum to start up her childs library. For decoration, everyone could also bring books to arrange around the room. The cake could be in the shape of a fairytale book. One more tradition connected with babies is to give a baby a birthstone. The Tradition of Birthstones goes back further than written history. People wear jewelry containing stones designated for their Birth Month. In the USA there are a lot of traditions connecting with wedding. It is known that before marriage engagement takes place. As a rule a man invite a woman to the restaurant to make her a proposal. Engagement ring obligatory should have a brilliant. The diamond engagement ring originated with King Maximillian who presented Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring in 1477 as a token of his love. And the ring is presented unexpectedly. It may found in the glass of champagne by the woman or in the bud of the rose. To my mind this tradition is very romantic. The tradition of a Bachelor Party which is held for the Groom and usually sponsored by The Best Man the night before the Wedding and a Bridal Shower which is usually sponsored by The Brides Maid is very popular in the USA. By the way the number of bridesmaids in America amount from two to twenty. The tradition of bridesmaids dressing the same as each other and in similar style to the bride comes from ancient days when it was believed that evil spirits have a more difficult time distinguishing which one is the bride and putting a hex on her. The tradition of a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner also takes place in America. It is usually celebrated between the immediate families of spouses in the late afternoon the day before the wedding. The Grooms Family traditionally provides for this celebration. The Wedding Ceremony is most often performed as part of a religious ceremony each with its own specific customs and traditions. On the day of the wedding the Groom does not see the Bride until the actual ceremony. As Custom would have it from Victorian Times: the Bride wears Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and a Sixpence in her shoe. The bride and groom exchange their rings to mark the permanent commitment of the new spouses to each other. The rings should be gold. According to history gold rings signified a financial sacrifice on the part of the prospective husband. Ring finger is the fourth ringer which is considered to be connected directly to the heart by a route that was called â€Å"the vein of love.† In the USA tradition of engraving of wedding rings is popular. The kiss on weddings dates back to the earliest days of civilization in the Middle East. A kiss was used as the formal seal to agreements, contracts, etc. In Ancient Rome a kiss was still being used as the legal bold to seal contracts. Hence the obvious use of the custom at the end of the wedding ceremony to â€Å"seal† the marriage vows. After the wedding ceremony newlyweds are covered with rice which is used as a symbol of fertility and as a wish for a â€Å"full pantry†. A Wedding Reception is usually held after the ceremony for all family and friends to celebrate. The Brides Family usually provides for this celebration. Traditionally the groom’s flower, worn on his lapel, usually matches one of the flowers in his bride’s bouquet. This tradition goes back to medieval times when knights wore the colors of their lady in tournaments. All of us know the tradition of throwing bridal bouquet and garter. The history of this tradition is very interesting I believe. In parts of Europe during the 14th contrary, having a piece of the bride’s clothing was thought to bring good luck. Guests would literally destroy the brides dress by ripping off pieces of fabric. In order to prevent this, brides began throwing their bouquets to the unwed girls. And grooms began to throw garter to unmarried men. One more wedding tradition is connected with CARRYING THE BRIDE OVER THE THRESHOLD Traditionally, the bride had to enter her new home the first time through the front door. If she tripped or stumbled while entering it was considered to be very bad luck. And the groom carried her over the threshold les she should stumble. Hence the tradition of the groom carrying the bride over the threshold. They bring us all together, no matter where we are. We can all relate to them and understand each other because we all use them. It is also a great connection for family and friends. There are traditions that are upheld for hundreds of years that are so important in our hearts. It links and connects us to past members of our family and our world whom we may never have gotten the chance to meet. They teach us about ourselves, our families, and the world around us. We can learn our history, why this tradition was started and what it signifies when we follow it today. They can work as the glue that holds us together. They are our culture, our heritage; they are us.

Analysis Of Growth In Packaged Milk Industry Marketing Essay

Analysis Of Growth In Packaged Milk Industry Marketing Essay According to Dairy Index 2012, Pakistan is the third largest milk producing and consuming country in the world with 64 percent of the countrys population classified as Deeper in the Pyramid (DIP), which represents 60 percent of LDP consumption. The livestock sector alone contributes 11% of the countrys GDP,  with an estimated 42 billion litres of milk produced per annum. The total revenue from these dairy products is estimated as US$ 26 billion per annum. As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009, Pakistan has a herd size of around 63 million animals, which is the 3rd largest in the world. About 35 million people are involved in dairy farming, deriving more than 40% of their total income from livestock. For these farmers, dairy animals provide milk for domestic consumption as well as meagre income through the sale of milk. In rural Pakistani culture livestock is a storer of wealth. It is viewed as important social capital and offers insurance to the owner in times of financial distress. Pakistan lacks the essential infrastructure that is needed for safe storage and transportation of farm produce. According to the Livestock and Dairy Development Board, 20 percent of the current milk production is lost due to poor infrastructure. Poor research facilities, technological backwardness and lack of processing facilities have resulted in generating fewer jobs and adding virtually no value to its agriculture produce. Of all the milk produced in the country, only 3 percent is processed. Rest of it is consumed as fresh milk which is not treated and is mostly supplied by gawalas. These Gawalas account for around 80-85% of total milk supply in the country. Due to this informal sector most of the milk in Pakistan is of low quality and is untreated. The handling of milk is miserable and no precautions are taken. People involved in this process are mostly uneducated and have low preference to health issues. They do not understand the importance of treatment procedures. Due to this lack of education, the productivity of milk is also low. The methods used for milking are old and no machinery is used. Everything is done purely by hand. In addition the live stock are not properly fed and taken care off. People do not understand the ways through which productivity can be enhanced. The lack of equipment also causes 20% of the milk to be lost during carriage which also lowers the yield and revenue produced by selling the milk. The packaged milk industry comes into picture here. This industry is the opposite of the unprocessed milk dairy industry which is the major chunk. The packaged milk companies have tried to introduce new techniques, use of machinery for milking and setting of health standards. These companies have state of the art plants installed and try to provide the best quality milk. The companies mostly buy milk from these local milk men but a few also have their own farms. The local unprocessed milk is bought by these companies and processed and treated at the standards which meet international quality. So with the increase of such companies and awareness among consumers, the packaged milk industry has started to take effect and gain share of the total dairy industry. Industry background The packaged milk category was originated in 1981 by company named Milk Pak, which  pioneered tetra pack milk in Pakistan. The supply chain involved collecting milk from rural areas across Punjab, processing the milk through UHT (Ultra-High Temperature Processing) treatment, and selling it to consumers in uniquely coloured triangular and rectangular packs designed to prolong the milks quality. Milk Paks Milk Packs were very well-received and the brand soon became synonymous with quality milk. Its first real competition came in the form of Haleeb, which introduced distinctively blue tetra  packs to the market in 1986. Milk Pak later merged with Nestle and continued its growth and leading the new high potential industry. By 2006, the dairy milk category was growing at 20 percent annually, and Milk Pak and Haleeb were well-entrenched brands with distinctive colours and brand  promises of providing high quality, natural and healthy milk. Milk Pak was identified by its green and white packaging-the colours of the country-and offered a brand backed with the strong equity of Nestle, coupled with its own traditional heritage. Haleeb was recognized as the blue brand, and professed to have the naturally thickest milk which was also claimed to give tea the best taste. At that time, market was dominated by these two strong and widely respected brands. The industry looked completely impenetrable for the new comers. But still milk industry in Pakistan had great prospects for growth. However Olpers, new milk brand backed by a powerful company engro, emerged to the scene and with its heavy promotional activities it soon started making its presence felt. The company gained share in the market quite rapidly and in couple of years time accounted for 13% of the market share. Other big companies saw this as the sign of potential profitable market and starting entering the packaged milk business. Good Milk was another brand backed by Shakargunj also launched onto the scene and started making impact. Local companies like Nirala sweets also took the opportunity and launched their milk products. In this growing market some old products such as Nurpur started reviving their brand and started making tetra pack milk. Numerous small brands like Halla, Gourmet and P rime launched their plastic packaged milk too which was cheaper than tetra pack. The industry took real boost in years 2008 and onwards. Countless brands started emerging, many on small scale. People started importing cows from Australia and other countries and marketed their milk. Educated people also stepped into this business. They brought in new techniques, live stocks and feeds to enhance the productivity and sell quality healthy milk. Various brands like Fresh milk, Farm fresh, Anhaar, White gold followed this trend. The industry particularly looks profitable as Pakistan is one of the largest milk producing and consuming country in the world. Milk is one of the main components of Pakistani people diets. Increase in urbanization during these years also helped the industry to boom. People came from rural areas started adopting to new trends. Mass media created an impact as companies used vigorous advertising to influence consumer choices and make them believe that the packaged milk is better, safe and healthy. The fresh milk suppliers also helped the industry as the fresh milk they supplied was constantly lacking quality, rumours of mixing of water into milk, unhygienic treatment of milk and medications given to animals to enhance milk produce led people to give-up fresh milk consumption and avert to packaged milk. Research objectives Identify how many new packaged milk companies have become functional in last five years. What is the growth of milk production in last five years What are the reasons behind the growth What is the projected growth for coming years Why is demand for packaged milk increasing What are potential new markets for packaged milk How many consumers are willing to substitute fresh milk with packaged milk Is the non packaged milk industry slowly transforming into packaged milk industry? What impact does increasing population has on milk demand Is large youth population a driver for growth in packaged milk? Research Question Analysing the growth of packaged milk sector in Pakistan over the last five years. Research Methodology This section will explain what type of research would be conducted and by which means. It covers the details of the research design, methodology for collecting the data, population, questionnaire development and data analysis. Data Type The type of data can be either primary or secondary. In this particular paper both primary and secondary data would be used. The primary data set will be gathered via questionnaire whereas the source of secondary data are published articles from Jstor journal and other credible sources. Further the data can be qualitative and quantitative in nature. Qualitative data refers to data that may categorize items in terms of certain characteristics and / or quality. This type of data can be observed and recorded however, it cannot be measured. Quantitative data refers to data that is numerical and can be measured using various statistical techniques .The majority of the data regarding this paper is quantitative in nature. This is due to the fact that quantitative data is easier to measure and analyze and reduces biasness that can occur in qualitative data. Information with regards to the demographics of the research subjects would be termed as qualitative data; this includes information abo ut the respondents gender, age, etc. Sampling Procedure Convenience, non-probability sampling will be used, based on the ease of access for the researcher. Sampling Frame For the purpose of this research, the list of elements upon which the sample is selected from the population include the fact that they should be easily accessible to the researcher (as convenience sampling is used). The other element of is that atleast 50% of the sample should fall into the SEC B income bracket. This is because research shows this class to be the most frequent users of these products. Time Frame The time frame for this research project is 5 months, starting from August and ending in December. Research Proposal Submission (August 2012) Revisions to Proposal (1st September 2012) Literature Review (8th September 2012) Hypothesis Generation (8th September 2012) Theoretical Framework (8th September 2012) Methodology (8th September 2012) Data Collection (22nd September 2012) Data Compilation (6th October 2012) Data Analysis (13th October 2012) Results and Findings (20th October 2012) Final Submission (3rd November 30th 2012) Literature Review The prospering dairy industry of Pakistan The author of the article talks about the increasing trend of consumption of branded or packaged dairy products in urban areas. According to the author the transition of dairy industry from unprocessed loose products to formally treated hygienic packaged products has took a long time. The packaged milk industry initiated in 1981 but till the early 2000s the growth was very slow. People did not adapt to the idea and kept on consuming fresh products. Milk from Gawalas and yogurt from local milk shops were widely preferred. In the last decade the consumers became more aware of the benefits of the packaged milk. People also started knowing about the improper treatment of dairy products by the local milkmen. Germs, mixing of water, poor handling techniques and medications to enhance milk yield from cows contributed to consumers dismay. People suddenly started looking at packaged milk as more healthy, nutritious and safe. According to the figure given in the paper, the packaged milk indust ry is growing at 20% annually. Marketing of dairy (fresh) milk vs. packaged milk The article researches the reasons behind success of packaged milk in recent times. The industry has boomed in last five years. Many new companies have come and impacted the industry. The fresh milk is being substituted for the packaged milk. According to the author the impact can be seen by studying the marketing strategies of fresh milk producers vs. Packaged milk producers. The author sees advertising as a key factor that has contributed to this boom in packaged milk industry. The marketing strategies and advertising has changed consumers perception. Consumers are made aware of the advantages of packaged milk. The hygienic values, purity and freshness have been promoted massively. The marketing has also shown the dark side of fresh milk. The improper handling, unhygienic and old methods and contamination in the milk have led to change in people preference. Moreover the companies have targeted changing people lifestyles. The convenience of packaged milk, hassle free handling and easy storage has also caused positive attitude towards packaged milk. The packaged milk makers have also successfully promoted milk as essential product for as well as main ingredient for various items. Like the best tea, best desserts and best drinks are made from packaged milk. On the other hand the fresh milk industry being largely unaccounted and informal has failed in this aspect. They are lacking innovation as well as modern techniques. The uneducated milkmen have failed o understand the significance of marketing. They are still surviving on massive demand, price and staunch users who do not want packaged milk. Changing lifestyles and consumer attitudes The ever increasing concerns of contamination, germs, bacteria and improper handling of dairy products specially milk has led many consumers to opt for packaged milk consumption. The perception and understanding of packaged milk being more safe and healthy is fast catching the minds of consumers. People are more informed about the hazards of consuming unhygienic loose milk. This change is the a key indicator of huge potential and enormous untapped market that has great potential for growth in packaged milk industry. Keeping in mind this huge potential and changing lifestyles of consumers, the packaged milk companies have come up with different varieties of milk. Consumers now have more choices than they could have imagined previously. Companies like Milkpak and Olpers offer normal pasteurized milk with full fat content as well as low fat, high calcium milk better known as skimmed milk. Consumers specially the ladies are targeted with the skimmed milk categories whereas men and children are promoted the normal brand of milk. Talking about choices and innovation, companies have even made milk a specialized item. For example olpers markets it milk Tarang specially for making tea. It says that Tarang is the best milk for tea. Similarly nestle has done this for many years with its dry milk brand called every day. So with changing consumers need and evolving lifestyles, companies have come up with new and innovative products and have successfully specialized their options. Drinking milk products in Pakistan In the dairy sector, milk continues to be the largest consumed commodity. In this category of drinking milk, Khula doodh continues to be the preferred choice of consumers as high percentage of population consumes it. Share of packaged milk is still very low in the dairy industry. The main reason behind this is that still majority of people consider the loose milk to be more fresh, nutritious and affordable. Drinking milk products is expected to see a constant value CAGR of 8% over the forecast period, departing from the high annual growth of 21% seen in 2011 as well as similar high double-digit growth seen in the past few years which had been mainly led by hikes in unit prices. During the forecast period, prices are expected to see only modest growth since companies are concerned about the inability of consumers to cope with soaring food inflation. In this high growth industry, packaged milk has also seen tremendous growth. The competition has increased and new companies have started making impact in the market. In 2010, Engro foods a young company was tied with Nestle Milkpak a pioneering company in packaged milk for the share value of sales which stood at 33%. Haleeb closely followed these companies with 20% value share. The white revolution (Dhoodh darya) The basic objective undertaken in this paper is to activate the resource potential of rural Pakistan and serve as a key engine of economic growth, thus radically changing the landscape of Pakistans agriculture economy through dairy development! the revolution aims at empowering small farmers and providing them with mechanized farms. The revolution is trying to improve the overall infrastructure of the dairy sector so that its full potential can be exploited. By introducing modern techniques, white revolution will influence the lives of millions and enhance urbanization through innovation and quality. The white revolution aims to satisfy consumers by providing quality milk, affordable, wide product range and high nutritional value. To meet the needs of the farmers, white revolution will train, empower, provide resource, improve yield, link to formal markets and provide a thriving pathway to growth. This way the supply chain will become better off, local milk production will adapt to n ew techniques and foreign investors would also be attracted. Overall a standardized industry would take shape. Some stats shared in the paper give us brief of the industry. These stats are as follows: Capture.PNG Capture2.PNG Through these statistics we can clearly see that the dairy industry has great potential for growth. The packaged milk industry is also contributing more and more every year. The growth trend is strong and may lead the industry in near future. All this would be made possible by achieving the objectives as mentioned in the paper. Pakistans transforming dairy industry The Gawala system is one of the long standing traditions of Pakistan milk industry. The result of this tradition can be seen by dominance of unprocessed milk which accounts for 93% of all liquid dairy products. From 2006-2009 consumption of LDP has increased with increase in the population, With a CAGR of 2.4% (according to Tetra Pak data). In 2009, LDP consumption reached 18.9bn litres, maintaining its position as the fourth largest LDP consumer after India, China and the US. In the same period, the rate of growth of packaged LDP was at CAGR of 8.4% compared with unpackaged products, which grew at a CAGR of 2.1%. according to tetra pack this trend is going to continue in near future. Tetra Pak expects packaged LDP to continue growing, with a CAGR of 10.4% from 2009-12. The changing demographics of the country are contributing to this change. Emerging middle class, increasing young population and education has caused people to demand safer and healthier products. In the alst decade the urban population of apkistan has increased by 3 percentage points. In 2009, 35.5% (59.9m) more people were living in urban areas. This change or urbanization has limited the supply of good healthy fresh milk as people have moved away from rural areas. Their access to good quality loose milk has been limited due to the lack of a cold supply chain. This has provided packaged milk companies with the opportunity to provide good quality, safe milk in an alternative form. Increasing educational class and sophisticated consumers have demanded more and more packaged products as they perceive it to be healthier and more convenient. From 1999-2009, packaged LDP grew by 19%. VAT to hamper growth of dairy industry In 2010 the article published in tribune raised concerns of dairy industry as government considered applying VAT on packaged milk. According to Pakistan dairy association (PDA) the VAT would seriously hamper the growth of the industry. According to Muzammil Aslam, economist at JS global capital ltd. Government will face difficulty in applying VAT on food industry. The government will face problems in imposing VAT especially in the food sector because this area has been mostly unregulated, If government applied VAT on packaged milk which is around 15%, the prices of milk packs would sharply rise. The difference between loose milk and packaged milk would become extraordinary. Consumers will shift to loose milk and packaged milk which has been growing year to year will suddenly default. Already the packaged milk sector has only 13% share in the dairy market. The industry wont survive and eventually Pakistan would have to import packaged dairy products. The loose milk industry is currently not in tax bracket so it would be unfair to have taxes on packaged dairy products. Emerging markets will drive growth of dairy industry According to a study conducted by tetra pack in 2012, emerging new markets in the world including Pakistan, India, Brazil, Russia and china will drive the growth of LDP industry. The LDP market is set for accelerated demand in years 2011-2014. Pakistan is currently the third largest milk producing country and has third largest herd size. Most of the population of Pakistan is deeper in the pyramid (60%). This provides great opportunity for companies and local farmers to cash in. Pakistani food producers have made many new innovative products which are affordable and good. One such product is the tea whitener. 32% of milk is used for making tea so it is a very important market. Products like tarang which are cheap and good for tea are ideal to penetrate into DIP segment of the society. Once the packaged foods enter this segment the growth will be enormous. Todays low-income consumers are tomorrows middle class, said Azhar Ali Syed, Managing Director Tetra Pak Pakistan, noting that this is a golden opportunity for dairy processors to cultivate consumer loyalty among a new generation of dairy consumers in developing countries such as Pakistan. The consumption is to incease from 70 billion litres to 80 billion in the year 2014. Many of the loose milk consumers are expected to shift during this period to packaged milk. Low-income consumers represent one of the biggest growth opportunities for the dairy industry. The key to tomorrows success is reaching these consumers today, said Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jonson. They make up almost 40 percent of the worlds population and live in economies driving our industrys growth and they are growing more affluent. Tetra pack also announced that LDP demand worldwide is going to grow at 2.9% CAGR from 2011-2014. The biggest potential markets will be Asia, Africa and Latin America. Competitor analysis The packaged milk industry of Pakistan initially faced slow growth. People did not adapt to the idea of packaged milk and avoided consuming it. In the last decade this trend has changed. People now have become more aware of the packaged products and its nutritional values. The awareness led to consumer testing and liking the packaged milk. Thus the milk consumption started to transform. There are two types of packaged milk available, the tetra pack and the pouch packed milk. In the past five years the growth has been rapid. The industry has prospered in this time period. The boom in packaged milk industry has seen many new competitors enter the market. The competition has increased and suddenly the industry has become fiercely competitive. In the early days, the packaged milk market was dominated by nestle milk pak. Milk pak was like a monopoly. Now with new companies entering, the market share has dropped but still milk pak leads the market. Olpers now has second highest market share, was launched during this period of time by engro foods. The competition within the industry itself has become intense. There are many brands available offering virtually the same product at almost the same price. The taste and nutritional value of the milk brands are also same. Consumers have endless choices. The prominent brands competing in the market include: milk pak, olpers, haleeb, halla, good milk, gourmet, prema, anahar, nurpur, omung, and white gold. The combined percentage share of tetra pack and pouch pack milk brands of the dairy industry is 29% (22% tetra pack, 7%pouch pack). All these brands are fighting to gain maximum of this 29% share of the dairy market that makes the packaged milk industry. Of the 29% share of packaged milk in dairy industry, 22% is tetra pack milk. Currently milk pack has around 40% share of this pie whereas olpers is second at 27%. Other significant competitors in this category are haleeb and good milk. These tetra packed milk brands offer pasteurized milk. It is a little expensive too when compared with other categories. In the other category, Gourmet milk dominates the pouched milk category as it has more than 70% share of the 7% pouched milk market. The main competition in this category is halla and dairy queen. These brands offer UHT milk which come in pouches and are considered economical. Apart from this inside competition faced by packaged milk industry, immense competition is present outside the industry. This competition is given by the fresh milk or unprocessed milk category. This category is by far the most popular and most consumed one. It accounts for 71% of the total dairy market share. The fresh milk has this huge market share due to various factors. Among these factors price, taste, availability and nutritional value are key. The fresh milk is readily available and supplied to households on daily basis. Local milk men who have their own cows supply fresh milk on daily basis. The milk is delivered to consumers doorstep fresh every morning. This ease is also one of the main reasons for its success. The fresh milk also is cheaper to get. As compared to the packaged milk it almost costs Rs. 10/litre less. Another factor that has lead to this huge market share is lack of awareness regarding packaged milk. People still believe that fresh milk is more nutritious wh ereas to them packaged and processed milk is artificial. One key thing to note is that the fresh milk has a 70% share in rural market while in urban its only 30%. Industry analysis According to a study on Milk marketing conducted by FAO in Pakistan in 2003, out of 33.6billion litres of production of milk, 80% of the milk in the country are collectively produced by rural commercial and rural subsistence producers. The semi urban producers account for 15% of the milk production, whereas urban producers contribute 5% to the total milk production in the country. Only 5% of the milk is processed and is marketed through formal distribution channels whereas the other 95% is being distributed by the middlemen in the urban and rural areas. This accounts to be 0.43% contribution of the formal sector to the real GDP of Pakistan in the year 2004-2005. The formal sector (UHT) market are the milk producers in Pakistan which totals to be only 3%, which is only a small percentage, are growing at a stable rate of 20% a year. Initially the dairy sector did not receive much attention. As mentioned before, the packaged milk industry began in Pakistan in 1981. Milk pak became the pioneer by introducing its packaged milk. Later Haleeb and dairy queen and Halla followed Milk pak footsteps. The industry at the beginning never looked promising and was hardly seen replacing the fresh milk. In fact, the concern of adulteration, germs, obsolete and old methods of improper handling of dairy products, particularly loose milk and curd by milkmen and shopkeepers, are forcing a large number of consumers in the country to change their old buying patterns and move away for traditional milkmen delivered fresh milk. Consumer preferences have changed in the favour of packaged dairy products (Austin and Kohn, 1990), which offers better hygiene, nutritional value and good value for money. In the early 90s Tetra pack started their campaign of hygiene bacteria free milk; moreover their main aim was to educate the masses about th e health hazards of loose milk which is supplied by the local milkmen. Also they wanted to build awareness about the quality, purity, freshness of the packaged milk which is free from preservatives. Till the mid of 90s milk production was the least commercialized enterprise in the agricultural economy. It was during the early years of the 21stcentury that the dairy sector became slightly more commercialized with the emergence of two new companies in the sector: Olpers and Goodmilk. The former enterprise emerged as an aggressive player with attractive new ad campaigns emerging after almost every six months and managed to gain second highest market share as a UHT milk producer in Pakistan after Nestle Milkpak. The dairy sector now stands at its turning point. The advertisement campaigns and the competition between the oligopolies of milk enterprises have benefited its consumers the most (Pakistan Dairy Development Company, 2006). A demand shift can be viewed from that of loose milk to packaged milk. Milk consumers now have a variety of brands of milk to choose from which would suit their needs. The majority of national livestock herd is distributed in small units throughout Pakistan. About 55 million landless or small land holding farmers are responsible for the bulk of milk production produced in the country. Buffalos being the major milk producing animals produce most of the milk in Pakistan whereas only small amount of milk is produced by cows as Pakistans consumers prefer buffalo milk over cows milk. UHT producers of milk have made collection points in rural areas from where they collect milk from small scale farmers. It develops into a hassle for the collectors as they have to face problems due to poor infrastructure, quality assurance of the milk produced by farmers, inexpert manpower and seasonality issues. Low productivity and uneven farm base makes it inefficient for collectors to collect milk from farmers as collection becomes ineffective due to this. These difficulties create serious threats to the dairy industry of Pakistan which can only be eliminated by providing subsidies by government to the farmers. To make Pakistans dairy industry competitive against worlds dairy sector Pakistans dairy industry needs to be developed with respect to international standards. Primary research For this research project most of the data has been gathered from secondary sources. due to limitations and small time span only small scale primary research has been done. The primary research done for this study is has been limited to Lahore area only. The respondents were mostly students belonging to few universities of Lahore. the sample size chosen for this research was 100. These hundred people represent the whole population for this research only. This sampling has been done just to get an idea of how much our research claim is valid. The primary research data gathering has been done through questionnaires. A fourteen close ended questions questionnaire was floated in our sample. The questionnaires were filled under the supervision of the researcher and all precautions had been taken to avoid any bias. Survey analysis When the respondents were asked which type of milk they consume 30 said fresh milk, 60 tetra pack, 9 plastic pouch and 1 went with others. The next questions addressed the frequency factor. 30 respondents said they consume milk twice a day, 50 used it once a day, 15 said few times a week and 5 only used once a week. The third question asked the purpose behind consuming milk. Most respondents said they consume for tea, coffee and drinking. Out of the sample of 100 respondents, when asked 70 said that they use tetra pack milk while only 30 said no they dont. The most popular kind of packaged milk according to our respondents is the UHT milk as 60 respondents went with the option. When asked about the packaged milk brands most people consumed milk pack 49, olpers being second and good milk third. In pouched milk category gourmet was the preferred choice along with halla. The next question was perhaps the most critical one. We asked respondents that have they ever consumed loose milk or are its past users. 97 out of 100 said yes. Almost everyone has been a past consumer of loose milk. In one of the questions we noted that 70 out of 100 p

Cameron Crowes Film Jerry Maguire Essay examples -- Crowe Movie Film

Cameron Crowe's Film Jerry Maguire In his movie Jerry Maguire, director Cameron Crowe illustrates how failures and successes are all part of life and if you have love and are happy with your life then you will surely succeed. It is part of life to experience failure which propels one forward to take risks and make changes to find the answers on how to succeed in lives little games. Jerry Maguire is an inspiring movie based on this theme, demonstrating success and failure with business endeavors, love relationships, friendships and self realization. Relationships between characters in this movie were numerous and were very intense. The relationship between Jerry and Rod Tidwell was initially one of strong control exhibited by Tidwell when he asks Jerry to yell â€Å"show me the money!† and when he refuses to complete the camel car commercial. This in turn adds to Tidwells failure with company endorsements and extra cash. Jerry also tries to exhibit control over Tidwell because he expects him to act in a certain way which he doesn’t always do. Jerry proves this when he tells Tidwell the truth about his arrogant actions towards society and the team. Jerry knows it is in Tidwells best interest to tone down his arrogance in order to succeed which he does. In the end both men come to realize their faults and change their behavior which results in the success of Tidwells career. The other relationship that drive...

adopt to a new environment :: essays research papers

What do you think the best way to adopt a new environment that has a different culture for a foreigner? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Well, I think it’s to develop social relationships with members of the new culture, and in order to have a better communication with them, it’s not enough just speak their language fluent, but we also have to know the personality of the country and the way that people talking. Today I want to share some of my culture shock experiences with you, and I hope those experiences can help you to have a little closer look of the personality of Americans and the way that people talking. The first thing I want to talk happened at the first day I attended to USC as its student, which just several weeks ago. A friend and I went to the cafeteria to have lunch. There was a middle size? guy caught my attention. He carried a big backpack and wore a huge headphone. He was singing as he stopped in the front of a food counter. It seemed that the music he was listening reached the climax. He closed his eyes, turned to another side and opened his arms while his sound became more and more loud until almost yelled! Everybody turned to look at him, and he seemed still enjoyed in that song. During a short quiet moment, a lady who sat in a wheelchair beside the table I sat suddenly moved her body hardly and yelled: I like it! I like it! The guy who shared the same table with us looked at me said: â€Å"Oh man, it is amazing, isn’t it?† I was still in shock and replied him a smile after couple seconds. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ This experience is unforgettable for me. That’ s the first time that I feel the free and open personality that people have in this culture so strongly.

Geely Company Analysis

Geely Company Analysis When globalization becomes a circumstance, many companies try to open oversea market. Here, we’d like to take a look at a Chinese private-own automobile company Geely. As china’s top car maker, Geely abstracted the world’s eyes recently. In 2004, Geely plans to export 5,000 vehicles to the Middle East, South America and North Africa after shipping 1,000 cars to Syria in the fourth quarter of 2003 at US$4,000-$6,000 each. This year, Geely wants to open US market. But with many strong competiters in car manufactory in US, with weak reputation around chinese product, How does Geely find an appropriate approach to develop its business? This paper will try to find the answer. First, we will introduce Geely background to help reader know its history and present situation. Then we will do SWOT analysis and Entry mode comparison toward its current status to find a better approach for Geely to enter in US. We will cover chapter 4 and chapter 14 in this paper. Company opportunity Although it’s hard for a new automotive manufactor enter in US market, which is roughly saturated and full of strong competitors, Geely still has its own advantages and oppotunities. Its super-low price becomes a brick to knock the door of US low end vehicles market. Some other famous and successful brand bulid a good model for Geely in car image, design etc. Also, US market is huge and American people have a high consumption, if Geely can catch the oppotunities, the chance to success will be great. Now, let’s take a look at its company background. Company background Geely automobile company was found on March, 1997 in Zhe Jiang China. It is a private own automobile company. The registered capital of this company is RMB 20 million. In 2001, Geely automobile became the first approved private company in terms of automobile manufacture in mainland China. The chairman of the company is Li Shu Fu. He has good relationships with the Chinese government leaders and Zhe Jiang province government leaders. China has high economic growth rates since 1980s. Many Chinese people make a lot of money every year. Most of them want to own cars or need cars for many easons. So the Chinese car market become bigger and bigger. It provides a good opportunity to Li Shu Fu and his employees to realize their dream: â€Å"Make the best Cars, ordinary People Can Afford. † Geely automobile company hires many workers to produce different styles cars in Zhe Jiang province and operates big business in mainland China, Middle East, southern America and Africa. The operatio n of the company can affect the economic growth of Zhe Jiang province. So, Geely automobile company always gets support from the Zhe Jiang province government. Gerry automobile company is focusing on low-income market in mainland China. In the first half of 2003, Geely Company produced 34360 units of cars and renews the lowest prices of its products in the automobile industry, so the company shared 3. 84% of the total Chinese car market. At the same, the company made technical cooperation agreement with German Rucker Company. The cooperation agreement helps Geely automobile to improve its products’ quality quickly. This company gets success in domestic market after its first car launched off in Linhai City Zhejiang Province. On June, 2003, the one hundred thousand Geely care launched off in Zhejiang Province. This company has import & export license and the ISO 9001 quality system certification, so it is very easy for the company to export its products to other countries. Gerry Company tries to enter in international market since its foundation. The company sells its products or establishes extensive trading relationship in different countries and areas since 2003. It seems to get success in Middle East, Southern American and Africa because the company exports large quantities of products to those areas per year. This company is looking for the opportunities to enter the U. S. market now. S. W. O. T Analysis Since we have assumed that Geely has its potential to open the automobile market in American, then the next step is to analyze the company and automobile industry environment. One of tools is provided by our text book called â€Å"S. W. O. T† analysis which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Sulivan, 2002). * Strength A strength could be defined as something a company is good at doing or a characteristic that gives it enhanced competitiveness. It may include aluable physical and/or human assets, an achievement or attribute that takes the company in a position of market advantage, alliances or cooperative ventures, and so on(Thompson & Strickland, 2001, p117). For Geely Automobile Company, low cost of physical and/or human assets is one of the major strengths. As we know, although Chinese labor cost is not the lowest in the world, its cost is still much lo wer than lots of industrialized countries. Besides, the average cost of raw materials, plant, and land is also cheaper than some western countries. Moreover, Geely does not only have low cost labor but also has lots of valuable human assets. In 2003, Geely recuited some experienced managers into their team including former the General Manager of SAIC Volkswagen, Vice President of FAW Volkswagen Group, President of Dongfeng Automobile Institute Research, Chief Representative of German BMW and General Manager of China region after service company of Benz Company. These lower-cost advantages make Geely achieve its low price strategy among other competitors. On May, 2003, Geely sparkplug automobile popularization and renovate the newest and lowest price of automobile in the automobile industry. For instance, Geely makes some low-priced sedans. One of those is under the brand name, Haoqing minicar which is the cheapest on the Chinese market, at just 32,000 yuan which converts to $ 3,867 U. S. dollars. Some company’s alliances or cooperative ventures also build up its strength. On Dec. , 2002, Geely made contracts with Daewoo International Co. , Ltd and Maggiora S. p. A, a famous Italy automobile project group with respectively to develop CK-1 and CI-1 automobile project. On June,2003, Geely made a technical cooperation agreement with German Rucker Company. * Weakness A weakness is defined as something a company lacks or does poorly or a condition that makes the company at a disadvantage. A weakness may include lack of financial support, poor brand image or reputation and so on (Thompson & Strickland, 2001, p117). As we mentioned that Geely is a private owned company in our company background section, it is more difficult for them to get financial support in order to expand market or R&D. Furthermore, even though it made strategy corporation with several Shanghai and Zhejiang commercial banks, from an international perspective, â€Å"the lack of a strong relationship with a large bank with lobal connections† (Sulivan, 2002, p512) seems to be a big weakness for them. The second weakness is the reputation of Chinese products. For example, every time we, including Europeans, Americans even Asians, mention made-in-China products, we probably are talking about most of toys, shores, textiles or cheap electronics, but fewer of high-tech products. It is true for Chinese automobile manufacturers such as Geely that in order to open western markets they still have a long way to build their product images. * Opportunity It is no doubt that America has one of the most favorable automobile markets in the world. The political and businesses environment such as regulation are stable and well-developed. The income per capita is also ranked at top. Besides, its infrastructures such as freeways and national transportation network are also well built. For automobile manufacturers, they can either open luxury car markets or focus on mid-income or lower-income consumers. For foreign car makers especially from Asia, Japanese opened American market in 70’s and Korean opened in 90’s; the next might be from China. Threats Like opportunity, a threat is also viewed at whole industry level rather than each single company. In the automobile industry, the most common threat is a lot of competitors. There are not only many worldwide well-known brands such as General Motor, Ford, Toyota, Martz-Benz which produce different kinds of luxury automobiles for high-or-mid income consumers but also lots of small m anufacturers such as Hyundai, Geely, or Chery (another Chinese automobile company) which focus on lower-income market. Another threat is fueling fears. Since Asia economy boom, the demand of natural resource such as petroleum is increased dramatically. However, nowadays, the oil reserve is decreasing. Due to the high demand and short supply in oil, consumers start to consider not only the prices of automobiles but also the ability of gasoline saving while they purchase the cars. The change of consumer purchase behaviors will directly affect automobile manufactures’ market strategy and R&D. In sum, S. W. O. T analysis is very helpful for both domestic-oriented and international-oriented companies to analyze internal or external economic environment. However, after finish this analysis, there is another analysis to do – country analysis before we choose an appropriate entry model. US Country Analysis In US, automobiles play an important role in our daily lives. We can not finish our duties without driving a car. According auto Automotive News, there are 16 million cars in US. Most of the car sales are not made US car companies. US made cars sales is around 44. 9 %. That means 55% of cars sales in US are from foreign company. Japanese cars are the most sales cars in US. There are a lot of reasons why the Japanese cars are popular in US market. First, Japanese cars are better quality and lower price than US cars. Second, the Japanese cars saves their customers in gasoline cost. Because gasoline price increases so quickly, the US economy is experiencing a inflation problem. The daily life product prices are in a rise. People have less spending power than before. The market for cheap cars will increase year by year. On the other hand, people who have higher income still want to buy an expensive car. Most of the rich people want to buy Europe cars, such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi. As for the cheap car market, Korean cars are taking over most of the sales. China automobiles may have a good chance to break into US market, because China may be more competitive than Korean cars. The car come from China also consume less gas. It is may have a good opportunity to break into US market. Entry mode Since the objective for Geely Automotives is to eventually dominate the U. S. low end vehicles market, the most appropriate way for Geely automotives to do this would be through the direct exporting along with sales subsidiary method of entry. Geely will start out by selecting markets that are more susceptible to buying Chinese vehicles such as California and certain parts of Texas. Additionally, this process is set up to allow Geely to move carefully, develop a good foundation in the U. S. markets and if the future looks favorable then Geely may eventually grow and expand from there. Since China already has some of the lowest labor costs in the world, Geely automotives may be able to leave their manufacturing plant in China and the cars will then be directly exported to the U. S. from China. Once the cars arrive then Geely U. S. subsidiary will be responsible from there on and transport the vehicles to the dealerships for sale. To augment the exporting process, Geely will open up sales subsidiary dealerships in the selected locations in California and certain parts of Texas. The function of these sales subsidiaries will be sales, customer support and along with repair and maintenance on the vehicles. The management team will be also be imported from Geely’s headquarters in China, whereas sales, customer support and mechanics can be hired locally, since there is a good supply of well trained car salesmen in U. S. already. While a sales subsidiary dealership may be more expensive to set up in the U. S. than a simple sales branch, the sales subsidiary will be better for long term growth and the expenses should be off set by higher revenues earned from the subsidiary. According to Dr. Sullivan in Exploring International Business Environments, a sales subsidiary will also be better for long term growth because a sales subsidiary will allow Geely to â€Å"1. Be closer in touch with end-user needs. 2. Have more control over distribution channels, And 3. Being perceived by customers as more committed to the market. † ( 263). Dr. Sullivan also notes that the major disadvantage of a sales subsidiary is in finding sales personal with the right mix of experience, language skills and willingness to work for foreigners. However this should not be a big issue for Geely since there is a large Chinese population in California and many well trained sales people. (263). The major thrust behind Geely’s entry mode is to expand through economies of scale even if it means sacrificing short term profits. Lawrence Ang, executive director of Geely describes it clearly when he said in a recent news update: â€Å"We're the most aggressive market player in pursuing price-cuts and economies-of-scale strategies,† Ang continues by explaining that â€Å"Market share is relatively more important for us in the near term than profit margin because China's auto industry will experience a trend of declining profit margins in the next couple of years,† Furthermore, Ang concludes that â€Å"†We need a critical mass. Then we can push down our per-unit costs, leaving room for maneuvering on pricing. † (china. org. cn) Case study†¦ Hyundai Motors To understand the effectiveness of this entry mode better, let us look at Hyundai as an example. Hyundai first entered the U. S. market in 1986, their timing was perfect because it was a time when most automobile manufacturers were striving to dominate the higher-end markets, and this left plenty of room in the low end vehicles market. Hyundai took advantage of this by providing affordable cars for college students and lower income families. Hyundai also started out by exporting to Canada and later to the west and east coasts of U. S. where these markets are more liberal to foreign cars. Hyundai’s success was immediate, setting a record by selling their 100,000th Excel in just seven months of their first appearance. (Hyundai. com). With the American car manufacturers slowly loosing market share and Hyundai moving up in their target market, this could be the perfect opportunity for Geely to enter the U. S. market and reproduce Hyundai’s astounding results. Conclusion Eventually, as U. S. has huge demand of automobile, and slowly looses its market share to the Asian automobile manufacture, and as Hyundai moves to higher-end markets, this presents an opportunity for Geely. According to S. W. O. T analysis, Geely has its strength on low cost of natural resource and labor, and opportunity on focusing large demand of low-income consumers but the threat on powerful competitors, and weakness on poor reputation. Thus, if Geely could fully utilize its strength and opportunity, and build up its reputation by improving its qualities, we strongly believe that Geely could successfully enter U. S. market, and has high chance to capture part of U. S. automobile industries.