Evaluate the benefits for a company of practicing Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

I certify that the attached is my own work. Material drawn from other sources has been acknowledged according to unit-specific requirements for referencing. Signature of student:________________________________ Date:__25 June 2013___ Traditionally companies focus primarily on gaining profits without regard for the community and environment. Ignoring the waste and pollution for example causes adverse impact for the social. Air pollution, for example, caused by factories with chemical materials can weaken respiration system. It was believed that the concern about environment produces extra expenditures reducing firm’s profit. Thus, they tend to override and ignoring the issue. In contrary, majority of the costumers expect more respects, supports, and cares from factories for the communities and environment. In addition, the government through policies has tried to force the corporations being care about their responsibilities. However, a concept including strategy to build a good relationship between corporations and their stakeholders has been introduced. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), the concept, has been practiced and developed since the 1970s receiving good responses from government and society around the world. CSR today is performed as a strategic management approached. A research by Preuss (2011, p. 23) mentions the 4Ps of innovative CSR on the basis of CSR project content, processes, positioning, and paradigm. A firm could receive worthwhile benefits through its CSR activities by being different from their competitors. Therefore, this essay evaluates the benefits of CSR to a company through several examples of successful achievement. According to Madzimure (2013) article, the benefits of CSR beyond financial return but provide strategy to protect firm’s sustainability. Organisation can uses this concept as instrument in human resources management, risk management, brand differentiation and obtaining an operation license (Madzimure, 2013). Preuss (2011, p. 19) defines the advantages of CSR namely, competitive advantage, which affording the firm’s reaction to external factors faster and better than the competitors, cost and risk reduction by building relations among stakeholders avoiding social problems, reputation and legitimacy, and synergistic value creation which bringing promotion value growth. Recent research from Galbreath (2009, p.111) explains that the CSR cover various associations consisting internal and external stakeholder as stakeholder theory. Hence, carrying the important roles in social and environment, corporations are expected to pay more attention about their responsibilities (Madzimure, 2013). However, byapproaching CSR from the beginning, both small and large corporation could find a number of advantages for an organisation, society and industry levels (Preuss, 2011, p. 25). Firstly, CSR helps the legal responsibility to comply with local, state, federal, and relevant international laws (Galbreath, 2009, p.111). An article by Madzimure (2013) states that avoiding government interference in their business through taxation or regulation is common with multi-national companies when they are doing business in developing countries. Being aware about community activities organisations can convince governments and publics. For example involving in education program, software company could have attention from the students. (Madzimure, 2013) Firms have to face additional behaviours and activities that society desired such as contributing party to social organisations, when they also can gain some advantages from it (Galbreath, 2009, p.111). Through paying attention with poverty a firm produce low price products contributing to the increasing of costumer demands. The benefits, moreover, affect both company and costumers. For example, conducting a discount for grocery purchase for their product, an instant food manufactory can received growing income and the society spends less expense. (Preuss, 2011, p. 23) To maintain good relationship with community, Fenn (2013) describes organisation can be a donator for local or larger charity and thus, again, providing advantages for both sides. Secondly, Galberth (2009, p.118) argues that CSR benefits both to the environment and the organisation. This social project content is clearly focused on environmental side, which driving manufacturers has to replace heavy metals, solvents or other toxic ingredients with safer and natural materials (Preuss, 2011, p. 23). A pharmaceutical company could protect the environment by utilising waste water treatment, for instance, in their production process. As a result, the entire community may receive the advantages and the corporation will be able to avoid fines or disapproval federal pollution standards permission, because of healthier environment. Other example is, investing resources in cogeneration technology which processing heat into energy, manufacture can substitute electrical power consumption for the local utility. Economically, both factory and community spend fewer budgets for electricity. (Galbreath, 2009, p.118) Through CSR, manager can use improve employee satisfaction (Preuss, 2011, p. 25). Ingenhoff and Sommer, (2011, p. 85) founds CSR can also support employee’s activities, by providing educational improvement programme such as scholarship. Moreover, positive employee perceptions to the company can be improved by involving them in charity and fundraising activities or community volunteering (Madzimure, 2013). Skilful employees can be maintained by trying to keep them motivated and loyal which may optimise organisation productivity. A firm can incorporate their staff welfare plans in order to constructing community relationships. For example in a charity project, staff should be involved and part of the project. A survey from Net Impact found that working in the place where they can contribute an impact was important to their choice and several of them indicate to take a pay cut to work for a corporation practicing CSR. (Fenn 2013) Fenn (2013) explains that CSR is about managing the relationships between employees, customers, supplier and stakeholder to produce positive impact on society, whilst gaining profits. AT&T and its foundation, for instance, connected CSR with specific business functions by establishing a family care fund that managed committee to support employees and their communities. The result is, not only improved the availability and quality of day care facilities, but it also widely used to solve union management disagreements. (Preuss, 2011, p. 24) Other example of the successful CSR implementation in a company is Walt Disney by creating the ‘Green standard’ to engage and motivate the staff in reducing their environmental impact when working, having meetings, travelling and eating lunch. With more than 60,000 employees they succeed to achieve financial benefits from reducing 10% the corporation’s electricity use. (Fenn, 2013) The next success story is the well-known natural fragrance manufacture The Body Shop. A trend by this anti-chemical perfume widely accepted around the world. The founder, Anita Roddick, believes in the importance of environmental protection, animal rights, community trade and human rights, although The Body Shop Foundation started a struggle in finance. Thus, today The Body Shop reaches markets in the USA and Japan, create a loyal customer, and gain annual profits of over  £40m. Having a similar idea, Haagen-Dazs and their natural ice creams created a website, started a social media campaign and donated a portion of proceedings to research about honeybees and its benefits in the chain food. In fact, the advertise helps society, company’s CSR goals, showing humanity to consumers which likely to pay a premium price for charity reason. (Fenn, 2013) On the other hand, In the term of education, The Shell Foundation was involved to provide Early Learning Centre in the Flower Valley, South Africa which helping to educate both children and adults new skills. Considering the similar idea, Econet Wireless, a Zimbabwean multi-national company, offers education scholarships for any level students, supports football club around Africa and participates in HIV/AIDS education programmes. (Madzimure, 2013) In conclusion, although the consequence of implementing CSR experiencing expenditure increases, CSR contributes significant benefits not only for a company but also for stakeholder, society and environment. Some organizations both local and international level allocate funds for long investment for social responsibility, aiming to the better reputation and revenue. Primary, CSR helps the legal responsibility through convincing the society in other to obtain government trust. By satisfying customer demands, a firm also can create a loyal buyer and it is not impossible to improving profits. Secondly, CSR economically benefits both to the environment and the organisation. The firm through differentiation has an opportunity to spread the market while sustaining the environmental sources. Through CSR, corporate could improve employee’s satisfaction, because well performance employees lead to optimal organisation productivity. World class corporations such as Walt Disney, The Body Shop, and Haagen-Dazs have practised CSR and experienced a successful achievement. Moreover, African company such as The Shell Foundation and Econet Wireless involve in educational support for children. Therefore, facing engaged responsibility from various sectors, a company not only can maintain its sustainability but also, gain more advantages by implementing CSR. The old fashioned corporation which only concentrating to gain profit has not longer been primary evaluation to the decision makers because in the future social expectation will drive organisation in any part of the world contributing more important role in environment through CSR. References: Fenn, R 2013, ‘Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Sustainable Business Toolkit, 14 May, viewed 22 May 2013, Galbreath, J 2009, ‘Building corporate social responsibility into strategy’, European Business Review, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 109-127. Ingenhoff, D & Sommer, K 2011, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: A Multi-method Approach on Stakeholder Expectations and Managers’ Intentions’, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Iss. 42, pp. 73-90. Madzimure, J 2013, ‘Let’s embrace corporate social responsibility’, Nehanda Radio, 19 May, viewed 22 May 2013, Preuss, L 2011, ’Innovative CSR: A Frame Work for Anchoring Corporate Social Responsibility in the Innovation Literature’, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Iss. 42, pp. 17-33.

Ethical Decision Making by Individuals Essay

Existing theoretical models of individual ethical decision making in organizations place little or no emphasis on characteristics of the ethical issue itself. This article (a) proposes an issue-contingent model containing a new set of variables called moral intensity: (b) using concepts, theory, and evidence derived largely from social psychology, argues that moral intensity influences every component of moral decision making and behavior: (c) offers four research propositions, and (d) discusses implications of the theory. Conclusions and Implications Existing theoretical models have ignored the effect of characteristics of the moral issue itself on ethical decision making and behavior in organizations. Taken at face value, these models suggest that individuals will decide and behave in the same manner regardless of the nature of the moral issue involved. An employee of a drug manufacturer would view the release of a dangerous drug by his or her firm with the same alarm (or lack of alarm) that he or she viewed the theft of a few diskettes from the company supply cabinet by a fellow employee. The issue-contingent model proposed here explicitly rejects this view and suggests that the moral intensity of the issue itself has a significant effect on moral decision making and behavior at all stages of the process. If this model is found to have empirical support, the testing of other models would be significantly affected. Controlling for issue traits would become an integral part of a meaningful test of Trevino’s (1986) person-situation interactionist model, for example; the relative importance of personal factors and situational factors might vary considerably, from issue to issue. Similarly, issue charucteristics could alter the balance of teleological and deontological considerations in the moral evaluation stage of Hunt and Vitell’s (1986) general theory model of marketing ethics. Perhaps the most important potential impact of an empirical finding that ethical decision making and behavior are issue contingent involves the applicability of the models themselves. Moral intensity is expected to play a major role in the recognition of moral issues and, hence, in the actual engagement of moral decision-making processes instead of, or in addition to, other decision-making schemata. Simply stated, the details of moral decision-making and behavior processes become irrelevant if the person does not recognize that he or she is dealing with a moral issue. Future models of ethical decision making should include some consideration of the effect of the moral agent’s failure to recognize the moral issue. Moral intensity is also relevant to the general applicability of Kohlberg’s (1976) theory of cognitive moral development. If moral development is issue contingent, as this article and some emerging empirical evidence suggest, then Kohlberg’s theory would have to be substantially revised, and much of the research based on it would have to be reappraised. Future research based on his developmental theory would have to control for traits of the moral issues involved. From a practical point of view, issue contingency is important to normative judgments of moral decisions and of the people who make them. Many of the elements of moral intensity (magnitude of consequences, probability of effect, temporal immediacy, and concentration of effect) are directly related to judgments of the importance of moral issues. If these elements of moral intensity are found to be positively linked to moral behavior, it can be concluded that people generally behave better when the moral issue is important than they do when it is unimportant. Regardless of a person’s views regarding the overall moral tenor of society or its alleged decline in recent years, he or she could easily be encouraged by the finding that people’s best moral behavior is inspired by issues of substantial importance.

The Canon

4. Define the â€Å"canon† and describe the basic criteria and chronology behind the formation of the New Testament canon. What evidence exists in this area? Why did early Christians feel a need to establish an authoritative list? Which elements in the criteria are the most and least important? State your reasons for choosing these elements. How would you respond if someone claimed that the canon of the Bible should still be open? a. Define the â€Å"canon† and describe the basic criteria and chronology behind the formation of the New Testament canon.What evidence exists in this area? The word â€Å"canon† is a Semitic loanword that initially meant â€Å"reed† but came to mean â€Å"measuring reed and hence rule or standard or norm† (Carson, 726). In the history of Christianity the word canon was first used to designate doctrines which established the basic beliefs and practices of the church (Lea, 70). In our reading in Carson/Moo and Lea/Black, th ree elements of criteria’s are used to show that certain books belonged in the canon known as â€Å"orthodoxy, apostolicity, and universality† (Lea, 72).Lea/Black states, that the gages for defining canonicity are difficult to determine, but the most vital criterion for determining canonicity is inspiration (Lea, 71). The first basic criteria involved â€Å"the rule of faith† (Carson, 736, Lea 71), which meant that the teaching of the book followed the beliefs the church honors as acceptable and correct, (Lea 71). The second basic criteria entail of the demonstration of apostolicity, which â€Å"required authorship by an apostle or by the companion of an apostle† ( Lea, 71), the final basic criteria is universal acceptance meaning used and accepted by churches everywhere (Carson, 737). . What evidence exists in this area? The foundations that the Church uses to base canonicity upon are the use of the works by early Christian writers (Lea and Black, 73). T he regularity of references from various books informs modern students of how the books were viewed in ancient times (Carson and Moo, 733). Another basis affecting the results of the canonical question are the early lists put forth of books deemed inspired (Lea and Black, 73).Lastly, the addition of manuscripts in early codices indicates the opinion of the book by the binder (Lea and Black, 73). c. Why did early Christians feel a need to establish an authoritative list? There is not a definite cause why early Christians felt a need to institute an authoritative list, some of the reasons for the list could have included persecution, distance from the historical Jesus, the pressure of Montanism, the rise of Gnosticism and other movements with scriptures to be rejected (Carson, 736).With this being the case I feel that the formation of an authoritative list by early Christians was deemed necessary to contest the teachings of heretics that were appearing in the Church. Through the inser tion of books that possessed non-Christian ideals or the rejection of books accepted as inspired, false and incomplete teaching ran the risk of corrupting orthodox doctrine d. Which elements in the criteria are the most and least important? I believe the most important element of canonicity is inspiration and that God chooses to work in a person’s lives in other ways.Someone may say inspiration, I cannot see why man would try to limit God’s ability to move and I believe that our minds cannot even begin to grasp the depth, width or even an ounce of God’s wisdom or knowledge or even half of what he is able to do, when looking at creation and the vastness of the universe it is mind blowing to me. I also believe that â€Å"Apostolicity† is also an important criterion, being that Matthew, John and Peter, were members of the twelve along with Paul, commissioned by Christ, along with their associates such as Mark who with Paul .The least important criteria to me is universality based on Carson’s assessment of it being â€Å"scarcely less important† (Carson, 737). e. How would you respond if someone claimed that the canon of the Bible should still be open? In most modern churches today, the Canons are considered to be â€Å"closed†, meaning that God does not add to or take away from the writings of the bible, and instead chooses to work in a person’s lives in other ways. We all recognize that the New Testament canon contains the authorative record of Jesus life and the interpretation of its significance (Lea, 74-75), with that reason the canon should not still be open.But we also must keep in mind that God who is sovereign and can choose to move however he desires and many times I feel that we try to put human reasoning in areas that our mind cannot even perceive, for as stated in Isaiah 55:8 God says: â€Å"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. † 4. Explain how we have approximated the dates of Jesus' birth and death as well as the length of his ministry. List primary and secondary sources describing his life. Which of these sources is the most important?How important is accurate historical information in providing a foundation for accepting and believing the gospel message? a. Explain how we have approximated the dates of Jesus' birth and death as well as the length of his ministry. We have an awareness of the date of Jesus birth because of three main events. A period before the death of Herod the Great, during the time of a census ordered by Augusts, and when there was a bright start in the sky leading men from the east (Lea, 95). Ancient records designate that Herod possibly died around March 4B.C. this means that Christ was born before that (Lea, 95). Quirinius was governor of Syria during the officiating of the census under Augustus. (Lea, 95). The registration for the census could have happened possibly in 8 B. B. and could have taken years to execute. This places the birth of Jesus anywhere from 6 to 5 B. C. (Lea, 96) Jesus’ death is very reliant on the Gospel of John. John associates Jesus’ death to a system of time based on the ministry of John the Baptist, who preceded Christ, which took place on the 15th year of Tiberius reign. Lea, 96) John mentions that the construction of the temple had taken 46 years in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. (Lea, 97). If you evaluate both of these statements and add the approximate three years of Jesus’ ministry they both arrive at a death for Jesus in A. D. 29 or 30 (Lea, 97). The approximate length for the ministry of Jesus is arrived at using the number of Passovers that Jesus attended. (Lea, 96) b. List primary and secondary sources describing his life. Which of these sources is the most important? The gospel of Matthew and Luke are the prime sources of the life of Jesus.The birth of Christ is most fully covered by Matthew and Luke, (Lea , 97). Matthew and Luke also present the most information about the life of Jesus before his ministry, or the â€Å"Period of â€Å"Preparation. † (Lea, 98) John is the only Gospel that relates Jesus Judean ministry. The rest of Jesus ministry is recorded in the entire Gospel, which makes Mark and John the secondary complete record of the life of Jesus. c. How important is accurate historical information in providing a foundation for accepting and believing the gospel message? The Gospel message comprises substantial facts about the life of Jesus.Important academic attention has been devoted to the historical examination of the New Testament, explicitly with respect to establishing it as a reliable historical document. The vast amount of material, in the form of manuscripts, archaeology, and authorial phenomenon delivers an priceless glance into the depths of events surrounding the historicity as well as the development of the New Testament. For many people without establish ing historical believability for the New Testament, there would be no grounds to suggest any sort of belief in it as a reliable source.But for me even if the dates cannot be exactly known for the Christian, it should not affect the belief in the life of Christ. The great men of the Bible prophesied accurately that highly educated men and women who scoff at God and His revealed Word would dominate our world. Although men have sneered at God in every generation beginning with Adam, ours was to be the worst. The Apostle Paul wrote: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient (Romans 1:21-22, 28). Although Paul is speaking specifically about the earliest men, we have not changed for the better; we have grown worse. Since the 17th and 18th centuries, men have produced an amazing fund of knowledge in the industrial and scientific areas. Yet pursuing knowledge about God has been left out. We have several sources that provides foundations for accepting and believing the gospel message.Carson, D. A. and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2ded. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. Lea, Thomas D. and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. 2ded. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2003 Carson, D. A. and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2ded. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. Lea, Thomas D. and David Alan Black. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. 2ded. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2003

Airline Customer Service Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Airline Customer Service - Research Paper Example With the many options that are in the travel market today, airline customer service has to be top notch in order to gain repeat customers. Needs and expectations of the customers Airline customer services have deteriorated in the recent years due to growth of the travel industry. There has been lack of amenities. The airlines use the 9/11 events as reason for their actions by justifying it as economical necessity. Further implementation of newer technology for security screening has added to the frustration of the customers. There is also the matter of the employee and customer relation. This is usually transmitted from the management level. The way they are treated by the management, which in turn is reflected in the employees’ behaviour towards the customers, affects the employees’ morale. Airline companies are constantly in competition with each other for every customer, but even then they are not making the necessary investment in the customer service department. It is not logical for the travel industry professionals to believe that the customers expect 100% efficiency in the airport services. Mostly customers expect some failure in service but at the same time they expect every effort from the Airline Companies to maximise service efficiency. Service failure can occur when the customer’s expectation regarding the level of service is not met. Customers’ expectations too vary. ... The idea was that if the Passenger Bill of Rights was passed through the Congress, then there could be a set of guidelines to perform service to the customers and there could be penalty where there will be non-compliance. Over the years, customers’ tolerance level on bad service has declined. Based on this the airport companies feel there is increased possibility of air rage among customers. A study has been made on customer’s perception towards air rage. There are certain physiological and physical factors over which the airlines have no control like flight delay owing to poor weather. In such case even though the customers perceive this as bad service they still do not have the propensity to air rage. The study has further shown that there is a decline in the customers’ expectations for high level of airport service. Many people feel that flight delays, overbooking and cases of lost baggage are common occurrences these days. If this is true then the customers h old these expectations while traveling long distance in flights. In such cases air rage occurrences get suppressed. Airline customers feel that they are entitled to certain privileges and if they are not granted, the customers are inclined towards more aggressive behavior. Dissatisfaction can arise in customers when there is bad service after good service. One way of moderating customers’ perception of bad service is to provide positive act after a poor service. If airline services can make up for any poor service then the customers may not approve of air rage. Reducing the customers’ negative attitudes towards airlines can create customer satisfaction. Hence the airline company should take every

Chinas Hong Kong Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chinas Hong Kong - Research Paper Example This protest has been continued till this point of time. Historically, the city of Hong Kong has enjoyed much social and economic freedom. However, this freedom is only limited to the non-political aspects and the political aspect has not been extended to the people of Hong Kong as the existing political administration is being controlled by Beijing which does not believe in democracy and democratic norms. And this has largely affected the social fabric of Hong Kong as this political divide has considerably created a rift in the society in which both supporters and dissenters to the political system exist. In the following parts of this paper, first protest background has been given in which historical perspective relating to political system has been provided. It is followed by the methodology section highlighting the research strategy for collecting the related data. Before the conclusion part, different aspects relating to Central have been discussed and elaborated as well. Â  Hong Kong is a strange city where major types of social and economic rights exist and are exercised by the citizens of this city. Its current political system is based on ‘executive-led’ system in which Beijing and China extend authoritative powers to the executive branch having authority to take administrative and political decisions besides exercising unquestioned political authority for implementing the administrative decisions without requiring approval from Hong Kong’s political structure and the judiciary (Gittings 93).

Napster; The P2p Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Napster; The P2p Model - Essay Example Peer to peer software was developed by an American Teenager, Shawn Fanning, through his system for music sharing called Napster. This allows users to swap music directly from one computer to another without the need to go through a central server.(Annonymous, 2000). The system became so popular that Napster had 20 million users in 2000, with the number ever growing. The process of downloading music off the Net was initially a cumbersome process because music files contained too much of data – up to 172 kilobytes of information per second (Westrup 2000). A single AIFF sound file used on audio CDs takes up 8.75 megabytes of storage space for each minute of music, so that even with a 56K high speed modem, an individual song would take at least an hour to be downloaded.(Woodworth, 2004). During the process of making a digital recording, sound waves are changed into the digital format. Since sound travels through the air in waves, it must first be transferred to a transducer in order to convert the sound waves into voltage variations. This further moves to an analog to digitial convertor. The analog voltage is converted into digital bits, each of which is assigned a number with a particular binary value, which are then recompiled within the storage facility of a computer.(Anderton, 1985).

Assessment and Practice of Mental Health care needs Essay

Assessment and Practice of Mental Health care needs - Essay Example OBJECTIVES: To explore the associative structure between a screening test for dementia, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and a neuropsychological battery for the detection of dementia, the Mental Deterioration Battery (MDB). DESIGN: A retrospective analysis. SETTING: Psychology unit of a general hospital in Rome, Italy. PARTICIPANTS: Three hundred consecutive outpatients and inpatients referred to our hospital on the basis of suspected cognitive impairment and evaluated between January 1999 and March 2000. MEASUREMENTS: MMSE and MDB. RESULTS: Of the 300 subjects evaluated by the MMSE score, 142 (47.3%) were considered to be cognitively healthy, and 116 (38.7%) were mildly and 42 (14.0%) moderately impaired. Factor analysis of MDB extracted three factors able to account for 75% of the total variance: a visuospatial factor, verbal memory ability, and a language skill. Using MMSE as an independent variable, a linear regression model could account for the visuospatial and langua ge factors and a cubic regression model for the verbal memory factor. Within the normal MMSE boundaries (24-30), a dramatic decrease of verbal memory could be documented, whereas the slope is less steep in the mild impairment group (16-23). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate the presence of a warning range within the normal MMSE interval. Thus, the traditional MMSE cutoff values may not be appropriate in detecting early phases of dementia. When patients score about 27 on MMSE, it should be of interest to check whether they fail only on long-term memory tests, because this could be a first signal of a preclinical condition heralding clear dementia (e.g., mild cognitive impairment).Mini-Mental State Examination and Mental Deterioration Battery: analysis of the relationship and clinical

The films Jurassic Park and The Matrix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The films Jurassic Park and The Matrix - Essay Example This research is the best example of comparison of the films Jurassic Park and The Matrix. There exist some similarities and dissimilarities between both these films and directors. To be specific, the most important similarity is that both the films represent the same theme, future of human race and development within science, computing and information technology. The basic difference is that both the directors superimpose the same theme in different contexts. One can easily identify that the film Jurassic Park is symbolic of the industrial scope of amusement parks. So, the Jurassic Park which consists of cloned dinosaurs represents the human effort to exploit the scope of amusement parks as an industrial venture. In the film, the spark of greed that can be viewed in the eyes of John Hammond (owner of the park) while inviting the experts to the park (opening scene) prove that industrial interest is the grass root level reason behind the construction of the park, not mere amusement. O n the other side, the film The Matrix deals with the scope of philosophy that can be inculcated to the scenario of cinematography. To be specific, the portrayal of the protagonist (Neo) as a superhuman in a number of fight scenes is interconnected with the philosophical concept of super-humanism put forth by Nietzsche. So, the film Jurassic Park represents the influence of industrialization in the field of amusement and the film The Matrix represents the influence of philosophy in the cinematography. ... Besides, Spielberg’s earlier films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (released in 1982) proves that he is utmost interested in creating imaginative creatures and imaginary worlds. On the other side, the Wachowski brothers were deeply influenced by different fields of knowledge, art and entertainment. For instance, the philosophic content of the conversation between Neo and Morpheus proves that Wachowski brothers made use of philosophy in this film. Besides, the film’s theme is symbolic of the influence of literature and spirituality. Themes and narrative techniques The dominant theme in the film Jurassic Park is the danger of manipulating scientific experimentation for entertainment value and harmful effect of human interference into the rules of nature. On the other side, the film The Matrix deals with the same theme because the director provides ample importance to the drawbacks of the development of science and information technology, especially computing. One can easi ly identify that this film portrays the human dependence on machines and its consequences in future. On the other side, the narrative techniques made use by Spielberg and Wachowski brothers is different. For instance, Spielberg makes use of background sound to create terror in the minds of the viewers and to manage the story information. For example, the sounds of the dinosaurs (artificial) played in the opening scene and the close ups in scene 3 leads the viewers towards an imaginative world of dinosaurs. On the other side, the film The Matrix makes use of the theme music (say, not sound) and visual effects like ‘bullet time’ as an innovative narrative technique to mesmerize the viewers. Visuals/stylistic characteristics

Delegation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Delegation - Essay Example Knowledge and competence are criteria that allow decisions to be made at the appropriate level. This means that all members of staff must accept responsibility for achieving high-quality management and not leave that responsibility to the senior management team or middle managers. Healthcare organizations start to apply this concept into practice seeing it as a high level of specialist practice and competitive advantage in healthcare services. Today, a special attention is given to proper function of medical staff and empowerment which helps to improve efficiency of medical practices and introduce technological innovation more rapidly and effectively. Delegation is one of the most important management functions which help a person to handle a task over to another person. At the beginning of the 21st century, healthcare needs nurses able to cope with changing environment, technological challenges and culturally diverse clients. If nurses are able to exhibit strategic leadership that achieves a long-term focus, promotes development and application of core competences, emphasizes the development of human capital, develops an effective culture, and achieves strategic control simultaneously with the allowance of autonomy, restructuring efforts are more like to be successful. Delegation of responsibilities allows nurses to improve their performance and effectively manage daily tasks. Delegation is a skill o... It can be used either as an excuse for dumping failure onto the shoulders of subordinates, or as a dynamic tool for motivating and training your team to realize their full potential". A nursing position and role in healthcare has defined responsibilities or functions, together with the authority to carry them out. Nurses tend to have responsibilities for more work than they can possibly execute themselves. Another definition of delegation can be successfully applied to nursing profession: "delegation is the universally required ability to maintain responsibility yet relinquish authority" (The New Oxford American Dictionary 2001, p. 38). Most managers agree that decisions ought to be delegated to the lowest possible level where they can be made intelligently and where the relevant facts and required judgment are available. Often, in practice, they violate this rule by micromanaging or just telling their subordinates what to do. Or they make the mistake of dumping the decision without enough guidance or taking it back and doing it themselves. All of these mistakes have negative consequences (Blair, n.d.). The personality type of both the boss and the subordinate can have a profound effect on whether effective delegation takes place. Intuitive types may not explain all the details or responsibilities to the subordinate because they believe they have given a broad enough picture. Introverts may not fully communicate all the necessary information they have; their delegation will be patchy and inconsistent. Extroverts may wander with their thoughts and not be concise in their communications (Gulanick and Myers, 2006). Using these definitions, it is evident that delegation in nursing can be defined as the process when nurses give subordinates (usually

Trade Issues Between US And China Essay Example for Free

Trade Issues Between US And China Essay This essay will research the relationship between the United States and China in regards to trading policies.   A brief description of the United States’ foreign policy will be given and following this an examination of the US-China trade relation will be analyzed with historical background ranging from 1979 to present.   In the development of this essay.   The context of the research will center around the four p’s in trading; power, principles, prosperity and peace and how in each area China has maintained such variables in trading.    The other issues that will be delivered as integral to the relationship of US-China trade will be the US-Soviet relations in regards to the China Card, Tiananmen Square, human rights, and labor standards. China’s Trade   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The aspect of China’s trade that will discussed in this dissertation will be GATT and WTO policy and procedure.   A brief history of China’s trade since its conception will also follow in the paper’s scope.  Ã‚   In fact China and its role with the WTO is one in which there exists strain. China became a member of the WTO in December of 2001.   China had been an original member of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) but has since declined any efforts towards globalization.   However, since its inclusion with the WTO in 2001 China is under specific WTO regulations.   These regulations are highlighted as nondiscrimination in trading policies, market opening, transparency and predictability, undistorted trade, and preferential treatment towards developing countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of large industrial trade in China will also be examined as its rise to power became renowned on a global scale in the early 1970’s.   The develop of China’s trade was also expedited thanks to its involvement with Taiwan Province of China in the IMF as well as the World Bank which further emphasizes China’s transformation from a centrally organized economy to a more market-oriented economy, as such China, â€Å"abolished trade plans, decentralized trade, slashed tariffs, unified the dual exchange rates in 1994, and removed exchange controls on current account transactions in 1996† (Adhikari Yang 2002). The reform that become a wide part of China’s modern technological development was foreign involvement.   Thus, China’s trade was aggrandized thanks to foreign aid, and exporting of China’s natural resources and materials.   In accordance with this statement, a glance at China’s foreign trade is reported to have gone from $10 billion in the late 1970’s to $278 billion in the year 2000; this development will be a large part of the research:   there will be a compare and contrast section in the dissertation involving various years of wealth in foreign trade with China’s mainland, and the advancement of China as a trading power. The numbers for the year 2000 made China the sixth largest trading nation on a global scale, â€Å"The trade-to-GDP ration increased from 10 percent at the beginning of reforms to about 40 percent in the late 1990’s.   China’s total inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) reached $47 billion in 2000, second in size only to those received by the United States† (Adhikari Yang 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A large part of the dissertation will deal with China’s open trading policy, which began in the 1970’s.   It is thanks to this open trading policy that China was able to develop at an astounding rate.   Another large section of the paper will highlight the importance of trade meetings between Mao Zedong and US president Richard Nixon.   Thus, the dissertation will break down the stages of China’s development beginning with these open trade policy meetings in the 1970’s. In a progressive, and categorical fashion, the dissertation will proceed with China’s trade, and after the initial meetings in the mid 1970’s, China began to develop as a more dominant trade partner in 1979 with Deng Xiaoping’s visit to the US.   This is when China began to truly embrace foreign trade; this boosted China’s own domestic economy and allowed the country to compete on a global scale in the areas of foreign capital and technology (Eckholm and Sanger 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since trade was the key in developing China, and helping it advance in technology, a great deal of research is needed in China’s involvement with the WTO (World Trade Organization).   The rising tension between other trading powers and China through China’s membership with the WTO will also be a detrimental factor in the tension between China and the US.   When China is initially brought into the WTO there was discussion of how this would alter the economic conflict between the U.S. and China into a global level. Thus, the United States Congress was wary of the substantial evidence that trade with China may prove to be dangerous.   This is supported by the fact that the economic conditions in America may decline over the next decade thereby bringing forth a stronger dependence on labor in China and MFN, â€Å"A substantial use of force to suppress dissent in Hong Kong would be one such trigger.   It appears that Chinese officials are cognizant of this fact and are likely to eat away at the liberties of Hong Kong’s people, if they choose to do so, in small bites, so as not to draw foreign attention† (Naughton 1998; 66).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since China’s development as a trading power in the 1970’s there have been many high tension subjects which have altered the face of world trade.   The efforts to curtail negative assessment with other countries will be developed in this dissertation, especially between China and the US as trading powers, rivals, and conglomerates.   A close-up of American companies and their trade policy with Chinese investors, and markets will be dissected, especially the growing relationship between Chinese trade and the Boeing corporation.   In the effort of fair trade and a growing economy America has tried to curtain negative assessments made of the Chinese governments especially in light of Tibet.   One such American company that strongly promotes U.S.-China trade is the Boeing company that is looking toward China for their next marketable plane. Other groups include the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations who try to persuade the American people that human rights in China is equitable and their sustaining efforts combine with restrained behavior in China twine together to enhance a more morally correct China that is appropriate for trade (Naughton 1998; 66). The expansion of China as a super power in trade depends on the response and accessibility to the open market it is allowed.   A brief look at slave labor, cheap labor, labor laws of countries compared to China will be a large part of the research being done in this dissertation.   The cheap market that China makes affordable to foreign investors is often times tainted with sweat shops, so a brief look at the Chinese government’s involvement in trying to dissuade the use of cheap labor will be focused upon in the dissertation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These restrained sentiments felt by the U.S. Congress exist in part due to the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis which allows for the overly cautious approach Congress is setting forth with China because of China’s presumed power and its conscious ability to inflict harm on specific U.S. interests.   However, by being cautious Congress ensures that the future trading negations between these two countries should be defined as a stable relationship (Naughton 1998; 67). China and GATT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   China as a member in GATT will be examined as both a positive and a negative factor.   A brief history of China and GATT will be examined as well as China’s need for trade, and an open door policy.   The Chinese domestic politics of WTO accession have changed dramatically.   In the beginning China mobilized with alacrity and cohesion to once again become a member of GATT.   The consensus of such industries as petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals could agree upon the need for their nation to be involved with GATT, this proves China’s desirability towards a more open doors policy with trade.   Part of the reason for China’s renewed interest in GATT may be attributed to †¦it appear that GATT membership would defuse recurrent trade frictions over U.S. MFN status, but it was obvious that Chinas prestige and importance in the world demanded full GATT membership. Moreover, it was clear that GATT membership could be an important force driving the economic reform process forward. For all these reasons, national interest was elevated above sectoral interest groups. The flood of publications in China on the challenge of GATT membership clearly demonstrates the anxiety felt by many sectoral interests but also reflects what they clearly felt was the inevitability of membership and the serious nature of the import competition GATT membership would bring (Naughton 1998; 177). Inside of Chinese nationalism however there seems to be rising policies that are contrary between the U.S. and China; China feels pressured by the U.S. and that they make demands that cannot be fulfilled without jeopardizing China’s own economy.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such demands that have been focused on and are met by the Chinese include their unifying of the currency, their reduced tariffs, as well as their cut on nontariff barriers, and equally important is their demonopolization of the foreign trade system (Naughton 1998; 177).  Ã‚   Each of these demands will be given a section in the dissertation, and thorough research will be delivered in regards to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a very large importance in China’s development as a trading country and its acceptance into the American market.   Market strategies, and the trade issues between China and the US play a necessary part in the global trade.   China, in conjunction with U.S. trade policy has subsequently, since being incorporated into GATT, has opened their country to trade.   In 1997 they, â€Å"†¦launched into a major program of state enterprise divestment and restructuring that can be seen as a response to U.S. demands that the government cease subsidizing state-owned enterprises† (Naughton 1998; 177).   Again, this information points to the give and take relationship between China and the US, and how one’s trade policy is contingent upon the other’s trade policy which can be detrimental to the growth of each other’s market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In their interest in trade China has a strong interest in augmenting their enforcement capability, improving their customs service as well as paying attention to their unifying revenue collection capability (Naughton 1998; 178).  Ã‚  Ã‚   The U.S. seemingly has correlating objectives in regards to China’s trade.   The United States Trade Representatives have a clear objective when it   comes to China; there is a focus on the imbalance of trade, and the exorbitant amount of trade exporting China has accomplished.   This is a major issue for the United States who no longer dominants trade because of the majority exports that are labeled as labor intensive consumer goods that the Chinese have flooded into the foreign market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It seems then that China’s trade is hinging upon the decisions of U.S. businesses.   The U.S. businesses are in favor of trade with China because in their own systems of operations they have subsidiaries in China.   These businesses recognized as Naughton states, Perceiving the importance of Chinas economy in future years, numerous American businesses support a policy of intensified engagement with China. U.S. businesses are an important lobby not only because of their interests but also because of their perceptions of China. Given the magnitude of U.S. investment, many businessmen have now spent time in China. They see that China is a dynamic, rapidly evolving, and increasingly prosperous society. Their positive impressions partially offset the negative impressions of China created by problems relating to human rights, nuclear proliferation, and arms sales. (Naughton 1998; 179). Thus, the transformation of China into a trading conglomerate was rapid.   Naughton’s research will be a guideline by which this dissertation will come to fruition.   The in depth analysis which Naughton portrays in his book will aid in developing the tension and necessary engagement China and the US have on a market scale.   With Naughton’s work, a look at market scale, the evolvement of trade between the US and China, and the economic growth for both countries will be projected in future years. China’s Trade History 1979-Present   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A detailed inclusion of China’s trade history on a global scale will be included in the dissertation in order to compare and contrast China’s development as a country and a trading power.   A major factor in this power scheme is the People’s Republic of China.   China first envisioned an open economy in 1979 with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Since this inception, China has increased its exports to an annual average of 16.1 percent.   The country as a whole is classified as the tenth largest exporter in the world.   In correlation with these facts, China’s exports have also grown at a statistic of 15 percent per year.   Furthermore, China’s annual growth rates in trade grew to an increase of three times the world’s rates in the years 1978 and 1990.   It was in 1993 that it was reported that foreign trade in China made up 38 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product.   Thus, China has expanded in trade since 1979.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1978 China had not interest or involvement in foreign investment, yet by 1993, China has acquired the interest of nearly $60 billion foreign investors (Shirk 1994; 1).   China began a reform strategy in 1979 that sought to enable foreign trade investments as a priority to the progress of the PRC.   From early 1960 to the 1970’s China based its economy on the concept of self-reliance, and approached their way of life strictly in egalitarian methods.   This approach quickly showed its proneness to failure however and China recognized this and soon began to implement a different model.   This new model was based on economic marketization and internationalization under authoritarian rule (Shirk 1994; 7).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     China based its economic prowess after the Communism in the Soviet Union.   This style of command present in China enabled the country to produce high rates of industrialization which from the years 1949-1980 were estimated at 10 percent annually.   Despite these numbers the truth was that in order to remain self sufficient China had to sacrifice manpower by way of continually increasing capital and labor into the industry in order to maintain such high growth (Shirk 1994; 10).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1979 this all changed. Through power (one of the four p’s) Hua Guofeng allowed a small section of market activity in the idea of allowing state-owned firms to sell their own quota output, â€Å"on their own at market prices and new nonstate firms were allowed to form. The higher prices of the market were a powerful incentive for managers to enter the plan and then to press for smaller plan quotas and more market opportunities† (Shirk 1994; 28).   In this fashion Hua Guofeng allowed the economy to outmode the Communist plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From 1980-1981 reformists attempted to promote a balanced economy by parlaying resources to light industry and to agriculture.   Thus, heavy industry suffered an alarming deficit and consequently in 1982 representatives allowed heavy industry’s share to be restored (Shirk 1994; 29).   Thus, heavy industry in China has always received favored treatment, while counter to this light industry is funded by the self, â€Å"China’s dramatic increases in exports and domestic growth may derive primarily from labor-intensive light industry and agriculture, but central government capital investment does not reflect this change and still favors heavy industry† (Shirk 1994; 29).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the topic of open policy it was not until 1984 that China extended its trading freedoms to the provinces of SEZ’s to Hainan Island and about fourteen other coastal cities.   The new open cities were allowed to offer tax incentives for foreign investment.   This open concept was furthered in 1984 with the inclusion of other deltas such as the Pearl, Yangtze, and Min Rivers (Shirk 1994; 39).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The year 1988 saw secretary Zhao Ziyang further widen open policy to include the entire coastal zone which had a population of 200 million.   Zhao stated that an unbalanced growth was harming China’s economy in that the inland regions were not being exposed as the coastal regions to different cultures as well as wealth which meant that China was not advancing at the same speed in technology, â€Å"therefore the coastal areas should be allowed to move ahead by using their better labor, communications and infrastructure, and scientific and technological capacity to attract foreign business and expand exports† (Shirk 1994; 40).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite these ideas and Zhoa’s promotion of them, he was fired in 1989, and replaced by Premier Li Peng.   Although Li Peng was a conservative he implemented a strategy of building his own personal support base.   In lieu of Zhao’s failure to incorporate Shanghai in his plans, Li Peng decided to grant that area more economic development and autonomy for foreign trade which yielded more revenues.   He gave the inland provinces full foreign exchange.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In June of 1992, Beijing, â€Å"†¦authorized twenty-one additional cities, located along the Yangtze River and in the Northeast, to offer special incentives to foreign investors† (Shirk 1994; 41).   This action in turn advanced inland provinces to endorse and participate in international business with the full approval of the local government.   There were created special development zones which allowed foreign investors to be offered certain terms in regards to trade, The development zone policy was extremely popular among local leaders, who saw it not only as a way to gain access to international business but also as a means of gaining benefit and privilege.22 During the first nine months of 1992, almost 2,000 development zones were set up, a large proportion of them in inland areas. As a result, the inland provinces raised their 1992 share of foreign capital attracted to China from 7 percent to 10 percent.23 By early 1993 the press was reporting that nobody knows exactly how many such zones, which attract investment with a variety of tax breaks and other favorable policies, have been launched in China. (Shirk 1994; 41). These concepts spread throughout the developmental zones and thus were responsible for certain negative consequences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These consequences included economic overheating, a severe shortage of funds, as well as energy, transport and certain raw materials (Shirk 1994; 55).   Shortly after this China had a type of national intervention in which the State Council in 1993 reinstituted a ‘central approval’ for each newly formed developmental zone (Shirk 1994; 55).   In accordance with the CCP general secretary Jiang Zemin demanded inspections on all zones which began a mass shut down of each zone which did not establish infrastructure and other foreign conditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By the 1990’s China had established selective authoritarian rule in their open zones.   About 90 percent of foreign investment in these zones was involved in the coastal states and 40 percent is reported to belong to Guangdong.   This left the inland provinces seeking their own investors.   These investors were found with Russian, Japan and South Korea.   These investors sought out the Northeast and Shandong Province.   It may then be stated that the concept of an open policy has greatly enhanced the coastal regions of China while leaving the inland provinces lacking in investors, and market trading which attributes to the imbalance in China. China’s Trade Relations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   China, although seemingly embattled into foreign trade has quickly grown with their new found economy.   China is in international demand and that demand is only increasing.   This is due mostly from power.   In policy and the envisioning of China’s different leaders and leaders in foreign trade, the Chinese economy has shucked off their dominant Communist ways and have since 1979 been approaching foreign trade with prosperity.   China compromised in joining GATT but this lead investors to believe that China’s intent was solely for their own prosperity as well as others and this initialized trade between countries.   Thus, it may be stated that in part, China has grown with their open policy and in a way realized peace through trade because of the restrictions of the United States and of GATT on their trading policy and thus China has grown in terms of economy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The other issue that arose from China’s power in their economy was the dual rate system, As for international institutions, although the International Monetary Fund advocated convertibility, it would accept some degree of exchange controls. Joining GATT did not require full convertibility, although dual rates for trading activities, often viewed as export subsidies, were an obstacle to membership. The United States, already running a trade deficit of approximately $20 billion with China, complained out of one side of its mouth†¦ In response to international and domestic demands for a reform of the foreign exchange regime, Chinese leaders gradually devalued their currency and created an officially sanctioned swap market for foreign exchange. Devaluation began in 1981 with the adoption of a special internal settlement rate of 2.8 yuan to $1 U.S. for foreign trade transactions. (Shirk 1994; 57-58).   It is thus stated that Chinese goods were underpriced due to their state subsidiaries.   Although the exchange rate made Chinese good profitable, imports were not easily winning the economic battle in China as they were comparably overpriced.   As a result of this during 1981-1984, dual rates existed and were ‘substantial’ (Shirk 1994; 58).   The growth of exports as well seemed to be vanishing as the 2.8 yuan rate was weak.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dual rate was a spot of heavy criticism among other international trading nations.   The International Monetary Fund stated that dual rates were in clear violation of IMF’s standards.   As a result the United States who had been a large financial supporter of China filed several complaints stating that the internal rate was â€Å"a form of export subsidy† (Shirk 1994; 59).   The State Council responded to these issues in 1985 by getting rid of the dual rate exchange in favor of the internal system (as mentioned prior) of a 2.8 yuan.   The government subsequently devalued the renminbi five times â€Å"13 percent in 1986, 21.2 percent in 1989, and 9.57 percent in 1990† (Shirk 1994; 59). China Card   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The issues of dual exchange rate are clearly seen in the China Card.   The Chinese economy has been witness to exorbitant expansion within the time frame of 1970- present.   This has allowed for the retardation of recession seen across Asia.   China is growing exponentially.   The Chinese bank has added problems to the Chinese economy by continually lending money to governmental projects that abound in profitless margins.   In support of this China had in 2004 reportedly lent out nearly 40 percent of its gross domestic product with reports being silent as to whether or not there were any signs that this money was returned with interest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   China also has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar which lends investors to believe that China is overdue for an economic crisis.   The only thing that seems to be holding China together is their strict capital controls which lock domestic savers into these bankrupting banks across China. Tiananmen Square protests of 1989   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Tiananmen Square Massacre occurred June 4th 1989.   This was a protest in response to the government of the People’s Republic of China which students and other activists were party.   The PRC government initiated riot gear and as such many of the peaceful protestors were left dead; the number murdered during the protest ranges anywhere from 200 to 3,000 Chinese students as well as Red Cross.   The protest was devised in view of held beliefs that the Communist Party of China was corrupt.   The protest also shared the views of workers who stated that economic reform was leading the country towards inflation which was leading to unemployment and the immense amount of poor in the PRC (Wikipedia 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The protestors did not disperse when asked to by the government and as such the government’s counteraction was to declare martial law.   Martial law allowed for tanks to infiltrate Tiananmen Square and essentially wreak havoc.   Foreign press was banned from the event (Wikipedia 2006).   This event lead to the questioning of the labor laws in China and the fairness and consciousness China was paying towards human rights.   If China wanted to sustain the sequestering of this massacre then this was a statement of omission in which China was essentially proving the protestor’s beliefs that trade as connected with labor was inhumane. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion this paper has expounded on the U.S-China trade relations in due course of China’s GATT acceptance and their WTO acknowledgements in order to provide a stronger economy.   The other half of the paper represented dual rate as well as the China Card in which Chinese currency and their propensity of cheap goods allow for the country to become strong but according to IMF China was in violation foreign policy.   This leads to further evidence of China having unfair labor laws with the massacre that occurred at Tiananmen Square in 1989.   Thus, China’s trade is a dichotomy that is both good and bad; prosperous for the PRC yet lacking in support of the common laborer.   The relationship between the U.S and China as described in this paper is teetering and yet, because of the WTO and foreign investments such as Boeing, trade with China is inevitable. 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Online Library of Liberty.   Karl Marx: Capital and Critique of Political Economy. 2005.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (Online).   Available:   http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Set.php?recordID=0445. Rikowski, Glenn.   Transfiguration:   Globalisation, the World Trade Organization and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The National Faces of the GATS.   www.libr.org/isc/articles/14-Glenn_Rikowski.html Sewell, Thomas. Karl Marx and the Freedom of the Individual. Ethics. Vol. 73. No. 2. 1963. P. 119-125. Shirk, Susan L.   How China Opened Its Door:   The Political Success of the PRC’s Foreign  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Trade And Investment Reforms.   Brookings Institution, 1994. The Mongolian Empire: The Yuan. Washington State University. Online source. Date Accessed: February 11, 2006. URL: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHEMPIRE/YUAN.HTM Walt, Stephen M. International Relations: One World, Many Theories.   Washington: Spring  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1998, Iss. 110 Wikipedia.   Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.   2006.   (Online).   Available:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 Wolf, Martin.   Is Globalisation in Danger?   World Economy.   Vol. 26, Issue 4, p.393-411, April,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2003.

Customer Analysis of Nike Shoes User

Customer Analysis of Nike Shoes User Nikeshoes industries limited INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM Since the late 1980s, Business School marketing professor Itamar Simonson has looked for ways to understand how consumers make choices. Much of his work debunks the accepted theory that giving consumers what they want and making a profit are the most basic principles of marketing. Customers may not know what they want, and second-guessing them can be expensive, says the professor who teaches MBA and PhD marketing and consumer decision-making courses. In Simonsons words, â€Å"The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer preference are more complex and less deterministic than has been assumed†. Thats because â€Å"customer preferences are often ill-defined and susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor insight into their preferences†. In one of his recent papers, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing and mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have suggested that learning what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will create customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to competition. In an example taken to the extreme in the 2002 movie Minority Report, Tom Cruises character runs through a shopping mall past talking billboards that recognize him by name and urge him to buy products he had earlier expressed an interest in such as jeans and Ray-Bans, the ultimate in personalized advertising. But Simonson has this to say: The fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to give customers exactly what they want has been grossly exaggerated. In studies, he has learned that even when customers have well-defined preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences; it is far from certain that the response to such offers will consistently be more favourable than those directed at larger market segments. Its all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be sceptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who dont know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers preferences how the offer was extended and on trust. Effective individual marketing requires not only an understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity with the various factors that impact customers responses. This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill, at least to some extent. For example, Amazon keeps track of customers purchases and suggests other books they might like. Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to customers specifications. But Simonson argues some companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design one -of-a-kind shoes. Custom Foot didnt take into account that some customers were put off by the individualized attention, Simonson says, and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the store went to so much trouble. They often didnt come back. So knowing only the customer preferences is not enough. It is required to understand other aspects of customer behaviour. Keeping this in mind, present study will find out and analyze consumer behaviour of Nike shoes. About The Industry Nike, the number one manufacturer of footwear and apparel, has become a household name on the same level as mogul companies McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Budweiser. Nike was founded in 1964 by track coach and runner duo Bill Bowerman and Phillip Knight as Blue Ribbons Sports, later becoming Nike, Inc. in 1978. The name Nike was chosen in reference to the Greek Goddess of victory. Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, helped others succeed in times of war. NIKE, the worlds #1 shoemaker, does more dominating than assisting, to capture a hefty share of the athletic shoe market. It designs and sells shoes for a variety of sports, including baseball, cheerleading, golf, volleyball, hiking, tennis, and football. NIKE also sells Cole Haan dress and casual shoes, as well as athletic apparel and equipment. In addition, NIKE operates NIKETOWN shoe and sportswear stores, NIKE factory outlets, and NIKE Women shops. Nike didnt run TV ads until 1982. Previously, Nike concentrated on sponsorships and celebrity athletes endorsements including both professional athletes and college teams. The first professional athlete endorser was Ilie Natase a Romanian tennis player. The first track and field athlete to endorse the brand was Steve Prefontaine. Nike has signed top athletes in the sports of Football, Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, Cycling, Golf, Tennis, Skateboarding, Boxing, Track and Field and Formula 1 Racing. One of Nikes best PR decisions was signing Michael Jordan as a celebrity endorser in 1984. Nikes steady competition in the 1980s was Reebok. To break any similarities they had to Reebok, Nike began promoting its shoes as fashion accessories. Reebok had cornered the younger, aerobics audience, so Nike started concentrating their ads around the person wearing the product rather than the product itself. In the 80s, Nike grew to hold 50% of the market share in the athletic shoe market. In 1988, Nike employees met with advertising agency Wieden and Kennedy (formed in 1982). In the midst of the meeting, Dan Weiden turned to the Nike employees and said, â€Å"You Nike guys, you just do it.† And so the infamous Just Do It tagline was born. Nike currently enjoys a 47% market share of the domestic footwear industry, with sales of $3.77 billion. NIKE sells its products in more than 180 countries, for over twenty-five years and there are over 500,000 people today directly engaged in the production of their products. They utilize an outsourcing strategy, using only subcontractors throughout the globe. Their majority of their output today is produced in factories in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but they also have factories in Italy, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea. These factories are 100% owned by subcontractors, with the majority of their output consisting solely of Nike products. However, Nike does employ teams of four expatriates per each of the big three countries (China, Indonesia, Vietnam), that focus on both quality of product and quality of working conditions, visiting the factories weekly. They also developed their code of conduct in 1992 and have implemented it across the globe, as its goal is to set th e standard for subcontractors to follow if they wish to do business with Nike. However, due to a manufacturing network of this magnitude, they have faced numerous violations involving factory conditions and human rights issues, which have been widely publicized. Nike, Inc. is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing of footwear, apparel, equipment and accessory products. Nikes athletic footwear products are designed for specific athletic use, although some of its products are worn for casual or leisure purposes. The Company creates designs for men, women and children. Running, basketball, childrens, cross-training and womens shoes are the Companys top-selling product categories. Nike also markets shoes designed for outdoor activities, tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, aquatic activities, hiking and other athletic and recreational uses. Nike sells active sports apparel that covers most of these categories, athletically inspired lifestyle apparel and others. Nikes mission is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world, and the company says further that If you have a body, you are an athlete. The firms overall vision includes providing a full range of high-quality, performance-oriented and technologically sophisticated athletic shoes and a variety of accessories targeting individuals of all ages, in all market segments. Nike Air Max+2009 Nikes patented Nike Air Max+2009 Light Architecture selectively alters maximum cushioning, maximum comfort a premium ride. High-end technology combines with streamlined design in the Nike Air Max+ 2009 Running Shoe for a premium ride and fit built for speed. Ideal if youre a runner with an underpronated to neutral gait, the Air Max+ 2009 boasts maximum comfort and cushioning from heel-strike to toe-off. The full-length articulated Max Air unit provides exceptional cushioning and allows for a smoother, more natural range of motion through every foot strike. The Nike Air Max line has had a long and impressive history of constantly innovating and providing stylish ultra-functional sneakers in the process. The latest offering in the line is the Air Max+ 2009 Running Shoe, a sleek new model with some very nice touches like Flywire technology and a full 360 Air Max sole unit. The shoe also features a partially transparent upper that reveals the Flywire and a mesh under layer. The fellas will have grey/black/red and Silver/volt/black colour ways to sink their teeth into, while the ladies versions will come in grey/orange and grey/silver/liquid lime. The Features of Nike Air Max+2009: The State of the art Flywire An ultra-strong and ultra-light Flywire provides both targeted support and a uniquely dynamic fit. The Acclaimed Max Air A full-length articulated Max Air unit provides maximum cushioning to give a smoother ride. A Cushy Ride Full-length Cushion combines plush cushioning with springy resilience for both comfort and protection. Cutting Edge Engineering Ensure better runs with the engineered heel collar that conforms to the shape of foot for a more comfortable fit and feel Durable Exterior Strategically placed lugs and a waffle-like outsole gives an optimal traction, durability and cushioning. How Nike Air Works Durable, Versatile, Revolutionary, Nike Air was the first air technology developed at Nike, and it changed the way of thinking about cushioning: encapsulated air to cushion the foot strike in athletic shoes. It remains the standard in impact protection more than 20 years after its debut. How Nike+ Works Nike+ is designed for athletes who like to run with music and who want to measure and monitor their progress toward their goals. To get instant workout feedback, youll need Nike+ ready shoes and either a Nike+ SportBand or an iPod ® nano and Nike + iPod Sport Kit (which includes a sensor and iPod nano receiver). When placed under the sockliner of the left Nike+ ready shoe, the sensor measures your pace, distance, time elapsed and calories burned. This information is transmitted wirelessly to the receiver for real-time audio feedback while you listen to your favorite workout music. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Nike is a language of sports, a universally understood lexicon of passion and competition. A lot has happened at Nike in the 30 years since they entered the industry, most of it good, some of it downright embarrassing. But through it all, Nike remain totally focused on creating performance opportunities for everyone who would benefit, and offering empowering messages for everyone who would listen. What started with a handshake between two running geeks in sleepy Eugene, Oregon, are now the worlds most competitive sports and Fitness Company. The World Headquarters is in Beaverton, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest is Nikes hometown, but like so many ambitious souls, Nike has expanded their horizons to every corner of the world. Nike employs around 23,000 people, and every one of them is significant to our mission of bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Along the way Nike joined up with some great partner companies that help extend our reach within and beyond sports. Cole Haan offers casual luxury footwear and accessories out of New York City and Yarmouth, Maine. Bauer Nike Hockey, based in Montreal, Quebec, is the worlds leading manufacturer of hockey equipment and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike, Inc. Nike partnered with Hurley International, a premium teen lifestyle brand founded by 20-year industry veteran Bob Hurley based in Costa Mesa, California. In 2003, Nike completed the acquisition of Converse, the globally recognized footwear brand with nearly a century of sports heritage and home of the perennially popular Chuck Taylor All-Star and Jack Purcell footwear. In August 2004, Nike created the Exeter Brands Group, a wholly owned subsidiary, dedicated to building athletic footwear and apparel brands for the value retail channel. This portfolio of brands includes the Official Starter Properties LLC and Official Starter LLC which are the sole owners and licensors of the Starter, Team Starter and Asphalt brand names as well as master licensee of the Shaq and Dunkman brands, a line of athletic apparel, footwear and accessory products for the value retail channel. The Nike family is a fairly vast enterprise. Nike operates on six continents Nikes suppliers, shippers, retailers and service providers employ close to 1 million people. The diversity inherent in such size is helping Nike evolve its role as a global company. They see a bigger picture today than when they have started, one that includes building sustainable business with sound labour practices. Nike retains the zeal of youth yet act on our responsibilities as a global corporate citizen. â€Å"If you have a body, you are an athlete. And as long as there are athletes, there will be Nike†. PRODUCT TREND Bovine skin was by far the most preferred leather material, followed by goat/kid/lamb/sheep skin and crocodile skin. Respondents overwhelmingly preferred the colour black and to a lesser extent, dark brown. For handbags/briefcases, popular colours included light brown, white and red. Consumer Segments with the Biggest Spending Power Male professionals, managers and executives are the segment with the biggest spending power for now and in the coming three years. The Competitiveness of Hong Kong Brands/ Suppliers of Leather Consumer Goods. Most retailers consider Hong Kong brands to be either very competitive or quite competitive in both high-end and mid-range segments, but less competitive in the low-end segment. The competitiveness of Hong Kong brands mainly rests on their product style/design and quality, with most respondents picking those as the major reasons behind the attractiveness of Hong Kong brands in the high-end and mid-range segments respectively. PRODUCT PROFILE Apart from delivering a pair of comfortable sports shoes Nike also provides a number of value-added features with its products. The features that are a part of every Nike sports shoe are as follows. High Performance Sports Shoes: Nike has patented the â€Å"Air† system and has made it into a regular feature in most of its models. Many models feature an air pocket in the shoe that reduces the weight of the shoe and reduces pressure on the heels. The overall design and compactness of the shoes have made it a favourite of many professional athletes around the world. Comfort: Nike shoes are renowned all over the world for the comfort they provide. Well padded and cushioned, they provide a tremendous level of comfort to the wearer and reduce the strain to his feet while playing. Lightweight: This attribute is in line with the two described above. A lightweight shoe provides greater mobility and eases the pressure on the feet of the wearer. Durability: People purchasing a pair of shoes at such a high price often feel that they have made an investment. They would obviously want to see their shoes last a long time. To prove this point we draw the example of the authors of this marketing plan. All of us own a pair of Nikes and have been wearing them for well over two years a symbol of the durability of Nike shoes. Style: Nikes designs are considered to be the most stylish in the industry and beat all others as far as looks are concerned. Attractively packaged, it is a delight to bring a pair home. Add to this the â€Å"Swoosh† the most recognizable symbol in sports and you have a product that would give the user a definite sense of pride. Nike shoes also come with a guarantee card that enables the owner to return it in case of manufacturing defects. However, owing to the fact that the company implements strict quality control measures, coming across a defective pair in a store are a rarity. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0 and Nike SB shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their competitors. Nike positions its products in such a way as to try to appeal to a youthful.materialistic crowd. It is positioned as a premium performance brand. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research comprise defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating Hypothesis. In short, the search for Knowledge through Objective and Systematic method of finding solutions to a problem is Research. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES  · To study the tastes, preferences and buying behaviour of consumer in case of foot wear of Nike.  · To analyze buying behaviour of consumers.  · To recommend strategies to Nike to increase sales.  · SWOT analysis of the product sold.  · Comparative study with the competitors. RESEARCH DESIGN TYPE OF RESEARCH: Descriptive research Descriptive research includes Surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. DATA SOURCES There are two types of data. Source of primary data for the present study is collected through questionnaire and answered by consumers of Nike shoes. The secondary data is collected from journals, books and through Internet search. PRIMARY DATA: The data that is collected first hand by someone specifically for the purpose of facilitating the study is known as primary data. So in this research the data is collected from respondents through questionnaire. SECONDARY DATA: For the company information I had used secondary data like brochures, web site of the company etc. The Method used by me is Survey Method as the research done is Descriptive Research. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS Selected instrument for Data Collection for Survey is Questionnaire. QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN FORMULATION Under this method, list of questions pertaining to the survey are prepared for marketing staff of consumers of Nike shoes. Questionnaire has structured type questions as well as unstructured type questions. Structured objective type questions are prepared for the respondents with fixed response categories. Some of the questions are of multiple-choice type. The questions have more than one alternative. Questionnaire: A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to respondent for their answers. It can be Closed Ended or Open Ended Open Ended: Allows respondents to answer in their own words are difficult to Interpret and Tabulate. Close Ended: Pre-specify all the possible answers are easy to Interpret and Tabulate. TYPES OF QUESTION INCLUDED: DICHOTOMOUS QUESTIONS: Which has only two answers â€Å"Yes† or â€Å"No†? MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS: Were respondent is offered more than two choices. IMPORTANCE SCALES: A scale that rates the importance of some attribute. RATING SCALE: A scale that rates some attribute from â€Å"highly satisfied † to â€Å"highly unsatisfied† and â€Å"very inefficient† to â€Å"very efficient†. SAMPLING UNIT: Who is to be surveyed? The marketing researcher must define the target population that will be sampled. The sample Unit taken by me is to the General public of different age group, different gender and different profession. EXTENT: Where the survey should be carried out? I have covered entire residential area of Dubai city for the survey. TIME FRAME:- When the survey should be conducted? I conducted my survey for 8weeks from 10th may to 10th July SAMPLING FRAME: The source from which the sample is drawn SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: How the respondent is chosen? In the Project sampling is done on basis of Probability sampling. Among the probability sampling design the sampling design chosen is stratified random sampling. Because in this survey I had stratified the sample in different age group, different gender and different profession. SAMPLE SIZE Consumers of shoes, 50 no: STEPS FOLLOWED IN COMPLETING THE STUDY: (i) Libraries (ii) Internet sites containing information on Nike shoes marketing are browsed. (iii) Journal containing info (iv) Sample survey was conducted (v) Data was thoroughly checked for error. DATA PROCESSING METHODOLOGY  · Once the primary data have been collected, they are edited inspected, corrected and modified.  · Tabulation bring similar data together and totalling them in meaningful categories. Questionnaires are edited both in the field and later in home. Field editing took place just often the interview. Generally editing is required for open type of questions. Brief notes or symbols are frequently used during the interview to initially record the interviewers response since it was not desirable to interrupt the flow with lengthy note taking. The responses are thoroughly checked at home for incorrect, inconsequential or contradictions categories are developed only often the replies has been reviewed. This review provided a feel for the pattern of answers and thus determine what categories best represent the answers. The collected data are placed in an order. Percentages of respondents answered similarly are calculated and placed in a table. Then this is interpreted. Interpretation changes the new information immerging from the analysis into information that is pertinent or relevant to the study. CONCLUSION WAS DRAWN BASED ON THE SURVEY FINDINGS: Finally recommendation was made to improve the sales strategy of Nike shoes to increase the sales volume. SAMPLE DESIGN THE BASIS OF SAMPLING: Consumers of Nike shoes are chosen randomly, so that unbiased, representative sample may be obtained. LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH The geographical area was very much limited to residential area so the results are not particularly reflection of the current behaviour. BIASES AND NON-COOPERATION OF THE RESPONDENTS: The collected data are placed into an order. Percentages of respondents answered similarly are calculated and placed in a table. Then this is interpreted. This involved drawing conclusion from the gathered data. Interpretation changes the new information immerging from the analysis into information that is pertinent or relevant to the study. Due to limited time period and constrained working hours for most of the respondents, the answers at times were vague enough to be ignored. Most of the people take their Nike Shoes in the period preceding March so the response to initial contacts were not all encouraging and that has been the primary reason in the inability to quantify the results large enough so as to deduce any relevant outcomes. COMPANY PROFILE NIKE INDUSTRIES LTD. A COMPANY PROFILE Nike India Ltd (BIL) is India‘s largest footwear company. Nike first established itself in India in 1931 and commenced manufacturing shoes in Batanagar in 1936. The company has its Headquarters in Kolkata and manufactures over 33 million pairs per year in five plants located in Batanagar (West Bengal), Faridabad (Haryana), Bangalore (Karnataka), Patna (Bihar), Hosur (Tamil Nadu). It secures its leather supply from two tanneries in Mokamehghat (Bihar) and Batanagar (West Bengal). It has a distribution network of over 1,500 retail stores and 27 wholesale depots provide excellent access to consumers and wholesale customers throughout India. As on December 31, 2006, the Canadian parent had a 51 per cent stake while institutional holding was about 13 per cent. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Nike India has said that its Faridabad and Mokamehghat units are being taken over by Fashion Shoe Private Ltd and BDCL Enterprises Pvt Ltd, respectively. The company is also enabling the buy back provision in its Articles of association to enable buy back of shares. The assets and liabilities of both the units will be transferred to these companies and shares will be offered in the agreed ratio to the existing shareholders of Nike India Ltd on a record date, which will be fixed by the Calcutta High Court. While retail sales have increased both in value and volume, wholesale sales have declined due to restriction of supplies as a means to recover customers outstanding. General recession and sluggish market conditions in the industry also have had a direct impact on lower sales and profitability. Resistance of consumers to price rises in popular volume products as well as discounts to clear slow-moving stocks and under utilization of production capacity adversely affected the operational results. The lockout declared at the Peenya factory on October 1, 2008 due to serious industrial relation problems and non-compliance with the tripartite settlement has been withdrawn. The footwear manufactured in this factory, which was shifted to the companys other factories and associated manufacturers, will now be gradually produced within the factory. In Simonsons words, â€Å"The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer preference are more complex and less deterministic than has been assumed†. Thats because customer preferences are often ill-defined and susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor insight into their preferences. In one of his recent papers, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing and mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have suggested that learning what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will create customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to competition. But Simonson has this to say: The fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to give customers exactly what they want has been grossly exaggerated. His take on the long-held assumption that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is â€Å"not so fast†. In studies, he has learned that even when customers have well-defined preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences; it is far from certain that the response to such offers will consistently be more favourable than those directed at larger market segments. Its all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be sceptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who dont know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers preferences how the offer was extended and on trust. Effective individual marketing requires not on ly an understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity with the various factors that impact customers responses, Simonson writes. This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill, at least to some extent. For example, Amazon keeps track of customers purchases and suggests other books they might like. Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to customers specifications. But Simonson argues some companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design one-of-a-kind shoes. Custom Foot didnt take into account that some customers were put off by the individualized attention, Simonson says, and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the store went to so much trouble. They often didnt come back. So knowing only the customer preferences is not enough. It is required to understand other aspects of cust omer behaviour. Keeping this in mind, present study will find out and analyze consumer behaviour of Nike shoes with reference to ladies segment. FUTURE PLAN The management says that it is not averse to outsourcing if it worked out cheaper. It is also open to the idea of importing shoes mostly from China if it works out cheaper. Nike and Reebok India Company have announced an agreement to foray into retailing partnership for sale of Reebok and Rockport footwear in Nike outlets. The partnership entails retailing a range of sports shoes for walking, running, tennis and training for personal fitness and sports. An attractive valuation compared to its peers is the main trigger for the scrip. Besides, the companys aggressive focus on retailing and revamping of business (a division into shoes and apparels) is also helping sentiment for the scrip. Plans are afoot to start selling apparel in India made by the joint venture North Star. Theres talk that the company is planning on a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to cut costs. For the third quarter ended 30 September 2007, Nike India reduced its losses to Rs.5.68 crore on a 9.2% increase in net profit to Rs.154.27 crore. Despite reducing its losses for the quarter, Nike India has, over the last few quarters, been continuously recording weak performances as a result of an overall slowdown in the industry due to lower consumer spending. Increasing domestic competition, particularly from the unorganized sector, has also been eroding into the companys market share. The company is finding it difficult to maintain its market share in a highly price-sensitive Indian market, despite having strong brand recall. 97% of the companys revenues are from the domestic market while the remainder is from exports. Nike India is the biggest player in the Indian shoe market. Nike Indias major problems include its high cost of production and low emphasis on marketing. The company may be able to address the first problem through outsourcing products. Batas brand image has been restricted to that of a company that emphasizes on utilitarian products more than trendy ones. Customers feel the company is lacking in innovation. Hence, their preference has shifted to other local brands. Nike India has a large marketing network with over 1,600 showrooms, 35 wholesale depots and eight retail distribution centres across the country. Besides, there is a network of 500 exclusive wholesalers servicing 30,000 dealers all over the country. However, in spite of this and the license to sell other brands like Nike, Hush Puppies and Lotto, Nike has not been able to improve sales consistently. The recent rise i