The Influence of Temperature in the Forward Osmosis Process

Chapter FourMathematical Model Chapter Four THEORETICAL ANALYSISMA andMathematical Modeling Purpose of the survey is to probe of temperature as a factor that influences the conveyance of H2O across the membrane in FO procedure. The steady-state theoretical accounts have been developed to foretell H2O i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux (JouleTungsten) as map of temperature (Thymine) and bulk concentration (C) ( i.e. Draw and Feed concentration ) . It was besides study the consequence of temperature on some belongingss, such as Solute diffusion coefficient (CalciferolSecond) , Mass transportation coefficient (K) , Permeability coefficient (A) and Solute electric resistance (Km) . 4.1 Osmotic Pressure The osmotic force per unit area (?) of a solution depends on the concentration of dissolved ions in solution and the temperature of solution, and can be computed by utilizing Va n't Hoff equation: WhereNis the van’t Hoff factor ( histories for the figure of single atoms of a compound dissolved in the solution ) ,?is the osmotic coefficient,Cis the molar concentration ( molar concentration ) of the solution,Roentgenis the gas invariable andThymineis the absolute temperature of the solution. The van’t Hoff factor is introduced to cover divergences from ideal solution behaviour that include finite volume occupied by solute molecules and their common attractive force as in new wave derWaals attractive force ( Howard, 2003 ) . Table 4.1 show osmotic coefficients (?) for a figure of solutes of physiological importance ( Khudair, 2011 ) . For all solutes?depends on the substance and on its concentration. As the concentration of any solute attacks zero its value of?attacks 1. In ideal solution,?= 1 ( Glass tone, 1974 ) . Table 4.1 Osmotic Coefficients (?) and Van’t Hoff Factor ( N ) for a Number of SolutesSubstanceVan’t Hoff Factor (N)Osmotic Coefficients ( ? )NaCl20.93KCl20.92HCl20.95New hampshire4Chlorine220.92NaHCO320.96CaCl230.86MgCl230.89Sodium2So430.74MgSO420.58Glucose11.01Sucrose11.024.2 Concentration Polarization 4.2.1 External Concentration Polarization Concentration polarisation ( CP ) is the accretion of solutes near the membrane surface and has inauspicious effects on membrane public presentation. The i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux of H2O through the membrane brings feed H2O ( incorporating H2O and solute ) to the membrane surface, and as clean H2O i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ows through the membrane, the solutes accumulate near the membrane surface. Equations for concentration polarisation can be derived from i ¬?lm theory and mass balances. Harmonizing to i ¬?lm theory, a boundary bed signifiers at the surface of the membrane. Water and solutes move through the boundary bed toward the membrane surface. As H2O base on ballss through the membrane, the solute concentration at the membrane surface additions. The concentration gradient in the boundary bed leads to diffusion of solutes back toward the majority provender H2O. During uninterrupted operation, a steady-state status is reached in which the solute concentration at the membrane surface is changeless w ith regard to clip because the convective i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow of solutes toward the membrane is balanced by the diffusing i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow of solutes off from the surface. A mass balance can be developed at the membrane surface as follows: Mass accretion = mass in ? mass out ( 4.2 ) With no accretion of mass at steady province, the solute i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux toward the membrane surface must be balanced by i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uxes of solute i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡owing off from the membrane ( due to diffusion ) and through the membrane ( into the permeate ) as follows: WhereMeteris mass of solute,Jouletungstenis the experimental permeate H2O flux,Tis clip,CalciferolSecondis the diffusion coefficient of the solute,omegathe distance perpendicular to membrane surface,Cpeis the solute concentration in the permeate andE‘is the surface country of membrane. Equation 4.3 applies non merely at the membrane surface but besides at any plane in the boundary bed because the net solute i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux must be changeless throughout the boundary bed to forestall the accretion of solute anyplace within that bed ( the last term in equation 4.3 represents the solute that must go through through the boundary bed and the membrane to stop up in the permeate ) . Rearranging and incorporating equation 4.3 across the thickness of the boundary bed with the boundary conditions C ( 0 ) = CMeterand C ( ?Bacillus) = CF, cell, where CF, cellis the concentration of provender cell solution and CMeteris the concentration at the membrane surface, are done in the undermentioned equations: Integration outputs WhereKis the mass transportation coefficient and?Bacillusthickness of the boundary bed, rearranging the equation 4.6 when utilizing the van’t Hoff equation the eventually theoretical account from the concentrative external concentration polarisation at each permeate flux, could be calculated utilizing: Where?F, Bis the osmotic force per unit areas of feed solution at the majority and?F, mis the osmotic force per unit areas of the provender solution at the surface membrane. Note that the advocate is positive, he pointed out that ?F, m& A ; gt ; ?F, B. The draw solution in touch with the permeate side of membrane is the being diluted at the permeate membrane interface by the permeating H2O ( Moody and Kessler, 1976 ) . This is called diluted external CP. Both dilutive external CP phenomena cut down and concentrative the effectual osmotic driving force. A dilutive external CP modulus be identified as above, merely In the present instance, the concentration of the majority greater than concentration of the draw solution at the membrane surface ( i.e. ?D, B& A ; gt ; ?D, m) ( Cath et al. , 2006 ) : Where?D, mis the osmotic force per unit areas of the draw solution at the membrane surface and?D, Bis the osmotic force per unit areas of draw solution at the majority. The general equation depicting H2O conveyance in FO, RO, and PRO is ( Cath et al. , 2006 ) : Where,Athe H2O permeableness invariable of the membrane, ? the contemplation coefficient, and a?† P is the applied force per unit area. For FO, a?† P is zero ; for RO, a?† P & A ; gt ; a?† ? ; and for PRO, a?† ? & A ; gt ; a?† P ( see figure 4.1 ) . Figure 4.1 Direction and magnitude of H2O as a map of ?P. To pattern the flux public presentation of the forward osmosis procedure in the presence of external concentration polarisation, we start with the flux equation for forward osmosis, given as We assume that the salt does non traverse membrane, the osmotic contemplation coefficient (?) , assume equal 1. Equation 4.10 predicts Flux as maps of driving force merely in the absence dilutive external concentration polarisation or concentrative, which may to be valid merely if the permeating flux is excessively low. When higher flux rates, must be modified to include this equation both the dilutive external concentration polarisation and concentrative: Figure 4.2 ( a ) shows this phenomenon with a dense symmetric membrane ( McCutcheon and Elimelech, 2006 ) . 4.2.2 Internal Concentration Polarization If the porousness support bed of asymmetric membrane confronting feed solution, as is the instance in force per unit area retarded osmosis ( PRO ) , Polarization bed is established along interior of heavy active bed as H2O and solute propagate the porousness bed ( Figure 4.2 ( B ) ) . This is referred to as concentrative internal concentration polarisation, this phenomenon is similar to concentrative external concentration polarisation, except that it takes topographic point within the porous bed, and therefore, can non be underestimated by cross flow ( Lee et al, 1981 ) Obtained look patterning this phenomenon in force per unit area retarded osmosis ( Loeb et al. 1997 ) . This equation describes internal concentration polarisation ( ICP ) the effects and how it links to H2O flux, salt permeableness coefficient ( B ) and H2O permeableness coefficient: WhereKmis the opposition to solute diffusion within the membrane porous support bed,Kmis defined as WhereSecondthe membrane structural parametric quantity,?mis the thickness,?is the tortuousness and?is the porousness of the support bed,Kmis a step how easy it can be dissolved widespread support inside and outside Layer, and hence is a step of the strength of ICP. We maintain the usage of theKmterm due to convention established in old surveies on internal concentration polarisation. Salt permeableness coefficient ( B ) is about negligible compared with the other footings in the equation 4.12. Therefore, we ignore salt flux in the way of H2O flux and any transition of salt from the permeate ( draw solution ) side ( Gray et al. , 2006 ) . Therefore, flux can be solved for implicitly from equation 4.12: The exponential term in equation 4.14 is the rectification factor that could be considered the concentrative internal concentration polarisation modulus, defined as Where ?F, Iis the osmotic force per unit area of the feed solution on the interior of the active bed within the porous support. The positive advocate indicates that ?F, I& A ; gt ; ?F, B, or that the consequence is concentrative. Substitute Equation 4.8 into 4.14 to obtain an analytical theoretical account for the impact of internal and external concentration polarisation on H2O flux: All the footings in equation 4.16 are readily determined through computations or experiments. From equation we can cipher the flux of H2O through the membrane where feeding solution is placed against asymmetric support bed and the draw solution on the active bed. In forward osmosis applications for desalinization and H2O intervention, the active bed of the membrane faces the provender solution and the porous support bed faces the draw solution ( Kessler and Moody, 1976 ) . As H2O permeates the active bed, the draw solution within the porous infrastructure becomes diluted. This is referred to as dilutive internal concentration polarisation ( Figure 4.2 ( degree Celsius ) ) . ( Loeb et al, 1997 ) Descriptions likewise flux behaviour in the development of forward osmosis: When presuming that B = 0 ( i.e. , the salt permeableness is negligible ) and the equation 4.17 is agreement, are acquiring an inexplicit equation for the flux of H2O permeating: Here, ?D, Bis now corrected by the dilutive internal concentration polarisation modulus, given by Where ?D, Iis the concentration of the draw solution on the interior of the active bed within the porous support. The negative advocate because the H2O flux is in the way off from the membrane active bed surface, In other words, the concentration polarisation consequence in our instance is dilutive, intending that ?D, I& A ; lt ; ?D, Bby replacing equation 4.7 into 4.18, we get The footings in equation 4.20 are mensurable system conditions and membrane parametric quantities. Note that here ; dilutive internal concentration polarisation is coupled with concentrative external concentration polarisation, whereas in the equation 4.16, concentrative internal concentration polarisation was coupled with dilutive external concentration polarisation. In each of these instances, the external concentration polarisation and internal concentration polarisation moduli all contribute negatively to the overall osmotic drive force. The negative part of each addition with higher flux, which suggests a self-limiting flux behaviour, this implies that increasing osmotic drive force will supply decreasing additions in flux ( Tang et al. , 2010 ) . Figure 4.2 Illustration of osmotic driving force profiles for osmosis through several membrane types and orientations, integrating both internal and external concentration polarisation. ( a ) The profile illustrates concentrative and dilutive external CP. ( B ) PRO manner ; the profile illustrates concentrative internal CP and dilutive external CP. ( degree Celsius ) FO manner ; the profile illustrates dilutive internal CP and concentrative external CP (McCutcheon and Elimelech, 2006 ) . In this hunt if taking transmembrane temperature difference into history, the temperature being next to membrane surface will besides differ from that in bulk solution due to the happening of heat transportation. Hence, utilizing van’t Hoff jurisprudence for computation of osmotic force per unit area requires the temperature points to be purely in line with the concentration points as WhereC,TDandTFis the concentration, temperature draw and temperature, with the inferiors F, cell ( feed cell solution ) and D, cell ( draw cell solution ) . The theoretical account to foretell H2O i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux can be rewritten to a modii ¬?ed by replacing equation 4.21 and 4.22 in 4.20, we get Figure 4.3 gives the conventional illustration of the concentration and temperature proi ¬?les in FO procedure operated under active bed – provender solution ( AL–FS ) . Figure 4.3Conventional diagram of mass and heat i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux proi ¬?les within boundary bed and membrane during FO procedure under AL–FS manner in the presence of temperature difference ( TF, cell& A ; gt ; TD, cell) . 4.3 Heat Flux Heat transportation from the solution to the membrane surface across the boundary bed in the side of the membrane faculty imposes a opposition to mass reassign The temperature at the membrane surface is lower than the corresponding value at the majority stage. This affects negatively the drive force for mass transportation. Under steady province conditions, derived from the heat balance, the heat transportation in the single compartments of system is represented by the undermentioned equation: In which Q denotes the heat flux, and the inferiors FS – BL, m and DS – BL represent feed solution boundary bed, membrane and draw solution boundary bed. By stipulating the equation 4.24, we obtain WhereHis the single heat transportation coefi ¬?cient,CPthe specii ¬?c heat of H2O,?tungstenthe H2O denseness. Rearranging the equation 4.25 gives expressed looks of temperature near the membrane surfaces as ( Zhong et al. , 2012 ) It is sensible to dei ¬?ne the temperature at interface of SL and AL by averaging theThymineF, mandThymineD, m 4.4 Heat Transfer Coefficients The finding of heat transportation coefi ¬?cientHis developed on the footing of the correlativity between Nusselt, Reynolds and Prandtl figure ( Holman, 2009 ) . For the laminar flow: For the disruptive flow: WhereNu=hL/? , Pr =CPhosphorus µ/? ,and.Nu is the Nusselt figure,Rheniumthe Reynolds figure andPraseodymiumthe Prandtl figure. TheCPhosphorusis the specii ¬?c heat,Literlength of the channel, µthe dynamic viscousness, and ? the thermic conduction of NaCl solution. The value µis obtained harmonizing to µ = , in which?is the solution denseness, and?the kinematic viscousness. The dependance of?on temperature can be described by Where And are the thermic conduction of H2O at temperature T and 298.15 K. The heat transportation coefficientHcalculated by Where happenNufrom equation 4.29 or 4.30 The overall heat transportation coefficientHmof FO membrane embodies the thermic conduction of both liquid-phase H2O go throughing the micro pores and the solid-phase membrane 4.5 Mass Transfer Coefficient The mass transportation coefficient is a map of provender flow rate, cell geometry and solute system. Generalized correlativities of mass transportation, which have been used by several writers ( Sourirajan, 1970 ) , suggest that the Sherwood figure,Sh,is related to the Reynolds figure,Re,and Schmidt figure,Sc,as: For the laminar flow: For the disruptive flow: Whereand.Shis the Sherwood figure,Scandiumthe Schmidt figure andvitamin DHis the hydraulic diameter, the hydraulic diameter is dei ¬?ned as Where tungsten and h the channel breadth and channel tallness severally. The parametric quantities,CalciferolSecondand?rely strongly on temperature, which can be quantitatively determined by empirical equations below. For aqueous electrolyte like NaCl,CalciferolSecondvalue of the ions is presented by ( Beijing, 1988 ) Where N ±is the absolute valley of ions ( i.e. N ±=1 ) , and ? ±is the tantamount conduction of Na+and Cl–ions, estimated as ( 4.40 ) In which( 5.1Ãâ€"10-3m2/? for Na ions ; 7.64Ãâ€"10-3m2/? for chloride ions ) is the mention tantamount conduction at 298.15 K ; temperature coefficient,,forSodium+, and,,for, severally. The empirical equations were employed to gauge kinematic viscousness of NaCl solution as Whereis the H2O viscousness at temperature T, expressed as In whichvitamin E= 0.12,degree Fahrenheit= -0.44,-ˆ= -3.713,I=2.792 are the fitting parametric quantities,CSecondthe NaCl molar concentration, andThymineRoentgenthe normalized temperature. There is besides another manner to cipher diffusion coefficient in the liquid stage of a dilute solution can be estimated by the Stokes – Einstein equation if the solute radius is clearly larger than the solvent radius WhereKBacillusis the Boltzmann invariable, T ( K ) is the absolute temperature,  µ is the dynamic viscousness of the liquid and ROis the radius of the solute. To cipher diffusion coefficients in aqueous solutions predict that diffusion coefficients really linearly with temperature and reciprocally with viscousness. Indeed, harmonizing to Li and Gregory, ( 1974 ) . In instance of the stokes – Einstein relation the diffusion coefficientD ( T )at a temperatureThymineis given as Where D( TO)is the diffusion coefficient at a mention temperatureThymineOand µ ( T )and µ ( TO)are the dynamic viscousnesss at temperaturesThymineandThymineO, severally. Note that temperatures are given in Kelvin. Finally the mass transportation coefficient K calculated by WhereShdiscovery from equation 4.36 or 4.37 4.6 Water Permeability Coefficient The equation ciphering pure H2O permeableness coefi ¬?cient A for FO procedure is derived from the theoretical account ; thereby the H2O i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux of rearward osmosis procedure is predicted ( Baker, 2004 ) WhereCtungstenis the H2O molar concentration,Volttungstenthe molar volume of H2O,Calciferoleffthe effectual H2O molecule diffusivity within the pores of active bed of the FO membrane Wherevitamin DSecond( 4AO) andvitamin DPhosphorus( 7.2AO) are the diameter of H2O molecule and pore, and D the evident diffusivity, which is given as Along with H2O dynamic viscousness (  µw ) predicted by There is besides another manner to cipher membrane permeableness ( A ) i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡at-sheet bench-scale RO trial system was used to find the H2O permeableness coefi ¬?cient ( A ) of the CTA membrane. A membrane voucher holding an effectual surface country of 64 centimeter2was the active bed of the membrane confronting the provender solution. Mesh spacers placed in the provender channel enhanced the turbulency of the ultrapure H2O provender watercourse. A hard-hitting positive supplanting pump was used to recirculate the provender solution at 12 L/h. The FO membrane H2O permeableness coefi ¬?cient ( A ) was determined utilizing ( Lee et al. , 1981 ) . Where is the osmotic force per unit area difference across the membrane and ?P is the hydraulic force per unit area difference across the membrane. Because ultrapure H2O was used as the provender solution, was zero during the experiments. Pressure was increased from 1 saloon to 2 saloon. Pressure was held changeless at each increase for continuance of 3 h. Water i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ux through the membrane was calculated based on the increasing weight of the permeant H2O on an analytical balance. The temperature was held changeless at 25OC. See figure 4.4 Figure 4.4 Flux vs. force per unit area and the swill is representedH2O permeableness coefi ¬?cient ( A ) . 4.7 Recovery Percentage The recovery factor measures how much of the provender is recovered as permeate. It is reported as a per centum ( Al-Alawy, 2000 ) . The recovery of the membrane was calculated by spliting the overall of permeate rate by the provender rate solution. Recovery, or transition, is defined by: WhereVoltPhosphorusis the overall permeate volume andVoltFis the provender volume solution. Figure 4.5 the flow chart of patterning FO H2O flux at different temperature matrixes. 1

Freedom

Freedom. We all dream about it. We all wish we could break free of the rules, laws and constraints we are all chained down by. The uniforms, taxes, laws and harsh, judgemental opinions: All these keep us in order, organized and running smoothly like a well-oiled machine. But sometimes what is best for people is not the strict guidelines and controlling regulations, but the shattering of the barrier to insanity and liberation, the spreading of wings and freedom of flight that we can only ever experience in dreams. Freedom, however, can have many different definitions.To be able to do anything they want without the fear of trouble, fines or cruel, judgemental opinions, or maybe just to be able to walk to the park alone. There are numerous levels of freedom and everybody’s opinion on where they are on those levels can depend on their upbringing, cultural background, age group and environment. Some cultures, for example, are considered to be stricter than others in certain, or all aspects of their children’s lives, even to the extent of an arranged marriage. There are many reasons for why children should be allowed some freedom, however, but still be on a loose leash.We all need to go through the childhood stage, with we need room to explore the world and take risks in a safe environment and manner. Parents just need to find a balance between the two, letting the child make some of their own decisions, but also letting them make small mistakes as to learn from them. Though some teenagers of this generation feel as if they need more freedom, most of them do not. Teenagers do not know the real meaning of freedom and have not learnt to savour it as those in the work force have. They do not know what it is like to have to fend for themselves, and have others depend on them to live as well.To have just one day where all that responsibility, and the responsibility of sticking to laws and restrictions, is lifted off their shoulders, would be the feeling of t rue freedom. Parents restrict their teenagers from doing some things and going to certain places because they want their children to be safe, but to enjoy and savour the freedom they have now before they are released into the â€Å"real world† and never to experience it again. Teenagers of this day and age have quite a bit of freedom in many aspects already compared to their parents and other older generations.Being a teenager myself, I can see why some others would like more, and feel as if they are deprived of, choice and freewill, though I understand that the restrictions placed and reinforced upon by the parents are only for our benefit. As our parents, they would have decidedly more knowledge of the world and its dangers due to experience, as they have been where us teens are today. The world, however, is changing, and with a new generation comes new experiences. There are many choices in life, and if we do not make mistakes, we would not be able to learn and grow as peo ple.Independence is a crucial lesson in life, and can only be achieved through self nourishment and exploration of both ourselves and the world around us. Though parents may think that by restricting their children from going out and contributing to certain events is to protect them, they may be actually shielding their children from the real world, feeding their children lies when the society they live in isn’t as innocent. Totally shielding that child from the events of the world would be unfair to both the parents and the child. Gradually exposing them to the world however, would be a nicer alternative.The shock of finding out how different the real world is compared to their thoughts and filtered knowledge would be extremely unfair as they would discover all the experiences they did not get to participate in, and feel as if their childhood had been wasted. This shielding of children may also have prevented them from having a social life. They may have been kept at home, q uietly reading, or studying for a test coming up in a couple of weeks, while their friends were out having fun and experiencing and contributing to the memories that they will be able to tell their children when they have grown out of their teenage years.Being kept at home, it would make sense that they would have a quieter and less outgoing personality, and that new experiences would not be as happily welcomed as they would by those who had had the chance to understand and gain knowledge about it. On the other hand, quite often teenagers who are kept at home, but who have knowledge of the outside world, become rebellious and disobedient in order to try and experience new things with friends and also to be socially accepted and to fit in.However, this creates tension and mistrust within families, and therefore harsher restrictions on their freedom, causing other, more forceful forms of rebellion. Freedom is classed on so many different levels, that sometimes, even walking home witho ut the threat of death is a dream. With countless different definitions of â€Å"freedom† each and every person would have a varied view on liberation and different levels on where they feel it. Teenagers need time to explore and experience, but on he other hand, they need to be able to do this in a fairly safe and comfortable environment. Lack of freedom hinders the growth and development of personalities and the teenager’s ever going search to find themselves, and who is going to make their mark in the world in the near future. Freedom is a part of life that shapes and moulds the clay of the future of mankind into the people who will one day run the world. And in freedom, we fly. Freedom Freedom. We all dream about it. We all wish we could break free of the rules, laws and constraints we are all chained down by. The uniforms, taxes, laws and harsh, judgemental opinions: All these keep us in order, organized and running smoothly like a well-oiled machine. But sometimes what is best for people is not the strict guidelines and controlling regulations, but the shattering of the barrier to insanity and liberation, the spreading of wings and freedom of flight that we can only ever experience in dreams. Freedom, however, can have many different definitions.To be able to do anything they want without the fear of trouble, fines or cruel, judgemental opinions, or maybe just to be able to walk to the park alone. There are numerous levels of freedom and everybody’s opinion on where they are on those levels can depend on their upbringing, cultural background, age group and environment. Some cultures, for example, are considered to be stricter than others in certain, or all aspects of their children’s lives, even to the extent of an arranged marriage. There are many reasons for why children should be allowed some freedom, however, but still be on a loose leash.We all need to go through the childhood stage, with we need room to explore the world and take risks in a safe environment and manner. Parents just need to find a balance between the two, letting the child make some of their own decisions, but also letting them make small mistakes as to learn from them. Though some teenagers of this generation feel as if they need more freedom, most of them do not. Teenagers do not know the real meaning of freedom and have not learnt to savour it as those in the work force have. They do not know what it is like to have to fend for themselves, and have others depend on them to live as well.To have just one day where all that responsibility, and the responsibility of sticking to laws and restrictions, is lifted off their shoulders, would be the feeling of t rue freedom. Parents restrict their teenagers from doing some things and going to certain places because they want their children to be safe, but to enjoy and savour the freedom they have now before they are released into the â€Å"real world† and never to experience it again. Teenagers of this day and age have quite a bit of freedom in many aspects already compared to their parents and other older generations.Being a teenager myself, I can see why some others would like more, and feel as if they are deprived of, choice and freewill, though I understand that the restrictions placed and reinforced upon by the parents are only for our benefit. As our parents, they would have decidedly more knowledge of the world and its dangers due to experience, as they have been where us teens are today. The world, however, is changing, and with a new generation comes new experiences. There are many choices in life, and if we do not make mistakes, we would not be able to learn and grow as peo ple.Independence is a crucial lesson in life, and can only be achieved through self nourishment and exploration of both ourselves and the world around us. Though parents may think that by restricting their children from going out and contributing to certain events is to protect them, they may be actually shielding their children from the real world, feeding their children lies when the society they live in isn’t as innocent. Totally shielding that child from the events of the world would be unfair to both the parents and the child. Gradually exposing them to the world however, would be a nicer alternative.The shock of finding out how different the real world is compared to their thoughts and filtered knowledge would be extremely unfair as they would discover all the experiences they did not get to participate in, and feel as if their childhood had been wasted. This shielding of children may also have prevented them from having a social life. They may have been kept at home, q uietly reading, or studying for a test coming up in a couple of weeks, while their friends were out having fun and experiencing and contributing to the memories that they will be able to tell their children when they have grown out of their teenage years.Being kept at home, it would make sense that they would have a quieter and less outgoing personality, and that new experiences would not be as happily welcomed as they would by those who had had the chance to understand and gain knowledge about it. On the other hand, quite often teenagers who are kept at home, but who have knowledge of the outside world, become rebellious and disobedient in order to try and experience new things with friends and also to be socially accepted and to fit in.However, this creates tension and mistrust within families, and therefore harsher restrictions on their freedom, causing other, more forceful forms of rebellion. Freedom is classed on so many different levels, that sometimes, even walking home witho ut the threat of death is a dream. With countless different definitions of â€Å"freedom† each and every person would have a varied view on liberation and different levels on where they feel it. Teenagers need time to explore and experience, but on he other hand, they need to be able to do this in a fairly safe and comfortable environment. Lack of freedom hinders the growth and development of personalities and the teenager’s ever going search to find themselves, and who is going to make their mark in the world in the near future. Freedom is a part of life that shapes and moulds the clay of the future of mankind into the people who will one day run the world. And in freedom, we fly.

Leaders and tempting situations Essay

This book by Ira Chaleff explores and analyzes the role of a follower. Too many a time leadership has been highlighted but this book uniquely shifts its focus to the follower. The author argues that following is often stigmatized, it is often perceived as docility, weakness or the failure to excel. This handbook shows that a courageous follower can be an enormous asset to a leader. It illustrates Chaleff’s confidence in the individual. The book talks about dynamics of interpersonal relationships that can be applied in everyday situations anywhere. It identified five dimensions in which courage can be demonstrated: assuming responsibility, serving, challenging, participating in transformation and, given the worst-case scenario, leaving. What then is a courageous follower? A courageous follower understands that anything can happen in a fast-paced world thus contingency plan is always a necessity. He accepts that he holds a risky position and is able to speak and act the truth not compromising respect for individuals (Chaleff 2003). One who is not afraid to work closely with other followers and one who dares to challenge existing practices but in a constructive and non-confrontational way (Chaleff 2003). The author purports that courage cannot lead to disobedience unless on special circumstances such as the preservation of life and the respect of the law are at stake. These exceptions are deemed important enough to supersede the human tendency to follow orders (Chaleff 2003). Becoming a courageous follower is not achievable overnight. There is no shortcut to being partner to a leader. Courageous following is a two-way street. It takes a lot of openness and perceptiveness. Moreover, it takes passion for the job, initiative, buy-in, loyalty, trust, open mind and communication skills (Chaleff 2003). As relationship based on courage is grown, credibility is build. I would say courageous following should be practiced in our Department. Ours is a highly-charged working environment where preservation of life is the main goal. It is but practical for a follower be he courageous or not to be able to respond – in a timely manner to certain situations that calls for contingency measures. But I believe everyone in the Department understands how risky the positions we hold are. In addition to this, there is always the truth part or the morality issue. It’s not only practical but I would say a necessity for anyone in the Department to espouse truth all the time. This goes for anyone regardless where they are working but ours seem to weigh more in peoples’ perception because we are in law enforcement and we are the law enforcers. We serve and protect the law thus we are assumed to be lawfully and morally upright. This though is a perfect world scenario. Ours is hardly perfect. There are always faulty leaders and tempting situations that would challenge our commitment to truth. This is where being a courageous follower comes into play – speaking and acting the truth, daring to challenge conventions, practice, instructions or rules, always maintaining that certain degree of professionalism and respect for individuals. The points raised in the book are generally applicable in almost all organizations. Being a courageous follower takes a lot of hard work and professionalism. It takes discipline and commitment. The leaving part of being a courageous follower given the worse causes can be impractical in a way. But in the end things will just boil down to one word – integrity. Work Cited Chaleff, Irah, (2003). The Courageous Follower: Standing up to and for our Leaders. Berrett- Koehler Publishers, 2nd Edition

Professional Accountant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Professional Accountant - Essay Example This is based on the Financial Services Markets Act of 2000. The Corporate Governance Code of 2010 is overseen by the Financial Reporting Council. Thus, public listed companies must comply with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2010. Those who fail to comply with the corporate governance Code have to explain why they departed from it. Private companies are encouraged to use the UK Corporate Governance Code of 2010. The fact that public listed companies are required to comply or explain makes the UK Code a principles based code. This is in contrast with the rules based code which is connected to the Sarbeans-Oxley Act of the United States. There are three elements of reporting that are meant to prevent fraud and wrongful reporting by people charged with corporate governance: opportunity, incentive and rationalization (Strohm, 2006). In a rules-based system of corporate governance like the United States, preventing inaccurate reporting is done by limiting opportunities (Jeffrey, 2011). This is done by precision and setting strict standards for reporting. Failure to comply with the precise and strict standard leads to legal sanctions. The principle-based corporate governance system of corporate governance is a comply-or-explain system where the rationalisation of actions are documented. This is a communication based system meant to strengthen moral incentives by clarifying morally responsible methods of reporting. The UK Corporate Governance Code of 2010 is a rules-based system and it focuses on five main systems and structures: 1. The Board of Directors: Every company is to have a board of directors which would be tasked with the long-term leadership of the company. The board is tasked with the running of the company. No one on the board is required to have unfettered powers. There are checks and balances on all members including the chairman who has responsibility for maintaining the effectiveness of the board. On unitary boards, there must be a balance between e xecutive and non-executive directors to promote checks and balances on the single board. 2. Effectiveness: The board must be ran through various committees like the remuneration, audit and risk committees. The committees need to use skill, experience and independence to discharge their obligations. The committees must have formal opportunities. To ensure effectiveness, the members of the board must be open for periodic nomination by the shareholders and this must be done at least once every three years. 3. Accountability: The board must use balanced and understandable methods for assessing the company's position from time to time. The assessment must include important areas like risk management, strategic management and internal controls. These assessments must be disclosed through formal arrangements on corporate reporting, risk management and internal control to disclose information. 4. Remuneration: There must be formal and transparent methods of fixing remuneration. This system must be enough to encourage appropriately skilled persons to join the board and they should not be too much. 5. Shareholders: The board needs to have constant contact with members of the bo

What should young people be taught about theatre and what principles Assignment - 1

What should young people be taught about theatre and what principles should guide the padagogy - Assignment Example The Department of Culture, Media and Sports Taking Part Survey found that only 36% from the previous 55% of primary schools students attend after school music lessons; and for theatre and drama classes, the number of students dropped from 49% to 33%. Finally, for dance lessons, the number of students decreased from 29% from 45% (Lyons, 2014, para.1). Giving less priority to cultural education can be saddening, and this is echoed by Harriet Harman, Shadow culture secretary who lamented that the future talents of Britain are being robbed. She explained: â€Å"Taking part in art and culture is a vital part of a child’s education and helps them develop their full potential. But we are seeing a serious fall in the amount of art and culture children are able to take part in.† (Lyons, 2014, para. 7). This just emphasises the value of informing people about the importance of including Cultural Education in the school curriculum. Henley (2012) advocates it because cultural education allows children to gain necessary knowledge through the learning of facts. Children develop an understanding of culture by developing their critical faculties and skills through their active involvement in various art forms and activities related to these. However, cultural education does not get as much priority as literacy and numeracy. The National Curriculum emphasizes the development of academic skills more than the arts so schools focus on Math and Reading so that students can perform well in standardized tests. It is my opinion that the arts should get the same attention in the curriculum since it addresses the strengths of some students who may not be as skilled in the academic subjects. According to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory (1983), all people have something to excel at, and being smart above the rest is not limited to those who do exceptionally well academically. It is comforting to think that

Labor and Employee Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labor and Employee Relations - Assignment Example The management would want to cut down on the perks of the employees. However the solution lies in proper agreement and then negotiating that is beneficial for both the parties involved. The International Labor Organization defines a company union as "A union limited to a single company which dominates or strongly influences it, thereby limiting its influence" [2]. The unions generally have a leader who negotiates with the company. As the supervisor of the manufacturing plant, I have the responsibility of coming to terms with the union. The first step would be to communicate to the union leader that the contract needs renewal and a formal meeting would be scheduled. In this meeting, I would present my points from the managerial point of view and the union leader would bring up the demands and worries of the employees. This initial phase gives the general idea about the extent to which the employees feel about the deal. The previous contract would be amended and points and issues would be added. Thereon several meetings will be held between me and the union leader to negotiate even further and to decide which party can compromise of which issue. A finalized version o f the contract will be rotated amidst the employees who will sign it to bind them to the contract for a certain period as agreed. It is true that the emp... Because of this we allow unions to form and negotiate the concerns of the employees so that they are happy and eventually make us happy. Part Two - You are attending a lunch and learn session on stress reduction in the workplace. In order to prepare yourself for this meeting, write a paragraph explaining how you would reduce stress at work. Write another 1-2 paragraphs indicating why you believe this approach would be successful. Pressure is part of the work and it helps to keep the employees motivated. But excessive pressure can lead to stress, which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill. Pressure and stress at work is just like any problem for the organization. If dealt in a problem solving method, it would certainly go away. The problem solving approach is outlined in these steps. 1) Identify the problem, not just the symptoms 2) Create solutions as to how stress can be reduced 3) Evaluate and analyze all the solutions to find which is the best 4) Implement the solution which will have maximum impact 5) Check if the problem is solved The problem here is not stress, rather stress is the symptom. There can be many problems because of which a person can become stressful. The need to identify the problem cannot be emphasized more. If a person thinks that stress is the problem, then he would try to reduce stress by taking tension relieving drugs, or starting smoking. Compared to a person who correctively identifies the problem as 'too much work load', he will try to talk to his boss to reduce the load. This five step approach is a tried and tested methodology to every problem but it needs to be worked out

Reflective journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Reflective journal - Essay Example Therefore before a claim is written a good research should be done to gather enough information to substantiate the claim. My approach for research differs with the type and purpose of that research. In most cases I prefer doing research that will enable me to gather as much information as possible while minimizing costs. I mostly prefer a quantitative approach in which one gathers some quantitative data and then analyses and interprets them to answer the research question or the various hypotheses designed. Although this is the approach I like using most, sometimes I find myself using a qualitative approach in which one gathers some qualitative data which she analyzes and interprets to answer the research problem. Each of the two approaches is suitable for specific kind of research and thus one should be careful when choosing which one to use. Research, as every other study faces several challenges. One of the major challenges is developing and improving research methodologies that will explore the complexity of the research. As we advance in research we find ourselves dealing with complex situations in which we do not adjust our methodology to suite them we might end up gathering misleading research information. The solution for that is using internet and intranet that provide excellent opportunities for exploring new research methods. Another challenge is trying to have a balanced program of research among the researchers. Correlational research should be undertaken by several researchers with an aim of comparing the findings and thus minimizing errors so that the results are compared and thus better decisions realized. The ethical issue that comes up in every research undertaking is another challenge that needs to be faced. The ethics of research requires the researcher to fully be responsible for the safety of his res pondent or even the general population he aims to use in his research. One of the major tips, which I think can assist

TORT LAW PROBLEM QUESTION (Defamation) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

TORT LAW PROBLEM QUESTION (Defamation) - Essay Example fathers who had been injured in the Great War, and all of them knew the quotation from that great elegy for the First World War dead: ‘In Flanders field, a poppy grew’. Three generations have passed since the 1920s, and people no longer share these cultural references. Today in 2010 most inner-city youngsters associate the red poppy with the production of opium, morphine and heroin. The average twenty-year old in Toxteth, Gateshead or Hackney looks in bewilderment at politicians and news-readers all dutifully wearing their poppies. Why are they all advertising the drug-trade, and what connection does that have with Britains current wars? The smarter ones soon work out the answer: it must be in celebration of the fact that opium production has soared in Afghanistan since the British Army took over Helmand from the Taliban ... Since the Anglo-Chinese Opium Wars of the 1840s the British Army has long been involved in facilitating drug trafficking. But is this something we s hould celebrate each year by supporting the Poppy Appeal? BRITISH LEGION, listen to me! If your present purpose is to collect funds for the wounded of Britains elective wars in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, then you need a less controversial symbol. How about a paper representation of a shrapnel wound, red with blood, that can be pinned to each politicians lapel? ... Until the BRITISH LEGION gets its act together, we must boycott the Poppy Appeal. At present everyone wearing their artificial red poppy is signaling their support for the drug runners of Afghanistan and for those British soldiers who collude with them. 2. Whether or not the British Legion as a charitable organisation as a claimant may sue for damage to its reputation. If the answer is favorable, then the next issue is whether or not Smith may sue on behalf of the charity. 1. The most important issue is whether or not the words in the article are defamatory. Firstly, it must be explained what exactly is a defamatory statement.

Tourism Policy and Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tourism Policy and Strategy - Assignment Example The British tourism industry also faces challenges. David Coleman summarised the problems now facing British countryside as changes to the scenery, e.g. with fewer animals, lack of investment in the countryside and its infrastructure, fewer countryside activities, such as events and shows and lack of enthusiasm from businesses and people. He cited that the local authorities can assist by working with the industry, reviewing the rural infrastructure, e.g. by ensuring temporary footpath closure signs are removed, promoting support for businesses and taking a positive attitude towards planning issues and rural development. ("Working for the Countryside". The growth of international and domestic tourism has been matched by a corresponding increase in the numbers of those who study tourism and its impacts. Indeed, it may even be said that tourism research is one of the academic growth industries of the late twentieth century. A specific example of tourism research is Tomorrow's Tourism To day or Tourism Prospectus. This Prospectus outlines plans for action and responsibilities for delivery for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) and its key partners in five areas. ... (Tomorrow's Tourism Today). The industry is aiming for an industry turnover of 100 billion as a minimum by 2010. The British tourism industry also faces challenges. David Coleman summarised the problems now facing British countryside as changes to the scenery, e.g. with fewer animals, lack of investment in the countryside and its infrastructure, fewer countryside activities, such as events and shows and lack of enthusiasm from businesses and people. He cited that the local authorities can assist by working with the industry, reviewing the rural infrastructure, e.g. by ensuring temporary footpath closure signs are removed, promoting support for businesses and taking a positive attitude towards planning issues and rural development. ("Working for the Countryside").

The Demise of Colonial Education Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Demise of Colonial Education - Article Example The first thing that must be understood is how relevant this system of education to the political agenda of the countries asserting their independence. One thing that must be understood is that education is a tool to open the eye about the problems of the world and look for the solutions that are feasible and reasonable. However, this system of education by the colonizers became a tool to forward the deplorable political agenda and harsh practices by the Western powers in very problematic situations. Certain problems that occurred in these colonized systems of education. In Africa back then, education has been focused on the development of family and civilization. This would then result into the development of social roles that is being realized by the kids that complement the lifestyle of the particular group he or she belongs to. However, the advent of the colonized education not only distorted these notions of the family and other socialization processes but have forwarded Western Ideals and the religions, later on turning the system of education as a tool to serve the interests of the colonizer and the missionaries being supportive of the said colonial regime. How underdevelopment happens here? One thing that must be understood as well is that the concentration of education in cities has attracted people to acquire this certain education. In this case, people in the rural areas, wherein most of the economic activity of the African nations is being abandoned.  

Hamlet and death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Hamlet and death - Essay Example Disputes among political power houses and rival gangs are also highlighted by the speaker. This is a community just like any other and there were interest from rival groups as to who were superior so as to gain control of the community. Cultural Revolution and resumption of Chinese and Japanese relation is heavily highlighted in the red sorghum novel. This was an attempt by their leaders to get the two groups together and leave harmoniously. The speaker uses a style written in first person characterized by briefness without any chronological order of events. The story was aimed at bringing people together after long fought battles which many people lost their lives and it came up with strategy of getting food, water, life among other basic things harmoniously (Moet all 90). Is a paly of Italian culture which is based on real life occurrence between an Italian rail road worker and anarchist Giuseppe pinelli who died after he was thrown at a police station in Milan police station after he had been accused of bombing a bank but he was later cleared of any wrong doing Unlike the red sorghum novel which is based on true story, this is fictional work created by the author. It starts with a police inspector interrogating a suspect in the first floor who was smarter and the officer could not find anything from him. A judge was brought and meeting scheduled in the fourth floor of the same building, with a journalist probing the incident in attendance. The play ends where the journalist leaves the room and maniac later escapes (Fo et al 2002 356). The two instances were among the leading drama in the world. Though the later were fictional occurrences, it was well done by the author and the play was later performed in various countries across the world. The former is work based on true story and it also attracts success wherever the novel was

Curbing Grade Inflation Essay Example for Free

Curbing Grade Inflation Essay Grade inflation takes place when students are given a higher grade than what they actually deserved in order to address the declining expectations and diminishing educational standards. The phenomenon of grade inflation is observable in the current trends in grading, which is mostly given by private colleges and universities. Grade inflation suggests that the terminology used in grading no longer reflects the reality, especially when it comes to the performance of students. As a result, the efforts of students who actually work hard and have exceptional capabilities are being undermined. In addition, grade inflation also affects the proper assessment of students, as it does not reflect the real grades that they deserve. Being the case, Princeton University decided to implement a policy that will limit professors in giving the grade of A among students per department. However, the aforementioned policy is questioned regarding its effectiveness and also the way by which it can contribute to the greater good for the greater number of people. Grade inflation should be stopped because of the disadvantageous effects that it has among students and the educational institutions and also in the society as a whole. The utilitarian principle gives utmost emphasis for the greater good of the most number of people. Grade inflation does not merely affect one individual or student but rather its ill effects are reflected upon the whole educational institution and the society. In terms of the educational institution, since grade inflation is used in order to give students higher grade than what they deserve, the real problem of diminishing educational standards of different colleges and universities is not properly addressed. Grade inflation gives a false facade that students are doing well, which reflect that the educational standards are also efficient. Due to this, the problems within the educational institutions is not properly identified and solved. In the same manner, the society as a whole is also affected by grade inflation. The primary reason as to why education is given importance in almost any state is because of the reason that educated individuals become more productive citizens in the society. Quality education allows them to properly hone their skills and capabilities, which will enable them to find good jobs and contribute substantially to the society. Rule utilitarianism asserts that the creation and implementation of rules bring about the greater good for the most number of people. As such, grade inflation should be stopped because it adversely affects numerous people and this societal problem can be addressed through the implementation of rules. However, the policy implemented by Princeton University in order to deal with the problem of grade inflation is not the proper way in order to address the problem. Based on the rule utilitarianism, it is better to have a rule than no rule at all because its presence will bring about a greater good rather than the absence of it. In application with the policy of Princeton University, their way of solving grade inflation does not benefit the majority of the students because only a minimal number of students have the possibility to be given a grade of A. As a result, many students will have to compete with the minimum number of times that the professor can given a grade of A. Due to this, there are chances that excellent students have to settle for a lower grade because professors have to limit giving students an excellent grade. In addition to this, added pressure is given for students in order to get excellent grades, which is not necessarily advantageous for their educational learning. Moreover, since many Ivy League universities have not yet applied the same grading policy as Princeton University, there will be instances wherein students coming from Princeton University will have a lower GPA as compared from students from other schools. The low GPA of students from Princeton University can adversely affect their chances of getting competitive jobs and also lessen their chances in being accepted in graduate school. The grading policy of Princeton University is only advantageous for those students who will get an excellent grade, which is minority of the student population because giving a grade of A is only limited. Furthermore, rule utilitarianism also points out that there is no sense in keeping a rule if a better rule will bring about greater good. In the case of the grading policy of Princeton University, there are better policies that can be applied, which can address grade inflation without undermining the good of the majority of the students. One possible way is by enhancing assessment tools that measures the ability of students through objective means, which will assure or even lessen the subjectivity of professors. The grading policy of Princeton University is not a good rule based on the standard of rule utilitarianism because it does not promote greater good. Majority of the students are adversely affected by this policy. It is not wrong to give value to the hard work and excellent skills of minority students but it should not be at the expense of the majority because doing so no longer promote greater good for the greater number of people.

Definition And Scope Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay

Definition And Scope Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay This chapter aims to evaluate the theoretical opinions of different theorist towards relationship marketing (RM) based on the objectives of determining the definition and scope of RM as well as understanding the different determinants and strategies used in RM and understanding current academic and industrial views and opinions on the values and effectiveness of RM. 2.1 Definition and scope of Relationship Marketing Relationship Marketing (RM) has been defined by various theorists and each has given their respective viewpoints about RM. In order to simplify and understand RM, an analysis by Palmatier (2008) of some well-known definitions by various theorists is illustrated to narrow down and obtain the essence of what is RM. The analysis is based on two key aspects found in RM (e.g. Gronroos 1997; Sheth and Parvatiyar 2000). The first aspect deals with strategies across stages of the relationship lifecycle and thereby suggests that a relationship is a process that develops over time through typical strategies (Dwyer and Oh 1987; Wilson 1995). The second aspect is the scope of RM activities; as some definitions only include customer relationships, and others include relationships with different stakeholders such as internal departments, competitors, customers and suppliers. The table below illustrates the common RM definitions by different theorists and identifies the stages the respective defini tions cover as well as the scope of the definition. Definition Stages/ Strategies Scope Attract/ Create/ Establish Enhance/ Develop Maintain Customers only Stakeholders Attracting, maintaining, and enhancing customer relationships. Berry (1983, p. 25) RM refers to all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational connections. Morgan and Hunt (1994, p. 22) To establish, maintain, enhance relationships with customers and other stakeholders, at a profit, so that the objectives of all parties involved are met, where this is done by mutual exchange and fulfillment of promises. Gronroos (1997, p. 407) Based on synthesis of 26 definitions of RM: organization engaged in proactively creating, developing and maintaining committed, interactive and profitable exchanges with selected customers [partners] over time. Harker (1999,p. 16) RM is the ongoing process of engaging in cooperative and collaborative activities and programs with immediate and end-user customers to create and enhance mutual economic value at reduced cost. Sheth and Parvatiyar (2000,p. 9) RM is a philosophy of doing business, a strategic orientation that focuses on keeping and improving current customers, rather than acquiring new customers. Zeithaml and Bitner (2000) As illustrated above in the table all definitions excluding Sheths and Parvatiyars have covered all the relationship lifecycle stages in their respective definitions of RM which are:- Establishing, is the stage of RM or marketing process of advertising and attracting new customers towards a brand or product, Little Marandi (2003). Enhancing is the process differentiating from competitors offerings where more attractive offers and benefits are offered to customers (e.g. sales and price drops), Coyles Gokey (2002). Maintaining is the extra effort taken by sellers to retain and ensure that their existing customers obtain continuous benefits from the product or service they have to offer (e.g. loyalty scemes), Morgan Hunt (1994). Morgan, Hunt and Gronroos have explained RM to cover the scope of not only customers but other stakeholders as well; however the scope of RM in this research study will only consider customers. Therefore the analysis of RM definition suggested for this research study is RM is a continuous marketing activity which involves establishing, enhancing and maintaining customers loyalty towards a certain product or service that is being offered by the seller involved. 2.1.1 Relationship Lifecycle The relationship lifecycle consists of the different stages (establishing, enhancing and maintaining) as aforementioned in the definitions of RM. Various RM theorists such as (Kotler, 2000; Jap Ganesan, 2000; White, 2000; Zineldin, 1996) illustrated the relationship lifecycle according to the respective stages and definitions of RM. Therefore the relationship lifecycle differs with additional stages in certain RM lifecycles by different theorists of RM (Little and Marandi, (2003: 69)). A suitable relationship lifecycle according to the agreeable definition of RM for this research study is illustrated below:- Figure 1 Relationship Lifecycle Source: Adapted from Little Marandi (2003) Relationship Marketing Management. The cycle above illustrates up to the stage of maintaining a customer relationship. However several definitions for example White (2000) Jap; Ganesan (2000) suggest that relationship lifecycle declines after the maintaining stage. Morgan Hunt (1994) argued that, due to carelessness in handling the relationship it may decline but there is also a possibility of the relationship between the buyer and seller remaining constant, in cases where customers are continuously rewarded for their loyalty towards a certain company or continue to perceive value, (Morgan and Hunt (1994:22); Little Marandi (2003:70)). 2.1.2 Understanding Perceived Value Baines, Fill and Page (2008) explains value is the customers estimate of the extent to which a product or service can satisfy their need. Customers determine a products value by considering alternative solutions and the costs associated with satisfying their need. For example if a customer is to purchase a shower gel, there will be many alternatives of purchase, however a customer will chose from a seller that provides additional value to its product, for example a 20% extra amount of the shower gel for the same price. Added value to a product such as, a good price, special offers, and good customer service will lead to high customer satisfaction, (Baines, Fill and Page (2008:672)). History of Relationship Marketing Research on the history of marketing suggest that marketing emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century, however there is no evidence as to when the theory of marketing actually emerged. During the industrial age, exchange occurred in the local markets, where farmers and craftspeople (producers) sold their products directly to end users. Producers represented both manufacturers and retailers, and embedded relationships between producers and consumers provided the trust and business norms necessary to conduct the transaction because few institutionalized protections existed, (Palmatier (2008:8)). Gronroos (1994) argues that RM is a paradigm shift in marketing from the previous concept of the marketing mix and the Four Ps of marketing (product, price, place place) which was introduced to the academic world in the 1950s by Neil Bordan. Groonroos also states that the marketing mix is a list of marketing variables that has become obsolete therefore the marketing academic occasionally offers additional Ps to the list, thus this proves that the marketing mix is very limited. Type of Model Theorist (Year) Scope 4Ps McCarthy (1960) Product, Price, Promotion, Place 5Ps Judd (1987) Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People 6Ps Kotler (1984) Product, Price, Promotion, Place, Political power, Public perspective 7Ps Booms Bitner (1981) Product, Price, Promotion, Place, Participants, Physical evidence, Process Source: Gummesson, E. (1994) Making Relationship Marketing Operational, International Journal of Service Industry Management. The changes in the marketing environment and the various factors that contributed to customer sophistication are; globalisation internationalisation of markets; continuous development of technology; increasing brand competitiveness among customers and fragmentation of media, Little Marandi, (2003). These factors have contributed a gap in the market which became a need for a new approach to retain customers, to gain their loyalty and to establish competitive approach. Therefore Gronroos (1994) states that RM can be said to be an evolved strategy to the marketing mix approach, which assists in obtaining sustainable competitive advantage and retain customers in the long run. However there is no evidence to when it was actually implemented but research by Palmatier (2008) suggest that RM emerged as a separate academic domain of marketing in the 1980s and it became more comprehensible in the 1990s from a historical perspective. Among those who were contributory in developing the concept of RM were Evert Gummesson at Stockholm University and Christian Gronroos at the Swedish School of Economics in the early 1980s (Gronroos (1994;4); Little Marandi (2003;11); Palmatier (2008;9). Effectiveness of Relationship Marketing Many theorists have researched on the subject and made different judgments on the effectiveness of RM, some of whom are Reichheld (1996) who argues that the smallest efforts in customer maintenance can increase company profit because it costs less to serve long-term customers; loyal customers will pay price premium as well as generate word-of-mouth recommendations to other potential customers. A study by Reinartz and Kumar (2000) claims that loyal customers cost less to serve and are usually willing to pay more for product varieties than non-loyal customers, as well as acted as word-of-mouth marketers for the company. While McKenna (1993) claims that long-term customer relationships helps gaining competitive advantage which leads to higher lifetime profit for firms. Correspondence of RM with other marketing concepts RM shares some similarities with other marketing concepts such as, customer relationship management (CRM) and brand equity. Williams (2006) defined CRM as an information industry term for software, and Internet capabilities that help an  enterprise  manage customer relationships in an organized way. While Payne Frow (2005) stated that CRM is a management approach that seeks to create, develop and enhance relationships with carefully targeted customers using the potential of information technology. Kotler Armstrong (2009) maintains that CRM involves building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. It deals with all aspects of acquiring, keeping and growing customers. From the various definitions of CRM above Palmatier (2008) concludes that if RM is the skill of relationships, then CRM represents its application. Keller (1993) argues that brand equity represents different effects of brand knowledge on customer action, for example customers behave more favorably towards a product when they can identify the brand. While Rust, Lemon and Zeithaml (2004) maintain that brand equity is a product-centered concept that does not capture drivers of customer behavior completely. Although RM and branding activities similarly focus on building intangible customer assets that positively influence customer loyalty, purchase behaviors, or financial performance while reducing marketing costs, they differ fundamentally where branding focuses on products with extensions to firms whereas RM focusses on relationships and their extensions to firms. However the effect of brands and relationships on a customers attitude towards the firm is difficult to distinguish, Palmatier (2008). Strategies of Relationship Marketing A strategy is a senior managements plan of action with which the effort of the staff is coordinated, Waterman et al (1980). Little and Marandi (2003) argues that RM strategies assist to manage the assortment of the customer to ensure an even flow of profits in the long term, and to determine when relationships should be established, enhanced and maintained. As Groonroos (1996) points out, however, the essence of RM is in the organisations processes, rather than its planning. Little and Marandi (2003) illustrates the key strategies as follows; establishing relationships involves target marketing techniques and advertisement programmes that are able to communicate relevant value. It is also established by simplifying the service offer by giving clarity regarding the benefits and terms and conditions of payment and use as well as encouraging trial. Relationships with customers can be enhanced by differentiating among competitors offerings. Relationships are maintained by not neglecting existing and safeguarding the customers satisfaction with and trust in supplier. It is also done by communicating with customers for building successful long-term relationships, by fostering trust and creating customer satisfaction as well as rewarding loyalty as customers remain loyal for as long as the perceived benefits outweigh the perceived sacrifice. Determinants of RM Outcomes Several theorist have mentioned different determinants of lengthening the lifetime value of an existing customer, such as Olivers (1981) model of customer satisfaction suggests that quality of the product or service offered by the seller is one of the most essential to obtain customer satisfaction which will later attract the buyer to return and buy the same product again. Whereas Hennig-Thurau et al. (2002) proposes that loyalty benefits are essential to obtain customer long term relationship, as every giving expects a return, even customers expect their share of return after shopping from a particular seller. An example of a loyalty scheme is the loyalty card which helps hooking up customers to buy from a particular seller to obtain benefits such as discounts from that particular seller. Hennig-Thurau et al. also stated price, customer service and convenience as other factors that drive relationship marketing outcomes. The relationship between price and quality are parallel to each other. Customers are willing to pay extra to obtain better quality products, however customers naturally get attracted to lowest prices that offer a reasonable quality and quantity for the amount paid for. Another essential part of retaining an existing customer is during and after sale service. This gains customer trust and satisfaction as they are given the liberty and ease to exchange, return and obtain additional information about the product or service they purchased. Convenience created for customers such as a strategic location (nearby their housing arrears) and is accessible at any time makes customers to frequently return. Dibb et al. (2006) argues that CRM systems which uses technology that allows marketers to practice effective customer maintenance strategies by monitoring, rewarding and reminding them about goods and services, is a major factor for developing RM outcomes. Technology is also used to ease the process of buying for customers, for example, having an online site that allows customers to purchase, refund, review and complaint at anytime and anywhere and having self-service cashier machines at stores and etc. Humby et al. (2007) also recognize product range as a determinant because it influences daily and frequent business transactions, which also influences the convenience factor aforementioned. Outcomes of Relationship Marketing RM determinants that are applied in a certain company to eventually obtain outcomes that bring an overall increase in the profit margin of a company, Little and Marandi (2003). These outcomes are classified into two key main RM outcomes that lead to customer loyalty which are trust and commitment, Morgan Hunt (1994). Trust is defined as willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence, Rotter (1967). The literature on trust argues on the confidence of the buyer towards the seller which results from the firm believed to be reliable and has high integrity and is responsible for their actions, Morgan Hunt (1994). Commitment is the variable believed to be central in distinguishing social from economic exchange, Cook Emerson (1978). For a company to achieve commitment from a customer is the most challenging task, as customers are vulnerable towards better quality and price offered elsewhere. To be able to maintain a committed relationship with a customer a firm has to keep updated with attractive return benefits for customers to continuously shop from them, Little and Marandi (2003). The commitment and trust theory (Morgan Hunt, 1994) suggests that RM can be achieved if customer satisfaction is exceptionally high. Customer satisfaction is achieved when all the determinants of RM are applied and practiced well by the firm. Highly satisfied customers will increase customer loyalty as well as spread the word of mouth to their circle of communication which gives a high possibility of attracting new customers. Demographic factors influencing Relationship Marketing Demographic factors such as age, gender, income, location, occupation and education are used to target consumers for marketing purposes, Schmidt Spreng (1996). Consumer behavior differs by demographic factors as Gaurav (2008) argues that significant gender difference in the trust loyalty relationship shows that women are significantly more loyal than men at higher levels of trust. Klein and Ford, (2003) maintained that the age of consumers is positively linked with knowledge and experience, such that older consumers could be more committed than younger consumers. According to Kotler et al. (2009) place or location of a business entity influences the type of target customers it attracts as well as the convenience it delivers to the consumers. Aforementioned demographic factors, such as gender, age and place are clearly linked to RM and therefore are used for this study. Criticism of Relationship Marketing Although there are many marketing theorist supporting the RM concept, however the subject is not without its critics. Blois (1998) has criticized RM by stating that developing a relationship inevitably results in some loss of control over matters such as resources, activities and intentions. Blois continues his argument by stating that a relationship is subject to continuous change, with an uncertain future which is determined by its history, current events and the parties expectations of future events. Other than that effort is required to build and maintain a relationship. This can be viewed as an investment and a maintenance cost. Moreover there is always a need to prioritize the use of limited resources and, hence, it may not be possible to pursue all of the individually attractive opportunities. Additionally, some relationships may be irreconcilable with an existing relationship. Reinartz Kumar (2005) adds that although some companies are happy with the results of their RM prog rams, yet they are unable to identify precisely the factors that explain such success, Summary The literature review enclosed different definitions of RM by various theorists which all proposed three different stages of RM which are establishing, enhancing and maintaining relationships; and the scope of RM which focuses upon stakeholders or customers only, however this analysis will only take customers into consideration. It then continued to discuss on the strategies used by RM which explains tactics to manage the relationship across the different stages of RM aforementioned, which are establishing, enhancing and maintaining relationships. It also includes view and opinions of different theorists regarding the effectiveness of RM. Followed by the views of theorists about the determinants of RM which lead to a discussion on several theorists views and opinions on how a seller-customer relationship is build. In order to test the opinions of the theorists between the relationship of RM determinants, customer satisfaction and word or mouth marketers four hypotheses are drawn out which are illustrated in Figure 2. An overview of the literature review is summarized in Figure 3. Figure 2 Hypotheses drawn from RM statements by theorists Figure 3 Process of Relationship Marketing The effectiveness and values of RM were further elaborated by discussing the relationship lifecycle and customers perceived value which explained the criteria of RM as well as the importance of having it and how do customers perceive it. Although some theorists claimed it as effective others such as Blois condemned the effectiveness of RM.

Age of Reason Essay -- Enlightenment

An Age of Reason â€Å"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.† This brief quotation was spoken by the famous writer and philosopher Voltaire; I believe it vaguely points out that some people are full of absurd ideas, and for others to follow such nonsense is foolish. The quote is just a taste of Voltaire’s wisdom and knowledge of the world, during the Age of Reason. The Age of Reason or The Enlightenment is defined as a change in not just a way of thinking, but an establishment of values and rational actions. â€Å"Based on Immanuel Kant’s essay â€Å"What is Enlightenment?† it is the freedom to use one's own intelligence (Strathern 63). Enlightenment thinkers believed in the powers of humankind and saw themselves as part of a revolutionary development in history that would replace superstition and tired rituals and corrupt traditions with reason and productive energy. However, intelligence and freedom two words that express what I bel ieve to be the main ideas of the Enlightenment and such ideas were recognized through two significant people Voltaire and Jefferson. To begin, the first figure of the Enlightenment would be Francois Marie Arouet aka: Voltaire. He was born in Paris, and he was known as one of the greatest writers and philosophers for the French. However, the French during his time period did not wish it so, because Voltaire had a passion for philosophical rationalism and this passion was fueled after he was exiled from France and went to England. Previous the exile, he was also locked in the Bastille for insulting a French noble-man. Voltaire was a man of sharp wit and high valued opinions, because of this trait he often got into trouble. However, it was because of this trait and a p... ... was a complex movement, that is recognized in today’s world perspective as the source of our modern secular worldview; form our ideas of religious toleration, individual liberty and free speech to the practices of our representative government, and unregulated profitable development. Works Cited 1. Brians, Paul. The Enlightenment. Washington State University, 2000. Web. 2. Coates, Robert Eyler. Thomas Jefferson on Politics & Government. Jefferson Parish, LA: University of Virginia, 1995. Web. 3. Gray, John. Voltaire: The Great Philosophers. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print. 4. Strathern, Paul. Kant in 90 Minutes. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996. Print. 5. Staloff, Darren. Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The politics of the Enlightenment And The American Founding. New York: Hill and Wang. 2005. Print.

Essay --

1. PAPILDYTOS REALYBÄâ€"S MIKROPROGRAMÃ… ² SAVYBÄâ€"S IR REIKALAVIMAI 1.1 Papildytos realybÄâ€"s samprata ir savybÄâ€"s Papildyta realybÄâ€" (angl. augmented reality, lietuviÃ… ¡kai dar vadinama iÃ… ¡plÄâ€"stine tikrove) – tai sparÄ iai populiarÄâ€"janti nauja technologija, leidÃ… ¾ianti realiu laiku per vaizdo stebÄâ€"jimo Ä ¯rangÄ… matomÄ… vaizdÄ… papildyti virtualiais objektais ir informacija (1 pav.). Tarp daugybÄâ€"s skaitmeniniÃ… ³ nuotraukÃ… ³, televizijos reklamÃ… ³ ir video filmÃ… ³ kartais sunku suprasti, kur prasideda papildyta realybÄâ€", o kur tik skaitmeniniai elementai. Grafikos redagavimo programa (pavyzdÃ… ¾iui „Photoshopâ€Å" ar „Corel Drawâ€Å") nuotraukos realÃ… ³ vaizdÄ… papildÃ… ¾ius 2D iÃ… ¡galvotais objektais, papildyta realybÄâ€" nebus sukuriama – nÄâ€"ra 3D elementÃ… ³ ir interaktyvumo, o tai yra labai svarbios Ã… ¡ios technologijos sÄ…lygos. Ã…  iai technologijai taip pat nepriskiriami filmai ir televizija. Kai kurie filmai, tokie kaip „JÃ… «ros periodo parkasâ€Å" ar „Avatarasâ€Å" gausiai naudoja erdvinius ir virtualius objektus, sklandÃ… ¾iai perdengtus su realia 3D aplinka, taÄ iau jie nÄâ€"ra interaktyvÃ… «s ir negali bÃ… «ti priskirti papildytai realybei. Siekiant plaÄ iau Ä ¯sigilinti Ä ¯ papildytos realybÄâ€"a sÄ…vokÄ…, iÃ… ¡skirsime tris pagrindines jos savybes [9]: 1) galimybÄ™ sujungti tikrÄ… ir virtualiÄ… informacijÄ…; 2) papildyta realybÄâ€" yra interaktyvi realiu laiku; 3) papildyta realybÄâ€" veikia ir yra naudojama 3D aplinkoje. Papildytos realybÄâ€"s sistemos dÄâ€"l naudojamÃ… ³ platformÃ… ³ gali bÃ… «ti skirstomos Ä ¯ dvi kategorijas: mobilias ir fiksuotas. Mobili papildytos realybÄâ€"s sistema suteikia vartotojui judÄâ€"jimo laisvÄ™ daugybÄâ€"je aplinkÃ… ³, o fiksuota sistema atvirkÃ… ¡Ã„ iai – negali bÃ… «ti perkelta ir yra naudojama tik ten, kur yra Ä ¯rengta. IÃ… ¡skiriamos keturios papildytos realybÄâ€"s platformos: 1) asmeniniai kompiuteriai su internetinÄâ€"mis kamero... ...aguoja Ä ¯ Ã… ¾mogaus ar kitÃ… ³ objektÃ… ³ prisilietimus, ir suteikia jiems virtualiÄ… informacijÄ… realiu laiku. Tinkamiausias pavyzdys Ã… ¡iam metodui suvokti yra „Microsoftâ€Å" projektas „LightSpaceâ€Å", kuriame panaudota papildyta realybÄâ€" ir 2007-ais metais iÃ… ¡leistas „Microsoftâ€Å" stalinis kompiuteris „Surface. „LightSpaceâ€Å" sukuria aplinkÄ…, kurioje bet koks pavirÃ… ¡ius ir netgi erdvÄâ€" tarp tÃ… ³ pavirÃ… ¡iÃ… ³ yra visiÃ… ¡kai interaktyvÃ… «s [12]. Kombinacija tarp pavirÃ… ¡inÄâ€"s kompiuterijos ir papildytos realybÄâ€"s yra vadinama erdvine kompiuterija (angl. spatial computing). „LightSpaceâ€Å" kameros ir projektoriai yra sukalibruoti Ä ¯ 3D realaus pasaulio koordinates, kurios Ä ¯galina tas kameras ir projektorius atvaizduoti bei stebÄâ€"ti grafines projekcijas ant bet kokio pavirÃ… ¡iaus – tam nÄâ€"ra reikalingas skaitmeninis pavirÃ… ¡ius. Ä ®diegus tokiÄ… sistemÄ… Ä ¯ bet kokiÄ… patalpÄ… ji tampa skaitmenine, interaktyvia erdve [13].

Puritan Depravity and Distrust in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay

Puritan Depravity and Distrust in Young Goodman Brown   Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Puritan doctrine taught that all men are totally depraved and require constant self-examination to see that they are sinners and unworthy of God's Grace. Because man had broken the Covenant of Works when Adam had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, God offered a new covenant to Abraham's people which held that election to Heaven was merely a possibility.   In the Puritan religion, believers dutifully recognized the negative aspects of their humanity rather than the gifts they possessed. This shadow of distrust would have a direct influence on early American New England and on many of its historians and writers, one of which was Nathaniel Hawthorne. The influence of Puritan religion, culture and education along with the setting of his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, is a common topic in Nathaniel Hawthorne's works.   In particular, Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" allows the writer to examine and perhaps provide commentary on not only the Salem of his own time but also the Salem of his ancestors.   Growing up, Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society, not only from residing with his father's devout Puritan family as a child but also due to Hawthorne's study of his own family history.   The first of his ancestors, William Hathorne, is described in Hawthorne's "The Custom House" as arriving with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 "with his Bible and his sword" (26). A further connection can also be seen in his more notable ancestor John Hathorne, who exemplified the level of zealousness in Puritanism with his role as persecutor in the Salem Witch Trials.  Ã‚   The study of his own family from the es tablishment of the Bay Colony to the Second Gre... ... 40 (First Quarter 1994):   67-88. Grayson, Robert C.   "Curdled Milk for Babes: The Role of the Catechism in 'Young Goodman Brown.'"   The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review 16 (Spring 1990): 1-5. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Young Goodman Brown." 1835. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1944. 2129-38. Levin, David.   What happened in Salem?   2nd ed.   New York: Harcourt, Brace and World Inc, 1967. Mather, Cotton.   "A Discourse on Witchcraft."   Levin 96-105. Murfin, Ross C.   "Introduction: The Biographical and Historical Background."   Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism: Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Scarlet Letter."   Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1991.   3-18. Shuffelton, Frank.   "Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Revival Movement."   The American Transcendental Quarterly 44 (Fall 1979):   311-321.

India’s Soft Drinks Industry

india's soft drinks industry table of contents toc o â€Å"1-3† u part a: contextual analysis of india and the indian soft drink industry pageref _toc323046458 h 3 introduction pageref _toc323046459 h 3 1. factor conditions pageref _toc323046460 h 4 1. 1 opportunities pageref _toc323046461 h 4 1. 1. 1 india’s physical resources pageref _toc323046462 h 4 1. 2 threats pageref _toc323046463 h 6 1. 2. 1 infrastructure pageref _toc323046464 h 6 1. 2. 2 education and labour pageref _toc323046465 h 6 2. demand conditions pageref _toc323046466 h 7 3. related and supporting industries pageref _toc323046467 h 9 3. availability of related and supporting industries pageref _toc323046468 h 9 3. 2 bargaining power of suppliers pageref _toc323046469 h 9 3. 3 bargaining power of buyers pageref _toc323046470 h 9 4. firm strategy, structure and rivalry pageref _toc323046471 h 10 4. 1 cultural impact on firm strategy and structure pageref _toc323046472 h 10 4. 2 rivalry among existing com petitors pageref _toc323046473 h 10 4. 3 threat of new entrants pageref _toc323046474 h 11 4. 4 threat of substitutes pageref _toc323046475 h 12 5. government pageref _toc323046476 h 12 6. role of chance pageref _toc323046477 h 12 conclusion pageref _toc323046478 h 13 part b: critical evaluation of porter's national diamond model pageref _toc323046479 h 13 references pageref _toc323046480 h 15 part a: contextual analysis of india and the indian soft drink industry introduction a. g. barr has been in the soft drinks business for over 130 years and is one of the biggest soft drinks company in united kingdom (uk) (a. g. barr, 2012). the company has a long standing success in the european market with its popular soft drinks such as irn-bru, barr and tizer. with a strong-hold in the europen market, now a.G. Barr would like to expand their business to other markets. Following The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and PepsiCo success in the Asian market, the company would like to venture into the soft drinks industry in India. The definition of a soft drink market is the retail sale of bottled water, juices, carbonates, functional drinks, ready to drink (RTD) tea and coffee, and smoothies (Datamonitor, 2011). According to Dat amonitor (2011), the India soft drinks market is valued at $3. 8 million as of 2010 even though it accounts only 3. 3% of the overall value in the Asia-Pacific market.Japan and China hold the top two positions with a combined market share of 71. 2% (Datamonitor, 2011). Hence, before setting up an operation in India, the company need to know further details of the local soft drinks industry such as the market share, the customer profile, the suppliers and the competitors. As such, the main purpose of this report is to analysis the feasibility of the India expansion and gives proper recommendations. The Porter's Diamond analysis, the SWOT analysis and Porter’s 5 Forces analysis will be used to evaluate and comprehend the India soft drinks market. . FACTOR CONDITIONS Firstly, we will evaluate the factor conditions of India which may serve as an opportunity or a threat towards our venture into the soft drinks industry. 1. 1 OPPORTUNITIES 1. 1. 1 INDIA’S PHYSICAL RESOURCES India is a country rich of raw materials, resources and land. For this report, we will focus on those physical resources that are essential for the soft drinks industry – water, sugar, aluminium, power sources. With a land space of over 2. 9 million square kilometres (sq km) and a population of 1. 2 billion people, India has only 314,070 sq km of water (CIA World Fact book, 2012). Even though the Indian government has done many things do improved the situation by building water plants and water piping in the urban and rural areas, there are still about 18. 5% of the population (226 million) that lack access to clean, drinkable water (CESS INDIA, 2004) With a sophisticated water purification installed in our soft drinks plantation, A. G. Barr are able to process the unclean water into safe, drinkable water and use it for the basis of the final products. Hence, A. G.Barr will be able to offer an alternative drinking source for the citizens with our soft drinks products. Next, w ith a total arable territory of about 1. 2 million sq km, agriculture is the biggest industry and plays a major role in the socioeconomic growth of India (Maps of India, 2012). According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2012) and the Maps of India (2012), India is the 2nd biggest world producers of sugarcane (sugar) with about 453 sugar mills located all over India. INCLUDEPICTURE â€Å"http://faostat. fao. org/DesktopModules/Faostat/Images/T20/ChartPic_3nemzw945otecriq01oo. ng? 3f2841b2-add0-4841-9dc7-5707a2a011f0† * MERGEFORMATINET Table 1: Top Production – Sugar cane 2010 Source: FAO Thirdly, for aluminium, India is the fifth biggest producer in the world after Australia, Guinea, Brazil and Jamaica (Maps of India, 2012). Finally, to obtain vast economic growth and a flourishing industrial sector, the Indian government has invested and given top precedence to the power sector of the nation and as of the 21st century, India is able to generate about 90% of its own energy through (Maps of India, 2012):Thermal/Coal Power Hydro Power Renewable Resources Power Nuclear Power With most of the raw materials and resources readily available in India, the price for these materials will be relatively standard and low. Hence, this will lower the cost of production. This is a key factor in venturing into the India market as A. G. Barr require a huge amount of clean water and sugar to produce the soft drink products. 1. 2 THREATS 1. 2. 1 INFRASTRUCTURE The infrastructure in India is one of the most problematic and unreliable in the world.As stated previously, even though India is able to generate 90% of its power, due to the poor financial position of many power supply companies, the power supplies are always inconsistent and frequently being cut-off (‘India: Risk overview', 2011). Hence, companies, offices and industrial plants need to have their own back-up power facilities to ensure no interruption to the production p rocesses (‘India: Risk overview', 2011). The road and railway system in India is still undependable and many traffic congestions are resulted due to the inadequacy.Pan (Asiamoney, 2010) notes that while the Indian government are investing US$1 trillion in infrastructure from 2012 to 2017, political bureaucracy and lack of good projects are hindering the developments of infrastructure. At the same time, Roy (Euromoney, 2010) reports that while Mr. Rajiv Lall, chief executive of state-run lender Infrastructure Development Finance Company believes India infrastructure has been slowly improving, the dependable relationship between the public sector and the private sectors in infrastructure will lead to corruption and thus may hinder the progression of big infrastructure projects.Therefore, any company that wish to venture into India soft drinks market will need to spend a sizeable amount on power generator and water purification facilities. This huge expenditure will put a dent on the initial capital investment and A. G. Barr need to take this into account and plan on how much of the expenditure to be transferred over to the final consumers through the products. 1. 2. 2 EDUCATION AND LABOUR According to several organizations; CIA (2012), US Department of State (2011) and WEF (2011), India’s literacy rate is only at 61%.The education level in India is low as many of the population live in poverty or the slump and unable to afford going school. Moreover, the Indian government lacks of provision of education is hindering its people to learn and receive knowledge. This result in a low skilled workforce and the unemployment rate for youth age 15 to 24 in India is high at 10. 5% (CIA World Fact Book, 2012). While a soft drink company with high technology facilities and processes requires employees with minimal skills, it is still essential for these workers have a basic understanding and motor skills to operate the high-tech, expensive machineries.Another e nd of the spectrum is those highly educated Indians where the information technology (IT) sector is booming. These IT personnel and engineers are viable to our company as they able to manage, supervise and suitable of the higher ranking jobs. Hence, to ensure the workers hired have the essential skills, A. G. Barr will need to frequently conduct training programs, skills development workshops and have simple instructions which are easy to follow. 2. DEMAND CONDITIONS With the relaxation of the Indian government policy on FDIs and foreign companies, the soft drinks industry had change tremendously.As the US and EU markets are highly saturated, companies are looking into the Asian markets to expand and gain more revenues. Apart from China, Japan and South Korea, India is the 4th leading Asian soft drinks market and the market is still growing and has yet to reach its saturation point. In 2010, there is a substantial demand for soft drinks as the market has grown by 10. 4% (Datamonitor , 2011). Datamonitor (2011) even predicts that by 2015, the Indian market will grow to a value of $5. 8 million. Table 2 shows the growth of India soft drink market from 2006 to 2010.Table 2: India soft drinks market volume: million liters, 2006–10(e) Datamonitor (2011) also reports that as of 2010, the soft drinks industry has generated total revenues of $3. 8 billion and with 50% of the total revenues, carbonates sale is the most profitable category. Table 3: India soft drinks market segmentation: % share, by value, 2010(e) It is essential to note that currently there is a growing trend of â€Å"vitamin water† or â€Å"nutrient water† in the world as many people are becoming more health conscious.The Times (London) (2012) reports that even India is not spared from the trend as PepsiCo, together with Tata Global Beverages, intend to market the â€Å"nutrient water† to India’s urban, middle-class consumers where a bottle of such product will cost s lightly higher than a standard bottled water. Hence, this could greatly affect the retail sales of carbonates. A. G. Barr has already altered its products to regular variants to low calorie and no added sugar variants in accordance to the gradual shift towards healthly living in the UK (A.G. Barr, 2012). For example, its popular porduct, IRN-BRU now comes in a sugar free variation, the ‘IRN-BRU sugar free’. Thus, the â€Å"nutrient water† market is another sector A. G. Barr could develop into not only in UK but also in India. 3. RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES 3. 1 AVAILABILITY OF RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES India has huge supporting industries for the soft drinks market and the availablity of the main components for a soft drinks company in India is high.There are 453 sugar mills in India and the top 6 growing states are located in the Northern, Southern and Western regions of India (Maps of India, 2012). Noteably, the Indian government has been extentsi vely investing in the agriculture sector to ensure that the process of the sector from raw materials to warehousing and merchandising flow smoothly. And as for the aluminium industry, India has a sizeable number of aluminium plants located mainly in Northern and Southern regions. 3. 2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERSAs inputs are readily available, suppliers are unable to provide their services or sell their products at a higher price than their competitors as it is of no loss to the soft drinks company since the company is able to get the same or better services and products from other suppliers. A. G. Barr is able to obtain the primary inputs for its products through several sources in the region or state. Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers such as the packaging producers and raw materials and soft drinks ingredients producers are relatively low (Datamonitor, 2011). 3. 3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERSThe power of the retailers and distributors in this market is weak as most soft dri nks manufactures work closely with the local bottling companies to distribute the ready for sale products to buyers within a certain region or sector (Datamonitor, 2011). Datamonitor (2011) also reports that with 46. 3% of the total market volume, the independent retailers such as the small family mart shops are the main distribution channels for soft drinks but this could change with the introduction of super and hypermarkets. Thus, consumers will have a wider range of soft drinks brands to choose from.In order to gain relatively significant market share, A. G. Barr needs to do plenty of advertising and promotion. One of the strategies A. G. Barr could adopt is to set their soft drinks at a lower price than the main competitors, TCCC and PepsiCo in the rural areas while maintaining the same price in the urban areas where most of the middle-income and high-income classes have high consumer purchasing power. 4. FIRM STRATEGY, STRUCTURE AND RIVALRY 4. 1 CULTURAL IMPACT ON FIRM STRATEG Y AND STRUCTURE A. G. Barr core strategic focus is based on the following 7 platforms (A. G.Barr, 2012): Core Brands and Markets Portfolio development Route to market Partnerships Efficient Operations People Development Sustainability To ensure these strategies and structure is maintain in other country, A. G. Barr has to train its overseas employees, make them understand and cultivate the A. G. Barr working culture. However, this will be a tough challenge in India due to the poor education and different socio-culture. Thus, A. G. Barr needs to accommodate its Western working culture with India working culture, however without losing its main mission and strategy.To ensure this is excuted properly, A. G. Barr needs to obtain a specialist in the Indian market and culture. 4. 2 RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS In India, the soft drink market is dominated by three main players – The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), PepsiCo and Parle Bisleri Ltd – securing 74. 1% of the total m arket volume (Datamonitor, 2011). Table 4: India soft drinks market share: % share, by volume, 2010(e) BBC News (2011) reports that TCCC planned to invest $2 billion in India to boost its market share and expected India to be in its top five markets by 2020.Meanwhile, PepsiCo intend to launch a new product, â€Å"nutrient water† with Tata Water targeting at the young urban consumers to gain more market shares (Pagnamenta, 2012). This shows how competitive the rivalry in the India soft drinks industry where the two major market shares are actively investing and developing new products to gain more shares. 4. 3 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS The big players of the India soft drinks industry are actively improving themselves and distinguishing their products through various methods. Furthermore, TCCC and PepsiCo are renowned world soft drinks brands which have been existing in the India market for many years.Though new companies in the industry may have difficulty competing with the exi sting players, it may accomplish small success by using different production method or focusing on the lesser ventured catergories of the soft drinks markets such as health drinks and energy drinks (Datamonitor, 2011). This could be a major break through for A. G. Barr as its most popular products; the IRN-BRU; is low in sugar and contains additional benefits of an energy drink. In addition, the Rockstar series which are designed to target those who lead active lifestyles may be able to attract the young, urban consumers.With several advertising accolades, A. G. Barr has the knowledge and is able use the power of media to attract potential consumers and gain more market shares. 4. 4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES The main substitutes for soft drinks markets are traditonal tea and coffee, homemade juices and fresh water from the water plants or piping system. As A. G. Barr and other leading soft drinks companies have diverse products to cater to the different needs of the consumers – c arbonates, bottled water, juices etc – this will narrow down the threat of substitutes.However, the threat is still relatively moderate as retailers and distributors may give more shelf space for traditional tea and coffee products as they may be stored at room temperatures (Datamonitor, 2011). 5. GOVERNMENT BBC News (2011) reports that India is ranked 95th out of 183 nations in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions (TICP) list. Due to the high corruption scandals among its government officials, low or invisible legislative work, red tape and bureaucracy, India has dropped from 87th in 2010 to 95th (BBC News, 2011).Despite its numerous intervention, corruption in India is an issue which is very difficult to get rid off since most of the political members and officals have their own agendas and are resistant to change (‘India: Risk overview', 2011). Hence, foreign companies will faced many setbacks when they venture into the India sectors. 6. ROLE OF CHAN CE The role of chance plays a small part in factoring the soft drinks industry as most of the technology are at it most advanced state. The only main issue currently is the Iran oil crisis.As India still refuses to cut Iranian oil imports, this may lead to a huge setback if USA decides to attack Iran and ignore India’s relation with Iran (CBS News, 2012, Kennedy, 2012). With a potential strain relationship with USA, this could lead to severe freeze in the trade and foreign direct investments. Furthermore, the other two traid nations, EU and Japan, may follow suit USA’s decision to cut ties with India for refusing to withdraw the purchasing of Iranian oil. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the soft drinks market in India is huge though it is predominately hold by 3 major key players.To venture into this territory, a new company need to set itself apart from the majpr players through unique advertising, differentiated production method and diverse product offerings. New companie s may set an initial low price of its products to attract consumers however; this should not be a long term strategy. Companies need to have a huge capital investment to counter the corruption, trade policies and poor infrastructure. Thus, expenditures and initial start-up cost will be high and companies will have to redistribute part of the cost to its final consumers in order to gain profits.PART B: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF PORTER'S NATIONAL DIAMOND MODEL Michael E. Porter is a well renowned economic strategist whom has writen 18 books and over125 articles (HBS, 2008). With a core field in competitive strategy, Porter has written and developed a number of strategic frameworks such as the Porter’s National Diamond model and Porter’s 5 Forces analysis. Since the model was based on eight developed countries and two industrialized countries, an analysis on developing, growing countries such as India is flawed.This is because these developing countries are not on the same e conomic level as the 10 countries. Thus, though the Porter’s National Diamond (PND) model analysis almost every aspect of India’s profile, it still lacks in-depth analysis and companies should not base their analytical evaluation on the PND model alone. As supported by Van Den Bosch, and Van Proojien (1992), both authors believed that PND model provide limited analysis on the control of national culture on the competitive advantage of nations.Similar to the EU countries, India too has a diverse set of culture which plays significant role in the management of the country’s economy, laws, trade policies and governance. There are limited sources on India and the soft drinks market due to the lack of legistative work from the government officals. Furthermore, some of the reports or statistics may not be entirely accurate due to the high corruption level. For example, reports may state that India is able to generate 90% of its power but the power plants are inconsist ent and supplies are frequently distrupted.Also, to what extend is the literacy rate of India is correct? The literacy rates may be higher than stated as with 1. 22 billion people, India officials may have a tough job collecting the accurate datas. Moreover, with high poverty and low income, most of Indian citizens have the ‘thrifty mindset’ whereby they prefer things which are basically free even though it maybe harmful such as drinking untreated water. These are the pros of the PND model for India: Analysis different aspect of the country profileTakes into account the role of Government which is the most essential for India These are the cons of the PND model for India: Limited credible sources for analysis Little depth as India is a huge country with various swinging factors. Limited analysis on the cultural effect on a country’s competitive advantage Ways to improve the PND model for India: Supporting the model with other analysis model such as PEST, SWOT, Po rter’s 5 Forces and Fons Trompenaars’ Seven Cultural Dimensions. Intentsive research on the market and the growth of the market. REFERENCES A. G. Barr (2012) About Us.Available at: http://www. agbarr. co. uk/agbarr/newsite/ces_general. nsf/wpg/about_us-our_strategy (Accessed: 22 March 2012). BBC News (2011) Coke plans $2bn India investment in bid to boost growth. Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-15731884 (Accessed: 20 February 2012). BBC News (2011) India Transparency International corruption index blow. Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-india-15979646 (Accessed: 01 March 2012). CBS News (2012) U. K. : Attack on Iran has â€Å"enormous downsides†. Available at: http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-202_162-57380838/u. . -attack-on-iran-has-enormous-downsides/? tag=mncol;lst;1 (Accessed: 20 February 2012). India. CESS (2004) Right to Drinking Water in India. Available at: http://www. cess. ac. in/cesshome/wp%5CWater. pdf (Accessed: 22 March 2012). CIA (2012) South Asia, India. Available at: https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in. html (Accessed: 20 February 2012). FAO (2012) Faostat. Available at: http://faostat. fao. org/site/339/default. aspx (Accessed: 01 March 2012). HBS (2008) Harvard Business School Faculty & Research. Available at: http://drfd. bs. edu/fit/public/facultyInfo. do? facInfo=bio&facEmId=mporter (Accessed: 10 April 2012). ‘India: Risk overview’ (2011) Business Asia, 43, 14, pp. 10-11, Business Source Premier, EBSCO [Online]. Available at http://searchebscohost. com (Accessed: 22 March 2012). Kennedy (2012) US Pleas for Asia to Cut Iranian Oil Imports Fall on Deaf Ears, Oilprice. 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