Indian Biscuit Market: Segmentation and Customer Analysis

Indian Biscuit Market Segmentation and Customer AnalysisFor an effective and efficient elementation, however, a mix of alone of these above mentioned parameters watch to be used. Extending the above concept of basis of discussion sectionation, the criteria of segmentation across different conditions is naturally different. For example, for the general understanding of a mete out, one should keep in mind the benefits sought, yield obtain and usage patterns, needs, stigmatise loyalty and switching patternsOn the new(prenominal) hand, for positioning studies, add usage, point of intersection preference pick up to be taken into account. On one hand, incase of advertising decisions, when media usage and psychographic /lifestyle is considered seriously, on the other hand for distribution decisions, investment comp whatsoever loyalty and patronage clubbed with benefits sought in store selection is contemplated over. Also, it has been often concluded that the segment profitabi lity is affected by five principal factors intentness Competitors and the threat of segment rivalryPotential entrants to the foodstuff and the threat of mobilityThe threat of substitute productsBuyers and their relative powerSuppliers and their relative powerLast but non the least, to decide on segmentation, a knowledge of side by side(p) five patterns of market coverage is important . They are - Single segment concentration, selective specialisation, product specialisation, market specialisation, full market coverage.PROMOTION -For any promotion strategy to be successful, it is primarily important that the flow of thought process behind it be understood. A merchandise Plan is essentially a mix of Product, Place, terms, Promotion, physical evidence and Process adult maleagement . This Marketing Plan is a derivative of Marketing strategies and objectives, which is in turn derived from Corporate Objectives. And on an general level, all of these are derived from the Final Corpo rate Strategy . Amongst these, the Promotion mix consists of a wide variety of change tactics like Product Placement, Advertising and advertorials, Packaging, Personal Selling, P.O.S., Publicity .Sponsorship, Sales Promotion, Exhibitions, E-Mails, Text messaging etc. While developing the communicatings Plan, the following points have to be kept in mind by a Marketer -The nature and detail of the butt joint audience.The Short-term and Long-term communication objectivesThe messages that are to be usedThe Communication channels that will carry the messageThe BudgetThe Mix of communication tools that is to be used and how the elements of the promotion mix are to be integrated and how, in turn, the promotions mix is to be integrated with the merchandising mix.The measure of the ROI of the campaign.Apart from the above mentioned, approaching the customer in a Integrated Marketing Communication Channel is the most effective. i.e. by achieving a higher level of integration between the in dividual elements of the communication mix, the planner should achieve a great degree of clarity and consistency, with the result that there will then be a seamless integration of messages and a broader reach .Brand ManagementA inherent element of any product strategy is the role played by the gull. Brands are designed to enable customers to identify products or services that look for specific benefits. As such they are a form of shorthand in that they create a set of expectations in the mind of customers about purpose, performance, flavour and price. This in turn allows the strategists to build added value into products and to differentiate them from competitors.To be truly effective, a nock strategy has to develop over time and reflect environmental conditions. There is therefore a need from brand development, the key elements of which involve a detailed understanding ofCurrent perceptions of the brand amongst customers and the tradeThe expectations of both customers and th e tradeThe strengths and weakness of each brand within the portfolioThe value of each of the brandsThe links that exist between the different brands owned and the nature and significance of any overlaps and gapsThe dangers of brand cannibalizationWhen and where new brand names need to be developedThe opportunity for brand stretchingProbable competitor movesThe outset point for this involves analysing the brand in order to understand detail what it means to customer and how much it is worth. In doing this, the strategist needs to identify the core values, the scope that exists for extending the brand name into other product or market sectors, and the areas that must be avoided at all costs.Developing a brand strategyFor many organisations, branding is a fundamental element of the product strategy and provides the basis for a consumer franchise that, if managed effectively, allows for greater marketing flexibility and a higher degree of consumer loyalty. However, it needs to be recog nize that branding involves a great deal more than simply putting a name on a package. Instead it is about creating, maintaining and proactively developing sensed customer value, it is unless in this way that the organisation is able to promise and continue to deliver to the consumer a superior value than that offered by competitors.It follows from this that any brand strategy is, of necessity, a long term process that involves an investment in and commitment to the development of the brand over time. This long term perspective involves the dovetailing of a number of issues, but in essence can be seen to be concerned with the two principal issue that emerge from the discussion above1. Where the brand is currently and how it is perceived2. How the brand is to be perceived in three, five and ten years time, and how this might best be achieved.With regard to the first of these, the starting point for any brand strategy involves identifyingThe brands current market positioningCompetit ors positioning strategies and resource basesThe way in which the market is likely to develop, and the implications of product, brand and market life cyclesCustomers perception of the portfolio of brands in the marketCustomers expectations and the extent to which these are being met both by the brand and its competitorsLevels of customer loyalty across the marketThe financial, managerial and operational that can be called in managing a brandThe bases for competitionThe relative importance of the brand to the organisationManagerial expectations of the brandIt is only against this understate that the strategist is able to develop a vision for the brand.Finally in developing the brand strategy, the planner needs to give consideration to a series of financial issues, including the margins and contribution that the brand is required to generate in both the short and the long term, and the levels of investment that the brand needs if it is to achieve the objectives set.Consumer Behaviou rFrom the rack of the marketing planner, the mix of cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence demeanour is largely non-controllable. Because of the influence they exert upon patterns of purchasing, it is essential that as much effort as come-at-able is put into understanding how they interact and ultimately, how they influence purchase behaviour. in doing this, it is important non to lose sight of the differences that exist between customers and consumers, and the implications of these differences for strategy.Against the background of an understanding of the factors influencing motivation, the marketing strategists needs them to consider the influence of perception, since it is the way in which motivated individuals perceive a given situation that determines precisely how they will behave.Consumer is at the centre of all decision making in an organisation. The linkage of the consumer to other aspects is shown in the following diagram. We can see that on the left, the consumer interacts finished his perception, understanding (cognition), beliefs and social influences. These aspects determine the behaviour of the consumer. The search for this behaviour is through market research and insight mining. The market Research gives fodder for the strategy to be formulated.MARKSTRAT SUMMARYBefore entering any market, it is important to understand what the market stands for, the kind of products in the market, the competitors that the company will face and various external and internal factors that will play a of the essence(p) role in making decisions later every quarter/period. The pains chetah has 6 players in the Market namely A, E, I, O, U, Y.After the initial feelers of the full-page simulation, it was evident that we would have to focus on certain key areas and others would be on low priority. The key-focus areas that were decided were -Philosophy, Guiding Principals and OrganizationProduct PortfolioResearch informationAdver tising and Sales Force DecisionsPricing EffectsCompetitor DynamicsNew Product LaunchesProduction Planning and Inventory ManagementFinancial boil downAfter setting the above agenda, the next step was to decide what needs to be done in the first period. The single point agenda in this case was to enter the Sonite market while keeping away from the Vodite market . The logic behind this was that to, make Vheetah Y the Stock price leader clubbed with highest ROI. A snapshot of results varying across different periods are as follows -Base (period 0) 1000Period 11 (End) 1687Highest 2485 (Period 6 End)Lowest 1000 (base)Highest Stock Price in Industry 3244 (Cpny. I)Some of the pertinent extraction prices Index observations over the periods were - SPI increased by 68.7% after 11 periods compared to base value. A very promote positive growth was seen from Period 0 to Period 6 (138.9% growth from Period 0 to Period 6) On the Contrary there was a invariable decrease in SPI from Period 7 to 1 1 (32.11% decline in Period 7 to period 11). The high-point of the SPI game was that at the end of Period 6, Cheetah Y was the market leader in terms of SPI.A company vs Company comparison of SPI shows the following results -The next focus shifted to pushing the Product through Sales and advertising .The logic behind our heavy Advertising Budget was that there was no point in having a perfect product if the object glass market does not know about it. A fine balance of quality and quantity does the trick.Down the line, Cheetah Y also realised that it is wisest to allocate the capital to the products with the highest Return on Investment. Also, from a strategic point of view, it makes a treat of sense to be opportunistic and increase the advertising funds when the competitors are squeezed for money . In this regard, the most important function is Competitive Advertising which defines a product (in this case SYGU and SYCA) against what its communication dimensions and message quali ty are. Initially, the dimensions Economy and deed and Performance and Convenience fared pretty badly . But towards Period 7 (from Period 3 to Period 7), it reached the message Quality Excellent. Parallely, in the Vodite Market, the product VYLE on the communication dimension Economy Felxibility it scored a message quality of Excellent.A combined overview of how the sales department fared for Cheetah Y is given below. Also, it gives the insight into what cheetah Y fared vis-a-vis competitors and current market scenario.Base (Period 0)(a) Sales glitz 167.53 Kilo Units(b) Revenue K$ 48659.3 MillionPeriod 11 (End)(a) Cumulative Sales Volume 539.60 Kilo Units(b) Cumulative Revenues K$ 1463564.9 MillionHighest Sales in any Period (Units) 788.4 (Period 7 End)Highest Sales in any Period (Revenue) K$ 193776 (Period 7 End)Lowest Sales in any period (Units) BaseLowest Sales in any Period (Value) BaseHighest Cumulative Sales ( revenue enhancement) in industry after 11 periods K$ 1949822 (Co mpany I)(A snapshot of Sales Volume across all the competitors)After investing in adequate sales major power across Speciality Stores, Department stores and Mass Merchandise, the next logical step was to analyse the Market Share after each period. Some of the key highlights in case of market share were -Market Share at Period 11 (End) 7.03%Highest 28.35% (Period 5 End)Lowest 7.03% (Period 11 End)Highest Market Share in Industry (Period 11 end) 38.88% (Company U)The broad strategy to achieve the initially set agenda is that first we enter the Cheetah market with minimum number of products, and with zero product in the Vodite Market. Also, offering the same product across multiple segments enhanced the revenue base. There was an overall increased emphasis on targeted advertising to increase brand awareness. The Pricing strategy also worked in this direction, i.e offer the product at a cheaper price than the competitors (even when the product is superior) . But as dynamic as our mark et strategies, even the Market threw up a lot of surprises. There were the constantly changing consumer needs, aggressive product development of competition, large disparity in growth rates in different segments of the two markets. Thus a snapshot of the strategies chased are given below, vis-a-vis what actions were taken .Thus, from the above describes strategies pursued and an analysis of their results, the following lessons were learnt Offer customized products to each segment in the marketKeep track of changing consumer needs modify products accordinglyIf the product is not performing well, remove from marketPay emphasis to RDObserve competition and their strategy tweak strategy suitablyAdvertising spend does not unavoidably lead to greater salesLowering price will not improve sales even in a price sensitive segmentPossible Applications of the learnings -There is space for growth for additional brands in the customer segments of Buffs and Singles as the entire market is concent rated in just a couple of players. A well positioned and well priced brand definitely has a lot of promise in these segments.We need keep a tap on ideal value evolution of the physical characteristics or dimensions. Continuous re-evaluation and modification of existing brands like SYGU and SYCA should be done and marketing and advertising efforts should be diligent keeping the changes in mind.The position of SYGU brand needs to be questioned and, if need be, repositioned with a modified RD project.A product/brand catering exclusively to the pursuit segment in the Vodite should be launched with the desired physical characteristics.Need to define the space for competition so that maximum efforts can be employed there with minimal overlap and wastage with any concurrent efforts for any other brand of the company a case in point is Company I which has famously defined brands in each of the customer segments of Singles, others and followers.Need to use the MDS and SEMANTIC scales mor e precisely for setting advertising objectives for SYGU and SYCA.COMPANY STRATEGY -Biscuit industry is the third largest producer and fastest growing industry in FMCG sector.Its Estimated Value is approximately Rs 5000 Crore. It forms a part of the Organized sector 60% (approximately). Major Segments in which it operates are Glucose, Marie, Cream, Crackers, Milk. Major Brands in the industry right now are Britannia, ITC, Parle, Priyagold, Dukes etcCOMPANY OVERVIEW - Britannia is Indias second largest food company with Sales close to Rs. 20 billion. oer the years it has shown a Consistent annual growth rate of 15-20% . It Sources products from more than 50 factories spread across the country. Key product lines include Biscuits, Bread, Cakes and Rusk .Product twine serves to the whole spectrum from mass market to the premium segment .FINANCIAL ANALYSIS -An indepth analysis of past few years shows that the Gross sales increased to Rs 2317.11 Cr in 2006-07 indicating a growth of 28% . Britannias Profits declined by 33% due to increase in input prices and stiff competition (like Parle, itc, Priya ). An interesting movement showed that Dividends of the order 100-150% were provided for the past 5 years. Although Britannia followed the industry growth rate for the past 3-4 years, the profit margin followed a zigzag pattern. But owing to Inflation, Costs have increased significantly on the production as well as on selling front. Company has very small debt and its Debt-Equity ratio is 0.01. Company is maintaining easily debt range for future requirements.PBITDM (Profit Before Interest Tax Depreciation Margin) expressed as a percentage of Sales is 6.58.ROE is at a healthy prise of 21.14% .Current ratio has been improving over the years and hence the solvency position of the company.COMPETITIVE ANLAYSIS -(Marketing Mix of Britannia )PRICING -On the basis of price, the biscuit market can be segmented into the followingLow Range Biscuits (less than Rs 40 per kg.)Medi um Range Biscuits (Rs. 40-70 per kg.)High Range Biscuits (over Rs.70 per kg.)Britannia caters to the upper middle and high end of the market with a touch of premium to it. On the price quality matrix, Good Day biscuits can be classified as following a High-Value strategy.PROMOTION -Britannia has engage into various Integrated Marketing Communciation activities some of the more prominent ones are mentioned as follows. Since Consumers are becoming more health conscious Swasth Khao Tan Man Jagao (Eat Healthy, Think Better) campaign directly addressed this new trend (Tiger Biscuits). A new logo was created encapsulating the core essence of Britannia healthy, nutritious and optimistic. Good Day is positioned as a healthy and nutritious product and it advocates values that stand for health, hygiene, family, trust and taste. Since events form a major chunk of the Brand visibility agenda, Britannia sponsors a lot of Sports and sporting events as key channel for promotions. One of the ma jorly acclaimed campaigns of Britannia is Britannia khao, World Cup jao campaign in 1999 and 2003 and was awarded the most recognized sales promotion among all play World Cup-related sales activitySEGMENTATION AND CUSTOMER ANALYSIS -Before delving deep into Segmentation Targeting and Positioning, it is important to identify what the Key information areas are, specially the demographic profile of the consumer on the parameters age, sex, income level and occupation. Some of the personal characteristics of consumers include the identification of When do customer consume biscuits, Type of biscuits consumed, Where do the customer purchase, Purpose of buying (personal consumption, gifting, serving guests), How much do consumers spend on biscuits, Factors Affecting the buying decision, order of preference etc. Different products will have different target group depending on the above mentioned factor. Though a Good-day would appeal to the consumers as a mid-range biscuit, a further extens ion of that product called Good-day Choco-nut falls in the family line of High-end biscuits. RD - Qualitative Research includes an in-depth analysis of the consumer needs and wants and for this, a wide variety of tool may be used. For example, FGDS with a set of consumers to identify major factors influencing the purchase decision of biscuits (and Interacting with friends and family Quantitative Research Customer survey using questionnaire.Survey done through both face to face interviews as well as online. Tools utilize are Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Fishbein analysis .Consumer Behavior and MARKET RESEARCH IN CHEETAH YMarket Research forms the basis of close to all of the strategically important decisions that a Company makes over a period of time. Consumer psyche, Brand perceptions, Buying behaviours, Priority or preferences, all of these form the mental synthesis blocks of information, on the basis of which a decision maker even goes to the extent of changing the ve ry core proposition of a Brand BRAND sensory faculty - To understand the awareness level of brands across our own company Cheetah Y and across competitors, it is important to have a comparative analysis. This has been made thinkable by Consumer Survey on brand Awareness Segment by Segment . The report delves deep into what exactly is the level of brand knowledge amongst the following segments - Buffs, Singles, Pros, HiEarners and Others. Initially when the game began, the product SYGU occupied highest mindspace share amongst Singles while the product SYCA occupied highest mindspace amongst Pros. At the end of all 12 periods, SYGU continued to choose the highest share amongst Singles while also c adroituring a significantly high percentage amongst Buffs. On the Contrary, the mindspace percentage of SYCA increased excessively for Buffs and Hiearners.Also one more product SYCO was introduced which managed to gain the highest mindspace . This helped in taking proper measures to incre ase brand awareness amongst the desired segment and helped in understanding the impact of increasing advertising white plague .The next logical step after studying the Brand awareness is to find out that how much of it is actually getting converted into buy. To study the Purchase intentions, the report Consumer Survey-purchase Intentions is the apt report. Here we inferred that purchase intention for SYGU was the highest amongst the Singles, which is in sync with the level of Brand awareness amongst them. Also the purchase intention for SYCA was highest amongst the Hiearners which is again in sync with the Brand awareness.IF we analyse the trend across 12 periods, we notice that there is a visible trend reversal i.e. SYGU purchase intention was highest amongst the segment Others while incase of SYCA, the PROS showed the highest purchase intentions . This can be attributed to the fact that a lot of investment was made in the Advertising research and hence overall advertising budget which increased the brand awareness and purchase intention considerably.BUYING BEHAVIOR of consumers - So where exactly are Cheetah Ys target audience buying from This is important to understand because it helped us plan the salesforce and distribute the salesforce accordingly amongst the Speciality stores, departmental stores and Mass merchandise stores. At the start of period 1, Buffs were generally buying from Speciality stores, Singles were mostly buying from speciality and Departmental stores while 50% professionals were buying from Speciality stores.High earners preferred to buy through Departmental stores. However, after understanding the buying behaviour, appropriate salesforce was installed in each of these store types. Hence after period 12, singles ended up buying equally from Speciality, Departmental stores and mass Merchandise stores.The result of all the efforts and budget put into Marketing has a direct impact on the market share and stock prices. In this regard, the Report Consumer Panel- Market Shares based on Unit Sales provide the perfect insight into the market share distribution of the two products amongst Buffs, Singles, pros, Hiearners and others. In the Period 1, the highest share of revenue for SYGU was coming from Singles, while highest share of revenue for SYCA was coming from Hiearners (this is in sync with the BRAND AWARENESS report). However, down the line after 11 periods, the highest share of revenue for SYGU was coming from Others while major revenue contributors for SYCA was the segment pros. Since the brand awareness for the product SYCO was low, this duely reflected in in share of revenue being almost nil from each of the segments.After understanding the current scenario and facts and figures related to Brand awareness and Brand purchase intentions, it becomes imperative to do an apt amount of Advertising Research and an estimate of Competitive advertising. The Market research report tells us that initially all the prod ucts in the Sonite Market had a rating of poor against the various communication dimensions, except SULI . But over a period of 12 periods, while the communication dimensions and ratings and its corresponding ratings for all the products (and companies) changed, the ratings for SYGU AND SYCA remained poor and only SYCO got a message quality of Good. This can be analysed through the fact that though investment in advertising was being made, simultaneously the changes in the parameters Design, Power, free weight etc through RD was not made. This resulted in a mismatch between the product quality and what is being advertised, hence resulting in poor message quality.

environment is under constant threat as a result of modernisation

purlieu is under constant threat as a result of modernisationThe purlieu is under constant threat as a result of modernisation, business activities, constant growth and turn outment. All these are human activities that affect the immediate environment. The depletion in natural re informants especially by the oil and bluster companies such as the Pipeline Product Marketing Company (PPMC) has resulted in serious environmental impacts. Therefore, the indispensableness for sustainability and sustainable development cannot be overemphasized as it has become more important over the last two decades (Micheal Lan, 2000 Carbon Trust, 2008 Hahn, 2001 Cunningham et al., 2005). These accounts for the increasing pressure on governments to develop a response to a variety of problems which range from the employment of natural resources to pollution control. In response, variety of environmental protection ordinance and regulations were formulated with the civilise of protecting the envi ronment (Powley, 2004 IEMA 2005). The increase in natural resources consumption between 1961 and 1990 by 25% every 10 yrs resulted in serious environmental impacts in the form of acid rain. This leads to raising acidity in the soil and water thereby causing damage to forest crops, and freshwater fish and wildlife. Methane galvanic discharge and mining waste, oil spills, air pollution by sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and machinebon dioxide as a result of burnt coal, oil or gas including climate change are also causes of environmental impacts (Micheal Lan, 2000 Edwards, 2000 Jaccard, 2005). PPMC is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation owned by the Federal res publica of Nigeria. The partnership is involved in oil processing, production and marketing. PPMC was established to offer excellent customer services by transporting crude oil to the Nigerian ternary refineries as well as moving white petroleum products to existing markets. Its main objective is to profitably and efficiently market refined petroleum and petrochemical products in the domestic market as well as in the ECOWAS sub region and also provide marine services (PPMC, 2009).INVESTMENT PROJECTThe PPMCs exemplary and inspection department has 36 vehicles, a vehicle in apiece of the 36 states of Nigeria. The vehicles are used as official cars by staff in request to move in-between their offices, depot and filling stations and monitor and inspect their daily operational activities. Each car covers hundreds of kilometres daily due to the long distance between their office, filling stations as well as depots which are located far out of the city for environmental heading. Every car consumes approximately 50 litres of petrol per day. However, it is environmentally unfriendly as they pollute the environment with carbon emissions. The company has set a target to drastically mortify or if possible to stop polluting the environment. Therefore, the senior guidance wants to accomplish a workable excogitate with a length of 4 geezerhood, to improve their environmental achievement and upgrade its corpo assess social responsibility. This picture is expected to be a non-profit have that could conduce many savings to the company and return the sign investing in 3 years in order to avoid risk. The finality of expecting the payback halt of 3 years was made by the senior management after careful consideration of the companys payback criteria which is 5yrs.PPMC has a standard of judging all its investitures objectively, so as to determine whether the payback period is good or bad thereby passing an objective judgement as to know if the investment is worthy to be taken or not. Reducing or halt the amount of petrol that is used during their daily activities, pull up stakes support the company to obtain good corpo locate image and address savings as each litre of petrol is N65 (Naira). In addition the company spends an average of N25, 000 monthly for charge on every car. PPMC is experiencing a great loss of resources as a result of this high petrol consumption every day there by polluting the natural environment. The vehicles have been used for approximately 6 years which has exceeded its warranty period of 1 year. They are being used at maximum level as PPMC ope sends everyday including weekends and public holidays due to their nature of work and wide demand for their supply. The company is currently spending N52, 920,000 yearlyly trying to maintain and go off the old vehicles. The breakdown of these expenses is shown beneath one-year cost of fuel and maintenance (Running cost).This includes running cost of fuel, repairs and monthly checks.Monthly cost of fuel = 50 x 36 x 30 x 65 = N3, 510,000Annual cost of fuel = N3, 510,000 x 12 = N42, 120,000Monthly cost of maintenance = N25, 000 x 36 = N900, 000Annual cost of maintenance = N900, 000 x 12 = N10, 800, 000Total Annual Expenditure = N42, 120,000 + N10, 800, 000 = N52, 920 ,000In order to solve the above mentioned issues, PPMC management have decided to replace the old vehicles with brand new electric cars. These electric cars use neither petrol nor diesel, they have zero emission and their wholly by product is water. The car is cognize as Honda FCX Clarity, it is a Fuel Cell electric automobile Vehicle (FCEV). This vehicle has worn the world immature car award, during the 2009 World Cars Awards in Newyork. This award has upgraded Hondas corpo count image by exposing its commitment towards a green environment. In addition, Honda already has an excellent history of environmental leadership as they are known to be manufactures of low emission vehicles under an improved restrictive beseechment (Honda, 2009). It is rated by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) as the greenest auto maker for four different times in a row (UCS, 2007). The car generates electricity by dint of the V full point fuel cell stack and stores it by the use of its highly efficient lithium ion battery, which helps recover energy. It also monitors electrical flow through its power drive unit and propels the vehicle (Honda, 2009).Honda FCX Clarity has an improved gumshoe measures such as the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Collision relief Braking System (CMBS), six air bags and a unit body structure that is well reinforced. It also has a visual and audio alert which alert the device driver in fact of any potential collision. Another safety precaution programmed in the vehicle is the prompting of the driver by the automatic tug of the hind end belt in case of an unavoidable accident it minimises the speed by breaking force to reduce the impact of collision. Furthermore, it has a very strong electric motor as well as groundbreaking new fuel cell stack. These safety measures have been tested by the United States Federal gumshoe Standards and it was a success story (Honda, 2009). The purchase of Honda FCX Clarity by PPMC willing demonstrate the comp anys commitment towards the reduction of Co2 emission thereby protecting the environment. The company will also be recognised as the first to introduce zero emission cars to Nigeria and it will serve as a solution that could bring cost savings.Total cost of investmentNumber of cars to be purchased = 36 carsCost of each car = N3, 000,000Total amount to be spent on cars = N3, 00,000 x 36 = N108, 000,000Cost of delivery (Shipping) = N300, 000 x 36 = N10, 800,000Total cost of investment = N108, 000,000 + N10, 800,000 = N118, 800,000Annual savingsThe investment is expected to save the annual cost of fuel and maintenanceN42, 120,000 + N10, 800, 000 = N52, 920,000Since the vehicle also comes with a free maintenance package including running cost for 3years 6months in form of a batten down, as it is a newly introduced vehicle. Honda Company is trying to advertise this environmentally friendly vehicle to the world and attracting customers by covering maintenance and running cost. This is be tter compared to the guarantee of the old vehicles which is only 1 year. N52, 920,000 will be saved in the first year, while in the subsequent years N1 per litre will be added due to the projected annual oil product price increment. Therefore the total cost of investment will save the annual cost of fuel and maintenance. It is important to note that N65 is the current price of the petrol in Nigeria.Investment appraisal is a technique used by motorbuss to achieve their target. It is the duty of the manager to determine and prove the importance of the project (Akalu, 2001 Mulholland et al., 2003). Therefore, it is important in the planning of this particular environmental project.PAYBACK PERIODThe duration of time for the PPMC to gain its initiated investment of N118, 800,000 on implementation is known as the payback period (Layard Glaister, 1994). The period of time that cash inflows will become the akin with cash outflows is also known as the payback period (ACCA, 2008). However, it does not consider time look upon for money which expresses that, amount saved today is much more valuable than the same amount saved in 2 years. This is considered as one of the greatest setback (Dury, 1997).Initial investmentAnnual savingsTable 1 retribution period Cash flow Cumulative cash flowInitial Investment (118,800,000) (118,800,000)Savings grade 1 52,920,000 (65,880,000) division 2 42,768,000 (23,112,000)Year 3 43,416,000 20,304,000Year 4 44,064,000 44,064,000Total savings N183, 168,000Initial Investment = N118, 800,000Year 1 and Year 2 savings = 52,920,000 + 42,768,000 = N95, 688,000Year 3 = N43, 416,000In order to calculate the payback period with precision and accuracy, the year 3 savings should be broken down to monthly by dividing it by 12 and past the cumulative s avings for year 1 and 2 should be subtracted from the sign investment. The result should and so be divided by the monthly savings of year 3 to have the actual number of months (Mclaney, 1994). This is calculated belowSavings per month for year 3 = N43, 416,000/12 = N3, 618,000N118, 800,000 N95, 688,000 = N23, 112,000/N3, 618,000 = 6.38Approximately 6 months.Payback period is 2years 6 monthsNET PRESENT VALUE (NPV)NPV is realised by using a neglect rate to determine the current judge of future savings and subtracting the capital cost (Hannagan, 2008). This method accepts with projects that have positive NPV. The method also makes comparison between present value of cash outflows and inflows from an investment (ACCA, 2008).The table below shows the number of years (4), future value (FV), cash flow, discount factor (DF) 15% and the present value (PV). The first step in calculating NPV is to regurgitate the cash inflow (savings) by the DF of each year to get the PV. Then, sum up th e PV and deduct the initial investment from the total PV to arrive at the NPV (Mclaney, 1994). 15% DF was selected not to make profit but to avoid risk it was selected after considering the current base rate of the Central Bank Nigeria which is 13.2% as the base rate keeps appreciating every year (CBN, 2009). Inflation rate in Nigeria increases, therefore oil product price will also appreciate.Table 2NPV calculation CF in Naira (N) DF (15%) PV in Naira (N)Initial investment (118,800,000) 1.000 (118,800,000)SavingsYear 1 52,920,000 0.870 46,040,000Year2 42,768,000 0.756 32,333,000Year 3 43,416,000 0.658 28,568,000Year 4 44,064,000 0.572 25,205,000Total savings 183,168,000 132,146,000NPV = Total PV of savings PV of investmentN132, 146,000 N118, 800,000 = 13,346,000The project has a positive NPV as such it should be undertaken.INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR)IRR is a very important technique that influences the decision making as to whether or not an investment should be approved. It is interested in projects whose IRR are greater than the target rate of return. It also considers time value for money (ACCA, 2008). In order to have precision in calculating the IRR similar steps will be taken as how the NPV was sorted. However, it will require calculations at two different stages (NPV1 and NPV2) with two different DFs and normally both DFs should be greater than the DF used to determine the NPV. Finally the IRR formula will then be applied.IRR = NPV1 x (B A) + ANPV1 NPV2Table 3 IRR calculationYears Cash Flows DF (at 18%) PVYear 0 (118,800,000) 1.000 (N118, 800 Initial investme-+nt)Year 1 52,920,000 0.847 44,823,000Year 2 42,768,000 0.718 30,707,000Year 3 43,416,000 0.609 26,440,000Year 4 44,064,000 0.516 22,737,000Total savings 183,168,000 124,707,000NPV1 = 124, 707,000 118, 800,000 = + 5, 907,000Table 4 Years Cash flow DF (at23%) PVYear 0 (118,800,000) 1.000 (118,800,000)Year 1 52,920,000 0.813 43,024,000Year 2 42,768,000 0.661 28,270,000Year 3 43,416,000 0.537 23,314,000Year 4 44,064,000 0.437 19,256,000Total savings 183,168,000 113,864,000NPV2 = 113,864,000 118,800,000 = 4,936,000IRR calculation 5907x (23 18) + 185907 (- 4936) IRR=20.7%NON FINANCIAL FACTORSThe key purpose of an environmental initiative according to Sheldon and Yoxon (2003) is to reduce environmental impacts of an organisation in ways which makes business sense. The direct result of this provides organisations with benefits which include the use of alternative source of energy to increase in an organisations efficiency, thus providing the organisation with a competitive edge. In addition, it ensures compliance with environmental regulations and increases organisation understands of how its activities impact the environment (Brady, 2006). PPMC has a clutch to benefit apart from the financial savings. The organisation will be contributing its own quota towards achieving sustainability. This will result in environmental performance improvement through the initiative of purchasing brand new cars to reduce or stop carbon emissions. The initiative will reduce pollution, minimise waste, protect the natural environment and provide better corporate social responsibility as well as good corporate image to the organisation. Furthermore, status of the companys r eputation will be upgraded as it is encouraging green environment and legal compliance (Aslaksen Synnedstvedt, 2003). It will also assists in the implementation of environmental policy, while improving compliance with legislation and corporate image (Sheldon Yoxon, 2003).Moreover, PPMC will demonstrate good operations within a safe and clean environment thereby creating a friendly environment for staff and the public (Edward, 2004). This will help sort out social matters and improve health and safety. Since, the electric cars have a highly improved safety measures that could provide ways of pollution control to protect the people and their environment (Edward, 2004). The company could also benefit from changes within the organisation, by delivering this environmental initiative that deals with environmental impacts such as climate change and global warming caused by their emissions (Murray, 2003). In addition, it will support the company to identify and minimise its impacts on the environment so as to enhance its corporate social responsibilities through the use of an alternative source of energy. This will not only promote their business environment but will promote the global environment at large. Purchasing the zero emission vehicles will pave way for the organisation to achieve sustainable development since it is a strategy that could consider maximum utility of resources. In addition, the project is not aimed at profit making but returning of initial investment.SUGGESTIONS/DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION.The rate of interest at which the investment cost leads to investment benefit is known as the IRR. This means that, all investment gains are with the time value for money and at the interest rate, the investment has a zero NPV (ACCA, 2008). This investment appraisal has demonstrated the use of IRR to value the cash flow and raise it as a consequence of the investment while determining it with inflation (ACCA, 2008). For example, a higher target rate of retur n was chosen, so that even in a situation where the inflation rate rises the company will still save cost. Interest rate may rise to 15% during the life time of the project due to the increasing inflation rate in Nigeria, as history has shown that Nigerian base rate rises up to 0.45 every year. Therefore, risk is incorporated and the project is considered less risky. The IRR is 20.7%, this has shown a very good risk margin considering the Nigerian stinting instability. Furthermore, the advantage of the IRR being 20.7% is that, even if the interest rate increases the project will still be economically good.Base rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria was used to determine the cost of capital and calculate the initial NPV. The base rate was also used to incorporate inflation by discounting cash flows to get the future value. Inflation changes value for money, this is the main reason for using the base rate in determining the discount factor for the NPV calculation. Two discount rates were used to solve the equation of IRR which assumes that NPV changes with discount rate but this is not the case in reality. The positive result of the NPV means that the project should be accepted and the chosen discount rate of 15% helped identify the actual value of the savings to be made, based on the fact that the project is anticipated to make an overall savings. However, the actual value of IRR is more important as it considers the current economic climate and the future interest rate of Nigeria. The result has shown that the IRR is higher than the target rate of return. It is important to note that, base rate is used to determine NPV not IRR while IRR assumes that NPV is zero.The savings to be realised by PPMC as a result of the new initiative as well as the indication of an lovable Payback period upon investment is clearly exposed. Payback period 2 years 6 months is a good payback period since, the criteria requires payback of the initial investment in 5yrs. Hence, it would h ave been a bad payback period if it exceeds 5years. Furthermore, PBP was used to support other data because it is not enough to serve as criteria for investment. The company will continue to benefit from the project for years even after returning the initial investment. PPMC could consider using a different discount rate for this project since it is aimed at executing an environmental project and not profit making. This appraisal has been thoroughly evaluated and has proven that the investment is reasonable (Mclaney, 1994). Since, the company will spend only N65, 880,000 more on the annual maintenance cost (52, 920,000) and save N52, 920,000 in the first year and more in the subsequent years at the same time stopping the carbon emissions from the old cars.In addition, it is a mandatory for the company to meet up the governments requirement to reduce environmental impact and comply with the prevailing legislation. If the organisation was not to invest in this project the money would have been channelled to the federation account and budgeted to execute other projects in other sectors or Nigerian ministries. However, PPMC has the authority to use any reasonable amount to improve its environmental performance or execute any viable project that will be beneficial to the organisation. Finally, the calculation resulted in a less discount rate where NPV1 became positive and a greater discount rate where NPV2 remain negative and IRR fell in between the two discount factors (ACCA, 2008). The 3 investment appraisal techniques were fully utilised to determine the projects viability. This has proven that the project is economically viable (Mclaney, 1994). In view of this, the investment appraisal is affordable and worthy of acceptance. Moreover, the purchase of the electric cars is the best option, as it will not only reduce carbon emissions but will stop the emissions from the old vehicles completely, thereby upgrading the companys image as well as enhancing its overall environmental performance.

Humerous Themes In Othello :: essays research papers

When the well-known English dramatist William Shakespeare began writing Othello, he had already been educated in the classics and in literature. Although his contemporary Ben Jonson said that Shakespeare knew "little Latin and less Greek," scholars know that Shakespeare knew, at least, about Greek ideas about comedy and tragedy. He was not improbably educated, but he was aware that his play would comment on ideas about comedy. By looking at a few crucial scenes in the play, this typography will demonstrate that, although most people consider Shakespeares Othello a tragedy, it is actually a black comedy.In crook V, Scene I (17-30) lines Iago comments comically on the murder scene he has set up himself. This is the sceneIago. O murderous slave O villain Stabs RODERIGORod. O damnd Iago O inhuman dogIago. Kill men i the dark Where be these bloody thieves?How silent is this town Ho murder murderWhat may you be? are you of good or evil?Lod. As you shall prove us, praise us.Iag o. Signior Lodovico?Lod. He, sir.Iago. I cry you mercy. Heres Cassio hurt by villains.Gra. CassioIago. How is it, brother?Cas. My leg is cut in two.Iago. Marry, heaven forbid,Light, gentlemen Ill bind it with my shirt.Iago has the audience and everyone other than Roderigo believe that he is looking for thieves. If you think about it, that is a funny statement. He has committed a murder, but he pretends that he has not. Further, he pretends that he is looking for the killer and is the only one who cares enough to do so, and cannot believe "how silent" the town is. Even his final gesture, of trying to "bind" the wound with his shirt, is a supremely comic one, perhaps for Shakespeare more than Iago. Iago may be able to al-Qaida the flow of blood coming from Cassios leg. But it would be silly for the audience to believe what Iago implicitly asks them to believe, that anyone or anything can stem the tide of destruction that he has already unleashed on the plays character s, and by implication, in the plays plot.Earlier in the play, in Act II, Scene I (lines 87-95), a similar event occurs, when Cassio greets Desdemona and speaks about Othello and IagoCas. She that I spake of, our great captains captain,Left in the conduct of the bold Iago,Whose soil here anticipates our thoughtsA sennights speed. Great Jove, Othello guard,And swell his sail with thine own powerful breath,

Dr Kings Vision of Economic and Social Justice Essay -- Martin Luther

Not many folks remember that the 1963 March on capital of the United States was officially named March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This fact often gets lost amid the important celebration of the general achievement and highlights such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s I Have a Dream oration. Indeed, the theme of railway line creation runs though Dr. Kings writings. Perhaps no single policy could demand as great a social and economical impact on the African American communityand the entire countryas federally funded job assurance for every person ready and willing to work. This is a policy approach that was explicitly supported by Dr. King, and that is currently receiving attention in economic and policy circles.In an article in Look published just after his assassination (King, 1968), Dr. King wrote that We call our demonstration a campaign for jobs and income because we timber that the economic question is the most crucial that black people, and poor people genera lly, are confronting. Thirty-three years later, at the peak of a peacetime economic involution heralded as the longest and strongest in recent history, not only is the African American unemployment rate stuck at twice that of whites, but at nearly 8% that figure remains at a rate that would be considered evidence of a deep recession were it to hold for society as a wholeThere is a literal depression in the Negro community. When you have mass unemployment in the Negro community, its called a social enigma when you have mass unemployment in the white community, its called a depression. The fact is, there is a major depression in the Negro community. The unemployment rate is exceedingly high, and among Negro youth, it goes up as high as forty percent in some cities. (Kin... ...ew, 15, April. Other Works CitedDarity, Jr., William A. Darity and Samuel L. Myers, Jr. (with Emmett D. Carson and William Sabol), 1994, The Black Underclass unfavorable Essays on Race and Unwantedness, Ne w York Garland.Darity, Jr., William A. and Derrick Hamilton, 2001, A Test of the Functionality of Discrimination, presented at Allied Social Science Annual Meetings, New Orleans, January. Other Work on popular Service Job AssuranceCarlson, Ellen, and William F. Mitchell, 2000, The Path to Full Employment and Equity, ELRR Economic and Labour Relations Review,Supplement to Volume 11.Warner, Aaron, Mathew Forstater, and Sumner Rosen, 2000, Commitment to Full Employment, Armonk, N.Y. M. E. Sharpe.Wray, L. Randall, 1998, Understanding upstart Money The Key To Full Employment and Price Stability, Cheltenham, U.K. Edward Elgar.

History of Nazi Germany :: World War II History

History of Nazi GermanyNational Socialism between 1920 and 1945 can best be described as an era of constant change. Hitlers readjustment in the German Workers Party provided him the foundation needed to propel his idealistic views of anti-Semitism and Aryan superiority. Soon after Hitlers enrollment the partys name was changed to the National collectivist German Workers Party and in the summer of 1921 his talents as an orator and propagandist enabled him to take over the leadership of the Nazi Party. Hitlers initial following - stemmed from German hyper-inflation and devaluation of the mark - included unemployed workers and the lower class, his keen ability to organize rallies to hear his speeches were instrumental in raising monies for the Nazi Party. Although the majority of his followers divided up his dislike of the Weimar Republics liberal democracy and anti-Semitic ag leftovera, his party support, due to its small size, was limited to the Bavarian region of German, this would prove to be a limiting fixings when Hitler attempted to seize control of the provincial Bavarian government during his Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. Hitlers ill-fated attempt of treason proved to work to his gain thus, giving him national status as a patriot and a hero in the eyes of many. As a result, Hitler served 9 months in prison for the Beer Hall Putsch and wrote a book titled Mein Kampf (My Struggle) outlining his vision for the future Germany. By late 1924 Hitler was release on parole, after serving a dish out his five year sentence, and quickly regained control of the Nazi Party, noting that any future seizure must come by legal measures through Parliamentary elections. face up with a temporary improvement of the German economy by the Weimar Republics ability to secure loans and investments (mostly from America), Hitler was forced to wait until economic conditions worsened to propel his Nazi agenda. In 1929 Hitler finally got his chance, the American stock market crash of 1929 affected nearly every nation in the world and German prosperity soon came to an end as a result of the Great Depression, vast unemployment and hunger that followed. President Hindenburgs Weimar Republic soon found itself obligated to repay debts owed to countries that once provided assistance during measure of prosperity. Discontented German people wanted change and Bruening (Chancellor) believed that a stable parliament majority for his party could deliver the change required, so new elections were held.

Henrik Isbens A Dolls House :: A Dolls House Essays

Translation Trouble     In the play "A Doll House" the main character, Nora, is in a position where she is caused to act, emotionally and physically, as a doll to please her husband. Nora has to be very sneaky and conniving in allege to be perfect and talked down to by her husband. The translation of this play from Norwegian was a little difficult. The title can either be translated as "A Doll House" or as "A Dolls House". Many people believe either title equalizes the theme of the play.     I believe that the title "A Dolls House" may fit because it is Nora being a doll in regulate to please her husband Torvald. Torvald sees her as his toy, not as a human equal to himself. Torvald gives his wife pet names such(prenominal) as "spend thrift" and "squander bird". This shows just how controlling he really is. Nora just plays along, keeping secrets from Torvald in order to please him at any expen se. This was a very common situation during the era whom this play was produced. Nora is smart and capable of a lot more exclusively she lets herself be held back in order to be the perfect wife for Torvald.     The title "A Doll House" would not fit the play because this states that everyone in the house is a doll. However, Nora is the only character truly pretending to be what they are not. This title would work if everyone was trying to give off an image that wasnt true, such as Nora did. If Nora is a doll then all the other characters would be the humans playing with her, causing her to do extra ordinary tasks such as forgery and lying.      The best title is definitely "A Dolls House" because Nora is the only character acting in a different manner in order to please her power hungry husband, Torvald. Even if she was conniving it was all in good intentions. It takes a very loving wife to go out of her guidance in order to make sure that her husband isnt burdened down with the expenses of a trip that saved his life. However, Torvald doesnt really see his Nora as his wife emotionally but as his little sex pet. This is what Nora finally realizes at the end of the play when Torvald is only worried about himself and what everyone else thinks about him.

The Life Of Albert Einstein :: Biography Biographies

The Life Of Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was whizz of the greatest geniuses of all time. In 1886 he began his school career in Munich. He studied mathematics, in particular calculus, beginning around 1891.In 1894 Einsteins family moved to Milan but Albert stayed behind in Munich. In 1895 Albert failed an examination that would suck in allowed him to study for a diploma as an electrical engineer at the Eidgenossiche Technische Hochschule in Zurich. After some time he graduated in 1900 as a teacher, teaching mathematics at the Technical High School in Winterthur.Einstein finally landed another temporary job at the patent office in Bern. His title was technical expert third class. He worked in this patent office from 1902 to 1909 holding a temporary come in when he was first appointed. By 1904 the position was do permanent and in 1906 he was promoted to technical expert second class.Einstein earned a doctors degree from the University of Zurich in 1905 for a thesis on a new determ ination of molecular dimensions.Einstein wrote three papers in 1905. In the first one he examined the phenomenon discovered by Max Planck, which was, according to which electromagnetic energy seemed to be emitted from radiating object in discrete quantities. The energy of these quanta was directly relative to the frequency of the radiation. This contradicted the normal electromagnetic theory based on Maxwells equations and the laws of thermodynamics, which assured that electromagnetic energy was made up of waves that could contain every small amount of energy. Einstein used Plancks quantum hypothesis to describe the electromagnetic radiation of light. Einsteins second paper proposed what is now called the spare theory of relativity. He based his new theory on a reinterpretation of the classical principle of relativity, specifically the laws of physics had to have the same form in any frame of reference. Later in 1905 Einstein showed how mass and energy were equal. The third paper in 1905 concerned statistical mechanics.After 1905 Einstein made important contributions to quantum theory, but he wanted to extend the special theory of relativity to phenomena involving acceleration. The key appeared in 1907 with the principle of equivalence, in which gravitational acceleration was held to be indistinguishable from acceleration caused by mechanical forces. From then on, gravitational mass was identical with inertial mass.1909 recognized Einstein as a leading scientific thinker and in the same year he resigned from the patent office. He was appointed a full professor at the Karl Ferdinand University in Prague in 1911.