Business strategy mcdonald Essays

Business strategy mcdonald Essays Business strategy mcdonald Essay Business strategy mcdonald Essay If we all have different receptions of reality then the big question is; do we know real true picture of reality? Reality in accounting is something I believe is very hard for us people to determine. Firstly is that most of the measurement used in the accounting system are arbitrary. How can we know that something which is based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or systems is the truth? Secondly accounting is also based on assumptions. So what is seems like that in accounting there is no such thing as reality. Obviously we couldnt know what is true if methods of accounting are based on arbitrary methods and assumptions. If this is so, then again the big question is; how can accountants communicate reality if we dont know what is reality. A. In the given question, the directors decision on deciding not to life the going concern assumption while the companys performance and position is deteriorating is totally wrong and unethical. The company knew very well that there are people out there who are going to rely on their financial decisions to make very important decisions. Not lifting the going concern assumption will make stakeholders think especially primary users that the companys financial performance and position is going well and healthy when in act its not. In this case the directors are communicating a false reality. B. Well communicating a false reality doesnt mean that also you are creating a false reality. For God. Anything can happen in the future. Revenue might increase as well as sales, profit might increase and the business might again run well. In this case the company is creating a reality. . ) Fiji Sugar Corporation. The Fiji Sugar Corporation is said to be responsible for the pollution of the Aqua River in Labs. The question to ask is whether the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FCC) is really responsible for the pollution of the Aqua River that had resulted in the killing f the marine life. Or is the waste dumped by the FCC in the Aqua River the cause of pollution. It is being evident that the waste dumped by FCC to the river is the direct c ause of the killing of the marine life in the river. ( If]times. Mom) (The Fiji Times, 24/12/08) Last year we took samples from the river and results confirmed that the chemicals were from FCC so this new testing is part of our prosecution process. Mr Kumar Tests result shows that the death of river plants and vaporizing useful gases is the result of a rise in temperature in the river that was caused by hot water being poured into the Aqua River.. All Saints Secondary School students and hundreds of residents beside the river complained of headache as a result of the pollution by FCC. ( If]times. Mom) (Fiji times, 03/09/09) With the evidence given above, can we say that the organization is responsible for the pollution of the Aqua River? Ruth D Hines said that we must not think that the fence of the organization sets the limit or the boundary of the organization. The only thing the fence does is to separate the other people from the organization or to designate it so to speak. Well in terms of pollution, I do agree that the organization is responsible for the pollution. As evident above that the waste dumped by the FCC is the direct cause of the pollution which had an adverse effect on the river, environment and the people. If it wasnt for the organization dumping rubbish into the river there wouldnt have been any pollution. Hines also said that we should account for something that we are accountable for. It would be unethical for FCC not to account for the pollution caused by them. Even though we might think that the pollution is outside of the organizations context but in reality we know that the damage to the environment is directly caused by pollution by the organization. As a conclusion we can say that pollution is very much part of the organization. As it is the direct effect and outcome of the production process of the organization. So Fiji Sugar Corporation should account for the pollution. B. ) The organization is now placing more significance on sustaining a clean environment in particular waste water release from mill operation and air pollution not only for its staff but its stakeholders too. The organization is aiming on the execution of various engineering controls. This will result in the minimization of waste to the environment and by doing this they will e adhering to the Mill Upgrade Program. All mills around the country had formed committees that will observe and address pollution. Annual report 2010). Recognizing revenue in the period or periods that the revenue-generating activities of the companies are performed is the objective of the firm. There are two conditions that needs to be satisfied before revenue can be recognized in the realization principle: 1 . The earnings process is Judged to be complete or virtually complete (the earnings process refers to the activity or activities performed by t he company to generate revenue). 2. There is reasonable certainty as to the collegiality of the asset to be received (usually) (http://connect. McGraw-hill. Mom) Businesses recognize revenues ate different point in time due to a number of reasons: Businesses are different in nature. The activities performed by the companies to generate revenue are differently judged to be complete. It because of these two catteries that revenue are differently recognized. For example revenue from selling of inventory are recognized at the date of sale often interpreted as the date of delivery. This is because at the date of delivery the earnings process is Judged to be complete. For revenue from rendering services are recognized when services are completed and billed.

Frames paper incorporating Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal's four Term

Frames incorporating Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal's four frameworks - Term Paper Example Production factors are vital to the manager, since the company cannot enter the market without a product to offer. Labor, premises, raw materials, and machinery are the major factors. Similarly, the company considers its market segments and determines the number of competitors and customers and the relationship between the two groups. The company further researches to establish all the relevant stakeholders in the micro and macro environments (Bolman & Deal, 2008). The following cites a comprehensive framework of the above-mentioned factors in relation to that of Bolman and Deal. Our most important tool of management is labor. Labor comprises of all employees that help in effecting the product manufacturing process. Employees show different behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes relative to their different cultures and societies. This brings forth a state of confusion on how to coerce their differences for the company’s benefit. As the manager, I maintain a distinct culture that me ntors all employees’ characteristics to target towards achieving organizational goals and objectives. I ensure that employees abide by the code of conduct at the result targets to mutual benefits. Conflicts among employees are a common lyric in every organization thus; the management intervenes and rules out in accordance to the code stipulated by the organization. When these conflicts involve employees and the organization, the management has to find a solution before operations come into halt. As the manager, I practice the spirit of motivation, that is, in influencing a person to perform a given task either by use of a positive measure or a negative one. To the company, motivation plays the most pivotal role as it affects performance of the set goals. Giving employees more than just monetary incentives, will similarly improve their performance and the outcome is that the company will achieve its objectives. Therefore, the importance of motivation is to enable workers sense that they are part of the organization. I believe in motivation as it eases unnecessary fears amongst the employees. The company’s statistics reveal that workers perform poorly under oppression as compared to when motivated. This is because; they have the duty to carry out all tasks, irrespective of whether machinery or manual operations. The essence is that, no matter the employees competence to a task, shortcomings may arise due to monotony, frustration, and oppression. As a manager, I should engage in motivation, and must try to curb behaviors that tend to mislead the company, and practice behaviors that will gear up progression and prosperity. Bearing in mind that, every set of human beings does exhibit distinct cultures, the management should observe and tame that culture which favors the company. Culture comprises of personal beliefs, attributes, needs, and behaviors. On addressing these issues properly, the company pursues its objectives and strategically beats compet ition. I believe in addressing issues in a friendly way and welcome views from the employees. I believe in avoiding ideologies of drawing attention from the employees that they should recognize me by my position. Every company has a mission and vision in its business field. Therefore, to come up with the best results of production, I consider the goals and objectives of the company. For example, the company’s mission is to enhance economic growth and customer satisfaction, the products entice consumers to feel

Identity Theft Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Identity Theft - Assignment Example commission; it postulates that in order for a crime to be committed such as the identity theft case; three elements namely; pressure, opportunity and rationalization must be in play. These are depicted in the figure below; Opportunity refers to the capability to commit a crime. Since very few crooks like being caught, they must act in a way that will ensure their activities remain untraceable. This becomes possible when weak internal controls and management practices exist that allow the fraudsters to sneak in and wreak havoc. Lack of established procedures to anticipate, detect, and respond to attacks and violations creates an opportunity for frauds. This is one area where frauds and crooks have the greatest leverage and control and are always looking to find a loophole; maybe a weak encryption system. Rationalization: this is another key component for frauds, which allows a fraudster to reconcile her behavior with normally accepted concept of trust and common decency. The fraudster feels no guilt and in fact feels justified (Turner, Mock & Srivastava). The fraud triangle is useful because it identifies why, what, where and who of the fraud. Once this is established then remedial measures can be taken. Fraud cannot be stopped; the pace of technological change and advancement gives it (fraud) an evolutionary nature and so the crooks will keep getting better and more sophisticated. There is however great opportunity more than ever to slow it down considerably to protect the masses and ordinary people. The identity world will continue to experience this cycle where a smart organization comes up with a secure system to protect identity and an even smarter crook comes up with a way around the security measure (‘Consumer protection Division’, 2005). The first step would be to take the basic measures, use passwords, use secure connections, and have anti spyware. By adopting the fraud triangle, measures can be put in place to anticipate, identify, and mitigate

Health Care and Pharmaceutical Industry Research Proposal

Health Care and Pharmaceutical Industry - Research Proposal Example Hence consolidation can be in the form of merger between two or more pharmaceutical companies, acquisition of one pharmaceutical company by another, merger or acquisition between a formulations company and a bulk drugs company terming which as vertical integration will be more appropriate. There can also be mergers or acquisitions between a health care industry and a pharmaceutical industry, a form of vertical integration. All these activities centre around one goal, that is consolidation. The generic meaning of consolidation is strengthening. Hence consolidation is for obviously strengthening of merging entities. The question this proposal however poses is who the beneficiaries of the consolidation are. The stakeholders in the consolidation process are shareholders of the company, its consumers, its suppliers, its customers, its employees, Government and environmentalists. Apart from them, behind the scenes are the consultants and the directors of the company who manipulate consolid ation. This proposal will undertake a detailed study as to who the real beneficiaries of consolidation are. This is the research question the proposed research will address for which purpose detailed literatures review will be undertaken. The very question presupposes existence of a problem of who actually the beneficiaries are in consolidations. There are bound to be vested interests beneath the surface and in the deliberate hostile takeovers. Problem viewed in this context, the research question gains significance as to whether consolidations are serving the interests of stakeholders or the vested interests which may be against public policy. The outcomes examined on case by case basis may be mixed. Therefore the study has to see the overall impact of consolidations in health care and pharmaceutical industry. To this extent, the issue is problematic and answer is not readily forthcoming without a deep research into the subject. Objectives of Research To examine the benefits of consolidations. To ascertain risks associated with the consolidations. To make a comparative study with consolidations in other industries and ascertain why pharmaceutical or health care sector is unique .and To arrive at a balanced view for future policy. PART 2: Literature Review This part of the paper is important in that literature review is part of the research methodology by which the researcher will examine data already available on the subject of study. In research parlance this is the secondary data through which the research questions raised in the study will be likely to be answered if the data so gathered is adequate. Generic drugs manufacturing companies were once poor relations of the pharma industry. But they have now grown and attained international stature via acquisitions. In 2006, the generic drugs' sales all over the world were $ 77 billion. (URCH) Shukla (2006) states that pharmaceutical companies across the world persuade their counterparts for consolidation with a view to benefit from their respective core competencies in various segments of R & D, manufacturing and unique marketing opportunities in a global setting. Pharmaceutical comp

New Industries in the Caribbean Essay Example for Free

New Industries in the Caribbean Essay Caribbean economies from their earliest periods of colonization were essentially agrarian based (during slavery). Economical activities included livestock farming and small farming done by the peasants. There were also trading and commerce which included the establishment of shops, inns and taverns. Large plantations were worked by a mass of slaves with the premier crop being Sugar Cane. When the colonizers first came to the West Indies they mainly grew crops such as coffee, cotton, ginger, banana and cocoa mainly for export. However during the second half of the 18th century, these crops lost their comparative advantage to sugar. When sugar experienced its depression the planters relaxed their stronghold over control of the land and some estate workers turned their attention to the peasant sector and other industries. NEW INDUSTRIES By the beginning of the twentieth century, the peasantry had begun to play a very important role in the diversification of the West Indian economies. The Royal Commissions before the Norman Commission, and the Norman Commissions had made recommendations for the development of the peasantry (Curtis: p 32). Many of the export crops recommended by the Norman Commission were already being cultivated by the peasantry. For these crops to have greater success, the peasantry would need capital for greater investment. But this capital was not forthcoming. This was due to the fact that they had limited capital, occupied small plots of land because they were charged a lot for these lands. Additionally the peasants cannot produce at subsistence level. The black peasantry in particularly faced a number of obstacles which included the increase in land prices, eviction from lands, refusal to subdivide and sell lands and also heavy taxations. The planters most of the times sold large pieces of lands for lower cost to the whites in comparison to the ex-slaves. Rice, which had been cultivated earlier as a subsistence crop in Guyana began to assume importance as a cash crop in the late nineteenth century. The abandonment of sugar cultivation on some estates made more land available, as did the opening up of riverain crown lands in 1898 on what for some were manageable terms of purchase. By 1900 government interest was being channeled through the board of agriculture ith conducted experiments in different rice varieties and supplied seed to the growers. A more objective was to develop a uniform grain size to reduce wastage in the milling process and by 1908 this had been substantially achieved. All of this stimulated further expansion so that, whereas in 1891 the land under rice amounted to only 4000 acres, there was a tenfold increase in the following two decades, and by 1917 for every ten acres planted in sugar, Guyana, eig ht acres were planted in rice. Expanding rice acreage was accompanied by the mushrooming of small mils. In 1914 there were 86 of them in existence. They were hardly elaborate structures but they were linked to the large mercantile firms in the capital and they controlled growers in the villages through a system of advances. Many of the millers, like many large rice growers were Indians who employed Indian labour, and the evidence suggests that ethnicity hardly guaranteed favourble treatment. In 1905 it was exporting to the Caribbean. Rice enjoyed considerable prosperity during the first war. In the inter-war period alternative sources of supply to the Caribbean market dried up and this provided the main basis for the steady expansion of the industry in Guyana. Guyana is by far the most important producer of rice in the Commonwealth Caribbean. There were about 20 thousand peasant farmers in 1952; by 1965 their numbers were believed to have more than doubled, reaching 45 thousand. There were 222 rice mills in 1960 and 199 in 1970. All were privately owned, except two which were owned and operated by the Rice Development Company. Bananas were first introduced into Jamaica in 1516. However the first exports took place in 1869 after the depression of sugar. As the industry flourished American companies came in to handle the trade as the peasants supplied bananas to a US [Boston] banana trader Lorenzo Dow Baker. Boston Fruit Company later formed to trade in Bananas with Caribbean and Central America which later became the United Fruit Company [UFCo]. By 1890 the value of Banana exports exceeded that of sugar and rum, and it retained this position except for a few years until the Second World War. By 1937 Jamaica provided twice as many stems as any other country in the world. It thus became a plantation crop-corporations and large entrepreneurs. Banana soon became the principal exports from Jamaica, and Windward Island. Trading partners also changed-Destination was now USA. During the war the industry declined because the ships could not be spared to transport the product. By the beginning of the nineteenth century coffee was also an important crop in Jamaica (The Banana production was done mainly by the Middle class mulattoes). During the depression sugar farmers in Trinidad turned their attention to cocoa which was the first major export of the island, and by 1900 it had become the major export once again. It retained this position until 1921 when Ghanaian cocoa began to swamp the world market. During that time too cocoa was also an important crop in St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Vincent. In the 1930’s citrus, which had been cultivated in the stricken cocoa areas became important. So too did Pineapples in the 19th century. Relatively small scale farmers earned cash for production of bananas, coffee, cocoa and pimento for exports. They also produced tubers, fruits and vegetables for domestic markets. A substantial part of small farming was for subsistence with relatively small surpluses for sale. Bauxite, tourism and urban-based manufacturing and services replaced export agriculture as the dominant sectors of the economy in the post-war era, as the British West Indies pursued a programme of industrialization-by-invitation The mineral resources which include bauxite, aluminum, gold et cetera have been developed by foreign capital and for the export market, to a much greater extent than the main agricultural products. In Guyana the American-owned Bauxite industry shipped its first load of ore in 1922. Expansion was steady throughout the inter-war period but it was not until the second war that bauxite became an important force in the economy. The Jamaican bauxite industry was developed by American companies after the second war. Demand for aluminum by the United States military and space programmes and by the automobile and other consumer goods industries created a lucrative market for bauxite and aluminum. As of such in 1957 Jamaica became the world’s leading bauxite producer and the main U. S. supplier. The U. S. dollar earnings from this new export financed the import of capital goods manufacturing industries that were set up to produce for the growing domestic and regional markets. The investment cycle of the multinational bauxite mining companies began topping offs as the decade of the 1960s drew to a close. Bauxite and aluminum thus replaced sugar and bananas as the leading export product after the Second World War. In 1964 Jamaican bauxite industry had over 800 registered manufacturing establishments including a cement factory, cigarette factories, breweries and bottling plants, extiles, clothing factories and plant producing soap, margarine and edible oil. In February 1967 an agreement was announced between the Jamaican government and an American metal-fabrication company to erect an aluminum plant in Jamaica. The petroleum industry in Trinidad and Tobago is the oldest mineral industry in the common-wealth Caribbean. The first successful well dates back to 1857 but it was not until the first decade of this century that the industry was established. By 1909 the country was exporting oil and by 1919 five refineries were in operation. The industry is largely owned and controlled by foreigners. The production of crude oil is mainly in the hands of four companies-Texaco, Shell, Trinidad Northern Area owned by Trinidad Tesoro, Shell and Texaco as equal partners. However by 1980 the government had purchased all foreign operations except Amoco. The tourist industry was developed after the Second World War, and this two is foreign owned and controlled. This industry is an offshoot of the banana and bauxite industry especially in Jamaica. The establishment and development of the tourist industry were facilitated by incentive legislation and special institutions. Jamaica passed the Hotels Aid Law, 1944, granting accelerated depreciation allowances and duty-free importation of materials for the construction and furnishing of hotels, and the Hotel Incentives Law, 1968, granting tax holidays and other concessions. The Hotel Aids Act passed in Barbados in 1967 allows duty free importation of building materials and equipment and grants a tax holiday of ten years. And all three territories set up Tourists Boards to promote and service the industry. As in the other generating sectors of the economies, there is a large proportion of foreign ownership in the tourist industry. In 1971 thirty-five per cent of the hotels in Jamaica were wholly foreign owned, 56 per cent wholly locally owned and 9 per cent joint ventures. Foreign ownership was more pronounced in Barbados. Foreigners owned 61 per cent of the capacity there: 33 per cent was owned by nationals of the United Kingdom. 16 per cent by Canadians and 12 per cent by Americans. Barbadians owned 34 per cent, and 5 per cent was jointly owned. Local ownership was dominant (80 per cent) among the smaller establishments which provided 25 per cent of the total capacity. Trade and commerce was also taking place in many places in the British West Indies as well. According to Beckles and Shepherd (1993) â€Å"export trade in the British Islands showed in a number of the units spectacular increases to the peak of prosperity between 1929 and 1940. † British Guiana traded with Europe and North America, commodities such as sugar cane, coffee and fruits. Trinidad exported petroleum products such as oil to places such as North America and the United Kingdom. Jamaica too traded tropical fruits, sugar cane, coffee, cocoa and other commodities with Europe and North America. In the late 1950s, Jamaica became the biggest supplier of bauxite to the United States. RACE: The Indians are concentrated mainly on the sugar estates while the Africans are concentrated in the villages and the towns. The Africans have always been more mobile geographically and socially and the chief supporters of the urbanization movement. They provide the overwhelming majority of the labour force in the bauxite industry and mining camps in the interior of Guyana, and the petroleum industry in Trinidad, and the bulk of the factory and service workers in both countries. Until the 1950s they occupied a somewhat monopolistic position in the white-collar and professional positions. The Indians supply the bulk of the field sugar workers and also the rice producers in Guyana. -Europeans owned most of the wealth-producing assets in the colonial economy. The indigenous Ihere, imported labour] populations were allowed to engage in small-scale peasant farming on the fringes of large white-owned plantations but mainly relegated to providing cheap labour for the white settlers in the expanding corporate economy. Where this posed problems, intermediary racial groups (Chinese, Indians, etc. ) were brought in to fill the gaps in labour supply. As export staples increased the wealth base of the colonial economy and as some diversification into minerals, tourism and manufacturing increased that wealth base further, commerce and services expanded. This opened up opportunities for small-scale capital and smaller entrepreneurial firms to operate alongside the large white-controlled corporations. (Thompson: p 244). In Jamaica, this intermediate minority group comprised immigrant white ethnics like the Lebanese and Jews (who joined a much older community of Jamaican Jews dating back to the period of colonization and settlement) and the Chinese, whose upper and middle echelons, occupying a shopkeeper niche, secured for the group the real and/or symbolic function of social whites. A racially mixed brown middle class also formed a component of this minority, intermediary ethnic group. The traditional white planter class was displaced both by foreign corporate capital, whose interests were concentrated on sugar, and later bauxite and tourism, and the intermediary ethnic groups with whom they eventually merged. The latter groups formed a domestic merchant and manufacturing sector alongside the transnational enclaves. A black rural middle class emerged on the basis of medium-sized holdings concentrating on export crops such as bananas, pimento, coffee and citrus. They comprised a tiny minority of the rural population, however, most of whom occupied a range between full-time peasants and full-time proletarians. The race related dualism of Caribbean economy was classically exhibited in the division between the (TNC or Jamaica-white-owned) plantation and (black) peasant economies of rural Jamaica. In 1938, this division was reflected in a tenure system which concentrated over fifty per cent of agricultural land into some 800 holdings and left nearly 100,000 poor peasants and their families with twelve per cent of the land* (Post, 1981: 2-3). In addition, the black peasant economy was itself internally stratified, partly along the lines of the division between export production and domestic food crop production, which was itself related to size of holding. In addition, there were roughly 80,000 households at the lower margins of the peasantry with an average of a quarter of an acre each. .A significant bureaucratic and professional black middle class emerged, but Blacks failed to challenge the entrenched economic positions of the intermediary-ethnic elites. In the meantime, economic frustration and disfranchisement led large numbers of peasant and working class Blacks to participate in a massive outward migration to Britain and a large-scale exodus from rural to urban areas, which translated rural poverty into urban ghettoes and urban poverty (ibid. : 252). In the late 1960s and early 1970s, many ethnic elites from the BWI began migrating abroad. This created unanticipated and unexpected new openings for black entry into the entrepreneurial class and facilitated large-scale entry of Blacks into the middle and upper levels of private sector management (ibid: 254). Blacks became well established within the corporate managerial elite and gained a foothold in many sectors of the economy manufacturing, construction, business services, tourism, commerce and agriculture alongside the still dominant minority ethnic groups. Their enterprises tended to be smaller, but a few were large. Other developments were the growth of import-trade higglering, which represented an expansion and in some cases a very lucrative enhancement of a traditional female working class role. The big corporate sector enterprises in insurance, banking, distribution, manufacturing, hotels and services remained under the predominant ownership of the economically dominant minority Jews, Whites, Lebanese and Browns. Indeed, migration of some of the less important families appears to have facilitated a consolidation and expansion of corporate ownership among the biggest capitalist families.

Personal Computer System Components :: how a computer works

Personal Computer System Components   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Can you imagine a world without computers? Computers have changed everyday life in infinite ways that we would have never imagined 50 years ago. Long ago, computers were primarily used to compute numbers and to do word processing. As times have changed, computers have also evolved to help us with our everyday tasks. Nowadays we even use our computers for personal enjoyment by using them for games and finding information on the Internet. One way computers play a vital role in everyday life is a computer that helps manage a nuclear power plant. One computer might take the place of numerous people by checking readings and calculating information. Having a thorough knowledge of how a computer operates and how the components interact is very important in understanding how a computer works.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When using computer terms, it is very confusing trying to refer to different parts. Computers are basically broken down into two groups so help organize parts. Hardware is the term used to refer to items that you can physically touch and move with your hands (Dais interview). Software is the term used when referring to items you cannot touch like programs and applications.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The motherboard is the main piece of circuitry inside your PC (personal computer). Like the downtown of a big city, it’s where everything happens. The motherboard is important because the most important things inside your PC cling to it (Dais interview). In fact, for the most part, the computer tower is simply a housing for the motherboard. Although the motherboard contains a lot of items, it is essentially one unit and is referred to as such (Gookin 114). As an example, a mall has many stores, but everyone calls it the mall. At the heart of every computer beats the microprocessor. The microprocessor acts like a tiny, fast calculator (Ting interview). The microprocessor itself deals with other elements in the computer. These elements provide either input or output. Input is information flowing into microprocessor and output is information that it generates or splits up (Gookin 116). The overall performance of a computer of your PC depends in large measure of its microprocessor. Clock speed is measured in megahertz (MHz), or millions of pulses (cycles) per minute (Waters 61). You might think of a processor clock as a kind of metronome; with each beat of the clock -each cycle- the processor can execute an instruction from the software (Dais interview).

Goya foods Essay

Started in 1936, Goya food is more famous in the American market where it has targeted the diverse Hispanic market the in the new markets it is targeting. With its headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey the company deals in canned foods and other food products such as juice and cooking oil. Some of the major brand names in the market are extra virgin oil, Paela, Adobo and an assortment of designed recipes and mixes for the market. These products are spread out in four major industries †¢ Bakeries †¢ Beverage manufacture and bottling †¢ Coffee and tea manufacturing Fruit and vegetable processing †¢ Meat and food products processing †¢ Cereals and other foods processing Conrad Colon, the group’s marketing director says that the idea behind their vesting into different food products such as beans and rice is to transform ordinary products to Goya specials (Luther, 2008, pp 69). Ranked number 366 in the Forbes magazine largest private companies the company has shown that it is on its way from climbing form the small enterprises category to one of the top 20 multinationals. The firma has grown over time in size and form. At the moment the company is using its success in the American and South American market as a motivation to launch its products in the Asian market such as Singapore and Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong otherwise known as the Asian tiger economies. These economies are currently experiencing very high economic growth. Consumer spending is on the rise as the welfare of the society improves (Thang, 2008, pp 28). Competitive analysis Goya Foods is to enter the market at the height of its success as a brand offering something more than the common. Its brand is synonymous with creativity in recipes (Luther, 2008, pp 67). In addition to this, Luther (2008 says that the company has transformed canned beans to more than canned beans to Goya beans. He notes that this is the notion that the company is riding high on: brand identification with quality and customer loyalty. Goya Foods, which had revenues of $713 million last year, has become synonymous with Hispanic packaged products of every persuasion. He cites the case where retail outlets and supermarkets have transformed form labeling Hispanic food aisles as so to Goya foods. This is against the traditional labeling systems where aisles are labeled as â€Å"Asian foods†. Of this, Conrad says â€Å"We have been selling our products for 60 years, so that some of our products, like our black beans, fruit nectars and olives, have become part of the culture†. The company has reciprocated this embrace with recognition of Hispanic culture such as celebrating the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York. Advertising and promotion is done both in English and Spanish even in their websites (Telvin, 2006 pp110) Moving on to the culturally rich market could then be a turning point for the company and the market if the entry to the market is well strategized and the timing is correct. This gives the company a competitive advantage in that the markets in Asia have traditionally been shaped by the Asian culture. Making a move into the market would appear to critics as â€Å"banging your head on a wall. † This is more so because China has dominated the processed foods market in China and has manage to penetrate the US and European market. The strength of this growth in the market for Chinese products is pegged on low pricing other than brand name and quality. However, Colon sees this as a marvelous opportunity to challenge the status quo and introduce another culture in the market. He believes that the same cultural experimentation that has taken place in the US can be replicated in Asia using the right marketing strategies. He says their strength lies in the identification of the company’s brand name with Hispanic culture which is very important in targeting the culturally adventurous market in that region. Therefore, Goya’s entry into the Asian market can be viewed as a cultural export form the Hispanic world. Telvin (2006, pp112) sees that the 2005 donation by Goya foods to tsunami victims in South East Asia as courting strategy in the region before the marketer makes a lurk into the market. Goya Foods recognizes their major competitors in the American market are Del Monte, Can Agra and Kraft foods as shown in the company’s website. Del Monte is one of the largest competitors with a global presence well represented in Asia by its Del Monte Pacific branch. The growth of this Pacific branch serving the Asian and American market has been experiencing double digits growth since the turn of the millennium. Former Chairman of Del Monte Pacific, Tony Chew says that the company’s 100 plus years presence in the industry has created strong brand name for the company whose regional head marketer attributes to â€Å"leveraging our strengths in production, marketing, and distribution, and expanding our business through synergistic alliances or strategic acquisitions† One of the integration alliances are with the Cadbury Schweppes in US, Nabisco in Canada and Seven-up. Such alliances combined with an experienced management, strong financial base from shareholders and a long history has contributed to the company’s labeling as â€Å"one of Asia’s highest value creators† This has created a kind of market entry barrier in the market with a lot of customer loyalty and strategic alliances forming the base of the barriers. Industry forecast The bakeries industry as on of the very competitive market is expected to grow by 5% in 2009. This is a significant rise after the decrease in consumer spending hurt the market with estimated growth for 2008 only expected to be 2% in the American market. The growth will steady up to around 4% in the next four years as per market predictions. Colon attributes their continued growth and dominance in the Hispanic American market to â€Å"knowing the Hispanic market better than any competitor† through market research. Given that there exist many of opportunities in a country like Malaysia, good market research in the country should be expected to yield good results. According to an industry report on the status of the processed food industry in Malaysia the industry has a lot of opportunities short listed as flour based products such as pasta, biscuits, pre-mixes, frozen pastries and chocolate confectionery †¢ cereal-based products such as breakfast cereals, muesli and rolled oats †¢ pure fruit juices, orange juice concentrates, frozen vegetables, edible nuts and canned fruit †¢ condiments, seasoning and sauces †¢ nutritional snacks such as fruit rolls and yoghurt bars †¢ health foods and bars †¢ halal-processed meat such as corned beef CanAgra as a competitor to Goya deals in brands such as Rosarita, Blue bonnet and Gilroys foods is already making a gradual exit from the Asian market after years of disappointing sales by cutting operations. With an extra room created by CanAgra, Goya can enter the making to have a share of the profits. Canned, frozen food processing industry is experiencing good growth despite the fall in this year’s consumer spending which has hurt sales across all industries. This industry is expected to register a increment of 1% to 5% from last year’s and maintain the same in 2009. Subsequent years are estimated to see the industry fall back to 4%. This increase in growth is largely tied to increase in population. In addition, India’s processed food industry is growing at an average of 12% per year. Such opportunities exist for companies such as Goya to make full use of by venturing into the market. Goya’s product strategy Recognition of culture as the main selling pint by the company has been put into full utilization through market segmentation by culture. Goya recognizes that eating habits from one cultural grouping to the other changes a lot. Therefore the company has realized the need to satisfy all markets by segmenting the niche markets and developing specific products for that market. According to a link in the company’s website http://www. goya. com/english/recipes/recipe_category. html? id=6 the markets are divided into four major categories. These are Mexico, Central and South America, Spanish and the Caribbean. In each market there are various products in form of recipes that are unique to that market only. However, the aspect of cultural exchanges does allow variety in that cultural experimentation through Goya products is facilitated. The company has strategically made use of promotional and marketing campaigns that are well publicized. Alliances with traditional supermarkets and large retail outlets have helped in product placement as a form of advertising. In addition, the fact that Hispanic foods are all being labeled Goya is working well for the company’s policy. However, the same labeling can lead to loss of market. Poor quality products meant for the Hispanic market can be viewed by the market as belonging to Goya which is not the case and hence the company loses customer loyalty on the basis of poor quality products. This would d be against the company’s slogan: If it’s Goya, it has to be good. Profitability and budget analysis Increased commodity prices and decreased consumer sending has for the better of this year proved problematic to marketers. In a bid to remain afloat, Goya and her other industry competitors were forced to increase their prices. Therefore, as Kraft foods admitted their increase in profits this year was partly due to a 7% increase in the prices of their products. Again, going by the same argument, the target of Goya hitting the $1 billion mark this year in sales is definitely going to be a reality (Thang, 2008, pg 27). Del Monte as the other competitor has also reported profits at 11. 1%. Given that all the industries in which Goya operates are estimated to be on the rise ceteris paribus, then the market share for Goya in particular and to all the players in the industry is going to increase in the near future. Marked by such an increase in sales and profits, Goya is increasing her expenditure on marketing and promotional activities. Last year the company reportedly tripled its marketing budget to counter market encroachment by competitors. Again, there have been increased sponsorship and philanthoppy activities by the company. As a result more Americans in addition to the Latinos are turning to Goya foods for an alternative to the traditional American food to more stylized processed food.