E-Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

E-Portfolio - Assignment Example di Arabia, in 1990 to a medium-sized family made up of my parents, me, three brothers, and one sister.   Throughout my childhood, I was taught the importance of hard work, honesty, and doing a good job.   My siblings all work good jobs, with two working as engineers and two working as professors of Chemistry. However I am the first in my family to leave the country in order to pursue higher education.   I believe this experience of leaving my country has made me a stronger person with a better understanding of the world and my chosen profession.   I had to struggle to learn English at first, although now I do well in it, and assimilating into the culture of another country was also a challenge which taught me a lot about myself and my own culture as well.   As an international student at Pennsylvania State University, I have been exposed to all sorts of courses and have gained a hands-on understanding with a number of topics related to petroleum and natural gas engineering.  Ã‚   If you visit my work samples page, you can see just a few of the best assignments that I have completed during my time here.   As well as courses I have taken, I have done an internship with oil combines in Saudi Arabia.   This experience gave me a good understanding of important industry practice, and has helped me to get skills that will let me be a better engineer.   After I graduate from university, I hope to work in the petroleum and natural gas industry in some way or another.   While I would like to be able to return to my native country and be near my family, I am also excited to explore the world around me.   My ideal job would let me use my knowledge of English and Arabic to share what I have learned at Pennsylvania State University about petroleum and natural gas engineering.   I would be especially interested in working in the oil industry as either a drilling engineer or production engineer.   For the moment, I am keeping my options open and look forward to seeing what

Private equity & Venture capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Private equity & Venture capital - Essay Example The sale price for the company that would make sense for the venture capital fund to convert its convertible preferred stock will be ($3/1.75) = $1.714 per share. d) Explain how a participating convertible preferred stock (PCPT) differs from a standard convertible preferred stock, and what benefits it has for the investor purchasing the PCPT. Why would existing investors agree to use a PCPT security in a new financing round? PCPT is a convertible stock that basically provides a specific dividend that in the event of liquidation can be paid or converted before any other stock while a standard convertible preferred stock takes precedence after other categories of stocks such as PCPT. PCPT enables an investor to get precedence claim over other categories of stocks hence ensuring that their investment is assured with some gain. An existing investors would agree to use a PCPT security in a new financing round because it offers a first claim in the case of liquidation. Further, it is easier to convert existing stocks into PCPT. Private equity firms have well informed and highly sophisticated investors. This ensures that the process of establishing and crafting operational strategies and priorities is basically built on deep transparency between the stakeholders. Further, they align themselves around an explicit and focused drive, objectives and interests hence resulting to comparative advantage. Private equity requires that an engaged and effective board be built to manage the funds. Further, they aim at buying a company using debts and then considerably reducing or cutting costs so that they can realize short term profits to settle the debts and further increase in the growth prospects. Proprietary deals gives a specific investor an opportunity a first chance to bur or purchase a company or a business , before the said company or business is actually presented to other investors by the investment banker or

Starbucks Strategies for Profitability

Starbucks Strategies for Profitability 1. Introduction Major objective of this study is to shed light on the strategies and efforts made by Starbuck to solve its problems related to profitability. In order to do a careful analysis of internal initiatives is undertaken to have an idea about the success of these initiatives to return to a stable pace of profitability growth by Starbucks. To have growth in profitability Starbucks needs to generate competitive advantage among the rival firms. Starbucks will have to take into account overall trends of industry, so that long run profitability growth can be assured. Both the internal and external factors faced with the firm are analyzed separately in order to have a reliable future position. 1.1. Positive Aspects related with Starbucks and Recommended Strategy Starbucks provides healthy working environment to its employees and have detailed and employee friendly stock option plans. Moreover, the major strengths of Starbucks lie in the attractive shop design and comfortable shop environment. Starbucks aims to become a top coffee outlet not only at regional level but also at international level. So the strategy of globalization will help Starbucks to increase its profitability. In order to successfully implement this strategy performance targets for managers will have to be set so that they are provided with the incentive to improve their performance. 1.2. Objectives of Starbucks Clean supply of coffee. Create readily happy clients all the period. Provide an incredible work place and handle pride and one another with respect. Accept diversity being an important element in the manner we do company. Make use of the greatest requirements of quality towards the buying. Lead positively to the towns and our environment, and notice that success is important to our potential success. 2. Issues faced by the Firm 2.1. Internal Issues Limited Product Range: Starbucks offers a product range comprised of single source and approximately thirty products , Coffee machines, advanced candy, coffee cups, coffee accessories card, a stored value card, coffees, containers frap-puccino caffeine products, coffees, coffee liqueurs, type of ice creams, audio, publications, movies, house Starbucks and gifts. Limited Advantages provided to Employees: Many conflicts among workers have been observed since in various outlets of Starbucks all over the world and the main reason was low-pay and extended work hours. As the burden of work remains high the employees feel overworked and hence they find it difficult to continue working at Starbucks. 2.2. Insufficient Growth of Alternatives Available When the business was started there were just 17 coffee shops but now the outlets are running in 39 nations all over the world having almost 12,240 outlets. The worldwide rate of growth associated with coffee shops is too high as compared to that of Starbucks. This fact leads to create a severe anxiety for Starbucks and limits the growth opportunities available to the firm. 2.3. Customer Relationships The clients of Starbuck are not that much diversified and belong to almost similar group. On the other hand it not the case with other international coffee brands. Another consideration is attached with the Starbucks connection with their clients. Starbucks is regarded as very awesome coffee brand when consumer considerations are concerned. In the region of Beijing where Starbucks recently closed an outlet due to ethnic differences among manufacturers can also be regarded as a threat to the future growth of a business. Some revolutionary anti-capitalism activists left the Starbucks becoming former clients, but additionally Starbucks and especially small people even not approved within the company’s feel uneasy or shops. Because of Starbucks rapid development, the manufacturer so dropped its unique hospitality for customers and continues to be commoditized. Major Issue Faced by Firm On the basis of above discussion it is found that major issue for Starbucks is limited growth opportunities which may be result of weak customer relationships. 3. Analysis of Financial Ratios Liquidity ratios: Tells us about the ability of a firm to pay its short term debt obligations. The most commonly used liquidity ratios are current ratio, quick ratio and cash flow ratio. Current ratio (Cr) = Current Assets/Current Liabilities Current ratio shows that how much of current assets a firm has in order to be able to pay its short term debt. For the year 2009 Cr =403.60 / 309.30 = 1.30 For the year 2010 Cr =476.10 / 318.50 = 1.49 Conclusion: The current ratio is 1.30 in the year 2009 which shows that the firm had current assets of $ 1.30 in order to pay liability of $1. In the year 2010 the firm had $ 1.49 to pay the liability of $1. The improvement in current ratio is indicating that the position of firm in the form of current assets to finance its debt has been improved. Quick ratio ( Qr)= (Current assets-Inventory-Prepaid) / current Liabilities Quick ratio shows that how much of convertible assets a firm has in order to be able to pay its short term debt. For the year 2009 Qr =403.60- 119.20-44.30 / 309.30 = 240.3 / 309.30 = 0.77 For the year 2010 Qr = 476.10 115 – 47.30 /318.50 = 313.8 / 318.50 = 0.98 Conclusion: The current ratio was 0.77 in the year 2009 which shows that the firm had convertible assets of $ 0.77 in order to pay liability of $1. In the year 2010 the firm had $ 0.98 to pay the liability of $1. The improvement in quick ratio is indicating that the position of firm in the form of convertible assets to finance its debt has been improved. Cash ratio (Chr) = Cash/ Current Liabilities Cash ratio shows that how much of cash a firm has in order to be able to pay its short term debt. For the year 2009 Chr = 54.50 / 309.30 = 0.17 For the year 2010 Chr = 76.70 / 318.50 = 0.24 Conclusion: The cash ratio was 0.17 in the year 2009 which shows that the firm had cash of $ 0.24 in order to pay liability of $1. In the year 2010 the firm had $ 0.24 to pay the liability of $1. The improvement in cash ratio is indicating that the firm has more cash to pay back its debt has been improved in 2010 as compared to 2009 which is a good sign for Starbucks. Leverage Ratios: These ratios tell us about financial structure of company. The sources of fiancà © of a business are shown by leverage ratios. It shows the components of debt financing, equity financing and self financing of a firm. Debt to equity ratio = Total Debt / Total equity. It shows the components of debt and equity in firm’s capital structure. For the year 2009 (DEr) = 1827.80/ -1033.60 = -1.76 For the year 2010 (DEr) = 1783.10/ -696.40 = -2.56 Conclusion: negative value of equity is showing that the value of an asset used to secure a loan is less than the outstanding balance on the loan. The value of assets is far below the outstanding balance on the loan used to purchase those assets which is sign of possible financial distress of the firm. Debt to equity ratio is greater than 1 showing that the component of debt is much higher than that of equity in firm’s capital structure. The debt component has been decreased in 2010 as compared to 2009. Debt to asset ratio (DAr)= Total asset / Total assets. It shows how much of firm’s assets are financed through debt i.e. components of debt and equity in firm’s capital structure. For the year 2009 ( DAr) = 1827.80/ 794.20 = 2.30 For the year 2010 (DAr) = 1783.10/ 1086.70 = 1.64 Conclusion: The ratio of 2.30 in 2009 is showing that component of debt in total assets is almost two and a half times that of equity. However this ratio is decreased in 2010 which is showing that equity level of debt has been decreased in firm’s capital structure as compared to 2009 which is a good sign for this firm as there is a risk of financial distress and bankruptcy associated with high levels of debt burden. 4. Diagnosis of Firm Performance Profitability Ratios: Profitability ratios reflect the performance of a company it shows that whether firm performance is improving or deteriorating. Return on Assets = (Net profit / total assets) * 100. This ratio shows that how much profit is being generated by firm’s assets or what is the contribution of firm’s total assets in its profitability. For the year 2009 ROA = (48.80 / 794.20) * 100 =6.14 % For the year 2010 ROA = (327.30 / 1086.70) * 100 = 30.1 % Conclusion: ROA of 6.14% in the year 2009 is showing that every $ 100 invested generates $ 6.14 as profit. ROA has been improved in the year 2010 as now each $ 100 invested will generate 30.1 as profit. So the profitability is improved in the year 2010 which is a good sign. Net Profit Margin = Net Profit / Sales It reflects the amount of each sales dollar left over after all expenses have been made. This ratio helps a company determine how much actual profit is made from each sale earned. The higher the net profit margin, the better the company is doing at turning sales into profit. For the year 2009 NPM = (48.80 / 1295.90) * 100 = 3.7 % For the year 2010 NPM = (327.30 /1321.40) * 100 = 24.76 % Conclusion: Net profit margin has been greatly increased in the year 2010 as compared to that of 2009 which is a strong positive signal. The improvement may be because of strong sales or decreased costs and overhead. On the basis of above calculated ratios it can be concluded that overall financial position of the firm has been improved in 2010 as compared to 2009. However there is high risk of financial distress due to heavy debt burden. 5. Solutions for Issues faced by Starbucks Changing associated with an exterior atmosphere of the organization led to cause various problems related to the business and contributed to to the closing of the shops of the organization within the USA. These problems are mainly related to the businesses connection, the critique firm’s fair-trade guidelines and the additional governmental problems affecting the business. To cope up with these problems the organization requires a detailed strategy to resolve these issues. Major solutions for problems faced by Starbucks are as follows: Steps to face numerous current competitors, or to minimize the risk of fresh competitors entering the marketplace Revolutionize the political and financial atmosphere. Adjustments in consumer preferences or styles Selection of Best Alternative available Among the above mentioned solutions the most feasible one is to make adjustments in the products offered by the firm, to best suit the tastes of consumers. For this purpose Starbucks will have to keep in view the products sold by other firms of same industry because these products are substitutes of those offered by Starbucks. The firm will have to introduce more differentiated products because differentiated and unique products always remain successful to attract more and more customers. 6. Conclusion Keeping in view the above discussion it can be concluded that Starbucks severely needs to boost the worldwide reputation of the company in order to achieve its growth targets. Pursuing a careful strategy related to the enhancement of growth opportunities, Starbucks may become able to return to a profitable growth path as they have available opportunities for continued growth of their business. Coffee business is growing all over the world including US industry, a market is growing more saturated and hence the competition is rising at international levels. References CEO, S. (2004). HOW STARBUCKS WORKS WITH NGOS.California Management Review,47(1), 92. Thompson, C. J., Arsel, Z. (2004). The Starbucks brandscape and consumers’(anticorporate) experiences of glocalization.Journal of Consumer Research,31(3), 631-642. Gallaugher, J., Ransbotham, S. (2010). Social media and customer dialog management at Starbucks.MIS Quarterly Executive,9(4), 197-212. Grundy, T. (2006). Rethinking and reinventing Michael Porters five forces model.Strategic Change,15(5), 213-229.

Helen Of Troy :: Ancient Greece Greek History

Helen Of Troy Helen was the most beautiful woman in the entire Greek known world. She was the daughter of the god Zeus and of Leda, and wife of the King of Sparta. The hero Theseus, who hoped in time to marry her, abducted her in childhood but her brothers rescued her. Because Helen was courted by so many prominent heroes, Menelaus made all of them swear to abide by Helen's choice of a husband, and to defend that husband's rights should anyone attempt to take Helen away by force. Helen's beauty was the direct cause of the Trojan War. The ten-year conflict began when the three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite asked the Trojan prince Paris to choose the most beautiful among them. After each of the goddesses had attempted to influence his decision, Paris chose Aphrodite, who had promised him the world's most beautiful woman. Soon afterward Paris sailed to Greece, where Helen and her husband hospitably received him, Menelaus, king of Sparta. Helen, as the fairest of her sex, was the prize destined for Paris. Although she was living happily with Menelaus, Helen fell under the influence of Aphrodite and allowed Paris to persuade her to run off with him, and he carried her off to Troy. Menelaus then called upon the Greek leaders, including Helen's former suitors, to help him rescue his wife, and with few exceptions they responded to his call. Agamemnon his brother led the forces to Troy. During ten years of conflict, the Greeks and Trojans fought irresolutely. Then Paris and Menelaus agreed to meet in single combat between the opposing armies, and Helen was summoned to view the duel. As she approached the tower, where the aged King Priam and his counselors sat, her beauty was still so matchless and her sorrow so great that no one could feel for her anything but compassion. Although the Greeks claimed the vic tory in the battle between the two warriors, Aphrodite helped Paris escape from the enraged Menelaus by enveloping him in a cloud and taking him safely to Helen's chamber, where Aphrodite compelled the unwilling Helen to lie with him. Unable to capture the city after a siege of ten years, the Greeks resorted to strategy. Agamemnon's forces, namely Odysseus, came up with a plan. They sailed away and left the Trojan horse, filled with armed warriors, on the shore. Sinon, a Greek spy, persuaded the Trojans to take the horse into the city, convincing them that to do so would mysteriously make Troy invulnerable.

Harrington Collection

Case Assignment #2 – Harrington Collection Outlook for overall women’s apparel industry Since the downturn that began in the early 2000s significantly impacted the women’s apparel industry, the increasing rate on overall sales had presented a slight decrease from 2004. Although it came up from 3. 5% to 5. 7% in 2004, it began to come down from that year as well with a relatively stable dropping rate. However, it led to a significant fluctuation among units that sold in different price ranges.Let’s take a look at Chart-1 below which is transformed from Exhibit-2 in the case to the form of increasing rate and proportion respectively. According to (a), units sold whose price is more than $200 and in the range of $100 and $200 increased well below the average increasing rate. While the units sold whose price ranged from $50-$100 and under $50 increased higher than the average increasing rate. What’s more, the growth rate of units sold under $50 had jump ed to 11. 50% in 2007 by 4. 28% which is in great contrast with that of only 1. 5% whose price ranged from $100-$200. Chart-1: (a) Price Point| 2006 (growth rate)| 2007 (growth rate)| difference| $200+| 0. 6508%| 2. 8736%| 2. 2228%| $100-$200| -0. 0457%| 1. 5075%| 1. 5532%| $50-$100| 7. 0548%| 9. 0851%| 2. 0303%| Under $50| 7. 2188%| 11. 5010%| 4. 2822%| Total| 5. 1272%| 8. 1631%| 3. 0359%| According to (b), the units sold proportions presented little difference from 2005 to 2006. However, in 2007, we found that 2 points less of units sold pricing up from $100 and 2 points more of that were priced under $50 compared with previous year.Chart-1: (b) Price Point| 2005 (proportion)| 2006 (proportion)| 2007 (proportion)| $200+| 10. 7601%| 10. 3020%| 9. 7982%| $100-$200| 17. 0388%| 16. 2004%| 15. 2036%| $50-$100| 34. 0776%| 34. 7025%| 34. 9983%| Under $50| 38. 0456%| 38. 8025%| 40. 0000%| Total| 100%| 100%| 100%| Although the statistics suggests a slight increase of the total demand in th e industry of women’s apparel, the shift in the structure of units sold in different price ranges indicates a downturn in the industry which led to a downward consumer purchasing behavior.Indeed the economic sluggish hit the segment targeted on upscale-class apparel pricing higher than $100, however, it provides a great opportunity for manufactures who engaged in the segments targeted toward â€Å"budget† and â€Å"moderate† classifications. As a result, consumers undergoing economic downturn would become more and more price sensitive, especially for those who were always purchasing â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"budget† apparel even before the economic sluggish began. Competition Since the industry was moderately concentrated, it should belong to monopolistic competition market, under which sellers could differentiate their offers to buyers.Products can be varied in quality, features, or style, or the accompanying services can be varied. Sellers try to develop differentiated offers for different customer segments and, in addition to price, freely use branding, advertising, and personal selling to set their offers apart. Retailing Competition for the Apparel Market In current years, department stores have been squeezed between more focused and flexible specialty stores on the one hand, and more efficient, lower-priced discounters on the other.It results in a markedly falling in market share which can be found in Exhibit-5. In the contrast, specialty stores with narrow product lines and deep assortment, and supercenters who are actually giant specialty stores with broader product lines presented an enlightening future trend. The fierce competition, as a result, gave rise either to merger and consolidations between retailers in order to gain bargaining power with suppliers, or to contracting directly with manufacturers to produce private label products.Manufacturers also expanded their roles by integrating forward into retailing so a s to reduce expenditures and to take better control over their own business. Harrington Collection Harrington Collection targets itself at high-class fashion enthusiasts and divides the â€Å"upper-class† market into 4 further specific segments represented by 4 brands which focus on people with different income status, ages, self-concepts, etc. If we refer back to Chart-1: (b), we find that market share of total apparel industry pricing higher than $100 decreased in 2007.It would hit the performance of Harrington Collection since all of its products are priced up from $150. In addition, we also find a rapid growth was taking place in the low-end market in 2007. As a result, senior executives of the company is considering to introduce active-wear into manufacturing and stretch its product line downward to grab the opportunity in low-end market as well as to make up for their profit loss in high-end market. However, a brand’s price and image are often closely linked and a change in price can adversely affect how consumers view the company.When a cheaper product is introduced into the market, their loyal consumers would think that the quality has been reduced. Especially for luxury oriented company like Harrington Collection whose customers are extremely loyal to the brand and looking for status that the company’s brand stands for, lowering price would threaten the company’s position in the minds of its loyal customers. (disadvantage) On the other hand, when it comes to new customers who never purchased Harrington’s apparel before, lowering price might attract consumers in â€Å"moderate† or even â€Å"budget† segments to buy its products.Moreover, if prices are similar with that of competitors who target only in â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"budget† segments, consumers are more likely to purchase Harrington’s apparel, because the brand would make them look wealthy. (advantage) However, it is not th e case. Consumers belonging to â€Å"moderate† or â€Å"budget† segments are extremely price sensitive, especially under a downturn economic situation. When company slightly raise the price to meet a higher quality or service requirement, lots of consumers coming from these two segments would turn to its competitors.Even though the company makes profit due to the current fad, it would hurt the company’s profitability in a long run. (disadvantage) As a result, management of Harrington Collection should trade off both advantages and disadvantages when making decision of lowering its price to develop active-wear product line. Active wear According to the case, both the facts that the number of active-wear units sold was expected to double by 2009 and the extremely high turnover rate suggest a promising future of active-wear classification.So the point is to which segment active-wear classification should target and how this new product line should be priced. First of all, let’s refer back to our analysis right above. Although targeting to consumers who pinch pennies and lowering price to attract this kind of â€Å"new† purchasers might make profit in short term, the great price sensitivity and disloyalty hidden behind this group would result in a greater loss in a long run. Moreover, the inexpensive brand image would drive a lot of loyal customers away to its competitors.However, â€Å"10% of customers purchasing apparel in the $100-$200 price range would buy an active-wear set if one with superior styling, fabric, and fit was available. † â€Å"There is a sub set of Harrington customers who were loyal to the brands throughout their careers but no longer desire the tailored, professional look. They are now interested in something fresh and comfortable that fits with their active lifestyles. † â€Å"The aging baby boomer population wants clothing that does not make them feel old. All of these facts suggest that it seems safer and more conservative to remain in the existing classification and excavate the need of loyal customers. However, due to the high growth in low-end market, we don’t want to give up the opportunity to take a bite on that tempting market. So why don’t we price the product slightly higher than the â€Å"moderate† active-wear product, and increase the quality as well as add exceptional features to attract both old customers and new consumers who are not that sensitive to price?For instance, if customers purchasing active-wear from Liz Claiborne related themselves with sexy and glamorous image, Harrington could redesign the active-wear product adding features to attract customers who would like to relate themselves with elegant or sophisticated images which is more consistent with the company’s value. It can also increase the quality in fabrics, manual work and services. People would love to pay a little higher price in exchange of a much higher qu ality, unique style and better services.In this way, not only it would attract new customers who are less price sensitive with affordable prices and retain them by reliable quality compared with that of poorly made â€Å"moderate† products, but also it would bring fresh experience to its old customers and then increase the times of their purchasing behavior without eating up the sales of company’s other brands or hurting a luxury image. Secondly, if Harrington faces a host of smaller competitors charging high prices relative to the value they eliver, it might charge lower prices to drive weaker competitors out of the market. However, Liz Claiborne, one of Harrington’s major competitors, was also one of the leaders in the â€Å"better† active-wear category with relatively low price. As a result, the company may decide to differentiate itself with value-added products at higher prices. In conclusion, Harrington should price the new product line of active-we ar slightly higher as well as increase its quality and services in order to support the price and keep consistency with its luxury image.Furthermore, Harrington should differentiate its style and features to avoid direct competition with other leading manufacturers. Brand Targeting and Positioning Myer thought active-wear would be a perfect addition to the Vigor division for two reasons – Vigor styles were less traditional than the other Harrington divisions, and Vigor division emphasized comfort and fashion although it’s a career-oriented design. However, these two reasons cannot sufficiently support whether active-wear would well fit into Vigor brand.Even though attributes and benefits brought to customers could be varied among different products, the images, beliefs and values created for customers must be consistent with each of the product under the same brand. For instance, active-wear and existing Vigor’s product don’t have the same features, as ac tive-wear is more sporty and casual while the other is more work/professional oriented. The point is neither the same attributes they have in common nor the comfortable benefits they will bring to customers. The point is the same image customers would like to relate themselves with and values the company intends to create.Since Vigor has already successfully created an image of â€Å"Trend Setter†, the new product line must also create values of â€Å"breaking rules†, â€Å"looking exceptional†, â€Å"pursuing new life style† for customers to meet the requirement under the brand of Vigor. As a result, it’s not a bad idea to branch out Vigor to support active-wear manufacture. Advantages and Disadvantages Moreover, to extend a current brand name to a new category will give the new product instant recognition and faster acceptance. It also saves the high advertising costs usually required to build a new brand name.And it could also use the brand†™s existing support and functions to run the new business, which would decrease part of overhead expenditures. At the same time, branching out Vigor involves some risks. If a brand extension fails, it may harm consumer attitudes toward the existing products carrying the same brand name. Potential Retail Trade Since Company-owned stores accounted for about 20% of the manufacturing group sales, and the remaining sales were split 40:60 between specialty stores and department stores. It can be inferred that the sales proportion among these three outlets is 20: 32: 48 in manufacturing group.According to the sales information provided in Exhibit-6, the sales and corresponding proportions among different retailing terminals can be concluded as below: (For instance, in 2005, sales of Own store is $556*20%+$843=945. 2) Chart-2: (a) | 2005 (sales in millions)| 2006 (sales in millions)| 2007 (sales in millions)| Own Store| 945. 2| 921. 4| 913. 6| Specialty Store| 177. 92| 173. 44| 172. 16| D epartment Store| 266. 88| 260. 16| 258. 24| Total| 1390| 1355| 1344| Chart-2: (b) | 2005 (sales in pro)| 2006 (sales in pro)| 2007 (sales in pro)| Own Store| 68. 00%| 68. 0%| 67. 98%| Specialty Store| 12. 80%| 12. 80%| 12. 81%| Department Store| 19. 20%| 19. 20%| 19. 21%| Total| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| As we can see from Chart-2 above, sales from Company Owned Store account most of the company sales. By integrating itself forward into retailing or the entire value chain, company could be able to reduce the time required of distribution, to take control of promotion and retail prices directly, and to provide more personal selling services to customers by professionally trained salesperson so as to better meet customer needs.On the other hand, multiple channels offer many advantages as well to companies facing large and complex markets. With each non-company owned store, the company expands its sales and market coverage and gains opportunities to tailor its products and services to the specific needs of diverse customer segments. But such multichannel systems are harder to control, and they generate conflict as more retailers compete for customers and sales. The current channels of different brands are exhibited in Chart-3: Chart-3: | Harrington Ltd. | Sopra| Christina Cole| Vigor|Price Range| $500-$1000 (Dsn)| $400-$800 (Brd)| $300-$700 (Brd)| $150-$250 (Btr)| Retailer| 70 Company Own; Specialty;Department| Specialty| 70 Company Own; Specialty;Department| The other 50 Company Own;Specialty;Department| 40% (50 stores) of the Company Owned Stores sell Vigor exclusively. One of the reasons might be that Vigor stands for a less traditional image and a new life-style relatively to the others. As a result, environment, decorations and even salesperson of stores selling Vigor would be specifically designed to meet the specific expectation of the customer positioned in that segment.Since we’ve decided to branch out Vigor to integrate active-wear line into it due to the similar value they represented, we should display active-wear together with existing Vigor brand with separated segments in order to deepen the assortment of Company Owned Stores and give customer psychological suggestions about the value it intends to present. Secondly, since specialty store carry a narrow product line with a deep assortment, active-wear provides a great opportunity to enrich the classifications of the store. Thirdly, upscale-department outlets might also find active-wear an appropriate supplement for their product line.Since consumers with relatively high income would like to give the stylish, active and more casual clothes a shot in the case that the clothes have to be made in good quality. As Harrington’s active-wear has differentiated itself with exceptional quality, features and services, which implies nothing related to the cheap prices. As a result, upscale-department would love to support this product line regardless its low price range . What’s more, Harrington could develop its channel into Superstores which indeed is a giant specialty store, since it might attract a larger group of people with various income statuses and self-positioning.Reaction of Competitors If active-wear with Vigor’s logo performs brilliant once it is introduced, it would attract lots of small competitors into the market. Since it’s a monopolistic competition market which allows a wide range of price and competitors could differentiate their products with various qualities, features, values and services, small companies who are not able to find themselves competitive in quality and creativity would be more likely to cut their price down to attract customers coming from a more price sensitive and less loyal segment compared with the segment targeted by Harrington.Although the price would be slightly higher than that of those small competitors, Harrington has gained strong customer relationship and its newly brought-in pr oduct targets both to loyal customers and to new customers who are less price sensitive and who’d like to pay more attention to quality and features. As a result, Harrington would successfully avoid competitions from its competitors. Demand and Profitability Analysis Start-Up Costs:| Start-up Costs Pants Plant| $1,200,000| Start-up Costs Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant| $2,500,000| Equipment Pants Plant| $2,000,000|Equipment Hoodie and Tee- shirt Plant| $2,500,000| Launch-PR, Advertising| $2,000,000| Fixtures for Company Stores| $50,000*50| Total Start-up Costs| $10,200,000+$50,000*50| Annual Depreciated Start-up Costs| $2,540,000 (total start-up cost/5)| Annual Ongoing Operating Costs – Fixed:| Overhead Pants Plant| $3,000,000| Overhead Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant| $3,500,000| Rent Pants Plant| $500,000| Rent Hoodie and Tee-shirt Plant| $500,000| Management/Support| $1,000,000| Advertising| $3,000,000| Total Fixed Operating Costs| $11,500,000|Direct Variable Costs:| Hoodie| Tee-shirt| Pants| Sew and Press| $3. 25*x| $2. 00*y| $2. 85*z| Cut| $1. 15*x| $0. 40*y| $0. 70*z| Other Variable Labor| $3. 20*x| $2. 40*y| $3. 05*z| Fabric| $9. 10*x| $2. 20*y| $7. 50*z| Findings| $3. 85*x| $0. 50*y| $2. 30*z| | $20. 55*x| $7. 50*y| $16. 40*z| Direct Variable Costs Translated into â€Å"Unit† Cost| Hoodie| Tee-shirt| Pants| | $20. 55| $7. 50| $16. 40| | *0. 5 (weight)| *1. 5 (weight)| *1 (weight)| | $10. 275| $11. 25| $16. 4| Indirect Variable Costs| Wholesale â€Å"unit† price| $100*50%*0. (weight)+$40*50%*1. 5 (weight)+$80*50%*1 (weight)=$95| Total variable costs as % of wholesale price| $(3+4+1+0. 7+0. 24+0. 15)%=9. 09%| Indirect variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $95*9. 09%=$8. 6355| Direct variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $10. 275+$11. 25+$16. 4=$37. 925| Indirect variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $8. 6355| Total variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $46. 5605| Contribution:| Wholesale price per â€Å"unit†| $95| Less tota l variable costs per â€Å"unit†| $46. 5605| Contribution per â€Å"unit†| $95-$46. 5605=$48. 4395| Breakeven:|Fixed annual costs (operating and depreciated start up) | $2,540,000+$11,500,000=$14,040,000| / Contribution per â€Å"unit†| $48. 4395| =Breakeven Units| 289,846 units| Profit Margin:| Revenue| $7,500,000*2*40%*7%*$95=420,000units*$95=$39,900,000| less fixed annual costs| $14,040,000| less total variable costs| $46. 5605*420,000units=19,555,452| Profit before tax| $6,304,548| Profit margin before tax| 15. 8009%| If Harrington could guarantee that there’ll be 289,846 units sold in the launch year, it won’t lose money.If market share of 7% â€Å"better† active-wear segment is accurately estimated, the breakeven point will be definitely met and the company will even earn a15. 80% profit margin. If the company decides to raise price in order to earn more on one unit in expense of losing part of its sales volume, consumers’ price elasticity would be extremely important for company to see whether the amount of money it makes more on one unit would cover the loss of volume decrease. Sometimes the price-demand curve slopes upward when it comes to prestige goods, but it is another case.

‘India’ a Hub for Medical Tourism

? ABSTRACT Medical tourism has become a popular option for tourists across the world. It takes into account primarily the biomedical procedures, combined with travel and tourism. Medical tourism has been coined by different travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain cutting edge medical care. Countries like India, Malaysia, and Thailand are promoting medical tourism aggressively. The key competitive advantages of India in medical tourism stem from the following: ?Low cost advantage. ?Strong reputation in the Advanced Healthcare Segment (Cardiovascular Surgery, Organ Transplants, Eye Surgery etc. ) ? The diversity of tourist destinations available in the country. The key concerns facing the industry include: ?Less Government Initiatives. ?Lack of a coordinated effort to promote the industry. ?No accreditation mechanism for hospitals and the lack of uniform pricing policies and standards across hospit als. Medical tourism or health care tourism is fast growing multibillion-dollar industry around the world.It is an economic activity that entails trade in services and represents the mixing of two of the largest world industries: Medicine and Tourism. The paper identifies the strengths of India’s medical tourism service providers and points at a number of problems that may reduce the growth opportunity of this industry. This paper focuses on the key issues and opportunities possessed by Indian medical tourism sector that enables it to overcome domestic and international barriers on upgrading its medical services.Finally, this paper analyses and concludes the main reasons why the developing country like India attracts foreign tourists for the medical treatment. Keywords: Medicine, Tourism, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Ayurvedic, Naturopathy. INTRODUCTION India has a bountiful of diverse tourism hotspots which enchant the recuperating visitors, their scenic beauty, historicity and soci o-cultural significance would be great harbingers of health to the ailing foreign visitors. In the recent years, government support, low cost treatment, improved healthcare infrastructure, and rich cultural heritage, have taken the Indian medical tourism to new heights.India has emerged as one of the world’s most cost-efficient medical tourism destinations, and hence, attained a position among the global leaders. According to â€Å"Booming Medical Tourism in India†, the heart surgery centers in the country offer treatment at a significantly lesser prices compared to North America and Europe. Superior quality of dental care and Ayurvedic Spa treatments are also attracting patients from across the globe. Each market segment describes the cost effectiveness compared to other countries.Though India’s reputation is not good on hygiene front, its state-of-the-art medical facilities and value for money offered attracts thousands of patients each year. In this way, the country holds enormous potential for growth in medical tourism in future. Extensive research and analysis has also revealed that quality-driven wellness centers, cord blood banking, and medical tourism facilitates medical tourism market. It has been observed that wellness tourism, alternate meditation, and the advantage of being the least competitive pricing have been the Unique Selling Point (USP) of the Indian medical tourism.Cardiac and Orthopedic procedures constitute the majority share of the market. This study reflects an in-depth knowledge of various government initiatives that provides a positive impact on the medical tourism market in India. The adoption of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model by the Indian Government at both central and state levels to improve healthcare infrastructure in the country through expertise of private sector and better support of public sector provided the extra thrust to medical tourism.We also observed that the regulatory structure in co nnection to the medical tourism industry has been quite liberal and supportive in the country so far. Considering all the positive insights of the analysis, it’s a hope that the analysis of current market performance and future outlook of the Indian medical tourism industry with the forecasts provided in the report will help in devising the rightful strategies and make sound investment decisions. Comparative Cost of Medical Treatment in Euros (1â‚ ¬ = 70. 24 Rs) Type of ProcedureUnited StatesIndiaThailandBone Marrow Transplant300,000 â‚ ¬ = 21,072,000 Rs24,000 â‚ ¬ = 16,85,760 Rs50,000 â‚ ¬ = 35,12,000 Rs Open Heart Procedure40,000 â‚ ¬ = 2,809,600 Rs11,000 â‚ ¬ = 7,72,640 Rs 35,000 â‚ ¬ = 24,58,400 Rs Knee Surgery13,000 â‚ ¬ = 9,13,120 Rs3,500 â‚ ¬ = 2,45,840 Rs5,500 â‚ ¬ = 3,86,320 Rs Eye Surgery2,400 â‚ ¬ = 1,68,576 Rs600 â‚ ¬ = 42,144 Rs 5,500 â‚ ¬ = 3,86,320 Rs Facelift6,500 – 16,000 â‚ ¬ = 4,56,560 – 11,23,840 Rs20 00 â‚ ¬ = 1,40,480 Rs 8,000 – 16,000 â‚ ¬ = 5,61,920 – 11,23,840 Rs Source: Business World India and Indian Brand Equity Foundation Comparative Picture of the Price of the Treatment in USD and Percentage ProcedureUSD in USA)USD (in India)Difference in Price Bone Marrow Transplant2500006920028% Liver Transplant3000006935023% Heart Surgery30000870029% Orthopedic Surgery20000630032% Cataract Surgery2000135068% Dental Procedure Metal Free Bridge550060011% Dental Implants350090026% Porcelain Metal Bridge300060020% Porcelain Metal Crown100010010% Source: IIMK Part IX – Medical Tourism CHALLENGES One of the major challenges for Medical Tourism Industry in India is the phenomenon of Crowding-Out where healthcare could become less accessible to the local population.The discrimination of care has been happening with the opening up of the healthcare market and has brought about for the residents of the destination countries. The revenue generated by developing countr ies providing medical services to foreign patients can be used to improve the access and quality of care available to the residents. However, concerns have been expressed over Medical Tourism Industry in India that it may seriously undermine the care of local residents by adversely affecting the healthcare workforce distribution.Critics addresses globalization as commoditization of worldwide healthcare where in the redirection of economic resources to support the foreign care industry makes an ill-effect on local health care as the lower income groups that have reduced access and longer waits for health services. So, instead of contributing to broader social and economic development the provision of care to patients from other countries might make worse, the existing in-equalities and further polarize the richest and poorest members of society.Healthcare spending in India accounts for over 5% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of which only 20% is provided by the governme nt. This reflects that the public healthcare is not only weak but also under-utilized and inefficient. Similarly contends that rising in-equalities in healthcare access across private and public systems encourages a domestic Brain-Drain (migration of healthcare professionals’ takes place from public to private sector) and increases dualism in healthcare in India.It is a fear that the remunerative Medical Tourism Industry in India might flourish at the expense of the treatment of endemic diseases (AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) thus disregarding half of the disease burden in India which is primarily infectious diseases. Hence it is to be emphasized on the governments of destination countries to implement and enforce appropriate macroeconomic redistributive policies to ensure that the local residents of these nations actually realize the potential benefits of the Medical Tourism Industry in India.In addition, there is a rapidly increasing element of competition for India for m edical tourism income from other host countries such as Thailand and Singapore. Hence, one of the key factors for the host hospitals is the concept of efficient marketing to the developed countries offering innovative ideas like a holistic medical service and tourism package. It’s also a concern on the dependency of the developed nations on developing nations for healthcare provision.In addition, it is wondered if an established model of Medical Tourism Industry in India with the niche market which draws specific patients for designated procedures and can be followed by all developing countries. If multiple developing countries entered this market, the oversaturation of healthcare services would lead to severe price-cutting to the detriment of quality of healthcare. Another area of concern is the effect on the reputation of the destination country of the practice of soliciting patients for money.For example, Dr Kohli, an Indian pediatric cardiologist admitted to soliciting me dical tourists for money on the 60 Minutes. In addition, it’s warned that the quality of some of the services offered to medical tourists can cause significant risks due to the use of:- ? Older surgical equipment and inferior quality medications; ? Poorly trained health care providers; ?Inadequate emergency rooms and implanting older-generation medical devices.In a recent research conducted by Walsh, an antibiotic found amongst the UK medical tourists returning from India and Pakistan after undergoing cosmetic surgeries. The management of post-operative complications that occur after a patient returns to his home country and the consequent costs of this care are difficult issues that remain unresolved. Besides, hospitals catering to Medical Tourism Industry in India lack accreditation labels whereas there is an demand for oversight by neutral administrator such as (JCI and Patients beyond Borders) to attract foreign to the host country.Moreover, foreign patients have to bear the treatment cost out of their own pockets since the procedures performed under Medical Tourism Industry in India are usually not reimbursed by the insurance agencies with the exception of a few companies such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield in USA. Also, Medical Tourism Industry in India lacks stringent governance and regulatory policies. Consequently, faced with the choice of many medical institutions in diverse countries, medical tourists may find it very difficult to identify well-trained physicians and modern hospitals that consistently provide high-quality care.Lack of transparent pricing policies across hospitals, customer perception of some host countries as unhygienic and prone to terrorism with low coordination between the various Medical Tourism Industry in India operators such as airlines, hospitals, hotels and insurance companies are some of the other reported shortcomings. Since, Medical Tourism Industry in India is a relatively new phenomenon, some under-researched are as are observed in the available published literature such as: ?Limited statistical information; ?Impact of globalization on healthcare policies of Medical Tourism Industry in India; ? Challenges posed by Medical Tourism Industry in India like ethical and litigation issues; ? Public sector health inequity and post operative care of the medical tourists. Hence, a qualitative research is much needed to bridge this gap with a combination of primary (semi-structured interviews) and secondary (literature review) research. OPPORTUNITIESThe emergence of Medical Tourism Industry in India encouraged a reverse Brain-Drain where highly skilled medical professionals prefer to practice in their own countries rather than in the lucrative industrialized nations. One of the compensations for their move is the freedom to carry out rare medical procedures, such as hip resurfacing which have not yet been authorized in industrialized nations. There is an accompanying flow of patients as some citizens o f developed nations choose to bypass the care offered in their countries and travel to less developed areas of the world to receive a variety of reasonably priced medical services.As a result, regional and national governments in India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia regard Medical Tourism Industry in India as an important resource for economic and social development. The difference in treatment costs can be considerable; for example, the cost of an elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery is about $60,400 in California, $25,000 in Mexico, $15,500 in Bumrungrad, $10,000 in Thailand, and in India only $6,500 in Apollo.Hence, cost-conscious patients choose to accept the inconvenience and uncertainties of off-shore healthcare to obtain service at prices they can more comfortably afford. Medical Tourism Industry in India can be regarded as a tool for lessen the overburdened healthcare systems of industrialized nations. For example, in the US, there are 46. 6 million people with no medical insurance, inadequate coverage and those who are not eligible for Medicare. Moreover, overwhelming health-related expenses contribute to bankruptcies in the United States.Also, patients choose Medical Tourism Industry in India to circumvent the delays associated with the long waiting list in their native countries and to attain cosmetic surgeries such as dental reconstruction, fertility treatment not offered in their National Health Services such as in United Kingdom and Canada. Patients also travel overseas to access stem cell therapies which are restricted on ethical grounds in most industrialized countries but are available in the Medical Tourism Industry in India.The shortage of human organ supply available for transplant in the United States drives some patients to other countries to obtain organ transplants, a practice that has been referred to as transplant tourism. There is another category of patients who prefer Medical Tourism Industry in India for confidentiality of the treatment rendered such as plastic surgery, drug rehabilitation and reproductive tourism. Patients also prefer Medical Tourism Industry in India for more personalized nursing care offered owing to the lower labor costs in developing nations supplemented by travel to exotic locations.Recently, several Fortune 500 corporations such as Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. have been evaluating the feasibility of outsourcing expensive medical procedures to offshore healthcare destinations to reduce the financial burden of employee healthcare. In addition with these trends, the health insurance sector has potential commercial opportunity for foreign insurance firms. Insurance provider networks are being expanded to include physicians across the globe, and it is anticipated that within a decade a majority of large employer’s health plans will include off-shore medical centers.It is believed that if Medical Tourism Industry in India continues its meteoric g rowth, medical insurance plans could take advantage of its cost savings and begin offering lower-priced premiums if policyholders could be assigned to lower-priced countries for treatment. Hence, healthcare financing could become better calibrated to patients’ financial status. Consequently, medical tourism is a component of export-led economic growth, with the foreign currency earnings from international patients translating into output, jobs and income for developing countries with the added bonus of improving their public health systems.Supplemented by other factors such as: ? Low cost of administrative and medico-legal expenses; ?Medical visas being issued in lieu of travel visas for patients allowing an extended stay for medical reasons; ? Favorable economy. English being widely spoken due to India’s history as a British colony and enjoying a favorable Government support Medical Tourism Industry in India seems to be a promising sector for India. STRATEGIES ON INDI AN MEDICAL TOURISM ?Product ?Price ?Place ?Promotion ?People ?Process ?Physical Evidence SUGGESTIONS Role of Government: The government of India must act as a regulator to institute a uniform grading and accreditation system for hospitals to build consumers’ trust. ?Medical Visas: A simplified systems of getting medical visas should be developed in order to make travel across borders smoother. Visas can be extended depending on the condition of the patients. ?Holistic medical and diagnostic centers within the corporate hospitals: The hospitals have small spaces for the relatives to pray in, thereby wedding science with religion and traditional with modern medical practices. Setting up National Level Bodies: To market India’s specialized healthcare products in the world and also address the various issues confronting the corporate healthcare sector, leading private hospitals across the country are planning to set up a national-level body on the lines of National Associa tion of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), the apex body of software companies in the country. It is therefore essential to form an apex body for health tourism – National Association of Health Tourism (NHAT). The main agenda for NAHT are: 1. Building the India Brand Abroad . Promoting Inter-Sectored Coordination 3. Information Dissemination using Technology 4. Standardization of Services ?Integrate vertically: Various added services may be offered to the patients. For example, hospitals may have kiosks at airports, offer airport pickups, bank transactions, or tie-ups with airlines for tickets and may help facilitate medical visas by the government. ?Joint Ventures / Alliances: In order to counter increasing competition in medical tourism sector, Indian hospitals should tie-up with foreign institutions for assured supply of medical tourists.CONCLUSION ?The First World’s Treatment at Third World Prices: India offers world-class healthcare that costs substantially less than those in developed countries, using the same technology delivered by competent specialists and attaining comparable success rates. ?India is receptively Less â€Å"Scary† Now: The author believes that a lot of entrusting medical care to different locations is about a psychological fear of the unknown. An important strategic challenge for developing-country hospitals is to reduce the psychological fear, which India has and is doing assiduously. Presence of a Collection of Medicine and Medicine Care: In India, the same depth of pool of talent for medicine exists as is the case of engineering and mathematical talent for software outsourcing. In the 1950s and '60s, the Indian government invested a lot in tertiary education. By now there are at least a small handful of medical institutes that are really first-rate, and the doctors they produce are extremely well trained. ?Strong Reputation in the Advanced Healthcare Segment: India has a plethora of hospitals offering wo rld class treatments in nearly every medical field of specialization. Portfolio of Indian Healthcare Tourism Offerings: This includes non-surgical medication complemented with Yoga therapies; unani and homoeopathic streams of medical care are in vogue. India is at an advantageous position to tap the global opportunities in the medical tourism sector. Its role is crucial to the development of medical tourism. The government should take steps in performing a role of a regulator and also as a facilitator of private investment in healthcare.Mechanisms need to be evolved to enable quicker visa grants to foreign tourists for medical purposes where patients can contact the Immigration Department at any point of entry for quick clearance. Tax incentives to the service providers, import duty reduction on medical equipment, committees to promote and foster medical tourism are some of the initiatives that can be devised. There is also a need to develop robust infrastructure in terms of transpo rt services to facilitate tourism in India. The tourism, health, information and communication departments need to work in tandem for efficient patient care.It should aim in building and promoting the image of India as high quality medical tourism destination, creating and promoting new combination of medical tourism products, keeping up the high standard of quality treatments at a reasonable price, providing informative online and offline materials and make them available to the potential customers. It should place a help desk and multi-lingual at different airports for medical tourists seeking information in various aspects. The fountainhead of India’s competitive advantage arises from the skillful use of its core competencies.These competencies are used to gain competitive advantage against rivals in the global market. Also attaining the accreditation/standard to reassure the quality of treatments as well as emphasizing on the needs and demands of the existing target marke ts must be incorporated. References ?Dr. Suman Kumar Dawn & Swati Pal, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research ? Dr. R Gopal, The key issues and challenges in medical tourism sector in India (A Hospital perspective) ? Jyotsana Mal, Globalisation of Healthcare: Case studies of Medical Tourism in Multi-Specialty Hospitals in India ? Journals on HealthCare and Medical tourism