The Cold War and it's Aftermath Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Cold War and it's Aftermath - Term Paper Example Instead, political, economical, and ideological differences among the world nations eventually led to the formation of two distinct blocs, the Western and the Eastern. Eventually, the whole world became under the threat of an imminent war between these blocs. But both the Western and Eastern blocs did not try to indulge in a direct fight. Instead, global arm race and ideological conflict became the focal point of the Cold War. Thesis statement: The Cold War resulted in political conflict, military conflict, ideological conflict and global arms race, and eventually led to the decline of communism, growth of capitalism, growth of the U.S. as a global superpower, and the rapid spread of democracy. One can easily identify the fact that the political ideologies of the Western and Eastern blocs were entirely different. To be specific, the political ideology of the Western bloc was democracy. On the other side, the Eastern bloc was deeply influenced by Communist ideology. This fundamental d ifference eventually led to political propaganda and political conflict. Richard Saull states that â€Å"The Cold War, then, was not a genuine international conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, but primarily a relationship that facilitated each side in its attempts to realize its goals within its own sphere of influence.; for the United States, this was the dominance of the postwar capitalist order and for the USSR the internal security of the rule of the CPSU.†1 To be specific, both the blocs considered that political propaganda is an easy way to influence nonaligned nations. The Eastern bloc under USSR began to influence the neighboring nations and considered that the Western bloc is an imminent threat to their political interest. On the other side, the Western bloc under the U.S. began to influence the European nations. This initiative to divide the whole world nations into two blocs resulted in long lasting political conflict in America, Europe, and As ia. Military conflict The military conflict within the context of Cold War was limited to the context of threatening each other by exhibiting military superiority because both the sides possessed nuclear arms. Besides, both the sides were aware of the possibility of large scale destruction and its economic burden. So, the Western and the Eastern blocs strengthened their military forces, but did not try to attack each other. But the Suez Crisis (say, in the year 1956) the Cuban Missile Crisis (say, in the year 1962) and the â€Å"Able Archer† NATO military exercises (say, in the year 1983) led the whole world to suspect the possibility of military conflict during the Cold War. In short, military coalition and deployment of military forces was common during the Cold War era. Ideological conflict As pointed out, ideological difference was one among the grass root level reasons behind the Cold War. To be specific, the ideological conflict during the Cold War era was between commu nism and capitalism. Raymond P. Ojserkis makes clear that â€Å"A wide variety of other disagreements existed as well, many stemming from the Soviet distaste for the American vision of a postwar world dominated by relatively free trade (with currencies pegged to dollar) and elected governments.†2 One can see that the communist nations under the leadership of USSR tried to install the spirit of communism among their allies. This eventually led to the global propaganda against capitalism. On the other side, the Western bloc under the leaders

Toyota Goes Green Essay Example for Free

Toyota Goes Green Essay With the high costs of fuel and the environment dwindling. Companies have started going green to help reduce cost and find alternative to the natural burdens of the economy by using eco friendly services and products. Car companies like Toyota have gone green to look for another alternative to rising fuel prices and better gas mileage. With their introduction of the Prius, Toyota has become the world’s leading car manufacturer. The Prius also helps out by being environmentally friendly. Hybrid cars like the Prius are designed with an electric motor that is mixed with a gasoline engine that lets drivers get above average gas mileage. â€Å"Existing models get 47 to 60 miles per gallon, depending on where youre driving. Toyota claims you can drive its 2004 Prius from Detroit to Washington on a single tank of gas â€Å"(U. S. A Today, 2007) Toyota has not only made cars to prove that they are going green but they also incorporate ways to save money and save the environment. In an article in the Times magazine it states â€Å"What matters more than one car model,† says the article, â€Å"is the efficiency Toyota brings to all aspects of its business a corporate philosophy that strives to exterminate waste†. Toyota can use a single production line to make several car types, which means it has cut energy use by 30 per cent since 2000. †(Times, Jan 11) Toyota has made a huge financial impact by choosing to design and sell economic friendly products. â€Å"In Toyotas case, green also refers to the color of cash; this month the carmaker announced that between December, 1997, and May, 2007, it sold more than 1 million hybrid cars worldwide. †(Janna, R) The auto industry has made a major impact by producing these hybrids. Toyota is not the only maker of hybrids like the Prius. Honda started the craze by being the first car company to produce the Hybrid vehicle which was called the Honda Insight. The Honda Insight was introduced in 1999 and provided lower gas emissions. Soon Toyota caught on to the craze of hybrid vehicles by making the Prius, the Highlander, and now even the new Camry is a hybrid car. Other car companies like Ford and General Motors have noticed the financial impact and are said to roll out new hybrid vehicles with in the next three years. The environment has been effected tremendously by companies going green. Like the car companies that have gone green other companies have also gone green by trying to find other alternatives for rising fuel costs. It is not only the rising prices of fuel for cars that the economy is focusing on. Energy companies have also joined the cause to go green and fight the rising cost of fuel for electricity. Energy companies are trying to save money while expanding their markets by using less fossil fuel and making products and services that are more economically friendly. â€Å"With energy prices trending higher, the threat to the bottom line continues to grow. That’s made the motivation for conserving fuel more compelling. Some 65 percent of U. S. companies think that escalating energy prices pose a potential roadblock to their companys growth over the next 12 months, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers in the fourth quarter of 2005. †(MSNBC, 2007) Other companies such as Cargill which is in the global food processing business have started to use their waste into new energy. Using meat scraps they have been able to develop a methane gas that has allowed the company to save money by replacing the high cost of natural gas. Electricity companies have started to use alternatives such as ethanol and wind energy to power the world’s energy. â€Å"U. S. ethanol production hit nearly 4 billion gallons last year, according to the U. S. Energy Information Administration. Nearly 100 ethanol plants are in operation, another 33 are under construction and nine are being expanded, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. â€Å"(MSNBC, 2007) â€Å"Wind energy is also getting a lift. Though it makes up just a half a percent of U. S. energy consumption, its the fastest growing sources of renewable energy in terms of usage and capacity. One big reason is the dramatic cost per kilowatt of producing electricity with wind making it much more competitive with fossil fuels. †(MSNBC, 2007). I can not make any recommendations on what should have been done since I think the rising new technology and the eco friendly products and services are helping cut costs while helping the World clean up the environment. I look forward to the new innovation since these costs are sky rocketing every day. I can only hope that average people like us get the much deserved break that we need. (2007) â€Å"Companies going green with energy alternatives â€Å"Retrieved on November 27, 2007, from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/12040418/ (2007). Times Magazine Jan 11†Going green is natural for some† Retrieved on November 28, 2007, from http://www.timesonline. co. uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/graduate_management/article1291095. ece U. S. A. Today, Block, S Your Money (2007)†Going green with car can save you some green at tax time† Retrieved on November 29, 2007, from http://www. usatoday. com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2004-01-13-ym_x. htm Reena, J (2007) â€Å"The business benefits of going green† Retrieved on November 29, 2007, from http://www. businessweek. com/innovate/content/jun2007/id20070622_491833. htm? chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_green+design.

Effect of globalisation on fast food industry

Effect of globalisation on fast food industry As mentioned earlier in part 1.3, I will be using Porters Five Forces to analyse the external environment to obtain a comprehensive understanding of a given industry. My focus here will be the fast food industry. BK is my chosen company to evaluate the effect of globalisation has upon fast food industry. The analysis will be done in four areas as below and there may be some overlapping of points as they can be interrelated. Section 3.1 Threat of new entrants Section 3.2 Threat of substitutes Bargaining power of customers Section 3.3 Bargaining power of supplier Section 3.4 Rivalry among existing competitors To aid understanding in this analysis, charts and diagrams drawn using Microsoft Excel is provided. 3.1 Threat of new entrants There are six major sources identified as barriers to a market entry which include economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirement, switching cost, access to channels of distribution and government policy (Porter, 1980). All these have had impact on BK especially as from the point of view of globalisation. 3.1.1 Capital Requirement In my observation, it is very possible to open one or two outlets but to globally have a chain of outlets with the same branding requires tremendous capital requirements. Thus globalisation has directly impacted BK in the way it structured its business model through franchising. BK could afford to do so as with agreements such as US- Canada Free Trade Agreement and North American Free Trade Agreement (Reference for Business, 2010). BK took advantage of the relative free flow of resources under globalisation to expand globally. Franchising is a relative low cost and low risk business model. Most of the US franchisors often use this method to enter a new market with diverse economical, cultural and political environment (Alon, 2006). For instance, 88% of BKs restaurants worldwide are franchised in fiscal 2009, contributing to $412.5 millions of total revenue globally (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). Franchising enables the business to develop in an unfamiliar market relatively quickly on a larger scale, allows the use of local partners who are familiar with local environment and also to create a standardised, global brand image, generating marketing economies of scale (McDonald et al., 2002). Charts below will provide further information on BKs franchise restaurants. Chart 1: Percentage of BKs Franchise Restaurants and Company Restaurants Worldwide ( Burger King Holdings Inc.,2009; SEC Info, 2007) Chart 2: Revenue Breakdown From BKs Total Revenue Worldwide (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) However with globalisation, competition is globalised and relentless. McDonalds is actually BKs largest competitor as it provides better menu variety with more valuable and affordable prices (CNN.com, 2009), biting into BKs revenue by securing a larger market share. McDonalds is also more a pioneer compared to BK because it opened its first restaurant in 1940 (Spiritus-temporis.com, 2005) compared to BK with its first restaurant in 1954 (WikiAnswers, 2010). Being a pioneer, McDonalds has many advantages which includes entrenchment of position in consumers minds, creating higher thresholds for later entrants in terms of quality, advertising and distribution support, enjoys long-term market share advantages and reputation benefits (Gass et al.,2003). It is the effect of globalisation where McDonalds has built around 32,000 outlets in more than 117 countries (McDonalds Corporation, 2010). With its expansion into international markets, the company is famous throughout the world and is the leader in this industry followed by BK only at second place. The difference in number of outlets worldwide which also translates into sales volume differences between these two fast food chain can be seen clearly in the diagrams below. Chart 3: The total number of restaurants worldwide for BK and McDonalds. ( Burger King Holdings Inc.,2009; McDonalds Corporation, 2009) Chart 4: Comparison of Sales Revenues Between BK and McDonalds (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, McDonalds Corporation 2007; 2009, SEC Info, 2007) Based on the charts, McDonalds is approximately 3 times larger than BK in terms of outlet and 10 times larger in terms of sales revenues. Substantial capital is also needed in terms of advertising to build up BKs brand. The advertising cost of McDonalds is approximately 8 times higher than BK thus creating a higher barrier entry when BKs brand name is lacking compared to McDonalds. To compete with McDonalds, BK needs more capital to increase its advertising as it is very much needed in globalisation to introduce BK in new markets and building up its image that they may otherwise not known about (Coulter, 2001). To ease comparison of the advertising cost, it is illustrated in chart below. Chart 5: Advertising cost of BK compared to McDonalds (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009; SEC Info, 2007; McDonalds Corporation, 2007;2009) With these type of cost outlays, for other competitors to come into the same scale as these two companies is extremely daunting indeed, thus the threat of entrants is low, though for smaller players is possible to find niches that are under or not exploited as yet. Luckily the advertising costs have resulted in branding, which builds a better image globally and flows ultimately into higher sales and profitabililty. Table below provides Best Global Brand Ranking 2009 highlighting few of BKs major competitors and where BK succeeded in positioning its brand among top 100 in year 2009. 2009 rank 2008 rank brand country of origin sector 2009 brand value ($m) 6 8 united states restaurant 32275 61 64 united states restaurant 5722 79 81 united states restaurant 3876 90 85 united states restaurant 3263 93 new united states restaurant 3233 Table 1: Best Global Brand Ranking 2009 (Interbrand, 2009) It is clear that BK lags behind McDonalds though in many ways this is to be expected given its much lower advertising cost outlays, which besides outlet costs, form a significant barrier of entry as mentioned earlier. 3.1.2 Product Differentiation With globalisation, BK differentiates itself from other fast food giants by acknowledging culture and country specific needs. For instances, Pork-based Bulgogi Burgers are offered in korea and the ultra-spicy Rendang Double in Singapore (Wikipedia, 2010). Picture 1: Pork based Bulgogi Burger Picture 2: Rendang Double (flickr.com, 2008 ) (therealnurulle.blogspot.com, 2010) BK also keeps its promise of Have it your way with customers having 221184 possible ways of ordering a Whopper meal (Swabey, 2007). This will help to ease its penetration into new market with different local conditions. BKs response to globalisation is obviously to cater to local tastes, as the pictures above testify. Another response to globalisation has been the move towards becoming more healthy by offering healthier menu with less salt and also with its product innovation to provide food with higher nutrition contents. At all times, BK is trying to differentiate itself to meet customers demands. Further details regarding food offerings will be mentioned in later part. 3.2 Threat of Substitutes and Bargaining Power of Customers Various global fast food chains have successfully make inroads in diverse market settings around the world (Watson, 2006). These restaurants stand the most conspicuous symbol of globalisation and modernity in countries worldwide (Wilk, 2006). Hence, they are often viewed as the cutting edge of emerging global consumer culture which have caused societies worldwide to become increasingly homogeneous and deterritorialised (Friedman, 2000). Although the expansion of Western quick-service eateries outside America and Europe has done much to transform established notions of service, taste and lifestyle (Schlosser et al., 2001), their spread has also given rise to rival domestic chains whose extensive knowledge of local preferences offers real advantages in attracting and retaining customers (Matejowsky, 2008). It is the strong bargaining power of customers which intensify the competition among various food chains with more substitutes available. To deal with these forces on a global basis, BK resorted to differentiate itself through innovative marketing and menu items. 3.2.1 Innovative Marketing BK has adopted a strategy which helps to differentiate them from their competitors. The company appointed TMP Worldwide Advertising Communications to create an exclusive company-wide employer branding campaign based on the concept Fun with a Future which concentrates on brand recognition, employee engagement and delivering on brand promise. BK decided to differentiate itself through its product and people with its employee as brand ambassador where all employees at all levels are linked to the company brand featuring in BKs advertisements and posters (Business and Finance Week, 2008). This is in line with the concept of globalisation where people of different races, culture and family background will have a common global identification as BKs brand ambassador. Pictures below feature BK employees who are of different races and cultures. Picture 3: Employees of BK in Tokyo Picture 4: Employees of BK in U.S. (associatedcontent.com, 2010) (farsons.com, 2010) BK also uses a creative marketing strategy by building an edgy, hip image with young men, who are targeted consumers (Jargon, 2006). For instance, in November 2006, BK began offering BK Xbox and Xbox 360 games with their value meals. After one month, 20 million of BK Xbox games had been sold. The games could only be bought with a value meal which means that BK attracted a lot of customers with this promotion, earning a nice profit from it. Comparing with BK, McDonalds on the other hand only places Nintendo mascot toys in their Happy Meals (Mattie, 2007). A picture of both BK Xbox and McDonalds Nintendo toys can be seen below. Picture 5: Burger King Xbox Picture 6: McDonalds Nintendo Toy ( blogs.ft.com, 2006) (toadcastle.net, 2006) The successfulness of BKs innovative marketing was already proven in 1999 in a TV campaign where Whopper was proclaimed as Americas Favourite Burger. That claim was based on the result of a research where 700 consumers were asked to name their favourite burger. 33% of them picked Whopper and only 12% chose McDonalds Big Mac (Cebrzynski, 1999). Having innovative marketing is a response to the threat of substitutes and bargaining power of customers as BK tries to embed itself on consumer consciousness globally. 3.2.2 Menu Options and Changes BK tries to reach out more customers through its menu to reduce threat of substitutes, which of course with globalisation is a full time and relentless force. As mentioned in part 3.1, health consciousness was rising among people with the obesity crisis hitting globally. It was found that United States tops the hierarchy for obesity with 30.6%, followed by Mexico and United Kingdom with 24.2% and 23% (NationMaster.com, 2010). Even though BK tries to blunt customers bargaining power and the threat of substitutes through aggressive marketing as seen above, in truth they are obviously much stronger with no switching cost. New Products Thus a response from BK is to try to be almost all things to customers. For instance, provide healthier food options. The company in its social responsibility statement promises to work with its trained chefs and nutritionist to develop new menu options that meet customers nutritional needs globally (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010a). BKs efforts could be seen when it unveiled a healthy eating adaptation of its Have It Your Way strategy where posters in restaurants tell customers how to order a low carbohydrate, low fat and low calorie meal (Walker, 2004). The famous Whopper can also be served without the bun, mayonnaise and ketchup (MacArthur, 2004). BK also launched a new salad line offering shrimp and sirloin steak with grilled peppers and onions on it (Walker, 2004). Besides, health drive was initiated by BK by reducing salt and fat content in burgers and fries. Even children are targeted where childrens menu also comes with a choice of apples or grapes, milk or fruit juice (Forte, 2006). In 2008, BKs kids meal underwent makeover with the introduction of apple fries as part of the meal (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010b). A list of BKs healthier options with their calorie contents are provided in Appendix 3. Pictures below show two healthy options from BK. Picture 7: Kids meal with Apple Fries Picture 8: Bunless Whopper (fastfood.ocregister.com, 2009) (hungry-girl.com, 2010) In addition, BK also later launched its Joe Coffee. This made-to-order coffee processed from 100% Arabica coffee beans (The Franchise Mall, 2005). This is actually a response to global economic crisis where it was found that consumers were trading down from more expensive coffee such as starbucks into lower ranking choices, providing a perfect option for BK. Thus even though globally the economic situation was dire, for instance it was found that 2009s world economic growth rate was only half percent (International Monetary Fund, 2009). BK found a new market segment to exploit to further reduce the threat of substitutes and bargaining power of customers. Latest initiatives include where in February year 2010, BK decided to replace its own coffee brand BK Joe with Seattles Best Coffee, a brand owned by Starbucks to increase falling sales by improving its product offerings (Tice, 2010). Pictures below show BKs Joe Coffee and its replacement, Seattles Best Coffee. Picture 9: BK Joe Coffee (ebay.com, 2010) Picture 10: Seattles Best Coffee (myalohavibe.com, 2010) BK also imitated a McDonalds breakfast item. BKs Breakfast Muffin Sandwich was promoted through an advertisement where a cleverly disguised BK breaks into McDonalds Headquarters to steal the Top Secret Blueprints for the Sausage McMuffin With Egg (Dave, 2010). Picture below shows the contrast between the two breakfast offering from McDonalds and BK. Picture 11: McDonalds Sausage McMuffin with Egg Vs BKs breakfast Muffin (davescupboard.blogspot.com, 2010) New Pricing It is not just menu changes were offered but also menu pricing as well. To meet the changing economic conditions as an impact of global recession, BK also announced that it will offer $1 double cheeseburger in order to gain market share back from McDonalds (Johnson, 2007). This has cause BKs franchisees to file a law suit challenging BKs right to dictate maximum prices as the products costs is at least $1.10 per sandwich (Glover, 2009). Thus even though BK tries to satisfy customers other stakeholders may not be happy, showing the complexities in managing relationships in the era of globalisation. Further in many ways, as seen in breakfast, and even in pricing, since the RM $1 cheeseburger, BK is imitating McDonalds. 3.3 Bargaining power of suppliers With globalisation, BK is required to maintain the quality of services in its restaurants worldwide. As a measure of quality control, BK will evaluate before approving the existing or potential manufacturers and distributors of food, packaging and equipment products used in the restaurants. Evaluation is done based on their delivery, timeliness and financial conditions. To ensure consistency, franchises are required to purchase their products from approved suppliers. (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). 3.3.1 Purchasing Power of BK Restaurant Services Inc. (RSI), a not-for-profit independent purchasing cooperative leverages purchasing power of the BK system in United States by negotiating the purchase terms for most equipments, food, beverages, toys and paper products used in the restaurants (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). RSI currently involves in the negotiation of purchase with BK for more than $3 billion a year in goods and services, managing supply agreements with over 300 suppliers and 27 distributors (Sterlingcommerce, 2009). For company restaurants and franchise restaurants in Canada, a subsidiary of RSI is responsible to purchase the products. However, there is currently no appointed purchasing agent that represents franchisees in other international regions. BK will work closely with their franchisees to implement programs that leverage their global purchasing power and to obtain lower product costs outside the United States and Canada. (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). Globalisation has increased the purchasing power of BK and therefore reducing bargaining power of suppliers with the ease of selection of suppliers who meet the company criteria 3.3.2 Suppliers of BK Food As a global fast food chain, it is important for BK to maintain its brand name worldwide. The image of the global brand could be destroyed in a day due to globalisation where news travels billion times faster than it used to be in the past. BK was labelled Murder King by animal activists forcing the company to implement new policies that are more closely monitor its suppliers. Thus by 2001, there were guidelines that require the egg suppliers battery cages to contain two water bottles, allowing the birds to stand upright and be at least 75 square inches (Detweiler, 2001). BK further discourages its suppliers from trimming chickens beak and breaking their wings to save packing space when transporting (Detweiler, 2001). Reports in media of one or more cases of food-borne diseases in one of BKs restaurant also negatively affect its sales worldwide when being highly publicised (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). During an earlier case in year 1997, BK cut off its ties with one of its biggest beef supplier, Hudson Foods Inc. as its beef supplies were contaminated with E.coli..Hudson voluntarily recalled the beef after the severity of E.coli contamination was discovered at its plant in Columbus, leaving some BK restaurants without sufficient beef supply for 24 hours to 48 hours (Papernik et al., 1997). Soft Drinks In fiscal 2000, BK decided to enter into a long term contracts with The Coca-Cola Company and Dr Pepper/Seven-Up Inc to supply all restaurants of BK in United States with their product (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). BK prolonged its long term liaison with The Coca-Cola Company as an approved soft drink supplier for its international region covering Greater Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific (PRNewswire, 2003). With the effect of globalisation, consumers in around 200 countries enjoy Coca-Cola products of more than 1 billions servings per day (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010). BK International President believes that with this renewed alliances, Coca-Cola Company, recognised as the worlds best known brand (The Coca-Cola Company, 2010) will help to grow the BK brand rapidly by providing the best burger experience to their consumers in all restaurants globally (PRNewswire, 2003). Getting into alliances with suppliers is a good way to also set up higher barriers of entry. From my analysis, bargaining power of food suppliers are strong but over soft drinks especially in terms of dealing with companies with strong brand name is weaker. Obviously, the extent to which the other party uses branding and distribution network as leverage globally as well. Employees Other than external suppliers, internal supplier is also an important piece of puzzle which without, BKs supplier network would not be complete. Hence, the bargaining power of its employees should not be shoved aside. BK had approximately 41320 employees in its company restaurants, field management offices and global headquarters as at 30th June 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). As mentioned in part 3.2.1, there are diversity of employees with different backgrounds, race, religion and cultures. It is clear that like globalisation, the factors in Porters Five Forces are interlinked and do not stand alone. The success of BK is highly dependent on its ability to attract general managers with necessary competences to be part of the management team to motivate the employees to sustain high service levels and maintain sales growth. The competition for the right employee candidates causes higher payment of wages featuring the high bargaining power of employees (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009). However, where boundaries between countries became narrower and communication made easier with globalisation, the search for the right employee is more efficient and effective through online application, which could perhaps reduce their bargaining power. The selection of employees is important as a wrong choice would lead to negative publicity. In one of the cases, a BK employee in Jacksonville had tried to poison a customer as he was pissed due to his suspension for misconduct (Morbid, 2010). In another case, a Washington State Deputy, Edward Bylsma after discovering a spit on his Whopper ordered fr om a BK employee decided to sue BK seeking $75,000 of compensation (Ryan, 2010). No doubt with globalisation, these news would definitely spread fast and adversely impact the companys brand. Further, since a large portion of outlets are franchised as a result of BKs decision on this bus model to move globally, employees become even more important as front link assets to keep sales and profits up. With payroll expenses on the increase as seen in the chart below, it is clear that for employees, their bargaining power is, in my opinion, rated medium to high. Chart 6: Payroll and Employee Benefits for BK ( Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) 3.4 Rivalry among Existing Competitors Globalisation has increased the competition among the fast food chain. With various quick service restaurants mushrooming worldwide, other than competing on a national or regional basis, they are competing with each other globally. As an effect of globalisation causing increases in degree of awareness among consumers, there has been intense competition among the competitors globally to gain market share. Increasing prices of raw material, agitation by social organisations, slow down of U.S economy and also increasing fuel prices has prompt many fast food chain to divert their attention to eastern part of the world especially China ( Naim, 2008). Although globalisation has ease the expansion of fast food chain worldwide with the ease of information transfer and seeking global suppliers, entry into China and other Asian countries still pose logistical and political challenges. As quoted from Martin (1994) in Nation Restaurants news Among the most frustrating obstacles are the scarcity and inordinately high cost of prime locations in most markets as well as the steep tariffs and patchwork of inconsistent regulations that impede imports of commodities and equipment. 3.4.1 New Geographical Regions and New Ventures Taking a closer look, even though globalisation has blurred boundaries, there are still differences in cultural issues between United States and other countries resulting in different eating habits of consumers ( Glazer, 2007). From consumer point of view, globalisation has resulted from development of sophisticated media contributing to the creation of a borderless market but it does not mean it is without internal differences or local tastes (Ziedman, 2003). When a company goes global, they are bound to satisfy the demands of local customers. For example in India, cows are sacred and worshipped by the Indians, beef could not be served and the muslims, they could not consume pork (Kulkarni et al., 2009). Hence, it is a must to substitute the beef and pork in the product offerings. To further compete globally, BK invested in Whopper Bars. BK opened their first Whopper Bar in Orlando during spring 2009, and the first in Asia in Singapore during September 2009 (International Wire, 2009). It offers a specialised burger menu with more than 20 toppings (Ruggles, 2010). On 8th February 2010, BK further announced that beer sales will be added at a new unit opening in South Miami. ( Ruggles, 2010). BK changes may not be rapid enough to obtain further market share from McDonalds but the company has been spending more effort in improving its sales in this global competition ( Anderlini et al., 2010). Competing on a global scale gives rise to global income streams. This would help BK to sustain the worldwide competition where the profit from a restaurant would balance the loss in another. The pie charts below show the distribution of revenue from different geographical region. Chart 6: BKs Geographical Sales from Year 2007-Year 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009) In a way, the company is more dependent on its home market, as showed in the pie chart above where most portion of global stream income is generated. In a recent case in 2009, BKs advertisement for Texican Whopper burger in Europe had angered the Mexicans where a small wrestler featured in the advertisement was dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. Mexicans have high respect for their flag and therefore could not tolerate such an insult from BK ( The Assiociated Press, 2009). This adverse publicity could have adversely impact its profits. Still, the company had not done unduly badly as seen in the charts below. Chart 7: Revenue, Gross Profit and Net Profit of BK from Year 2005 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, SEC Info, 2007) It is clear that BK has done well as seen in increasing absolute figures of all sales, gross profit and net profit. A look at gross profit and net profit margin also shows that on a relative basis the company is handling itself well in the world of globalisation. Chart 8: Gross Profit Margin and Net Profit Margin of BK from Year 2005- 2009 (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2009, SEC Info, 2007) Even though Gross Profit Margin has been decreasing slightly, its net profit margin has been increasing with a drastic improvement from year 2006 to 2007. This is definitely a good sign. 3.5 Conclusion and Recommendation Globalisation can be a threat to the company and also it may help its expansion. Being a global brand, BK has a lot benefits which include cost-efficiencies, sharing of resources and ability to attract partners, employees and customers on entering new market. It all depends how the company took opportunities and work towards their goals. Management of globalisation is the key to success and most importantly, BK need to balance between global and local control (Samli, 2008). The company has retreated back to the US market, which is why the share prices have been sliding back down in recent times as seen below. Chart 9 : BKs Share Price Ups and Downs from 2001 till 2010 ( Yahoo Finance, 2010) Recommendations made to companys performance are as follows: Moving In Developing countries, Especially India and China Aggressively: India and China both has a steady high economic growth rates of 8.8% and 10% in 2010 (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2010) and will probably be the major players in the world economy. It is definitely a wise option to expand BKs growth in these two countries by using local partners, local employees and local ingredients. Furthermore, BK could also offer limited promotions during festive seasons or special events, for instance during Chinese New Year or Deepavali as this will help to attract more customers during that period. Broader Menu Selection: As mentioned earlier in the project, BK should continuously provide more choices of menu which allow customers to pick from wider choices. This step should be taken to also reduce threat of substitutes from new entries and existing competitors. Its product offerings must also be ensured to meet the local taste. As mentioned by the officials of market research firm of the NPD Group, quick service operators who are expanding their brands outside the United States must customise each unit to meet the specific needs of consumers in the country and region they seek to enter (Glazer, 2007). Promotions and Advertising: As observed so far, BKs advertising has been giving positive impact on its sales. Hence, BK should continuously invest in its promotions and advertisement to gain market share. BK could perhaps invite its employees to give their opinion as they are also the brand ambassadors. This would allow a fresher and a more creative in flow of idea and to boost the motivation of the employees as they are invited to participate in the companys program. However, BK should avoid price wars with its competitors ie. McDonalds as this would pull down the profits of all burger chains. BK should choose to differentiate from its competitors. There is only one winner in cost strategy but there may be more than one winner in differentiation strategy. Relationships with Franchisees: There has been cases where the franchisees are not happy with the decisions of BK Inc..The most obvious example is the sale of doublecheese burger at $1. BK should strengthen its ties with the franchisees by encouraging them to provide ideas and feedbacks on how to improve sales. When there is a disagreement between them, BK should understand the reason behind and to solve it on a win-win situation. If this could be practised, law suit against BK Inc. could be avoided. In conclusion, Porters Five Forces Analysis that was used to analyse BKs stand in the industry gives a birds eye view of the company and industry globally. Globalisation plays a major role in pushing and shaping the company. The survival of BK is dependent on its ability to adapt to constant changes in business environment due to globalisation. With BKs effort in improving its performance, it will definitely survive in this field and could perhaps be the number one fast food chain worldwide in the future.

Dealing with Learning Disabilities Essays -- Education Psychology Essa

Dealing with Learning Disabilities â€Å"He’ll know things one day, but not the next†. â€Å"She is seeing or writing words or numbers backwards.† â€Å"She has difficulty grasping simple concepts†. These are comments made by teachers who have classified certain students in their classroom as having the unfortunate burden of a learning disability. A learning disability is â€Å"a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations†(Metzger, 1983, p7). Students with learning disorders may exhibit difficulty learning in a number of ways. Such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia all contribute to learning disabilities. Students that suffer from visual, auditory or motor handicaps, mental retardation, or emotiona l disturbance endure these same learning disabilities, but are usually more severe. These select students with diverse handicaps may encounter barriers that obstruct their success in education. When such barriers occur, adaptive technology is the appropriate solution. Adaptive technology is available for students on all different levels with numerous diverse learning disabilities and has played an important role is assisting these students to develop necessary skills for their academic success. In the home, classroom, workplace, and community, adaptive technology is enabling individuals with disabilities to be more independent, self-confident, productive, and better incorporated into the mainstream (Kelker, 1997). Educational Encyclopedias define the technology of ... ...the potential psychological stress and possible negative social ramifications of having to rely continually upon others† (Raskind & Bryant, 1997). It is quite obvious to comprehend that adaptive technology has proved to be an effective tool for special education students along with any other individual with a disability. There is an adaptive piece of easily accessible technological equipment for any disability one is attempting to overcome. Such powerful tools within a learning environment offer numerous directions through which to reach special education students and to adapt the learning environment to the students’ needs. The adaptive technologies available within today’s educational arena have the ability not only to develop the skills of a disabled learner, but also to help a student in need attempt to receive thenormal, good quality education they deserve.

Spin Doctors

Since the first principles Tory was all about the motives and interests of intellectual of the 6th and 5th centuries BC, Sophists were positively included as part of the intellectual position of the 5th century. The word ‘Sophist† means ‘professional cleverness'. During the fifth century, sophists were teachers, speakers, and philosophers who were paid to use rhetoric. For the first time In history, philosophy became a job to earn money by selling Intellectual skills. They were spin doctors of that period.There were some famous sophists such as Propagators, Georgia, Hippies, Produces, and Antiphon, among others. They made their living by selling their Intellectual skills to those who wanted to get a professional career and could afford to learn. Sophists offered an expensive private education that poor people could not get any education from them. They taught rhetorical skill: clever talk designed to enable their pupils to manipulate popular opinion in their favor. Furthermore, Sophists presented themselves as great facilitators of democratic procedures.However, their effect was only to secure advantages for their richness. They tried to cheat the poor while they were taking advantage from the rich. Therefore their deeds were undemocratic under the enigmatic Ideology- anyone has the right to do anything whether they are rich or poor, whether they are high or low birth- which prevailed In 5th- century Athens. Therefore the question came up to be argued that â€Å"Are the Sophists a good thing or a bad thing? ‘ This disagreement has raged more than 150 years. The result changes depend on the prevailing ideology of the contemporary world.The Sophists were generally condemned before 20th century. However, they were recovered from that bad reputation by the effects of Hitler who hold Plat's potentially totalitarian political views, in the sass. Many liberal thinkers had come to doubt Plato who disagreed with the Sophist's point of view, and to recognize Sophists as champions of liberalism. This outlook of 1 sass even continues until nowadays. It is encouraged by a naive liberalism which believes that totalitarianism and democracy are simple black and white alternatives.However, the time is reached to the right time to reconsider on all the social exclusion, economic disadvantage, and political spin that what Is theoretically democracy and quite undemocratic In reality. Public opinion can be a good gulled to public policy only if the people are In a position to Judge and can exercise their Judgment freely. Nowadays, sophistry Is one of the methods by which politicians disguise their policies in alien clothing, to make people believe in them as more sealed tan teen really are. I Norte, spin doctors succeed democracy the slogan. L.Test winner In the 4th century BC, when the great Sophists were all dead, Plato wrote more than twenty dialogues which he created a character called Socrates, based on the real Socrates who had died in BBC. Many of these dialogues describe Socrates as who totally disagreed with the idea of the best Sophists of his day. These Plat's imaginary conversations make a range of valid uncertainties about the political and moral principle implication of the activities which relative to the Sophists. Socrates opposed the idea of Sophists' teaching style.He taught people without charge and always prepared to speak his own mind in which what he knows about. He did not care what people thought of him, and he was prepared to die rather than to follow the popularity of the majority vote. He traveled around the country and asked questions about knowledge (is opinion all that matters? ) and ethics (is anyone's Judgment as good as anyone else's? . These opened discussions of Socrates emphasize the shallowness and inadequacies in positions usually associated with the Sophists.This issue arises as to whether these norms and conventions are really binding or not. Most people do the things that society tells them to do? The difference between nature and convention emerges all over the literature and political thought of the late 5th century BC. The Greek word for a man-made law or convention was ‘moos' and nature law was ‘physics'. Many intellectuals of the second half of the 5th century in Athens became more desire to know the questions about whether such man-made laws could or should have authority to respect.Where did they draw from their value? And were there perhaps other limiting factors or values that were independently and naturally right? Antiphon the Sophist suggested that conventions and laws directly conflict with what is naturally valuable. Society does little to make life actually better for those who do act self-righteous. Therefore it was always better to take hold of any opportunities to act unfairly and to steal the advantage.Furthermore, Calicles described about the distinctions between nature and convention in the dialogue called Georgia th at man-made laws postponed people room doing what they really wanted to do, which was to win as much as they could for themselves, at the expense of everyone else. Indeed worse those conventions were a cruel plot on the part of nature's born losers. That was how democracy got going; the rule by great absolute ruler that would be natural in the cruel world of nature, the world in which the winners win and flourish, and the losers lose and die.Only cowards would let those ideas set aside from their way of thinking. 2. MAN IS THE MEASURE Propagators was the most famous of the 5th-century Sophist who more favorable Attlee towards convention tan Atlanta Ana Calicles. He was rumors Tort sallying: Man is the measure of all things. If the word â€Å"Man† implies to human society as a whole, he probably meant that the conventions determined for human beings are the measure of deciding that what counts and what does not count as real; the world is as we make it out to be.If the word â €Å"Man† refers as individual man, Propagators meant that each of us is a perceiver looking out at the world, and what we see is up to us; it is not fixed by any independent reality. Either way, Propagators appears to say that there is no independent truth about what things exist. In other words the entire world is a construct of people. Nevertheless, even if he was not a committed relativist about the gods, Propagators' views on morality seem to have tending towards belief in changeable standards what was right for one society need not be right for another.That is the morally unthinkable soon becomes thinkable. Nothing is sacred. 3. THE POWER OF PERSUASION Georgia compared the power of words to the effect of drugs or physical force. Georgia, the great master of rhetorical persuasion, was the most remarkable of the in 5th century Sophists by his speech in defense of Helen of Troy. The speech took an amusing theme but the work has a more serious aim. It explores and illustrate s the corrupting power of words. Another work of Georgia was a classic text of early philosophy, typically called ‘On nature or what is not'. He proved through the text that rhetoric is so powerful.In the text, he offered an amusing work of philosophy designed to convince nature of things with three conditions: (1) that nothing exists, (2) that if something existed, one could have no knowledge of it, and (3) that if nevertheless somebody knew something existed, he could not communicate his knowledge to others. Ill. AND THE SPIN-OFF The Sophists made an amazing final act of pre-Socratic philosophy by asking society to question its reason on existence, its political beliefs, its moral values, its religious beliefs, its educational system, its legal codes, and its codes of etiquette.Even though Sophists were notorious of their deeds, they enlightened us the ideal democracy that values equality of opportunity. I believe History would have taken notice if the Sophists consistently used their power of persuasion to produce unfair results. However, the Sophists provided the tools for the average citizen to defend oneself, to participate in ileitis and to discover what he or she believed to be true. It placed rhetorical education within reach of the average middle class, and even gave some opportunities to us.I agree with the idea that education in rhetorical skills can help to make democratic equality: everyone NAS relents to express Nils or near pollens without any pressure and without any manipulation. On the other hand, it can also be harmful to us if we are not aware of the intention of using rhetoric skills to manipulate others. Rhetoric is so powerful that it can persuade us to accept logically to disqualify truth. Today, technology has advanced to the highest degree and continues to do so rapidly.Rhetoric continues to be an influential tool in education, politic and economic field. I can recognize the power that persuasion has on a society and its indivi duals. I also get sense and find the influence of a good speaker in everyday interactions. In conclusion, I assure that away from the Sophists' intentions that rhetoric be used for political and Judicial purposes, it has also entered the society through advertisements, news media, the Internet and so forth. Even the friendliest conversation contains some element of persuasion to have an agreement.

Save the Earth

Driving a car is the most air polluting act an average citizen commits. Air pollution is not a good idea for a variety of reasons, large and small. The right ideas for remediation of environmental degradations involve unselfish and compassionate behavior, a scarce commodity. The right ideas involve long-term planning, conservation and a deep commitment to preserving the natural world. Without a healthy natural environment, there will be few or no healthy humans. To understand air pollution you can consider a simple schematic that divides a big problem into components. 1. Local effects -e. g. poisoning humans breathing bad air. 2. Regional effects – fallout from airborne pathogens – infections, particles, chemicals. 3. Global effects – changing interactions between the atmosphere and sun, weather effects, effects on plants and oceans. Developments in the media made â€Å"green† the slogan for action to limit the adverse effects of air pollution. The media often suggested that this is a relatively new consensus that there is an environmental crisis. They excused people who have ignored the effect of greenhouse gases on climates over the past 40 years. Some know what is really going on out there, but most people do not know or know but deny the obvious for selfish reasons. Green refers to the color of chlorophyll in plants. Chlorophyll is the basis of photosynthesis that allows plants to turn the sun's energy into life energy. Human action destroys plants and replaces healthy ecosystems with concrete and asphalt. Another slogan that emerged was â€Å"save planet earth. † Humans will not save the planet. The task for humans is to stop destroying the environments that sustain us. If we fail, the planet will do just fine without us. Save the Earth Driving a car is the most air polluting act an average citizen commits. Air pollution is not a good idea for a variety of reasons, large and small. The right ideas for remediation of environmental degradations involve unselfish and compassionate behavior, a scarce commodity. The right ideas involve long-term planning, conservation and a deep commitment to preserving the natural world. Without a healthy natural environment, there will be few or no healthy humans. To understand air pollution you can consider a simple schematic that divides a big problem into components. 1. Local effects -e. g. poisoning humans breathing bad air. 2. Regional effects – fallout from airborne pathogens – infections, particles, chemicals. 3. Global effects – changing interactions between the atmosphere and sun, weather effects, effects on plants and oceans. Developments in the media made â€Å"green† the slogan for action to limit the adverse effects of air pollution. The media often suggested that this is a relatively new consensus that there is an environmental crisis. They excused people who have ignored the effect of greenhouse gases on climates over the past 40 years. Some know what is really going on out there, but most people do not know or know but deny the obvious for selfish reasons. Green refers to the color of chlorophyll in plants. Chlorophyll is the basis of photosynthesis that allows plants to turn the sun's energy into life energy. Human action destroys plants and replaces healthy ecosystems with concrete and asphalt. Another slogan that emerged was â€Å"save planet earth. † Humans will not save the planet. The task for humans is to stop destroying the environments that sustain us. If we fail, the planet will do just fine without us.