Coke N Pepsi

CASE 1? 3 Coke and Pepsi Learn to Compete in India THE BEVERAGE BATTLEFIELD In 2007, the President and CEO of Coca-Cola asserted that Coke has had a rather rough run in India; but now it seems to be getting its positioning right. Similarly, PepsiCo’s Asia chief asserted that India is the beverage battle? eld for this decade and beyond. Even though the government had opened its doors wide to foreign companies, the experience of the world’s two giant soft drinks companies in India during the 1990s and the beginning of the new millennium was not a happy one.Both companies experienced a range of unexpected problems and dif? cult situations that led them to recognize that competing in India requires special knowledge, skills, and local expertise. In many ways, Coke and Pepsi managers had to learn the hard way that â€Å"what works here† does not always â€Å"work there. † â€Å"The environment in India is challenging, but we’re learning how to crack it, † says an industry leader. THE INDIAN SOFT DRINKS INDUSTRY In India, over 45 percent of the soft drinks industry in 1993 consisted of small manufacturers. Their combined business was worth $3. million dollars. Leading producers included Parle Agro (hereafter â€Å"Parle†), Pure Drinks, Modern Foods, and McDowells. They offered carbonated orange and lemon-lime beverage drinks. Coca-Cola Corporation (hereafter â€Å"Coca-Cola†) was only a distant memory to most Indians at that time. The company had been present in the Indian market from 1958 until its withdrawal in 1977 following a dispute with the government over its trade secrets. After decades in the market, Coca-Cola chose to leave India rather than cut its equity stake to 40 percent and hand over its secret formula for the syrup.Following Coca-Cola’s departure, Parle became the market leader and established thriving export franchise businesses in Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman in the Gulf, along with Sri Lanka. It set up production in Nepal and Bangladesh and served distant markets in Tanzania, Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. Parle invested heavily in image advertising at home, establishing the dominance of its ? agship brand, Thums Up. Thums Up is a brand associated with a â€Å"job well done† and personal success.These are persuasive messages for its target market of young people aged 15 to 24 years. Parle has been careful in the past not to call Thums Up a cola drink so it has avoided direct comparison with Coke and Pepsi, the world’s brand leaders. The soft drinks market in India is composed of six product segments: cola, â€Å"cloudy lemon,† orange, â€Å"soda† (carbonated water), mango, and â€Å"clear lemon,† in order of importance. Cloudy lemon and clear lemon together make up the lemon-lime segment. Prior to the arrival of foreign producers in India, the ? ht for local dominance was between Parle’s Thums Up and Pure Drinks’ Campa Cola. In 1988, the industry had experienced a dramatic shakeout following a government warning that BVO, an essential ingredient in locally produced soft drinks, was carcinogenic. Producers either cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd 10 had to resort to using a costly imported substitute, estergum, or they had to ? nance their own R&D in order to ? nd a substitute ingredient. Many failed and quickly withdrew from the industry.Competing with the segment of carbonated soft drinks is another beverage segment composed of noncarbonated fruit drinks. These are a growth industry because Indian consumers perceive fruit drinks to be natural, healthy, and tasty. The leading brand has traditionally been Parle’s Frooti, a mango-? avored drink, which was also exported to franchisees in the United States, Britain, Portugal, Spain, and Mauritius. OPENING INDIAN MARKET In 1991, India experienced an economic crisis of exceptional severity, t riggered by the rise in imported oil prices following the ? rst Gulf War (after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait).Foreign exchange reserves fell as nonresident Indians (NRIs) cut back on repatriation of their savings, imports were tightly controlled across all sectors, and industrial production fell while in? ation was rising. A new government took of? ce in June 1991 and introduced measures to stabilize the economy in the short term, then launched a fundamental restructuring program to ensure medium-term growth. Results were dramatic. By 1994, in? ation was halved, exchange reserves were greatly increased, exports were growing, and foreign investors were looking at India, a leading Big Emerging Market, with new eyes.The turnaround could not be overstated; as one commentator said, â€Å"India has been in economic depression for so long that everything except the snake-charmers, cows and the Taj Mahal has faded from the memory of the world. † The Indian government was viewed a s unfriendly to foreign investors. Outside investment had been allowed only in high-tech sectors and was almost entirely prohibited in consumer goods sectors. The â€Å"principle of indigenous availability† had speci? ed that if an item could be obtained anywhere else within the country, imports of similar items were forbidden.As a result, Indian consumers had little choice of products or brands and no guarantees of quality or reliability. Following liberalization of the Indian economy and the dismantling of complicated trade rules and regulations, foreign investment increased dramatically. Processed foods, software, engineering plastics, electronic equipment, power generation, and petroleum industries all bene? ted from the policy changes. PEPSICO AND COCA-COLA ENTER THE INDIAN MARKET Despite its huge population, India had not been considered by foreign beverage producers to be an important market.In addition to the deterrents imposed by the government through its austere tr ade policies, rules, and regulations, local demand for carbonated drinks in India was very low compared with countries at a similar stage of economic development. In 1989, the average Indian was buying only three bottles a year, compared with per-capita 8/27/10 1:58 PM Cases 1 An Overview consumption rates of 11 bottles a year in Bangladesh and 13 in Pakistan, India’s two neighbors. PepsiCo PepsiCo entered the Indian market in 1986 under the name â€Å"Pepsi Foods Ltd. n a joint venture with two local partners, Voltas and Punjab Agro. † As expected, very stringent conditions were imposed on the venture. Sales of soft drink concentrate to local bottlers could not exceed 25 percent of total sales for the new venture, and Pepsi Foods Ltd. was required to process and distribute local fruits and vegetables. The government also mandated that Pepsi Food’s products be promoted under the name â€Å"Lehar Pepsi† (â€Å"lehar† meaning â€Å"wave†). For eign collaboration rules in force at the time prohibited the use of foreign brand names on products intended for sale inside India.Although the requirements for Pepsi’s entry were considered stringent, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola International said at that time, â€Å"We’re willing to go so far with India because we want to make sure we get an early entry while the market is developing. † In keeping with local tastes, Pepsi Foods launched Lehar 7UP in the clear lemon category, along with Lehar Pepsi. Marketing and distribution were focused in the north and west around the major cities of Delhi and Mumbai (formally Bombay). An aggressive pricing policy on the one-liter bottles had a severe impact on the local producer, Pure Drinks.The market leader, Parle, preempted any further pricing moves by Pepsi Foods by introducing a new 250-ml bottle that sold for the same price as its 200-ml bottle. Pepsi Foods struggled to ? ght off local competition from Pure Drinks’ C ampa Cola, Duke’s lemonade, and various brands of Parle. The ? ght for dominance intensi? ed in 1993 with Pepsi Food’s launch of two new brands, Slice and Teem, along with the introduction of fountain sales. At this time, market shares in the cola segment were 60 percent for Parle (down from 70 percent), 26 percent for Pepsi Foods, and 10 percent for Pure Drinks. Coca-ColaIn May 1990, Coca-Cola attempted to reenter India by means of a proposed joint venture with a local bottling company owned by the giant Indian conglomerate, Godrej. The government turned down this application just as PepsiCo’s application was being approved. Undeterred, Coca-Cola made its return to India by joining forces with Britannia Industries India Ltd. , a local producer of snack foods. The new venture was called â€Å"Britco Foods. † Among local producers, it was believed at that time that CocaCola would not take market share away from local companies because the beverage market w as itself growing consistently from year to year.Yet this belief did not stop individual local producers from trying to align themselves with the market leader. Thus in July 1993, Parle offered to sell Coca-Cola its bottling plants in the four key cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Surat. In addition, Parle offered to sell its leading brands Thums Up, Limca, Citra, Gold Spot, and Mazaa. It chose to retain ownership only of Frooti and a soda (carbonated water) called Bisleri. FAST FORWARD TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM Seasonal Sales Promotions—2006 Navratri Campaign In India the summer season for soft drink consumption lasts 70 to 75 days, from mid-April to June.During this time, over 50 percent of the year’s carbonated beverages are consumed across the country. The second-highest season for cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd 11 consumption lasts only 20 to 25 days during the cultural festival of Navratri (â€Å"Nav† means nine and â€Å"ratr i† means night). This traditional Gujarati festival goes on for nine nights in the state of Gujarat, in the western part of India. Mumbai also has a signi? cant Gujarati population that is considered part of the target market for this campaign. As the Regional Marketing Manager for Coca-Cola India tated, â€Å"As part of the ‘think local—act local’ business plan, we have tried to involve the masses in Gujarat with ‘Thums Up Toofani Ramjhat,’ with 20,000 free passes issued, one per Thums Up bottle. [‘Toofan’ means a thunderstorm and ‘ramjhat’ means ‘let’s dance,’ so together these words convey the idea of a ‘fast dance. ’] There are a number of [retail] on-site activities too, such as the ‘buy one—get one free’ scheme and lucky draws where one can win a free trip to Goa. † (Goa is an independent Portuguesespeaking state on the west coast of India, famed for its beaches and tourist resorts. For its part, PepsiCo also participates in annual Navratri celebrations through massive sponsorships of â€Å"garba† competitions in selected venues in Gujarat. (â€Å"Garba† is the name of a dance, done by women during the Navratri festival. ) The Executive Vice President for PepsiCo India commented: â€Å"For the ? rst time, Pepsi has tied up with the Gujarati TV channel, Zee Alpha, to telecast ‘Navratri Utsav’ on all nine nights. [‘Utsav’ means festival. ] Then there is the mega offer for the people of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, and Rajkot where every re? ll of a case of Pepsi 300-ml. ottles will fetch one kilo of Basmati rice free. † These four cities are located in the state of Gujarat. Basmati rice is considered a premium quality rice. After the initial purchase of a 300-ml bottle, consumers can get re? lls at reduced rates at select stores. The TV Campaign Both Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola engage in TV ca mpaigns employing local and regional festivals and sports events. A summer campaign featuring 7UP was launched by Pepsi with the objectives of growing the category and building brand awareness. The date was chosen to coincide with the India– Zimbabwe One-Day cricket series.The new campaign slogan was â€Å"Keep It Cool† to emphasize the product attribute of refreshment. The national campaign was to be reinforced with regionally adapted TV campaigns, outdoor activities, and retail promotions. A 200-ml bottle was introduced during this campaign in order to increase frequency of purchase and volume of consumption. Prior to the introduction of the 200-ml bottle, most soft drinks were sold in 250-ml, 300-ml, and 500-ml bottles. In addition to 7UP, Pepsi Foods also introduced Mirinda Lemon, Apple, and Orange in 200-ml bottles.In the past, celebrity actors Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda, who are famous male stars of the Indian movie industry, had endorsed Mirinda Lemon. This wo rld-famous industry is referred to as â€Å"Bollywood† (the Hollywood of India based in Bombay). Pepsi’s Sponsorship of Cricket and Football (Soccer) After India won an outstanding victory in the India–England NatWest One-Day cricket series ? nals, PepsiCo launched a new ad campaign featuring the batting sensation, Mohammad Kaif. PepsiCo’s line-up of other cricket celebrities includes Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, V .S. Laxman, and Ajit Agarkar. All of these players were . V part of the Indian team for the World Cup Cricket Series. During the two months of the Series, a new product, Pepsi Blue, was 8/27/10 1:58 PM Part 6 Supplementary Material marketed nationwide. It was positioned as a â€Å"limited edition,† icy-blue cola sold in 300-ml, returnable glass bottles and 500-ml plastic bottles, priced at 8 rupees (Rs) and Rs 15, respectively. In addition, commemorative, nonreturnable 250-ml Pepsi bottles priced at Rs 12 w ere introduced. One rupee was equal to US 2. 54 cents in 2008. ) In addition to the sponsorship of cricket events, PepsiCo has also taken advantage of World Cup soccer fever in India by featuring football heroes such as Baichung Bhutia in Pepsi’s celebrity and music-related advertising communications. These ads featured football players pitted against sumo wrestlers. To consolidate its investment in its promotional campaigns, PepsiCo sponsored a music video with celebrity endorsers including the Bollywood stars, as well as several nationally known cricketers.The new music video aired on SET Max, a satellite channel broadcast mainly in the northern and western parts of India and popular among the 15–25 year age group. Coca-Cola’s Lifestyle Advertising While Pepsi’s promotional efforts focused on cricket, soccer, and other athletic events, Coca-Cola’s India strategy focused on relevant local idioms in an effort to build a â€Å"connection with the y outh market. † The urban youth target market, known as â€Å"India A,† includes 18–24 year olds in major metropolitan areas. Several ad campaigns were used to appeal to this market segment.One campaign was based on use of â€Å"gaana† music and ballet. (â€Å"Gaana† means to sing. ) The ? rst ad execution, called â€Å"Bombay Dreams,† featured A. R. Rahman, a famous music director. This approach was very successful among the target audience of young people, increasing sales by about 50 percent. It also won an Ef? Award from the Mumbai Advertising Club. A second execution of Coke’s southern strategy was â€Å"Chennai Dreams† (Chennai was formerly called Madras), a 60-second feature ? lm targeting consumers in Tamil Nadu, a region of southern India. The ? m featured Vijay, a youth icon who is famous as an actor in that region of south India. Another of the 60-second ? lms featured actor Vivek Oberoi with Aishwarya Rai. Both are fa mous as Bollywood movie stars. Aishwarya won the Miss World crown in 1994 and became an instant hit in Indian movies after deciding on an acting career. This ad showed Oberoi trying to hook up with Rai by deliberately leaving his mobile phone in the taxi that she hails, and then calling her. The ad message aimed to emphasize con? dence and optimism, as well as a theme of â€Å"seize the day. This campaign used print, outdoor, point-of-sale, restaurant and grocery chains, and local promotional events to tie into the 60-second ? lm. â€Å"While awareness of soft drinks is high, there is a need to build a deeper brand connect† in urban centers, according to the Director of Marketing for CocaCola India. â€Å"Vivek Oberoi—who’s an up and coming star today, and has a wholesome, energetic image—will help build a stronger bond with the youth, and make them feel that it is a brand that plays a role in their life, just as much as Levi’s or Ray-Ban. †In addition to promotions focused on urban youth, Coca-Cola India worked hard to build a brand preference among young people in rural target markets. The campaign slogan aimed at this market was â€Å"thanda matlab Coca-Cola† (or â€Å"cool means Coca-Cola† in Hindi). Coca-Cola India calls its rural youth target market â€Å"India B. † The prime objective in this market is to grow the generic soft drinks category and to develop brand preference for Coke. The â€Å"thanda† (â€Å"cold†) campaign successfully propelled Coke into the number three position in rural markets. cat2994X_case1_001-017. ndd cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd 12 Continuing to court the youth market, Coke has opened its ? rst retail outlet, Red Lounge. The Red Lounge is touted as a one-stopdestination where the youth can spend time and consume Coke products. The ? rst Red Lounge pilot outlet is in Pune, and based on the feedback, more outlets will be rolled out in other cities. The lounge sports red color, keeping with the theme of the Coke logo. It has a giant LCD television, video games, and Internet sur? ng facilities. The lounge offers the entire range of Coke products.The company is also using Internet to extend its reach into the public domain through the Web site www. myenjoyzone. com. The company has created a special online â€Å"Sprite-itude† zone that provides consumers opportunities for online gaming and expressing their creativity, keeping with the no-nonsense attitude of the drink. Coca-Cola’s speci? c marketing objectives are to grow the percapita consumption of soft drinks in the rural markets, capture a larger share in the urban market from competition, and increase the frequency of consumption.An â€Å"affordability plank,† along with introduction of a new 5-rupee bottle, was designed to help achieve all of these goals. The â€Å"Affordability Plank† The purpose of the â€Å"affordability plank† was to enha nce affordability of Coca-Cola’s products, bringing them within arm’s reach of consumers, and thereby promoting regular consumption. Given the very low percapita consumption of soft drinks in India, it was expected that price reductions would expand both the consumer base and the market for soft drinks. Coca-Cola India dramatically reduced prices of its soft drinks by 15 percent to 25 percent nationwide to encourage consumption.This move followed an earlier regional action in North India that reduced prices by 10–15 percent for its carbonated brands Coke, Thums Up, Limca, Sprite, and Fanta. In other regions such as Rajasthan, western and eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, prices were slashed to Rs 5 for 200-ml glass bottles and Rs 8 for 300-ml bottles, down from the existing Rs 7 and Rs 10 price points, respectively. Another initiative by Coca-Cola was the introduction of a new size, the â€Å"Mini,† expected to increase total volume of sales and acco unt for the major chunk of Coca-Cola’s carbonated soft drink sales.The price reduction and new production launch were announced together in a new television ad campaign for Fanta and Coke in Tamil. A 30-second Fanta spot featured the brand ambassador, actress Simran, well-known for her dance sequences in Hindi movies. The ad showed Simran stuck in a traf? c jam. Thirsty, she tosses a 5-rupee coin to a roadside stall and signals to the vendor that she wants a Fanta Mini by pointing to her orange dress. (Fanta is an orangeade drink. ) She gets her Fanta and sets off a chain reaction on the crowded street, with everyone from school children to a traditional â€Å"nani† mimicking her action. â€Å"Nani† is the Hindi word for grandmother. ) The director of marketing commented that the company wanted to make consumers â€Å"sit up and take notice. † A NEW PRODUCT CATEGORY Although carbonated drinks are the mainstay of both Coke’s and Pepsi’s produ ct line, the Indian market for carbonated drinks is now not growing. It grew at a compounded annual growth rate of only 1 percent between 1999 and 2006, from $1. 31 billion to $1. 32 billion. However, the overall market for beverages, which includes soft drinks, juices, and other drinks, grew 6 percent from $3. 15 billion to $3. 4 billion. To encourage growth in demand for bottled beverages in the Indian market, several producers, including Coke and Pepsi, have 8/27/10 1:58 PM Cases 1 An Overview launched their own brands in a new category, bottled water. This market was valued at 1,000 Crores. 1 Pepsi and Coke are responding to the declining popularity of soft drinks or carbonated drinks and the increased focus on all beverages that are non-carbonated. The ultimate goal is leadership in the packaged water market, which is growing more rapidly than any other category of bottled beverages.Pepsi is a signi? cant player in the packaged water market with its Aqua? na brand, which has a signi? cant share of the bottled water market and is among the top three retail water brands in the country. PepsiCo consistently has been working toward reducing its dependence on Pepsi Cola by bolstering its non-cola portfolio and other categories. This effort is aimed at making the company more broad-based in category growth so that no single product or category becomes the key determinant of the company’s market growth.The non-cola segment is said to have grown to contribute one-fourth of PepsiCo’s overall business in India during the past three to four years. Previously, the multinational derived a major chunk of its growth from Pepsi-Cola. Among other categories on which the company is focusing are fruit juices, juice-based drinks, and water. The estimated fruit juice market in India is approximately 350 Crores and growing month to month. One of the key factors that has triggered this trend is the emergence of the mass luxury segment and increasing consumer consc iousness about health and wellness. Our hugely successful international brand Gatorade has gained momentum in the country with consumers embracing a lifestyle that includes sports and exercise. The emergence of high-quality gymnasiums, ? tness and aerobic centres mirror the ? tness trend,† said a spokesperson. Coca-Cola introduced its Kinley brand of bottled water and in two years achieved a 28 percent market share. It initially produced bottled water in 15 plants and later expanded to another 15 plants. The Kinley brand of bottled water sells in various pack sizes: 500 ml, 1 liter, 1. 5 liter, 2 liter, 5 liter, 20 liter, and 25 liter.The smallest pack was priced at Rs 6 for 500 ml, while the 2-liter bottle was Rs 17. The current market leader, with 40 percent market share, is the Bisleri brand by Parle. Other competing brands in this segment include Bailley by Parle, Hello by Hello Mineral Waters Pvt. Ltd. , Pure Life by Nestle, and a new brand launched by Indian Railways, ca lled Rail Neer. CONTAMINATION ALLEGATIONS AND WATER USAGE Just as things began to look up for the American companies, an environmental organization claimed that soft drinks produced in India by Coca-Cola and Pepsi contained signi? cant levels of pesticide residue.Coke and Pepsi denied the charges and argued that extensive use of pesticides in agriculture had resulted in a minute degree of pesticide in sugar used in their drinks. The result of tests conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare showed that soft drinks produced by the two companies were safe to drink under local health standards. Protesters in India reacted to reports that Coca-Cola and Pepsi contained pesticide residues. Some states announced partial bans on Coke and Pepsi products. When those reports appeared on the front pages of newspapers in India, Coke and Pepsi executives were con? ent that they could handle the situation. But they stumbled. 1 One Crore cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd cat2994X_case1_001-0 17. indd 13 10,000,000 Rupees, and US$1 Rs48, so 1,000 Crore US$208,300. They underestimated how quickly events would spiral into a nationwide scandal, misjudged the speed with which local politicians would seize on an Indian environmental group’s report to attack their global brands, and did not respond swiftly to quell the anxieties of their customers. The companies formed committees in India and the United States, working in tandem on legal and public relations issues.They worked around the clock fashioning rebuttals. They commissioned their own laboratories to conduct tests and waited until the results came through before commenting in detail. Their approaches back? red. Their reluctance to give details fanned consumer suspicion. They became bogged down in the technicalities of the charges instead of focusing on winning back the support of their customers. At the start, both companies were unprepared when one state after another announced partial bans on Coke and Pepsi pr oducts; the drinks were prevented from being sold in government of? es, hospitals, and schools. Politicians exploited the populist potential. In hindsight, the Coke communications director said she could see how the environmental group had picked Coca-Cola as a way of attracting attention to the broader problem of pesticide contamination in Indian food products. â€Å"Fringe politicians will continue to be publicly hostile to big Western companies, regardless of how eager they are for their investment,† she said. Failing to anticipate the political potency of the incident, Coke and Pepsi initially hoped that the crisis would blow over and they adopted a policy of silence. Here people interpret silence as guilt,† said an Indian public relations expert. â€Å"You have to roll up your sleeves and get into a street ? ght. Coke and Pepsi didn’t understand that. † Coca-Cola eventually decided to go on the attack, though indirectly, giving detailed brie? ngs by e xecutives, who questioned the scienti? c credentials of their products’ accusers. They directed reporters to Internet blogs full of entries that were uniformly proCoke, and they handed out the cell phone number for the director of an organization called the Center for Sanity and Balance in Public Life.Emphasizing that he was not being paid by the industry, Kishore Asthana, from that center, said, â€Å"One can drink a can of Coke every day for two years before taking in as much pesticide as you get from two cups of tea. † The situation continued to spin out of control. Newspapers printed images of cans of the drinks with headlines like â€Å"toxic cocktail. † News channels broadcast images of protesters pouring Coke down the throats of donkeys. A vice president for CocaCola India said his â€Å"heart sank† when he ? rst heard the accusations because he knew that consumers would be easily confused. But even terminology like P. P. B. —parts per billi on—is dif? cult to comprehend,† he said. â€Å"This makes our job very challenging. † PepsiCo began a public relations offensive, placing large advertisements in daily newspapers saying, â€Å"Pepsi is one of the safest beverages you can drink today. † The company acknowledged that pesticides were present in the groundwater in India and found their way into food products in general. But, it said, â€Å"compared with the permitted levels in tea and other food products, pesticide levels in soft drinks are negligible. After all the bad press Coke got in India over the pesticide content in its soft drinks, an activist group in California launched a campaign directed at U. S. college campuses, accusing CocaCola of India of using precious groundwater, lacing its drinks with pesticides, and supplying farmers with toxic waste used for fertilizing their crops. According to one report, a plant that 8/27/10 1:58 PM Part 6 Supplementary Material produces 300,000 lite rs of soda drink a day uses 1. 5 million liters of water, enough to meet the requirements of 20,000 people.The issue revolved around a bottling plant in Plachimada, India. Although the state government granted Coke permission to build its plant in 1998, the company was obliged to get the locally elected village council’s go-ahead to exploit groundwater and other resources. The village council did not renew permission in 2002, claiming the bottling operation had depleted the farmers’ drinking water and irrigation supplies. Coke’s plant was closed until the corporation won a court ruling allowing them to reopen.The reopening of the plant in 2006 led students of a major Midwestern university to call for a ban on the sale of all Coca-Cola products on campus. According to one source, more than 20 campuses banned Coca-Cola products, and hundreds of people in the United States called on Coca-Cola to close its bottling plants because the plants drain water from communit ies throughout India. They contended that such irresponsible practices rob the poor of their fundamental right to drinking water, are a source of toxic waste, cause serious harm to the environment, and threaten people’s health.In an attempt to stem the controversy, Coca-Cola entered talks with the Midwestern university and agreed to cooperate with an independent research assessment of its work in India; the university selected the institute to conduct the research, and Coke ? nanced the study. As a result of the proposed research program, the university agreed to continue to allow Coke products to be sold on campus. In 2008 the study reported that none of the pesticides were found to be present in processed water used for beverage production and that the plants met governmental regulatory standards.However, the report voiced concerns about the company’s use of sparse water supplies. Coca-Cola was asked by the Delhi-based environmental research group to consider shuttin g down one of its bottling plants in India. Coke’s response was that â€Å"the easiest thing would be to shut down, but the solution is not to run away. If we shut down, the area is still going to have a water problem. We want to work with farming communities and industries to reduce the amount of water used. † The controversies highlight the challenges that multinational companies can face in their overseas operations.Despite the huge popularity of the drinks, the two companies are often held up as symbols of Western cultural imperialism. QUESTIONS 1. The political environment in India has proven to be critical to company performance for both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola India. What speci? c aspects of the political environment have played key roles? Could these effects have been anticipated prior to market entry? If not, could developments in the political arena have been handled better by each company? 2. Timing of entry into the Indian market brought different esults for PepsiCo and Coca-Cola India. What bene? ts or disadvantages accrued as a result of earlier or later market entry? 3. The Indian market is enormous in terms of population and geography. How have the two companies responded to the cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd cat2994X_case1_001-017. indd 14 sheer scale of operations in India in terms of product policies, promotional activities, pricing policies, and distribution arrangements? 4. â€Å"Global localization† (glocalization) is a policy that both companies have mplemented successfully. Give examples for each company from the case. 5. How can Pepsi and Coke confront the issues of water use in the manufacture of their products? How can they defuse further boycotts or demonstrations against their products? How effective are activist groups like the one that launched the campaign in California? Should Coke address the group directly or just let the furor subside? 6. Which of the two companies do you think has better longterm prospects for success in India? 7.What lessons can each company draw from its Indian experience as it contemplates entry into other Big Emerging Markets? 8. Comment on the decision of both Pepsi and Coke to enter the bottled water market instead of continuing to focus on their core products—carbonated beverages and cola-based drinks in particular. 9. Most recently Coca-Cola has decided to enter the growing Indian market for energy drinks, forecasted to grow to $370 billion in 2013 from less than half that in 2003. The competition in this market is ? erce with established ? rms including Red Bull and Sobe.With its new brand Burn, Coke initially targeted alternative distribution channels such as pubs, bars, and gyms rather than large retail outlets such as supermarkets. Comment on this strategy. This case was prepared by Lyn S. Amine, Ph. D. , Professor of Marketing and International Business, Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science, President, Women of the Academy of In ternational Business, Saint Louis University, and Vikas Kumar, Assistant Professor, Strategic Management Institute, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy. Dr. Lyn S.Amine and Vikas Kumar prepared this case from public sources as a basis for classroom discussion only. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of administrative problems. The case was revised in 2005 and 2008 with the authors’ permission. Sources: Lyn S. Amine and Deepa Raizada, â€Å"Market Entry into the Newly Opened Indian Market: Recent Experiences of US Companies in the Soft Drinks Industry,† in Developments in Marketing Science, XVIII, proceedings of the annual conference of the Academy of Marketing Science, Roger Gomes (ed. ) (Coral Gables, FL: AMS, 1995), pp. 87–92; Jeff Cioletti, â€Å"Indian Government Says Coke and Pepsi Safe,† Beverage World, September 15, 2003; â€Å"Indian Group Plans Coke, Pepsi Protests After Pesticide Claims,† AFP, December 15, 2004; â€Å"Fortune Sellers,† Foreign Policy, May/ June 2004; â€Å"International Pressure Grows to Permanently Close Coke Bottling Plant in Plachimada,† PR Newswire, June 15, 2005; â€Å"Indian Village Refuses Coca-Cola License to Exploit Ground Water,† AFP, June 14, 2005; â€Å"Why Everyone Loves to Hate Coke,† Economist Times, June 16, 2005; â€Å"PepsiCo India To Focus on Non-Cola Segment,† Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, September 22, 2006; â€Å"For 2 Giants of Soft Drinks, A Crisis in a Crucial Market,† The New York Times, August 23, 2006; â€Å"Coke and Pepsi Try to Reassure India That Drinks Are Safe,† The New York Times, August 2006; â€Å"Catalyst: The Fizz in Water† Financial Times Limited, October 11, 2007; â€Å"Marketing: Coca-Cola Foraying Into Retail Lounge Format,† Business Line, â€Å"April 7, 2007; â€Å"India Ops Now in Control, Says Coke Boss,† The Times of India, October 3, 2007; à ¢â‚¬Å"Pepsi: Repairing a Poisoned Reputation in India; How the Soda Giant Fought Charges of Tainted Products in a Country Fixated on its Polluted Water,† Business Week, June 11, 2007, p. 48; â€Å"Coca-Cola Asked to Shut Indian Plant to Save Water,† International Herald Tribune, January 15, 2008; â€Å"Coca Cola: A Second Shot at Energy Drinks,† DataMonitor, January 2010. 8/27/10 1:58 PM

Management Information System Essay

The ten major domestic carriers in the United States reported revenue of 145. 3 billion dollars in 2012, according to data gathered by Airlines for America (2012). The combine market capitalization of the twelve largest and publicly traded airlines stood at 48 billion dollars as of April 2012 just four billion greater than the value of Starbucks and way below other companies like Facebook and eBay ( Airlines for America, 2012). Our research will give a detail analysis of the two theories developed by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter. Porter posited that in order for businesses to compete an in-depth analysis should be done not only of your direct competitors but also external forces that can help a business performance; Porter labelled this as the Five Forces of Competitive Strategy. Another concept developed by Porter was the Value Chain, the Value Chain breaks the business process into two groups, Porter argues that business should analyse the areas of the Value Chain to see where improvements can be made to enhance performance. Our report will show how Southwest Airlines uses Information system in Porters theories and concept to gain competitive advantage Introduction to Southwest Airlines According to information received from Southwest. com (2013), Southwest Airline was incorporated in 1971 by co-founders Rollin King and Herb Kelleher as Air Southwest Company. The company is based in Dallas, Texas and has a staff capacity of over 46,000 persons. The carrier was formed has a low cost domestic carrier originally only flying in the state of Texas before branching out to other US states. From inception Southwest policy business strategy was to offer low fare and conveniently times flights on short haul routes (Ross & Beath, 2007). Today Southwest Airlines flies domestic in the United States to 79 cities. Southwest Airlines is the largest airline in the world by passengers carried, in 2012 over 100 million persons was transported by the airline to different cities in the USA. The airline has being a pioneer in the industry and is credited for setting the foundation for the rise of other low cost carriers across the world like Ryan Air and Easyjet. In an industry where profit margins are very low and different carriers filing for bankruptcy ever so often Southwest has managed to stay above the fray. In almost 40 years of service the airline has consistently turned a profit while other airlines have struggled and has remained one of the world’s most profitable airlines. The airline’s consistent profitability was due to its own ability of low cost on a set per mile basis due to its use of a single aircraft model the Boeing 737 and its fuel hedging program that protect the company from rising fuel prices (Ross & Beath, 2007). Southwest Airlines commands a market capitalization of over nine billion dollars making it one of the most valuable airlines in the world. Southwest credited its success for building a philosophy of simplicity, the company offering of low cost fares kept attracting passengers while its high touch customer service kept them coming back (Ross & Beath, 2007). As the airline grew and its business processes became more complex and with other airlines investing heavily in technology in order to survive Southwest’s CEO at the time realised that a solid IT infrastructure would be essential for the company to achieve its strategic goals and could lower the airline cost without compromising on customer service (Ross & Beath, 2007). Porters Five Force Model for Competitive Strategy Porter’s Five Force Model was developed by Michael Porter, Professor at the Harvard Business School in 1979. According to Porter (1979) the Five Forces is a holistic approach of looking and analysing any industry to understand the structural underlining drivers of profitability and competition. Porter believes that industry players take too much of a narrow look in assessing competition by believing that direct competitors in an industry are the only ones that are important. He uses the five forces model to show how business are engaged in a broader form of competition that can affect their profitability. These broader forces of competition include customers and suppliers who can have certain bargaining powers, new entrants that can emerge in the industry and affect your market share, substitute products or services that can be used and can have a direct effect on your profitability or growth and direct industry rivalry and competition within the industry. According to Hills & Jones (2008) a business’s ability to earn great profits are dependent on the strength of Porters Five Forces, the reverse is also true that a weak competitive force allows for a greater opportunity to make profits. For example, a company that controls a monopoly in a certain geographical area will see greater opportunities for profit, because being a monopoly will eliminate the threat of new entrants, no internal rivalry and low bargaining power of consumers. The greatest issue most businesses will have is to identify changes in the five forces and knowing how to formulate strategies from the opportunities and threats that may arise from the change (Hill & Jones, 2008). The image below illustrates Porter’s Five Force Model. Fig. 1 Source: (Porter, 1979) Threats of Entry in the Airline Industry The domestic airline industry in the United States has intense rivalry between its competitors. Over ten airlines fight for market share with the rivalry completely driven on price. Southwest Airline faces some its greatest competition from fellow low cost airlines such as Spirit air and JetBlue all three compete against each other on direct routes trying to offer the lowest prices and the best service to passengers with very low profit margins. Passenger figures stand at approximately 450 million passengers travelling domestic annually in the United States (International Air Transport Association, 2012). However, Southwest Airlines remained the dominant domestic carrier with a passenger load of over 100 million 2012 (Southwest Airlines, 2012). The competitive nature of the domestic market in the United States has led to the merger of some of its carriers in order to consolidate costs. The most recent merger being that of American Airlines and US Airways and before that it was Continental and United Airlines who joined forces. Barriers to Entry in the Airline Industry Prior to 1978 the airline industry in America was heavily regulated by the United States government and was driven by high prices and empty airlines. Government regulation not only prevented competition among industry players but also created an entry barrier for new airlines, as government regulated routes presented a monopoly for established carriers (Bloomberg Business Week, 2011). In the United States the state of Texas was the only state which never had government regulation in the industry. The deregulation in Texas gave Southwest Airlines an opportunity to enter the market offering its service in the major cities of Texas only (Southwest Airlines, 2012). The deregulation effort that was led by democratic senator Ted Kennedy and signed into law by former President Jimmy Carter saw a dismantling of fare and route controls in 1978 (Bloomberg Business Week, 2011). This deregulation made it increasingly easy for new airlines to enter market and compete. With government control no longer a barrier airlines were able to enter the market once they were able to access the capital that was required and meet the safety standards that were required by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). However, Michael Porter (2008) in an interview with Harvard Business School described the airline industry as one of the easiest enter with low barriers to entry he pointed out there is a constant stream of new airlines that enter the market regularly despite low profits. Bargaining Power of Suppliers and Customers in the Airline Industry According to Porter (2008) the limited number of suppliers in the airline industry gave a considerable amount of power to the ones that existed. Porter argues that airline suppliers made considerable more profits than airlines themselves. Aircraft manufacturing is dominated by only two major players,’ American company Boeing and French company Airbus. In 2011 both manufactures controlled over 90 per cent of new air craft orders with Airbus dominating at 64 percent (The Guardian, 2012). An airline survival in the industry is also tied considerably to the price of oil which is core to operation. Southwest Airlines use a method of hedging to compete on the price of oil which allows the airline to lock in to contracts at cheaper prices in anticipation of future rises in the world market prices (CNBC, 2012). Other supplier cost that affects performance includes security cost, airport gates and terminal fees and wages to staff. The greater the rivalry among industry players the more fickle customers will become. Customers in the airline industry have tremendous bargaining power and are very price sensitive. The fast pace nature of the industry can allow a customer to switch airlines at any time. Customers were the key beneficiaries from the deregulation of the industry, before the removal of price structure and other regulation, government policy ensured that airlines competed on service and not price (Bloomberg Business Week, 2011). This shifted dramatically with deregulation has new entrants to the markets like Southwest and JetBlue built their business model on low prices which has caused older established companies to lower their own margins. Substitutes Products for Airlines There are a number of substitute services available in the domestic airline industry in America. Substitute products include rail service, water, coaches, private car transportation or refusing to travel. These substitutes provide customers with other alternatives other than flying and are strong competitive forces to the industry. Airlines are therefore forced to show the economical convenience of air travel as oppose to using other means. For example a person travelling on business who places great value on time could find it more efficient to fly instead of using substitutes. Airfares offered by low cost airlines like Southwest are also competitive with other substitute products. The Value Chain Analysis Along with the Five Forces Michael Porter also developed the Generic Value Chain as a means of understanding competitiveness in the business industry. The Value Chain is aimed at helping us understand how goods and services move through an organization and how value is added to them. According to Porter the Value Chain represents a business process that comes along with a product (Porter, 1985). The main aim has articulated by Porter (1985) is to find sources for a company’s competitive advantage by dividing the company into several activities in the business process which are all strategically relevant to the goods or services provided. The business process is divided into primary and secondary areas. Primary activities include areas directly related to getting the product to the consumer. Inbound logistics is the acquisition of the raw materials that are necessary to provide the product or service. Southwest inbound logistics include areas such as route selection, flight and crew scheduling, fuelling, acquiring aircrafts and ticket management systems. Operation generally refers to the physical actions that are required to produce the service once all the raw materials are acquired. Southwest Airlines operations include a variety of actions to provide its service. It covers the airlines customer care services, gate operations, air craft operations and maintenance and baggage handling. Outbound logistics involves moving goods into inventory and places where they can reach customers. Southwest Airlines outbound logistics includes website for booking tickets, connecting passengers on flights, offering, baggage collection systems and other gate services. Other areas Primary agents of the value chain include marketing and sales and services. Marketing and sales involves the initiation of buying the product by utilizing advertising, promoting and monitoring sales (Porter, 1985). Therefore any advertising, promotional activity or deals and incentives offered by the airline will fall under marketing and sales activities. While service involves handling of customer relations once the product or service is in the hand of the consumer these include handling customer complaints, handling special request from customers such as disability requests or dealing with elements such as flight delays and cancellations. The secondary activities are important in creating a product or service but are not directly involved in its creation. Procurement is responsible for buying the raw materials for the company it can include computers furnisher and other fix assets which are essential to the value chain, the act of procurement according to Porter is normally carried out by management or the sales department (Porter, 1985). Technology support activity includes research and development that could lead to product development for the primary areas of the value chain, human resources role provides the company with essential staff to carry out functions while infrastructure involves the processes and procedures needed to execute the business process for example payroll and account (Porter, 1985). The purpose of this process is to analyse all the aspects of the Value Chain and determine if improvements can be made to increase the profitability and performance of the business. For example, Southwest Airlines could look at a value chain and determine if they could reduce the speed at which it check in passengers to flights to reduce turnaround time or increasing the speed of operating procedures such as maintenance and refuelling. Value Chain is a structured way to look at improving the business process and information systems can play a key role in this effort.

BMW Human Resources Policy

BMW Human Resources Policy Organisations, Analysis and Policy REPORT To: Senior Management From: Group Accountant Date: 2 nd May 2005 Subject: BMW Organisational Analysis andHuman Resources Policies This report will provide a detailed analysis of BMW’scurrent corporate appraisal analysis. This will help to identify the company’scurrent strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This will help thecompanies decision makers understand where the organisation is now. The reportwill also critically evaluate BMW’s human resources policy as a key area of theorganisation. We will highlight how BMW has strategically responded to thedrivers for change in terms of its structure, conduct and performance. Finally,offer recommendations for the future development and improvements in humanresource management, and how those will impact on its organisational structure,conduct and performance. Company Background The BMW Group is the only manufacturer of automobiles andmotorcycles worldwide that concen trates entirely on premium standards andoutstanding quality for all its brands and across all relevant segments. With the brands BMW, MINI andRolls-Royce Motor Cars, the BMW Group has been focussing on selected premiumsegments in the international automobile market since the year 2000. In thesucceeding years, the launch of the BMW 1 Series meant an expansion of themodel range in the premium segment of the lower middle class and the BMW 6Series did likewise in the segment of the large CoupÃÆ'Â ©s and Convertibles. TheMINI marque was launched and production began in the Oxford plant in 2001. In2003, the BMW Group assumed marque responsibility for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.At the same time, the Worldwide Head Office and Manufacturing Plant inGoodwood, GB, was built. ( AnInternal and corporate analysis in terms of strength, weaknesses, opportunitiesand threats (SWOT) will assist in gaining an understanding of where BMW iscurrently in terms of strengths and where improvement is required w ithin thebusiness and what outside environmental threats it may face as well as what newopportunities are available to the company in the short and medium term. Figure 1:BMW SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS Diverse ranges of Products – BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Strong Cash Flow Position Increase turnover and trading profits Strong Balance Sheet World’s leading Premium Quality Automobile Manufacturer Brand Awareness Human resources Capabilities to turn resources into advantages OPPORTUNITIES New Products Market shift to globalisation Innovation & Alliances Customers demand change to more comfortable and relevantly cheap cars Diversification New Technologies in Automobiles WEAKNESSES Perception of High Prices Customer disinterest Environmental issues: Pollutions Buyer sophistication and knowledge Substitute products or technologies THREATS New & existing competition Volatility in Price of Fuel New legislations Consequences of the oil crisis September 11 th Economic recession Market shift to globalisation Takeover bids Far-East Automobile companies expansion Extremely high competition for customers and resources The Five Forces Model Figure2: Five Forces Model – ACCA Paper 3.5 (2001) Threats from Potential entrants Suppliers Bargaining power Competitive Rivalry Buyers Bargaining power Threats from Substitutes Porterexplains that there are five forces inherent in a market, which will jointlydetermine the intensity of competition and profitability of BMW and theautomobile industry. The first is the threat posed by new entrants, the highcapital expenditure and confidence of customers represent significant barriersto entry and the market is also sensitive to reputation. However, the emergentof low cost manufactures do pose a significant threat (as illustrated by figure2). There is an opportunity in the low price/ low economy (fast) sector. MaybeHyundai or Daewoo could consider introducing a low cost sport saloon. The second is the threats from substitutes, as thereare many make and model of other premium branded cars, hence, Jaguar, MercedesBenz, Audi etc. The third force is the threats from the bargaining power ofbuyers, is this strong for both BMW and the entire automobile industry with alarge number of alternative suppliers, hence, the aggressive pricing strategy.This results in a very strong competitive rivalry in the industry. This isintensified as a result of little or no differentiation in the basic productoffered. Finally the threats from the suppliers bargaining power, this isfairly low in the automobile industry, due to dual sourcing strategies, using arange of alternative sources of supply for parts.

Witches - A Discussion of Superstition and Myth Research Paper

Witches - A Discussion of Superstition and Myth - Research Paper Example Since the beginning of time, humans have attempted to understand the environment around them and make sense of occurrences that oftentimes had little to no reasonable explanation; or so it seemed. As a result of this, the creation of gods and legends helped to define what would otherwise be considered a very chaotic and disturbing environment; one in which death and acts of calamity were all too present. Oftentimes these myths were relatively harmless and did not contribute to any one member of society being persecuted or harassed. At other times, rituals and superstition demanded that a particular type of individual should be shunned, mistreated, or even hunted down and killed. The focus of this particular discussion is on the superstitious origins of the term â€Å"witch† and the manner through which this particular identification has come to be propagated for such a very long period of time. It is the further intent of the analysis to point to the illogical and unrealistic mechanisms through which a â€Å"witch† has been defined and correlate these to the manner in which individuals that are considered as â€Å"aberrant† to society are oftentimes grouped. Before delving directly into a discussion of witches throughout history, it is necessary to note that the definition or determination of a â€Å"witch† throughout history has been an individual that did not ascribe to the norm. As such, whether for reasons of disability, unsightliness, or mental illness, a witch has oftentimes been a societal label for an individual that could not integrate or fit in with the remainder of society (Schwartz, 2004). Naturally, within this understanding, it is vital to realize that the label of a witch has absolutely nothing to do with magical powers or some type of collaboration with a mythical dark spiritual force. Instead, it is merely a cruel way in which societies have chosen to label people that do not abide by a given set of norms and standards that they have set forward to group their society by.  Ã‚  

Comparing Brazilian Culture to American Culture Research Paper

Comparing Brazilian Culture to American Culture - Research Paper Example These segments include ‘Power Distance’, ‘Individualism’, ‘Masculinity’, ‘Uncertainty Avoidance’, ‘Pragmatism’, and ‘Indulgence’ (The Hofstede Center, 2014). The discussion henceforth will give an elaborative account of these cultural segments as observable in the prospective market of the Canadian company, i.e. in Brazil. Power distance exhibits the acceptance of power hierarchy and the inequalities among people residing within a given society. Observably, Brazil scores 69, where Canada scores 39 as per the Hofstede’s model when examining this factor (The Hofstede Center, 2014). This further reveals that where Canada believes in egalitarianism, Brazilian communities believe in power hierarchy and accept the inequality as a part of their culture (Ferguson, 2007). It is thus necessary for the Canadian company to understand the power distance of Brazil and formulate their organizational decision-making structure accordingly. Individualism, another facet of the Hofstede’s cultural model, indicates whether people prefer group oriented lifestyle practices or individualism. Brazil scores 38 in this section according to Hofstede’s model analysis, where Canada scores 80 (The Hofstede Center, 2014). This implies that Brazilian people are group oriented where Canadians are highly individualistic in nature. Certainly, in the business world, group orientation attitude among employees and customers can create the difference of opinions as well as communication gap. Due to the huge difference of nature, it is better for the company to use Polycentrism to connect with the culture of Brazil (Ferguson, 2007). The paradigm of masculinity in the Hofstede’s model replicates whether the cultural backbone of the country is success oriented, achievement-oriented or it is based on the quality of life.  

Finance - Securities Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Finance - Securities Analysis - Essay Example www.facebook.com and a home page will appear to request you to put in your credentials that are if you have an account in. Alternatively if, one does not have an account you can still register for one by following basic steps. Simply I can invest in facebook. This is because facebook can guarantee you a triple income of what you invested. By selling a single share at $38 facebook has a returning market cap of $104 billion. Just for the record, at the time of the actual IPO opening when NASDAQ was printing shares one could see them post at the Etrade Market Depth tab. Mind you, trade had actually not yet begun, and so what Etrade staff told me was "these were trades being entered". I believed that. The share prices ranged from ask and bid at 45 to 60, then jumped to 100, then 150 and finally 200. The asking price for FB at about 11:20 to 11:30 was 200 bucks. At some point this morning the SEC stopped trade because of short sellers. But whats getting missed is that many buyers, some of them had to be institutional, were willing to pay as much as 200 bucks a share on the IPO offering time. Why do I know this? Both the Market Depth tab and also NASDAQs staff member confirmed, this is "what customers were will ing to offer". NOW then, whats Facebooks valuation? The short sellers were trying to get the stock to below 30 dollars IMHO when SEC stepped in today the 21st. That indicates their willingness to resort to whatever means are necessary. This climate of criminality and greed is working against not only stock investors but also the USA itself. Holding 200 shares for a recovery, (NOT acquired the enormous price btw) and may buy more if they go down again tomorrow. On the 21st shares dropped to 33.00. They may fall more, but the markets too are in a moment of volatility regardless of the one Monday up to date. This was bank stimulated, and when the terrible news seeps back from across the pond again, right back to square

BIOTECHNOLOGY & GENETIC ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BIOTECHNOLOGY & GENETIC ANALYSIS - Essay Example This is mainly attributed to accumulation of pollutant along the path of river and hence bacterial population need to evolved catabolic capability to survive and hence more plasmid bearing bacterial population were found in second sample. Similarly most of the plasmid was found to be in size range more than 35 KB clearly indicates most of them are Conjugative plasmids as this group of plasmid has more number of genes compared to non-conjugative plasmid to carryout conjugation process and hence larger the size. Here re-suspension solution constitutes of glucose, EDTA and Tris each have its own role. Glucose provides osmotic stress and EDTA as chelating agents which binds to heavy metals and helps in disintegration of cell wall, Tris act as buffering agent and maintains pH of over all reactions to avoid any pH dependent side reaction. In this stage cell become highly fragile and some are break open. This solution is mixture of SDS and NaOH. Here NaOH provides alkaline condition which helps in cell lyses and denaturation of DNA while SDS dissolves cell wall constituents and induces extensive cell lyses. It also helps in proteins denaturation and precipitation. In this stage most of cell constituents get denatured including genomic DNA, But as plasmid is in its CCC (covalently closed circular) forms will not denatured completely and most of them remains in its native configuration. Step 4: Neutralisation Solution Here potassium acetate and acetic acid act as neutralizing agent to bring back the pH to normal. Similarly it induces the renaturation of DNA. Because of larger size most of the Genomic DNA remains denatured and mingled with proteins remains with cell debris while plasmid being smaller molecule except out to supernatant . Step 5: centrifugation at high speed; During this stage all cell derbies along with genomic DNA settled at the bottom of tube and being smaller in size plasmid remains in supernatant. Which subsequently used for further purification and transformation. Ans 3 protocol 6: Here we have two different observation 1) colonies from tube 2 grown as blue colored colonies 2) while from tube 3 there is mixture of blue and white. This can be explained as follows. In case of tube 2 there is only vector pGEM3Z used for transformation. The plasmid pGEM3Z have lacZ gene as marker which code for enzyme called beta glycosidase. After transformation cells where plated on LA supplemented with X-gal and IPTG. Now in presence of IPTG expression of lac Z induces and leads to synthesis of beta-glycosidase which subsequently acts on X-gal and cleaved it to chromogenic intermediate give rise to blue color. While in case of tube 3 there was plasmid vector along with insert gene (ligation mixture) and plated on similar plate after transformation. As vector pGEM3Z having MCS (multiple cloning sites) in side the lacZ gene any insertion or recombination leads to inactivation of lacZ (insertional inactivation). Inactive lacZ will not code for functional beta glycosidase and hence colonies having insertion give rise to white colors. In another scenario where cut plasmid re-ligated without any insertion during

A proposal to Rutgers University about the increasing problem of Research

A to Rutgers University about the increasing problem of mixing energy drinks with alcohol on college campuses - Research Proposal Example On college campuses, a high concentration of the age group likely to use these beverages is found, putting universities in a unique position to provide educational and preventative interventions. On November 17, 2010, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued written warnings to manufacturers of alcoholic beverages with added caffeine (FDA, 2010). The FDA had both reviewed existing medical literature and conducted independent lab tests on the beverages, and in the process found them to be representative of a significant public health concern (FDA, 2010). As more data surface suggesting the health risks associated with these beverages, it is necessary to evaluate how their use and availability on college campuses could impact students’ health and well-being. Based on an analysis of recent peer-reviewed studies, this literature review will: provide a background context from which to view the issue; contribute to the identification of methods and interventions that will raise awareness on the Rutgers campus; contribute suggestions for reducing the harm that results from the use of alcoholic caffeinated beverages. Alcoholic beverages with added caffeine are relatively new products. In 1997, the first energy drink to achieve mainstream popularity was introduced (â€Å"Red Bull†) (Malinauskas et al., 2007). The first Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages (CABs) entered the market about five years later in 2002 (CDC, 2010). The beverages saw a very rapid and sharp increase in popularity, with 337,500 gallons sold in their first year and 22,905,000 gallons sold in 2008 (CDC, 2010). What was at one time a niche product is now available in retail outlets and convenience stores, and by 2008 there were 25 brands selling the beverages (CDC, 2010). The advertising industry has capitalized on the drinks’ attractiveness to young people by creating ad campaigns that are similarly attractive to that age group (CDC, 2010). With names like â€Å"Sparks,†

How to use organizational communication more effectively Annotated Bibliography

How to use organizational communication more effectively - Annotated Bibliography Example How to use organizational communication more effectively? The deference inherent in approaches can be perceived as in communication the art can be tapped to influence. It has the potential to bring change by driving perception required into organizational workers and be able to pull workforce in a given direction hence achieving efficiency through communication. Consistency in appeasing and the honoring recipient is the way forward because psychologically human beings yield to praise and acknowledgement than open rebuke. Within the aspect of communication are the varying means of communication, which are either nonverbal or verbal communication. It is in itself a variation. Non-verbal communication in a positive manner is the use of constriction, slouching, smiling, and patterns of the eye, which are in tandem with speeches conveyed verbally. There are theories dictating loss or competition expressing deference. It is a functional behavior. In addition to fighting for power, retaining status in a goal that most employees nowadays endeavor to achieve through deference in communication is frequently witnessed. The paper focuses organizational communication that revolves around decision-making. In addition, the art of communication decisions made largely affect how they are made and promoted in an organization. In a bid to improve efficiency in operation and to consolidate the workforce, the paper gives an insight into communication. The efficiency derived from it and much of it how they affected performance.

Problems of Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Problems of Pakistan Essay PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN AND THEIR SOLUTIONS OUTLINE: 1.INTRODUCTION 2.PROBLEMS OF PAKISTANS A. INNER PROBLEMS a.TERRORISM b.SECTERIAN VIOLANCE c.ENERGY CRISIS d.POOR RULE OF LAW e.ECONOMIC MELTDOWN f.CORRUPTION g.POLITICAL DESTABILITY h.FLOODS i.INJUSTICE j.LACK OF NATIONAL INTEGRITY k.POVERTY l.UNEMPLOYMENT m.INFLATION B. OUTER PROBLEMS a.DRONE ATTACKS b.FOREIGN DEBTS c.LACK OF FDI d.WEAK FOREIGN POLICY SOLUTIONS a.TO CURB THE TERRORISM BY DIALOGUES AND MILIATRY OPERATIONS b.ENERGY CRISIS SHOULD BE TACKELED IMMIDIATELY c.RULE OF LAW SHOULD BE MIANTAINED AT ANY COST d.LONG AND SHORT TERM ECONOMIC POLICIES SHOULD BE LOUNCHED TO OVERCOME ECONOMIC PROBLEMS e.DAMS SHOULD BE MADE TO CURB WITH FLOODS f.UNEMPLOYMENT,POVERTY AND INJUSTICE SHOULD BE ERADICATED g.FAIR AND TRANSPARENT SYSTEM SHOULD BE LOUNCHED TO COPE WITH CORRUPTION h.ATMOSPHERE OF NATIONAL INTEGRITY SHOULD BE INSTALLED i.EFFECTIVE FOREIGN POLICY SHOULD BE MADE TO COPE WITH DRONE ATTACKS j.FOREIGN DEBTS SHOULD BE MINIMIZED CONCLUSION ESSAY: Today, pakostan is facing various problems. The intesity of these problems is increasing day by day.Infact, there are two types of problems, the inner problems and the outer problems.The inner problems like terrorism, secterian violance,target killing,energy crisis,economic meltdown,destability, poor rule of law,floods ,corruption ,injustice,poverty,unemployment,inflation and social disorder are weakining the country very fastly.On the other hand, the outer problems like drone attacks, weak foreign policy ,foreign debts,lack of foreign direct ivestment and foreign intervention are aloso detriorating the country to high extent.Owing to these problems the progress and development of the country has almost jammed.The economy of the country has shunned,the political destability has emerged,mobs and chaos has become the order of every day,religious intolrence has reached to its peak and the image of country has gone bad to worset.To overcome these problems, the government should take all necessary steps with proper planning.All the strategies should installed with tranparency to curb these problems.All the institutions and concerned authorities should lounche their steps in unity to cope these menaces.Apart from government, the individuals should also cooperate with government in this critical time to save the country.The above mentioned problems and their solutions will be discussed in appropriate manners in next paragraphs.

Bilateral Or Multilateral International Trade Agreement With Eu Economics Essay

Bilateral Or Multilateral International Trade Agreement With Eu Economics Essay International trade is so common in todays business world. No country can fulfil everything it needs by itself, due limited resources and capabilities. There is a great need of collaborations between nations especially in this era of globalisation. A country can import and export its goods and services to other countries or from other countries. This can be done through bilateral or multilateral trade agreements, where by two countries can agree on trade or more than two countries agrees on trade issues regardless their level of development. These Agreements aims to reduce trade barriers and increase the movement of factors of production which are persons, goods, services and investments within countries. These two ways has impacts on trade when Emerging countries enter into agreement with EU countries as it will be illustrated later. As stated by Wikipedia (20101) increasing international trade is very vital to the continuation of globalization. FREE TRADE THEORIES Countries need to trade in order to exchange their goods and services as no country can be self-sufficient through local production of goods and services. There are two theories which support free trade, proposed by different economists: Theory of comparative advantage: According to Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2009 pg.274) in 1817, David Ricardo proposed this theory which states that countries should specialize in areas in which they have a comparative advantage. Theory of absolute advantage: This theory was proposed by Adam Smith in 1776 (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2009 pg.272) which states that countries should specialize in producing goods in which they have an absolute advantage. Emerging Countries Emerging countries are those countries that growth has come very drastically and so is the level of industrialization, whereby industrialization is driving the economies of those markets/nations. There are about 28 nations that are regarded emerging with China and India topping the list respectively. (More details in appendix 1). Supporting my illustration behind, Im delighted to mention some of the characteristics of these emerging countries. Characteristics of Emerging Countries Considering a country like India, I have realized its importance in the world due to the fact that, it is one of leaders in technological advancement because so far it has been accepted and relied upon. So, India is not expected to be a burden in the trade agreements with any EU country as itself could offer something beneficial. The second characteristic of an emerging country is labour pool availability at large. Country like China or India itself can be mentioned as those where cheap labour can be relied upon because of poor economic situation and poverty facing its people. So, this results in looking for job vacancies. Thirdly, considering production capacity as one of the characteristic of emerging countries in the sense that, it will be excited on looking for external markets of their products mainly goods and services. So far, I had heard that Brazil is the worlds best coffee producer as well as bananas. Therefore, from my definition above, I dare say that because of the efforts shown by these emerging countries in various aspects there is a great possibility for countries like India, China, Brazil and South Africa to fasten development within their countries. THE EUROPEAN UNION This is the largest and most comprehensive regional economic group. It began as a free trade agreement with the goal to become a customs union and to integrate in other ways. (Daniels et al, 2009, p.346) Why do business with EU? The EU promises for market in terms of both population and income. It is economically strong and stable so companies cannot ignore this potentiality of profit. ECONOMIC INTEGRATION Is the political and economic agreements among countries that give preference to member countries to the agreement. (Daniels et al, 2009, p.339) In other words, economic integration is similar to a situation whereby two or more countries come into collaboration especially in economic issues. From my understanding, economic integration has to be of mutual interest among the participating members. However, elements of any economy must be put into consideration so as to attract economic cooperation among different countries. These elements are inflation or deflation, rate fluctuation and money circulation. Before a country engages itself in international trade, it is wise for the country to decide on the type of trade agreement it is going to take because they have significant influence on the strategies countries choose to trade. These agreements tends to remove trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas which used to protect domestic countries from foreign competition Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2009 pg.54) stated there are two types of trade agreement that the country can choose from: Multilateral trade agreements Bilateral trade agreements BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS: Is where two countries decide to cooperate more closely together, usually in the form of tariffs reductions (Daniels et al, 2009, p 339) The term bilateral is a little confusing because EU negotiate trade as on trading block, its agreement with other countries, such as between the EU and Brazil, are technically bilateral agreements (Daniels et al 2009 pg.342). EU comprises of about 27 countries. Advantages of Bilateral Agreement First and foremost, as the name itself suggests, it seems that, this is the most efficient and effective way which is also easier to be implemented by the member countries. It is easily done in the sense that, decision making process is not hardly arrived at probably due to the fact that only a few countries mainly two are in. Secondly, through international bilateral relationships it is my hope that, single member country priorities might be considered hand-in-hand with the groups partnership manifesto activities. Disputes difficulties isnt an issue when it comes to bilateral trade agreements because as I said only a few countries take part so dispute settlement wont be time consuming or quarrelsome. Additionally, its quite obvious that these countries in a bilateral trade agreement wont be negligent when it comes to environmental issues as a matter of fact that, maybe such might be having standards and procedures agreed upon so as to preserve environmental degradation. This traces a country like India which environmentally disturbed. However, the legal aspects will be adhered to because bilaterally EU wont hesitate to stop some of the dirty tricks played by dishonest countries as India and probably maybe China. For instance, document and product forgery is a common thing used to falsify business agreements. Therefore, India and the like countries will have trustworthy in globe. Disadvantages of Bilateral Agreement Bilateral accord brings forward trade diversion this is whereby the formation of free trade agreements diverts trade from more efficient exporter to a less efficient exporter. These trade agreements would bring obstacles to trade duties by adding administrative complexity to the customs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_diversion accessed on 4/8/2010 MULTILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS: Is agreement whereby three or more countries come as one to normalize trade between the nations without discriminations, frequently multilateral trade agreement intended to worse trade barriers between participating countries, as a result, increase the degree of economic integration between the participants, never the less the most valuable way of liberalizing trade in an interdependent global economy are considered multilateral trade agreements. (K. Alex, 2010) World Trade Organization (WTO), the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the major multilateral forum through which government can come to agreements and can settle disputes regarding trade. According to in 1947, in order to remove quotas and lessen tariffs, GATT was set up. The basic principle of GATT was to forbid any sort of unfairness that occurs when trading by making each member nation to equally open its markets to every other member nation. For example, most of the times, developed nations take advantage of developing nations; GATT was established to remove these trading unfairness( Daniels et al 2009 pg.340). Advantages of Multilateral The main benefit that countries can benefit from multilateral is the equal treatment. In a multilateral trade agreement it is very easy for member countries to share common standards and procedures that have been agreed upon. For instance, the movement of goods and services from Brazil to different EU countries wont face trade restrictions, embargoes or quotas. So in this case, it will be easy for investors from emerging countries can have start-ups. Also, from my opinion, culture can be used to the maximum advantage because countries in the cooperation will be able to share the good values, beliefs and assumptions when it they aspire to achieve high development goals and objectives. However, this could involve techniques which simplify complexities. Promotion of Transparency  This also contains an equity contemplation in that the worse, less powerful countries are more likely to benefit from this transparency than richer, more powerful ones (not that there isnt much more to be done. (R.Pollock, 2003) Disadvantages of Multilateral Agreement To begin, it is not like bilateral trade agreement because decision making process is very complex in the sense that, until all the countries reach into an agreement so that other activities will follow. Such agreement mostly takes lengthy of time. Also multilateral agreement leads to trade diversification. . The main disadvantage that emerging countries can suffer from multilateral is the equal treatment between countries, this levels the playing ground while the levels of economic development is different. How can a China company that are less competent by nature though not all compete with an American conglomerate company in the same bases? Can it be a fair trade? Such an agreement is bound to exploit small economies. This agreements will not consider small economies well being and moreover this agreement will halt the success of small nation to prosper further. This disadvantage will conflict with political ideology of G8 whereby the agenda for G8 summit is to boost developing countries economies and to eradicate poverty. Due to these reasons this type of agreement is not preferable to be taken by emerging countries. Benefits of international trade agreements with the EU Technology transfer EU member countries are more advanced in technology, thus emerging countries trading with them they could benefits by employing it to innovate their business processes to increase their productivity and hence grow. Increase export Emerging countries have a plenty of raw materials used by developed counties in their industries, so engaging in multilateral agreement they would be able to export more and increase their foreign exchange reserves. Also this will improve the balance of payment of emerging countries. Expand sales of the existing product: It creates a second market and the global market when a country enters itself in international trade .hence it widens its sales by selling its active products both domestically and globally. Impact of trade agreement These international agreements have profound effects on member states both negatively and positively. Nations sovereignty is threatened to some extent as countries could be interfered on making their decision to progress economically. For instance the EU would want a certain course of action to be taken and on the other hand the emerging countries would want the opposite. International trade agreement between European Union (EU) and emerging nation would impact the culture for both parties unconstructively and optimistically. There is always a chance for culture to be diluted and enriched respectively. CONCLUSION The business environment is very dynamic the one who is quicker can take the advantage before the windows of opportunity is closed for that matter In conclusion, for emerging countries, bilateral agreements are preferred than multilateral agreements. Reasons: Bilateral is attractive because most emerging countries prefer quick results stated by Lamy (n.d.). Bilateral agreements take shorter time to reach agreement and conscious as it involves fewer participants compared to multilateral. This is good because of the dynamic nature of the businesses. Bilateral agreements is a free trade where by all tariffs that restrict trade are removed; for this reason emerging countries engaging in bilateral agreement are not bound to any trade restrictions. No need to agree with WTO members they can trade with any country they wish, so long as they share the common goal and interest and they dont block the laws. Bilateral agreements are easier for countries to pursue because it is easier to resolve issues in a smaller setting. (Daniel et al 2009.p342) It is easier to resolve and settle issue between two countries than among many different countries because each country may have its own opinion and interest hence misunderstanding can occur due to the complexity of culture.

Education and Awareness Will Promote Environmental Justice Essay

Education and Awareness Will Promote Environmental Justice The goals of this environmental justice conference are stated simply: firstly, to explore whether racial minorities and the poor are being environmentally victimized, and secondly, to evaluate public policies that promote environmental fairness. Each speaker provided insight and information from their respective area of expertise. Led by keynote speaker Dr. Bunyan Bryant, they drew upon the realms of academic investigation, government and public policy, sociology, healthcare, and philosophy to unite the environmental movement with the quest for social justice. After absorbing so much information concerning the current state of environmental justice, one leaves the conference with an overwhelming sense of responsibility to promote awareness and fairness when dealing with issues of environmental quality. Dr. Bunyan Bryant of the University of Michigan began by addressing the history, issues, dilemmas, and central premises of the environmental justice movement. Dr. Bryant distinguishes environmental racism, or the targeting of certain communities for undesirable land use, from environmental equity. The movement is characterized by a complexity of cultural norms, rules, regulations, behaviors, values, policies, and decisions. These influences either lead to the promotion of sustainable communities and the realization of high potentials, or contribute to the degradation of environments by impeding communities from enjoying social, political, and environmental health. Dr. Bryant notes the importance of key events, ranging from the effects of the 1990 Michigan Conference to the earlier convergence of the civil rights and environmental movements around the time of the as... ...s from diverse areas in order to achieve an integrated perspective of the issues, successes, and common goals characterizing the environmental justice movement. The conference was bound together by a common message - the need for education and awareness of issues of environmental quality. Environmental justice corresponds directly to human health and quality of life throughout the world. Regardless of whether or not an environmental hazard exists in one's community or backyard, it is necessary to be informed of the issues that affect us all. The goals of the conference were thus met by clarifying that environmental injustice is indeed occurring, thereby instilling in each participant the need for continued education and involvement in the quest for safe and healthy environments for all. This is the way in which environmental justice will prevail in future societies.

War and College :: essays research papers

War and College Many of the titles of Ernest Hemingway’s stories are ironic, and can be read on a number of different levels; Soldiers Home is no exception. The story is told of a young man, Harold Krebs, who recently returned form World War I, and has moved back into his parent’s house while he figures out what he to do with life. In reality he has no home, his parent’s middle-class lifestyle used to feel like home, but no longer does. This is actually not an uncommon scenario among young people, especially college students returning to the womb of their childhood again.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Krebs situation is more dramatic than those who have been released off to college. He has not only lived on his own, but been traumatized by life and death situations his parents couldn’t even begin to understand. Hemingway does not divulge why Krebs was the last person from his home town to return from war. Whenever he was in the intervening time, by the time, by the time he Watrous 2 gets home, the novelty of the returning soldiers have found a niche for themselves in the community, but Harold needs a bit longer to get his bearings. The problem has to do with Krebs definition of who he has become. He recognizes he has changed, and this change is played out dramatically against the backdrop of a town where nothing else has changed since high school. This short story is easy to relate to from the perspective of a college student. In relation to going back â€Å"home† is like dealing with all the drama that you endure through high school. It’s especially difficult for me, because my parents moved to another state, so part of my home is unnatural to me. Also the aspects of the same girls, his father still driving the same car and parking it in the same spot is all relative to my situation. There are many reasons for Krebs not being able to adjust to things back in Oklahoma. If you look at what he was doing before the war, you can distinguish the differences from going overseas. Prior to the war he was attending a Methodist school in Kansas and was not out of place then. Its almost symbolic that Hemingway chose Kansas of all places due to the famous saying from the Wizard of Oz â€Å"were not in Kansas anymore;† basically saying that war is like living in whole new world.

Freud?s view of civilization Essay -- essays research papers

Freud’s view of civilization emerges from his understanding of the struggle between Eros and Death. Freud expresses the existence of two contrary instincts, Eros and Death, via starting from the speculations on the beginning of life and biological parallels. While Eros preserves the living substance and joins it into larger units, such as societies, Death dissolves these units and brings them back to their primeval state. The death drives appear to be regressive, striving for a return to a less differentiated, less organized state of tensionlessness. In contrast, Eros (which embraces sexual and life-preserving instincts) is progressive in seeking ever more differentiated forms of organized life and even the widening of differences in it as between the organism and its surroundings. Freud explains the life as concurrent or mutually opposing action of, and therefore balance between Eros and death instincts. Beside this, civilization works with Eros in order to combine individuals to form families, then families to form nations and then great unity of mankind. Actually, the founding of families aroused from the permanent need of male for genital satisfaction. As a result of this, the male wanted his sex object, the female near him, while also the female did not want to leave from her children and had to stay with the stronger male. After that, the sons discovered that a union could be stronger than a single individual by overpowering their father. Because of that, the sons imposed some restrictions to work to each other in order to preserve the new state. Therefore, there are two foundations of the communal life of the human beings: the power of love between man and woman, and woman and her child, and the compulsion to work created by external necessity. The first one of these foundations is the result of Eros and the other is the result of the death instinct, which serves for Eros to co mbine individuals. However, in most cases death distinct opposes to civilization because of the results of death instinct. Because the death instinct directs towards the external world and it occurs as an instinct of aggressiveness and destructiveness. In this way the instinct enters the service of Eros, such that the organism destroys other things instead of destroying itself. However, restriction of these instincts directed towards other things speeds up the process of destr... ...ion. However, difference between male and female is not about strength and endurance, but about the reproductive differences and the ability to nurse of female. Because of these differences, destiny of female in society was designated by the anatomy of female in the past, but this is no longer valid and nor should it be. If we look at the probable criticisms of Gerda Lerner of about the Alphonso Lingis article, Lust, we can see the main difference between them, which is the point of view about woman. Lingis mentions about woman while he is mentioning about prostitutes in Bangkok. This means that like Freud, Lingis sees woman as sex object. Furthermore, he degrades women by saying that travesties in the stage of Calypso are women than women. He does not consider the reproductive property of women and therefore he exhibits the tendency towards men. Gerda Lerner might criticize this point of view of Lingis. Other than that, these two writers do not exhibits big differences since their point of views are different. Gerda Lerner approaches to the topic historically and deal with the subordination of women. On the other hand, Lingis mentions about the representation of self and desire.

A Poet’s response to place is rarely purely descriptive Essay

In this essay I will write about whether I agree with the statement above, or not. I will base my conclusion upon a detailed examination of two poems. I will look at the ideas and techniques poets use, language and imagery etc. I agree with the above statement, I feel nothing is purely descriptive, for example when someone says † That house looks deep-rooted and daunting† the quote is descriptive as well as being someone’s personal opinion. To one person it may look daunting but to another the house may look safe and restful. Whenever someone describes something, it always includes an opinion, so nothing can ever be purely descriptive. I will back up my opinion by looking at the two poems: London -William Blake (1757-1827) Dover Beach -Matthew Arnold (1823-1888) â€Å"London† is a poem about William Blake’s interpretation of the dark side of London, he talks about how everyone is suffering, and how everyone is looking for freedom, no one has a future. † Dover Beach† is a poem about a beach in England, Matthew Arnold is describing what he feels is wrong with the world, and the reasons for the problems we have. â€Å"London† – A poem of social protest, against the suffering of all who live in a world such as this. Written in 1789 (during the British industrial revolution). Not a poem of observed factual detail but Blake’s perception of London, he uses the traditional form of alternate rhyming lines to imitate the repetitive predictability of the circle of suffering. ‘London’ shows that: if the institution and structure of a place is corrupt then the people can never have a chance for innocence. In his poem Blake describes to the reader how there are legal restrictions on the roads, â€Å"Charter’d street†. Also how the river Thames is governed â€Å"Charter’d Thames † The quotation shows that even a river which should seem free, is owned , restricted. When Blake describes the restrictions, he is also enlightening the reader about the state of the residents of London, â€Å"mind forg’d manacles† this quotation shows the depression and imprisoning of people, in their own mind. People are searching for liberty. People in London are abandoning the church because there lives are going so wrong â€Å"Every Black’ning Church appalls†. The word â€Å"plagues† really gives us the impact of the place he was walking through, it’s a very pungent word. In this Poem, Blake uses disconnected stanza’s, almost to describe the place where he is , nothing is stable, including peoples life. The rhythm of the poem is monotonous, there is not one positive image or feeling. There is also assonance to reinforce what he is saying. In this Poem, Blake starts to describe London, but as soon as he does, he describes the way people live and how they drastically lack liberty. â€Å"Dover Beach† is a melancholic poem. Matthew Arnold uses the means of ‘pathetic fallacy’, when he projects the human feeling of sadness onto an inanimate object like the sea. A repetition of neither†¦nor in stanza 4 underlines a series of denials: â€Å". . . neither joy, nor love, nor light/ Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;† (l. 33-34). All these are basic human values. If none of these do truly exist, this raises the question of what remains. With these lines, Arnold draws a nihilistic view of the world he is living in. Throughout the poem, the sea is used as an image and a metaphor. At first, it is beautiful to look at in the moonlight (ll.1-8), then it begins to make hostile sounds (â€Å"grating roar† (l. 9); â€Å"tremulous cadence† (l.13)) that suggest a general feeling of sadness. In the third stanza, the sea is turned into a metaphoric â€Å"Sea of Faith† (l.21) — a symbol for a time when religion could still be experienced without the doubts brought about by progress and science (Darwinism). Now, the ‘Sea of Faith’ and also the certainty of religion withdraws itself from the human grasp and leaves only darkness behind. Matthew Arnold, not only describes Dover beach, he describes he thoughts on the world, and why things are the way they are. To conclude with both the poems I have looked at, have reinforced the statement: â€Å"A Poet’s response to place is rarely purely descriptive† I have shown by using â€Å"London† and â€Å"Dover beach† that a poet always does so much more than simply describe a place, the poet’s own thoughts and feelings shine through. The reader gets taken deep down into the poem ,and finds out why the poet feels the way he/she does. Each poem is an insight to the way poets feel about places. Neither poems just describes a place, therefore I empathize with the above statement.

And of Clay Are We Created by Isabelle Allende

When assigned to read the short stories in class to summarize and learn to paraphrase, there was one story in particular that emotionally touched me. This short story was â€Å"And of Clay Are We Created† by Isabell Allende. I found many great points that could be discussed about the story, and that is why I chose it to be a part of this research paper. This story is a touching momentum of a man's penetrating awakening that he no longer has to suffer from the emotional torment that was inflicted upon him during is childhood.Rolf, â€Å"like a flower sinking into the mud† (367) has sank into himself; a self that is magnetized with cataclysmic devastation and desolation. The volcano has erupted to bring an avalanche of despair, so does this same volcano explode, bursting to eventually bring calm and equanimity. Isabell Allende has Rolf Carle, a news reporter fly out to the devastating scene where you are introduced to Azucena, a young girl, stuck in the mud. Rolfe Carle s tays with Azucena in hopes of saving her from this catastrophe but in the meantime, he Journeys through his repressed hildhood memories.It is important to investigate repressed memories so you could courageously move forward to live a fuller life, instead of blocking these memories and living in the past. This paper will slightly take you through Rolf Carle's emotions, the effects these memories can have, and how to overcome them. I found it ironic how Rolf Carle is close to many people's histories when investigating the incident being a reporter but he is so distant with his own and we see this when he is telling his stories to Azucena.Rolf connected with Azucena at a level of xperience, whether it was physical or emotional, they became one and shared things with each other, some things being on a different level. This connection occurred because Rolf saw himself like Azucena â€Å"trapped in a pit without escape, buried in life, his head barely above ground† (Allende, 363). It is apparent that Rolf, like the buried and trapped girl, has submerged his own suppressed and hidden visceral terror; terror concealed from reality, that when it is unearthed, it is â€Å"intact and precise as if it had lain always in his mind, waiting† (Allende, 362).Like the eceased relatives who weigh down Azucena by clinging on her legs, so too is Rolf weighed down, incapacitated and paralyzed by the hauntingly vivid repressed memories. Rolf seemed to be trapped in pain as Azucena was in the mud, and confronting the thoughts of the girl dying was tough. Azucena taught him to pray, and eventhough it might have been consolation for herself, she later provides support for Rolfe when he was suffering through his past memories. This moment with Azucena, showed Rolf shame, fear, and regret.Rolfs emotional break down, as displayed with Azucena, esulted in him rising above the vultures and helicopters†¦ [flying] above the vast swamp and corruption† (366). The quest ion of importance and focus is not how this took place. In other words, it is not the line of successive actions and conversations, told and untold, that led to his decisive moment of freedom that is important. It is the cognitive and emotional process of a child who has been abused and chooses to either suppress or repression those traumatic painful memories.Indeed Rolf goes through a transformative change. But for 30 years he has â€Å"lived† or hoose to forget certain events that took place in his life. The reader is never told in full detail the abuse that was inflicted upon Rolf. We are given the illusion of a being beat with a belt then put in a closet. Such a painful event indeed was resulted in the present moment of physical pain, as well as, the present and future psychological damage done to Rolf, not mentioning the effects that it had on his sister.We are reminded time and again by survivors of abuse that emotional abuse is far worse because â€Å"the body is mean t for recovering and healing physical wounds, the vidence is in scars, but the mind has a difficult time reacting to emotional abuse because it is counterproductive and counter intuitive in an unhealthy and unnatural way' (abused victim who chooses to remain anonymous). When dealing with painful events, especially when occurring during childhood, a child often times chooses to either repress or suppress the memories hoping that he or she will never have to relive that moment. A repressed memory, according to some theories of psychology, is a memory (often of a traumatic nature) of an event or environment, which is stored by the unconscious mind but outside the awareness of he conscious mind† (pyshowiki), whereas, suppressed memories are those memories that are forgotten by choice. The question now becomes did Rolfs unconscious mind repress the memory or was it by choice that he suppressed his childhood experience?The answer first comes with an understanding that â€Å"memorie s stay in the brain for life† (Martin Dak). It is important to understand that â€Å"repressed memories do not disappear† (changingminds. org). â€Å"We can only bury memories for so long before they resurface† (Effect on the Mind). A person tends to â€Å"forget memories† because the fear f facing reality has invaded his or her life and he or she no longer has the fortitude to properly be engaged in the present moment.Like an earthquake that shatters glass into millions of pieces and demolishes massive infrastructures into complete and utter ruin; so too can the effects of repressed memories play in a person's life. If repressed memories are not received, accepted, and properly discussed, a lifetime of tortured reality can unfold in a person's life. We don't have to look any farther than the 30 years of life that Rolf lived. The reader is never given a glimpse into his life after the abuse. We are told he has a relationship with a girl and that he is a re porter.Only with extremely caution, lest we stereotype that all reporters and to conclude that his Job does keep him moving from one situation to the next, avoiding having to ever think about his own issues and life. People that have repressed memories could possibly have disorders like post- traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. â€Å"Dwelling on such emotions†¦ is overwhelmed by extreme mental trauma (Novella). One could also experience traumatic amnesia, â€Å"this involves the loss of memories of traumatic experiences† (Kolk).