Free Essays on Population Problem

Two hundred years ago, Thomas Malthus, in An Essay on the Principle of Population, reached the conclusion that the number of people in the world will increase exponentially, while the ability to feed these people will only increase arithmetically (21). Current evidence shows that this theory may not be far from the truth. For example, between 1950 and 1984, the total amount of grain produced more than doubled, much more than the increase in population in those 34 years. More recently though, these statistics have become reversed. From 1950 to 1984, the amount of grain increased at 3 percent annually. Yet, from 1984 to 1993, grain production had grown at barely 1 percent per year, a decrease in grain production per person of 12 percent (Brown 31). Also strengthening to Malthus’ argument is the theory that the world population will increase to over 10 billion by 2050, two times what it was in 1990 (Bongaarts 36). Demographers predict that 2.8 billion people were added to the world population between 1950 and 1990, an average of 70,000 a year. Between 1990 and 2030, it is estimated that another 3.6 billion will be added, an average of 90,000 a year (Brown 31). Moreover, in the 18th century, the world population growth was 0.34%; it increased to 0.54% in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century to 0.84% (Weiskel 40). Neo-Malthusians base their arguments on the teachings of Thomas Malthus. Of the Neo-Malthusians, Garrett Hardin is one of the most prominent and controversial. Hardin’s essays discuss the problem of overpopulation and the effects it will have on the future. In Lifeboat Ethics, he concludes that continuous increases in population will have disastrous outcomes. Neo-Malthusian arguments come under much scrutiny by those who believe that the population explosion is only a myth. Those who hold these beliefs state that the evidence Neo-Malthusians use to justify their views is far from conclusive. Critics ... Free Essays on Population Problem Free Essays on Population Problem Two hundred years ago, Thomas Malthus, in An Essay on the Principle of Population, reached the conclusion that the number of people in the world will increase exponentially, while the ability to feed these people will only increase arithmetically (21). Current evidence shows that this theory may not be far from the truth. For example, between 1950 and 1984, the total amount of grain produced more than doubled, much more than the increase in population in those 34 years. More recently though, these statistics have become reversed. From 1950 to 1984, the amount of grain increased at 3 percent annually. Yet, from 1984 to 1993, grain production had grown at barely 1 percent per year, a decrease in grain production per person of 12 percent (Brown 31). Also strengthening to Malthus’ argument is the theory that the world population will increase to over 10 billion by 2050, two times what it was in 1990 (Bongaarts 36). Demographers predict that 2.8 billion people were added to the world population between 1950 and 1990, an average of 70,000 a year. Between 1990 and 2030, it is estimated that another 3.6 billion will be added, an average of 90,000 a year (Brown 31). Moreover, in the 18th century, the world population growth was 0.34%; it increased to 0.54% in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century to 0.84% (Weiskel 40). Neo-Malthusians base their arguments on the teachings of Thomas Malthus. Of the Neo-Malthusians, Garrett Hardin is one of the most prominent and controversial. Hardin’s essays discuss the problem of overpopulation and the effects it will have on the future. In Lifeboat Ethics, he concludes that continuous increases in population will have disastrous outcomes. Neo-Malthusian arguments come under much scrutiny by those who believe that the population explosion is only a myth. Those who hold these beliefs state that the evidence Neo-Malthusians use to justify their views is far from conclusive. Critics ...

Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Planning - Essay Example The supervisor I am going to write about is the person whom I used to report while working as a marketing executive in the marketing department of a company. This particular manager lacked all essential managerial skills. The most fundamental skill a manager should have is the ability to lead a team. This particular manager seriously lacked this skill. I am now going to explain all the requisite skills a good manger should have in relationship to the manger I used to work under who gravely lacked all those skills. Planning is definitely the first step in attaining an objective. It can be defined as setting goals and determining a course of action for attaining those goals. A manger must take the available resources, time and objectives into account while planning. A successful planning can not be formulated without a lucid understating of the competitive environment. Furthermore, planning also requires allocation of resources and time for implementation of the plan. This particular manager had a total lack of skill in planning. For example, the marketing department was given a yearly budget of US$ 5 million for carrying out marketing and promotional activities. It was then the responsibility of the Marketing Department to allocate the resources for electric media advertising, press advertising and so forth. But surprisingly my manager allocated an equal amount for all marketing activities. I think this way of distribution of resources really catastrophic for the company. My manager did not do any strategic or tactical planning for the set goals. The manager also did not formulate any contingency plan. At the end of the year, the sale of the company fell off by 12% even though the sale of the particular industry increased by 20%. This result did not come to me as a surprise as it is exactly what I could foresee when my manager "planned" the company's marketing activities at the beginning of the year. In think, planning is done so that a goal can be attained effectively using the least amount of available resources. An ideal manager would have certainly considered the objectives the company wanted to acquire. He then would have allocated resources for the gaols accordingly. But setting a realistic goal and rational allocation of resources can never ensure success. Constant monitoring of activities has to be conducted. Assessment of the actions should also be done from ti me to time. Organizing calls for development of a structure of the company matching the objectives of an organization. A manger also has to place personnel so that the objectives of the organization can be successfully achieved while organizing. The right person has to be in the right place. A good manager knows about the strengths and shortcomings of his subordinates. A visionary manager knows who is good at what and then places his subordinates accordingly considering his strength. But deplorably my manager proved himself as awful in organizing as in planning. My manger obviously lacked people skill. Neither did my manager know how to communicate his ideas to others nor was he interested to listen to what others might have to say. Free flow of information sharing is a must for success. Not surprisingly, my manager failed to place the tight person in the right place. Consequently, there always was a credibility gap between the manager and other staffs. Leadership can and does make a meaningful in every aspect of a company.

Weight lost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Weight lost - Essay Example Several factors in the human body affect the rate of shading off the excess calories, which lead to the desired loss of weight metabolic rate being one of the factors (Chatterjee 2007). The amount of energy that a human body consumes through the running of several organs varies from one person to the other. Consumption of this energy highly depends on the muscle tissue and those who consume high energy during rest are likely to burn more calories than those who use little energy. Body response to calorie reduction is the other factor. This varies from one person to the other as the body may decide to shut down automatically to preserve more calories. Other factors include the level of stress, genetic composition, amount of sleep and the type and amount of bacteria found in the gut. Exercise is one of the elements practised by many to enhance weight loss. Just like an automotive, a human body needs a supply of energy during activity to the muscles to help carry on (Chatterjee 2007). When the exercise is continuously carried out, it depletes the blood sugar, which in turn sends signals to the specific glands that release hormones that enhance the removal of more fats stored to provide the needed energy. Dieting is another important factor that a person who intends to lose weight should keep in mind. Since the stored excess fat brings excess weight, an individual should ensure that the diet is less in sugar and starch (Shartava, 2011). Overcoming the huger feeling and taking bites is always a big challenge but if one can be able to avoid this then, it can be of great help. Burning off more calories than a person is consuming helps in the situation. Weight loss has a significant effect in the daily activities of an individual. First is the ability to perform more activities without exhaustion as compared to an individual who has more weight (Saylor, 2006). This is associated with the ability to move easily and perform tasks with ease. The other thing is

Robotic Surgery Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Robotic Surgery - Research Paper Example There are legal, political and ethical issues associated with the procedure. Robotic surgery is the best invention there is in medicine but the controversies have raised concerns about this technology and addressing them could better automated and efficient surgeries used robots. Description Robotic surgery uses an automated system that has three systems; the console which the surgeons use to control the system, four arms that are controlled by the console and can be manipulated to do practically any task and a high definition visual system for providing real time images of the parts being operated on. Three of the arms are fitted with surgical instrument while the fourth arm is used to control the camera which guides the surgeons on the parts to be operated on. Advantages of the robotic surgery Doctors are able to operate many clients using robotic surgery. Since they are involved indirectly, they do not get as tired as compared to manual operations. Patients on the other hand benef it as the procedure does not take long using the robots for surgery. This saves time for the patient and the doctor. Time saved by the robotic surgery procedure is saving hospitals as much as thirty percent of their budget on surgery. Money saved can be directed to other projects within the hospitals. The robots are quite precise and the incisions required when using them are usually small compared to a normal surgery. This makes the healing process faster for the patients. They do not have to stay in the hospitals for long time thereby saving money as well (Beck, 2013, para. 5). Controversies Despite the advantages that come with robotic surgery, there are many issues that have been raised regarding the use of these machines. They include the safety of the use of the robots, the risks associated with their use, the functioning of the robots and the regulatory framework on the same. These issues have spurred a never ending debate and threaten the use of these systems and are categor ized into several (Mavroforou, Michalodimitrakis, Hatzitheofilou, and Giannoukas, 2010, p.77). Political issues Regulation The use of robots in surgery is not regulated by any institution. Although they have been given the green light by the relevant government institutions, there needs to be a body that regulates their use, evaluates the advantages, the disadvantages, issues raised and any suggestions. Lack of regulation in this field has led to a lot of issues relating to the use of the system. One, there are many injuries and deaths that are associated with the use of robots in surgery in the last few years. In fact, the number has been increasing year after year. If there was a regulatory body, the issues leading to death would have been addressed and less injuries and deaths would be reported. This fact has made some politicians to step up and propose the regulation of the use of robots in surgical procedures. Senator Dick Moore from Massachusetts proposed that there should be a new policy and law to regulate the use of robots in surgery in Massachusetts. Moore is conversant with policies regulations and costs in the health care industry. Senatorial colleagues across the United States including the minority leader Bruce Tarr appreciate that Moore has enough knowledge on this and fully support him. Moore is credited to the enactment of the 2006 universal health care legislation which was a key part in the Obamacare health reforms in 2009.

Market Study of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited

Market Study of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited 1.1 Problem Background Bangladesh paint market is experiencing a good growth of 8-10% per annum consistently in the late 90s and early years of this century mainly because of a boom in real estate development[1]. Besides, this trend in growth of demand is likely to persist or may even witness an upswing in the future as the country moves from rural base to urban base project (Real estate). There is a huge possibility that paint industry will further thrive because only 39% of the target market are currently using paint and others are progressing to get into the trend of using paint instead of the traditional way of whitening their dear houses. According to the cement manufacturers of Bangladesh, the cement market is also growing at around 4% p.a., which correlates quite well with our paint market growth data. The limited growth up to now in industrialization and per capita income in Bangladesh has restricted the size of the paint market, which is currently at around Tk.755-800 crores (1.5-1.6 crores gallon s)[2]. However a good number of local paint manufacturing companies (40 organized and at least 50 more in the informal sector) have been operating in this small market. Quite a few of these companies are producing paints of internationally acceptable quality and very importantly, the installed single shift production capacity of the local paint companies is double the present local market demand. Berger, the market leader in the Bangladesh paint market, is one of the oldest names in the global paint industry. It has its origin in the year of 1706 and from then on the company is operating with strong adherence to quality and social responsibility. Initially, Lewis Berger, a German national, founded dye pigment making business in England. Lewis Berger Sons Limited grew rapidly  with a strong reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship culminating in perfecting the process of making Prussian Blue, a deep blue dye, a color widely used for many European armies uniform. Production of dyes pigments evolved into production of paints coatings, which till today, remains the core business of Berger. Today, Berger offers all kinds of painting solutions in decorative, industrial or marine segment for both decorative and protective purpose. Based on the secondary literature survey, experts opinions and consumers requirements, the broad and the specific Objectives of the research have been set-â€Å"Market Study of Paint Industry in Bangladesh†. This objective can be met by following the study methodology described in the forthcoming chapter. 1. 2 Origin of the Study As a partial requirement for the completion of the MBA program, internship program is a vital part which opens the door to gather the practical knowledge in relation with the theoretical knowledge. MBA program at University of Dhaka requires a 3 months long internship program. As an intern, I was placed in Unitrend Limited- Affiliated with McCann Worldwide. I worked for 3 months in the Unitrend Limited (Brand Division), under the supervision of Jahidul Islam, Senior Brand Executive of Unitrend Limited. As an intern of the department I was asked to assist the Brand section (Berger pints Bangladesh Limited). After consultation with my supervisor, my faculty advisor at University of Dhaka, Dr. Serajul Hoque (Professor, Department of Marketing), I decided to explore â€Å"Market Study of Berger Paints Bangladesh limited (BPBL)†. 1. 3 Objectives Based on the secondary literature survey, experts opinions and consumers requirements, the broad and the specific Objectives of the research have been set. 1.3.1 Broad Objective Market Study of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited (BPBL). 1.3.2 Specific Objectives i. To analyze market trends market shares of BPBL ii. To Analyze competitor behavior and performance iii. To determine current satisfaction level of BPBL iv. To find out whether current products of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited meet consumer expectations or not. v. To identify the reference group (Painters, Architectures,) influence of the customers in choosing specific brand. vi. To find out the market potential for existing products (e.g. market size, growth, changing sales trends) vii. To Assess the potential for new products that are not provided by the current paint manufacturers ( in term of New product Development) viii. To forecast new user for existing products 1.4 Approaches to the Problem 1.4.1 Theoretical Framework A pull demand is created when demand is created in the market and is the most beneficial. To implement such a strategy we have to first assess the needs of the market, judging the perception of customers and contractors and finding out new locations and convert them into new dealers so that there is more availability of the product in the market.Assessing competitor market and developing a strategy to kill or overcome competition is the second part of the report. Opening new dealers in the market will take care of this. Expanding the dealer network helps in market penetration.All the effort will be a waste if there is no demand from the end consumer of goods. Painters, contractors, advertisements, friends and family influence the end customer. So the end customer generates the main demand and Berger Paints must analyze customer satisfaction over time. A Job Satisfaction Data Form How did you know regarding the services being rendered by Home Decor? TV†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Press†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Friends †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Word of Mouth †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Others†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ We would like to have your comments on the following job details 1. Shade: Very Satisfied †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Satisfied †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Not Satisfied†¦..†¦ 2. Design: Very Satisfied †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Satisfied †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Not Satisfied †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3. Workmanship of Painters: Excellent †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Good†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Average†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Poor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4. Service by Color Consultants: Excellent †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Good†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Average†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Poor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5.Overall Service by Home Decor: Excellent†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Good†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Average†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Poor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6. Will you refer Home Decor to anybody in near future? Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. No †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7. Completion done according to the time schedule: Yes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. No †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1.4.2 Analytical Model: 1.4.3 Research Questions Hypotheses: A structured questionnaire has been used to collect data. Multiple choice questions and dichotomous questions have been used to develop structured questionnaire. H0: There is no association between customer satisfaction (DV) and factors influencing customer satisfaction (IV). H1: There is an association between customer satisfaction (DV) and factors influencing customer satisfaction (IV). 1.5 Problem Definition Management Decision Problem 1. Is the Current satisfaction level of Berger Pints Bangladesh Limited satisfactory? Marketing Research Problem 1. To determine the factors those affect the customer satisfaction level of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited. 1.6 Problem Variables 1. Dependent Variable To determine customer satisfaction level of Berger Paints Bangladesh limited. 2. Independent Variables Price Availability Variation in paint Variation in Shade Attractive Packet Packet Size Longibility Discoloration Swelling Powdering Thinner Requirement 1.7 Research Timeline: Activities Time (Week) 1-2 3-4 5 6 7-8 9 10 11-12 Preliminary Preparation Selection Training of Fieldwork Data Collection Data Analysis Draft Report Preparation Rerport Presentation Final Report Preparation 1.8 Limitations The study aims to explore analyze market study of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited and find out if there is any scope for its improvement. In doing so, I have encountered the following problems: The Large sample size could detect the problems more accurately. I was unable to dedicate sufficient time to make an in-depth on such an important issue. It is quite difficult to write about an organization within 3(three) months. Heavy workload at office was one of the main barriers of this study and additional time for doing the survey could hardly be extracted. Another limitation of this report is Enterprises policy of not disclosing some data and information for obvious reason. 2.0: Literature Review The annual report of some of the leading paint companies of Bangladesh including Berger Bangladesh Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Elite Paints, Sagor Chemicals Company Bangladesh Ltd., etc. were studied along with whatever reports that were available. However, a good number of them were back dated and were of little use in view of the fast changing market position. Apart from the literature so far consulted, the initial phase of the methodology began with the review of relevant literature on the issues indicated under the â€Å"Top-down† and â€Å"Bottom-up† approaches as well as aspects under â€Å"Projection†, assimilation of relevant data available in the secondary sources, and then conducting a desk research. 2.1 Literature in the official website of Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd With a view to bolstering consumer satisfaction, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited has introduced â€Å"Berger Home Dà ©cor† on June 15, 2002 through which one can get an array of services pertaining to painting. Berger Home Decor offers two-stage services: 1. Free Service 2. Paid Service Berger Home Dà ©cor is currently offering wide range of services to its prospects and existing consumers embracing: Technical advice on surface preparation and application guideline.  · Paint selection.  · Dealer selection.  · Painter/ Contractor selection and  · Color scheme. 2.1.1 Literature on the Fundamentals of Berger India Illusions which formed a basis for BPBL Illusions †¦.†¦Report on BPIL Attachment on Illusions Syed Tanzim Rezwan, Assistant Product Manager, BPBL  · What is Illusions? An illusion is basically mentioned as ‘Designers solution/finish. It is more related to the application procedure than product. Regular products are applied with some specialized tools and in some cases with some specialized chemicals to get the desired design. As it is more related to the application procedure, Illusions is offered as a full painting solution rather than a product and that is why it is more like offering a service than a product.  · Objectives of launching Illusions The objectives are: Enhancing the brand image of Berger Value addition to the existing painting service  · Area of usage Illusions is basically a design finish. So it is more appropriate for the interior walls. Plastered walls or wooden surfaces are the preferred surfaces for Illusions use. One has to remember however, that Illusions is more like a designer finish than a protective one. So areas with exposure to high heat or water are not prescribed for Illusions use.  · Distribution Strategy The way Illusions is offered: Berger India is using their Home Dà ©cor facilities to offer Illusions in different cities. Their basic idea is to offer the painting solution through the existing panel of painters they have for different cities. 2.1.2 Literature on the Illusions Procedure as a service flow, developed in Berger India and which formed a basis for the service flow of Illusions in BPBL with some modifications; literature on client generation for Illusions through promotions by Berger India Modus Operandi Satellite Operations: BPHD/Illusions Berger India Illusions procedure as according to Berger India:  § On receipt of enquiry the Customer Support Manager will visit the site and complete finalization of the design/area of application/shades and fill into the job estimate page of the customer fact file  § The final estimate from the customer fact file is to be filled in and given to the customer.  § On customer agreeing to the job, 100% collection by means of a single current dated cheque is to be taken from the customer and a painting schedule has to be developed for the job. The cheque details and the painting schedule have to be filled into the customer fact file in relevant pages.  § On realization of the cheque, the materials for the job may be purchased from the dealer as deposited by the depot manager. Material will be issued by the dealer only against the order. Dealer on delivery of the material to the site has then to raise a bill on Berger Paints Home Dà ©cor for the material supplied and submit it along with a copy of the Material Requisitions form.  § Tools required for the job are to be signed out to the painter who has been allocated the job.  § A ‘Before photograph is to be taken of the site and on completion of the job. An ‘After photograph is also to be taken for each of the areas where Illusions designs has been applied.  § On completion of the job, the completion certificate has to be signed by the customer and following this, the warranty certificate has to be handed over to the customer along with a ‘Friendship ka faida reference booklet. Lead Generation: All of the below mentioned modes of promoting Illusions will be followed in varying mixes depenmding on the efficiency of the individual methods.  § Referrals: 10% of the job value will be paid to the referring party as referral commission Dealer Contractor Architect Interior Decorator 2.2 Literature on Asian Paints entering Bangladesh paint market -Asian Paints starts operations in Bangladesh 04 September 2002 Asian Paints, Indias largest paint company, has begun its operations in Bangladesh. The entry into Bangladesh marks Asian Paints 11th joint venture in international markets and its largest green-field venture in overseas markets. The inauguration of the operations of Asian Paints (Bangladesh) Ltd was done by Bangladesh Minister of Industries M K Anwar and Asian Paints (India) Ltd vice-chairman and managing director Ashwin Dani. M Rahman, executive chairman, Board of Investment, Bangladesh, and M L Tripathi, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, were the other distinguished dignitaries at the inauguration. Said Dani: The opportunities that the Bangladesh market provides for Asian Paints are immense. The experience that we have gained from operating in three out of six countries in the SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] region has armed us with excellent expertise to operate in this region. We would like to provide value for money and the complete range of products for the Bangladeshi consumer. He further said that low per-capita consumption of paints, vast potential to upgrade the market, limited product range, increased urbanisation and consistent GDP growth of around 5-6 per cent have been some of the reasons for Asian Paints entering into this market. Moreover, this venture will help the company consolidate its position in the SAARC region. Asian Paints (Bangladesh) Ltd is a joint venture between Asian Paints (India) Ltd, Indias largest paint company, and Confidence Cement Ltd, one of the largest cement producers in Bangladesh. Asian Paints will hold 51 per cent stake in the company, while 49 per cent will be held by Confidence Cement. A fully-integrated paint manufacturing unit has been set up and is situated in the Ghazipur district, north of Dhaka, which will service the entire Bangladesh paint market. Asian Paints will introduce the Apcolite range of products, which is its premium quality range in international markets, and the Decora range, which is its international brand for economy products. Under the Apcolite and Decora brands, many product segments will be covered in the initial phase. Asian Paints will enter into segments like interior wall finishes, the exterior segment, enamels and the wood finish segment through the above-mentioned brand names. The company will immediately introduce the concept of multiple shade choice to the Bangladeshi consumer in most of its emulsion paints. The launch of multiple shades in its Apcolite range of emulsions will provide to the Bangladesh consumer, for the first time, a wide choice of colors that was not previously offered by any paint company. The total Bangladesh paint market is estimated to be over 30,000 MT, valued at around INR 2200 million (US $45 million). The market is growing by around 5-7 per cent. The GDP growth for the country has been consistently around 5 per cent and the per-capita paint consumption is around 250 gms. The market, thus, provides high potential for growth as well as an opportunity for paint manufacturers to upgrade and expand the market. 2.3 Literature on Aqua Paints Architects Awards -Four to receive Ice Today Aqua Paints Award Shawkat Marcel Khan Four interior designers will be awarded the Ice Today-Aqua Paints Award 2007 for their works on interior design. The names of the winners will be announced during the award-giving ceremony which will be held at the Radisson Water Garden Hotel in the city on July 14. The award will be given for innovation, creativity and outstanding achievements in interior design in Bangladesh, said the organizers at a briefing, held at a city hotel on Thursday. ‘The grand prize will not be given as the jury comprising Mustafa Ameen, Nahas Ahmed Khalil and Kazi Golam Nasir did not find any design suitable for the award, said the executive editor of the monthly magazine Ice Today, Ziaul Karim.‘Each winner will receive the Commendation Award valued at Tk 25,000, a crest and a Nokia set, he added. A total of 27 designs were submitted in ‘Residential and Non Residential categories. The jury short-listed the entries to eleven designs in the first phase. Then, they visited each sites and narrowed down to four designs taking three from Non Residential category. 2.4 Literature on Home Dà ©cor Coverage and Painters In total there are Home Dà ©cor outlets in Bangladesh in total. However, apart from the specific regions where these outlets are situated, consultants and painters also travel to nearby areas and thus affectively cover a wider area as shown in Fig 2.2. The following tables and s are information gathered and organized by BPBL: Table 2.1: Painters and Contractors of Home Dà ©cor in Bangladesh Depot Contractor Painter Dhaka 15 38 Chittagong 5 14 Sylhet 3 7 Comilla 2 5 Khulna 3 8 Bogra 1 2 Rajshahi 1 2 National Total 30 76 The following tables and s are information gathered and organized by BPBL: 3.0: Methodology The methodology upon which the team undertook the assignment comprises of top-down and bottom-up approaches effected by literature review, secondary data analysis and desk research, and by conducting surveys, which after consultation with the experts yielded a pragmatic Market Analysis preceded by an overall industry situation, competitor analysis and customer analysis. 3.1 Nature of Research and Sources of Information The conclusive research design adopted is descriptive in nature. The sources of data were both primary and secondary. It involved collection of data about the characteristics of the paint market, competitors and different supply chain members. Secondary information was gathered from websites, newspaper articles, journals and annual reports of different paint companies. The design of collecting primary data from customers (end users) follows the following section. 3.2 Sample Design The sample design consists of defining the target population, determination of sample size and sampling method. 3.2.1 Target Population To collect data from customers (users) the target population is defined to be the households of Bangladesh. The country was considered to be composed of three economic zones (High, Medium and Low) on the basis of economic activities as follows: Zone 1: (High) : Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet Divisions Zone 2: (Medium) : Barisal and Khulna Divisions Zone 3: (Low) : Rajshahi Division. [Source: Statistical year book of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2007] As the use of paint is very much related with rate of urbanization, the divisional cities of Zone 1 were selected. However, another divisional city was selected randomly from the Zone 2 to make the sample more representative to the entire population and it turned to be Khulna city. The sole division of Zone 3 could be taken into consideration too, but after consultation with the experts, it was omitted from the sampling plan for better utilization of the resources available to the Research Team. 3.2.2 Sample Size For determination of sample size, the Research Team tried to adopt various sampling techniques. But as the ratio of house owners (who are the end users of paint) is too small to the entire population of Bangladesh, the sample size becomes very small. So, after discussion with experts and the appointing authority, the sample size per city is determined to be 100. So the total sample size of this study is 400 (100X4). The distribution of the samples are furnished in table 3.1. Table 3.1: Sample distribution Dhaka Chittagong Khulna Sylhet Total End users 80 80 85 85 320 Dealers/Retailers 10 10 5 5 30 Painters 5 5 5 5 20 Architect/Developer 5 5 5 5 30 Total 100 100 100 100 400 3.2.3 Sampling Method Systematic sampling method was adopted for selecting samples. Households were considered sampling units and owner of the household was considered sampling elements. The holding list of City Corporation was used as the sampling frame. The frame was divided by the number of samples required to determine the sampling intervals. Then the first sample was selected from the first sampling interval following simple random sampling and then the rest of the samples were selected from subsequent sampling intervals as usual. If a household was found ineligible then the next adjacent household was considered the sampling unit. For conducting the surveys on the channel members, samples were selected based on judgment. The fieldwork was carried out during the period of May 28 to June 10, 2009. 3.3 Instrument and Scale for Data Collection Structured Questionnaire was used as the instrument of data collection. Five sets of questionnaire were used for customers, dealers, retailers, painters and developers respectively (Provided in the Appendix Section). Questions set in the questionnaire were worded with simplest form possible. Rank order scale and 5 point Likert scale were used in these questionnaires. In each questionnaire, at least one question was set as an open ended question to reveal the thoughts of the respondents regarding paint industry of Bangladesh. After preparation of the questionnaires, they were pretested using a small size of sample taken from Dhaka city. The reliability of the questionnaires was judged from the result of pretest. Coefficient alpha was used as a measure of internal consistency check for the questionnaires. 3.4 Field Survey Field Survey procedure was used to collect data from the primary source. The bases covered include customers (end users), dealers, retailers, painters and architect/developers. Furthermore, a panel of experts was consulted including experts in Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Marketing, Economics and Supply Chain Management. A brief list of the expert pool is provided in the appendix A. The purpose, information coverage and other requirements of the study were further reviewed and finalized after consultation by the Research Team with the Unitrend management. Obviously the study was national in nature and the sample size was large enough to be representative of different segments. The steps involved in conducting survey were including sampling design process, questionnaire preparation, fieldwork, and data preparation and analysis. 3.5 Fieldwork and Supervision The fieldworkers were trained thoroughly for carrying out the surveys effectively. The training included as to how to select respondents, introduce themselves to the respondents, ask questions, provide reinforcements to the respondents, record the responses etc. Fieldworkers were students of Department of Marketing from the Faculty of Business Studies of University of Dhaka. A member of the Research Team supervised the fieldwork. He monitored the activities of the investigators very closely, provided them support and motivation, and in some cases, took part in the field investigation. 4.1 Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited: An Overview Berger, the market leader in the Bangladesh paint market, is one of the oldest names in the global paint industry. It has its origin in the year of 1706 and from then on the company is operating with strong adherence to quality and social responsibility. Initially, Lewis Berger, a German national, founded dye pigment making business in England. Lewis Berger Sons Limited grew rapidly with a strong reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship culminating in perfecting the process of making Prussian Blue, a deep blue dye, a color widely used for many European armies uniform. Production of dyes pigments evolved into production of paints coatings, which till today, remains the core business of Berger. Berger Paints started its sailing into the sea of Bangladesh from pre-liberation era, to be precise in 1950. In Bangladesh the major milestones of Berger Paints are given below: 1950 Started operation in Bangladesh by importing Paint from Berger UK 1970 Establishment of Chittagong Factory 1980 Named as Berger Paints (BD) Ltd. from Jenson Nicholson (JN) 1991 BMRE in Chittagong Factory 1995 Establishment of Double Tight Can Manufacturing Plant 1999 Establishment of Most Modern Sate-of-the-Art Paint Production Plant 2002 Construction of own building for the Corporate Office in Dhaka 2004 Establishment of Powder Coating Plant * Owns Corporate Office located in Dhaka * 2 Factories at Dhaka and Chittagong * 7 strategically located Sales Offices throughout the whole country. * A wide distribution channel reaches the whole country with a network of more than 1500 dealers 4.2 Vision and Mission of BPBL Berger emphasize highly on the ethical commitment to produce benchmark quality product. 4.2.1 Vision â€Å"We shall remain as the benchmark in the Paint industry by being an innovative and technology driven Company consistently delivering world-class products ensuring best consumer satisfaction through continuous value added services provided by highly professional and committed team.† 4.2.2 Mission â€Å"We shall increase our turnover by 100% in the next five years. We shall remain socially committed ethical Company.† 4.3 Area of Operation Berger Paints operates in three broad segments of the paint industry. 4.3.1 Decorative Paint * The objective is to beautify the surfaces with protection from corrosion and erosion * This business category mainly targets household segment offered to the consumers through a dealer network constituting major revenue earning business area of BPBL. * Products fulfill the aesthetic value of the consumers. 4.3.2 Industrial * Tailor made products to cater to the specific needs of customers. * Products give protection to the surfaces in extreme situations like severe hazardous environment, high temperature, movement of heavy materials and machinery etc. * Direct marketing approach is being used to promote the Industrial Coatings * Main customer groups: Garments Factories, Chemical Plants, Fertilizer Manufacturing Plants, Consumer Durable Manufacturing Plants etc. 4.3.3 Marine * Products are being offered mainly through direct marketing approach. * Dock Yards, Bangladesh Navy, Passenger Ships are the main user groups. * Market is mostly concentrated in Dhaka and Chittagong. 4.4 Manpower Structure It is consisted of more than 300 employees of whom about 160 are general workers and the rest are White Collar employees. These employees are working in different factories and depots of the company. The positional hierarchy of the company is as follows: 1. Managing Director 2. Director 3. General Manager (Executive -1) 4. Executive -2 5. Senior Manager 6. Manager 7. Assistant Manager 8. Officer (i, ii, iii, iv) / Management Trainee 4.5 SWOT Analysis The SWOT Analysis of Berger Paints is presented below: Strengths * Corporate image as pioneer in paint industry and one of the leading paint companies of the world * Wide distribution network * Rich experience on Bangladesh Paint Market * Presence in all major segments of the market * Strong financial base Weaknesses * Insignificant presence in the international satellite channels * Perceived as premium priced company at semi-urban and rural market * Higher dependence on large dealers * Consumers knowledge gap about paints painting system Opportunities * Growing market * Utilization of positive corporate * image for corporate diversification * To popularize economy products at remote market Threats * Fierce competition in the Bangladesh market * Credit-driven market * Strong command of few dealers in the market through sub-dealer * Unethical and corrupt practices by the local companies * Low priced imported products are entering due to trade liberalization 5.1 Existing Situation The paint market of Bangladesh comprises primarily with urban consumers as the rate of construction and decoration in urban areas is very high compared to that of the semi urban and rural areas. The mix of consumers in paint market encompasses with 80% urban consumers along with 12% semi urban as well as 8% rural consumers ( 5.1). The demand in the market can be categorized into 4 broader segments based on use Decorative, Industrial, Marine and Automotive paints. Decorative products are the used in households for beautification of buildings and interiors. This is the biggest among all segments. Industrial products have mainly two types of uses industrial raw materials and protective or maintenance. But in spite of the dual use, the segment is only 8% of the total demand. Demand for marine products are only 5% and for automotive paints, it is even lesser, only 3%. A detail of the product demand is endowed in 5.2. Decorative produ

Inconsistent Roles Essay -- essays papers

Inconsistent Roles The Colonial era spans nearly two hundred years with each settlement in the New World containing distinctive characteristics. Location in the new world is one factor that shaped women’s lives but religion and economics also played a massive role. These roles however were constantly changing and often contradicting. Since there is numerous factors that contributed to the shaping of women’s private and public roles in the seventeenth and eighteenth century it is impossible to categories all colonial woman in one group. Some historians refer to this period as the golden age of women; however, I tend to see this period as oppressive, with only few examples of women exercising social and public powers. The vast amount of women who came to the New World in the earliest days of colonial settlement came as indentured servants to the Chesapeake region. The New World was underdeveloped and sparsely populated; therefore, the women were expected to not only perform their traditional female work but also engage hard manual labor. Early colonial women in some respects were allotted more freedom than women of latter generations; yet, this was not a product of ideology, but rather necessity. European men did not support the idea of equality and saw women as their inferior; however, female inferiority was minimized due to the harsh conditions affecting the entire populous of the New World. The women who lived out the duration of their contract or who were bought out of servitude were quickly married and just as quickly widowed. This factor granted women more power and access to land. Some widows would assert power through courts to guarantee claims to their deceased husbands land. Lois Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh in The Planters Wife describe how many husbands left their entire estate to their widows entrusting them with the responsibility of managing his estate and dividing the land between their children. â€Å"A husband made his wife his executor and thus responsible for paying his debts and preserving the estate.† By today’s standards the practice of leaving property to a wife is the norm; yet, prior to seventeenth century this practice was virtually nonexistent. Carr and Walsh continue by stating, â€Å"Evidently, in the politics of family life women enjoyed great respect.† Therefore, while the Chesapeake colonies remained underdeveloped women ... ... been more emotionally pleasing but still the women remained distant from the outside public realm. The Quakers shared in an exceptional amount of equally that was never adopted or accepted by the dominant classes in the colonies. The last years of the colonial era did allow for increased rights and autonomy for women but it still was tangled with contradictions and in no respect could be deemed as the golden age of women. Bibliography: Lois Green Carr and Lorena Walsh, The Planter’s Wife: The Experience of White Women in Seventeenth-Century Maryland. The William and Mary Quarterly, October 1977, 556-557. Ibid. 557. Laurel Ulrich, Good wives, The Ways of her Household (Oxford University Press, 1983), 22. Ibid. 32. Nancy F. Cott, Roots of Bitterness: Documents of the Social History of American Woman, Examination Of Anne Hutchinson (Northeastern U. Press. Boston 1996), 3-10 Carol Karlsen, The Devil in the shape of a woman: Witchcraft in colonial New England (New York: W. W. Norton, 1987), 116 Linda K. Kerber, women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1980), 38 Ibid. Chap. 4

Cross Cultural Perspectives Essay

The Microsoft Corporation is a fortune 500 company that ranked # 35 on the fortune 500 list in 2013 (Fortune 500, 2013) and is one of the largest business corporations in the world. It was founded in 1975 by two guys named Paul Allen and Bill Gates, the business developed very rapidly as the years went by and reached a marker of 89,000 employees, with a revenue of $62 billion dollars and had offices located all over the world (Fortune 500, 2011). From the initial headquarters that is held in Albuquerque New Mexico, the Microsoft Company steadily increased the offices held within the United States and expanded that to include more than 100 countries abroad. This expansion into different countries became a challenge because of having to deal with new lifestyles, new cultures, people, and languages. Proper research needed to be conducted not to mention the implementation of a proper working strategy to help the integration of these new ethics and cultures into those of the Microsoft Corporation. The homepage of the Microsoft Corporation shares a summarized version of its culture and says â€Å"We as individuals and as a company value honesty, integrity, constructive self criticism, openness, mutual respect, and continual self improvement† (Microsoft Corporation, 2011). The Microsoft Corporation also presents their official responsibilities as part of their ethical obligation. â€Å"We at the Microsoft Corporation hold ourselves accountable to our shareholders, customers, employees, and partners, and we do this by honoring our commitment, providing results, and striving for the highest quality possible† (Microsoft Corporation, 2011). When making a move into new cultures and countries, it becomes very important for employees old and new to not only understand but also accept the Microsoft Corporations ethics and culture. As we all know Microsoft products are used all over the world in both businesses and homes. When they first made the decision to open an office in Lebanon, a majority of the computers ran on the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Windows Office program was the most popular word processing and spreadsheet program. However, there was a problem and that problem was the fact that there was a bunch of versions of this system that had been pirated and distributed in that country. In a country where buying a five dollar pirated software program from a local computer store made it a little hard in terms of convincing some people that it was not only unethical but also illegal. This brings about the question of, â€Å"How is The Microsoft Corporation going to sell authentic versions of their software when there are pirated versions being distributed at such a cheaper price not to mention a lack of government control involved†? Because of this, Microsoft proceeded to send letters to these major organizations warning them against using this pirated software. They also offered to visit these businesses in order to conduct a site survey so that assessments could be made in terms of what software would fit the company the best and at what the cost would be. The Microsoft Corporation also provided the organization that behaved ethically and invited Microsoft in for the survey assessment; Microsoft turned around and gave them a very good price deal on the software. Microsoft also introduced to them a payment facility for the companies that had to make large purchases of the software in order to get licenses for the pirated software they already had in place. Everyone knows that not all organizations and businesses operate within ethical boundaries. Lebanon, just like the U. S. , is similar in the fact that it is an individualist culture. However, bribery is common throughout this country. Microsoft has an ethical standard that is against these types of acts and it is totally against their integrity. It was however, improbable to sell these authentic copies to many of these businesses without presenting these managers with some type of gift in exchange. Some of these organizations proceeded to offer gifts to the Microsoft Corporation’s employees. They in return were hoping for some type of special discount, or a deal would not work out. The Microsoft Corporation has an ethical obligation to their shareholders and that obligation is to protect and increase the value of the shares. The Microsoft Corporation has to be able to earn a said profit in order for the share values to increase. On a bad note, Microsoft cannot legitimately sell software copies in a country that has corruption and bribery within its ethics and culture. According to Transparency International â€Å"The transparency in Lebanon ranked 2. 5 out of 10 in the world in 2010† (Corruption Perception Index 2010 Results, 2010). When comparing that score to 8. 9 out of 10 in Canada and 7. 1 out of 10 in the United States, the difference is quite staggering. Microsoft has to be able to find a way to adapt their approach in order to conclude some type of successful business in the country of Lebanon. According to the text book â€Å"The biggest source of anxiety for business people in America who operate abroad is the expectations of bribes and payoffs† (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). When the Microsoft management team was faced with bribes or offerings in order to sell their software to the organizations who where operating on pirated copies, they in return chose to use an ethical model in order to make a decision in regards of choosing which course of action would be best to take. The judicial systems of these countries that have a low transparency, that are similar to those in Lebanon, are very weak. So filing a lawsuit against the businesses that are running the pirated versions of the Microsoft software programs would turn out to be very costly, time consuming and may end up yielding no type of results in the end. Management teams that are faced with different types of ethical situations can apply different types of ethical models in order to help assist in the process of decision making. In the case of bribing a manager of an organization in order to purchase software that is legal, it is possible that they could apply the utilitarianism ethical model. By looking at the result, it might be easy to try and make a decision on whether or not the employees at the Microsoft Corporation may try and bribe a business into purchasing Microsoft software that is legal. On a positive note, Microsoft selling more software to organizations and businesses that need it or may already be using it may help in the reduction of software being pirated within the country. The share prices at Microsoft are being maintained by the revenue and the employees receiving a commission. On the negative side, if a bribe is being paid to an employee or a member of the business or an organization who is purchasing the Microsoft software. The Utilitarianism’s ethical model shows approval of this as a decision that is ethical. Being able to apply different ethical models, such as the deontological model may end up having different ending results. The question that this raises is â€Å"Should all businesses or organizations pay some type of bribe or bribes in order to help sell their products? † The answer to this naturally is, â€Å"no†. Global businesses are faced with many different challenges everyday as they expand into different foreign organizations. Ethical challenges will always arise for an organization as they expand. The ethical decisions made in regards to different business matters can usually be solved by applying the different ethical models that are available. There are plenty of tools available for helping solve arising ethical problems and they need to be used so they may be helpful in making solutions. With the launch of Microsoft in the country of Lebanon they need to confront these ethical issues of bribery so that they can enter the market. The Microsoft Corporation must learn to adapt their policies in order to comply with the ethical standards they have in the country of Lebanon. References Corruption Perception Index, 2010 results (2010). Transparency International Retrieved August 11, 2013 from https://www. transparency. org/policy_research/surveys Fortune Global 500 (2011) CNN Money, Retrieved August 11, 2013 from https://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011 Microsoft Corporation (2011) About Microsoft, Retrieved August 10, 2013 from https://www. microsoft. com/about/en/us/default. aspx Trevino. L. K & Nelson. K. L (2007) Retrieved August 9, 2013 from Managing Business Ethics (4th Ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.