Monday, August 19, 2019
The Silk Road Essay -- essays research papers fc
     The four hundred years between the collapse of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.- C.E. 220) and the establishment of the Tang dynasty (618-906) mark a division in the history of China. During this period, foreign invasion, transcontinental trade, and missionary ambition opened the region to an unprecedented wealth of foreign cultural influences. These influences were both secular and sacred. Nomads, merchants, emissaries and missionaries flooded into China, bringing new customs, providing exotic wares, and generating new religious beliefs. Foremost among these beliefs was Buddhism, born in India, but which now took root in China. These new influences entered China by a vast network of overland routes, popularly known as the Silk Road      The term Silk Road does not refer to a single, clearly defined road or highway, but rather denotes a network of trails and trading posts, oasis and markets scattered all across Central Asia. All along the way, branch routes led to destinations off to the side of the main route, with one especially important branch leading to northwestern India, and thus to other routes throughout the subcontinent. The Silk Road network is generally thought of as stretching from an eastern station at the old Chinese capital city of Chang'an to westward stations at Byzantium (Constantinople), Antioch, Damascus, and other Middle Eastern cities. But beyond those end points, other trade networks distributed Silk Road goods throughout the Mediterranean world and Europe, on one end, and throughout eastern Asia on the other end.      It is not possible to think clearly about the Silk Road without taking into consideration the whole of Eurasia as its geographical context. Trade along the Silk Road flourished or diminished according to the conditions in China, Byzantium, Persia, and other countries along the way. There was also competition for alternative routes, by land and sea, to absorb long-distance                               1 Eurasian trade when conditions along the Silk Road were unfavorable. For this reason, the geographical context of the Silk Road must be thought of in the broadest possible terms, including sea rout... ...                             9      Works Cited Beers, Burton F. (1988). World History Patterns of Civilization. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Clyde, Paul H., Beers, Burton F. (1971) The Far East: A History of the Western Impact and the      Eastern Response. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Goodrich, L. Carrington (1959). A Short History Of The Chinese People. New York: Harper &      Row.      The Great Silk Road. (Retrieved November 11, 2004) from http://www.lotossutra.at/english/seidentstr.ht.           The Silk Road (Retrieved November 10, 2004) from http://www.imperialtours.net/silk_road.htm The Silk Road. (Retrieved November 11, 2004) from http://www.ess.uci.edu/%7Eoliver/silk.htm Welcome to the Silk Road (Retrieved November 12, 2004) from http://www.silkroad.com
Sunday, August 18, 2019
My Career, My Career Interest, and the Value of a College Education Ess
My Career, My Career Interest, and the Value of a College Education Abstract My career path has been chosen for me through heredity, as my length of time on Earth has been pre-determined by the Great Creator. How I choose to use this time will be referred to as my success statement of life. How I am remembered will depend on what I accomplish. In short, life is given, but not guaranteed. We all have the choices before us, which determine if life is easy or difficult. Many times, I had the option of all or nothing, and for some reason chose all every time. In this paper, I will explore my present career as a manufacturing engineer, a career interest as a plant manager, and the value of a college education to organizations, customers, and myself. A small bit of historical information is in order to set the tone for this presentation. I was raised, as most young boys are, learning to read, write, and the other necessary evils of elementary education. My father was finally discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corp. and World War II, where he had been a Lt. Col., and taught the use of the Norden Bombsight to bombardiers and crews of the time. My early years were basically fun years, as I learned how to fish, shoot, hunt, about dogs, cats, and toys†¦many, many, toys. My mother believed in spoiling me, since I was the only child, and for eight years, I was the only object of me parents’ attention. In 1958, however, that situation changed forever, with the birth of my little brother, and three years later, my little sister arrived. These two events, little did I realize, would have a profound effect on my life. They would alter the way I felt about life, contribute to changes in my personality, and most of all, formed the basis for my later life in general, including my chosen profession.      My father, prior to WWII, worked for Victor adding Machine Company, who designed the Norden Bombsight. After the war, he and another man started an oil well drilling company. He did all the engineering required except for the Geology, and co-owned the company until the late 1950’s. My father was not a degreed petroleum engineer, but was in fact qualified. He had studied under his father, who also had owned an oil company in Southern Illinois for most of his life. My â€Å"inherited engineering†skills were already a part of my genetic make-up from birth. The only thing that ch... ...e are not capable of managing quality service." ( ©www.businessballs.com website). I intend to focus my knowledge and skills gained from the UOP courses I have taken on building solid relationships with existing and potential customers, in order to assure them that I am capable of handling their business in a most professional manner. References Bishop, Joyce, Carter, Carol, & Kravits, Sarah Lyman, â€Å"Keys to College Studying: Becoming a Lifelong Learner.,†Prentice-Hall, Inc. 2002. Garvin, David A., "Quality on the Line," Harvard Business Review, September October 1983, pp. 64-75. Ishikawa, Kaoru, "How to Apply Company wide Quality Control in Foreign Countries," Quality Progress, September 1989, pp. 70-74. Juran, J.M., "Japanese and Western Quality A Contrast," Quality, January 1979, pages 8 12; and February 1979, pp. 12-15. Juran, J. M., "The QC Circle Phenomenon," Industrial Quality Control, January 1967, pp. 329-36. Kanigel, Robert. The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency. New York: Viking Press. 1997. Customer Relationship Management2001-4 Retrieved May 28, 2005 from: http://www.businessballs.com/crmcustomerrelationshipmanagement.htm
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Influences on the Philippines Essay
Although some may have had a longer lasting impact on the Philippines each one helped create the Philippines to what it is today. India has influenced the Philippines in all aspects of life, from writing, music, and language to even religion. Because of the high trade between India and the Philippines India was able to have a huge impact on the Philippines. Some religion that can be seen from Indian influence is Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. This can be seen in the most southern island, Mindanao. Some Tagalog words are even Indian influenced, such as mukha (face), putong (turban), and guro (teacher). Just like India the Chinese have also left a mark in the language but that is not what they are most known for. The Chinese has left many different types of food in the Philippines that are now in the every day lives of Filipinos. Some famous Filipino dishes that are Chinese influenced are pancit, lumpia, and lechon. Some chinese influenced words are susi (key), pinto (door), and kuya (older brother). Some very important influences from the Chinese that as help revolutionize the Philippines is the use of metal and gunpowder. It would then help give Philippines the power to defend itself later on. Probably the most influential group of people would be the Spaniards, which was during the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. Even the name of the Philippines was given by the Spaniards, which was named after the king of Spain Philip II. Going along with naming, a lot of surnames of Filipinos are Spanish influenced as well. Religion probably had the biggest impact on the Philippines because the majority of Filipinos are Roman Catholic. Filipinos follow Hispanic traditions when it comes to religion and some festivals are also Spanish influenced. Just like the Chinese and the Indians the Spanish also had an impact on the language of the Philippines. The language of the Philippines is a melting pot in itself because of the different words derived from other languages. Last but not least the Americans also left a mark on the Philippines during the wars. The Jeepney is a popular form of transportation and can be seen all over the Philippines. After World War II there were many military standard jeeps that were left behind in the Philippines. As innovative as Filipinos are they used the jeeps to their advantage and thus created the Jeepney. English is probably the second most spoken language in the Philippines. An English speaker would not have any problem trying to make their way through the Philippines. The Philippines continues to grow in itself with the everlasting influences of the many countries that came to the Philippines.
Friday, August 16, 2019
A Brief Analysis on The Woman Warrior
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts (1976), was written by a Chinese-American author named, Maxine Hong Kingston. It is said to relate the â€Å"real†stories of Kingston's life. (Wiley Publishing.).It tells about the clash of culture between Chinese and American, which is why this book became very interesting. As a Chinese who was born and grew up in America, she was exposed to â€Å"American culture.†Americans are more liberal; men and women have equal rights to everything, and they live a very advanced, fast paced life. But it wasn't easy at all for Kingston, because she was bounded by the rules of Chinese culture enforced by her mother, who in the story, is named, Brave Orchid.Brave Orchid refused to adapt American culture, and she sees good traditional values of Chinese as ideal, so she made her children learn English instead. In order for the children to become flexible to speak the English language, she had their tongues â€Å"cut.†(Pass age 3.).So Kingston grew up with a very strong-willed mother, and this made her hate the â€Å"weak side†of females; she even confronted a Chinese girl for not speaking when told to speak. (Passage 5). She thinks that being â€Å"silent and weak†to show femininity of Chinese women is totally pathetic. (Passage 4).Being Americanized, she wanted to be strong, to be equal with men, and to be free from the rigid culture of her origin. She doesn't want to end up like her nameless aunt who killed herself and her baby because she committed adultery. She must have been a rape victim and there are other ways to solve her problem. Worst part is, the weakness of Chinese women is shown because her aunt was treated as if she never existed. (Passage 1.)Her nameless aunt gave her the inspiration to write The Woman Warrior, because it haunted her. (Passage 2). In order for Kingston to appreciate her origin and the American culture she loves, she made a song to unite both culture as a way to remind herself to be grateful of both. (Passage 6). Everyone of us has his or her own origin. We can just learn to accept our heritage because it is a part of us. Our origin is our blood and we are identified distinctly because of it.There are a lot of ways to positively infuse the culture of origin into the new culture we live in because of continuous evolution of humans. There's nothing wrong with adapting a modernized culture as long as the moral values of one's origin is kept as guidance to act ethically.Â
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Nursing ethics Essay
For the purpose of this assignment, ethics in relation to nursing will be discussed. â€Å"Ethics; A code of principles governing correct behaviour, which in the nursing profession includes behaviour towards patients and their families, visitorsand colleagues†(Oxford Dictionary of Nursing 2004). This assignment will consider autonomy as identified in a practice placement, but will also look briefly at the ethical principle of non-malefience that is relevant in this assignment. It will also closely look at this issue and will describe how the principles of ethics apply to practice. In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2004). Any names of patients referred to in this assignment have been changed to protect their confidentiality. The NMC states as a registered nurse you must guard against breaches of confidentiality by protecting information from improper disclosure at all times. The placement referred to in this assignment is an Elderly Mentally Infirm (EMI) home, which is located on Merseyside. The United Kingdom Central Midwifery and Health visiting Council (UKCC 2002, clause 6)). Which is now known as The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Also state that â€Å"Health Care Professionals should recognize the respect the uniqueness and dignity of each patient and client, and respond to their need for care irrespective of their ethnic origin, religious beliefs, personal attributes, the nature if their health problems or any other factor†. Autonomy (â€Å"Greek: Auto-Nomos – nomos meaning â€Å"law†: one who gives oneself his own law) means freedom from external authority†: Wikipedia, encyclopedia (2004). On this placement, there were several examples of how autonomy influenced care delivery; this assignment will address two of these examples. The first incident involved an eighty six year old lady called Betty, who suffered with severe dementia, the Practice nurse from her surgery was coming into the home to administer the flu injection to her and several other clients. It had been recorded in Betty’s case notes that she had had a fear of needles in the past and had refused several injections before her mental health had deteriorated, Does an autonomous decision have to be rational? â€Å"In the ideal of autonomy day – to -day decisions should be rational, i.e. consistent with the person’s life plans†Hope, Savulescu and Hendrick, (2003 p 34). Betty had no living relatives to contact to discuss her treatment. Patients suffering with dementia cannot always exercise autonomy. A client may be mentally incapacitated for various reasons. These may be temporary reasons, such as the effect of sedatory medicines, or longer-term reasons such as mental illness. It is important to remember that capacity may fluctuate, sometimes over short periods, and should therefore be regularly reassessed by the clinical team treating the client. The principles of consent continue to apply to any medication for conditions not related to the mental disorder for which they are being treated. The assessment of their capacity to consent to or refuse such medication therefore remains important. The NMC (2004) recognises that this is a complex issue that has provoked widespread concern. It involves the fundamental principles of patient and client autonomy and consent to treatment, which are set out in common law and statute and underpinned by the Human Rights Act 1998. The principle of respect for autonomy entails taking into account and giving consideration to the patient’s views on his or her treatment. Autonomy is not an all or nothing concept, an initial step maintaining Betty’s autonomy may be to clarify all the facts in the case, for example does Betty have any understanding of the risks of not having this treatment? Her mental illness means that she is unlikely to be competent to consent or refuse the injection, but an attempt should be made to explain to her, in terms that she could understand, what the treatment would involve and what the outcome would be without treatment. Has her autonomy been enhanced as much as is possible? If the conclusion is that she is unable to understand the consequences of non-treatment, or that her fear of needles is stopping her evaluating the risks, then she will not be competent to make a decision. However, this does not mean that her fears and concerns should not be acknowledged. Mill (1982) states â€Å"†¦..the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinion of others to do so would be wise, or even right†Mill (1982 p 68). The NMC (2004) Code of Professional Conduct 3.3 states that, â€Å"When obtaining valid consent, you must be sure that it is: given by a legally competent person, given voluntarily, and informed†. Crow (1983) suggests that it is the nurse’s responsibility to deliver care within the framework of agreed moral principles, for instance those reflected in the Code itself. The principle of non-malefience should also be considered in Betty’s treatment, it would seem to be in her best interests to be treated. If the injection is the proposed treatment, the balance of harms and benefits may be such that treatment would causes distress for a short time not such that her life is intolerable. If the decision is to give the injection, then once again respect for Betty’s wishes and concerns should influence the approach to treatment so that her fears are mitigated as much as possible. All medication given covertly must, be recorded in Betty’s case notes for future reference this shows good nursing practice. According to Wikipedia, Encyclopedia. (2006). Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase that means â€Å"First, do no harm.†The phrase is sometimes recorded as primum nil nocereIt is one of the principal precepts all medical and nursing students are being taught in medical school. It reminds a healthcare professional that he or she must consider the possible harm that any intervention might do. It is most often mentioned when debating use of an intervention with an obvious chance of harm but a less certain chance of benefit. Another example of how autonomy influenced care delivery on this placement was, the entire patient’s case notes where locked away at the nurses station and the trained nurse had the key, if anybody needed the notes the trained nurse had to either get them or issue the key, which had to be returned straight away. This involved the principle of autonomy but also the principle of non-malefience. In any situation where confidentiality is breached, the nurse or doctor must be prepared to justify his or her decision before the General Medical Council. Respect for patient autonomy (deontological theory)The principle of respect for patient autonomy acknowledges the right of a patient to have control over his or her own life, and this would include the right to decide who should have access to his or her personal information. Where the basis for the duty of confidentiality is the principle of respect for autonomy any breach of confidentiality means that the patient’s autonomy has not been respected, whether or not the patient is aware of the breach. Now due to The Freedom of information act 2000, which came into force in January 2005, patients and carers now have the right to ask to see confidential records. There are exceptions to the confidentially clause and the principles addressed in this assignment. The National Health Service (NHS) Confidentiality, Code of Practice. This provides generic guidance where there is a need to disclose information that identifies an individual and that information is held under a legal obligation of confidentiality. â€Å"The issues to be considered and the appropriate steps to take can be ascertained by working through the model and referenced text refers to appendix one, two, three. A range of information disclosure scenarios can be found in NHS Code of Conduct Confidentially (2003). These reference and illustrate the model that can be used to aid decision-making. â€Å"They highlight issues relating to particular decisions, e.g. disclosure to NHS managers or to the police. It is hoped that they cover many of the circumstances that staff currently have to deal with†(NHS 2003). In 1997, the Department of Health published the Caldicott Report (‘On the Review of Patient-Identifiable Information’). It considered the flow of identifiable patient information and recommended that confidentiality should be safeguarded by anonymising health data, where possible. â€Å"Each NHS organisation must have a ‘guardian’ (normally a senior health professional) to oversee all procedures affecting access to person-identifiable information†DOH Caldicott report (1997). The NMC code of professional conduct: A standard for conduct performance and ethics (2004) â€Å"requires each registrant to act at all times in such a manner as to justify public trust and confidence. Registrants are personally accountable for their practice and, in the exercise of professional accountability, must work in an open and co-operative manner with patients/clients and their families, foster their independence, and recognise and respect their involvement in the planning and delivery of care.†According to Beauchamp and Childress (2001) there are four principles, which are the most widely used framework and offers a broad consideration of medical ethics issues generally, not just for use in a clinical setting. Ethics are also applied to every day living, and that everybody has their own opinion of what is ‘right or wrong’, to quote Hinchliff, Norman & Schober (2003) â€Å"getting in touch with one’s personal value base is a crucial first step in the study of nursing ethics†. After considering these four Principles, which are general guides that, leave considerable room for judgement in specific cases. â€Å"Respect for autonomy: respecting the decision-making capacities of autonomous persons; enabling individuals to make reasoned informed choices. Beneficence: this considers the balancing of benefits of treatment against the risks and costs; the healthcare professional should act in a way that benefits the patient. Non-maleficence: avoiding the causation of harm, the healthcare professional should not harm the patient. All treatment involves some harm, even if minimal, but the harm should not be disproportionate to the benefits of treatment. Justice: distributing benefits, risks and costs fairly; the notion that patients in similar positions should be treated in a similar manner†(Beauchamp and Childress 2001). This assignment claims that ethics are an important part influence in the delivery of care, but are also a very complex subject, and often leads the Healthcare Professional to examine their own ethical values, it is recommended that a wide range of reading is required to clarify the subject further. After examining the subject further, it is clear that that in the work place a majority of the delivery of care is, planned with the patients before it is put into practice, which try ‘s to ensure that ethical principles are followed. Professional practice and ethics are changing every day, and it is a complex subject it is also debatable how different people interpret ethics. Ethics is also about questioning our own and others practice â€Å"challenging our own and others practice requires courage and vigilance†Kenworthy, Snowy, & Gilling (2006). Reflection on ones own and other people’s ethical values is a very useful part of continuing learning throughout both career and life, and as a health care professional we must have a good knowledge of nursing ethics and use this in practice rather than personal opinion. In addition, with such issues as euthanasia and cloning, in the news almost every day the ethical pressures on the nursing and medical profession grows stronger. Nurses are seeking to develop further their knowledge of ethics and are increasing their ability to recognise ethical issues in practice. REFERANCE Beauchamp, T. and Childress, J. (2001). Principles of biomedical ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Crow, J (1983).Professional responsibility. Nursing Timesi>. 79, 19-21. Department of Health. (1998). Caldicott report. London: Department of Health. Department of Health. (2001f). The Essence of Care – PatientFocused Benchmarking for Health Care Practitioners. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2006 London: www.doh.gov.uk/essanceofcare.htmDepartment of Health. (2003). NHS code of practice: confidentiallyi> (25 28). London: Department of Health. Department of Health. (2001). Seeking consent: working witholder people London: Department of Health. Hinchliff, S. Norman, S. &Schober, J. (2003). Nursing practice and healthcare. London: Arnold. Hope, T. Savulescu, J. hendrick, J. (2003). Medical ethics and the law,the core curriculum. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Kenworthy, N. Snowley, G. & Gilling, C. (Eds.). (2006). Common foundation studies in nursing. (3rd ed.). Edinburgh: Bailliere Tindall. Martin, E A (Ed.). (2004). Oxford dictionary of nursing. Oxford:Oxford university press. Mills, J (1982). On liberty. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Nursing ethics. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 26, 2006, from Reference.com website: http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Nursing_ethicsNursing and Midwifery Council (2002) Code of Professional Conduct. London: NMC. Nursing and Midwifery council. (2004). Standard for conduct, performanceand ethics. London: NMC. Payne, R (1992). Accountability in principle and practice. BritishJournal of Nursing. 1, p301-305. Roper, N., Logan, W.L. & Tierney, A.J. (2000). The Roper-Logan-Tierney model of nursing: based on activities of living. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. United Kingdom Central Council. (1998). Guidelines for mentalhealth and learning disabilities nursing (12). London: UKCC Publications.
Managerial Accounting 222
Managerial Accounting 222 Week 1 Questions 1-1 How does managerial accounting differ from financial accounting? Managerial accounting and financial accounting differs in who the reporting is for and for what purpose. Managerial accounting is for company managers to use to plan, control, and make decisions regarding specific strategies. Financial accounting is prepared for owners, stakeholders, creditors, and government authorities and is used to verify information regarding the economic stability of a company. There are also specific guidelines that are used (GAAP) in financial accounting and is mandatory whereas there are no guidelines in managerial accounting and is not mandatory. 1-4Why do companies prepare budgets? Preparing budgets gives a company a quantitative plan that will be used to complete a project or strategy. A budget is a guideline for which resources are used and can be compared for performance reports when determining the effectiveness and profitability of a strategy. 1-13Why do companies that implement Lean Production tend to have minimal inventories? Companies that implement Lean Production have minimal inventories because they usually implement a just-in-time production strategy where production is only triggered by customer demand. Therefore, the amount of inventory is usually close or equal to customer orders creating minimal, if any, leftover inventory. 8-2Discuss some of the major benefits to be gained from budgeting. Budgets are beneficial because they can show the organization what strategies management is using to accomplish their business goals. They provide direction for employees to accomplish job duties towards the final result and allows them to understand which strategy is more important through the amount of resources that is allocated towards it. Budgets also ensure that the entire organization is working towards the same goal and provides a starting point for performance evaluations. 8-5Why is the sales forecast the starting point in budgeting? Sales forecasting is the first step in determining the required needs for future production. In order to create a budget that includes all costs related to producing a product for sale, management must determine how many units are forecasted to sell so that an adequate amount of product is produced to meet demand without excessive costs. 8-9How can budgeting assist a company in planning its workforce staffing levels? When a budget is created, the amount of work and units to be produced is also calculated. With this information, a company can plan for its labor workforce without having unexpected labor overages or shortages at any given time.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Case Nestle
In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, thereby broadening the company’s product line to include both condensed milk and infant formulas. Forced by Switzerland’s small size to look outside’ its borders for growth opportunities, Nestle established condensed milk and infant food processing plants in the United States and Britain in the late 19th century and in Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Nestle moved into the chocolate business when it acquired a Swiss chocolate maker. This was followed in 1938 by the development of Nestle’s most revolutionary product, Nescafe, the world’s first soluble coffee drink. After World War 11, Nestle continued to expand into other areas of the food business, primarily through a series of acquisitions that included Maggi (1947), Cross Blackwell (1960), Findus (1962), Libby’s (1970), Stouffer’s (1973), Carnation (1985), Rowntree (1988), and Perrier (1992). By the late 1990s, Nestle had 500 factories in 76 countries and sold its products in a staggering 193 nations-almost every country in the world. In 1998, the company generated sales of close to SWF 72 billion ($51 billion), only 1 percent of which occurred in its home country. Similarly, only 3 percent of its- 210,000 employees were located in Switzerland. Nestle was the world’s biggest maker of infant formula, powdered milk, chocolates, instant coffee, soups, and mineral waters. It was number two in ice cream, breakfast cereals, and pet food. Roughly 38 percent of its food sales were made in Europe, 32 percent in the Americas, and 20 percent in Africa and Asia. Management Structure Nestle is a decentralized organization. Responsibility for operating decisions is pushed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high degree f autonomy with regard to decisions involving pricing, distribution, marketing, human resources, and so on. At the same time, the company is organized into seven worldwide strategic business units (SBUs) that have responsibility for high-level strategic decisions and business development. For example, a strategic business unit focuses on coffee and beverages. Another one focuses on confectionery and ice cream. These SBUs engage in overall strategy development, including acquisitions and market entry strategy. In recent years, two-thirds of Nestle’s growth has come from acquisitions, so this is a critical function. Running in parallel to this structure is a regional organization that divides the world into five major geographical zones, such as Europe, North America and Asia. The regional organizations assist in the overall strategy development process and are responsible for developing regional strategies (an example would be Nestle’s strategy in the Middle East, which was discussed earlier). Neither the SBU nor regional managers, however, get involved in local operating or strategic decisions on anything other than an exceptional basis. Although Nestle makes intensive use of local managers to knit its diverse worldwide operations together, the company relies on its â€Å"expatriate army. † This consists of about 700 managers who spend the bulk of their careers on foreign assignments, moving from one country to the next. Selected primarily on the basis of their ability, drive and willingness to live a quasi-nomadic lifestyle, these individuals often work in half-a-dozen natiosn during their careers. Nestle also uses management development programs as a strategic tool for creating an esprit de corps among managers. At Rive-Reine, the company’s international training center in Switzerland, the company brings together, managers from around the world, at different stages in their careers, for specially targetted development programs of two to three weeks’ duration. The objective of these programs is to give the managers a better understanding of Nestle’s culture and strategy, and to give them access to the company’s top management. The research and development operation has a special place within Nestle, which is not surprising for a company that was established to commercialize innovative foodstuffs. The RD function comprises 18 different groups that operate in 11 countries throughout the world. Nestle spends approximately 1 percent of its annual sales revenue on RD and has 3,100 employees dedicated to the function. Around 70 percent of the RD budget is spent on development initiatives. These initiatives focus on developing products and processes that fulfill market needs, as identified by the SBUs, in concert with regional and local managers. For example, Nestle instant noodle products were originally developed by the RD group in response to the perceived needs of local operating companies through the Asian region. The company also has longer-term development projects that focus on developing new technological platforms, such as non-animal protein sources or agricultural biotechnology products. A Growth Strategy for the 21st Century Despite its undisputed success, Nestle realized by the early 1990s, that it faced significant challenges in maintaining its growth rate. The large Western European and North American markets were mature. In several countries, population growth had stagnated and in some, there had been a small decline in food consumption. The retail environment in many Western nations had become increasingly challenging and the balance of power was shifting away from the large-scale manufacturers of branded foods and beverages, and toward nationwide supermarket and discount chains. Increasingly, retailers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing off against each other – manufacturers of branded foods, thus bargaining down prices. Particularly in Europe, this trend was enhanced by the successful introduction of private-label brands by several of Europe’s leading supermarket chains. The results included increased price competition in several key segments of the food and beverage market, such as cereals, coffee and soft drinks. At Nestle, one response has been to look toward emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America for growth possibilities. The logic is simple and obvious – a combination of economic and population growth, when coupled with the widespread adoption of market-oriented economic policies by the governments of many developing nations, makes for attractive business opportunities. Many of these countries are still relatively poor, but their economies are growing rapidly. For example, if current economic growth forecasts occur, by 2010, there will be 700 million people in China and India that have income levels approaching those of Spain in the mid-1990s. As income levels rise, it is increasingly likely that consumers in these nations will start to substitute branded food products for basic foodstuffs, creating a large market opportunity for companies such as Nestle. In general, the company’s strategy had been to enter emerging markets early – before competitors – and build a substantial position by selling basic food items that appeal to the local population base, such as infant formula, condensed milk, noodles and tofu. By narrowing its initial market focus to just a handful of strategic brands, Nestle claims it can simplify life, reduce risk, and concentrate its marketing resources and managerial effort on a limited number of key niches. The goal is to build a commanding market position in each of these niches. By pursuing such a strategy, Nestle has taken as much as 85 percent of the market for instant coffee in Mexico, 66 percent of the market for powdered milk in the Philippines, and 70 percent of the markets for soups in Chile. As income levels rise, the company progressively moves out from these niches, introducing more upscale items, such as mineral water, chocolate, cookies, and prepared foodstuffs. Although the company is known worldwide for several key brands, such as Nescafe, it uses local brands in many markets. The company owns 8,500 brands, but only 750 of them are registered in more than one country, and only 80 are registered in more than 10 countries. While the company will use the same â€Å"global brands†in multiple developed markets, in the developing world it focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions and then using a brand name that resonates locally. Customization rather than globalization is the key to the company’s strategy in emerging markets. Executing the Strategy Successful execution of the strategy for developing markets requires a degree of flexibility, an ability to adapt in often unforeseen ways to local conditions, and a long-term perspective that puts building a sustainable business before short-term profitability. In Nigeria, for example, a crumbling road system, aging trucks, and the danger of violence forced the company to re-think its traditional distribution methods. Instead of operating a central warehouse, as is its preference in most nations, the country. For safety reasons, trucks carrying Nestle goods are allowed to travel only during the day and frequently under-armed guard. Marketing also poses challenges in Nigeria. With little opportunity for typical Western-style advertising on television of billboards, the company hired local singers to go to towns and villages offering a mix of entertainment and product demonstrations. China provides another interesting example of local adaptation and long-term focus. After 13 years of talks, Nestle was formally invited into China in 1987, by the Government of Heilongjiang province. Nestle opened a plant to produce powdered milk and infant formula there in 1990, but quickly realized that the local rail and road infrastructure was inadequate and inhibited the collection of milk and delivery of finished products. Rather than make do with the local infrastructure, Nestle embarked on an ambitious plan to establish its own distribution network, known as milk roads, between 27 villages in the region and factory collection points, called chilling centres. Farmers brought their milk – often on bicycles or carts – to the centres where it was weighed and analysed. Unlike the government, Nestle paid the farmers promptly. Suddenly the farmers had an incentive to produce milk and many bought a second cow, increasing the cow population in the district by 3,000 to 9,000 in 18 months. Area managers then organized a delivery system that used dedicated vans to deliver the milk to Nestle’s factory. Although at first glance this might seem to be a very costly solution, Nestle calculated that the long-term benefits would be substantial. Nestle’s strategy is similar to that undertaken by many European and American companies during the first waves of industrialization in those countries. Companies often had to invest in infrastructure that we now take for granted to get production off the ground. Once the infrastructure was in place, in China, Nestle’s production took off. In 1990, 316 tons of powdered milk and infant formula were produced. By 1994, output exceeded 10,000 tons and the company decided to triple capacity. Based on this experience, Nestle decided to build another two powdered milk factories in China and was aiming to generate sales of $700 million by 2000. Nestle is pursuing a similar long-term bet in the Middle East, an area in which most multinational food companies have little presence. Collectively, the Middle East accounts for only about 2 percent of Nestle’s worldwide sales and the individual markets are very small. However, Nestle’s long-term strategy is based on the assumption that regional conflicts will subside and intra-regional trade ill expand as trade barriers between countries in the region come down. Once that happens, Nestle’s factories in the Middle East should be able to sell throughout the region, thereby realizing scale economies. In anticipation of this development, Nestle has established a network of factories in five countries, in the hope that each will, someday, supply the entire region with different products. The company, currently makes ice-cream in Dubai, soups and cereals in Saudi Arabia, yogurt and bouillon in Egypt, chocolate in Turkey, and ketchup and instant noodles in Syria. For the present, Nestle can survive in these markets by using local materials and focusing on local demand. The Syrian factory, for example, relies on products that use tomatoes, a major local agricultural product. Syria also produces wheat, which is the main ingredient in instant noodles. Even if trade barriers don’t come down soon, Nestle has indicated it will remain committed to the region. By using local inputs and focussing on local consumer needs, it has earned a good rate of return in the region, even though the individual markets are small. Despite its successes in places such as China and parts of the Middle East, not all of Nestle’s moves have worked out so well. Like several other Western companies, Nestle has had its problems in Japan, where a failure to adapt its coffee brand to local conditions meant the loss of a significant market opportunity to another Western company, Coca Cola. For years, Nestle’s instant coffee brand was the dominant coffee product in Japan. In the 1960s, cold canned coffee (which can be purchased from soda vending machines) started to gain a following in Japan. Nestle dismissed the product as just a coffee-flavoured drink rather than the real thing and declined to enter the market. Nestle’s local partner at the time, Kirin Beer, was so incensed at Nestle’s refusal to enter the canned coffee market that it broke off its relationship with the company. In contrast, Coca Cola entered the market with Georgia, a product developed specifically for this segment of the Japanese market. By leveraging its existing distribution channel, Coca Cola captured a 40 percent share of the $4 billion a year, market for canned coffee in Japan. Nestle, which failed to enter the market until the 1980s, has only a 4 percent share. While Nestle has built businesses from the ground up, in many emerging markets, such as Nigeria and China, in others it will purchase local companies if suitable candidates can be found. The company pursued such a strategy in Poland, which it entered in 1994, by purchasing Goplana, the country’s second largest chocolate manufacturer. With the collapse of communism and the opening of the Polish market, income levels in Poland have started to rise and so has chocolate consumption. Once a scarce item, the market grew by 8 percent a year, throughout the 1990s. To take advantage of this opportunity, Nestle has pursued a strategy of evolution, rather than revolution. It has kept the top management of the company staffed with locals – as it does in most of its operations around the world – and carefully adjusted Goplana’s product line to better match local opportunities. At the same time, it has pumped money into Goplana’s marketing, which has enabled the unit to gain share from several other chocolate makers in the country. Still, competition in the market is intense. Eight companies, including several foreign-owned enterprises, such as the market leader, Wedel, which is owned by PepsiCo, are vying for market share, and this has depressed prices and profit margins, despite the healthy volume growth. Discussions: 1. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why? 2. What is the company’s strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets? Does this strategy make sense? From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively? 3. Through your own research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators. Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? 4. How would you describe Nestle’s strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnational strategy? 5. Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? 6. Is Nestle’s management structure and philosophy aligned with its overall strategic posture? Case Nestle In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, thereby broadening the company’s product line to include both condensed milk and infant formulas. Forced by Switzerland’s small size to look outside’ its borders for growth opportunities, Nestle established condensed milk and infant food processing plants in the United States and Britain in the late 19th century and in Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Nestle moved into the chocolate business when it acquired a Swiss chocolate maker. This was followed in 1938 by the development of Nestle’s most revolutionary product, Nescafe, the world’s first soluble coffee drink. After World War 11, Nestle continued to expand into other areas of the food business, primarily through a series of acquisitions that included Maggi (1947), Cross Blackwell (1960), Findus (1962), Libby’s (1970), Stouffer’s (1973), Carnation (1985), Rowntree (1988), and Perrier (1992). By the late 1990s, Nestle had 500 factories in 76 countries and sold its products in a staggering 193 nations-almost every country in the world. In 1998, the company generated sales of close to SWF 72 billion ($51 billion), only 1 percent of which occurred in its home country. Similarly, only 3 percent of its- 210,000 employees were located in Switzerland. Nestle was the world’s biggest maker of infant formula, powdered milk, chocolates, instant coffee, soups, and mineral waters. It was number two in ice cream, breakfast cereals, and pet food. Roughly 38 percent of its food sales were made in Europe, 32 percent in the Americas, and 20 percent in Africa and Asia. Management Structure Nestle is a decentralized organization. Responsibility for operating decisions is pushed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high degree f autonomy with regard to decisions involving pricing, distribution, marketing, human resources, and so on. At the same time, the company is organized into seven worldwide strategic business units (SBUs) that have responsibility for high-level strategic decisions and business development. For example, a strategic business unit focuses on coffee and beverages. Another one focuses on confectionery and ice cream. These SBUs engage in overall strategy development, including acquisitions and market entry strategy. In recent years, two-thirds of Nestle’s growth has come from acquisitions, so this is a critical function. Running in parallel to this structure is a regional organization that divides the world into five major geographical zones, such as Europe, North America and Asia. The regional organizations assist in the overall strategy development process and are responsible for developing regional strategies (an example would be Nestle’s strategy in the Middle East, which was discussed earlier). Neither the SBU nor regional managers, however, get involved in local operating or strategic decisions on anything other than an exceptional basis. Although Nestle makes intensive use of local managers to knit its diverse worldwide operations together, the company relies on its â€Å"expatriate army. † This consists of about 700 managers who spend the bulk of their careers on foreign assignments, moving from one country to the next. Selected primarily on the basis of their ability, drive and willingness to live a quasi-nomadic lifestyle, these individuals often work in half-a-dozen natiosn during their careers. Nestle also uses management development programs as a strategic tool for creating an esprit de corps among managers. At Rive-Reine, the company’s international training center in Switzerland, the company brings together, managers from around the world, at different stages in their careers, for specially targetted development programs of two to three weeks’ duration. The objective of these programs is to give the managers a better understanding of Nestle’s culture and strategy, and to give them access to the company’s top management. The research and development operation has a special place within Nestle, which is not surprising for a company that was established to commercialize innovative foodstuffs. The RD function comprises 18 different groups that operate in 11 countries throughout the world. Nestle spends approximately 1 percent of its annual sales revenue on RD and has 3,100 employees dedicated to the function. Around 70 percent of the RD budget is spent on development initiatives. These initiatives focus on developing products and processes that fulfill market needs, as identified by the SBUs, in concert with regional and local managers. For example, Nestle instant noodle products were originally developed by the RD group in response to the perceived needs of local operating companies through the Asian region. The company also has longer-term development projects that focus on developing new technological platforms, such as non-animal protein sources or agricultural biotechnology products. A Growth Strategy for the 21st Century Despite its undisputed success, Nestle realized by the early 1990s, that it faced significant challenges in maintaining its growth rate. The large Western European and North American markets were mature. In several countries, population growth had stagnated and in some, there had been a small decline in food consumption. The retail environment in many Western nations had become increasingly challenging and the balance of power was shifting away from the large-scale manufacturers of branded foods and beverages, and toward nationwide supermarket and discount chains. Increasingly, retailers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing off against each other – manufacturers of branded foods, thus bargaining down prices. Particularly in Europe, this trend was enhanced by the successful introduction of private-label brands by several of Europe’s leading supermarket chains. The results included increased price competition in several key segments of the food and beverage market, such as cereals, coffee and soft drinks. At Nestle, one response has been to look toward emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America for growth possibilities. The logic is simple and obvious – a combination of economic and population growth, when coupled with the widespread adoption of market-oriented economic policies by the governments of many developing nations, makes for attractive business opportunities. Many of these countries are still relatively poor, but their economies are growing rapidly. For example, if current economic growth forecasts occur, by 2010, there will be 700 million people in China and India that have income levels approaching those of Spain in the mid-1990s. As income levels rise, it is increasingly likely that consumers in these nations will start to substitute branded food products for basic foodstuffs, creating a large market opportunity for companies such as Nestle. In general, the company’s strategy had been to enter emerging markets early – before competitors – and build a substantial position by selling basic food items that appeal to the local population base, such as infant formula, condensed milk, noodles and tofu. By narrowing its initial market focus to just a handful of strategic brands, Nestle claims it can simplify life, reduce risk, and concentrate its marketing resources and managerial effort on a limited number of key niches. The goal is to build a commanding market position in each of these niches. By pursuing such a strategy, Nestle has taken as much as 85 percent of the market for instant coffee in Mexico, 66 percent of the market for powdered milk in the Philippines, and 70 percent of the markets for soups in Chile. As income levels rise, the company progressively moves out from these niches, introducing more upscale items, such as mineral water, chocolate, cookies, and prepared foodstuffs. Although the company is known worldwide for several key brands, such as Nescafe, it uses local brands in many markets. The company owns 8,500 brands, but only 750 of them are registered in more than one country, and only 80 are registered in more than 10 countries. While the company will use the same â€Å"global brands†in multiple developed markets, in the developing world it focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions and then using a brand name that resonates locally. Customization rather than globalization is the key to the company’s strategy in emerging markets. Executing the Strategy Successful execution of the strategy for developing markets requires a degree of flexibility, an ability to adapt in often unforeseen ways to local conditions, and a long-term perspective that puts building a sustainable business before short-term profitability. In Nigeria, for example, a crumbling road system, aging trucks, and the danger of violence forced the company to re-think its traditional distribution methods. Instead of operating a central warehouse, as is its preference in most nations, the country. For safety reasons, trucks carrying Nestle goods are allowed to travel only during the day and frequently under-armed guard. Marketing also poses challenges in Nigeria. With little opportunity for typical Western-style advertising on television of billboards, the company hired local singers to go to towns and villages offering a mix of entertainment and product demonstrations. China provides another interesting example of local adaptation and long-term focus. After 13 years of talks, Nestle was formally invited into China in 1987, by the Government of Heilongjiang province. Nestle opened a plant to produce powdered milk and infant formula there in 1990, but quickly realized that the local rail and road infrastructure was inadequate and inhibited the collection of milk and delivery of finished products. Rather than make do with the local infrastructure, Nestle embarked on an ambitious plan to establish its own distribution network, known as milk roads, between 27 villages in the region and factory collection points, called chilling centres. Farmers brought their milk – often on bicycles or carts – to the centres where it was weighed and analysed. Unlike the government, Nestle paid the farmers promptly. Suddenly the farmers had an incentive to produce milk and many bought a second cow, increasing the cow population in the district by 3,000 to 9,000 in 18 months. Area managers then organized a delivery system that used dedicated vans to deliver the milk to Nestle’s factory. Although at first glance this might seem to be a very costly solution, Nestle calculated that the long-term benefits would be substantial. Nestle’s strategy is similar to that undertaken by many European and American companies during the first waves of industrialization in those countries. Companies often had to invest in infrastructure that we now take for granted to get production off the ground. Once the infrastructure was in place, in China, Nestle’s production took off. In 1990, 316 tons of powdered milk and infant formula were produced. By 1994, output exceeded 10,000 tons and the company decided to triple capacity. Based on this experience, Nestle decided to build another two powdered milk factories in China and was aiming to generate sales of $700 million by 2000. Nestle is pursuing a similar long-term bet in the Middle East, an area in which most multinational food companies have little presence. Collectively, the Middle East accounts for only about 2 percent of Nestle’s worldwide sales and the individual markets are very small. However, Nestle’s long-term strategy is based on the assumption that regional conflicts will subside and intra-regional trade ill expand as trade barriers between countries in the region come down. Once that happens, Nestle’s factories in the Middle East should be able to sell throughout the region, thereby realizing scale economies. In anticipation of this development, Nestle has established a network of factories in five countries, in the hope that each will, someday, supply the entire region with different products. The company, currently makes ice-cream in Dubai, soups and cereals in Saudi Arabia, yogurt and bouillon in Egypt, chocolate in Turkey, and ketchup and instant noodles in Syria. For the present, Nestle can survive in these markets by using local materials and focusing on local demand. The Syrian factory, for example, relies on products that use tomatoes, a major local agricultural product. Syria also produces wheat, which is the main ingredient in instant noodles. Even if trade barriers don’t come down soon, Nestle has indicated it will remain committed to the region. By using local inputs and focussing on local consumer needs, it has earned a good rate of return in the region, even though the individual markets are small. Despite its successes in places such as China and parts of the Middle East, not all of Nestle’s moves have worked out so well. Like several other Western companies, Nestle has had its problems in Japan, where a failure to adapt its coffee brand to local conditions meant the loss of a significant market opportunity to another Western company, Coca Cola. For years, Nestle’s instant coffee brand was the dominant coffee product in Japan. In the 1960s, cold canned coffee (which can be purchased from soda vending machines) started to gain a following in Japan. Nestle dismissed the product as just a coffee-flavoured drink rather than the real thing and declined to enter the market. Nestle’s local partner at the time, Kirin Beer, was so incensed at Nestle’s refusal to enter the canned coffee market that it broke off its relationship with the company. In contrast, Coca Cola entered the market with Georgia, a product developed specifically for this segment of the Japanese market. By leveraging its existing distribution channel, Coca Cola captured a 40 percent share of the $4 billion a year, market for canned coffee in Japan. Nestle, which failed to enter the market until the 1980s, has only a 4 percent share. While Nestle has built businesses from the ground up, in many emerging markets, such as Nigeria and China, in others it will purchase local companies if suitable candidates can be found. The company pursued such a strategy in Poland, which it entered in 1994, by purchasing Goplana, the country’s second largest chocolate manufacturer. With the collapse of communism and the opening of the Polish market, income levels in Poland have started to rise and so has chocolate consumption. Once a scarce item, the market grew by 8 percent a year, throughout the 1990s. To take advantage of this opportunity, Nestle has pursued a strategy of evolution, rather than revolution. It has kept the top management of the company staffed with locals – as it does in most of its operations around the world – and carefully adjusted Goplana’s product line to better match local opportunities. At the same time, it has pumped money into Goplana’s marketing, which has enabled the unit to gain share from several other chocolate makers in the country. Still, competition in the market is intense. Eight companies, including several foreign-owned enterprises, such as the market leader, Wedel, which is owned by PepsiCo, are vying for market share, and this has depressed prices and profit margins, despite the healthy volume growth. Discussions: 1. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why? 2. What is the company’s strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets? Does this strategy make sense? From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively? 3. Through your own research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators. Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? 4. How would you describe Nestle’s strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnational strategy? 5. Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? 6. Is Nestle’s management structure and philosophy aligned with its overall strategic posture?
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