The Ethical Dilemma Of Nestle s Mass Marketing - 925 Words

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Ford Marketing Plan - 11940 Words

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Research on Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan Free Essays

string(188) " demand for imported food such as dates, cereals, beverages, chocolates, almonds, cakes, fruits and fruit juices reaches its peak during the festive season, especially at Eid and Ramadan\." â€Å"The Evolution of Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan. † A research project to study changing consumer buying patterns and opportunities for new entrants in the modern grocery sector. By Adavanced Research Methods MBA-Evening Program Section ‘E’ Submitted on November 19, 2012 Table of Contents Titles Page No. We will write a custom essay sample on Research on Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan or any similar topic only for you Order Now Prefatory Information Abstract Acknowledgements Executive Summary Introduction Methodology Research Findings Conclusion Recommendations Appendices References 02 03 04 05 06 08 09 13 14 15 22 Page | 1 Prefatory Information Research Topic â€Å"The Evolution of Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan. † Research Background The traditional food retail sector (small neighborhood stores, street vendors, â€Å"general trade† stores, etc. ) comprise about 95% of all food retail stores in Pakistan while the modern retail sector (hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount stores, etc. ) make up the remaining 5%. Over the past few years international retailers have taken advantage of the growing opportunities in this market. Well-known European retail giants Makro, Metro, and Carrefour (Hyperstar) have opened stores in all major Pakistani metropolitan cities. The port city of Karachi alone has at least five large retail stores that serve more than 19 million people. With a growing middle-income class (estimated at about 25% of the total population), increasing urbanization, increasing popularity of international food products, and a growing number of international restaurants and fast food chains, Pakistan is emerging as an expanding market for U. S. high-value agricultural products. The overall food retail and wholesale business accounts for 17% of Pakistan? s GDP. These large retail stores have been able to tap into the changes in consumer lifestyles and higher disposable income. Emerging technologies have also contributed to the emergence of the large food retail superstores, which offer a wide range of value added products and services to price conscious middle income consumers. Convenience stores in Petrol/Gas stations are also providing an additional option for consumers and their popularity among Pakistani consumers is rising. To know precisely the driving forces that lead changes in the consumer buying behavior and furthermore to anticipate the future demand of modernized grocery stores and hypermarkets which would ultimately guide investors towards an opportunity and would let them know the critical market factors and consumer needs on the basis of which they should design their businesses to gain maximum market share in minimum amount of time and resources. Page | 2 Abstract â€Å"The Evolution of Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan. The core objectives of our research are comprehensively explained and backed by the results and interpretations, with graphical illustrations that clarify the main consumer tastes and preferences that are the agents of changing buying patterns being the reason behind the increased number of modern grocery stores in major cities of Pakistan which is linked to our second objective that is more towards the investment opportunity for local and foreign venture capitalists in the mentioned sector. Page | 3 Acknowledgements First and foremost, we would like to thank Almighty Allah for enabling us to achieve the completion of our project report effectively, next we would like to thank to our course mentor of Advanced Research Methods-E, Mr. Salman Rabbani for the valuable guidance and advice. He inspired us greatly to work in this project. His willingness to motivate us contributed tremendously to our project. We also would like to thank him for showing us some examples that related to the topic of our project. Besides, we would like to thank all those participants, colleagues and class mates for providing us with their valuable insights and responses that enabled us to complete this project. Group Members Sandhya Talreja Talha Abid 1235220 1235182 Page | 4 Executive Summary The increasing number of modern grocery stores are rapidly increasing in Karachi and other cities of Pakistan which accounts for attracting majority of the customers and getting market share more than it was in the past few years. These larger stores make up 5% of all Pakistan? s retail food stores. There are two segments of modern food markets. One segment is dominated by the international groups and there are also domestic food retailers that are also utilizing new modern retail formats. For example, large food retail stores (Metro, Makro, and Hyperstar) comprise about 2% of all Pakistani food retail outlets with an estimated annual turnover of $176 million. The overall share of imported food products in the large retail stores is about 5. 6%. To analyze and figure out factors that have changed the buying patterns across the urban areas of Pakistan across all major population segments based on the demographical characteristics. The later part of the research well describes investment opportunity and growth indicators with rising purchasing power of people and increasing consumption patterns leading to impulse buying behavior. Appendices and annexes contain some useful facts that determine the future trends of retailing in Pakistan that how changes are anticipated in the years to come with respect to structure, marketing, supply chain management and customer services Page | 5 Introduction Consumer Food Purchasing Behavior The average Pakistani consumer spends 42% of his income on food. Consumption of imported processed and ready-to-eat food is greater in urban areas because of higher disposable incomes and access to modern style of food. A typical Pakistani household makes regular purchases of staple foods (i. e. , wheat flour, pulses, edible oils, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, etc. ) several times per month from neighborhood stores due to convenience, perceived freshness, and limited storage space at home. A growing number of young Pakistani professionals (male/female) generally prefer making monthly food purchases from modern retail stores due to greater variety of products, satellite stores, and to enjoy food services all under one roof, thus providing the opportunity of combining „one stop shopping? with a family outing. Affluent Pakistani families are attracted towards modern retail stores due to their affordability, strategic locations, access to the imported processed food, and available choices for multiple product range. In comparison the rural consumer prefers homemade products, organic fruits vegetables, and has limited access to processed food. The demand for imported food such as dates, cereals, beverages, chocolates, almonds, cakes, fruits and fruit juices reaches its peak during the festive season, especially at Eid and Ramadan. You read "Research on Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan" in category "Essay examples" Moreover Pakistan has a large and growing middle-income class (estimated at about 25% of the total population). It also has a large and growing young population and over 55 percent Pakistani? s are in the 10-40 years age bracket. The upper middle-income class is currently estimated at 17 million, with relatively high per capita income which favors consumer spending. Since 2000 demand for specialized products targeted at the middle-income consumers have increased significantly. The upcoming changes in the Pakistani consumer demographic will create opportunities and challenges for companies doing business in Pakistan. Keeping in view the above stated scenario and these facts the well described the consumer demographics in Pakistan, we decided to conduct a quantitative research to know the factors of changing buying patterns and also to gauge the magnitude of opportunity for the new entrants in the huge retail grocery market that estimates about US$ 42 billion per annum. Page | 6 Research Objectives ? ? To study the changes in buying patterns of consumers in metropolitan cities of Pakistan, after the advent of modern grocery stores. To what extent these retail chains have been successful and to analyze if there is an opportunity for new entrants in the current scenario. Research Question ? ? What factors are responsible for changing buying behavior of people belonging to urban areas of Pakistan? What is the size of opportunity that exists for new entrants in the current market? Page | 7 Methodology The research methodology comprised of an online survey and questionnaire that was conducted throughout the city of Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore and Islamabad. There were 10 option-based question that were designed to get the responses covering the two basic research objectives. Respondents were randomly selected and were asked to fill out a questionnaire which contained predetermined options and with other open-ended options as well, most of the participants were belonged to Karachi along with a significant number of online respondents from Hyderabad, Lahore and Islamabad adding a variety of responses from urban areas of Pakistan. Respondents were divided into four main categories on the basis of their Gender, Age, Marital Status and Income to have a fair understanding of different types of needs and preferences of different consumer segments. Quantitative Research There was a need to quantify the number of consumer that opt or prefer a certain attribute, products or services at these different stores so in terms of percentages it was easy to present and interpret data that was collected as a result of survey- questionnaire. First of all there was a pre-test conducted to know the validity and effectiveness of the questionnaire and methodology and after that actual survey was launched online and respondents were asked to fill the survey. Online survey reduced the time and other costs associated to our research and proved to be a cost-effective tool to conduct our survey. Page | 8 Research Findings On the basis of two distinct objectives the research findings are included in this report, the initial objective to determine factors that influence consumer buying behavior are the overall services offered, quality and branded products, convenience of getting all items at a single point, no grocery items including fashion apparel, cosmetics, medicine, home decor and so on remained the key choices of the respondents. Regarding the second objective that was to know the size of opportunity for new entrants that was asked in a question to know precise demand of the modern grocery outlets in Karachi and other urban cities, the findings exhibit that a clear majority of the respondents want to have more modern grocery stores in their locality, exact figures are mentioned in the graphical representation section later in this report. Other quantitative results include the frequency of purchases, expenditure and preferred store type that are also useful to calculate the size of the opportunity in this sector. Moreover participants also provided very insightful responses in open-ended options that highlighted many other things that they prefer at these modern stores. Including improvement suggestions regarding, customer support and billing, loyalty and discount programs were dominant responses of the survey discussed in the detail in graphical representation section. Page | 9 Graphical Representation and Analysis 1. Grocery Store Type It? quite clear from the market share that supermarkets and hypermarkets have acquired during past couple of years is significantly improved up to 30% for each category. Grocery Store Type General stores 30% 30% 18% 22% Dept. Stores Super Markets Hypermarkets 2. Grocery Frequency Frequency as compared to past trend of weekly or daily grocery purchases has been shifted to monthly purchases leading towards impulse buying behavior after the advent of the modern hypermarkets and superstores 60% 40% 20% 0% Grocery Frequency Weekly Fortnightly Monthly others 3. Grocery Market Share Modernized supermarkets lead the market with 48% share of the grocery sector these markets are convenience to people living in developed areas of Karachi catering their grocery needs effectively. Grocery Market Share Hyperstar 14% 18% 20% 48% Metro/Makro Naheed/Chaseup /Aghaz/Imtiaz others 4. Grocery Spending Most of the people that opted for modern grocery stores belong to higher income segment and majority spends more than Rs. 7000 on their grocery needs. This indicates a higher tendency of the people to consume in the society. 0% 30% 20% 10% 0% Grocery Spending (PKR) 26% 6% 32% 36% Page | 10 5. Appealing Factors The factors that were dominant among the responses were convenience of getting all items at a single stop and economical purchases thus lowering grocery budgets, this is the core reason that has changed buying patterns of consumers in the recent years. other factors Appealing Factors Economical Safe and†¦ Convenience Adequate†¦ Economical 0% 20% 40% Adequate Parking Convenience Safe and Secure other factors Non grocery items 6. Non-grocery items Out of the non-grocery items most people preferred cosmetics reason being the majority of female respondents in our sample. Rest of the people preferred medicines and ready to wear apparels. 0% 50% 46% 20% 16% 8% 10% 7. Additional Food Items Other than usual grocery items as food staples there was a significant rise in the demand and preference to ready-to-eat/ frozen-food, reason being the most of the married females are opting for careers and employments therefore frozen foods provides them convenience and quick food solutions. 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Additional Food Items 2% Fresh fruits and vegetables meat/chicken/p oultry Frozen food others 16% 16% 6% 8. Improvement Suggestions Discount cards were the most opted option by the respondents as people tend to buy in larger quantities they expect a significant amount off as a discount as well as the loyalty or privilege cards were also and added suggestion along with the speedy billing process due to the shor tage of time in the busy schedule of people living in the large cities. 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Improvement Suggestions 48% 28% 12% 12% Loyalty cards Discount cards Speedy billing process others Page | 11 9. More Grocery Stores So about 90% of the people responded in positive when they were asked about more grocery stores in their city mainly because the convenience these stores offer, while the remaining 10% who opted for No, further explained there are enough no of stores in their vicinity only need is to improve their service quality. 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% More Grocery Stores 90% 10% Yes No Yes No 10. Most preferred attribute Quality is the most opted attribute and mostly the quality products and services available at modern grocery store provide an added benefit to the customers and delight them in many ways. 0% 60% 40% 20% 0% Most preferred attribute Quality Pricing Brand Other Page | 12 Conclusions After studying the brief results and graphical illustrations we hereby conclude that major causes of change in consumer purchase patterns are superior quality of products and services offered to customers at economical prices, thus elevating the overall value for customers when it come s to convenience shopping, hassle-free parking, pleasant environment, serene ambiance, safety and security which previously was not offered by any of the conventional grocery stores of their localities. Now majority of the consumers prefer going to modern supermarkets and hypermarkets rather than the wholesale markets, to avoid the long tiring grocery shopping which included stressful parking, lack of security and safety. Moreover people on weekends go for grocery shopping with their families which allows them to spend quality time with their family as an outing or entertainment and enjoy shopping with all the modern state-of-the-art facilities offered by malls and shopping centers. Furthermore, along with the basic grocery items people tend to shop additional items including garments, cosmetics, fashion products, frozen foods, medicines and so on that is again an appealing factor that directed majority of the customers towards these modernized grocery store thus offering more and more benefits and ease to customers. As it has been witnessed that in the past few years the retail market dynamics have changed dramatically with modern grocery stores capturing the 40% share in the sector it is therefore a lucrative sector for foreign investors in the sectors and source of high FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) that would increase employment opportunities for our population and also would add up to fiscal revenues for the government. Page | 13 Recommendations After the completion of this research that was in response to previous researches on Emergence of Modern Retail in Pakistan and Market Transformation Due To Current Economic Turmoil (USA and European Retail Sectors) we suggest a comprehensive and more sophisticated research should be carried out on a commercial level to have an in-depth knowledge and insights about the market. Many of the indicators suggest the modern society in Pakistan are moving towards mass consumption and retail sector particular has been the key performer accounts for an annual turnover of about US$ 42 billion(estimated). So in response to it another research should carried out on Factors of Impulse Buying Behavior of consumer segments in Pakistan with respect to the modern grocery markets rapidly increasing and expanding the retail sector in Pakistan. The scope of our research was limited to few major cities of Pakistan i. e. Karachi Lahore Islamabad and Hyderabad, so its scope should be increased for future research also incorporating the useful insights of the key industry players of the modern grocery markets. Page | 14 Appendices Appendix-1 (Survey Questionnaire) ARM-Questionnaire Demographics: Age: ? 7-28 ? 29-40 ? 41 above Gender: ? M ? F Marital Status: ? Single ? Married Average Household Income (PKR): ? 10,000-20,000 ? 20,001-50,000 ? 50,001 above Area of Residence: ________________________________________________________ 1. What type of grocery store do you prefer for your grocery shopping? ? General stores ? Departmental stores ? Super market ? Hyper-markets 2. 3. 4. 5. How often you go for grocery shopping? ?Weekly ? fortnightly (every 15 days) ? Monthly ? others please specify_____ Which store do you often prefer for your grocery needs? ?Hyperstar ? Metro/Makro ? Naheed/Chase-up/Imtiaz/Agha’s ? Others___ On average how much amount you spend on your grocery? (PKR) ? 1000-3000 ? 4000-7000 ? 7000-10000 ? Above 10000 Based on the prior selected store which factor makes you buy from that store? ?Economical ? Adequate Parking ? Convenience (all items under one-roof) ? Safe and secure environment ? Others please specify___________________ What type of items do you prefer to shop along-with grocery? ?Cosmetics ? Garments ? Medicines ? Electronic Appliances ? Others_____ What additional foods items do you like to buy form the grocery stores? Fresh Fruits and Vegetable ? Meat/Chicken/Fish ? Frozen Foods ? Others__________ What improvements you like see as far as services are concerned? ?Loyalty cards ? Discount coupons ? Speedy billing process ? Others _______ Would like to have more stores and hyper markets? ?Yes ? No What do you prefer the most for your grocery items? ?Quality ? Pricing ? Brand ? Others please specify___________ 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 . Thank you for your time and attention. Page | 15 Appendix-2 FMCG Companies Profit From Rural Consumption Boom in Pakistan By Riaz Haq Higher crop prices have increased farmers? ncomes in Pakistan by Rs. 342 billion in the 12 months through June, according to a government economic survey. That was higher than the gain of Rs. 329 billion in the preceding eight years, according to a report by Bloomberg News. Companies like Millat tractors, Honda Atlas Motorcycles, Pak Suzuki Motors, Engro Foods, Telnor, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Proctor and Gamble and Unilever have been big beneficiaries of the current rural consumption boom. Nestle Pakistan’s chief Ian Donald has summed up the rising demand for his company’s products as follows: â€Å"It? a common perception that China and India are much bigger in terms of growth than Pakistan. But for Nestle, the per capita consumption of our products in Pakistan is twice as much as we have in China and India. † It should be n oted that Nestle is the world’s largest packaged food company, and Pakistanis’ per capita consumption of milk and dairy products is about 2. 5 times higher than in India. According to the FAO, the average dairy consumption of the developing countries is still very low (45 kg of all dairy products in liquid milk equivalent), compared with the average of 220 kg in the industrial countries. Few developing countries have per capita consumption exceeding 150 kg (Argentina, Uruguay and some pastoral countries in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Africa). Among the most populous countries, only Pakistan, at 153 kg per capita, has such a level. In South Asia, where milk and dairy products are preferred foods, India has only 64 kg and Bangladesh 14 kg. East Asia has only 10 kg. Here are a few key points excerpted from a recent Businessweek story on rise of the rural consumer in Pakistan: 1. Unilever and Colgate-Palmolive Co. re sending salespeople into rural areas of the world? s sixth most-populous nation, where demand for consumer goods such as Sunsilk shampoo, Pond? s moisturizers and Colgate toothpaste has boosted local units? revenue at least 15 percent. Page | 16 2. â€Å"The rural push is aimed at the boisterous youth in these areas, who have bountiful cash and resources to increase purchases,† Shazia Syed, vice president for customer development at Unilever Pakistan Ltd. , said in an interview. â€Å"Rural growth is more than double that of national sales. † 3. Consumer-goods companies forecast growth in Pakistan even as an increase in ethnic violence in Karachi has made 2011 the deadliest in 16 years for the country? s biggest city and financial center. 4. Nestle Pakistan Ltd. is spending 300 million Swiss francs ($326 million) to double dairy output in four years, boosted sales 29 percent to 33 billion rupees ($378 million) in the six months through June. â€Å"We have been focusing on rural areas very strongly,† Ian Donald, managing director of Nestle? s Pakistan unit, said in an interview in Lahore. â€Å"Our observation is that Pakistan? rural economy is doing better than urban areas. † 5. Haji Mirbar, who grows cotton on a 5-acre farm with his four brothers, said his family? s income grew fivefold in the year through June, allowing him to buy branded products. He uses Unilever? s Lifebuoy for his open-air baths under a hand pump, instead of the handmade soap he used before. â€Å"We had a great year because of cotton pr ices,† said Mirbar, 28, who lives in a village outside south Pakistan? s Matiari town. â€Å"As our income has risen, we want to buy nice things and live like kings. † 6. Sales for the Pakistan unit of Unilever rose 15 percent to 24. 8 billion rupees in the first half. Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd.? s sales increased 29 percent in the six months through June to 7. 6 billion rupees, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. â€Å"In a generally faltering economy, the double-digit growth in revenue for companies servicing the consumer sector has come almost entirely from the rural areas,† said Sakib Sherani, chief executive officer at Macroeconomic Insights Pvt. in Islamabad and a former economic adviser to Pakistan? s finance ministry. 7. Unilever is pushing beauty products in the countryside through a program called â€Å"Guddi Baji,† an Urdu phrase that literally means â€Å"doll sister. † It employs â€Å"beauty specialists who understand rural women,† providing them with vans filled with samples and equipment, Syed said. Women in villages are also employed as sales representatives, because â€Å"rural is the Page | 17 growth engine† for Unilever in Pakistan, she said in an interview in Karachi. While the bulk of spending for rural families goes to food, about 20 percent â€Å"is spent on looking beautiful and buying expensive clothes,† Syed said. . Colgate-Palmolive, the world? s largest toothpaste maker, aims to address a â€Å"huge gap† in sales outside Pakistan? s cities by more than tripling the number of villages where its products, such as Palmolive soap, are sold, from the current 5,000, said Syed Wasif Ali, rural operations manager at the local unit. 9. Its deterge nts Bonus Tristar and Brite are packed in sachets of 20 grams or less and priced as low as five rupees (6 cents), to boost sales among low-income consumers hurt by the fastest pace of inflation in Asia after Vietnam. Unilever plans to increase the number of villages where its products are sold to almost half of the total 34,000 within three years. Its merchandise, including Dove shampoo, Surf detergent and Brooke Bond Supreme tea, is available in about 11,000 villages now. 10. Pakistan, Asia? s third-largest wheat grower, in 2008 increased wheat prices by more than 50 percent as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sought to boost production of the staple. â€Å"The injection of purchasing power in the rural sector has been unprecedented,† said Sherani, who added that local prices for rice and sugarcane have also risen. 1. Telenor Pakistan Pvt. is also expanding in Pakistan? s rural areas, which already contribute 60 percent of sales, said Anjum Nida Rahman, corporate communications director for the local unit of the Nordic region? s largest phone company. While the presence of multinational consumer product giants like Nestle and Unilever receive more coverage in the western media, the Eurom onitor report finds that Pakistani FMGC companies like Engro Foods, Haleeb Foods, Shezan, Tapal, Shan and others dominate the packaged food business in Pakistan. Here’s an excerpt from a recent Euromonitor report on Pakistan. Page | 18 Appendix- 3 Study of the International Retail Markets Drivers of Retail Change Internationally There are significant changes underway in the international retail sector. Some are already evident in the Irish retail market while others are now beginning to show an impact. The key drivers of change in the retail sector are: †¢ Consumer shopping habits and meal preparation habits are changing. This is driving the food retail structure to one of large stores for once-weekly shopping trips and smaller convenience stores for top-up purchases. Relatively low growth in retail spending across Europe, particularly in the food sector, which is generating substantial competition between retailers. †¢ A shift in the determinant of consumer demand from price consciousness to value for money. †¢ A stronger preference for service and convenience, both in retail service and also in product choice. †¢ The development of a more international outlook and a greater awareness of international brands. †¢ More focused marketing methods, referred to as „mass customization? and competition for consumer loyalty. †¢ The retail sector is still relatively highly regulated in many countries, specifically in the areas of planning regulations in respect of new store development and working hours. †¢ Developments in information and communications technologies (ICTs) are enabling improvements in market research and analysis, and supply chain management. This is driving significant change in international retail supply chains as retailers seek out increasing efficiencies and seek to reduce inventories. Page | 19 Appendix-4 Future of Retail Sector in Pakistan The expected future trends in the retail sector in Pakistan are that: †¢ The retail sector can be expected to continue to grow in line with the overall growth of the economy, thereby providing further employment and an increasing contribution to economic activity. †¢ The level of concentration, i. e. , the market share held by major retailers, in both the food and clothing sectors, is expected to continue to increase. †¢ Further consolidation in the market can be expected through mergers and acquisitions of national retailers and foreign retailers in the current market. Acquisition is likely to be the mode of market entry for large scale foreign retailers into the future. Size Structure The strucuture of the retail sector is changing as: †¢ Retailers are growing larger through mergers and acquisitions both in domestic and international markets; †¢ The number of large sized stores is increasing significantly; †¢ Levels of concentration in retail markets are increasing; †¢ Order sizes and deliveries from suppliers are growing; and †¢ Suppliers are increasing in scale. Customer Service Customer service is developing rapidly through: †¢ Home hopping and delivery; †¢ Internet shopping; †¢ Longer opening hours; †¢ Loyalty card schemes; †¢ Better in-store service; †¢ Micro-marketing to individual customers; and †¢ Improved mail order. Page | 20 Diversification Retailers are pursuing growth through diversification into: †¢ New product areas, by food retailers into non-food goods, and into new markets such as apparel and music; †¢ New business sectors such as banking and insurance; and †¢ New geographic markets, nationally and internationally, mail order, teleshopping and ecommerce. Supply-Chain Management Retailers are increasing their control over the whole supply chain by implementing: †¢ Centralized distribution; †¢ Efficient consumer response (ECR) †¢ Increased traceability of goods †¢ Increased investment in Information Technology; †¢ Supplier rationalization programs †¢ Greater involvement in supplier operations. Page | 21 References Retail Sector Dynamics in Ireland-www. forfas. ie. European Journal of Scientific Research Euro Journals Publishing, Inc. 2009 http://www. eurojournals. com/ejsr. htm http://www. iazhaq. com/2011/10/fmcg-companies-profit-from-rural. html Retail markets planning guide-FAO Bulletin http://www. fao. org/docrep/v8390e/V8390E00. HTM New generation of retail markets By Ashfak Bokhari | From InpaperMagzine | 23rd July, 2012 http://dawn. com/2012/07/23/new-generation-of-retail-markets/ Retail’s Hottest Emerging Markets, 2012 http://www. cnbc. com/id/47782726/Retail_s_Hottest_Emerging_Markets_2012 Economic Impact of Retailing in Pakistan Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Business Management Page | 22 How to cite Research on Modern Grocery Market in Pakistan, Essays

Social Work Transformational Transactional â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Social Work Transformational Transactional? Answer: Introduction The assignment studies the change initiatives taken by the management of Yellow Auto Company for the successful change in its culture and management structure so that the company will be successful in organising people to work effectively. Problems in the organisation Change plays an important role in every organisation. Change is taken place when the organisation requires to modify or tries to make the cultural, structural and technological development in the organisation in order to sustain in the marketing (Barnett, 2015). The change becomes inevitable due to the internal and the external situations that compel the business organisation to bring changes in the organisation. In the process of the change, the management all other stakeholders work together to make the change process successful. Without the support of the employees, the change agent cannot bring change in the organisation. The structural change refers to the change in the process the work is done. The responsibilities of the employee are changed and he or she is given the opportunities to give their opinion in the decision-making process and the structure of the management is changed for the growth of the organisation(Griswold, 2013). Changing the attitudes, behaviour the expectation of the employees is very difficult. The change is accepted by the employees when they believe that the change will bring them personal and organisational benefits(Brunk, 2010). Thus the culture of the organisation is changed when both the employees and the leaders accept the change. The change efforts made by the management of the organisation is transactional. The management of Yellow Auto Company finds that there is an urgent need to bring changes in the organisation due to the structural and cultural factors. The transactional leadership focuses on the supervision, on the organisation and also on the performance. The focus of the transactional style is to promote compliance with the help of the followers. This compliance is made through reward and punishment. The transactional process wants to bring changes in the crisis and in a situation when the change becomes inevitable. The attention is given to developing the efficiency of the employees in the organisation and takes care of amending the faults in the organisation(Gellis, 2007). The transactional style is different from the transformational style as transactional style focuses on the immediate change and the transformational style focuses on the development in the future. In the context of Yellow Auto Co mpany, the change is inevitable to keep the people of the organisation on the right direction to accomplish the goals and objectives of the organisation. The change initiative made by Yellow Auto Company will not meet any resistance in the process of change. It is due to the fact that the employees of the organisation have realised the need of change in the structure and culture of the organisation. The survey conducted by the company proves that the employees are not satisfied with the way they are working. The job specification is not there and they have no liberty to execute their own works. The analysis made in the survey finds that there are problems related to the authority, responsibilities and distribution and all these things happen due to the lack of clarity in the description of the job. Thus the survey shows that the employees expect a change in the organisation. Organisations bring changes in the organisation with the help of the internal and external change agents. The internal change agents are the people of the management of the organisations. These people feel the need of the change and try to implement change strategically in the organisation(Gentile, 2012). The external change agents are the consultants or the people those who are not the part of the organisation. The consultants make a survey the need of the change and prepare strategic plan to bring a change in the organisation. The external change agent is effective when there is a need of bringing changes in the structure of the organisation. In the case of Yellow Auto Company, this has been found that the top management people like Can Sale behave like an autocratic leader. Thus the external change agent can make the operations management feel about the requirements of the change. The employees of the organisation express their anxieties to the external agents and the survey of the external agents can find the faults and requirement of developments while talking to the stakeholders(Lynch, 2015). The external agents can easily find out the faults in the organisation, culture and structure. The management people will accept the change as it becomes inevitable for the organisation. The management people expressed their willingness to help the change agents and to be very open for the development of the efforts. This shows that the change initiative is planned and both the management and the employees have accepted the change(Nielsen, 2012). Thus the attitudes of the employees will be changed and the survey will find a difference after the introduction of change. Summary of the key problems and the role of organisational development in improving efficiency effectiveness in the organisation The key problems of Yellow Auto Company are based on the structural and cultural. The work culture of the organisation is not based on the basic principles. The employees are not aware of the job description. This shows that there has been a gap between the employees and the management of the organisation. The second most important problem is that the employees are demotivated. They do the work which is not actually to be done by them. The employees could not use their skills and experiences due to wrong work assignments. Thirdly, the top level management people are not concerned with the development of the culture of the organisation. The involvement of the management people in every activity demotivate the people. Can Sale does not allow anybody to work independently. He intervenes in every activity, Fourthly, the employees are not allowed to be a part of the decision-making process. Thus the decisions taken by the management people are not accepted by the employees of the organisations. Lastly, the work culture of the organisation is not good. There is no empathy in the employees. The employees do not consult their immediate leader for any help. They go to Can Sale for help. This creates a very bad work culture and the cooperation and coordination between the workers are not found. Role of organisation to develop the efficiency and effectiveness of the employees The success of the organisation depends on the joint efforts of leaders and the followers of the organisation. The management of Yellow Auto Company should leave the autocratic style of leadership and should adopt transactional and transformational leadership style. Can Sale requires to exhibit himself as a transformational leader and should motivate employees by setting examples. The structure of the organisation should be well defined and the employees need to be communicated their duties and responsibilities(Velsor, McCuley, Ruderman, 2010). The culture of the organisation should be well defined and the leaders and the employees should work together for the successful achievement of goals and objectives of the organisation. Conclusion The success of the organisation depends on the efforts of the leaders and the followers. The change initiatives made by Yellow Auto Company is based on values, social norms the attitudes. These norms and the values affect the behaviour the performance of the employees for a successful change. References Barnett, J. (2015, 11 08). Employee Engagement Effectiveness. Business 09 17, 2017, from https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2015/11/Employee-Engagement-Effectiveness Brunk, K. (2010). Exploring origins of ethical company/brand perceptionsa consumer perspective of corporate ethics. J Bus Res, 63, 255-262. Drucker, P. (2014). Leadership vs. Management. Retrieved 09 17, 2017, from Diffen.com: https://www.diffen.com/difference/Leadership_vs_Management Gellis, Z. D. (2007). Social work perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership in health care. Social Work Research, vol.25. no. 1, 17-25. Gentile, M. C. (2012). Values-driven leadership development: Where we have been and where we could could go. Organisation management Journal, 188-196. Griswold, A. (2013, 09 27). 'Thought Diversity' Is The Future Of The Workplace - Business Insider. Retrieved 09 17, 2017, from www.businessinsider.com/the-future-of-workplace-diversity-is-here-2013-9 Lynch, R. L. (2015). Strategic management. Harlow: Pearson Education. Nielsen, K. (2012, 05 03). The importance of employee participation and perceptions of changes .. Retrieved 09 17, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov NCBI Literature PubMed Central (PMC) Olivia. (2017). 6 Simple Tips for Effective Team Management. Retrieved 09 17, 2017, from https://www.meistertask.com/blog/6-simple-tips-effective-team-management/ Sanborn, M. (2016). 9 Difference Between Managers and Leaders. Retrieved 09 17, 2017, from marksanborn.com: https://www.marksanborn.com/blog/9-differences-between-managers-and-leaders/# Velsor, V., McCuley, Ruderman. (2010). Developing of Leaders. In The Center for Creative Leadership handbook of leadership development. San Francisco,: Jossey Bass.

Right To Vote Essays - Grandpa, , Term Papers

Right To Vote Situated between majestic Great Lakes and the marshes, Ortonville is much like any other small northern Michigan town. It was election day, looking forward to a visit to the ice cream shop, I accompanied my grandpa as he drove the fifteen-mile tripe into town. Country life offered little excitement, but that day an air of uneasiness replaced the usual contentment I felt while passing aged buildings, their drabness contrasted sharply by a few colorful, modern improvements. Having spent the first of my teen years here, it was easy to detect any change in the town's mood. I pondered the worried expression on the faces of the few people we saw on the streets. It seemed everyone was in a hurry. There were not the usual groups gathered to exchange local gossip. Most noticeable was the absence of kids playing in the near by park. As my grandpa messed with the radio in our rusted out Chevy, we approached the traffic light, greeted-not by flashing red, yellow or green, but by uniformed police men armed with guns and appearing much out of place in such peaceful surroundings. As our vehicle slowed to a stop, I was shocked as I saw before me a huge machine gun, pointed in our direction. A young officer walked slowly to the truck and explained, what was going on, "Sorry Sir, but we'll have to search your truck, just routine procedure." As the car was being searched, we learned the reason for such drastic precautionary measures. A man whom we knew and who was a candidate for the sheriff's office, had been brutally murdered in the presence of his wife and daughter. It was rumored that the opposing party was responsible for the fatal shotgun blast, and other rumors stated that explosives would be brought into town to bomb the courthouse. As this unbelievable information was being given, I sat petrified, trying to convince myself that this was the same town where, only yesterday, I was shopping here with my friends, and talking about school. Where dogs and children had ran freely on the sidewalks cops now stood with shotguns. Strangely, all this had changed overnight, and the preconceptions I had about my peaceful country and the glorious right to vote were beginning to sound as a sour note. Marching through the streets like ants, the cops with guns gave the appearance of towns I had seen in the movies. Towns which did not know freedom, but captivity. "He'll probably go home," I mused to myself as my grandpa began changing the gears to move on. Surely no one could be so stupid as to go into that courthouse now! Thinking how wonderful it would be to get back to the safety of our farmhouse, I was somewhat taken aback when Grandpa parked near the entrance of the threatened building. The lines in his face seemed to be carved with determination, and with unfaltering stride he quickly mounted the steps to the building. A man had died at the hands of those who tried to control a county's right to vote. That "right" was now even more precious. Grandpa was going to vote.

MyBurgerLab Essays

MyBurgerLab Essays MyBurgerLab Essay MyBurgerLab Essay They want a burger brand that belongs to Malaysia, therefore they start their first step to start up unbearably. At first, unbearably started tit a very simple objective which is sell a really good, juicy burger on fresh bun. No shortcuts. (unbearably, 2014) Their objective seems simple and normal, but this objective have led a very clear strength to unbearably as they put all their effort, included money, into making a good burger. In unbearably, you will see their special charcoal bun instead of those normal sesame bun that used by others. Other than their own made charcoal bun, patty will be another core element that affect the burger taste. In unbearably, they mainly sell beef burger so they also grind their own beef patty so that they can serve the most fresh beef burger to their customer. Without any realization, people know unbearably most likely is from world-of-mouth instead of advertisement, and this is unbearably another strength in their promotion way. They believe in a good thing is worth for people to share, therefore they didnt put a lot of effort in doing advertising but make sure serve every customer with their best and juicy burger. unbearably may be a good restaurant, but they also have some weakness that will make people feel unsatisfied about them. For a very obvious meekness for them is their operation hours. They only operate from Tuesday to Sunday and when come to worse, they only open their restaurant by evening 5 and only operate until night 10. 15. Their operation hour make people need to queue for get a seat in their restaurant. Other than that, their concentration on making a nice juicy burger also caused a side effect which every customer need to wait at least minutes before their order can reach to their table. As mentioned in their strengths, they did not put a lot of effort in advertisement and this made their brand awareness highly rely on world- f-mouth. unbearably took a lot of opportunity in starting up their business as they start quite early in Malaysia as a gourmet restaurant that mainly sell burger. Other than that, their charcoal burger also a core element that grab a lot of market opportunity as they are the first restaurant that introduced a black burger in Malaysia. Furthermore, they took the opportunity to make unbearably this brand a more community concern brand as they run a food donation drive at their outlet during their first and second year anniversary. Last but not least, unbearably choose to sell chicken burger because they now the demand in the market and they took this opportunity to become a restaurant that sell two types of burger. On the other hand, unbearably have launch a new burger market in Malaysia, so this become other entrepreneurs target in setting up an eatery business. Some threat that unbearably facing is caused by creating such new market and attracted new competitors like Fatsos The Burger Bar. Other than that, their location also quite not strategy as the place is hard to find parking, and the shop itself is quite small that hardly can fit in all customers that want to enjoy their burger.

Philosophy inquiry- A mini-version of a possible chapter 3 of a Assignment

Philosophy inquiry- A mini-version of a possible chapter 3 of a dissertation proposal - Assignment Example Aristotle refuses to imitate a theory that has been formulated without empirical estimation of regular and in-depth observation of the universal facts and realities (Thomas & Thomas, 1960). Turner opin...... The same is applied to social exchange theory, cognitive development perspective, deviance theories and others. The studies demonstrate various models and paradigms observed and followed by the researchers while developing an outline for conducting a qualitative research. Guba (1990) argues that a paradigm serves as an interpretative framework, which is guided by the set of beliefs and feelings about the world and how it should be understood and studied. In other words, a research paradigm determines and decides the epistemology, ontology and methodology to be applied on the basis of the topic selected for conducting the research work. Epistemology stands for describing the source of knowledge, which includes what is known, and what is going to be explored. The term epistemology has been derived from the Greek notion episteme, which stands for the philosophy of knowledge (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996). In simple words, epistemology aims to explore the source and origin of some specific k nowledge or information. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge and the process by which knowledge is acquired and validated Epistemology poses the questions including: What is the relationship between the knower and what is known? How do we know what we know? What counts as knowledge? (Krauss, 2005:759). On the other hand, ontology is determined to unveil the realities of the concepts involved in the study. It also discovers the reality about the topic as well as the units of analysis selected for the research. For instance, while discovering the relationship between domestic violence and children’s alienation towards

Discuss and Evaluate how to Improving Prenatal nutrition in the UK Literature review

Discuss and Evaluate how to Improving Prenatal nutrition in the UK - Literature review Example other’s prenatal nutrition and birth outcome as the knowledge provide a basis for understanding and design of nutritional interventions for the improvement of positive birth results, long term maternal life quality, reduced mortality rates and health care expenses† (Alexander & Cornely, 1987). This review seeks to provide a broad overview on the ways through which prenatal nutrition can be improved in the United Kingdom. The overview of the literature reviews status of maternal nutrition and birth results in the United Kingdom. â€Å"Nutrition of an expectant mother is a crucial issue owing to the fact that the kind of diet intake during pregnancy may likely have a positive or a negative impact on the mother’s health as well as the newborn baby† (Duggan, Watkins, & Walker, 2008). These effects manifest in the child’s life early or late in life including adulthood. It is for this reason that the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom deems necessary to offer dietary advice for mothers during their gravidity period. The advices offered range from appropriate diet to the undesirable ones. â€Å"A number of studies conducted in the United Kingdom show evidence that expectant mothers take insufficient major nutrients† (Langley-Evans, 2009). The studies further reveal that the current state can be improved through various dietary interventions. This review seeks to bring out dietary interventions that can be provided to expectant mothers with a purpose of improving prenatal care and the general improvement of the birth outcomes. Improved access to quality nutrition among expectant mothers in the United Kingdom has for the last 10 years the government’s headache. The United Kingdom’s department of health has been formulating various prenatal care policies geared at quality nutrition and care for pregnant women that would see reduced risks among the high risk groups. This paper uses numerous literature review works conducted by earlier researchers to

How is Transformation Related to the Concepts of Trust and Truth Essay

How is Transformation Related to the Concepts of Trust and Truth - Essay Example Only tragedy, or trauma, has the possibility of rattling these contextual cages, and thus opening up ourselves to new perspectives, and new truths. But to open ourselves up, we must experiences a process or event that fundamentally calls into questions the structure of the social agreement we trust to provide a sense of external validity in our understanding of the world. Malcolm Gladwell identifies the power of this social agreement when he explains the Power of Context. While sociologists and psychologists seem set to battle over the cause of criminal activity (inherent psychological traits or conditioning from trauma vs. large scale environmental factors that erode community institutions and thus beget crime), Gladwell suggests that the â€Å"Power of Context is an environmental argument. It says that behavior is a function of social context. But it is a very strange kind of environmentalism... The Power of Context says that what really matters is little things. (Gladwell 242). I nstead of the big picture issues that liberals might associate with crime, Gladwell highlights the importance of minutia—broken windows, graffiti—that might influence and trigger criminal behavior. These sorts of conditions function as catalysts, enabling behavior that would seem grossly inappropriate in other contexts. The horrible assault and brutal killing of Matthew Shepard provides a chilling case-in-point. The collection of males who thought of themselves as men—manly men—who found themselves threatened by Shepard's revelation that he was gay, moved from a bar conversation to a chilling beating. Had that conversation been elsewhere, had those boys not been together on that particular night, had they not felt that masculinity was tied in multiple ways and in myriad instances to the strength of their heterosexuality, the events of that night might never have taken place. These â€Å"essential facts† (Loffreda 373) were themselves circumstantial , in the non-legal sense of the word. Whatever the norms that gave rise to the attack, they floundered when the attack itself was brought to trial. Loffreda explains that â€Å"After each count, Castor recited 'the essential facts' supporting the charge, in what became a truly grim ritual of repetition... During the incident, the victim was begging for his life. The subject then left the area, leaving the victim for dead.' By the third time Cator read that Matt had begged for his life, the courtroom had become choked with sickness and grief. The true darkness of the crime had become impossible to flee (Loffreda 373). This impossibility is precisely what makes transformation possible. One could no longer escape into the narrow constraints of those trusted contexts that helped to provide a foundation for one's world-view. If Gladwell is right about the Power of Context, that â€Å"our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances† (Gladwell 243), here was a situation in which the outer circumstances demanded change. That this change resulted from a trauma both profoundly personal and public cannot be overstated. Such a disruption calls into question what we trust, and thus what we hold to be true. That being said, the shift in the communal norms does not imply

Sensing of Human Blood Group by SPR Based Sensors

Sensing of Human Blood Group by SPR Based Sensors Contents- Introduction Basic of Surface Plasmon P and S polarized light waves Properties of Surface Plasmon Waves Transverse Electric and Transverse Magnetic Waves Dispersion Relation for Surface Plasmon Principle Total Internal Reflection N-Layer Model and Fresnel’s Relation Evanescent Waves Resonance Condition Minimum of Reflectance at Resonance Drude Model For free electron gas Angular Interrogation and Wavelength Interrogation Performance parameters for SPR based sensors Experiment Kretscheman and Otto Configuration Coating of metal layer by Vacuum Coating Machine Basic Of Surface Plasmons- The electron charges on a metal boundary can perform coherent fluctuations hence collective charge density oscillations of electrons at metal-dielectric interface are known as plasma oscillations and the quantum of these oscillations are known as surface plasmons. The surface plasmons are accompanied by a longitudinal (TM- or P-polarized) electric field which decays exponentially in metal as well as in dielectric medium. The electric field has its maximum at metal-dielectric interface. The TM- polarization and exponential decay of electric field are found by solving the Maxwell equation. The charge motion in a surface plasmon always creates electromagnetic fields outside (as well as inside) the metal. The total excitation, including both the charge motion and associated electromagnetic field, is called either surface plasmon polaritonat a planar interface. . Properties of Surface Plasmon Waves- Surface Plasmon waves are the surface localized electromagnetic waves produced by the collective resonating oscillations of free electrons on the plasma surface. The surface Plasmon is a transverse wave propagating along the plasma surface with the oscillating electric field vector normal to the surface. The two main properties of the surface Plasmon waves are firstly they are of exponentially decaying nature, when propagate along the surface of metal-dielecric interface it gets decay both in metal as well as in dielectric and secondly it gets excited only by P-polarized incident light wave. P-polarized and S-polarized light waves- When the electric field vector of incident light wave is perpendicular to the plane of incidence than light wave is called S-polarized light wave and when the electric field vector are parallel to plane of incidence than light wave is called P-polarized light wave. Transverse Electric and Transverse Magnetic Waves If the incident, transmitted and reflected waves all have a wave vector component along the z direction, that is, they have an effective velocity along z. The fields Ei,perp, Er,perp, and Et,perp are all perpendicular to the z direction. These waves are called transverse electric field (TE) waves. On the other hand, waves with Ei,//, Er,//, and Et,// only have their magnetic field components perpendicular to the z direction and these are called transverse magnetic field (TM) waves. Dispersion Relation for Surface Plasmon- Principle Total internal reflection- Internal Reflectionis a phenomenon that happens when a propagatingwave strikes a medium boundary at an angle larger than a particular critical anglewith respect to thenormalto the surface. If the refractive indexis lower on the other side of the boundary and the incident angle is greater than the critical angle, the wave cannot pass through and is entirelyreflected. The critical angleis theangle of incidenceabove which the total internal reflectance occurs. This is particularly common as anoptical phenomenon, where light waves are involved, but it occurs with many types of waves, such aselectromagnetic wavesin general orsound waves. When a wave crosses a boundary between materials with different kinds of refractive indices, the wave will be partiallyrefractedat the boundary surface, and partially reflected. However, if the angle of incidence is greater (i.e. the direction of propagation or ray is closer to being parallel to the boundary) than the critical angle – the angle of incidence at which light is refracted such that it travels along the boundary – then the wave will not cross the boundary and instead be totally reflected back internally. This can only occur when the wave in a medium with a higher refractive index (n1) hits its surface thats in contact with a medium of lower refractive index (n2). For example, it will occur with light hittingairfrom glass, but not when hitting glass from air. Fresnel’s Relation We will describe the incident, reflected and refracted waves by the exponential representation of a travelling wave, i.e., Where r is theposition vector, the wavevectors ki, kr, kt describe respectively the derictions of the incident, reflected and transmitted waves and Eio, Ero and Eto are the respective amplitudes. Any phase changes such as phir and phit in the reflected and transmitted waves with respect to the phase of the incident wave are incorporated into the complex amplitudes Ero and Eto. Our objective is to find Ero and Eto with respect to Eio. Similar equations can be stated for the magnetic field components in the incident, reflected and transmitted waves but will be perpendicular to the corresponding electric fields. The electric and magnetic fields anywhere on the wave must be perpendicular to each other as a requirement of electromagnetic wave theary. This means that with E// in the EM wave we have a magnetic field Bperp associated with it such that Bperp= (n/c)E//. Simillarly, Eperp will have a magnetic field B// associated with it such that B//=(n/c)Eperp. There are two useful fundamental rules in electromagnetism that govern the behaviour of the electric and magnetic fields at a boundary between two dielectric media which we can arbitrary label as 1 and 2. These rules are called boundary conditions. The first states that the electric field that is tangential to the boundary surface Etangential must be continuous across the boundary from medium 1 to 2 i.e., at the boundary y=0. Etangential(1)=Etangential(2) The second rule is that the tangential component of the magnetic field Btangential to boundary must be likewise continuous from medium 1 to 2 provided that the two media are non-magnetic (relative permeability  µr=1), Btangential(1)=Btangential(2) Using these boundary conditions for the fields at y=0, and the relationship between the electric and magnetic fields, we can find the reflected and transmitted waves in terms of the incident wave. The boundary conditions can only be satisfied if the reflection and incidence angles are equal, @[emailprotected], and the angles for the transmited and incident waves obey Snell’s [emailprotected][emailprotected] Applying the boundary conditions to the EM wave going from medium 1 to medium 2, the amplitudes of the reflected and transmitted waves can be readily obtained in terms of n1, n2, and incidence angle @i alone. These relationships are called Fresnel’s equations. If we define n=n2/n1, as the relative refractive index of medium 2 to that of 1, then the reflection and transmission coefficients for Eperp are Rperp And Tperp These are corresponding coefficients for the E// fields with corresponding reflection and transmission coefficients r// and t//: r// t// Further, the reflection and transmission coefficients are related by r// + nt// = 1 rperp +1 = tperp The significance of these equations is that they allow the amplitudes and phases of the reflected and transmitted waves to be determined from the coefficients rperp, r//, t//, and tperp. Evanescent waves- Evanescent waves are formed when sinusoidal waves are (internally) reflected off an interface at an angle greater than the critical angle so that total internal reflection occurs. Evanescent means tending to vanish, which is appropriate because the intensity of evanescent waves decays exponentially with distance from the interface at which they are formed. Any propagating wave is converted into an evanescent wave when hitting a classically forbidden region. In this case, at least one component of the wave vector kbecomes imaginary or complex and the wave experiences exponential damping when propagating in this region. In the case of an optical fibre the cladding has less refractive index than the core of the fibre. When light experience total internal reflection at the core-cladding interface, some of the energy of the light waves in the core of the fibre penetrate into the cladding for a very short distance. The energy flow of this evanescent wave is parallel to the surface of the core and in the same direction as the main flow of energy within the core. Resonance Condition- The propagation constant (Ksp) Of the surface Plasmon wave propagating along the metal-dielectric interface is given by- Where ÃŽ µm and ÃŽ µs are the dielectric constants of metal and the dielectric medium respectively, ω is the frequency of incident light, and c is the velocity of light and from above equation it may be noted that the propagation constant of surface Plasmon wave depends on the dielectric constants of both the metal and the dielectric medium. The surface plasmons can be excited by light with same polarization state as that of surface Plasmons. The propagation constant (Ks) of the light wave with frequency w propagating through the dielectric medium is given by- Since ÃŽ µms>0 (for dielectric), for a given frequency, the propagation constant of surface Plasmon (Ksp) is greater than that of light wave in dielectric medium (Ks). To excite surface plasmons, two propagation wave- vectors should be equal. Hence, the direct light cannot excite surface plasmons at a metal-dielectric interface. To excite surface plasmons their momentum and hence the wave vector of the exciting light in dielectric medium should be increased. This can be done if instead of a direct light, evanescent wave is used to excite the surface plasmons. To obtain the evanescent wave for the excitation of surface plasmons, a prism with high dielectric constant is used. When a light beam is incident through one of the two sides of the prism at an angle greater than the critical angle at prism-air interface the total internal reflection of light beam takes place. In the condition of total internal reflection light beam does not return exactly from the interface. Instead it returns after penetrating in the lower refractive index medium (air in this case). The field in the lower refractive index medium is called evanescent field and the wave corresponding to this is called evanescent wave. The evanescent wave propagates along the prism-air interface and decays exponentially in the rarer medium (air). The propagation constant of the evanescent wave at prism-air interface is given by- Where, ÃŽ µp, represents the dielectric constant of the material of the prism and ÃŽ ¸ is the angle of incidence of the beam. Increase in the dielectric constant of the prism increases the propagation constant of the evanescent wave and hence this can be made equal to propagation constant of the surface Plasmon wave to propagation constant of the surface Plasmon wave to satisfy the surface Plasmon resonance condition. When a p-polarized light beam is incident through the prism on the prism-metal layer interface at an angle ÃŽ ¸ equal to or greater than the critical angle, the evanescent wave is produced at the prism-metal interface. The excitation of surface plasmons occurs when the wave vector of evanescent wave exactly matches with that of the surface plasmons of similar frequency. This occurs at a particular angle of incidence ÃŽ ¸res. Thus the resonance condition for surface Plasmon resonance is- The excitation of surface plasmons at metal-dielectric interface results in the transfer of energy from incident light to surface plasmons, which reduces the intensity of the reflected light. If the intensity of the reflected light is measured as a function of angle of incidence ÃŽ ¸ for a fixed values of frequency, metal layer thickness and dielectric layer thickness then a sharp dip is observed at resonance angle, ÃŽ ¸res, due to an efficient transfer of energy to surface plasmons. Minimum of Reflectance at Resonance The excitation of surface plasmons at metal-dielectric interface results in the transfer of energy from incident photons to surface plasmons, which reduces the energy of the reflected light. If the normalized reflected intensity (R), which is basically the output signal, is measured as a function of incident angle @ by keeping other parameters and components (such as frequency, metal layer, and dielectric layer) unchanged, then a sharp dip is observed at resonance angle @sp due to an efficient transfer of energy to surface plasmons The minimum of the normalized reflected intensity (R) can be quantitatively described with the help of Fresnel’s equations for the three-layer system p/m/s. Here, p, stands for high refractive index material prism m, stands for metal film of thickness dm and s, stands for low index dielectric medium, eg: air, water etc. The light wave is incident at an angle greater than the corresponding ATR angle. At this point, one important fact is the energy conservation that requires R+A+T=1, that is, the sum of relative reflection, absorption, and transmission is unity. Since, T=0 at ATR, hence we are left with A+R=1 in the present case. The light wave having passed the glass prism (ÃŽ µp), is reflected partially at prism interface. A part of the incident light wave energy traverses the metal film(of thickness dm) as an exponential decaying evanescent wave. At the metal-dielectric (m/s) interface, it induces the surface Plasmon excitation, which radiate light back into the metal film. If the metal layer thickness (dm) is small, the back scattered field tends to increase. Since, this back scattered wave is out-of-phase with the incoming wave, the two interfere destructively and cause R to reduce. For minimum value of dm, they compensate each other and R becomes equal to zero. Thus, the absorption A becomes equal to 1, that is, whole radiation field is captured in the metal film. On the other hand, if the metal layer thickness is large enough, then the back scattered field disappears and R approaches to 1. It means that no absorption of incident light wave is taking place. Hence, one can say that the value of R depends on the combination of incident light frequency, angle of incidence, and the thickness of the metal layer. Performance parameters for SPR sensors Sensitivity and Detection accuracy are the two important parameters that are used to analyze the performance of SPR based sensors. Sensitivity- Suppose, we are sensing any medium of any particular refractive index, than we will get a minimum reflectance curve at any particular value of ÃŽ »res, but if change the medium than refractive index will change and we will get a minimum reflectance curve at any other value of ÃŽ »res, hence we can say the minimum reflectance curve is shifted from one wavelength value to another wavelength value. This shift in the minimum reflectance curve with the change in the refractive index (by changing the medium) is called sensitivity of the SPR sensor. Hence we can say, sensitivity is the rate of change of ÃŽ »res value with the change in refractive index, S= If the shift is large, the sensitivity is large Detection accuracy- How accurately and precisely our sensor can sense or detect this shift in minimum reflectance curve is called Detection Accuracy of the sensor DA= For the best performance of the sensor, both the parameters should be as high as possible to attain a perfect sensing procedure. Otto Configuration The general idea behind this configuration was the coupling of surface Plasmon wave the evanescent wave, which is set up to ATR at the base of a coupling prism when a light beam is incident at an angle greater than the critical angle (@ATR) at prism-air interface. The nature of evanescent wave is known to have the propagation constant along the interface and to decay exponentially in the dielectric medium adjacent to metal layer. Both of these characteristics of evanescent waveare similar to those of a surface Plasmon wave, therefore, there is a strong possibility of interaction between these waves. The x-component of the wave propagation constant of the evanescent wave at prism-air interface is given by Kev= If a metal surface is now brought in contact of this decaying evanescent field in such a way that an air gap remains between the prism base and metal layer, then the evanescent field at prism-air interface can excite the surface plasmons at the air-metal interface. However, this configuration is difficult to realize practically as the metal has to be brought within around 200 nm of the prism surface. This approach has been found to be very useful in studying single-crystal metal surfaces and adsorption on them. Kretschmann configuration As a significant improvement to Otto configuration, Kretschmann and Reather realized that the metal layer could be used as the spacing layer, that is, evanescent wave generated at the prism-metal layer interface can excite surface plasmons at the metal-air interface so long as the metal layer thickness is not too large. They devised a new configuration. In this configuration as well, surface plasmons are excited by an evanescent wave from a high refractive index glass prism at ATR condition. However, unlike Otto configuration, the base of the glass prism is coated with a thin metal film (typically around 50 nm thick) and is kept in direct contact with the dielectric medium of lower refractive index (such as air or some other dielectric sample).

Hatchet Essay -- essays research papers

This book is written by Gary Paulsen. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness, where Brian Robeson’s, who is 13 yrs. Old, plane crashes. Brian shows a lot of determination and strength, to be able to survive in the wilderness, with no one else. The story starts out with Brian in the city, he lives with his mother, who is divorced. His mother gives him a gift before he leaves and it is a hatchet that fits on his belt so Brian puts it there. Brian meets the pilot and he is a nice man. Brian and the pilot get ready to leave and then Brian remembers that he saw a man kissing his mom but he does not let it bother him. Brian leaves and after an hour or so, the pilot was yelling and screaming that his chest hurts. He had a heart attack and died. Now Brian had to fly the plane on his own. Brian picked up the CB radio and called for help. He made contact with a man and Brian told him that the pilot had a heart attack and died and that he did not know how to fly a plane. Brian did not get an answer. Brian is flying to Alaska to visit his dad for the summer when suddenly the pilot has a heart attack and dies. He grabs onto the controls and tries to land the plane but there's no flat area so he decides to crash into a lake. He hustles out of the plane with his hatchet at his side and swims to the shore. He has to use the natural resources and his brain. Brian uses his hatchet to make a shelter and weapons. He chops down branches and sets them up for his shelter. "With the branch...

Contemporary Issues in Information Systems Management

Assignment 1 Due Date: 05 February 20141. Analyze the relationships among ethical, social, and political issues that are raised by information systems. [10] 2. (a) Identify the main moral dimensions of an information society and specific principles for conduct that can be used to guide ethical decisions. [10] (b) Evaluate the impact of contemporary information systems and the Internet on the protection of individual privacy and intellectual property. [15] 3. Present three major arguments of those who believe that IT will not result in massive unemployment.[15]Assignment 2 Due Date: 19 February 20141. Should producers of software-based services, such as ATMs, be held liable for economic injuries suffered when their systems fail? [10] 2. It is often said that business information systems play a vital part in the success or failure of a business enterprise. a) Explain why computer-based business information systems are so vital to the operation of an organization. [10] b) Computer-based information systems can be categorized into operational information systems and management information systems. Discuss these two categories giving business examples for each one. [15] 3. Organisations are not always able to perform their own business information systems functions and some businesses prefer not to do so for various reasons. The solution for some is outsourcing. Briefly explain the concept of information systems outsourcing. Is it a good option? [10]Assignment 3 Due Date: 5 March 20141. The Internet has had a significant impact on business processes and led some organizations to consider developing a business strategy more appropriate to an e-business environment. a) Explain what is meant by an e-business strategy. [5] b) Discuss the impact on the business information systems function if the organization decided to develop an e-business strategy. [20] 2. Discuss the impacts of IT and individuals at work. [10] 3. Identify some of the major societal impacts of the Web including the digital divide and computer crime. [15] 4. Outline the role and impact of virtual communities. [15]

How to Find Funeral Home Records

How to Find Funeral Home Records Funeral home records can be a valuable, but often underutilized, resource for family historians and other researchers trying to identify a date of death, or the names of relatives, for a particular individual. This is especially true in localities where funeral home records may pre-date state or local laws requiring the recording of deaths. While funeral homes are generally private businesses, their records can still often be accessed for family history research, if you know where to look and who to ask. What Can I Expect to Find in Funeral Home Records? Funeral home records vary greatly by location and time period, but typically contain basic information about where a person died, names of surviving relatives, the dates of birth and death, and the place of burial. More recent funeral home records may include more in-depth information, such as details on parentage, occupation, military service, organizational memberships, the clergymans name and church, and even the name of the deceaseds insurance company. How to Locate the Funeral Home To determine the undertaker or funeral home who handled the arrangements for your ancestor or other deceased individual, search out a copy of the death certificate, obituary notice or funeral card to see if the undertaker or funeral home is listed. The cemetery where your ancestor is buried may also have a record of the funeral home which handled the arrangements. City or business directories from the time period may be of assistance in learning which funeral homes were in business in the area. If that fails, the local library or genealogical society may be able to help you identify likely funeral homes. Once you locate a name and city, you can get the actual address of the funeral home through the American Blue Book of Funeral Directors, or through the phone book. How to Get Information from a Funeral Home Many funeral homes are small, family-owned businesses with few people on staff and little time to handle genealogy requests. They are also privately-owned businesses and are under no obligation to provide any information. The best way to approach a funeral home with a genealogy or other non-urgent request is to write a polite letter with as many details as you can provide and the specific information for which you are searching. Offer to pay for any time or copying expenses that are incurred, and enclose a SASE for their reply. This allows them to handle your request when they have the time, and increases the chances of receiving a response - even if the answer is no. What if the Funeral Home Is Out of Business? If the funeral home is no longer in business, dont despair. Most defunct funeral homes were actually taken over by other funeral homes who will often keep the older records. Funeral home records can also be found in library, historical society, or other archival collections and, increasingly, online (do a search for funeral home plus the [name of the locality] in which you are searching). Was a Funeral Home Even Used? Funeral records in the United States generally date back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The practice of embalming was not very prevalent prior to the Civil War and the death of President Abraham Lincoln.  Most funerals prior to that time (and even more recently in more rural areas) generally took place at the decedent’s home or a local church, with burial taking place within one to two days of death. The local undertaker was often a cabinet or furniture maker, with a side business making caskets. If no funeral home was operating in the locality at the time, it is still possible that business records of the local undertaker may be found preserved as a manuscript collection at a state library or local historical society. Some records of a funeral can also often be gleaned from probate records, which may include receipts for funeral expenses such as the casket and digging of the grave.

Small businesses Essay Example

Small businesses Essay Example Small businesses Essay Small businesses Essay Small businesses can be defined as those businesses which have a small number of employees. In the United States, the legal definition of small implies less than 100 employees. The SBA (US Small Business Administration), which is an independent agency of the US government that protects the legitimate interests of small businesses, specifies size standards for a small business that pertain to its affiliation, number of employees, revenue etc. and are used to determine whether a business is small or not. 1Common examples of small businesses are restaurants, solicitors, hairdressers, accountants, tradesmen, photographers, guest houses etc. There are various forms of businesses; sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations. Therefore it is important to know why a particular business is registered as a small business or otherwise, and what are the advantages, drawbacks, and legal implications of these decisions. Scott Holmes (2001) opines that the motivations for Small Business Owners are Economic factors as well as Social/Psychological factors. He goes onto argue that small firms can maximize relative returns by minimizing key costs, especially the cost of monitoring managers, who in traditional firms, are separated from the owners. It is obvious that in order to sustain this very advantage, small firms do not grow beyond a certain size.2There are various advantages of operating a small business. The most obvious advantage is that a small business can be initiated at a low cost, and it can be managed on a part-time basis as well. Compared to large businesses, small businesses take lesser time in reacting to customer complaints, and thus the small size enables them to give better customer service. This aspect is missing in large corporations, which, due to their elaborate chain of command, take a long time in reacting to customer complaints and objections. Karen, 2000, states that large firms often don’t seem to care whether the customer does business wit h them or not. On the other hand, the small businesses can win the day because they know the customer personally and value their relationship with the customer, and show them you care by offering sincere personal attention. In addition to that, decisions in small businesses are not subservient to a lengthy chain-of-command, therefore the decision making process is much faster in a small business, making them more flexible in managing new product decisions, inventory, billing policies etc.3 Operating a small business also has a distinct advantage in that it enables the owner to take more risks, and to more quickly to satisfy a newly emerging market niche. This makes a small business particularly well suited to internet marketing.However, the advantages not-withstanding, a small business owner also has to take care not to fall into several traps; the most important of which is undercapitalization. According to a rule of thumb, the owner must have available with him funds equal to the projected revenues of the first year of business plus the expenses for that period. Not meeting this requirement might result in the owner being liable for the business debts in case of bankruptcy. According to SBA, poor management is the major reason most small businesses fail, followed by ill-advised financing. The financing should be a balanced mix of equity and debt financing, based on the ratio of equity to debt for the firm.4Sole proprietorships are a form of business where the legal existence of the business is not separate from the owner himself. According to IRS, a sole proprietor is someone who owns an unincorporated business, including an LLC, by himself. 5 Thus, the rules of limited liability do not apply, and the owner himself is liable for the companys debts. Technically speaking, there can be only one owner of a sole proprietorship. This is the type of business entity to which the least amount of government regulations apply. Over 80 of the small businesses in the US operate as sole proprietorships.6 On the other side of the bargain, the owner faces a challenge in raising finances as a sole proprietorship cannot issue shares. And as the business grows, more and more owners look to convert their businesses into other types of business entities.To understand the taxation and legal consequences of sole proprietorships, it is important to note that all the profit made by the business entity is treated as the income of the owner. Thus the form 1040 of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is used to report the income and expenses of the business. The profit and loss information of the business is filled out in Schedule C, which is attached with form 1040. The sole proprietors are required to pay a Self-Employment tax on their profit if it exceeds $400. This tax is equivalent to 15.3% of the net profit made by the business. The form Schedule SE is required to be filed for this purpose. The Self -Employment tax is apart from the income tax which has to be paid separately on the combined income of the owner.7 Sole proprietors are required to pay quarterly tax liabilities to the state and federal government. Legitimate business expenses can be deducted from the income while calculating the taxes.8According to the definition of IRS, a Partnership is the relation between two or more persons who join to carry on a trade or a business. Although a written partnership agreement is not a legal obligation, but it is generally recommended to formalize the business relationship, specifying the profit sharing, business contribution of the partners etc. The liability issues in a partnership are similar to those of a sole proprietorship, but an added element here is that a partner is not only liable for the business debts and liabilities, but also for the business-related conduct of his other partners. Generally the profit sharing is based on the percentage of ownership of a particular partner.9The taxation issues in a partnership are also similar to that of a sole proprietorship. The income of a partner is not considered to be separate from his personal income. The income is taxable in the year its earned. The partnership is required to file annual information return to inform the IRS about its income, losses, etc. But the partnership does not pay income tax. Instead, the profits (or losses) are passed through to the partners and they include this amount on their respective tax returns. The partners submit Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) along with the Form 1065. The individual partners who are liable for income tax and self-employment tax may file Form 1040.10A Corporation is significantly different than the two types of business entities discussed earlier. It is created under state law, and is a complete business entity separate from its directors and shareholders. Thus, the corporation continues to exist even after the founders pass away, or the shareholders transfer their shares. The main benefit that the shareholders gain fro m corporations is Limited Liability, i.e. they are shielded from the business obligations to its creditors even if the business goes bankrupt. There are various types of Corporations. The type under discussion here is the C Corporation (S Corporations are discussed in the next section).11Corporations are treated as C Corporations unless they are approved as S Corporations. The C Corporation pays taxes under the Subsection C of the tax code. A C Corporation is under obligation to file an annual tax return. The taxable income consists of the Retained Earnings and the dividends paid to the shareholders. Corporations also involve more government regulations and red tape than the earlier discussed business entities. They are also required to pay franchise taxes (which S Corporations are exempted from). The bane of double taxation is also attached with corporations as Corporations pay income tax on their earnings, and furthermore the shareholders are required to pay income tax on the divi dends that they receive from the corporation.12An S Corporation is a corporation that makes a valid election to be taxed under Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of IRS (Internal Revenue Code). In other words, an S Corporation is a standard corporation that has a special tax status elected by the IRS.A short overview of how the taxing system in S Corporations works is as follows. The S Corporation doesn’t pay corporate taxes on its profits. Instead, the shareholders who hold distributive shares for the Corporation, pay the income taxes on their proportionate income. This payment must be done irrespective of whether the shareholders receive distributions from the S Corporation or not.In order to form an S Corporation, the following conditions must hold: the company must be an eligible entity (a domestic corporation, LLC or partnership), it should not have more than 75 shareholders, all the shareholders must be American citizens, it should have only one type of stock and the profits and losses to the shareholders should be proportionate to their share in the business.13If the business meets the above stated requirements, the shareholders of the business can file the form 2553 of the IRS: Election by a small Business Corporation, in order to be taxed under Subchapter S.14 This form must be signed by all the shareholders of the business. If a corporation that has been elected as an S Corporation ceases to fulfill one of the above stated conditions, i.e. its shareholders exceed 125, or it acquires a foreign shareholder, then its status as an S Corporation would be rescinded and would be treated as a regular C Corporation.Before moving on to discuss the taxation issues in detail, it would be appropriate to consider the pros and cons of having an S Corporation. The biggest and most obvious advantage of having an S Corporation is the tax advantage. The profits (and losses) of the S Corporation pass through to the owner, as is the case in sole proprietorships, partnershi ps and LLCs. Thus the S Corporation itself doesn’t pay any taxes. This means there is no double taxation. Also, when the business is sold, the taxable gain on the sale of business is less than what it would have been if the business was operating as a regular corporation. Another positive of S Corporations applies to a new business which has lots of expenses and losses. In a regular corporation, these losses get locked up within the corporation, but in an S Corporation, these losses are offset against the owners personal incomes, enabling them to write off start-up losses. Another benefit of operating an S-Corporation is that it offers limited liability protection. Although the liability protection is not as complete as that in a corporation, it is still better than that in sole proprietorships and partnerships. Other advantages include less frequent auditing for S Corporations, certain business expenses being tax-deductible, and customers perceiving an S Corporation as a mor e professional body than sole proprietorships and partnerships.But along with the above stated benefits, an S Corporation also has some drawbacks. The S Corporation is limited to issuing only one type of stock, i.e. distributive stock. Thus the business has less control over the company and the stock value is also limited.15In order to grow rapidly, a company needs to attract finances, and venture capitalists usually do not prefer to finance a company that has an unconventional tax setup, and has an upper limit of 75 on the shareholders. So if a business would need to attract venture capitalists, it would be better suited to a C Corporation. Secondly, although an S Corporation is exempted from paying corporate taxes, it still has to file annual tax returns. A liability in time also needs to be considered, as the S Corporation is still a corporation and has the requirement of conducting regular meetings and the maintenance of minutes of the meetings. An interesting downside to S Corp orations is with respect to the Tax Treatment of Benefits. If an employee is a shareholder as well, and the company provides health and accident insurance premiums, then the corporation deducts these items, but then these expenses are added to the gross income again.16As mentioned in the text earlier, S Corporations are generally exempted from paying corporate taxes, and for income tax purposes, the net earnings of the corporation are attributed to the individual shareholders, who pay the income tax in proportion to the share that they hold in the corporation. Thus when this income is distributed to the shareholders in the form of dividends, the shareholders are not required to pay income tax (the very concept of no double taxation). The interesting part here is that this arrangement gives the shareholders an incentive to enter into arrangements with the corporation to treat their incomes as dividends rather than treating them as compensation for services. This would result in the s hareholders paying lesser taxes.In this scenario, the position that the IRS holds is that if the corporation pays a shareholder in the form of dividends, for the services he performed for the corporation, these dividends would really be considered as wages paid to the employee, and not as dividends. Thus they would be taxable under FICA. This position of IRS holds weight as it has been upheld by the courts. E.g. in Joseph Radtke, S.C. v. United States, 1990, a lawyer was the only shareholder of an S Corporation, and was paid $18,225 as dividends in 1982, and no amount as wages for the services that he rendered for the organization during that period. The court ruled that the payment was in fact wages, and came under the tax bracket under FICA and FUTA.17Another case serves to highlight this issue, Spicer Accounting, Inc. v. United States. This case involves an accountant who was simultaneously the President, treasurer and Director of an S Corporation. There was no formal employment agreement between him and the corporation, and he offered his services to the organization free of cost, but at the same time, using his status as stockholder, withdrew dividends. The Court ruled in favor of IDS, and declared that the dividend earning was in fact remuneration for the services he performed for the S Corporation, and therefore subject to FICA taxes. 18There are several other such cases too, but the above two cases provide us enough proof that there exists a precedent for treating dividends paid to employees of an S Corporation in return for their services to the corporation, as wages (or compensation of services).19That brings us to the next logical question: What is the right amount of compensation for an S Corporation Employee? The US Tax Court opinion of 2001 does provide an insight into this very question, but it is not a binding precedent as it was unpublished, but tax advisors agree that it can be used as reliable guidance.20The court cites one case in particula r. The case deals with a CPA, Wiley Barron, who created an S Corporation to practice public Accounting in Arkansas. He was paid a large chunk of the profits by the firm, but only $2,000 of the amount, paid during one quarter, was treated as taxable compensation. IRS intervened, citing Internal Revenue Code Section 3121(d), which states that a corporate officer is an employee21. Thus, it came out that Mr. Barron was the only CPA at the company and was providing full-time service to the company. Compared to that, the amount of compensation that he was being paid was not appropriate. The court thus ruled in favor of IRS, declaring that Mr. Barron was using the S Corporation to avoid paying employment tax. Based on several variables, the Court decided that reasonable compensation for a CPA in Arkansas for the relevant years was in the range of $45,000 $49,000.The case of Tribune Company is also illustrative of this phenomenon. Sam Zell took advantage of a loophole in a minimum wage bil l, and thus ended up paying zero income tax, post-buyout, on Tribune. He combined the S Corporation and the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and thus turning Tribune into an S Corporation completely owned by this ESOP and paying no taxes. The rule that Zell took advantage of here, is that like pension funds, an ESOP pays no taxes on its income. This provision was part of a minimum wage increase bill that was passed by the Congress 11 years ago.22To avoid complications and to stay within the legal limits prescribed by the government and the IRS, Milani and Wittenbach, 2005, have the following suggestions to minimize the probability of an IRS objection: Develop a comprehensive wage policy and compensate all employees with respect to that policy; while setting a compensation level, consider the following factors: qualification of employee, scope and extent of work, nature of business, financial implications of the business, market rates. By documenting these wages, the company woul d have a strong defense that the payments paid to shareholders are not wages, but dividends.23In conclusion, it can be said that every business professional should make the important choice of the business format after carefully discussing the pros and cons with their lawyers and tax professionals.