2004 Starbucks Comprehensive Valuation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

2004 Starbucks Comprehensive Valuation - Essay Example A strategic analysis will review how Starbucks is moving towards achieving the company's mission and vision.The company's objective in the 2004 report of making Starbucks "the most recognized and respected brand in the world, to continue rapid expansion of retail operations and selectively pursue opportunities to leverage the brand through new products andnew channels of distribution" (SCC 13) is almost the same as the 1997 vision and mission, and show that Starbucks remains strategically focused and have clear, measurable targets.One target Starbucks finds achievable (SCC 17) is "to operate 15,000 retail locations in the United States and at least 15,000 stores in International markets." The company had 8,569 stores by October 3, 2004, up by 18.6% from 7,225 in 2003 (SCC 12-13). This is 25.8% of the target and if they continue growing 18.6% a year, they will reach 30,000 by 2012.In 2004, Starbucks tapped high traffic areas by opening drive-thru stores and specialty coffee shops (SCC 13), increased store licensing activities (SCC 14) in the U.S. and abroad, and ventured with Kraft, Jim Beam, Visa, and XM Satellite Radio to leverage brand strength, invent new products, tap new distribution channels, and sell other products like music CDs and specialty teas (SCC 15). Strategically, Starbucks is on the right path as it makes the right moves on the way to achieving its mission and vision. Financial analysis will focus on sales and profit growth and managing financial risks to see if its strategy of increasing stores leads to higher sales and profits. After all, part of their strategy is to leverage their competitive advantage: the unique Starbucks brand of coffee experience that can be enjoyed only in their stores (Schultz 249-254). Financial data (SCC 19-23) showed that as the number of stores grew 18.9%, so did Starbucks's sales (up 29.9%), operating income (up 43.8%), earnings before income tax (up 43.1%), and net earnings after tax (up 46.2%), which proves that increasing the number of stores increased Starbucks's sales and profits. The first part of our financial analysis proves that Starbucks's strategy is sound and consistent: sales and profit growth will generate the capital needed to put up new stores and create the momentum for ever higher sales and profits. There are two reasons for analyzing how Starbucks manages financial risks. Starbucks is a global corporation, doing business outside the U.S. (buying raw materials from and having stores in other countries), so it has to manage risks that can affect sales and profits. Second, its vision is to have the same number of stores in and outside the U.S. Although U.S. stores currently outnumber international stores by 2.5 to 1 (SCC 16) and U.S. revenues account for 85% of net revenues (SCC 20), as the company grows to 30,000 stores, their revenues outside the U.S. will grow and make risk management important. The report (SCC 24-25 and 34-35) shows that Starbucks is managing its foreign currency (exchange rate fluctuations), equity security price (investments in mutual funds, though minimal), and interest rate (investment-grade fixed income instruments, also minimal) risks with the right financial instruments. It also manages other risks like cost of raw materials, product warranties (espresso machines), and off-balance sheet transactions (SCC 24).

The extent of bankers' awareness, attitude towards social enterprises Dissertation

The extent of bankers' awareness, attitude towards social enterprises business modes and social enterprises' ability to attr - Dissertation Example Major focus is placed on the objectives of the organizations. Social enterprises can be of different types. For example, a social enterprise can take the form of share capital organization, or it may be a non-share capital enterprise that is generally known to be as non-profit corporation, or it may take the form of a cooperative, or it may be built through partnership, or it may take the shape of a sole proprietorship. (Conaty, 2001; Martin and Thompson, 2009; Brooks, 2008) Very often, a social enterprise is created as a profit making independent organization having some particular social values implanted in its business activities. Some times a social enterprise is built in order to generate revenues for financing the activities of a non-profit enterprise, while in some other cases a social enterprise is simply a profit-generating subsidiary of a non-profit corporation. Most of the social enterprises operate at breakeven point or generate quite small level of profits. However, some social enterprises can be quite profitable. Everything depends on the purposes for which the social enterprises are set up. ... Second, Smallbone et al (2001) is of the opinion that the utilization of surpluses generated through their economic activities for fulfilling a social objective is the prime distinguishing characteristic of social enterprise. How social enterprises are financed: A number of literatures have put some focus on the financing of social enterprises (Smallbone et al 2001; Bnak of England, 2003, Conaty, 2001; Westall, 2001). Various studies have tries to identify the source of funds that social enterprises utilize to fulfill their noble objectives. In these studies it has been found that social enterprises generally are not capable of generating sufficient amount of revenues from the sales of goods and services for financing their social or environmental goals. The researchers have suggested that this shortfall in funding is most of time made up with grants. Grants towards social enterprises are generally provided by local, provincial or central government. Smallbone et al (2001) pointed ou t in his study that most of the types of social enterprise need grant support at the time of their initiation and early trading times. However, the level of grant support required generally varies on account of their activities and sizes. Smallbone et al (2001) interviewed 80 entrepreneurs who had set up social enterprises and they found that 39 percent of them obtained grants from European Commission, 49 percent from regional or central administration and 33 percent from the local government. This kind of funding is generally utilized to finance expenditures on capital. Conaty (2001) identified two largest sources of funds to finance expenditure on capital in social enterprises. One of them is

Public Finance - Tax System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Public Finance - Tax System - Essay Example While a tax is imposed it somehow hampers the free market operation and hence tax is subject to some social cost. Thats why an efficient taxation should minimize the social cost or welfare loss. On the other hand it should target to encourage the saving and investment in the society. According to Adam Smith, the tax structure should be fair and clear enough i.e. everyone should have the information regarding the tax that is paid and the administration of the tax system should be clear and easy. While a tax is introduced the following facts should be kept into mind. 1. The tax system should be economically efficient i.e. the benefit of taxation should exceed the social cost of it. The benefit includes the correcting effect, allocation of resources and insurance of equality. 2. The tax system should possess administrative efficiency. It should be easy to monitor and maintain and the system should be simple enough so that the administrative cost and the compliance cost are minimum. 4. There should be close coordination between the political decision makers and the tax system. It implies that tax payers should have the perfect knowledge about the mode of operation of the taxation system and the political decision makers should be well aware of the preference of the people so that the change in decision must be the resemblance of the choice of the majority of the tax payers which is a basic feature of a democratic system. All the aforesaid features are closely related to a fair distribution and the economic benefit of the taxes. Beneficial tax normally refers to the optimal taxation. The optimal tax theory is based on the equality and the economy of collection of taxation. While any government frames a taxation policy it should keep into mind that the taxation should be socially justified and have minimum impacts on the economic decisions. A wide

International Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

International Banking - Essay Example Studying the prospects and challenges for Islamic banking could reveal useful lessons for a reorientation of Western conventional banking. A key feature of the conventional banking system as practiced today is that it is based on interest. This is an amount of money that is paid on deposits at banks and levied on the loans they provide. This system is designed to benefit money lenders whereas borrowers are made to bear the risks entirely. Consequently, this system facilitates exploitation and many borrowers become burdened by rising values of their debts. Occasionally the problems become so extensive that financial crises occur. The Islamic financial system is characterized by the strict prohibition of riba, which is the charging, paying and receiving of interest on money loaned. The Quranic injunction is in chapter 2, verse 275, which states, â€Å"Allah has allowed the sale and has prohibited interest†. The prohibition extends to both the lending and taking of money involving interest or partaking in any other way in an interest based transaction. The justification is that the charging of interest results in an imbalance and it therefore promotes exploitation whereas the Islamic system is designed to ensure balance, fairness and justice (‘adl) in all financial dealings. Actually, Islamic finance is not unique in its prohibition of interest but it has perhaps developed the most sophisticated system to help implement interest-free banking. As Lewis (2007) noted, usury was prohibited in all the major religions but people then made it acceptable. For example, it is also prohibited in Exodus (22:2 5). In addition, the shariah (Islamic law) advises to avoid gharar (uncertainty), qimar (speculation) and greed. In short, shariah compliant financial products and services do not involve any interest and speculation and uncertainty is minimised as far as possible. Instead, the Islamic system of finance is based on the principle of shirakah, which

Absurdity of a Sivilized Society-an Analysis of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Absurdity of a Sivilized Society-an Analysis of Huckleberry Finn Essay The Absurdity of a â€Å"Sivilized† Society Authors often express their views on any given subject through their works, and Mark Twain is no exception. One may read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and believe it is simply a novel about a young boys childhood; however, a deeper analysis of the text reveals many of Mark Twain’s expressions about important moral and social issues. Perhaps one of the most prominent being the frailty of human justice and the hypocrisy we as a people foster in our societies. Throughout the novel, Huck meets people who appear to be good, civilized people, but always end up having a hypocritical fault about them. Though not every instance is a grave matter, Twain’s writing shows that societies in Huck’s world are based upon corrupted laws and principles that defy basic logic. Twain’s writing leaves the reader with an understanding that cowardice, illogical choices, and selfish as well as hypocritical people mark these societies. Twain begins weaving hypocrisies and cants early into the story; one of the most appalling being the issue of Huck’s custody. This flawed system of thought is first shown when the new judge in St. Petersburg rules that Pap has rightful custody of Huck. Although this would be bad for Huck if his father became his legal guardian, the judge asserts Pap’s rights to Huck as his biological son, despite the fact that this is placing Huck’s welfare below the so-called rights of his father. Ironically, this system would put Huck under his dad’s custody, leaving him worse off, whereas Jim is separated from his family despite being a far better father and person. However, the welfare of the individual isn’t highly valued in society, and thus they are placed in uncomfortable, often dangerous situations. The judge tries to put Huck back in contact with his horrid father and therefore abuse, but Jim, a loving parent, never receives help to be with his children and help rescue them from slavery and separation. This decision defies all logic one would find in a normal society, and yet this kind of thinking was commonplace. The values and welfare of a black person were nowhere near as important as those of a white man, and even though Jim is a grown man with the most in tune moral compass of any character in the book, Huck still has power over him simply because he is white. By comparing the situation of Pap and Huck with slaves and their masters, Twain hints that it is impossible for a society to be civilized so long as it practices slavery. Though not quite as harmful, another example of a hypocritical character can be found in the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. In an attempt to â€Å"sivilize† Huckleberry, Miss Watson reprimands him for smoking a cigarette and yet she snuffs tobacco. â€Å"Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn’t. She said it was a mean practice and wasn’t clean, and I must try to not do it any more†¦ And she took snuff, too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself† (Twain 2). She prevents Huck from doing what she believes is uncivilized and detrimental to his health, yet doesn’t think twice about proceeding to do something very similar simply because she herself enjoys it. This example of hypocrisy is not particularly malicious, but yet another example of how all the characters Huck is involved with has some form of a hypocritical flaw. Furthermore, Miss Watson is quite religious and, in efforts to teach Huck, tells him that all he must do is pray for something and he will have it. However, when Huck needs fishhooks and asks her to help pray for them, she calls him a fool. Then Miss Watson she took me in the closet and prayed, but nothing come of it. She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for I would get it. But it warnt so. I tried it. Once I got a fish- line, but no hooks. It warnt any good to me without hooks. I tried for the hooks three or four times, but somehow I couldnt make it make it work. By-and-by, one day, I asked Miss Watson to try for me, but she said I was a fool. (Twain 8). Miss Watson tells Huck that if he does something, he can expect a certain result but when things don’t work, he asks for her help and she chides him for it! The widow Douglas and Miss Watson are religious, educated, and yet, they are slave owners. They educate Huck, and teach him religion but find it perfectly acceptable to do things contrary to their teachings, such as snuff and practice slavery. The latter, being a more insidious humbug of St. Petersburg, is shown over and over again throughout Huck’s journey. As Huck begins to stray from his backwards, insincere town, he reaches different places with different people, all different in their own way and yet, very similar to those in St. Petersburg. The Duke and Dauphin are two despicable con men who join Huck and Jim as they continue to drift on the river. The Duke and Dauphin cause trouble for Huck and Jim, as well as the towns they visit. The fault here is that, the Duke and Dauphin are able to scam entire communities by lying, pretending to be someone they’re not, and cheating their guests. Though they spend most of the novel doing awful things or planning awful things, they both are hardly punished. After the first showing of The Royal Nonesuch, the first group of attendees realizes they have been cheated. However, instead of chastising the Duke and Dauphin, the audience that night chooses to lie about the performance in order to cheat a second group of attendees. Hold on! Just a word, gentlemen. † They stopped to listen. â€Å"We are sold—mighty badly sold. But we don’t want to be the laughing stock of this whole town, I reckon, and never hear the last of this thing as long as we live. NO. What we want is to go out of here quiet, and talk this show up, and sell the REST of the town! Then we’ll al l be in the same boat. Ain’t that sensible? † (You bet it is! —the jedge is right! † everybody sings out. ) â€Å"All right, then—not a word about any sell. Go along home, and advise everybody to come and see the tragedy. † (Twain 114). Most hypocritical, however, is the fact that the Judge of the town conceived this plan. He who stands as a pillar of justice and truth in the town decides to cheat the others in order to save face. By the third night, everyone in town has seen the play and the Duke and Dauphin make a large profit from their misconduct. Immoral acts committed by the Duke and Dauphin never yielded punishments, but brazen, drunk insults led to execution. Boggs, described as the â€Å"most easy going old fool in Arkansas†, began shouting insults and anathemas at Sherburn, the man who had cheated him. He [Sherburn] was standing perfectly still in the street, and had a pistol raised in his right hand—not aiming it, but holding it out with the barrel tilted up towards the sky†¦ Boggs throws up both of his hands and says, â€Å"O Lord, don’t shoot! † Bang! goes the first shot, and he staggers back, clawing at the air—bang! goes the second one, and he tumbles backwards on to the ground, heavy and solid, with his arms spread out. † (Twain 108). The Duke and Dauphin cheat entire communities and remain unpunished by their terrible acts; however, peccadilloes like shouting drunken insults result in execution. Twain’s writing exposes the issue of faulty justice and duplicitous nature of men. Furthermore, Sherburn’s speech to the angry mob around his house in relation to a lack of logic and cowardice capitulates Twain’s societal views. Twain’s use of hypocrisy helps express his views on societal issues. Though not every instance is harmful, such as Miss Watson’s snuff usage, other notable examples such as the execution of Boggs and the custody of Huck highlight his belief that cowardice, lack of logic, and selfishness are at the core of society, not the communal welfare that it should be. The repeated instances of insecure, logic defying justice are the root of the problem, as thoughtless crimes are punished severely whereas serious crimes go scot-free. Throughout the novel, Huck meets characters that appear good, yet Twain makes a conscious effort to prove they are prejudiced slave owners. The illogical choices and hypocritical people presented throughout the novel show the hypocrisy and ludicrousness of the â€Å"sivilized† society.

Jm Coetzees Waiting For The Barbarians English Literature Essay

Jm Coetzees Waiting For The Barbarians English Literature Essay This semester, we have looked at several works that have incorporated the theme of identity. One in particular, Waiting For The Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee , makes prevalent use of objectification language in establishing identity. Whether for the purpose of making torture easier for the torturer, or for simply creating a class for the purposes of social â€Å"planning† (i.e. conquest), objectification language is used by the characters in the story to make certain that we, as the reader, have an equally difficult time avoiding the objectification that the characters themselves are guilty of. Objectification involves establishing the identity of the â€Å"other† as well as the self in contrast to the other in whatever forms it may take. In this paper, I will briefly examine and respond to three critical analyses of Coetzee, each addressing the concept of objectification to some degree, then I will examine a typical critical response to the concept of objectification of t he self that argues that any serious intellectual analysis of the self must involve a degree of detachment. Is this same level of detachment necessary when analyzing the concept of the identity of the other? After all, Waiting For The Barbarians is only a book, right? By writing his poignant portrayal of the evils of humanity that sees itself as less than human, what is Coetzee trying to say? Can we escape the need to objectify? To begin, let us first look at Coetzees novel itself. It has the convenient quality of taking place in a completely fictional world that only resembles South Africa. At first glance, this would appear to be for the purpose of allowing the author creative exercise, as well as getting us to suspend disbelief. However, is this really necessary? Why cant his story take place in our specific history? Fictionalization gives us the ability to make poignant messages because the elements are all controllable. Youre dealing with a completely fictionalized world, so certain images can take on as much symbolic meaning as you wish, thus allowing for greater dramatic effect. Coetzees not just trying to tug at our heartstrings; such sentimentality would be insulting to an intelligent audience (if you have to resort to emotional appeals, what can really be said for the actual truth-value of your claim?). Instead Coetzee, by fictionalizing his work, is demonstrating how we cant escape this objectific ation. His character of the Magistrate, while the protagonist of the story, objectifies constantly in the novel. His dealings with the barbarian girl, intimate to the point of being sexual, are really no more personal than that between a lab technician and a guinea pig. The Magistrate (i.e. Coetzee) never even bothers to learn, or even invent, the girls name. His desire to help the barbarian girl, while good intentioned, is patronizing in the extreme. It is the same type of romantic notion as that of the â€Å"Noble Savage:† well-intentioned, but ultimately a figment of ignorance.   Besides, for every â€Å"Noble Savage,† there is a â€Å"Savage Noble.† The character of Colonel Joll, while guilty of objectification, is not guilty of the same variety as that of the Magistrate. He knows full well that the barbarians are no threat to the Empire, but he knows that their existence is necessary in order to preserve the social order. When no problems are left â€Å"outside,† they can only come from inside. His understanding of the barbarians only goes so far as necessary to assign them a motive, something that he can tell his superiors. This motive, of course, is completely fabricated, which begs the question, was his torture of the old man in the beginning even necessary? Does it simply serve to portray Joll as a sadistic murderer? I will now examine a critical response to Coetzees use of torture. Susan Van Zanten Gallagher discusses Coetzees moral dilemma in writing about torture and how he goes about trying to solve it. In responding to Coetzees two problems in writing about torture, namely that there is a fine line between portrayal of torture and the glorification of it, and thus exploiting the pain of the afflicted, and that of how to portray the torturer, Gallagher writes: â€Å"†¦in his allusions to un-centered language and the death of the metaphysics of presence, Coetzee also points to the moral vacuum that allows torture to exist in the contemporary world.†This moral vacuum involves objectification, detaching oneself from the moral (often emotional) issues.   Of the Magistrate, Gallagher writes: â€Å"with his combination of sexual and authorial images, his antonymic articulations, and his failure to discover meaning in words, the Magistrate seems to be wandering in the wilderness of deconstructive criticism†and that his â€Å"sexual and linguistic failures demonstrate his lack of authority.† Coetzee writes of him having looked into himself and seeing â€Å"only a vortex and the heart of the vortex oblivion.†Gallagher suggests that this is allegorical of how the author who chooses to write about torture â€Å"must struggle to articulate torture without falsifying it, to understand and to depict oppression without unconsciously aiding the oppressor, to find texts transparent enough to carry meaning.†One aids the oppressor by inventing the language that allows the oppressor to rationalize his actions. This objectification language is obvious in the rhetorical tool employed by Coetzee in creating an allegory that takes place in another time, albeit, a very self-aware one. As Gallagher puts it, â€Å"the effect of this time displacement is to reveal truths about any oppressive society, any society that employs torture as a technique.†In the name of intellectual â€Å"truth-revealing,† Coetzee has created a contrived world that only resembles the world in the ways that he needs it to in order to prove his point. By removing the concept of torture from a real social context, he can assign his own motivations to the torturers. By doing this, is he trying to ignore the real reasons people torture each other, or is he aware of this, and only uses this to demonstrate that we can only find truth if we fabricate it? Gallagher concludes her article by saying that â€Å"Coetzee identifies the absence of moral authority that results in torture with the absence at the heart of contemporary literature since the advent of deconstructive criticism.† This absence is of the ability â€Å"to write and proclaim the truth about this kind of oppression†¦completely and effectively.†By fabricating his own context for the torture that he portrays, Coetzee is able to accomplish this, albeit a little unscrupulously. Its almost like creating a laboratory model where your theory holds true because you can ignore all compromising circumstances. By isolating his narrative in his own fabricated context, hes guilty of objectifying. He is asserting that all instances of torture are motivated by the same primary factors (hatred, etc.). However, I dont believe that this wasnt intentional. Coetzee is simply demonstrating that the only way to establish â€Å"truth† about a subject is to detach your self from it. We can thus establish what makes the torturers all the same, as well as identify what distinguishes the torturers from us, the reader. This kind of objectification language, the â€Å"perfect-world† scenario where youre always right, can lead to some interesting realizations, as long as one understands that its only fiction, and that the moral â€Å"truths† it espouses may not be applicable to the real world. It is also not the only kind of objectification that Coetzee employs in Waiting†¦. He also uses the concept of â€Å"literary† foreignness to highlight the short-comings of allegory. Rebecca Saunders, in her article â€Å"The Agony and the Allegory: The Concept of the Foreign, the language of Apartheid, and the Fiction of J.M. Coetzee, writes that â€Å"if allegory is structured by a fundamental foreignness between its literal and proper meanings, it is also characterized by that zone of error through which we have described foreignness.†She then relays the fact that Heraclitus and Philo both originally used the term allegory â€Å"to designate thought tinctured by uncertainty.†She also writes â€Å"Coetzees text not only dramatizes the zone of error that characterizes both â€Å"literal† and literary foreignness, but insists that a consequential relationship exists between them.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Literary† foreignness, while inevitable when writing about events that havent happened to us, is the same problem that Gallagher wrote of: the problem of writing about something that we have chosen to distance ourselves while still maintaining a degree of authority. It is ironic that objectification is inevitable to establish â€Å"truth† when it may not actually be there while at the same time creating a sense of detachment that can cause the â€Å"truth† to be elusive in the first place. After all, allegory really only has truth in regards to itself (tautologous), and may not actually apply to the real situation it is purporting to describe. Saunders makes comparisons between the reportial language that Colonel Joll uses in his dealings with torture and the very idea of allegory: â€Å"It is a language in which every trace of foreignness has been deported: direct, literal certain. And that certainty is fortified by a careful management of context.† This management of context is what allows Coetzee to pass judgment with certainty. The third critical source I will examine is Barbara Ecksteins â€Å"The Body, The Word, and the State: J.M. Coetzees Waiting for the Barbarians.† She writes that the novel â€Å"is about language and the body in pain†¦[and] if its ending is desolate, it is so with a particular and moral-centered skepticism.†Even though the Magistrate comes to realize the error of his ways, his narrative still labels the native people â€Å"barbarians,† and thus he demonstrates his inability to â€Å"undo his habits of being. Neither as character nor as narrator does the magistrate point to the keen irony so evident in the etymology of the word â€Å"barbarian,†Ã¢â‚¬ namely, that which is not of the Empire. This is an example of how some degree of objectification is necessary: in order to maintain distinction between himself and the girl, the magistrate uses a term which does nothing but keep her at arms length. He cant even be concerned with her name, because doing so would cause her to cease to be different in any real sense of the word. As Eckstein puts it, â€Å"Imperialism is an assertion of objectivity†¦that converts anxiety about ones arbitrary location in time and space into an assertion that if nowhere is my home, everywhere is my home†¦. If I am there, you are other.†Objectification, here in the form of political definitions of â€Å"race† â€Å"serves imperialism and torture.†By employing objectification in defining the other, it claims to possess the same kind of certainty when defining the self. This certainty is that of distinction. â€Å"In demonstrating the differences within civilization and barbarity, animal and angel, the novel asserts one kernel of certain truth,† Eckstein writes. She then evokes the Magistrate: â€Å"Pain is truth; all else is subject to doubt†She then lays out the full â€Å"lesson;† â€Å"Torture produces the truth, for it produces pain, and pain is certain presence.† What has been said about the necessity of objectification? Patricia Sanborn writes, â€Å"The use of language to refer to the self necessitates some objectification.†She then writes, â€Å"In a study of which the self is the object, it is evident that the self is a certain kind of object. It does not lose its uniqueness because of the fact that other phenomena can also be objects.†Since, in writing about the self and our relation to the â€Å"other,† we inevitably treat these things as objects of inquiry, the first step in understanding anything, we have to accept that there is a degree of error that may be involved. Since we cant experience what others experience subjectively, our only other option is to objectify them. Coetzees novel is itself an objectification about the subject of objectification. It uses objectifying language because it is forced to by the subject matter. In order to discuss the suffering of the other, we first must distinguish the other fro m ourselves. Only then can we hope to understand our relationship with the other, and thus with ourselves (because everyone is someone elses â€Å"other†). It would seem thus, that the concept of identity and that of objectification are inexorably linked. In order to establish the identity of the self, you must first distinguish that of the other in reference to yourself. J.M. Coetzee, in writing his novel, demonstrates that, for all our moral dilemmas of objectification, we cant help but do it and say anything definitive about the world. Another persons pain is another persons pain, and we cant really experience it first-hand. We know for certain, subjectively, how we feel when we are in pain, but we cant know that of others, nor can we describe our subjective experience to them in any vivid sense of the word. Can we escape the need to objectify? No. Does this make us evil? No, just not omniscient. We only have simple human methods of understanding at our disposal, and we have to make due. Our human methods of understanding involve primarily language. Truths realized with a certain degree of dramatic (i.e. emotional) impact tend to have more poignancy. By choosing to use objectification language, Coetzee is trying specifically to cause an emotional response in the reader. We are supposed to be appalled, but in the end, we remain detached from the suffering because we know that its only fiction, even though it relates to the very real plight of those suffering under Apartheid. We are thus left wondering just how exactly we are supposed to feel about suffering that we dont â€Å"know.† In conclusion, J.M. Coetzees novel is notable for taking on the issue of inevitable objectification when dealing with the suffering of the â€Å"other.† His use of objectification language is poignant because it is necessary. We, as readers, are just as guilty of objectifying the barbarians, and thus detaching ourselves from their suffering as the Imperials in the book. Just as they arent â€Å"real† in the senses that are they are fictional, the barbarians arent real in the book because theyve been given that identity by the Imperials. They exist then in limbo, out of reach, but not too far removed from us.

Marketing Plan On Frasers Hill In Pahang State Tourism Essay

Marketing Plan On Frasers Hill In Pahang State Tourism Essay Malaysia is a country in South-East Asia, located on a peninsula of the Asian shares a border with Thailand. In an effort to diversify the economy and make Malaysias economy less dependent on exports the government has pushed to increase tourism in Malaysia. Malaysia has become third largest source of income from foreign exchange,  ¹ and accounted for 7% of Malaysias economy as of 2005.  ² As of 2009, Malaysia ranks 9th among the top most visited countries in the world, after Germany. There are several tropical islands in Malaysia; some have been voted the most beautiful in the world. The islands in Malaysia are: Labuan , Langkawi, Pangkor, Penang Island, the western half of Penang, which is heavily industrialised, Redang Island, Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, Perhentian Islands, Kapas Island, Lang Tengah Island and Sipadan Beside tropical islands, Malaysia has several national parks and nature reserves. The national parks and nature reserves are: Bako National Park, Sarawak famed for its wildlife, especially bearded pigs and proboscis monkeys, Batang Ai National Park, Sarawak, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak, Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Niah Caves National Park, Sarawak, Loagan Bunut National Park, Sarawak, Kinabalu National Park, Sabah home of 4100 metre peak Mount Kinabalu, Taman Negara National Park the self-proclaimed Worlds Oldest Rainforest, spanning Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu, Endau Rompin National Park, Johor. Source: Place of interest of Frasers Hill (http://malaysiabudgethotel.com/destinations/pahang/fraser-hill.html) Executive Summary Frasers Hill Its name derives from Louis James Fraser, a solitary Scottish pioneer, who setup a tin ore trading post in the 1980s ³. Later it was turned into one of the tourist attractions in Malaysia. Location Frasers Hill includes seven peaks and is located at the altitudes between 1,220 and 1,525 meters above sea level. Year round temperatures are between 17 °C 25 °C. The resort is situated 64.6 miles from the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. At the foot of the steep ascent, at an altitude of only 800m, is The Gap, where a colonial rest house remains open. Then winding 8km single track road up from The Gap is open in alternate directions each hour; the drive takes 30 minutes. Some visitors prefer to walk up, spotting birds and enjoying the noticeable fall in temperature4. A new alternative road was opened in 2001, but from time to time this is closed due to landslides5. Place of interest Golfing The first golf course in Malaysia is constructed on Frasers Hill in 1925. The 9-hole course was built on former tin mines. Then 18-hole course was added at Jeriau, abot 3km from the main town in the 1970s. Source: Frasers Hill Golf (ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frasers_Hill_Golf_Course.JPG) Bird watching Bird watching at Frasers Hill is a notable centre. The hill has over 270 species of local and migratory bird flocking here together. Each year the Annual International Bird Race is held in the second weekend of June, organized by the Frasers Hill Development Corporation in collaboration with WWF-Malaysia and the Malaysian Nature Society. Participants throughout the world converging on the hill station in a team competition. They need to identify and record the highest number of species of birds stated in the official check list. Other Place of interest In Frasers Hill, there are many more place of interest such as Clock Tower, Jeriau Waterfalls, hiking at Hemmant Trail, Bishops Trail, and Pine Tree Trail and Tennis. Situation Analysis Frasers Hill has become popular and growing in the 60s and 70s, and now it has gradually it reaching maturity and moving toward the decline stage. Frasers Hill seem not been well perceived by the locals and foreign tourist in recent years. The arrival of the tourist and occupancy rates of hotels and resorts have decline in recent years. The tourism industry players have brought this problem to the federal government. Source: product life cycle: Frasers Hill (http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/) To analyze the environment of Frasers Hill, let use the SWOT analysis to analyze. SWOT analysis Strength Frasers Hill has its beauty of it. It surrounding by green, forest, cool and fresh air. It gives people peace of mind and also its cool and invigorating weather throughout the year. Since Frasers Hill was established by Birtish, it has been built up with some British design of chalets and hotels. Therefore this will enhance the British image in Frasers Hill which can bring people an image of little Britain as an attraction for tourist to visit this place. This could let the people who had been to Britain get the feel and people who never been to Britain to get the feel of how Britain is. Opportunities This could be the best reason to attract more visitors then it could gain its market share. The natural greenery, forest walks, fresh air and exotic flower landscape is the main attraction for tourism. There are potential to popularise Frasers Hill as more and more people are aware of staying near to nature. Weakness The major problem is the road condition to Frasers Hill only single track road. Even though new track has been built but it was not usable due to landslide has deter local and foreign tourist to visit Frasers Hill. To overcome this problem, the road should be rebuilt or modified to become two track roads which allow more traffic go up to the hill and come down of the hill. Other weakness is that there are not many activities going on in Frasers Hill. The local and foreign tourist especially the younger generation find Frasers Hill have become boring and no excitement at all. Threats As the decline of the Frasers Hill attraction, this could result to deter the development of Frasers Hill to become an attraction place of interest. This cause the tourist arrival rate has declined, accommodation sector in Frasers Hill has running low. This is mainly due to lack of critical mass for Frasers Hill, which ahs caused the tourism industry players such as the hotel and resort operates unable to operate at economical or sustainable level. This causes some of the restaurant and hawker operators in Frasers Hill operate their business on weekend and school or public holidays only as this is not economical and profitable to sustain the business during weekdays low season periods. Furthermore, site enquiries also revealed that most of them run the businesses on part-time basis and this could cause limited supply and variety of fine dining offer at Frasers Hill. Objective Setting Company Mission Frasers Hill development mission is to bring back the attraction of the resort to local and foreign tourist. It aims to fill up the vacancy of accommodation sector in Frasers Hill. This could allow the tourism industry to operate at economical and sustainable manner. Marketing Objectives Specific objectives to bring back the attraction and popularisation of Frasers Hill and to popularise the International Bird Race held every second week of June each year. This Frasers Hill International Bird Race is actually a fun event where human participants and nature lovers, from Malaysia and overseas, will outdo each other to sight, identify and record the most number of bird species within a set time frame and location in this cool highlands. Achievable As Frasers Hill currently loss it popularity and attraction, therefore it would need some campaign to bring the awareness of this hill resort to local and foreign tourist. It could be achievable to promote it attraction in Tourism Malaysia Board and also during the MATA fair. Time Frasers Hill has lost it popularity for sometime, there for it would need some time to recover and accepted as one of the attraction by the local and foreign tourist. It would take one to two years for it to develop. Strategy Development Choice of growth strategy to analyse Frasers Hill are using Ansoff Matrix. Source: Ansoff Matrix (www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm) Below are strategy development suggestions to achieve Frasers Hill mission. Market Penetration By applying market penetration, modifying the image of Frasers Hill could bring some fresh changes and attraction to the tourist. This would not divert to different direction or market but make it more interesting and maintain its score beauty. Market Development Market development are use to enter into new market. Frasers Hill has its market; they are target to company weekend break, family gathering, seasonality tourism holidays, school and industrial holidays. It could also attract those younger generation who like sports, like hill climbing, rock climbing, jungle trekking, and bird watching and get to know types of flora and fauna. Based of these two strategies, Frasers Hill not only maintain and keeping the existing customers but also able to attract younger generation to come over to visit, who are now willing to spend time with the families for relax and recreation. The also create awareness of the younger generation to get closer to nature. Marketing Mix Now, we would use tactic to make them work. We can have a short term plan to inform or create awareness to new market especially about the change we are now. We can create awareness by doing advertisement or advertorial in most popular local newspapers, travel magazines to inform changes we had made or what are our attractions again. Meanwhile we can have some promotion like free breakfast for 2 nights stay etc. The tactical applications are: Product Frasers Hill is a product that is profitable. It is a tourist attraction place for foreigners as well as local people and weekday long-stay guest. This could be the proposed plan for Malaysia Second Home Programme. Price The price is varies according to accommodation provided by different tenants. Having a discussion meeting with those tenants not to charger higher price as compare to Genting Highland or especially to Cameron Highland who is our competitor. Place Frasers Hill is located at a very suitable place with cool weather throughout the year. It is between 1,220 and 1,525 meters above sea level and year round temperatures are between 17 °C 25 °C. As Malaysia is a hot year round country, therefore is a benefit for tourist to chill at the hill resort. Promotion Create some promotion activities such package with accommodation and jungle activities organisation in for a group and jungle trekking for individual. Such as accommodation package stay of 3 days inclusive free breakfast or accommodation package stay inclusive of activities and meals. Frasers Hill could implement strategic alliance with bus company to have a direct transport from big city such as Kuala Lumpur to travel to Frasers Hill, this could save lots of trouble for people who would to go to Frasers Hill without any transport. It could also work well to foreigners who come to visit Frasers Hill. This could save the tourist hassle to look for transportation arrangement People People play a crucial role in the tourism sector especial Frasers Hill. Expertise with knowledge of Frasers Hill is crucial as it would be the main source of information delivered to the tourist. Local people living in the surround area are important as well. They would provide the history and development of Frasers Hill as they see it develop from the early age. As people who work in the resort or recreation park will need to gain product and service knowledge of Frasers Hill surrounding area as they would need to recommend to the tourists the attraction, activities and position of each attraction. Process In order to provide a good customer service, the people of the organisation should be trained but also it is important to have an efficient and effective order process and procedure. An intranet should be installed so that all the relevant departments are able to access to it and response to whatever inquiry or problem that may encounter. Service feature are important to improve Frasers Hill as a tourism attraction. Investment to improve the infrastructures, internet connection, telecommunication and interactive information on Frasers Hill need to be accurate and informative. Accessibility of information and location of Frasers Hill need to be easily accessible. Map and travelling would be a very great help to assist the tourist to reach their destination without any trouble. Physical evidence Physical evidence is important as Frasers Hill is a kind of service to our customer. Hence website design, the ambience has to carry its tagline, objectives and vision i.e. to be a little Britain. The total ambience has to carry English image, design and slogan. The website should always carry it tagline like McDonald Im lovin it. This will project a full image of what Frasers hill is to all customers. Frasers Hill surrounding areas should be clearly noticeable and attractive to the tourist as this would be a first impression to the tourist. Tree and grass need to be trim if it has become obstacle to the beauty of Frasers Hill. Appearance of staff working in Frasers Hill need to be as helpful, friendly, easy going, clean and fresh facial appearance, excellent customer service and excellent communication skills. It will bring an excellent image of Frasers Hill to the tourist. Leaflet and brochure information of Frasers Hill are accurately printed at actual time (latest information) and actual map with clear instruction or information so tourist could refer to it easily. Frasers Hill would need to invest to create a good website to introduce it place where tourist can easily get information without any hassle. Information are keep up to date with it current weather condition and temperature can be easily found. Action and implementation Action The above marketing strategy and tactics need to turn into action plans. No matter how good is the strategy or tactics been set, it would not be in place if we do not have to appropriate people to make it happen. It will not help at all. Hence research on information about Frasers Hill need to be updated. Latest photo of Frasers Hill should be update so it looks attractive and feel good when the tourist look at it. For employees who work in the resort or hotel, training is require, a clear vision and objective need to inform all employees in order for them to carryout their job well and bring excellent service to tourists. Some plan need to be outsourced because Frasers Hill may lack of expertise on it field such are marketing, advertisement, and training. By outsourcing, it would proof the efficiency and effectiveness of promoting Frasers Hill to regain it glory and well know to local and foreign tourist. Advertisement need to plan in advance according to it budget. As Frasers Hill are not doing so well now it would need to advertise it within it budget. Frasers Hill will not choose to advertise on the media as it is a very expensive cost to advertise. There are other options for it to advertise. It could advertise with local travel agents, leaflet, website, and hospitality, Tourism Board Malaysia, MAS Airlines, Air Asia, and sponsoring of golf tournament. By this mean of advertising, it will help Frasers Hill to promote and reach out to people about it location and attraction. Implementation Implementation of marketing plan includes three activities: Allocating tasks and responsibility Once a specific plan has in place, then the next steps is to allocate the tasks and responsibility. As for Frasers Hill; Advertisement is the responsibility of it marketing people to draw up an appropriate concept to bring the message to the tourist. Training is the responsibility of it human resources people to train the employees with the latest information about the surrounding area and attraction place. Operations Day to day job to maintain Frasers Hill operations would be taken care by it Operations Manager to make sure that every area are cover and operate efficiently. Communication Public relations are very important. Therefore, communication with the public, media and journalist is very important as it will bring a great impact on Frasers Hill re-launch it present as an attraction to the people. Scheduling of marketing activities Below is the Gantt chart for Frasers Hill project schedule 2010/11. This project will take 7 months for it initial planning. Research for improvement will take place for one and half month from September to mid-October 2010. Then follow by the strategy planning which will take place for one and half month from October to mid-November 2010. The marketing will start at the end of October to end of November 2010. Then the advertising will be running for longer period from December 2010 until February 2011. This will takes three months to advertise Frasers Hill. Then training will be held for two months from February 2011 till March 2011. This would give a proper view and time management on how the project will be able to execute successfully and this prevent any wastage cost. Gantt chart Frasers Hill Project Schedule 2010/11 Setting the marketing budget As Frasers Hills have not been doing well, there the cash flow will be very thing. The method of budget will be percentage of it sales (as the sales figure are unavailable), the other options will be based on historical budgetary records. It would be estimate the budget for this advertisement would approximately  £15,000. Monitoring and Control Once the marketing plan starts to be implemented, the next task of management is to monitor and control what goes on. Monitoring This is to check that everything is going according to plan and according to time set as in the Gantt chart. As this is an ongoing project, the key performance indicator will be evaluating to check how far the progress of the plan is. Control Control means taking corrective actions as early as possible if things are not going according to plan. After all these advertisement planning, implementation and training, we need to monitor the progress, and control from time to time. So that, the initial stage of the plan would not go far away from the objectives. There are few option of control can be down such as benchmarking, balanced-scorecard, the marketing audit, profitability control and sales control. The best method of control is the benchmarking method. Benchmarking This is the process of comparing the Frasers Hill products and services and processes to those of competitors such as Cameron Highlands to find ways to improve quality and performance. Appendix SOSTAC Model SOSTAC is summarizing the main steps of strategy marketing by Paul R.Smith (1990). Situation Analysis is looking at analysing where we are now using SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, Marketing Mix or Competitive Position. Objective is looking at where we want to go using Ashridge Mission model, 5Ps model or SMART. Strategy is looking at how we going to get there using market segmentation or positioning. Tactics is looking at some details of the strategy using Tools communication. Actions are looking at implementation putting the plan to work using Action plan, RACI model, CSF or KPIs. Control is track progress through measuring, monitoring, reviewing, updating and modifying using compare performance management or balance scorecard.