KFC‘s 4P strategy in China Essay

1. Product In order to bring success in China, KFC knows that western restaurants need changed by using localization strategy. As cultural adaptation is the process of â€Å"adjusting the native ways of thinking and behaviors to be consistent with the local culture† (Kotler, 1982), KFC tends to launch Chinese food apart from western food like burger or chicken wings, for examples, Chinese food like congee and rice, and promote Chinese herbal tea in 2004. KFC launched Chinese products like ‘Wolfberry Pumpkin Congee’, ‘Chicken Porridge with Mushroom’, ‘Duck Soup’, even lunched the ‘Deep-fried dough sticks’ in 2008. 90% of its raw materials are coming from the local too. It is obviously that KFC is trying to create the Chinese taste food when it entering to China market. The Chinese food fit the local taste and it helps KFC to build up the relationship with the Chinese people. Also, KFC introduced several new products with Chinese regional characteristics aiming to adapt local taste. For instance, ‘Dragon Twister Combo’, ‘Sichuan taste Spicy Chicken’, ‘Cantonese flavor cushion chatter’, etc. As there are many cities in China, KFC wants to treasure different regional tastes, from Beijing to Sichuan or Cantonese tastes. The products that are particularly designed for the Chinese, which gives the chance to KFC promoting their brand to Chinese people and becomes the first western fast food restaurant with Chinese cuisines in China. While KFC has launched diversification products, no matter western food like burger, French fries, chicken wings, or Chinese food like congee, rice, soup, deep-fried dough sticks, etc. People can find different types of food in KFC and it introduces a new product every half month in average, which provided an innovative product lines to customers and enlarge its market in China. 2. Place KFC is the first joint vendor of international fast food shop in China and its first restaurant is located in Tiananmen Square (Beijing) in 1987. ‘Perhaps not surprisingly the first KFC outlet had strong novelty value and attracted huge queues and custom.’ (Jim Riley, 2013) It is no doubt that KFC is enjoying the first mover advantage and it attracts Chinese to taste a  freshness western restaurant. KFC has more than 4000 outlets in the Chinese market and in every province of China. It covers the major large and medium sized cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjing, etc. KFC wants to expand its market share in China with a remarkable speed and it identified 16 key cities as its base. Also, it use a strategy to expand its market from the big cities to the medium and small cities. To create a demand of its brand in the big cities, then extend into the medium and small sized cities. KFC started out gaining notice in bustling cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai as big cities tend to be the capital cities with larger customer based and higher level of economy development. It helps KFC to establish its brand image in China while marketing in big cities can help KFC to test the local market with the macro environment and market conditions of fast food industry and less chance of failure for KFC to enter Chinese market. Moreover, KFC choose the locations with large traffic and pedestrian volume which are always near to the supermarkets, gasoline service stations or shopping malls. There is a unique feature that KFC applying for its distribution system, which helps to expand its store network. KFC owned their outlets rather than only franchised them in China with building warehouses and operating a fleet of trucks. It provides extensive staff and management training including from food preparation to customer service and logistics. This special distribution system gives KFC greater control over their outlets and ensure its quality of services. 3. Promotion KFC is using the localization strategy to adapt local taste in their promotion. It changed its slogan into Chinese cultural version from ‘We do chicken right’ to ‘,’ in 2005 and ‘’ in 2010. This action shows the ambition of KFC is to establish a strong image of pleasing Chinese. With the purpose of motivating the brand awareness and sales volume to targeted customer like family with children, KFC launched several gift promotions which followed the Chinese comic trends. For example, the cartoon named ‘Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf’ is extremely hot and popular, KFC promotes its children sets with the doll gift of the cartoon. This helps to boost the sales volume of its child food set and making a trend to Chinese children to collect KFC gift collections. Also, in order to build up the  customer loyalty of children in China, KFC creates its own cartoon named ‘QiQi’ and opens a website (Miaoli City http://www.kfckids.com.cn/) for children to play. Furthermore, the promotion sells union of people in its advertisement, which promoting KFC is a good place for every groups of people to have their reunion time. It can easily find that KFC is creating a pleasant image for families and friends while Chinese is focusing on relationships. 4. Price KFC is using the price skimming strategy towards its customers in China. As KFC is targeting middle to high levels class in the big and medium sized cities first, it sets its price in a relatively high in the beginning. The average price for personal meal in KFC is around 30RMB which is higher than the other restaurants in China. But, KFC lower its product price with promotion and discount provided after. Most of its sets have at least 3 dollars discount and KFC gives discount to every new product. Also, online coupons are extremely high usage in China which attract many Chinese having their meals in KFC. For instance, a dinner set with priced 20RMB can be decreased to 15RMB when customers downloaded the coupon online and gave it to the cashier. The tea set is cheap to attract more customers in the normal hours. For example, a tea set with egg tart and dessert cost 6 dollars only. Apart from the discount, differentiate pricing policy is applied in KFC. With different cost in different outlets or stores in different places, there are different pricing of KFC products. While the economic environment is not the same in each region, the cost used in different KFC restaurants are different namely the rent. Also, with the different profit earned in different areas, KFC reset its price by different time, restaurants, and regions in 2012. Reference Kotler P. (1982) Global Standardization-Courting Danger, The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 3 (2) spring. (Jim Riley, 2013), http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/business-studies/comments/why-localisat

Human Nature †Are Humans Naturally Good or Evil? Essay

What is thought of as immoral to one person can be seen as ethical to another, and vice versa. This is due to the difference in the way humans perceive things, which is part of the intricacy of mankind. â€Å"During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man. † (Hobbes) Hobbes states that Humans are naturally evil and need a powerful government to control them. Is it true? Rousseau thinks otherwise. â€Å"In reasoning on the principles he (Thomas Hobbes) lays down, he ought to have said that the state of nature, being that in which the care for our own preservation is the least prejudicial to that of others, was consequently the best calculated to promote peace, and the most suitable for mankind? man in the state of nature is both strong and dependent involves two contrary suppositions. Man is weak when he is dependent, and is his own master before he comes to be strong. † (Rousseau) The issue of good and evil is brought up in â€Å"Lord of the Flies† by William Golding, when innocent boys find themselves on a deserted island attempting to create a society similar to ours. What circumstances occur to them? How do past influences affect them? Are their actions good or evil? The actions of the boys were not a matter of being good or evil, but were actions for survival. A person’s environment does not draw him towards good or evil, nor is he or she born with it inside. Humans have instincts that are not affairs of good and evil, but of survival. By natural instinct, humans will do what is best for them especially for their survival. Animals, much like people, kill when in need. For instance, if they feel they are cornered, they would attack. If they need food, they will kill to eat. In â€Å"Lord of the Flies†, Ralph was being hunted by Jack’s tribe, and in a desperate attempt in his defense, thrusts his spear through a crack at the inspecting savages. Ralph attacked someone of his own kind for his own survival. It can be believed that man is the derivative of others animals, and as such, they have certain instincts that were instilled from birth. The boys later began to simulate the behavior of animals. â€Å"At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws. † (Golding 153) William Golding’s description of this scene leads a reader to believe that these boys acquired animal like qualities. Do you know of any human who tears with teeth and claws? The boys mistake Simon for their beast and result in ruthlessly killing him. In their state of mind of savagery and hunting, they saw themselves in danger of this â€Å"beast† and their first instinct was to kill anything in sight that had the possibility of being it. Humans, like animals, have a natural instinct to protect themselves in case of danger, like attacking when cornered. Instincts are inherited, but indistinct characteristics such as good or evil are not. The significance of moral values do not apply to actions in situations for survival. Instincts are not about being moral or immoral, because the issue of being good and evil is undefined. Whether an action or situation is good or bad depends on who it is and how it is being perceived. This makes this issue uncertain due to the way it is viewed from person to person. Since the way it is seen will differ, man cannot be exclusively evil or exclusively good. Consider the following example: A dog constantly jumps on the window of a door in an attempt to get the attention of the family inside. He is doing this in hopes to be let back inside the house. Someone inside the house could view this as being evil, which would be different from the view of an animal lover. They would not consider this evil and would claim that the dog had not caused physical harm and just didn’t know any better. The dog doesn’t believe that it is evil because he is only obeying environmental charge. He’s been inside before and knows that it is much nicer than outside, and wants the attention that is inside. The dog has tried to jump on the door before, and had received the attention of someone who thus let him in. This leads the dog to believe that what he is doing is the â€Å"right† thing to do. After all, he just wants in, right? So the dog is evil because someone inside says he is, but then he is not evil because he doesn’t think he is. The opinions on what is evil and what isn’t disagree with each other because of how it was perceived by each side. In â€Å"Lord of the Flies† there is a situation that deals with Piggy’s glasses, which is the key to fire on the island. The glasses were stolen in the middle of the night that leads to a fight in the dark among the boys. The fact that the glasses were stolen, and they were Piggy’s only aid for sight, can be seen as evil, but what about Jack’s side? Jack acts upon his devoir to light a fire in order to cook the pig he killed with his tribe to fully enjoy their prize. Ralph and Samneric engage in a fight with whosoever they can touch first, without an attempt to reason. Which is evil in this situation? Humans are simply complex animals that respond to complex impulse, and their behaviors are influenced or are a product of everything that they learn starting from the day of their birth to the day of their death. Society sets a mold for the â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† conditions that humans are learning from day to day. The role of society in being good or evil is that it acts as this guideline for that long lived dream of acceptance. It’s where what’s good gets you in, and what’s evil is what will make you repulsive. The ideas of power and the abuse of that power are not learned from the environment. The environment is used as a resource to abuse that power. Jack manipulates the boys into joining his tribe and sets up his territory on the island. He threatens people to join his tribe, and hunts those that refuse to. Jack’s tactics are an example of how he abuses power by using the environment and how he sets the society guidelines of acceptance. A society could not exist where people are brought up to know what they define as right or wrong, and could stick to that without problem. â€Å"We decide things. But they don’t get done. † (Golding 79) On the island, the civilized rules of having drinking water, shelters, and having a spot for a lavatory are not followed. The boys were brought up having rules like these, but they did not stick to them due to the problem that they didn’t have a strong enough authority figure to instill them. Society acts as this necessary component to life, and if it’s not there then it needs to be made. The creation of society begins with people who have the power to set the rules of acceptance, and they are the ones who establish what is good and what is evil. Society may manipulate others into believing what is good and evil, but those that manipulate society create that belief. In conclusion, Hobbes and Rousseau are both, in a sense, right and wrong. Hobbes said that human nature is evil and need to be controlled while Rousseau said human nature is good and need to govern themselves. It’s not that humans are innately good or evil, it’s their natural instinct that drives them to do immoral or ethical deeds based upon what society leads them to believe. People cannot exclusively be good or evil because the state of good and evil is undefined. People are born with an instinct that drives them to do what is necessary in extreme measures. This instinct overtakes any other preceding thought and becomes the need for survival. In Lord of the Flies, it wasn’t whether or not the inhabitants were evil or good, it was their human reaction and instinct in the case of survival. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York, NY: Putnam Group, 1954. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Ed. J C A. Gaskin. Oxford, NY: Oxford UP, 1998. Rousseau, Jean Jacques. The Social Contract and the First and Second Discourses. Ed. Susan Dunn. Binghamton, NY: Vail-Ballou P, 2002.

Human Resource Management Compensation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Resource Management Compensation - Essay Example All other benefits offered are standard as per our company policy. Since he is currently in Austin, Texas, I have factored him a Relocation Allowance for the move. Designs, develops, and tests all aspects of electrical components, equipment, and machinery. May use computer-assisted engineering and design software and equipment to perform assignments. Applies principles and techniques of electrical engineering to accomplish goals. Requires a bachelor's degree in engineering and 4-6 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks. May report to an executive or a manager. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Performance Bonus is paid in addition to your base salary. The Performance Bonus provides an annual lump sum payment based on yearly business results and individual contributions. By linking earnings to individual, team, and company results, the Performance Bonus "pays for performance." Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Employees have the option of purchasing company stock at a discounted rate of 6% of the market price as on the date of purchase. Stock is purchased through convenient payroll deductions, to a maximum of 10% of an employee's salary. Bi-weekly contributions will be made... Electrical Engineer III Designs, develops, and tests all aspects of electrical components, equipment, and machinery. May use computer-assisted engineering and design software and equipment to perform assignments. Applies principles and techniques of electrical engineering to accomplish goals. Requires a bachelor's degree in engineering and 4-6 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks. May report to an executive or a manager. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Source: Salary.com Compensation package Base Salary: Base salary is the compensation that employees are paid bi-weekly. Your base salary will be $85,460 comparable with industry standards for similar positions. Incentive plan: Merit pay plan: This will provide increases to the base salary based on your performance rating and contributions to the success of the projects undertaken. Performance Bonus: Performance Bonus is paid in addition to your base salary. The Performance Bonus provides an annual lump sum payment based on yearly business results and individual contributions. By linking earnings to individual, team, and company results, the Performance Bonus "pays for performance." Stock Plan: Employee Stock Purchase Plan: Employees have the option of purchasing company stock at a discounted rate of 6% of the market price as on the date of purchase. Stock is purchased through convenient payroll deductions, to a maximum of 10% of an employee's salary. Benefit plan Pension Plan: Bi-weekly contributions will be made to the individual's account based on earnings and years of

Economics of sex and drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economics of sex and drugs - Essay Example eople who will be visiting the city of Denver will lead to an imbalance in the market for prostitution and this is bound to create some pressures on the prices for the services. The various dimensions of the effects as well as the movements expected are discussed below in order to have a clear picture on the expected outcomes (Moffatt, Peter and Simon, 681). As has been mentioned above, the first basic effect of the National Western Stock show is the fact that there will be some imbalances in the supply and demand of prostitution services. This is due to the fact that a lot of people are expected to come to the city to show case their products and services while others will be visiting the city in order to experience the show. The first dimension of this influx is that there will be an increase in the demand for prostitution services and this is expected to push the prices upward as the market forces adjust themselves accordingly. It is expected that the prostitutes operating in the city will increase the prices of their services in order to benefit from increased demand for their services (Moffatt, Peter and Simon, 683). Additionally, the influx of people will bring in people with more disposable income and; therefore, they will be willing to spend their money on various forms of leisure and entertainment such as seeking the services of prostitutes. This will lead to an increase in the prices of the services since they will be willing to pay more than normal in order to access the scarce services. It is; however, important to note that this may not go on for long as the market will adjust itself almost immediately as it is expected that other prostitutes from other cities and localities will also invade the city in order to benefit from offering services to the people at the show. This means that the supply of prostitution services may actually increase and this may put a downward pressure on the prices (Dill 96). The expected increase in the demand for

Methods available for the assessment of alcohol abuse Essay

Methods available for the assessment of alcohol abuse - Essay Example neurotransmitters like the opioid systems, dopamine, serotonin and gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA) and their interactions are most affected (Chastain 2006). Being volatile, alcohol can be inhaled during ingestion and freely diffused into the airways (George, et al. 1996). This property became the basis for the breath test for estimating levels of blood alcohol (Hlastala 1998). Changes in levels of important enzymes were based on the effect of alcohol on hepatic functions and characteristics (Purohit and Brenner 2006) and other diseases (Purohit, Khalsa and Serrano, 2005). Liver damage due to alcohol has been attributed to increased oxidative stress which could be due to alterations in the liver’s antioxidant defense mechanism. Chronic ethanol intake was found to decrease cytosolic and mitochondrial glutathione/glutathione peroxidase-1 activities by 40% and 30%, respectively thereby promoting the oxidative modification of liver proteins (Bailey, et al. 2006) (Cunningham and Bai ley 2001). The long-term mean daily intake of 61.6 g of ethanol increases the frequency for fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis (Savolainen, et al. 2007). Ethanol transfers from the blood into the air sacs in the lungs, and thus, consumption can be routinely determined by what is known as the breath test (Hlastala 1998). The breath alcohol concentration predicts the blood alcohol concentration at certain time points. The development of breath testing instruments (â€Å"breathalyzers†) has resulted in a low-cost, accurate, rapid and painless ethanol quantification. The level of alcohol exhaled is then multiplied with a factor to get an approximation of blood alcohol. However, many factors can affect the breathalyzer results; among these is diabetes (which can increase blood alcohol levels due to ketogenic reactions in the body (Berg, Tymoczko and Stryer 2002). In emergency cases where a breath test is not suitable, ethanol concentrations can be determined from blood, urine and saliva

Art of Modern China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Art of Modern China - Research Paper Example â€Å"Chinese painting, which is based on graphic conventions, builds from a planar, rather than an optical, structure. Early pictorial representation, using graphic symbols, reads both horizontally along register lines and vertically in an open field in the picture surface.† (Fong, 2003, no page number.) This close relationship between the written word and the pictorial image lasted for many centuries right into the twentieth century. The administrators and courtiers of successive imperial dynasties were generally the only people who possessed the literary skills necessary to be an artist and they produced beautiful monochrome pictures in black ink, sometimes with washes of carefully chosen colors, representing landscape or birds, fish and animals. In the sixth century a set of six laws of painting were formed by Xie He (active c. 500-535) and they are Spirit Resonance, or vitality; Bone Method, a type of brushwork; Correspondence to the Object, or depicting of forms, Suitabi lity of Type, a method of laying on colors; Division and Planning, which means arrangement or composition; and Transmission by Copying, which is a way of ensuring that ancient models are passed on to future generations. (Clunes, 2009, p. 46). As technologies such as woodblocks and various kinds of printing developed, so the range of colors grew, and experimentation in the use of lines and washes also. The key ancient features of Chinese painting styles were cumulative, and change was gradual, that is to say, successive generations of artists consciously incorporated the earlier techniques of the masters, and carried them forward by synthesizing them into new compositions. Copying older works was advocated as a way of improving, and this is why there is such a consistent and recognizable line of tradition all the way through Chinese ink painting so that â€Å"every compositional detail, every outline, texture and ink wash had its origin in an ancient source.† (Sullivan, 2000, p. 258). Simpler peasant styles, especially portraits, with clear ink outlines were popular alongside the more sophisticated literati styles. Contribution of The Shanghai School to Chinese Ink Painting. Things began to change, however, in the middle of the nineteenth century when China began to open up to influences from the West, and one city in particular was most receptive to this new phenomenon: Shanghai. As a thriving port city it was the point of arrival for many ships and it became the most international of all art scenes in China, fuelled by the profits of traders from within China and beyond. Artists from the provinces flocked to Shanghai in the hope of finding buyers and patrons for their work. In the 1840s and 1850s the prevailing style was still was traditional bird-and-flower paintings using a wash without outlines. This style was used by Zhang Xiong (1803-1886), a

Organisational Transformation in Practice Essay - 2

Organisational Transformation in Practice - Essay Example Each of the several departments and business units need to revamp their working and management styles while gradually imbuing the change concept. Moreover the process of organizational transformation helps the employees to gain huge insights into the change process. However the process of organizational transformation also renders potential obstacles and challenges to the managers which must be effectively managed to render efficiency. Organizational transformation as a change process becomes effective if the newer business processes and innovations brought about are rightly absorbed by the existing business climate. Similarly while recruiting newer employees or installing newer machineries and production systems learning must be rendered to train the recruited workforce to inherit the existing organizational culture. Again the existing pool of human resources must be also trained to gain insights about operating the newer machineries to rightly adjust them to the innovative environm ent. (Brynjolfsson, Renshaw & Alstyne, 1997). The process of organizational transformation is found to be a spontaneous process involving the transformation of several organizational factors and business processes. Each of the different organizational factors like human and technological attributes tends to act in a collaborative manner to help in the transformation of organizational dynamics. The several business departments pertaining to customer servicing, resource allocations, financing and billing and inventory and management of distribution channels all contribute to the process of organizational change by effectively altering the existing operational and business processes. (Kamoche, Cunha & Cunha, 2002, pp.182-185). Self awareness - Feelings and thoughts The experience of organizational transformation can be studied along certain relevant parameters like alterations in management and leadership styles, alterations along the personal and at the employee level and changes alon g the organizational climate as a whole. Organizational leaders become closely associated with the transformational themes introduced in the concern to bring about a holistic change in the existing business processes. The approach of the business leaders to help in rendering change in the business processes brought about the theory of ‘transformational leadership’. Leadership aspects in the organizations underwent large amount of transformations owing to changes in the external business environment. Moreover transformation brought about in the existing leadership styles also called for large amount of changes in the behavioural patterns of the leaders making them more courageous and accountable. Further the above aspect also demanded the leaders to develop their visionary potential and thereby inculcate an environment of spontaneous learning. (Simic, 1998, pp.50-51). Similarly the roles of managers also assume equal importance and potential to guide the different organi sational levels to rightly adapt the change process. Role of managers in the change process involve guiding the people to perform in an efficient manner in respect to the changing environment. It is observed in this respect that the upper management body of the organisations operate based

Strategic management of MC DONALD and how they maintain their succeses Essay

Strategic management of MC DONALD and how they maintain their succeses over the years - Essay Example There are few challenges and problems that the company faces which would be discussed in this study. The biggest challenge for McDonalds is to overcome the increase in competition, maintain its quality and keep a strict check and balance on the customer satisfaction as the company has more than half of the business depends on franchising. In the SWOT analysis of the company it has been found out that McDonalds occupies a very strong position in the market. Special attention paid to hiring potential staff has been a key to its success. As we know in the food and hospitality industry the major role is to be played by the internal customers (that are employees) as they will be the source of satisfaction for the external customers (the real customers). So keeping the internal customers satisfied and properly training them is what McDonalds has been doing. This has been a key success factor for the company. The concept of franchising has also been fruitful for the company as it generates 60 percent of its sales through franchising (Gallagher, 2008). McDonalds focuses on five main things that are its drivers for success namely people, product, price, place and promotion. PESTLE Analysis Following is the Pestle Framework application to McDonalds. PESTLE framework includes the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that relate to McDonalds. Political Factors While McDonalds plans to expand its business it has to keep a lot of political factors in mind like the taxation and licensing issues (Ghemawat, 1991). During international expansion the analysis of the political situation of the other country happens to be of critical importance. Economical Factors Economic factors are of concern to McDonalds, because they are likely to influence demand, costs, prices and profits. Amongst the economic factors the high unemployment levels are one the most influential factors as it reduces the demand for a lot of goods and also the food industr y. Inflation is one other thing that has impacted almost every business in the world and so is the case with the food industry. The economic factors mentioned above are mostly beyond the company’s control but at the same time their effects related to the marketing mix and performance can be reflective. Social Factors The awareness of the health issues is increasing amongst the consumers' day by day and the attitudes they hold towards food is continually changing. The quality that McDonalds has provided to its customers over these years has helped the company earn a good repute and thus a strong position in the society (Schlosser, 2008). Technological Factors New technologies profit company and the customers both. The adoption of the new technology by the company and always keeping everything updated has helped the company in attaining this strong market position (Vignali, 2001). Upgrading of its equipments and the machinery used have also served as a source of satisfaction fo r the internal and external customers both. Environmental Factors McDonalds has always focused on healthy and clean environment and this has helped the company in winning the trust of the customers. Legal Factors The policies of government in order to control monopoly and the reduction of power of buyers can lead to putting a limit to entry in this sector by putting controls such as license requirements and limitation to access the

Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant on Suicide Essay

Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant on Suicide - Essay Example Whether this number of suicide cases is reasonable or not, it is assumed that when the act was committed and even only at that point, an individual had considered suicide as the most reasonable means of surviving the situation, and that the number of people who accept such an idea may in fact be increasing. The 18th century philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant constructed ethical principles that determined the rightness or wrongness of suicide. The act of suicide is not moral based on the ethical principles authored by Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant. Bentham’s philosophy is defined by the value of the action in terms of utility, which roughly translates as human benefit, and so suicide does not give a person any material benefit in the long run for it almost always results in death. For the British philosopher, the moral basis of an action is how much utility it affords the individual. This translates as pleasure and avoidance of pain according to â€Å"its intensi ty, its duration, its certainty or uncertainty, its propinquity or remoteness† (Perry & Bratham 485). Most people would contend that suicide may bring the individual peace and freedom from any more physical pain as he dies. However, committing suicide is also through pain itself, which is never a benefit to the individual. The intensity and duration of the act of suicide must be equivalent to the intensity and duration of pain that the person will experience. ... After all, there is no guarantee that there is no more spiritual pain and torment in the afterlife even if death meant the cessation of all physical pain. Thus, suicide is not moral because it does not truly give the guarantee that one is freed from pain just because one dies. After all, there is no authentic proof that the afterlife is a life of eternal goodness and pleasure. Moreover, suicide is not moral because it is followed by undesirable circumstances. For Bentham, an act is moral also if it is followed by sensations of the same kind, which is known as fecundity, or if it is not being followed by sensations of the opposite kind, which is known as purity (485). In terms of fecundity, no one can really be sure about suicide as its usual consequence is death. However, based on Bentham’s definition of fecundity, the sensations of pain from suicide may actually be followed by more pain in the afterlife or in the physical life if the person did not actually die. On the other hand, when it comes to purity of action, even if the suicide were painless, there is no guarantee that there is no more pain for the individual in the afterlife. Moreover, there must even be a lot of pain that he would leave in the physical world. There is therefore no escape from pain when it comes to suicide, thus it is not a moral act. Suicide is also not moral because it negatively affects many people. For Bentham, one last basis of the morality of an act is its â€Å"extent† or the number of people who are affected by it (485). This means that the person who dies from suicide leaves behind family members and friends who would grieve his death or who would suffer in this world because of him. For example, if he were a doctor

Estate Planning Paper Essay Example for Free

Estate Planning Paper Essay Last year, November 2011. The world lost Andy Rooney. Andy Rooney, the 60 Minutes commentator known to generations for his wry and humorous television essays died Friday in a hospital in New York City of complications following minor surgery. He was 92. A will for Rooney has been filed in surrogate court in New York City. The will leaves the entire estate, which is comprised of $8 million in stocks, bonds and cash and $1 million in real estate, to Mr. Rooneys four children, Brian Rooney of Los Angeles, identical twins Emily Rooney of Boston and Martha Fishel of Chevy Chase, MD, and Ellen Rooney of London. Mr. Rooneys wife, Marguerite Margie Rooney, died in 2004. They had been married for 62 years. Based on a statement from Mr. Rooney’s son Brian, apparently Mr. Rooney did not do any estate tax planning other than the will. In her article Julie Garber (Julie Ann Garber, Esq. is an experienced estate planning attorney a co-author of the book Estate Planning Strategies, Collective Wisdom, Proven Techniques Wealth Builders Press, (2009) state that, â€Å"Assuming that Mr. Rooney did not have many liabilities and no assets passed outside of his probate estate, then this means that his estate will owe approximately $1.4 million in federal estate taxes and $916,000 in New York estate taxes, leaving about $6.68 million for his children to split† The home Andy Rooney has gone on the market in the Rowayton section of Norwalk. The 2,474-square-foot, four-bedroom, one-bath Tudor-style home was built in 1882 and is situated atop a hill, within walking distance of the village and train station. Rooney held on to the house while also having an  apartment in New York It is currently listed by Prudential Connecticut Realty for $749,500. The Beginning In the first chapter of our reading on wills and estates we find that the law of wills are technical and differs from state to state it is risky to right a will because a layperson are usually not aware of legal terminology and could wind up risking the loss of valuables and money. Here Andy Rooney’s son states in the article by Julie Garber â€Å"When asked about his fathers estate, Brian Rooney said that his father lived frugally and wasnt into fancy estate planning. The aforementioned quote would probably denote that since Mr. Rooney was frugal and not into FANCY estate planning he probably did the will himself. While leaving a great deal of money he probably would have been able to leave substantially more than his children would have received had he perhaps done a better job at estate planning and consulted with an attorney. Estate Planning Andy Rooney had several homes according to the article 2 in NY and one in Conn. Rooney however was domiciled in NY as this is where he worked and was his main residence. In addition Mr. Rooney passed away In NY the probate court would then be the NY court with jurisdiction to administer the decedent’s estate. Rooney’s Wife had passed away leaving only the children as beneficiaries. It is more likely than not, that Rooney had not just probate property but also non-probate property to which his children are beneficiaries. Non-probate property would have been Mr. Rooney’s pension plan, Life insurance and IRA’s. There are no issues that involve the intestacy as Mr. Rooney died with a valid will. Mr. Rooney had no illegitimate children. Because the will was delivered and processed by the probate court in NY there were no witness, age, signature or revoking of the will issues. At the time of this article there the will has not been provided to the public. Therefore Payment of debts, clause are not made available the family will hold a private funeral service this week, with a CBS memorial at a later date, Emily said. Mr. Rooney will be buried in the family plot in Rensselaerville, N.Y., near his native Albany. Marguerite ‘Margie’ Rooney, his wife of 62 years, is also buried there. We assume that these were his funeral arraignments but not sure if these are covered in the will. Family Allowance Often the state will provide for the immediate support of the family when a breadwinner dies, state law generally contains a mechanism for immediate access to money from the decedents estate known as family allowance. In this instance Rooney has 4 children that survive him it is not clear that any of these children were being supported by their father to fall under the designation of breadwinner. Emily is the twin of Martha. Emily Rooney born 1950 is an American journalist, TV talk show and radio host and former news producer. Since 1997, Rooney has been the host, executive editor and creator of Greater Boston and the weekly Beat the Press on WGBH-TV, which are also later rebroadcast on the Boston-based WGBH radio station. As of 2010, she hosts the Emily Rooney Show on WGBH radio. She has an identical twin sister, Martha, who is Chief of the Public Services Division at the United States National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. Her brother Brian Rooney is a correspondent for ABC News. Rooney has one daughter, Alexis. Rooneys husband, WCVB-TV reporter Kirby Perkins, died suddenly of heart failure July 1997. Here it is not likely that a family allowance will be necessary. Exempt property New York Law grants the family of a decedent the right to exempt certain property from the decedents estate. The purpose is to award essential necessities for continuing the family unit. Since the purpose is to assist the surviving spouse and children under 21. Here this does not apply to any of the Rooney children since all of his children were born in the 1950’s. Trust Trust are special arraignments laid out by settlor to the trustee for keeping  to be disbursed to a beneficiary based on the terms of the trust agreement. The wording of the article didn’t specify the type of instructions of the will, however the words of the son â€Å" His father was not a stickler for fancy estate planning† gives up a picture that there was simply a will and not anything more like a trust. Personal representative Since the will is not yet available to the public knowing who the personal representative is however we do know that his duties are to collect and preserves the assets of the estate pay the debts taxes and the expenses of the administration. He/ she must inform the heirs and devisees of the of the appointment within 30 days file inventory of the weate within three months, take possession and control of the decedents property for protection and management. Probation of the will The will was filed with the probate court in the allotted time to the NY surrogate court. The personal representative then waits to hear from the court to the accuracy and official recognition of the will. Once the personal representative hear back from the court if the will checks out the court will give the appointment to the personal representative gives him the legal authority to collect and preserve the assets. One of the most important duties of the personal representative is to pay the taxes of the estate here is where the crux of the inheritance to the beneficiary is absorb as well. The personal representative must notify the internal revenue service, receive an EIN and then file the decedent final tax return. Mr. Rooney did create any more than a will so his assets are all taxable. This is why his son stated that if his father had been more careful with his estate planning that they would have had more money. The estate will have to pay out 1.4 million in federal taxes and $916,000 in New York estate taxes. Real estate According to the article Rooney left behind 3 different properties homes in  New York City, Rensselaerville, N.Y. and Rowayton, Conn. The article states that the property totals 1 million dollars. The article listed that the estate taxes would equal out to 916,000 however the property is being sold for $749,500 because there was no previous estate planning minus the will the estate will still need the property on the tax return. Stocks and bond The article says that Mr. Rooney had 8 million dollars in stocks and bonds all of these stocks individually will be reported on the federal return under a schedule B form. The stocks must be listed in detail including price per share and anything concerning that stock including the CUSIP number for identification. The fair market value of the stock and bonds must be listed. Mr. Rooney’s estate will have to pay taxes for the 8 million dollars in stocks and bonds due to improper estate planning. Taxes A federal tax return for Mr. Rooney must be filed within nine months after the date of his death if the gross estate is more than the amount prescribed for that year. The gross estate includes individually owned property. The taxable estate is the gross estate minus the obligations of Mr. Rooney. The net estate tax is computed by deducting the following from the gross estate tax: an applicable credit amount, state death taxes up to a certain limit, gift taxes paid before 1976 taxes paid on certain prior transfers and foreign death taxes. Conclusion: Mr. was a frugal man that lived thru the depression and was very careful how he made and spent his money. He loved his children very much and was a very simple man and very simple in his planning for the future although he amassed a small fortune for his heirs, his poor planning has allowed the government to come down and swoop in and take a nice percentage that could have been sheltered through trust or special tax shelters that shield his assets that he worked so hard for. If have learned anything is one that a will is vital to the communication of assets after death and that proper estate planning can protect your assets from being squander, lost or  misdirected. Bibliography Daily News Andy Rooney’s kids to split $9 million estate Monday, March 05, 2012, http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-03-05/news/31122336_1_andy-rooney-martha-fishel-million-estate Norwalk Citizen, Tuesday, July 31, 2012 – http://www.norwalkcitizenonline.com/news/article/Rooney-s-house-goes-on-market-3469747.php#photo-2797363 Gordon Brown (2009). Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates. (Fourth). Thomson/Delmar Learning.

Elections Are A Major Institutional Pillar Politics Essay

Elections Are A Major Institutional Pillar Politics Essay Elections are a major institutional pillar of liberal democracy. They are the dominant element of political process as they provide the platform for exercising the basic rights of the people associated with democracy freedom of speech, association, choice and movement and the like. They also form the individuals rights of participation in the political process. For the masses they are the opportunity to make the political leaders accountable for their stewardship during the time they were in power, as well as subject to their power as the final sovereign of the country. An election is a competition for office based on a formal expression of preferences by a designated body of people at the ballot box.  [1]  As Yogesh Atal had observed, elections computes public opinion.  [2]  Therefore, elections signify the power of the people and provide legitimacy to the authority of the government. On the importance of elections, Norman D. Palmer, has observed: Elections are particularly conspicuous and revealing aspect of most contemporary political systems. They highlight and dramatize a Political System, bringing its nature into sharp relief, and providing insights into other aspects of the system as a wholeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [3]   Popular elections are at the heart of representative democracy. And, that holding periodic election is the hallmark of representative democracy based on the active interest of the people. The functioning of democracy demands maximum involvement and participation of the masses in democratic process of the country.  [4]  These are the central democratic procedure for selecting and controlling leaders.  [5]  Elections are episodes of political action during which the preferences of citizens and the conduct of politicians, based on their past agency record and their prospective promises, intersects and interact.  [6]  In the opinion of Robert A. Dhal, the election is the central technique for ensuring that government leaders will be relatively responsible to non-leaders.  [7]  The political class sees elections as an opportunity for renewing their mandate to exercise legitimate power. In this sense, elections constitute a vital bridge linking the masses to the political c lass.  [8]  In addition, growing commitment to democratic elections is also an affirmation of a growing popular commitment to the rule of law.  [9]  Democracy, particularly, its liberal version, may be defined as a system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realms of citizens, acting indirectly through competition and cooperation of their elected representatives.  [10]   In fact, elections in a democratic system of governance provide the voter with a meaningful choice of candidates, and are distinguished by several characteristics, including a universal franchise, a secret ballot, the involvement of political parties, contests in every, or almost every, constituency and campaigns regulated by strict and fair rules.  [11]  This implies extensive competition for power; highly inclusive citizenship and extensive civil and political liberties. Also, in-between elections, citizens must be able to influence public policy through various non-electoral means like interest group associations and social movements, which invariably involve cooperation and competition among citizens.  [12]   The use of elections in the modern era dates to the emergence of representative government in Europe and North America since the 17th century.  [13]  Modern democracies are typically based on representative models in which citizens elect their representatives to govern and frame policies on their behalf. Full democracies are those systems in which there are universal suffrage, regular elections, an independent judiciary, relatively equal access to power for all groups, and extensive civil liberties that are combined with protection for minorities and disadvantaged groups.  [14]   The developments and want for electoral democracy across societies are quite fascinating. Indeed, some twenty-five years ago there were only about thirty-five democracies across the world, most of them being wealthy and industrialized nations, particularly in the West. Today, the number has grown to about 120. Huntington (1999) argues that at least thirty countries turned democracies between 1974 and 1990;  [15]  while Diamond (1997) takes Freedom House data to show that that the number of democracies increased from 39 in 1974 to 118 in 1996.  [16]  Consequently, and more precisely, democratic government out-numbered all other governments. Jaggers and Gurr (1995) claim that the proportions of the democracies rose from 27 percent in 1975 to 50 percent in 1994.  [17]   It is assumed by critics that many of the new democracies are being hollowed out.  [18]  The effect is the spread of electoral democracy where political parties battle for control of government through comparatively free and fair election;  [19]  but not liberal democracy with an effective rule of law behind individual and minority freedoms and protections.  [20]  A claim to liberal democracy may serve to legitimize state authority nearly everywhere, but the reality falls far short of the global triumph of liberal democratic government. The remarkable consensus concerning the legitimacy of liberal democracy served as the premise of Fukuyamas thesis on the end of history.  [21]  Doubts about the quality of new democracies imply that the new democracies may enshrine democratic principles that fail to operate in practice, and that the populations do not therefore enjoy liberal democratic freedoms. Defining electoral politics Though psephologist and scholars often make use of the term electoral politics, the phrase is, very rarely defined accurately. Still, as term in common political discourse goes, this is, in particular, not vague or elastic. The definition that follows is partly descriptive; that is to say, it is designed to reflect what most people seem to mean when they use the term and to suggest what the term ought to. The word election is of Latin origin and is derived from the root eligere. Election literary connotes, the public choice of person for office. It may be regarded as a form of procedure recognized by the rules of an organization, whereby all or some of the members of the organization choose a smaller number of persons or one person to hold office of authority in the organization.  [22]  According to Websters dictionary, election means the act or process of choosing a person for an office, position or membership by voting. An election, as William B. Munro (1926) writes long ago, consists of a regular series of events.  [23]  These events differ from political system to another as provided by the respective legal provisions of that particular system, but always include voter registration, nominations of candidates, seeking access to the electorate, voters preferences and the like. It is a formal act of collective decision that occurs in a stream of connected antecedent and subsequent behaviour.  [24]  Elections are the principal mechanism by which the citizens hold government accountable, both retrospectively for their policies and more generally for the manner in which they govern.  [25]  Hence, it can be said that electoral politics is the study of the political process, involved in the electoral process, ranging from the nomination of candidates to the final outcome of an election and can be conceptualized as a set of activities, in strategic cooperation between numerous participants in t he electoral process. This naturally involves the study of campaign strategies (the electoral behaviour), and the mobilisation of resources by political parties and the candidates; the role of youth power, organised groups and influentials. In simple terms, electoral politics is s an index of popular consciousness, articulation and participation of the electorate in the decision  [26]  of the society. Electoral politics seeks to analyze the major features in the conduct of elections, democratic or otherwise, and the process involved therein to ascertain electorate opinion of a given geographical area. It is through election that political preferences of the electors are expressed and ordered. The process of electoral politics presents the electors with a decision task that requires a particular choice between the contending candidates. Thus it may be said that electoral politics, is a means of translating the popular will into an elected assembly.  [27]  But at the same time it must be conceded that elections are clumsy instruments of choice.  [28]  In such circumstances, the study of election and electoral system has been a continuing source of interdisciplinary conflict, largely between political scientist s and sociologists.  [29]   The Review of Literature: There is considerable body of theoretical and empirical literature on elections and its allied discipline, in both the developed and developing democracies, that identifies several functions performed by elections in liberal democracies. A brief history of the literature available so far is examined in the pages that follow: Scholarly studies of electoral politics have a long and vibrant history. Most works on electoral politics primarily focus on voting behavior. The 1940s saw the birth of scientific use of survey research to examine academic voting research in the study of electoral politics. Under the direction of Paul Lazarsfeld, the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University interviewed a probability sample of Erie County, Ohio, during the Roosevelt-Wilkie presidential race.  [30]  The findings of the study were published in the book titled The People Choice.  [31]  The authors determine why people vote as they do focusing mainly on social groupings, religion, and residence. They argue that people tend to vote with their groups, and to that extent people take longer time to arrive at voting choice. Later, a second panel study conducted by the Columbian School in 1948 provided a more influential book, Voting.  [32]  It examines the factors that make people vote the way they do based on the famous Elmira Study, carried out by a team of skilled social scientists during the 1948 presidential campaign. It shows how voting is affected by social class, religious background, family loyalties, local pressure groups, mass communication media, and other factors. The work of Lazarsfeld and his Columbia colleagues demonstrated the rich potential of election surveys as data for understanding campaigns and elections. The next, and even more important, advance in election studies emerged in the following decade at the University of Michigan.  [33]  It created the most significant milestone in the whole tenet of electoral research, The American Voter.  [34]  It explored the so-called psychological model, in its study explaining peoples political choices; and found out how people voted were mainly their party identification. The work established a baseline for most of the scholarly debate that has followed in the decades since.  [35]  However, political scientist like V.O. Key  [36]  attacked this work, in which he famously asserted, voters are not fools. Key argues against the implications of Campbell et al.s book, and Converses later addition,  [37]  about the ignorance and unreliability of American voters. He analyzed public opinion data and electoral returns to show what he believed to be the rationality of voters choices as political decisions rather than responses to psychological stimuli.  [38]   In the years that followed, Nie, Verba, Petrocik  [39]  presents one of the best treatments on the subject in the form of The Changing American Voter. It analyzes and evaluates the changes which have taken place since the publication of The American Voter. The resultant is that electorate has both responded and contributed to the major political shifts of the 60s and 70s; it depicts how and why by citing substantial statistics and figures. However, this argument finds many critics. Among them, Smith  [40]  posits a more bleak political landscape in which the typical voter knows little about politics is not interested in the political arena and consequently does not participate in it. To support this view, Smith demonstrates how the indices used by Nie, Verba, and Petrocik during the 1960s were methodologically flawed and how a closer examination of supposed changes reveals only superficial and unimportant shifts in the ways voters have approached the ballot box since the 195 0s. Miller and Shanks  [41]  in their study, presents a comprehensive analysis of American voting patterns from 1952 through the early 1990s, with special emphasis on the 1992 election, based on data collected by the National Election Studies. It also presents a unique social and economic picture of partisanship and participation in the American electoral process. Michael S. Lewis-Beck  [42]  re-creates the outstanding 1960 classic, The American Voter, by following the same format, theory, and mode of analysis as the original in the form of The American Voter Revisited. It discovers that voting behaviour has been remarkably consistent over the last half century and quite surprisingly, the contemporary American voter is found to behave politically much like voters of the 1950s. Across the Atlantic, the study of electoral behaviour was no less momentous. A number of scholars and researcher, alike took up the topic in academic research till date. Butler and Stokes  [43]  offer an explaination of British voting behaviour since 1945 with greater emphasis on sociological and historical factors and on changes at the macro and elite level. Harrison  [44]  provide a detailed explanation of how the British political system came to acquire the form it has today by analysing topics such as civil liberties, pressure groups, parliament, elections and the parties, central and local government, cabinet, and monarchy. Birch  [45]  provides a comprehensive account of British political institutions, of the way in which they operate, and of the society in which they developed. Pugh  [46]  present an insightful survey of changes in British politics since the election of 1945 and examines Labour Partys evolution into a national rather than sectional party. David Powell  [47]  examine British politics on the eve of war, the author assesses the impact of war on the parties and the political system and the process of realignment that followed in the interwar period. Hough and Jeffery  [48]  present a comparative perspective on the new dynamics of electoral competition following devolution to Scotland and Wales. It brings together leading experts on elections, political parties and regional politics from Britain, Europe and North America to explore the dynamics and interactions of national and regional arenas of electoral competition. Johnston and Pattie  [49]  analyses the dynamics of electoral behaviour into its geographical context. They show how voters and parties are affected by, and in turn influence, both national and local forces. Kavanagh  [50]  analyse the methods of political choice and decision-making in electoral democratic institutions. The focus throughout is on key topics of voting behavior, election rules, the media, election pacts, and the consequences of elections. Wolfinger and Rosenstone  [51]  present an assessment of the sociological, motivational, and political factors that account for variation in electoral participation. Lupia and. Harrop and Miller  [52]  examine competitive electoral systems as well as non-competitive ones. McCubbins  [53]  present an impressive treatment of one of the most important issues in democratic theory: the individuals inability to make fully informed decisions. It redefines the research agenda in democratic theory and information and also intends to lay foundations of a new theoretical approach to institutional design Bendor, Diermeier, Siegel and Ting  [54]  provides a behavioral theory of elections based on the notion that all actors, that is, both politicians as well as voters are only bounded rationally. The theory constructs formal models of party competition, turnout, and voters choices of candidates and the like. These models predict substantial turnout levels, voters sorting into parties, and winning parties adopting centrist platforms. Bogdanor Butler  [55]  analyses the main electoral systems of modern democracies, and places them in their institutional and historical context. Diamond and Plattner  [56]  addresses electoral systems and democracy comparing the experiences of diverse countries, from Latin America to southern Africa, from Uruguay, Japan, and Taiwan to Israel, Afghanistan, and Iraq. As the number of democracies has increased around the world, a heated debate has emerged among experts about which system best promotes the consolidation of democracy. Diamond  [57]  sets forth a distinctive theoretical perspective on democratic evolution and consolidation in the late twentieth century. These include strong political institutions, appropriate institutional designs, decentralization of power, a vibrant civil society, and improved economic and political performance. Courtney  [58]  argues that elections are governed by accepted rules and procedures of the political system and it is important for citizens to understand their own electoral system. Sawer  [59]  presents an edited volume on Australian electoral history providing a broad commentary on continuing democratic challenges. Roberts  [60]  provides explanations and analysis of the German federal electoral system; discusses the role of electoral politics in relation to political parties and to the public. Lindberg  [61]  studies elections as a core institution of liberal democracy in the context of newly democratizing countries. He gathers data from every nationally contested election in Africa from 1989 to 2003, covering 232 elections in 44 countries, argues that democratizing nations learn to become democratic through repeated democratic behavior, even if their elections are often flawed. Cowen Laakso  [62]  presents electoral studies of multi-party politics in 14 African countries during the 1990s. Hesseling  [63]  offers theoretical and historical assessments of election observation and evaluates policies and their implementation in specific case studies. Diamond and Plattner  [64]  examines the state of progress of democracy in Africa at the end of the 1990s. The past decades third wave of democratization, the contributors argue, has been characterized by retreats as well as advances. Piombo and Nijzik  [65]  in their edited work give an account of democratic elections in South Africa since April 1994 after her liberation. Norris  [66]  analyses whether there are legitimate grounds for concern about public support for democracy world-wide; or are there political, economic, and cultural factors driving the dynamics of support for democratic government. It shows how citizens in contemporary democracies relate to their governments. Later on, Norris  [67]  focuses on democratic deficits, reflecting how far the perceived democratic performance of any state diverges from public expectations Popkin  [68]  concludes that voters make informed logical choices by analyzing three primary campaigns Carter in 1976; Bush and Reagan in 1980; and Hart, Mondale, and Jackson in 1984 to arrive at a new model of the way voters sort through commercials and sound bites to choose a candidate. Powell  [69]  argues that elections are instrumental in linking the preferences of citizens to the behaviour of policymakers His empirical findings prove that if this is taken as the main function of democratic elections the proportional vision and its designs enjoyed a clear advantage over their majoritarian counterparts in using elections as instruments of democracy.  [70]  Brennan and Lomasky  [71]  offer a compelling challenge to the central premises of the prevailing theories of voting behavior. Niemi and Weiberg  [72]  present collection of essays that explore some of the controversies in the study and understanding of voting behavior. Caplan  [73]  takes a persistent look at how people who vote under the influence of false beliefs ultimately end up with government that delivers miserable results. LeDuc, Niemi and Norris  [74]  in their edited volume provide a broad theoretical and comparative understanding of all the key topics associated with the elections including electoral and party systems, voter choice and turnout, campaign communications, and the new politics of direct democracy. Zuckerman  [75]  in his edited volume uses classic theories to explain individuals political decisions by a range of political scientists; advances theory and method in the study of political behavior and returns the social logic of politics to the heart of political science. Cox  [76]  employs a unified game-theoretic model to study strategic coordination worldwide that relies primarily on constituency-level rather than national aggregate data in testing theoretical propositions about the effects of electoral laws. Norris  [77]  gives a masterpiece of synthesis, original theorizing, and empirical analysis of an impressively large number and variety of cases. This book looks at public opinion data linking attitudes, party choices, and electoral systems in ways that the game theory literature usually fails to come to grips with. Norris combines institutional and survey data from 32 widely different countries to assess the possibilities and limitations of implanting democracy through institutional engineering. Franklin  [78]  demonstrate how voter turnout can serve as an indicator of the health of a democracy, and concludes that declining turnout does not necessarily reflect reductions in civic virtue or increases in alienation. Dalton  [79]  introduces the reader to the knowledge we have of comparative political behavior, and the implications of these findings. The analyses focus on the United States, Great Britain, Germany, and France in a broad cross-national context. Dalton offers the theory that the quality of citizen politics is alive and well whereas the institutions of democracy are in disarray. Further, Dalton  [80]  documents the erosion of political support in virtually all advanced industrial democracies. It traces the current challenges to democracy owing to changing citizen values and rising expectations. The author finds that these expectations are making governing more difficult, but also fueling demands for political reform. Prysby and Books  [81]  examines how and why individual political behavior can be influenced by various contextual characteristics of the locality in which the individual resides, an

Economics Indicators :: essays papers

Economics Indicators Investments The Stock-Trak investment simulation program began on August 30th, which marked the first day that trading was allowed. A total available amount of $300,000 was used for investing. The objective of this assignment is to maximize the value of the portfolio through November 19th, which was the last day of the trading period. I began the process of choosing specific investments for my portfolio by taking an asset allocation questionnaire (appendix I). Since the objective was to maximize portfolio value, I made sure for each question asked that I chose the answer with the most risk. My reasoning being that having my money in risky investments will on average lead to a greater return than investments with lower risk. The objective did not mention risk tolerance, and I wanted a portfolio composition with a good chance of earning exceptional returns. After completing the survey, I ended up with an aggressive asset allocation plan (appendix II). This stated that 85% of my money should b e invested in stocks, while the remaining 15% of my money should be invested in bonds. I had several basic strategies that I felt would lead to my portfolio having high returns. First I felt that it was important to invest early on in the trading period so that I would not miss any positive returns the market might yield (I was fully invested by September 10th). Secondly I wanted to buy all my investments and hold them because I believe that this strategy will best maximize returns. Timing the market I felt was lucky and too complicated. Finally I wanted to make sure that I bought at least 25 separate assets, so that I could be properly diversified. I used the Wall Street Journal to pick my individual stocks. My personal strategy was to pick stocks that were at or near their 52 week low in price. I felt that corporations, especially those that were well known, at or near their 52 week low in price would gain momentum. Furthermore I made sure that I was choosing companies that were i n diverse industries. I also included some international companies as well as some relatively smaller firms to add to my portfolio. My strategy on buying bonds was to buy four bonds that had different maturity dates, and came from different issuers such as corporate and government bonds.

Discuss and consider the role of women in Stephen Dedalus creative Ess

Discuss and consider the role of women in Stephen Dedalus' creative process, how is this reflected in the language and narrative of the novel? From the very first page of "A portrait of the artist as a young man", where Stephen Dedalus writes in simplistic and linear style and uses inarticulate expression and description in his story of the "moocow", to the last where he writes in journalistic form with a vast array of vocabulary and complex language, there is a progression, a maturing, a creative development; and this is influenced by the experiences, relationships and personal growth Stephen goes through as he grows up. Women are certainly an integral part of this creative process, from his experiences with Eileen, to sleeping with a prostitute, and his relationship with his mother, and his attempts to discover what his sensual feelings mean in this journey of self discovery, women feature prominently and have great significance in the creative process of Stephen's life. Stephen is a very interesting and intricate character, and comes freakishly close to the contemporary boy of the time, there is such a sense of realism which is conveyed through him by Joyce, most likely because he is based on himself. For example, Joyce had a mother devoted to Catholicism, as does Stephen, and Joyce was also educated at Clongowes. I think a key reason as to why women play such an important role in Stephen's creative development is the fact that on many occasions he does not know quite how to relate to them, he sees them as a completely different species and really doesn't know how to respond to them, as his experience with the prostitute will testify. Stephen's relationship with the opposite sex begins to deve... ...ourse to his destiny, and this significantly emphasises the importance of women in Stephen's development artistically, it is not even a girl with whom Stephen has any association, to him it is the gender as a whole, and therefore shows how women have played such a significant role for him. In conclusion, there is no doubt in my mind that across the novel, women play possibly the most important role of all in Stephen's artistic development, and it is because of them, whether it be the overbearing but supremely influential mother of Stephen, the experience with the prostitute, the love Stephen feels for Emma, or the epiphany on the beach with the wading young lady, that Stephen reaches the artist status which he eventually obtains and the intertwining suggests a fated nature which Joyce expertly conveys through his language and conscious style of writing. Discuss and consider the role of women in Stephen Dedalus' creative Ess Discuss and consider the role of women in Stephen Dedalus' creative process, how is this reflected in the language and narrative of the novel? From the very first page of "A portrait of the artist as a young man", where Stephen Dedalus writes in simplistic and linear style and uses inarticulate expression and description in his story of the "moocow", to the last where he writes in journalistic form with a vast array of vocabulary and complex language, there is a progression, a maturing, a creative development; and this is influenced by the experiences, relationships and personal growth Stephen goes through as he grows up. Women are certainly an integral part of this creative process, from his experiences with Eileen, to sleeping with a prostitute, and his relationship with his mother, and his attempts to discover what his sensual feelings mean in this journey of self discovery, women feature prominently and have great significance in the creative process of Stephen's life. Stephen is a very interesting and intricate character, and comes freakishly close to the contemporary boy of the time, there is such a sense of realism which is conveyed through him by Joyce, most likely because he is based on himself. For example, Joyce had a mother devoted to Catholicism, as does Stephen, and Joyce was also educated at Clongowes. I think a key reason as to why women play such an important role in Stephen's creative development is the fact that on many occasions he does not know quite how to relate to them, he sees them as a completely different species and really doesn't know how to respond to them, as his experience with the prostitute will testify. Stephen's relationship with the opposite sex begins to deve... ...ourse to his destiny, and this significantly emphasises the importance of women in Stephen's development artistically, it is not even a girl with whom Stephen has any association, to him it is the gender as a whole, and therefore shows how women have played such a significant role for him. In conclusion, there is no doubt in my mind that across the novel, women play possibly the most important role of all in Stephen's artistic development, and it is because of them, whether it be the overbearing but supremely influential mother of Stephen, the experience with the prostitute, the love Stephen feels for Emma, or the epiphany on the beach with the wading young lady, that Stephen reaches the artist status which he eventually obtains and the intertwining suggests a fated nature which Joyce expertly conveys through his language and conscious style of writing.

Chaucers The General Prologue Essay -- Chaucer General Prologue Essay

Chaucer's The General Prologue Chaucer-the pilgrim starts out â€Å"The General Prologue† with detailed descriptions of each pilgrim as he views them. When Chaucer-the pilgrim arrives at the Pardoner, he becomes very focused on his physical appearance and what is seems to be missing. There is something odd about this Pardoner and Chaucer-the pilgrim can’t seem to grasp just what that is. He describes that the Pardoner is all on fire to do is job, just arriving from Rome (Bretful of pardon, come from Rome al hoot). However, his eagerness to Pardon those for God does not help his physical appearance in any respect. Chaucer-the pilgrim describes his voice as that of a high-pitched goat and points out that he has no facial hair and will presumably never have any, as his face is just as smooth as if he had recently shaved (A vois he hadde as small as hath a goot; / No beerd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have; / As smoothe it was as it were late yshave). Chaucer-the pilgrim is setting up in the reader’ s mind that of a prepubescent boy, yet as the reader knows there are no children on the jour...

Role Of Women In Sustainable Forest Management Environmental Sciences Essay

Over the past twosome of decennaries most development plans have come to the decision that peoples ‘ engagement is important for their success. Forestry plans have followed the same general way. In Nepal, it is realized that forests status and country were decreased chiefly in 1980s due to quickly increasing population force per unit area ( Adhikari 2001 ) . Therefore, authorities establishments and INGO ‘s took induction for affecting local people, particularly adult females in the direction of the wood. Several surveies have shown that adult females are the primary users of forest resources in many developing states. Nepal is non an exclusion. Harmonizing to ( Lamichhane 2004 ) , the survey of adult females ‘s position in Nepal indicates: Sixty six per centum of clip of the adult females is being spent in fuel wood aggregation. Ninety five per centum of the fuel energy in the mountain part of Nepal comes from the fuel wood. Womans and misss collect 87 % of the entire fuel wood. Looking at the state of affairs, authorities of Nepal has included the issue in the development program from eight five twelvemonth program ( 1992-1997 ) . Ninth five twelvemonth program ( 1997-2002 ) states that, â€Å" As adult females are chiefly involved in aggregation of lumber, firewood, fresh fish, workss, carnal bedclothes and so on, necessary agreements will be made to include them compulsory in the forest users commissions † . Thus, theoretically adult females ‘s engagement in forestry plans considered of import from the eight five twelvemonth program and encouraged them for engagement in assorted forestry plans of authorities though adult females have some restraints to make so ( Chaudhary 2000 ) . The undermentioned state of affairs is still confronting by adult females in pattern. Womans are constrained by society to come from their houses. If it is so so starts negative remarks and none of the household member supports them. Womans are discouraged and did non elect in determination devising organic structure. If they elected so they would be for formality either or to demo the giver bureaus. Still, in many societies adult females are avoided from the contact with the aliens because they are diffident. Their hubbies do non wish their contact with other males. Womans are considered forest destroyers alternatively of defenders. Women ‘s commission can non work without support of males and are non working good due to their credibleness and household supports. Forest resource direction in Nepal is based on the people ‘s engagement and determination of the user ‘s group. Women are the cardinal wood users and their engagement in the sustainable direction reveals the success of the direction patterns. Therefore adult females ‘s engagement and engagement is most so. But the social scene in Nepal has great influence on adult females ‘s engagement. Besides these restraints, community forestry plan tried to authorise the adult females ‘s position through engagement in Nepal in someway when it emerged during 1980s ( Giri, Pokhrel et Al. 2008 ) . In this paper it is tried to analyse the followerss: Obstacles on specifying adult females ‘s engagement in determination devising in community forestry Policies and programs to increase the decisive functions of adult females in community forestryObstacles on specifying adult females ‘s engagement in determination devising in community forestry in NepalNepali societies are multicultural, complex and have hierarchal system which includes different caste groups, economic categories, and societal rankings within people. These fluctuations distinguished the upper and lower caste system, gender biased division in societal activities, etc. Therefore, there is ever the being of discriminatory nature in the society over the usage and control of the resources. Basically these obstructions besides have threatened the vulnerable groups and adult females in take parting in the community forestry procedure ( Timsina 2002 ) . However in recent context, many adult females are involved in community forestry plans after awareness plans of NGOs and authorities though they are dominated by work forces and are bewildered by deficiency of specific functions and supports. Chiefly, the adult females are non attracted to community forestry plans as outlook of the authorities and NGOs because of the factors:Irrelevant of the plans to the demands of adult females:Community forestry plans planted pine which is useless for adult females instead it added more work to them. Similarly, community wood is restricted for fresh fish and firewood aggregations, which send them far for aggregation of such points. Some community forest user groups are more financess oriented because they have to use watchers for forest protection. In this state of affairs, adult females can non roll up grass fresh fish and firewood instead commission gross revenues such points yearly. This makes adult females disinterested to community forestry.R estriction to adult females ‘s engagement in formal organisations:Womans are busy people of the household who can non pull off clip for meetings, which offers nil to them. They have to be busy most of the clip within family ; cookery, eating, kid lovingness, utensils rinse, cleansing, H2O fetching and animate being lovingness. These are their chief duties which do non let them to travel out go toing meetings and so on. Community forestry plans were begun as formal organisations because it was developed signifier of Panchayat Forest ( local authorities unit ) where adult females are far from formal organisations in Nepal.Lack of attending and support given to adult females by undertaking, contrivers, and authorities functionaries:Women ‘s engagement is still weak in forestry due to the undermentioned grounds: Illiteracy, low position in society, deficiency of cognition about the plans, they are hesitating to go involved in public work, deficiency of support of their male household members, non self assurance, unsure about their uncertainnesss and so on. In most of the forest users group the high and average degree population are largely involved in the commission instead than the lower category, adult females and marginalized groups which have bulk users of the resources ( Timsina 2002 ) . Figure 1 illustrates the findings of a gender analysis survey in community woods of Ramechhap and Dolakha territory in Nepal. The figure clearly illustrates the gender biased functions in every sector of authorities, community and family. As we discussed earlier that adult females ‘s engagement in community forestry are defined by different societal and cultural barriers that the society clasp. The society has its inferior position towards adult females sing the determination doing procedure from family to community forestry though they spend most of the clip in it. Though adult females try to come across these barriers with their ain attempts and abilities, their engagement is non wining due to the male dominancy and determination over the resource usage. Hence adult females ‘s engagement in determination devising procedure is still in the creep phase in the sustainable resource direction in most of the developing states particularly Nepal.Women ‘s EngagementNFUG C ommittee Members– Policy 50 % of all commission should be adult females In world merely 2-3 members merelyCommunity ForestryTake about no decisions- varies with ethnicity Have no control on assets Have no entree as per regulations made by work forces Maximal impact on her day-to-day work burdenHousehold ImpactCaste, place in household and support from hubby will act upon grade of engagement Time restraint due to duplicate burden- ‘inside ‘ and ‘outside ‘ undertakingsFUG Formation ProcessNo specific scheme to approach/ involve adult females though recommended in Re-orientation Participate in labour for determinations taken by work forces Equally knowing but non consultedTraining PlansWomen ever really few, if any Mobility restraint Poor attitudinal & A ; practical support from work forces Illiteracy in all adult females ‘s group Rarely invited for proficient preparationForest ForcesCultural/attitude prejudice towards adult females ‘s capableness Constraints on communicating with adult females About all determinations take by work forces ( Undertaking and Community ) Womans more antiphonal to adult females Texas rangers Neither functionaries nor adult females take the enterpriseAgro ForestryAbout all interactions between undertaking staff ( all work forces except one ) and hubby as caput of family. Largely fulfills labor/care of baby's room Can non command assets as land non in her name Beginning: ( DRCFDP 1995 ) Fig 1: Women ‘s engagement in Different Activities Although we discussed about the obstructions, the adult females ‘s inclusiveness in the community forestry has besides been observed in some facet. The empowerment attack in WID recognized the adult females ‘s ternary function ( production, reproduction and community ) that seeks to run into the strategic gender demands. It indirectly through the grass roots mobilisation of practical gender demands support to seek the strategic gender demands. It explicitly focus the demand of power to adult females for bettering the place ( Moser 1989 ) . In Nepal adult females ‘s engagement in community forestry, organizing and take parting in forest users ‘ group is increasing. They are concentrating their active engagement and functions in widening the constructions and determination devising procedure ( Giri and Darnhofer 2010 ) . The community forest user groups define the managerial facet of the forest resources. Thus adult females ‘s engagement in these groups helps them to raise the voice in their practical and strategic gender demands which create a mechanism for carry throughing them ( Giri 2009 ) . Harmonizing to Adhikari ( 2001 ) , Nepali adult females in cragged part drama effectual function in the forest direction. The subsistence life schemes lead the increase of diverseness of adult females ‘s function in resource direction. In the same manner, authorities plans and NGO ‘s have taken adult females as primary group and encouraged their engagement in decisive organic structure of forestry plans. They focus on: Women ‘s engagement is critical in re-greening of the state. Womans will be benefited from their engagement in forestry plans because they are the chief users of the wood. Womans are the lone lasting dwellers of the country. As we are discoursing about some positive facet of adult females ‘s inclusivity in resource direction, it is besides of import to discourse the typology of their engagement. In most of the instances adult females ‘s engagement are inactive in nature. Their engagement is chiefly pretended under which they can be manipulated. Similarly their engagement is functional chiefly targeted to the accomplishment of undertaking end ( Agarwal 2001 ) .Policies and programs to increase the decisive functions of adult females in community forestryThe conventional theory on development did non place the nucleus function of adult females in sustainable resource direction. Therefore, a response alteration in environmental policy, planning and plan is required to take a firm stand that adult females are the active stakeholders in resource direction ( Armitage and Hyma 1997 ) . Womans are the 1 who largely carry tonss of firewood, branchlets, little lumber, fresh fish, leaf-litter, non lumber forest merchandise and so on from the woods. The adult females are besides responsible for taking H2O. They are non merely responsible for aggregation of such points for place usage but besides affecting selling. The adult females are left at place in most of the developing states therefore they are still responsible for the addendum and direction of natural resource for domestic usage when their hubbies go to seek for chances in markets. Due to the state of affairs, most of the development bureaus have been recommending on the issue of Women in Environmental Development ( WED ) since the last 30 old ages on the issue of adult females in H2O, land and wood. Harmonizing to ( Regmi 2007 ) , community based resource direction is a cardinal rule to authorise the adult females ‘s position in community forestry. Armitage and Hyma ( 1997 ) besides pointed that community based participatory attack to adult females is required for development. The community based resource direction procedure on the footing of Women ‘s Empowerment Framework is intended to the policy shapers, contrivers and development militant to analyze the extend of support required for the adult females ‘s authorization ( Mosedale 2005 ) . The empowerment procedure can be improved through the alteration or alteration in the community forestry procedure that could include the marginalized community and adult females in the determination devising procedures. The policy degree agents such authorities functionaries, community stakeholders, facilitators should be given developing to plan the plans so that more marginalized people and adult females could be included ( Nightingale 2002 ) . ( Acharya and Gentle 2006 ) in their on the job paper illustrate the authorising procedure on the footing of their three twelvemonth undertaking in Nepal on Strengthening the Role of Women and Civil Society in Democracy and Governance ( SAMARPAN ) . Figure 2 illustrate the procedure, which shows that authorization, inclusiveness should be started from the base of the plan. The protagonism, preparation, literacy categories, measuring internal administration capacity defines the base for the inclusion of adult females and marginalized people in the determination devising procedure which subsequently on contribute to the peace development, struggle direction, sustainable resource direction and poorness decrease. This plan was based on the Rights Based Approach ( RBA ) which focuses on recognizing the vulnerable, marginalized groups, adult females about the human rights. Besides the rights, this attack besides encourages to carry through their duties among the groups. Sustainable Resource Management Governance & A ; Consencus edifice Poverty Decrease Inclusion of adult females and fringy community in the determination devising procedures Appraisal of internal administration capacity Community degree protagonism and adult females empowerment preparation Advocacy literacy categories Participatory, transparent and inclusive standards to choose local facilitators and preparation participants Practice of public audit and hearing in undertaking activities Empowering and participatory acquisition stuffs Fig 2: Procedure of authorization ( Adapted and modified from Acharya & A ; Gentle, 2006 )DecisionFrom the above treatment it is clear that adult females are the chief users of wood merchandises though their engagement in the wood direction is really weak. Since 1970s, development plans and bureaus have been working in the sector of adult females ‘s authorization recognizing the necessity of adult females ‘s engagement in development plans though their engagement is non as outlook. Forestry direction sector is non an exclusion. Merely approximately 10 % of the community woods have been managing by adult females groups in Nepal today. As people attitude is being altering from the past it is possible to authorise the adult females and marginalized groups in the hereafter. The socio-cultural position is the barriers for limited and inactive engagement in the community forestry sector in Nepal. The projected orientated activities of the giver and other organisations do non really work out the adult females ‘s position in the society instead they felt inferior themselves. Hence the attacks of equal engagement in every sector including the community forestry should be developed. This proviso could assist to make strong adult females ‘s commission and aid in the income coevals activities.

Marketing and Spring Rolls Essay

Executive summary Daloon A/S, henceforth just Daloon, was formed in 1960 with the name of Van’s Product by the founder Sai-Chiu Van. Mr. Van started his business in his private cellar where he produced spring rolls that he later sold in Tivoli garden in Copenhagen. In 1964 the company changed their name to Daloon which means â€Å"the big dragon† in Chinese since dragons are known for being friendly towards humans. Daloon has continued to grow and today they have their products sold in several European countries with their main business in UK, Germany, and Scandinavia. The company also has significant export markets in France, Finland, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Daloon is a major brand throughout Europe within the frozen ethnic snacks market and is in fact the largest manufacturer of spring rolls in the world. We tried to make the requested report including updating information about the external factors which might influence the company’s market potential and the future acti vities. Our market research aims on discovering and assessing India as a new prospective and promising market for the continental European Ethnic â€Å"Ready to eat†/†Ready-to-cook† Food supplier Daloon. The final goal of the market development, thus strategy of growing, is entering the entire market of India but due to expected high cultural, macro and micro environmental differences, we will mainly deal with the market of Delhi. In the marketing part of the report you will find a definition of the market Daloon is inserted market segmentation and recommendations about relevant target groups. In the end of the marketing analysis you are going to find our suggestions and recommendations for Daloon in order to insert their product, spring rolls, in a different and international market. When we speak about National culture and Organizational culture part we assessed the main challenges that the company may face dealing with a different culture. Choosing India as a potential market for a European company requires taking some extra risks if you look at cultural differences between Europe and  Asia. India is an attractive market for investors and foreign companies, which makes it important to have an understanding of their culture. Organizational culture does not only change from country to country but it also changes from company to company, because the beliefs and values differ. Since we have chosen New Delhi (India) as the possible future market, there should definitely be some changes made, thus keeping the working conditions acceptable for their culture. So in this part will be analyzed the two cultures and compared different solutions how to adapt from one to another. 1.0 Introduction â€Å"Daloon is the Chinese word for â€Å"The Great Dragon†Ã¢â‚¬  Daloon is a major brand throughout Europe within the frozen ethnic snacks market and is in fact the largest manufacturer of spring rolls in the world. Daloon A/S, henceforth just Daloon, was formed in 1960 with the name of Van’s Product by the founder Sai-Chiu Van. Mr. Van started his business in his private cellar where he produced spring rolls that he later sold in Tivoli garden in Copenhagen. His business grew and in 1961, the company took over its first factory. In 1964 the company changed their name to Daloon which means â€Å"the big dragon† in Chinese since dragons are known for being friendly towards humans. The company chose this name because consumer experience is something that’s being valued high within the company. Daloon has continued to grow, and today they have products sold in several European countries with their main business in UK, Germany, and Scandinavia. The company also has significant export markets in France, Finland, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Spring rolls are still Daloon main product, and the group currently produces over 100 different varieties from 20-200 g for cooking in frying, oven and microwave. Daloon range in recent years been extended with a variety of oriental snack products in addition to the Danish specialties, the company has made over many years. The products are made in ‘state of the art’, EEC approved manufacturing facilities in the UK and in Denmark, the home country of Daloon A/S. Both facilities hold the prestigious, BRC Grade A and IFS higher level accreditations. This means that you can be absolutely confident in the first class technical and quality control principles, which the company applies to every aspect of their production operations and support services. Their goal is to further enhance their  position as a leading supplier in the market for ethnic convenience foods, and be the modern consumers preferred choice. While they are mostly known for their spring rolls their product line also includes Mexican and traditional Danish food. The products are made of quality materials and made with health and convenience in mind. 1.1 Problem statement The frozen ethnic food producer Daloon asked our team to develop and conduct a market research about an international market that is not yet covered by the Company in terms of supply and export. The core problem or question is, if there is a country or market that provides suitable conditions for Daloon to enter and by analyzing demographical, behavioral- and social issues, find out what would be the best way to target and position the products in that market in order to have a successful and positive market development of Daloon. So in our case we are going to analyze India, especially Delhi, in the mentioned aspects in order to evaluate the current and prospective market situation and then be able to give a counsel about if Daloon should enter that market and how it would be advisable. 1.2 Delimitations This research focuses on aspects regarding the economy, current situation and development of India; by means of the capital Delhi. Moreover the gathered information is supposed to provide insights into the cultural, behavioral and consumption decisions of potential target groups within the market. The outcome is supposed to be supportive for marketing planning and internationalization strategies. The research does not take care about Supply chain aspects or manufacturer as cooperative partners in the targeted market. Moreover the outcome will not be dealing with specific aspects of a possible marketing mix or an Integrated Marketing communication plan. 1.3 Report structure This report was structured according to the importance of each topic for a better understanding of the overall project. Introduction talks about the company and their tradition in the Danish market. Later you will find Methodology Section approaching different theories applied in our researches and analysis. During the report you will find an analysis based on marketing research and statistical analysis, organizational analysis of the company and an analysis comparing and contrasting both cultures we make reference to during the report: India and Denmark. According to the conclusion of the marketing research we were able to analyze the market we are going to recommend to Daloon in different aspects such as chosen market, target group and segmentation. In the final part of the report Discussion Section approaches the main points argued during the project leading to Conclusion Section and Appendixes. 1.4 Methodology 1. Reviewing theories and models Market research and statistics: * Desk research – it is used for gathering and sorting out secondary data relevant to the research. * Field research – for gathering primary data concerning specific information needs which cannot be met otherwise. * Test for independence – used for determining if a significant relationship exists between two survey variables. * Correlation analysis – used for evaluating the relationships strength and the direction in which two variables are dependent one on another. * Hypothesis test for proportion – used for testing two proportions, one of them based on the survey, for discovering if there is a statistically significant difference between them. Organizational culture and national culture: * Hofstede’s 5 dimensions approach – for comparing the national cultures of Denmark and India using national scores on the dimensions power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. This is done in order to be outlined the possible areas of agreement and divergence in a business context. * Schein’s layered conceptualization of culture – according to this model the organizational culture consists of 3 layers. At the heart are shared basic assumptions on which are based the next two more visible layers – values and artifacts. It helps understand the organizational culture elements and which of them can be changed in order the company to succeed in the new Indian market. * The double â€Å"S† cube, Goffe and Jones – the model  helps understand which is the prevailing culture type in the organization based on the degree of solidarity and sociability it has . Marketing: * SWOT – the model is used to be analyzed the strengths and the weaknesses the company has and the opportunities and the threats it faces in connection with entering the new Indian market * PEST – this analysis includes the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the Indian market which should be taken into account for the internationalization process of the company * Porter’s five forces – this framework gives understanding about the current situation in Indian market concerning the customers, suppliers, products substitutes, new entrants and competitors of the company. * Boston growth share matrix – used for categorizing the products and finding out on which to focus in the international Indian environment. * Ansoff matrix – gives an orientation what growth strategy is appropriate in the new Indian market 2. Source criticism Main information source for this project, besides the compulsory books for Marketing management semester 2, is the Internet. As far as it concerns governmental and statistical reports it can be considered reliable. However, there is always a possibility that companies’ websites and articles in magazines give outdated or subjective information. 3.0 Market research 3.1 Background for Research This market research aims on discovering and assessing India as a new prospective and promising market for the continental European Ethnic â€Å"Ready to eat†/†Ready-to-cook† Food supplier Daloon. The final goal of the market development, thus strategy of growing, is entering the entire market of India but due to expected high cultural, macro- and micro environmental differences, we will mainly deal with the market of Delhi. Delhi is the capital of India and therefore a suitable representative city for the entire  country. This step is made in order to lower risks and gain experience on the Indian BTC Market, as much as getting to know the national- and business culture of India. Research reason: Due to the fact that India is nowadays known for being a country with tremendous business opportunities and a constantly rising growth since 2002, makes it a bit easier to investigate and research on that topic because there is already a big mass of existing information sources which we can use in order to evaluate the market as an opportunity for Daloon. Furthermore this research should give a hint if it is really advisable to enter the Indian market or not. The economic figures of India speak for themselves and reveal India as a country with a remarkable potential. Growth is omnipresent like for example in the Gross domestic product per capita which grew in the past 3 years from 3.200$/ 18,120.10 DKK (2009) to 3.700$/20,951.36 DKK (2011). The GDP growth in 2011 was estimated with approx. 10% and was constantly growing throughout the last years as a result of India ´s development into an open-economy and the benefiting from globalization and internationalization. Furthermore Delhi has an expected household income growth of annually 10% over the next 8 years which emphasizes once again the huge potential for entering markets. These gigantic upcoming shifts in the household will have a huge impact on the general demand for everything. There are many other figures and facts that underline the potential and growth of India in terms of business occasions and market opportunities. These are the reasons why this research is about to evaluate and assess in order to find out what would be the best way to enter the food market for Daloon. Research topic: The Market development of DALOON into India ´s capital Delhi. Research Objective: To find out if the current market offers suitable conditions and how DALOON should enter the â€Å"Ready-to-Eat†/†Ready-to-cook† market in India, taking Delhi as the first step of the growth strategy. 2.2 Research questions: RQ1: What is the recent demographic situation of Delhi? – sRQ 1.1: How many citizens live in Delhi? – sRQ 1.2: How is the per capita income developing from past to prospective future? – sRQ 1.3: What are the population dynamics of Delhi? – sRQ 1.4: Which languages and religions dominate in Delhi? – sRQ 1.5: Is there a change of society’s values and lifestyle? RQ2: Which products of Daloons ´ Product Portfolio may be suitable for the market of New Delhi? * sRQ2.1.: What does the product assortment of Daloon consist of? * sRQ2.2.: What is the general food consumption/eating behavior of the Indian urban middle class/upper middle class? * sRQ2.3.: Is the product assortment attractive for the Delhi inhabitants? * sRQ2.4.: Which product/s best fit the Delhi inhabitants’ taste and lifestyle? RQ3: What role does â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† Food play in India? * sRQ 3.1. : Is there a growing â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† industry in India? * sRQ 3.2. : Is the market very competitive or still a â€Å"blue ocean†? 2.3 Information needs / Variables * Numbers of Citizens in Delhi * Delhi ´s Citizens as a percentage of the entire Indian population * Gross domestic product (PPP per capita) * Economic growth rate of Delhi * Officially spoken languages * Main religions * Percentage of religions * Change of society ´s values * Proportion of employed women (Nowadays, Past) * Product Portfolio of Daloon * Indians’ attitude toward Chinese food * Indians’ preference to eating home/outdoors * Attitude towards unknown brands for frozen food * Price preferences for the product * Special Indian food consumption * Percentage of Indian vegetarians * Vegetarianism in India * Growth rate of the â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† food industry * Who are the main competitors in â€Å"Ready-to-eat†/†Ready-to-cook† food Market * Market shares of the main competitors * Available niches at the RTE market 2.4 Delimitation/Scope This research focuses on aspects regarding the economy, current situation and development of India; by means of the capital Delhi. Moreover the gathered information is supposed to provide insights into the cultural, behavioral and consumption decisions of potential target groups within the market. The outcome is supposed to be supportive for marketing planning and internationalization strategies. The research does not take care about Supply chain aspects, possible supplier or manufacturer as cooperative partners in the targeted market. Moreover the outcome will not be dealing with specific aspects of a possible marketing mix or an Integrated Marketing communication plan. 2.5 Research Design Primary Data A survey will be conducted for gathering qualitative and quantitative information regarding research question 2 (mainly 2.2, 2.3, 2.4). A questionnaire will be designed and used in order to explore the food- and eating behaviour of Indians as well as the attitudes and preferences towards the product. Secondary Data The main source of information for this research will be secondary data due to the fact that there is already a massive amount of existing data and information available, both quantitative and qualitative. We will start with desk research what consists of reading articles, journals, books and other academic sources related to the topic. The Internet will be of course one of our main sources during the desk research. Description of data collection method Desk research will be conducted in order to gather external information which is relevant to the research. Various sources for this information will be mainly India’s statistics, governmental reports and analyses, online business magazines. Field research will also be carried out for providing more specific information, which is either not existent in the secondary  information sources or not accessible. This information will regard the eating habits and preferences of the modern Delhi inhabitants with a focus on the frozen fast food products. For this purpose a personal interview with the potential customers seems to be an appropriate choice. The main reasons for choosing this method for data collection is because it provides both qualitative and quantitative information, there is a direct physical contact with the potential customers, the response rate is usually high and it is typically used in the early stages of the research plan. The interviews will be carried out in supermarket/hypermarket chains or wholesale retailers located in Delhi. Firstly because these places have high potential for meeting future customers since they are used by the urban working middle class for buying consumer goods. Such chains are Carrefour, Metro Cash and Carry, Biz Bazaar and Spar. In the choice should be included both Indian domestic chains and Western ones because the aim of the survey is to explore the eating behaviour of the modern â€Å"westernized† Indians and the fact that Daloon is a European company. The prepared questionnaire includes 15 short and easy to answer questions in order to be taken less from the respondents’ private time for shopping and to be ensured higher response rate. Although this method does not guarantee representativeness of the results, it gives good understanding for the included topics.