Thursday, January 30, 2020

Kfc in China Essay Example for Free

Kfc in China Essay Is Tony Wang correct in assuming that China is an ideal market for KFC? Should KFC be pursuing the Chinese market at the present time? Considering China as a strategic location was based from a SWOT analysis. Availability of Supply (Strength) There is ready access of quality poultry in the major metropolitan areas such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing. Poultry industry is one of the top priority categories in China’s agriculture modernization and it is highly encourage by the government. Thus, the company can ensure a reliable supply of high quality chicken. Low Competitive Pressure (Strength) Potential competitors such as MacDonald’s face major barriers to enter the China market due to poor beef supply while KFC, aside from availability of high quality chicken supply, has the clear advantage since its main product-chicken- is eaten almost everywhere in the world. Furthermore, chicken is already familiar in China and even much cheaper. Company’s Control Measures (Strength) KFC s control mechanisms are designed to ensure standard levels of quality, service and cleanliness (QSC) at all of the restaurant’s chain stores. This fits the positive image in Asia of American fast food restaurants as famous, air-conditioned, and hygienic. Product Consumption (Strength) Chicken has long been regarded as a kind of nutritious food, which is especially good for the patients, the elders and children. An increase in health conscious consumers also raises the consumption of chicken. Moreover, chicken is a more popular meal than hamburgers in most Asian countries and KFC has the opportunity to offer an American style experience that is different from most other food establishments. Drawing Area (Opportunity) In late 1978, China began implementing economic reforms to modernize its economy by lessening the government’s control of the economy. This reform referred as a socialist market economy boosted the national wealth and the consequent increase in individual’s income has led to steady changes in Chinese consumer patterns prevalent in pre-Mao era. As the world’s most populous nation with over 1 billion inhabitants, the potential size and growth for KFC makes the Chinese market very attractive. Not to mention, the possibility of establishing the first Western style fast-food operation in China as a historic opportunity for the company. Scarce Human Resources (Weakness) Managerial resources are precious because of the scarcity of Chinese-speaking KFC managers. There are also possible conflicts between KFC-appointed managers and local employees. Lack of Local connections (Weakness) Pioneering in the fast-food field would find KFC very difficult to form local and personal networks between businesses and government agencies, which are crucial in providing access to the local market and domestic suppliers and eventually, to the company’s success. Entering into a relatively unknown market, KFC, as a new entrant will have to get in touch with the local business customs and laws as well as with knowledge of culture and language. Quality of Government (Threat) A communist government with strict foreign investment laws rules China. Setting up here requires heavy investment expenses and high levels of resource commitment. The risk of domestication measures may be imposed by the host government, often leading to major financial losses for the foreign investor. Overcoming Threats and Weaknesses KFC has three options of entering the China market thru, namely: Franchising, Wholly owned subsidiary and Joint venture. The traditional franchising strategy, in markets where political risk and cultural unfamiliarity exists, certainly would reduce financial risks. However, KFC had already encountered problems in the past with the aligning of corporate planning with the franchisee’s short-term focus on profitability. In addition, KFC will be pioneering in the fast-food service and thus needs to be highly sensitive to cultural demands. In such case, franchising is not feasible. On the other hand, a wholly owned subsidiary would rely upon total control over competitive advantages and ensures complete operational and strategic control. It also involves high financial risk and little country-level flexibility and responsiveness. This option is not recommended. Entering into a joint venture is highly recommended. Such an international business strategy will attempt to solve many logistics problems such as access to good quality chicken and other supplies, ease the access to Chinese market, share risk with a local entity, utilize ways to cut bureaucratic red-tape and finally, serve as a sign of commitment to the host government increasing goodwill. In addition, due to the complexity of many barriers to entry into China, a potential partner with sufficient contacts or networks with the government officials may smoothen the process of setting-up operations in the country. The potential joint-venture partner should be large, well established, provide excellent distribution channels and have personal network access to government officials. It is recommended that a partner be found by backward integration- that is, a good domestic supplier of poultry. In order to ensure total commitment, the set-up of the joint venture should be with KFC as the dominant partner. This way, cost, quality and strategic control measures are maintained. By building on each partners core competencies, knowledge, and efficiencies, a mutually beneficial synergy effect could be achieved as a result of joint venture activities. For instance, the local partner can learn from KFC how to produce a better product at a lower cost and further expand on its new competitive positioning. KFC, on the other hand, can maintain quality supply, which is critical to its success. RECOMMENDATION: The Chinese market represents a great opportunity for KFC where Tony Wang is correct in his assumptions. By finding an appropriate domestic business partner via backward integration, it is possible to further build on opportunities and significantly reduce risk throughout financial sharing, cultural sensitivity and favorable treatment from the host government. KFC should start pursuing this strategy at the present time and develop a coherent international strategy linking the China operations with the other markets. Which of the three cities being investigated should the company choose if it decides to enter China? The capital city, Beijing, is recommended as the preferred location for KFC’s entry into the Chinese market. Beijing is the center for most political activities and provides the necessary access to government agencies and business regulatory bodies. Also, it has a large population of nearly 9 million inhabitants. The numerous universities located in the city contributes to more affluent and educated people that may make them more open to foreign ideas including Western fast-food. More importantly, plenty of Western tourists are attracted to Beijing’s many tourist attractions, increasing the potential for generating foreign currency sales. Furthermore, supplies of poultry are readily available. Beijing can serve as the initial platform of KFC’s operations and later expand into other potential areas such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. One or two initial outlets should be set-up to get an insight of how KFC will be perceived in the Chinese capital. Both dine-in and take-out facilities much in line with most KFC’s international operations ought to be offered in large, clean and well-serviced outlets to cater for the customers with above-average disposable incomes. In order to serve large numbers of customers due to the sheer size of the population, the right cultural fit of the business restaurants must be highly functional and effective. Special menu-substitutions may also have to be facilitated to cater to consumers taste for traditional Chinese meals. Lessons Learned Capitalizing on Strengths and Opportunities In the initial period of KFC’s entry into China market, few of Chinese onsumers were really impressed with the food itself since the country is known to have the best culinary culture in the world. Instead, they were more fascinated with the eating experience: the encounter with friendly employees, quick service, spotless floors climate-controlled and brightly-lit dining areas, and smiling Colonel Sanders standing in front of the main gate. Having experienced the initial surprises brought by a never-seen western lifestyle, Chinese consumers have gradually calmed down and their consumption attitudes towards foreign products are getting more reasonable. Since Chinese people are more concerned with the nutrition and tastes of the fast food, KFC taken advantage of McDonald’s. By offering poultry food that is more acceptable to Chinese people compared with beef, have taken consumers needs and competition with other brands into account. Knowing the market The most prominent success of KFC in China is not only the outcome of KFC’s persistent tenets â€Å"quality, service and cleanliness† but also the achievements of its keen perception of cross-cultural marketing and its understanding of Chinese culture. Based on its scrutiny and adoption of Chinese traditional culinary arts, KFC has developed a series of products that are specially designed for the tastes of Chinese consumers. Moreover, in purpose of maintaining its image of a U. S. brand and keeping consistent with its globalization strategy, most of KFC s Chinese side dishes are defined as short-term products and would be replaced by new products. KFC’s product strategies are categorized into two aspects: 1)To meet consumers desire for novelty by introducing western style products like Mexican Chicken Warp and New Orleans Barbeque Wings. This means can satisfy young consumers who are more open and acceptable to the foreign flavors. 2)To cater to consumers taste for traditional Chinese meal by offering Chinese style fast food from time to time, say, Old Beijing Chicken Roll, a wrap modeled after the way Peking duck is served, but with fried chicken inside and accompanied with green onions and hoi sin sauce, and Sichuan Spicy Chicken which absorbs the spicy flavor of Sichuan dish. This measure can attract older consumers who are fond of Chinese food and in need of the convenience of fast food service as well.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Managing Information Systems In Organizations Essay -- Database Manage

Managing Information Systems In Organizations INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been an abundance of new technologies in the information systems field. These new technologies have altered the very development process itself. Information systems have gone from being a series of one level databases to three dimensional reality, virtual reality, and multimedia systems. In the early days of information systems, the demands were for data, with no real function of artificial intelligence. However, as the 21st century approaches, business has taken on an entirely different function, and the need for individual information systems has grown immensely. This demand for information technology is in all areas of business: corporations, law, medicine, science and even small business. In addition, the worldwide web and the Internet have added an additional factor of communications. Most information systems in use today require at the very least, a measure of Internet capability. In order to understand the changes in these development processes, the history of databases should be analyzed. BACKGROUND Database Management Systems actually began in the 1950s, with what is known as the first generation, also known as file systems on tape. The major task of any computer in those days was to process data under the control of a program. This primarily meant calculating, counting and simple tasks. Second generation databases, file systems on disk, allowed use of computers in dialogue mode as well as batch mode. The development of magnetic disks allowed for more sophisticated file systems, making multiple access possible. These first two generations of DBMS were characterized by the availability of file systems only; strictly speaking these were the forerunners of database systems, the foundations. An important component of these database systems were the static association of certain data sets (files) with individual programs that would concentrate on these. There were high redundancy problems between files; inconsistencies when one program made changes that are not made in all programs; inflexibility against changes in applications; low productivity by programmers since program maintenance was expensive; and the problem of adopting and maintaining standards for coding and data formats. The third generation, pre-relational databases, started in the 1960s a... ... rapid development in this area, not only in technology but also in functionality. Information Systems will rapidly emerge into a wealth of applications until it eventually becomes an extension of the person (maybe in a literal sense some day). That, I believe, is the future. Works Cited: Cattell, R.G.G., â€Å"Object Data Management: Object-oriented and Extended Relational Database Systems† Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1991. Gagnon, Gabrielle, â€Å"Data Warehousing: An Overview† PC Magazine, March 9, 1999. Hammond, Mark, â€Å"DRDA Standard Could Finally Get Rival Databases Talking†, PC Week, December 7, 1998. Mayor, Tracy, â€Å"Look Ma, No Hands† PC Week, July 1, 1996. Coskun, Samli A., â€Å"Information-Driven Marketing Decisions: Development of Strategic Information Systems† Quorum Books, 1996. Schindler, Esther, â€Å"The Computer Speech Book† Academic Press, Inc., 1996. Sichel, Daniel E., â€Å"The Computer Revolution - An Economic Perspective† The Brookings Institution, 1997. Vossen, Gottfried, â€Å"Data Models, Database languages and Database Management Systems† Wokingham, 1991. Watterson, Karen, â€Å"Blueprint For A Database† Data Based Advisor, June, 1990.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Pros & Cons of Textbooks

The first popes of which were printed in 1454-1455. Only forty-eight original copies are known to existence, of which twenty-one are complete, Here Is a photo of a preserved Gutenberg Bible located at the New York library. Monsoons, 2011) In 2012, Steven Krebs author of The Printing Press states, â€Å"Printing facilitated the dissemination and preservation of knowledge In standardized form this was most Important In the advance of science, technology and scholarship. The printing press certainly initiated an â€Å"information revolution† on par with the Internet today. (Krebs, 2012) The ability to ass-produce and supply books led the world to formal schooling. Out of a demand for books that were specially designed for scholars, the textbook was created. The title of the first textbook used in American schools was â€Å"The New England Primer. † According to the Library of Congress. Books That Shaped America 1800 to 1850. â€Å"More than 6 million copies In 450 editio ns of the New England Primer were printed between 1681 and 1830. † (Rosemary Fry Polkas, 2014) Now two centuries later there is another Information revolution.The move to open-source material Is on Its way to the classroom. In addition, it will be accelerated by President Beam's push to invest in creating free online course as a part of his proposal to have digital textbooks in schools by the end of 2017. Textbooks have not gone the way of tablets yet, but many educators say that it will not be long before they are replaced. Being students and having to purchase, carry, and use textbooks led to tonight's topic on the pros and cons of textbooks In the classroom. Textbooks are frequently controversial, are they up to date?Are they effective? Now its forms of presentation are subjects of debate. Five sections including the introduction, the pros for textbooks, the cons, followed with tonight's recommendation and lastly, a strong conclusion. At the end, you will learn the pros and cons of textbooks in the classroom and a detailed explanation of why our recommendation will make the most sense. Transition: The four pros in favor of the textbook in the classroom. L. The four pros of textbooks In the classroom. A. First, textbooks provide organized units of work.According to The Complete Idiots Guide to Success as a Teacher by Anthony Fredrick's, a textbook will give you all the Lana and lessons you need to cover a topic in some detail. (Frederick's, 2005) When you are a student or teacher In class, you can depend on your textbooks to have the right information needed to complete a lesson and pass a test. Teachers are able to focus on what or how their teaching because textbooks contains the tools that practices for students like linking the past and present, and recognizing cause and effect. B. Secondly, a textbook is very durable and dependable.Unlike tablets, if you drop your textbook there is no worry of it breaking. There are many varieties of textbooks. Wh en you read and learn from a textbook, you are more likely to remember that lesson later in life. According to Science Teaching Reconsidered: A Handbook, the study of text structure has focused on how a reader builds cognitive representations from the text. In addition, studies indicate that using principle-first or textbook structure is more effective for long-term retention and understanding by novice readers. We are used to using textbooks. (Committee on Undergraduate Science Education, 1997) C.Next, children are more focused and have a positive outcome with textbooks. According to an article based on literacy issued by riff. Org, states that in 11,000 reports, children's book lending and ownership programs were shown to have positive behavioral, educational, and psychological outcomes. Children whom have access to print materials or textbooks reading performances are improved. Why? When children are provided with the right material or books it helps, them read better. With great er access to books, children are able to convey their enjoyment of books or academics, resulting of improved attitudes towards reading and learning. Mm Lindsay, 2010) D. The final pro about a textbook is if taken care of properly, a textbook will last for a very long time. One of the oldest multi-page books in the world is the Etruscan Gold Book. According to Winning Lane Books, the Etruscan Gold Book was discovered 70 years ago while digging off the Stratum River in Bulgaria. Monsoons, 2011) The estimated age of this book would be 2,763 years old. Textbooks are reusable and are handed from classroom to classroom. Transition: Now that you have heard the pros of textbooks in the classroom here is some of the cons. II.The four cons of textbooks in the classroom. A. Having textbooks in the classroom can have its downsides, such as having a limited source of information, the weight it bares on a student's back and cost. According to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Teacher by Anthony Frederick's, having a designated textbook per class only provides one perspective on a concept or issue. It is a sole source of information. How good is a mechanic if he only has one tool? (Frederick's, 2005) B. Next, another problem textbooks present are the weight that it bares on a student's back.An article posted in Kids' Health on icepack safety last accessed in June 2014 the weight from books in a backpack can compress the vertebrae in a child's growing spine and can lead to poor posture and back pain. (Dowdies, 2013) I found this fact especially concerning as a student who carries books back and forth from class. At times, I find myself hunched over trying to even out the weight of my books in my bag. Now imagine an elementary school student with his or her math book on that small body. Concerning right? C. Another default of having textbooks in the classroom is the impact on the environment.In an article posted in the Washington Post in 2010 by Stephan Lawman, appear . 1. 45 million tons of paper was used to produce textbooks. (Lawman, 2010) That's must continue to be â€Å"Green† in our way of living. D. Lastly, cost is a large drawback of textbooks in the classroom. According to an article posted on Scholastic Publishes Literacy Resources and Children's Books for Kids of All Ages composed in November of 2008, an average elementary book can cost more than $100. 00. (Rap, 2008) A very popular topic of conversation in politics is educational budget and how there Just is to enough money for schools.How are we to afford books that cost over $100. 00 each? In Florida, the average class size is approximately 25 students. That is $2500 for just one classroom. The real question we must ask ourselves is can we really afford books in the classroom. Transition: Now, in detail our recommendation for keeping printed textbooks in the classrooms and why it is the best option. Ill. Recommendation A. All of those cons can easily be countered with a simpl e logical explanation. Outdated source information is an invalid argument for most courses because codebooks are recycled every seven-ten years.How much has a pre-1900 history class changed in the past 10 years? Not much, because it would be impossible to changed what happened. In addition, for most basic science class, focus on the scientific laws has not changed in a hundred years. For more advanced and current classes online sourcing may be an additional layer for resources but the textbook still offers a good basis of information on the subject. B. Textbooks are long lasting and durable. They can fall from your desk or slip out of your hands and when it hit the ground it goes not crash or have a black out moment.You pick them up and they are ready to continue from where you left off. C. Back pain is a large problem in today's society however a type of eye fatigue or eyestrain commonly caused by computers is known as computer vision syndrome. It affects about 50%-90% of computer workers. (Eye Fatigue: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment) If students start using computers instead of textbooks, this could affect them too. D. Cost is a complaint many people have about textbooks, but E-Books are usually only $10 less than textbook form. That is cause most of the cost is writing and publishing not paper.E. After reviewing all the pros and cons, we are recommending that it is in the best interest of the students and the learning process to continue using textbooks instead of adopting different technologies. Textbooks were made to be in the classroom and should stay in the classroom. Transition: Thank you for listing to our recommendation for keeping textbooks in the classroom, here now is the final wrap up. IV. Conclusion A. Remember, that nothing on this planet is perfect; there will always be pros and cons of everything that exists.With that said there are pros and cons of textbooks, as many of you know. The pros of texts books are that material is well organized i n particular sections, books are durable and you do not have to worry if you drop it, textbook will last forever. The cons of textbooks are that it limits us to one source of information, textbooks are heavy, and that it cost a lot of money having to buy new textbooks for every class. B. Based on our group's personal experiences and our pros and cons of textbooks, we feel comfortable in recommending that keeping textbooks in the classroom is best.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Achieving a Goal in In The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest...

When one is extremely dedicated, he might be more likely to achieve his goals. Santiago remains devoted to catching fish, which helps him to reach his aspirations. In The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago shows dedication to overcoming his struggle with fish through the pain he suffers, the long journey taken, and the time without fish. Being dedicated to achieving one’s dreams, despite excessive amounts of pain suffered, can help to ensure success. Santiago experiences extreme amounts of pain, yet he still remains devoted to catching fish: â€Å"He leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was†¦cutting badly† (Hemingway 82). Santiago puts up with excessive amounts†¦show more content†¦Santiago experiences an omnibus journey to catch the fish where he encounters many dangerous animals through undulated waters. He â€Å"started to climb again and at the top he fell and lay for some time with the mast across his shoulder. He tried to get up. But it was too difficult. He sat there with the mast on his shoulder and looked at the road.† (Hemingway 121) Santiago cannot alleviate his pain after the debilitating journey with the fish. He collapses multiple times because of the extremely difficult journey he endured. Santiago’s refus al to give up on catching the fish means that he is very dedicated to his job as a fisherman. When one is ambitious toward achieving his goals, he will be more likely to attain these goals. Moreover, Santiago demonstrates his ambition to catching the fish when he says â€Å"‘I’ll fight them until I die’† (Hemingway 115). Santiago says that he will fight the sharks until he dies. This means that he will die trying to fight off the sharks to protect the fish that he fought so hard to catch over the long journey. After catching the fish Santiago still remains dedicated to protecting it from the sharks, even after the extenuating journey. 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