Halal and Haram Issues in Food and Beverages Essay Example for Free

Halal and Haram Issues in Food and Beverages EssayHalal and Haram Issues in Food and Beverages In food industry, modern science and technology lead to design of variety foods and drinkings. The evolution comes together with booming of additives and ingredients to match with demands and perfections in food production. Different types of beverages as well as variety of foods offered in the market often confuse the consumers especially Muslims and most of them be unaware of what they have consumed. Generally Halal means clean and healthy food which has too being prove scientifically. In Islam, the consumption of Halal food and beverage and using Halal consumer products are obligatory in serving Allah, the Creator and the Almighty. Therefore, Muslims communities are very aware(p) of food ingredients, handling process and packaging of food products. The foods and beverages are only Halal if the raw materials and ingredients used are Halal and it is fully compatible to the Islam ic guidelines. Nowadays, Halal oriented foods and beverages get food industry attention in all over the country as is expected to become a earthshaking contributor to economic growth.It must be understood that the production of Halal food and beverage are not only beneficial to Muslims, but also to food producers, by means of increased market acceptance of their products. In food production, sugars are widely used as it could make the food and beverage taste sweet and delicious. There are many types of sugars such as glucose, fructose, lactose and maltose. A problem occurs as those sugars might transform to an intoxicant named ethyl alcohol (or ethyl alcohol) by natural fermentation process which is not performed by enzymes.According to scientific review, both natural and manufactured products contain small sum of alcohol for example, fruits, juices, vegetables, breads, cheeses, beef, and honey. Those food and beverage usually contain not more than 0. 5% of alcohol. Therefore, a nything containing sugar is fermentable into alcohol. Other manufactured products such as coca plant Cola, Pepsi, and Mirinda contain alcohol at percentage range of 0. 2% 0. 3% as Beta Carotene (the colouring used) is melted by using the alcohol method. In addition, according toEastern Standard Time on July 8, 1999 (400 pm) The oils that they use to make Pepsi have minute trace of alcohol which combined make up a percentage of alcohol. The problem of alcohol that might contain in food or beverage has been debated by Mujamma Al-Fiqhi Al-Islami as certain types of alcohol are beneficial in food production. According to the Islam guidelines, Muslims are allow consuming ethanol as it is not harmful but only can be taken at small amount which is not more than the specified percentage.

Women Empowerment Essay Example for Free

Women Empowerment EssayThere is no peril of the welfargon of the world un slight the origin of women is improved. It is non possible for a bird to fly on one wing. Swami VivekanandaThe most signifi bottomlandt and longest social movement continuing is movement for emancipation of women. Though the primary goal for women authority is to improve the prime(a) of life of women but it has in addition deep ramifications in social, economic and political scenario of body polity. The media by its reach to people at large has been instrumental though not to the extent desired in supporting the movement for women emancipation by way neglect and marginalization of the position of the women in c completely tolder. It sounds intriguing how from a highly dignified position in Indias mythic history, the woman in India has been relegated to a secondary position. The vested interests of the ruling elite and the teen-begetting(prenominal) lobby influenced by alien agricultures legiti mised woman as an individual of dinky consequence. It would be a sad exposition on the subordinate function of women in India when woman is i appropriately viewed as Shakti (Power), the origin of power itself but in reality found as helpless, misfortunate woman with unwrap whatever identity except that of a wife, or the mother who has very little voice in decision making and has very little by way of her own basic choice. Although discrimination against and exploitation of women argon global phenomena, their consequences be to a greater extent(prenominal) tragic in the some parts of the orchis particularly in under developed countries where, ignorance, deprivation of the basic*Address by Mr. Justice G.N. Ray, Chairman, pressure level Council of India at the inauguration session of National Press Day on November 16, 2008 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. 2 necessities of life, and the ever-growing pressure of transition from tradition to modernity- all combine to aggravate the in equalities that women suffer to a point at which their existence is reduced to a continuous battle for survival. Improving the side of women is regarded as the key to narrowing the gender gap and achieving a better quality of life.Women argon under great social control and scrutiny which has restricted what they mountainful say and where and to whom. Cultural moves in almost every social set-up assure womens socialization in no uncertain terms. This has an authoritative bearing on their ability to communicate and express their thoughts.To discuss women empowerment it is necessary to deal with the present situation of women in India. I would a standardised(p) to briefly discuss certain key aspects related to the women which media should adaptedly cover and facilitate the process of empowerment of women.Gender InequationA vast major(ip)(ip)ity of Indian women organise through out their lives but the fact is that it is not officially recognized. Statistics on work force shows lo w figure of women workers. There is a skilful underestimation of womens contribution as workers even though when given a chance they establish convincingly proved their ability. Womens workforce participation the percentage of adult women who ar actually working is accepted indicator of womens status and component of the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) used in GNDP Human Development Reports. According to a survey conducted by NCW covering over 1200 women in some(prenominal) organized and uncoordinated sector it has been found that 50% experienced gender discrimination by way of material and mental harassment of women at work.The survey reported discrimination not scarce in salary but also in promotions, work distribution and working hours. Promoting gender equality was identified by the Government as priority strategic goal for the UN remains in3 India under UN Development Assistance Framework. We should not forget that Gender par is not just a womens anesthetize. It is an getting even for the nation.Wage discriminationWomen generally earn a far lower wage than men doing the resembling work. In no state in India women and men earn equal wage in agriculture. This is equally applicable to other areas of works much(prenominal) as mining, trade, transport services etc. In the unhomogeneous work sectors average wages earned by male is more than the wages earned by female.I would emphasize on the findings of UNDP which were published as Human Development Report concerning gender equality. It says Womens work is greatly under valuated in economic term. The value of household and community work transcends commercialise value.The media can certainly bring some of these biases in to light. Specially, women journalists mustiness take up this cause. The Indian constitution inducts it requisite to give equal protection to every citizen. Thus sympathetic media, judiciary and executive should stand for this together. Reform movement too is necessary in this regard. law-breaking against womenThe soaring crime rates and violence against women in the ground reflects women as weaker sex who are being dominated and exploited. They face violence inside and orthogonal the family throughout their lives. The Crime Record Bureau of Indias website shows that in the year 2006 (latest data available on website) total crime reported against women was 1, 91731. Police nature shows that a woman is molested in the country every 20 proceedings a rape occurs every 34 minutes and every 43 minutes an incident of internal harassment takes place. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped and every 93 minutes, a woman is killed.4Before empowerment of women can be achieved it is necessary to enable women to give voice to their experience, their sufferings, and for society to encounter them as human being and respond to them with sensitiveness.Under Representation in important positionWomen are under represented in governance and decision making positio ns. At present women represent round 8-9% of Parliamentary seats and less than 6% of cabinet positions. Less than 4% seats in High Courts and Supreme Courts are occupied by women. Less than 3% of administrators are women. healthMillions of Indian women simply lack the freedom to go out of the house in search of health services they need. According to National Health look into 2 only 52% women in India are not even consulted on decision about their own health. The antenatal and postnatal care are beyond the reach of many Indian women. The National Health Survey 2 estimate mentions that some 1,00,000 to 1,20,000 women die every year due to maternity related causes. In some States death rate is quite high and alarming. The rate in India is quite higher than the maternal mortality rate surveyed in Cuba, China, Srilanka and Vietnam.The majority of women go through life in state of nutritional stress. They are anemic and malnourished. Girls and women face discrimination within the fa mily eating last and least. violate on Male-Female RatioMen out number women in India, unlike in many countries where the case is otherwise. The main cause of the gap in the male female ratio is prevailing practice of female fetus killing specially high in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. In these states, the ratio is shockingly low as compared to other Indian states. Female child mortality rates are higher than male infant 5 mortality rates. Sample Registration System (2000) reveals that female infant mortality rate is 74 per 1000 live birth.The sight media needs to focus on this health issue of women. The various precis incorporated by the govt. requires totalr coverage so that women especially from economically weaker section can be benefitted from them.Women EducationEducation of women enables them to set their own priorities, seek companionship and cultivation to make their informed choices. The literacy rate among women continues to be lower than those for men. As per data of 2004-2005 available with the National Sample Survey, literacy rate per 1000 amongst untaught women is approximately 450 and amongst urban female is almost 700. If we view overall position, there has been a positive development and female literacy rate has gone up 50% as per the National Sample Survey 1997 report. Despite this progress more than 245 million Indian women can not read and write.Only 50% of Indian women are literate as compared to 65.5% of men. Far fewer girls than boys go to school. Even if they are enrolled, many of the girl students drop out of the school. The female adult literacy rate in Malaysia, Srilanka, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia is more than 70% and higher than that in India.Medias Role in empowerment of women in IndiaCommunication is ingrainedly important for womens development and mass media play significant persona. It is to be noted that harvest of womens education and their entry into employment have contributed to the growth of media. In all s pheres of life whether for commanding population growth, spread of literacy or improving quality of life for vast masses, women have crucial role to play. However, women can be expected to play this role when they acquire conscious of their strength and are not deliberately marginalised by male domination. In this context, media has an important role to play to realize awakening in women to achieve their potential as the prime movers of change in society. In todays world, print and electronic media play a vital role in effectively conveying contentedness that needs to be conveyed.Portrayal of women by the MediaBy and large the media scene in India is that media does not address serious issues about exploitation and inequal treatment to women in different spheres but is keen in reporting sex related incidents by way of sensationalizing tidings of atrocities on women. Thus instead of highlighting the exploitation of woman they end up becoming one of the reasons in increase of vi olence as their coverage more often than not tend to glorify the crime against women. It is true that media has brought to light, as never before, certain misdemeanours against women but in a very subtle flair it also perpetuated the stereotyped image of woman as a householder and an inconsequential entity in the traditional value system.Generally, womens problems never figure on the front page of a innovativespaper unless it is a gruesome murder or a case of rape. Newspapers even on womens page does not usually address relevant issues for women empowerment but reporting is concerned with beauty tips recipes, fashion syndrome etc. 7 It is unfortunate that there is lack of sensitivity among the newspapers in general to women and their problems. I would like to arouse to the Study conducted by the Media Advocacy assort viz. Violence against Women Media Coverage and Representation. The Media Advocacy Group made the side by side(p) recommendations on reporting violence against the women.(i) Media needs to take an extended, broader view of crimes against women. It has to be instrumental in conducting a social audit on factors responsible for increasing crimes, particularly against women and children, including indifferent investigative procedures, miscarriage of justice, and growing social impunity of the perpetrators of crime. (ii) It also has to be instrumental in creating an awareness among civil society of the causes and nature of the crime itself, and of the preventive measures.(iii) When treating these issues, media has to be extremely factual and empirical.The study also stated that the only regulation that governs a sensitive reporting on this issue is that the rape victims hollo should not be disclosed. Barring this, the study found that everything else is graphically reported. Often the victims family name and address is cited, making a mockery in the letter and facial expression of the regulation. Though much of this violation and malpractice are committed by a fine group of publications, others are spurred on to imitate and keep pace with the sensational trend. Therefore, I urge the media to take a serious look on the issue and do self-regulation and self-monitoring with extreme care and caution.Aarushi murder case is another prime example of irresponsible and sensational reporting by the Media. The gruesome murder of a teenage girl for days have been the sound basis of increased TRPs of the News Channels. The media both electronic and print are morally and legally stand out to avoid sensationalisation of news relating to victims of crimes. The Press Council of 8 India had already drawn guidelines on the subject and appeals to media to follow them meticulously while reporting atrocities on women/child. It is important for me to refer at this point of time to, also an important issue that greatly and gravely impacts women in overt as well as covert manner, the human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS insurance coverage by the me dia. The Press Council had focused on the issue way back in 1993 when the AIDS was treated as an incurable pestilent and anyone who contacted it was pariah. The prime sufferers of such ostracization were the women, being treated as an important cause and carrier of the so-called desease.Much water has flown down the ganges, since then and with medical advances, it has become necessary for the media to focus on the issue with not just a proactive but positive approach. Therefore, the Press Council has in consultation with the UNDP and the activists of the field redrawn the guidelines for media reportage that find place in the souvenir that is to be shortly released. I hope that guidelines, in the form of easy to refer Dos and Donts and expand ones for indepth mind of the issue, testament find place on the desk of every media person and their coverage of the HIV/AIDS stories will help the world handle the issue with greater sensitivity.Limited coverage in MediaNewspapers cover wom ens problems drawing the attention of policymakers to issues requiring immediate attention such as the adverse sex ratio, infant and maternal mortality, crime against women and the effects of poverty on women and their families. But this coverage is very limited with the rest of the space occupied by cinema actresses, models, television receiver jockeys (veejays) and the rich women and their hobbies. Many of the womens magazines are devoted to fashion, glamour, beauty aids, weight reduction, cookery and how to sharpen feminine instincts to keep men and their inlaws happy. There are comparatively fewer articles on career opportunities, health awareness, entrepreneurship, legal aid, counseling services, childcare9 services and financial management. A study in this regard was conducted in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.Two regional newspapers and two English newspapers were selected for the study. Prominent newspapers only publish 5% of women related issues and 8% are published on main page and remaining are placed inside. Study showed no importance is given to development issues of women. In the television serials women are the central characters, but they are portrayed largely as tormentors or the victims while the men very often take sideline and just seem caught in a web of unfavourable circumstances. Television culture has portrayed a breed of weak, indecisive men ensnared by sexy women when in reality men also play an active role in oppressing women in various ways including subjecting them to physical assault, rape, pushing them into the sex trade and even abandoning them. It is only desirable that serials should be close to reality and give message to the viewers where and how the society is going wrong.This portrayal of women in media has led the National military commission for Women to recommend amendment in the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition Act), 1986. The NCW wants to include new technologie s like MMS and the electronic media and some which were left out side the ambit of the Act like posters and TV serials which perpetuate stereotypes of women. Explaining the reason for including soaps in proposed amendment in the Act, National Commission for Women has stated that women are either being portrayed as Sita (Ramayana) or as Kaikayee (Ramayana) and there seems to be nothing in between the two extreme characters being shown in Soaps. Divorces, adultery are highlighted frequently in Soaps where characters break the law without repercussion.Negative images or just portraying reality is not enough. Infact, it can often be harmful. It has been observed that sheer duplication of the dark side of life can often lead to apathy and passivity. This can be avoided by10 enactment the positive images or success stories of women in whatever sphere they happen.There is need to produce programmes that talk about income generating schemes for women. Unfortunately, in these kinds of ventu res typical womanly jobs like papad-making, sewing, embroidery, pickles making etc. are propagated. Stress should be given on non-traditional skills which can break the myth that women are suited to certain kinds of jobs only. A magisterial survey of the existing schemes (Government/nonGovernment) and presentation of the analysis and changes needed to upgrade the schemes which would make them more purposeful is essential. The distance between women and media not only deprives the women of their right to information and knowledge but also keeps the women in the dark regarding the blatant misuse of the female and the distortion of the loyalty.Although the images of women as reflected by the different mass media in the country are not very different, it will be an interesting exercise to study how these images feed and reinforce the stereotypes. The distortion of realities by the media has increased the gap of understanding between the different sections of society. Effective informa tive communication is one of the most important channels for the growth and development of women in the informal or unorganized sector, as without information regarding services and benefits available through legislation, government schemes, banks and voluntary organizations, women can hardly take advantage of them. Thus the media should take into consideration the following points.(i) The media must project the working women in the unorganized sector as worker and not merely as performing the duties of wife/daughter. They being major earners, they must be projected as producers and not merely consumers.11(ii) The media should make deliberate attempts to not only project the problems of women in poverty, but should monitor in such a way that conflicting role models are not depicted, nor derogatory references to their work are made.(iii) To improve content and coverage, coordinated efforts for increased interaction between NGOs, womens social action group, research organizations, in stitutes of mass communication, and the media personnel should be developed.There are quite a few Reports findings on the complex issues relating to women empowerment. Very often the media come up with study on women related subjects which more often than not are driven by market forces. One study claims that women prefer men with hybrid cars while another says women are genetically devised to shop. Then there is a study which says women are more attracted to bad boy types. This reveals that women have become new research subject mostly in less significant areas. In fact, research is necessary to understand women in its potentiality to usher in a new era. It is difficult to distinguish between genuine research and studies that are gimmicks more so when news reports do not identify where these studies are coming from.A large proportion of the research findings published in major news outlets today is sensationally packaged to draw attention. This is where the media must step in to he lp readers to know relevant facts concerning women empowerment. It will be only appropriate if in the interests of full disclosure, they should make clear in their reports who was funding the study and which scientific journal published it. This information can help readers to decide for themselves which pieces of research are closer to the truth and which are not.Various studies were undertaken on the women and media to ascertain how the media portrays women and how the women related issues are presented, how much significance is given to them. Such study has revealed that issues pertaining12 to development of women are never accentuate adequately. Women are portrayed not for feminine beauty and artistic portrayal but for infusing sex appeal more often than not entering the subject field of obscenity. It is necessary to have dispassionate in-depth study by social activists and media to ascertain why obscenity has risen so much in media. Unless there is any change in the social pe rception of women, it will be difficult to curtail obscenity in media.Women Journalist in MediaIn such a rapidly changing environment, women in media have a large responsibility in not only changing attitude towards women but also establishment public opinion. With women holding responsible position in newspapers or electronic media, their competency should extend to a wider area and a range of issues. More importantly, a woman journalist is expected to show more sensitivity to issues relating to women and to more meaningful insights and perspectives.Like most professions, in the media too, women have struck out boldly, trouncing a path, which is both impressive and inspiring. The last five years have seen them pouring out into the mainstream, acquiring hitherto unattainable positions and proving their mettle, be it the print or the television media. In short, women have become indispensable in the field. Womens organizations and media groups must play an active role in promoting this change. It is heartening that a wide variety of womens media initiatives are making a positive impact.Women have been latecomers in media profession owing to social, religious taboos which operated as social sanctions. The employment of women in media assumes crucial importance at this juncture of our economic development. Beside Independent Public Corporation of Media (DDAIR),13 the private owners of TV channels with ownership of Terrestrial outlets and satellite up linking facilities in country itself have flourished. This has brought a boom in employment thereby increasing the percentage of women media professionals.The rough estimates however show that although the number of women in both the media has increased in absolute terms, their ratio to men has more or less remained static. A deliberate policy for ensuring adequate representation of women both in the public and private sectors of the media is therefore a must, not only for giving women a source of livelihood but al so to ensure their adequate and effective representation, and to make the media truly national and representative in character.A significant number of women journalists are very successful in magazines dealing with various problems of women and child. With sensitivity and skill for analyzing events in depth, issues such as women abuse and exploitation, harassment of women at workplace and the trauma of HIV infected women, female infanticide in rural areas find a prominent place in such magazines. The magazines deal with the issues more in depth compared to newspapers and women are considered competent to handle such stories. As per a study in the NCR there are around 900 women journalists and even in cities like Chennai the number is impressive 200. Journalism is no more a male domain.This new trend has also led to a change in the portrayal of women in the media in general and newspaper in particular. It will not be out of context to mention here the success of Khabar Lahariya. A gr oup of eight women belonging to backward class bring out this paper from the Bundelkhand region. This paper which is being funded by an NGO was started with an aim to encourage women to fight for their own rights. such kind of initiative are required in every nook and corner of our country, so as to empower the women at grass root level.The risks women in the media face, both in the urban and rural areas, have also to be seriously considered. As we move down, from the14 metropolitan towns and the state capitals, the risks increase. At the district and taluk levels, from where the bulk of the print media is published, and which are more news-worthy places for the local and regional news contents, there is more conservation, more rigid social outlook and greater resistance to social change and new trends. In these areas women join new professions like journalism sparingly. In remoter rural areas a woman journalist and particularly a reporter is a novelty not easily accepted and assimi lated in the social milieu.The result is media women have to work almost in isolation particularly at the ground levels, if they are at all employed. The cases of sexual assault and harassment of women reporters are very often reported. Women in such cases have to take a calculated risk in joining the profession. comic hours of job make the women journalists vulnerable. Recent murder of Ms. Soumya Vishwanathan, Producer of News TV channel in Delhi shows women journalist workers are more exposed to the risk of physical assault, even their life.It is noticed that more and more young graduates are joining the journalism degree and diploma courses, with an ambition to make a mark in the profession, and quite a good proportion of them are girls. With the rapid expansion, almost a proliferation of the electronic media through satellite channels, with the popularity of the FM on the radio and with the growth of the print media, notwithstanding the electronic media, now there is a good sco pe for absorption of both men and women qualified journalists in various media outlets. Women, young and old, are prepared to weather the risks. The society, therefore, must make arrangements to provide adequate security to the vulnerable section of women in the media to promote their participation at all levels.I find extremely appropriate here to refer to the recommendations made by the Joshi Committee regarding positive portrayal of women on Doordarshan. But these recommendations are equally relevant to all form of media. These recommendations, if followed in letter and spirit would certainly 15 go in long way in enhancement of womens empowerment and facilitate drastic reduction in cultural biases as well as gender biases. They are 1. The womens issue one of the result significance to the country as a whole and there is need for a widespread understanding that the nation cannot progress, as long as women are left behind as the lesser half of society.Therefore, the improvement of womens conditions, status and image must be defined to be a major objective for media channels. 2. The Government must at the earliest formulate clear guidelines regarding the positive portrayal of women on television. This portrayal must take note of women in all facts of their lives as workers and significant contributions to family survival and the national economy it must further endeavour to integrate women on terms of equality in all sectors of national life and the development process. These guidelines must emphasis that the womens dimension must from an integral part of all programmes and not be merely curb to Womens Programmes, nor to isolated attempts to discuss womens issues.3. The number of commercial formula films screened must be drastically reduced, the cheap song-and-dance sequence totally eliminated and the content of such programmes carefully scrutinized in terms of their portrayal of women.4. Women must not be portrayed in stereotyped images that emphasis passiv e, submissive qualities and encourage them to play a subordinate secondary role in the family and society. Both men and women should be portrayed in ways that encourage mutual respect and a spirit of give and take between the sexes.5. The foreign exchange resource should be spent on importing worthwhile educative programmes, particularly those that show the roles, lives and struggles of women in neighbouring and other Third World countries so that a greater understanding and a shared perspective on problems is built. 166. It is necessary to ensure that a large number of rural women gain access to TV. Therefore, in the placement of community TV sets preference should be given to the meeting place of Mandals Mahila Mandals should also be involved in the community viewing arrangement.Everywhere the media has the potential to make a far greater contribution to the advancement of women. They can create self-regulatory mechanisms that can help to eliminate misleading and improper gender b ased programming.Media, which wields immense power in a democracy a power which is only expanding and not diminishing, needs carrying out a focused attention about women- related issues and the portrayal of women. It is, perhaps, necessary that the stabilizing force of women must be brought syndicate to the Indian people. In every family and society, there is an ethical and spiritual space, which has been traditionally dominated by women. The principal character in Bernard Shaws Pygmalion bemoans, why cant woman be like man The media can play a salutary and a liberating role to give to the women the distinctive and the exclusive space, which must belong to them to enable them to generate the ethical and moralizing impulses for the entire society.The subject Women and Media is quite relevant in the present day context. From this platform the discussion on the subject is being initiated. The debate on this issue is being proposed to be discussed at the State level and the Press Coun cil is keen that seminars and workshops on this subject are organised at different States and at different levels. I sincerely hope that this initiative will be fruitful. Let this beginning be fortunate (Aiomaramba Subhaya Bhabatu).

From classical ballet to contemporary ballet

From classical ballet to contemporary balletFrom Classical concert bound to Contemporary BalletBallet originally emerged in the late 15th century in the Renaissance court of Italy. Then, it was a dance interpretation of fencing. Ballet was further developed and popularized in the French Courts in the 17th century. From court ballet to modern ballet, the dance techniques and practice has evolved throughout the years. Contemporary Ballet now incorporates classical ballet with modern dance techniques such(prenominal) as floor work and turn-in of the legs. (wikipedia, par 9) Ballet shows now focus more on the plot as compared to the 17th century, where the focus was the intertwine of medicament and poetry. It had also often included singing. 17th Century Ballet had minimal plot because Ballets were designed principally for the entertainment of the aristocracy, hence rich costumes, scenery, and elaborate dress effects were emphasized. In the 19th century, there was an increase in inter est among the public, and Ballets such as Swan Lake (1876), Sleeping Beauty (1890), and The Nutcracker (1892) were produced. There was an govern of jazz, jazz rhythms and modern dance at that time, originating in the USA, hence greater body expressions. Today, Ballet is an internationally practiced and appreciated dance, with many dance trail dedicated to the teaching of Ballet, including prominent schools such as the royal ballet school and many other small private dance centres. These schools train Ballet dancers from young and even adults who have never learned Ballet as a child are able to practice due to the large aggregate of adult Ballet classes for beginners. For those who are not striving to be a professional Ballet dance, practicing Ballet is a form of sport which teaches excellent amaze and trains you to be graceful and disciplined.From the increase in Ballet schools, dancers and shows for the public, it can be concluded that one of the most significant change in the practice of Ballet, would be the accessibility of Ballet. In the 17th century, ballet was performed in the royal courts. It was a dance that was rather exclusive for the royals and the high society. Many commoners would not have the sumptuousness to attend Ballet performances. However, as Ballet developed, it became more popular and much appreciated and watched by different people. Today, Ballets are relatively inexpensive to watch, including well recognize Ballets such as Swan Lake and the Nutcracker being some of the most famous ballets that are widely watched even to those who have little knowledge roughly dance or do not come from well off family backgrounds. Ballet is viewed as a classical performance that is available for anyone.What has not changed or so Ballet is that Ballet is still considered a high culture performance art, despite the fact that it is one of the most practiced and watched dances by many from various social status and education level. Youve got to atte nd Ballet performances in order to be cultured. Also, Ballet is still very female dominant in the eyes of the public. This is to say that parents would tend to send their daughters to Ballet classes rather than sons. However, this is not to say there are few males Ballet dancers. Ballet now being so much more accessible, in level with other dance forms such as hip hip and jazz, it is no longer a dance for the rich and privilege.

Horizontal Integration And Conglomerate Diversification Marketing Essay

Horizontal Integration And Conglome run Diversification Marketing Essay1 Define and distinguish between the following pairs of lordly strategiesHorizontal integrating is a grand outline based on growth the acquisition of similar firms operating at the same stage of the ingatheringion- grocery storeing chain. (Pearce, p. 218) Vertical integration is the grand strategy based on the acquisition of firms that supply the acquiring firm with inputs or new customers for its outputs. (Pearce, p. 220) Horizontal integration acquires more entities within the same direct of the supply chain where vertical integration acquires entities up and down the supply chain to control the en scare away increaseion and distribution process from raw materials to lowest consumer.Conglomerate diversification is the grand strategy that involves the acquisition of a stemma because it presents the nigh promising investment opportunity available. (Pearce, p. 221) Concentric diversification involves the acquisition of a second air that benefits from access to the first firms core competencies. (Pearce, 221) Concentric diversification seeks synergies between its acquisitions where conglomerate diversification does not. Newell Rubbermaid is an example of a large conglomerate that has begun to meet for more concentric diversifications in the last 10 years divesting clientelees that ar not good fits for the over any portfolio.Product increase is the growth strategy that involves the straightforward modification of existing products that can be marketed to current customers. (Pearce, p. 216) Innovation is a grand strategy that seeks to reap the premium margins associated with creation and customer acceptance of a new product or service. (Pearce, p. 216) Innovation is truly difficult to make profitable. It requires a significant amount of research, time, and financial resources. Many more companies practice product development and use the term innovation.Joint venture is a grand s trategy in which companies create a co-owned business that operates for their mutual benefit. (Pearce, p. 230) Strategic alliances are contractual partnerships where the companies involved do not take an equity position in one another. (Pearce, p. 232) Strategic alliances can be between companies with similar customer bases that can benefit from each others resources such as a distribution network. Joint ventures are much more complicated and longer term. Each entity has rights and possession into one habitual business. This is much more common when US firms begin to do business in countries like China and Mexico.2 What are threesome ways a firm can incorporate the return of speed in its business?Speed to market, or speedy solvent to customer requests has reverse a major source of competitive advantage in the global market. We live and work in an environment where everyone emergencys everything now. The customer has an unmet need and does not want to wait for your firm to pr ovide a product that meets their need. This can be an important market strategy if the firm in question can pronto adjust products or processes to meet the customers needs fast.First, customer responsiveness. All customers have dealt with frustrations related to delays or slow service. The same holds true from business to business. Quick repartee with useful solutions, information, and products can beget the basis of a competitive advantage especially if the firm can consistently deliver faster than the competition.Second, product development cycles. There are automotive companies that have worked to streamline product development taking a new product from concept to production within slight than 9 months. Todays marketplace thrives on newness, and products may only last for a year or two from launch to grave. Being efficient at product development is a key strategy.Third, speed in delivery or distribution. Firms that can get you what you need, when you need it (even when its t omorrow) will have a competitive advantage. A key example of this is the Batesville Casket social club. Funeral homes across the country do not stock all designs and styles of caskets, yet they can meet with a client at 5pm on one day and have their exact custom order delivered before noon the next day anywhere in the country. This is done finished an intricate network of distribution centers that stock one of everything. When one item is pulled from the distribution center, manufacturing begins to make the switching.3 How does market focus assistance a business create competitive advantage? What attempts ac society such a posture?Market focus allows some businesses to compete on the basis of low cost, differentiation, and rapid response against much larger businesses with greater resources. Focus lets a business learn its target customer in greater detail and develop ain relationships that will differentiate the smaller firm or make it more valuable to the target customer.Mar ket focus may also be an advantage because it will reduce the number of competitors in a market. For example, if your firm sells and delivers floral bouquets, you may compete with large global firms like 1800Flowers or FTD. By steering on the needs of the local market that the large firms have ignored, your firm may be able to gain an advantage over the larger firms.The risk of market focus is that you attract major competitors that have waited for your business to prove the market. They let you be the guinea pig, and now that the market seems to be agreeable, they will glide in and begin taking customers and market share. Your firm may also risk being bought out or taken over by a larger firm that wants to expand and fill out its portfolio. The greatest risk is assuming that it is focus alone, and not some combination of price, differentiation, or rapid response that is creating the businesses success.4 When would multi- application companies find the portfolio approach to strate gic analysis and choice useful?Portfolio approaches provide several(prenominal) contributions to strategic analysis by corporate managers. First, they allow for the conduct of competitive advantage of professional management across a broad array of businesses. They help convey large amounts of information about diverse business units and corporate plans in a simplified format. They illuminate similarities and differences between business units and help convey the logic of corporate strategies for each business with a common vocabulary. The portfolio approach simplifies priorities for sharing corporate resources across diverse business units that generated and used those resources. They provide a simple prescription that gives corporate managers a sense of what they should light upon and a way to control and allocate resources between them. (Pearce, p. 283)Multi-industry companies would find this approach useful when it is not clear which business provides the greatest revenue or g enerates the largest market share or financial gains for the company. The portfolio approach is a systematic way to compare common criteria across all businesses in the portfolio.Case Study Exercises1 How would you describe VWs new advertising strategy?Volkswagens new advertising strategy is to regain American interest in the Volkswagen post. Volkswagen held safe market position in the 1970s based on the success of the VW Beetle and Transporter. Sales were strong until the introduction of the VW Rabbit in the US in the early 1980s. The Rabbit was fashionable but known to catch fire or have other mechanical problems, giving the Rabbit and VW a reputation for poor quality.After naughtily declining sales in the 1990s, Volkswagen hired Crispin Porter and Bogusky to completely rebrand the Volkswagen in 2006. Crispin had a strong history of creating memorable marketing and advertising campaigns that turned around several major US brands like Burger King and MINI. Crispin started the s trategy by defining the new target market, and determining what the perception was in the 18-30 yr old mannish audience. Crispin Porter and Bogusky used a strong web based campaign to attract the target audience, and added enough edge and controversy to get people of all demographics talking about Volkswagen.The strategy of using the web and a German dominatrix type blonde named Helga that the user could interact with on the GTI website, gained in popularity but offend and alienated woman who were also VW customers. Many believed the campaign degraded or looked over women as a target market. The strategy worked for a short boundary of time but was unable to overcome the mixed product message that Volkswagen was sending with offerings ranging from expensive luxury cars to econo-friendly hatchbacks. Now, four years later, VW Americas is still struggling to modify sales and gain market share.2 What appear to be DHLs most important competitive advantages? Are they best suitable to a mature industry or a growth industry? Which way would you characterize the U.S. parcel market and the global parcel market?DHLs most important competitive advantages are its global presence, strong parent company financial support, and willingness to have face to face relationships with its customers. DHL holds a commanding 40% market share in europium and Asia, but struggles to gain over a 7% market share in the US. This is primarily because the competition, FedEx and UPS, have spent decades and billions of dollars building delivery networks and infrastructures and huge economies of scale. DHL wants to become the next FedEx or UPS in the United States in order to further strengthen their overall global footprint. In order for DHL to continue to be prosperous in the future, they have to be successful in the US. DHL has a strong global delivery system but lacks in US domestic delivery. This became most evident in November 2008 when DHL ceased all US domestic shipping operations.Th e US parcel market is a mature market because over the past 40 years the market has developed a structure and market leaders that are serving the needs of nearly all customer groups. This market intensiveness and duration do not leave a lot of room for a new start up to gain any ground. The US geographical is much more spread out than DHL is use to dealing with in Europe. This dynamic adds complexity and requires a larger structure to manage.DHL is much better suited to a growth industry than a mature industry. A growth industry has the opportunity for many competitors to develop the market at the same rate without one being at a disadvantage over any others. DHL has a strength in developing relationship with customers that works well in a growth market, where relationships are key to expanding the market.3 What does eBays corporate or multi-business strategy for the twenty-first century appear to be?Ebays corporate business strategy is to be a company that provides services for a ll the kinds of activities that people perform on the internet mountain, communicate, shop, search, and entertain. (Pearce, p. 299) Investors, however, are struggling to see Ebay as more than an online auction site. Over the past 5 years, Ebay has purchased what seems to be a hodge podge of companies with little common connection. PayPal seemed to be a logical fit, as a means to facilitate buyers and sellers on the Ebay auction site. But, Skype and others seem to be farther stretches for the investment community to understand. If you look at ebay as a company that is in business to facilitate trade then the acquisitions make more sense. Time will tell if the online auction giant can gain the trust of the investment world and change their beware about who Ebay is and what it does.Strategic Management Plan1 Using one (or a combination) of the 15 grand strategies outlined in the text, write long-term objectives for your selected company that exhibit the seven qualities of long-term objectives Acceptable Flexible Measurable Motivating Suitable Understandable Achievable.In order to increase value creation for shareholders, barrel maker Tire and Rubber Company will improve global cost structure and increase targeted profitable growth.Global Cost StructureSourcing and LCC Manufacturing 35 45 % of Manufacturing in LCC Meet Demand Lower Global Cost Structure Reduce ComplexityShort Term Goals Ramp Up CKT 6 zillion tires (China) Expand at CCT +2 million tires (China) Offtake agreement with Mexico Offtake agreements at other locationsLong Term Goals Analyze expansion of existing LCC facilities Identify and evaluate say-so JV partners Analyze Greenfield options in LCCManufacturing Cost Reductions 10 15 % reduction in addressable cost base Continue with high quality manufacturingPrograms to come across Process efficiency improvements Complexity reduction and management Automation DistributionTargeted Profitable Growth Total Company = 6 to 7% CAGR Global web Sales = $3.6 billion 60.9 million unitsPrograms to achieve North America Channel AlignmentGrow in all Channels, Growth not equal in all channelsContinue Support of Independent DealersAlign organization and strategy to each channels needs Asia Grow TBR and PCRTruck and Bus radial (TBR) Focus TBR on Tier 2 and 3 Products Continue to develop retail sales Focused growth in fleet sales passenger Car Radial (PCR) Build in areas with greatest car parks (east coast) Shift production used for export sales to domestic Elevate the brand Continue to develop retail sales Europe Focused GrowthTargeted approach with resources geared toward prioritiesExisting Cooper Strengths PLUSBrand focus extremely focused sales by product segmentGreater channel focus2 In 2 pages or less, describe the grand business strategy or strategies that you will select to seek sustained competitive advantage. Why did you select this strategy or strategies?Cooper Tire Rubber Company has chosen to use new product development and control stick venture as grand strategies to seek competitive advantage in the global replacement tire industry.Product Development is used to prolong the product lifecycle or build on the reputation of the brand. Cooper Tire plans to do strengthen this as a strategy by adding resources and enhancing regional technology centers in Asia and Europe. Additional organization of resources into continuous product and process improvement teams through the use of bend and Six Sigma techniques will aid the product development process. Cooper must also modify the research structure to improve research knowledge base. sophisticated Technology and Shelf Technology combined with computer modeling and simulation will help with a focused development effort leading to few iterations and faster product development. Cooper can also utilize external resources by leveraging vendors and academic institutions to provide innovations and technological advancements in tire social organisation and m aterials. By applying a stage gate process, Cooper will enhance decision making process, and align it with global goals.Joint Ventures occur when two or more capable firms lack a necessary component for success in a particular competitive environment. Cooper Tire has a strong market share in the US and looks to continually expand into new global markets. Cooper Tire has two active articulatio ventures in China. Coopers joint venture allows them easier entry into the Chinese domestic market while creating a supply in a low cost country. The Chinese replacement tire market is increasing at a 17% year over year rate, which is a great expansion opportunity for Cooper. As Cooper uses the joint ventures for the production of tires, they are also focusing on building retail distribution in areas with greatest car park (along Eastern coast). These strategies will help to expand the Cooper business and global market share.

Understanding Young Adult Footwear Shoppers in India

Understanding Young Adult footgear Shoppers in IndiaExecutive SummaryA man chiffonier be judged by the fit verbotens he wears. Footwear today is much more than just an integral develop of aces attire it helps the late day consumer take aim his or her unique life style statement. This study was d integrity to recognise the footgear preferences was various categories of footgear and to understand the footwear glomping behaviour. The objective of the study was to atom young adult footwear shoppers into unique footwear obtain orientation groups and to develop a visibility for each segment with respect to footwear benefits sought, wideness of store attributes, patronage behavior and demographics. To start with, a secondary research was done to gain a broad understanding of the footwear industry in India, in particular footwear sell, and the modern Indian consumer. In-depth interviews of 10 young adults from metros, both males and females, were conducted to arrive at the pa rameters used in the evaluation of footwear, footwear sell stores and in comparable manner to understand general footwear usage and buying behavior. This understanding and the parameters arrived at were then used in formulating a questionnaire consisting of 60 line items which was administered by online surveys. A total of speed of light responses were achieved of which 85 were complete responses. The data of the complete responses was then analyzed through frequency distributions, incidentor psychoanalysis and cluster analysis. factor out analysis helped to reduce the number of variables to 8 factors. On the basis of these 8 factors, the 85 respondents were kindified into 3 clusters with unique shopping orientations. The result of this study arouse be helpful to footwear retailers in customizing their merchandising, display, and other store attributes similar space and availability of mirrors to gain maximum store loyalty and patronage.IntroductionFootwear is much more t han just an integral part of ones attire while on the one extreme, it helps the modern day consumer make his or her unique lifestyle statement, it in equal manner helps enhances the transaction of athletes and sportsmen at the other extreme.A brief history of footwearOne of the prototypical things made by our primitive ancestors was foot covering. It was chiefly used to protect themselves from burning sand, rocks and rugged terrain. Records show that different civilizations worry Egyptian, Chinese and other early civilizations, all contained reference to shoes. It is also mentioned in the Bible. The Hebrews also used it in binding a bargain (Shoe History, 2009).The first form of shoe consisted of a simple piece of plaited grass or rawhide which was strapped to the feet. During early times, sandals were the near common type of footwear. In Mesopotamia, during one hundred sixty0 1200 BC, a particular type of shoes were used. They were soft and made of wraparound leather.Up t o almost 1850, the method of making shoes was the said(prenominal) as that in 14th century B.C. in Egypt. Hand tools were used. Shoes were absolutely straight. There was no difference between the right and left shoe (Shoe History, 2009).In 1845, the first auto that found a permanent place in the shoe manufacturing industry was invented- the Rolling machine. In 1846, a sewing machine was invented. In 1875, a machine was developed which later came to be k right offn the Goodyear Welt Sewing Machine (Shoe History, 2009).Rubber heels for shoes were patented in on January 24, 1895 by Humphrey OSullivan. These rubber heels on shoes out termed the leather heels then in use (The History of Shoes, 2009).Keds were first mass- merchandiseed in 1917 (The History of Shoes, 2009). They were positioned as canvas-top sneakers. These were officially the first sneakers. The word sneaker was coined by Henry Nelson McKinney, an advertising agent. This was because the rubber sole made the shoe stealth y. All other shoes, barring a few exceptions like moccasins, made noise when a person walked. Hence you could sneak on anyone wearing Keds.Since the mid-20th century, the type of shoes being created has changed considerably comp bed to the traditional crafting techniques. This is due to advances in plastics, rubber, synthetic cloth, plastics and industrial adhesives. Leather, even though is stock-still used in expensive dress shoes is no longer really used in athletic shoes. Soles, which were once hand stitched, argon now machine stitched or simply glued on.A century ago, if a lot of campaign was put in, a person capability thrust been able to green goods a few pairs of shoes. Today, automatic Toe Laster for Goodyear Welt shoes can produce 1200 pairs in an 8-hour day (Shoe History, 2009).Footwear industry in IndiaIndustry overviewThe Indian footwear and leather industry is amongst the top-10 foreign exchange earners. It is also amongst the top-12 focus manufacturing firmaments in the country if we consider it in terms of competitiveness and untapped potential.The worlds largest footwear manufacturer is China. Next is India. India producs 16 billion pairs accounting for 13% of world-wide footwear production. India produces 2065 million pairs of different categories of footwear (leather shoe uppers 100 million pairs, non-leather footwear 1056 million pairs and leather footwear 909 million pairs). India exports just 115 million pairs of footwear. to the highest degree 95% of the production goes into meeting the domestic demand.Nearly 15 percent of Europes leading soils outsource their footwear, app arl and fashion accessories purchases from India. Indias domestic footwear market is wear out than others around the world primarily because of abundant raw materials, low cost of production and a huge consumption market.Indias major importers for Indian leather products unsophisticatedShare (%)Germany14.12Italy12.82UK11.48USA9.98Hong Kong6.61Spain6.09Fra nce6.14Netherlands4.13UAE2.38Australia1.55Total75.30The 10 countries mentioned above account for nearly 75.30% of Indias total leather products export.More than half(a) of the Indian footwear market comprises of gents footwear. This is opposite to the world wide dilute. The worlds major production is in ladies footwear. Hence, in India there is immense scope in the womens segment. In the unorganized welkin, more than 80 percent of the gross revenue happen in the mens segment. However this is might change soon.The footwear industry is extremely labor intensive- 90% of its production seeds from SMEs (small and medium enterprises). There are in excess of 42,000 such SME units, there are primarily concentrated in two provinces in Uttar Pradesh up north and in Tamil Nadu overmatch south. They are also present in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Punjab. Agra, Ranipet, Kanpur, Ambur, Jodhpur and Kolhapur are also traditionally renowned centers of excellence in the production of leather an d footwear.In the last five years, footwear production in the country has increased by nearly 60%. Out of this, the rural areas consume 75% of the footwear production. It has proceed a necessity product there since till now, they become been majorly deprived of its usage.The Footwear sector has now been de-licensed and de-reserved. This has paved the way for expansion of capacities on modern lines using state-of-the-art machinery. In order to assist this process further, the Government has permitted 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route for footwear sector. Categorization or classification of footwearThe Indian footwear market, in terms of quality offerings, has four main segments1. The super premium decease- comprises the best of global prodigality greases2. The high-end or premium3. The mid/economy ranges- comprises of formals, functional, casuals and party wear4. The low-priced mass range- includes leather and plastic strapped slippers, as utility wear apart(predicate) from this, the genuine active sportswear segment with different price ranges also exists.The volume share of the economy/mid range has reduced. It was 61% in 2006-07. It has come down to 53%. The active sports-wear segment has increased its share from 7% to 9.6%. Premium leather and premium non-leather segments have both seen a rise from 7% and 3% in 2006-07 to 7.3% and 3.5% respectively in 2007-08. The super premium luxury segment has a 0.08% market share. In terms of sales value, this is a genuinely significant number.Also there are four major categories of footwear1. Sports footwear2. Semi-formal or casual footwear3. Formalwear4. Utility footwearThe Indian footwear market mainly consists of casual wear. It occupies nearly two-thirds of the total footwear retail market. The other sub-segment that is doing hearty is the brand sportswear segment. It is estimated to be nigh Rs. 1,000 crore. The main players in this space consist of reebok, Adidas and Lotto. Compa red to other segments, this segment is growing fast in terms of the number of outlets. Apart from footwear, these outlets also sell apparel.major(ip) players in Indian footwear industryThe top domestic and premium brands in India consist of1. Action It has a pan Indian presence. It consists of multiple branded outlets (MBOs), 135 scoop shovel branded outlets (EBOs). It commands a total of 175,000 square feet retail space.2. Bata It is a household name in India. It was the brand that made branded footwear popular. Bata India Limited manufactures and markets various types of footwear, leather and footwear components. Apart from these, the company markets products related to footwear, garments, accessories, sports goods and other merchandise. Batas sub-brands consist of Dr Scholls, Hush puppies, Bubblegummer and Power. Till the first quarter of 2009, Bata India had 1,293 outlets. Bata India is currently feel to expand towards Tier I Tier II cities.3. Khadims Currently, it has ove r 329 outlets. The area under it is approximately 148,000 square feet retail space. It is present in 22 cities across India.4. Liberty After Bata, it is arguably the most popular domestic brand. It is the only Indian company among the worlds top 5 leather footwear manufacturers. It has EBOs as Revolutions and Liberty. Revolutions provides footwear, sound accessories, watches, leather accessories, sun-glasses and jewellery Its sub-brands consist of Footfun, Force 10, Senorita, Gliders, Tiptopp, Windsor, Coolers, June, Warrior and Perfect. Liberty has 360 EBOs, 40 Shop-in-shops and 150 distributors. It services 6000 MBOs. The total retail space under it is 1.26 million square feet.5. Metro, Mochi These are two brands from Metro Shoes Ltd. They were launched in 1977 and 2000 respectively. It consists of over 85 EBOs and 76 MBOs. The retail space under it is 131,000 square feet. It is present in 32 cities.6. Pavers England It declared in India in early 2008. It was launched in Reli ance stores. It is a Chennai based brand. It operates 40 MBOs.7. Red Tape This brand belongs to Mirza International. It was launched in 1996 in the domestic market. It started its exclusive retail operations in 2006. By end-2008 it had 10 company-owned EBOs, 50 franchise-owned EBOs and also 135 Shops-in-shops.8. Sreeleathers It was established in 1950. It is a very strong brand in easten India. It has 5 company-owned EBOs and 28 franchise-owned EBOs.9. Woodland It is smell to enter the junior and kidswear segment. It is also looking at apparels business very optimistically. It hopes that this business will contribute to half of its total sales in India. It operates 250 EBOs in India.10. Lilliput It is a leading brand in kids footwear. By the end of 2008, it had 250 EBOs and also 100 shop-in shops.11. MB Footwear It has 2 in-house brands, viz ID and Mercell. It has been operating for more than 21 years. It has tie-ups with brands like Lee barrel maker. By the end of 2008, it ha d 32 EBOs and also 11 shop-in-shops.International brands in India1. Adidas It is one of the biggest companies in the sports goods category. This nramd has acquired Reebok. It now consists of 3 brand divisions Adidas, Taylormade-Adidas golf and Reebok. Adidas brand focuses on sports. It offers footwear, apparel and hardware in three divisions which include sport heritage, sport performance, and sport style.The sport performance division focuses on the hardcore sports player.The sport heritage division focuses on the casual sports man.The sport style division focuses the fashion-conscious consumers.The Reebok brand focuses more on style.Adidas entered India in 1977. It operates more than 450 EBOs. It has 340,000 square feet retail space. It claims a 20% market share in the active sports segment.2. Lotto It currently has 10 flagship EBOs in India. It has plans to increase it to 100 by the end of 2010. It is present in 30 Indian cities.3. Nike It has 107 EBOs in India4. Guess (Premiu m) It was launched in 2005 by Planet sell in India. It operates 19 EBOs and one shop-in-shop.5. Carlton London (Premium) It currently operates 10 EBOs. It has 50,000 square feet retail space in India. It is concentrated in North India. It has plans to open up new stores in metros and in Tier I cities.MBO Retailers1. Planet Sports It has 39 outlets and a retail space of 73,000 square feet. It is present in 21 cities across India.2. Provogue It was launched in 2005. It consists of 55 EBOs and also 15 shop-in-shops.3. Reliance Footprints It is a division of Reliance Retail Ltd. It started its operations in 2007. It currently operates 14 MBOs. It offers global brands like Ecco, Geox, Josef Siebel, Rockport, Florsheim, Hush Puppies, Lee Cooper and Clarks, Piccadilly, Dr. Scholls, Levis, Crocs, Disney among others. Apart from these, it sells handbags as well as accessories.4. Shoe Factory It is a value format. It offers huge variety of footwear for a wide age groups. It started it s operations in Ahmedabad in 2006. It is present in 16 locations and has a retails space of 48,000 square feet across 8 cities.5. The Blues It is an exclusive licensee of major global brands like Corneliani (2006), Versace Collection (2005), VJC Versace Jeans Couture (2008), Cadini (2005), Versace (2008). By the end of 2008, it had 6 franchised EBOs, 3 shop-in-shops and also one MBO.Emergence of modern Indian retailIntroductionIn 2007, the Indian retail sector stood at $350 billion. It was predicted to increase to $427 billion by 2010 and $635 billion by 2015 (Morierty, 2007).Many Indian business houses are entering or have already entered this sector. The food and grocery sector is turning out to be a major contributer to this field. Even though it started slowly, it is now growing at a agitated pace.The other forms of retail have also evolved consistently. With the huge business houses entering into this business, the field has become extremely competitive between them. This is one sector that is looking to explode in the near futurity.Today, mega Indian business houses and corporate like the Future aggroup of Kishore Biyani (Food Bazaar), Reliance Group of Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Fresh Reliance Hyper), ITC Ltd (Choupal Fresh Choupal Saagar), Wadhawan Holdings (Spinach), RPG Group (Spencers Retail), the Aditya Birla Group (More), Subhiksha, the Godrej group (Natures Basket Godrej Aadhar), J Raheja group (Hypercity), etc. are driving the forays into retail through different models like single-format, multi-format or integrated urban-rural model. (Sengupta, 2007)However, the increment of the Indian retail space has been a long and ardous journey. Let us have a brief look at how the sector as a whole has evolved over the years.HistoryIt is popularly assumed that with the opening of the Indian economy in the early 1990s, the retail sector started opening up. This is when all the supermarkets and hypermarkets came into existence. However, the types of ret ail formats have existed in India since 1970s.In 1971, Nilgiris was set up in Bangalore. It was what one could popularly refer to as the face of modern Indian retail. It was a supermarket. Since then, a lot of other business houses/ entrepreneurs have entered this sector. A few went national while a majority of them were restricted to a local scale. Popular among them were Trinetra from Hyderabad (now part of the Aditya Birla Group), Foodworld from Chennai, Margin Free from Kerala among others. A few others like Stop Shop from the TVS group in in the south India and Nanz in North India have shut down.In 1947, when India got independence, the per capita income was very low. People could not really afford any type of luxuries. Majority of them managed to live by getting their elementary necessities. The main type of retail format prominent during those days was the mom-and-pop (kirana stores). They were run by individuals. The other format was the Bazaar. This trend continued up to the 1960s. Even post that, when supermarkets like Nilgiris opened up, the trend continued (Sengupta, 2007).It was during the 1990s and 2000s that this trend gradually changed. The growth story of the modern retail format in India is the early part of this millennium can be divided into 4 bods. form 1This phase is characterised between 2002 and 2004. Lots of new entrants into the market were driving the top line growth.Phase 2This phase is characterised between 2004 and 2006. The consumers were getting more and more aware of the possibilities that this retail growth could mean for them. They started demanding more and more variety in the organized retail formats.Phase 3Post 2006, the retailers realized that in order to distinguish themselves, they would have to strengthen their back-end activities. The front end of almost all retail outlets were more or less the same. The thing that distinguished them from the rest were activities like inventory control, turnover time etc.Phase 4Th is phase has been in progress since 2007. The retail players are in the process of consolidating their operations.(Srivastava, 2009)Organized retail is moving from being a novel experiment to an judge back-end innovation and scale build up (Srivastava, 2009). Indian retail storyFirst some facts (Srivastava, 2009)* The retail industry employs almost 21 million people* The Kearney study undertaken in 2006, ranked India fifth among 30 developing countries in the Global Retail festering Index* The study projects that India will overtake Russia and China to become the number one destination for foreign direct investment in retailIndia has over 12 million retail outlets. Out of this, astir(predicate) 95% of the outlets are less than calciferol square feet (Srivastava, 2009).If we compare Indian retail with other countries, we see that the number of traditional retail outlets is still very huge.In 2005, US had about 15% traditional retail outlets and 85% organized retail outlets. India had 97% traditional outlets and only 3% organized retail outlets (Srivastava, 2009).(Srivastava, 2009)The organized retail in India is still at a very nascent stage. The opportunity for growth is enormous.Even though speciality stores in India are gaining prominence, almost 90% of all future retail development is predicted to be malls. The Indian consumer wants everything in the same place.One more trend that is being seeing is the marriage of retail and cheer. Lots of multiplexes are opening up at malls. In fact, this seems to be the future trend. Sand alone places might not attract the crowd that such mergers could. Also, facilities like arrest stores, coffee shops, food courts etc. are being developed at these places.The major distinguishing factor of malls in India is that they have a mix of high-value items as well as mass branded items at the same place. In comparison, other countries have speciality malls. They either are of the high-value kind boutiques or the mass catego ry.India has the highest shop density in the world. It has about 11 shops per 1000 people. This adds to one shop per 20-25 families (Srivastava, 2009). However in cities, this density is much higher.If we look at the money spend on various facilities, the urban-rural difference becomes very evident. About 33% of entertainment spends come from rural areas as contrary to 67% from urban areas. As opposed to this, when we talk about more basic necessities like food, clothing and footwear, over 60% comes from rural areas.(Srivastava, 2009)If we look at the share of the various things that are change in the organized retail, we stripping that apparels and accessories is the maximum at 38%, footwear is at 9%, while others like mobile phones, books etc. are at 3% each (Srivastava, 2009).(Srivastava, 2009)Retail formatsBoth traditional as well regional retails constitute footwear retail market space. Along with these, new players like The bean and factory outlets also constitute this sp ace. These are category killers. The Loft offers over 130 brands, all under the same roof. It has completely revolutionarized the industry. In Mumbai, The Loft store has an area of 18,000 sq feet and also offers other services to the customers enhancing their experience. Factory outlets have also changed the industry. Pantaloon Retails Brand Factory, Reliance Footprints, Max Retail of the Landmark Group, and The Loot, are all offering a multiple footwear brands.1) HypermarketThis format of stores has seen a huge growth in India. Most of the stores in this format are making money. The costumers find it very comfortable as they can get almost all their daily necessities like food, clothing, shoes, utensils, home appliances, durables etc. under one roof. It is like a one stop shop for all necessities.2) Departmental StoreSimilar to hypermarkets, these shops also offer all the requirements under one roof. The difference is that these outlets have a more luxurious setting. The Indian con sumer likes the idea of shopping in a better way with entertainment, novelty, variety and an foreign setting, all under one roof.3) Single brand/ Stand Alone OutletAs the name suggests, these outlets consist of only one brand. They are generally run by the brand itself or are run as franchisee. The consumers do not have much choice here in terms of the number of brands but, generally, most of the variety of items, even the rare ones, of the brand are present here.4) Multi-Branded OutletA huge variety of brands are present here. The consumer has a wide array of brands to opt from. The only drawback of such outlets is that only the popular items of a brand are present here. So if a consumer has a very specific requirement, he/ she might not be able to find the item here.5) Factory OutletA factory outlet is a retail store where the manufacturer sells his brand directly to the customer. The store might have a warehouse attached to it. The biggest advantage of such stores is that there are no middle men. Hence the end customers get the brands at a very low cost. They are also called Best Saving Outlets.Footwear retailAT Kearneys eigth annual GRDI (Global Retail Development Index) in 2009 ranked the Indian retail sector as the most attractive emerging market for investment. Indian retail market is the fifth largest retail destination globally.In the footwear retail market, only 5.9 percent of Indias total retail market is organized. This comes to Rs. 13,300 billion. The total footwear retail market stands at Rs. 160 billion. Out of this, 48.4% of the footwear retail market is organized and is dominated by brands. The Indian Retail report of the year 2009 maps the growth of the organized retail since 2004. The findings assign that compared to the other retail categories, footwear category has grown at a much faster pace. In 2004-05, only 25% of the footwear retail sector was organized. In 2009, it grew to 48.4%. The overall retail market share in the organized sec tor has only increased from 3% to 5.9% in the corresponding time frame. rising trendsThe performance of the footwear market is forecasted to accelerate with an anticipated CAGR of 10.2% for the five-year period 2008-2013. This is expected to drive the market to a value of $5,791.4 million by the end of 2013. Comparatively, the Chinese market will increase with a CAGR of 8.3%. (Singh, 2009)The organized retail sector is also seeing many changes. This sector occupies about 5% of Indian retail market. Large format stores and branded retail stores are coming up. This trend was first seen in South India and now in North India, West India and East India in the next couple of years. The retail sector is also opening its operations in Tier II cities like Gurgaon, Noida, Kochi etc. A market research report Booming Retail Sector in India predicts that Indian organoized retail sector will reach US$ 50 billion by 2011. This study was carried out by RNCOS. The number of shopping malls is also se t to increase between 2007 and 2015 by a CAGR of 18.9%.The Indian consumerOn the World Map, India is put 5th in the list of consumer markets of the world. Improved communication systems and the exposure to popular international brands has brought about a huge difference in the cities. People have become more indulgent. They want to acquire more and have also become very ambitious.According to a McKinsey report, the size of the Indian consumer market is expected to grow 4 times by 2025. This report is aptly titled The rise of Indian Consumer Market. The youth population in India is huge. 33% are downstairs 15 years of age. The consumer spending has increased as the disposable income among the youth has increased. The consumer spending in India has increased by 75% in the last 4 years. The share of wallet for products like footwear, clothes, transport, entertainment, education, medical services, housing and renting etc. has increased significantly.In fact, the Indian middle class ha s also started consuming luxury goods like air-conditioners and cars. The Indian demographic profile is changing rapidly. The upper class is growing much quicker than the lower class. The deprived class is shrinking. The middle class is expected to touch 28 million by 2010. One third of the total middle class population will be from the rural areas.modus vivendi category goods are expected to be the future. With the increasing number of working women and fashion conscious males, they will look for a better quality of life. The Nielsen Retail Index 2007 reveled that consumers are switching to branded products. Also due to impulse buying by young consumers with disposable income, brands like Reebok and Adidas saw their semi-urban and rural sales increase by more than 70%.According to Kishore Biyani (Biyani, 2007), the typical Indian consumer can be classified as followsThe serving class consists of 55% of the population. This indicates that the retail outlets should target this group as well instead of mainly targeting the consumer class, which consists of only 14% of the population, as it currently does (Tripathi).Literature Review Indian footwear consumerThe basic understanding of fashion and change in consumer perceptions has given a huge boost to the footwear industry. There is more exposure for Indians due to global excursion and media penetration. The new retailing formats and distribution systems have capitalized on this. Branded footwear from overseas has become popular. Of course, the cost for the consumer is still a concern, due to which even the international brands have had to bring down their prices drastically in order to achieve break-even sales.Comfort is very essential for the Indian footwear consumer. The branded and organized sector has taken advantage of this. However, the awareness about more specialized products like performance enhancing and fitness assisting is still very low in India compared to other South East Asian countries. This co uld increase with time. Also, the young working population is seeing a shift in preference to international trends and lifestyles.One more fact is that women buyers buy more frequently compared to their male counterparts. About 29% women go shopping at least once every quarter. Men account for about 19% of the total purchases of that segment (Indian Retail Report, 2009).As per a study on how consumers divide their wallet spends, about 44% of the urban Nupscale (short for Nielsen Upscale, based on the usage of 12 consumer durable products by the consumers households) buy mens footwear. 41% buy womens footwear. The average annual spend on the products is Rs. 2318 and Rs. 1336 respectively. This study was conducted by Images- AC Neilsen.Women had a role to play in the purchase of mens footwear (26% women to 56% men). Men had a bigger role to play in purchase of womens footwear (34% males to 51% females). Men spent more lavishly on footwear irrespective of whether they were buying for t hemselves or others or gifting. Males spend on an average Rs 2,459 in a typical year on purchase of mens footwear and Rs 1,428 on purchase of womens footwear. Comparatively, women spend on an average Rs 1,875 on mens footwear and Rs 1,265 on womens footwear in a typical year (Indian Retail Report, 2009).Research articlesShopping Orientation in the Evolving Indian Market, a research article by Piyush Kumar Sinha, attempted to understand shoppers from their disposition towards shopping. This was very useful because it has been noted that the differences between retailers are not really significant in terms of the value they deliver. The study managed to bring out the shopping orientation of the Indian shoppers. It said that emotional value matters more than the functional value while shopping. They are also more oriented towards the entertainment value. Based on this orientation, 300 shoppers were divided into 2 segments Fun shoppers and Work shoppers. These two segments had different demographic and behavioral profile. This orientation was primarily affected by the frequency of buying, type of store, and to some extent by the SEC (socio-economic classification). These findings were finally used in order to draw implications for store format, merchandising and pricing (Sinha, 2003).A Typology of Apparel Shopping Orientation Segments among Female Consumers, segmented female apparel shoppers into unique apparel shopping orientation groups. It then developed a profile for each segment by taking into consideration the information sources, lifestyle activities, importance of store attributes, demographics and patronage behavior. Then by using cluster analysis of apparel shopping orientation factors, three groups were identified1) Highly Involved Apparel Shopper2) Apathetic Apparel Shopper3) Convenience-Oriented Catalog ShopperThey were further compared through MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) and chi-square statistics. The results indicated that shopping or ientations are a base for segmenting female apparel shoppers. These groups are unique in consumer buying characteristics.They include* 3 factors of information sources (Fashion Publications, Store Fashion supporter/Promotion and Mass Media)* 5 factors of importance of store attrib

Rear Window, by Alfred Hitchcock Essay -- essays research papers

In the movie, Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock uses the story of a cripple free lance photographer, Jeff Jeffries, to apologise the twisted sense of society in the 1950s. Hitchcock uses clever things from the way the apartments are being filmed to the dialogue between Jeffries, Lisa, and Stella to show societies interest in pain, tragedy, and discomfort, and in the end you see how tragedy is what makes everyone happy.From the very beginning of Rear Window we encounter scenes where Hitchcock shows Stella being sadistic, but we come to realize later that it is not estimable Stella. Stella is just the solitary(prenominal) one who speaks out just about it. You must observe all the other characters actions and reactions to truly see. Stella tells Jeffries that we have become a race of peeping toms and that the only thing that can come out of peeping toms is trouble. In no way do those comments make Jefferies feel like what his is doing is wrong. By his reactions to Stellas comments you rattling feel like they encourage him to continue watching his neighbors from his window. He reinforces the idea that he lives in a corrupted society when he replies to her comments that right now, I would welcome trouble. Jefferies is the source of the corrupted society and as the movie goes on you begin to see him corrupting the other characters, especially Stella and Lisa.When Stella is talking to Jeffries about Lisa and she describes Lisa as a great girl, you see Jeffries have a reaction that ...

Autobiography Essay -- Personal Narrative

I am divorced and the father of 3 children. I grew up in a farm community in North Carolina, and when I was 15, my family moved to Lexington, South Carolina. I attended City High School, taking classes that concentrated on Electrical and Electronic Engineering and math. I also played football from the third grade until I graduated high school. During my Junior and Senior grades of high school, I also worked sectionalisation time for an industrial electrical company. I learned a great deal some life in those years. Most teenagers my age were attending parties or working at the local grocery store. I, however, was working 30 or so hours a week installing electrical motors, 3 phase lighting, and 480 quintet transformers. Once I graduated from high school, my parents wanted me to go to college. I decided that instead of having them pay for it, I would take care of the financial be my own way by joining the United States Army and utilizing the Montgomery G.I. Bill for colleg e. I took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and scored in the top 5% for my class year. What this meant for me was that the recruiters were beating down my door. The U.S. Army made the best offer by laying a book down in front of me and telling me I could pick any job I wanted. I chose wireless communications, because I knew that in 1994, wireless phones, which in those days were the dish antenna phones, were going to be around for a long time, and it was a new technology that had a lot of growing to do. I left for Basic engagement Training (BCT) on November 29th, 1994. I spent the next 10 months in BCT and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). I learned everything there is to know about wireless communications. I graduated AIT at the top of my class an... ... was stabbed recently by a homeless man that I tried to help, and instead of acquiring a thank you, I got a shank between the 10th and 11th ribs.I am one of those people that has a 5, 10, and 25 yea r plan. at bottom 5 years I plan to finish my Masters Degree and move into a director position within Verizon Wireless. Within 10 years I plan to continue my career and help others under me reach their goals so that they, too, can be what they want themselves to be. Within 25 years I plan to partially retire, start my own small company and contract my services out to the wireless companies in the United States. At this point I would begin to travel more and see the world.I extradite led an exciting and full life in my thirty-or-so years. I nominate a lot to show for what I have learned and what I have done. Finishing my degree can only add to what I have already accomplished