Diet Pills

Despite the reported side effects in using diet pills its claim continues to be high because many people are eager to take the risk, drug manufacturers have the liability to make the medical community and give alertness to the public the possible side effects of the drugs they create. Due to the hectic life that every people have both men and women who got that curiosity about the shape and size of their bodies, roughly everyone wanted to have a body that would always be a head turner to the opposite sex.The development of our generation admires and adores slimmer bodies, but due to the great impact of advertisement of the producers on diet pills some of them turn to use diet pills instead of sticking to regular exercise and balance diet, such weight loss pills are thought to have stimulants that work like caffeine, which gave the body an effect to raised energy levels and decreases appetite devoid of exercise and deprive anyone who take it from food craving.When a person starts usin g diet pills to try to lose weight, from this person is considered to start to perform an unhealthy weight management which can result to indistinct body image and low self respect which later on will lead to drug abuse. Before attempting to use any diet pills on the market extreme, caution should always be considered before using them, it is true that a little weight will be lost upon using them but the pounds will come back once its usage stop, in the time it is used there should also be a small print recommendation to espouse a little calorie diet and an exercise program.It is more annoying that diet pills have possible unsafe side effects. Before going through the medication the consumer should check with their physicians before using any type of weight loss supplement, but those people who are sure of their health have experienced negative side effects from diet pills. It is also important to consider reading the brand for the active ingredient and make sure on the source of th eir claims and whether they are potentially risky.One of the latest trends in weight loss is the use of carb blockers it contains amylase inhibitors the product is carb-blocking pills, this pills contains molecules of amylase an enzyme produced by the body that functions to break down carbohydrates. It has agreed with theory that carbohydrates should be broken down if not it will be absorbed and will supply calories in the body.Its side effects if carbohydrates are undigested will be diarrhea, gas and bloating. Diet pills works on the side of those brand that is made out of research by manufacturers who made it and spend enough time to have it tested before passing it to the consumers, these producers wanted to make the business more stable and profitable even it takes them a longer time to have their investment returned.But on the case of those diet pills manufacturers, who wanted just to have the profit without the effort, advertise and attract the people to buy the kind of produc t they endorse not putting into consideration if it will be effective or not and will affect the credibility of the brand of other diet pills that take a hard time making their names in the market.This means that a particular diet pills are known to be a scam depends on the credibility of its producers because if they include fraud into their business it is the whole image of any kind and brand that is affected not only the particular product that has committed the scam. Research has proven that any kind of drugs when ingested in the body always has its own advantage and disadvantages and diet pills are not an exception to this, therefore it is accepted that any drug could have it side effects especially when it is not well studied and given enough time to know its effect on humans.The perception of every person on the effect of any diet pills that she used varies from one person to another, that is also one of the reason why such drugs can either give a positive or negative effect on a person it is how on the psychological side that it was accepted which is agreed by the metabolism of the body. Now, we could draw the fact that despite the disadvantages that the diet pills produces and the scam that the other manufacturers have made, still lots of people never stop from using such drugs because it is still the easiest way to lose weight compared to the traditional process that are being used.A research in University of Minnesota has been conducted using 2,500 teen age females for 5 years period of time. Study shows that the use of diet pills among high school girls almost doubled from 7. 5% to 14. 2%. The age of teen age girls that uses diet pills ranges from 19 to 20 years old meaning 20% of females had used diet pills. This study proves that more and more woman is already convincing in using diet pills despite its announced disadvantages.

God bless Essay

The novel WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST by Gregory Maguire focuses upon an evil soul of a witch, the dialog, â€Å"†One never learns how the witch became wicked, or whether that was the right choice for her–is it ever the right choice? â€Å"† p. 231 explains how the wickedness of the witch cannot be truly explained or her personality assessed by the writer, it is up to the reader to decide on a conclusion regarding the motivations behind it. The four travellers Dorothy, Scarecrow Nick Chopper, Cowardly Lion’s discussion of the rumours about the witch while she herself listens to their talk & decides to confront Dorothy next time. The writer also writes in detail about the birth of the witch as well as her family background, relating religion with the evil characters. â€Å"†It’s people who claim that they’re good or anyway better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of. † (Maguire p. 357). The readers are being warned about the different natures of the characters & in the end the domination of good against evil by stating, â€Å"In the life of a Witch, there is no after, in the ever after of a Witch there is no happily; in the story of a Witch, there is no afterward. † (Maguire P. 406) Thesis: In this society when we encounter evil, it is not only due to person’s own act but whole of the society is involved in the evil act. Every person has something good and bad in his character but sometimes society creates circumstances that a person is forced to become evil. Body 1 [Plot] This story begins with the birth of Elphaba the daughter of Frex and Melena, Melena was alone at the time when she give birth to Elphaba, as despite of being with his wife at the birth of their first child Frex had traveled to preach, specifically, the Clock of the Time Dragon. Melena give the birth to the daughter with green skin color which was very odd, for many years they hide this secret but when Elphaba grown up she was sent to the schools and college. Galinda was Elphaba first roommate but Galinda always ignore her, later on they become friends Galinda was working with Dr Dillamond, he was killed in this story from this point the sad part starts, Elphaba blame Madame Morrible and her robot-like assistant, Grommeti. But later on Fiyero comes into Elphaba life’s’ he, as she was alone they both had the affair but after few time he consider that Elphaba has murdered Madame Morrible, Fiyero was as well killed, and later on she was known as the witch of town as she did not fights against rumors about her and at last she died because of bucket of water which was throw on her to save her from fire. â€Å"The funeral was modest, a love-her-and-shove-her affair† (Maguire, p 154) The main character of this novel is Elphaba, an individual who was born with distinct features & personality. The appearance is mocked by others living around her, â€Å"A green child will be an open invitation for scorn and abuse. † (Maguire P. 48). The interesting feature is the transformation of this person from a naive girl to the one seeking revenge & thus attains the nickname WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST thanks to her malevolence. However this is justified by the extreme love & the suffering in result she feels for her family & friends. Another character Dorothy a young innocent girl, along with her escorts Scarecrow, Nick Chopper, Cowardly Lion is the opponent of the witch, but loved by the other people. She is also responsible for the witch’s death in the end of the novel.

Financial Analysis write up on case provided Essay

Financial Analysis write up on case provided - Essay Example This can be due to the fact that Inventories, over the period of time has shown considerable increase hence necessitating the obtainment of external financing to fund the inventory purchase. Return on equity has greatly dipped as the company despite increasing its equity base has not been able to generate more return on its equity. From the strategic management point of view, the return on equity ratios are more critical since managers has the primary responsibility of creating value for its shareholders which company seem to have failed to achieve for the period under review. The corporate performance specially the return on the equity is a strong indicator to the investors in the capital market signaling the overall future direction of the company. This is also evident from the fact that the share price of the stock of the company has constantly dipped in the period under review and hit a low price of $62 in year 1962. Strategically dwindling confidence of the investors may not help achieve company its proposed objectives as it progresses in the future. A closer look at the gross margins earned by the company suggest that the core costs are well under the control of the company however over the period of time, its operating margins are decreasing showing the lack of control over the increase in the general and administrative overheads. Though organization seems to managing its assets in better way however this may also due to the fact of higher accumulated depreciation. Strategically the decreasing profitability of the company can be a difficult problem to handle with as the outside investors keep a very keen eye on the bottom lines of the organization’s income statements. However it must also be note that the return on the overall capital employed and Return on invested capital, both have shown an abnormal dip as mainly due to constant profitability. The almost constant level of profitability also suggest that

Information technology and society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information technology and society - Assignment Example The society needs to care more on this issue because; through education people promote their social status and it also influences the way of life of individuals. Besides this, education provides access to such items as employment opportunities and thus improves the way of living of people. It is an important issue to focus on because knowledge gained through education can be applied in various fields such as health, information technology and in technical skills (Petersen, 2002). The application of information technology in the education is important so as to obtain current knowledge and improve access to many people across the globe. The name of the database is African Journals Online (AJOL) which provides access to African scholarly research online and is a non-profit making organization based in South Africa. The publisher that maintains this database is the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publication (INASP) supported by Google. The staffs in AJOL maintains this database using digitalized full texts and capable software such as Linux as an operating system, Apache and PHP for scripting. The database is freely accessible and provides a user front-end where those using can browse and access the contents of the database online. It also has an administrative end where the staff, journal publishers and editors can log in and manage the contents of the database. In March 2004, AJOL re-launched a data system that was more sophisticated to increase the functionality of site and to ensure compatibility. This included the indexing of all journal content listed with AJOL through Open Archives Initiative, OAI search engines. Basically, information and knowledge products that are indexed include journals article so as to make them available to a greater audience and increase their visibility among the research community. An option for limiting

Reflection paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reflection paper - Assignment Example Since it is against the Gods will, gay marriage should be highly discouraged and should not be accorded same rights as the heterosexual type of a marriage. Marriage is biblical and it means that it is Godly and in this case, God created marriage to be between different sexes unlike homosexuality, which is demonic, and contrast to the word of God. It’s impossible to get children through people of the same sex since reproduction takes place only if opposite sexes are involved. In this case, individuals involved in homosexuality can only get children through adoption or paying someone else to assist in getting a child and therefore, denies a child either a mother or a father.Basically,this kid will be raised by either mother or father who they do not have same blood relationship. Gay marriage also encourages immorality and homosexuality in the society (Spilsbury 36) Homosexuality does not help in procreation or the create families since its an unproductive union if a child is needed one is supposed to go to an extent of employing someone to help in getting a

Why MBA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why MBA - Essay Example ears by banking on my current professional knowledge and experience in a life insurance company, I believe that an ideal business management requires an MBA qualification. Owing to my priority being a change of career from somebody else’s employee to being a self-employed individual with knowledge in a number of fields, an MBA degree will equip me with the necessary skills to run the business stress-free. This is especially true considering the fact that I will have the opportunity to acquire general business and management knowledge that can come in handy in almost any industry. I will also get the opportunity to specialize in a certain area of expertise in business, for example accounting, marketing, human resource management or finance (Peterson 334). Specializing in a particular area will hone my skills in that field upon graduation, irrespective of my undergraduate degree or hitherto work experience. In addition, because I am interested in taking over a leadership role in running my own business, my acquisition of an MBA degree will make it easier for me to assume and retain effective leadership roles. This is especially true considering that an MBA course incorporates leadership studies, business strategies, and general management concepts that are applicable to virtually any leadership position in an organization. The burning ambition in learning business I have can be traced to my strong belief that the most financially successful persons in the planet are in business. However, their success does not just come on a silver platter; they must have enjoyed the subject in one way or another; felt like they could expand their knowledge and skills, and transferred the theories learned in class into a real business environment in order to achieve the highest turnaround for their businesses. This apparently makes education, and an MBA for that matter, a worthy goal to pursue for a successful career in business, especially in the current challenging world of

The future of London Heathrow Airport Literature review

The future of London Heathrow Airport - Literature review Example Development of the motorway network and railway network increased accessibility of London to rest of cities of the country (Rodrigue 2013). London was made the focus for of all these networks. London became the main focus for international air travellers during the days of the war. London was surrounded by four airports, and Heathrow alone was used for handling of two thirds of air traffic. In times of rapid growth in 1960s transport planners reached a new approach of transport planning. Proposal was the expansion of Stansted airport, but due to strong opposition from people this plan was left uncompleted. Both, government and GLC, have supported the trends of transport planning, which have been not only considered inevitable but also desirable (Adams 1981). Atkin et al., (2009) focused on the departure system of the London Heathrow airport and founded that if the delay time for the aircraft awaiting take-off and running engines would result into a less usage of fuel as well as pollution benefits. They pointed out various constraints, applied to take off the schedules. Some physical changes at the airport can eliminate the impacts of constraints and increase the capacity for departure systems. Heathrow airport completed the 5th terminal in 2008 and second phase in year 2011. Expansion of airport too encompassed the refurbishment of terminals such as terminal 1, 3 and 4. A new air control traffic tower and terminal 5 stations were installed. Expansion also included the tunnels for the extension of Piccadilly line, Heathrow express and spur road from the M25. Air control tower was installed on the Heathrow airport in 2007, which presented the unobstructed view (Kable Intelligence System 2014). Cecil (2013) reported that Heathrow would be the fourth runway with a million of flights in a year. Expansion of Heathrow airport would result into a leading aviation Hub of Europe. However, development

International Monetary Fund Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Monetary Fund - Essay Example The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an inter-governmental organization which was established to endorse international money cooperation, systematic exchange arrangements and exchange stability. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offers the technical and financial assistance to its members in different areas of economic policy–basically in the field of exchange rates, fiscal, monetary and financial sector policies (The World Economy, â€Å"The International Monetary Fund†). Overview of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established in July 1944, under the ‘Bretton Woods System’ which comprised of three international organizations, those were: The International Monetary Fund (IMF): It was established with a purpose of developing International Monetary Cooperation. The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development: This was established with a motive of International Development Assistance and Investme nt. The International Trade Organization: It was established with a motive to develop International Trade. The above three components of The Bretton Woods System were entertained in the context of war, high unemployment, depression, hyper inflation and high fluctuating exchange rates which effected the global economy in the 1930s (Sykes, â€Å"Organisational Information†). ... Surveillance Consultations: Consultations concluded for 120 countries in FY 2010 and for 88 countries in FY 2011 as on 11/02/2011 (The International Monetary Fund, â€Å"The IMF at a Glance†). The IMF’s governing body essentially, is the board of governors. Each state is being represented by their respective elected governor (member of the Board of Governor, IMF). The IMF’s executive board is its executive body, and is comprised of 24 Executive Directors; each of them is either elected or appointed by the members. The executive board of the IMF is responsible for regulating the smooth flow of business of the organization. There are two committees, the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee which are appointed by the Board of Governors (Sykes, â€Å"Organisational Information†). Merits and De–Merits The IMF has executed many reforms till date, it has been designed to strengthen its network and improve its capabil ity to perform well and serve its membership efficiently. The IMF has rapidly become an open and transparent organization; it has also inculcated transparency among its membership. Moreover, it is also working to strengthen its economic governance. These aspects have been undertaken through promoting the use of codes and standards as a medium for better financial management, economic and corporate governance. The IMF is also working to safeguard the integrity and stability of the International Financial System globally. More specifically, the IMF, the World Bank along with the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) perform together to strengthen the combat money laundering sectors along with the financial sectors in member countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an

Scriptures of Rig Veda in Hinduism Essay Example for Free

Scriptures of Rig Veda in Hinduism Essay The Shinto theory of creation of universe holds a remarkable similarity with the theories propagated in scriptures of Rig Veda in Hinduism. Though apparently both the religions have flourished in completely isolation, the theories of creation propounded by Shinto religion bears a significant similarity to Hinduism particularly in description of evolution of earth and the succession of human beings from Gods. The belief of God as being the originator of entire creation is central to both. While Shinto describes the world before creation as a mixture of dark and bright parts of cloud, Rig-veda asserts that in the beginning only darkness prevailed, completely devoid of any sign of existence in the form of light, air, or ether. . Only God was present to initiate the evolution. According to Shinto, after the separation of heaven from earth, depending upon the density of waste material and the proportion of brightness and weight, a reed was born between earth and heaven. It is cited that the first God Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto was born from this reed. Interestingly, Rig Ved also cites a passage tellling that Lord Brahma, who is believed to be the father (creator) of universe in hinduism, was born out of a flower. However, unlike Lord Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto , Lord Brahma was born from a flower that grew from the stomach of Lord Vishnu. Both Lord Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto and Lord Brahma are one of the first Gods in Shinto and Hindu religion respectively and bear a plant as the cause of their birth. Both the theories give a sequential detail of formationm of earth and its components, beginning form prevailing darkness to the formation of different components of light. Shinto, however, gives a comparatively unique and consistent theory of creation whereas the details provided by Rig Veda are multi-faceted and at many occasions, inconsistent. While some portions of Rig-Veda describe Brahma as Lord Shiva as the first God, creator of the system, some other passages have described Lord Vishnu as the originator and driving force behind the universe. It is mentioned that all the Gods had been created form the pores of the body of Lord Vishnu. As far as the physical developments of planetary systems and earth are concerned, many a times, both the theories prescribe a sequence of events evidently similar. The evolution of earth from darkness, formation of water, and emergence of life in water has been prescribed in both the theories, though these details are frequently confused by the inclusion of different roles played by different Gods. Shinto proclaims that Izanagi, the second god created by the First God carved an island by immersing his spear in an ocean and thendrippng the water on it, which turned itself into a mass of land, which later turned out to become the habitat of Izanagi, and his wife, Izanami. They later made more islands and Japan was thus born. Shinto, also gives a detailed explanation of the formation and evolution of earth and other solar components, again infused by the dramatic and, at several occasions, confusing roles played by different Gods.

The organization that you work Essay Example for Free

The organization that you work Essay The organization that you work for is interested in expanding their business overseas. You have been asked to gather some preliminary information to help management decide on whether to pursue this idea further. Search the Cybrary or other online resource and find an article describing an experience of either: (1) a US company or division that conducts business in a foreign country; or (2) a company or division based in another country which has started doing business in the United States. Perform searches on joint venture, licensing, or strategic alliance. Based on your research submit a three page document to the managers of the organization which answers the following set of questions: 1. Was the companys experience positive, negative, or mixed? Justify your answer. 2. What legal or political barriers did the company have to overcome? What cultural or business differences did the company encounter? What problems did these differences create for the company? What did the company do to overcome the obstacles? Did the company handle cultural and business differences effectively? Why or why not? 3. Companies involved in international trade have to watch the exchange rates for the euro, Japanese yen, Brazil real, Russian ruble, and US dollar. If you were a U. S. exporter, how might a stronger dollar affect demand for your products? How might a weaker dollar affect demand? (Note: One Internet source for foreign exchange rates is www. x-rates. com/ ). Doing business in another r country can be extremely tricky. Numerous problems result from a failure to adapt packaging for other cultures. For instance, white symbolizes death in Japan, and much of Asia, green represents danger or disease in Malaysia. Some product names travel poorly. For instance, the gasoline company Esso found out that its name means stalled car in Japan. Proper market research may reduce or eliminate most international business blunders. Market researchers can uncover needs for product adaptations, potential name problems, promotional requirements, and useful market strategies. Food research may even uncover potential translation problems. As you can see, doing business in other cultures can be risky if youre unprepared. However, awareness of differences, consultation with local people, and concern for host-country feelings can reduce problems and save money. In dealing with international business you should know about licensing, strategic alliance, and joint venture. Licensing is an agreement to produce and market another companys product in exchange for a royalty or fee. Strategic alliance is a long-term partnership between two or more companies to jointly develop, produce, or sell products in the global marketplace. Joint venture is a special type of strategic alliance in which two or more firms join together to create a new business entity that is legally separate and distinct from its parents. More and more companies are experiencing the excitement of conducting business in the global marketplace. Although selling goods and services in foreign markets can generate increased sales, produce operational efficiencies, expose companies to new technologies, and provide greater consumer choices, venturing abroad also exposes companies to many new challenges. Each country has unique ways of doing business which must be learned: Laws, customs, consumers preferences, ethical standards, labor skill, and political and economic stability vary from country to country, and all have the potential to affect a firms international prospects. Volatile currencies and international trade relationships can indeed make global expansion a risky proposition. Companies must recognize and respect differences in social values, ideas of status, decision-making habits, and attitudes toward time, use of space, body language, manners, and ethical standards. Otherwise, such differences can lead to misunderstanding in international business relationships, particularly if language differences also exist. The best way to prepare yourself to do business with people from another culture is to study that culture in advance. Learn everything you can about the cultures history, religious, politics, and customs-especially its business customs. Who makes decisions? How negotiations are usually conducted? Is gift giving expected? What is the proper attire for a business meeting? In addition to the suggestion that you learn about the culture, seasoned international business people offer the following tips for improving intercultural communications: Be alert to the other persons customs. Expect the other person to have values, beliefs, expectations and mannerisms different from yours, Deal with the individual. Dont stereotype the other person or react with preconceived ideas. Regard the person as an individual first, not as a representative of another culture. Clarify your intent and meaning. The other persons body language may not mean what you think, and the person may read unintentional meanings into your message. Clarify your true intent by repetition and examples. Ask questioned and listen carefully. Adapt your style to the other persons. If the other person appears to be direct and straightforward, follow suit. If not, adjust your behavior to match. Show respect. Learn how respect is communicated I various cultures-through gestures, eye contact, and so on.

Assertiveness and Effective Leadership

Assertiveness and Effective Leadership ASSERTIVENESS AND EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP By Joseph Santora This article deals with the study of the right level of assertiveness that should be use in having an effective leadership. These are the key points that I observe with this reading: Leaders should have managerial competencies in order to be successful in any organization, one of these characteristics that people are looking in good managers is his/her assertiveness. The connection between leadership and assertiveness isnt that clear, there have been studies from the past regarding the relationship of leadership and assertiveness. Studies shows that there are certain levels of assertiveness that should be use in different situations in   order to become an effective leader. On the first study, assertiveness was not consorted with leadership strength but rather it was considered as a weakness of a leader. Regardless of the level of assertiveness used, whether it is low assertiveness or high assertiveness, both were considered as weakness of a potential managers. On the second study, it was viewed that people with moderate and low levels of assertiveness are much appreciated when it comes to conflict management and their influence to other, rather than people with high level of assertiveness, wherein they are still viewed as least effective leaders. The third study conducted focuses on older managers and the result is leaders with too low in assertiveness were seen as weak for getting things done but are successful with their social relationship in the organization, while leaders with high level of assertiveness may be able to get things done but suffers his/her social life at work. Though there are a lot of suggestions, the conclusion to this study is having a moderate level of assertiveness is more likely to be effective in leadership both in social and organizational goals. However, they should be flexible on the level of their assertiveness depending on the demand of certain situations. How can you make use of the article in your daily life? For me, assertiveness in my life means being aggressive and fierce in getting things done or in any circumstances. I think I can relate the level of assertiveness in my daily life as a spouse. Being a wife to my a bit temperamental husband, where his mood swings were kinda unpredictable, I have to make sure of the right level of assertiveness to apply in dealing with him especially when problem comes to avoid CHAOS. LEADERSHIP STYLES AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES OF EXECUTIVES By S. Limbare The study deals about the relationship between leadership styles and management styles of executives, here are the list of key points that I have taken into about what the article wants to convey. Leadership is basically the ability to influence others to direct them in attaining specific goals, moulding their attitudes and behavior, and motivating them. There are eight different styles of leadership according to Reddin (1970) and these are the following: Deserter Leadership style means uninvolved or passive, who allows things to just happen and accept what other people would do without trying to change them. Missionary style of leadership is primarily interested harmony and would avoid any conflict as much as possible. Autocrat leadership style shows no confidence and lack concerns to others. And just interested in getting the job done. Usually self centered kind of leadership where it keeps all the control of the org within himself. Compromiser style of leader is a poor decision maker, who would easily give up on something in order to end an argument or dispute. Bureaucrat is normally based on following the rules and procedures and control the situation for their own sake. Developer leadership style based his trust on people and is mainly concern in developing them as individual goal setter. Benevolent autocrat knows exactly what he wants form people and the situation and knows how to get things done in his own way without causing resentment. Executive is a good motivator who sets high standards treats everyone differently and prefers team management. There are four main avoidance styles of conflict management at preventing or postponing conflict in different ways and these are: Resignation the extreme avoidance adopted in helpless situations. Wedrawal getting away with conflict. Defusion the style that buys time or delays the dealing with conflict. Appeasement style means agreeing temporarily with the group not because it is convinced but just to avoid conflicts. There are four approaches modes or styles that are used in dealing with conflict and finding a solution and these are: Confrontation is use to fight out an issue to get a solution in favor of one side. It is often adopted by management and may involve coercion and likely to fail in having solution. Compromise process of sharing the gain without resolving the conflict. Arbitration where a third party is sought to assess the situation and provide solutions. Negotiation jointly discussion in dealing with the problem and finding solutions. Different studies were made and same findings are missionary style of a leader was the most preferred and deserter leader was the most rejected. And that appeasement management style was the most preferred style in dealing with conflict. The modes and styles of conflict management and managerial leadership style of managers By khan Key points from the journal reading: Conflict in an organization is inevitable, because it is made up of individuals or group that affect one another with their actions. It can involve incompatible differences between parties that would result to opposition and violation of rules and procedures. Conflict signifies commitment, involvement and caring. In this study there are five styles of conflict management, these are: Competition, the use of this style in dealing with the conflict solution is the attempt to affect very strongly the opponent by the use of formal authority, power or threats. Collaboration is mutual problem solving, where parties are face to face in discussing the issues. It is frequently viewed as a win approach because the solution is sought by all the participants for their advantages. Avoidance a situation where one party avoids the other to prevent demonstration of disagreement, it is either withdrawal or suppression. Accommodation it is viewed as a self-sacrificing behavior, where one party puts the other partys interest first. Compromise is created when each party gives up something to come up with the solution. There are different kind of leadership style that was tackled in this journal these are: Concern for people leaders considers the needs of their members. Concern for production leader emphasizes high productivity, organizational efficiency in deciding how to complete the task. Country club leadership high people but low production because people operates under the assumption that as long as they are happy and secure they will work hard. The direction and control of the org suffers. Produce or perish leader also known as authoritarian or compliance leaders, strict rules, policies and views punishment to motivate the employees. Viewed as high production but low in people. Impoverished leadership it is a low production and low people approach and most ineffective. Middle of the road leadership medium production and medium people where leaders settle for average performance. Team leadership according to Blake mouton this is the pinnacle of managerial style. Where leader stress the production needs and people need equally high. In their analysis, it is revealed that most managers used the accommodating and collaborating conflict management mode to handle issue in an organization. Conflict management, efficacy, performance in an organizational team By s. alper Key points of the article: In a traditional hierarchical organizations, employees are expected to inform their managers or supervisors of problems and conflicts and abide by their decision. In organizations that use teams, employees are supposed to resolve problems and conflicts by themselves. There are some theories that argued that employees will work more effectively when they are in control of their own internal functioning and work coordination without eternal supervision. Employees are expected to resolve issues around their personalities, work roles and habits, production procedures and quality of work to best way to complete the task. Individuals who believe they can perform needed actions exert effort are productive than those with little efficacy are unproductive and fail to take initiative to contribute to the organizations. Group efficacy have important effects on team performance. Conflict is central to organizational groups that is why conflict efficacy may contribute significantly to the team overall performance. With low levels of efficacy the teams are unable to perform effectively. Conflict efficacy the belief of team members that they could successfully manage different conflict situations. Some studies support that competitive conflict has a largely negative impact on conflict efficacy. Teams that relied to competitive conflict were found to have exhibit low levels of conflict efficacy and reduced group performance. Organizational teams that rely on cooperative approaches to conflicts appears to be good candidates in working effectively for the organization because of their autonomy. Organizational teams do not improve by themselves, teams are not expected to automatically feel empowered and confident to deal with conflicts in any situation. Empowering them and giving them the proper enhancements to manage conflict would definitely give them the positive attitudes to do the work effectively and resolve conflicts. The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: a close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies and team outcomes.

american literature :: essays research papers

Romantic literature is such that an author writes in an attempt to convey his feelings on what the world should be like. It is unrealistic, unreasoning, and imaginative writing. William Cullen Bryant and Edgar Allen Poe are two examples of romantic writers. Though Poe fits the mold of a romantic writer it is obvious that his writings do not mirror those of Bryant or many other known romantic authors. His works share a uniqueness that is not found amongst the other writers, it is this uniqueness that separates Poe’s works from the rest. Bryant’s poem â€Å"Thanatopsis† is a good example of romantic literature. This work compared to Poe’s â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† will show that characteristics of Poe’s work that, both, make him a romantic writer and separate him from other romantic writers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Thanatopsis†, by William Cullen Bryant, is a very romantic poem about the relationship between man and nature. Bryant’s purpose for this poem is to spread his belief that at the last hours of life man is joined with the Earth and when that last hour is over man will join all those who have passed before him. From the first two lines of the poem it is obvious that this poem is romantic in nature. â€Å"To him who in the love of Nature holds – Communion with her visible forms,† (470). Bryant personifies nature in this poem by referring to it as a â€Å"she†. He does this to establish a common thread between the reader and Earth. It is easier for someone, reading Bryant’s work, to begin believing his ideas about nature if â€Å"Nature† is referred to as a human being. Along with Bryant’s approach to the reader his description of the connection between man and nature is also very romantic. â€Å"Go forth u nder the open sky, and list – To Nature’s teachings, while from all around – Earth and her waters, and the depths of air, - Comes a still voice-†(470). In this quote Bryant begins to speak about how Nature offers comfort, â€Å"When thoughts – Of the last bitter hour come like a blight – over they spirit..†(470), through a â€Å"still voice†(470), implying that Nature speaks. As the poem continues Bryant brings out more of his romantic ideas. â€Å"Earth, that nourished thee, shall claim – Thy growth, to be rolv’d to earth again..†(471) In this quote Bryant expresses his feelings that when life is over man will return to earth and become part of it once again.

Great Expectations: Pip’s Views of Expectations Essay -- Great Expectat

Great Expectations – Discuss Pip’s views of expectations and how they affect him. The novel Great Expectations is focused around the theme of a young male’s expectations and how they rule his life. It tells us the effects they have on people and the negative impact they have on Pip’s life. The Title to the novel â€Å"Great Expectations† totally contradicts the main theme in the book, as the expectations turn out to be not so great after all. The book is split up into 3 sections of Pip’s â€Å"Great Expectations†, all of these sections show us how Pip’s life has been affected by these expectations. Throughout the novel we see how expectations have left their mark on Pip’s life. Chapter one is were we are introduced to the main character Pip. Our first impression of Pip is that he is naà ¯ve, innocent and lonely young boy, the fact that Pip refers to his mother as â€Å"Georgina, wife of the above† tells us that he has received no guidance or teaching in his life and is unaware of his surroundings. Pip is then dramatically changed by his expectations when Pip first meets Mrs Havisham. He is introduced to a whole new view of life, and realises he is not as happy as he thinks he is. Pip in a way blames his upbringing as he says, â€Å"My sisters bringing up made me sensitive.† When introduced to Estella Pip is infatuated by her and when she says how â€Å"coarse† and â€Å"common† he is, he feels embarrassed and humiliated. This is the turning point of Pip’s life, his blinding obsession with Estella makes him determined to become the gentleman that she wants, guided by his expectations. Pip’s expectations are acted upon many different characters throughout the novel, and nearly most of the time they have a negative effect on othe... ...y aren’t all they what seem to be. Overall throughout this book expectations play a big role, we see how they rule Pip’s life and how they can affect others in many different ways. We see how Pip’s life ends up in a good way and that how expectations can blind others from reality. Money can change anybody and Pip was no exception. When Pip is poor he truly wants to be a gentlemen, he has great expectations for himself. Pip feels embarrassed that his family has no money. Pips pride corrupts him and blinds him from how he is treating Joe. Expectations are extremely significant throughout this novel and they show us what they can do if you are obsessed with them. In Victorian society it was an extremely sought after dream to be wealthy and well respected, Pip was a victim of this view and eventually realised that a gentleman is something more than riches.

Gay and Lesbian Advertising

Advertising â€Å"Out† of the Box In 1994, Ikea created a wave of controversy when they became one of the first companies to market to the gay community on mainstream daytime television. Despite the initial backlash; this ad eventually sparked countless other companies jump on the â€Å"Gay and Lesbian Advertising Bandwagon†. But what is the motive behind advertising specifically to this community, do the businesses take a genuine interest in the gay community or is it strictly for expanding business?Additionally, once a business decides to advertise using gay content, what is the appropriate way to go about doing so, and how does their strategy differ between gays and lesbians? Only 4 to 10% of the population identifies themselves as gay or lesbian. (Okenfull, 50) So why are businesses so concerned with gaining the support of this demographic? One of the biggest reasons being their buying power. While they don’t make more than heterosexual couples, a large major ity are not raising children, so they have more disposable income.Thus, they have even been referred to as the â€Å"Dream Market† with a potential buying power of $641 billion annually (Okenfull, 49). Because this is the foremost reason why advertisers go after the gay community, this makes us question whether they have a genuine interest in the gay community. â€Å"We market to gays and lesbians for business reasons because we want to sell out product to consumers. It doesn’t get more complicated than that. â€Å" -Miller beer spokeswoman (Sender, 2) It is common knowledge that the only point of advertisement is to drive in more business.However, analyzing the overall impact of advertising on society, it seems as if there is more that comes into play than just a business decision. In fact, regardless of the company's motive to produce advertisements that have gay content, the overall impact of infiltrating gay content into mainstream media has actually helped advan ce and liberate the gay community. Big corporations not only reflect society’s current values, but they are also largely responsible for shaping society's values. If there are more gay and lesbian imagery in the media, society will adapt he perception that they are everywhere and normalizes gayness. Also, having large corporations back a minority-based cause, will make the majority more accepting and make the people in opposition to the cause seem more ignorant. Essentially, even just the facade of a company publicly declaring their support for gayness makes a powerful statement to society. Not only is appearing to be in support of gay rights is something that will boost your business, but to have any anti-gay statement or claims can detrimentally hurt your company as well. In 1977, Coors was accused of firing gays, along with several other minority groups. Journal of Community Research) Not long after much controversy, chairman Pete Coors adopted an Gay-Friendly policy and a lso extended benefits to same-sex couples. In 2000, Coors hiked up their spending on gay advertising, putting them in the number two spot for most money spent on gay advertisements. (Chura, 1) After a company becomes seen as anti-gay, it is evident that they must fight desperately to overcome this stigma just to stay in the game. Beer is a prime example of a product that's advertisements have saturated the gay market to the extent of which if you do not participate, then you’re stance on gay rights is questioned.There is a very positive outcome for the many companies that show their support to the gay community as well as a negative outcome for companies that don’t. Despite this; it still leaves many consumers skeptical of their motives. Many advertisements, in a failed attempt to show acceptance, have become the target of gay critics. The harshest of backlash of these ads are in ones in which they depict obvious and offensive gay stereotypes. It is evident that advert isers must handle these types of ads with care, depicting gay stereotypes can lead to further segregation rather than promoting equality.Gay consumers are very skeptical to how a company presents gay advertisements, but perhaps the biggest obstacle is to still keep heterosexual consumers that are turned off by or blatantly opposed to homosexuality. When Ikea first ran their ad on daytime television, there was a positive response from gay consumers. However, during this time period it still created enough controversy that outweighed the benefits of appealing to that market. This is when agencies quickly realized that limiting their advertisements to the confines of strictly gay and lesbian print media such as OUT magazine was a safer route for the time being.Although the initial reaction by heterosexuals to this first commercial was negative and controversial, this was also a time in history where the attitude around gay media was at a turning point . Gay shows became less of a niche market, and more mainstream. â€Å"More recently, gay-oriented shows such as the L Word, Will and Grace, Ellen, Queer as Folk, and Queer Eye for a Straight Guy have increasingly pushed the boundaries of cultural accepatnce of homosexuality and have diminished the risk of backlash for firms who are percieved to be â€Å"gay friendly. † (Okenfull, 50)Shows dealing with this content presumably have made the hetereosexual community more understanding to this type of lifestyle and generationally speaking, the current generation became much more likely to support the gay rights movement. Thus, integrating gay ads into mainstream television and print media was back on the table. Because the decision for advertisers to target the gay community is still a very controversial subject for both straight and gay consumers, it is imperative to acknowledge the vast differences in how to effectively target this audience.First, it is important to recognize gay male consumers and lesbian fema le consumers as a very different audience. Additionally, it is important to assess how strong their gender identity is. The strength of one’s gender identity is based on several different factors, such as how strong their involvement and sense of belonging is to the gay community. Gay males that are identified as having a high degree of sexual identity, are more attracted to ads that display explicit gay content. (Okenfull, 54) To illustrate an ad that is â€Å"explicitly† gay, (refer to picture 1), I chose Virgin Mobiles â€Å"Hook up Fearlessly†.The ad almost positively insinuates that the two males depicted in the ad are gay, if not gay, then extremely turned on by the a gay act. This type of explicitness would be most attractive to males who have a high gay identity rather than low. There is a large power construct in this advertisement. The male with wings is forcefully holding down the other male to kiss him while the male on bottom, while he does seem sub missive, he is still enjoying the act taking place. I personally like this ad; mostly because of the actual relevance to the buying process.Consumers always have an apprehension to buying products, let alone a phone contract. This ad is conveying to the potential consumer to just give in and try it. While the male on bottom might have been apprehensive about the kiss, just as â€Å"You’ll Love Us† guarantee gives you the freedom to chose without â€Å"strings attached†. It is a â€Å"Just try it! † ad, and while hooking up in an office space is taboo; doing it with with a gay angel is even more controversial and daring, and you might just â€Å"Love It†. I like this ad because it communicates the point fluidly, and replaces any uncertainty with a sense of empowerment and fearlessness.While ads like these are very effective in communicating with the demographic who have a strong sense of gender identity, low identity gays and lesbians are more respo nsive to a less explicit type of advertising. Generally, gays and lesbians who have a low sense of gender identity want to define themselves by traits other than just their sexual preference. By being less explicit, they get the opportunity to read between the lines, not feel alienated by their gender identity, and not have their identity to be oversexualized. To target this audience, advertisers indicates gayness without actually using a lesbian or gay couple.Instead they use implicit gay imagery which uses symbols and phrases that indicates gayness such as rainbows, pride, and being â€Å"out†. (Okenfull, 55) To illustrate an add that does this, I chose Chevy’s electric car ad (refer to ad 2). There are a mother and father car facing their child car. The caption says â€Å"Mom, Dad, I’m electric. † The bottom of the page uses a thin bar that is intended to look like a rainbow. The copy at the bottom is â€Å"So, whatever revs your engine, we support yo u 100%, Happy Motor City Pride from the entire Chevrolet family. † This is another ad that I think is done beautifully.They used a social norm of what society knows as the â€Å"coming out scene†. The electric car is declaring that it is not just any old car, just as a gay or lesbian would have to come out to their parents that they are not just another heterosexual. What also intrigues me about that ad is the italics on â€Å"I’m electric†. This is presumably a play off the upbeat â€Å"It’s electric† song. The car is excited to tell its parents that he is gay, conveying a sense of empowerment and excitement, instead of how we typically think of this moment, which can often be a shameful and intimidating moment for many children.I also really like the ad for it’s relevance to the gay community. According to a recent survey, only ? of hetereosexuals admitted to being concerned about the environment while 55% of gays and lesbians identi fied that they are more likely to â€Å"go green†. (Koretzky). It is targeting consumers that are interested in their message, while also encouraging acceptance and becoming empowered. While even high identity lesbians are most attracted to implicit gay imagery, their liking towards explicit lesbian imagery comes secondary (before explicit gay imagery).But interestingly enough, lesbian imagery is extremely underrepresented. It was reported that in one of leading gay and lesbian magazines, The Advocate, lesbian-targeted imagery accounted for only 3% of the magazine advertising. Why is this? (Okenfull, 65) Not only do lesbians have typically just as much buying power as gay males, but heterosexual consumers are even more comfortable with lesbian imagery over gay imagery, which lowers the risk of heterosexuals being offended or turned off from a product. In general, lesbians are less discriminated than gays. his is something that shows up in the workplace; according to a recent study, gay males make 23% less than straight males, lesbians make about the same as straight women. (Williams Institute) Perhaps society taking a particular favoritism to lesbianism is the very reason that advertisements that depicting lesbians couples in ads targeted towards lesbians are more underrepresented. There is a oversexualization attenuated by the heterosexual community of how lesbians are viewed. I chose an ad that was apart of a campaign for a swiss Italian ski resort (picture 3).A website was commenting on the success of this ad with the title of the Article â€Å"Lesbians Good for Ski Business. † the comment on this ad stated, â€Å"Seems some brilliant ad agency came up with a campaign to promote the Swiss Italian ski resort Airolo by featuring two women about to kiss (pictured above). We’re going to hazard a guess that the intended demographic was not lesbians. They were probably targeting lager louts looking for a good stag party getaway now that Prag ue has kicked them out. † (Get Outdoor Blog) The imagery does not have any clever tagline, or anything to empower lesbains.In fact, one of the main centerpieces of the point of this ad is the male in the background completely enamored and excited by the thought of two girls kissing. The comment on the article even states that â€Å"the intended demographic was not lesbains. † and makes the point that this ad was to promote a party scene. In fact, most viewers probably would not even assume the two girls in the ad as lesbians. By no means does the ad seem to support the gay community, it rather just sexualizes the fantasy of watching two women make out.A sexual lesbian experience can be arousing to straight men and women, conveying a â€Å"party† type of experience while if the couple was actually a gay couple about to engage in a kiss, this ad would most likely be only arousing to gay men, and convey the message that â€Å"We are a gay friendly place† rath er than a â€Å"Party Place†. Another advertisement that depicts the sexual objectification of women is the Nikon ad. There is a hand holding up a camera in which he captures the image of two women in lingerie on top of each other. While the gender of the person taking the photo is not identified, it appears to be a male.Because of the interest in the (presumed) male figure, this ad makes it very evident that the relationship between the two women is not a committed lesbian relationship. It is portrayed to be just a sexual one with an objective to please the male. The copy at the bottom states that the Nikon S60 detects up to 12 faces. When you look closer at the ad, you can spot four males in the adjacent apartment building watching the girl-on-girl action. Many consumers were very upset with this ad, believing it to be both sexist and delegitimizing to lesbian relationships. They made the argument that, the advertisement is sexist relies heavily on the notion that the lesbi ans are unwitting, innocent subjects violated by a voyeuristic male glaze. † (Turnbell) The writer refutes this argument by stating that the two women made the conscious decision to objectify themselves by leaving the curtains open, as well letting another male to capture their (not-so) intimate moment on a camera. Additionally, the ad is relevant to the product because it successfully communicates in a clever way that that even though the faces are so far away, the camera is advanced enough to still detect the voyeurs faces.Personally, I completely agree with the writer's argument. However, I would also argue that these types of ads do present a problem to the lesbian community. How can advertisements tastefully depict a lesbian encounter that meaningfully supports and empowers the lesbian community? Also, how can you conveys that the two women are legitimately homosexual, rather than a sexualizing their experience? This objectification of the lesbian relationship is likely w hy many lesbian advertisements are underrepresented.In general, they are most comfortable to advertisements that use implicit hints of sexuality rather than involving males or females (such as the car commercial). Some argue that â€Å"lesbians are female versions of male sexuality†, but this argument is scrutinized because lesbians describe their experience to be completely different. Typically, lesbians are more socially accepted than gay males are. However, they have to fight harder to convince society that their identity is more than just a sexual desirability of a female. One company that has successfully done so is JC Penny’s.In 2012, they released their â€Å"Freedom of Expression† ad (See Picture 5) that features two mothers and their daughter. While a group called â€Å"One Million Mothers† presented backlash to this ad, the overall response was positive. There is no overt sexual nature in this picture, it is just depicting a family photo with tw o mothers. â€Å"As jcpenney focuses on becoming America’s favorite store, we want to be a store for all Americans. In celebration of Mother’s Day, we’re proud that our May book honors women from diverse backgrounds who all share the heartwarming experience of motherhood. † -Eric Bovin (ABC news)In conclusion; advertisers have recognized the great importance of tapping into the gay market. Not only is establishing your company as being in support of this cause positive, but in some markets; it is necessary. Overall, Advertising to the gay and lesbian community is not one-size-fits-all. It are also specific precautions that you must take in entering into this type of market. Not only are you going up against the criticisms of anti-gay groups, but you are also up against the scrutiny of whether your advertisement is legitimate or whether you are using the leverage of the gay community to seem more accepting and grow your consumer base.There are Advertising Agencies must take into account the way in which homosexuals identify themselves in terms of their involvement as well as the how males and females differ in what appeals to them. Works Cited Hilary Chura, â€Å"Coors hikes spending on gay ads, March 27, 2000 Katherine Sender, Business Not Politics: The Making of the Gay Market, New York: Columbia University Press, 2005, 331 pp. , â€Å"The Dynamics of Brand Legitimacy: An Interpretive Study in the Gay Men's Community (PDF)†.Journal Article, Journal of Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press. JSTOR 10. Going Green, Going Gay? Micheal Koretzky, Jan 13, 2011 The Williams Institute, â€Å"Documented Evidence of Employment Discrimination and Its Effects on LGBT People† (July 2011). Get Outdoors Blog, â€Å"Lesbians for Good Ski Business† (Decemebr 21,2007) James Turnbell, â€Å"A Sexist Advertisement? Lesbians and the Politics of the Male Glaze† (December 13, 2008) ABC News, â€Å"JC Penney Features Same Sex Couple in May Catalouge†, (May 12, 2012)

OSHA Lawsuit

In this article, there are no details given on what was the nature of the complaints filed by the employee originally, however, searching the internet for other related articles, I found one of a reason for which the employee may had been ruminated, â€Å"OSHA says the employee was fired after complaining about a potentially unsafe situation of finding the building unsecured when she arrived, alone, to open the store. The worker also filed a safety and health complaint with OSHA, which triggered an OSHA inspection that identified two unrelated violations. (Two Whistler's†¦ , n. D. , p. Xx-xx). In my opinion, the employer, Xebec Inc. Could have done a lot to address the situation as soon as It learned of the complaint. First of all, securing the doors of the business should have been of outmost priority, not only to Insure the safety of the employees, but to safeguard the equipment, Inventory and other Items that may been left In the store overnight. Launching an Investigation t o find out why the door was not secured, should not have been a major issue as it was.Making sure the employee's was heard and safety precautions put in place should be a first priority to every employer, these safeguards could not have been costly at all either, there should not have been any excuse. Secondly, the employer should have reassure the employee once the safeguards were put into place, that a situation such as this would be addressed every time she rough it up, to make her feel secure on the performance of her duties.Also, if the employee had any suggestions as to how to better guard her well-being when she enter the store first-thing In the morning, should have been part of a plan of action. Often, employers are not present at all times to Insure that everything goes smoothly during business hours and they must rely on their employees to be their eyes and ears during their absences. Lastly, terminating the employee was not going to end the employer's responsibility to o ther employees and their community.If the store's door was constantly left open overnight, word could have gone out the undesirable members of community as a place where they could commit crimes, therefore, putting the rest of the business owners at risk. References; Todd, E. , & Rodriguez,J. (201 3, January 31 Us department of labor files whistle- blower lawsuit against Helena, Mont. Based xebec Inc.. Retrieved November 8, 2013, Unknown (n. D. ). Two Whistler's Lawsuits Filed over Workplace Violence Allegations Ð’Â » Safety's. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://safety's. Com/ Article

Telstra and Mcdonalds

Exam cases: †¢ McDonald’s †¢ Telstra Pre-seen exam information Semester 1 2013 CPA Program professional level Global Strategy and Leadership  © CPA Australia Ltd 2013 Case Study 1 McDonald’s case facts McDonald’s Corporation: A strategic approach to global growth McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33 500 restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in 119 countries each day (McDonald’s 2012a). In 2011 the company generated USD 27 billion in revenue from its global operations and USD 8. 5 billion of operating profit.Headquartered in the United States, McDonald’s Bar-B-Q restaurant was opened in California in 1940 by brothers Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald as a typical drive-in featuring a large menu and car hop service (where customers stay in their car and are served their food). In 1948 the brothers closed the business for three months of renovations and reorganised the business as a hamburger restaurant, using production line principles and featuring a simple menu of nine items including the staple 15 cent hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and a slice of pie.In 1954 Ray Kroc, a salesman for Prince Castle Multi-Mixer, visited the restaurant intending to sell the brothers some items. Kroc was fascinated by the operations and learned that the brothers were looking for a franchising agent to expand their restaurant chain nationally. Kroc joined the company in 1955 as National Franchising Agent, and opened his first McDonald’s in Illinois. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers.McDonald’s Corporation was created in 1965 when the company had its first public stock offering on the New York Stock Exchange at USD 22. 50 per share (McDonald’s 2012b). The famous ‘golden arches’ of McDonald’s were created in 1969 when the companyâ₠¬â„¢s logo underwent a major change, and remodelling of the restaurants was also undertaken to re-brand the company. The original red-and-white tiled buildings were replaced by more contemporary buildings emphasising the golden arches as the company’s branding.Under Kroc’s leadership McDonald’s expanded quickly across the United States. International expansion commenced in 1967 with restaurants opened in Canada and Puerto Rico. In the next 10 years the company would grow rapidly, such that the 1978 opening in Japan marked the 5000th restaurant. By 1983 the company had an interest in 7778 restaurants in 32 countries (McDonald’s 2012b). Although Kroc died in 1984, he left a lasting legacy with the company continuing to grow to date.In addition to outlet expansion, McDonald’s has constantly trialled and introduced new product items and categories in order to increase the company’s share of food consumption and meet changing customer tastes and needs. The company has also extended into complementary product categories, such as the launch of McCafe in 2003. More recently, the company has introduced more premium offerings such as the Angus beef burger in Australia which is made of premium Angus beef, and a higher price is charged compared to its core burger range.McDonald’s is expected to face stronger competition in the future, given the rising popularity of healthier fast-food operators such as Subway, which has a larger number of franchise stores across the world and recently eclipsed McDonald’s as the world’s largest fast-food operator in terms of establishments. This will increase pressure on McDonald’s to promote and expand its new healthier product options and to improve the nutritional content of its food if the company wants to stay the market leader. The following information is based on a number of McDonald’s corporate publications.Part A provides an overview of McDonald’s strategic direction and operating model. Part B provides a review of the 2011 Chairman and CEO reports. Part C provides a summary of the franchising model used by McDonald’s for its restaurants. Part D is a timeline of the development of McDonald’s. Part A: McDonald’s strategic direction, operating model and global priorities Strategic roadmap: The Plan to Win Jim Skinner, Vice Chairman and CEO, states in the 2011 Annual Report: ‘Our performance is driven by two key factors.The first is our ongoing commitment to [our strategic framework] the Plan to Win which was launched in 2003 and has served as our operations roadmap for nine years. The Plan focuses on the core drivers of our business—People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion †¦ It keeps us disciplined around our brand holistically and enhancing the customer experience across our entire business—from our menu and service to our value and convenience’ (McDonald’s 2011 , p. 1). Global Strategy and Leadership Page 1 of 20McDonald’s has ‘enhanced the restaurant experience for customers worldwide and grown comparable * sales and customer visits in each in each’ year to 2011 (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). This framework has also delivered strong results for the company’s shareholders. McDonald’s has exceeded its long-term ‘financial targets of average annual †¦ sales growth of 3 to 5%; average annual operating income growth of 6 to 7%; and annual returns on incremental invested capital in the high teens every year since the Plan to Win was implemented’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 0). Operating model: Our System partners The 2011 Annual Report goes on to describe the second factor: ‘the collaboration of Our System partners. From our worldclass franchisees, who are dedicated to running great restaurants and being leaders in their communities; to our unparalleled global suppliers, who provide us with safe and high quality products each and every day; to our talented company employees led by President and Chief Operating Officer Don Thompson and our †¦ global leadership team.And, of course, our restaurant managers and crew—the 1. 7 million men and women who work to deliver the best experience every day’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 2). Also known as the ‘three-legged stool’ business model, the philosophy set by founder Ray Kroc, this business model balances the interests of all three key stakeholder groups, and provides a foundation only as strong and as stable as each of the three legs. Each leg represents the company, the franchises and the suppliers respectively.This model is embedded in the current operating philosophy and Jim Skinner, in his address, refers to ‘Our System partners’ with the motto of ‘Your Success is Our Success’. All three groups are strongly aligned around common goals. ‘The strength of th e alignment between the Company, its franchisees and suppliers †¦ has been key to McDonald’s success’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). Three global priorities ‘We hold a strong competitive position in the market place, and we intend to further differentiate our brand by striving to become our customers’ favourite place and way to eat and drink.Growing market share will continue to be a focus as we execute our three global priorities’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 11). 1 Optimising our menu—‘delivering even greater excitement around our food, beginning with our iconic core favorites—Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets and French Fries—and evolving our menu with new innovative local offerings. We’ll continue by growing McCafe beverages, from specialty coffees to real fruit smoothies, differentiating our brand as a beverage destination.We’ll stay focused on adding greater choice and balanced options around the world [ to enhance our food image], from wraps to oatmeal to new Happy Meal alternatives, as we stay in step with our customers’ needs’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 2). Modernising our customer experience—‘continuing to modernize our restaurants to provide a superior experience for our customers, as well as our managers and crew. We’re adding new features and technologies that are making the drive-thru, ordering and payment processes easier.In addition, we’re moving ahead on our reimaging efforts, remodeling a growing number of restaurants with our contemporary new designs. With roughly 45% of our interiors and 25% of our exteriors reimaged around the world, we still have ample opportunity to keep reshaping our brand and delighting our guests with our updated restaurants’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 2). ‘The customer experience efforts will include accelerating our interior and exterior reimaging efforts and providing our restaurant teams with the appropriate tools, training, technology and staffing’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 1). 3 Broadening our accessibility—‘making the McDonald’s brand more accessible is another important priority. Continuing to deliver strong value across every price tier, extending our operating hours at more locations and strategically opening new restaurants in both emerging and mature markets will make us more available more often, when and where our customers want us’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 3). 2 ‘As we keep elevating all of these aspects of our business, we’re strengthening our brand as well. We will continue to use our size, scope and esources to make a positive difference for children, families, and communities around the world. Giving back is a part of our heritage, so we remain committed to taking leadership action across the broad spectrum of sustainability— including nutrition and well-being, a sustainable supply chain, env ironmental responsibility, employee experience, and the community’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 3). * ‘Comparable’ refers to same stores. That is, stores that were opened in both years, so as to remove the effect of store openings and closures. This is a common method for monitoring store performance in retail networks.Global Strategy and Leadership Page 2 of 20 Part B: McDonald’s 2011 performance Jim Skinner, Vice Chairman and CEO, states in the 2011 Annual Report: ‘2011 was another strong year for McDonald’s. Global comparable sales increased 5. 6%, our ninth consecutive year of same store sales growth. Operating income grew by 10% in constant currencies and we continued to extend our market share lead around the world. In addition †¦ we delivered a 35% total return to investors, making us the top performing company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for 2011’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. ). ‘Specific menu pricing actions ac ross our system reflect local market conditions as well as other factors, notably the food away from home and food at home inflation indices. In our Company-operated restaurants, we manage menu board prices to ensure value at all price points, increase profitability and mitigate inflation, all while trying to maintain guest visit momentum. In order to accomplish these objectives, we utilize a strategic pricing tool that balances prices, product mix and promotion. Franchisees also have access to, and many utilize, this †¦ tool.In general, we believe many franchisees employ a similar pricing strategy. In 2011, we increased average price at Company-operated restaurants in each area of the world, although increases varied by market and region. We look to optimize product mix by utilizing a menu with entry-point value, core and premium and fourthtier (a range of tasty and appealing items in smaller portion sizes) offerings. We also introduce new products that meet customer needs, wh ich can expand average purchase and increase our visitor counts’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). ‘Our success continues to be truly global, with all areas of the world contributing.Such balanced growth highlights our deepening connection with customers everywhere, as well as the underlying strength of our business in today’s ever increasing global economy’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 1). The company is organised into three key regions being ‘the United States (U. S. ), Europe and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA)’. The company’s three global priorities ‘represent areas where we are intensifying our efforts to drive †¦ sales and customer visits despite challenging economies and a contracting Informal Eating Out (IEO) segment in many markets’ (McDonald’s 2011, pp. & 10). Tables 1 and 2 provide a summary of the performance of McDonald’s for the years 2009 to 2011. Table 1: McDonald’s finan cial performance, 2009 to 2011 (USD in millions) 2011 US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total revenue US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total operating income US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total assets US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total capital expenditure 8 528. 2 10 886. 4 6 019. 5 1 571. 9 27 006. 0 3 666. 2 3 226. 7 1 525. 8 111. 0 8 529. 7 10 865. 5 12 015. 5 824. 2 4 285. 1 32 989. 9 786. 5 1 130. 1 614. 1 199. 1 2 729. 8 2010 8 111. 6 9 569. 2 5 065. 5 1 328. 3 24 074. 6 3 446. 5 2 796. 8 1 199. 9 29. 9 7 473. 1 10 467. 7 11 360. 7 5 374. 0 4 772. 8 31 975. 2 530. 5 978. 5 493. 1 133. 4 2135. 5 2009 7 943. 8 9 273. 8 4 337. 0 1 190. 1 22 744. 7 3 231. 7 2 588. 1 989. 5 31. 7 6 841. 0 10 429. 3 11 494. 4 4 409. 0 3 892. 2 30 224. 9 659. 4 859. 3 354. 6 78. 8 1 952. 1 Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, ‘Segment and geographic information’, p. 38. Global Strategy and LeadershipP age 3 of 20 McDonald’s ‘revenues consist of sales by Company-owned restaurants and fees from restaurants operated by its various franchisees’. Revenues from franchised, licensed and affiliate restaurants include rent and royalties based on a percentage of sales along with minimum rent payments, and initial fees. ‘Fees vary by type of site, amount of Company investment, if any, and local business conditions. These fees, along with occupancy and operating rights, are stipulated in the franchise/license agreements’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 9).Table 2: McDonald’s revenue by store type, 2009 to 2011 (USD in millions) 2011 US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Company-operated revenues US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Franchised revenues US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total revenues 4 433 7 852 5 061 947 18 293 4 096 3 034 958 625 8 713 8 529 10 886 6 019 1 572 27 006 2010 4 229 6 932 4 297 775 16 233 3 883 2 6 37 769 553 7 842 8 112 9 569 5 066 1 328 24 075 2009 4 295 6 721 3 714 729 15 459 3 649 2 553 623 461 7 286 7 944 9 274 4 337 1 190 22 745Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, ‘Revenues’, p. 14. Regional highlights for 2011 United States †¢ †¢ †¢ Grew customer ‘counts and market share with comparable sales up for the ninth consecutive year, rising 4. 8% in 2011, while comparable customer counts rose 3. 3%, despite a slight decline in the IEO segment’. ‘Remained focused on maximizing our core business while providing customers with affordable products and value throughout our menu including options available on the Dollar Menu at breakfast and the rest of the day’. Highlighted core menu items like Chicken McNuggets that feature new sauces, breakfast products including new Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, additions to the McCafe beverage line and limited-time offerings such as the McRib Sandwich. ‘National launch of the McCafe Frozen Strawberry Lemonade and Mango Pineapple real-fruit smoothie provided †¦ extensions to the McCafe beverage line’. ‘Convenient locations also continued to provide a competitive advantage with extended hours and efficient drive-thru service’. Modernizing the customer experience †¦ with the expansion of our major remodeling program to enhance the appearance and functionality of our restaurants and make our restaurants more relevant to our customers’ daily lives. Over 900 existing restaurants were remodeled during 2011 with the majority adding drive-thru capacity to capture additional customer visits’. ‘Completed our two-year, Systemwide roll-out of a new point-of-sale system. This allows us to continue expanding our menu offerings while making it easier for our crew to fulfill every order accurately’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 10). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Global Strategy and LeadershipPage 4 of 20 Europe †¢ †¢ Comparable ‘sales rose by 5. 9%, marking the eighth consecutive year’ of growth, with comparable customer visits increasing by 3. 4%. ‘Major contributors were the U. K. , France, Russia and Germany’. ‘Initiatives that helped drive our business included †¦ our tiered menu featuring everyday affordable prices, menu variety including new and limited-time offerings, and reimaging over 900 restaurants’. We also ‘offered new premium menu items such as the 1955 burger and expanded McWraps across several European markets’. And we ‘continued to offer a fourth-tier platform—such as Little Tasters in the U.K. ’. Expanded ‘our coffee business and have over 1500 McCafe locations, which in Europe are generally separate areas inside the restaurants that serve specialty coffees, indulgent desserts and snacks’. Increased ‘accessibility and convenience’ with the completion of ‘the rollout of the new drive-thru customer order display system in over 4500 restaurants’ and ‘extended operating hours’. Continued ‘building customer trust in our brand through communications that emphasized the quality and origin of McDonald’s food and our commitment to sustainable business practices’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 0). †¢ †¢ †¢ APMEA †¢ †¢ ‘Our momentum continued with nearly every country delivering positive comparable sales, led by China and Australia. Comparable sales rose 4. 7% and comparable guest counts by 4. 3%’. Performance was ‘driven by strategies emphasizing value, breakfast, convenience, core menu extensions, desserts and promotional food events. Australia launched a Value Lunch program that features meals at discounted price points for certain hours while China and Japan concentrated on affordability by continuing their Value Lunch’ programs. New menu ite ms such as real-fruit smoothies and frappes in Australia and the extension of the Value Breakfast program in China were popular with customers’. ‘Japan executed another successful U. S. themed burger promotion and celebrated its 40th anniversary by offering popular core menu items at reduced prices’. ‘Desserts continue to play a meaningful role as we seek to deliver on customers’ menu expectations through products such as the McFlurry and unique storefronts like the dessert kiosks in China, where we are now one of the largest ice-cream retailers’ (McDonald’s 2011, pp. 10–11). †¢ †¢ †¢Part C: McDonald’s franchising approach McDonald’s believes ‘franchising is important to delivering great, locally-relevant customer experiences and driving profitability. However, directly operating restaurants is paramount to being a credible franchisor and is essential to providing Company personnel with restaura nt operations experience. In our Company-operated restaurants, and in collaboration with franchisees, we further develop and refine operating standards, marketing concepts and product and pricing strategies, so that only those that we believe are most beneficial are introduced’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. ). The company continually reviews, and as appropriate adjusts, the mix of company-operated and franchised (conventional franchised, developmental licensed and foreign affiliated) restaurants with the ‘goal of improving local relevance, profits and returns’, while maintaining a strong presence through company-owned restaurants seen as important to success (McDonald’s 2011, p. 16). As a franchisor McDonald’s sees its role as providing clear and positive leadership with vision, competence and integrity, to ultimately protect the strategic vision of the brand.Listening and responding to customers’ wants and needs through constant innovation has been a key driver to success. This success places pressure on all Partner System parties who have a responsibility to consistently rise to the occasion each time and deliver an exceptional customer experience. As McDonald’s must deliver this leadership as the franchisor, it needs its franchisees to do the same for the company’s continued success. The mix of McDonald’s franchises and company-operated McDonald’s restaurants is set out in Table 3.The difference between types of franchise stores is outlined in the ‘Franchise investment’ section below, and is dependent on how much capital investment McDonald’s has in the business. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 5 of 20 Table 3: Summary of McDonald’s stores in 2011 Store type Conventional franchise Company operated Licensed to foreign affiliates (primarily in Japan) Development franchise Total worldwide stores Number of stores 19 527 6 435 3 929 3 619 33 510Franchise ‘sale s are not recorded as revenues’ by McDonald’s, but ‘are the basis on which the Company calculates and records franchised revenues and are indicative of the health of the franchise base’ (McDonald’s 2011, p. 9). ‘Franchised margin dollars represent revenues from franchised restaurants less the Company’s occupancy costs (rent and depreciation) associated with those sites †¦ The franchised margin percent in APMEA and Other Countries †¦ is higher relative to the U. S. nd Europe due to a larger proportion of developmental franchises and/or affiliate restaurants where the Company receives royalty income with no corresponding occupancy costs’ (McDonald’s 2011, pp. 15–16). Table 4 presents franchised sales and margins for the years 2009 to 2011. Table 4: McDonald’s franchised store sales and margins, 2009 to 2011 (USD in millions) 2011 US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Total franchised sales US Europe APMEA Other countries and corporate Franchised margins Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, p. 5. 2010 28 166 15 049 11 373 6 559 61 147 3 239 2 063 686 476 6 464 2009 26 737 14 573 9 871 5 747 56 928 3 031 1 998 559 397 5 985 29 739 17 243 13 041 7 625 67 648 3 436 2 400 858 538 7 232 Selection of franchisees for a cultural fit with McDonald’s One of the key reasons McDonald’s believes it is successful is that it maintains the highest standards of operational excellence while creating individual opportunities.Having dynamic individuals who are able to create high performance environments within their local stores is crucial for franchisee success. Franchisees must also be great brand ambassadors and run outstanding restaurants to deliver on the McDonald’s brand promise. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 6 of 20 For example, great care is taken in recruiting, screening, training, developing and retaining qualified franchise es.When considering potential franchisees, the company looks for people who †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ are looking to make a 20-year commitment; aspire to become an integral part of the community as an employer, service provider and local business leader; are energetic and take a hands-on approach; have had a successful business or career, demonstrated significant team leadership and know how to get the most out of people; accept that McDonald’s will be the franchisee’s only business, and the franchisee must be prepared to put in hard work and long hours to make it a success; will commit themselves to being full time in the business rather than an absentee investor; and are able to make a significant financial investment. McDonald’s provides extensive training and ongoing support to franchisees. Franchisee candidates must complete the McDonald’s Applicant Training Program which goes for a minimum of nine months full time and i s unpaid. This is a comprehensive program designed to provide training in all aspects of operating a McDonald’s restaurant and to assist McDonald’s in evaluating a franchisee applicant.It also allows the applicant to evaluate McDonald’s and get a true understanding of what it takes to run a restaurant. Most of this training takes place in a restaurant, with some formal classroom sessions which include seminars, conferences and one-on-one sessions with corporate staff. It is essential that they agree to the philosophy of working within the framework of the McDonald’s system. McDonald’s is looking for people who are prepared to follow a proven system—one based on 50 years of experience. Franchisees are advised that if they are not good at taking advice, they should not become a McDonald’s franchisee. McDonald’s does not ‘expect franchisees to re-invent the wheel’, but ‘to make it turn faster’ (McDonaldâ €™s NZ 2012, p. 3).Franchisees must operate the franchise according to McDonald’s quality, service, cleanliness and value standards. In addition, franchisees must use McDonald’s †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ formulae and specifications for menu items; methods of operation, approved suppliers, inventory control, bookkeeping, accounting and marketing; trademarks; concepts and restaurant design, signage and equipment layout; and information systems. Franchise investment Under the conventional franchise agreement, franchisees provide a portion of the capital required by initially investing in the equipment, signs, seating and decor of their restaurant business, and by reinvesting in the business over time.The company owns the land and building or secures long-term leases for both company-operated and conventional franchised restaurant sites. This maintains long-term occupancy rights, helps control related costs and assists in alignment with franchisees. In ce rtain circumstances, the company participates in reinvestment for conventional franchise restaurants. Under developmental franchise arrangements, franchisees provide capital for the entire business, including the real estate interest, and the Company has no capital invested. In addition, the company has an equity investment in a limited number of affiliates that invest in real estate and operate and/or franchise restaurants within a particular market where foreign ownership may be restricted, such as Japan and China.As a matter of policy, McDonald’s does not make direct sales of food or materials to franchisees, instead organising the supply of food and materials to restaurants through approved third-party logistics operators. For successful applicants, the franchisee must make a substantial financial contribution to the business, summarised as follows in Table 5 for an Australian franchise. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 7 of 20 Table 5: Example of McDonald’s Aus tralia franchisee investment and ongoing contribution Term of franchise Ongoing fees 20 Years A monthly service/royalty fee based on a percentage of the restaurant’s gross sales (currently 5%).A monthly rental, being a fixed base rent and a percentage of the restaurant’s gross sales. A monthly advertising contribution of not less than 4% of gross sales. All outgoings including rates and utilities. Initial costs Licence fee paid to McDonald’s on or prior to the commencement of the franchise. Stamp duty may be payable on the documentation (stamp duty laws vary from state to state so franchisees must obtain their own legal advice). Security deposit for the performance of the franchise. Documentation fee. Approximate cost of staff training, salaries, purchase of trading stock, living expenses whilst training and other start-up expenses.Approximate cost of kitchen equipment, signage, seating, decor, air conditioning and landscaping (paid to suppliers). AUD 15 000 AUD 3 000 AUD 160 000–AUD 200 000 (indicative) AUD 1. 7 million (indicative) AUD 60 000 plus GST Source: Adapted from McDonald’s Australia (2012), ‘Becoming a key ingredient in our success: McDonald’s Australia franchising overview’, p. 6. In addition, a franchisee must maintain a maximum of 75 per cent debt to assets ratio for the entire term of their franchise agreement. Hence, McDonald’s will not allow borrowings to be more than 75 per cent of the total asset value of the restaurant. If purchasing an existing restaurant, McDonald’s will not permit the purchaser to borrow more than 75 per cent of the McDonald’s agreed valuation.These stringent financial requirements are to ensure a sustainable return for the franchisee and the long-term viability of the restaurant for McDonald’s. In 2011, McDonald’s total revenue from franchisees was USD 8. 7 billion, comprised as follows in Table 6. Table 6: McDonald’s Corpo ration revenues from franchised restaurants, 2009 to 2011 2011 Rents Royalties Initial fees Total franchised sales 5 718. 5 2 929. 8 64. 9 8 713. 2 2010 5 198. 4 2 579. 2 63. 7 7 841. 3 2009 4 841. 0 2 379. 8 65. 4 7 286. 2 Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2011), 2011 Annual Report, p. 35. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 8 of 20 Part D: A timeline of McDonald’s developmentWhen 1940 1948 1949 1955 1958 1959 1962 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1971 1973 1974 1975 1978 1979 1981 1983 1987 1990 1996 2000 2002 2003 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Milestone Dick and Mac McDonald open McDonald’s Bar-B-Q restaurant in California, US, with a large menu and car hop service Restaurant closes for three months of renovations and re-opens as a self-service, drive-in restaurant French fries replace potato chips on the menu, triple-thick milkshakes make their debut Ray Kroc becomes National Franchising Agent and opens McDonald’s franchise in Illinois, US The 100 millionth ha mburger is sold The 100th restaurant is opened in Wisconsin, US McDonald’s in Denver, Colorado, US, becomes the first restaurant with inside seating The 500th McDonald’s opens in Ohio, US First public stock offering at USD 22. 50 per share; 700 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the US First TV commercial. Ronald McDonald appears in his first US TV commercial, appearing on a flying hamburger in one-minute colour spots on the NBC and CBS networks McDonald’s goes international—the first international restaurants open in Canada and Puerto Rico The Big Mac, developed by an owner/operator in Illinios, US, is added to the national menu Ronald McDonald gets new friends—Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Big Mac join Ronald McDonald in McDonaldLand Quarter Pounder with heese is added to the menu First Ronald McDonald House opens in Philadelphia, US Breakfast at McDonald’s—the Egg McMuffin, created by owner/operat or from Santa Barbara, California, US, added to national menu The 5000th restaurant opens in Japan Happy Meals debut to coincide with the International Year of the Child First restaurants open in Spain, Denmark and the Philippines 7778 restaurants by year end in 32 countries Fresh salads added Moscow, Russia, restaurant opens McDonalds. com launched Fruit ’n Yoghurt Parfait introduced McHappy Day first held—20 November 2002 designated as World Children’s Day, with McDonald’s donating USD 1 from every Big Mac sold to children’s charities worldwide Plan to Win strategic framework launched Snack Wrap introduced—grilled and crispy chicken wraps Global packaging redesign, focused on environmentally friendly and common packaging worldwide McCafe goes national in US.McCafe coffees including lattes, cappuccinos and mochas added to menu McCafe Real Fruit Smoothies and Frappes introduced Opens restaurants in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Trinidad and Tobago —now operates in 119 countries Shamrock Shake, a mint green milkshake which was launched in 1970 and sold on St Patrick’s Day only, now added to menu and sold all year round in US Source: Adapted from McDonald’s (2012b), ‘Our company, McDonald’s history’ (accessed February 2013). End of Case Study 1 case facts. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 9 of 20 Case Study 2 Upwardly mobile: The Australian mobile telecommunications carrier industry A Introduction—Mobile telecommunications around the world The global mobile telecommunications carrier industry is one of the largest global communication sectors, with global revenue growing at around 5 per cent annually. Mobile telecommunications is now an established industry separate from the broader telecommunications industry.This industry has over six billion users worldwide and about USD 970 billion in annual revenue (Vodafone 2012). The industry comprises companies, known as carriers, who p rovide mobile telephone services to business and consumer customers. The global industry has several major segments including mobile voice, text and data services. Having experienced fast growth over the last 30 years, mobile voice and text services have reached maturity in the developed markets of Europe and the United States. This maturation is primarily due to increasing competitive and regulatory pressures 1 that have lowered prices, together with the slower pace of economic activity.Global emerging markets, such as those in Asia and Africa, are experiencing strong demand for traditional voice and text services as mobile phone penetration grows in tandem with economic growth. In contrast, the increasing demand for data services is providing strong growth in the developed markets. For example, in 2006, data services accounted for 6 per cent of mobile telecommunications carrier revenue, whereas in 2011 they accounted for 20 per cent and are expected to rise further over the medium term. Demand for data services is driven by the higher penetration of ‘smartphones’ that integrate voice, text and multimedia messages, with internet, music and social networking (e. g. iPhones), combined with significant enhancements to network data speed and coverage, and an increased range of mobile applications (Vodafone 2012).Data services are forecast to be the strongest growing segment of the global mobile telecommunications carrier industry, with estimates that, from 2011 to 2016, worldwide mobile data revenue will grow by USD 142 billion, compared to a USD 27 billion decline in voice revenue over the same period (Vodafone 2012). Another key driver of growth in developed markets globally is technological innovation in the form of upgraded networks 2 and innovative products and services. Innovations in technology are also bringing new competitors in the form of internet service providers (ISPs) and software companies who offer converged services such as Voice ov er Internet Protocol (VoIP; services (e. g. Skype) which provide internet transmission of voice communications).Japan is a global leader in many aspects of telecommunications, and the Japanese Government has played a strong role in shaping the development of the telecommunications industry. Japan has ‘one of the world’s leading mobile telecommunication markets, not only in terms of size but also in terms of innovation and its ability to be early with the introduction of advanced technologies’ (Budde 2012a). The trends in the Japanese market suggest ongoing competition on price and the importance of continual product and service innovation such as cloud-computing services and online storage, which encourage greater data usage by allowing users to store data on shared (‘cloud’) servers rather than mobile devices.Similarly, South Korea is a leader in the global mobile telecommunications industry, with strong government support to help transform that cou ntry into the knowledge era. The industry has experienced strong growth and a trend toward value-added products and services. This growth is coming at the decline of traditional fixed line services. For example, in the United States about 22 per cent of households are mobile only and do not have a fixed line, whereas in Australia about 14 per cent of households are mobile only—up 2 per cent from the previous year and suggesting an ongoing trend away from fixed line to mobile-only households (Bartholomeusz 2012). 1 2 Regulators continue to impose policies to lower the cost of access to mobile networks through setting lower mobile termination rates (the fees mobile companies charge for calls received from other companies’ networks) and to limit the amount that operators can charge for mobile roaming services’ (Vodafone 2012, p. 18). A mobile network is a number of transceivers or base stations located across an area of land that provide radio frequency coverage fo r the transmission of voice and data signals between communication devices such as smartphones. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 10 of 20 B The Australian mobile telecommunications carrier industryAustralia’s mobile telecommunications carrier (AMTC) industry is one of the most profitable industries in the broader Australian telecommunications sector, with revenue of AUD 20 billion in 2011–12. The industry is made up of carriers who supply, operate and maintain mobile telecommunication network services that deliver communications through the airwaves rather than through fixed copper or fibre cables. Consistent with the trend in the global industry, the AMTC industry is moving toward the maturity stage of its life cycle, with some segments in the industry expanding faster than the Australian economy as technology drives growth through network upgrades and innovative products.The industry currently has over 30 million mobile phone subscribers in Australia, with mobile phone penetration level at around 90 per cent (ACMA 2011a), or 130 per cent when customers with multiple SIM and mobile broadband cards 3 are included (Shulman 2012b, p. 7). 1 AMTC industry products and services Growth in the industry has shifted from mobile voice communications to data transmission services, such as multimedia messaging service (MMS), mobile TV and internet, music streaming, interactive gaming and global positioning system (GPS) mapping. Smartphones have enabled the convergence of the industry with this growing range of products and services functional on the one device. Revenue for the major segments is set out in Table 1, with key segments discussed.Table 1: AMTC industry revenue by segment (AUD in millions) Year 2005–06 (a) 2006–07 (a) 2007–08 (a) 2008–09 (a) 2009–10 (a) 2010–11 (a) 2011–12 (a) 2012–13 (f) 2013–14 (f) 2014–15 (f) 2015–16 (f) 2016–17 (f) Equipment 990 1 190 1 330 1 650 1 990 2 090 2 603 2 750 2 810 2 900 3 100 3 300 Voice 10 010 9 790 9 490 9 150 8 800 8 450 7 210 6 120 5 450 4 690 4 010 3 450 Messaging 1 090 1 450 1 862 2 060 2 450 2 940 3 405 3 450 4 040 4 600 4 900 5 450 Non-messaging data 320 650 1 290 2 100 3 020 4 050 5 608 6 420 7 300 8 200 8 990 10 032 Mobile commerce 310 390 560 760 900 1 010 1 204 2 270 2 550 3 800 4 280 5 349 Total industry 12 720 13 470 14 532 15 720 17 160 18 540 20 030 21 010 22 150 24 190 25 280 27 581 Note: (a) = actual, (f) = forecast. The figures provided in this table are simulated. aEquipment The sale of handsets and other mobile devices provides a significant and growing share of industry revenue, driven by innovations in high-value smartphones and tablets (mobile computers such as iPads and Kindles that are operated primarily by touchscreen). b Voice Voice services, made up of call charges and access fees, generated the largest source of revenue in the industry in 2011–12. This segment has benefi ted from the migration of consumers from fixed services (landlines) to mobile services as adoption of mobile technology has become widely accepted. However, the segment has become saturated and commoditised, 4 and is now in the decline stage of its product life cycle. In order to reduce customer ‘churn’ (loss of customers to rival carriers), there has been a trend to offer capped plans with free call minutes and message services.This trend has resulted in decreasing average revenue per user (ARPU) and hence voice revenue as a 3 4 SIM (subscriber identity module) and mobile broadband cards store and verify the identity of the mobile phone user. ‘Commoditised’ means the price of a product or service falls as it become widely available and standardised. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 11 of 20 proportion of total mobile revenue has fallen during the last five years. This decrease is expected to continue as competition in the voice segment continues to inte nsify, and as consumers continue to switch to mobile VoIP and the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax 5) mobile broadband system. Messaging The increasing demand for text/SMS (short message service) and MMS has provided major growth for the industry over the last five years, as consumers switch from voice calls to these types of communications. As well as individual use, businesses are increasingly using SMS as a form of customer communication. d Non-messaging data Technological innovations in the form of new generation networks and integrated handset products have driven strong growth in the demand for, and use of, non-messaging data (ACMA 2011b). Non-messaging data includes mobile internet, media updates, music streaming, mobile TV, gaming and GPS mapping (Shulman 2012b, p. 15). This growth is expected to continue through to 2016–17, boosted by the proliferation of high data usage devices such as smartphones and tablets (Shulman 2012b, p. 15).Mobile carri ers have enabled the growth of non-messaging data through the provision of mobile broadband that has enabled high-speed internet access to mobile devices, increased data usage allowances, and access to a variety of content. e Mobile commerce Mobile commerce (M-commerce) refers to commercial transactions, typically payment services, between customers and merchants that are operated on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. M-commerce provides customers with a convenient and accessible service for making transactions. Applications include mobile banking services, buying goods and services, and paying for car parking, flights and concert tickets (Shulman 2012b, pp. 15–16).M-commerce is predicted to provide a source of revenue growth in the AMTC industry, as consumers increasingly make these transactions using their mobile devices rather than desktop or laptop computers. 2 AMTC industry trends Australia is an advanced country in terms of mobile telecommunications. About 9 0 per cent of adults own a mobile phone, with a high level of smartphone penetration with about 37 per cent of mobile phone subscribers using a smartphone (ACMA 2011b). Following in the steps of the global industry, the AMTC industry is transforming into a digital era of new generation networks, increasing data usage, and innovative mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.Industry growth is underpinned by the fact that mobile phones, and in particular smartphones, have become the primary means of communication in Australia. This growth has also been driven by lower prices that have commoditised voice services and tightened business margins. a Network upgrades Mobile network technologies and infrastructures provide a set of standards for mobile devices and telecommunication services that comply with international standards. Periodically these network technologies are upgraded to a new generation. Each new generation of mobile technology is typically characterised by different frequency bands, wider bandwidth and improved data transmission rates. The improving availability and coverage of upgraded carrier networks has driven increased demand in the industry.The progression from second generation (2G) to third generation (3G) networks, and the rollout of fourth generation (4G) from 2011, continues to invigorate industry growth with superior functionality and lower data transmission prices, leading to increased demand. 6 The rollout of 4G technology will enable a variety of data services, such that revenue from data is forecast to outweigh revenue from voice over the years to 2016–17 (Shulman 2012a, p. 4). 5 6 WiMax is a fourth generation mobile broadband system that provides data speeds of up to 1 gigabyte per second, and data exchanges across greater distances. WiMax applications include mobile broadband connectivity between cities and countries, and are an alternative to cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) for ‘last mile’ broadban d access to customers. G, introduced in Australia in 1987, was an analogue network that was superseded by the 2G digital network from 1993. 2G offered data services (e. g. texting), and improved network capacity and data security. 3G commenced in 2005, with enhanced speed and services, including internet connectivity, MMS and music/video downloads. (Next G is a Telstra 3G network. ) 4G commenced rollout in 2011 and is designed especially for data transmission, with faster speeds and reduced network congestion that let users access fast internet connection, high definition TV and video conferencing from their mobile devices. GSM is one of the early, very basic, networks. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 12 of 20Wireless networks now cover 99 per cent of the Australian population. Telstra was the first telecommunications company in the world to build a nationwide 3G network. More broadly, the rollout of 4G, combined with the implementation of the Australian Government’s AUD 43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), 7 will speed the entry of the Australian economy into the digital era. This in turn will embed the importance of telecommunication services in the activities of consumers and businesses. b Data consumption Improvements in mobile and smartphone technologies have underscored a shift in demand from voice traffic to data traffic, 8 including messaging, non-messaging data and M-commerce.The development and widespread uptake of applications for mobile devices, in particular smartphones, has generated large revenue gains in non-messaging data. Australia has the third highest penetration of 3G handsets, behind only Japan and South Korea (ACMA 2011a). Online banking, internet browsing and video streaming from sites such as YouTube and live sports websites have contributed significantly. According to Shulman (2012a, p. 4), this trend will continue to 2016–17, with data becoming the primary source of industry revenue. A second key driver of t his trend to data traffic is improved network capacity and functionality and cheaper data prices, which are helping to drive strong growth in data consumption.Faster speeds and lower data prices are supporting ‘new value added features for mobile phones and will improve the functionality of Internet connectivity via a wireless data card. This will further increase bandwidth usage as internet browsing, mobile applications (apps [software that allows users direct access to content or websites such as as banking, shopping, entertainment, and social networking]), mobile TV and M-commerce are all forecast to grow concurrently with accelerating network speeds’ (Shulman 2012b, p. 9). The rollout of 4G is expected to provide a further boost to data consumption from mobile and data cards, with the advent of demand for super-fast mobile services. c Convergence Advances in technology have broken down industry barriers in the telecommunication sector.The bundling of products and se rvices is now an industry standard. Voice, video, transaction, media and information services are packaged together on mobile devices. Smartphones in particular have driven the convergence of communication products and services in the AMTC industry. Overseas trends suggest that industry convergence will continue as the importance of data increases and the distinction between ISPs and mobile telecommunication carriers dissolves. The global trend is for companies that previously operated in non-telecommunication industries, such as cable operators, mobile-TV technology providers, content owners and search providers, to look to move into the telecommunications sector.To gain greater control over the supply chain major market, participants will want to fully integrate and operate across key distribution channels. This will necessitate that the wired and mobile markets coexist within the media, IT and communications sectors (Shulman 2012a, p. 10). While convergence will drive growth in t he AMTC industry, it will also increase the level of competition and hence have a neutral impact on profitability. d Consumer behaviour As the segment composition of the industry has changed over time, so has customer behaviour towards carriers. Mobile communication consumers select a carrier to provide their mobile telecommunication needs.Portability of mobile phone numbers means that a consumer can take their number with them if they change from one carrier to another. Consumers can sign up with a carrier with either a prepaid or postpaid plan. 9 With the proliferation of higher functionality smartphones, there is a trend from prepaid to postpaid subscription by consumers. This shift will increase ARPU, which is currently AUD 61 for postpaid subscribers versus AUD 18 for prepaid subscribers. The Generation Y demographic (18–35 year olds) will produce increasing ARPU over the years to 2016–17 as they take up postpaid contracts for access to high cost and high value 3G - and 4G-enabled smartphones and use significant data services.Growing consumer understanding and acceptance of mobile devices, and the variety of mobile data services available, will support greater demand in the industry. Smartphone penetration and turnover is higher in the Generation X and Y demographics (people born between 1966 and 1994), as these groups look for new features and products. These trends are significant, given that the Generation X and Y demographics are the largest in Australia, making up over one-third of the population. 7 8 9 The NBN involves the rollout of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), or high-speed fixed-wire broadband, to 93 per cent of premises in Australia. Data traffic is a term used to describe the transmission and flow of data. This includes messaging, non-messaging data and mobile commerce. Prepaid plans have a contract period (e. g. 4 months) and the consumer pays in advance per month for a set amount of value for calls, SMS and mobile internet data. Whe n the limit is reached, usage is restricted or charged at substantially higher rates. Postpaid plans are usually monthly contracts that provide a set amount of value which can be exceeded and charged at the same rate and which the customer pays in arrears. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 13 of 20 An increasing proportion of Australians now have a range of communication devices and options, with a shift from fixed to mobile voice and data. Young Australians in particular are choosing to communicate using mobile devices or social networking via their computers or laptops, smartphones and VoIP.According to ACMA, ‘gender, age and location appear to be primary drivers of the shift towards mobile phone-only living, with males, those aged 25–34 years, and people residing in metropolitan areas of Australia most likely to not have a fixed-line telephone in the home’ (ACMA 2011a, p. 17). With the growing range of voice and data communication devices comes a greater dep endency of households and businesses as they subscribe to these mobile services: ‘The all-encompassing product range is allowing a growing number of consumers, sole proprietors and small businesses to rely solely on wireless services for delivering all their communication needs. Such dependency is facilitating a boom in mobile usage’ (Shulman 2012a, p. 7). Government oversight Historically, the Australian telecommunications sector was subject to strong government controls and monopoly structures protected by legislation in the form of Telstra (formerly Telecom Australia, renamed Telstra Corporation Ltd in 1993), the previously government-controlled telecommunications company (Shulman 2012). Since 1989, the sector has been progressively deregulated and opened to competition. The Telecommunications Act 1991 (Cwlth) issued two additional mobile network licences, granted to Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA), which has set up a tripartite market. Legislation in 19 97 established a regulatory framework and industry codes and standards, and provided greater scope for industry self-regulation.Pricing, spectrum licensing and access are the three main areas of regulatory control, as described below. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has the power to set the pricing that carriers can charge for access to their networks. This pricing power encourages competition in the industry and acts to limit the power and profitability of the three main carriers. Telstra notes that ‘we are required to provide certain services to our competitors using our networks based on the ACCC calculation of the efficient costs of providing these services. In many cases we believe that the ACCC proposes prices that are below our efficient cost of supply †¦ There is no right to a merits review of ACCC decisions’ (Telstra 2012a, p. 16).The Australian Government controls the availability of the spectrum licences that assign the specific airspace on which mobile signals are transmitted and which operators require to provide mobile services within geographic areas and frequencies. 10 According to Shulman (2012b, p. 27), government policy decisions are required to reissue spectrum licences, and release new spectrum licences. Access to spectrum is a key factor in supporting the rollout of new mobile devices and services. The regulation of access to mobile network services is a third critical factor in the AMTC industry: ‘Under the Trade Practices Amendment (Telecommunications) Act 1997, network services can be â€Å"declared† whereupon carriers supplying network services are under an obligation to supply the services to requesting service providers.Thus, once a service has been declared, it is essentially under the control of the regulatory framework’ (Shulman 2012, p. 39). Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 11 services are declared services subje ct to regulated access pricing, while the 3G network is not subject to regulation. The potential for the government to mandate the opening up of a carrier’s mobile network to rivals is likely to increase competition and reduce the profitability of one or other of the three main carriers. There is speculation, for example, that the Australian Government may make the 4G network a declared service. 3 AMTC industry competitionStrong industry growth, combined with industry deregulation, contributed to the globalisation of the AMTC industry with the entrance of competitors, most notably Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA). a Industry competitors As at 2012, the AMTC industry is highly concentrated with the three major competitors—Telstra, Optus and VHA— accounting for about 90 per cent of industry revenue (Shulman 2012b, p. 22). Over the last seven years the market shares of these competitors have not changed significantly, with Telstra at about 40 per cent, Optus 30 per cent, and VHA 25 per cent. Competition is intense among these carriers, each of which has its own full-coverage mobile networks.VHA and Optus introduced strong price competition to the market with capped plans (prepaid and postpaid) and handset subsidies that give consumers low-price handsets as part of their contract. Shulman (2012b, p. 24) estimates that prices have fallen by around 5 per cent per annum over the past five years. 10 11 This airspace is becoming scarce due to the boom in mobile data transmission. CDMA is a transmission method that allows multiple users to use the same channel. Global Strategy and Leadership Page 14 of 20 The level of competition in the AMTC industry is high, given the regulated access to networks and the commoditised nature of voice and messaging services in which competition based on price is very strong.The three major carriers compete against telecommunication resellers who buy capacity on their network services then resell it to con sumers, and they also compete against mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) such as Virgin Mobile. MVNOs use an existing mobile network to sell a service linked to other branded services. For example, Woolworths, an Australian listed company with a significant presence in the retail sector, established an MVNO with Optus (Shulman 2012b, p. 26). Telstra The largest industry competitor, Telstra, is discussed in detail in Section C of this case study. Optus Optus is an integrated communications company that provides mobile, national and international services, local telephony and internet services to 9. 5 million customers in Australia. It is the second largest competitor in the AMTC industry.Optus is now a 100 per-cent-owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel), the biggest Asian-based communications group, with operations in over 20 countries and about 470 million mobile customers. SingTel is restructuring Optus following a drop in sales and revenue in 2012. â €˜SingTel †¦ reduced the workforce at Optus in Australia by about 10 per cent and is changing how it sells to consumers †¦ Customers will see more Optusbranded distribution channels †¦ Optus is cutting licensing to other retailers and adding its own stores to compete with its rival [Telstra], which has rolled out faster mobile-phone networks to expand market share’ (Chen 2012).Optus was the second carrier in Australia to commence the rollout of a 4G network in some of Australia’s metropolitan areas in September 2012: ‘Optus has revealed prices that are cheaper, with larger download limits, than Telstra’s plans †¦ [However] Optus cannot extend its 4G network into regional areas for several years because it does not yet have suitable low-frequency spectrum available’ (Battersby 2012). With the slowdown in customer growth in the Australian market, Optus is now focusing on improving the customer experience in order to achieve more profitable growth. VHA VHA is a joint venture between the Vodafone Group and Hutchison Whampoa.The Vodafone Group is one of the world’s largest mobile companies with a well-known brand, operations in over 70 countries and over 400 million customers. The large scale of the Vodafone Group provides strong economies of scale in purchasing and the rationalisation of operations, as well as off-shoring shared services to lower-cost locations such as India and Hungary. A key part of the Vodafone Group strategy is to achieve growth in mobile data services, particularly in the developed markets. The Vodafone Group aims to grow revenue from data services by upgrading and improving its networks to lead the market. This entails providing a faster and more reliable service, greater network coverage and capacity, and enhanced customer service.To enable this growth, the Vodafone Group plans to stimulate demand by informing and encouraging customers to take up the range of data services that are available now and that are being developed as networks are upgraded and new mobile devices released: ‘Vodafone, together with a number of other leading operators, has developed the next wave in personal mobile communications known as rich communication services which will enable data services such as instant messaging or live chat, live video sharing and file transfer across any device and on any network †¦ Vodafone is also developing a range of new services to generate additional revenue and enhance the customer experience such as mobile commerce, machine-to-machine and operator billing’ (Vodafone 2012, p. 19).Hutchison Whampoa, the other partner in the VHA joint venture, is also a leading global operator of mobile telecommunications and data services, with over 60 million customers and a strong focus on innovative mobile technology. VHA operates the Vodafone, 3, and Crazy John’s brands, and has nearly seven million customers. VHA provides 3G coverage to 94 per cent of Australians. VHA has performed poorly in recent times due to network coverage difficulties, delays to network upgrades, and poor customer service that has resulted in the loss of one million customers in the two years to July 2012. In the first half of 2012 Bill Morrow was appointed as the new chief executive officer (CEO), with a focus on improving network coverage, capacity, speed and reliability, and improving customer experience.VHA has invested AUD 1 billion in upgrading its network with the rollout of a new 3G network, and in 2013 plans to commence the rollout of 4G in an effort to match Telstra and Optus: ‘For Vodafone customers, this is translating into better coverage, better call quality and an improved mobile data experience on smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband devices’ (Hutchison Telecoms 2012). Global Strategy and Leadership Page 15 of 20 b Alternative products and services The relatively high pricing of 3G and 4G network use has e nabled competition from alternative services that operate on lower cost bases. This is offset by the carrier’s substantial investment to improve the availability and coverage of their networks. 1 2 Fixed telecommunications.This product has been in strong decline as consumers have terminated their fixed line phones and switched to mobiles as their first means of communication. Mobile and fixed VoIP. With the growth of the data services segment it is expected that: ‘internet service providers †¦ that offer mobile connectivity via fixed networks will become direct competitive threats †¦ For example, Skype allows users located in hotspots [sites (e. g. cafes and libraries) with wireless internet access for customers] to make free calls and send text messages via their mobile phone while completely bypassing traditional mobile networks’ (Shulman 2012b, p. 11). Wi-Fi 12 and WiMax. These fixed wireless networks provide data services at cheaper prices than the mobile networks.The use of these services is growing and they are predicted to become a profitable niche, particularly as the mobile networks are likely to struggle to cope with increased demands on their capacity. As the importance and usage of data transmission increases, ISPs offering WiMax technologies are forecast to pose a greater competitive threat to the AMTC industry. 3 c Barriers to entry There is a range of barriers to entry to the industry. The AMTC industry is capital intensive. According to Shulman (2012b, p. 27): ‘Upfront investment costs involved in the rollout of a network can be substantial; for example each GSM network station can cost up to $500 000 on top o