Vietnamese Weasel Coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vietnamese Weasel Coffee - Essay Example The plantation workers were not allowed to consume coffee beans picked from the coffee plantations. Driven by desire, they would pick up and clean the beans that had been excreted by the civet cats or weasels. It is argued that the weasels’ digestive systems give the coffee beans a unique rich aroma, smooth and rounded taste. The plantation owners later began to appreciate the unique flavor and hence its popularity today. Coffee producers posit that this process of making coffee through collecting beans from civet cats improves the coffee through selection and digestion. The civets select the most appropriate cherries containing better beans. When ingested and goes through the digestion process, the beans are enhanced in flavor due to fermentation in the digestive tract. The intensive method of collecting coffee beans has given rise to a new system of farming where the civet cats are battery caged and fed on the coffee cherries which they later evacuate; they are collected, washed and sold to the manufacturers (Waltner-Toews 13).The coffee beans are also collected in the forests. This is as a good source of income for the collectors. The unique flavor of this brand of coffee is enhanced by the use of condensed milk as a creamer and sweetener. After the coffee beans are ground, they are put into a metal filter, mixed generously with condensed milk. Boiling water is then put and allowed to drip slowly i nto the cup. The condensed milk and coffee are then blended carefully with a spoon giving way to a smooth, wonderful mixture known as cafe sua da. This coffee has a stronger and rich flavor as compared to the western style coffee. Production of this coffee is continually becoming difficult as the newly acquired intensive farming methods of raring civet cats is being heavily criticised by animal rights groups.

Risk and Return Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Risk and Return - Term Paper Example It not only takes into account the risk free rate of return but also includes market risk premium while at the same time taking beta of the stock into account too. (Valuebasedmanagement.net, 2011) This paper will discuss as to how to compute the cost of equity for Wal-Marts while at the same comparing it with other firms. Other models for caluclating cost of equity such as dividend discount model as well as arbitrage pricing theory. 1) Calculations Name of the Company Wal-Mart Nestle McDonald Beta Value 0.371 0.582 0.363 US Treasury (RF) 3% 3% 3% RM-RF 7% 7% 7% Cost of Equity 5.59% 7.06% 5.52% Cost of equity for Wal-Mart is computed in following manner: Rate = RF + Beta x (RM-RF) = 3% + 0.37 (7%) Cost of equity = 5.59% Is this cost of equity higher or lower than you expected? The above calculations suggest that the cost of equity for Wal-Mart is 5.59% which is below the average rate on S&P 500 for an average firm. This cost of equity however, may be considered as adequate or right co nsidering the overall fundamentals of Wal-Mart, its brand image, its global presence as well as the overall industry dynamics. Such low rate of cost of equity therefore indicates that investors are satisfied with the overall strong historical performance of Wal-Mart. Beta values of other companies For the purpose of comparison with Wal-Mart, Nestle as well as McDonalds have been considered as a case study. The tabular calculations are provided in following table: Name of the Company Wal-Mart Nestle McDonald Beta Value 0.374 0.585 0.366 US Treasury (RF) 3% 3% 3% RM-RF 7% 7% 7% Cost of Equity 5.59% 7.06% 5.52% Cost of equity for Nestle Rate = RF + Beta x (RM-RF) = 3% + 0.58(7%) = 7.06% Cost of equity for McDonalds Rate = RF + Beta x (RM-RF) = 3% + 0.36 (7%) = 5.52% The comparison made above shows that the cost of equity of three firms is approximately within a certain range. All three firms have cost of equities which are less than 10% suggesting that the low beta values may have an i mpact on their overall valuation. Beta values always suggest the correlation between the market returns as well as the individual security returns therefore low beta value suggest that the market and the security go hands in hand. The above comparison also shows that these firms are mature firms and are industry leaders with low risk profile therefore investors are relatively satisfied on their ability to operate as a going concern. Further, these firms are mature with stable patterns of earning therefore the overall cost of equity is low due to their low risk. 4) Capital asset pricing model is not the only model to compute the cost of equity as models such as dividend discount model as well as arbitrage pricing theory are other alternatives. Dividend Discount Model is based on the computation of the fair value of any security based on the dividends. (Investopedia.com ). According to this model, the future cash flows to be generated from any given security come in the form of future dividends therefore discounting such cash flows with an appropriate rate can provide a fair indication about the price of a security. The formula is : P0 = D1 / (R-G) D1 is the dividends in the future period 1 whereas R is the required rate of return whereas G suggests the historical growth rate of the dividends. Through manipulation of the above formula, the rate of return through dividend discount model can be computed in following manner: R = D1/P0 + G The required rate o

Government impact on the Cherokee nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Government impact on the Cherokee nation - Essay Example The federal government of the United States has always followed policies towards the Cherokee that were in the government’s best interest, occasionally supporting the group but more often oppressing them, whereas local governments were almost universally fought against the Cherokee Nation and allowed their slaughter. John Ehle in his Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation describes the contact between the Cherokee, other native tribes, the United States government and other European groups from the middle of the eighteenth century through the nineteenth century. He uses a narrative approach, attempting to connect the reader to the text by bringing out the character of historical people. In this way it reads half way between a historical fiction and a work of non-fiction, with elements of detail that would be possible to glean from historical documents such as a particular person having â€Å"soft hair, instead of the Idian’s more coarse, straight hair †1 followed immediately by factual and historical information about the languages and dialects spoken by the Cherokee people.2 It tries to take a balanced approach, spending as much time as possible focusing on both the Cherokee and American points of view, but occasionally indulges in elements of stereotyping, depicting all Cherokee men as tall, proud warriors or mystical shamans, for instance, removing a lot of the humanity that would connect the reader to the subjects of the book. This book makes excellent use of primary sources, providing long in text quotations for important documents and events, ranging from presidential proclamations to journal entries of people involved in those events. It also does an excellent job weaving historical information and information about Cherokee culture and practice throughout its narrative structure, both entertaining and informing in equal measure. Ehle also uses endnotes to add further historical explanation and outline sources of inf ormation; a full bibliography provides excellent material for further reading as well as understanding which elements of Ehle’s work are complete historical facts and which have been elaborated upon by the author. The relationship between the United States Federal government and the Cherokee nations shifted drastically between the 1776 and the middle of the nineteenth century, usually depending on the way the Cherokee could be useful or exploited by the government. As Ehle points out, members of the early federal government â€Å"fully intended to honor† both Cherokee land claims and any treaties that the Cherokees made with the government.3 In cases where white Americans violated the rights of Cherokee people, the federal government responded forcefully; in one case in 1792, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson signed a presidential proclamation offering a reward of â€Å"five hundred dollars† for the apprehension of a group of white Americans who â€Å"inva ded, burned and destroyed a town belonging to the Cherokee Nation.†4 When these measures proved less than completely successful, military officers were eventually used to apprehend people who had attacked a Cherokee group at a peace conference (along with the Federal government staff staying with them).5 Clearly, the US federal government once had the role of defending the Cherokee’s against the government’s own people and settlers, interacted with the Cherokee natio

Complexity Theory Dominates The Narrative In Strategy Today Essay

Complexity Theory Dominates The Narrative In Strategy Today - Essay Example Thus, it is clear that organisations cannot carry on with preset strategies, and instead has to keep tab of all the happenings in its external environment and accordingly come up with strategies and reorient its organizational processes. This form of strategic management, where the organisation will keep on initiating new strategies according to its external environment, only comes under the Complexity theory. This theory views organisation mainly as part of a collection of structures, in which the organization could share some or maximum properties with other composite and adaptive environmental systems or structures. As the organisations share properties with these environmental systems, they will be able to adapt to that environment, reorient its strategies accordingly and emerge successful. So, this paper will critically discuss the strategic management view that Complexity theory dominates the narrative in strategy today, by first providing the background of the Complexity theor y. Then, the paper will analyse with case examples how the theory is practiced in an organization and how the strategist or leader or manager will play a role in that practice. The paper will also provide counter perspectives, before drawing to a conclusion. When the Complexity theory is viewed from an overall perspective, or when one focuses on the science of complexity, it emerges that it is the study of an evolving and adapting order in an otherwise orderly systems. That is, certain action is carried out, or naturally carries out in a specific order, without changing of set patterns, for example, flocking and large scale migration of birds. However, even that set pattern have to be changed according to the constantly changing environment. So, the key is, the actions has to be operated at the vicinity of ‘edge’, without deeply getting involved in preset practices. That is, one has to be fully prepared for any changes that might occur in their action path, and so they should operate in that path of ‘prepared’ or ‘ready to adapt’ state. According to McElory (2000), the systems that operate in the vicinity of the edge or even chaos mainly exhibits strong bursts of creativity, thereby coming up with i nnovative behaviours and new patterns. These new patterns which enhances the ability of a system to â€Å"adapt successfully to its environment are stabilized and repeated† while those that performs below expectations and leads to failures â€Å"are rejected in favor of radically new ones, almost as if a cosmic game of trial-and-error were being played.† (McElory 2000, p.196). Many concepts of the Complexity theory got originated and were researched at the Sante Fe Institute, located in New Mexico, USA. The institute was found in 1984 by George A. Cowan as an independent research centre, where scientists from different disciplines including maths, physics, biology, information technology, psychology, physiology, etc, etc with their computing expertise, conducted â€Å"interdisciplinary work on the behaviour of complex adaptive systems†, coming up with various postulations of the Complexity theory. (Rosenhead 2008). The basic concept that resulted from this resea rch under the Complexity theory is that, any collection of components as well as systems will evolve as well as organize itself, on the basis of changes in its external environment. The application of this concept in the field of business started

Role of Merchandiser Essay Example for Free

Role of Merchandiser Essay The merchandiser is responsible for particular lines of merchandise. For example, in a department store, there may be merchandisers for menswear, women’s wear, children’s wear etc. the basic duties of the merchandiser can be divided into four areas: planning, directing, co-coordinating and controlling. Planning: Though the merchandisers may not be directly involved in the actual purchase of merchandise, they formulate the policies for the areas in which they are responsible. Forecasting sales for the forthcoming budget period is required and this involves estimating consumer demand and the impact of changes in the retail environment. The sales forecasts are then translated into budgets to help the buyers work within the financial guidelines. Directing: Guiding and training buyers as and when the need arises is also function of the merchandiser. Many a times, the buyers have to be guided to take additional markdowns for products which may not be doing to well in the stores. Inspiring commitment and performance in the part of the buyers is necessary. Coordinating: Usually, merchandise managers supervise the work of more than one buyer, hence they need to coordinate the buying effort in terms of how well it fits in with the store image and with the other products being bought by other buyers. Controlling: Assessing not only the merchandise performance, but also the buyer’s performance is part of the merchandise manager’s job. Buying performance may be evaluated on the basis of net sales maintained mark up percentages, mark down percentages, gross margin percentages and stock turn. This is necessary to provide control and maintain high performance results. As a key aspect of merchandising involves selection of merchandise or products to be sold in the retail store, the job of the merchandiser also involves visits to suppliers or manufacturers of select goods. This is likely to involve working closely with retail buyers. They negotiate a price, order the goods, agree on a delivery date, complete all the necessary paperwork, and keep in ouch with suppliers to make sure that the goods arrive on time. Merchandisers work closely with the visual display staff and department managers to decide how goods should be displayed to best attract customers’ attention. This might involve planning and setting up sales promotions and advertising campaign. In some organizations, this is a separate role carried out by a visual merchandiser. Merchandiser may also travel to different stores to actually check the response to various items in the merchandise. To enjoy working as a merchandiser, it is essential that the individual has a mathematical ability to work out budgets and understand sales figures. He/she should be able to understand what the customer wants and translate that into specific products. The ability to work in a team is also essential, as the merchandiser would have a team of buyers reporting to him / her. Many retail organizations also have a Divisional Merchandise Manager (DMM) or similar position, wherein the person would be responsible for merchandising activities for particular liens of merchandise. For example, the children’s wear DMM supervises those buyers who purchase merchandise such as baby clothes, clothes for new born, clothes for boys, clothes for girls and accessories. Typically, the role of a divisional merchandise manager, immaterial of the size of the retail organization, would involve the following functions: 1) Forecasting sales for the forthcoming budget period: This involves estimating consumer demand and the impact of changes in the retail environment. 2) Translating the sales forecast into inventory levels in terms of rupees. To do this effectively, the DMM needs to understands and provide for the inventory levels that would be needed to achieve of sales 3) Inspiring commitment and performance on the part of the merchandisers and buyers: Typically, as divisional merchandise managers are senior within the organization, it is believed that they can guide the merchandisers in terms of vendor selection, merchandise lines that can be developed and future trends. 4) Assessing not only the merchandise performance but also the buyer’s performance in order to provide control and maintain high performance results.

A Management Report On L Oreal Marketing Essay

A Management Report On L Oreal Marketing Essay INTRODUCTION The Management report that I am presenting here reflects a complete analysis of LOreal With some very significant aspect of the companys profile including companys overview and history. Also a brief idea about its products, and their brands. No business in this planet is free from weaknesses, which actually comes within the organisation and threats that acts as the external factors as a result of the business environment where it operates. We all know that SWOT analysis is actually an important instrument or an ideal measuring parameter of any organisation to determine its present value in the competitive business environment. Moreover to plan a strategic move in order to deal with any incompetences of the business. Therefore it becomes utmost important for this report to spill the beans on the internal strengths and weaknesses of the organisation followed by the external growth opportunity, and their rivals which is a threat for the organisation. In short we have to apply SWOT analy sis in order to get a transparent and true picture of the LOreal. Which I have attempted to present in a form of an ideal Management Report, as much as possible.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBXIbfS7wrZuZ9PIImGEFScDtNO-jCXGaM1Mzssyn6FXJcwzjh-Qn7OETot7Y7kN-o8JmO12Ra3EloENesSGM6KhyphenhyphenI7xbh_GNb2TOaJLyzdUCoM8fB6-tO8G1B_6EMzq4SCYRIp5VCpq3/s320/logo_l_oreal.jpg The business world today is far more dynamic than we can ever think of; hence it calls for the evaluation of all the factors of the business, be it internal or external, technical or social. All these important aspects of the business need to be evaluated at frequent intervals. Therefore the dynamic nature of the business and the requirement of this report have made it compulsory to critical analysis the decision making factors and strategic policies in the wake of the globalisation and redefined business paradigm. Nevertheless in response to the present culture the feedback of LOreal has been given an equal importance in this report. In order to determine and deal with the effectiveness of response, in terms of current business scenario. The scope of any improvement in the responses from LOreal are dealt with great care and understanding. And this area of the report forms the recommendation and suggestion part. In addition it winds-up with the conclusion of the entire Management Report as a whole. http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=334974t=dcat_id= LOREALS OVERVIEW HISTORY The name says it all; LOreal is the worlds renowned and biggest cosmetics and beauty Product Company. The company was founded by Eugene Schueller in year 1909. But now the company is controlled by the founders daughter Lilliane and in year 2009 LOreal has celebrated its 100 years of relentless service to the mass. Initially the company was registered as Societe Francaise de Teintures Inoffensives pourCheveus, in year 1909 in the days of it formation, but years later it was then named as LOreal. The company has four strong pillars of their entire business portfolio, namely Consumer Products, Luxury Products, Professional Products and Active Cosmetics. LOreal operates in some 130 countries with a complete range of 27 beauty products, in different segments of their business. To help LOreal achieve their goals and objective a dedicated strong team of 67,662 employees are engaged in the project of attaining the desired mission of LOreal. A century of expertise in the field of beauty care products is completely driven with innovation. That is reason why LOreal invests some 1/3 rd of their revenue is devoted to their RD department. LOreal holds a stake of 19.5 % in Sanofi/Synthelabo. Apart from this, a holding company Gesparal has 51% of LOreal share and the food giant from Switzerland Nestle hold the balance 49% of the Gesparal The success of LOreal stands on the strong foundation of 5 key area of expertise, Hair care, Hair colour, Skin care, Make-up and Fragrances. The revenue generated from LOreal is estimated to be more than 50% from outside of Europe. Acquiring other brands is one of the vital activities, in which LOreal is focusing to a great extent. LOreal has been a great platform for the young breeding talents through their global recruitment strategy. LOreal follows an equal opportunity program, therefore as a result of that its employee are from 110 nationalities, a classic example of cosmopolitan environment diversity Management. 97% of the LOreal factories are ISO approved. And LOreal operates 38 factories all over the world, manufacturing some 4.9 billions units in 2009. LOreal has the list following brands which includes Internal Analysis Strengths Unique vision The company was with a passion and a quest to transcending the border to make the world beautiful. The credit of outstanding success of the LOreal as a company goes without doubt to the vision of the concept of working as a team, which operates under the truly outstanding Director Lindsay Owen-Jones. Worlds prestigious Brand This French company has brought a revolution in the beauty product industry. A giant in manufacturing of some world class cosmetic for example Lancà ´me, Vichy and the brand for the mass like The body shop, Laboratories Garnier and Maybelline. The other brand includes Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Gemey Maybelline, Sanofi/Synthelabo Giorgio Armani Parfums, Soft Sheen-Carson, Galderma, and many more Strong RD Department The biggest asset or strength of the company is their relentless effort in RD department, which keeps a continuous effort toward finding new and innovative products in the field of beauty and cosmetics market. This contributes a great deal in the competitive market like beauty product industry, in not just making new customer but retaining old customer as well by offering a brand new product to their customer at frequent intervals at a global platform. Multiple product range LOreal has a strong product collection presence in the beauty product industry. Starting from hair care to skin care and from fragrances to styling products. The companys multiple product division like Consumer Products, Luxury Products, Professional Products and Active Cosmetics has made it unique in the global scenario. Dermatological Pharmaceuticals advancement The next great strength of the LOreal group is advance level of activity in the dermatological and Pharmaceuticals sectors, giving them a position of nano-technology patent holder in United States. Sound distribution channel Apart from this LOreal has a sound distribution channel and logistic department which helps a proper and smooth supply of its products, ensuring that the products are available to the maximum customers. The most expensive products and luxury items are distributed through duty-free shops and the department stores. And the hair care products are sold maximum from the hair salons. And the active cosmetics department sale their product via multiple beauty outlets and from pharmacies as well. Advance Advertisement strategy The strong advertisement strategy from LOreal puts the company miles ahead from its competitors. By understanding the requirement of the customer it succeeds it bringing to their customer the right product, through the deadly combination of marketing advertisement strategy. Weaknesses Organisational structure The company has grown enormously big, and there are various division and sub-division of the organisation, this has made the organisational sector a bit decentralised one, owing to its gigantic size. At times it becomes impossible to find out the exact division responsible for the pitfalls of the company. Low profit margin The company has got a numerous rivals, and to compete in the challenging market, the product pricing is considerably low compare to the other companies, and many times the profit does not meet the expectation of their own margin. To a great extent advertising and marketing of a high-end nature is highly a reason to a low return. Lack of control. The co-ordination and the control of LOreal is somewhat lacking due to its gigantic size. This is again observed as a negative point and as a setback. External Analysis Opportunities Infinite field The main fields of expertise of LOreal is the product of beauty care which truly provides an edge and a never ending opportunity to concentrate and keep developing and specialising in the various aspect of beauty care like hair colouring styling, skin care cosmetics and fragrances as well. Brand image The name of LOreal is more than enough for its consumers, because its been a leading brand in the fields of beauty for ages. The brand name itself gives LOreal a great opportunity to develop its business abundantly. Patent Rights Another great advantage is the chunk of their market share in this particular industry in which they operate. It gives them advantage to have the world class brands and various patent registered in their names. This gives them an edge over their rivals because the customer cannot get the same cosmetics in other brands. Threats Growing Competition The field of beauty product industry is vast; therefore everyday a new organisation is born. This raises the bar of growing competition for LOreal Economic turmoil The economics downturn is been witnessed very often in many countries for example USA, and Britain, this could possible be a great threat to the business opportunity and profit margin of LOreal. Many of the LOreal products are in the top line, which the basic customer will find it expensive especially in the times of credit crunch and recession. http://loreal.exteen.com/20080805/swot-analysis-l-oreal http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Loreal-Swot/149358 The impact of globalisation on LOreal Global expansion is at the heart of LOreal growth strategy. This French cosmetics and toiletries giant have experienced unmatched growth and success in the sector with an unparallel global expansion into new beauty-product markets. And these plans are executed under the sharp and judicious direction of Owen Jones, the chairman of the company. The business goes global because of its strategic vision, some 16 years back LOreal used to pocket 75% of the revenue from the sales of Europe, major from France, but by 2004, a total of 85% of its revenue generated, were outside France, we can cite this as a classic example of ideal globalisation. LOreal is a real global leader in every segment of its industry. Globalisation means inviting tougher rivalry with the international player at a global level. Therefore it has to be backed up with a mastermind global strategy that will give a cutting edge at a worldwide level, and a brand image of the organisation. But in order to internationalise, a business has to initiate lot of innovative and latest business tactics, at regular intervals for instance global entry strategy, proper marketing mix, standardisation, or adaptation of international policy and procedure etc. Let us analyse the global strategy that has put LOreal miles ahead of its rivals in the beauty industry. From the research and findings I have realize certain strategic decision making and policies formation of LOreal which can be said as the influence of globalisation. Acquisition strategy. To dream LOreal beyond the French borders is the milestone, as told to the fortune audience, and was considered to be his smartest move as CEO. As he told the Fortune audience, The defining moment for me was when I decided LOreal must become a world company and not just a French one. (Chairman LOreal) In the battle to reign global beauty market, LOreal has developed a winning formula, Consolidation which is considered as a lethal weapon to support their competitive strategy. The mastermind strategy of Owen Jones to buy local cosmetic brands, give it a facelift, and sell it in the international market has helped LOreal to gain a good market share in the beauty industry. Lets take a brief look at all the acquisition of LOreal. Maybelline LOreal makes a risky investment of $758 millions to acquire Maybelline in 1996, it head quarters were shifted to New York. The product line like nail polish and lipstick were given a complete transformation and launched with exciting new colours. The sales figure reflects a big rise in 2003, where 56% of total sales came from outside US. In Japan it become the hottest selling beauty products amongst teens, the products like curls mascara and volume express line were in growing popularity all over. Soft-Sheen- Carson A leader in hair care industry soft sheen was acquired by the giant LOreal in year 1998, and later on it went to acquire Carson product an ethnic manufacturer in hair and skin care. The mastermind Owen then merged two companies to form soft sheen- Carson in august 1998. The potential market of hair care product was targeted by LOreal. This was a global move to cover half of total African market, and currently LOreal control 41% of South African market. Kiehl Jones went further to buy Kiehl, a small cosmetics firm exactly going in contrast with the regular LOreal brand and products. Jones find it extremely interesting that the firm is doing exceptionally good. It main emphasis is on product quality, for the rest LOreal gives a bouncing life to the product by giving it a new look and proper product placement makes it well presentable in the international market at selected European stores. And these are done without ads or promotions. Shu Uemura To get a strong foot hold in Japan, LOreal went on further to takeover Shu Uemura as a part of strategic alliance with Japanese Shu Uemura, a cosmetic company rapidly stretching its presence in China and other Asian countries. The Body Shop LOreal gave a shocking surprise by gobbling up The Body shop in year 2005, such a small port folio. But it was strategic decision for going global and increasing its brand port folio when the company decided to go for a  £ 650m purchase of the ethical beauty retailer. This has a strong presence with 2550 outlets all over UK. Indeed a very smart move by the by acquiring this port folio, LOreal has built its ethical image in the market at a global level. And to book an image that the company is going natural and minimise its carbon footprints. Others Mininurse Yue-Sai are two small organisations that were respectively bought in 2003 2004 by LOreal as a strategy of global expansion, but now are performing excellent in the local cosmetic markets. Canan a specialist in hair care was a recent acquisition from Turkey in late 2007. In the recent past LOreal has been concentrating on higher end port folio. As a result to push its salon market, three more acquisition has been witnessed, Columbia Beauty Supply, Beauty Alliance and Malys. The purchase of YSL Beautà © is a step to give weight to its Luxury division. While to earn some brownie point on the dermatology market CollaGenex was acquired as well. Looking into the market latest trends for natural beauty remedy In a hunt to increase it footprints in natural and organic arena. Sanoflore was the next deal to freeze, which will give LOreal an additional brand in its Active Cosmetic Division. Therefore Sanoflore will join its group with Dermablend, La RochePosay, Ombrelle and SkinCeu ticals. But as the competition intensify, the company is looking ahead to have more acquisition in Asia market as well and make a strong presence in the world of beauty market by the instrument of this acquisition policy and growing as well in the port folio management. And in future it will continue to seek more acquisition targets in the emerging market. http://www.scf-online.com/english/24_e/international_24_e.htm http://www.fortune.com/fortune/ceo/articles/0,15114,372136-1,00.html Strong logistics efficiency In the run to support the global recognition and other manufacturing strategies, the company has to depend on the strong logistic effiency. The availablity of the product to the end user is extremely vital to any organisation, LOreal is no exception, and therefore ensuring the product available to the outlets for everlasting satisfaction of the customer is one of the major goal of LOreal. It an has got an extremely strong distribution channel and logistic department, maintained by centrex the centre of supply chain management. LOreal partner group is developed with the supplier and the for the smooth supply of raw-material, container or packaging , equipments, point of sale or promotional items LOreal depends on its suppliers for all its plants, factories and warehousing supplies. LOreal continuous try to maximise the performance the supply chain management in order to improve time limit, imroving responsiveness etc. Centrex monitors all procurement orders and deals with it. In order to assure that the required level of service is achieved logistic department and the supply chain management has received special attention to suport the compamys strategic vision. Strength of R D LOreal has one of the most strong Research and development team in the field of beauty product development. It attract some 3400 expertise in 30 different discipline from multiple nationalities to build a strong RD team. The company have invested 625 million dollars in just dermatological research and cosmetic department, in year 2009. A total of 18 research centers worldwide and 13 evaluation centres operates to achieve the long tern growth. Some 500 scientist worked day and night to discover 5000 formulas each year. LOreal has filed 647 patent in year 2009, and 35,000 patents are active worldwide. It has amlost 1000 active allaince with leading academic research institution LOreal invest 1/3rd of its budget to the advanced research projects which is 3% of it revenue generated goes to the Research and Development department. The company owns the product development centres at New York, Paris, Dubai, Rio-de-Janeiro and shanghai. Therefore LOreal exploiting its research department qui ckly capitalise on latest consumer trends worldwide. In short the RD department has contributed to a great extent in making this company where it is today, in terms of global recognition and acceptance. Branding strategy LOreal branding strategy has given a gaint leap in support of the globalisation, and has helped to spread the business not only in Europe but worldwide. The company has a global presence over 150 countries which is possible only because it hold a very good brand image. The company follows a powerful and efficient branding strategy, which makes it possible to generate a steady flow of revenue year after year. As a result of the global branding strategy the LOreal achieved the impossible dream of becoming the largest cosmetic in the world. Whilst the global economy was in a downturn mode still the company made successful sales both in Asia and Latin America. It would not be wrong to say that the company has succeeded reaching across the French boundaries due to it brand reputation. Global portfolio management. LOreal holds some of the best names of the prestigious brands portfolios for their varied range of beauty products under one roof. Some renowned names include Lancà ´me, Maybelline, The Body Shop, Vichy Laboratories, Matrix Ralph Lauren Fragrances and so on and so forth. LOreal is very careful with brand portfolio Management like the quantum of water mixing to the moisturising cream. With the world of brands under its roof the port- folio management team has to be extremely cautious and judicious to place each brand in the right segment so that it does not affect its other brand market. This is hitting the right audience with the right product. http://finance.mapsofworld.com/brand/value/loreal.html LOreal response With respect to various challenges posed by the global business environment, LOreal has always come up with a solution, to stay ahead in the international market. Let us analyse the effectiveness of LOreal responses with regards to national and international issues of the business world. Table showing the responses to the situation LOreal response Pros Cons 1. Acquire Shu Uemura To achieve a place in Asian industry, and a bigger sales graph Fails to cater the Japanese market 2. Purchasing of Nivea Mid-segments market is filled up. Expose to Biersdorf. 3. Generate opportunity in dermatological and cosmetic field More sale and new customer Risk of losing if there is no strong market for dermo-cosmetic area. 4 Introducing new products for gaining more mileage. Increase revenue by opening up a new market for all brands. Inviting rivalry and more competition. 5. Diversify into clothes and accessories Using similar technique to gain competitive advantg. High risk in the new field and global player to deal with. 6. Form a brand new line of LOreal cosmetic stores. Brand products to be easily available Loss of capital if the stores does not work out as per planned and fail to generate increased sales figure. 7. Keep a got stock of all the products to tackle supply issues. A happy customer, not loosing sales, and retaining customers. Stock loss due to expiry date. Additional holding and shipping cost. Recommendations and suggestion The recommendation for the LOreal is that they should design more products to suit the Japanese market, and even selling the same products to Americans as the American market are more in more requirement of the ethnic Asian touch trends, by giving the products a brand new look with its latest packaging tools to make it look more authentic. A large section of American market is untouched; LOreal should plan to consider tapping those markets as well launching a similar strategy as in the African expansion. So far the South American market is largely untapped. By taking a similar approach perhaps even designing products for South American ethnicities. Since diversity management is at the heart of LOreal it should take a plunge and diversify into clothing and accessories, with the wealth of rich experience similar to the beauty product industry. A step into dermo-cosmetics lines must be beneficial in towards the progress of the company because there is a massive demand for such product which is an alternative for plastic surgery. LOreals should take advantage of its research and develop related products which will lead them ahead of their rivals. Chain stores of LOreal must be there to generate more sales and to bring confidence to their customer when they see the LOreal store rather than buying the LOreals products from other retail outlet. This in actually an untapped niche for big chain of cosmetic stores, for the LOreal products, would be ideally to fill this gap for the niche market. CONCLUSION LOreal in spite of the growing competition has become a giant in its domain. It success rest on the four pillars of their entire business portfolio, namely Consumer Products, Luxury Products, Professional Products and Active Cosmetics. And the main reason of it success are strength of RD team, effective organization structure, strong distribution channels, Brand portfolio management, Acquisitions Branding strategy. LOreal has a number of rivals like Estee Lauder is the main threat. Proctor Gamble, Unilever and Revlon in hair care segment. Avon a hardcore competitors in Russia, and Nivea control the mid segment market. LOreal need to concentrate a bit more towards Men care items, and avoid too much rivalry.

The Ebola Virus :: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

The Ebola Virus A virus is an ultramicroscopic infectious organism that, having no independent metabolic activity, can replicate only within a cell of another host organism. A virus consists of a core of nucleic acid, either RNA or DNA, surrounded by a coating of antigenic protein and sometimes a lipid layer surrounds it as well. The virus provides the genetic code for replication, and the host cell provides the necessary energy and raw materials. There are more than 200 viruses that are know to cause disease in humans. The Ebola virus, which dates back to 1976, has four strains each from a different geographic area, but all give their victims the same painful, often lethal symptoms. The Ebola virus is a member of a family of RNA viruses known as ‘Filoviriade' and falling under one genus, ‘Filovirus'. "The Ebola virus and Marburg virus are the two known members of the Filovirus family" (Journal of the American Medical Association 273: 1748). Marburg is a relative of the Ebola virus. The four strains of Ebola are Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Reston, and Ebola Tai. Each is named after the geographical location in which it was discovered. These filoviruses cause hemorrhagic fever, which is actually what kill victims of the Ebola virus. Hemorrhagic fever as defined in Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary as, a group of viral aerosol infections, characterized by fever, chills, headache, malaise, and respiratory or GI symptoms, followed by capillary hemorrhages, and, in severe infection, oliguria, kidney failure, hypotension, and, possibly, death. The incubation period for Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever ranges from 2-21 days (JAMA 273: 1748). The blood fails to clot and patients may bleed from injections sites and into the gastrointestinal tract, skin and internal organs (Ebola Info. from the CDC 2). The Ebola virus has a tropism for liver cells and macrophages, macrophages are cells that engulf bacteria and help the body defend against disease. Massive destruction of the liver is a hallmark feature of Ebola virus infection. This virus does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to do. It also requires biosaftey level four containment, the highest and most dangerous level. HIV the virus that causes AIDS requires only a biosaftey level of two. In reported outbreaks, 50%-90% of cases have been fatal (JAMA 273: 1748). Ebola can be spread in a number of ways, and replication of the virus occurs at an alarming rate.