The Finland Phenomenon Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Finland Phenomenon - Coursework Example The government funds all the institutes, creates scholarships and benefits for deserving students, international students are given opportunities to come and study in Finnish universities, scholarships are provided to international students and all students are treated equally irrespective of their race and ethnicity. Whereas when we observe the education system of the United States, we get to know that although the government funds a lot of public institutes, it does not however fund colleges and universities. Funding by the government is provided only for specific purposes such as research projects. Students are made to get loans on high interests and spend their lives working to pay it off. Although the government of US creates scholarships but only in a limited number and those who fail to get a scholarship fail to continue their study whereas in Finland, free education enables everyone to pursue their dreams. The Finnish and American education systems have some unique student and teacher behaviors and characteristics. Some of them include: teachers being kind and generous to their students and students giving respect to the teachers. Also, one of the most important characteristic of the teachers was their interest in teaching the students and making them a better person by getting down to the mental level of the students, helping them and guiding them in the professional as well as personal lives and being more of a friend than teachers. This video gives us important information and guidelines related to the educational systems of two of the most respected and great nations of the world. Also, it guides us to develop the education systems of third world countries such as ones in Asia and Africa. It teaches us how we can work in a better way to communicate with students and create a better educational environment. One the most

Traditional Strategic Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Traditional Strategic Planning - Essay Example This school was administered and spread by professional managers, people with MBA's staff experts (especially in finance and management) consultants & government controllers. Their intended message was to formalize. The message received by their intended listeners was to make a program and administer one. They belonged to the Prescriptive school category. Their theory states that a stitch in time saves time. Their failure was caused by their not supporting real time strategy making nor encourages creative accidents. c) Positioning school - This was founded by Sun Tzu in his literary work The Art of War. This school concentrated on economics or the industrial organization and the military history. This school was championed by consulting boutiques type of business and United States writers. They espouse the theory of analyzing things. The message that was received by their listeners was that they should calculate their every move and not concentrate on creating or committing. This the ory belonged also to the Prescriptive management school of thought. Their theory was to consider only the facts of in management decision making. Their shortfall was due to their strategy being reduced to generic positions that were selected thru formalized analysis of industry. d) The Entrepreneurial school was established by J A Schump and A H Cole with collaboration from other economics faculty. Their writings were based on economics. Their intended message was to envision the future but the listeners interpreted their teachings as to centralize and hope for the best. They belonged to the second type of school called the descriptive. Their theory was to take themselves to the leader. Their failure was due to the unclear vision and they depended too much on the leader to for decision making purpose. e) The Cognitive school was established by H A Simon and J March. Their base discipline was Psychology (cognitive). This school was preached by pessimists who are psychologically bent. Their intended message was to cope with any situation or create a solution. The message that got thru to the listeners was that worry was evident in all their actions. This school was described as Descriptive. Its saying goes I will see if when I believe it. Their failure was due to the too subjective approach to strategy formulation. f) The learning school was established by LIndbio, Cyert, March, Weick, Quinn, Prahlad & Hamel. There seems to be no base discipline in this school. Chaos theory in mathematics had started here. The movers of this school were people who loved to experiment, ambiguous and adaptable to many situations like in Japan and Scandinavia They are espousing that the prefer learning but the message that reaches the listeners seems to be the movers just want a play atmosphere to abound. Their school falls under Descriptive type. Their very famous line goes if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Their failure seems to be that their strategic management process seems to be chaotic or in trouble. Their teachings seem chaotic.g) The power school was established by Alison, Pfeffer, Salancik & Astley. Their base discipline is political science. They are moved by people who love power, politics and conspiracy. Their intended m

The Theories And Implications On Corporate Financial Decisions Finance Essay

The Theories And Implications On Corporate Financial Decisions Finance Essay This paper concerns mainly on exploring the area of corporate valuation models and their implications in assessing the value of corporate firms. The models to be reviewed and analyzed are Economic Value Added (EVA), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Free Cash Flow (FCF). The selected models would be used on 5 publicly listed firms in the Bursa Malaysia. The aim of this study is to analyze the three models on how it can be utilized in helping a firm to create, sustain and access its corporate value. This paper consists of six parts, which are introduction, literature review, importance of theories and its implications on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia, application of concepts, tenets, fundamentals, technical issues, etc to the five chosen firms, methodology to analyze 5 years financial data of the selected firms and conclusion. Introduction In this paper, three corporate valuation models have been chosen as our main concern, which are Economic Value Added (EVA), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Free Cash Flow (FCF). We then apply the selected valuation models and methodologies to five publicly listed firms in the Bursa Malaysia from the food and beverage industry. The five companies are Dutch Lady Milk Industries, Fraser Neave Holdings Berhad, Nestle Ltd, QSR Brands Bhd and Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Berhad. Summary will be made by reviewing ten journal articles under the literature review part for a preliminary understanding of the models. This paper includes four journal articles for EVA as well as another seven journal articles for FCF and CAPM. In addition, we will identify the importance of the theories and describe its implication on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia. This study has provided us a great learning opportunity by accessing the company value of the real corporate firms. It also provides us a lear ning platform in how to utilize the valuation tools to evaluate companys performance for investment purpose in the future. Literature Review Economic Value Added (EVA) Economic Value Added (EVA) is a corporate valuation tool developed by Stern Stewart Co. to assist managers in their decision making by incorporate two basic principle of finance inside. The first principle is the financial goal of any company for shareholders wealth maximization and the second one is that a companys corporate value is based on the extent to which investors expect future earnings to exceed or fall short of the cost of capital. Another way to explain is that, EVA is developed to align decisions with shareholders wealth. According to Stewarts study in 1994, it is proved that EVA as the single best tool of measuring wealth creation on a contemporaneous basis and the result in describing changes in shareholders wealth is about 50 percent better than its greatest accounting-based rival of EPS, Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). EVA model assist managers in better investment decisions making, to identify improvement opportunities as well as to consider the short-term and long-term benefits for a firm. Based on Taubs study in 2003, it is observes that most of the valuation models used among industries focus only on the financial or accounting information. Unlike EVA, it combines factors like accounting, market and economy information in a companys performance evaluation. Various studies have proved the superiority of using EVA over other traditional models for evaluate companys performance due to its transparency and capacity to obtain more important information. According to Kudla and Arendts study in 2000, EVA can eliminate the arising conflicts and confusion when a company employs multiple measures like EPS, Return on Investment (ROI), Return on Equity (ROE) and Net Operating Profit after Tax (NOPAT). Furthermore, EVA can also be used as a tool to eliminate economic distortions of General Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) to focus decisions on the actual economic outcomes. It promotes better evaluation of decisions that have an impact on the income statement and balance sheet or trade-offs between each other. Also, EVA managed to cover every aspect of the managerial cycle through the use of the capital charge against NOPAT. There are also studies indicate that EVA is a superior measure of the managerial decisions quality. From Fishers study in 1995, EVA is suggested to be treated as a reliable pointer in estimating a firms value growth in the future. Also, according to Sterns study in 1989, the purpose of EVA is to change the management behavior as well as their performance, leading managers to act in the owners interest. It can be used as a motivation tool to encourage managers to create shareholder value by being a basis for management compensation. Importance of the theories and implications on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia As business grows wider and complex across the border, there is a demand for better valuation tool to evaluate the performance of the business. It is important to adopt more innovative performance metrics so that the companys management behaviors can be closely monitored to achieve the goal of maximizing the shareholders benefits. It is also important to access a firms value for any decision making regarding business expansion or contraction. According to the article of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Latest Trends in Corporate Performance Measurement (1992), many companies were experiencing difficulties in implementing measurement frameworks and these statements have been brought to today. There is a study conducted by Dr. Issham Ismail in Malaysia with the purpose to examine the relationship between EVA and the company performance in Malaysia. The study indicates that EVA has a strong relationship with stock return as compared to other measures due to its focus on long-term performance. EVA enhances stock performances by including more informational content in describing the stock returns. According to the study, EVA is considered as a better alternative to other traditional valuation tools such as EPS, ROE, etc. Its characteristic of transparency and capacity to provide more important information helps investors in Malaysia to make better investment decision as well as the resources allocations decisions. Besides that, EVA and MVA can be also treated as performance measures and signals for any strategic change (Lehn and Makhija, 1996). There is another study conducted by Norfarah, Suhaila and Wan Mansor in Malaysia regarding the adoption of EVA on real estate corporations in Malaysia. In Malaysia, real estate sectors have grown to become a large sector and continue to develop for the past two decades even through difficult economic period. Some has been performing well in the industry such as IOI Properties and Boustead Properties Bhd while some of them are experiencing hardship like Country Heights, Land General, and Damansara Realty. In order to identify the company potential of adding more shareholders value, an alternative corporate valuation model has been introduced, which is EVA, proposed by Stern Stewart Management Services. The adoption of EVA is considered to be more comprehensive as its measurement tool provides a clearer picture of whether a business is raising or reducing shareholder wealth. Most of the multinational companies such as Sony, Coca-Cola and Monsanto have formally announced their adoption and implementation of EVA as management systems in their quest of the value. On the other hand, EVA based performance plan produces positive result towards a company management. There is a study on the effects of adopting management bonus plans based on residual income measures. According to Wallaces study in 1997, EVA based performance plan motivates managers to utilize companys assets in a more productive and efficient way. This hence, reduce of the conflict between managers and shareholders interest and the decreasing agency cost eventually help the company to boost its profit after the adoption of the residual income based incentives plans. As a result, EVAs superiority is proved in encouraging managers for shareholder wealth creation. However, in order to work out the EVA compensation system, it requires large commutation effort and extensive training for both managers and their subordinates. Lastly, EVA and its practical applications as a management control system for performance measurement which helps manager to make better investment decisions. Methodology Economic Value Added is an evaluation tools used to examine a companys true economic profitability because it factors in net operating income after taxes interest minus the opportunity cost of capital deployed to earn that net operating income. In other words, EVA tells whether a companys financial performance is higher or lower than the minimum required rate of return for shareholders or business lenders. Besides that, EVA also tells investors if their amount of invested capital in the business is providing them a higher return than their minimum, or if it is better to shift their capital elsewhere. There are few steps required in calculating EVA and this is how Economic Value Added (EVA) is used by the financial analysts. Annual reports from the five selected firms have been sourced respectively in this report. First of all, we have to identify the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from the income statement. Next we have to calculate the Net Operating Profit after Taxes (NOPAT) by deducting the Income Tax Expenses from the EBIT. Afterwards, we need to determine the invested capital deployed in the business by deducting Non-interest Bearing Current Liabilities from Total Assets. Then, we need to calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). WACC calculated by adding Risk Free Rate with Beta multiply by Market Risk Premium, where Market Risk Premium is calculated by deducting Risk Free Rate from Market Return. Take WACC multiply with the Invested Capital and finally, EVA can be found by deducting the multiplication of WA CC and Invested Capital from the Net Operating Profit after Tax. The calculation formulas for EVA are as follows: EVA = NOPAT (WACC * Invested Capital) where, NOPAT = Profit Lost Before Interest and Tax Income Tax Expenses and, Invested Capital = Total Assets Non-interest bearing Current Liabilities and, Cost of Equity, WACC is calculated by using CAPM Model where, WACC = Risk Free Rate + ( Beta * Market Risk Premium ) where, Market Risk Premium = Market Return Risk Free Rate Free Cash Flow Literature Review Free cash flow (FCF) refers to the cash generated by the assets of the business available for distribution to all the shareholders and it cant be affected by the businesss capital structure. A firms stock value is calculated by projecting the future free cash flow (FCF) that will be generated by the business assets and then compute the present value of FCF by discounting them at the appropriate required rate of return. FCF appeared to be an appropriate valuation model to be used when (1) the firm doesnt pay dividends at all or pays out lesser dividends than dictated by its cash flow, (2) free cash flow tracks profitability or (3) the analyst takes a corporate control perspective. The present value of FCF is the most fundamentally useful valuation tool used in assisting any investing decisions like investment opportunities appraisal and corporate valuation (Arumugam, 2007). It can also be used to measure the potential of investment opportunities as well as to forecast the firms future performance by accessing its corporate value. Based on an article written by Ben Lardes in March 2010, a companys free cash flow reflects a lot of information about the company performance. Obviously the higher the free cash flow of a business is, the more money you can expect to earn as the businesss shareholder. Every firm has different FCF, which is depends on how well is their performance over the periods. For instance, a well performing firm may have a good amount of positive cash flows. On the contrary, a firm may not have a positive cash flow at all if it has been struggling to succeed. A firm will have a negative FCF if its expenses are exceeding its income. By looking at the FCF, a company can decide whether to go on with its current business direction or to change its management operation. However, negative FCF does not always signify problems within a business. The negative FCF may be due to the preparation of business expansion in the future. The age of a company and its circumstances should always be in the consider ation before judging it purely based on its free cash flow. According to the study conducted by McClure, although FCF has its merits, it still has some limitations and the most significant one would be the garbage in, garbage out principle. Predicted FCF is used as the main input in DCF calculation to evaluate any investment decisions, thus the quality of FCF is very important in the valuation process in order to get an appropriate and reliable outcome. If all the FCF values have found to be inaccurate, then it will be useless in assessing the firms stock price. Therefore, the ability to make good future projections of FCF is critical. The more you confident about the future cash flow, the better project evaluation you can made, leading to a desirable profit from your investment. In this case, the forecast of potential cash flow appeared to be the tricky part, as you are required to prepare a full financial model to get a better estimation. This requires some serious analysis of the business, the macro-economic environment, the legal and regu latory framework and the competitive landscape (Cartmail, 2010). Importance of the Theories Implications on Corporate Financial Decisions in Malaysia Investing decisions can be made based on a simple analysis like selecting your desire firm with a product you expect to have high demand in the future. The underlying expectation is that the company will continue to produce and sell high-demand products and will generate cash flow back to the business. The second part is that the companys management will know where to spend this cash to continue its operations whereas the third assumption is that all of these expected future cash flows are worth more today than the stocks current price.   Free cash flow (FCF) tracks the remaining operating cash flow for the shareholders after laying out the money a firm required to expand or sustain its asset base. It is important as it allows business to pursue more opportunities that could enhance shareholders value. Present value of all free cash flows is the key indicator of a firms equity value. The growing FCF is often a prelude to increased profits. Firms that facing surging FCF as a result of revenue growth, debt elimination, improvement of operational efficiency and others, can reward their investors tomorrow. Thats the reason investors cherish FCF as a sound valuation metric. The odds are good when a firms FCF is increasing, it is believed that the firms share value will soon be increased as well. An important thing to note is that, negative FCF is not bad in itself, however it could represent a sign that a firm is engaging in large investments (Investopedia, n.d.). DCF is one of the favorable and sound tools to be used in corporate valuation because it can produce outcome, which has the closest value to an intrinsic stock value. Unlike other valuation tools like P/E ratio, DCF analysis relies on FCF. It is believed that FCF reflects a clearer view of a firms ability in generating cash, as profits can sometimes be clouded by accounting tricks, but cash flow cannot. The reason is because cash flow generation is hardly to be influenced by accounting assumptions and practices. Also, FCF is a trustworthy measure that eliminates most of the arbitrariness and guesstimates found in reported profits (Investopedia, n.d.). Other than that, FCF can be considered as a forward-looking metric because it depends more on future prospects rather than past results. In addition, it also enables expected operating strategies to be included in the valuation as it allows varies business components to be valued separately. On the other hand, free cash flow theory has important implications for the leverage effect on a firms investment financing decisions. The FCF model implies that for an over-investor, an increase in leverage should lead to a reduction in unprofitable investment spending. Additional leverage will leave less amount of free cash flow at the discretion of the managers at the same time that it increases the intensity level at which the companys activities can be closely monitored. Overall investment will become more efficient as the firm substitutes contractually obligated debt service for negative net present value investments. Empirically, the reduction in unprofitable investment spending should contribute to an increase in the firms stock price that reflects the improved efficiency of managerial investment decisions. Methodology Free Cash Flow (FCF) is the cash generated by the companys assets and it is available for distribution to all the shareholders. It is used to tracks the remaining operating cash flow available for the shareholders after laying out the money a firm required to expand or sustain its asset base. It is calculated by deducting Net Investment in Operating Capital from Net Operating Profit after Tax (NOPAT), where NOPAT is calculated by deducting Income Tax Expenses from the Profit Lost before Interest and Tax (EBIT) and Net Investment in Operating Capital is obtained by using the Operating Capital at time t to minus the Operating Capital at time t-1. Operating Capital is calculated by adding up Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) and Net fixed Assets, where NOWC is calculated by deducting Non-interest Bearing Current Liabilities from Operating Current Assets. The calculation for FCF is as followed: Free Cash Flow (FCF) = Net Operating Profit after Tax (NOPAT) Net Investment in Operating Capital where, NOPAT = Profit Loss before Interest and Tax (EBIT) Income Tax Expenses and, Net Investment in Operating Capital = Operating Capital at time t Operating Capital at time t-1 where, Operating Capital = Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) + Net fixed Assets where, NOWC = Operating Current Assets Non-interest bearing Current Liabilities Capital Asset Pricing Model Literature Review Basically, Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is based on Markowitz (1959) and Tobin (1958), who introduced the risk-return portfolio theory. The primary implication of the CAPM is the mean-variance efficiency of the market portfolio. The efficiency of the market portfolio implies that the positive linear relationship between expected returns and market betas is exists and only beta is playing a significant role in explaining the expected returns of stocks. Several attempts have been done to test the implications of the CAPM using historical rates of returns of securities and historical rates of return on a market index. The CAPM is relies on several assumptions with the fact that every investor wants to maximize the expected satisfaction of their wealth. An addition to the risk aversion is that all of them are having the same expectations towards the returns of the securities. The returns of the securities follow a normal distribution, which characterizes the phenomenon of homoscedasticity. Besides that, CAPM also assume that every investor is allowed to borrow any amount of money at the risk free rate. Finally, there are no taxes or other barriers which lead to an imperfection of every market, that is, the market is assume to be in equilibrium and have a perfect competition among all the participants in the market. According to Grigoris and Stavross study in 2006, one of the earliest empirical studies that support the theory of CAPM is that of Black, Jensen and Scholes [1972]. By using monthly data of return and portfolios rather than individual stocks, Black et al tested whether the cross-section of expected returns is linear in beta. By constructing a portfolio made up by an amount of securities, investors managed to diversify away most of the firm-specific risk, thus increasing the precision of the beta estimates and the expected rate of return of the portfolio. This approach eliminates the statistical problems that arise from measurement errors in beta estimates. The data found to be consistent with the predictions of the CAPM, at which the relationship between the average return and beta is close to linear and that portfolios with high (low) betas will have high (low) average returns. There is another classic empirical study that supports the theory conducted by Fama and McBeth in 1973. In the study, they examined whether there is a positive linear relation between average returns and beta. In addition, the author also investigated whether the squared value of beta and the volatility of asset returns can explain the residual variation in average returns across assets that are not explained by beta alone. There are several studies in the early 1980s suggested that there were deviations from the CAPM risk return trade-off due to other variables that affect this tradeoff. The objective of the studies was to find the missing components that CAPM omitted in explaining the risk-return trade-off and to identify the variables that created those deviations. Banz [1981] tested the CAPM by examining whether the size of firms can explain the residual variation in average returns across assets that remain unexplained by the CAPMs beta. CAPM is being challenged by indicating that firm size does explain the cross sectional-variation in average returns on a particular collection of assets better than beta. The author concluded that the average returns on stocks of small firms were higher than the average returns on stocks of large firms, vice versa. This study has known as the size effect. The general reaction to Banzs [1981] findings, that CAPM may be missing some aspects of reality, was to support the view that although the data may suggest deviations from CAPM, these deviations are not as significant to invalidate the theory. Importance of the theories and implications on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia CAPM, which is a theoretical representation of the financial markets behavior, can be used in the estimation of a companys cost of capital. Despite the limitations, the model can be a superior addition to the analytical tool kit of financial manager. The modern financial theory relies on three major assumptions. First, we assume the participants in the securities market are dominated by rational, at which all the investors are risk averse. Risk-averse person often seek to maximize satisfaction from the returns on their investment. CAPM also assume a perfect competitive market, which is in the equilibrium. It means that the financial market is populated with highly sophisticated and well informed buyers and sellers, meaning that the financial market has the characteristic of transparency. The third assumption implies that investors will choose to hold diversified portfolios, means that every investor wants to hold a portfolio that could reflects the stock market as a whole. Although i t is impossible to own the market portfolio, it is relatively easy and inexpensive for investors to eliminate specific or unsystematic risk and construct a portfolio that tracks the stock market through diversification. Another significant problem is that, it is not possible for investors to borrow at the risk-free rate in the real world. This is because the risk associated with individual investor is particularly higher than the risk associated with the Government. This inability to borrow at the risk-free rate means that the slope of the SML is shallower in practice than in theory. However, CAPM is generally considered as a better method to calculate the cost of equity and it explicitly takes into account the sensitivity of a companys security return to market risk. It is clearly superior to the WACC in providing discount rates to be used in investment appraisal. Research has shown the CAPM to stand up well to criticism, although the arguments against CAPM have been increasing in the recent years. Investment managers in Malaysia have widely applied CAPM as well as its sophisticated extension as the investment valuation metric. CAPMs application to corporate finance is the recent development. Although it has been employed in many utility rate-setting proceedings, it has yet to gain widespread use in corporate circles for estimating companies cost of equity. Methodology The Capital Asset Pricing Model indicates a simple linear relationship between expected rate of return and systematic risk or market risk of a security or portfolio. The model is an extension of Markowitzs (1952) portfolio theory. The researchers who are commonly credited with the CAPM development are Sharpe (1964), Linter (1965) and Black (1972) and that is the reason CAPM is normally referred as SLB model. Markowitz (1952) developed a concept of portfolio efficiency through the combination of risky assets that minimizes risk for a given return or maximizes return for a given risk. Variance of expected returns has been used as the measure of risk and then the efficient portfolio will be developed to minimize risk for a given rate of return. The equation of CAPM indicates the relationship between cost of capital and market returns. The general idea behind CAPM is that investors need to be compensated for two reasons: time value of money  and risk. The time value of money is represented by the risk-free rate, Rf  in the equation and investors are being compensated for the forgone opportunity cost and time value of money due to their investment over a period of time. The other half of the equation represents the risk and the risk premium is the compensation for the investors for taking on any additional risk. It is calculated by using a risk measure (Beta) to the market premium (Rm-rf). The calculation of CAPM is as followed: Ri = Rf + ( Beta * Market Risk Premium ) where, Market Risk Premium = Rm Rf where, Ri = return on equity or portfolio Rm = return on the market portfolio Rf = return on risk-free asset Beta = sensitivity of security or portfolio to the systematic risk The equation indicates that the expected rate of return on asset i is equal to the rate of return on the risk-free asset plus a risk premium. The risk premium is calculated by multiplying beta with the difference between the expected rate of the return of the market portfolio and the risk-free rate. Risk free rate can be obtained from the return on Malaysian Treasury bill at particular time of the stock trading while beta can be calculate from the historical prices of stock and the market and the market return can be calculated based on the market index. To calculate the beta value, we need to first calculate the covariance of the security and the market. Second, we need to calculate the variance from market return. Next, we need to divide covariance of the particular security and market by variance of market to obtain the value of beta.

King Lear :: essays research papers

ACT ONE, SCENE ONE  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  KING LEAR Lines 248  ¡V 260 It is said by Lear that it would have been better if Cordelia  ¡Ã‚ §hadst not been born than not t ¡Ã‚ ¦have pleased me better ¡Ã‚ ¨, but France supports her by referring to her as  ¡Ã‚ §Fairest Cordelia ¡Ã‚ ¨ to put her into a better light. As France is portrayed as a  ¡Ã‚ §true gentleman ¡Ã‚ ¨ his views and opinions are respected more by the audience than Lear ¡Ã‚ ¦s, because Lear appears to the viewers as an egotistical and cruel man. Therefore, when France describes Cordelia as being  ¡Ã‚ §rich ¡Ã‚ ¨ but  ¡Ã‚ §poor ¡Ã‚ ¨,  ¡Ã‚ §Most choice ¡Ã‚ ¨ yet  ¡Ã‚ §forsaken ¡Ã‚ ¨ and  ¡Ã‚ §most loved ¡Ã‚ ¨ though  ¡Ã‚ §despised! ¡Ã‚ ¨ the audience sees a major contrast through these paradoxes and agrees with France. This makes Lear look as if he is doing something  ¡Ã‚ §monstrous ¡Ã‚ ¨ as his opinion differs so much from France ¡Ã‚ ¦s. The fact that Lear is saying such shocking things about his daughter who he earlier called  ¡Ã‚ §our joy ¡  ¨ shows that his words are not to be trusted. Lear ¡Ã‚ ¦s  ¡Ã‚ ¥monstrous ¡Ã‚ ¨ behaviour is greatly emphasised by the different language techniques that France uses, such as the use of the paradoxes and the rhyming couplets like  ¡Ã‚ §my chance ¡Ã‚ ¨ with  ¡Ã‚ §fair France ¡Ã‚ ¨ and  ¡Ã‚ §cold ¡Ã‚ ¦st neglect ¡Ã‚ ¨ to  ¡Ã‚ §inflamed respect ¡Ã‚ ¨. By using these methods, stress is put onto the point that is being made by France and therefore is more explicit to the audience. France also uses loaded verbs to describe Lear ¡Ã‚ ¦s actions, including  ¡Ã‚ §cast ¡Ã‚ ¨ and  ¡Ã‚ §thrown ¡Ã‚ ¨, to suggest that Lear is being harsh and barbaric towards Cordelia, as these verbs sound aggressive. Lines 237  ¡V 239 When France remarks that  ¡Ã‚ §Love ¡Ã‚ ¦s not love ¡Ã‚ ¨ when it is  ¡Ã‚ §mingled with regards ¡Ã‚ ¨ that stand  ¡Ã‚ §Aloof from th ¡Ã‚ ¦entire point ¡Ã‚ ¨ he reveals a major issue that arises in this play. By saying this, he means that when there are other things being considered at the same time as love, the love cannot be true, as love should never be conditional. This is being directed towards King Lear and Burgundy, as being a father and a prospective husband, respectively, they should have unconditional love for Cordelia, which they evidently do not have. King Lear disowned his daughter within seconds because she didn ¡Ã‚ ¦t  ¡Ã‚ §mend ¡Ã‚ ¨ her  ¡Ã‚ §speech a little ¡Ã‚ ¨ to boost her father ¡Ã‚ ¦s ego and the result of this was that she would  ¡Ã‚ §mar ¡Ã‚ ¨ her  ¡Ã‚ §fortunes ¡Ã‚ ¨. Burgundy, a possible suitor for Cordelia, stated that she would  ¡Ã‚ §lose a husband ¡Ã‚ ¨ unless he got his  ¡Ã‚ §portion ¡Ã‚ ¨ of the King ¡Ã‚ ¦s wealth, which was to be his dowry.

Antigone’s Relations Essay

In the two Antigone plays that we read, Anouilh’s 1940’s modern version and Sophocles’ version, there are many contrasts. Everything from the setting to the message is different, however the relationship between characters is the most striking difference; relationships with Antigone in particular. In Sophocles’ version, the character relations are rather underdeveloped, which is an extreme contrast from the relationships shown in Anouilh’s version of Antigone. The relationships that are the most different between the two plays are Antigone’s relationship with Creon and with Haemon. Antigone’s relationship with Creon in the Sophocles’ version differs greatly from the Anouilh version. The most obvious difference is that in the Anouilh version Creon doesn’t want Antigone to die and tries every way he can to keep her alive. He exhausts just about every argument possible, starting and frequently returning to the similarities between her and her father. He tells her how idiotic her father was and that she would be wise to not make the same mistakes even though she carries the same characteristics that lead Oedipus to his death. Then he switches tactics and half orders her to not be put to death because she has to marry Haemon, and when that doesn’t work, he pulls a pity plea of how much he would like to bury Polynices but simply can’t because of his duties as a king and what it would cost him if he bent to Antigone’s will. None of these arguments work, even when Creon, in a last desperate attempt to sway her, reveals to her how horrible her precious brothers actually are. Really in this version, Creon does care about Antigone; he has nothing to gain from keeping Antigone alive besides that she would marry Haemon, and her sister Ismene is still around to marry him if Antigone is put to death. In contrast, the Sophocles version doesn’t present such a caring- if you could call it that in Anouilh’s- relationship. In this relationship all Creon wants to do is see Antigone put to death. He is unswayed by any argument that his son Haemon throws out there. In this version things are simple. Antigone went against Creon’s edict and buried her brother, so therefore she must be put to death, no ifs ands or buts about it. There is no room for argument or feeling, and no real relationship development. While the relationship between Antigone and Creon in the Sophocles version is very underdeveloped when compared with the Anouilh version, the relationship between Antigone and Haemon is even more so. In the Sophocles story, there is no indication of the great everlasting love between the two that would drive Haemon to kill himself over finding Antigone dead. There is almost no feelings of anger or sadness at her sentence to death until Haemon suddenly flies into a rage at the very end upon seeing Antigone dead and shoves a sword through his body. To Haemon’s credit, he does show a little bit of rebellion when arguing with his father about the outcome of Antigone. He comes through with a little bit of strength after all of the â€Å"oh father, you are so wise† junk, and tells him that maybe he should bend just a little for her for his own benefit. And when Creon doesn’t listen to his advice, he implies with his last words to his father â€Å"†¦ And you will never see my face again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sophocles, scene 3, line 133) that he may in fact take his own life. But that’s as far as it goes, and it seems to be more out of anger at his father than of his love for Antigone. In Anouilh’s version of the story, Haemon and Antigone have a much more developed relationship. It’s plainly clear that Haemon loves Antigone and wants to be with her, even if she doesn’t fully understand why he chose her over Ismene. The fact that he did chose her over Ismene shows more than anything else that he does indeed love her. Anouilh’s added scene with Haemon and Antigone develops the relationship so much more and gives one a more believable basis for Haemon killing himself over Antigone. The scene is an intimate look at a couple in love, instead of in the Sophocles version a relationship that seems t o be arranged for convenience at best. The changes in scenes which enhance and develop the relationships of Antigone with Creon and Haemon greatly improve the Anouilh version. Without the added scenes and implications in the scenes, the Sophocles version is rather dry and doesn’t inspire much catharsis. However, in the Anouilh version, the reader is actually made to feel for the characters through their trials and tribulations, and therefore to be angry at Creon for killing her, disbelieving of Antigone for her stubborn pride, and sad for all involved when everyone except for Creon end up dead. So although both versions are supposed to be the same story, the relationship developments are so  contrasting that they are different stories altogether.

Harley Davidson Company Essay

Situational analysis Harley Davidson, an international motorcycle company, started out as a small three man operation in 1903, by the Davidson brothers and William Harley manufacturing heavyweight motorcycles. This included financial services for the motorbikes, accessories and branded apparel. It experienced great success during both World Wars, and managed to survive the trying times of the Great Depression. After World War II, Harley Davidson brand begin to build on the image of the V-twin cylinder engine established in the 1920’s by shifting from manufacturing military bikes to recreational ones. During the 1970’s and 1980’s Japanese competition nearly destroyed the company. Competitors introduced technological advanced bikes at a lower cost due to mass production. Technological advances and economics of scale and efficiencies made competitor’s products superior in some instances. Harley responded by a re-evaluating its marketing strategy centered on a lifestyle image. This included a re-organization and brand building program, including the Harley Owners Group (HOG), Harley Davidson was able to re-capture its market share. It established these groups along with better customer service that helped it establish itself as a dominate company in the motorbike industry. It had a differentiated focus and various target markets as the environments changed. It was positioned effectively as a way of life with a sense of freedom as opposed to selling the best motorbikes. The marketing campaigns focused more on the lifestyle associated with the product and worked on its social image. The marketing team used differentiation to create more awareness of the product by reinforcing Harley from a psychological perspective as a symbol of freedom, developing and maintaining relationships. Harley Davidson South Africa was established in 1996 and has prospered due to very high annual growth rates. It succeeded as an emotionally driven brand, one that customers choose for a sense freedom, biker image or as a status symbol. It is this emotive response that Harley Davidson capitalizes on in its marketing strategy and that is re-enforced with the Harley Owners Group magazine, events and the international customer rental service. Despite the company’s success it faces some unique challenges. Currently all merchandise  is imported from the U.S.A., as a result pricing decisions are problematic relative to competitors. Harley continuously evolved its brand but lacked focus on black upcoming consumer (black diamonds) and on women initially. It will need to do some valuable market research and determine the best way forward with very careful implementation of the strategy to best target black diamonds and increase growth in this ‘untapped’, high disposable i ncome market. 1: Product Policy Product Policy is defined as â€Å"A strategic rule or rules covering how a good or service is promoted to potential consumers† (Kotler and Keller, Year!). Harley-Davidson has since grown from one dealership to seven independent dealerships between 1996 and 2007. Harley product policy was to focus more into customers’ needs rather than the company, this is the strategy that was introduced in the early 1980’s and was subsequently implemented in South Africa. These customer-orientated services have differentiated the company from competitors, in the minds of customers in South Africa as it was about image, sense of Freedom and status. This help in dismissing the myth / reputation of its â€Å"bad boy† image. This was seconded by the gender split of 28% female and 72% of male’s riders in South Africa. Harley South Africa set  out to promote Harley’s into females who are independent with high salary income as the new market segment; the strateg y was to treat them as equals and as owners in their own right. Post 2007, the product policy changed to â€Å"Black Diamonds† with an effort to attract and increase the black market into Harley riders. Their marketing strategy was different as it had done very little above the line advertising, dealers were given freedom to determine their own promotional activities modified to their own client’s needs and demands. Classification: Specialty goods – Customers are willing to make an extended search to find Harley and in some cases, might be willing to travel 20 or 30 KM to find the bike. â€Å"Marketing mix† is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the process of bringing a product or service to market. The Product which is one of the 4P’s is used in defining the marketing mix and is categorized into 4 pillars namely Product Mix; Product Design; Product Development and Product Life Cycle (Kotler & Keller, 14th Edition) 1. PRODUCT MIX: Product policy lies at the heart of the marketing mix and encompasses all qualitative aspects of the products offered. Product-mix refers to the range of products offered by an institution. Offering products that are valued and demanded by customers is key to the success of Harley in South Africa. 2. PRODUCT DESIGN The goal of product design is not to create a different product to satisfy every possible client need. Harley should design products that respond to several different needs with only a few variables. Product design variables must be appropriate for the markets that the Harley has decided to target. 3. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Product development is the process of continually refining client-oriented products. It includes several phases, such as exploring customer needs, screening ideas, evaluating products through pilot testing, revising product  design based on the results and finally, launching the products. All of these phases are intertwined. 4. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Below is the summary of the four phases of the Harley product life cycle which include introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Core Benefits of owning a Harley: * Harley members have an enduring relationship built on trust and dependability supported by good service and meaningful advice as most of the riders especially females had no technical capabilities of some of the riders. * Become part of the Harley family which include meeting with business associates, share a cup of coffee with new riders and also talk to a friend. This has made most riders to have a â€Å"sense of belonging†. * Harley offer in-house finance and insurance program for riders / customers. * A full one-year membership in the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G) comes with every purchase of a new, unregistered Harley motorcycle. * Associate  memberships for H.O.G family members and passengers also benefit and become part of the Harley family membership. * Owner’s memberships are renewable at a discount and they can also become a member for life. * Full access to the company’s website, magazines each year, and a subscription to the special member publication, toll-free customer service and even a touring handbook for trip planning. * Harley also organizes and sponsor special events for H.O.G members including bike parades. * Analysing the Brand equity of Harley Davidson: When purchasing a Harley, the customer is endowed with an added value of a sensation of freedom offered by the product, the sense of belonging and a sense of exhibitionism offered by a Harley. Harley Davidson does not market the functional purpose of the bike but rather the emotional and psychological attributes of freedom and belonging. The success of the marketing approach and achievement of brand promise of such psychological attributes are well evidenced by the successful financial performance of Harley Davidson. The following case facts indicate that Harley commands higher prices, market share and profitability: * Steady share of half the USA heavyweight motorcycle market in 2006; * Annual growth in unit sales in South Africa had averaged 46% over the past few years. * Harley still held the majority share in SA market, an estimated 67%. The above indicates that Harley Davidson has strong brand equity credentials. We can further analyse the brand equity of Harley Davidson by applying one of the Brand Equity Models, ‘The Brand Resonance Model’ (Kotler and Keller YEAR) and applying the 6 fundamental building blocks of the resonance model to Harley Davidson: Building brand Equity The right brand knowledge structures targeted at the right consumer can build substantial brand equity (Kotler and Keller YEAR). An analysis of how Harley uses the 3 brand equity drivers (Kotler 2014) to build brand equity: 1. Brand elements – Harleys brand benefits are less concrete (freedom, sense of belonging etc) and thus it ensures that its brand elements focus on emotional and psychological attributes. E.g. slogans such as â€Å"The fun is not in the destination, the fun is in the journey†. In addition company marketing themes never emphasize on the bikes mechanical specifications but rather the associated lifestyle for owning a Harley. 2. Marketing activities – product/service – Lifestyle – How do customers make contact with the Harley brand: * Internal Branding – Harley’s primary focuses is on internal branding Harley makes extensive use of marketing through its brand community, the H.O.G. H.O.G members have a consciousness of kind† or sense of felt connection to Harley. i. H.O.G. as a channel for internal marketing has proved to be more effective than Harley’s external  marketing campaigns. ii. HOG is not organic but company-sponsored and facilitated because it’s one of the main and primary marketing activities. iii. H.O.G is a business strategy. The entire business model supports the H.O.G. iv. Harley’s cultivation and engineering of the H.O.G plays a significant role in growing and strengthening the brand * Individual Customer marketing v. Harley places a lot of marketing attention and focus on the individual customer. Significant investment is made towards dealerships being well equipped to cater for H.O.G meetings, vi. High individual customer focus pays off in terms of, significant sales arising from repeat customers, accessories, customisations of initial purchase, trading upwards after initial purchase etc. vii. Individual marketing to women on a personal basis as they walked into the store with their husbands or partner’s. This was successful in building brand equity amongst female customers. * External Branding is minimal. Harley does not do much mainstream advertising. This has a benefit of cost saving from not having to rely heavily on mainstream high cost advertising channels. Harley prefers to grow through existing dealerships. For example, Dealerships are equipped with coffee areas where staff can connect with customers that walk into the stores. 3. Leveraging secondary associations * Harley frequently associates itself with charity rides and motorcycle events. This allows it an opportunity to build on its brand promise of exhibitionism and belonging While applying the logic of the brand value chain (Kotler 2014) backwards, high profitability & market share arise from strong customer awareness and customer associations, which in turn arise from successful marketing programme investment. It could be inferred that Harley has generated valuable return from its marketing approach consistently over a period, indicating successful brand equity building over the years. Target Market: Harley Davidson’s new target market is the, ‘Black Diamond’. This has been their focus as they believe this market has potential. In 2007 the market totalled 2.6 million, while they managed to make sales totalling 709. This meant they had 27% of their target market. This was a drop when compared to the previous year. Post 1994 this target market has had opportunities that did not exist before. We also saw the emergence of BEE, which continues to make Black people more financially stable. This therefore makes this market an ideal market to focus on. Market profile: As much as the female rider target market is growing (28% by 2007) and has potential Harley needs to understand that there are still cultural issues that this market has to deal with. Such issues include that fact that for the black community for a woman to drive a motorcycle it might be not acceptable. Therefore, this would need Harley to come up with strategies to deal with this cultural perception in order for them to benefit from this market. Future product policy: Product Portfolio: Harley Davidson has managed to introduce accessories which are priced differently. This works as those that cannot afford to buy the motorcycles can still settle for other biker accessories thus improving margins. Harley needs to continue to widen its product mix. Usually a biker will buy one bike unless they can afford to buy more, therefore for Harley to continue gaining from this consumer they need to also focus more on their accessories which not only bikers like but also non bikers and family members. It was mentioned that 70% of the purchasers were non bikers. Harley however needs to be careful that its product system does not disadvantage its brand. This is seen as an exclusive brand and one needs to be careful that a product diversification does not bring down the value of the brand and result in consumers perceiving it as cheap. It is therefore important that we keep the current product portfolio as exclusive as possible to protect the brand. With the increase in fuel prices, Harley might need to consider a two-way stretch where they might need to produce cheaper motorcycles which are more  fuel efficient to encourage people who might not want to consider investing in a Harley due to costs. Strategies for growth: Driving in a Harley club is a spectacular moment, whether or not the bike itself was bought for show. Cruisers are differentiated products and Harley is the leader in that market but that is a double edge sword as its guaranteed popularity and high expectations as a result. They are effectively selling a lifestyle and for more people to buy into it and to keep those on board they need to focus on strengthening the product differentiation, design, brand and service differentiation. Bikes as an extension of personality and customers will associate with a product that delivers on the highest promise. The design of the bikes and features that are most useful and necessary to the rider are important, the customisation has resulted in unique end products for each customer, the quality in terms of performance and conformance need to me maintained at a level above the competition. Because customer needs and tastes vary, the service levels required to keep customers happy also varies, the service dimension of the business is therefore important in creating a strategy. By creating awareness about the product and pricing mix and different after sales service options available to the customer (delivery, training, consultation, HOG, maintenance and repair options), Harley Davidson SA can bridge the information gap and appeal to a larger market. Targeting the Black diamond: This is one of the fastest growing segments in the South African economic context, the majority being young and qualified and earning a more than descent constant salary. Mostly growing up post apartheid, this group is less stereotypical and more adventurous and likely to try new things than was previously not associated with the age segment. This is the new financial muscle of the South African economy and Harley Davidson should explore it purely as a potential market for its affluence and exploratory capacity if not for its perceived desire for opulence and status. As a product that provides pleasure, fun and value, there is no reason not to tap into this virgin market that hasn’t yet grasped its stance or identity  relative to the previous politically influenced generation. Harley-Davidson Services According to Kotler and Keller, †The customer will judge the offering by three basic elements: product features & quality, services mix and quality, and price† (Refer to Fig 12.1). In our technologically age it is now easier for any company products to be replicated and even produced much cheaper too. This makes the element of â€Å"service quality and mix† very important to marketers. The service quality and mix Harley-Davidson offers to its customers will be a source of competitive advantage. The customer value hierarchy diagram places an ‘augmented product’ at a very high level (Fig 12.2). Customers will value an augmented product because of its additional features and services that come with it. Harley-Davidson should aim for service differentiation at all stages of the buying process and after purchase: (Ordering Ease, Delivery, Bike-riding training, customer consulting, maintenance and repair). The customer service personnel employed by Harley-Davidson will affect the quality of service. The company would need to ensure that they hire and train the right people for the jobs. Employee satisfaction would be critical to making sure the employees have a positive attitude as they work with customers. The marketing department at Harley-Davidson has to understand the needs and wants of their customers in order to satisfy them. Customers are concerned with reliability, service dependability and maintenance costs of the motorbike. A service-quality management system would also need to be set up plus monitoring systems to ensure that all customer complaints are handled properly.