Thursday, October 31, 2019

None Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 29

None - Essay Example is a custom for the clergy in this mainstream to have special attires whose resemblance is that of their Master, Jesus Christ as well as serving as a sign of humility (Pastoor 331). These ought to be in long gowns besides a headpiece or veil that covers their entire heads signifying humility as per the Jesus’ mother (Pastoor 331). Based on Catholic traditions, women and men bear varied behaviors and tasks to play both in the church as well as in the entire society, hence each to dress differently. The nuns dressing marks the first implication of how their behavior and the roles they play vary from the men’s activities and manners, to second them in their duties. This is especially in the church whereby nuns participate only in undertaking lesser tasks like helping to give out communion but not conducting mass service. It is good or useful to identify a person from his or her physical appearance. For instance, Catholic Church leaders have different roles to play besides which when they are physically unique makes it easy for their followers to know well where to seek assistance. Greek Orthodox monks and the Amish use dress for similar purposes. Describe the dress of each group and how it fits into their lives. Do you see any important differences in terms of appearance and/or social function? The women ought to wear long dresses besides covering their heads with shawl when going to the monastery as a sign of respect to the holiness of the place (Boase 94). The monks mostly dress in black colored cassock referred to as Raso that has remained unchanged since Byzantium period up to date (Boase 94). In most cases, Amish wear homemade clothes sewn by the women. Their clothing styles motivate humbleness as well as separation from the world turning them being comprehensive peacekeepers and discouraging conflict for whatever reason. They have a simple way of dressing in which they avoid ornamentation. Men dress in straight cut suits in which their coats have no

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Firm's Stance on Women Driving Letter Assignment

Firm's Stance on Women Driving Letter - Assignment Example yota and Lexus) that many citizens of the kingdom would purchase and own our cars, as this would see our business flourish and profit margins soar even higher. Indeed this remains the desire and objective of any business in any part of the world, whether small scale or multinational as ours – to grow. But in as much as we want the very best for our company, we deeply appreciate the diversity of the human culture and the preferences that arise therein. We do not take part in any promotions that serve or disservice a particular belief or established system of doing things but are rather a humble business in competition with other similar enterprises that produce motor vehicle - with a solemn aim of bettering the lives of citizens across the world and taking motor vehicle comfort to a whole new extreme. Since the inception of the company, we have prided ourselves in equitable service for all customers who walk through our doors seeking to buy our products. We do not have any restrictions whatsoever on whom we conduct business dealings with as we serve minus any bias, regardless of religion, gender, and race and so on. We believe the question about whether women should drive or not is more of a matter of faith and religion. It is not in our power to question such things as religion. Those who subscribe to the belief that women must not drive for one reason or another are held in our highest esteems as are those who do not. True to our claim of unbiased respect for all beliefs and leanings, you are welcome to sometime conduct a survey of our key stakeholders and discover for yourselves a rich mix of people from both sides of the debate who more than anything simply wants to feed their respective

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Physico-Chemical Analysis of Sugar Industry Effluents

Physico-Chemical Analysis of Sugar Industry Effluents Physico-Chemical Analysis of Sugar Industry Effluents of Gayathri Sugar Factory Nizamabad district, Telangana state Bondugula Vanitha, Dr. Nirmala Babu Rao, ABSTRACT Present work is based on the physico – chemical analysis of effluents released from gayathri Sugar Factory. Sugar mills place a major rolling polluting the water bodies by discharging a large amount of waste water as effluent. The sugar mill effluent are having high amount of Suspended solids, dissolve solids, BOD, COD, Chlorides, Sulphates, Nitrates, Calcium and Magnesium. The Continuous use of the Effluents harmfully affects the crops when used for Irrigation. It was found that the sugar industries consume large amount of water and released almost equal amount effluent containing highly toxic material in solid and dissolve form. Sugar Factory effluents was more worst like Average values of lower PH (6.2), high temperature (42Ã ¢-Â ¦c), chloride (862mg/ lit), total hardness (571mg/lit), calcium (362 mg/Lit), Magnesium (211 mg/Lit), total solids (2452 mg /Lit), Total Dissolved solids (1915 mg/Lit), Total Suspended Solids (542 mg/Lit), Nitrate (0.8 Mg/Lit), Phosphate (9.8mg/L it), Sulphate (49.3 mg/Lit) and Oil Grees (87.8 mg/Lit). And finally this water is Unsafe for domestic and agriculture purposes. Therefore it should be recycled and utilized for Industrial purpose only. Key words: Gayathri Sugar Factory, Sugar Factory Effluents, Physico Chemical Analysis INTRODUCTION: Sugar mills play a major role in polluting the water, land and air. Commonly the pollutants are through effluents and hazardous chemicals in the form of air (1). Sugar industry plays an important role in the economic development, but the effluents released will produce a high organic pollution in both aquatic and terrestrial and air ecosystems (2). Metals and non-metallic elements can be useful for the agricultural seed germination and growth, but in high concentration they show a very adverse effect (3). Effluents also affect characteristics like flora and fauna of receiving aquatic bodies, effluent discharged in the environment poses a serious health hazard to the rural and semi-urban populations that use stream and river water for agriculture and domestic purposes. Damage to paddy crops due to sugar industry waste-waters entering agricultural land have been reported (4). It had been reported that the lower concentration of sugar factory effluent increases the seedling growth (56). As sugar factory effluent not treated properly, it will have an unpleasant odor when it is released into environment (7). Farmers using effluents water for irrigation to reduce water demand have found that plant growth and crop yield were reduced and soil contaminated(8). This is also causing deaths of domicile animals of such polluted water have been reported increasingly (9). MATERIALS METHODS: The effluents from Gayathri sugar factory was collected during the beginning of rainy season (2013 July -2014 June) in the glass bottles from the discharge channel and properly sealed. It was preserved by adding chemicals to analyze in the laboratory, for the assessment of various physico-chemical characteristics a standardized protocol of APHA (10) was used. RESULTS DISSCUSSION Color As per the present study, the color of untreated effluent was dark brownish. The photosynthesis activity is found to be reduced due to dark coloration also affecting other parameters like temperature DO and BOD etc. Temperature Temperature plays an important role in certain chemical and biological reactions taking place in water which affects organism’s metabolic activity. It depends upon season, time sampling etc. The effluent which had been released from the industry has generally high temperature and it affects land. The temperature of untreated effluent was recorded 43Â °C. The temperature of the discharge should not exceed 35Â °C. The high tem i.e. 43Â °C of the untreated effluent has adversely affected the process. pH In the present study, pH values of treated and untreated are 5.8 and 6.2 respectively. According BIS standards pH of the effluents should be in the range of 6.5 to 8.0. These low pH values of both treated and untreated samples are due to usage of phosphoric acid and Sulfur dioxide during the process of cleaning of sugar cane juice. If such water is used for irrigation for a longer period the soil becomes acidic resulting in poor crops growth and yield. Dissolved Oxygen The analysis of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is one of the very important factors in water pollution and waste water control. Aquatic ecosystem totally depends on DO only. It effects the metabolic activities of microorganism were very well documented. According to the BIS standards, the DO of effluent should be within the range 4 to 6 mg/lit. In the present study, DO of the untreated effluent sample was recorded 1.16 and 2.23g/lit respectively which is sufficiently low than the BIS Indian standard values. BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is defined as amount of oxygen required by microorganism while stabilizing biological decomposable organic matter in water under aerobic conditions. The BO is a very slow process in oxidation; organic pollutants are oxidized by microorganisms into carbon dioxide, water using dissolved Oxygen. In the present study, the BOD of the untreated effluent was 86mg/lit. According to BIS Indian standard the BOD should not exceed the 50 mg/l. COD The chemical Oxygen demand test describes the amount of oxygen required for chemical oxidation of organic matter with the help of strong chemical oxidant. The COD is a test which is used to measure the amount or quantity of pollution which has been released by domestic and industrial waste. COD is useful to determine the exact toxic condition and presence of biological matters. In the present study, the COD of the untreated effluents was 460 mg/l. In untreated effluent it is appreciably high compared to BIS standard (250 mg/L). This indicates a high amount of organic pollutants in the sample. TDS The total dissolved solids concentration in the effluent represent the colloidal form and dissolved specters. The rate of collision aggregated process is also influenced by pH of this effluent. In the rainy season less concentration of total dissolved solids are obtained due to dilution of waste effluent with rain water. In the present study, the total solids in untreated effluent were 1958 mg/lit. The samples in TDS values are much higher compared to BIS Indian Standards (500 mg/L). TSS Suspended solids are the cause of suspended particle inside the water body influencing turbidity. According the present study, the suspended solids of untreated effluent were542mg/l Chlorides The presence of chloride in natural water is attributed to dissolution of salt deposit, discharge of effluents from chemical industries oil well operations. In the present study chlorides of untreated was 862 mg/l. Sulphate Sulphate can also be produced an oxidizing action as in the oxidation action. Sulphur itself has never been limiting factor in aquatic system. In the present study, sulphate in untreated effluent was 493 mg/l according BIS Indian standard, the sulphate should not exceed 100 mg/l. Oil and grease In the present study, oil and grease present in un-treated effluent showed 87.8mg/l oil and grease values are higher than BIS standards. Table: 1 Seasonal variation in the Physico- Chemical parameters of the un-treated sugar factory effluents (during period of 2013 July -2014 June) Table: 2 The Physico-chemical parameters of untreated sugar mill effluent CONCLUSION The Gayathri sugar industry situated at Nizamabad district, Telangana State is one of the good factories. It has own distillery unit in its own premises for waste which is generated from the sugar factory. The sugar industry needs modification in effluent treatment. Thus the sugar industry effluent which is untreated exhibits high COD, BOD, and TDS content. And low content of DO which is toxic to plants and animals, so it is not permissible for irrigation. The sugar industry effluent is highly polluted and they do not satisfy the BIS Indian standard values

Friday, October 25, 2019

Desires for freedom :: essays research papers fc

Desire for Freedom and Desire for Limitations on Freedom   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People have the desire for freedom as well as a desire for limitations on their freedom. Freedom and the limitations on freedom are both needed to live peacefully. Absolute freedom cannot be achieved because when you take away limitations you take away a freedom. With out rules governing our society, people would be able to do what they want to each other with out fear of punishment. An examination of the advantages and disadvantages of both arguments helps this become clearer. One of the major reasons freedom is so desirable is because many of the limitations on freedom are disallowing humans the right to have control over their bodies. Control of the human body is the only thing that people have power over. A large number of the prohibited freedoms are crimes where the criminal makes himself the victim. For example, the use of drugs, prostitution, suicide, vagrancy, minor in possession, dodging the draft, entering the country illegally, and disregard for the age limits set on the purchase of pornographic materials. All of these crimes are punishable under the law. These crimes are set apart from most others because the person willingly chooses to victimize themselves (An exception can be made sometimes in the case of prostitution if they are being forced to prostitute against there own will). What people choose to do to themselves, in my opinion, is the least of our worries as a country. The last thing the government should have control over is what you c hoose to do to yourself. As long as you are not directly harming anyone else in the process, the government should not waste their time and money on something that is so trivial in comparison to crimes involving a victim. In general, people do not agree with the government controlling what they can and cannot do to themselves. It should be no one's decision but the people if they want to be homeless, drug addicted, or a prostitute. As long as the only damage done affects the self. These laws only exist in response to popular demand. An immense amount of money, time and labor goes to waste dealing with these types of crimes. It would be a lot more productive and profitable to let people have rule over what they do to our bodies. There is no reason why we need to put this much energy into people who will rid of themselves for us.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Hate Crimes and the Homosexual Community Essay

Abstract In this paper I am talking about Hate crimes against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. I show that though Hate crimes are classified as crimes that are evoked by sexual orientation, race, identity, gender, or religion. Hate crimes are more common amongst the gay and transgender men. I show states with highest conviction rate in 2012. I also show the upward incline in numbers since 2005 until now. I offer explanations as to who commits these crimes and why. Lastly I show the progression of time and how prejudice and hate crimes although upward in numbers are really being accepted in our communities. Hate crimes and the Homosexual community After the Civil war the Government passed the first Hate crime Law in America. Recently, in 2009 sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability were added to the categories covered by the law. According to ( Stotzer,2012) these crimes are more common among homosexual men and the transgendered community, because most hate crimes are committed by heterosexual men. Even though lesbian women are victims of hate crimes, statistics show that hate crimes are more common among homosexual men and the transgendered community, because heterosexual men commit most hate crimes (Stotzer, 2012). Studies also find that twenty in 200,000 lesbians, gay men and bisexuals reported being victims of hate crimes. 52 in 200,000 gay men reported being victims of hate crimes. Yet only twenty in 200,000 reported being victims of hate crimes. Hate Crimes against Homosexual and Transgendered â€Å"There were 15,351 anti-homosexual hate crime offenses during 2002-2011†. (Potok, 2012, para. #). According to the (Intelligence Report, winter 2010, Issue Number: 140. The numbers show that gay men are two times more likely  to suffer a violent hate crime attack than Jews. Gays are 3 times more likely to be attacked than blacks, and five times more likely than Muslims. FBI reports say that hate crimes against gay men have been on the rise since 2005. Violent hate crimes against LGBT people grew by 48 percent from 2005 until 2011. In 2010 Census.gov shows that half of all hate crimes were based on sexual orientation bias (Census.Gov, 2010). In 2011 reports show that there were 26 transgendered murders reported in the USA alone. In 2010 the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey in USA found that approximately 75% of sexual-orientation related hate crimes were of a violent nature.(Stozer, 2010) Physiological Research on Straight Men Who Kill or Physically Harm Homosexuals Mison (year) states that â€Å"[a] murderous personal reaction toward gay men should be considered an irrational and idiosyncratic characteristic of the defendant and should not be allowed to bolster the alleged reasonableness of the defendant’s act†(Dressler, 1995, p.4). Helena L. Alden and Karen F. Parker also state â€Å"that homophobia and gender stratification directly influences the incidents of hate crime victimization† (Alden, Parker, 2004). People who commit hate crimes are not limited to but mostly are Caucasian lower-class men who commit the crimes for fun or simply in resentment toward a certain group (Comstock 1991: 60-62; McDevitt and Levin 1993). Studies say that most men who commit these crimes have no physiological defects or problems. This means that these men are committing these hate crimes knowing exactly what they are doing. These studies ultimately prove that the victim is not at fault for the attack. These crimes are being committed out of sheer hate, hence the name â€Å"Hate crimes†. Examples of Hate Crimes against Homosexuals Matthew Shepard In 1998 the sad and horrifying murder of Matthew Shepard woke people up to just how serious hate crimes are getting. Matthew Shepard was only 21 years old. He was first robbed, then beaten within inches of his life and left for dead by two men. The two men told shepherd they were Homosexual and wanted to hang out with him. Matthew went with them and was led to a desert where he was beat to death. They did not charge the men with a hate crime;  therefore it kept them from receiving the maximum punishment. Following the attention and emotion evoked by Matthew Shepard’s death People’s eyes begin to open, both in the public and in the political office. 11 years after Matthew’s murder Obama passed an act to include sexual orientation, identity and gender. In honor of Mathew this act was named after him and James Byrd Jr. The Act is the first federal law to extend legal protections to transgender persons (James, 1998). Gwen Araujo Gwen Araujo – born Edward â€Å"Eddie† Araujo was a pre-operative transgender teen. Eddie was born as a boy and began living life as a girl at the age of 14. Her name was legally changed to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo two years after her death. In the early hours of Oct. 4, 2002, Gwen was killed by a group of men in her hometown of Newark, California then buried in a homemade grave after they found out she was born male. The men were convicted of second-degree murder in connection to the killing of Gwen Araujo who was beaten, tied up and strangled, according to previous media reports. (Heinrich, 2006) States That Have Highest Rate of Hate Crimes against Homosexuals New York and California are the two states with the highest anti-gay hate crime rates.in 2011 in California a three fourths of hate crimes were motivated by the sexual orientation of the victims. The majority of hate crime reported in that category targeted gay men. â€Å"These crimes continue to disproportionately affect LGBT people of color,† (Marroquin, 2012, p. #). The second highest state is New York with a percentage of 19.6 in 2010 and 39.4 in 2011. (Lovett, 2011). In 2011, the most common reported types of bias motivation in hate crime incidents involved: race/ ethnicity religion, and sexual orientation leading at 40.6 percent.(Lovett,2011). Incidents with a sexual orientation bias increased 15 percent, from 119 in 2010 to 167 in 2011 (Lovett,2012). Consequences of hate crimes and conviction rates Haider (2001) states that â€Å"Hate crime policy implementation is shaped by the support and efforts of officers, the tractability of the problem, the support of police leaders, and the presence of state hate crime policies, police resources, and public opinion.†(p.1). The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 required the U.S. Department of Justice to collect data on incidence  of hate crimes. This Act was passed by Bush in 1990. As a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard president Obama passed the most recent act in 2009. This Bill helps protect the LGBT community against hate crimes. Hate crime laws seems to be good but due to lack of enforcement a lot has still gone undone. There are still many hate crimes unsolved as well as unreported. Numbers have not gone down but, they have gone up. (Parfaite-Claude, 2012). Conviction Rates are shockingly low. According the Attorney General’s Report, only 51% of cases filed as â€Å"Hate Crimes† result in Convictions . Conclusion In conclusion, No matter what state you are in the statistics say that anti-gay hate crimes are leading in numbers. Sadly, Crime against persons is number one. Second is crime against Property. What must be taken into consideration is that more than half of anti- gay hate crimes are not reported, Due to fear, pride, or embarrassment. Although America has come a Long way with its hate crime laws and convictions, something more must be done. The enforcers of the law must do their jobs and remain loyal to their promises to their communities. In effect the people will feel more protected, which will in turn help them to feel more comfortable in reporting crimes. The key to overcoming hate crimes is to overcome hate. References Gay men more likely victims of hate crimes. (2012, May 23). Windy City Times Altschiller, D. (2009). Hate crimes: V.1: Understanding and defining hate crime; v.2: The consequences of hate crime; v.3: The victims of hate crime; v.4: Hate crime offenders; v.5: Responding to hate crime. Choice, 46(12), 2418-2418. Brownworth, V. A. (1992, Hate crimes: Confronting violence against lesbians and gay men. Lambda Book Report, 3, 34-34. Coker, C. T. (2011). Hope-fulfilling or effectively chilling? reconciling the hate crimes prevention act with the first amendment. Vanderbilt Law Review, 64(1), 271-299 Dressler, J. (1995). When â€Å"heterosexual† men kill â€Å"homosexual† men: Reflections of provocation law, sexual advances, and the â€Å"reasonable man† standard. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 85(3), 726-726. Fernandez, J. M. (1991). Bringing Hate Crime into Focus-The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-275. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 26(1), 33. Haider-Markel, D. P. (2001). Implementing Controversial Policy: results from a national survey of law enforcement department activity on hate crime. Justice Research and Policy, 3(1), 29-62. Herdt, G. (1995). The protection of gay and lesbian youth — hate crimes: The rising tide of bigotry and bloodshed by jack levin and jack McDevitt / violence against lesbians and gay men by gary david comstock. Harvard Educational Review, 65(2), 315-315 Herek, G. M. (2000). The psychology of sexual prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(1), 19-22. Heidenreich, L. (2006). LEARNING FROM THE DEATH OF GWEN ARAUJO?—Transphobic Racial Subordination and Queer Latina Survival in the Twenty-First Century. Chicana/Latina Studies, 50-86. Hoffman, S. W. (2011). â€Å"Last night, I prayed to matthew†: Matthew shepard, homosexuality, and popular martyrdom in contemporary america. Religion and American Culture : R & AC, 21(1), 121-164. Lamp inen, T. M., PhD., Chan, K., Anema, A., Miller, M. L., R.N., Schilder, A. J., Schechter, Martin T,M.D., PhD., . . . Strathdee, S. A., PhD. (2008). Incidence of and risk factors for sexual orientation-related physical assault among young men who have sex with men. American Journal of Public Health, Mariana Marroquin(2011), L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Anti-Violence Project. Martin, S. E. (1995). â€Å"A cross-burning is not just an arson†: Police social construction of hate crimes in baltimore county. Criminology, 33(3), 303-30398(6), 1028-35 Morin, S. F. (1977). Heterosexual bias in psychological research on lesbianism and male homosexuality. American Psychologist, 32(8), 629. Nadine, R. R., & Davison, G. C. (2002). Articulated thoughts about antigay hate crimes. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26(4), 431-447. Nolan,James J., I.,II, Akiyama, Y., & Berhanu, S. (2002). The hate crime statistics act of 1990: Developing a method for measuring the occurrence of hate violence . The American Behavioral Scientist, 46(1), 136-153. Parfaite-Claude, D. (2012). Gay-bashing, interrupted: the effects of the presence of state hate crime statutes on the prevalence of hate crimes against gay individuals. Stotzer, R. L. (2008). Gender identity and hate crimes: Violence against transgender people in los angeles county. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 5(1), 43-52. Stotzer, R. L. (2010). Sexual orientation-based hate crimes on campus: The impact of policy on reporting rates. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 7(3), 147-154 Tejeda, M. J. (2004). Egalitarianism and self-esteem as correlates of hate ideation against gay men and lesbians. Journal of Multicultural Nursing & Health, 10(1), 42-50 Wilson, M. S., & Ruback, R. B. (2003). Hate crimes in pennsylvania, 1984-99: Case characteristics and police responses*. Justice Quarterly : JQ, 20(2), 373-398

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The candidate for the Democrats

The candidate for the Democrats was an election in itself. Three contenders showed promising outcomes for a Democratic victory. The first candidate was representative Oscar Underwood of Alabama, he secured the support of the South. The second candidate was Champ Clark, he had support from the rich party members including a newspaper publisher named William Randolph Hearst. The final candidate was Woodrow Wilson, who had just been elected to governer of New Jersey two years earlier. It took 46 ballots, but finally Woodrows idea for moral revival of the nation tipped the scale in his favor and won the spot for Democratic candidate. The Republicans we split between two candidates, William H. Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. Taft controlled most of the convention in Chicago, but when it finally came down to it Taft was chosen. The newly gathered Progressive Party, who were basically Republican, stormed out of the convention and declared it a fraud. With time running out, ! they gathered together and urged Roosevelt to lead a new party. Roosevelt did not think twice, he happily agreed and was nominated for candidate of the Progressive party. The fourth candidate in the election was the small Socialist party and their nomination of Eugene V. Debs. As for the issues, the Republicans were for conservation and banking, currency reform, mild revision of the tariff and for regulation of trusts. The Democrats also wanted conservation and banking and currency reform, but the similarities end there. They wanted much lower duties and to end all monopolies. The election was not a four-way battle, it was primarily between Roosevelt and Wilson. Taft had very little popular support and Debs was not favored by anyone. With the election down to two, the competition became tough. Both Roosevelt and Wilson supported a much stronger government role in economic affairs, but once again the similarities ende

Monday, October 21, 2019

mans obsession with objects essays

mans obsession with objects essays According to Carl Marx man produces inanimate objects in order to feel fulfilled. Man produces not by necessity but chooses to produce as a means of self-expression. In Marxs theory of estranged labor he stresses the impact that the capitalist mode of production has upon the subsistence worker. The impact being that through the modern organization of labor man becomes separated through the modern organization of labor, he becomes alienated from his natural self. An individual believes that the products consumed reflect their personality. We see are selves as what we own. The industrial revolution brought about American s drive to gain more through expansion. Expansion comes through production. Before the industrial revolution, the more factor was still present. People wanted more then what they already owned. Americans believed there was opportunity to do what ever they wanted. Americans lived with the frontier mentality that there was always more to obtain. To obtain this more, people had to rely on their own talents since a persons rewards were taken to be quite strictly proportionate to his labors. (Shames pg.57) Expression of ones personality was determined by an individuals ability. This mentality does not hold true in modern industrialized society. Most people do not make everything they own. Not only do we buy impersonal crafts made by a company; people are no longer making their own products. Rather, an individual has only a small part in the creation of a product. A car for example, is made by numerous people all doing a different job for that one car. The nuts and bolts might come from one company, the furnishing from another. People are constantly feeding off one another to create a product. One man alone does not build an entire car from scratch. Therefore, nothing we make is our own. This fact has created a problem w...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals - Artiodactyla

Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals - Artiodactyla Even-toed hoofed mammals (Artiodactyla), also known as cloven-hoofed mammals or artiodactyls, are a group  mammals whose feet are structured such that their weight is carried by their third and fourth toes. This distinguishes them from the odd-toed hoofed mammals, whose weight is borne primarily by their third toe alone.  The artiodactyls include animals such as cattle, goats, deer, sheep, antelope, camels, llamas, pigs, hippopotamuses, and many others. There are about 225 species of even-toed hoofed mammals alive today. The Size of Artiodactyls Artiodactyls range in size from the mouse deer (or chevrotains) of Southeast Asia that are barely bigger than a rabbit, to the giant hippopotamus, which weighs some three tons. Giraffes, which are not so heavy as the giant hippopotamus, are indeed large in another way- what they lack in bulk they make up for in height, with some species reaching as much as 18 feet tall. Social Structure Varies Social structure varies among artiodactyls. Some species, such as water deer of Southeast Asia, lead relatively solitary lives and only seek company during mating season. Other species, such as wildebeest, cape buffalo and American bison, form large herds. Widespread Group of Mammals Artiodactyls are a widespread group of mammals. They have colonized every continent except Antarctica (although it should be noted humans introduced artiodactyls to Australia and New Zealand). Artiodactyls live in a variety of habitats including forests, deserts, grasslands, savannas, tundra, and mountains. How  Artiodactyls Adapt The artiodactyls that inhabit open grasslands and savannas have evolved several key adaptations for life in those environments. Such adaptations include long legs (which enable swift running), keen eyesight, a good sense of smell and acute hearing. Together, these adaptations enable them to detect and evade predators with great success. Growing Large Horns or Antlers Many even-toed hoofed mammals grow large horns or antlers. Their horns or antlers are used most often when members of the same species come into conflict. Often, males use their horns when fighting each other to establish dominance during the mating season. Plant-Based Diet Most members of this order are herbivorous (that is, they consume a plant-based diet). Some artiodactyls have three- or four-chambered stomach which enables them to digest cellulose from the plant matter they eat with great efficiency. Pigs and peccaries have an omnivorous diet and this is reflected in the physiology of their stomach which has only one chamber. Classification Even-toed hoofed mammals are classified within the following taxonomic hierarchy: Animals Chordates Vertebrates Tetrapods Amniotes Mammals Even-toed hoofed mammals Even-toed hoofed mammals are divided into the following taxonomic groups: Camels and llamas (Camelidae)Pigs and hogs (Suidae)Peccaries (Tayassuidae)Hippopotamuses (Hippopotamidae)Chevrotains (Tragulidae)Pronghorn (Antilocapridae)Giraffe and okapi (Giraffidae)Deer (Cervidae)Musk deer (Moschidae)Cattle, goats, sheep, and antelope (Bovidae) Evolution The first even-toed hoofed mammals appeared about 54 million years ago, during the early Eocene. They are thought to have evolved from the condylarths, a group of extinct placental mammals that lived during the Cretaceous and Paleocene. The oldest known artiodactyl is Diacodexis, a creature that was about the size of a modern-day mouse deer. The three main groups of even-toed hoofed mammals arose by about 46 million years ago. At that time, even-toed hoofed mammals were by far outnumbered by their cousins the odd-toed hoofed mammals. Even-toed hoofed mammals survived on the fringes, in habitats that offered only hard-to-digest plant foods. That was when even-toed hoofed mammals became well-adapted herbivores and this dietary shift paved the way for their later diversification. About 15 million years ago, during the Miocene, the climate changed and grasslands became the dominant habitat in many regions. Even-toed hoofed mammals, with their complex stomachs, were poised to take advantage of this shift in food availability and soon surpassed the odd-toed hoofed mammals in number and diversity.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Statistics on Defensive efficiancy for NBA Basketball Research Paper

Statistics on Defensive efficiancy for NBA Basketball - Research Paper Example The records are for 30 top defensive teams. The first team attains two points after a vote while the second team attains a vote following a vote. Test hypothesis This is a methodology used in statistics for the purpose of decision making using the data. This data could be from a planned observational study or a normal study. In reference to statistics, the results for the hypothesis test is termed as statistically significant if the outcome is unlikely to appear by chance only, this is according to the pre-determined probability (threshold), in a significant level. The term significance test was designed by fisher Ronald. Further tests of the kinds may be referred to as significance tests, and when these tests are accessible, we can learn whether the first sample is different from the second. Data confirmatory analysis is another term used to refer to hypothesis testing; this is contrary to data explanatory analysis. Testing statistical hypothesis is very important especially in stat istical inference (Best Joel, 2009). In other terms, this test is similar to a criminal trial; the defendant cannot be termed as guilt before the plaintiff has given supportive information to rule that. In statistics, these includes minor error; both entry and data collection. This is applied just as the prosecutor tries to evaluate the extent of guilt of the defendant. Only after enough evaluation that we can term the data suit for further statistical analysis. The first data is termed as the null hypothesis while the second is called alternative hypothesis. The first data is the one under test. Innocent hypothesis occurs when error is unlikely to occur, but minor analyses are needed because we cannot make assumptions that the data is suit for analysis. Below are the sample mean of the statistical data: The above result acts as a Test Hypotheses for statistical purposes of the data. From a physical analysis of the data, it seems to be ideal for further analytical review. This data avail pairs of data for analysis; in reference to annual results, we can note some reduction in the overall performance among the teams, other comparisons that can be made are also available, that is the game number and the rest. We can also find a mean in reference to the teams, which is the team that had the highest points in the combination of all the six games (Lindley David, 2001). The distribution of variables The available variables are these sets of data are in four pairs. In reference to this data, it is impossible to calculate the standard deviation because the data is quite complex and has many variables and entries where you need to considered more than two entries to get the mean. Standard deviation is calculator able where we are calculating to what extent the entries have deviated to the mean (Best Joel, 2009). From the variable, we can see that we can compare them vertically and horizontally. We can argue on the basis on the mean; the trend seems to increase down the cells among different teams. In this case, we will calculate the standard deviation from the mean of year 2010 for statistical purposes. Analysis for the year 2010 Mean 1.03807 Standard deviation 0.03221 Variance 0.00104 Population standard deviation 0.03167 Variance (population standard deviation) 0.001 (NBA Basketball, 2010) Statistical Inference In statistics, this means the process of designing and drawing conclusions from a specific data. In this, the main objective is to point

Friday, October 18, 2019

The Role of Emotionfocused Theory in Functional Assessment Essay

The Role of Emotionfocused Theory in Functional Assessment - Essay Example Johnson credits Fritz Perls with the experiential gestalt concept that is critical to EFT (Greenberg & Johnson, 2005; Johnson, 2003). In the experiential approaches, the goal of therapy is . . . to increase awareness of emotional experience so that it is available as orienting information in dealing with the environment, and to help clients become aware of and responsive to the action tendencies toward which feelings prompt them (Greenberg, 2006, p. 501). EFT involves the therapist's creative involvement with the clients in a manner in which the therapist moves the clients into a structure of therapy that progresses beyond simple construction. That is, although EFT initially very much outlines conflict struggles in the clients with simple terms and concepts to invite client acceptance of the problems, as therapy moves onward, painting pictures becomes more of the art of therapy (Johnson, 2003). Experiential theory incorporates the complete being of the client in the present here-and-now focus. Johnson observed that it is the exception rather than the rule to delve into deep unconscious experience or repressed memories, as there is plenty of substantial information right in front of the therapist's eyes (Johnson, 2003). The substance of EFT is the client, including what and how the client experienced communication in the client's senses, body, and expressions (Perls, 1969). The verbal communication is secondary to the therapist: Words can lie, but expression does not. EFT and Humanistic Theory After the first movement of psychodynamic psychology and the second movement of behaviorism, the third movement of humanistic psychology (later, Humanistic Existential) emphasizes in the client a potential capability toward "self-directed growth" (Corey, 2001, p. 205). . The therapist's belief that the client has both strength and desire to fulfil potentialities positively affects the client's progress: "Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided" (Rogers, 2001, p. 115). Thus, EFT adopts a therapeutic act of honoring the client as a unique human being (Greenberg & Johnson, 2005; Johnson, 2003). This empathic interaction increases a client's congruence, a term Rogers used to describe the incorporation of self and experiences as they become more similar, unitary, and true. EFT and Existential Theory Existential theory concerns itself with core structures of the self, including meaning, being, crisis, anxiety, freedom, responsibility, guilt, and death. While Johnson summarized the "I-thou" relationship, an existential concept from Martin Buber (Greenberg & Johnson, 2005; Johnson, 2003), she presented presumptuously existential concepts within the EFT theoretical framework. Studying the client from a phenomenological perspective embraces the assumption that the client is the expert in his or her world. The job of the client is to assist the therapist to enter that client's experiential world. As such, this position of the client enhances the qualities necessary for the therapist to be as accepting, nonjudgmental, and genuine as

Law & Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law & Morality - Essay Example We also ensured that at every meeting we had something new to discuss on. This called for preparation even on our own before we met. We encountered several problems as a team though. A top performer in a group can act as a motivator, was the realization just a few days before the debate. One of our team members had always participated in debates right from his early teens. His enthusiasm influenced all of us to such an extent that most of us realized the potential we carry both in terms of creative thinking and expression of thoughts. This motivated us to work harder towards our goal. Being a part of the team the outcome would depend upon the team dynamics. Working as a team was like a jigsaw puzzle of complimentary parts fitting perfectly together. Teams can bring skills and experience that far exceeds what an individual can do alone. Involvement of all team members encourages innovation and creativity through sharing individual knowledge. Fortunately our group was cohesive and being on the same wave length, communication was smooth. Just as things were going in the right direction, two of the members suddenly dropped out in the last three days without even informing us of their decision not to participate in the debate. Initially this was like a bombshell till we realized that conflicts and problems can have positive outcomes. Since we were disturbed due to lack of communication from their end, we had to postpone the debate by three days. Finally we emerged victorious as we learnt so many things out of the sudden departure of our group members. This conflict or disturbance urged us to work harder. Conflicts have been known to enhance performance and this is precisely what their sudden exit did to our group. Had they carried their personal stress to the team all of us might have been negatively affected. After this, we came closer as a team and decided to keep constantly in touch with each other both

FRANCE RECOVERY FROM THE MILITARY DEFEAT OF 1870 AND THE INTERNAL Essay

FRANCE RECOVERY FROM THE MILITARY DEFEAT OF 1870 AND THE INTERNAL STRIFE OF THE PARIS COMMUNE - Essay Example The Franco – Prussian war of 1870-71 and the humiliating defeat at Sedan marked an end of French dominance on the continent, a position that the country had enjoyed since the mid seventeenth century. The republic that was born out of defeat and of the internal strife of the Paris Commune was one of the longest of all the republics, living in peace with its neighbors until the outbreak of war in 1914 and lasting until Nazi occupation and the fall of France in 1940. This period saw the buildup of the greatest empire France had ever possessed, conquering territories such as Indo-China, Madagascar and much of West and North Africa. By the year 1914, France was the second largest colonial power in the World and the most dominant in Africa. The Third Republic saw the development of the arts movement, which was unrivalled in any other era of French history, a period known as the Belle Époque. There were wide ranging educational and political reforms, centralization of the state, the emergence of a mass media culture and success in engineering, electrical and chemical industries. Despite the endurance of the Republic, it is regarded as a period of great instability and from its very beginnings was plagued with problems. Governments ‘appeared to fall and be replaced with monotonous regularity’ and as various scandals consumed it, the Republic was threatened by deep- rooted political divisions between the left and right that seemed to control events for many years.The Paris Commune although eventually crushed by Thiers (a man who, along with his government exhibited a clear mistrust of the social and political unrest that Paris symbolized) defined working class culture for years to come. and created a new fervour for socialist ideals in France, posing a threat to the traditional Monarchist ideals. By addressing the various scandals, issues and concerns that followed the defeat of France and the Paris Commune, we will examine how effectively France recovered from these events. How well did the new Republic deal with the threats it faced after the de feat, and how did the explosion of growth in working-class political activity during the commune affect the country in the subsequent years? Are the criticisms of the Republic truly justified, or did France manage to recover from these events remarkably well considering the multitude of political struggles that she faced? The military decline of France in the Franco- Prussian war was indeed disappointing and devastating to France and its citizens. The war had resulted to loss of material resources and caused many deaths and injuries in addition to bruising France’s pride and ending the continent’s dominance that France had enjoyed since the mid- Seventeenth century. Therefore, from the outset of the defeat, the emphasis in France was on recovering from the defeat. The Paris Commune was without doubt a landmark in modern European History. It was seen by Karl Marx as the first determined attempt by the proletariat to overthrow the forces of capitalism. The extent to whic h the commune was socialist has however been a matter of much controversy (Fortescue, 2000, p 16) and seen by many at the time as much of a move of patriotism as it was a revolutionary act (Gluckstein, 2011, p. 55). The Commune represented patriotism, republicanism, anti-clericalism and a commitment to the working class along with their fervor for direct democracy. Majority of the French people embraced Paris Commune since most of them were working class compared to the anarchists who were opposed to it. However, the conditions under which it formed, its decrees that were mostly controversial, and the violent end that it had, made its

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Drawing on examples of ethnographic studies, critically evaluate the Essay

Drawing on examples of ethnographic studies, critically evaluate the main strengths and limitations of this research method - Essay Example The deployment of ethnography as a method to capture the realm of culture enables the researcher to dissect even the most subtle meanings associated with actions and interactions that often take place within that respective realm. It focuses on observation of specific actions and interactions within specific and natural settings rather relying solely on data collected through different external methods (Tuckman 1999). It helps to make sense of the deeper meanings that are motivated both from historical and political corner points and which rule the ruse in the daily lives. It also enables the researcher to simultaneously participate in the daily lives as well as to keep distance from the same in order to make sense of the subjective meanings attached to the actions by the subjects (Geertz 1995). In this paper I shall attempt to provide a critical overview of ethnographic research with regard to the possibilities it offer in social research. I have basically attempted to club the meri ts, demerits and instances of ethnographic research in singular edifice in the form of this paper. Thus I have attempted to draw from specific works in order to understand the relevance of the advantages and disadvantages and how the latter are overcome and through what additional methods. Being inductive in nature than deductive ethnographic research is more flexible and reserves sufficient room to incorporate elements that are difficult to manage and control and that emerge, even spontaneously, during the course of the study. The most significant use of making ethnographic analysis is that it helps the researcher to closely observe and understand the internal dynamics of the local daily lives in the cultural locale being studied. The use of observation and interviews in ethnography helps the researcher to stick to the natural settings (Wilson 1977). The opportunities for the researcher to observe the behaviour and human relations, actions and interactions within their usual enviro nment helps the researcher to â€Å"contextualize† her research (Brewer 2004: 154); it also plays a crucial role in the very process of laying foundation for the particular research. Gay and Airasian, during the course of their study about educational research generally in the European context, observes that â€Å"in ethnographic research, as opposed to other forms of social researches, hypothesis is formed after the initial phase of field visits, observation and so on† (25). This is a very crucial factor since it keeps the researcher away from any form of preoccupations about the research as such and the research questions and widens the scope of the project. In addition to the above this contextual specificity saves the researcher a great deal from generalizing the outcomes of the specific research. According to Pawson (1999), as a result of the constant interaction with subjects in their usual settings, there are constant and unexpected twists and turns in the ethno graphic research which prevent it from becoming â€Å"a neat series of sequential stages† (32). Thus ethnography could better be understood as incorporating great amounts of flexibility incorporating a â€Å"multiple series of actions in a rather flexible manner† (Ibid 33). While this remains so the question of research design occupies an important place in this research framework and ordering the research in a systematic

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Discuss the problems faced by not for profit organisations Essay

Discuss the problems faced by not for profit organisations establishing meaningful performance measures for control purposes - Essay Example Such goals require they follow a particular legal scrutiny within their organizational structure and strong leadership that utilizes its resources to achieve that goal. A not for profit organization begins its role generally for an altruistic purpose, and is centered on the motivations of their entrepreneurs1. Hence it can be deduced that most of the effort towards the organization’s goal is led by leadership of the entrepreneur. Not-for-profit organizations may be registered are corporations but they do not issue shares, so they are either headed by an entrepreneur, a board of governors, board of trustees or board of directors. Not for profit organizations also enjoy the benefit of tax exemption, a common liberty from most governments to encourage such organizations. Nevertheless these organization are also closely checked by the government through three modes of governance2: The media in the general course of business does the effective work of a watchdog in terms of looking out for fraudulent activity in any sector. Their responsibility to bring publicity makes NFP a part of their agenda well. NFPs have a Board of Directors or Donors who are part and parcel of the company serving as owners. As they all commit to a common interest, the Board also ensures they are meeting their target mission effectively and their money is being properly spent. Besides these external forces of performance measures, there is are ways to measure performance internally like other organizations. For not for profit organizations they face much more difficulty while measuring their performance because their bottom-line is no longer in terms of money. Since their objective is generally to meet some socially desirable need of a community or its members, none of them can be quantified perfectly3. As important as performance measure is for the prosperity of any organization, each NFP organization develops its own criteria for developing performance. When a need

Drawing on examples of ethnographic studies, critically evaluate the Essay

Drawing on examples of ethnographic studies, critically evaluate the main strengths and limitations of this research method - Essay Example The deployment of ethnography as a method to capture the realm of culture enables the researcher to dissect even the most subtle meanings associated with actions and interactions that often take place within that respective realm. It focuses on observation of specific actions and interactions within specific and natural settings rather relying solely on data collected through different external methods (Tuckman 1999). It helps to make sense of the deeper meanings that are motivated both from historical and political corner points and which rule the ruse in the daily lives. It also enables the researcher to simultaneously participate in the daily lives as well as to keep distance from the same in order to make sense of the subjective meanings attached to the actions by the subjects (Geertz 1995). In this paper I shall attempt to provide a critical overview of ethnographic research with regard to the possibilities it offer in social research. I have basically attempted to club the meri ts, demerits and instances of ethnographic research in singular edifice in the form of this paper. Thus I have attempted to draw from specific works in order to understand the relevance of the advantages and disadvantages and how the latter are overcome and through what additional methods. Being inductive in nature than deductive ethnographic research is more flexible and reserves sufficient room to incorporate elements that are difficult to manage and control and that emerge, even spontaneously, during the course of the study. The most significant use of making ethnographic analysis is that it helps the researcher to closely observe and understand the internal dynamics of the local daily lives in the cultural locale being studied. The use of observation and interviews in ethnography helps the researcher to stick to the natural settings (Wilson 1977). The opportunities for the researcher to observe the behaviour and human relations, actions and interactions within their usual enviro nment helps the researcher to â€Å"contextualize† her research (Brewer 2004: 154); it also plays a crucial role in the very process of laying foundation for the particular research. Gay and Airasian, during the course of their study about educational research generally in the European context, observes that â€Å"in ethnographic research, as opposed to other forms of social researches, hypothesis is formed after the initial phase of field visits, observation and so on† (25). This is a very crucial factor since it keeps the researcher away from any form of preoccupations about the research as such and the research questions and widens the scope of the project. In addition to the above this contextual specificity saves the researcher a great deal from generalizing the outcomes of the specific research. According to Pawson (1999), as a result of the constant interaction with subjects in their usual settings, there are constant and unexpected twists and turns in the ethno graphic research which prevent it from becoming â€Å"a neat series of sequential stages† (32). Thus ethnography could better be understood as incorporating great amounts of flexibility incorporating a â€Å"multiple series of actions in a rather flexible manner† (Ibid 33). While this remains so the question of research design occupies an important place in this research framework and ordering the research in a systematic

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingh Essay Example for Free

Visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingh Essay Brief background on CBL (Munchee) It was the visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingha in 1960 who wanted to expand his family business from the chocolate market. It was at the same time that CARE looked at sources of nourishment for the poverty stricken. It was a substitute of a biscuit that Mr Wickramasinghe proposed looking to expand on those lines. At that time the market leaders were Maliban. They were the ones who were awarded the contract. Due to lack of space, CBL was first launched at Dehiwela in his own premises to produce a high protein biscuits for schools. From this footing Munchee, has marched forward to capture 80% of the market of the local market. For over 40 years the brand has developed a certain nostalgia that is irreplaceable by any other brand. The taste is enjoyed young and old alike. There vision is to become the number one biscuit in Asia. Product portfolio CBL now produces various food items which have become house hold names in Sri Lanka. CBL expansion is not only with biscuits to which consumers are more familiar, they also have chocolates under brand name ‘Ritzbury’ since 1990s. The other brands are Tiara and Lanka Soy. There are numerous subcategories under each product. There are jellies, soya base products, cereal products, herbal porridges, soups and much more. Sub Categories under the Munchee brand Sweet biscuitsCrackers Puffs Savory Biscuits Cream Biscuits Marie Cookies Assorted HerbalWafers These are premium and hand-moulded chocolates. They come in boxes and slabs. Can be as a coated biscuits or wafers or beans or candy bars. It is in different flavours, type, and size. Sub Categories Chocolate Coated Biscuits Chocolate Slabs Miniature Caterers RangeChocolate Coated Beans Chocolate Coated Balls Chocolate Coated Candy Bars Specialty ChocolatesChocolate Coated Wafers Soft sponge cake made to perfect texture and taste Layer Cake Portion Cake Butter Sponge Cake Swiss Roll Company performance Ceylon Biscuits is of undisputable quality. CBL has shown a growth both in sales and profit for the last 5 years. Revenue had doubled from Rs.1.9 to Rs 5,2 Billion by 2005. Group turnover grew by 48% that same year. Net profit that year was Rs.533 Mio. This was the highest recorded profit for this company. CBL profit gradually grew, as it caught on to an international market. By 2011 sales revenue has grown by 25% in comparison to 2010. The overall profit margin was around 9% for the recently past five years. If ever the company saw a small decline it was due to industrial unrest. This biscuit is spread over 95,000 retail outlets all around Sri Lanka. CBL exports to 36 international destinations. It has been able to spread it’s fame in South Asia as well. Some of the countries of export are USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, China, India, Maldives and even the Middle East countries. The annual export revenue is about US $ 4 to 5 million. CBL has many awards for its entrepr eneurship. These awards are Exports in the Gold Category, Product Brand of the Year for four consecutive years, Anugu International Food Fair award. The daily production is around 150 tons. The annual production is around 45,000 tons. The company’s labor force is about 3,500. Company sustainability relies on strict norms on quality, texture and taste. For this it uses the latest technology, innovative marketing, research and development. The three C analysis There are three phases that need to be carefully scrutinized in order get a total overview of the product. Customer analysis Of the main brand Munchee, the customer analysis will be done on a sub category -Marie widely known as â€Å"Tikiri Marie –or Munchee Tikiri Marie. It is a small sized biscuit. The market segment chosen were children. Presently it is packed in a ‘keep fresh pack’ sold at a economical price. The advertisement that was done on a range of media was presented in the most attractive way, backed by lyrics that set a smile on the lips of any child. It was later that Maliban put a Marie range into the market. But by then Munchee Tikiri Marie had taken the market by storm. Competitor analysis There has been great potential for a children’s biscuit in the market. CBL had limited resources, especially in production technology which restricted revenue. It was the consumer preference that motivated CBL to keep producing the Marie Biscuit. At one point in time 50% of the production was Marie. Yet, the company was unable to raise profits. Maliban held strong to its position. No advertising, trade promotions or merchandising was able take over the market share that Maliban held. Maliban Marie has an unique flavor that was unmatchable. Volume market share (Total Biscuit Market-February 2005) Communication analysis This is a (B2C) nature of business. The company has used campaigns such as Tikiri Marie scholarship program.-Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara. Expansion programs worth Rs. 500 million Rs. 300 million for state of the art plant. It was known as Plant 6 from Italy. CBL went to war using all types of media from TV, newspaper, radio, magazines, even websites to introduce a new Marie. There was a series of advertisement for Tikiri Marie- from ‘Kohomada Tikiri Mole’ to the first day in school. All campaigns had been embarked under their corporate moto-‘A crowning success’. This was CBL communication approach of tacking Maliban. Target market for Munchee Tikiri Marie The brand â€Å"Munchee† has not only spread over domestic market but also the export market. Munchee is now exported to over 36 countries. Munchee can be seen in Gourmet Shops in Australia, supermarket like Wal-Mart, K-mart worldwide in countries like UK, Germany , Italy , Middle-East , Canada and Japan. South East Asian region is spread over 11 countries. When Munchee is target marketed in this area, it must be the same target market as of the other South Asian countries. It is the high quality, texture and taste that captivate any child in any country. Because of this CBL must ensure that they do not loose the perception of ‘a biscuit for children.’ As it is not being partnered by any company as it was in UK the brand name can prevail. Here CBL needs to position its product, thus no private label will be needed either like NTUC of Singapore and Supreme brand in China. Segment for Marie Geographical segmentation-South Asia, Europe, America, UK Demographical Segmentation Age, taste, texture, income Behavioral segment- instant, nutritious Product positioning of Marie Brand Identity vs. Competition (Source- AC Neilson) Premium quality, Innovative and value for money brand available at arms length of desire. Scope of this Integrated Marketing Communications Plan It looks in to objectives, strategies, and tools in communication used to successfully bring about integrated marketing. The plan will discuss ways to launch a program to communicate product. Marketing objective Increase the sale of Munchee Buiscuits. CBL is looking to increase sales by 5% within the next two years. With this to increase the market share by 5% at the end of the second year. Increase the company profile while enhancing the product among the target market. Munchee also wishes to strengthen Brand image among South East Asian countries as a healthy, nutritious biscuit. Communication Objective Awareness program to reach 20% of target market through television, newspaper advertising and web promotions. At least 5% the target market must purchase the product. Issues and Challenges The target market may have other preferences in biscuits. This entirely depends on texture, flavor, taste, shape and size. Thus the promotions/advertising will have to be attractive, creative and innovative in order to reach the hearts and minds of South East Asian Children. Situational analysis Current problem facing product * The target audience may not be reached. * They may prefer other biscuits. * Difficult to build brand loyalty in the food industry. Identifying target * The target market is chosen taking taste and nutrition in to consideration. * Targeting people who looks for low price but has to be of quality. Selecting a Market to Target South East Asia Geographic segmentation Children of the age 1-16 , Middle class Demographic segmentation Target market Instant, nutritious Behavioral segmentation The target market that has been chosen is of the geographical location of South East Asia region among a demographic target of children between the ages of 1-16. In modern South East Asia food in freely available for purchases for people who are one the move. This biscuit provides nutrients that are good for children and is an easy snack in a keep fresh pack. It is instant food for hungry youngsters. Positioning through Marketing Strategies * Introductory price * Chance to taste Competition Product Comparison There are companies like DIMOs that offer discounts to Government servants but no company has offered it to Bankers. AMW is the first to get into this program. Barriers to Entry * The awareness in low. * Banks have tied with other automobile companies, on a separate basis for their leasing requirements and the staff gets their vehicles also leased through those companies. * Buyers may go for second hand as the economic situations are tough. Competitor Differentiation | Chery QQ| Micro Panda| Features | Small hatch back with comfortable interior, Three Cylinder DOHCMPI 12V Petrol 812 CC engine Chery is imported from China and marketed in Sri Lanka by David Peiris Motor Company| Micro car, Volvo tech, 1300 cc engine. Made in Sri Lanka. Comes with and without air bag.| Target Market| Working professionals| Working professionals| Strengths | Low price, Brand backing | Made in Sri Lanka| Weakness | Small range of customers, No discount| Small range of customersNo discount| Consumer Behaviour – problems faced in addressing communication message There is nothing extraordinarily attractive about the AMW Maruti. But the interior is appealing. It is economical on the fuel. There is a one year warranty on the car. These are some of the aspects in regards to the car that a consumer will look at. Then the consumer is going to look at the company that selling the car. Associated Motor Ways Ltd is one of the oldest automobile conglomerates in Sri Lanka. They are the sole distributors of Suzuki vehicles in Sri Lanka and are affiliated with several brand names in the motor industry such as Nissan, Yamaha, and Goodyear. Addressing the problems with the vehicle such as no extra ordinary beauty about the vehicle or that there is fume emission from the vehicles which is hazardous to the external environment, what AMW concentrates on is the interior of the car and how economical it is. The Maruti is good on fuel. The size makes it easy to handle. This car is val ue for money. Branding Bankers are likely for a discount program where the vehicles are leased giving a bank loan. Maruti is likely to stay in the minds of the buyer due to features of the vehicle, the interior and the engine capacity in relation to the other brands of this same model which where given under competitor analysis. The Maruti is a more durable and dependable brand. Position statement This promotion is available only for bankers that are permanent in their jobs and the loan facilities are available. Any other financing will not be permitted. The discount is available for all colours of Maruti. Promotion The promotion is done within Colombo and its near suburbs. For this promotion 50% of the budgeted funds are allocated. This was first circulated to family and friends, for the word of mouth is the cheapest and the best way of promoting a discount program. Gradually as the awareness starts to increase it will be circulated among banks, first on a personal basis to call whose contacts can be acquired. Then the leasing managers or the staff managers in charge of staff leasing will be approached. Depending on the geographical location, banks will be approached in regards to the promotion. Once the approval has been obtained by the management, posters will distribute to main branches. These are known as power position advertising. The dealership logo will be indicated in the poster. A list of the eligible staff members will be collected and a web based mailer will be sent out to them. Permission will be acquired to post the promotion on an intranet facility that is accessible only to the relevant bankers of the targeted bank. A car may be sent out to the main branch for display. Once the initial promotions have been done in and around the main branches where web may not be the best promotional attribute a news paper advertisement will be posted. The news paper will carry a pictureous depictation of the car with a Brand Ambassador. The Brand Ambassador can be a cricketer or any other sportsman who is working in a bank indicating that this is the best leasing offer ever. These adds will have to run every often and it must be made sure that the adds are not too small to see. It may be preferable to advertise in a Sinhalese paper when thinking of promoting the discount program among the suburbs. There has to be creativity, innovation and an even flow for an advertisement to catch the eyes of the reader. A Saturday or Sunday paper is preferable as people have more time than on a weekday to read the paper. Television can be used as last resort. This is expensive but can be the most influential method of advertising. This is a sure a way of information gathering for viewers. The television adds usually have a lasting impression on the viewer. This is a sure way of assuring results for IMC. There are many highly watched channels of those the cheapest but the most effective can be used. The TV add can play between programs. The programs after which the add will be aired will have to be carefully chosen. It will need to depend on viewer’s discretion. The advertisement can go on for a period of 6 months at least. The web based marketing is another method by which advisement can be done. This is the most modern method. Some of the websites frequently visited by banke rs are Facebook, ESPN, Google, YouTube, Digg.com, Myspace, and Perezhilton.com. The most popular of them all is Facebook, Google, and Youtube. All these websites focus on online advertisements. Websites like Facebook taps a large audience. This not only enables promoting to bankers but also lets others know the car sale. This is a good way to get other companies to tie up with the dealership of AMW. Communication Tactical Calendar | Jan| Feb| Mar| Apr| May| Jun| Jul| Aug| Sep| Oct| Nov| Dec| Poster| | | | | | | | | | | | | News paper| | | | | | | | | | | | | TV| | | | | | | | | | | | | Web| | | | | | | | | | | | | Display| | | | | | | | | | | | | Budget The largest potion that is 50% of the budget is for promotion. Of the 50% promotional budget 30% will be allocated for television commercials, the remainder 20% for news paper, posters, display and web. The remainder 50% will be allocated for Brand Ambassador and miscellaneous expenses. The total allocation for the budget is Rs. 2,000,000/- Measurement system Implementation Controls Monitoring, review and control will be done by the dealership company with the collaboration with the bank that is leasing the vehicle. The review to be done on a monthly basis. Progress against targets to be analyzed. For this a marketing plan has to be drawn out. A target market needs to be chosen and a pilot project done before, the discount program is advertised. Once the dealership feels that this can be a successfully implemented then monitoring has to be undertaken. This has to be done carefully. Gap analysis done on a regular basis. Correction actions need to be taken if there is no progress within the first three months of advertising. Dealership may go back to the drawing board and redo the marketing plan again. Quality Assurance Around this time the company was receiving a number of complaints regarding its biscuits breakages, poor taste, quality etc. Rather than ignore the issue, CBL decided to place an emphasis on investigating the cause of the complaints, and took corrective action, including formula changes, to reduce the high number of returns at the time. Setting up better procedures for packing, product handling and transportation, the company prepared for its future growth. It conducted daily taste tests of its own products and organized regular taste panels to compare its products with those of its competitors. It also methodically documented the specifications of all products being manufactured knowledge that had previously been passed on through practice and word of mouth. As the demands on the Quality Assurance department began to rise, the company decided in 1996 to seek ISO certification Today, quality assurance remains an area of particular pride for Munchee. The department plays a critical role in product testing and development of production process controls and systems. High hygiene standards for toilet habits and hair, together with regular swab tests of employees are strictly enforced. Every shipment of incoming materials is tested for quality and those that fail are rejected. Following a complaint, products are collected from customers and subject to laboratory analysis. In 2004, CBL received HACCP certification for food safety together with SLS certification for its biscuits23.. With these in hand CBL became the only confectionary company in Sri Lanka to acquire all relevant quality certifications for its line of business i.e. SLS, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 1400124 and HACCP. Product Development Product development also became an area of increased focus. While CBL had begun operations with a line of distinctive biscuits, along with some generics. However, in the recent years the push for higher turnover had resulted in innovation playing a secondary role. Some of the biscuits that had made Munchee distinctive, were neglected in favor of more mass consumer products. CBL began formulations and potential improvements to flavor and quality. The company also began to actively investigate and keep up with new technologies and machinery by participating regularly at trade exhibitions and through membership in industry associations. Distribution Around this time CBL took the decision to rethink its methods of distribution and undertook to overhaul its sales and distribution efforts in favor of a much bolder plan. Up to this point the company had depended almost completely on wholesalers to sell its products as a hassle free means of managing its distribution efforts. As a result, while CBL had the logistic and cost advantages of maintaining a lean sales team, the company suffered due to its dependence on the enthusiasm of its wholesalers to push its products. CBL decided to bite the bullet and invest heavily in its sales force. It expanded its distribution reach, increasing its number of distributors, changed the demarcation of sales regions into much smaller areas for more intensive sales efforts and recruited the regional and senior sales personnel required to cope with this new direction. 5.4.4 Customer Intimacy With the changes to its sales force, CBL was forced to face up to the fact that it was very removed from its consumers. The company recognized that it had been paralleling the moves and decisions made by Maliban rather than acting on real consumer insights. CBLs focus had been very much product centric concentrated on improvement of its formulation and production technology. It developed its products in isolation and once developed attempted to market them. Little attention had been paid to market research, even on an informal basis. Moreover, CBL began to understand that its customer was a new, youthful generation whose tastes and style were very different from the consumer of the previous ten years. Beginning in 1996, the Board itself acknowledged this changed attitude by beginning to go to the field on a regular basis to a top down attempt to gauge market perceptions and trends. The newly developed sales force provided feedback from consumers and distributors and the company took the further step of setting up a separate subsidiary to plan its marketing activities and to become more responsive to market needs an gaps. The holding company became primarily responsible for improving product quality and procedures. 5.4.5 Image Building CBL also recognized that in order to grow it had to become a better known name as a company. Partly as a result of its multiple brand names, CBL itself was relatively unknown as a corporate entity. Embarking on a campaign to raise the profile of the company, CBL engaged the services of a consultant, and set out to gain greater corporate recognition for itself among both consumers and the business community. The publics lack of knowledge of the breadth of the companys activities was hindering its activities as a holding company, particularly for purposes such as tapping the capital market. With the help of its consultant, CBL set about establishing a public image for itself. This was done primarily through the print media. Every week or so, an article regarding the company and its various corporate activities and Latest initiatives, including its export plans and CSR, appeared in the newspapers. Competitiveness Behaviour The Biscuit Wars Around 1995, CBL had hit a wall in terms of increasing its turnover. Limited by its existing production technology and consumer tastes, t its highest growth opportunity lay in the Marie biscuit market. While CBLs Marie25 biscuits now made up 50% of total production, the company was unable to meaningfully increase its sales and market share of the Marie category. It had attempted a variety of marketing activities including extensive advertising, merchandising and trade promotions, but was still not able to take sufficient market share away from Maliban. The Munchee Marie biscuit was at this time essentially a knockoff of Malibans Marie and used very similar packaging. However, despite much effort and testing, eBL was not able to exactly reproduce the Maliban Marie flavor. Although market share was a (then) respectable 10% and despite fervent urgings from its own sales team to the contrary to be more like Maliban, CBL decided that the time had come to change tactics and be different in order to try to break through the turnover barrier. The Tikiri Marie Campaign Munchee hit on the winning concept of launching its own Marie as Tikiri Marie – a petit sized Marie biscuit using an aggressive campaign entitled Tikiri Mole†, to bring the little biscuit to the attention of consumers. The campaign targeted children with the use of attractive advertising and proved a real turning point in Munchees growth and image. The biscuit was so successful that the smaller sized Tikiri Marie became the number one Marie biscuit in the Sri Lankan market, with a phenomenal 50 per cent of Marie market share and eventually forced the giant Maliban to acknowledge Munchee as a significant market player by playing copy cat and resizing its own Marie. 7 Part of Munchees success with Tikiri Marie stemmed from Malibans complacency and its failure to react to this attack on the Marie category. The Tikiri Marie campaign brought into effect other changes at CBL such as the introduction of Munchees keep fresh pack, which ensured better product freshness. Followin g its success with Tikiri Marie CBL expanded the use of the fresh pack to the entire Munchee biscuit range. The company also commenced a Tikiri Marie scholarship program for school children in 1997 entitled Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara which it continues to this day. Now in its eighth year, the program provides 120 deserving children with scholarships of Rs. 1000 per month for one year with fresh applicants being selected annually. By 1998, the cumulative effect of the changes made through the 1990s, resulted in CBL achieving a 30% market share of the biscuit market (up from 20% at the start of the 1990s) and topping the Rs. 1 billion turnover mark. This was a major milestone for CBL, both internally and externally. The company was becoming better known, both to consumers for its brands and quality products and to the industry for its investments in good technology. CBL reinforced this reputation by committing to a Rs. 500 million expansion program Rs. 300 million of which was spent on a large state of the art plant from Italy. Plant 6 as it was known, was CBLs largest capacity plant thus far with five lines that could handle both hard and fermented dough. This action by CBL sent a strong message, to its staff and associates, about CBLs optimism and confidence in the companys future growth commercialization of this new plant, CBL planned to introduce a new range of biscuits to tackle Maliban head-on. 6.1.2 The Lemon Puff Battle CBLs next strategic attack on Maliban came in 2001 with its Lemon Puff. The Munchee Lemon Puff had a solid 30% market share but as was the case with Marie, failed at growing sales further as a me too product. CBL decided to re-Launch Lemon Puff, by promoting it as a sandwich biscuit with a higher quantity of lemon cream. The campaign was heralded by an intensive television campaign directed at capturing the attention of a new market. What the company did not reveal in its advertising was that the cracker itself had been vastly improved, through a new formula and upgraded technology. It was in fact a noticeably better overall sandwich biscuit than Malibans Lemon Puff rather than just being a look alike with more cream. Going against the advice of its advertising company, Munchee replaced the traditional yellow packaging, synonymous with the Lemon Puff category, with a white wrapper. The superior moisture and odour barriers of the new metalized wrapper combined with the new pillow pack technology, which used only two seals to achieve increased air-tightness, better preserved the crispness and freshness of the sandwich biscuit. This had been a problem that had plagued both companies puffs for decades. Consumers who tasted the Munchee Lemon Puff for its extra cream (not enough cream was a complaint associated with both Lemon Puffs for years) were pleasantly surprised and rapidly switched loyalty to the Munchee Lemon Puffs. Thus Munchee demonstrated that it was in touch with tastes of its consumers and used their feedback to improve its biscuits. The impact of the product changes were felt immediately. Munchees market share in puffs went up from 30% to over 50% within a mere four months following this relaunch, and grew the entire puff category from 12 to 16%. As a result, Malibans share of Lemon Puff which had been a staggering 70% plummeted to 29%. By now Munchee had 45% of the local biscuit market and was vying with Maliban for market leadership. CBLs next big ch allenge was clear take on Maliban in the cream cracker market. Despite Munchees success at growing its sales, Maliban still had nearly 75% of the lucrative cracker market while Munchee was at a meager 23%. The Maliban cream cracker was well accepted and entrenched in the market. CBL had to find a way of breaking through with an innovative cream cracker to take on this market. 6.1.3 The Cream Cracker Assault The following year, in 2002, CBL re-Iaunched its cracker as a Super Cream Cracker, enriched with vitamins in a bold campaign, with live broadcast of two music shows held simultaneously in Colombo and Anuradhapura before massive crowds As they had done with the Lemon Puff, CBL used a new metalized pillow-pack with a contemporary look to break away from the traditional solid red Maliban packaging synonymous s with cream cracker and re-formulated the cracker to deliver a crisper and tastier product. The Munchee strategy of delivering a superior quality product that convinced consumers to switch brands proved a success and the results were phenomenal. Cracker sales grew, expanding its own market not merely taking over competitor share. Growth in sales nearly tripled and Munchees market share in cream cracker immediately doubled to 40%, reaching 50% the foHowing year. Today, of the total cream cracker category, which makes up 20% of the total domestic biscuit market, Munchee owns a 60% sh are. Super Cream Cracker accounts for 30% of the companys turnover, with a profit margin of over 25%. Munchee continues to fight aggressively for market share. Its most recent marketing campaign entitled Podi Badaginne† targets the large 500 gm pack market, previously serviced by loose crackers. The focus is to use the cracker as a substitute for a full meal for chummary factory workers who are already provided with two meals from their work place. The company has again demonstrated its knowledge of customer needs and changing trends and lifestyles in Sri Lanka as the record 128% growth of this heavy use pack from 2004 to 2005 shows. Business Expansion Beginning from the 1990s, CBL began looking at other areas in the food and confectionary industry to expand its businesses activities. 6.2.1 Ritzbury One of the first areas CBL explored was one naturally complementary to its existing line of business: chocolate. At one time, the company had produced chocolate for Nestle and had some exposure to Nestles chocolate operations. Launched in 1991, Ritzbury chocolates began with chocolate coated (enrobed) biscuits. The company went through much teething pain in developing the right quality chocolate for its use. It struggled to develop a workable formulation one that tasted good while withstanding the melting and rancidity caused by the tropical Sri Lankan weather. Ritzbury gradually developed its market by first growing its range of coated biscuits, then expanding to chocolate candies and hand made chocolates, and only recently moving into the traditional slabs the largest market category. The companys strategy is to provide innovative eye-catching products to its consumers and thus differentiate from its competition. Ritzburys first entry was Chunky Choc (chocolate covered biscuits sandwich with butterscotch cream filling), followed by Chit Chat (chocolate coated wafer with hazelnut cream) and Chocolate Fingers (chocolate coated finger biscuit). Another innovation for Sri Lanka was Pebbles (brightly colore d, sugar coated chocolate candies). The Ritzbury range includes Nik Nak, (chocolate coated vanilla cream wafer), Go Nuts (colored chocolate coated peanuts), Choosy (liquid chocolate stick) and Choco-La individual nuggets. Although it started out originally as a poor number four, Ritzbury recently beat Kandos (Ceylon Chocolates) to the number two spot in the chocolate market. However, at 21 % vs. 42% Ritzbury has only half the market share of market leader Edna and a long way to go to become number one. Further, Edna has itself shown to be very aggressive and quick in bringing out innovative products to the chocolate market. Ritzbury for its part, offers over 60 differentiated items, at the full range of price points and with a dedicated sales force certainly provides its consumers affordability and access. Despite being a small local brand, it offers consumers a complete range of chocolates and chocolate coated products and for other products frequently provides comparable alternati ves to more expensive imported products. Examples are Pebbles as an alternative to Smarties, Chit Chat to Kit Kat and Go Nuts to MMs. Yet, apart from the hand molded specialty chocolates and coated biscuits products, the company has yet to fully convince local consumers that the quality of its slab range is on par with that of imports or Kandos. By 1997, following its first biscuit war and having grown its market share in the biscuit market to a respectable 30%, CBL began to focus on sales of Ritzbury. One hindrance to improving growth CBL realized was the then single chain of distribution it used for both biscuits and chocolates. In practical terms what this implied was that once a retailer had gone through purchases of the more established Munchee list of biscuits they would have little money left for Ritzbury chocolates. Ritzbury sales were materially affected and it became evident that an alternative would have to be sought out. One option was to increase the breadth of the CBL range in order to afford to maintain a second line of distribution. 6.2.2 Pancho Snacks With this in mind, CBL decided to enter the snack food market in 1998 under Ritzbury. Named Pancho, this snack range was made up primarily of extruded snacks. However, despite the companys sustained efforts with Pancho and the separate sales force, the impulse buy snack market proved a disappointing arena for CBL. Despite the introduction of two products under a new line named Catch Me together with a re-Launch of Pancho in 2000, the company found that it could only succeed in this market with a near continuous stream of promotions. Although CBL persevered in snack foods for nearly five years, it was eventually forced to close up this operation and admit failure. With the aim of an expansion of its range still in mind, CBL next entered a completely unfamiliar food market. In 2000 due to its own financial difficulties, Yanik Incorporated, an investment bank, was selling its 79% stake in Soy Foods (Lanka) Limited, a public listed company manufacturing textured vegetable protein (TVP) n uggets. Soy Foods was a loss making number four player in the market but had pioneered a number of soy products under the brand Lanka Soy. CBL seized this opportunity to expand its range, encouraged by its present Managing Director who had experience in the soya area. CBL purchased the stake in Soy Foods at Rs.9/share and took over operations in September 2000; by 2002 the company had been successfully turned around and had become a viable entity. This was the success story that CBL had been searching for. The Soy Foods line allowed CBL to maintain a dual distribution network, one for its biscuits and another for chocolates and soy. The effects of this isolation of chocolate sales from biscuits were immediate and notable. By 2002 Ritzbury had made impressive inroads into its competition and grown market share to over 15%. 6.2.3 Lanka Soy In 2000 when CBL bought over management of Soy Foods (Lanka) Ltd. from Yanik it was a loss making company. Despite being the pioneer in the local soy market, Lanka Soy was at the time selling only 50% of the volumes of the market leader Raigam, with a 15% market share. The companys growth was stagnating in a rapidly growing market, and many smaller competitors were cashing on its market with lookalike products. The ambitious strategy set out for a turnaround of the company was to aim to make it not merely profitable but the market leader. CBL decided that not only was it necessary to grow Lanka Soys market share, through a fresh look and product, it was going to grow the total product market through a change in positioning. Thinking very innovatively, the company decided what was needed was to position soya not just as a vegetarian food, but as a more economical substitute for the protein content of a main meal. Touting advantages such as convenience, price and the lack of freezer requirements together with newly introduced catchy features such as interesting shapes and flavors, a whole range of new branded soy products were launched under the Lanka Soy umbrella. Given that at the time, chicken flavored soya was the most popular soya product the company decided it would introduce interesting flavors to accompany new presentation efforts. In order to take the competition head on, it improved the taste of its traditional range, while also increasing its product range. It developed not one but a range of chicken flavors, under the brand Chikosoy, consisting of tandoori, masala, roast and chilli chicken flavors. For the traditional vegetarian market, it introduced the Vegesoy range a further four flavors of mushroom, hot and spicy, Chinese chop suey and Indian rasam. But its piece de resistance was a completely new entrant Malusoy. This range of not merely fish but also seafood flavors truly tapped into a very strong local preference for seafood. Malusoy comprised spratts, devilled prawns, cuttlefish and ambul thiyal flavors. Packaging for the four new sub brands was done using a range of appealing eye-catching colors, with a unique logo designed for each. Advertising again interestingly was carried out individually on a sub brand basis. For example, Malusoy used a two column poster conveying the advantages over canned fish. The company also took the extra step of providing a sauce sachet to provide a one step cooking process. Emphasis was placed to introduce the cooked product to consumers by way of cookery demonstrations and street promotions. In particular, Malusoy was aimed at areas with little coastal access. Sales efforts were overhauled, re-demarcating a network to reach 35,000 outlets with designated representatives for supermarkets, catering and restaurant sectors. The results were strong. By early 2002 Lanka Soys market share had jumped to 25% hitting 30% and market leadership a year later. Malusoy to eBLs surprise turned out to be Lanka Soys front runner in sales. The strategy to offer consumers, as a household, their daily main dish at a price less than half the price of canned or fresh sea food was highly successful. Within 24 months Malusoy sales exceeded 500,000 packets a month, making up over 14% of the total soy market. Due to the sudden launch of many interesting products at the same time Lankasoy established itself as trend setter and frontrunner of the soya product market. 6.2.4 Tiara Cakes eBLs next expansion was within the local confectionary business -the lucrative Rs. 4 billion plus local cake market. eBLs main biscuit and chocolate operations had traditionally taken place at its home factory located along with its head office in Pannipitiya. However in 2002, the company invested Rs. 1.5 billion to set up eBL Foods International (eBL Foods), a Board of Investment (BOI) approved company in Rannala, about one hour away. Awarded a 10 year tax holiday, eBL Foods has a mandate to manufacture bakery products and chocolates the former includes a new line of cakes under the brand name Tiara. The new venture commenced operations in September 2004 with a new line of portion cakes individually wrapped sponge layer cakes, marketed under the Tiara sub brand Okay, The product line also includes swiss rolls. CBL Foods boasts a state of the art plant intended primarily for cakes and a Clean Room,,33 to guarantee freshness for a shelf life of up to eight months. Due to production constraints faced elsewhere however the 110,000 square foot modern facility also includes manufacturing and packing for chocolates, wafers and biscuits the latter including both hard and soft dough. CBL expects that its group tax slab will come down to 32.5% as a result of CBL Foods tax advantaged status and the shifting of these manufacturing of chocolates, wafers and biscuits, which previously came under Ceylon Biscuits tax slab. The company uses a formula to determine profit and is taxed at the preferential rate of 15% on its export. 6.2.5 Other Snacks In 2004, CBL invested Rs. 50 million to acquire a 60% stake in Cecil Food (Pvt) Limited (Cecil Food) an organic manufacturer of dehydrated fruit products, fruit juices, desiccated coconut and cashews primarily for the export market. Though the company had been in existence for 10 years and exported to 20 countries, it was facing financial difficulties. CBL brought to Cecil Foods the financial strength and management experience that it needed, while the founder retained a 25% stake. CBLs main interest in Cecil Food was its exposure to rural agriculture and its export and local market potential. The company presently exports to countries including the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Malta, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Armed with CBLs financial backing the company has overcome its working capital needs. CBLs infusion of capital has enabled the purchase of new equipment and is now looking at expanding sales to tap the local market. Cecil Foods also has a 100% o wned subsidiary Cecil Fruit Canneries which concentrates on natural fruit juices for both the domestic and export markets. CBL intends to launch this range to the domestic market by introducing a line of fruit juices in novelty pouches. Export Markets CBL has also set its sights on growing its revenues through tapping sales in overseas markets. Although CBL had been exporting biscuits from inception, around 1997, the company began to export regular container loads to the United States, Canada, Australia and India, while also investigating at lucrative export markets such as the Middle East. India became a particular focus, with the company beginning its own marketing effort there. By 2000 CBL was also exporting to the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Sweden, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Fiji Islands and the Maldives. Although the export sector took a long time to stabilize, export orders now go out to 36 countries, exceeding Rs. 110 million in value (USD$ 1 million) in 2004/5. Exports to the UK, Middle East and Canada are mainly to the so called ethnic markets catering to the Sri Lankan diaspora, but in other countries demand is slowly establishing into in the established biscuit market through chain distributors. While most e xports are under private labels that it, outsourcing for foreign biscuit companies CBL has managed in some instances to establish its own brand. This is particularly the case in Australia where the company has taken the additional step, as it did in India, of setting up its own marketing effort by establishing a company representative as market manager. Australia is now the main export market for CBL, having overtaken the United States. CBL also enjoyed some recent success making inroads into western Africa. 6.3.1 Entry into India There are four accepted methods for a company to enter a foreign market: exports, licensing, joint ventures and direct investment, which often represent an evolution in the degree of interest the company develops once it is present in the market. Beginning with straightforward exports from the mid 1990s and early exports of containers to India in 1999 CBL took the next step in developing the Indian market by investing Indian Rupees 3.6 crores (36 million) to purchase Parrys Confectionary based in Pondicherry, about an hour from Chennai. Setting up a 100% owned subsidiary Ritzbury India, CBL began manufacturing operations for the first time outside Sri Lanka. The acquisition provided CBL with a six line 350 ton a month manufacturing plant. The company entered the Indian market with the Munchee and Ritzbury brands, for distribution in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. While the chocolates were manufactured in Sri Lanka, most of the Munchee range was baked in India. CBL produced nine varieties of biscuits including Marie, Glucose biscuits and several creams at the Pondicherry plant. This manufacturing base in India proved to be both a blessing and a distress to CBL. On the one hand, it became a strong negotiating tool for CBL at a time of labour unrest. CBL was able to take a tough stance, threatening closure and the moving of its entire manufacturing operations to its base in India. However, on the other hand, distribution arrangements provided by Parrys proved to be less than satisfactory. The company began a losing battle in trying to distribute its products. Revenues were far below expectations and Ritzbury India further faced a number of detrimental tariffs in South India. Despite a Free Trade Agreement with India, and a reduction of duty to 3%, the state sales tax in Tamil Nadu was increased by 8% for imported goods effectively nullifying any duty concessions. Following a second acquisition in India, CBL decided to completely dispose of its Chennai operations at a loss , dissolving Ritzbury India. In 2003 CBL heard about the sale through court auction of Bakemans, once the third largest biscuit manufacturer in India with a market share high of 13% of the total Indian market. Outbidding its Indian competition in July 2004 CBL successfully acquired the assets of Bake mans at a cost ofRs .. 300 million. Along with the premises the company also gained six biscuit lines from the acquisition, two of which it chose to bring to Sri Lanka for installation at CBL foods to allay its present capacity constraints. Based in Patiala in the state of Punjab, CBL set up CBL India with plans to commence commercial production in the near future, using one biscuit line. Having recruited Bakemans former CEO, who had been directly involved in the companys rise to its one time number three position, CBL has ambitious plans for India and its manufacturing operations there in the future. Tentatively speaking of a Munchee-Bakemans brand name, CBL aspires to become number three in India within two years of operations and have the same type of success at retail that Dilmah has achieved in India CBLs challenge in India is to find a mass consume r line of biscuits similar to Marie and Cream Cracker in Sri Lanka. Glucose biscuits are an area that the company will have to examine, given their present popularity in India, but to compete with established players such as Parle-G and Britannia, CBL will need both a reliable distribution network and an attractive proposition for the Indian consumers to give it a try. The use of the Bakeman name, which would certainly aid the latter, is presently an issue. If CBL is able to use the Bakeman brand name in some form it will cut down market establishment time considerably. CBLs strength is that it has the innovation to develop a product to suit this market and it has proved in Sri Lanka that it has the quality and taste to convince consumers to switch to its brand. What remains to be seen is whether it will have sufficient insight into the Indian market to correctly select what that winning product and distribution strategy should be. Other Indian Ventures In 2004 CBL entered into an agreement with Ferrero of Italy to distribute and undertake manufacturing on Ferreros behalf. Ferrero is the world renowned producer of Nutella, Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher and Mon Cherie brands of chocolate and another family owned business. Presently the agreement entails the manufacture of boxes for Tic Tac, Ferreros signature mini mint, intended to be extended to the manufacture or finishing of the mint pill also. CBL distributes Ferrero Rochers foil wrapped boxed chocolates, Nutella and Tic Tac for Ferrero in Sri Lanka and India. Manufacturing commenced in August 2005, packing pills imported from Australia into the boxes. Distribution is intended for Sri Lanka, Africa, India and Pakistan. The linkup with Ferrero is another example of CBLs chairmans dynamic personality and relationship building skills. Following initial contact in India, CBLs directors visited Ferreros head quarters in Alba, Italy, which Ferrero reciprocated with a visit to Sri Lanka. The company has expressed an interest in using Sri Lanka as a base for South Asian activities, moving its present activities from India, convinced of CBLsabilities as a business partner. CBL in turn hopes the association will expand its knowledge base through contact with the 60 year old Italian family business. Business Unit Contribution Biscuits Turnover from Munchee biscuits, the biggest contributor to group turnover, grew 30% in the financial year 2004/5 and early results for 2005 show this trend continuing. Past years sales have grown at a similar overall pace, although specific products have shown even higher growth rates at times of changes and innovation. Profit margins on biscuits range from 20-25% with products such as Super Cream Cracker, Tiffin and Chocolate Puff being the most profitable. Biscuit sales are presently constrained primarily by production capability, with demand strong and the company intending to increase its production lines in 2005/6. To try to keep up with demand, CBL has brought down two lines already from its recent acquisition in India and plans to import a new 2 ton per hour machine from Italy, expected to be installed in early 2006. Group Performance While CBLs overall growth has been strong over the past five years with revenues more than doubling from Rs. 1.9 to Rs. 5.2 billion over the period, profit increases have been even higher due to various tax benefits. In 2005 CBLs group turnover grew 48% to Rs. 5.2 billion and net profit after tax grew 63% to Rs. 533 million, the highest ever in the companys 36 year history. Sales surpassed the previous year across all areas of biscuits, chocolates, Soya and exports. The tremendous bottom line growth clearly indicates the contribution accrued from CBL Foods tax advantaged status. In comparison the 2004 figures were 11% top line and 23% bottom line growth. On average, overall profit margin has been near 9% over the five year period. This is taking into account FlY 200112 which differs due to both the industrial unrest that CBL faced for two months of that financial year as well as the exhaustion of the tax benefits afforded by the 1988 Investment Tax Allowance. The companys latest earning per share figure (EPS) is an astonishing Rs. 53.12 and more impressively has grown from Rs. 36.75 in 2003. This EPS figure reflects the extraordinary growth that CBL has experienced over the last 10 years. EPS in the late 1990s was actually in the Rs. 3000 range on the companys original ordinary share capital of Rs. 390,000 (made up of 39,000 Rs. 10 shares). Path Forward Ceylon Biscuits faced with production capacity constraints for its biscuits, as demand has grown well beyond forecasts. It has adopted the following three pronged approach to increase capacity: a) bringing down two biscuit lines from India from its Bakemans operation for immediate capacity expansion, b) importing a brand new large capacity plant from Italy and c) future capacity expansion of its Indian manufacturing operations. CBLs future growth will come from increasing exports of its established products and diversifying by leveraging its domestic logistics and distribution capabilities to market its other products. The company is also increasingly open to looking at new opportunities, an example being manufacturing for Italian chocolate maker Ferrero. The companys core competencies for the future will be investment in technology, financial strength, sales and marketing competency and focused management. Key challenges will be dealing with its production restrictions and becoming able to compete on a global basis by 2007. CBLs greatest test will be when the Indo Lanka FTA final phase permits Indian biscuits to be imported duty free beginning 2007. CBL intends to examine becoming listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange over the next few years. Since the desire for listing does not seem to be driven by financial needs only, it is still unclear what CBL will gain from this step. The company wishes to formalize its procedures in order to firm up its financial transparency and professionalize its organization structure and operations to ensure future continuity and success. There is a sentiment that going public will enforce the discipline required to ensure this. CBL is well poised with a business model to ensure ongoing value creation. It has spent time building strong brands that have future earnings potential. The brands have proven their competencies in that they have been replicated across new markets with success. However there are some concerns that need to be explored. Managing export markets Export marketing could be more aggressive the model adopted by Munchee for Australia of establishing a marketing office seems the proven route to establish and develop key markets. We see some amazing possibilities for synergies for CBL in inviting someone of the caliber of Merrill 1. Fernando Chairman Dilmah to its board, perhaps even offering Dilmah some equity in an export division or forming a separate export company, who could help with establishing relationships with some of Dilmahs retailers and distributors in Australia. One way or another, the use of a different model to fast track export market expansion is advisable. 5. Managing Indian market entry This is the second greatest challenge facing the company. India is an amazingly dissimilar market to Sri Lanka despite certain cultural similarities. It is fragmented with over 15 million retail entities, the largest number in the world. The organized retail sector in India is only 3%. However, over 51 % of its population is under 25 years of age and the fastest growing sector is the retail high-end supermarkets -expected to grow over three fold in the next five years (from US$8 billion to US$25 billion). Beginning with three malls in 2003, India had 25 by 2005 and is building 200 more. The pace of change is phenomenal. It makes sense to enter this high-end retail Focus on core competencieslRefocus on Sales and Marketing CBLs passion for quality, capacity to build brands and technological and production innovativeness are great competencies to be retained. Skills like marketing and sales are always unstable. Such skills are in demand, pressures are great and often new challenges are looked for in different cycles of growth. No proper product management system or category management is in place. It is important to have some depth to the marketing department. And while CBLs success speaks volumes for the capabilities of its current Director of marketing there is a need for a diversity of approaches and opinions so that marketing efforts do not grow stale. Key mid level appointments need to be made. Customer intimacy! Product leadership / Managing brand TOM In spite of CBL making all the right moves, and succeeding in achieving higher scores than Maliban in most of the consumer research categories (see chart below), Munchee is still behind in brand Top-Of-Mind (TOM) recall. This is despite Munchee having strong market noise levels in share of voice and especially with the competition making so many mistakes. Part of the gap between Munchee and Maliban in top of mind recall can be explained by the long history of Maliban as a market leader, and that it was the dominant player for a very long time. Part of the gap between Munchee and Maliban in top of mind recall can be explained by the long history of Maliban as a market leader, and that it was the dominant player for a very long time.