FedEx, its business environment and who they are

FedEx, its business environment and who they are Introduction FedEx, originally known as FDX Corporation is a logistics services company who pioneered the modern air/ground express industry in 1971. The founder of FedEx is Frederick W. Smith and it is based in the United Stated with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. The name FedEx is a short form  of the name of the companys original air division,  Federal Express, which was used from year 1973 until year 2000. (Wikipedia, 2010)   Under the respected FedEx brand name, FedEx is offering integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively. There are FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Trade Networks, FedEx Supply Chain and FedEx Services. With more than 290,000 employees, FedEx currently serves more than 200 countries which include in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and North America. (About FedEx, 2010) FedExs mission is to produce the superior financial returns for shareholders by providing high value-added supply chain, transportation, business and related information services through focused operating companies. Then FedEx has made a promise that customer requirements will be met in the maximum quality manner appropriate to each market segment served. Besides, FedEx will attempt to develop mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. (About FedEx: Mission Statement, 2010) FedEx and its business environment Technological environment Technology plays a very important role in delivery of the FedEx service. FedEx is setting the efficiency industry standard and customer service by using technology advanced and FedEx was do extremely well in anticipating and projecting demands of an environment that would depend and thrive on information. FedEx was the first to integrate wireless technology more than two decade ago and continues to develop and lead the industries in developing innovative wireless solutions. Hence, FedEx has developed an information systems network that enables customers and support personal to have wireless access anytime and anywhere. Then, FedEx implemented e-business application to improve the level of customer satisfaction as well as their overall transactions with the clients. The e-business system included a web or call centre service where the company can easily be informed of the status of the packages delivered. (About FedEx: FedEx Attributes Success to People-first Philosophy, 2010) Competitive environment There are two main competitors for FedEx which are DHL and UPS. UPS or United Parcel Service Inc. is the worlds largest  package delivery  company which headquartered in  Sandy Springs, Georgia,  United States. UPS delivers more than 15 million packages  a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. UPS is well known for its  brown  trucks, internally known as package cars and UPS also operates its own airline based in Louisville, Kentucky where its World port air hub is also located. (Wikipedia: United Parcel Service, 2010) DHL Express  is a  division  of  Deutsche Post DHL  providing international  express mail  services which originally founded in 1969 and expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. DHL expanded its services to countries that could not be served by any other delivery service, including the Eastern Bloc, Vietnam and the Peoples Republic of China. (Wikipedia: DHL Express, 2010) Cultural environment FedEx is more emphasized on a people-first philosophy, where respect for all people is a fundamental value and everyday business practice within the company. FedEx Corporation strives to create an environment where people can contribute and grow, and where the values of diversity are woven through the organization. Chapter 4: The Analysis of Customer Touch Points Types of customer touch points There are 3 types of customer touch points which are pre-purchase stage, purchase stage and post purchase stage. There are different ways and strategy that a company uses to set up these touch point with the customer in order to build a relationship. FedEx is also one of the companies that practice this customer touch point strategy. First customer touch point will be the pre-purchase stage which consists of 3 customer touch point method. The first one will be manageable communication tools such as advertising, public relations, point of sales materials, sponsorship and etc. FedEx have established many customer touch point in this area by using integrated marketing communication tools to build up relationship with the customer. Example: FedEx uses advertising tool to introduce the company and promote it product which is the delivery service that they provide are the best to the customer; Public relations tool is also in use where by FedEx held some press conferences or road shows to explain and demonstrate how well is their delivery service to the public customer; FedEx also having some sponsorship to quite a few major events around the world like Olympics, World cup and so on. Second are the non-manageable communication tools such as word of mouth, search engine, news cover and etc. Since these are non-manageable communication tools, FedEx cant control these tools but the only to create positive image is by producing good quality delivery service to the customer and satisfy them so that the customer will help spread some good word of mouth or even have a chance to get on some news cover page. Third are the company representatives such as salesperson, email, and recipient. If a customer wants to deliver a package by using FedEx service, they will need to encounter their salesperson, counter recipient or email to FedEx. Next , the second customer touch point will be the purchase stage which means that the customer making the purchase while come in contact with the company itself. Customer can purchase FedEx service by their e-commerce site, outlet store and confirm their purchasing order through fax or email that is very convenient for the customers. FedEx sells delivery services, so the main touch point from FedEx to the customer are the companys delivery truck, driver, delivery note and their employee. Customer can purchase the delivery service through FedEx website or directly through FedEx outlet and each parcel is attach with a location device that the customer can log on to FedEx tracking internet service to check whether the customer parcel is delivered successfully. The last customer touch point will be the post purchase stage where the company provides some after sales service to customer to ensure that the trading process is a satisfying experience for the customer. FedEx provides fine after sales service to the customer by providing complaint forms and calls to ensure that the customer that receives their delivery package will be in good shape and to improve on their service quality to ensure every delivery is up to the customer expectation. FedEx will also ensure the package will be delivered on time to the customer and the package will be in one good piece. If the package is damaged, lost or didnt received on time, customer can file a complaint to FedEx and FedEx will attain to the complaints. Track the experience along the touch points The objective is to track the experience at various customer touch points to develop an understanding of the customer thoughts and learn how the customer experience can be enriched. From above we know that there are 3 stages and each stage provides various touch points. The company need to track down the customer experience in each touch points to find out what information that the customer needs and what actual experience that they desire. The company can track the customer experience through the customer decision making process which consists of 5 stages: Need recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternative, purchase and post purchase. These 5 stages are categorized under the 3 type of customer touch point to help in tracking the customer experience. The first three: need recognition, information search and evaluation of alternative are fall under the Pre-purchase stage, while the other two falls under their respective stage. First, how FedEx gain need recognition from the customer? The answer is by advertising through the mass media like television, radio, internet and etc. By doing all these, customer will soon aware of FedEx and its delivery service. Next, after the customer needs recognition start, they will try to search for information about FedEx delivery services through word of mouth, internet search engine, counter recipient and etc. After the information search is done, customers will start evaluating FedEx delivery service and compare it against FedEx competitors such as UPS and DHL. The fourth stage will be the purchase stage where the customer purchases FedEx delivery service through internet, phone, retail outlet and etc. The package will be delivered after the confirmation of purchase based on how the customer chooses to be delivered. Once the package is delivered to the customer, post purchase stage starts. Customer will either feel satisfy or file up complaint to FedEx while FedEx need t o provide after sales service to ensure the satisfaction of the customer. Service Failure Reliability is very critical in service to every company but in all service contexts, service failure is inevitable because mistake or errors will always occur, nothing is perfect, what the company can do is to minimize the service failure. Especially for FedEx, a service company that sells mainly on their delivery service to the customer must up hold their service quality even though FedEx also will face service failure problems. Service failure occurs when the company service performance that falls below a customers expectations in such a way that leads and result into customer dissatisfaction. FedEx also occur service failure which create dissatisfaction to the customers. One of the cases is FedEx and its child company FedEx Ground having system differentiation, means that these two are two separate companies where FedEx cant manage or solve the problems or issues that occurs in the child company FedEx Ground. There are customers that facing some service problem with FedEx Ground because of their parcel wasnt delivered on time and somehow the parcel was found missing, the customers call up FedEx and ask for a solution but the FedEx staff just giving empty promises because FedEx cant interfere in FedEx Ground businesses although they are parent and child company relationship. When there is service failure, the company needs to think of a way, a strategy to response to it, to solve the problem, this is where service recovery happens. Service recovery refers to the actions that are taken by a firm in response to a service failure. FedEx provides money back guarantee service to the customer whenever there is a service failure occur, by doing this, FedEx hope to ensure customer will not feel dissatisfy with FedEx and continue using their service without spreading bad word of mouth that will result in negative image. FedEx also will attend to a customer complaint immediately to help the customer to solve his problem as soon as possible to maintain the customer satisfaction. Dissatisfied Consumer Behavior According to the Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study 2006 by the Verde Group found out that 48% of the respondents reported that they will avoid a store because of someone elses negative experience, and for those who encountered problems, 33% said that they would definitely not or probably not return to the same company for their product and service. This shows that word of mouth can create a huge impact and influence on the company negative image; this can be referring as the exponential power of storytelling, as people tell the story of their bad experience with the company, the negativity is established and will grow eventually. There are some customers that encountered bad services with FedEx and this resulted in some serious issues. These dissatisfied customer wrote a post on their blogs or forums to express their feeling by telling the story that how they are treated by FedEx delivery services and they are also felt angry towards the attitude of FedEx customer service that do esnt treat them as important customer, so in the end they decided to change to purchasing FedEx competitor services like UPS or DHL. Service Guarantees What is guarantee? From Websters Dictionary, guarantee equals to an assurance of the fulfillment of a condition make by one individual to another individual. In the business context, a guarantee is a pledge or assurance that a product or service offered by a firm will perform as promised and, if not, then some form of reparation will be undertaken by the firm to the customers. Example: for tangible products, a guarantee is often done in the form of warranty. FedEx always stress out that their delivery service will be on time and they are confident and sure about this statement, but incident do happens, thats why FedEx offers service guarantee too to gain the customer confidence and belief in their delivery service. FedEx offers money back guarantee service to the customer if the package that they delivered didnt arrived to the destination within the promised time, customer can either request for a refund or transfer the money for the delivery service charges but under some terms and conditions. Chapter 9: The Hybrid Interface There are two types of hybrid interface which are people-led hybrid interface and machine-led hybrid interface. People-led hybrid interface People-led hybrid interface defined as an interface where interaction between human being and machine occurs in which people operate in the foreground and are supported by the machine (Rayport,2005). The interaction between human being with a machine can enhance the effectiveness or increase and productivity in the daily operation. The peoples who operates in the foreground and are supported by the machine needs to have the knowledge to manage and evaluate the state of the machine. For example, the people led interface incur when the FedEx driver driving the courier van to deliver goods and services to their ultimate customers. Hence, the interaction between the FedEx driver and the customers caused the FedEx driver to accomplish the task of delivering goods and services on time with enabling by the machine FedEx provide and deliver on time services to their customer in order to maintain the long term profitable relationship and develop the customer loyalty towards its company. Hence, FedEx has developed the innovation of the technology to support their daily operation. FedEx set up COSMO (Customer Operations Service Master On-line System) to monitor each stage of their delivery cycle. COSMO is a computerized packaged tracking system that allows the FedEx employees to key in the information needed by several ways (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). For example, FedEx customer service representatives key in the necessary information into COSMO by computer terminals to reach their customers, this mean that FedEx has apply the people-led hybrid interface where the customer service representative (human being) is enable by the COSMO (machine) to reach the customers. Besides, FedEx always giving supports and encourage their employees in order to allow them to be more innovative in the working environment and more confident in decision making process by providing quality results. FedEx is providing their employees to use the high technology hand-held tracker and the digitally assistant dispatch system (DADS). The hand-held tracker is used to records the information throughout the day and allow the couriers to scan the bar code on every waybill at each stage of delivery process. It helps to retain and transmit the information of the package such types of service required, destination and routing instruction as well as provide guidance to the couriers by a series of performance measurement. While, DADS is a small digitally assisted dispatch computer system that found in all couriers van to enable the couriers to administer their time and routes with high efficiency (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). For example, when the couriers return to the van, the information acquire is then downloaded from the hand-held trackers to the DADS in order to update the package location in the COSMO system. By using this type of people-led hybrid interface, it provides the customers a convenient ways to find out the time and location of their package. Hence, FedEx able to maintain positive control over its shipments and enhance their customer satisfaction by constant tracking with the interaction of the human and machine. Furthermore, FedEx develop its innovation technology by setting up the Command and Control system in their operation. Command and Control is the satellite to ground-level operation system which based at the Memphis SuperHub (Technology innovation at FedEx, 2010). FedEx used this system to act as a weather management tool and to check the traffic information in order to enable the FedEx Company deliver the package in any weather condition with the fastest and safest manner. For example, FedEx connect to over 750 customer service workstations, over 500 aircraft and traffic hubs around the world to ensure the coordination of inbound and outbound aircraft and thousands of delivery vehicles are in smooth condition and enable their employees to deliver the package on time to their customer to achieve customer satisfaction. Each types of hybrid interface used by FedEx Company have the benefits that improve the companys daily operation. People-led interface helps the front line employees of the FedEx to increase their work productivity and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. For example, with the high technology hand-held tracker, it helps the couriers to records and retains the information by scanning the bar code of the waybill in every stage of delivery process. Thus, it helps to increase the productivity and the efficiency of the work of front line employees. Besides, the people led machine interface helps FedEx to maintain their positive control over every single step of it shipment process to deliver the goods and services to the customers. It is because, when the couriers return to the van, the information is downloaded from its hand- held tracker to the DADS and immediately updated the package location in the COSMO system. Hence, it enables their customers to check their shipment status, delivery time and etc to provide 100% customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the interaction between human and machine interface enables FedEx to deliver goods and services to their customers with the fastest and safest route in any weather with the implementation of Command and Control system. FedEx using the NASA weather data and artificial intelligent to help the company selects the fastest, safest and most cost- effective way to deliver goods and services to the ultimate customer. The command and control system help FedEx to increase per capita output of their frontline employees and thus increase the quality of their interaction with customers. Machine-led hybrid interface Many business organizations have deployed the use of machine-led interface in their daily operation nowadays. Machine-led hybrid interface is defined as the interaction between the machine and human, where machines operate in the foreground and are supported by people (Rayport, 2005). It requires an output to ensure that the machine will always keep the user up to date in the progression of commands or execute commands in physical space. FedEx has set up 45 call centers in global to handle over 500,000 telephone calls from their customers around the world per day. FedExs call centre is a machine led hybrid interfaces that enable the machine (telephone) to be supported by the people (call centre representatives). It used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone and is operate by the company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. By setting up the call center, it allow the customers who prefer more personal touch than using high technology device and customers who need more in depth explanation and information about the shipping process to call and speak with the call centre representative regarding their problems. FedEx has developed its operation through online by creating their own company website and embedding the FedExs live chat into their official website. Through the companys web page, FedEx can connect with their customers and get their involvement into the chat room to engage the positive relationship between the company and their customers. When the customers need any further assistance or have any enquiries regarding their shipment status, they can use the Chat with FedEx function by fill in their personal details to start the chat session. Thus, the FedExs employees will reply the customer through this interactive chat medium immediately. Hence, with the interaction between FedExs live chat (machine) with the supported of the employees (human being), it helps the FedEx to improve their business operation to be more efficient and easily to get into the involvement with their customers internal process as well as enhance the customers relationship. The machine-led hybrid interface brings some benefits to FedEx such as cost saving and higher productivity. FedEx website allows the customers to track their shipment information or the status of the package based on the package number without calling to the service centre. Thus it helps FedExs service centre to operate more efficient and able to handle more than 100,000 tracking enquiries daily. Furthermore, the capability of the FedExs live chat was successfully helps the FedEx to saving up the investment cost of setting up more call centre. The machine-led hybrid interface leverage the human talents by distributing their personalities or the emotional intelligent in scalable way. Human being is excelling in conveying empathy and handling the exception; hence with the support of the frontline machine, it helps to increase the employees productivity by channeling their work more efficiently. For example, when the customers call to the service centre, the system will deliver the customer to the service provider via phone line. After that, the customer service representative will answer the call and handling the problem or enquiries from the customers and try to satisfy their needs and wants in a polite manner. Chapter 10: Delivering the Integrated Customer Experience Integration within Implementation Domains There are three types implementation domains: brand experience, interface and innovations. The brand experience it can help the organization build reputation and get awareness in connections with customers. It included company or brand name, logo, advertisement, and web design.( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005) -Brand Experience FedEx shows a global brand the fastest route to worldwide. In year 2009, FedEx has been honored as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States. FedEx also has been ranked in Fortunes magazine as Global Most Admired Companies . -Logo FedEx has its own Corporation logos; each of it has its own version of the wordmark used for identification and branding. The FedEx name is incorporated as a simple distinct text-only typographic treatment to create a clear, visually memorable identity. For FedEx logo, the Fed is in purple and the Ex is in a grey for the overall corporation use. While, for the original FedEx logo had the Ex in orange. The FedEx wordmark is actually a notable hidden right-pointing arrow between the E and the X, which to emphasize the arrow shape. The concept of an arrow is to be promoted as a symbol for the speed and precision positioning, both FedEx communicative attributes. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Website has become a dominant technology. FedEx has its home page shipping resources source for everyone, so that customer could find out the information that the delivery services offer in their own region. FedEx website has created a quality website with full useful guidance and tools. In addition, a successful website should be able to lead the customers to take action. Such as, FedEx also allow the users to download FedEx Welcome Kit, so that it could help them optimize their shipping and manage account efficiently. -Interface Interface refers to the dynamic exchange of information in service that occurs between the company and the customers. Interactions with sales people face-to face, phone call, online chatting. ( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005) FedEx main focus is on customer service, so they will always have interaction with customers. If customer encounter any problems and make complaints they can even get to the customer support centre, faces-to- face interactions with FedEx staffs. The front office will handle the customer procurement and complaints. While, if customer have feedback or comments, they could email FedEx by select the appropriate service in order for a customer support representative to assist customers inquiry. -Innovations Innovations are a change in the product or services for adding something new that added features and benefits. The changes must increase product value, customer value, or producer value. The information about the package is just as important as the package itself. (Fred Smith, 1978). Today, FedEx provides customers access to real time information which has enabled new supply chain models and efficiencies. FedEx focus and improve built upon innovation and it continues to be an integral part of the FedEx culture and business strategy. The FedEx Innovation labs is an information technology project designed to create an atmosphere of collaborative thinking around critical technologies such as advanced optics for scanning, robotics, pervasive computing, biometrics, video object recognition etc.  The Labs house a research and development team tasked with looking at future technologies that have a 3-5 years production roadmap.   Integration across Implementation Domains Integration across implementation domains is more complex. It requires training program and expertise to create trustworthiness for customers. The Jobs at FedEx requires higher level of knowledge, experience, capabilities, and educated. FedEx need employs people with literature degrees, though FedEx might also need people holding with higher qualifications with MBAs. In addition, FedEx couriers receive roughly 50 hours of training per year. In order to maintain high quality service levels, training to be conducted by training professionals who understand the technicalities of the express transportation business. The courses from supply chain planning and logistics management to training on specific software programs, quality management and marketing sales. Linkages between the interface innovation To create linkages between the interface and innovation, the company must provide experiential encounters that are referred as dynamic, interactive, and innovative. ( Rayport, F.J. Jawoski, J.B. 2005). FedEx created corporate sponsorship and events. Beginning in 2007, FedEx became the title sponsor of the FedEx Cup, a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. FedEx is spent an estimated $44 million a year to sponsor the FedEx Cup, a full season of PGA Tour events culminating with a four-tournament playoff series to determine the top mens golfer, also Golf Digest reports. FedEx is trying to reach executives and other corporate decision makers. The PGA Tour has all the professional golfers from worldwide and its events are broadcast worldwide, and its appealed to FedEx. It is because FedEx is a global company; they needed to communicate to customers on global stage. FedEx is recognized by executives and consumers, by sponsoring such huge amount of cost and long run event it make sense bec ause it provides wide and extended exposure. So, this communications can provide new personalized experiential encounters between FedEx and the customers. Integrated marketing Integrated marketing is the process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value. In FedEx, within the marketing department activities are centered on customer segments. Each segment is staffed by a cross-functional team composed of manager, marketer, analyst, agency account executive, and may be a representative from the agency-managed fulfillment house. These cross-functional teams meet as frequently as necessary. E-mail has greatly facilitated this integration. All marketing vendors are connected to FedEx and to each other through the FedEx corporate e-mail system. The marketing communication can provide information to prospective customers. It can let the customers know about the service options available, cost, specific features, functions, and service benefits. FedEx has own customer information services department. It offering a customer service toll-free telephone line for customer questions. It is operated by an automated operator then will prompt the user to a live agent for uses of tracking, claims, scheduling pick-ups, locations, ordering supplies, setting up FedEx accounts, billing etc. However, the customers can get information in FedEx website which is http://www.fedex.com/my/ .One of the roles of marketing communication is persuade target customers that service offers best solution to meet their needs and build relationship with them. The company added on a facility on the official website for consumers to be able to track their packages from the Internet. Marketing at FedEx has two IT work teams supporting its efforts. The teams a re physically located within the marketing building and report to both the IT and marketing organizations. FedEx  marketing mix  strategy  affected the  retention rate  prevailing within the industry.   Marketing communication can also help maintain relationships with existing customers. It requires comprehensive, up-to-date customer database and ability to make use of this in a personalized way. FedEx marketing database contains a complete picture of all the companys customers worldwide, and their FedEx transactions. So, they can turn customer data into customer knowledge, to satisfy the customers needs. e) Marketing communications mix -Personal communications FedEx become a well known company through word of mouth. What really has established a good repute for FedEx is the consistence in providing good quality services  to its consumers. So, the customers will spread the positive words of FedEx to others. FedEx provides excellent  customer care  in this  service-based industry, this enhance an emotional connection between FedEx and its customers. -Advertising Advertising  is a form of  communication  intended to  persuade  an audience to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. FedEx has the TV commercial video ads. The advertising campaign launched to reflect on the new feature provided by FedEx also identified the expanded international capability of the company, appealing to a  global audience  to try FedEx services.  One of the best known ad campaigns is We Live to Deliver. This creates a huge impact for the company. One of the package deliveries giants biggest web campaigns, which running on You

An Examination Of The Caviar Market Economics Essay

An Examination Of The Caviar Market Economics Essay The new business is aiming to produce a substitute caviar product in Russia and Kazakhstan, with a view to exporting it to the UK. It is anticipated that the main targets for this product will be those in the low to middle income bracket who would not generally be able to afford real caviar. Consumption of caviar in the UK is not as widespread as in some other regions and this is thought to be primarily due to the high price that is commanded by caviar in the country. The aim of the business is to provide an affordable alternative that will be provided over the internet and by phone, allowing for rapid delivery of products that are well priced. Loyalty offers will be available and the business aims to target the general consumption market rather than the exclusive, luxury segment of the market. Initially, the target will be the UK alone, although there is no particular reason that this could not be extended in time as production increases. Substitute caviar made up of a variety of different ingredients will be available in order to satisfy the widest range of tastes possible. Overview of Research Process A multifaceted research approach has been taken, due to the fact that whilst completing the initial research it became clear that the UK market may not be the best initial overseas market to target, and this resulted in a wider analysis than originally anticipated. Consideration was given to the global market for both the export and import of caviar and caviar substitutes, with a view to gaining an understanding of the general movement of caviar and also in an attempt to understand where the value lies and where there is opportunity for growth. Another research approach was to look at commentary specific to the UK market and the way in which UK consumers view the caviar products, in order to get an idea as to whether or not there is likely to be a demand for a caviar substitute of the nature proposed. This type of research will naturally require greater depth and primary research in the form of consumer questionnaires; interviews would also be desirable to supplement the general media reports. Information was also obtained in relation to the production industry in Kazakhstan and Russia, which was also seen as important as this gave an indication as to whether or not these countries had the ability to increase their production and had the necessary facilities to do so at a reasonable price. Critique of Research Process The research process was somewhat scattergun in nature, aiming to cover a wide range of issues and this resulted in lack of depth at times. By attempting to determine the potential market in the UK, the general market for caviar and caviar substitutes, the general production processes and the way in which caviar substitutes are developed, this research was naturally less detailed than may be necessary in the next stages of business development. A more focussed approach, for example, looking specifically at the UK and the various caviar substitutes available, may have been a more productive approach at this stage. Evidence Gathered A wide variety of evidence, of varying reliabilities, has been gathered, as noted below. In terms of the information relating to the UK, there was very limited general access information available and media interpretations had to be relied upon. This in itself is a potential weakness. However, from this research it is clear that caviar in the UK is very much a luxury product that is able to command a substantial price, but it is not growing in popularity as a result of the increasing price that is stimulated by the shortage in supply. Evidence was also gathered in terms of the global market as a whole, identifying Japan as a substantial consumer, as well as the US. This raised the query as to whether or not the UK is the best choice as a target for this new product. This research also looked at the export side of the market and identified both Russia and Kazakhstan as being crucial players. This is likely to be a positive factor, as it indicates that the supply chains for this type of product are already present, although it may raise concerns relating to saturation of resources, depending on the exact type of substitute that is being used. Critique of Evidence Some of the issues have been raised already in relation to the reliability of this research. It has been noted that there is not a great deal of information available in relation to the UK consumption of caviar and caviar substitute, so media commentary has had to be relied upon. There is a danger that this analysis is biased and does not present all of the available data and this factor needs to be considered when looking at the research below. Furthermore, there is little research that actually distinguishes between the relative desire for caviar and caviar substitute, which is potentially fundamental to the likely success of the proposed business. Much of the information available is produced by the industry itself and therefore there may be issues of bias. The research does not contain information from the last 12 months and again this may result in a degree of weakness in the figures being produced, as matters may have changed dramatically in recent months and particularly during the financial crisis. Recommendations for Future Research Based on the above, it is suggested that future research is needed to supplement the initial research undertaken. A much more detailed analysis of the consumer demand for caviar and caviar substitutes in the UK is required. This is likely to involve primary research, which would include consumer analysis in a bid to determine just how likely consumers would be to switch to a cheaper substitute and whether the availability of a cheaper substitute would encourage more consumers to purchase this product. Research into other potential markets should also be undertaken, as there seems to be a greater appetite for caviar in places, such as Japan and Sweden, that should be explored in more depth. Research Analysis Financial Implications / Ingredients of Caviar and Caviar Substitute (http://www.caviarist.com/index.php?s=substitutex=0y=0) Although focussing on the caviar market, the report by The Caviarist provides valuable financial information, as well as practical suggestions in relation to the market for caviar substitutes. This report is useful, based on the fact that it draws together several industry opinions and also is able to consider the value of these substitutes, in comparison to pure caviar. The reports produced by The Caviarist noted that there was, in fact, a wide range of potential alternatives to the traditional black caviar, many of which offer a substantially cheaper option, but these do not always meet with consumer approval, in terms of taste. Some of the key substitute options were noted as being snail caviar (De Jaeger) from France, Cajun caviar which is made out of Bowfin Roe and comes from the US, and Keta which is derived from salmon roe. Each of these could, potentially, be competitors for any new caviar substitute coming to the market. A further option is to use aubergine which has resulted in poor mans caviar being produced and again shows the potential for cheaper substitutes to be brought to the market. Imitation caviar in Japan is, potentially, big business already, with one company, Hokuyu Foods Co Ltd., specialising in the production of imitation caviar, which consists of a gum that is derived from kelp, pectin from apples, sea urchin extracts, scallops, oysters and squid ink. The consumption of this caviar is thought to be approximately 20% of the consumption of genuine black caviar and indicates the potential market for substitute caviar and the consumer willingness to use a substitute. It is, however noted that this imitation caviar, Cavianne, is not often sold directly to consumers, as it is generally purchased wholesale at a price of approximately 11USD for a 50 gram jar. A more recent substitute which has come to the market is that of Cabial, which is sea urchin roe and originates from Spain. The typical price for this is between 10 12 Euros for a 120 gram jar. This, again, suggests that there will be a drop in quality, although it does produce a real pricing challenge for any company looking to enter the market. Substitution is not always welcome, with some individuals only being prepared to consider the real caviar, due to taste and the perceived lack of quality associated with these cheaper options. For those consumers who are prepared to substitute, there is the issue of price competition, which is likely to be fierce and a barrier for any new substitute. Current Market Trends UK, Russia, Kazhakstan / Competitors (http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5261e/y5261e06.htm#bm6.4) Reports have suggested that the market for caviar has declined, in recent years. It was noted in this detailed report that the availability of wild roe was in decline and there was a resurgence of farmed sturgeon to satisfy the increasing consumer demands for caviar (or indeed caviar substitutes). Production of sturgeon through the farming industry has increased from 150MT, in 1984, to a total of 158MT, in 2000, showing that this industry is growing, albeit not at a rapid rate. Initiatives in the caviar industry are focused on this new form of farming; therefore, even where the production of caviar is still taking place, it is being done so with efficiency of production in mind and this has reduced the prices of production, making the caviar substitute market even more competitive, on an ongoing basis. The main markets for producing farmed caviar are Russia (2,050MT), Italy (550MT) and Poland (250MT). When looking specifically at the position in Kazakhstan, it can be seen that despite being considered a lower-middle income country, it is a highly influential region when it comes to the production of caviar. There is a total of around 16,000 fisheries in Kazhakstan and a production of caviar at approximately 1,153 MT (value of US$2,469,500), showing just how influential the caviar industry is to this region and that the likely competitive nature of the industry will result in a price war. Russia is seen to have a similar demographic in that it is also considered to be a lower-middle income country that relies heavily on the fisheries industry. The number of fisheries in Russia is considerably greater than in Kazakhstan, with a total of 316,300 fisheries of which 1,300 produce farmed caviar alone. Total production in Russia amounts to 77,132 MT and a value of around $204,779,000. Export income stands at approximately $1,386,000, indicating that there remains a substantial market for caviar and that the market will become increasingly competitive, as farming production becomes more efficient and the economies of Russia and Kazakhstan strive to protect their position within the global market. This market analysis shows both positive and negative trends for a company looking to enter the market. Whilst it is clear that there is a growing market for caviar (both natural and farmed), it is also an incredibly competitive market. Moreover, as real caviar can be produced more cheaply, this will naturally put a strain on the market for caviar substitutes. Demand in the UK (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1055748.stm) A report from the business section of the BBC has looked specifically at the issue of caviar in the UK and who actually consumes caviar. Although this review dates back to 2000, it is the most recent of its type and is a key indicator of the consumption trends of caviar, in the UK. It was noted, in this report, that from the UK point of view, the availability of caviar has dropped substantially; this is likely to be attributable to the fact that the UK relies entirely on imports and does not have its own production facilities. The availability of top quality caviar, e.g. Beluga caviar, remains relatively low and therefore the pricing of this caviar has risen to reflect this lack of supply. For example, it was noted that 50g or Beluga sells at  £210 in top restaurants, in the UK, making it very much a luxury product. It is no surprise, therefore, that the consumption of caviar has dropped, in recent years, mainly due to the escalating prices. What is not clear is how much of this re duction is simply a matter of taste and how much of it is down to affordability. This will be a key issue to determine when looking at the viability of a caviar substitute. It is estimated that the amount of consumption in the UK is around four tonnes per year; when this is compared with Sweden at six tonnes and bearing in mind that Sweden has just 10% of the population of the UK, it is clear to see that the market for caviar, for whatever reason, is not large in the UK. The consumption of caviar in the UK is, therefore, seen very much as a luxury specialist product that is consumed by very few individuals. This raises interesting questions in relation to the potential for a cheaper caviar substitute, in the UK market. As the price of caviar has risen, so has the level of sales and this would suggest that a cheaper substitute (end of sentence?). Despite this, it is not clear whether there really is the appetite for caviar, in the UK, and even if the price were to reduce, substantially, it may be that it simply is not a popular choice with UK consumers and that other markets should be considered, in order to introduce this substitute caviar product. A Global Trade Perspective The 2005 Report considered the global market for caviar, in terms of where the most production was achieved and where in the world the greatest demand for caviar was. This is particularly relevant in the context of this business plan, as the market for a caviar substitute is likely to follow the same trends as the market for caviar itself. There is, however, the potentially larger scope of caviar substitutes, due to the fact that they are cheaper to produce and therefore will be sold at a lesser price, which may, ultimately, attract a wider consumer base. This report gives an excellent overview of the global position in relation to caviar and caviar substitutes, indicating that the largest exporter of caviar and caviar substitutes is the US, followed shortly by Iran and then Russia. By contrast, the largest importer is Japan, followed by France. The UK is the 10th largest importer, indicating that there is a demand for the product; however, there may be a larger demand in other regions which have been overlooked so far during this study, notably Japan. Nevertheless, this report does consider caviar and caviar substitutes, together, and therefore consideration will have to be given as to whether there is a greater demand for substitute caviar, in certain regions, possibly those that are generally considered to be less affluent, such as Latvia and Hungary, which currently rank relatively lowly, in terms of import. When it comes to imported caviar and caviar substitutes, in Europe, the main targets are France, Germany and Sweden, with the UK ranking relatively lowly, in 8th position, taking under 4% of the European import market. This suggests that the current approach of targeting the UK may not be the best possible business plan, because there is a considerably larger market in other regions of Europe, for example, France which takes up 26% of the European import market. Based on this report and the general demographic of the import and export of caviar and caviar substitutes, it would seem that there is a much greater demand to be had in regions that may have previously been overlooked. For example, there is a substantial market in Japan and France, neither or which was immediately obvious, in the business plan. This report does not distinguish between caviar and caviar substitutes, which may change the demand structure, due to the fact that the cost associated with caviar substitutes is less, potentially, encouraging better market penetration, in certain less affluent regions.

Marketing Disney Consumer Products in the Middle East Essay -- Busines

Marketing Disney Consumer Products in the Middle East 1. Disney Consumer Products Middle East was interested in Lebanon, which has only one million children and teenagers and not Egypt, which has a much larger population, due to the following reasons; a. The literacy rate in Lebanon was much higher than the literacy rate of the populations of other Arab states in the Middle East at that time. b. The population of Lebanon was more familiar with western products, which included the Disney products. In reference to (Exhibit 6) in the case study, one could see that both awareness of the brand and awareness of the various product categories of the brand were already established. c. Many of the Lebanese distributors occupied important positions throughout the Middle East, which in turn might help DCPEME in penetrating other Arab markets. d. The Lebanese society was comparatively liberal when compared to other neighboring Arab states, thus all Disney products would be accepted and readily sold in such a market 2. In 1993, Disney products were distributed in Lebanon through one of the following three channels; a. Worldwide licenses that legitimately distributed Disney products through their Lebanese distributors. b. Non-worldwide licenses that distributed Disney products through Lebanese distributors. c. Non worldwide licenses unaware that several that several of their wholesalers were selling Disney ... Marketing Disney Consumer Products in the Middle East Essay -- Busines Marketing Disney Consumer Products in the Middle East 1. Disney Consumer Products Middle East was interested in Lebanon, which has only one million children and teenagers and not Egypt, which has a much larger population, due to the following reasons; a. The literacy rate in Lebanon was much higher than the literacy rate of the populations of other Arab states in the Middle East at that time. b. The population of Lebanon was more familiar with western products, which included the Disney products. In reference to (Exhibit 6) in the case study, one could see that both awareness of the brand and awareness of the various product categories of the brand were already established. c. Many of the Lebanese distributors occupied important positions throughout the Middle East, which in turn might help DCPEME in penetrating other Arab markets. d. The Lebanese society was comparatively liberal when compared to other neighboring Arab states, thus all Disney products would be accepted and readily sold in such a market 2. In 1993, Disney products were distributed in Lebanon through one of the following three channels; a. Worldwide licenses that legitimately distributed Disney products through their Lebanese distributors. b. Non-worldwide licenses that distributed Disney products through Lebanese distributors. c. Non worldwide licenses unaware that several that several of their wholesalers were selling Disney ...

Silent Epidemic :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I wish I’d die right then† this was â€Å"Laetitia† reaction when she found out she was infected with HIV. (Breaking 36) Imagine living in a home in Africa, with 10 other people including yourself, then finding out that two of them live with one of the worst epidemics ever AIDS! What can the residents of Africa do to stop it? Is there a possibility that it could be stopped? Scientist have a number of theories about this epidemic, but recent news show that AIDS is not as silent as predicted. Where does the virus come from? Who is involved in this epidemic? Who are the most affected? Answer is the residents of the continent of Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"AIDS epidemic may be just one of the latest of sexual Mammalian cross-species viral transfer, triggers by the techniques of virology developed in the 20th century, which subsequently spread out of control in the new host species. Which there was a missing link too.† (Breaking N.P.) According to most scientist it has been said that AIDS first appeared in Mid-Africa in 1959, in Leopoloville, The Bulling Congo, and Kinshasa, Africa. It does suppose to have come from a â€Å"single common ancestor†. What is meant is that it might have come from a vaccine that the United States secret military service was trying to create for polio. (Curtis 54)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The U.S. hired a naturalized American polio researcher from Switzerland named Hilary Koprowsky. Dr. Koprowsky traveled to the epicenter of the epidemic ¾Belgian Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Dr. Koprowsky believed that by contracting liquid from chimps, or monkeys it would avoid the contamination of polio. Reason for that is because he would do test among the apes, and they would be immune to it. He then first tried the vaccine on children who where suppose to be â€Å"mentally deficient†. Then several African citizens would volunteer to be vaccinated for money. Four years later Dr. Koprowsky warned congress that it could be dangerous, and that the experiments should be stopped. Between 1957-60, a missing link was found in chimps from Gallo. Monkeys, and it’s kingdom have a virus similar, therefore if it is transfer to human, it turns into Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV), after a period of 7-10 years or less it turns on to AIDS. This led to find out that AIDS virus would eventually turn up on humans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several tribes all over Africa. Silent Epidemic :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I wish I’d die right then† this was â€Å"Laetitia† reaction when she found out she was infected with HIV. (Breaking 36) Imagine living in a home in Africa, with 10 other people including yourself, then finding out that two of them live with one of the worst epidemics ever AIDS! What can the residents of Africa do to stop it? Is there a possibility that it could be stopped? Scientist have a number of theories about this epidemic, but recent news show that AIDS is not as silent as predicted. Where does the virus come from? Who is involved in this epidemic? Who are the most affected? Answer is the residents of the continent of Africa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"AIDS epidemic may be just one of the latest of sexual Mammalian cross-species viral transfer, triggers by the techniques of virology developed in the 20th century, which subsequently spread out of control in the new host species. Which there was a missing link too.† (Breaking N.P.) According to most scientist it has been said that AIDS first appeared in Mid-Africa in 1959, in Leopoloville, The Bulling Congo, and Kinshasa, Africa. It does suppose to have come from a â€Å"single common ancestor†. What is meant is that it might have come from a vaccine that the United States secret military service was trying to create for polio. (Curtis 54)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The U.S. hired a naturalized American polio researcher from Switzerland named Hilary Koprowsky. Dr. Koprowsky traveled to the epicenter of the epidemic ¾Belgian Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Dr. Koprowsky believed that by contracting liquid from chimps, or monkeys it would avoid the contamination of polio. Reason for that is because he would do test among the apes, and they would be immune to it. He then first tried the vaccine on children who where suppose to be â€Å"mentally deficient†. Then several African citizens would volunteer to be vaccinated for money. Four years later Dr. Koprowsky warned congress that it could be dangerous, and that the experiments should be stopped. Between 1957-60, a missing link was found in chimps from Gallo. Monkeys, and it’s kingdom have a virus similar, therefore if it is transfer to human, it turns into Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV), after a period of 7-10 years or less it turns on to AIDS. This led to find out that AIDS virus would eventually turn up on humans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several tribes all over Africa.

Socrates Essay -- essays research papers

Socrates believes that the everyday world is an illusion compared to the world of knowledge. People are often too distracted by money and materialistic things to appreciate truth and reality. Socrates says, â€Å"the capacity for knowledge is innate in each man’s mind.† This exemplifies the point that man has the ability to look into the world of truth, but when one is caught up in superficiality then truth does not receive the attention and glory that it should. This is why Socrates feels that the arts, such as poetry, should be censored; it would help decrease the digression of society’s intellect. In today’s world television and movies are complications that only hinder the thought processes in society.When people are consumed in the shallow world, they see reality as mere shadows compared to truth. Many times, violent images seen in movies will remain in a person’s mind. This obsession with violence and action takes away from concentration on â€Å"the good† and does not benefit society. â€Å"The bad† does not change when one is exposed to it, â€Å"the bad† changes the person. So, by limiting this exposure to violence one can focus on finding â€Å"the good.† â€Å"The good†, according to Socrates is â€Å"the source not only of the intelligibility of the objects of knowledge, but also of their being and reality.† When the mind is preoccupied with the desultory world, it does not see truth; that which is important and real. Television today is geared towards brainless viewing. MTV shows display fast images that do not require any thinking, but only keep the eye entertained. This is a form of â€Å"eye candy† which is society’s form of entertainment, rather than looking for the meaning of life and the good in the world. Viewers are sucked into this and no longer care about anything other than instant pleasure. Not all pleasure is considered good, and this type of instant pleasure is not. Pleasure should not be taken to the extreme, because it will then be unhealthy for the mind and the body. Socrates explains that the mind, body, and soul must all be in unison in order to be healthy, then happiness will ensue. Moderation is a key element to contentment and should be practiced in today’s society. Many people search for happiness by engulfing themselves in life’s highest pleasures, others look for contentment by over-working themselves to try and be the richest. However, these extremes w... ...tural, which is found in everyday occurrences. Society is changing everyday and movies are becoming more and more violent, as well as the crimes that occur today. The outlook on happiness is transforming to an extreme emphasis on money, and instant pleasure is becoming the one importance in life. Values are being demoralized and negative influences are being idolized. This is all done by the arts, because it is the one thing that is never definite or exact. Other aspects of life are definite, such as mathematical solutions and so forth. However, the arts are never definite because they come from the creative aspect of man. It is not absolute and can be interpreted in many different ways. However, by exposing society to the good in life, or assisting in exhibiting the real and unmasking true reality, the arts will display this and censorship will no longer be needed. It can only happen in a perfect society because man’s thoughts cannot be controlled, and although man is a product of society, there will always be exceptions to the rule. So, censorship will always be needed in today’s world because true reality can only be seen with a lucid mind and unison with the body and soul.

Narayana Hrudayalaya

Q1 &2 Would you describe this heart hospital as successful? Explain why. If successful, what were the elements that made it successful? If not yet successful, what else should NH be doing? â€Å"A dream of making quality healthcare available to the masses worldwide† Narayana Hrudayalaya was established by Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty in 2001 with this mission. Its main focus was to provide affordable cardiac care to the masses. It has followed a hybrid strategy of attracting paying patients by virtue of its reputation for high quality combined with a relentless focus on lowering its costs of operations whenever possible.In 2004, the proportion of patients who paid NH's full price to those that cannot afford to pay was about 60:40. Following this strategy, they priced their general ward patients for OHS at Rs. 110000. This charge is the lowest in the country where the average cost of OHS in a private hospital is Rs. 250000. At the upper end, patients who opted for executive wards pai d Rs 140000 – Rs 195000 for private rooms instead of general wards. To add to it, they offered the Karuna Hrudaya package for financially constrained patients at Rs. 65000 per OHS.For patients who could not even afford this, they helped arrange funds through the Narayana Hrudayalaya Trust's general corpus or by seeking external donations. The treatment across all the packages was the exactly identical. Since their inception, the number of in patients and out patients as well as catheterization and surgeries has constantly increased as shown in the below table: InpatientsOutpatientsCatheterizationSurgeries Total%age Growth (YoY)Total%age Growth (YoY)Total%age Growth (YoY)Total%age Growth (YoY) Apr 01 – Mar 024242-9875-2116-1842- Apr 02 – Mar 03722670%1086310%336759%274249%Apr 03 – Mar 041026242%1538242%477742%357030% Apr 01 – Mar 04-142%-56%-126%-94% This has helped them achieve a breakeven of Rs. 90000 for OHS. By performing tests and operations in large numbers, they are able to achieve economies of scale and thereby reducing their costs. Following this wal-martisation of health care, with which they performed almost 8 times the surgeries and cathetarisation compared to other Indian hospitals. They have managed to perform more CABG surgeries a year, have morenumber of cardiac surgeons and greater average surgeries per surgeon than even few of the top ranked US hospitals.NH boasted of a 1. 27% mortality rate and 1% infection rate in CABG procedures as against 1. 2% and 1% in US respectively which further emphasises the quality of treatment being provided by NH. Further they have also reduced their costs for buying medical supplies and equipments by bulk ordering for their AHF hospital at Kolkota and NH at Bangalore together. This has increased their bargaining power enabling them to get discounts of 30%-35% in their purchases. They have also used new technologies like digital x rays and comprehensive hospital management to im prove their efficiencies and reduce costs.They have also adopted newer medicines like Biocon’s cardio-diabetes products which offer similar health benefits at much cheaper costs as compared to other similar medications further decreasing their overall costs. By keeping the administration team lean, NH also avoided the usual problem of corruption that plagued corporate hospitals. With the help of careful planning and internal financial controls to gauge the ability to fund below cost surgeries, NH has been able to optimise the number of subsidized surgeries to be performed.In order to further achieve their goal to reach the bottom of the pyramid, they have also effectively used telemedicine techniques with the help of a large number of general practitioners providing teleconsultation to the patients who would not have received the treatment otherwise. The fully equipped Mobile Cardiac Diagnostic Lab increased their penetration in the rural areas to ensure that best possible di agnosis was available onsite. It also conducted outreach camps which were organised by local associations like the Lions Club and Rotary Club.On an average each camp screened 400 people a day, none of whom was required to pay either the hospital or the organisers. They also set up the Yeshashwini Health Insurance Scheme which provided benefits to 1. 7m farmers at extremely low costs of Rs 5 per month. Q3. Is the insurance scheme successful? Explain why. What are the challenges going forward? Yeshashwini Health Insurance Scheme was launched in 2002 for the 1. 7 million farmers. Just for Rs. 5 a month, cardholders had access to free treatment at 150 hospitals in 29 districts of Karnataka for any medical procedure costing up to Rs. 00000. Government also contributed Rs. 2. 5 for every Rs. 5 paid by every farmer. Dr. Devi Prasad chose to utilise the existing government infrastructure in the form of state controlled cooperative societies. Prior to the scheme, it was estimated that the av erage occupancy of hospitals was only 35% although the state boasted 30 private medical colleges each with 500 beds; actual occupancy was low reflecting the lack of affordability rather than a lack of infrastructure.Research by the NH team estimated that only 8% of the policyholders would require medical procedures, thus the total funds collected were expected to cover the cost of treatment for those in need. Most common use of the scheme was for non surgical treatment. Non surgery procedures formed 80% of the procedures conducted through the Yeshashwini scheme. It was mostly used for low cost treatments of around Rs. 2000 that people would otherwise have forsaken due to lack of money for treating non life threatening conditions. Thus the scheme was successful in increasing the health of the poor farmers.In ts 1st year, nearly 9000 people underwent various operations and a further 35000 received out patient treatment. By early 2005, the scheme included around 25 lakh members. From J une 2003 to March 2004, around 12% of the surgeries and 16% of the angiograms at NH were performed under the Yeshasvini scheme. Collection of the monthly premiums, tracking monthly payments and issuing Yeshashwini member cards was done through the post offices. This enabled a smooth functioning and also increased its outreach as people are generally more willing to trust government agencies than private organistions.The operation though initiated by the trust, was later on handled by a 3rd party administrator. Q 4. How should you advise Dr. Shetty regarding the three lines of business-the heart hospital, the health city, and the insurane scheme for the poor? Which should he pursue? Which, if any, should he drop? Is there anything else he should be doing? The 3 lines of business of NH are: ?Heart hospital and all the associated activities. ?Yeshashwini Health Insurance Scheme ?Vision of the Health City The first 2 lines are very successful and running with great efficiency and reach. The first phase that is the current heart hospital is running successfully. With the successful implementation of good operations management model, Narayana Hrudalaya has cut on its operating costs manifolds as compared to other hospitals in India. Thus, it has been able to sustain itself while maintaining the philanthropic vision to serve the underprivileged and provide treatment to them at an extremely affordable cost. The implementation of the insurance scheme has also been very successful and has been able to serve its purpose to a large extent.The plan for the Health City is still in a very nascent stage and special focus needs to be given to it. The health city would require a larger pool of competent doctors, nurses and technicians. Thus more focus needs to be given to the training programs. Apart from the existing diploma in cardiology etc, NH should focus on more institutional tie ups to cater to the larger demand for the Health City. Also, NH can concentrate on increasing its existing outreach for the Yashashwini Health Insurance customers. Currently the scheme caters to only farmers who belong to state cooperatives.Seeing the success of the scheme, NH can consider reaching out to artisan self help groups as well like what Jaipur Rugs does. The scheme can also be made available to the unorganized workers like domestic help in cities of Karnataka. Currently, NH is also considering coming up with a similar modified insurance scheme for teachers. This can be further expanded to other rural demographic segments such as traders, government employees, etc since they already have an established brand in these areas and hence can easily capture the market.Angioplasty procedure is currently not covered under Karuna Hrudaya scheme. NH can make adjustment to the price charged for general ward patients in order to include the procedure under the scheme but at a discounted operationally feasible cost. NH enjoys a popular philanthropic image among the people and h as managed to garner strong support from the government for its various social initiatives. Hence, it should try to influence the government to increase the government spending on healthcare in order to further strengthen the frail healthcare system of the nation.

Canvas Art Essay

The subjectivity of perception makes art what it is. Art is all about perception and individuality, since everyone has a different background, experience, taste, and opinion about any artwork. To determine the extent to which perception plays a role in the development, and the existence, of the arts, it is essential to identify the knowledge issues of perception in regards to the area of knowledge. First, is perception consistent and definite? Does previous knowledge (prejudice) influence how one perceives an artwork? Is perception subjective? These questions will be explored using one all-purpose example in the arts: El Greco’s dramatic and expressionistic artworks. Firstly, perception is not universal in terms of time, as very evident with El Greco’s works. Virtually all of El Greco’s paintings were disdained by his contemporary painters and the public during his lifetime, 1541-1614. His works opposed too many aspects of Baroque style, which was popular in the 17th century. El Greco, therefore, had no followers and no audience at that time; his works were considered to be unnatural and overly-complex. However, in the 20th century, his works greatly influenced painters, leading to the birth of expressionism and cubism. For example, Pablo Picasso and Paul Cezanne studied El Greco’s structural compositions, his ability to interweave space and form, and the special effects of highlights, which were all disregarded in the 17th century. Also, Jackson Pollock, an expressionist, also followed El Greco’s expressionistic composition. Therefore, the â€Å"unnatural† and â€Å"overly-complex† features in the 17th century became the dominant characteristics of the new form of Expressionism. In general, perception is indefinite, with the ability to change over time: the time that a piece of art is created and perceived influences the way it is perceived. Also, previous knowledge and experience significantly influences perception. For instance, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, El Greco’s most famous work today was presented at the Louvre in 1838. At that time, the audience knew, ahead of time, of El Greco’s life, career, and works; therefore, there was much enthusiasm and attraction to the painting. Meanwhile, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz was also studied in art schools in the 19th century where students analyzed its composition and form. However, before the students knew the title of the artwork and its artist, they had little interest and fondness for the work. Therefore, this reveals how previous knowledge (in this case, of El Greco’s life, artistic talent and fame) affects how it is perceived. Without that knowledge, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz could have simply been an amateur’s painting. This brings up the same issue once again. Knowing that the artwork is by El Greco, one may have a positive bias to the work, hence perceiving the painting to be better than it actually is. Lastly, perception is very limited in that it is very subjective. For example, we are selective in what we perceive, ignoring certain aspects while emphasizing others. For instance, in El Greco’s El Espolio, or The Disrobing of Christ, the oppression of Christ by his cruel tormentors is believed to be artist’s intensions; such studies emphasize El Greco use of vertical and lateral space of the canvas to present this idea. However, some critics say that the subject, rather, is to satirize the situation, since Christ is looking up to Heaven while his figure is segregated from the other people and the violence. Also, there is a figure in the painting’s background that is pointing at Christ accusingly. Therefore, it is evident that in these various analyses, different aspects of the painting are emphasized. The real meaning of any artwork is, consequently, not known and cannot be proven in any way. No one sees all the details that another sees in an artwork, hence making it very subjective. This knowledge issue links with the question that cultural background influences the subjectivity and limitations of perception. My prior experience may cause myself to view an artwork in a certain way, and not another. For instance, since I am religious, I regard El Greco’s El Espolio to be a genuine presentation of the oppression of Christ by his tormentors; I do not perceive it to be a satire of his death.