Monday, September 30, 2019

Report on Barista

A Report on ————————————————- â€Å"BARISTA CAFE† UNDER THE SUBJECT â€Å"CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR (CB) Prepared by Vivek Jethva| 10MBA032| Jitendra Patel | 10MBA064| Hardik Khara| 10MBA039| Arvind Prajapati| 10MBA081| Sarman Goraniya| 10MBA025| Sandip Kanani| 10MBA036| Kapil Prajapati| 10MBA083| Nilay Khandalkar| 10MBA037| MBA 2010-12, Semester – iii Submitted to (Dr. Govind Dave) INDUKAKA IPCOWALA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (I2IM) CHAROTAR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (CHARUSAT) Table of ContentSr. No. | Particulars| Page no. | 1| About the coffee industry| 3| 2| Growth of the coffee industry in India| 5| 3| Present coffee production in india (2010)| 6| 4| About the espresso| 11| 5| About the barista| 12| 6| Case analysis| 20| 7| Learning from the case| 21| 8| Question & answer| 22| 9| Bibliography| 27| About Coffee Industry: It all began around 1000 A. D. w hen Arab traders began to cultivate coffee beans in large plantations. They began to boil the beans creating a drink they called ‘qahwa’ which translates to ‘that which prevents sleep’.The drink became widely popular, and the need for coffee beans grew. The brief timeline for the growth of coffee, cafes and everything related is given below: YEAR| Journey Of Coffee Industry| 850| First known discovery of coffee berries. Legend of goat herder Kaldi of Ethiopia, who notices goats are friskier after eating red barriers of a local shrub. Experiments with the berries himself and begins to feel happier. | 1100| The first coffee trees are cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula. Coffee is first roasted and boiled by Arabs making ‘qahwa’. 1475| The world’s first coffee shop opens in Constantinople. | 1554| The first establishment in Constantinople soon becomes widely popular, and two more cafes are opened. | 1600s| Coffee enters Europe through the p ort of Venice. The first coffee house opens in Italy in 1654. | 1652| The first coffee house opens in England. Coffee houses were called ‘penny universities’ (a penny is charged for admission and a cup of coffee) because a person could visit a cafe to discuss current affairs and social issues. | 1672| The first Persian coffee house opens. | 1683| The first coffee house opens in Vienna. 1688| Edward Lloyd’s coffee house opens. It eventually becomes Lloyd’s of London, the world’s best-known insurance company. | 1695| The first sign of the French Revolution had its roots in Parisian cafes where the people’s movement started gathering steam. | 1822| The prototype of the first espresso machine is created in France. | 1980s| Coffee is now the world’s most popular beverage, which leads to a boom in retail and hotel cafes. The American retail cafe Starbucks in born. | 1990s| With the growth of the Internet, cyber cafes are born, providing Inte rnet access and coffee to users. 2000s| With an increased penetration of PCs in homes, cyber cafe chains close, and re-immerge as retail coffee cafe chains. | The Coffee Cafe industry is currently one of the biggest and fastest growing sectors in business. The industry consists of a mix of individual cafes, hotel cafes and retail cafe chains. Individual Cafes: The main bulk of revenue is earned by small, individual cafes, run mostly by families and friends. It is a relatively unorganized sector. There are millions of such cafes around the world, and they provide customers with a homely, casual experience.The bulk of these cafes are mainly in Europe, where every little town or village has local cafes, where people gather together for a conversation over coffee, or just to be alone with their thoughts. These cafe’s have been the birthplace and sanctuary for various creative minds, revolutionaries and thinkers of our time. The most recent example is the author J. K. Rowling, who has written most of the Harry Potter series of books, sitting at her local cafe. These cafes set themselves apart from retail chain cafes and hotel cafes because they provide customers with a homely, classic appeal, which cannot be emulated.Hotel Cafes: Ever since the popularization of coffee, hotels all over the world started opening 24-hour coffee shops where visitors to the hotel could walk in for a cup of coffee and some food at any time. These coffeehouses are extremely important, because they provide international visitors to the hotel with a universal drink- coffee. Any customer can walk into any major hotel in the world, and enter the coffeehouse, and know what to expect. These cafes are not really major players in the coffee cafe industry, but rather provide supplementary services to the hotel industry.Retail Cafe Chains: The last, and the most organized sector in the coffee cafe industry, is the retail cafe chain. Off late, these chains have become extremely popular and a re growing at an ever-increasing pace. These retail chains have work with an organized structure of man, material and money. The work on developing a recognized brand consistent to all their outlets, which customers can easily relate to, wherever they go. They provide customers with a standardized level of service and quality at each of their outlets.The vast popularity of these retail chains is shown in the rapid international growth of brands like Starbucks. Customers can do to any Starbucks across the world and know exactly what to expect. Growth of the Cafe Industry in India: Hot beverages have always been a part of the tradition of India, especially South India. Coffee took the first seat in South India when the traditional Brahmin classes brought down the beverage from the ruling British around the 1930s. During the early years the drink was confined only to traditional rich Brahmin families who served filter coffee in a ‘davra- tumbler’.Coffee is no more confined to the rich Brahmin class now, though the tradition of serving filter coffee in the ‘davra- tumbler’ continues to this day. In order to spread the drink, coffee houses emerged at various places in the country, which also served as the opposite places for lawyers and the educated class to hold discussions ranging from politics to cinema. It is also believed that many scripts and ideas for films evolved here. One of the oldest coffee houses in South India is the Raayars mess, Chennai, which serves first class filter coffee even today.The mess was established in the 1940s and continues the tradition of coffee but supplements it with Tiffin also. The vintage location of the mess attracts huge crowds even today early in the mornings, Coffee however was not the only item on the menu. These places also served food and other drinks to their customers. The drink also became famous and as a result even five star hotels began cashing in on it. Several hotels all over the country started opening coffee- shops that catered to high- end customers. This showed the popularization of coffee cafes, to all sections of society.The drink has now become more of a concept than merely a drink itself. The last decade witnesses the growth of numerous coffee pubs in the country. A number of coffee cafe owners tried to westernize the taste in contrast to the filter coffee. Now, large retail chains like Qwikys, Barista, and Cafe Coffee Day have opened up around the country. The concept of a cafe today is not merely about selling coffee, but about developing a national brand. Retail cafes now form a multi- crore industry in the country, and have huge potential for growth locally, and internationally. Present Coffee production in India (2010):Production: The government’s Coffee Board now pegs MY 2009/10 coffee production at 289,600 tons (4. 83 million bags of 60 kg) tons, which included 94,600 tons Arabica and 195,600 Robusta, lower than the Post-Blossom estimate of 306 ,300 tons, due to adverse weather conditions during bean maturing and harvest stage. Furthermore, rains also reportedly caused some quality problems, particularly in the Arabica variety. Although trade sources initially contested the Coffee Board figure saying that the Board estimate of the crop loss was on the lower side, now they are in agreement with the Board estimate.Some even believe that production could be marginally higher than the Coffee Board estimate, given the current strong export trend. Outlook for the MY 2010/11 crop presents a mixed picture. Although several coffee growing regions have received good pre-blossom and back up showers, rainfall has been poor in some parts of Coorg and Tamil Nadu. High February/March temperatures could affect Robusta production to some extent, although heavy December 2009 rains left enough soil moisture, which may help compensate for the lack of pre-blossom showers.The Coffee Board is expected to release its Post Blossom forecast in late May or early June. Meanwhile, industry sources forecast MY 2010/11 coffee production marginally lower than the MY 2009/10 estimate at around 275,000 tons, which include 175,000 tons of Robusta and 100,000 tons of Arabica. Coffee pests such as white stem borer and berry borer, although not completely eradicated, are under control due to better agronomic practices. Higher coffee price realization during the past three to four years has prompted coffee growers to apply more farm inputs and follow better agronomic practices, supporting higher production.Labor costs, which accounts for almost 65 percent of the coffee cost of cultivation, continue to escalate. With off-farm employment opportunities increasing, coffee planters have started experiencing shortages of skilled labor, which could become a major problem in coming years. Higher price realization for coffee is now helping growers to some extent mitigate the higher labor cost. The Indian government’s National Rural Employme nt Guarantee program and a highly subsidized rice and wheat distribution program have further exacerbated the labor shortage in the plantation sector.Although limited mechanization is taking place in some coffee plantations, large-scale mechanization is difficult in India because of uneven plantings and small sized holdings. Although the coffee planting and bearing area in India has generally shown an upward trend, mostly due to some expansion of coffee cultivation in non-traditional states such as Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, coffee production, especially Arabica, has been declining due to diminishing yields (Fig 1a & 1b).Coffee productivity in the non-traditional areas, mostly Arabica coffee, is reported to be much lower than in the traditional belt, which pulls down overall yield. To contain the white stem borer menace, there was some uprooting of infected trees and replanting with new stock in the Arabica belt supported by the Coffee Board. These replanted trees are yet to reach b earing stage. According to industry sources, India’s coffee production will stabilize at around 300,000 tons once the replanted trees come into full bearing.A significant share of low quality domestic Robusta coffee and some imported low priced coffee (for re-exports) goes into the production of instant/soluble coffee. This segment is almost entirely branded and packaged, and is dominated by multinationals such as Nestle and Unilever, and the Indian conglomerate Tata Group. In recent years a few other Indian companies have made a foray into this segment with some success. Although instant coffee production capacity is increasing, actual production is estimated to be around 45,000 tons (120,000 tons on green coffee basis).Organic coffee production is miniscule at around 300 tons due to lower yields and the absence of a significant premium over non-organic coffee. Out of 220,000 coffee holdings in the country, 218,000 holdings belong to small farmers having less than 10 hectare s, which account for 70 percent of coffee production. Coffee cultivation is mainly confined to southern states of Karnataka (70%), Kerala (20%) and Tamil Nadu (7%). With a view to expand coffee cultivation, the Coffee Board has been implementing developmental programs for coffee development in the North Eastern Region and Non Traditional areas.During the 11th Five Year Plan, the Coffee Board had proposed to support a coffee expansion program taken up by the Integrated Tribal Development Agency on 24,000 ha in Andhra Pradesh and on 850 ha in the North Eastern Region. Indian Coffee Marketing System Indian coffee producers have three ways to market their coffee: (a) sell directly to exporters through an exporting agent, (b) hold it in a curing factory before selling it; (c) sell it at voluntary auctions. Smallholders, who dominate the Indian coffee scenario, mostly sell their parchment coffee (or dry cherry) to exporters through exporting agents.The agent takes the coffee beans to the curing factory, where they are checked for quality which must meet the exporters’ standards. The second method allows the coffee grower to store the coffee with the curer before selling it in order to speculate on price movements. Under the third method adopted mostly by large producers, coffee is sold at a voluntary auction, organized by the Indian Coffee Traders’ Association. In this case, the producer takes the coffee to the curing factory and stores the green beans in the auction warehouses, sending a sample for auction.Consumption: According to the Indian Coffee Board, domestic coffee consumption is increasing 5 to 6 percent annually, partly due to expansion of the coffee cafe culture and the spread of the coffee drinking habit throughout India, even into non-traditional coffee drinking regions in the north. The concerted efforts of the Coffee Board and coffee marketers in promoting the beverage as a lifestyle drink via coffee cafes and vending machines has added more visibility to coffee.According to a survey sponsored by the Indian Coffee Board, coffee consumption in 2008 is estimated at 94,400 tons, 73 percent in urban areas and 27 percent in rural areas (south India). Based on this, coffee consumption in 2009 is estimated by the Board at 97,000 tons and in 2010 at 100,000 tons. Trade sources are, however, skeptical about the Coffee Board’s high consumption figure. According to them, production, supply and distribution fundamentals do not support such high consumption figures.According to them, a significant quantity of chicory is blended with coffee, particularly in the soluble coffee segments, which tends to amplify the coffee consumption figures. According to some sources the amount of chicory going into the coffee blend is as high as 25,000 tons, which tends to over-estimate actual coffee consumption. The indicative Bangalore wholesale price of Arabica Plantation â€Å"A† averaged Rs. 203 per kg in 2009 ($2 per pound), a nd Robusta Cherry â€Å"AB† averaged Rs. 96 per kg (98 cents per pound), compared with the 2008 average price of Rs. 146 per kg for Arabica and Rs. 110 per kg for Robusta.The retail price of pure grind coffee (Arabica plantation) in major southern cities averaged around Rs. 270 per kilogram ($2. 75 per pound), a 17 percent increase over a year ago price. ($1= Rs. 44. 50). Farm gate price for Arabica parchment registered a 30 percent increase in CY 2009 but the increase was much lower or even negative in the case of Arabica cherry and Robusta parchment and cherry. India’s Growing Coffee Cafe’ Culture Although tea is the main drink of choice in India, now hundreds of trendy western-influenced coffee bars have emerged across India in Tier I and Tier II cities.The bean has become big business, so large that it now competes against the once dominant tea on menus everywhere. For coffee fans, India offers a few notable coffee bar chains. The significant growth in the n umber of coffee retail chains in India is due to the changing lifestyle patterns of Indian middle class families and an increase in their disposable income. Although the coffee bars’ contribution to India’s total coffee consumption may not be significant, these coffee cafes have added more visibility to coffee and opened up an outlet for various value added food items.Barista Lavazza :One of India's largest franchised chains of coffee bars, the Barista Lavazza coffee company operates around 205 outlets across India – 15 creme lounges and the rest espresso coffee bars. It plans to open 300 new stores over the next three years and has begun aggressively marketing its products outside Indian borders into neighboring countries. Considered the Starbucks of the East, Barista offers many of the same menu items like espresso, lattes, cappuccino and various pastries, in addition to basic coffee.Despite being Indian, Barista sticks closely to its Italian roots by serving Italian coffees exclusively. (www. barista. co. in), Cafe Coffee Day A later entrant than Barista, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) offers nearly everything coffee-related, from take-home products and equipment to fully operational stores. Since the grand opening of the first store in Bangalore in 1996, Cafe Coffee Day has grown to become India's largest coffee retailer, with exports into Europe and the Middle East. Like Barista Lavazza, CCD tends to be in every major Indian metro area. Cafe Coffee Day currently has 810 outlets in over 100 cities.Costa Coffee The British influence isn't entirely missing from Indian cities, as the UK's largest coffee retailer has been setting up shops alongside other coffee competitors. The London-based Costa Coffee Company specializes in imported Italian coffees and made-to-order coffee concoctions like risteretto (a coffee stronger than espresso) and â€Å"Flat Whites† that feature custom barista designs in the froth. Qwiky’s Coffee Pub The coff ee house offers about 101 varieties of coffee, serving drinks such as espressos, lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, americanos and friazzos. It also offers grilled sandwiches, pastries and ice creams.Qwiky's clothing brand, greeting cards, magazines, books and coffee mugs are also available. | | Trade: Assuming a better than normal production this year, MY 2010/11 coffee exports are forecast at 200,000 tons, marginally lower than the MY 2009/10 estimate of 210,000 tons. Although export permits issued in MY 2009/10 through March 2010 were ahead of last year, the recent steep appreciation of the India rupee against the U. S. dollar is making exports less competitive. Coffee exports in MY 2008/09 were around 175,000 tons, 20 percent down from the MY 2007/08 exports of 220,000 tons because of reduced exportable surplus and igh domestic prices vis-a-vis global prices. On a calendar year basis, India’s coffee exports in CY 2009 were 189,000 tons compared with 213,000 tons in CY 2008. Ita ly, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Finland account for almost 55 percent of total exports. Exports to the U. S. in CY 2009 were around 3,300 tons up from 2,500 tons in CY 2008. India imports small quantities of low-priced coffee, mostly from Indonesia, Uganda, Vietnam, and Ivory Coast, for value addition and re-exports. Such imports in IFY 2007/08 were around 27,000 tons and 29,000 tons in IFY 2008/09.The Perfect Espresso 1. The taste of your coffee will be directly affected by the amount of coffee you dispense into the handle; Single handle: One complete pull 7g No more – no less Double handle: Two complete pulls 14g No more – no less 2. Tamp the coffee. Hold the handle in your left hand, tamp with your right hand. As you tamp give the handle a good hard twist left – to – right to ensure a solid pack. 3. Wipe the excess grounds from the rim of the handle. Note: This will ensure that you don’t have coffee grounds build up on the rubber seal i n the brewing head.Over time this build up will cause grounds to leak into the coffee drink you are preparing. 4. Brew the espresso into a demi tasse. The correct brewing time for an espresso is 20 – 25 seconds. About The Barista: Background, Market Entry ; Growth Barista coffee was established in 1999 with the aim of identifying growth opportunities in the coffee business. Increasing disposable incomes and global trends in coffee indicate immense growth potential in one particular segment. More significantly, they believe they have been quick to spot a latent need waiting to be trapped: Coffee lovers seek a complete experience.One that combines intelligent positioning with the right product mix and carefully designed cafes. In other words, customers seek an â€Å"experiential lifestyle brand†. As of today, Barista exists in over 22 cities, and operates over 140 outlets nationally. In the last 2 years, Barista has opened over 100 outlets in the country and with a new o utlet opening nationally every 14 dates; Barista is currently experiencing phenomenal growth. With outlets opening in Sri Lanka and Dubai, Barista is looking at potential growth opportunities in Asia, making it highly competitive international brand. Product SourcesBarista sources its coffee beans from around the world, but a major supplier is TATA Coffee, part of the TATA Group that owns a large stake- holding in Barista. These coffee beans are then sent to Venice, Italy where they are roasted into a blend exclusively for Barista. The food and desserts at Barista is exclusively catered to by the Taj, who ensures a high standard of quality with all its products. Barista also sells merchandise through its store, all of which is imported. The merchandise accounts for nearly 1/6th of Barista’s overall sales. Quality Sources Barista has a check on the quality of its products every 14 days.Barista also incorporates TQM at its headquarters in Delhi. Since Delhi is the base for all its distribution, quality control measures are adopted there to avoid any poor quality products being distributed. Serving Size The serving size of a product is a measure, not only of quantity, but also of value for money. The average serving size for Barista’s main product categories is detailed in Table given below: Product Serving Size Smoothies | 240 ml/ 300 ml| Cold Coffee | 340 ml| Hot Coffee (2 kinds) | 300 ml| Granitas | 340 ml| Pricing: Barista has a ‘Skim Pricing Policy’. They began with a higher price, and skimmed the cream for the market.With the sudden spurt of growth in number of outlets, came the benefits of economies of scale. Because of this, they have been able to gradually lower their prices, and appeal to different segments of their target market. Currently, their prices are the lowest they have ever been, and they can competitively match their prices against Cafe Coffee Day’s prices. The prices are constantly changing though, and the l ast 1-year has seen 3 changes (mostly reductions) in prices. This gradual price reduction meant that Barista could maintain its profit- maximization policy until it could earn large cost savings because of the benefits of high volume.The main factors that affect their pricing are their cost of goods sold. The costs are quite high because imports a majority of its products and product- sources. Process: The order and delivery process at Barista is based on self- service, where a customer goes up to the counter to place his order, and goes back to the counter to pick his delivery once it is prepared. Positioning: Consumer Profile: According to research, over 65% of Barista’s customers are in the 15- 30 age- group. The majority of these are students and young urban professionals. Brand Image:Barista positions itself as a brand for anyone who loves coffee. Their products, services and outlets are more like the traditional European cafes, where people would meet for the love of co ffee, and for an intellectual appealing time. They position their outlets as a place â€Å"where the world meets†, and they look to appeal to anyone in the 14- 60 age group that loves good coffee and looks for a nice quiet time. * Products: Barista’s product mix constitutes a wide range of products that appeal primarily to traditional coffee lovers. Their products themselves are traditional products with traditional names.Food items like croissant, pastas, and sandwiches are complimentary to their coffee, and project a very classic image of Barista. Their merchandising also consists of primarily coffee related products like coffee beans, coffee machines, etc. * Prices: Considering that Barista is trying to target a market whose age range is between 18 and 60 years, a pricing policy appealing to this segment is difficult. Extremely low prices act as a deterrent to some customers who might regard it as an indicator or quality, while very high prices cannot be afforded by most of the youth.But since Barista’s current consumer profile is quite young, their prices are mostly inexpensive, brand at par with their competitors. * People: The people at Barista are characteristically trained to be Pleasant, Polite and Positive. They ensure you have a quiet, uninterrupted visit and provide an escape from the daily pressures of life. Their uniforms are in sober shades of brown and orange, and contribute to the overall laid-back feeling of the cafe. * Logo, Colors, Images: Barista, since the beginning has looked to use colors in its cafe interiors, logos and images; to project a â€Å"warm, earth glow, synonymous with coffee†.Barista uses shades of Orange ; Brown to good effect to promote its â€Å"laid- back† atmosphere. The logo is a combination of Brown, Orange and Light Yellow; with the word â€Å"Barista† written in an upward curve, and the word â€Å"Coffee† underneath. A simple logo that perfectly expresses Baristaâ₠¬â„¢s brand image: A traditional cafe for coffee lovers. * Decor and Architecture: Barista’s internal decor and architecture expresses the simplicity you would normally associate with traditional cafes. The furniture is made of light shades of wood, and there are comfortable sofas in bigger cafes.The walls are shades of orange, with various photographs of the love for coffee spread around each outlet. * Literature: The literature provided by Barista is indicative of its brand image. The menus, posters, pamphlets are all traditionally designed, with a classic and simple look. One aspect of particular note is their magazine, which is privately circulated in the cafes. The magazine encourages customers write, draw, make etc anything creative; and this is then published in the magazine. The magazine not only provides an avenue for advertising, but also an opportunity for Barista to express its brand image. * Place:Barista looks to cater to their target market with strategically l ocated outlets. Their outlets are generally located at High Street/ Family Entertainment Centers. Considering their generic appeal, there are Barista outlets in and around Malls, Cinemas, Colleges, and Offices etc. this endorses their brand image of a cafe that appeals to coffee lovers of all ages. * Promotions: Barista currently carries out mass promotion campaigns. This is mainly in the form of promotions in the Press, TV and Radio Medias. At present, they do not rely heavily on advertising, but rely more on sponsorships and strategic alliances with other corporations.Barista also takes part in various sales promotion activities to help increase sales at their outlets. * Sponsorships: Barista sponsors various events and festivals, which provides them valuable promotion directed at strategic markets. The sponsorships are mainly in kind, although major events are sponsored in cash also. * Collaborations: Barista has entered into special collaborations and alliances with various part ners for co- marketing brands. For example, Barista entered into a deal with Leo Mattel toys to provide the popular board game Scrabble at every Barista outlet across the country.This is an ideal alliance for both the organizations, because it provides Leo Mattel with an important avenue for promoting their product, and it provides Barista’s customers an added attraction for spending more time at Barista outlets. Barista has also entered into partnerships with various movies, for promotions through Barista, and recently, they tied up with Star World for its â€Å"Absolutely Everybody† campaign. * Sales Promotion: Barista uses a special â€Å"Barista Coffee Card† for its sales promotion activities. The Barista Coffee Card entitles you to one complimentary hot beverage when you are done sipping seven.It is available to all Barista coffee regulars. No membership fees, no references required. Fill out the card and you are a member. As a Coffee Card holder, you earn one stamp on the card every time you purchase a beverage. Simply present the card to the cashier when you place your order at any of their outlets. Once you have collected seven stamps, you can hand over the card to receive your complimentary hot beverage. Barista hopes this card can help drive sales growth, and increase customer retention. * Distribution: Distribution of outlets Every Barista outlet is owned by the company, and not franchised out to anyone.Barista can thus control and make quick changes to its entire retail chain. Barista currently operates in over 120 outlets all over the country, and at their current rate, they are opening a new outlet approximately every 10 days. They have a market presence in over 20 cities. Mumbai alone has over 30 outlets, and the number of outlets in the city is increasing at a phenomenal pace. Barista has a thumb rule for selecting cities and locations for the distribution of outlets. Location: This is a prime factor in determining the succ ess of a retail chain.However, Barista Coffee has adopted a top down approach, wherein they first identify the cities and then decide on precise locations within its limits. Selecting a city: Barista has devoted substantial management time and effort in zeroing in on the cities where they are now situated. The selection of the cities was based on the following criteria. * Sizeable population of executives, students and families in SEC A ; Barista category; * High disposable income with people looking for new vistas in leisure and lifestyle oriented concepts; * High level or organized retail activity; Rapid socio- economic development; * Level of commercial importance (Industrial cities, state capitals etc. ) * Number of educational establishments and opportunities available for employment. On the basis of the above criteria, they had initially targeted cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Chandigarh and Ludhiana were later added due to tie- ups with ‘Pl anet M’ and ‘Ebony’ to set up store-in- stores at their outlets. They are also pursuing an equally aggressive international business expansion strategy. They have over 50 overseas locations presently under their consideration.They have already done their groundwork in terms of getting brand and name registrations in over 30 of these locations. To facilitate their global expansion, they plan to work with strategic partners, who share the same vision of expanding and promoting the brand worldwide. Currently they have opened new outlets in Sri Lanka and Dubai as a part of their international strategy. Barista acquired by Lavazza: Lavazza Group signed an agreement with Sterling Infotech Group to acquire Barista Coffee Company Limited and Fresh ; Honest Cafe Limited.Barista is the second-largest Indian coffee shop chain in terms of outlets, with 150 coffee shops of which 132 in India mainly located in the capital city of New Delhi, in Mumbai and Bangalore. The transac tion was carried out based on a precise development strategy that will lead to the opening of 400 outlets by 2010. This target will be achieved leveraging on the excellent premium positioning and importance currently reached by Barista on the Indian market. Fresh ; Honest Cafe focuses on the vending business, specifically on office coffee service, and is the leading company in the bean-to-cup segment (high quality bean product).With an extensive footprint in over 22 Indian cities, Fresh ; Honest Cafe supplies an average of 300,000 cups of coffee per day, equal to about 800 tons of coffee per year. The company is expanding rapidly and has a production site in the southern region of India. Among its customers, it counts the most prestigious hotel chains in India. â€Å"The acquisition is part of our strategy aimed at expanding our operations in markets with a high development rate and a high growth potential, through a careful policy of acquisitions and alliances,† stated Alber to Lavazza, Vice President and CEO of the Group. This ambitious policy has a strong economic impact due to the importance of this transaction, but it also has a significant impact in terms of international expansion and development of our brand†. Through this transaction, signed by Lavazza, assisted by Lazard, Lavazza Group becomes one of the leading players in India in the premium coffee sector, thus strengthening also its position as a worldwide player. The total investment for the acquisition and commercial development of the two companies in India is estimated to be approximately â‚ ¬100 million over the next three years. We are delighted to enter the rapidly growing Indian market through Barista and FHCL. The Agreement fits in well with our strategy to grow in markets with high development potential. In this respect we are proud to enter India with such a significant acquisition, which allows us to take a leading position in coffee shops and in the away from home marke t in line with Lavazza culture, we will take forward our values; which are attention to consumer needs and a passion for high quality coffee. † added Alberto Lavazza.Besides investing in the very interesting Indian coffee market, Lavazza is also monitoring other emerging markets for potential future investments. Distribution of Stock The distribution of stock at Barista begins from the coffee beans being sent abroad for roasting. The roasting takes place in Venice, and the beans are then supplied to the main warehouse in Delhi. Stock is then distributed to the various Regional Warehouses, and then to the local Warehouses. The outlets get their stock from the Local Warehouses. Barista uses a Re-Order Level system for the distribution of their stock.Barista out sources its transportation needs from external organizations, and currently uses trucks as the preferred means of distribution. Case analysis of barista coffee: Swot analysis of the company: * Strength: * Good customer re lation * Faster delivery * HR are key assets * Wide choice for coffee * Weakness: * Expensive brand perception * Very few stores * Opportunity: * Can introduce cheaper coffee. * Can go to smaller town and cities. * Can diversify into tea segment * Threat: * Competition from the existing coffee chains and outlets. Effects of Govt. commodity price. * Identify problem(case analysis) 1) Strategy of company was not proper for that reason company making loss and 10 non-performing outlet was close in 2005. 2) Price of coffee was very lower as compare to providing their service and cost of product * Establish the problem 1) Barista wanted to tread cautiously this time. It had faced several problem later on as a fall out of it’s the earlier strategy that hinged on achieving rapid growth and driving first mover advantage by opening as many outlets as possible in key cities.It opened 75 outlets within the first two years of operation, where as its competitors, CCD acted much cautiously initially and had set only 18 cafes in its first five years. In 2005, barista was forced to close 10 non- performing outlets. This outlets was not able generate enough profit. Strategy for expansion of barista was not proper for that reason company was making loss and also faced many problem in this business like closing the outlets. 2) They are targeting upper middle class and upper class people and they are also providing best service and product but pricing policy was not good nough as per services and product quality. Upper class people also ready to pay higher price for coffee due to services and quality. Company need to increase price of coffee so, company can overcome from losses. * Generate alternative 1) Make proper strategy and avoid rapid growth. 2) Increase the price of product. * Evaluate the Alternative 1) For the rapid expansion of business they were not focusing on strategy and weaknesses of company. Company was opened many outlets in first two year but this outlet w as not able to generate enough profit. So, company need to make proper strategy and avoid rapid growth. ) Price of company is very lower as compare to services and product. So company wants to increase the price of coffee. * Priorities Alternatives 1) Make proper strategy and avoid rapid growth. 2) Increase the price of product. * Learning from the case * We learn from this case is how to expand business and how to run business. We are know somewhat about the company and we also learn about the company’s various strategy. Company had also know the consumer behavior for its product so we are atleast understand something about the consumer behavior.We are knew from the case that how consumer behavior affect to the company’s product. * We had also learn about various models for consumer behavior and how that affect to the consumer behavior. Barista Coffee case QUESTIONS – ANSWERS 1. Was the current pricing and product mix strategy right one? Ans-The pricing strateg y for Barista was somewhat different than others. The high pricing strategy was adopted by Barista by high product quality. The product price generally depends on the quality of the product. The eight steps followed in the procedure of making Barista Coffee by the brew masters.The people who involved in the procedure to make the coffee are known as brew masters. So the main aspect to see the pricing strategy is to compare the quality of products of Barista and the services provided by the company. So let we see some of the key factors which influence to the high prices of Barista Products. * The product of Barista i. e. coffee is passing through eight processes in which the customers get the extra- ordinary quality as well as services by the Barista outlets in each and every places. The customers which targeted by Barista was the high class people but the number of prospected customers was very less. Because of this reason we can say that the pricing of the product was the excellent due to which the customers remains same and price do not affect a lot. * Competition in the market was high but the services and the product quality was the uniqueness of the company. So they cannot give the franchise to the other owners of the places instead of putting the outlets. So, the pricing strategy of the Barista was right one according to segmentation adopted by them and services provided to the customers.Product mix strategy was the one of different strategy adopted by Barista to serve the customers by providing different kind of coffee making system and high pricing strategy. The products of the barista are as under: * El Salvador: A sweet tasting Rain Fores bean sourced from the Las Zerro Ranas plantation. We developed this brew at the request of a leading investment bank that was looking for the ultimate coffee, where it won out in a blind taste test over the â€Å"big name â€Å"brands. This may be our best coffee yet! Costa Rican Tarrazu: This coffee comes from th e Tarrazu region south of San Jose. It is prized for its high acidity, excellent body, and full complex flavor. * Guatemalan: Certified Organic: Grown at high altitudes without pesticides or manufactured fertilizers. If offers a distinctively sweet, smoky personality which distinguishes it from other prized coffees from Central America. Our CEO’s favorite! Sumatra Mandheling: Of the world’s finest coffees this is arguably the most admired. Gentle, with a long finish, its richness and complexity makes it the ideal coffee to take with cream.From the central part of northern Sumatra, one of the Indonesian islands, this wonderful, very intense coffee is highly desirable. In the cup this coffee possesses a heavy, full body, concentrated spicy, earthy and robust taste with an herbal aroma, all with little acidity. * Swiss Water Decaffeinated Colombian (X11) High grade â€Å"European prepped† Colombian coffees are put through a patented Swiss Water wash to remove 98% o f the caffeine, while leaving all the taste and aroma you expect from a fine cup of coffee. 42/2oz bags per case. * Mocha Java: A blend of Ethiopian and Indonesian Java coffees, often referred to as the Original Blend.Full bodied, with spicy overtones, roasted medium dark for a truly distinctive character. * Kenyan Blend: Known for their intense aroma of lush, ripe blackberries these larger than average beans produce a full bodied coffee; dry and winey, rich and lively. We blend them in a 2:1 ratio with fine Colombian Excelso to produce an excellent blend that is brightly acidic with no bitterness. 42/2oz bags per case. * Kenya AA: Probably Africa’s finest; has a full body, delicate acidity, smooth winey flavor and aroma with a dry winey aftertaste. Very popular with coffee aficionados. Kona Style: A distinctive blend of Arabica coffees that captures the light body, sweetness and balanced flavor that Hawaiian Kona is famous for. * French Roast: A fine blend of high grown Arab ica coffees brought to a high roast. its computer controlled roasting process is able to achieve a smooth bold taste without crossing the fine line to burnt. * Three Bean Reserve: The perfect balance of three distinctive estate grown coffees whose tastes complement each other when blended. The lush, winey Kenyan, spicy Guatemalan and the full bodied Colombian Supermom provide the ultimate cup of coffee.These are some of the examples of the coffee product of the company. The prices were charge almost double then the competitors and the services and the products also given with the high quality than others. So in that way we can say the pricing product mix strategy was quiet good and right one. 2. Should it go for premium prices or should it focus on affordability? The existing products provided by Barista to the customers and the pricing state that the people who are interested in this type of coffee product are the found of it.The eight step quality model also used by the company an d it has not given any franchise yet to focus on the service and products which was special for the customers. Moreover the profit of the company was in negative term i. e. it made loss so the by going affordable prices the company may occur more loss. The uniqueness of the company was the high service with high quality products with the experienced memory and for the customers. It may happen that in future the growth of the people with respect to standard of living increases so the no. of prospected customers will go up.In this way the company need to focus on go for premium prices instead of affordability prices. 3. What should be the best way to drive the expansion? Ans-Currently company is making loss as stated in the case itself. So the main area to focus on is the price and the targeted people of the products of Barista. Already barista has the second largest maximum number of outclasses across the globe. But the competitor like CCD and Starbucks entering in to the market and taking share of the market so the possibility of expansion is very less but it need to focus on existing one. The company need to focus on the following ways for expansion. The focus must be give the priority to the existing outlets * It need to focus on the coffee products rather than the service because 70% of the revenue generated by Barista coffee products. * So it not need to expand the outlets but it can expand the existing product portfolio in the uncovered region where the opportunity exist in the market. 4. Should it go for expansion through company owned outlets or should adopt the franchise rout? Ans-The total number of outlets are 106 which already owned by the company and the coffee preparation and the services provided by the company is arvelous. In the increasing completion and the quality, services and considering all other aspects like infrastructure, coffee makers, places and preferences of the customers it need not to expand through franchise instead of expansion by outlets. Thus focus on the existing and maintaining the quality with learning experience enjoying to having coffee by the customers are basic focus area of need to expand the markets. 5. Should Barista enter overseas markets? Ans-Barista need not go for overseas market because of some reasons as stated below: * Competition of foreign markets Rapid growth in the living standard of the Indian people. * Existence of the current outlets in India * Product mix and the pricing are difficult to maintain in going to the overseas markets is very difficult. Moreover if company wants to enter in to the overseas market then it is possible that the company need to give franchisee and decentralization. So it will lose the quality and service of experience learning of the customers. In this way the treat can be come up with the difficulty for to manage the outlets across the globe. Bibliograohy 1) www. indiacoffee. org/advertisement/rainfall-21-2-08. html 2) www. offeeday. com 3) www. barista. co. in 4) www. iipmthinktank. com/functions/marketing/compartive. pdf 5) http://www. superbrandsindia. com/images/brand_pdf/consumer_3rd_edition/Barista%20Lavazza. pdf 6) http://www. edynamic. net/upload/pdf/Barista%20PR. pdf 7) http://www. indiaprwire. com/pressrelease/food/2011082495762. pdf 8) http://www. barista. lk/media/image/corporate_profile. pdf 9) http://cms. colorstv. in/files/media-center/ff_150909. pdf 10) http://www. pinelabs. com/images/March_Newsletter. pdf 11) http://www. worldbaristachampionship. com/documents/WBC_Event_Hosting_Guideline

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Health and Safety in the Workplace Essay

* The wiring can be temperamental, the hot water system is often not working and the canteen is in a basement room with no external lighting or windows. There are only 3 toilets in the building and these are also situated on the lower ground floor, near to the canteen. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that in reference to lighting; â€Å"Every workplace shall have suitable and sufficient lighting. Where it is practicable, the lighting shall be by natural light. Suitable and sufficient emergency lighting shall be provided.† To mend the lighting issue in the canteen, sufficient lighting would need to be provided & maintained otherwise the company would be breaching these regulations. These regulations also state that in regards to temperature in the workplace; â€Å"should be reasonable for indoor workplaces. There should be a sufficient number of thermometers provided to allow checking of temperature.† With the hot water system failing to function at all times it is required; the temperature should be monitored carefully & should ideally be replaced with one that is reliable. The toilets in the canteen area will need to be well lit as well, but also very well ventilated with a high quantity of fresh air. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that three bathrooms are required for between 26– 50 employees, if there are more employees then additional WC facilities will be required. Also, There must be hot and cold water, soap, and either electric hand dryers or towels provided. The Electricity at Work Act 1989 states that within the work place, those responsible must; â€Å"Have their electrical systems constructed in a way that prevents danger. This includes testing all new equipment to ensure that it is safe. Maintain their electrical systems correctly to prevent danger. Have repaired or closed any electrical system that causes danger.† The electrical system is temperamental & will need to be repaired & in some areas perhaps replaced to keep up to the standards that The Electricity at Work Act 1989 requires. * The lift has been out of service for some considerable time and the computers are constantly breaking down. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states that any equipment provided must be â€Å"maintained and kept in good working order† therefore the computers & the lift are not meeting these regulations as they are continuously breaking down or in the case of the lift, not working at all. They must either be replaced or repaired so that they are available for use by all people within the building. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 also say, with regards to the lift, that where manual handling is unavoidable, they should be mechanised with the use of trolleys, lifts and hoists. So if any lifting tasks were to occur, the lift should be available to use as it is already in place. * None of the air conditioning units are working and none of the windows open. All files that need to be kept are stored under the stairs on each of the different floors. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 say that a minimum temperature of 16 °C should be maintained in an area of normal physical activity & there should be a good number of thermometers positioned at above 0.5m off the ground to display the room temperature. There is no maximum temperature for a workplace however these regulations state that the workplace should be comfortable and reasonable. The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 also say that â€Å"the supply of fresh air should not normally be below 5-8 litres per second, per occupant† so the fact that the air conditioning units don’t function & the windows do not open breach these regulations entirely & should be repaired or replaced immediately. With the files of the company being stored under the stairs, the company could well be breaching the rules of The Data Protection Act 1998 which states that information stored about people cannot be accessed by a third party without their knowledge. The inadequate storage below each of the stairs is not secure & therefore anyone within the building could access them. The Statutory duties of employers and employees relating to health, safety and welfare as set out by the government says that the employer must explicitly provide arrangements for ensuring safe means of handling, use, storage and transport of articles and substances. All files being stored under the stairs does definitely not provide a safe means of storing documents so an alternative organisational system should be used for the company’s files. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 also sets out to â€Å"protect people at work† & â€Å"to protect people not at work from those who are†, the files could pose a trip hazard to employees & people visiting the building, another reason for an alternative storage system to be implemented. * The offices are cleaned on a weekly basis, but all the cleaning products are kept in the canteen near the emergency exit. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health[1] & not storing the cleaning products safely & securely if they contain any harmful ingredients (which many cleaning products do) breaches the regulations set out. You can prevent or reduce workers exposure to hazardous substances by: * finding out what the health hazards are; * deciding how to prevent harm to health (risk assessment[2]); * providing control measures to reduce harm to health; * making sure they are used ; * keeping all control measures in good working order; * providing information, instruction and training for employees and others; * providing monitoring and health surveillance in appropriate cases; * planning for emergencies. If the cleaning products have always been stored by the emergency exit, then the company are in breach of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as they have failed to identify that there is a risk to its employees & have obviously failed to conduct a thorough risk assessment. With the cleaning products obstructing the emergency exit, The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that â€Å"clear fire instructions should be displayed in all buildings; escape routes should be clearly signposted and free from obstruction†. The cleaning products being stored there are a direct violation of this & they should be removed then stored safely & securely. * The majority of photocopiers are out of action on each of the floors; this means that all staff have to go to the 5th floor to get good quality copies. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states that any equipment provided must be â€Å"maintained and kept in good working order†, the unusable photocopiers breach these regulations & must be repaired or replaced. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 state â€Å"to avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured†. Under the Regulations, a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of all manual handling operations should be carried out to quantify the risks and put suitable guidance and support in place to make sure risks are kept to a minimum. The employer is also expected to train staff where necessary in the correct way to manually lift and handle objects. The employer has done neither, so to prevent accidents occurring, the employer should implement these immediately. * On your first day at the new office, one of the receptionists, who is due to go on maternity leave in the next two weeks; falls down the stairs (after having done a large amount of photocopying) and breaks her leg, her arm and her collarbone. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR)[3] requires an employer to carry out a risk assessment on all manual handling tasks that pose an injury risk. If the employer had assessed this properly, a system or alternative way of moving the photocopied documents could have been developed, or perhaps another member of staff could have taken on this responsibility. The employer’s duty is to avoid manual handling as far as reasonably practicable if there is a possibility of injury. If this cannot be done then they must take steps to reduce the risk of injury as far as reasonably practicable. With the lift being available but closed due to a fault, the employer is not utilizing the available mechanisms as the lift has not been repaired. This puts any employee carrying any large object(s) at risk of injury & the lift will need to be repaired with adequate alternative carrying methods for employees who are unable to do so. Also, The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 says that rest facilities must be provided for pregnant women and nursing mothers, this may not be relevant to the woman falling down the stairs, however if this has not been provided for her, it could have contributed if she was tired & unable to find a place to rest or not allowed to take time to rest.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Total amount of holdings News Corporation

Daily Mirror, New York Post, Sun, Times, XX Century Fox Films, HarperCollins†¦ – is there anybody, who doesn’t know these names nowadays? But not everybody knows that all of them are the names of great Empire News Corporation, which belongs to Rupert Murdoch.Total amount of holdings News Corporation for June 2001 was 43 milliard dollars, and annual income of the company was 14 milliard dollars. More then 30.000 employees work in 720 firms, which belong to the company in 52 countries all over the world. Isn’t it impressive? And at the head of all those companies is one person – Rupert Murdoch. How he managed to do it? Cannot we use his â€Å"know-how†? Stuart Crainer tries to answer with changing success all these questions.When I read this book, the first thing I noticed that I didn’t regret reading it. I found a lot of interesting information, which was written in good literary language. You read the book with bated breath, trying to un derstand secrets of a giant of media industry. All those things will help you in your future life – not only in business. They explain approach to life – these facts can change you life, they can make an earthquake in the system of your values.By Crainer’s opinion, although Rupert Murdoch is the head of one of the most successful and influential companies in the world, his style of management was examined rarely. This book is determined to fill this gap to some extent. Not accidentally you can see already in the header promise to show 10 main secrets how to create successful business.It is biography by genre, and the author seems to claim to the role of â€Å"business-biographer† of the mighty of this world. Curious reader certainly will find out details from early life of media giant. You can find in the book chronology of important bargains and business deals, which resulted creation of that which is called now â€Å"the Empire of News Corporation†.But the story about a person by name Rupert Murdoch is not the main for the author. The main milestones of Murdoch’s life are presented in the role of necessary â€Å"frame† for business phenomena called â€Å"Rupert Murdoch†.In capacity of background, where the figure of main hero of narration is boldly demonstrated, Crainer skillfully uses different theoretical conceptions, results of examinations, investigations, management models of such recognizable authorities in the field of management as Henry Minzberg, Warren Bernis, Fill Hodgeson, Rendell White, Jay Forester, etc.When other famous businessmen – for example, Bill Gates – found their popularity by their innovations and ability to choose time for serious business deals; the success of Rupert Murdoch is based on his ability to be a perfect manager. Essence of this quality and main reasons of his career success the author tried to catch by formulating 10 secrets of successful business.Murdo ch is follower of old school of management. In description of professional way of ambitious manager you will not find â€Å"motives† which are so popular nowadays, as constant learning, delegation of extreme powers and responsibility. Business is a war, and life, by opinion of businessman, is nothing more nor less than â€Å"series of interconnected wars†.Rupert Murdoch was born in Melbourne (Australia). He was a son of famous Australian military correspondent and publicist Sir Kate Murdoch (1886-1952) (Andrew Walker, p.5). After he graduated from Worchester college (Oxford, 1953) he inherited from his father two newspapers in Adelaide (Australia) – â€Å"Sunday Mail† and â€Å"The News†. In 1969 he bought his first newspaper in Great Britain – London â€Å"News of the World†.Four years later he bought already two newspapers in the USA: â€Å"San Antonio News† (subsequently â€Å"Express-News†) and â€Å"Texas News†. In 1974 Murdoch finally settles down in New York and continues his business, buying more and more newspapers. From the beginning of 80-s people start to speak about Murdoch as one of biggest media-magnates of the world. After he bought in 1985 studio XX Century Fox Films, his power started to spread over cinema, and later over TV-industry as well.Nowadays Rupert Murdoch is giant mammoth of Empire The News Corporation Ltd (Woopidoo! Biographies Business Masters, p.1), which consists of three regional colossi – News Ltd (Australia), News International (Great Britain) and News America Holdings Inc. (USA).Totally News Corporation, which states a value of $30 milliards, consists of approximately 800 companies, from which 52 are quite big. The biggest enterprises: BSkyS, Los Angeles Dodgers, XX Century Fox Film and Star TV (Center for American Progress p.1). Annual income of Rupert Murdoch Empire was approximately $12 milliards during those years.Rupert Murdoch is really promin ent figure. By opinion of the author Stuart Crainer, co-founder of consulting company Suntop Media, in civil social conscience rules such a vicious image of Murdoch that nobody would like to share the same room with such a person.Society remembers that already at the beginning of his career magnate didn’t disdain to use such means as to publish in once serious issues erotic and scandal materials; he fired his own workers without any compunction; in other words, he used everything, which in his opinion, in any way could assist in development of media giant (Capstonideas.com, p.1).

Friday, September 27, 2019

Living at home and living outside of home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Living at home and living outside of home - Essay Example Consequently, the paper would draw a comparative assessment between these two integral facets of modern day life of individuals i.e. living at home and living outside of home. Living at home provides an individual with certain substantial advantages. From the viewpoint of an elderly person, living at home can facilitate to obtain necessary care and medication in familiar surroundings which at times become imperative to ensure health and safety. With regard to students of schools and colleges who live at home, a significant benefit that they can obtain is that they are continuously guided and protected in the family atmosphere which lessens their worries regarding meeting the daily necessities such as food on their own. Moreover, guidance of parents can prevent them from wasting their valuable time in unproductive activities and can provide them a peaceful atmosphere where they can remain focused on their academic and other relevant goals in life. From financial point of view, living at home can enable to save a considerable amount of money which might otherwise have to be paid for the purposes such as paying rent and purchasing food among others. Moreover , getting love and care at home is an additional advantage (Nikki, â€Å"College Students Living at Home†). Conversely, a significant advantage of living outside of home for a student is that he/she can gain significant amount of experience as well as can become more responsible and independent which can provide imperative benefit to the individual to deal with various challenges in future life. They could be able to grow up more quickly and develop self-confidence on their abilities. Furthermore, students living in college campuses can have easy access of the college library which can facilitate them in their studies. They also can take advice from and consult with fellow students which are among the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Quantitative data about Tax, Education and Labor in Sweden Research Paper

Quantitative data about Tax, Education and Labor in Sweden - Research Paper Example The 1983, 1985, and 1990-1991 state tax reforms reduced the highest marginal tax from 85 percent to, at present, roughly 55 percent. At present, the marginal tax rate is roughly 30 percent for the low-income and average-income earners and roughly 50 percent for the high-income earner (Stenkula et al. 178). The development of the marginal tax wedges is similar to the development of the marginal tax rates but at a greater degree. The highest marginal tax wedge rose steeply during the World Wars and the 1930s’ depression. The highest marginal tax wedge reached at nearly 90 percent in 1980; following the 1983, 1985, and 1990-1991 tax reforms, the highest marginal tax wedge dropped and is currently standing at roughly 67 percent (Stenkula et al. 178-179). With a population of approximately 9.5 million, Sweden sustains a lavish welfare structure, with compensation packages for life-changing episodes like retirement or illness, and a focus on delivering equal benefits and privileges for everybody (Sonedda 692-4). Consequently, tax revenue as a portion of GDP in Sweden is elevated—approximately 45.8 percent in 2010 (OECD 1). Moreover, Sweden finances its equitable system of education by committing a comparatively high proportion of its GDP to its education system and by committing the topmost spending levels per student in the world. Roughly 7.3 percent of GDP is invested in education. This financing is channeled to both private and public education (OECD 1-2). The entire pre-primary, primary, secondary, and post-secondary non-tertiary education is publicly financed. Sweden’s numbers of enrollees reveal the nation’s remarkable success in putting majority of its population to school (World Education Forum para 4-6). For instance, all adolescents qualified for primary level compulsory education are enrolled. Likewise, compulsory education at the lower secondary level is attended by 100% of female and 99% of male students. These numbers

Scultpture in Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scultpture in Architecture - Essay Example NOX explores the relationship between architecture and computers, making use of digital modeling, powerful large-scale processing and computer-aided modeling. All these techniques constitutes the framework of NOX designs and brings to fruition their construction and spatial ideologies. To make possible the use of electronic media, a facility known as V2_Lab has been developed. This forms the new medium in which the NOX engineers work to design the minute specifications of their buildings. V2_Engine, a program to assist the designers in their work, was developed by a collective effort of NOX architects Joan Almekinders and Pieter Heyman, completely on computer using animation software. This has transformed architecture and has made it into a non-linear form, as opposed to the former linear construction, and has made it time dependant. In fact, the V2_Lab was renovated using this program. The critical issue here was the incorporation of the program into the design philosophy, and to ma ke use of computer-generated designs into externalized, solid structures. For this, a technique, in which substances known as "springs", was used to change the diagram from a static picture on the board to a form process which operates on the coordination and interference of thousands of forces, whose vector forces can not be predicted, making motion and time a part of the organizational design for any pertinent building. The basic concept behind this strategy was to introduce motion into any construction medium/material. Inside the material, forces and events propagate in waves throughout its topological continuity. However, when external forces are applied on this material, they are not catered by these waves on the principal that subsequent lines intermitted by dots do not pass on forces as the dots pose as a hindrance to these forces, rather than joining the lines and allowing waves to pass on. To overcome this problem, substances called springs, which can be viewed as non-static dots capable of moving to and fro between the lines and, hence, passing on the forces, were introduced into the material. These springs in turn were linked together by lines called strings which then have to be directed towards the four extreme corners of the building to be constructed so that the forces travelling through the construction material are passed out to the extremes. These forces will then be reflected by the four corners along the same strings, where they will interact with new forces traveling outward toward the corners, and hence, each will interfere, and as these resultant or vector forces would be further interacting

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Nigeria's point of view in the UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORMATION Essay

Nigeria's point of view in the UN SECURITY COUNCIL REFORMATION - Essay Example The submission of these issues was considered timely following the September 2008 decision (GA) 62/557 to move the issues from Working Groups to the Intergovernmental Negotiations’ (Martini 2). The Nigerian undertaking was in accordance with policies laid down by his Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his Cabinet, and consisted of proposals to increase the elected members to thirty-five, to change the nature of the power of ‘veto’ from being an instrument of ‘individual power’ to a collective and democratic instrument and to subject nuclear powers to accountability within a circle of client states. The meeting was attended by all fifteen members currently sitting, and there was a standing ovation after the conclusion of Mr. Oedin’s speech. Private consultation prior to sitting had also yielded some positive results – there is clearly a ‘climate for change’ among the members. However, when two of the delegations late r approached the Nigerian desk, with the intention of arranging a private meeting in April, it became immediately clear that there was a discrepancy between the intended content of our document and the interpretation by these delegations. Nevertheless, a window of opportunity has opened up for further discussions. Background to Problems The UN Security Council (UNSC) is the enforcement arm of the United Nations and has been in operation since 1945, with initially eleven members of which five were permanent, with individual powers of ‘veto, and six were elected members. In 1965, the latter body was increased to ten, bringing the total number of UNSC members to fifteen. The mandate of the UNSC has remained unchanged during the 55 years of its operation and it is now – as it was then – charged with keeping the Peace. The missions the UNSC carried out under this aim were greatly hampered during the ‘Cold War’1, obscuring systemic problems within the stru cture of the UNSC for over forty years. It is therefore mainly during the past twenty years that these problems have become obvious, through repeated unauthorized military actions by states as well as self-motivated use of veto powers by the permanent five members (Butler 10pp). In addition, the increase in member states of the United Nations between 1947 and 2011, from 50 to 1921 is in no way reflected in the increase in the numbers in the UNSC during the same period. The former nearly quadrupled whereas UNSC membership has only been increased by less than a quarter, making it questionable that member states are now adequately represented. This is particularly true when viewed from a regional perspective, as Latin America, the Middle East and Africa do not currently have a permanent voice through a permanent UNSC member (Jaramillo). Although Nigeria has been able to represent its concerns on three previous occasions3, this does ultimately not amount to permanent representation. Thi s is clearly also a general sentiment among the UN member states, which have often felt that the decisions of the Security Council do not reflect the will of the General Assembly as a whole but rather are often motivated by self-interest (Martini 2). There have been numerous past reform proposals for both the membership numbers and the powers of veto but, despite all efforts so far no solution has emerged that might have success of being debated in the UNSC (quotation needed) Nigerian proposal for reforms tabled at the March Council: His Excellency,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Final - Essay Example Then, in an essay that synthesizes at least four of the six provided sources for support, take a position that qualifies the claim that GMO should be discouraged because it is a probable health risk and an environmental hazard. This article presents an assessment of the effect GMO technology is having on global agriculture from both economic and environmental perspectives. The article seems to assert that there could be a possibility of having positive economic impact when all factors are put into consideration. This source is significantly resourceful in presenting counterargument when discussing the negative impacts of GMO technology. This article highlights some of the widely argued biomedical risks of GM foods such as potential allergenicity, and most importantly, horizontal gene transfer. The source also discusses the environmental side effects on biodiversity. Since the source also discusses the benefits of the first generation of GM foods, then a good comparison can be made from the same source. This source gives a clear list of reasons why GMOs should not be used. The article highlights little knowledge on GMOs as one of the issues challenging use of GMOs. Increased pesticide use is also a notable cause for alarm on use of GMO. This source gives a quick peek. However, it offers a good start into more indepth research

Monday, September 23, 2019

A Problem In the Field of Finance Annotated Bibliography - 1

A Problem In the Field of Finance - Annotated Bibliography Example She describes the major elements and features of sovereign debt crisis, its implications and impact in the general sense and provides a critical case review of the US sovereign debt crisis. Sovereign debt crisis is a situation where a countrys government is unable to pay its bills (Amadeo para 1). This occurs when the government spends more money than it has. In such a case, the government will not be able to get money from its normal funding sources. Rather, it will need to find ways and means of getting money to fulfill its payment obligation and the most common method is to borrow. In explaining the cycle of sovereign debt crisis, Amadeo identifies that where a government enters a situation where honoring its sovereign debt is an issue, lenders see risks and begin to panic. In other words, the government cannot guarantee a low interest rate for lenders, thus, the lenders become concerned that the country cannot pay its bonds. In such a situation, the lenders will begin to demand higher yields to compensation for the speculation and anxiety that comes with the threat of sovereign debts. They therefore begin to panic and the economy gets into chaos. One of the obvious solutions that most governments employ is quantitative easing which involves the printing of more money to ease the issues with the sovereign debt threats (Amadeo para 7). This causes inflation and affects the value of the nations currency. Thomas Reuters provides statistical information and facts about the US Sovereign debt criss. As of October 2013, the United States governments borrowing was over $16.7 trillion (Thomson para 4). This was at par to the actual size of the US economy. Thus, as part of a trend, the Fitch rating system sought to downgrade the United States from its AAA rating to a lower rating. Prior to the events of October 2013, notable rating agencies like Standard & Poors had downgraded the USs rating to an AA rating. This occurred in August

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Cover Note Essay Example for Free

Cover Note Essay The Relation of Science and Religion is a transcript of a talk given by Dr. Feynman at the Caltech YMCA Lunch Forum on May 2, 1956. In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public. When we look at the past great debates on these subjects we feel jealous of those times, for we should have liked the excitement of such argument. The old problems, such as the relation of science and religion, are still with us, and I believe present as difficult dilemmas as ever, but they are not often publicly discussed because of the limitations of specialization. But I have been interested in this problem for a long time and would like to discuss it. In view of my very evident lack of knowledge and understanding of religion (a lack which will grow more apparent as we proceed), I will organize the discussion in this way: I will suppose that not one man but a group of men are discussing the problem, that the group consists of specialists in many fields – the various sciences, the various religions and so on – and that we are going to discuss the problem from various sides, like a panel. Each is to give his point of view, which may be molded and modified by the later discussion. Further, I imagine that someone has been chosen by lot to be the first to present his views, and I am he so chosen. I would start by presenting the panel with a problem: A young man, brought up in a religious family, studies a science, and as a result he comes to doubt – and perhaps later to disbelieve in – his fathers God. Now, this is not an isolated example; it happens time and time again. Although I have no statistics on this, I believe that many scientists – in fact, I actually believe that more than half of the scientists – really disbelieve in their fathers God; that is, they dont believe in a God in a conventional sense. Now, since the belief in a God is a central feature of religion, this problem that I have selected points up most strongly the problem of the relation of science and religion. Why does this young man come to disbelieve? The first answer we might hear is very simple: You see, he is taught by scientists, and (as I have just pointed out) they are all atheists at heart, so the evil is spread from one to another. But if you can entertain this view, I think you know less of science than I know of religion. Another answer may be that a little knowledge is dangerous; this young man has learned a little bit and thinks he knows it all, but soon he will grow out of this sophomoric sophistication and come to realize that the world is more complicated, and he will begin again to understand that there must be a God. I dont think it is necessary that he come out of it. There are many scientists – men who hope to call themselves mature – who still dont believe in God. In fact, as I would like to explain later, the answer is not that the young man thinks he knows it all – it is the exact opposite. A third answer you might get is that this young man really doesnt understand science correctly. I do not believe that science can disprove the existence of God; I think that is impossible. And if it is impossible, is not a belief in science and in a God – an ordinary God of religion — a consistent possibility? Yes, it is consistent. Despite the fact that I said that more than half of the scientists dont believe in God, many scientists do believe in both science and God, in a perfectly consistent way. But this consistency, although possible, is not easy to attain, and I would like to try to discuss two things: Why it is not easy to attain, and whether it is worth attempting to attain it. When I say believe in God, of course, it is always a puzzle – what is God? What I mean is the kind of personal God, characteristic of the western religions, to whom you pray and who has something to do with creating the universe and guiding you in morals. For the student, when he learns about science, there are two sources of difficulty in trying to weld science and religion together. The first source of difficulty is this – that it is imperative in science to doubt; it is absolutely necessary, for progress in science, to have uncertainty as a fundamental part of your inner nature. To make progress in understanding we must remain modest and allow that we do not know. Nothing is certain or proved beyond all doubt. You investigate for curiosity, because it is unknown, not because you know the answer. And as you develop more information in the sciences, it is not that you are finding out the truth, but that you are finding out that this or that is more or less likely. That is, if we investigate further, we find that the statements of science are not of what is true and what is not true, but statements of what is known to different degrees of certainty: It is very much more likely that so and so is true than that it is not true; or such and such is almost certain but there is still a little bit of doubt; or – at the other extreme – well, we really dont know. Every one of the concepts of science is on a scale graduated somewhere between, but at neither end of, absolute falsity or absolute truth. It is necessary, I believe, to accept this idea, not only for science, but also for other things; it is of great value to acknowledge ignorance. It is a fact that when we make decisions in our life we dont necessarily know that we are making them correctly; we only think that we are doing the best we can – and that is what we should do. Attitude of uncertainty I think that when we know that we actually do live in uncertainty, then we ought to admit it; it is of great value to realize that we do not know the answers to different questions. This attitude of mind – this attitude of uncertainty – is vital to the scientist, and it is this attitude of mind which the student must first acquire. It becomes a habit of thought. Once acquired, one cannot retreat from it any more. What happens, then, is that the young man begins to doubt everything because he cannot have it as absolute truth. So the question changes a little bit from Is there a God? to How sure is it that there is a God? This very subtle change is a great stroke and represents a parting of the ways between science and religion. I do not believe a real scientist can ever believe in the same way again. Although there are scientists who believe in God, I do not believe that they think of God in the same way as religious people do. If they are consistent with their science, I think that they say something like this to themselves: I am almost certain there is a God. The doubt is very small. That is quite different from saying, I know that there is a God. I do not believe that a scientist can ever obtain that view – that really religious understanding, that real knowledge that there is a God – that absolute certainty which religious people have. Of course this process of doubt does not always start by attacking the question of the existence of God. Usually special tenets, such as the question of an afterlife, or details of the religious doctrine, such as details of Christs life, come under scrutiny first. It is more interesting, however, to go right into the central problem in a frank way, and to discuss the more extreme view which doubts the existence of God. Once the question has been removed from the absolute, and gets to sliding on the scale of uncertainty, it may end up in very different positions. In many cases it comes out very close to being certain. But on the other hand, for some, the net result of close scrutiny of the theory his father held of God may be the claim that it is almost certainly wrong. Belief in God – and the facts of science That brings us to the second difficulty our student has in trying to weld science and religion: Why does it often end up that the belief in God – at least, the God of the religious type – is considered to be very unreasonable, very unlikely? I think that the answer has to do with the scientific things – the facts or partial facts – that the man learns. For instance, the size of the universe is very impressive, with us on a tiny particle whirling around the sun, among a hundred thousand million suns in this galaxy, itself among a billion galaxies. Again, there is the close relation of biological man to the animals, and of one form of life to another. Man is a latecomer in a vast evolving drama; can the rest be but a scaffolding for his creation? Yet again, there are the atoms of which all appears to be constructed, following immutable laws. Nothing can escape it; the stars are made of the same stuff, and the animals are made of the same stuff, but in such complexity as to mysteriously appear alive – like man himself. It is a great adventure to contemplate the universe beyond man, to think of what it means without man – as it was for the great part of its long history, and as it is in the great majority of places. When this objective view is finally attained, and the mystery and majesty of matter are appreciated, to then turn the objective eye back on man viewed as matter, to see life as part of the universal mystery of greatest depth, is to sense an experience which is rarely described. It usually ends in laughter, delight in the futility of trying to understand. These scientific views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged simply as a stage for God to watch mans struggle for good and evil seems to be inadequate. So let us suppose that this is the case of our particular student, and the conviction grows so that he believes that individual prayer, for example, is not heard. (I am not trying to disprove the reality of God; I am trying to give you some idea of – some sympathy for – the reasons why many come to think that prayer is meaningless. ) Of course, as a result of this doubt, the pattern of doubting is turned next to ethical problems, because, in the religion which he learned, moral problems were connected with the word of God, and if the God doesnt exist, what is his word? But rather surprisingly, I think, the moral problems ultimately come out relatively unscathed; at first perhaps the student may decide that a few little things were wrong, but he often reverses his opinion later, and ends with no fundamentally different moral view. There seems to be a kind of independence in these ideas. In the end, it is possible to doubt the divinity of Christ, and yet to believe firmly that it is a good thing to do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you. It is possible to have both these views at the same time; and I would say that I hope you will find that my atheistic scientific colleagues often carry themselves well in society. Communism and the scientific viewpoint I would like to remark, in passing, since the word atheism is so closely connected with communism, that the communist views are the antithesis of the scientific, in the sense that in communism the answers are given to all the questions – political questions as well as moral ones – without discussion and without doubt. The scientific viewpoint is the exact opposite of this; that is, all questions must be doubted and discussed; we must argue everything out – observe things, check them, and so change them. The democratic government is much closer to this idea, because there is discussion and a chance of modification. One doesnt launch the ship in a definite direction. It is true that if you have a tyranny of ideas, so that you know exactly what has to be true, you act very decisively, and it looks good – for a while. But soon the ship is heading in the wrong direction, and no one can modify the direction any more. So the uncertainties of life in a democracy are, I think, much more consistent with science. Although science makes some impact on many religious ideas, it does not affect the moral content. Religion has many aspects; it answers all kinds of questions. First, for example, it answers questions about what things are, where they come from, what man is, what God is – the properties of God, and so on. Let me call this the metaphysical aspect of religion. It also tells us another thing – how to behave. Leave out of this the idea of how to behave in certain ceremonies, and what rites to perform; I mean it tells us how to behave in life in general, in a moral way. It gives answers to moral questions; it gives a moral and ethical code. Let me call this the ethical aspect of religion. Now, we know that, even with moral values granted, human beings are very weak; they must be reminded of the moral values in order that they may be able to follow their consciences. It is not simply a matter of having a right conscience; it is also a question of maintaining strength to do what you know is right. And it is necessary that religion give strength and comfort and the inspiration to follow these moral views. This is the inspirational aspect of religion. It gives inspiration not only for moral conduct – it gives inspiration for the arts and for all kinds of great thoughts and actions as well. Interconnections These three aspects of religion are interconnected, and it is generally felt, in view of this close integration of ideas, that to attack one feature of the system is to attack the whole structure. The three aspects are connected more or less as follows: The moral aspect, the moral code, is the word of God – which involves us in a metaphysical question. Then the inspiration comes because one is working the will of God; one is for God; partly one feels that one is with God. And this is a great inspiration because it brings ones actions in contact with the universe at large. So these three things are very well interconnected. The difficulty is this: that science occasionally conflicts with the first of the three categories – the metaphysical aspect of religion. For instance, in the past there was an argument about whether the earth was the center of the universe – whether the earth moved around the sun or stayed still. The result of all this was a terrible strife and difficulty, but it was finally resolved – with religion retreating in this particular case. More recently there was a conflict over the question of whether man has animal ancestry. The result in many of these situations is a retreat of the religious metaphysical view, but nevertheless, there is no collapse of the religion. And further, there seems to be no appreciable or fundamental change in the moral view. After all, the earth moves around the sun – isnt it best to torn the other cheek? Does it make any difference whether the earth is standing still or moving around the son? We can expect conflict again. Science is developing and new things will be found out which will he in disagreement with the presentday metaphysical theory of certain religions. In fact, even with all the past retreats of religion, there is still real conflict for particular individuals when they learn about the science and they have heard about the religion. The thing has not been integrated very well; there are real conflicts here – and yet morals are not affected. As a matter of fact, the conflict is doubly difficult in this metaphysical region. Firstly, the facts may be in conflict, but even if the facts were not in conflict, the attitude is different. The spirit of uncertainty in science is an attitude toward the metaphysical questions that is quite different from the certainty and faith that is demanded in religion. There is definitely a conflict, I believe – both in fact and in spirit – over the metaphysical aspects of religion. In my opinion, it is not possible for religion to find a set of metaphysical ideas which will be guaranteed not to get into conflicts with an everadvancing and alwayschanging science which is going into an unknown. We dont know how to answer the questions; it is impossible to find an answer which someday will not be found to be wrong. The difficulty arises because science and religion are both trying to answer questions in the same realm here. Science and moral questions On the other hand, I dont believe that a real conflict with science will arise in the ethical aspect, because I believe that moral questions are outside of the scientific realm. Let me give three or four arguments to show why I believe this. In the first place, there have been conflicts in the past between the scientific and the religious view about the metaphysical aspect and, nevertheless, the older moral views did not collapse, did not change. Second, there are good men who practice Christian ethics and who do not believe in the divinity of Christ. They find themselves in no inconsistency here. Thirdly, although I believe that from time to time scientific evidence is found which may be partially interpreted as giving some evidence of some particular aspect of the life of Christ, for example, or of other religious metaphysical ideas, it seems to me that there is no scientific evidence bearing on the golden rule. It seems to me that that is somehow different. Now, lets see if I can make a little philosophical explanation as to why it is different – how science cannot affect the fundamental basis of morals. The typical human problem, and one whose answer religion aims to supply, is always of the following form: Should I do this? Should we do this? Should the government do this? To answer this question we can resolve it into two parts: First — If I do this, what will happen? – and second – Do I want that to happen? What would come of it of value – of good? Now a question of the form: If I do this, what will happen?is strictly scientific. As a matter of fact, science can be defined as a method for, and a body of information obtained by, trying to answer only questions which can be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen? The technique of it, fundamentally, is: Try it and see. Then you put together a large amount of information from such experiences. All scientists will agree that a question – any question, philosophical or other – which cannot be put into the form that can be tested by experiment (or, in simple terms, that cannot be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen?) is not a scientific question; it is outside the realm of science. I claim that whether you want something to happen or not – what value there is in the result, and how you judge the value of the result (which is the other end of the question: Should I do this? ) – must lie outside of science because it is not a question that you can answer only by knowing what happens; you still have to judge what happens – in a moral way. So, for this theoretical reason I think that there is a complete consistency between the moral view – or the ethical aspect of religion – and scientific information. Turning to the third aspect of religion – the inspirational aspect – brings me to the central question that I would like to present to this imaginary panel. The source of inspiration today – for strength and for comfort – in any religion is very closely knit with the metaphysical aspect; that is, the inspiration comes from working for God, for obeying his will, feeling one with God. Emotional ties to the moral code – based in this manner – begin to be severely weakened when doubt, even a small amount of doubt, is expressed as to the existence of God; so when the belief in God becomes uncertain, this particular method of obtaining inspiration fails. I dont know the answer to this central problem – the problem of maintaining the real value of religion, as a source of strength and of courage to most men, while, at the same time, not requiring an absolute faith in the metaphysical aspects. The heritages of Western civilization Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure – the adventure into the unknown, an unknown which must be recognized as being unknown in order to be explored; the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered; the attitude that all is uncertain; to summarize it – the humility of the intellect. The other great heritage is Christian ethics – the basis of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual – the humility of the spirit. These two heritages are logically, thoroughly consistent. But logic is not all; one needs ones heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion, what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who doubts Godmore, one who disbelieves in God? Is the modern church a place to give comfort and encouragement to the value of such doubts? So far, have we not drawn strength and comfort to maintain the one or the other of these consistent heritages in a way which attacks the values of the other? Is this unavoidable? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars of western civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid? Is this not the central problem of our time? I put it up to the panel for discussion.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Leadership Development Case Study

Leadership Development Case Study Student Name: Yu Bao Assumption1: Susan is an Authority-Compliance leader. This kind of leader just like Susan places heavy emphasis on task and job requirements, and less emphasis on people, except to the extent that people are tools for getting job done (Northouse 2017, p75). During Susans work, she likes to her staff have high efficiency and demonstrating strong organizational citizenship behavior. Assumption2: Susan and in-group members have high-quality leader-member exchanges. Mature partnership refers that high degree of reciprocity between leaders and followers (Northouse 2017, p143). In-group members are skilled in getting job done that cause General Manager trust Susan can get everything done. At the same time, members can gain more opportunities. Assumption3: Susan and out-group members are during stranger phase. During this phase leaders and followers relate to each other within prescribed organizational roles (Northouse 2017, p142). when out-group members have some mistakes or problems in work, Susan just asked the assistant managers to make a strict task criteria attached to solving the issues rather than talk to members who have some negative emotions. Assumption4: Susan is a Transactional leadership. This kind of leader is in the best interest of followers for them to do what the leader wants instead of focus on followers need and their personal development. Susan likes to train her staff to be more efficient and task-focused, and also doesnt suffer fools lightly. Its means she doesnt have patience to help some staff to develop their capacity. Assumption5: If Susan want to her staff getting better she needs to change her leadership to Transformational Leadership. Transformational leadership produces greater effects than transactional leadership. Whereas transactional leadership results in expects outcomes, transformational leadership results in performance that goes well beyond what is expected (Northouse 2017, p142). Question2 In this case, there are two kind of relationship between Susan and her staff. Susan is known as a heavy emphasis on task and efficiency. Under her leadership, she likes to see staff who shows highly organizational citizenship behaviors(OCBs). Because of that, a part of her staff who adapts to her style or willingness to get the job done form an in-group. In the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory of Leadership, followers who are interested in negotiating with the leader what they are willing to do for the group can become a part of the in-group. In the meantime, leaders prefer to provide more information, opportunity, right to followers (Northouse 2017, p139). This is due to LMX makes the concept of the dyadic relationship the centerpiece of the leadership process (Northouse 2017, p146). It is focus on both leaders and followers perspective. In this way, followers also pay more attention, show more trust, provide more support to their leaders. As mentioned earlier, this kind of bi-directional theory will train a virtuous cycle. In other words, it will foster h igh-quality leader-member exchanges. Graen and Uhl-Bien (1991) suggested that leadership making develops progressively over time in three phases: (1) the stranger phase, (2) the acquaintance phase, and (3) the mature partnership phase. In Susans case, she and her in-group members are in the phases 3, they are highly efficient, getting things done, and also have more opportunity to new internal job as well as which is the most favored by management team. Overall, Susan and her in-group members have same goals and more egalitarian , the most important, they have a reciprocal influences to each other. On the other hand, Susans leader style is focus on task and job requirements. She does not like to sitting down and askingwhy. Because of this, a number of members who are oppose to Susans leading method become an out-group. followers in the out-group are less compatible with the leader and usually just come to work, do their job, and go home (Northouse 2017, p139). In this case, Johnson Fellows who is a member of out-group start to absent demonstrations of company products, morning teas and so on. After Susan hear about this, she just uses a transactional technical approach and never solved emotional states. Therefore, this situation become worse and worse. Susan and out-group members are in the stranger phase. The interactions in the leader-follower dyad generally is rule bound, relying heavily on contractual relationships. They have lower-quality exchanges. The motives of the follower during the stranger phase are directed toward self-interest rather than toward the good of the g roup (Graen Uhl-Bien 1995 ). Because of Susans leadership style, the out-group members are increasingly demonstrating. The LMX theory also has some criticisms, one of the most important drawback is the theory runs counter to the basic human value of fairness. it gives the appearance of discrimination against the out-group. (Northouse 2017 ,p147) It is perhaps the mean reason why Johnson does not attend to some meeting hostile to other staff. The felling about unfair will cause conflict and deteriorate relationship between leader and members. This situation would tend to low staff morale even to increasing the rote of staff turnover. Question3 In Ridgeway case, there are several problems. In the first place, staff is divided into two organize under Susans leading. In addition, because of Susan used modulating the emotional strategy during her work and does not acknowledge her staffs feeling as valid also not going to work to alleviate them. It causes that out-group members are dissatisfied to her. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, some staff who have worked for Ridgeway for more than 10 years miss and hope to the high-quality LMX. To the first problem, Followers in the in-group receive more information, influence, confidence, and concern from their leaders than do out-group followers (Northouse2017, p139), so that, out-group members have no chance to communicate with their manager, and also the manager would not waste time on contribute a high-quality LMX with members. After that, the relationship between Susan and out-group will be worse. The solution to this problem Susan should to spend more time on talk with the staff who have negative emotions and try to address the source of the problem. And also need her to treat every employee fairly. In this way, she maybe will enhance the quality of LMX. And try her best to narrow the gap between two group. To the second and third problem, Susan can use the strategies of interpersonal emotion management(IEM)In her case, she like to solve problems via strict task criteria instead of address why they have negative emotions. It makes a lot people resent her stance or complain her. Williams (2007) outlined four interpersonal emotion management strategies used to manage others emotions: situation modification, cognitive change, attentional deployment, and modulating the emotional response. (GootyWilliams 2016) Hence, there are two kinds of solutions. In short-term, Susan can use attentional deployment in this case. Attentional deployment involves distracting attention away from the elements of a situation. Susan can use humor distracting the follower in order to induce more positive emotions.it will reduce negative emotions over a period of time. By using this strategy, leader does not alleviate source of negative emotion in the environment. Meanwhile even though followers feel good at that time, after a few days or several times, they will feel leaders ignored their emotion and also not be concerned. GootyWilliams(2016) suggest Attentional deployment is a kind of emotion-focused IEM. And it will negatively relate to LMX. In this way, Susan just could use it during a period of time. In contrast, she can use situation modification or cognitive change in long-term. In her case, she has to change her mind, she can address why the staff do not want to attend the meeting and try to fix the problem by communicate with who has negative emotions. On the other hand, she also can courage the depress staff, show them the situation in a positive light, and everything will be better day by day. In both way, they are problem-focused strategy. Leader who use these strategies should attain 3 main points: met role expectations of the leader, create an attribution of benevolence, emotion rich communication in the relationship. After that, followers obligation is created, followers will fell their leader care about them and is watching out of them, and validated and promote open communicate of followers thought. Thus, LMX is enhanced, the core of IEMS is formed, the stage for the relationship better is set. (GootyWilliams 2016) Question4: Susans leader style is quite conform with Transactional Leadership. In this kind of leadership have two factors: Contingent reward and Management-by-exception. Contingent reward is an exchange process between leaders and followers in which effort by followers is exchanged for specified rewards. (Northouse 2017, p171) In Susans case, staff by improving the efficiency for more opportunities or appreciated from general manager. Management-by-exception It is leadership that involves corrective criticism, negative feedback, and negative reinforcement. (Northouse 2017, p171) Susan also using passive corrective criticism during her work. She gives employee a poor performance evaluation without ever talking with them about their prior work performance. Then she uses more negative reinforcement patterns to forcing staff depressive emotions and improving the efficiency. Meanwhile her method is quite similar with some part of Pseudotransformational leadership, which refers to leaders who are se lf-consumed, exploitive, and power oriented, with warped moral values. (Northouse 2017, p163) In brief, Susan always focus on her own goal instead of listens carefully to the needs of staff. She does not like her staff have different idea with her and would not give her subordinates more time to find a unique way to solve problems. For example: Ben and his group. If Susan want to change her leadership to transformational leadership, she has to following the four components of transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. (Northouse2017, p167) At first, individualized consideration, Susan needs to help her staff to achieve their true potential by considering their unique needs and desires. She should to find out why out-group members have negative emotions. she also can create a learning environment to solve the problems both in work and in emotions. Thus , it will help growth development. After that, be a charisma leader, using Idealized influence and inspirational motivation. Image of an attractive, realistic, and believable future to her staff, articulating a direction and then consistently implementing the direction even though the vision may have involved a high degree of uncertainty. (Northouse 2017, p173) In addition, instead of criticism show more benevolence and patience to staff and also need to expression high expectation to them. In this way Susan will be admired, trusted and respected by their followers. In the end, intellectual stimulation which means leaders challenge their followers to question long-held assumptions and approach old situations in novel ways, stimulating them to be more innovative and creative. à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ Anderson Sun 2015à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °Ben already showed a kind of tendency that he want to solved the problem in a more creative way, but Susan was really hurried to the result. Maybe she should give him more time to done this on his own way. Follow these steps transformational approach can be implemented. But when Susan Implement this method she also need to be cautious to negative impacts of transformational leadership. Such as followers may have the tendency to free-ride on the transformation leaders social networks to conserve resources so they will perhaps be less likely to develop their own social networksà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ Anderson Sun 2015à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °or followers will think leaders not be harsh if they slack on performance.(NgChua 2016) Question5: Unlike many of leadership theories, authentic leadership is still in the formative phase of development. Formulations about authentic leadership can be differentiated into two areas: (1) the practical approach; and (2) the theoretical approach. On the practical approach side: Bill George identifies five dimensions of authentic leadership: purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and heart. In Susans case, which aspects will appropriate to her are values, relationships and heart. Values or values and behave means leaders who have a clear idea of who they are, where they are going, and what the right thing is to do. (Northouse 2017, p199) In this aspect, Susan need to realize that she is a leader, she just need to uses her value guide her leadership instead of hands-on everything. Relationship refer to leaders have the capacity to open themselves up and establish a connection with others. Through mutual disclosure, leaders and followers develop a sense of trust and closeness. (Northouse 2017, p199). The mean reason that Susans staff opposition to her is she never talk to them and address the source of problems. It makes their relationship became distant and lack of trust. Therefore, she should to communicate with her subordinates to create a trusting relationship. Heart and compassion is an important aspect of AL. It refers to being sensitive to the plight of others, opening ones self to others, and being willing to help them. (Northouse 2017, p200) Susan like her staff have high efficiency and doesnt suffer fools lightly. But, as an AL she need to empathizing with others and try to help them pull through. On the theoretical approach side, Walumbwa identified four components: self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency. In Susans case, balanced processing, and relational transparency will be appropriate. Balanced processing It refers to an individuals ability to analyze information objectively and explore other peoples opinions before making a decision. (Northouse 2017, p203) When Ben has different idea with Susan, as an AL, who will open about her own perspectives, but are also objective in considering others perspectives. In another word, she need give more time to Ben to complete his idea before her tell the GM. Relational transparency is about communicating openly and being real in relationships with others. As previously mentioned about relationship, Susan need to talk with her staff more not only Job-related but also about daily life. It is noteworthy that there are other factors such as positive psychological capacities, moral reasoning, and critical life events that influence authentic leadership. (Northouse 2017, p203) A lot of findings show that AL is directly and positively related to followers trust in the leader and the experience of positive emotions. (AgoteAramburu 2016) Susan could show more positive emotions just like confidence, hope and so on. It will have a positive impact to implement AL. List of references Agote, L. Aramburu, N. Lines, R. (2016), Authentic leadership perception, trust in the leader, and followers emotions in organizational change processes. The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, Vol. 52, (1), 35-63. Anderson, M. H. Sun, P. Y. T. (2015), The downside of transformation leadership when encouraging followers to network. The Leadership Quarterly, 26, 790-801. Graen, G. B., Uhl-Bien, M. (1991). The transformation of professionals into self-managing and partially self-designing contributions: Toward a theory of leadership making. Journal of Management Systems, 3(3), 33-48. Graen, G. B., Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level, multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6(2), 219-247. Little, L.M. Gooty, J. Williams, M. (2016), The role of leader emotion management in leader-member exchange and follower outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 85-97. Northouse, P. G. (2016), Leadership: Theory Practice. Sage Edge. London Ng, K.Y., Chua, R.Y.J. (2006). Do I contribute more when I trust more? Differential effects of cognition- and affect-based trust. Management and Organization Review, 2, 4366.