Multinational Corporation Subsidiaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Multinational Corporation Subsidiaries - Essay Example The paper tells that the critical role that culture takes in global organizations need to be closely examined especially in American firms where globalization proliferates. The growing importance of national and world trade creates the need to understand the cultural diversities in different regions and countries. The saying that organizations need to plan globally, think rationally, and act locally is very apropos in many ways and more so in relation to cultural differences. One of the most famous MNCs globally is Coca-Cola, operating for already 125 years. According to its official website, there are approximately 139,600 worldwide employees of Coca-Cola that operates in more than 200 countries around the world. The operating groups of the Coca-Cola are indicated as Eurasia & Africa Group, Europe Group, Latin America Group, North America Group, Pacific Group, Bottling Investments Group, McDonald's Division. For the chosen potential countries to transfer, Coca-Cola has likewise been identified to operate both in India and in the Philippines, with additional details in the paper. When selecting career opportunities, usually the official website would forward search opportunities to the Pacific region where there are currently 297 job openings announced. Under the Pacific group, the site explicitly states that â€Å"The Coca-Cola Pacific Group includes a diverse group of rapidly developing markets such as China, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations†. In terms of political and economic conditions in India, the EDC provided the following general outlook. The present political scene in India is quite exceptional due to the relatively strong position of the ruling Congress-led UPA coalition; the governing coalition continues to maintain its majority in parliament. At the same time, the government’s standing among voters has been somewhat tarnished due to some very high profile corruption cases. The Government is likely to refrain from pursuing unpopular reforms throughout much of 2011 due to upcoming state assembly elections. The security environment is dominated by the threats posed by the Islamic militants and Naxalite insurgent activities. Market Spotlight: GDP growth remained slowed to 8.2% y/y in Q4, largely as a result of the slowdown in government spending and private investment. The pace of import growth has slowed markedly in recent months, in line with weaker industrial activity.

Diabetes Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diabetes Case Study - Essay Example The reduced wound healing time of the individual can be related to the production of granulocytes which require glucose as their source of energy and as glucose as is not entering the cells energy is not being provided to the cells for the uptake of amino acids. Because of this proteins cannot be synthesized in the cells. All these factors lead to reduced wound healing in the tissues. In polyuria the urinary output of a person is increased in diabetes, in polydipsia the person gets thirsty again and again and lastly polyphagia increases the appetite of the person (Lawal 2008 & Deshpande et al 2008). Diabetes mellitus is said to be working as a slow poison in the body and it can affect many processes in the body. It is noted that Diabetes Mellitus can further cause a huge damage to the different systems of the body. Neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, cardiovascular stroke and peripheral vascular diseases are common diseases caused by the chronic processes of diabetes. In neuropathy the nerve cells of the body are damaged because of which the autonomic nervous system is affected usually. In retinopathy the macular retina of an individual is destroyed and this can lead to blindness. In nephropathy it can be seen that diabetes causes an alteration in the structure of the kidneys. And this may also lead to kidney failures in the long term if not treated properly. It is also seen that diabetes is related to the blood pressures as it is a major cause of hypertension nowadays. Because of hypertension the individuals also tend to develop ischemic heart diseases which further lead to hypoxia in the heart muscles and thus cardiac failure or cardiac stroke may occur. Peripheral Vascular Disease is another major disease caused by diabetes in the body. Diabetes can directly act on the blood vessels and narrow them. The most affected blood vessels by diabetes are the ones leading to the stomach, legs, arms and kidneys.

A Managerial Strategy Essay Example for Free

A Managerial Strategy Essay The principal purpose and function of healthcare organizations is to ensure that their services. Above all their duties is geared towards caring for their patient’s health and emphasize the ability of the organization to serve their patients skillfully and responsibly. Further, they offer different types of services which include medical and behavioral health care services, accordingly, this includes public and community health care programs and in the contemporary scenario, corporate power. As a matter of fact, it has been stressed in The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization that in order to ensure that a healthcare organization is really doing its task of safeguarding the health of its patients (and not really attracting them to be its client), a health organization should improve the quality of its services (Griffith White, 2006), which strengthens the argument of harnessing the managerial skills of healthcare practitioners. Moreover, it should also maintain a well-facilitated plant in which the patients are being accommodated.   Given with such instances, it highlights the perception that healthcare organizations are mandated to implement certain administrative methods to meet the mounting complications derived over by societal challenges (Griffith White, 2006). One of the cited feasible and efficient techniques in achieving managerial success is proper organization of the activities and the developmental plan of the entity.   It is through the alignment of program objectives that the goals are obtained and prevents the rise of problems which deals with conflicts or miscommunication. If the programs are aligned well, then the members of the organization shall have a clear vision on what to expect, and oversee necessary changes so as to improve their performance.   Simple logic basically revolves in the verity of the strategy; common problems arise when the organization has no definite goals which lead to disorientation. Similar to that of business entities, healthcare practitioners must also take the challenge of facing the waves of managerial confrontations. Reference Griffith, J. R., White, K. R. (2006). The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization (6th ed.). New York: Health Administration Press.

Teenage pregnancy in Lagos Island

Teenage pregnancy in Lagos Island Although, teenage pregnancy could be unplanned as well as accidental. It usually occurs within the context of early marriage and also as a result of societal change of which the value system and virginity at marriage are no longer upheld. Certain problems are associated with teenage pregnancy such as economic, psychological, socio-cultural and others. It is no longer a diplomatic statement that young people in the last decade, especially within the age group of 10-18 years, are living beyond the yard sticks of adventures compared to the youths of the 90s. A blend of unpredictable, news breaking activities and issues of topmost concern has risen in the last few years. One of the most striking facts is the rising number of teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is a result of sexual intercourse between young girls and boys who are in their growing years, exploring the changes happening in their bodies by having unsafe sex with each other. Health organizations across the world are still in the frontlines of reducing maternal deaths due to complications and diseases. But even now, however, they have more to do with the increasing number of teenage pregnancy. (Femi A. A. Sofia Krauss, 2009) Bearing a child while still in childhood themselves, these young mothers under the age of 20 are prone to birth injuries and maternal death. It also affects their emotional well being: Teenage mothers are 3 times more likely to suffer from post-natal depression and experience poor mental health for up to 3 years after the birth. Children born to teenage mothers have 60% higher rates of infant mortality and are at increased risk of low birth-weight which impacts on the childs long-term health. Further more, they are at increased risk to be brought up in poverty. (Femi A. A. Sofia Krauss, 2009) Teenage pregnancy is defined as a teenaged or underaged girl (usually within the ages of 13-19) becoming pregnant. The term in everyday speech usually refers to women who have not reached legal adulthood, which varies across the world, who become pregnant. Pregnant teenagers face many of the same obstetrics issues as women in their 20s and 30s. However, there are additional medical concerns for younger mothers, particularly those under 15 and those living in developing countries.( Mayor S 2004) For mothers between 15 and 19, age in itself is not a risk factor, but additional risks may be associated with socioeconomic factors.( Makinson C. 1985) Data supporting teenage pregnancy as a social issue in developed countries include lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty, and other poorer life outcomes in children of teenage mothers. Teenage pregnancy in developed countries is usually outside of marriage, and carries a social stigma in many communities and cultures. For these reasons, there have been many studies and campaigns which attempt to uncover the causes and limit the numbers of teenage pregnancies.(The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy 2002). In other countries and cultures, particularly in the developing world, teenage pregnancy is usually within marriage and does not involve a social stigma. (Population Council 2006) 1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM It is very rampant in our society where there is an increase in the reported cases of teenager pregnancy. This ugly incident has created huge concern for the society especially to determine if the concern would have good future as well as their children. Again, the health implications of these children is another issue of worry. Causes of Teenage Pregnancy In the developed world, the causes of teenage pregnancy is different in the sense that it is mostly outside marriage and carries lots of social stigma. Thus, adolescent sexual behaviour is one of the causes of teenage pregnancy. In our world today, having sex before 20yrs is the in thing, it is even the normal all over the world and this brought about high levels of adolescent pregnancy which creates sexual relationship among teenagers without the provision of comprehensive information about sex. (Chinwe Chibuzo, P. 2007) The in-take of drugs, alcohol etc contributes a lot to teenage pregnancy meanwhile as a teenager you may not be ready for sexual intercourse at that moment but being intoxicated with drugs and alcohol makes you to be involved in unintended sexual activity just because sex at that time is less emotionally painful and embarrassing. To avoid this, eradicate anything alcohol or drugs. Furthermore, sexual abuse is also one of the causes of teenage pregnancy. Rape as a sexual abuse has more effect in the life of our teenage girls causing unwanted sex and teenage pregnancy. Age discrepancies also causes teenage pregnancy in the sense that a teenage girl with a partner much older than herself is more likely to get pregnant more often than a girl that have a partner of a close age, as she prefers having the children than abortion since she is not educated enough to use contraceptives. (Chinwe Chibuzo, P. 2007) Childhood environment Women exposed to abuse, domestic violence, and family strife in childhood are more likely to become pregnant as teenagers, and the risk of becoming pregnant as a teenager increases with the number of adverse childhood experiences. According to a 2004 study, one-third of teenage pregnancies could be prevented by eliminating exposure to abuse, violence, and family strife. The researchers note that family dysfunction has enduring and unfavorable health consequences for women during the adolescent years, the childbearing years, and beyond. When the family environment does not include adverse childhood experiences, becoming pregnant as an adolescent does not appear to raise the likelihood of long-term, negative psychosocial consequences.( Tamkins, T. 2004) Effect of Teenage Pregnancy on Educational Teenage pregnancies have become a public health issue because of their observed negative effects on perinatal outcomes and long-term morbidity. The association of young maternal age and long-term morbidity is usually confounded, however, by the high prevalence of poverty, low level of education, and single marital status among teenage mothers. Assessing the independent effect of teenage pregnancy on educational disabilities and educational problems in a total population of children who entered kindergarten in Florida in 1992-1994 and investigate how controlling for potentially confounding factors affects the relation between teenage pregnancies and poor outcome. When no other factors are taken into account, children of teenage mothers have significantly higher odds of placement in certain special education classes and significantly higher occurrence of milder education problems, but when maternal education, marital status, poverty level, and race are controlled, the detrimental effec ts disappear and even some protective effects are observed. Hence, the increased risk for educational problems and disabilities among children of teenage mothers is attributed not to the effect of young age but to the confounding influences of associated socio-demographic factors. In contrast to teen age, older maternal age has an adverse effect on a childs educational outcome regardless of whether other factors are controlled for or not. (Ralitza V. Gueorguieva 2001) Preventing Teen Pregnancy It has been found that teens who have a good relationship with their parents are less likely to experience a pregnancy. Good communication between parents and their children is the key to ensuring children make the right decisions when it comes to their sexual activity. (Pregnancy info 2009) Evidence from areas with the largest reductions has identified a range of factors that need to be in place to successfully reduce teenage pregnancy rates. These factors include a well-publicised contraceptive and sexual health advice service which is centred on young people. The service needs to have a strong remit to undertake health promotion work, as well as delivering reactive services. It is key to prioritize sexual and reproductive health education at schools, supported from the local authority to develop comprehensive programmes of sex and relationships education (SRE) in all schools. (Femi A. A. Sofia Krauss, 2009) Education is also vitally important in helping youth know about their options when it comes to sex. Teaching teens about using contraception each and every time they have sex is imperative to healthy sexual relationships. Abstinence should also be taught along with contraception so that youth understand they have the right to choose. Teaching teens that it is okay to say no to sex until they are ready will help to curb the numbers of teen pregnancies. (Pregnancy info 2009) The Challenges of Early Motherhood Facing an unplanned teen pregnancy can be hard. The effects of teenage pregnancy are not limited to having to decide whether or not to keep the baby, how to cope with motherhood or whether to make an adoption plan. One of the most immediate effects of teen pregnancy is how the growing baby changes a teenagers body as well as their lifestyle. Because a teens body immediately begins the process of carrying a child and preparing for childbirth, a teenager needs to consider the effect that her physical activities may have on her developing baby. A variety of activities common to teens may have a negative effect on a developing baby: Drinking alcoholic beverages, Smoking cigarettes or marijuana, Lack of sleep and Unhealthy eating patterns. (Pregnancy center.orgOther physical changes that take place as her uterus expands may impact things as simple as clothing choices or her ability to safely participate in sports. This means that an average teenage girl will need to speak with her doctor about what activities need to be limited during her pregnancy as well as what changes she might need to make to her diet. Emotional Effects of Teen Pregnancy (Pregnancy center.org) Dealing with an unplanned pregnancy can be scary and confusing. Some of the emotions that teen may encounter when facing an unplanned pregnancy are: Initial excitement, Confusion, Fear, Resentment and Frustration. Its a natural response for you to think about and want to protect the baby that is growing inside you. It is also natural for you to be scared and confused about how to deal with this unplanned pregnancy. (Pregnancy center.org) Teenage mothers in industrialized countries mostly lack a proper social network consisting of family, friends and elder women which is usually present in developing countries. Besides, there are many social pressures on them. The main pressure on young pregnant women is, of course, to come to a decision about the unborn child, considering the options of keeping the child, adoption and abortion. Other pressures are education and money. For one, young teenage women in industrialized countries are generally expected to get educated and find work. This becomes almost impossible when having a baby without a strong social network. Then, there often are financial pressures, since the lack of education often leads to unemployment or the dependency on low paid jobs or welfare. (Martin Bohn 2009); Risks for Teenage Mothers and their Child As a result, teenage pregnancy may lead to various problems for both the mother and the child. According to a student fact sheet of the Australian organization Womens Health Queensland Wide, teenage mothers and their children may face some of the following risks: There are significantly higher complication rates both during pregnancy and delivery for teenage mothers and their babies, such as an increased risk of miscarriage, premature birth, having a baby of low birth weight, birth defects and other complications. Children born to teenage mothers are statistically more vulnerable to neglect and abuse. This is due to a range of factors including poverty, parenting inexperience and being in an unhealthy relationship (for example when there is a situation of domestic violence). Teenage Pregnancies and the Disintegration of Families (Martin Bohn (2009); Teenage pregnancies contribute to the disintegration of the family as a social institution. Most teen mothers are single mums. This is either because the child was conceived outside of a relationship or because the pregnancy places a great deal of strain on young relationships which are usually not as stable and enduring as adult relationships. Consequently, 60% of young Australian mothers do not have a male partner when their baby is born, as mentioned in a student fact sheet on teenage pregnancy by the Australian based Womens Health Queensland Wide Inc. A crucial question relates to whether the adverse outcomes experienced by (some) mothers and children of teenage pregnancies are causally related to the age of the mother, or whether there are other factors which lead to the adverse outcomes experienced by teenage mothers and their children. Several studies have found that teenage pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes for both mother and baby. These include low birthweight, prematurity, increased perinatal and infant mortality and poorer long-term cognitive development and educational achievement for both mother and child. (Fraser AM, Brockert JE and Fergusson DM, 1995) However, studies which have aimed to address the underlying causes of these adverse outcomes-by controlling for additional factors-have produced conflicting results. Some suggest that adverse outcomes remain even after controlling for maternal socioeconomic position and other confounding factors, (Fraser AM, Brockert JE 1995) some find that age has no effect, (Gueorguieva RV, Lee MC 2001) whereas other studies report that once maternal socioeconomic position and smoking are taken into account young age is actually associated with better outcomes. (Reichman NE and Geronimus AT 1997) These contradictory findings probably reflect the small size of some studies, residual confounding, and the difficulty of separating effects that may be related to maternal age from effects that are appropriately regarded as confounding. For example, poor parenting skills may reflect the ignorance of young age but may also occur at any age among women who have restricted access to information and education. Larger studies and those employing methods specifically designed to adequately control for confounding factors (for example using sibling comparisons) (Geronimus AT 1992) suggest that young age is not an important determinant of pregnancy outcome or of the future health of the mother. (Gueorguieva RV, Scholl TO 2001) A recent systematic review of the medical consequences of teenage pregnancy concluded that Critical appraisal suggested that increased risks of these outcomes (anaemia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, low birthweight, prematurity, intra-uterine growth retardation and neonatal mortality) were predominantly caused by the social, economic, and behavioural factors that predispose some young women to pregnancy.'(Cunnington A. 2001) Moreover, Cunnington asserts from this review that most teenage pregnancies are low risk-a point which is omitted from much research and from policy documents and statements Teenage Mothers and Education Teenage mothers are often unwilling or unable to complete their education. This lack of education can result in long term unemployment or low paid, insecure jobs. Being dependent on welfare or on a poorly paid job can place teenage mothers under greater financial pressure, even more so when they are single mums and have no supporting network of family and friends. Finally, teenage mothers are often alienated from their peers and family because their new life is either disapproved of or cannot be related to by family and friends. In developing country like Nigeria teenage mothers are sometimes married and have a broad support system. However, malnutrition, poor health care and complications of childbirth significantly increase the mortality rate of these young women. Lagos State Government Intervention The Lagos State has also set up youth friendly centers to provide adolescents accurate and confidential counseling on sex related matters. These include youth development programmes to educate youths both male and female on the danger involve in premarital sexual and early sexual intercourse (VOA News). In addition, efforts is from the youth counselor of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Christiana Ladapo, who leads candid after-school discussions about sex, peer pressure, abstinence and contraceptives. She says teenage pregnancy has been on the rise because society has ignored the problem. However, Pinkdove in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Education recently organized an enlightenment campaign with the theme The Effects of Early Sex, Teen Pregnancy for Senior Secondary School Female Students in Lagos state HISTORY OF LAGOS Lagos State is an administrative region of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest of Nigerias states, Lagos State is the second most populous state after Kano State, (wikipedia) and arguably the most economically important state of the country,(Answer dictionary) containing Lagos, the nations largest urban area. Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigerias Federation into 12 states. Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (Colony Province) of Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry were administered by the Western Region. The State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital. However, with the creation of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos Island ceased to be Nigerias political capital. Nevertheless , Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country. HISTORY OF LAGOS ISLAND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Lagos Island is the principal and central local government area of the Metropolitan Lagos in Nigeria. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a population of 209,437 in an area of 8.7 km ². The LGA only covers the western half of Lagos Island; the eastern half is under the jurisdiction of the LGA of Eti-Osa. Lying in Lagos Lagoon, a large protected harbour on the coast of Africa, the island was home to the Yoruba fishing village of Eko, which grew into the modern city of Lagos. The city has now spread out to cover the neighbouring islands as well as the adjoining mainland. Lagos Island is connected to the mainland by three large bridges which cross Lagos Lagoon to the district of Ebute Metta. It is also linked to the neighbouring island of Ikoyi and to Victoria Island. The Lagos harbour district of Apapa faces the western side of the island. Forming the main commercial district of Lagos, Lagos Island plays host to the main government buildings, shops and offices. The Catholic and Anglican Cathedrals as well as the Central Mosque are located here. Historically, Lagos Island (Isaleko) was home to the Brazilian Quarter of Lagos where the majority of the slave trade returnees from Brazil settled. Many families lived on Broad Street in the Marina. It also revealed that majority (83.8%) and (70%) of the respondents were staying with their parents and there parents were staying together. This is in contradiction (Ellis, Bruce J. et al) Studies that girls whose fathers left the family early in their lives had the highest rates of early sexual activity and adolescent pregnancy From the study it was also revealed that many of the respondents parents who were working are in the low class status about (25%) were unemployed. This is in accordance with a study by (Besharov, Douglas J. Gardiner) Poverty is associated with increased rates of teenage pregnancy. It was obvious from the study that majority were not aware of any form of contraceptives, but this was in disagreement with the study made in the United States in 2002 by National Surveys of Family Growth, sexually active adolescent women wishing to avoid pregnancy were less likely than those of other ages to use contraceptives. Revelation from this research shows that (35.7%) were impregnated by boy friends while (13.3%) were raped. This flows with some studies that between 11 and 20 percent of pregnancies in teenagers are a direct result of rape, while about 60 percent of teenage mothers had unwanted sexual experiences preceding their pregnancy. One in five teenage fathers admitted to forcing girls to have sex with them Majority of the respondents had their sex experience before the age of 15. This supports Guttmacher Institute findings that 60 percent of girls who had sex before age 15 were coerced by males who on average were six years their senior. CONCLUSION It is quite glaring that teenage pregnancy have many consequences on the society. Teenage pregnancies have become a public health issue because of their observed negative effects on perinatal outcomes and long-term morbidity. The association of young maternal age and long-term morbidity is usually confounded, however, by the high prevalence of poverty, low level of education, and single marital status among teenage mothers the impact on youth development in our society is negative

Personal Narrative about Skiing Essay -- Narrative Essay Ski Trip

The coat of armor I adorned, made of down feathers and a nylon shell, yielded no protection against the daggers of that cold winter air. As I peered out toward the horizon, I saw nothing but tree tops, and some snow capped mountain tops in the distance. With my feet bound to freshly waxed skis, the only thing stronger than my ski poles was my determination to get down the mountain. I turned to my right, only to see the immediate drop off of the ski slope. As I crept up a little closer to the edge, I noticed an incline that before now was only known to me through pictures of cliff diving, or an exaggerated road runner and coyote cartoon. With a deep breath of that icy cold air that seemed endless at the time, I pushed myself off the mountain, and I was skiing. The wind blew past me as...

The World Bank and The IMF: Twins or Rivals? Essay -- Economy Economic

The World Bank and The IMF: Twins or Rivals? Both institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, were established more than fifty years ago; and the foundations of both were expected to play roles in stabilizing the frustrated global economy and aiding post-war European countries as well as other developing countries for economic progress. In the first three decades, both institutions had their own respective functions and extensively engaged in different economic and financial activities. In general, the World Bank primarily concentrated on making long term loans to finance infrastructural projects in developing countries, as the IMF mainly provided economic consultation as well as short-term loans to both developed and developing countries (Driscoll). However, the distinctive differences started disappearing since the beginning of 1970s, as both began to involve in more and more similar economic activities. As such, these overlapping activities blurred the functions between the two institutions, in which ca se a restructuring reform might be required to avoid potential conflicts. Although both organizations were not identical twins as they were born in the first place, the relationship between them was very close. According to the World Bank’s article of agreement, â€Å"in order for a country to be able to become a member of the Bank, it must be a member of the Fund† (Polak 1). There are two reasons behind this rule: First, it can prevent free ridership that could possibly enables members of one organization to misuse their rights in the world monetary market. Second, it is widely believed that a good lending of the World Bank heavily depended on a country’s stable monetary market, which can be secured by... ...hirty years. Today, although they are facing certain critiques for some of their inconsistent policies that are not accepted by some economists, both are striving for a common goal to achieve the establishment of the stability in the world economy as well as the entire global economic wealth. Works Cited Driscoll, David. D. â€Å"The IMF and The World Bank: How Do They Differ?† Aug. 1996. 23 Nov. 2002. Moffitt, Michael. The World’s Money. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. Naim, Moises. â€Å"Fad and Fashions in Economic Reforms: Washington Consensus or Washington Confusion?† 26 Oct. 1999. 20 Nov. 2002. Polak, Jacques J. The World Bank and The IMF: A Changing Relationship. Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1994.

Nirala Supply Chain Management

Table of Contents Introduction3 Vision3 Core Values3 Departments4 Products4 Target market4 Major Competitors in Pakistan5 Supply chain management5 Supply chain Process of Nirala5 Inbound Logistics7 Operations7 Out bound logistics8 Costs8 Price Strategy9 Promotions9 Efficiency Vs Responsiveness9 Chase strategy9 Time flexibility from workforce10 Consumer’s data base10 Corporate events10 Future plans11 Recommendations11 Introduction Over half a century ago, the foundation of Nirala was laid in Lahore, Pakistan, with the commitment to provide people with delectable quality delights.The great journey started when Taj Din migrated from Amritsar, India, to Lahore and started a small breakfast shop in the inner city of Lahore in 1948. Over the years, his family has embraced the timeless traditional values of good taste and unmatched quality, by bringing fresh mouth watering to the customers. Anmol Company holds the exclusive franchise rights in Pakistan for Nirala Sweets & food produc ts. Anmol Company is responsible for manufacturing, distributing and selling Nirala Sweets, which is undoubtedly the leading brand in the Mithai market in Pakistan. OnJanuary 1999, Nirala opened its 1st outlet outside Lahore making an instant success. Now Nirala is also makes dairy products in addition to sweets, namkeenz & running a restaurant. Nirala today has37 Branches in Pakistan with Presence in 9 Cities Including, Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Sialkot & Gujranwala. Nirala has Presence in 4 Regions of the World including Sharjah, Dubai, Canada, USA and Europe. Vision The vision is to make Nirala a global brand, a brand recognizable for its uniqueness and quality in ethnic food market all around the world.In this perspective it consider itself as an innovative and a pioneer company, continuously offering unique products and interesting service concepts that others haven’t even dreamt of. Core Values The core values of the organizat ion which they consider the Spirit of Nirala have not changed over the past half century. Those values and traditions which have made the brand Nirala a market leader for the past 60 years are: * Continuous Improvement * Innovation * Integrity * Team work and * Social Responsibility Departments * Administration * Finance & Accounts * Human Resource *    Marketing *    Milk Procurement    MIS *    Production *    Quality Assurance * Retail Store *    Shop Operations *    Store & Procurement *    Supply & Distribution * VAS (Value added services ) Products * Mithai * Snakes * Dairy * Beverages Target market The target market of Nirala is the upper and corporate class. Major Competitors in Pakistan Nirala do not consider any one a direct competitor though indirectly it has many competitors . Some of them (area wise)are given below. Lahore * Gourmet * Fazal sweets * Rafique sweets * Butt sweets Islamabad-Rawal pindi * Jameel Sweets * Fresco Sweets Karachi * Qasr-e-shahee n Supply chain managementThe Nirala ensures timely and effective distribution of the products to chain of Nirala sweets stores spread all across Pakistan. From Transportation to obtaining route permits and approvals, is done by this department. Supply chain Process of Nirala Firstly the production department of Nirala receives projections from the sales department for example what products should be produced, how much quantity needs to be produced, what are the products that need more production than the rest etc. Sales Manager is responsible to deliver all these information and projections about the total quantity need to be produced.Production department then make the products accordingly which results in two products semi finished products and finished or ready to dispatch products by having a special check from the production manager who ensures the right amount of ingredients, quality and recipes that should be followed in the making of those products. Processing facilities are de centralised and located in Lahore, Karachi and one in Dubai. Production manager also ensures that the production should be done on the required time and by the required quantity in order to give high quality products to the customers.Semi finished goods are transferred to the stores of Nirala whereas the finished products directly go to the Pre- supply department . Stores are the central place for raw materials, finished as well as semi finished products . Nirala is currently using the facility of cold stores as well as blast freezers for storage purposes which help in increasing the life of the products. These stores are responsible to check the availability of the raw materials received from the procurement department which is the most important department of Nirala sweets .This department make raw materials available to the stores for the production of sweets as well as packaging of the finished products. The finished products that were transferred to the pre- supply departme nt are then molded into different shapes, sizes and cuts. Pre- supply department is the only department at Nirala which lacks a manager, instead of the manager they have a supervisor for this department which supervise all the activities of the labor and makes sure that everything is done according to the standards or not.After wrapping and final packaging of those products by the pre-supply department, they are transferred finally to the Supply department with the help of carriers e. g. trucks and vans (Shahzor, Mazda, and Suzuki pickup) owned by the company which delivers the final products to different branches of Nirala. They use voucher system for this process, vouchers are send with the products to outstation branches of Nirala located in Lahore ,Islamabad and Peshawar in order to make sure that the right amount is transferred to its designation .Branches after receiving the products and making sure that everything is received on the right date and by the right amount then dis patch the record of that receiving to the supply department at 7. am before the opening of the branch which is 8. am . This whole process is done on daily basis. Branches check the dispatch products through ERP (Enterprise resource planning). Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc.ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application . The purpose of ERP is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside sources. But if there is a mismatch between the products and the vouchers i-e received products is less than the required amount then every department especially the supply department has to recheck all the process in order to identify the fault. From these branches customer can buy wh atever he wants to buy from the range of products made by the company.Consumer is concerned with the final product, he is not aware of the whole process from where the product has been passed so it’s also very important to check the quality of the final product before the sale of the products as well. Inbound Logistics Pure desi ghee, High quality dry fruit, Milk Operations * More than 20% mithai production is carried out at automated plants. * Snacks are made on modern machines where as in the production of mithai no such technology is used. Nirala prefer to made mithai with the traditional way.The only technology used in the preparation is the rods that are used to check the consistency of the sugar syrup. * Quality is assured by the Quality Assurance Department which uses two ways to test the quality of products being produced. Firstly they use Sensory Evaluation to test quality. Sensory evaluation involves calling experts to test the mithai (sweets) by eating it and then telling whether it is upto standards or not. Secondly various lab tests are carried out to make sure that high quality raw materials are used in making of products. * Nirala also introduced Nirala Doodh in 2005.Since milk is an integral ingredient when it comes to sweets and mithai, therefore it decided to open its own Ultra high temperature milk plant. Therefore in 2006 with lot of investments and hard work, Nirala was able to establish its first UHT Milk Plant. The capacity of the plant was that it could produce up to 200, 000 liters/day. This was the biggest milk plant ever constructed. UHT plant required significant investments therefore when the time came to launch its product that was Nirala Doodh, they were left with very little resources, as a result their this product failed drastically.Nirala didn’t have enough resources to market the product therefore faced lot of constraints as far as the marketing budgets were concerned. Furthermore, due to very little advertisin g consumers had less brand awareness, it also resulted in increased losses as budgets for the branches were ignored at the same time. Out bound logistics N-Design is a packaging Co. working under the umbrella of Nirala which is offering 80 different types of packaging. It includes traditional paper and card boards, tin, wood, glass and handmade paper. Customize packaging is a speciality of Nirala sweets. CostsSince Nirala is a labor intensive company and prefer to make the sweets in the traditional way so the major costs incurred by the company are the labor cost and cost of raw materials. Nirala once imported machines from Germany for this purpose but it failed in making those products so less use of technology helps the company in saving cost. Nirala spend a very little money on the maintenance of outlets that is the reason the condition of outlets of the competitors is far better than those of Nirala because the focus of the company is on the product rather than these things Pric e StrategyNirala Sweets is slightly high than its competitors in price due to quality material used for its production and help Nirala in saving the cost . this is also because of target market that Nirala targets which is the corporate and upper class. Nirala also accepts credit payments by its customers on purchase of RS 200 worth mithai. Promotions Though the marketing department is present if Nirala but it’s not doing anything for the promotion of the company. Marketing activities of Nirala is very limited due to lack of funds.Also due to unforeseen incident that occurred in 2006, led people to boycott Nirala’s products. The death of the two year old and controversial case of Faisal Farooq resulted in huge losses for the company. This news was misreported on various internet websites and blogs and resulted in a bad image of the company for some time period. Also Nirala accepts online orders from its international customers and they are the only ones who are offerin g online orders. Efficiency Vs ResponsivenessEvery company wants to save the cost ,same is the case with Nirala, every department tries to save the cost at each step to the maximum but if the question is to make a choice between the two then Nirala definitely chooses the option of responsiveness because if they will incur any extra cost in order to fulfill the demand of customers and to be responsive in terms of supply then they will be more than happy to accept that cost because they are increasing the customer satisfaction and gaining customers loyalty. Chase strategyThere is no scientific rule to forecast the demand in this industry so in order to predict future demand Nirala uses the chase strategy in which the production rate is synchronized with the demand rate because at the end of the day they are just sweets so the demand fluctuations are not very intense which means that the demand for these products can easily be predicted for example the demand of the products increases in the Wedding season (Oct-March), Eid-ul-fiter, Eid-ul-Azha and other occasions like that and decreases in the month of Moharram.For this reason they do not have any separate department for forecasting. Time flexibility from workforce Nirala also use the strategy of time flexibility from workforce by offering them flexible timing in the low demand period and overtime in the peak demand period to fulfil the demand of customers. Consumer’s data base Nirala sweets do not feel the need of making database of consumers especially on daily basis. They make profile of only those customers that complain about their products or have any bad experience with the company and of their corporate customers. Corporate eventsAn extensive list of corporate clients place customized orders to make their corporate events more exclusive. A wide range of Mithai and customized branded boxes are available to the valued clients at all times. The creative team is always there to convert our client's ex pressions into beautiful branded packaging, which leaves an everlasting impact of grace and sophistication onto the minds of the recipients. The corporate clientele includes:  » ABN AMRO Bank  » Allied Bank  » Arif Habib Rupali  Bank  » Bank Alfalah  » Citibank  » DHL  » Dubai Islamic Bank  » Emaar Pakistan  » PIA  » Pizza Hut  » PTV SUFI Group of Industries Future plans * Nirala sweets is trying to outsource the company to reduce the extra cost. * To increase the marketing activities for the promotion of the company and allot specific budget for that purpose. * Looking forward to expand in England and Canada where sizable Pakistani communities live. Recommendations * They should review the costs of their products since they are targeting the higher class and upper middle class so that’s why the rates are high as compared to their competitors who make it difficult for the people with medium income and low income.If they review their costs and cut down a little bit on their prices then they can cover a much more number of customers and their sales will increase. * Continuous innovation and up gradation in technology and effective use of enabling technologies such as MIS will help integrate the entire supply chain better. * Sales promotions like prizes, lucky draw schemes should be introduced to attract more suppliers and focus more on their advertising because customers have very little information and awareness about their products such as Nirala Doodh.