Introduction to Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Introduction to Marketing - Essay Example , branding, modifying and  influencing customer behavior and buying decisions.  All of such strategies are used to increase sales of products and services. Marketing has a lot of definitions. One of them defines marketing in a way such that it relates marketing to the way society promotes spending on  particular products and services. Marketing generally targets a specific consumer segment depending on the type of merchandise or service. It is very important for marketing initiatives to focus on customer needs and wants of the specific target audiences. Marketing is such a topic that covers a wide range of  aspects, which includes advertises, public relations, sales, and product promotions. Many people confuse sales with marketing, when the truth is the two are a lot different from each other. Sales involves activities which aim at getting a product or service  into a market, promoting the product, influencing the behavior of consumers, and influencing the consumer buying b ehavior. The actual function of a Sales division is to transfer the ownership of the products or services from the produces to the customers. The marketing and financial results of the companies depend on a number of interrelated internal and external factors. The analysis of these factors has been a constant concern for academicians and practitioners. The very complexity of this subject requires indulging into more narrow aspects of research of the issue. One of the many possibilities is that while seeing through the glass of marketing initiatives of a company, while assuming that such possibilities predetermine any contact between the company and the target market. These initiatives significantly influence overall growth and success of the company. However, the span of marketing initiatives as well as their influences are extremely wide and can hardly be analyzed at once as a single entity. One way to cover logically a part of such a broad picture is through analysis of the marketing division

Research on ''Job stress'' and statistical analysis Paper

On ''Job stress'' and statistical analysis - Research Paper Example The finding revealed that a significant negative impact of Job 'Job stress'' and statistical analysiss satisfaction on the level of stress. A significant negative impact between the employment status and the job stress is also realized. Introduction Workplace life plays a vital role in an individuals’ social life. The dynamic nature of the work environment has forced people to engage in job related task leading to avandornment of the social life. The unsatisfactiry state of employees makes them to concentrate on aspect or tasks that will result to improvement of their output. On the other hand, the status of employment also pushes people to strain and get stress. For instance, individuals with greater levels of job stress may be unsatisfied with the kind of work he or she does and hence leadss to unhappiness at work place. Such issues triggers burned outs or frustration when such an individual encounter a snmall challenge. Such inccident impacts negatively on the organizations output leading to low profits. The goal of theis research id to find out individuals factors that implacts on the oevrall performace and one’s job satisfaction. The most appropriate group to interview is the workers in the teaching fields are they the most affected. Previsous studies showed that the gender of an employee contributes a lot to the level of stress that one gets at work place. Other factors such as job satisfaction also influence the empployees overall performance. Since most organization is striving to increase its employees’output, the employees tend to struggle to satisfy the company’s needs. The level of stress that an individual has depends greatly on the factors that cause it. Beehr and Newman (2012) define stress as a situation that compels an individual to stray from the normal state as a result of disturbed physiological condition. From this definition, it is crucial for us to emphasise on stress management at work place. It is found out t hat the state of most individuals in the teaching fraternity is innfluenced by demographic factors. Job related stress within workers is mostly affected by role management in the organization. The management of role in the organization can be a key factor which instills stress on workers. Role stress in this context refers to any organizational undertakin that has detrimental effects on the employee. There are roles of the management that stand out to conflict to the wishes of the employees (Beehr 2011). Work and family are disjoint; therefore the family status on an individual can greatly affect the workers’job life. The situation is two-way traffic; where the family life is the source of stress that manifest at work place or the job life being the source of stress that will be spilled to the family life. Connection between job satisfaction and job stress Many researchers have tried to find out the connection between job satisfaction and stress. Job stress and job satisfctio n are two critical aspects given concentration in the HRM research projects. Stamps & Piedmonte (2010), argued that a significatn connection between job stress and job satisfaction. Another reserch by Cooper, et al (2011) also revealized that the root cause of job stress is job disatisfaction. In addition, Fletcher (2010) found out that soneone can be stressed because he or she is not satisfied with the kind of work he does. Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

Market analysis: Hydroponics in Mauritius

Market analysis: Hydroponics in Mauritius In essence, the job of a strategist is to understand and cope with competition. Often, managers define competition too narrowly, as if it occurred only among todays direct competitors. Lall, (2001, p. 6) stated that competitiveness in industrial activities means developing relative efficiency along with sustainable growth Moreover, agribusiness competitiveness has been defined as The sustained ability to profitably gain and maintain market share(Martin, Westgren, van Duren, 1991, p. 1456) or, in a more consumer-oriented way, as the ability of a firm or industry segment to offer products and services that meet or exceed the customer value currently or potentially offered by the products and services of rivals, substitutes, and possible market entrants (Kennedy, Harrison, Kalaitzandonakes, Peterson, Rindfuss, 1997). Yet, according to Michael E. Porter, the Harvard Business School professor, competition for profit goes beyond established industry rivals to include four other competitive forces as well as customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products. Furthermore, the model of Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter in his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors in 1980. It draws upon Industrial Organisation (IO) to develop five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness in the context of business environment refers to the overall industry profitability. An unattractive industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down the overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching pure competition, in which available profits for all firms are driven down to zero. The character, mix, and subtleties of competitive forces are never the same from one industry to another. A powerful and widely used tool for systematically diagnosing the principal competitive pressures in the hydroponics market and assessing the strength and importance of each is the five-forces model of competition.(see figure) Moreover, three of Porters five forces refer to competition from external sources. The remainders are internal threats. Therefore, it is important to use Porters five forces in conjunction with SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and PEST Analysis (Political, Economical, Social and Technological). Porters Five Forces 2.2.1 Threat of new entrants One of the defining characteristics of competitive advantage is the industrys barrier to entry. It is very expensive for new firms to enter an industry where there is high barrier of entry. Furthermore, profitable markets that yield high returns will attract new firms. In this situation, these new entrants could change major determinants to the market environment (e.g. market shares, prices, customer loyalty) at any time. In the 1993 reprint of the first edition of Bain (1956, pp. 53-166), three main factors are considered as entry barriers: economies of scale, product differentiation advantages, and absolute cost advantages. Moreover, as more firms enter the market, you will see rivalry increase and profitability will fall to the point where there is no incentive for firms to enter the industry. Likewise, the threat of the new entrants will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry. These are typically: Economies of scale According to Kislev et al, it is generally accepted that agricultural production is characterized by increasing returns to scale. If economies of scale exist, it represents a high barrier of entry. Firms within the industry will have achieved these economies and if we enter this industry we will have to match their scale size of production in order to compete with them. Thus according to Michael Porter, since EOS does not exist in a tangible way, we need to prove their existence first before trying to compete with the existing firms. Capital requirements This refers to how much money should the firms have to tie up to keep the doors open. This is also a barrier to entry as if firms have to tie up large amounts of capital for daily operations; this will deter smaller firms from entering. Dr. Pieter A.Schippers said that hydroponics requires high-cost installations marketing gourmet vegetables at ritzy prices. According to AREU, the capital investment for hydroponics in Mauritius is up to three million rupees. Brand identity According to Erin Ferree ,Brand identity is the combination of consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing materials. A basic brand identity kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended to include a Web site Where there is brand identity there is high barrier to entry and regarding the hydroponics market in Mauritius, there are no such barriers in the field of hydroponics as it is a newly grown market. Access to Distribution The new entrant must, of course, secure distribution of its product or service. A new food item, for example, must displace others from the supermarket shelf via price breaks, promotions, intense selling efforts, or some other means. The more limited the wholesale or retail channels are and the more that existing competitors have tied them up, the tougher entry into an industry will be. Sometimes access to distribution is so high a barrier that new entrants must bypass distribution channels altogether or create their own. Switching cost Switching costs are fixed costs that buyers face when they change suppliers. Such costs may arise because a buyer who switches vendors must, for example, alter product specifications, retrain employees to use a new product, or modify processes or information systems. The larger the switching costs, the harder it will be for an entrant to gain customers. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is an example of a product with very high switching costs. Once a company has installed SAPs ERP system, for example, the costs of moving to a new vendor are astronomical because of embedded data, the fact that internal processes have been adapted to SAP, major retraining needs, and the mission-critical nature of the application. 2.2.2 Bargaining Power of suppliers The term suppliers comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide goods or services and bargaining power is the ability to influence the setting of prices. Therefore, bargaining power of suppliers will identify the extent to which your suppliers can choose to raise prices, reduce quality or reduce service without consequence. The more concentrated and controlled the supply, the more power it wields against the market. Monopolistic or quasi-monopolistic suppliers will use their power to extract better terms (higher profit margins or) at the expense of the market. Moreover, in a competitive market, no one supplier can set the prices. Likewise, suppliers can group to wield more bargaining power. The conditions making suppliers, as a group, powerful tend to mirror those making the buyers powerful are as follows: Differentiation of inputs A primary goal of the theory of product differentiation is the determination of market structure and conduct of firms that can choose the specifications of their products besides choosing output and price. Traditional models of product differentiation and marketing have focused on products that are defined by one characteristic only. ( See Hotelling (1929), Vickrey (1964), DAspremont, Gabszewicz and Thisse (1979), Salop (1979), Economides (1984), Anderson, de Palma, and Thisse (1992), among others in economics and Hauser and Shugan (1983), Moorthy (1988) and Kumar and Sudarshan (1988) in marketing.) Threat of forward integration The traditional market foreclosure theory, which was accepted in leading court cases in 1950s-70s, viewed vertical merger as harming competition by denying competitors access to either a supplier or a buyer. (Arrow, K., Vertical Integration and Communication, Bell Journal of Economics, 1975, 6, 173-183.) The critics argue that the theory is logically flawed, and a vertically integrated firm cannot benefit from excluding its rivals (e.g., Bork, 1978; and Posner, 1976). The paper by Salop and Sche ¤man (1987) forms the basis for this argument, and Ordover, Saloner, and Salop (1990, hereinafter OSS) is perhaps the best-known paper that pioneered the equilibrium approach to the analysis of vertical mergers. In this paper, I shall argue that the new theories on vertical mergers have ignored an important point, namely that vertical integration not only changes the integrated firms incentive to supply inputs to its downstream rivals, but it may also change the rivals incentives to purchase inputs from alternative suppliers. Once this is realized,an equilibrium theory of vertical mergers can be developed without some of the controversial assumptions made in the literature, and this theory can provide a framework in which the competitive effects of vertical mergers are measured and compared. The basic insight of my analysis is that vertical integration creates multimarket interaction between the integrated firm and its downstream rivals. A rival may recognize that if it purchases inputs from the integrated firm, the integrated firm may have less incentive to cut prices in the downstream market, which will benefit the rival. Therefore, vertical integration can change the incentive of a downst ream rival in selecting its input supplier, making it a strategic instead of a passive buyer in the input market. Supplier concentration relative to industry concentration Trade theory predicts that if trade costs go down or if productivity rises exogenously in a pool of potential suppliers with heterogeneous productivity levels, the number of suppliers will enlarge (Helpman, Melitz and Rubinstein 2008).An exogenous taste for variety, or a desire to limit monopoly positions, would also lead to a larger number of suppliers, although these forces are static. In the presence of heterogenous quality, however, the dynamics of diversification/concentration can be different. Access of labour According to Bertram,G. (1986), he assumes that output is governed by a well-behaved, continuous, constant returns to scale, aggregate production function involving two factor inputs, capital and labour.( Bertram, G. (1986), Sustainable development in Pacific micro-economies, World Development, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 809-22.) Importance of volume of supplier According to Hahn et al., 1990; Humphreys et al., 2004; Krause, 1997; Krause et al., 1998; Li et al., 2007; Watts and Hahn, 1993, buyer-supplier relationships are becoming increasingly important as buyers realize that their success is often tied to the capabilities and performance of suppliers. Many organizations engage in supplier development to assist suppliers in improving supply chain performance and capabilities. Bargaining power of buyer According to Inderst (2007), buyer power is the ability of buyers to obtain advantageous terms of trade from their suppliers. Monopsonistic or quasi- monopsonistic buyers will use their power to extract better terms at the expense of the market. In a truly competitive market, no one buyer can set the prices. Instead they are set by supply and demand. Prices are set by supply and demand and the market reaches the Pareto-optimal point where the highest possible number of buyers are satisfied at a price that still allow for the supplier to be profitable. Porter states that a buyer group is powerful if it: purchases large volumes relative to seller sales; learns low profits; the products it purchases from the industry represent a significant fraction of the buyers costs or purchases; the products are standard or undifferentiated and face few switching costs; the industrys product is unimportant to the quality of the buyers products or services; buyers pose a credible threat of backward integration; The buyer has full information. Additionally, with the bargaining power, buyers can impose on suppliers and thus can choose their suppliers. According to Ghodsypour and OBrien, (1998); Weber et al., (2000) and Dahel, (2003), this can be done by using the linear programming models. Moreover, the multi-objective programming model developed by Weber and Ellram (1993) can helps buyer to select a pool of suppliers and determine the purchasing units to be allocated among the suppliers. Buyer switching cost Buyer-supplier relationships play a key role in the success of a supply chain (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Lin et al., 2001; Storey and Emberson, 2006); however, organizations often face the problem of choosing appropriate suppliers (Pagell and Sheu, 2001; Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Wadhwa et al., 2006; Phusavat et al., 2007). The problem of choosing suppliers so that profits can be maximized has become increasingly vital to an enterprises survival due to keen competition in the micro-profit era (Giunipero et al., 2006). Numerous studies have addressed the issue of the buyer-supplier relationship in supply chain management. One stream of research examines related variables, such as cooperation, satisfaction, trust, and commitment, which make the supply chain relationship successful (Byrd and Davidson, 2003; Fynes et al., 2005; Malhotra et al., 2005). Another stream focuses on the criteria for choosing suppliers, such as quality, on-time delivery, and costs (Chen and Paulraj, 2004; Blackhurs t et al., 2005; Gunasekaran and Kobu, 2006; Phusavat and Kanchana, 2008). Among these criteria, costs have received the most attention because they are considered the key factor in choosing suppliers (Noordewier et al., 1990; Kalwani and Narayandas, 1995; Dahlstrom and Nygaard, 1999; Zhao and Yang, 2007). Buyer information Another reason why buyers were in such a strong bargaining position was because they had full information about demand, actual market prices, and even manufacturer costs. The buyers comparative information was often better than what was available to manufacturers, and thus with such full information, retailers were able to ensure that they received the most favourable prices offered to others, and were able to oppose suppliers claims that their viability would be threatened if prices were reduced. Owing to all of the above reasons, one can see that the bargaining power of the Australian food retailers was so great in the early 1980s that they were perhaps in a unique position of strength even in a global sense. The current barriers for purchasing organic products mainly relates to price, availability, and consumer awareness. Moreover, offering customers and obtaining greater value added by creating, developing, and maintaining lasting customer-supplier relationships (Rexha,2000; Van der Haar et al., 2001), such that both parties benefit (Gro ¨nroos, 2000; Kothandaraman and Wilson, 2001; Sharma et al., 2001; Walter et al., 2001; Leek et al., 2003), is considered fundamental for guaranteeing the success and survival of companies in the market. Suppliers adapt to the customers needs in order to satisfy them. This adaptation can encourage the customer to behave opportunistically (Brown et al., 2000; Wathne and Heide, 2000). But if the supplier is able to adapt, and satisfy customer needs better than its competitors, enduring relationships can develop between both agents. Brand identity of buyer According to Aaker, (1991, 1996), brand identity is a message about a brand that a firm seeks to communicate with. This communication is undertaken via the product, the brand name, symbols and logos, historical roots, the brands creator, and advertising (Kapferer, 1998 Some organisations base their competitive advantage on physical assets such as a manufacturing facility, some on their employees, and some on their distribution networks (Kotler, 2000). Many others, however, seek to attain a competitive advantage from intangible assets such as their reputation or the brands that they own (Beverland, 2005; Keller, 1993; Low and Blois, 2002). Yet, research to date on branding in business and industrial marketing has been limited (Beverland et al., 2006; Low and Blois, 2002; Mudambi et al., 1997; Nilson, 1998). Price sensitivity Porter (1985) has defined two primary types of competitive strategy that can provide a source of competitive advantage: differentiation and low cost strategy. The low cost strategy, which may enable a price leader position, can lead to price wars and is therefore risky for all digital products and services, including retail banking. Ultimately only one company can be the price leader, thus all other companies should contemplate alternative strategies. Likewise, marketers and researchers are familiar with the concept of price elasticity, which describes changes in the quantity of demand for a product associated with changes in price of the product. If demand is elastic, changes in price level have a proportionally greater impact on demand. Inelastic demand describes the case where changes in price have little effect on demand. The concept of price elasticity describes the aggregate response of a market segment to price levels. Price sensitivity is an individual difference variable describing how individual consumers react to price levels and changes in price levels. A consumer high in price sensitivity will manifest much less demand as price goes up (or higher demand as price goes down), and consumers low in price sensitivity will not react as strongly to a price change. Standardize products A large majority of respondents believed that many retailers considered most food products to be fairly standard, and thus, as they could most often find alternative suppliers, they played one manufacturing company against another. It was the respondents view that such tactics also extended towards substituting house brands and generics for brand names, and these aspects will be considered later. Thus, unless a manufacturer had very strong end-user demand for its brand (e.g. Vegemite, Milo, Pal), it found that its product was capable of being substituted unless it succumbed to retailer pressure. Threat of substitute products All firms in an industry are competing, in a broad sense, with industries producing substitute products. The impact of substitutes affected certain segments of the food industry more than others, the obvious examples being the yellow fats segment (butter versus margarine), the sweeteners segment (sugar versus sugar substitutes) and the pet foods segment (canned versus dry). The food industry as a whole is, in fact, competing with other substitute expense categories such as entertainment and personal items. While expenditure on food will never fall below an essential base level. Research done by Ogilvy and Mather (1983) seems to suggest that more people cut back on food during the early 1980s, in order to cope with inflation, than on other expense categories. The following factors are being considered when analyzing the threat of substitute products: Buyer propensity to substitute For sellers, it is crucial to win a buyers trust, then nurture it over the course of a relationship. Trust enables the buyer to economize cognitive and emotional energy and rely on a seller before extensive information can be gathered (Luhmann, 1979; Jones and George, 1998; Yamagishi, 2002; Mayer et al., 1995). As trust matures, the buyer identifies with (Lewicki and Bunker, 1995) and feels affection and devotion for the seller (McAllister, 1995). Trust is therefore strongly linked to buyer commitment (Moorman et al., 1992) and loyalty (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). A sellers violation of trust occurs when the buyer perceives evidence that the seller failed to meet the buyers confident expectations (Tomlinson et al., 2004). Relative price/performance relationship of substitutes Shapiro (1992) argues that institutional investors, who normally trade in large quantities, are concerned with the opportunity costs involved in undertaking these large trades. Many suppliers, in turn, face a growing trend towards commoditization of products (Rangan and Bowman, 1992) and search for new ways of differentiating themselves through improved customer interactions (Vandenbosch and Dawar, 2002). From an academic perspective, there is a rich and growing body of research focusing on buyer-supplier relationships in business markets (Ulaga, 2001). More broadly, researchers have coined the term relationship quality which is typically assessed through some combination of commitment, satisfaction and trust (Crosby et al., 1990; Dorsch et al., 1998; Hewett et al., 2002). According to Wilson (1995, p. 337) trust is a fundamental relationship model building block and as such is included in most relationship models. In addition to trust, Morgan and Hunt (1994) identified commitment as another key-mediating variable of relationship marketing. Furthermore in their commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing, Morgan and Hunt (1994) establish trust as a key-mediating variable that is central to relational exchanges. Moreover, customer satisfaction is widely accepted among researchers as a strong predictor for behavioural variables such as repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth, or loyalty (Ravald and Gro ¨nroos, 1996; Liljander and Strandvik, 1995). Satisfaction research is mainly influenced by the disconfirmation paradigm (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Competitive Rivalry The rivalry amongst existing firms analysis will help you to understand the risk that your competitors may compete for market position and if their competitive tactics are likely to be effective. Furthermore, you will find that your competitors may compete for market position using tactics such as pricing competition, advertising as well as increasing customer service. To analyze industry rivalry in your industry, you will need to consider the following factors: Diversity among competitors The first point of departure is found in Miles et al.(1993)and Miles and Snow (1986) proposition that strategy in diversity and structure is normal in any industry, that it is good for and industry and furthermore that various configurations of strategy and structure may be equally effective in producing high performance. Industry growth rate When hydroponics industry is in a growth phase there will be room for the industry to grow, as a result there will be a low risk of competitor rivalry. Thompson et al., (2008) stated that rivalry becomes stronger if demand growth is slow. Exit barriers Powell (1995) incorporated entry barriers and industry rivalry in his research and found a significant correlation of firm performance with entry barriers (r  ¼ 0:29; p , 0:05) and industry rivalry (r  ¼ 20:32; p , 0:05). These results indicate the higher the entry barriers, the lower the threat of new entrants and the better the opportunities for improved performance; and similarly, the higher the industry rivalry, the tougher the industry competition which would mean the lower the firm performance. A critique of Porters model There are, however, several limitations to Porters framework, such as: It tends to over-stress macro analysis, i.e. at the industry level, as opposed to the analysis of more specific product-market segments at a micro level. It oversimplifies industry value chains: for example, invariably buyers may need to be both segmented and also differentiated between channels, intermediate buyers and end consumers. It fails to link directly to possible management action: for example, where companies have apparently low influence over any of the five forces, how can they set about dealing with them? It tends to encourage the mind-set of an industry as a specific entity with ongoing boundaries. This is perhaps less appropriate now where industry boundaries appear to be far more fluid. It appears to be self-contained, thus not being specifically related, for example, to PEST factors, or the dynamics of growth in a particular market. It is couched in economic terminology, which may be perceived to be too much jargon from a practising managers perspective and indeed, it could be argued that it is over-branded. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis, which is originally introduced in 1969 by Harvard researchers (e.g. Learned et al., 1991), calls for an external assessment of the opportunities and threats that exist in a firms environment and an internal assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation. The SWOT framework became popular during the 1970s because of its inherent assumption that managers can plan the alignment of a firms resources with its environment. Subsequently, during the decade of the 1980s, Porters (1980) introduction of the industrial organization paradigm with his five forces models gave primacy to a firms external environment, overshadowing the popularity of SWOT. More recently, at the start of the twenty-first century, SWOT is alive and well as the recommended framework for case analysis in many of the leading strategic management and marketing texts (Hitt et al., 2000; Anderson and Vince, 2002). However, despite its wide and enduring popularity, SWOT has remained an theoretica l framework, of limited prescriptive power for practice and minor significance for research (Dess, 1999). Generally, firms are asked to develop strategies to guide the organisation to ward opportunities that may be exploited using strengths of the organisation, push the organisation away from threats in the environment, maintain existing strengths and improve organisational weaknesses. Recently, Duncan, Ginter and Swayne (1998) suggested a four step model for assessing internal strengths and weaknesses. Their four steps include surveying, categorising, investigation, and evaluating. The tables below show the Strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of hydroponics in Mauritius. STENGTHS WEAKNESSES Growing demand for vegetables, both consumer and business markets. Environment-friendly practices favoured. Provide employment. Flexible in production. Poorly structured distribution channels. Finance: such project requires huge investments. Insufficient use of technology: growers in Mauritius cannot afford to adopt latest technology such as those used in Australia and USA due to high costs. Equipment and other materials have to be imported. Lack of trained trainers. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Favoured business environment- laws and legislations have been modified so as to propel small business. Examples are the introduction of the Municipal Fee, replacing the Trade Licence, Special Tax Holiday Scheme, cancellation of customs duty on several products and Empowerment Programme. Incentives offered to registered enterprises by SEHDA, National Computer Board and so on. Examples are awards to the best business plans, business counselling and facilitation. Increasing cost of doing business. High inflation rate causing depreciation of the Mauritian Rupees. Favourable prices of the substitutes. PEST Analysis PEST (or political, economic, social and technological factors) is the most commonly used tool for environmental analysis (Beamish, 1996) and is possibly the second most widely known strategy technique after SWOT analysis. Political/ Legal Environment: in most countries, the government provides much needed support to those who want to invest in hydroponics technology. Examples are tax relieves on equipment, free counselling, training, incentives to set up small businesses, loan facilities and so on. Regarding the Economic Environment, these issues should be considered: Income is a major influencer of consumer purchasing power. For instance, a fall in income caused by an increase in the rate of inflation may result in a fall in purchasing power. Consumers may buy more of the organic vegetables, which are cheaper than the hydroponics vegetables. The reverse is also true. Changing consumer spending patterns influence the demand for hydroponics produce. It has been noted that there is an increasing tendency for consumers to spend more and more on leisure activities, transportation, medical-care and education rather than food. But with the new budget made by the finance minister, we can expect that the spending on education will decrease and ultimately result to and increase in food or other activities also. Social/ cultural Environment: a study by the NZ Vegetable Growers Federation (www.vegetables.co.nz) , found that nearly 40% of people who purchase organic food do so because they believe it is pesticide-free. Technological Environment: growers of hydroponics produce who do not adopt the best practice technology will be disadvantaged and gradually lose access to all but low margin residual markets. However, there is a profound gap between PEST and SWOT analysis, and this is only partly met by Porters five forces. A linking technique is that of Grundys growth drivers (Grundy, 2004). See the diagram below. Grundy gives an example of growth driver analysis, helping us to represent the forces that, directly or indirectly, cause or inhibit market growth over a particular time period. However, an important feature to note here is that it is part of a system. The system captures, in an onion model format, the key domains that need to be thought through, within the overall competitive climate, beginning with: _ PEST factors _ growth drivers _ Porters five competitive forces _ competitive position. These layers of the onion are highly interdependent, which might be a very useful phenomenon for managers to learn about and to apply. For example, where the PEST factors are generally hospitable, growth is encouraged and the full impact of the five competitive forces may not be felt and may thus be latent. However, where the PEST factors become inhospitable, this will clearly dampen the growth drivers, and if the growth drivers within a particular market are themselves tightening, for example due to life-cycle effects, then this will put a disproportionate and adverse pressure on Porters five forces, particularly in the bargaining power of buyers, and also upon rivalry. Furthermore, a high growth environment may encourage entrants and a low one will discourage these. The result can lead to a collapse in confidence and in prices unless there are lots of exits.

Functional Genomic Analysis of C. elegans Using RNA Interference Essay

Introduction Before we talk about this important experiment, do you know what a nematode is? Specifically, this experiment used Caenorhabditis elegans, C. elegans for short. C. elegans is a little worm (just like the kind you find in the ground), but has a very special place in modern biochemistry: scientists have mapped its entire genomic sequence. This sequence lets scientists know the character and location of all C. elegans' genes. However, biochemists do not yet fully understand what each gene does and the goal of this experiment is to find the function of each gene within the worm. The connection between a worm's genotype and phenotype is important, because, believe it or not, human beings and worms share many of the same genes. Scientists can use information about nematode genes and their phenotypic expression (the worm's physical traits) to better understand how human genes function in the body. The researchers who performed this study "fed" the worms double stranded RNA that encodes for a particular gene. The cells of the nematode's body recognize the double stranded RNA as foreign genetic material and delete all proteins associated with that RNA. Therefore, the C. elegans will not express the targeted gene, and in its absence, scientists can identify the normal phenotypic expression of that gene. For example, if the inhibited gene was supposed to create raised eyes in the nematode, then the organism would not have raised eyebrows, because it cannot manufacture the proteins that make this trait physically possible. This experiment inhibits the majority of C. elegans' genes in an effort to find what each gene does in the organism. The C. elegans is an ideal species to use in this process because it grows and... ...nucleic acid interference. RNAi uses fragments of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) which induces the degradation of mRNA. Hopefully, one is beginning to see the similarities of the functions of RNAi and antisense pharmaceuticals. I have mentioned before that antisense drugs work by temporarily inhibiting the mRNA from manufacturing specific proteins. Future RNAi technology could be used to permanently degrade the mRNA. This is not only an exciting possibility; it is a near-future reality. Isis Pharmaceuticals has already five antisense drugs in clinical trails! Who knows when they or another pharmaceutical company will begin to utilize RNAi! References Ahringer, J., Fraser, A.G., Kamath, R.S., Martinez-Campos, M., Sohrmann, Marc., Zipperlen, Peder. "Functional genomic analysis of C. elegans chromosome I by systematic RNA interference". Nature 2000; 408: 325-330.

What Is the International Business Environment?

1What is the international business environment? ?†¢ Globalisation – what is globalisation 0o is the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world †¦ brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and people across borders. Stiglitz, 2002) 0o Globalisation is being brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and people across borders resulting in the closer integration of the countries and people of the world ? †¢ TNCs – what is TNCs, why TNCs 0o Transnational corporations (TNCs) are incorporated or unincorporated enterprises comprising parent enterprises and their foreign affiliates.A parent enterprise is defined as an enterprise that controls assets of other entities in countries other than its home country, usually by owning a certain equity capital stake. An equity capital stake of 10% or more of the ordinary shares or voting power for an incorporated enterprise, or its equivalent for an unincorporated enterprise, is normally considered as the threshold for the control of assets. In some countries, an equity stake of other than 10% is still used. United Nations Center of Transnational Corporations, 1990) 0o They consider, that there are three important characteristics that distinguish the transnational organization from its multinational, international and global counterparts: 1) It builds and legitimizes multiple diverse internal perspectives. In multinational companies key decisions are as a rule made by a country management group. In global companies managers in worldwide product divisions are typically the most influential.In international companies, functional management groups often dominate. On the contrary, in transnational companies the influence of the three management groups is balanced. (Christopher A. Bartlett, 2003) 0o The impact of TNC activity on the environment is extensive. TNC importance stems from their vast corporate networks and technological resources and the international consequences of their decision-making. More than 50 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are in the province of TNCs.TNCs invest more than US$225 billion each year outside their home countries, and 95 per cent of these investments come from firms based in industrialized countries. Seventy per cent of world trade involves TNCs, who also hold 90 per cent of all technology and product patents. Every major natural resource extraction and processing industry involves TNCs. The environmental impacts of TNCs extend to the service sector (product advertising) and the financial services sector (investment loans). (Gleckman, 1995)

Elie Wiesel: a survivor of the Holocaust Essay

As a survivor of the inhumane, annihilating Holocaust, Elie Wiesel once said, â€Å"Having survived by chance, I was duty–bound to give meaning to my survival.†(â€Å"Having Survived†1). Elie Wiesel did not know at the time that he had a reason for surviving this tragedy, but soon realized that he survived to offer a story and message about the horrors of that time to a world that often seemed to block it out completely and forget (â€Å"Having Survived†1).To spread his message to the world, which is one of peace, redemption, and human nobleness, Wiesel speaks all over the world as a public orator. (â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 3). Elie Wiesel, an influential speaker and writer of the 1940s to present times, helped to render a further understanding of the abomination of The Holocaust through eloquence and deep thought, elaborate actions, and most of all, his strong traditional values. Elie Wiesel, a strong, courageous man, was subject to onerous acts in his childhood, yet in his present day, he discusses topics, such as hatred, all around the world with teenagers and adults(â€Å"Having Survived† 1). Born in Sighet, Transylvania on September 30, 1928, Wiesel lived an unexampled childhood(Berenbaum 2). In a lecture, he once said, â€Å"When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy.. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that place must–at the moment– become the center of the universe†(â€Å"Having Survived† 4). This quote symbolizes Wiesel’s view of the treacherous Holocaust, an event that changed mankind(â€Å"Having Survived† 4). As conditions of living began to change around Europe, 15 year old Wiesel’s life took a 360 degree turn for the worse when he and his family were taken to one of the many concentration camps set up by the NAZI leaders, at Birkenau and Auschwitz(Berenbaum 2). Wiesel was kept at this camp until January 1945, when at that point, he was sent with thousands of other Jewish prisoners to Buchenwald in a forced death march which was designed to kill the remaining prisoners, but ended up getting saved by the Allies(Berenbaum 2). When the war finally ended, Wiesel decided to go to secondary school in France and broaden his skills, where he studied journalism and began working for an Israeli newspaper, which helped him develop the expressiveness he has today(Berenbaum 2). Determined to get his message to the world, Wiesel began to write books about his experiences, such as his most famous work, Night, which is known today as one of the most  influential books of Holocaust literature(â €Å"Elie Wiesel†2). In this novel, Wiesel used his own experiences and memories while imprisoned to bring to life another character(â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 2). This character was a vehicle for Wiesel to express his feelings of sadness and despair because he survived, when others did not(â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 2). After the fame of his novel, Wiesel became a professor of humanities at Boston University in 1976, and began to speak to students about the struggles our world overcame(â€Å"Having Survived† 3). In a class, he once wisely said, â€Å"Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future† (â€Å"Without memory† 1). Wiesel wanted to stress the idea that without memory of what happened before, the future is doomed to make the same mistakes; accordingly, Wiesel was educated in sacred Jewish texts as a child, which he spoke about often(Berenbaum 2). When Wiesel began to travel and speak to keep the memories of his experi ences relevant, he became recognized worldwide and in 1986, became a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work and speech on behalf of victims, families and people everywhere(â€Å"Having Survived† 4). Wiesel used the money from the Nobel Prize to found the Elie Wiesel Foundations for Humanity in the late 80s and early 90s(â€Å"Having Survived† 4). His foundation sponsors essay contests for college and high school students and gathers well-known people together from all over the world as one to discuss and debate many different kinds of topics such as prejudice and bias(â€Å"Having Survived 4†). Even today, Wiesel continues to travel in his old age and speak out against brutality and injustice, he has written over three dozen books(and has been the subject of at least two dozen), but even after he leaves this world his legacy will live on as being truly strong and brave(â€Å"Having Survived† 4). Wiesel originally represented just one of the victims of the problem our world faced in the 1930’s to 40’s(Koestler-Grack timeline). During this time, the people of Sighet, Transylvania happened to be improvident to what was occurring in the world. In a lecture, Elie Wiesel stated, â€Å"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest,† which is ultimately what the people of this time were going to be forced to do(â€Å"There may† 1). This problem served as a major political issue, though the results were social. When Hitler rose to power in 1933, nobody knew or even thought that his dictatorship would lead to the deaths of over  fifty million people(â€Å"When Adolf† 1). In 1939, Germany sparked World War II with the invasion of Poland, and Hitler developed his desire for power(Koestler-Grack timeline). His â€Å"ethnic cleansings,† also known as genocide, led to what we know as â€Å"The Holocaust,† which occurred between 1933-1945(â€Å"Having Survived† 2). With the help of Hitler’s Nazi association, Germany systematically and slowly murdered millions of innocent people, like Jews and Gypsies(â€Å"Having Survived† 2). The Nazis’ overall plan was to take control of the majority of Europe and wipe out all of the European Jews in existence so he could bring out his new race of all blonde-haired, blue eyed citizens(â€Å"Having Survived†1). In the spring of 1944, the people of Sighet had their lives changed forever with the arrival of Adolf Eichmann to their town(â€Å"Having Survived† 2). Eichmann, the man who made all of the killing happen with his German policy, wrote that Jews in conquered countries could be taken without consent to concentration camps where people who held the title â€Å"enemies of the state† remained hostage and often ended up killed(â€Å"Having Survived† 2). Eichmann had orders from Hitler to extinguish an estimated 600,000 Romanian Jews in six weeks or less(â€Å" Having Survived† 2). By the end of those six weeks, the entire population of 15,000 Jews in Sighet were taken to camps, and Elie Wiesel contributed to that population(â€Å"Having Survived† 2). After surviving the war and the devastation, Elie knew that he had to make his voice heard about the horrors and his experiences; consequently, nobody in the world seemed to want to accept the fact that it had happened.(â€Å"Having Survived† 3). As he travels around the world today, he constantly says, â€Å"No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.†(â€Å"No Human† 1). Elie uses his skills as a speaker and orator to make the tragedy and truth known, for he brings out empathy for injustice during the process. As a social activist, through his writing and his speech, Wiesel used his work to solicit for Jews and for all of humanity(â€Å"Berenbaum 3). Wiesel survived, and uses his experiences to make the facts known so we never face a problem like this one again; moreover, his works speak of the need for people to feel compassion and gratitude for other human beings(â€Å"Having Survive d†3). When Wiesel speaks, he constantly says the same thing again and again: There is no compensation for what happened {in The Holocaust}. But at least a certain balance can be established that opposing fear there is hope, hope that when we remember the fear..  our memory becomes a shield for the future  (â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 3). Wiesel firmly believes that the efforts he has made and the efforts that others have made to keep the education of The Holocaust alive will prevent a devastation of that kind from happening again(â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 3). His silence originally broke in the mid 1950s in an interview with Francois Mauriac, who was a novelist(â€Å"Having Survived† 2).While listening to his story, Mauriac felt moved and ultimately urged Wiesel to speak out and tell the world what he had seen and heard(â€Å"Having Survived† 2). Elie Wiesel serves as a major public orator and influential writer(Berenbaum 3). In addition to his writings and speeches regarding the persecution of the Jews, both in the past and in the present, Wiesel has made an effort to speak out on behalf of all races, genders, religions and national origins that have been persecuted(â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 4). As a result and for times yet to come, Wiesel has been quoted saying, â€Å"There I am an optimist. I think it cannot happen again. I think the Holocaust was a unique event, therefore it will remain unique.†(â€Å"Elie Wiesel† 4). In 1978, Wiesel was asked by U.S President Jimmy Carter to be the head of his group that became known as the U.S Holocaust Memorial Council, which met with European officials to find information about other victims, visited concentration camps, and was responsible for the creation of the U.S Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C(â€Å"Having Survived† 4). Elie Wiesel’s words and novels act as a palliative to those who were subject to this historical event, and his words will continue to live on as a reminder in history. Through inspiration and eloquent speech and writing, Elie Wiesel continues to discern the disloyalty and cruelty of The Holocaust. Proudly, Wiesel travels the world giving life lectures, which have impacted and influenced the lives of many. His experiences help America, as an international unit, to prevent events like The Holocaust from repeating. As the years pass, Wiesel ages, yet his legacy will continue throughout the future generations.