PG Promotions Strategy Analysis

PG Promotions Strategy Analysis PG has changed its promotions strategy for Tide Introduction Procter and Gambles Tide is the most well-liked and popular detergents across the world. This product serves as a pride for PG in announcing it as a flagship brand. Company undertakes promotional strategy basically to boost the sales of the products and stimulating customers to buy the products. Tide uses different strategies in promotion which Includes online marketing, magazines and television. Reasons for the shift in promotion strategy of tide In todays changing business world, the consumers have become more dynamic and varied in their preferences as well as they are getting more knowledgeable and demanding. Therefore, the company is focusing on its customers and client in order to get huge success. These transitions have forced the PG to make the changes in the promotional strategy in order to become more customers centric (Kotler, 2002). Secondly, PG observes that in order to maintain leading position in the field of laundry it has to make a shift in the promotional strategy by employing new techniques of promotion. Findings have exposed only 8% shopping is carried out by men where as female account for 56%. The adoption of changed promotional strategy by PG has proved to be beneficial in attracting the consumers and making them loyal for the brand. Apart from this, it has helped the company in gaining competitive advantage (Penner, 2006). Changes adopted by PG in promotional strategy for tide PG underwent series of changes in promotional strategy for Tide. The promotional strategy comprises host of the activities such as advertising campaign, running public relation activities, offering of free gifts, distribution of free sample, offering temporary discounts. Earlier $5.5 billion was spent by Procter and Gamble in the year 1999 for advertising globally. Thus, making it worlds major advertisers. Procter and Gamble reaps the benefits from electronic and print media internationally. PG new promotional strategy focused on the creating an emotional appeal rather than just marketing a product. It linked the product best with the emotions of the people. As a result it changed its tag line for Tide as Tide knows fabric best. The company believed in promoting the product in such a manner that it makes an impact in the minds of customer and speaks to them in an effective manner. Therefore, the PG is putting all its efforts towards increasing the consumer feel- good for its products (Berner, 2006, May 01). As a recent change, the company is using latest technique of Information Technology as a promotion strategy for Tide. The use of these technology helps to explore the new opportunities. For Tide PG is using online marketing systems, magazines and television. For promoting the sales, PG is using the Q Interactive, which is an online marketing service. Through this technique, it interacts with the target market. The Q network promotes the clients to obtain free Tide products signing up to a Tide ad. Simultaneously they can have an access over Tides e-mail newsletter. Once the newsletter is sign up by customers, the customers gets the updates of the latest promotions or products. This technique is successful for the company as it fulfills the various goals of promotion (Promotional strategy, 2003). Apart from this, PG strategy focuses in searching women having huge social networks i.e. the women ranging from the age group of 28 to 45, who further chats with about 25 to 30 other women. On the other hand a normal mom chats to approx five. Several such connectors are present on the internet along with the banner like iVilllage.com. Vocal point moms serves as a recent new strategy adopted by the company, these are the mailed packets depicting the detergent and a cheery girl (Berner, 2006, May 29). Apart from this, to advertise Tide in TV and radio PG promotional strategy is focusing on the effective opening punch line, on the products of competitors, authentication by experts or well-known authorities and finding the weak point of competitor. In order to promote the Tide on site, the promotion strategy focuses on the content of site i.e. depth, breadth, way of presentation and time duration. Apart from this, emphasis is given on the updating the site and space for comments, suggestion and feedback. Competitive advantage Promotional strategy plays a vital role in gaining competitive advantage or edge over the competitors. The new promotional strategy adopted by the PG like online marketing and Vocal point moms will help the company in gaining the market share and getting wider access to the customer. The company will gain the competitive advantage as these strategies will help in retaining the loyal customer and getting the new ones. As a result, this will pose a threat to the competitors and make the Tide more acceptable among the customers (Ramaswamy, Namakumari, 2007). This strategy will help the company in maintaining its position as leader in the market. Through the online advertising it has personalized its services by providing the latest updates of the products and easy accessibility for the products ultimately it will help in building brand image and creating value to the customers. Thus, it will gain competitive advantage by implementing effective promotional strategies. References Berner, R. (2006, May 29) I Sold It through the Grapevine. Business Week. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Berner, R. (2006, May 1). Detergent Can Be So Much More: PGs. Business Week. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. Kotler, P. (2002). Marketing Management (11th Edition). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd. Penner, T. (2006). PG turns the tide. Brunico Communications Inc. 6 (30). Promotional strategy (2003). Procter Gamble: Annual Report. Retrieved May 19, 2008 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/281854/Procter-Gamble-2003-Annual-Report Ramaswamy, V.S. Namakumari, S. (2007). Marketing Management (3rd Revised Edition). New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd.

Development of Business Strategies Essay -- Business Development Strat

The paper below responds to the following three prompts: 1. â€Å"The six forces model of strategy helps firms develop externally coherent business strategies†. Discuss applying the model to real cases. 2. Explain strategic posture and how it helps firms make strategy in uncertain business environments. 3. Evaluate the role of mergers and acquisitions in corporate strategy. 1. â€Å"The six forces model of strategy helps firms develop externally coherent business strategies†. Discuss applying the model to real cases. The six forces model is an extension to Michael Porter's Five Forces Model. The six forces analyze different areas in an industry. The forces in this model are: a. Competition- Analysis that if there are a lot of competitors. If so, are there any dominant players in the market. b. New entrants- To analyze if it is easy for new entrants to enter the market and compete? c. End users/buyers- Is the price easily affected by the buyers? Can the company work with a specific potential buyer? or to analyze their strength of their position in their relationship with the buyers d. Suppliers- Study the number of suppliers if it is a monopoly and if not, how many suppliers are there in the market. e. Substitutes- To study how easily a product can be substituted and how easily these substitutes are available f. Complementary products- Effect of complementary products and services on the market. The six forces model is used to study the strategic position of a company in a concerned industry and in a given market place. It is also applied to calculate the market effectiveness of a company with regard to competition and profitability. Let us take FedEx as an example. FedEx is one of the largest global courier... ...gy. †¢ Adam Hartung(2014), Three Smart Lessons From Facebook's Purchase Of WhatsApp http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2014/02/24/zuckerbergs-3-smart-leadership-lessons-from-facebook-buying-whatsapp/ †¢ Ibrahim AKGÃâ€"BEK, Mergers and Acquisitions as a Growth Strategy http://psrcentre.org/images/extraimages/412031.pdf †¢ PALO ALTO, CA and HOUSTON, TX (2001), Hewlett-Packard and Compaq agree to merge, creating $87 billion global technology leader http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=230610#.U00iUvmSy50 †¢ Wikipedia, Tata Group http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Group †¢ Sebastian Spaeth, Nina Geilinger, Corporate Strategy Mergers & Acquisitions http://www.smi.ethz.ch/education/courses/corporatestrategy/Slides_2012/CS_06_MA.pdf †¢ KENT RHODES, Merger and Acquisition Strategies http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/merger-and-acquisition-strategies/

The Parallel Plot Lines in Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

The Parallel Plot Lines in Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut is and will always in my eyes and in the eyes of many others the writer who made the science-fiction genre safe for not only mainstream appeal, but also critical acclaim and intellectual contemplation. Even though Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series were released in roughly the same timeframe as Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, none has held the same aura of respect and significance to the literary zeitgeist as Vonnegut's monumental masterpiece. The respect Slaughterhouse-Five garnishes among bookworms and the intellectual elite alike is no accident. Kurt Vonnegut's universal acclaim and appeal surely comes in no small part from his gift for connecting, almost unnoticiably, seemingly unrelated objects and events to give them deeper meaning, creating a phenomenon known within Jungian circles as synchronicity. By making his novel so multi-layered by drawing these comparisons, such as in being transported from a train car into a POW camp to an extraterrestrial spaceship that hums like a melodious owl, human beings being trapped within each moment in time like an insect in amber, and the writer's own repetition of his current project to a jokey old song, the writer gives us a deeper insight into the real multi-layeredness of space and time. When Billy Pilgrim and his fellow POWs are transported out of their train car and toward the POW camp, Vonnegut compares the calm peeking-in and speech of the Axis power guards to the behavior of an owl. The owl had been mentioned earlier in the novel, more specifically in the persona of a clock hanging in Billy's office, and is brought up again here to describe Billy's antagonists: "The guards peeked in Billy's car owlishly, cooed calmingly." By using the owl already mentioned in the novel as a metaphor, Vonnegut makes an otherwise uncomfortable and tense situation more familiar. The writer uses this metaphor again while telling of the movement of the POWs out of the train car

The Assylum Seeker

My name is Ali and I come from Libya . After a week of roughing it on a empty carriage of a cargo train and then hiding on the deck of a fishing trawler I had arrived in England. Cold, frightened and hungry though I was, I had still made it! For the first time in many years a smile revisited my face. As a man and woman accompanied by two children, strolled past, that moment of triumph quickly passed and soon was replaced with a great sadness for the family that I had left back in Libya. My wife and my two children, how were they coping? hat were they doing at this moment? A yawning pit of dread opened inside me as I walked down the ramps and through the docks. I was climbing the ladder of uncertainty. Countless questions swirled in my mind none of which I had the answer to. Were the people here friendly? Were they going to accept me, but most importantly would all my efforts bear fruit? Pushing these thoughts from my mind I nurtured the determination within me, letting it flare brightly. I was going to get in, my familly was counting on me. I would not let them throw me out without a fight. As I wandered through the streets people cast ugly glances at me and muttered in hushed tones. Blanking them, I carried on. A tall man dressed in black and wearing a funny looking black domed hat approached me. Trying to avoid a confrontation I walked quickly in the other direction. Glancing back I saw that the man was talking rapidly into a device in his hand and had started chasing after me. Not knowing what else to do, I stopped and put my hands in front of me disarmingly. Walking briskly up to me, he searched me, not finding anything he then promptly shoved me against the nearest wall and handcuffed me. Feeling confused and helpless I shouted and struggled, no one moved to help. How could they let this happen? Where was the local law enforcement? This was a regular occurance in Libya, but here as well? Only later that night in a county jail cell, (a jail cell which was warm and dry! ) was it made clear to me that the man who had handcuffed me was a police officer. That night I was given food and water and there was actually meat! Along with filling bread which smelled so delicious, Mmmmmm. I had never been so grateful in my life for this and ate with great care. The next day I was interrogated agonisingly. ‘Me seek a-ssylum. ‘ I said quickly. ‘Ok, ok. ‘ said the officer reassuringly. ‘What is your name? ‘ ‘Me Ali. ‘ I managed to stutter in broken English. ‘Where do you come from? ‘ asked the officer slowly. Repeating the question again, ‘W-h-e-r-e-d-o-y-o-u-c-o-m-e-f-r-o–m-? After a long pause, ‘I—- I–I, I c-ccome from Li-b-y-a. ‘ I said struggling. ‘Do you have any identification? ‘ asked the officer patiently. I shrugged helplessly, ‘Me see-eek ass-y–lum. ‘ I said again. At that moment the officer motioned to someone behind the door. A tall man with a hard set face entered the room. ‘This man is from the Home Office. ‘ said the officer. ‘He will evaluate your claim for assylum. ‘ ‘Come with me. ‘ said the man icily. I took a grateful breath of much needed fresh air as we stepped into the cold wet morning. Wasting no time we got into a black van and then drove for over an hour. Finally we reached our destination, a looming office building which rose over 30 metres in the air. My heart started beating faster as I got out of the van. Offering no reasurance and seemingly blind to my situation the man started for the building. Now heart in my throat, I quickly followed on legs that were about to collapse. All my previous resolve had dissapated and no matter how hard I tried I could not summon any back. An hour into the interview, I was sweating profoundly through every pore, by now my throat was parched and there was a vast wet patch on my backside and all along my back. The air itself seemed to be wrapping itself more and more tightly around me, suffocating me. Speaking in Arabic to the translator I made one last desperate speech. ‘Please, there is no element of freedom in our lives, my family works for a 14 hour day and still find it hard to buy the basic necessary essentials. Most importantly we see no future for our children, they need to focus on their education but they can't, seeing as they have to work aswell as study in order for us to have enough money to live on. Rita who is ten years old wears the clothes that her sister has grown out of since we cannot afford new clothes. Neither I nor my wife want this life for our children. ‘ Slumping into my chair drained, I waited for the translator to translate what I had just said. The home office official stood up to make his decision, I tensed†¦.. As I stepped back into the fresh air I breathed out deeply. Being preoccupied with worry and anticipation, I became aware of the surroundings which I didn't notice before, the flowers, the line of trees and towering buildings in the distance. This was a world apart from where I had grown up. I would lay down a new life here. Now to get my family through.

Hobbes` Rwandan Leviathan Essay

In 1994 the world publicity was shaken by the events in Rwanda, which later were written down in the history books as ‘Rwanda crisis’. According to the local sources, however, this tragedy had been rooted long before the indicated year, particularly it is reported to start in 1990. 1990 is marked by Uganda forces having invaded Rwanda. In addition, this was aggravated by the fact that two presidents of Burundi were assassinated. In order to get the more complete outlook on the situation before the crisis one should be aware that in 1994 (before the black day of the President of Rwanda, Habyarimana, killing) there were one million of displaced people in Rwanda constantly fleeing from the north of the country to the capital Kigali (1, 2006). Hence, to accommodate for all this vast mass a very huge refugee camp had been organized. After their President was killed these people rushed to the city to grab everything they could. As a result there were more than 300 000 deaths between 1990 and 1994, which prevents us from limiting the crisis to the year of 1994 only (1, 2006). But this was only a preface. In brief, the Rwanda crisis can be described as follows: â€Å"The lives of nearly a million people had been taken within 100 days in 1994, as extremist members of the Hutu majority turned on the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus, vowing to exterminate the Tutsi and their influence on Rwandan society† (2, 1994:4). This massacre was stopped only when the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) threw down the acting genocidal government. Yet, that developed into another blood bath with over two million of Hutu refugees heading for Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire (current the Democratic Republic of Congo), etc. Just five days from July 14 to 18, 1994 about 850,000 people crossed the border to Goma in eastern Zaire (2, 1994:5). Even today these to the great extent, innocent Hutus are deprived of basic human rights and numerous cases are known when their human rights have been abused by the RPF (that is now at the helm) and they were returned by force to their Motherland where they do not have any rights at all. The major part of the refugees fled out because of fear convinced (owning to Hutu Power propaganda) that the Tutsi were a â€Å"subhuman† race willing to enslave and extirpate the Hutu people. However, their genocidaires quickly took over the refugee camps. Instead of safety refugees found intimidation, starvation, tortures and death. International humanitarian organizations were powerless and forced to provide aid through the genocidaires or just leave hundreds of thousands of refugees in trouble and distress. The Rwanda crisis proved how unprepared was the international community to dealing with refugee crises that involved threats to peace and security in the world. What is more, the novel Rwandan government together with their allies from Zaire attacked and wiped the refugee camps off the face of the earth claiming that ‘the camps posed incredible and intolerable threat to Rwandan security’ (3, 2006). Thousands and thousands of refugees were killed. Thousands more fell victims to cholera that set in along with other contagious diseases (such as dysentery, malaria, etc. ) as a consequence of people’s exhaustion, lack of food and drinking water. One may suppose that the described above conflict and crises that follows may definitely be a vivid example of Hobbes’ ‘rational’ theory according to which every man lives in fear, as well as the father of rational philosophy did himself. Hobbes once mentioned: â€Å"Fear and I were born twins together† (4, 1996; I: 11). In his main theoretical work and his masterpiece, the Leviathan, Hobbes suggested that there are two methods of state formation: commonwealth by institution commonwealth by acquisition (4, 1996; XIX: 147). With regard to the former, Hobbes supposed that at the uprise of civilization, individuals existed in such state of nature, when life was a perpetual conflict in which men were one another’s enemies. Furthermore, different individuals had relatively equal power, thus being unable to guarantee actual personal security for themselves. As a result, due to such hostile environment, the individual, suffers â€Å"continued fear, and the danger of violent death † and a way of life that is â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short† (4, 1996, I: 12). Even more, â€Å"nature hath made men so equal in faculties of body and mind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  that no â€Å"man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit to which another may not pretend as well as he† (4, 1996, XVII: 118). In general, this may be regarded as a society without acting laws and authorities with â€Å"all man have a right to everything†, and situation when â€Å"no action can be unjust† (4, 1996, XVII: 118). Moreover, the described state of nature leads, according to Hobbes, to the condition of war – â€Å"war of all against all,† in which human constantly seeks to destroy each other in an incessant pursuit for power (4, 1996, XVII: 118). However, this is not the war we are used to denote with this word. It is rather a condition of awareness about enemies than the act of violence itself. Instead of promoting war, Hobbes emphasizes that war cannot bring any benefits or provide any additional security. His purpose is to convince the readers that ruling power would save people from those unnecessary perils caused by the state of nature. Hence, such unfavorable state of nature, as Hobbes puts it, should and will prompt individuals to organize a ‘civil state’ with a monopolistic sovereign on the head by means of force and coercion. Such monopoly with absolute power will be able to ensure to the individuals safety from other members of their society, as well as protect from external intrusion. Therefore, from the recognition of the necessity for social order and peace people consent to obey to the sovereign. (4, 1996; XVIII: 127). Therefore, it would be more accurate to consider Hobbes’s ‘war’ to be a kind of competition or contest not the real military operations involving victims and bloodshed. It can be compared even to the emulation between two men who want to attract some woman they both like. Moreover, the author of Leviathan himself drives us to this conclusion by the following words: â€Å"So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory† (4, 1996; XVII: 119). He explains this again by the human nature, namely its faults: â€Å"†¦ all men are by nature provided of notable magnifying glasses (that is their Passions and Self-love,) through which, every little payment appeareth a great grievance; but are destitute of those perspective glasses, (namely Moral and Civil Science,) to see a farre off the miseries that hang over them, and cannot without such payments be avoided. † From this point of view, it seems, to my mind, obvious, that Rwanda civil war is not the case of Hobbes’ ‘state of war’. For Hobbes seizure of power meant improvement of the living conditions of people, even more it was the only way of providing them. The best society organization, from his standpoint, was the commonwealth in the meaning â€Å"a multitude of people who together consent to a sovereign authority, established by contract to have absolute power over them all, for the purpose of providing peace and common defense† (4, 1996; XVII:124). As it has been mentioned, â€Å"the purpose of establishing a commonwealth is to escape the state of nature and to provide peace and the common defense of the people; the sovereign is responsible for ensuring this defense† (4, 1996; XVII: 124). Remarkably, that the so-called ‘sovereign’ should not necessarily be a single person – it (or ‘he’ as Hobbes uses denotes it) may be comprised of a group of people who purpose at a common aim. Moreover, the sovereign’s task is not limited to promoting safety of the people but according to Hobbes, it covers also promotion of economic well-being of the community, sufficient nutrition, etc. By the latter Hobbes implies â€Å"distribution of materials conducing to life : in concoction, or preparation, and (when concocted) in the conveyance of it, by convenient conduits, to the public use. † (4, 1996; XVII: 126). Furthermore, ruling from the fact that there is no such state that can fully supply itself with all necessary resources, as â€Å"there is no territory under the dominion of one commonwealth, (except it be of very vast extent,) produceth all the things needful for the maintenance of the whole body,† Hobbes supposes that the state will import goods or resources from other states through normal trade (4, 1996; XVIII: 137). Hence, as we can see the situation with Rwanda coup d’etat and Hobbes’ process ad goal of taking power are worlds apart. The same refers to the consequences. Whereas the latter should theoretically results in prosperity of the citizens, the former lead, in fact, to the numerous casualties, famine, etc. Furthermore, in Rwanda there was no realization of ‘rational choices’, rather it was the outburst of ethnic hostility than an effort to capture power in order to improve the welfare of the people. In addition, though Hobbes’ tenet primarily touches upon sovereignty established on the basis of agreement, the scientist maintains that sovereignty reached through acquisition i. e. force entails the same rights and obligations covered by the contract (also called ‘covenant’ or ‘social contract’, which is â€Å"the act of giving up certain natural rights and transferring them to someone else, on the condition that everyone else involved in making the contract also simultaneously gives up their rights. People agreeing to the contract retain only those rights over others that they are content for everyone else to retain over them†) (4, 1996; XVIII: 139). The only difference is the way in which the sovereign comes to power. If a sovereign comes to rule by institution he is supported because people fear each other. And, in contrast, if he comes to rule by acquisition he is supported because people are afraid of him himself, which does not goes apart with the theory of state of nature. Hence, in both cases, the people literally enjoy the same rights, whereas in Rwanda they were completely deprived of any rights. Nevertheless, for Hobbes the second method can be compared with slave-master relationships (without a slave having right to rebel), in Hobbes’s own words: â€Å"The master of the servant, is master also of all he hath; and may exact the use thereof; that is to say, of his goods, of his labour, of his servant, and of his children, as often as he shall think fit. For he holdeth his life of his master, by the covenant of obedience; that is, of owning, and authorizing whatsoever the master shall do. And in case the master, if he refuse, kill him, or cast him into bonds, or otherwise punish him for his disobedience, he is himself the author of the same, and cannot accuse him of injury† (4, 1996; XVIII: 141). David Gauthier also argues that â€Å"a servant is hardly involved in the decision making calculus of the master; instead the servant exists to carry out the former’s dictates† (5, 2000:114). Yet, on the Rwanda’s example, the people defended and rebelled against their genocidaires, thus, they refused to perform the role of servants presupposed by Hobbes. To sum up, the Rwanda crisis has nothing in common with possible transfer to Hobbes’ model of state organization. It was founded on the ethnic hostilities that caused in the long run change of ruling power. Moreover, the purpose of the new government, in my opinion, was not the welfare of the people and the country but mere revenge for years of oppression. What is more, the people, though proving to some extent their natural (in accordance with Hobbes) inclination to being enemies to each other, did not resign themselves to the fact that they should be obedient and humble servants but rebelled instead and fought until the last breath. Nevertheless, even if the conflict is motivated by not the ethnic animosity but the rational choice, I will not recommend Hobbes’ reform of the society organization. At first glance, the objective and functions of his Commonwealth seem to be very promising, for example, preserving the society, establishing an internal order or peace, defending that peace against external violence, etc so that after all individuals can live peaceably (4, 1996; XVIII:145). However, I do not believe in such Utopia as for me it is evident that Hobbes’ state has all features of what is considered or ca turn in future into the totalitarian state (recall those master-slave relationships, overall power of the sovereign, etc. ). Our history has already proven that this form of governing is not applicable and is out-of-date with regard to our world and our life. Whatever the conflicts are, and no matter what leaders come to the rule they should bear in mind that our future is democratic one and there is no place on the earth to dictators and totalitarianism. Bibliography 1. Rwanda the Great Genocide Debate. Retrieved from University of Dayton Library on February 14, 2006: http://www. udayton. edu/~rwanda/articles/genocide/noendinsight.html 2. Rwandan apocalypse by Chris McGreal in Goma, Ian Katz from Guardian, Saturday July 23, 1994, p. 4-6. 3. The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide 1959-1994, published by Hurst and Company Ltd, 1995. Retrieved on February 14, 2006 from: http://www. humanrightsfirst. org 4. Hobbes, Thomas (ed. ) Tuck, Richard â€Å"Leviathan†. Cambridge University Press, 1996 5. Gauthier, D. P. (2000). The Logic of the Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 114-116.

Individual Interview Reflections: The Role of a Teacher in Literacy Learning Essay

Literacy learning is a complex endeavor; it is faced by numerous challenges that range from the materials used to methods of teaching/learning applied to teachers’ personalities to peer influence among the students and the deluge in technological stimulus among other factors. My interview with Edith A. Diaz, PHD, CSC, and teacher ‘B’, both language art teachers and plying their trade at Tom Browne Middle School revolved around four core areas of their work as literacy instructors. The interview required the teachers describe their roles as literacy instructors, more specifically citing things such as the percentages of total time devoted to educational tasks e. g. paper work, attending and conducting workshops, discussions with other school personnel, and parents meetings, etc. ; describing materials and methods that have been recommended by school or the school district as the most appropriate in literacy learning; to quote materials and teaching/learning methods that they as teachers have found to be un-useful or ineffective in literacy learning, and to describe materials and methods that they find most appealing relative to the philosophical and theoretical schools of thought they belong as experienced teachers; to describe their greatest concerns insofar as literacy learning is concerned especially at the wake of the deluge of technological stimulus, and; to describe what they are doing to combat any negatively impacting stimulus on students literacy learning. The teachers were also required to add other comments, concerns, and personal stances relating to their roles as language art teachers. Edith’s Reflections Edith bases her convictions on the role of a teacher/educator on various philosophical and theoretical arguments as put forth by great thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, Einstein, Erickson, Steinbeck, and Roger. Her perception of the role of an educator/teacher is that of an all-round professional whose duties are many and not practically definable. She portrays this through a balanced conclusion of the role of a teacher, a conclusion that comprises of both philosophical and theoretical perspectives. For instance, from a philosophical perspective a teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops, while from a theoretical perspective, a teacher’s influence is timeless, and it assumes both negative and positive influences. However, she clarifies that her core role as a grade seven language arts teacher is to teach the standards as set forth by the state of Texas (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills – TEKS). In one sentence her role revolves around imparting the appropriate knowledge and skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, and presenting) that will enable the students to become competitive members of the global society. In order to achieve this seemingly tall order-task, Edith apportions her time professionally depending on the level of workload of the various sub-tasks that forms her role in a seven day-week. For instance, she dedicates 45% of her time in drawing lesson plans for the whole week, 15% on paper work (record keeping, grading and register, etc), 15% conducting research i. e. teaching strategies, pedagogy, etc. 15% on discussion with fellow teachers and other school personnel, 5% attending or conducting workshops (reviewing current research articles in preparation to conducting educational workshops), and another 5% on parent meetings. Edith seems to belong to a unique breed of teaching professionals in terms of her convictions on the choice of the best materials and methods that should be applied in classrooms situations. She prefers infusing the Socratic Method and Rogerian student-centered approach in her daily class activities. This enables her to utilize the best aspects of both pedagogical approaches, for instance, the Socratic Method tends to intimidate students but when it is infused with the Rogerian student-centered method it goes down well in empowering the students. Her advices are that, a teacher’s role should not be authoritative; rather it should be an egalitarian role that assumes the Roger’s (1957) core conditions of unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence. She anchors her arguments on the eight developmental stages as put forth by Eric Eriksson’s, specifically on stage five that covers â€Å"Ego Identity vs. Role Confusion†, which holds that adolescents tends to seek relativity within a global context. She therefore asserts that the establishment of an appreciation of holistic child is core to the educational process. Edith warns that some pedagogical methods such as teacher directed instruction are rewarding but their excessive use may impede or even stifle the natural creative learning process in students. To support her convictions she invokes Plato’s reasoning that sought to discourage the habit of teaching students by force and harshness, but rather directing them to learning through what amuses their minds. Again, she advocate for the Paideia model of instruction giving that seeks to balance teacher directed method by inducing Socratic method and intellectual coaching to make it more student involving. She perceives the deluge of stimulus, especially technological stimulus as a threat to literacy instruction. According to her, technology is a worthwhile tool in literacy instruction; however, too much of it may kill natural creativity. For instance, students find it hard to imagine a scene from a variety of written text, which makes the skill of inferring a challenging task. She warns that too much of reliance on technological devices may stifle and/or nullify a students creativity and imagination. To her, imagination and creativity are the key pillars to literacy instruction, just as Albert Einstein cleverly asserted, that imagination is more important than knowledge. In a her parting shot, she equates a teacher/educator’s role with that of a great artist, and refers the teaching process to as a great form of art that uses human mind and spirit as its medium. Teacher B’s, Reflections I also interviewed another language arts teacher from Tom Browne Middle School who teaches eighth graders mostly, he preferred to call himself a classroom teacher. Unlike my first interviewee (Edith), Teacher B did not use big and fancy words to describe his role or what is expected of a teacher/educator. He plainly indicated that he spends between 8 and 10 hours at school in any given school day, he spends the greatest part of this time instructing students in classroom, he spends a bit of this time grading papers, running copies, and recording scores. He also spends an hour a week writing down lesson plans for the week. However, being the chairman of the language arts department, teacher B is in charge of making the department as vibrant as it is practically possible. He contends that the choice and implementation of pedagogical approach to adopt in the school is part of his core duties together with other teachers in the department. For instance, despite the school district purporting that (Texas Assessment Knowledge and Skills – TAKS) is the best measure for learning he contends that this is not the best method. He points out that the best thing is for a school to invest in numerous programs that will benefit the students, the Kamico and Gourmet are examples of such programs that they are currently using in the school. Nevertheless, his advices are that, the most effective methods and materials for learning are the reading of texts (novels, picture books, magazines, and newspapers) as it will enable the students to become good readers. Further, according to him the use of literacy circles among other methods plays a core role in enhancing comprehension of the materials read. Though he was too brief in giving out some methods and materials that to him are less effective in learning, he clearly indicated that as a departmental head he involves other members of the department in reviewing methods and materials in order to improve them and make them more custom fit to the students. However, there are some materials and methods that cannot be improved and therefore are done away with (placed on the back burner). Teacher B contended that the impact of the teacher in literacy instruction is compromised by a number of factors. For instance, he pointed out time as the greatest of all the factors; there is no enough time for students to read on their own, and teachers usually assume they are doing so at their free time but mostly it is not that way. This in turn affects their reading prowess. Again, he quoted the lack of sufficient funds to procure quality literature materials for the students as another stumbling block to literacy learning. Students are also known for vandalizing some of the reading materials they are given. Further, he contended that there is a chronic shortage of role models to emulate in the implementation of the teaching methods, for example, he indicated that he had heard about literature circles for along time but never tried to apply them in a class situation, he only came to understand and conceptualize them when he went to college. Just like Edith indicated, teacher B contended that the deluge of computer literacy has greatly affected the interests of students to read books. He tries to compare the traditional sense of reading books and working on projects that deal with novel units with how students are currently doing with themselves in the wake of computer literacy. Though the students are now more skilled in verbally deciphering information from the short internet sources, they are faced with great difficulty when it comes to putting down in written format what hey have learned and the conclusion that their prowess in literacy has virtually declined. Again, he associates the tendency of students to read graphic novels and shorter books as a factor to their declining literacy levels. He regrettably asserted that the role of the teacher in literacy learning is affected greatly by peer influence among the students; much as they would try to be different from others, students tend to think collectively as a group, this hugely affects their reading prowess as they are more concerned about how their friends perceive them and therefore fail to stand up for their beliefs if they think they are different from their friends. The role of the teacher therefore at such situations should be to facilitate intervention practices that will enable the students to reverse to the traditional methods of reading. For instance, he believes and tries to be a good role model, he always tell his students the amount of reading he gets done through out the school year. He spends a lot of his time in a week reading novels rather than watching television. Just like Edith asserted, he always emphasizes on building self-imagination rather than having other people thinking for him. To compensate for the fact that students do not read own their own he tries to give his students a steady stream of novel reading in class, he reads picture books, poems, short book chapters to his students for enjoyment and thought provoking. In his parting shot he contended that teachers should give their students enough space to choose what they want to read as a way of creating avenues to escape from the realities that they face in their daily school and home life. References: †¢ Edith A. Diaz, PHD, CSC, (Grade Seven Teacher): Tom Browne Middle School (interview), conducted on February 11, 2009 †¢ Teacher B, (Grade Eight Teacher): Tom Browne Middle School (interview), conducted on January 20, 2009

Gender Sensitivity Essay

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is direct investment into production or business in a country by a company in another country, either by buying a company in the target country or by expanding operations of an existing business in that country. Foreign direct investment is in contrast to portfolio investment which is a passive investment in the securities of another country such as stocks and bonds. Contents [hide] * 1 Definitions * 2 Types * 3 Methods * 4 Importance and barriers to FDI * 4.1 Foreign direct investment and the developing world * 4.2 Difficulties limiting FDI * 5 Foreign direct investment by country * 5.1 Foreign direct investment in the United States * 5.2 Foreign direct investment in China * 5.3 Foreign direct investment in India * 5.3.1 2012 FDI reforms * 6 See also * 7 References * 8 External links Definitions Foreign direct investment can take on many forms and so sometimes the term is used to refer to different kinds of investment activity. Commonly foreign direct investment includes â€Å"mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations and intracompany loans.†[1] However, foreign direct investment is often used to refer to just building new facilities or greenfield investment, creating figures that although both labeled FDI, can’t be side by side compared. As a part of the national accounts of a country, and in regard to the national income equation Y=C+I+G+(X-M), I is investment plus foreign investment, FDI refers to the net inflows of investment(inflow minus outflow) to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. [2] It is the sum of equity capital, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown the balance of payments. It usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology and expertise. There are two types of FDI: inward and outward, resulting in a net FDI inflow (positive or negative) and â€Å"stock of foreign direct investment†, which is the cumulative number for a given period. Direct investment excludesinvestment through purchase of shares.[3] FDI is one example of international factor movements. foriegn direct investment is nothing but inrease the country’s economy . Types 1. Horizon FDI arises when a firm duplicates its home country-based activities at the same value chain stage in a host country through FDI.[4] 2. Platform FDI 3. Vertical FDI takes place when a firm through FDI moves upstream or downstream in different value chains i.e., when firms perform value-adding activities stage by stage in a vertical fashion in a host country.[4] Horizontal FDI decreases international trade as the product of them is usually aimed at host country; the two other types generally act as a stimulus for it. Methods The foreign direct investor may acquire voting power of an enterprise in an economy through any of the following methods: * by incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary or company anywhere * by acquiring shares in an associated enterprise * through a merger or an acquisition of an unrelated enterprise * participating in an equity joint venture with another investor or enterprise Foreign direct investment incentives may take the following forms: * low corporate tax and individual income tax rates * tax holidays * other types of tax concessions * preferential tariffs * special economic zones * EPZ – Export Processing Zones * Bonded Warehouses * Maquiladoras * investment financial subsidies * soft loan or loan guarantees * free land or land subsidies * relocation & expatriation * infrastructure subsidies * R&D support * derogation from regulations (usually for very large projects) Importance and barriers to FDI The rapid growth of world population since 1950 has occurred mostly in developing countries. This growth has not been matched by similar increases in per-capita income and access to the basics of modern life, like education, health care, or – for too many – even sanitary water and waste disposal. FDI has proven — when skillfully applied — to be one of the fastest means of, with the highest impact on, development. However, given its many benefits for both investing firms and hosting countries, and the large jumps in development were best practices followed, eking out advances with even moderate long-term impacts often has been a struggle. Recently, research and practice are finding ways to make FDI more assured and beneficial by continually engaging with local realities, adjusting contracts and reconfiguring policies as blockages and openings emerge. Foreign direct investment and the developing world A recent meta-analysis of the effects of foreign direct investment on local firms in developing and transition countries suggests that foreign investment robustly increases local productivity growth. [5] The Commitment to Development Index ranks the â€Å"development-friendliness† of rich country investment policies. Difficulties limiting FDI Foreign direct investment may be politically controversial or difficult because it partly reverses previous policies intended to protect the growth of local investment or of infant industries. When these kinds of barriers against outside investment seem to have not worked sufficiently, it can be politically expedient for a host country to open a small â€Å"tunnel† as a focus for FDI. The nature of the FDI tunnel depends on the country’s or jurisdiction’s needs and policies. FDI is not restricted to developing countries. For example, lagging regions in the France, Germany, Ireland, and USA have for a half century maintained offices to recruit and incentivize  FDI primarily to create jobs. China, starting in 1979, promoted FDI primarily to import modernizing technology, and also to leverage and uplift its huge pool of rural workers. [6] To secure greater benefits for lesser costs, this tunnel need be focused on a particular industry and on closely negotiated, sp ecific terms. These terms define the trade offs of certain levels and types of investment by a firm, and specified concessions by the host jurisdiction. The investing firm needs sufficient cooperation and concessions to justify their business case in terms of lower labor costs, and the opening of the country’s or even regional markets at a distinct advantage over (global) competitors. The hosting country needs sufficient contractual promises to politically sell uncertain benefits—versus the better-known costs of concessions or damage to local interests. The benefits to the host may be: creation of a large number of more stable and higher-paying jobs; establishing in lagging areas centers of new economic development that will support attracting or strengthening of many other firms without so costly concessions; hastening the transfer of premium-paying skills to the host country’s work force; and encouraging technology transfer to local suppliers. Concessions commonly offered include: tax exemptions or reductions; construction or cheap lease-back of site improvements or of new building facilities; and large local infrastructures such as roads or rail lines; More politically difficult (certainly for less-developed regions) are concessions which change policies for: reduced taxes and tariffs; curbing protections for smaller-business from the large or global; and laxer administration of regulations on labor safety and environmental preservation. Often these un-politick â€Å"cooperations† are covert and subject to corruption. The lead-up for a big FDI can be risky, fraught with reverses, and subject to unexplained delays for years. Completion of the first phase remains unpredictable — even after the contract ceremonies are over and construction has started. So, lenders and investors expect high risk premiums similar to those of junk bonds. These costs and frustration have been major barriers for FDI in many countries. The value of FDI with some industries, some companies, and some countries much greater than with others; like most markets, valuations can be mostly perceptual. It is in the interest of both investors and recipients to dissemble the value of deals to their constituents, so the market on  what’s hot and what’s not has frequent bubbles and crashes. Because local circumstances and the global economy vary so rapidly, Because valuations can shift dramatically in short times, negotiating and planning FDI is often quite irrational. Foreign direct investment by country There are multiple factors determining host country attractiveness in the eyes of large foreign direct institutional investors, notablypension funds and sovereign wealth funds. Research conducted by the World Pensions Council (WPC) suggests that perceived legal/political stability over time and medium-term economic growth dynamics constitute the two main determinants[7] Some development economists believe that a sizeable part of Western Europe has now fallen behind the most dynamic amongst Asia’semerging nations, notably because the latter adopted policies more propitious to long-term investments: â€Å"Successful countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea still remember the harsh adjustment mechanisms imposed abruptly upon them by the IMF and World Bank during the 1997-1998 ‘Asian Crisis’ [†¦] What they have achieved in the past 10 years is all the more remarkable: they have quietly abandoned the â€Å"Washington consensus† [the dominant Neoclassical perspective] by investing massively in infrastructure projects [†¦]: this pragmatic approach proved to be very successful.†[8] The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said that there was no significant growth of global FDI in 2010. In 2011 was $1,524 billion, in 2010 was $1,309 billion and in 2009 was $1,114 billion. The figure was 25 percent below the pre-crisis average between 2005 and 2007. Foreign direct investment in the United States Broadly speaking, the U.S. has a fundamentally open economy and very small barriers to foreign direct investment.[10] The United States is the world’s largest recipient of FDI. U.S. FDI totaled $194 billion in 2010. 84% of FDI in the U.S. in 2010 came from or through eight countries: Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Canada.[11]Research indicates that foreigners hold greater shares of their investment portfolios in the United States if their own countries have less developed financial markets, an effect whose magnitude decreases with income  per capita. Countries with fewer capital controls and greater trade with the United States also invest more in U.S. equity and bond markets. [12] White House data reported in June 2011 found that a total of 5.7 million workers were employed at facilities highly dependent on foreign direct investors. Thus, about 13% of the American manufacturing workforce depended on such investments. The average pay of said jobs was found as around $70,000 per worker, over 30% higher than the average pay across the entire U.S. workforce.[10] President Barack Obama has said, â€Å"In a global economy, the United States faces increasing competition for the jobs and industries of the future. Taking steps to ensure that we remain the destination of choice for investors around the world will help us win that competition and bring prosperity to our people.†[10] [edit]Foreign direct investment in China FDI in China, also known as RFDI (renminbi foreign direct investment), has increased considerably in the last decade, reaching $59.1 billion in the first six months of 2012, making China the largest recipient of foreign direct investment and topping the United States which had $57.4 billion of FDI.During the global financial crisis FDI fell by over one-third in 2009 but rebounded in 2010.[14] [edit]Foreign direct investment in India Starting from a baseline of less than $1 billion in 1990, a recent UNCTAD survey projected India as the second most important FDI destination (after China) for transnational corporations during 2010–2012. As per the data, the sectors that attracted higher inflows were services, telecommunication, construction activities and computer software and hardware. Mauritius, Singapore, US and UK were among the leading sources of FDI. Based on UNCTAD data FDI flows were $10.4 billion, a drop of 43% from the first half of the last year.[15] India disallowed overseas corporate bodies (OCB) to invest in India.[16] 2012 FDI reforms See also: Retailing in India On 14 September 2012, Government of India allowed FDI in aviation up to 49%, in the broadcast sector up to 74%, in multi-brand retailup to 51% and in single-brand retail up to 100%.[17] The choice of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail up to 51% has been left to eachstate. In its supply chain  sector, the government of India had already approved 100% FDI for developing cold chain. This allows non-Indians to now invest with full ownership in India’s burgeoning demand for efficient food supply systems.[18] The need to reduce waste in fresh food and to feed the aspiring demand of India’s fast developing population has made the cold supply chain a very exciting investment proposition. Foreign investment was introduced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he was finance minister (1991) by the government of India as FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act). This has been one of the top political problems for Singh’s government, even in the current (2012) election. [19] [20] Definition of ‘Foreign Direct Investment – FDI’ An investment made by a company or entity based in one country, into a company or entity based in another country. Foreign direct investments differ substantially from indirect investments such as portfolio flows, wherein overseas institutions invest in equities listed on a nation’s stock exchange. Entities making direct investments typically have a significant degree of influence and control over the company into which the investment is made. Open economies with skilled workforces and good growth prospects tend to attract larger amounts of foreign direct investment than closed, highly regulated economies. Investopedia explains ‘Foreign Direct Investment – FDI’ The investing company may make its overseas investment in a number of ways – either by setting up a subsidiary or associate company in the foreign country, by acquiring shares of an overseas company, or through a merger or joint venture. The accepted threshold for a foreign direct investment relationship, as defined by the OECD, is 10%. That is, the foreign investor must own at least 10% or more of the voting stock or ordinary shares of the investee company. An example of foreign direct investment would be an American company taking a majority stake in a company in China. Another example would be a Canadian company setting up a joint venture to develop a mineral deposit in Chile.