The Renault Nissan Alliance Negotiations

Negotiations are part of our daily activities. In commerce, effective negotiations are the pillars of all successful businesses (Fowler 3). Companies who adopt effective negotiation strategies can be able to generate assessable business values for themselves and for their clients. Unlike in the past, negotiations have become very important to every business organization.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on The Renault Nissan Alliance Negotiations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This has been brought about by deals becoming more complex, more professional buyers joining the marketplace, competitive behaviors in the market, and increase in internal negotiations within companies. Business experts classify negotiations into several types based on critical variables such as time, conflicts, and participants (Sparks 12). In this regard, this case study seeks to analyze the Renault-Nissan alliance negotiations. Throug h this, this paper will bring into light the negotiation strategies that enabled these companies to reach a winning coalition despite the mutual challenges that faced the two companies. Prior the year 1999, Renault and Nissan companies were faced with numerous fiscal challenges that threatened their future business successes. As such, Nissan was virtually insolvent in the year 1999. From the year 1990, the automobile company had progressively lost its money and market share. By the year 1998, its automobile production had decreased by 600, 000 units. On the other hand, Renault was slowly regaining its production and market share after a devastating loss of $ 680 million in the year 1996. Equally, before the alliance Renault was still trying to come into terms with their much-publicized alliance with Volvo that failed to materialize. In the year 1999, the two companies initiated approaches towards an alliance. Several meetings were later held to assess the prospects of their alliance s. Notably, the media and the business experts have applauded Renault’s approaches during the negotiations for their unique negotiation strategies. As such, the Renault negotiating team applied the six steps needed to reach the target and a winning coalition as described by Lax and Sebenius in their article A Guide To Complex Negotiations Published in the year 2012.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the Lax and Sebenius, a successful alliance can be achieved by identifying the right parties and grouping them into fronts, assessing inter-dependencies among fronts, determining whether and when to combine fronts, determining how much information to share and when, and being ready to learn and adapt to changing situations. In the year 1998, Renault’s executive Schweitzer wrote to Nissan’s executive informing him of his strategic plan to form an alliance with Nissan. Schweitzer’s initiatives were against the bankers and investors’ wishes. After identifying the barriers that existed between their companies, Schweitzer was determined to convince all the parties involved of the importance of their alliance. To carry out its initiatives, Renault had to get the approval from the government, their employees and the shareholders. The French government helped the company overcome most of its regulatory roles since they had power over board decisions. Equally, for successful negotiations Renault had to convince Nissan’s stakeholders, which included the Japanese government, labor unions, and investors. These investors were Fuji Bank, Fuyo, and Industrial Bank of Japan. Renault was able to convince these parties with the help of Japanese government officials from the ministries of business, international trade, finance, and fair trade.  By assessing the inter-dependencies among Nissans shareholders, Renault w as able to determine how they affect one another (Lax Sebenius 4). Through this, they were able to negotiate with the Government and the relevant ministries to convince the Nissan Corporation to accept their decision in forming an alliance with them. In the end, the company was able to gain the backing of the company’s shareholders. The effectiveness of the above negotiations depended on the way Renault sequenced their campaigns. Initially, Renault’s CEO sent a letter to Nissan’s CEO before meeting him. The letter was meant to inform the Nissan’s executive of his plans to form an alliance with the firm. Later on, Renault’s CEO arranged for a meeting with Nissan’s CEO. Soon after, though the French government the company was able to convince the Japanese Government in convincing the Japanese authorities. During the negotiation process, Renault ability to learn and adapt to the situations enabled them to reach to an agreement with Nissan. Ini tially, Renault plan was to convince Nissan to buy part of their stock. In return, Renault was going to buy part of Nissan’s stock.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on The Renault Nissan Alliance Negotiations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nissan were unable to buy Renault’s stock, as they were bankrupt by then. As a result, Renault never dropped their plan to form an alliance with Nissan. They proceeded and bought part of Nissan’s stock. Through this, their ability to adapt was illustrated. The two companies reached an agreement with the aim of enabling each company achieve its desired goals and overcome its fiscal challenges that were threatening the existence of the two companies. Renault had identified several benefits it were to gain from their union with Nissan. These benefits were meant to increase its global competitiveness, increase quality, increase sales, increase momentum as a revived firm, safeguard its market shares, internationalize the firm, and gain global reputation. Through the initiatives, Schweitzer was determined to reduce the company’s RD cycle from 36 months to 24 months. Similarly, unlike his predecessors Schweitzer wanted to shift the company’s focus from increasing the number of units produced and sold per year to increasing the quality of the cars produced and sold. Equally, before their alliance, Renault had no market share in the USA. In the same way, the company’s reputation in Asia and Europe was progressively deteriorating. To achieve these initiatives, Schweitzer noted that Renault needed to improve their products’ designs and qualities (Harford 540). With these variables considered, the company had no option but to unite with a key automaker. In the same period, Nissan was being faced with numerous fiscal challenges. Its sales were dropping drastically in the USA. As the drop in sales was being witnessed , the company’s debts increased with each passing year. To overcome these challenges and restore their financial glory, Nissan had to form an association with Renault. Their association with Renault could enable Nissan to protect their identity, return their profitability, improve their worldwide competitiveness, ensure their future survival, preserve jobs, and develop efficient answers to debt-ridden Nissan Diesel. Similarly, the two companies reached an agreement out of their executives’ ambition to develop an alliance, which could enable the companies to uphold their operational freedom. The basis of their alliances relied on their ability to form a joint equity venture that relied on their partners’ equities, capabilities, and willingness to cooperate (Donnelly David 430). In the same way, the two companies were willing to come up with a common platform that could enable them create considerable economies in the development of their products.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In general, the association of the two companies could enable the two firms to cut their cost of production, gain from the economies of scale, and boosts their bargaining power.  In case the two parties had failed to reach into an agreement it is eminent that they could have faced numerous challenges. For instance, there are higher chances that Nissan could have closed down their operation completely due to bankruptcy. Before their alliance, their sales were dropping drastically both in Asia and the USA. Similarly, at home Nissan was facing numerous operational challenges owing their inability to repay their debts. Therefore, if it could have failed to reach an agreement with Renault it could have been forced to shut its operations. If the company could have shut down its operation, more than 130 million people could have lost their jobs. Equally, the Japanese government could have lost huge revenue generated from the company.  Alternatively, if Renault could have failed to reac h a deal with Nissan it could not be enjoying the success and the market share they currently command in the international automobile market (Magee 123). Before their joint ventures, Renault’s profits were increasing progressively following Schweitzer’s appointment to head the firm. This implies that without their association with Nissan the company could have continued to increase their profits. However, the company could not have been able to improve their products’ designs. Equally, without the association the company could have been able to conquer the American Market, as before their alliance they had no sales in the USA.  In the same year the Renault-Nissan alliance was initiated, Daimler-Chrysler alliance was ongoing. After the two automobile firms were merged in the year 1998, their manufacturers agreed to combine their efforts. The alliance became the third largest automobile firm in the world. The rankings were based on their revenues and capitalizat ion. In the same year, the joint firmed sold 4 million units and generated $155.3 billion. However, in the year, 2000 the joint firm’s revenues dropped drastically. It is estimated that in the same year the company recorded a loss of $500 million. In the year 2001, the company losses increased forcing the company to cut more than 26000 jobs.  During the year 2009, after Daimler exited from Daimler-Chrysler alliance Fiat merged with Chrysler to form Fiat-Chrysler alliance. In the alliance, Fiat owns 53.5 % of the company. Before their alliance, the two companies’ executives noted that their union would increase on their returns. Fiat was to bring in more capital and technologies in the ailing company. These technologies would help the company to develop competitive and efficient cars. On the other hand, Chrysler have been designing and producing cars that have gained international appeal for the last few decades. With the two companies merging, several benefits were g oing to be realized. Among these benefits are decrease in the cost of production, increase gains from the economies of scale, and boosts in their bargaining power (Giessner Viki 78). It should be noted that the negotiations that led to the merger between Daimler and Chrysler failed while the merger between Chrysler and Fiat succeeded. In my opinion, the union between Daimler and Chrysler made business sense. However, I believe that the differences between the two companies’ organizational culture and management should be blamed for the failure of the alliance to realize their goals. For instance, Daimler’s officials were accused of running Chrysler USA operations in the same manner they run their affairs in Europe. The company failed to realize that the operation methodologies in the USA were different from the operating methodologies in Europe (Brown Nicole 45). Worldwide, Chrysler is reputable for their innovative products, while Daimler is reputable for its focuse d decision-making. Due to the differences in their organizational culture, the alliance between the two companies was not destined to last (Hurn Brian 32). After more than 10 years, the alliance between Renault and Nissan is considered successful. In the aftermath of the alliance, Ghosn assumed the leadership of Nissan Corporation. Prior the end of 2000, Nissan profits had increased. Increased in the company’s profits were witnessed until the year 2008 when the world experienced global recession. Between the years 1998 and 2008, the company managed to settle its all debt, which had before threatened their existence in the world market. Since the formation of the alliance, Nissan’s personal management has changed (Brown Nicole 46). Currently, the company evaluates its workers based on their performance. Through this, the company has been able to dismiss more than 14, 000 ineffective workers in the last decade. Through this initiative, he managed to cut the cost of ope ration by $9.48 billion in three years. From the above initiatives, the company has been able to reduce the number of its personnel while increasing its returns. Equally, through the alliance the company managed to increase its sales by 78% by generating $92 million between the years 2004 and 2007. In general, through the alliance Nissan managed to meet its objectives.  On the other hand, Renault’s revenues were inconsistent unlike Nissan’s revenues. For instance, the company experienced an increase in revenue up to the year 2000. In the year 2000, its revenues dropped up to the year 2004. During the year 2004, its revenues increased. Equally, after the alliance the company’s production increased. The alliance between the two companies led to developments in Renault’s defective parts ratio. Similarly, Renault managed to improve their production through its Nissan productions. During the year 2005, Schweitzer retired from Renault Corporation. Upon his re tirement, Ghosn took over as the president of the two companies. After Ghosn took over the leadership of the two firms, he set out some ambitious goals for Renault. In the end 2009, it was realized that his goals had failed to materialize by a huge margin. By the year 2010, the company had made a loss of $ 4.5 million. Based on the above analysis it is clear that Nissan benefitted greatly from the alliance. Generally, after the alliance Nissan with the help of Renault’s cash was able to settle its debts and increase its production. Though Renault recorded some improvements in its operation after associating with Nissan, it should be noted that its gains from the alliance are far less than what Nissan gained from the alliance (Deresky 43). For instance, currently Nissan controls approximately 8% of the global automobile market, while Renault controls approximately 4% of the global automobile market. Works Cited Brown, Orice and Nicole, Clowers. Troubled Asset Relief Program th e U.S. government role as shareholder in AIG, Citigroup, Chrysler, and General Motors and preliminary views on its investment management activities : testimony before the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Govt. Accountability Office, 2009. Print. Deresky, Helen. International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures : Text and Cases.. 7. ed. Boston, Mass.: Pearson, 2011. Print. Donnelly, Tom, and David Morris. â€Å"Renault-Nissan: a marriage of necessity?.† European Business Review 17.5 (2005): 428-440. Print. Fowler, Alan. Negotiation: skills and strategies. London: Institute of Personnel Management, 2010. Print. Giessner, Steffen, and Tendayi Viki. â€Å"The Challenge of Merging: Merger Patterns, Premerger Status, and Merger Support.† Pers Soc Psychol Bull 32.3 (2006): 339 352. Print. Harford, Jarrad. â€Å"What drives merger waves?.† Journal of Financial Eco nomics 77.3 (2005): 529-560. Print. Hurn, Peter, and Brian J. â€Å"The influence of culture on international business negotiations.† Industrial and Commercial Training 39.7 (2007): 354-360. Print. Lax, David, and James Sebenius. â€Å"Deal Making 2.0: A Guide to Complex Negotiations.† Harvard Business Review 1.2 (2012): 1-6. Print. Magee, David. Turnaround: how Carlos Ghosn rescued Nissan. New York: HarperBusiness, 2003. Print. Sparks, Donald B.. The dynamics of effective negotiation. 2nd ed. Houston: Gulf Pub. Co. , 2011. Print. This case study on The Renault Nissan Alliance Negotiations was written and submitted by user Jeramiah Q. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

New Trends in Digital Marketing for 2016

New Trends in Digital Marketing for 2016 New Trends in Digital Marketing for 2016 Content marketing. That’s the term for anything that is done online to promote a company, and its products/services. Also known as digital marketing, it has been going on for years. Companies of all sizes utilize online marketing, and it is in many ways the great equalizer – it is cheap and allows a small startup to grab a huge audience with well-placed, catchy, and engaging content. But digital marketing keeps changing, and those changes are coming more rapidly than many marketers even realize. Here are the new trends that we are already seeing as we move into 2016. What is not changing is this: Consumers will only do business with companies that know and trust. Efforts to build trusting relationships and to get one’s brand to be the one shared and recommended are all intertwined and will continue to be so. Visuals will increase in importance – all kinds of visuals. Photos, images, infographics, and such will become more sophisticated and allow interaction. Interactivity: When consumers are engaged, they remember the brand. And if they are engaged by interacting, they are more inclined to share that interactivity with their communities. Surveys, polls, quizzes and even interactive videos will capture viewers, engage them in fun ways, and cause them to share. Videos: 2016 will be the year of the video. This is the most popular medium for getting information and entertainment to customers and potential customers. Research shows they share videos more than any other content. Marketers will need to meet this demand. Live-Streaming: New apps like Meerkat and Periscope will begin to revolutionize marketing and many other things as well. Consumers demand immediate information, news, and entertainment, and marketers can adapt to this demand by live-streaming their events, their new products, their happy customers, etc. Tracking Technology: Technology will provide big data – data that will continue to let marketers know where their targets are, both digitally and physically. Currently, technology informs marketers when their targets are online, where they are online, and what devices they are using. Now, those targets will be tracked physically as well. Thus, when a known customer of Starbucks walks close to one of their cafes, s/he will receive a tweet that tells him he can get a discount right now on his favorite latte. (Yes, tracking also knows what his favorite latte is). Privacy: Because of the new tracking technology, consumers will become increasingly concerned about their privacy rights. Marketers will have to tread very carefully so as not to offend or look creepy as they continue to target customers. Storytelling: This has been important for some time now, but it will continue to drive effective marketing efforts. People are drawn in by stories, and they are now told in ways other than words. Instagram, for example, has introduced its carousel – a venue for marketers to have a sequential picture/image story to tell. Social Responsibility: Consumers will also demand that the companies they do business with have a sense of being of help to people and to the environment. Marketers will need to publicize the good works that their companies do. It promotes trust, relationships, and good will. Social Media will continue to be the single most important venue for marketing. Marketers will have to stay â€Å"current† as social media changes. For example, Facebook 360 will become a reality, and marketers will need to jump in quickly. It’s difficult to stay on top of all of the major and rapid changes in technology. And every single one of the impacts digital marketing in some way. Successful strategies to promote a brand, develop relationships, and widen a company’s reach will be challenging indeed.

Secret reserve accounting is likely to create conflict between Essay

Secret reserve accounting is likely to create conflict between management, shareholders and employees - Essay Example It would represent the surplus of available assets over the capital and liabilities. It is not apparent in the ledger too. Creating secret reserves is likely to strengthen the financial situation of the organisation concerned. The actual financial position and the financial position observed through the balance sheet would be different – the financial position of the company would be stronger than its apparent situation on records. As a result, conflicting inferences are likely to be obtained when it comes to secret reserve accounting. Creating secret reserves will definitely involve the management, some of the employees and the shareholders are likely to remain in dark. Secret reserve accounting will not show even under the suspense account and affect the capital flow in a concealed fashion. Undervaluation of available assets, omitting the rise in asset values, providing extra depreciation on the assets that are fixed, etc. are the methods of secret reserve accounting. In thi s context, the question is in the form of the following statement: Secret reserve accounting is likely to create conflict between management, shareholders and employees. – Critically discuss. ... After that, the various conflict scenarios between the management, shareholders and employees will be critically discussed. Last, the conclusion will be drawn with the final opinion about the research statement. Literature Review The academic literature in the context of secret reserves reveals interesting opinions and scholastic approaches. First, a view on the nature and scope of secret reserve as an accounting term should be considered. â€Å"Secret reserves – this accounting term has been made to cover a multitude of sins: whenever objection is taken to pessimistic writing off of invested values, or disproportionate charges of depreciation, or again to charges to operations or revenue, for capital expenditures which should have been applied to the increase of assets, the answer is, secret reserves.† (Esquerre, 1978) So if the owner of a corporation is creating secret reserve and implementing related accounting practices, his/her capital assets have likely been knock ed down into the pit of secret reserves and that their book value, as it stood at the time, was likely preposterous. Hence the questions in issue would be: Does the owner want to deceive the shareholders, the government, the public or his own self? Does he wish to submit to the directors, the shareholders, the banks and the public, financial statements with a mental footnote to the effect that things are not in truth what they would show on their face? And if it is well to hide the owner’s wealth from some people (in his perspective), can it be believed that anyone capable of reading balance sheets is not in a position to follow accounting facts from year to year, and to point out fluctuations in wealth not supported by the statement of income submitted, and thus unearth secret

Ethical Reasoning Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical Reasoning Final - Essay Example In conclusion, this author asserts that homosexual sex is not morally evil but is morally good. Corvino submission has, however, not gone unparalleled by opponents who feel that homosexuality is immoral. Obasola, Kehinde E., a professor in the Department of Religious Studies Olabisi Onabanjo University addresses this debate in his article titled â€Å"Ethical Perspective Of Homosexuality Among The African People.† His main argument against this practice is the abnormality that accompanies the act. For instance, human sexual bodies are developed for reproduction. Therefore, homosexuality is an acquired trait rather than innate. It is a distortion to the biological and psychological components of the body. This among several other reasons makes it to be morally unacceptable. In my forthcoming essay on this debate, I hold the opinion that opposes Corvino’s argument in favor of homosexuality. His arguing on the basis definition of unnatural does not hold water in so far as morality is concerned. Homosexuality is unnatural, and defies the sanctity of marriage, a natural institution designed for reproduction. It is therefore immoral. Corvino asserts that attributing homosexuality as unnatural stems from five basic interpretations of what is unnatural. In the very beginning, he objects the very idea of what is natural and its acceptance or likeableness in society. For instance, many lifestyle choices (housing, government, medicine, and even clothing) that are cherished by people at large are unnatural. On the other hand, some â€Å"natural† things are completely detested by society, such as, death, disease, and suffering. Subtly regarding â€Å"unnaturalness† as â€Å"rhetorical flourish,† Corvino challenges the very foundation of opposition (309). Corvino elaborates five different possible meanings of unnaturalness by

Estimating the Ebola Epidemic by Kai Kupferschmidt Case Study - 81

Estimating the Ebola Epidemic by Kai Kupferschmidt - Case Study Example Because of this, society should be open to multiple points of view and cultures, that is, have the characteristics of pluralism and multiculturalism.   Medicine has no boundaries, but people build them and then break them every day. The Ebola disease is a very acute problem of the last half of a year. Scientists and doctors create computer models to predict the countries which may next fall the victims to Ebola. Its rapid spread is a result of: â€Å"the modelers are hampered by the paucity of data on the current outbreak and lack of knowledge about how Ebola spreads." (Kupferschmidt 2014). But it is not only the problem of scientists but only of the governments.   So here we can say that the theory of a flexible political system and pluralism within the country, brought to life, could have been much more useful than creating models. If all the countries were able to cooperate in spite of the political/cultural and other disagreements the vaccine could have been found many years ago. The World’s Contest between the countries slows down their ability to cooperate. And one thing more, Popper was also a proponent of critical rationalism, the main ideas of which are based on the fact that: â€Å"the knowledge must be as objective as possible and doesn't depend on the judgment of individuals or groups† (Popper 1966) So, we can make an inference that if the modern scientists were more critical when studying some problems they may get better results. In the case of Ebola disease, here we can say that critical and much broader view on this case could help.   So, in conclusion, I would like to point out, that the problem of Ebola disease may be eliminated much earlier if the humanity would have accepted the point of view of K. Popper; medicine could develop quicker and better; the countries interrelations on the field of science would be better.

Leadership Strategy Of KFC

Leadership Strategy Of KFC KFC was first introduced by Colonel Sanders. His first franchise was in year 1952. Under new management, the first sale was for $2 Million. In 1980, there were more profit and expansion of KFC was carried out. Within 50 years, the profit went up to $ 7 Billion. In 1952, Col. Sanders started franchising his recipe door to door financed by his $105.00. Col Sanders had more than 600 franchised outlets in the US and Canada by year 1964. He sold his interest in his company for $2 million to a group of investors. In 1966, KFC went public. KFC was listed on the NYSE in 1969. Current Market Cap value on the NYSE is 7.2 Billion. A competitive marketing strategy in the international market focused on the Latin American countries is the reason why KFC can maintain a market leadership in the global fast-food industry. Key to continued growth was to find, motivate, and retain hard-working and entrepreneurial managers and franchisees around the globe .In addition to short term profits, store managers were also responsible for building local public relations, maintaining employee morale, developing customer good-will, keeping tab on the competing chains and creating a legacy of special chicken cooking recipe. KFC had a refocused international strategy to grow its company and franchise restaurant base all over the world. Their Competitive marketing strategy: was to developed three types of chicken, original recipe (pressure cooked) ,extra crispy (fried)and also tender roast (roasted) .Sweeping changes into the culture was initiated by the new management- this brings about demoralization to old KFC employees and even franchisees. Several restructurings led to layoffs throughout KFC, replacement of KFC managers with PepsiCo managers .Conflicts between KFC and PepsiCo cultures- this is manifested with PepsiCos stronger emphasis on performance rather than loyalty expressed by Col. Sanders to KFC employees over the years. According to SWOT ANALYSIS, the weaknesses of KFC are as follows.KFC finds difficulty in entering the German market (culture incompatibility) .KFC sales stagnated. There was widespread discontent among the franchisees, some of whom felt the new owners did not understand the chicken business and were not providing leadership expected from a franchisor. Company stores floundered and become underperforming the franchised operations, further convincing franchisees that the company did not know its own business. (KFC HQ acquired them to company-owned) .Overseas expansion with the rapid economic growth and trend toward two-income families that had fuelled the growth of fast-food industry in the 1950s and 1960s were appearing in the late 1960s in the other country.  [1]   Primary objective is to take advantage of the potential growth in other countries, to establish a strong position and to develop their image. Key Success Factors are ever continuing cost savings through RD, innovations and use of new technology to work efficiently. These success techniques will lower costs and increase profits in the industry. KFC uses an integrated low cost/differentiation leadership, since it can count on its brand name and original taste and recipes to be unique while at the same time compete on price using the benefits of cost savings from economies of scale. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that they should start by solving their internal issues such as management and restaurant menu before thinking about expanding. They should work on the management issues to create a good atmosphere where employees are happy to work in. I certainly do not believe that by treating employees poorly, a company can be successful. They also need to make sure that their restaurants offer a diversified menu, provide their customers with quality food, excellent service and restaurant cleanliness. KFC should always listen to their customers and try to follow the new trends on the market in order to fully satisfy their customers. Otherwise, competitors will satisfy them and will eventually outperform you as Boston did with its grilled chicken. Even though, KFC seems to have an emotional attachment to their original recipe that made their success, they definitely need to move on and develop new products that customers want in order to increase their financial performance and value. We have seen that Boston and Popeyes are stealing customers away from KFC because they understood what customers wanted and started offering healthier items. KFC should certainly do the same and enhance their menu.  [2]   On the other hand, it is time to talk about another local business success story and how can we talk about successful organizations without talking about Al-Baik. It is next to impossible that you are living in Jeddah or ever visited it without being to Al-Baik. The local fast food chain has been around since 1974. After 35 years by now, the restaurant is mainly operating in Jeddah with minimum number of branches in Makkah, Madinah, Yanbu and Taif. Arguably, Al-Baik possesses the highest market share and customer loyalty amongst its competitors especially in Jeddah; noting that when I say competitors, I mean international multibillion brands like McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc. For those of you familiar with the debate surrounding Porters Generic strategies, Al-Baik is a living proof that you could follow a strategy that combines both differentiation and cost leadership. Although there are a lot of restaurants serving fried chicken, the quality and taste of Al-Baik are certainly unique and its prices are way below the average. Al-Baik has very strong brand equity whether we are measuring it by evaluating the restaurants products or by studying its brand impact on customers. Al-Baik brand communicates strong messages of quality, fast service, trust, affordability, convenience, and social responsibility. Its management has been very smart emphasizing these values into the brand using different methods of advertisements, public relations, or even by spreading stories about the brand. The entrepreneurial story of its founder and how he struggled to raise his community awareness about eating outside the home which was strange back then and how he has been working alone in the restaurant preparing the food, serving it, and then cleaning the small shop are all meant to build some kind of connection with its customers. Also, some suspense and mystery would not hurt either; the secret chicken formula that is only known by few individuals is one of the most preferred stories amongst such food and beverages organizat ions. Whether we are talking about fast service, servicescape design, or cleanness of the restaurants environment; Al-Baik is providing exemplary services in all of that. Even more, Al-Baik is one of the few restaurants that introduced items to the menu based solely on customers suggestions. Al-Baik marketers are masters in choosing locations for their restaurants. One has never seen a branch of Al-Baik without it being packed with customers. The huge expansions they carried out in Jeddah have been built on population distribution analysis. That is why wherever you live in Jeddah now; there must be Al-Baik branch within your easy reach. Al-Baik has always been known for its socially related campaigns. They have a regular presence in Hajj seasons providing free meals to pilgrims and they are periodically campaigning for environmentally related causes like banning smoking in their restaurants or preserving the city clean image. Furthermore, their active participation in the aftermath of Jeddah floods by providing free meals to those devastated by the catastrophe is one shiny example of how organizations could be interacting with its society. Nevertheless, staying on the top is not an easy job. Al-Baik management has to deal with many issues to facilitate its growth. One of these important issues is on the mind of every fan who happen to live outside Jeddah; how much should they expand? Should they consider opening new branches in other cities at the Kingdom? What about being multinational or even global? Moreover, how Al-Baik should respond to the growing concerns raised by healthy and organic foods advocates. And most importantly, how its managers are going to maintain its competitive advantages and how are they going to nurture its sustainability strategy.  [3]   As conclusion, the best selling food in my view is KFC. People nowadays has less time to eat since they are busy working. Therefore, they would choose fast food restaurants as their choice. Thus, the managers of these restaurants need o ensure on cost leadership and make sure they can get the best way to keep the price reduced. This is a marketing strategy in a way to attract customers. More customers make the business more powerful and expand fast. (1505 WORDS)

Finance Minicase Essay

MINI CASE For your job as the business reporter for a local newspaper, you are asked to put together a series of articles on multinational finance and the international currency markets for your readers. Much recent local press coverage has been given to losses in the foreign exchange markets by JGAR, a local firm that is the subsidiary of Daedlufetarg, a large German manufacturing firm. Your editor would like you to address several specific questions dealing with multinational finance. Prepare a response to the following memorandum from your editor: To: Business Reporter From: Perry White, Editor, Daily Planet Re: Upcoming Series on Multinational Finance In your upcoming series on multinational finance, I would like to make sure you cover several specific points. Before you begin this assignment, I want to make sure we are all reading from the same script because accuracy has always been the cornerstone of the Daily Planet. I’d like a response to the following questions before we proceed: a. What new problems and factors are encountered in international, as opposed to domestic, financial management? When getting into international finance some problems and factors are added to the ones experienced within domestic finance. These problems come from exchange rate, cross border barriers and financing opportunities in the global market but they do not get rid of the typical Business and Financial Risks. Business Risks can be identified as the ones that come out with competition from other companies, reduction in sales or any other factor that may affect the activities of the MNC, and Financial Risk is related with the firm’s financial structure. The international trade and investment of a MNC requires the handling of foreign currencies which is sometimes translated as an Exchange Rate risk due to the volatility of the exchange rate. Added to this exchange risk, Multinational Companies deals with Political Risks due to the changing political systems of different nations among their legal resolutions, taxation procedures of movements in policies. b. What does the term arbitrage profit mean? Arbitrage profit means riskless profit, this is possible thanks to arbitrageurs who are individuals involved in the process of buying and selling in more than one country to achieve this riskless profit. c. What can a firm do to reduce exchange risk? In order for a firm to reduce its exchange risk some firms use forward-market and money-market hedges, nonetheless when these tools are not available MNC apply leading and lagging strategies which are practiced to defer income and thereby delay paying taxes and to create unhedged positions in order to speculate; cash managers may delay paying out currencies they expect to appreciate and accelerate paying out currencies they expect to depreciate. d. What are the differences among a forward contract, a futures contract, and options? ââ€" ª Forward contracts are agreements between two parties where the buyer agrees to purchase an asset (the foreign currency) and the seller agrees to sell the asset at a specific date at a price agreed upon now. ââ€" ª Futures contracts are similar but are standardized and traded on an organized exchange. ââ€" ª Options offer the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset (the foreign currency) at a fixed price up to or on a specific date. Use the following data in your responses to the remaining questions: Selling Quotes for Foreign Currencies in New York |COUNTRY-CURRENCY |CONTRACT |S/FOREIGN | |Canada-dollar |Spot |.8450 | | |30-day |.8415 | | |90-day |.8390 | |Japan-yen |Spot |.004700 | | |30-day |.004750 | | |90-day |.004820 | |Switzerland-franc |Spot |.5150 | | |30-day |.5182 | | |90-day |.5328 | e. An American business needs to pay (a) 15,000 Canadian dollars, (b) 1.5 million yen, and (c) 55,000 Swiss francs to businesses abroad. What are the dollar payments to the respective countries? We will use spot rates for calculations since time of payment is not specified. Canadian-dollar 15,000 = $12,675 USD = 15000 x0.845 Japan-yen 1,500,000 = $7,050 USD = 1500000 x0.0047 Swiss francs 55,000 = $28,325 USD = 55000 x0.515 f. An American business pays $20,000, $5,000, and $15,000 to suppliers in, respectively, Japan, Switzerland, and Canada. How much, in local currencies, do the suppliers receive? Japan = $20,000/0.0047 = $4,255,319 Yen Switzerland= $5,000/0.515 = $9,709 Swiss francs Canada= $15,000 /0.845 = $17,751 Canadian dollars g. Compute the indirect quote for the spot and forward Canadian dollar contract. The indirect quote indicates the number of units of a foreign currency that can be bought for one unit of the home currency. Indirect quote = foreign currency / home currency |Contract |S/ foreign | |Spot |.8450 | |30 days |.8415 | |90 days |.8390 | |Indirect quote |[pic] |$ | |Spot |[pic] = |1.1834 | |Forward | | | |30 days |[pic] = |1.1883 | |90 days |[pic]= |1.1918 | h. You own $10,000. The dollar rate in Tokyo is 216.6752. The yen rate in New York is given in the preceding table. Are arbitrage profits possible? Set up an arbitrage scheme with your capital. What is the gain (loss) in dollars? Data ââ€" ª $10,000 dollars ââ€" ª Dollar rate in Tokyo is $216.6752 yen per dollar ââ€" ª Yen rate in New York according to table: 1 yen /0.004700 dollar ââ€" ª Actual Yen rate in Tokyo: 1 yen/ 0.004615 dollar Arbitrage profits will be possible because the indirect rates are out of line (they are different). This is possible assuming no transaction cost. $10,000 dollars X 216.6752 = 2,166,752 Arbitrage scheme |Amount of money in yens = $2,166,752 | | |Table rate |Actual Rate | |0.004700 |0.004615 | |Amount dollars= $10,183.7344 |Amount dollars= $10,000 | |Difference= $183.7344 |Difference= $0.00 | (2,166,752 yen ) X (0.004700) = $10,183.7344 dollars (2,166,752 yen) X (0.004615) = $10,000.00 dollars Profit gain= $10,183.7344 dollars – $10,000.00 dollars= 183.7344 Profit gain= $ 183.7344 dollars i. Compute the Canadian dollar/yen spot rate from the data in the preceding table. Canadian Dollar/ U.S. Dollar Rate: 1 / .8450 = 1.1834 Yen/ U.S. Dollar Rate: 1 / .004700= 179.78 As we can see 1.1834 Canadian Dollar is equal to 1 American Dollar; meanwhile 212.76 Yen is the same that 1 American Dollar, it means that for each 212.76 Yen you have 1 American Dollar.

Compare and contrast the education system in Saudi Arabia with UK Essay

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) holds the principle that the best investment a nation can make is in its human resources. On the basis of this belief, the Kingdom has made tremendous efforts to devote all possible resources to the development and improvement of its educational system. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the right of education is guaranteed to everyone.in fact, the state encourages people to enroll in any part of the education system by providing financial aid and rewards to students. The change that has happened in the past few years have occurred up very much recently. The population in KSA has increased compared to the past years of my grandfather’s generation. Therefore, the economy of knowledge emphasizes primarily continues human development. The changes are effectively obvious through these years in KSA, even though compared with other countries for example, USA. Life style and other human needs have changed over time. Education of the past few years has c hanged because of the development my country is making. In addition, my grandfather’s stories were about how the class was, and how the education has changed very much since they were young until they saw the changed now. For example, in the past, the schools have one building and few classes all over the city, however the schools now have many buildings that are divided into elementary school, intermediate school, and secondary school building. In the classes there were few students and no chairs to focus. The development needs motivation from an individual and government. The Education system in the past was very difficult to understand, and the teachers got the basic information. Today the teaching is much easier, and the human mind were replaced with the new technologies we live on today. Statistically, the number of students has increased in KSA in the past 10 years by approximately 56 percent, especially for those who study Masters and PhDs degree

Definition and Examples of Digraphs in English

Definition and Examples of Digraphs in English A digraph in the English language is a group of two successive letters ​that represents a single sound or phoneme. Common vowel digraphs include ai (rain), ay (day), ea (teach), ea (bread), ea (break), ee (free), ei (eight), ey (key), ie (piece), oa (road), oo (book), oo (room), ow (slow), and ue (true). Common consonant digraphs include ch (church), ch (school), ng (king), ph (phone), sh (shoe), th (then), th (think), and wh (wheel). Importance Diagraphs are considered nearly equal to the letters of the standard alphabet in importance to learning to read and write in English. In Linguistic Tips for Latino Learners and Teachers of English, E.Y. Odisho, writes: [F]rom the pedagogical and instructional perspective, the digraphs should be given utmost attention in the teaching of almost all language skills of English because of the proportionally large number of digraphs in relation to the 26 letters; they are approximately one-fourth of the core letters. Other experts have indicated the difficulty that learning digraphs presents to English language learners. For example, according to Roberta Heembrock in Why Kids Cant Spell, the digraph ch can be pronounced at least four different ways: k (character), sh (chute), kw (choir), and ch (chain). Complicated System Some sounds can be represented only by digraphs. In Childrens Reading and Spelling, T. Nunes and P. Bryant offer examples such as sh (shoot), ay (say), and ai (sail). Still other sounds can be represented in some words by single letters and in others by digraphs, such as fan and phantom, which begin with the same phoneme but are written as one letter in the first word and as two letters in the second. This is a complicated system and probably, to young children at least, it may seem a capricious and unpredictable one as well, Nunes and Bryant write. Spelling Confusion Spelling words that incorporate digraphs is as tricky as reading them and determining the sounds that they create. For example, the six letters of the six-phoneme word strict are represented by six digraph units: strict. On the other hand, the six letters of the three-phoneme word wreath are represented by just three digraph units: wreath, according to Brenda Rapp and Simon Fischer-Baum in Representation of Orthographic Knowledge.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ The Past Tense ​Spellings A particular difficulty for children is learning to spell words that deviate from what they have come to expect in their learning process. This is often the case, according to Rebecca Treiman and Brett Kessler in How Children Learn to Write Words, with the past tense. As an example, they note that the past tense of mess (messed) sounds like mest and that of call (called) sounds like cald, each of which is still one syllable, while the past tense of hunt, which adds the ed sound to make hunted, has two syllables. Children are used to the latter pattern and find the former one odd.

Sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks essays

Sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks essays The Egyptians and the Greeks share some characteristics within their artwork. One area that was shared by the Egyptians and the Greeks was the fact that they both used high authorities such as kings and gods for their sculptures. The Egyptians mainly used their kings such as King Menkuare and his Queen from Giza. The Greeks mainly used their goods such as Hermes and the Infant Dionysos. Although they used high authority figures for their sculptures they used different techniques to make these sculptures. The Egyptians often used married couples for their sculptures. However, they use to portray the women as being very beneath the men. They used to have the women kneeling beside the king. Now over the years, they have started to portray the women as a little more equal of how the Egyptians started to show how the women are equal to the men in the sculpture King Menkaure and his Queen Khamerernebty. Even though the Queen is standing beside the King, you are still able to see that the King still has a higher authority over the Queen. You can tell this because the King is standing as if he is at attention and he has his left foot extended forward to show that he is still in power. However, the Queen also has her left foot extended, but it is not as far as the King's. Furthermore, the King's arms and hands are by his side with his fist clenched, while the Queens' arms are bent and placed with one hand around him and the other touching his arm. The Egyptians wanted to portray th e women as being a little more equal to the men but still wanted to prove that the men still had a higher authority. The Greeks also used high authorities such as their gods to make their sculptures. The Greeks had plenty of marble to use for the making of the sculptures, however; they did not like the fact that the marble was so cold and plain. To cover up the cold and plain marble the Greeks just painted over them. One of the Greeks most famous piec...

Mineral and Rocks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mineral and Rocks - Essay Example There is one universal physical property which is common in all the minerals i.e. all the minerals exist in solid form in nature and cannot be in the form of liquids. Moreover minerals have come into existence by the natural activities and the changes which took place during the evolution of the planet earth and human activities have no involvement in the creation of minerals, â€Å"Earth Science: A Scientific History of the Solid Earth†, Michael Allaby (2009). Chemical formulas depict the chemical composition of the chemical compounds and minerals are also classified as chemical compounds. The structure of most of the minerals falls under the category of the crystalline structured solids. The elements in minerals are arranged as crystals. According to â€Å"Earth Science: A Scientific History of the Solid Earth†, Michael Allaby (2009), almost all of the minerals are inorganic in nature. One of the examples of minerals is common salt (sodium chloride). Common salt has a ll the characteristics which have been identified for a mineral. Being solid, composed of chemical compounds, it is inorganic. Moreover common salt is created as a result of natural phenomena and its structure is crystallized. The chemical association of silicon and oxygen yields silicate minerals. These silicate minerals are then added on by other elements which give particular properties to the silicates. According to the elements and crystals which join the silicate minerals are iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), sodium (Na), and calcium (Ca). The structure of silicate minerals is the basis of their classification in different groups. The different silicate groups include Micas, Quartz, Amphibole group, Olivine group and Pyroxene group. Micas and Quartz contain Biotite and Muscovite groups. Moreover Feldspars which make half of the Earth crust are also silicate minerals and are further classified as Potassium Feldspar and Plagioclase. The mineral rocks have been classified into three basic groups on the basis of their origin; these groups are sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks, and metamorphic rocks. Certain natural processes resulted in the formation of these rocks. Magma is a molten material which is present deep inside the Earth and is molten because of the high temperatures inside the Earth. Magma is the source of formation of the igneous rocks which are formed as a result to freezing and thawing of the Magma. The molten material is pushed upward to the ground and is cooled by the natural processes. After cooling the resultant solid material is known as igneous rocks. The second type of rocks is the sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks as the name signifies are layered rocks with different layers of materials lying closely over each other resulting into a rock solid material known as sedimentary rocks. The weathering processes which includes erosion deposited various minerals from one place to other, these layers of minerals resulted into the forma tion of sedimentary rocks. When the same sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks are subjected to conditions of high temperature and pressure their structure changes somewhat and yield another category of rocks which is known as metamorphic rocks â€Å"Petrology: Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary†, Harvey Blatt, Robert Tracy, Edward Owens (2006). The three categories of the mineral rocks h

Racism in the NHS against BME nurses Research Paper

Racism in the NHS against BME nurses - Research Paper Example urses not born within the UK but the lack of historical awareness has led to the failure to address the discrimination this population faces (Snow & Jones 1). By 1949, nurses were being recruited from the Caribbean to fill the void created by WWII. The BME’s working lives have been structured by discrimination that includes racism and public and institutionalised stereotyping that has largely affected their relations with their managers and colleagues and resulted in their exclusion in training programmes and promotions yet they are equally qualified as their White counterparts (Dhaliwal & McKay 59). Historically, nurses from the BME group have not been offered equal opportunities as White nurses to enhance their individual leadership skills and be able to define their long-term career objectives. This has kept their numbers in senior posts at a questionable minimum. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has also shown that BME nurses have typically been working longer to achieve higher grades such as senior ward sister and also go through more harassment and bullying than White nurses. BME nurses are subjected to systematic discrimination that includes working hours that entail long working days and complex shift patterns as well as discriminatory pay and grading especially affecting those who have managed to rise within the hierarchy to senior posts essentially making their careers incompatible with their lives (Dhaliwal & McKay 4). Such discrimination has been made possible by the existence of unscrupulous ways of circumventing antidiscrimination Labour Laws. Further, since the discrimination hinders the potential of BME nurses, effective change can be implemented at the societal rather than regulatory level. It is therefore recommended that BME nurses strengthen their own networks and at the same time have confidence that they can be proportionately represented in the industry. As early as 1949, trade unionists made up of White nurses imposed a quota system