Historical Investigation Essay

â€Å"Assess the impact of the period from 1969 – 1982 on the IRA/Sinn Fein and their development into a significant political force in Northern Ireland† â€Å"Assess the impact of the period from 1969 – 1982 on the IRA/Sinn Fein and their development into a significant political force in Northern Ireland† During the period from 1969-1982 both the IRA and Sinn Fein underwent significant change. Sinn Fein moved from a fringe role, in the nationalist movement of Northern Ireland, to a dominant political position. During a time of intense violence in the region an internal discussion was taking place, deliberating on the value of armed resistance versus political engagement. The ideals that rose out of this transformed the movement and laid the basis for the central role it would play in the eventual Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The re-emergence of the nationalist movement led to the rise and resurrection of groups such as the IRA. Naturally this caused much tension, and incidences of violence began to rise. Acts of exceptional protest showed the incomparable power of politics over violence and led to international recognition of the issue. Ultimately Sinn Fein developed into one of the most powerful political forces in Northern Ireland. After years in the dark the nationalist movement began to rapidly gain momentum when the Belfast Troubles began in 1969. The IRA had been deeply divided since 1921 when Dail Eireann chose to ratify the Anglo- Irish treaty. The treaty established the autonomous Irish Free State whilst the province of Ulster remained under the direct control of the United Kingdom. Despite the fact that IRA member Michael Collins had played a role in writing the treaty there was still a major difference of opinion between members of the IRA.1 They were divided between those who were for the establishment of the Free State and those who believed it was illegitimate and illegal. The Split over the treaty led to the Irish Civil War from 1922-3. Many of the opposing leaders had been close friends and comrades during the Irish War of Independence. The civil war split the IRA and this rift would continue to haunt Irish politics for many years to come. In the 1960’s the IRA was further marginalised as it came under the influence of left wing thinkers. This caused a split between the factions of the IRA based in Dublin and Belfast.2 In 1969 the wounds of old were once stirred again when Northern Ireland was rocked by bloody sectarian rioting. The bloodiest rioting was in Belfast where seven people were killed and hundreds injured.3 Violence escalated sharply after these events and new paramilitary groups came into existence on either side of the conflict. The Provisional IRA received an upsurge in membership. It was from here that ‘The Troubles,’ one of the most infamous periods in Irish history began. The violence was characterised by armed campaigns of paramilitary groups. Conflict hit the streets and many innocent people were often attacked. Alongside the violence there was deadlock between the major political parties of Northern Ireland over how the province would be administered and governed. 1972 saw an explosion of political violence in Northern Ireland in which many people lost their lives. The nationalist community saw the Provisional IRA as their defenders, who began an armed campaign in reaction to loyalist provoked violence. During this period the party Sinn Fein had no interest in electoral politics.4 They voiced the need for military opposition to British rule in Northern Ireland. They gained control of the Republican movement and began to focus on flooding nationalist propaganda throughout Northern Ireland. Membership began to skyrocket as anti-British sentiment ran rife. The Republican political party Sinn Fein built the foundations for a movement which in ten years would expand to have branches in every town in Ireland. Atrocities by loyalists and British forces themselves were used to justify the IRA as a movement and inspired many to stand up and fight for the cause they all believed in. On 30 January 19725 in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland border, perhaps one of the largest single atrocities of the ‘Troubles’ period occurred. During a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the bogside area of the city members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute regiment opened fire on many unarmed protestors. Twenty seven people are known to have been shot and fourteen of those were killed with at least five of the latter confirmed as being shot in the back. 6 Witnesses, including bystanders and British journalists, testify that all those shot appeared to be unarmed. Many individual atrocities occurred that day witnessed by hundreds of people. Eye witness Michael McCallion testified that â€Å"A fellow came out with a white flag, no sooner had he done this when the middle of three British soldiers pulled the trigger and shot him through the head†¦.I have witnessed this as God is my judge and I say that it was cold blooded murder.†7 Testimonies such as this confirm the extreme acts of violence the British committed unnecessarily on that day. One paratrooper who gave evidence testified that they were told by an officer to expect a gunfight and â€Å"we want some kills.†8 The reason for the uproar over such killings was the British soldiers were essentially not an occupying force but a measure of peace between nationalist and loyalist paramilitary groups. As Catholic Bishop of Derry Edward Daly commented â€Å"What really made Bloody Sunday so obscene was the fact that afterwards at the highest level British justice justified it.†9 Acts such as this by official British forces reaffirmed the belief of many that the British Government was still the real enemy and behind the problems that continued in Northern Ireland. This justified the cause of the nationalist movement and subsequently the IRA and Sinn Fein as well. Both organisations had now developed a strong following throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland. Whilst such occurrences did cause much suffering and pain they proved useful to both the IRA and Sinn Fein in acquiring widespread support for the movement. Sinn Fein and the IRA were not officially linked but both strived for the same goal. The Provisional Irish Republican Army was a paramilitary organisation that considered itself a direct continuation of the IRA that had fought in the Irish war of Independence.10 Its stated objective was to end British rule in Ireland and withdraw Northern Irelands status as part of the United Kingdom. The Provisionals advocated for armed defence of Catholic communities in the north and an offensive campaign to end British rule. As the violence in Northern Ireland steadily increased the IRA began to call for a more aggressive campaign against British loyalists. Sinn Fein was a political party of the Republican movement. It was formed in 1970 but has traces back to the original party founded in 1905.11 The party is believed to be directly associated with the IRA. Both Sinn Fein and the IRA played different but converging roles in the war for liberation. Whilst the movements were not officially linked it was widely thought that they were different faces of the same movement. In 2005 the British Government stated â€Å"We had always said all the way through that we believed the IRA and Sinn Fein were inextricably linked and that had obvious implications at leadership level.†12 Throughout the early seventies there was much internal argument between factions of the IRA and Sinn Fein over whether their movement’s primary role should chiefly military or political, although both groups viewed Britain as a colonial occupier and therefore viewed the political process as illegal. Until 1973 Sinn Fein had little interest in politics as the party was still deemed illegal by the British Government. Political activity began in 1973 when Sinn Fein opened the Republican press centre on Falls Road. In 1973 the first attempt at negotiations to resolve the situation led to the Sunningdale Agreement, which devised a power sharing system in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Although this did no include Sinn Fein and quickly collapsed under pressure from loyalist strikes.13 In May 1974 British secretary of State Merlyn Rees legalised Sinn Fein as a political party.14 This was perhaps the beginning of tacit recognition by the British Government that negotiations were only meaningful if they were directly with the IRA. Whilst local politicians such as John Hume, of the Nationalist Party, were respected they did not command enough power to have any effect. Secret meetings between Provisional IRA leaders Ruairi O’Bradaigh and Billy McKee with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees resulted in a ceasefire which began in February 1975.15 The truce proved to be disastrous for the IRA; leading to infiltration by many British informers into their ranks. After a build up of tensions and a series of sectarian killings the ceasefire broke down in January 1976.16 It was clear that the original aims of the IRA leadership for a quick military victory were receding. It was acts of violence by British authorities that justified the military side of the movement and ensured tensions would continue for years to come. As Sinn Fein began to move into the political process so did many former revolutionaries and IRA members. One such person was Gerry Adams; after being in prison for alleged IRA membership17 he turned himself in a new direction a moved towards the political process. In 1978 he was elected as the vice president of Sinn Fein. This most likely came as a result of the realisation by many senior figures that it was becoming more and more unlikely that a military victory could be achieved. Whilst significant events such as Bloody Sunday lead to anti-British sentiment to sky rocket many turned away from violence and embraced the political system. Protests by a number of imprisoned IRA members in Long Kesh gaol showed the power of political tactics, leading to the dominance of Sinn Fein as a political force. The 1981 hunger strike was the climax of a five year protest by Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest originally began in 197618 when the British Government removed its special category status for convicted paramilitary prisoners. This status had provided them with Prisoner of War privileges as specified in the Geneva Convention.19 Prisoners did not have to wear prison uniforms, do prison work and were allowed to be housed within their own paramilitary factions. They were also entitled to receive extra food parcels and have extra visits. When these rights were removed by the British Government, as recommended by the Gardiner Committee20, the prisoners began a protest to gain them back. It started with a blanket protest in which prisoners refused to wear uniforms but instead wrapped themselves in prison blan kets; they stated that they were not criminals but political prisoners. In 197821 the dispute escalated into a dirty protest in which prisoners refused to wash and covered their cell walls with excrement. In 1980 the first hunger strike took place but to no avail ending after 53 days.22 The second strike in 1981 is perhaps one of the best know instances of protest throughout the campaign. The strike was lead by former IRA Officer Commanding in the prison, Bobby Sands.23 At the beginning of the strike there was little progress and it didn’t receive much outside support. But after five days the strike received a much needed boost; the Independent Republican MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone died and a by-election was called to appoint his replacement. It was decided that Bobby Sands would stand against the Ulster Unionist Party candidate Harry West.24 On 9 April 1981 Sands won a narrow victory and was elected to the British House of Commons.25 The victory attracted worldwide attention and thousands of media personnel descended on Belfast. On the six ty sixth day of the hunger strikes, May 5, Sands died causing riots across Northern Ireland. One hundred thousand people lined the route of his funeral a few days later.26 In the weeks after Sands death three more hunger strikers died,27 and another by-election had to be held for the seat of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Due to the fact that the British Government had rushed through the Representation of the People Act,28 which meant prisoners serving more than one year could not run for parliament, so Sands’ election agent Owen Carron had to run instead. He claimed a similar victory gaining a larger percentage of the votes. The success of hunger strike created a firm platform for Irish republicanism and paved the way for the formal entry of Sinn Fein into electoral politics the following year. It was also around this period that the British Government began reforming its policies in relation to the IRA and Sinn Fein. They now viewed Sinn Fein as a legitimate political movement who would be included in official negotiations. The achievements of the hunger strikers proved the power of political activism as opposed to violence; they also exposed the falseness of the British Governments claim that the Republican movement had no support. The events of 1969-82 transformed the Republican movement from a violence orientated force to a significant political force. As Sinn Fein began to grow as a political force the IRA slowly, and with considerable internal difficulties, changed its ways. This eventually paved the way for an official ceasefire in 1994. Their agreement to decommission their weapons meant that Sinn Fein was allowed to come to the negotiation table and play a significant role in the Good Friday agreement of 1998. That agreement resulted in a devolved power sharing structure of self government for Northern Ireland, whilst it still remained within the United Kingdom.29 In 2007 Martin McGuiness of Sinn Fein was appointed deputy first minister and held equal power alongside Ian Paisely of the DUP in the Northern Ireland Assembly Government.30 From the split in the nationalist movement in 1969 to its reemergence throughout the seventies, alongside the IRA, there was much change. Events such as Bloody Sunday increased the military overtone of the movement but ultimately peaceful political power prevailed. Acts such as the 1981 hunger strike proved the power of political protest as compared to violence. Ultimately Sinn Fein grew into a legitimate political party and as of 2009 they became the largest party in Northern Ireland following European Parliamentary elections.31 _______________________________________________________ Bibliography Literary Sources English, Richard (2003), Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA, Pan Books, Stuttgart, Germany ________________________________________________________________________ Geraghty, Tony (2000), The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Maryland, USA ________________________________________________________________________ Hastings, Max (1970), Ulster 1969 – The Fight for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland, Victor Gollancz LTD, London, United Kingdom ________________________________________________________________________ McEvoy, Kieran (2001), Paramilitary Imprisonment in Northern Ireland: Resistance, Management, and Release, Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom ________________________________________________________________________ Moloney, Ed (2002), A Secret History of the IRA, Penguin Books, New Jersey, USA ________________________________________________________________________ Mullan, Don (1997), Eyewitness Bloody Sunday – The Truth, Wolfhound Press, Dublin, Ireland ________________________________________________________________________ O’Brien, Brendan (1995), the Long War, the IRA and Sinn Fein, Syracuse University Press, New York, USA ________________________________________________________________________ Electronic Sources BBC (2009), on this day – 9 Decmeber1973 (online), BBC, London, United Kingdom. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/9/newsid_2536000/2536767.stm (Accessed 26 July 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ BBC (2009), Profile: Martin McGuinness (online), BBC, London, United Kingdom. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1303355.stm (Accessed 29 July 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ CAIN Web Service (2009), A chronology of the conflict (online), University of Ulster, Belfast, United Kingdom. Available from http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm (Accessed 27 July 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ Lord Gardiner (1975), Report of a Committee to consider, in the context of civil liberties and human rights, measures to deal with terrorism in Northern Ireland – Extract (online), University of Ulster, Belfast, United Kingdom. Available from http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/gardiner.htm#1 (Accessed July 28 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ McClean, Raymond, The Road to Bloody Sunday – Extracts (online), University of Ulster, Belfast, United Kingdom. Available from http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/mcclean.htm (Accessed 28 July 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ National Archives of Ireland (no date), Documents on Irish Foreign Policy Series: text of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (online), Irish Government, Dublin, Ireland, Available from http://www.nationalarchives.ie/topics/anglo_irish/dfaexhib2.html (Accessed 1 August 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ Prime Ministers Office (2005), Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Anti Terror Law, President Bush/EU, Foreign Doctors in NHS, Hunting and Northern Ireland (online), British Government, London, United Kingdom, Available from http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page7148 (Accessed 29 July 20090 ________________________________________________________________________ Sinn Fein Official Website (2009), History made – Sinn Fein is now the largest party in the six counties (online), Belfast, United Kingdom, Available from http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/16580 (Accessed 29 July 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ University College Cork (2009), Multitext project in Irish History – Movements for Political and Social Reform, 1870 – 1914 (online), University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, Available from http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/Ireland_politics__administration_1870-1914#12TheFirstSinnFeacuteinParty> (Accessed 25 July 2009) ________________________________________________________________________ 1 National Archives of Ireland, Documents on Irish Foreign Policy Series: text of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, n.d, (1 August 2009) 2 Moloney, Ed (2002), A Secret History of the IRA, Penguin Books. p. 246 3 English, Richard (2003), Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA, Pan Books. p. 136 4 O’Brien, Brendan, the Long War, the IRA and Sinn Fein (1995) 5 Moloney, Ed, A Secret History of the IRA. p. 80 6 McClean, Raymond, The Road to Bloody Sunday – Extracts, 1997, < http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/bsunday/mcclean.htm> (28 July 2009) 7 Mullan, Don, Eyewitness Bloody Sunday – The Truth, Wolfhound Press 8 Geraghty, Tony, The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence, unknown p. 65 9 Mullan, Don, Eyewitness Bloody Sunday – The Truth 10 Moloney, Ed, A Secret History of the IRA. p. 432 11 University College Cork, Multitext project in Irish History – Movements for Political and Social Reform, 1870 – 1914, 2009, < http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/Ireland_politics__administration_1870-1914#12TheFirstSinnFeacuteinParty> (25 July 2009) 12 Prime Ministers Office, Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Anti Terror Law, President Bush/EU, Foreign Doctors in NHS, Hunting and Northern Ireland, 21 February 2005, < http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page7148> 13 BBC, On this day – 9 Decmeber1973, 2009, < http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/9/newsid_2536000/2536767.stm> (26 July 2009) 14 Moloney, Ed, A Secret History of the IRA 15 Moloney, Ed, A Secret History of the IRA 16 English, Richard, Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA, p. 136 17 Moloney, Ed, A Secret History of the IRA p. 140. 18 McClean, Raymond, The Road to Bloody Sunday – Extracts 19 McEvoy, Kieran, Paramilitary Imprisonment in Northern Ireland: Resistance, Management, and Release, Oxford University Press 20 Lord Gardiner, Report of a Committee to consider, in the context of civil liberties and human rights, measures to deal with terrorism in Northern Ireland – Extract, 1975, < http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/gardiner.htm#1> (July 28 2009) 21 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict, 2009, < http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch76.htm> (27 July 2009) 22 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict 23 English, Richard, Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA p. 196 24 Moloney, Ed, A Secret History of the IRA p. 211 25 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict 26 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict 27 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict 28 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict 29 CAIN Web Service, A chronology of the conflict 30 BBC, Profile: Martin McGuinness, 2009, < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1303355.stm> (29 July 2009) 31 Sinn Fein Online, History made – Sinn Fein is now the largest party in the six counties, 2009, < http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/16580> (29 July 2009)

Dramatic and Significant in Act 2 Scene 3 Macbeth

Title: How does Shakespeare make this scene both a significant and dramatic moment in the play? In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth there are a lot of dramatic, exciting and tragic occurrences in many of the scenes. Although in the beginning, Shakespeare foreshadowed the tragedies that were to come nothing could have prepared the audience for what took place in Act 2 scene 3. This is the scene in which King Duncan is found murdered causing shock and panic in all the characters on stage.He dramatizes the scene by portraying the discovery of the King’s body, by emphasizing the shock and disbelief of the characters, by the flattering description given of Duncan and by revealing to the audience the deceptive characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Duncan is the King of Scotland. He went to Macbeth’s castle to commend Macbeth in his bravery in the war against Scotland. However what he did not know was that his death was planned before his arrival.Although we the audience on ly meet Duncan briefly Shakespeare provides us with an admirable view of Duncan’s character by the way the other characters describe him. For example when Duncan was found murdered Macduff had expressed his disbelief and outrage with the words: â€Å"Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope/The Lord’s anointed temple, and stole thence/The life o' th' building! † In this quote Shakespeare is comparing Duncan to God’s Temple. This gives the audience an idea of how kind and just Duncan really was.Even Macbeth calls the king â€Å"graceful and renowned† although the audience is not quite sure whether he meant it or not. Macbeth refers to the king’s blood as â€Å"the wine of life† and his body as â€Å"the dregs that remain. † In other words Duncan’s virtuous character was in his blood and now that it has been shed only the shell remained. Macduff was the one who discovered Duncan's corpse. He was very much frightened and sho cked to find his master dead. He had arrived on Duncan's orders to wake him up early only to find the king murdered.He comes out of the king’s chamber traumatized saying â€Å"O horror, horror, horror! /Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee! † To him this is unbelievable. Shakespeare depicts the shocked tone through Macduff’s words â€Å"O horror, horror, horror! † and through the exclamation marks to represent the tone of surprise in which Macduff spoke. There was a lot of commotion after that. Macduff awoken everyone by yelling and by ringing the bell to which Lady Macbeth responds â€Å"What’s the business, /that such a hideous trumpet calls to parley/The sleepers of the house?Speak, speak! † Lady Macbeth demands to know for what reason Macduff rung the bell awakening everyone that was sleeping. As everyone clambers in the tension and disbelief of the other characters start to build up emphasizing the drama of this scene. The aud ience is well aware that Macbeth was the one that killed the King and that Lady Macbeth helped him to accomplish the mission. So when they pretend they don’t know what happened it brings out one of the major themes of this play, deception. This scene reveals the duplicitous characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a person with a conscience but not a moral one. Macbeth wants to be king but he would rather have someone else do the evil deed and take the fall while he becomes king. He nevertheless kills the king and feigns disbelief when the body is found. He also killed the two innocent guards who were framed for the murder calling it an act passionate fury. Although the characters onstage are yet to find out that Macbeth is deceitful the audience waits tensely for the moment in which all is revealed.Lady Macbeth is also shown as a duplicitous character here in this scene. She is well aware of what took place since it was her master plan but prete nds to be innocent when Duncan's body is found. The irony in this scene is when Macduff trying to protect the Lady tells her â€Å"O gentle lady, /'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak: The repetition, in a woman’s ear, would murder as it fell† little does he know how ironic his choice of the word â€Å"gentle† is. He tells her that if he repeats the news to her she would die because of the tragedy.However Lady Macbeth is not shocked at the news although she feigns it since she herself kept awake to see that the deed was done. Lady Macbeth earlier on the play retorts to Macbeth that she herself would have done it if she wasn’t born a woman; she originally cursed her ‘gentleness’ begging nature to take the gift of giving life away from her. She even advises Macbeth on how to be deceitful when she said â€Å"To beguile the time, Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t. this shows that she is the more experienced one in being deceitful which is ironic since it’s Macbeth that is the ‘brave and worthy’ kinsmen. Shakespeare shows her to be a cruel woman who would stop at nothing for her husband’s success. This scene is a very dramatic one leaving most of the audience on their toes in anticipation and suspense dying to know what was going to happen. Later on we discover that Malcolm the crown Prince runs away leaving the throne. This is when the audience fully realizes that the Witches were telling the truth and that their final prophecy came true. Macbeth became King of Scotland.

Red Bull Energy Drink Essay

* Red Bull can be called as a pioneer in the energy drink category worldwide. In India too, Red Bull was the brand that created the energy drink category. * The brand came into existence in 1984. * The brand came to India in 2003. Although the brand has been keeping a low profile compared to the Cola majors , Red Bull has created a category of energy drinks in the Indian market. 4. Contd. * According to Economic Times ( 30. 05. 08) the energy drink market in India is estimated to be around 100 crores. * The market now has two main players Red Bull and Power Horse. * RB has an assessed market share of 29% of the global market of energy Drinks. * In the U. S. , Red Bull enjoys a 47% share of the energy drink market, and now has a 50% share of the German energy drink market. 5. SWOT Analysis * Market leadership- Within the energy drinks market Red Bull is the industry leader throughout the world. Marketing Efforts- a lot of promotions and well targeted campaigns and sponsorship e. g. formula 1 helps to expand Red bull brand and increase consumer brand awareness. * Strong , fresh & fashionable brand identity. * Strengths 6. Weaknesses * Above-average prices. * Lack of innovation- there are a lot of competitors in the market and they have their own USP which leaves Red Bull behind. * Reliant on small product base- The company only markets one branded product, Red Bull Energy Drink (along with a sugar free variety). * Inexperience: is only 6 years old in India. * Lack of patent on RB ‘s recipe means anyone can copy it. 7. Opportunities * Extension of product line- this will help to retain market share. * Hardcore Advertising and Promotions. * Consumer recognition through sponsorship of sports events. * New ventures like partnership with Facebook. 8. Threats * Health concerns- tougher rules from government on high caffeine content. * Consumer awareness of health and well being- people may start to drink other alternatives as it is associated with healthier life style. * Drinks might not be accepted in the new markets. * Organic energy drinks might steal RB’s market share. 9. Promotion Opportunity Analysis * Competitive Analysis * Opportunity Analysis * Target Market Analysis * Customer Analysis * Market Segmentation Strategy 10. Competitive Analysis 11. Share of Energy Drink Market Red Bull 42. 6 Monster 14. 4 Rockstar 11. 4 Full Throttle 6. 9 Sobe No Fear 5. 4 Amp 3. 6 Sobe Adrenaline Rush 2. 9 Tab Energy 2. 3 Monster XXL 0. 9 Private Label 0. 9 Rip It 0. 8 Sobe Lean 0. 7 BooKoo 0. 5 Sobe Superman 0. 4 Von Dutch 0. 4 12. Real Competition * Redbull’s real competitors are the market leaders of cola companies such as : Pepsi & Coca Cola, who have created their brand leadership since several years in the Indian market. 13. Opportunity Analysis * RB has a niche market & is yet to percolate in the mass market. 14. Target Market Analysis * Core target market segments for RB consists of the core age group of 15 to 60. * Energy drinks with high sugar levels are more popular among children and women, while energy drinks with strong taste and flavor are more preferred by male consumers. * Recent studies also indicated that 65% of the energy drinks market consists of male consumers. 15. Customer Analysis * Young people are especially open to determined exhaustion and insufficient energy. * More specifically male teenagers & people in their 20s, are also most likely to believe in the authenticity of the energy drinks’. * As a result, the majority of energy drinks are developed for and advertised to this younger generation. * Appeal to very specialized groups, such as gamers, extreme sports enthusiasts, and the hip-hop crowd. 16. Target Consumer Demographics Psychographics Usage Behavior Consumption collection Age: 15- 60 Content Image Conscious Influenced Spending Power Youth trends Physically Active Eat Out 25% of Indians 17. Market Segmentation Strategy * RedBull avoided usual methods of marketing, relying more on what is called ‘buzz marketing’ or word-of-mouth. * Red Bull advertised directly to Generation Y , the so-called ‘millennial’: people born after 1981. * ‘ Student brand managers’ who would be used to promote Red Bull on university campuses. These students would be encouraged to throw parties at which cases of Red Bull would be distributed. 18. Corporate Strategies * Mission Statement * Our mission is to be the premier marketer and supplier of * RedBull in Asia, Europe and other parts of the globe. We will * achieve this mission by building long-term relationships with the * people who can make it become a reality. * Vision Statement: * People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. * Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage that anticipate and satisfy people’s desires and needs. * Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. * Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. * Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization. 19. Brand Development Strategy * Great Strategy Begins with Great Research. * Once the brand’s core values have been identified, the road towards effective brand proposition development begins. * Development of the brand statement- commencing a Brand development strategy. 20. 21. Brand Positioning Strategy * Clear, Engaging, Unique, & Relevant to the target audience. * Able to incorporate an element of positive emotional attachment that is better than just "good†. * Echoed within business, internally and externally. * Consistent across multiple marketing & advertising mediums (print, online presence, etc). * Continually toughened within the organization so that employees consistently deliver what is promised. * Able to adapt to a changing marketplace. 22. Distribution Strategy. * Intensive distribution aims to provide saturation coverage of the market by using all available outlets such as: * Super markets, * Gyms, * Coffee Houses: Subway, Barista, Costa Coffee, Cafe Coffee Day * In n Out Convenience Stores. * Pizza Outlets. * Media Relations * Use Technology * Monitor the Web * Create Public Awareness 23. Integrated Marketing Communications Management * Sales Promotion: * Must encourage the 1 st purchase of the product in a store. * Make them aware of the product & its advantages. 24. IMC Objectives * RedBull’s IMC objective is: Sales Promotions. * Create new target markets. * Large display in the Departmental stores. * Bull Hoof stickers on the floors of departmental stores promoting RB. 25. IMC Budget 26. Internet Web site * Promotions through social networking sites such as: facebook, twitter, Hi5. * Also, Ad promos on websites such as NDTV, zoom India. 27. Media * Ad Campaigns on Prime TV channels such as NDTV good times, MTV, Channel V, Zoom, VH1, Star World & a few more. 28. Budget * Magazine: * Femina, People, Rolling Stones. * 15k per page * 12 mnths- 180,000 * Newspapers: * HT City & Delhi Times. * 1lac per page * 4 weeks * 12 mnths- 4800000 * Radio: * 10k per mnth * 12 – 120000 * TV: * 5 lacs * 4 weeks * 12 – 2400000 * Total Expense: 31,80,000 29. 30. Integrated Marketing Communication Methodologies * How do we communicate? How do customers process information? * There are many models & theories. * Thorough understanding of the audience’s needs, emotions & * activities is essential to ensure accuracy & relevance of the * message. 31. Advertising * What target market do you want to reach? * What image do you want to portray? * What product or service do you want to emphasize? * How much money can you spend? * When is the right time to advertise? * Red Bull has an aggressive marketing campaign. * Red Bull uses all the available media channels, meaning cinema, TV, radio, press and the internet. * In other words the company focuses on the media through which it reaches its primary target market-young people. * RB allows the consumers to interpret the product & the moments of use themselves. * Red Bull achieves this by a humorous and witty cartoon campaign, transferring the message that this energy drink helps you to escape by `giving you wings ?. 32. Consumer Promotions * Red Bull sponsors the motorsports or fun sports, but always where Red Bull is needed. * Red Bull does event sponsoring. * Event sponsoring attracts people’s attention towards the product and connects them. 33. Personal Selling * Sampling is another very important part of the three pillar marketing system. * As the major purpose of Red Bull is to energize the company samples at the right place at the right time, where it finds its exact target market. * Examples of usage are driving, studying, working night shifts and sports. 34. 35. Media Plan * TV: * Still a staple medium of advertising. * Allows to demonstrate the advantages of RB. * Good Reach. * Magazines: * Economical. * Provides higher brand awareness. 36. Evaluation & Control Metrics Campaign Element Metrics News Media No. of viewers of the articles Social Media No. of people using the Blogs such as Twitter, Facebook Internet & TV No. of people viewing particularly when the Ad is being aired. Print Advertisement No. Of Subscribers of those magazines, Newspapers Product Placement No.of comments (+ or – ) mentioned on social networking sites. 37. Timelines IMC/ Month Oct 09 Nov 09 Dec 09 Jan 10 Feb 10 Mar 10 Apr 10 May 10 RedBull on the Web Print Media Blogs Radio & TV Other Misc. * DARE TO BE DISCOVERED!!! 38. 39. Sources * http://www. rediff. com/money/2006/may/24drink. htm * http://www. thestudentroom. co. uk/showthread. php? t=986602 * http://www. trcb. com/business/marketing/redbull-marketing-strategy-7375. htm * http://www. drawert. com/red_bull_2. php http://energydrinks. factexpert. com/882-energy-drink-industry. php.

Outline of Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans Assignment

Outline of Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans - Assignment Example A second wave of immigrants came during World War II in order to supply construction, farm and domestic labor under the â€Å"Bracero Program†. During the last quarter of the 20th century there was large scale immigration both legal and illegal from Mexico to the US due to Mexico’s severe economic problems. The first large scale Chinese immigration to America was in 1848 when the California Gold Rush led many to believe they could find their fortune and escape economic hardship especially in Canton province because of British dominance( Le 2012) They also came to Hawaii as contract workers in sugar plantations, and to continental US as merchants, gardeners, domestics, laundry workers, farmers and starting in 1865 as railroad workers. Public Policies In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed Mexican Americans all the rights of citizens of the United States including free enjoyment of their liberty and property. However despite these promised protections they wer e largely dispossessed of their land by an Anglo run legal system that administered land holdings Kutty 2008) This caused a severe reduction in their economic status into the 20th century. In addition to this economic discrimination, Mexican Americans also suffered racial and legal prejudice with civic segregation similar to the blacks in various areas until the 1950s and 1970s. Even the US Congress expressed the view that Mexicans were racially inferior. During the Great Depression, because of welfare burdens the federal government pursued a policy of forced repatriation of Mexican Americans to Mexico. The public policies affecting Chinese Americans were the Naturalization Act of 1870 restricting all immigration into the US to white persons and persons of African descent and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 ( thinkquest). The former act made Chinese ineligible for citizenship until 1943 and was the first significant bar on free immigration in America’s history. The latter a ct was to prevent an excess of cheap labor Ways Policies Affected Immigration Success Not only were Mexicans deprived of their property after the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, but had to pay discriminating taxes as well( Kutty Policy) For example in California they were subject to the Foreign Miners License Tax which was enforced only against the non Europeans. This policy was a success in its’ unstated goal of forcing 2/3 of the Mexican miners to return home. Also the wealth of Mexican Americans in New Mexico was depleted by usury laws at excessive rates when Mexicans tried to buy back the land and in Texas violent sabotage of their business interests prevailed. Segregation into inferior housing, education, employment and civic services has contributed to stereotyping by white society. The repatriation policies during the Great Depression forced about 1/3 of Mexican Americans to leave the US mostly because of violence, harassment and diminished opportunities. The Naturalization Act of 1870 arose out of resentment against the frugal, hard working, low waged Chinese Americans

Benetton Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Benetton - Speech or Presentation Example Their usage of technology and the media is the greatest, bearing in mind that Benetton’s main tool of advertisement is the media; it will be easy to sell the Group’s products to them. In order to maintain Benetton’s competitive edge, the company has to make important strategic positioning changes. Europe is Benetton’s biggest market, however, the cost of running business in Europe is quite high, and the profit margins are minimal. Thus, it would be wise to cut the expenses in Europe. The Asian market provides Benetton with a large population to which it can sell its products. In spite of the Asian countries providing varying characteristics and regulations, the market shows expansive development in the retail sector that Benetton can take advantage of and sell more of its products. (Suh & Howard, 2013). The developing aspect of the Asian market presents a favourable offering that Benetton can occupy with the help of the funds it saves from the spending reduction in Europe. Moreover, the competition in Asian markets is not as harsh as that in Europe where Benetton’s competitors have established themselves. The Benetton Group has to improve its standing with more utilisation of the green strategy. One thing for sure is that it has to develop products that are environmental friendly and show dedication to the green strategy. Thus, it has to remodel the strategy around its products by signing with recognised labels. These labels have to show the company’s eco-friendliness. As noted by Garcia (2015) there number of eco-labels globally stands at 437. Using recognised labels like Energy Star in the U.S. will help Benetton to improve believability to its advertisements especially the benefits its products have on the environment. Especially at such a time when people are more aware of the importance of the environment in their lives with the effects of global warming and climate change. With the continued digitalisation of nearly every aspect of day-to-day

Small Business Literature review Research Paper

Small Business Literature review - Research Paper Example Government defines small business according to the employees, total capital and market expansion etc. â€Å"The concept of small scale business has been changing time to time† and â€Å"definition of scale business is rather ambiguous (Basu, 1998, p.104). The complexities in large scale business are greater than in small scale. However, managing a small business is as challenging as maintaining a large scale business as there are many limitations in small business. This paper will attempt to present literature review of small business management. The entire explanation and analyses will be divided into several sections and each section will focus on particular area of small business. The first two sections will analyse major pitfall and drawbacks in small business and general mistakes of small business owners. The section three will discuss effective methods and steps in starting a small business. Next section will focus on effectiveness and profitability of small business for used appliances and sales store. The last section will point out the importance of Hispanic community for small business. Finally, the conclusion will point out the major findings of the entire discussions and analyses. Many a time the entrepreneurs start a new business with great enthusiasm but overlook some minor issues that results in major pitfalls. With time these pitfalls adversely affect the business and the newly started fails to achieve its goal. Therefore, the time and the labour put in developing the business goes in vain. If the entrepreneurs can identify the common pitfalls before hand, he or she can be more attentive and the possibility of committing common mistakes can be minimised. Some of the common pitfalls related to the SMEs are discussed below. Understanding the amount of money and time it will take to start the business: While developing the business plan, the entrepreneur often makes some assumptions which may

Advanced human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advanced human resource - Essay Example In 2014, Toyota has a net capital of 397.05 billion yen and it has 338,875 employees operating for accomplishing the organisational objectives (Toyota Motor Corporation, 2015). Toyota has been operating with highest market share in the world in the present day context. The company is also identified to be one of the largest companies in terms of revenue. Human Resource Department of the company has been identified to be facing Human Resource (HR) issues, which has been adversely affecting the operations of the business to a certain extent. For a company, human resource is ascertaining to be the main asset to develop and grow, as human resource facilitates in performing operations in accordance with organisational objective (Ekshan & Othman, 2009). The three HR issues faced by the company include training, negative behaviour, and employee engagement and commitment (Austenfeld, 2006). For making the employee perfect and efficient, effective training is needed to be provided, so that the employees are able to perform their tasks effectively and efficiently for accomplishing organisational objectives. Providing better training to the employees of the company helps in building up the right skills and knowledge of the subsequent products that are to be offered for meeting the preferences of the customers. Training is an important aspect for motivating as well as developing the competency of the employees, so that the employees are able to perform their operations on the basis of organisational needs. The objective of training involves mostly acquisition of knowledge needed for the staff to perform their function in a better way (Dyer, 2008). Negative behaviour in the organisation could affect the growth of the company. In addition, it affects the productivity and profitability of the organisation. In the organisation, the employees develop negative behaviour at the time

Modern Imperalism(The british Empire) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Modern Imperalism(The british Empire) - Essay Example Being often dubbed â€Å"internal colonialism†, those relationships, according to Levine, did little, if anything, to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, but exploited the divide for colonial ends (11). Insofar as the poor had found a solution, although not always an easy one, to their problems, migrating in large numbers from their impoverished regions into distant lands, the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British Empire is largely considered â€Å"a significantly Scottish enterprise† (Levine 11). On the other hand, as Judd points out, the primary motive and most powerful drive behind the establishment of the Empire and its global growth was the â€Å"desire for profitable trade, plunder and enrichment† (3). Thus, having served many useful purposes, besides bringing wealth to a substantial part of the British population, the Empire was seen as both â€Å"a mainstay† of the restored Stuart monarchy after the period of republican rule known as â€Å"the Commonwealth and Protectorate† and the stabilising factor in â€Å"the post-revolutionary Britain of the late seventeenth century† (Judd 3-4). ... d been perceived as â€Å"underwriting the nation’s future in a variety of ways†, including as â€Å"a means of uniting the British people in a common cause, a means of â€Å"inspiring a sense of international mission†, as well as a â€Å"device to blunt the edge of class warfare and egalitarian philosophies†; most notably, however, the Empire helped boost both the confidence of the individual and the nation, stifling fears of degeneration and decline. (Judd 4-5). This essay is intended to review the reasons for the British invasion in Egypt in 1882, including such as the situation in Europe, imperial geopolitics, commercial and strategic interests, as well as domestic economic concerns due to the pressure of increased international competition. The essay argues that the invasion was necessitated by a cocktail of factors, whose relative weigh varied with each stage of the British involvement. 2. Historical Background Porter point out that the British Empi re significantly changed over the nineteenth century; thus, the West Indian islands rapidly lost their relative importance in the British trade after 1815, whereas the westward extension of Canada to the Pacific, along with the emergence of six colonies in Australia, transformed not only altered the pattern of investment distribution within the Empire, but also created a number of â€Å"self-governing, self-confident ‘settler capitalist societies’†, which generated nearly â€Å"16.5 per cent of Britain’s overseas trade† (Porter 5). Despite the changes, India, which underwent a consolidation of the British control over its territories between 1819 and 1870 – remained of â€Å"paramount importance in any assessment of Imperial assets† (Porter 5-6). This expansion, in turn, brought about other significant developments,

Creative Homiletics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Creative Homiletics - Term Paper Example It is a calling that is considered to be the most important one since it outdoes all the other earthly responsibilities. It is a sacred undertaking as it involves proclaiming the word of God to other people. There are certain goals that preachers usually have concerning the members of their congregation. One of them is to see individuals being transformed into the image of God. This is mainly because the teachings from the bible have rules and regulations that were written down by those who were inspired by God. In short it means that it is God himself who wrote the Bible. This therefore, gives a clear impression that those who follow the rules in the Bible are like God. The other goal is to make sure that the listeners may end up obtaining wisdom that during the end times they may be presented perfect in the eyes of God. The teachings in the bible aim at molding individuals to make them live holy lives so that they can avoid hell in the second coming of Jesus. The preachers in this case, are used as vessels of the Lord to make sure that they proclaim the news to people so that individuals may prepare themselves for the second coming of Jesus, to go to heaven with Him. To lead people and to save them from hell is another goal that preachers have for their members. Teachings in the bible discourage practicing things that are not pleasing to the eyes of the Lord. This means that God intends his people to live holy lives and He uses preachers as messengers so that they can pass on this message to the entire world. The listeners are expected to follow the teachings they are offered for them to avoid hell and live eternally with Jesus after his second coming. In the current society, there are individuals who still do not understand the meaning of bible teachings. In such cases, preachers are expected to make them do away with the wrong mentality of bible teachings. To make this possible, preachers have to do away with the wrong motives for preaching so that they can be effective. Some of the wrong motives for preaching include: 1. Not for a profession. 2. Not because of possession of good speaking skills. 3. Not to make cash. 4. Not to be given the praise of man. 5. Not to have it because it is an honorable position. 6. Not to be like somebody else. 7. Not to cut somebody up. There are various ways of undertaking the homiletic process in that there are various ways in which a preacher has to preach. This means that it is not an option but preachers have to follow these procedures. Preachers do not convey their religious messages with their own wisdom but with the power of God. Preachers are guided by the Holy Spirit to convey messages direct from God and not what they think the message should be. Here they usually speak in the common language of man and not with enticing words. They do not use enticing words because they do not aim at making the listeners believe what they come up with but what they are directed to preach. Homilists usually de liver sermons a guided by the Holy Spirit. This means they convey information as delivered to them by the Spirit of the Lord and that is why they are referred to as the vessels of God. During their times of preaching, this homiletics practice can result to success and at times it may result to death. The reason behind this is that there are times where the congregation conquers with the message being delivered and there are times wh

Cultural and Intercultural Communication Practices Essay

Cultural and Intercultural Communication Practices - Essay Example For example, the United States of American and the United Kingdom are countries that considered low context groups due to their standard form of communication style and tone. In these countries, communication is done in the context of messages to a large population versus a specialized group. With this understanding, low context culture is also known to communicate through words and verbal cues versus allowing people to make their own inferences through the context of a given scenario or event. Because of these aspects, people in low context cultures tend to be more logical, individualistic, action-oriented and linear than those in high context cultures (Marin n.d.). Low context communication is expected to be concise and straightforward so there is little room for error when listening to communication messages. While low context cultures center on large populations, a high context culture focuses on types of communication messages that are specific to a certain group within the cult ure. With the purpose of high context cultures being to communicate specifically between specialized groups within a culture, people have a lot more opportunity to use their own inferences to make decisions and gather information versus those in a low context culture. Examples of high context cultures include France, China, Japan, Russia and India. Within high context cultures, people generally focus more on interpersonal relationships and building trust within the groups. Communication, whether written or verbal, in a high context culture is more formal than low context with special attention being paid to the way a message is delivered. People in a high context culture will focus on a person’s tone, facial expression and demeanor when communicating just as much as they focus on the actual message itself. With the definitions of these terms established, the focus can now shift to analyzing how low context and high context cultures interact with intercultural contact and inte rcultural ethics. When people from differing cultures communicate, there is a need for each party to assess their own communication tendencies as well as those of the person they are hoping to communicate with. For example, an American who is native of the state of New Jersey may have trouble communicating with a person who lives in Japan or China. When analyzing the more formal and contextual ways in which people from many Asian countries communicate, the laid back, potentially brash way in which someone native of the state of New Jersey, which is a low context culture, communicate might not mesh well with the Asian culture. In order to understand the potential issues that can arise when cultures and contexts mix, it is important for all parties involved to do some preparation work before the meeting takes place. First, people from both cultures need to gather some background information about the culture the other person is coming from. By asking themselves if it is a high context or low context culture, they will be able to determine if the person they are going to be attempting to communicate with is comfortable with a laid back style or expects a formal tone and sense of conduct

The European Human Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The European Human Rights Act - Essay Example "In contrast to the importance attached to the democratic accountability of Parliament, institutional checks and balances, and the rule of law as means of safeguarding individual liberties, comparatively little significance was attributed to the European Convention on Human Rights before passage of the Human Rights Act." (Akehurst, Michael & Malanczuk, Peter 1997 p.65) This may be seen as a surprise considering the fact that the UK was an early signatory to the European Convention, and the UK was instrumental to the drafting of the human rights convention. The effects of the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights on the English Legal System however, seem to be limited by the constitutional doctrine of dualism, which distinguishes international law from national law. "Considerations of national and parliamentary sovereignty require that treaties alone are unable to alter the internal laws of the UK, because the executive alone enters into treaties on behalf of the United Kingdom. Otherwise, the government could evade parliamentary scrutiny of its proposals through the exercise of its treaty-making powers." (Human Rights Act Research Project 2001) Therefore, as treaties are not self-executing the terms of these treaties must be incorporated into an act of Parliament in orde... courts. "While the European Convention, as an agreement between national governments, imposed obligations on the United Kingdom in international law, it did not impose obligations on Parliament or the government under British domestic law." (Council of Europe 2000) Another challenge is posed by the desire to upgrade the legal status of the individual rights as described in the substantive provisions of the European Convention, while at the same time ensuring the preservation of traditional or orthodox notions of parliamentary sovereignty. "The courts are not given the power to invalidate acts of Parliament that are incompatible with the rights listed in the European Convention, but may only issue a declaration of incompatibility, which does not itself affect the validity or enforceability of an incompatible act." (Akehurst, Michael & Malanczuk, Peter 1997) Thus, the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights has had a significant impact on the English Legal System, and to the concept of parliamentary sovereignty. 2. a) Do you believe that section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 creates a new rule of statutory interpretation for judges Yes, section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 does create a new rule of statutory interpretation for judges. "The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. The Act makes available in UK courts a remedy for breach of a Convention right, without the need to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. It also totally abolished the death penalty in UK law, although this was not required by the Convention in force for the UK at that time" (British Medical

College football vs Nfl Essay Example for Free

College football vs Nfl Essay Many compare the National Football League (NFL) with college football but the two are not extremely similar and should never be compared. Yes, besides a few minor rule changes the NFL and college football are the same game; but there is much more to football then the rules. College football is better than the NFL for a wide variety of reasons. First, there exists more passion in college football all around the sport. Passion cannot be measured in anyway but can be observed and understood by the fans, coaches, and sports community. Players care more about the game and less about money, while the fans have great passion for the university they attend or attended. The lack of an influence money has on the game is admirable. Also, tradition is so vast in college football a game day experience cannot be compared with those of the NFL. The special rivalry games and in stadium events makes college football great. Rivalries, passion, playing rules, and timing are few of the reasons why college football is better than the NFL. Along with great activities like tailgating, the wonderful scheduling, the entertainment, and the comeback friendly rules college football has the best case for why it is levels above the NFL. Passion is sought after in all sports, and is the most apparent in college athletics. Money determines everything in pro football and the large impact it has is just too obvious. The same cannot be said for college football. The great passion and emotion seen in players and coaches, and their loyalty to their team helps make college football a lovable game. The football team at a university represents the town, the state, and what the community stands for. College football players are said to be passionate, play hard, hard workers, and fearless. NFL players are most known for complaining and not wanting to be hit hard. There is passion in every play and intensity like no other in college football. It is just a drag watching the NFL because most of the time there is no passion, its just guys playing for that next paycheck (Fisher). The fact that the student athletes play for opportunity and the love of the game is invigorating to all sport fans. College football has been said to be more pure of a game. This means they play for the chance to make the league, and are about the game. Another reason passion is more reflected in college football is the lack of salary related hold outs. This refers to the many major star athletes who have large contract disputes and skip on camp and all team activities until they are paid more money. Players risk team success for selfish personal reasons. Prime examples of a player negatively affecting a team with a hold out are Albert Haynesworth, Terrell Owens, Michael Crabtree, Maurice Jones-Drew, Chris Johnson, and many more. These players put personal motives over team goals; it is inferred that the star athletes prefer money over team success. There has never been one single hold out in college football. Historically players in contract years have shown just a little more effort to ensure they make a few extra dollars when their pay days come around (Eliesen). Stats go up and so does the amount of work put in. This shows that players give more effort when money is on the line. The impact money has on the NFL makes college football that much better. Another issue with the money influence of the NFL is players will switch teams for more money, wins, or a bigger market. Not just some players, all players. In college you can transfer for academic or personal reasons but there are consequences. In 2010-11, 6. 4 percent of Division I student-athletes transferred from one four-year school to another four-year school. Included in that figure are 969 football student-athletes. All of those student-athletes were required to sit out a year of competition (NCAA). In the NFL it is expected that a player would turn their back on their team and city for more money or a better personal opportunity. In college it is discouraged, frowned upon, and penalized against. The players passion for the game, loyalty to their teams, and absents of holdouts and other money related issues are the start of a long list of reasons why college football is better than the NFL. The passion shows the college players are about the game, not the money. The tradition of college football is unlike that of any sport. The significance of it is immeasurable. To start college football has outstanding rivalry games. They are better than the NFL rivalry games simply because they have existed longer, are closer games, in a larger variety, and the fans and schools hate each other more. Classic examples include Army versus Navy, the iron bowl, Ohio State versus Michigan, USC versus Notre Dame, Miami versus FSU, The red river rivalry, the civil war, the dual in the dessert, the world’s largest cocktail party, LSU versus Alabama, and several others. Compare that with Dallas against Washington; the best rivalry in the NFL. Not a comparison. Every team in college football has a rival. Iowa State has Kansas State. Indiana has Illinois. Baylor has Texas Tech. Cincinnati has Louisville. It’s not what you think of when you think Auburn/Alabama, Ohio State/Michigan and Texas/Oklahoma, but even the lesser-known powers have rivals that riles up the fan bases. The NFL? I challenge you to name the Carolina Panthers’ top rival (Wilson). The atmosphere surrounding the towns and the great rivalry games out perform the NFL’s weak rivalry match ups. Next, fans have more to route for in college. The fact that the students and alumni get to support the place they graduated from cannot be matched. For NFL fans most of them root for the citys team you were born in. For college football fans the team you cheer for could be across the nation because you had a family member go there or your family has always cheered for them. For college football fans it doesnt matter what city you live in (Fisher). Good examples of great tradition are Oregon’s uniforms, dotting the I in Ohio, Chief Osceola, war eagle, Howards rock, the dog UGA, and the play like a champion today sign in South Bend. Literally, 100 more traditions could be named. Traditions such as those just dont exist in the NFL. There isnt the same level of tradition in the pro game (Killoren). Stadiums, fight songs, bands, and the college campus on game day, pep rallies, are all things that are just not seen in professional football. The tradition in college football is evident and changes the game completely. Most importantly the strong and vast group of rivalry games in college makes the NFL division games appear as friendly competition. A main reason why college football is better than the NFL is because in college the timing in all around better. By the timing, I mean the rules that influence the time and the scheduling. College football starts a week earlier which means over 120 division one college games have been played before the NFL starts. College football has more games in general and starts off football season right. Next, is Saturdays are better for watching and playing football than Sundays. Nobody wants to go to work the day after a crazy game. People need Sunday to relax after a crazy tailgating and game experience. To me, theres nothing better than going to bed on Friday night knowing that you have nothing to do on Saturday except watch college football. Even if you find a few hours to watch your favorite NFL team, you still have it hanging over your head that its back to work in the morning. That feeling always tends to take the wind out of my sails (FanNation). Who wants to be out late on a Sunday night at a prime time game? How about Saturday? There is a big difference between the two. During bowl season we get to see 35 prestigious match ups of team with winning records in solid football games over a 23 day period. Right over the holidays when everyone has school and work off there is football on every day. This is set up nicely for viewers. Seniors get a last chance to represent themselves and their school in the bowl game that they have worked so hard to earn. Lastly, college has comeback friendly rules that the NFL do not have. Stopping of the clock on a first down, one foot in bounds for a catch, chains must be set before clock starts, and clock stopping all game when you get out of bounds keep college games entertaining and help you see more action. According to a Wall Street Journal study of four games from week 16, the average NFL game features just 10 minutes 43 seconds of action (Chase). The comebacks that have determined champions and the outcome of high profile games are because of the comeback friendly rule book of college football. College football is more entertaining than the NFL for many reasons but bowl season, the comeback friendly rules, Saturdays over Sundays, and the extra week of football are just some vital examples. The pregame activities, tailgating, the more logical football rules such as overtime standards, and ESPNs outstanding coverage give college an extra edge on professional football. College game day travels to the biggest game of the week and perform a 3 hour special on campus live in front of an audience with different guest stars, storylines, and gimmicks each week. Hands down NFL Countdown cant compete with College Gameday (Fisher). Also, college goal line which updates all the score nationwide is very popular around the country. In college football the sport is played the right way. If a player hits the ground he is down, in the NFL he can get back up and run if not touched. This leads to many missed calls and slows down play. The overtime rules are better in college because you can’t tie. Yes, in the NFL there is the terrible possibility of a tie. Also, each time gets a chance and the better team is awarded the victory. In the NFL it’s more about the coin flip than the play. Parties on campus, pep rallies, and fun halftime events like the famous Dr. Pepper challenge are great add ons to college football. The college life sparks parties and pep rallies. Some schools even cancel classes the day before a big game. Students camp out to get tickets and great scenes like that are noticed all around the country. The weekend gives students a break. What more would students want to do than party and route on their schools football team. Lastly, tailgating is bigger in college football. Fans have all of the next day to relax so they enjoy their tailgating. Only 30 percent of the tailgaters actually make it inside the stadium. People do not tailgate a week before for an NFL game. College students start tailgating that Sunday or Monday after that last game they just went too (Fisher). College fans take tailgating very serious and make a 3 hour game into a week event in which they can relax, watch football, eat good food, and reunite with friends and family. The activities around college football separate it from the old boring games on Sunday. College football has passion, traditions, entertainment, and an incredible environment that the NFL lacks. These reasons were choose from a list of 200 reasons college football is better. Upsets, unpredictability, cheer leaders, the Heisman, coaching dynasties, the spread offense, uniforms, new programs, and other reason were not even discussed because college football has such a huge variety of great attributes. This makes college football more appealing to the fans and viewers. Understand that all these reasons build on the case of why college football beats the NFL. Yes, the players are less talented when they are younger. It should have been made clear that the game is about more than this though. The college players do not only care about money. Love of the game, the tradition, the entertainment, and the rules are a few of the prominent reasons college football is better. However, Most of these reasons cannot be based of scientific facts or stats. The reasons listed are based on what is the best game to watch and support. A personal opinion and judgment is what makes this argument worth demonstrating. It cannot be proven through facts and data but there are numerous reasons that help show the point that is trying to be made. All the evidence is there and all that is left to do is choose what reasons makes college football better than the NFL. There are many to choose from.

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘ Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘