Economics Supply and Demand of Gasoline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics Supply and Demand of Gasoline - Essay Example The paper tells that the gasoline price has ostensibly undergone extensive fluctuations mainly because of the product nature and the industry which supplies the world with oil. Note that a bulk of the aggregate oil output is produced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This influential group is organized as a cartel and composed of nations in the Middle East including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait among others. The main produce of these countries is oil and other petroleum products. Other countries, including the United States, are largely dependent on these countries for their oil supply. With their rich oil resources, these nations created the cartel which has the ability to control member countries' oil production capacity and output quotas enabled them to collude to raise the oil price by. Given its mandate, a supply of oil including gasoline is significantly affected by political unrest arising between these oil-exporting countries and o ther countries as well. To illustrate this point, a supply of petroleum products was adversely affected by the war between Iran and Iraq in 1979. This tumultuous battle between two of the largest oil producers had caused a global oil supply shock and resulted in a dramatic increase in the price of oil. The limited oil supply then was further aggravated by the restricted means of transporting oil products to the rest of the world. Similarly, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait that spawned the Gulf War also caused a leftward shift in the supply curve during early 1990's. Aside from wars, OPEC also has the power to impose sanctions by restricting the supply of oil production to other countries in light of political reasons. For instance, the cartel initiated an embargo on export oil and cut down supply as an indication their protest for western nations' support of Israel. This caused a sharp leftward shift in oil supply curve and ultimately resulted in the severe escalation in the price of oil in 1973. In terms of domestic supply, the United States recently encountered supply shortages brought about by Hurricane Katrina. It is reported that the calamity has adversely impacted the supply chain from the off-shore rigs in the Gulf Coast, which is the largest source of oil for the domestic market. The short-term shutdowns due to power outages during the peak of the hurricane-affected two major on-shore pipelines. Furthermore, it was reported that at least 10% of the country's refining capacity was not operational in the wake of the storm. Apart from these, Louisiana, the epicenter of the hurricane and heavily devastated, also houses one of the main ports that serves as one of the most important inlets for oil imports. This means that supply is not only affected by the factors affecting actual production but also by the transportation of oil products.

Associations such as the ACM and the Australian Computer Society have Essay

Associations such as the ACM and the Australian Computer Society have developed code of ethics for computing professionals - Essay Example Organisations such as Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) and Australian Computer Society (ACS) are strong advocates of ethical practices by IT personnel and have laid out sets of recommendations. This essay will look at some of their codes and how they can have practical use in reducing clearly identified threats to computer systems. At the outset, it is important to remember that almost any sort of business enterprise today will have a dedicated IT department. Hence the code of ethics laid down by ACM and ACS are applicable to IT personnel of such departments, irrespective of the business domain of the particular organisation. Some of the frequently occuring information security breaches are common for almost all businesses that are enabled by Information Technology. Broadly speaking, the term system security threats refers to â€Å"the acts or incidents that can and will affect the integrity of business systems, which in turn will affect the reliability and privacy of business data†. (Lin, 2006). Irrespective of the size of the organisation, the threat is persistent, and hence measures have to be undertaken to curb security breaches and ensure business continuity. Beyond the commonly identified security threats such as Viruses, Spyware, Adware, etc, a major source of information leakage and misappropriation occurs due to the abuse/misuse of computer network by employees themselves. (Lin, 2006). Since IT personnel have privileged access to vital business information, it is often very tempting for them to misuse this privilege and undermine the prospects for their employers. Employees are also prone to using Internet connectivity for their personal use when in fact they were strictly meant for official use. For example while email and general Internet access are given to improve productivity, surveys have shown that employees (including IT personnel) use them for such activities as online-shopping, playing games, social

The Social Media And Politics Media Essay

The Social Media And Politics Media Essay Faced with declining citizen interest and participation in democratic politics and declining citizens trust in politicians and representative institutions (Gibson et al., 2008: 111-13), governments, political parties, social and political scientists in many countries have focused increasing attention on the potential of online communication to address these deficits and revitalise democracy. Born in the web 2.0 age, social media offers the users communication opportunities for socialization, social interactivity and uncensored speech, facilitating the growth of online political behaviour with recent emergence of new interactive and media-rich Web sites. These Web sites, often referred to as social media, are valued in proportion to their capacity to harness the participation of online communities in the production, amalgamation, and exchange of information (OReilly, 2005) and also referred to as new media (Flew, 2008; Lievrouw and Livingstone, 2005). In his research Correa (2010) bro adened social media definition by adding instant messaging, a tool that enables social interaction. Researchers have also folded blogs into the social media umbrella given their function as personal publication tools (Gil de Zu ´nËœiga et al., 2009, p. 566) and their ability to foster interaction (Meraz, 2009). Online expression is functionally distinct from simply consuming content online (Katz et al., 2001; Shah et al., 2005; Wang, 2007). Hence online opinion expression and exchange have grown significantly in recent years. In particular, interactive Web 2.0 applications are increasingly being enlisted for citizen engagement in what is termed e-democracy (Kearns, 2002) or government 2.0 (Department of Finance and Deregulation, 2010), as well as in electioneering. The Web 2.0 consists of social networks like Facebook launched in February 2004; it was developed for user information (status updates, links or pictures) to remain private; visible only to those who have been granted access by that user. This was labelled an asymmetric modelling of human relationships (Porter 2009), however in November 2007 Facebook launched a new feature called Like Pages which look and behave much like a users personal private profile and   allows different networks and groups whose many users can join. These are used for discussions, events, etc. and are a way of enabling a number of people to come together online to share information and discuss specific subjects which is not limited, the members who have joined can view, recent news contents, wall contents, photos, posted items, videos and all associated comments on such items. These pages also offer access to insights and analytics of their fan base and therefore becoming at par with Twitter which is a micr o-blogging platform launched in August 2006 where everyone can be an editor, a content creator, a producer and a distributor. Where it was argued that Twitter is a modelling of human relationships and sets it apart from other successful social networks (Porter 2009), and perhaps makes it a space more open to possibilities for political interaction therefore in social networks all the classic old-media hats are being worn by everyone. (Kirkpatrick, 2010:10). Another widely spread media YouTube was launched in May 2005 as a user generated content website where users could upload, share and view video/audio materials, their own productions or recordings on which the users have author or broadcasting rights. It is not a social network, but it is one of the most popular sources of user generated content among those who use social networks. One of the oldest forms of socialising the blog as defined by Drula as unlike a website from the web 1.0 era, this online platform displays interactiv ity and socialization features (Drulă, 2007:11-15) The growth and popularity of social media websites is distinctive as Facebook became the worlds largest social network, with 500 million active members as on July 2010 (Facebook, 2010a). In the same month, more than two billion videos a day were being viewed on YouTube (2010) and two billion tweets a month were being distributed on Twitter (ODell, 2010). Social Media and Politics Use of the internet for political purposes has grown dramatically over the last decade. In the 2008 U.S. general election the internet, and social networking sites in particular, played a more significant role than they ever had before (Westling, M. 2007). In the realm of politics, social media went from being not known to budding platform for increasing political participation and communication in the 2008 US presidential elections. The 2008 presidential campaign was the first to play out in the world of YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and political blogging-the major Internet-based social media. These forms of social media provided a new platform for mediated communication which enables the audience to procure content on demand and also share and discuss/ argue with others (e.g., Levy, 2008; Papacharissi, 2009; Spigel, 2009). In the previous presidential elections candidates did own websites which were very useful for fund- raising and communicating with the supporters, though the 2008 US presidential elections showed that social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogging have become increasingly popular forums for political participation (Quily, 2008; A. Smith, 2009; Vitak et al. 2009). The elections especially highlighted that Facebook had become a viable tool for engaging supporters and communicating with them directly in real time. For a matter of fact, during primary season until Election Day in 2008, Facebook users created more than 1,000 Facebook group pages that focused on Barack Obama and John McCain. Data from Pew Internet reveal that 65% of SNS users ages 18-29 engaged in at least one of five political activities on a SNS during the 2008 campaign, including joining a political group on the site and obtaining information about a candidate (Smith, 2009). The 2008 presidential elections came to be labelled as a Facebook election by some political observers. Barack Obama, in particular took grassroots campaigning in to the digital space by employi ng Online Social Interactive Media (OSIM) like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Flickr, MySpace etc. and used it as a vital platform for his presidential campaign. He turned it into a major strength within his campaign where Facebook played a central role. It was clearly aware to The Obama campaign that voters, especially the young were the one who consumed information and at the same time were also conduits of information. They often chose social media over the traditional media. The online social interactive media allowed candidates to do electronically what previously had to be done by contacting volunteers, donors, scheduling and promoting events. (Johnson and Perlmutter 2009). The outcome of this was, that 2.2 million people had friended Barack Obama on Facebook, in comparison to just over half a million for John McCain. There were over 500 unofficial pages and groups which were made for the democratic presidential candidate. One of the oldest Obama Facebook groups, One Million Stron g for Barack, is going to meet a goal of one million supporters. Facebook was used extensively to reach potential donors and volunteers. The campaign raised a record- breaking $745 million (Tamara A Small , 2008). The campaign truly reaped the benefits form engaging people on social media especially Facebook. The entire campaign for Barack Obama benefitted enormously because of the massive amount of people using social media at that time and also the exposure being at a very low cost. In the wake of the turning point 2004 US presidential election, the Obama campaign of 2008, the 2010 UK election and e-democracy movements globally, Australians went to the polls in 2010 in a media-hyped flurry of tweeting, YouTube videos, Facebook befriending and liking, blogging and other social media activities(CIT). In an content analysis by Jim Macnamara and Gail Kenning to identify trends in the volume of e-electioneering content and activity, as well as the main ways in which social media are being used in political communication. It was researched that 45% of the 92 federal politicians had a Twitter account. However, the style and purpose of tweeting varied widely. Almost three-quarters of Australias federal politicians had a Facebook presence and 34 of them (16.5%) posted videos on YouTube and 29 (14.1%) had a blog. Though to the increase in social media in the 2010 elections in Australia the transmission of messages were one way rather than engaging in listening, dialogue, consultation and collaboration. There was little evidence that social media use was enhanced qualitatively to any significant extent in terms of the level of listening to citizens and the diversity of issues discussed. Gibson reported in relation to the UK election, the internet has become an organisational necessity for election campaigning but à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it has not brought about that strategic change some have argued we should expect (Gibson et al., 2010: 2). The transmission of one way message was also witnessed in the 2010 Scotland general elections in Graeme Baxter, Rita Marcella and Evaggelos Varfis content analysis of the elections where Scottish political sphere did appear keen to be seen embracing new social media tools, with 35% of parties and 37% of candidates utilising blogs, Facebook and Twitter during the electoral campaign. It is witnessed that online communication environment still requires time to reach the level of maturity found in the Internet political communication of other democracies (Paul Adrian) as in his study of the 2009 general elections in Romania. According to him Romanian politicians do not know how to deal with these platforms however worth mentioning that the case study was conducted during the first presidential election campaign in Romania when the social network Facebook and the Twitter micro blogging platform were used as distinct channels of communication. In other instances use of social media in elections can result in a revolution and receive much celebratory rhetoric around the political uses and benefits of social media technologies in the aftermath of the June 2009 post-election protests in Iran (NIMA NAGHIBI). Social networking sites were seen as central to publicizing and circulating, for a global audience, the political crisis that unfolded in Iran that summer. During the height of the Iranian protests and the height of the western coverage of those protests, which dominated North American media from June 13th till June 25th, the mood online and in the media appeared to be exultant, rejoicing in the power of new social media to facilitate global solidarity in a heretofore unprecedented way. Known as the state with the highest concentration of millionaires with 15.5% of total households with 1 million USD in wealth (Boston Consulting Group, 2011) and as the third one in the world according to the Gross Domestic Product ranking with over 56,000 USD per capita (Forbes, 2012), nowadays Singapore is definitely one of the most successful countries in South East Asia. Considering then that the isle has a population of only 5,000,000 people and that only 50 years have passed from the achievement of independence from Malaysia, all these figures seem even most impressive. But behind this brief but vibrant story of success there is probably one institution which, more than anything else, has been able to bring Singapore from being an English colony to become one of the most powerful financial hub of the world, and this institution is the People Action Party. Formed in 1954, the PAP dealt with the separation of the country from the British Empire (1963) and from Malaysia (1965) and, from 1968 on, won all the eleven General Elections that, every four years, took place in Singapore. The main mission of the PAP has always been to build a fair and just society starting from four core elements: being honest (clean, above board and upright), being multiracial (all citizens are equal, regardless of race, language and religion), being meritocratic (all citizens have equal chances according to their individual contribution to the society) and being self-reliant (avoiding to create dependence syndrome). These four pillars determined and connoted PAPs manifestations of reliability (We say what we will do), pragmatism (flexible approach to generate novel solutions to the problems of the nation), unity (strong sense of loyalty and discipline), far-sightedness (long term horizon in leading the country), decisiveness (taking the right decisions even in absence of complete information), compassion (feel community worries and concerns), resilience (ability in persevering despite discomfort or possibility of failure) across the years. Generically speaking, People Action Party can be considered as a socialist democracy which moved away from the communist and anti-colonialist context in which it took the first step. All this being said, even if on one hand side we can consider Singapore as an idyllic scenario where there is total harmony between citizens and political powers, on the other hand it must be remembered that this big modern miracle has been possible thanks to a constant control performed by the State towards society. A good example of this can be resumed by the mass media that, operating under a strict legal framework and licensing policies, plays a pro-development and hence pro-government (Kuo, Holaday Peck, 1993) role. Despite this, with the Government controlling the most influential media outlet of the country, the situation has been recently changing with the raise of the Internet and the arrival of new source of content and points of view for Singaporean people. The web, though, is now reaching 77.2% of the total population with 3,658,400 users (Internet World Stats, 2012) and is now able to reshape the media landscape even thanks to the highest smart phone penetration rate of the world with 62% of the population owning one of the latest generation mobile (Google and Ipsos, 2012). Anyway, if the Internet can be considered as an enemy by Singaporean government, the PAP was very reactive in using it as the main channel to speak to the citizens. The Party, in fact, decided to set up a Facebook Page aimed to catch the attention of 2,602,880 Singaporeans using the social network website. The most important occasion the PAP had to use its fan page were the 2011 General Elections, and especially the political campaign which took place between 19th April and 7th May. Due to its peculiar political environment, Singapore is an interesting stage to study the mechanism of the elections and that is confirmed by few researches inspired by 2001, 2006 and 2011 GE. The impact of the media on Singaporeans attitude and decisions towards voting has been analyzed in the paper Where is the Opposition? Media coverage, political interest, public concerns and voting behaviour . In 2006 Cenite, Chong, Han, Lim and Tan focused on one specific media, print, to go in depth in the topic of coverage during elections. But it is with Singapore in 2011. A New Normal in Politics? that Tan tries to understand the impact of social media on parliamentary and presidential elections. But rather than from a political point of view, this research tries to investigate the interaction between the PAP and its voters in a communicative perspective. That is why the focus of interest here is on pictures, videos, interviews, links to news websites like Channel Asia or Straits Times, in one word the tools used by the PAP to keep in touch with the 35,826 Facebook users who liked the page. With at least three daily posts during the eighteen days of political campaign the Party raised a constant buzz on the Internet, but how did these shared statements, these candidates profiles and these PAPs promises for the future concretely influence voters behaviour? The aim of this study is to understand how the Peoples Action Party (PAP) uses Facebook, and how do people respond to the same.

How to safely ride :: essays research papers

How To Safely Ride A Dirt Motorcycle 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racing, hill climbing, jumping, and performing dangerous tricks on a dirt bike sounds like fun, however it can get   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  very dangerous. A. I will inform you how to be a safe dirt biker. B. I have experience in this field from dealing with many aspects on this sport, negative and positive. I have   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  realized that safety is the most important factor. C.When dirt bike riding, it is very important to be in touch with your personal gear, familiar with bike trails, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  biking behaviors. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being correctly suited in your personal gear is the first important factor of dirt bike riding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. The helmet and goggles protect your eyes and head. Boots,shin guards, gloves, pants, jersey, knee pads,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  elbow pads, chest protector, and the kidney belt should all be put on to protect you from unexpected accidents. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When riding on a bike trail always beware of your surroundings. A. Certain trails are designated for certain off road vehicles. Always travel on designated trails, pay attention to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   all signs that tell whether a trail is open or closed to OHV use.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   B. Signs indicating trail ratings and one-way trails are posted at each trailhead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   C. Always ride within your skill level. From easiest to most difficult, a green circle, blue square, and black   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   diamond are signals representing the difficulty of a trail. These signals indicate the expertise needed to ride that   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   trail under normal condition. Use these signs as a reminder of which trails are suitable for you. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Always use good judgment when involved with dirt biking activities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Know your vehicle, read the owners manual, and use common sense.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B.Don’t ride alone, ride with experienced riders. If for some reason you are planning to ride alone, always tell a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  responsible person where you are traveling and when you will return. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being ready, and equipped for an emergency is a must when dirt biking because you will never know when you   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  will be stranded or in a life or death situation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A.. Most importantly, make sure to carry drinking water, a first-aid kit, map and compass, warm clothes, water-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  proof matches, emergency lights, and repair tools.

Retail food industry/fast food chain business

The business that I choose is retail food industry/fast food chain business. For example, McDonald's is my case study in this proposal. This fast food chain business began with Raymond Albert Kroc. Ray Kroc was the exclusive distributor of a milk shake maker called the Multi mixer. That time, Richard and Maurice two brothers were the owner of a brand and ran a burger restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in the 1950s. In 1955, Ray Kroc founded the brand’s Corporation and opened the first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. At 1980, the brand’s Corporation, USA gave GOLDEN ARCHES RESTAURANTS SDN BHD the license to operate the brand's restaurants in Malaysia. We in Malaysia got our first taste of the brand and Malaysia opened its first restaurant at Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur on 29 April 1982. To date, the brand’s at Malaysia has more than 200 restaurants located nationwide. Then this is the origin of the brand. My choice business name is McDonald's. It is a fast food industry. Until now, McDonald's Malaysia has more than 200 restaurants located nationwide. McDonald's operation hours are 24 hours, but some outlets inside the shopping centre are just 14 hours only because shopping centre operation hours are not 24 hours. McDonald’s strategic location is built the restaurant in the high traffic area. For example some McDonald’s outlets are built in the shopping centre, because these shopping centres are the most crowded places. Another strategic location is built on the high way because some people who want to buy burger then will go McDonald because McDonald’s have the drive-thru then can let customers feel more convenient and save time. After that I'm chosen the McDonald's place is at Bandar Tun Hussein Onn. Bandar Tun Hussein Onn is a township in 9th-Mile Cheras in Selangor, Malaysia. It was named after the third Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn. It is primarily a residential area and near by the secondary school. This location also has the drive-thru for some customers. McDonald's menus have included the Breakfast, Favorites, Happy Meal, Desserts, Beverages and McCafe. McDonald's products include the McChicken, Quarter Pounder, Big Mac, Cheeseburger, the Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, the Egg McMuffin and Spicy Chicken Mcwrap. At lunch time 12nn – 3p. m. & dinner time 6p. m. – 9p. m. , McDonald have the McValue Lunch & Dinner for discount some products price for let more customers can have the tasty burgers. Some time, McDonald will develop new different taste burger and toys. Like last time, McDonald were develops the McDonald breakfast & dinner box, GCB Burger and Hello Kitty Toys. After that, McDonald aside from free Wifi, can refresh the drink, a children's play area and the drive-thru, in some locations, McDonalds don't offer much in the way of services and other country McDonalds also have the different menus/products for their customers. McDonald also has a service called McDelivery, this service is transport food from McDonald’s restaurant to customer’s houses. These all the things are McDonald’s products/services. McDonald in the Tun Hussien Onn, customers demographic is younger persons occupying relatively high. After that, this also suitable for our Muslim consumer to purchase the product, because McDonald's products are without pork. This is because now, these young persons are like to go someplace where the wifi has and can eat the taste burger. These young persons are included like age 16-25, male, Chinese and Malay persons. For example, every Thursday I also have gathering with my friend at McDonald. This is because this location is near by the secondary school, after school 1p. m. some students who are going to McDonald then can get the McValue Lunch because can get the cheaper price. At dinner time, will more family go to McDonald for their dinner and the McValue Dinner. Some student and officer who are going McDonald not only the McValue, because McDonalds has the free wifi to let these customers who want to meeting or description. From McDonald, some customer will buy McDonald’s product/services because McDonald has the fast service and tasty burger. Sometimes, people who are going McDonald not only just in order to the tasty burger, also enjoy the comfortable environment, the refresh free drink and the free wifi services. After that, because McDonald has the McValue Lunch & Dinner, then can let customers use cheaper price and get the tasty burger sets. Next, McDonald also has the drive-thru and the delivery service then can let customers feel convenient. McDonald is not only the fast food business in Malaysia. For example, KFC and MarryBrown are also the fast food business companies then these 2 companies are McDonald’s competitors. First, KFC’s product also included burger, but KFC company main product not the burger, is the fried chicken. Then KFC and McDonald differences are the main product and McDonald can free refresh the drink. At others country, KFC also have the delivery. Second, MarryBrown also selling the same product – burger. But MarryBrown have other different products like Nasi MarryBrown, Nasi Ayam MB, Mi Kari Ayam Goreng, Chick-O-Rice and Chick Porridge. After that, Marrybrown and McDonald differences services are these, included the drive-thru and McDonald has the McDelivery for transport food to customer’s houses. This paragraph is about the McDonald and these 2 competitors differences. McDonald has competitive advantage. First, customers who are going to McDonald can buy the exciting toys and collectibles. But hurry, these toys are available for a limited time only. Second, when customers who are driving car and hungry, customers no need park their car. Then just can go to McDonald’s drive-thru for buy McDonald’s products. Third, if the customers who are have no car for go out have their food, McDonald has the McDelivery for transport food from McDonald’s restaurant to customer’s houses. If as this company – McDonald is my business, First, I will add the different products/ services because let customers can get more tasty products and specially services. Second, change the food price to cheaper because for those low-income customers. Third, is training McDonald's staffs for improve staff’s attitude. After that, my customers can enjoy the tasty food and have the best of services. Then I want to let anywhere also has McDonald’s restaurants. As my conclusion, McDonald's is one of the largest and famous fast food companies in the world. McDonald’s most of operation time is the 24 hours. McDonald always builds their restaurant in high traffic area. McDonald also has so many different products. In Malaysia, all Malaysians are also can go McDonald, because McDonald is non-pork then Muslim consumer can purchase those products. McDonald’s places have comfortable environment, the refresh free drink and the free wifi services. McDonald has a lot of competitors, but McDonald will do the best for their customers. After that, McDonald’s In Malaysia, McDonalds competitive advantages are better than others companies. Last, I hope McDonald’s products are healthier, not only the fried food. Thank you for reading, this is my conclusion.

Adaptation Mcdonalds

McDonald's Going International International Marketing Mag. K. Roth Group 2 Florian Antos Vladimir Slon Christoph Gluszko 1 Christian Schromm ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT McDonald's 2 History †¢ McDonald's Corporation – is the world's largest chain of fastfood restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, French fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. More recently, it also offers salads, fruit and carrot sticks. The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California.Their introduction of the â€Å"Speedee Service System† in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Illinois on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion. 3 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What are the advantages and disadvantages of adaptation strategy used by McDonald’s? 4 1.Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Advantages: †¢ Different cultures have different consumer needs and tastes †¢ Political and legal environment of the international market that they plan to enter †¢ Differences among nations in terms of cultures, religious believes, political and legal systems, customer values and lifestyles, and stages of economic and market development †¢ Differences in the advancement of technology †¢ Competition plays a major role in determining if a company will adopt a product adaptation scheme 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Disadvantages: †¢ The costs associated with adaptation can also play a major role in determining whether or not a firm chooses to standardize their product 6 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy †¢ †¢ †¢ Cross any boarder and you will find multiple variations from price to product, starting with the presentation. Misconception that McDonalds is the same everywhere.Country teams have considerable autonomy to develop and market new product lines. Menu differences: Netherlands and Austria– Beer Germany – Chinese Week Canada – Mc Pizza India – Goat and lamb burgers half of menu vegetarian Japan – ingredients such as cabbage and Teriyaki USA – Barbecue bacon Burgers, sausage breakfast burritos 7 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized? 8 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized?Truly global Brands : †¢ In general we can say that straight extension (=standardization) has been implemented and already been successful with cameras, consumer electronics, and many machine tools. Stihl ( machinery and chainsaw producer) Nikon Olympus, Canon ( camera producers) Kitchen Aid (consumer electronics ) Caterpillar (trucks, bulldozers) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 9 What have been the key factors that have led to McDonald’s global success? 10 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ Fast service enabled by a limited menu, focus on cleanliness, family friendly facilities, good value for money Emergence of cash-rich, time-poor lifestyle Societal acceptance of a more casual approach to eating on the run underscored the emergence of McDonalds Innovations in food preparation technology and service delivery providing a fast- service format that customers appreciate as well as a cost base that competitors found hard to match Waiter labor cost savings passed on directly to the consumers through lower prices McDonalds was the leader to introduce franchising in the global marketplace, augmenting the organic restaurant growth by harnessing the management, cultural and entrepreneurial capabilities and capital of local businesspeople around the world.Expanding across the globe Increasing res taurant penetration in already existing markets †¢ †¢ †¢ 11 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? Key Faktors: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Economies of scale in production and distribution Power and scope Brand image was country suited Ability to leverage ideas quickly and efficiently Uniformity of marketing practices Pervasiveness of McDonalds brand 12 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ McDonald's is seen as the number one representative of the all American lifestyle, which at the time when the expansion began was very popular. In some countries it is still a status symbol to go and have a meal at McDonald's.Generally the cooperation is at pains to offer a selection of standardized core products ( Big Mac, Soft drinks, French Fries) in addition to locally accepted alternatives. Giving the multinational cooperation a local Face ( thinking of Salzburg's restaurant) In order to use synergies on the one hand and reduce national competences on the other a supranational administrative department had been set up in Europe. McDonald's. has always been supported by US foreign policy Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s; Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 13 What are the risks and benefits of choosing the franchising system for franchisor? 14 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for franchisor: The franchisor profits from the strongly motivated franchisee as a self-dependent entrepreneur †¢ The franchising as a way to overcome the resource scarcity through the direct market access †¢ The ability to overcome the high costs of arranging the new distribution network through using the well tailored network of franchisor †¢ Low capital investments for the product placement and region marketing through the franchisee †¢ The benefits from using a recognized brand name and trade marks through the reputation of the franchisor †¢ Extended expansion possibility through franchising 15 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisor: †¢ The existence of multiple, geographically dispersed owner-managers makes the control difficult †¢ Possible high costs of training development, promotional and support activities of franchisee †¢ Service delivery may be inconsistent because of geographically dispersed franchisees 16 What are the key issues by setting up a McDonald’s Franchisee? 17 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for the franchisee: †¢ Your business is based on a proven idea.You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself. †¢ You can use a recognized brand name and trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise – the â€Å"franchisor†. †¢ The franchisor gives you support – usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. †¢ Financing the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation. †¢ Risk is reduced and is shared by the franchisor. †¢ If you have an existing customer base you will not have to invest time looking to set one up. Relationships with suppliers have already been established. †¢ The ability to overcome the resource constrains. 18 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisee: †¢ Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing royalties and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. †¢ The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. †¢ The franchisor might go out of business, or change the way they do things. †¢ Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation. You may find it difficult to sell your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. 19 4. Costs and Restrictions Costs: Financial Requirements/Down Payment : Initial down payment for opening (40% of the total cost) or an existing restaurant (25% of the total cost) about 200. 000 $ nonborrowed resources Financing: McDonald’s does not offer financing; McDonald’s Owner/Operators enjoy the benefits of our established relationships with many national lending institutions 20 4. Costs and Restrictions Restrictions: During the term of the franchise, you pay McDonald’s the following fees: †¢ Service fee: a monthly fee based upon the restaurant’s sales performance (currently a service fee of 4. 0% of monthly sales). Rent: a monthly based rent or percentage rent that is a percentage of monthly sales. †¢ Application: Personal, non-borrowed res ources to be invested in a McDonald's restaurant business. †¢ Business experience in the market where they are seeking a franchise 21 What strategy would you adopt to ensure a great exposure for McDonald’s to a growing trend towards healthier eating? 22 5. Healthier eating at McDonald’s Currently: †¢ †¢ Low fat products in UK outlet Canadian light choices of Menu with a Soya bean McVeggie Burger, salads with a fat free dressing and a granola topped fruit yoghurt On packaging calorie and fat content information for the first time as it tries to counter the obesity lobby †¢ 23 5.Healthier eating at McDonald’s Future perspectives: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Using biologically grown resources Fat reduced meals Healthier ways of processing the food (eg. : don’t fry chips but bake them, less white bread burgers, regular vegetarian dishes,) Healthy, freshly squeezed Mc Shakes etc. Healthier Drinks not only Sodas To ensure high-quality, fresh ingredients, farms are set up in order to supply restaurants 24 Sources: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ www. McDonalds. com www. freeforessays. com/show_essay/55461. html D. Jobber â€Å"Principles and Practice of Marketing† Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 25 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION 26