Rolls-Royce and the Stock Market Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Rolls-Royce and the Stock Market - Case Study Example Factors that are apt to influence the market are inflation, exchange rates, government takeover and marketing needs. In this paper an effort will be made to determine why Rolls-Royce plc had such serious difficulties in the 1970s and how they either have, or should try to, offset any difficulties that might arise. Over the past 20 years, with successful deregulation and innovation in important areas of the economy, Britain has been doing well, and in keeping with that economy, Rolls-Royce has also been doing well. This was not always the case for the company. The 1970s were a time of instability for Rolls-Royce, so much so they almost went out of business completely, declaring bankruptcy in 1971. At the end of the decade, Rolls-Royce was in trouble again when their exchange rate predictions went awry. Could the company have foreseen the difficulties they would be facing in their engine production and was their financial crisis due to lack of foresight or a roll of the dice With empirical research, up-to-date news, government articles and papers on the business economy, an effort will be made to answer this question. Henry Royce built the first motor car in 1904 and joined with Charles Rolls to manufacture and sell a range of cars in Britain under the name Rolls-Royce. The company was formed in 1906 and within a year, the Silver Ghost, a six-cylinder car, was lauded as the best in the world. At the start of World War I, Royce designed his first aero engine, the Eagle, which provided half the horsepower used by the Allies in the air war. With the production of the "R" engine, business continued and Rolls-Royce gained the technological base to develop the Merlin, used in the Battle of Britain during World War II, and the gas turbine for the civil aviation market which led to the Comet, the first turbo jet to enter transatlantic service . In 1960 the Conway engine in the Boeing 707 became the first turbofan to enter the airline service ("History: Timeline, 2004; "The History of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars" [online]). Rolls-Royce was enjoying success as the only "British aircraft engine company that cou ld contemplate competing in global markets" (Lazonick and Prencipe, 2004, p.6). In 1966, Rolls-Royce and Bristol Siddley merged and continued production of the Rolls-Royce aero engines in both companies. However, with each company retaining old loyalties, integration was never complete, perhaps creating the first crack in the veneer of the heretofore financially solid, growing business. At the same time, American Airlines in the United States announced a contest for a new trans-Atlantic aircraft. Both Douglas and Lockheed responded with designs, the DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011, respectively. The designs were

Critical Thinking Week 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Critical Thinking Week 2 - Essay Example Nothing is accepted on face value and every aspect of a communication, whether oral or written, is questioned to clearly identify the issues, stated conclusions, arguments, evidence in support and assumptions/omissions/fallacies. This should lead to the right conclusions and right decisions. Clear thinking is all about ‘the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking’ (Anon., n.d., philosophy.hku.hk). According to Study Guides, clear thinking involves ‘placing the facts and information in a pattern †¦ and †¦ accepting or rejecting the source values and conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Anon., n.d., studygs.net). In the following paragraphs, a memo from the Director of Human Resources, Federated State Employees Union (FSEU), Local 343 to its President, in response to the proposal of the Governor of the state of Illinois for economizing the budgeted personnel cost of the department of transportation (DoT) through outsourcing its information systems m anagement, is analyzed applying the critical thinking process through its various steps (Browne and Keeley, 2007). Analysis Step 1: Issue and conclusion The memo lays down the union’s opposition to privatization of jobs as a means to curtail costs, dilates on the perils of the proposed action on union and its members, and attempts to justify the opposition on multiple grounds. The prescriptive issue conveyed is: Should the Governor’s proposal to cut costs by eliminating certain jobs by resorting to privatization be allowed to be implemented? The conclusion is: It is not only a bad idea but also bad in law, and is in effect an attempt to control the union. Step 2: Reasons offered FSEU is questioning the rationale of eliminating jobs through outsourcing, which opens up the possibility of permanent unemployment of the concerned union members. Since outsourcing would potentially invite foreign agents with their unfair advantage of low-wage workers, the proposal is seen as anti-American and as a forerunner for similar attempts in other departments too. Further, it would lead to reduced wages as a result of competition from foreign workers. Dispersal to other departments and potential wage reduction are attempts by the management to gain control over the union. Displaced workers, if at all they get new postings, would need to learn new skills and to cope with new environs, in spite of their age, experience and merit. It is contended that employee reduction/displacement through privatization runs contrary to the Pendleton Act of 1883. Step 3: Ambiguity in reasoning The Wikipedia reference to the relevance of Pendleton Act of 1883 is tenuous and not specific. Words and phrases like ‘instability, most likely, similar, attempt to drive out old experienced workers’ are ambiguous in context and not supported by reason or evidence. Step 4: Value assumptions/conflicts The major value assumed in the memo is the union’s right to protect the i nterests of its members and for citizens at large, both on the present issue and for future. Further, it is argued that yielding by the union on the issue would weaken its position for future negotiations with the management. At the same time, the assumed threat for the union members is sought to be used to garner votes

Business Strategy In Global Environment Mcdonald Marketing Essay

Business Strategy In Global Environment Mcdonald Marketing Essay McDonalds is one of the worlds leading fast food makers, 1995 when Ray Kroc started the franchising system till now McDonalds have seen an era of constant growth in both in terms of reach to the customers across the globe or in terms of sales and profits. There are number of driving forces of its basic aims that kept it at above all system wide sandwich market throughout its most magnificent years. The idea of making a system of restaurants with low priced menu items available to local community in a fast, efficient and hygienic way as well as a enjoyable environment lead McDonalds to become worlds largest sandwich chain. (Marino, 2004. p.C213) http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQpd5oqJsfyDAeDoy7AST6YNQfaNhLV25kSdfuI_KXZH6mcilIt=1usg=__7clK98n3FRPjsriVl9qBT21ydm8= After a years of hard work McDonalds has developed its customer loyalty and brand image across the world and strong financial base to counterbalance the impact of extreme competition by the similar sandwich industry players such as Subway, Burger King, Wendys. During early 1990s, when MacDonalds intensified its international operations to balance the impact of growing competition in USA, its brand image became so popular outside USA that on its opening in Beijing 1992 more than 40,000 customers flooded the restaurant. Earlier in 1990, an opening of a new restaurant in Moscow drew about 30,000 people. (Marino, 2004, p.C214) throughout 1990s McDonalds have seen many year of radical transformation in its strategic policies besides its glorious years, particularly in the later years of 1990 most of its efforts to overcome its falling performance, customer satisfaction and monetary profits resulted in further decline in brand image as well as sales. The top management launched a plan to further boost restaurants growth and diversification away from just a sandwich maker by adding no less than 40 new items in the menu. In order to achieve the target of 10 to 15 percent of profits an investment of $420 million was made to upgrade few things such as kitchen and research and development. Despite all these efforts it appeared that nothing was working to put McDonalds back on track. (Marino, 2004, p.C215) This was the first time when McDonalds posted its first time ever fourth quarter loss in 2002. It is the same time when Jim Cantalupo took over the charge of the corporation and introduced Plan to Win strategy to win back the lost empire of unprecedented history of McDonalds. Jim Cantalupo preferred to focus companys generic strategy on marketing mix of the company in order to overcome the declining brand image and negative publicity experienced just before him taking over the company. His plan focused on offering customers a better experience of enjoying their fast food as compared to competitors. (Marino, 2004) WHAT IS A BUSINESS STRATEGY By all the management scientist and academicians business strategy has been defined in many variable ways. Strategy can be simply defined as a plan to reach from one point to another or it can be as composite as the global market place. In a global corporate industry environment strategy is a complex and comprehensive framework of actions put together after careful analysis of capabilities and strengths and the environmental impacts of peripheral forces manipulate the organization (Elkin, 1998) Strategy can also be defined as a framework which steer those choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization. (Tregoe Zimmerman, 1980) Leadership in a highly competitive market depends on narrowing the focus of business strategy instead of broadening it. Business strategy includes identification of organizations operational excellence, its customer intimacy, and the product leadership. These three elements are the powerful dynamics of a business strategy. (Treacy Wiersema, 1989) To achieve objects an organization can exploit its unutilised resource strength and capabilities or it can altogether develop a core competency. A companys strategy is a plan of its management to achieve and sustain a market position, conduct its operations, attract and please customers, compete successfully, and achieve organizational objectives. (Thompson Strickland, 2003, p. 3) http://www.softsia.com/screenshots/Deep-SWOT-analysis-software_sxtn.gif INTERNAL STRENGTH AND RESOURCE CAPABILITIES STRENGTHS: The assessment of in-house resources of an organization is evaluated in relation to the competitors. (Thompson Strickland, 2003) MacDonalds business strategy still upholds the philosophy of Ray Crok who in 1958 said that, the basis for our entire business is that we are ethical, truthful and dependable. It takes time to build a reputation. We are not promoters. We are business people with a solid, permanent, constructive ethical program that will be in style years from now even more than it is today. (mcdonalds.com) a) Market Leadership In the fast food chains in the world McDonalds has one of the strong international presence, in the USA alone it has over 13,500 restaurants and 16,500 restaurants worldwide. It was operation in 120 countries of the world with Burger King at number two in 2002 was operating in 120 countries of the world with Burger King at number two with only 58 countries. Its operating income from worldwide operations almost compared the income from domestic operations. In USA McDonalds secured over 32 percent of the sales of top no less than 30 chains in 2003 out of which about 30 percent of the sales come from its international operations. The leadership of McDonalds amongst restaurants chains have widely been recognized and have placed it in a very strong position to increase and retain a major part of this market share. (Marino, 2004) B) Financial Strength Another very important policy of McDonalds is to own all real estates for franchised or company operated location. This gives a large rental income and asset base for the company. Beverley Vasquez in his article; McDonalds Takes Bite from its Land holding published in Denver Business Journal in 1998 says that McDonalds generate more money from its rent than from its franchise fees. (Denver Business Journal 50, p. B9) its strategy to own its real estates has given it even more control over what it can do with the land. The major advantage of this policy was to choose a piece of land to build a restaurant in any suitable location to generate maximum sales and to make financial assets and remove the impact of development McDonalds keeps about 100% of profits from company owned restaurants. (Marino, 2004) like any other company in the same business McDonalds liquidity is within the industrial standards. McDonalds current ratio in 2003 was 0.76, maintaining or improving current ratio help meet current liabilities and short term debts without putting further constraints on company operations. c) Brand Image In 2003 McDonalds brand value was placed at 8th number among worlds most valuable brand with $24.69 billion (source: interbrand). Brand image is the totality of consumer perceptions about the brand, or how they see it. Companies have to work hard on the consumer experience to make sure that what customers see and think is what they want them to. (Temporal, 2002 Marino, 2004) d) Innovative Skills In a global market place a company needs to be well aware of particular needs and requirements of the people defined by their cultural and religious affiliations and their particular eating habits. Due to changing eating habits of its customers McDonalds has improved its menus many times. This was due to many reasons such as innovation in food processing and cooking and growing health awareness in people. (Marino, 2004) Its menus in almost all countries reflect the local traditional elements and tastes. Kosher for Jewish people in Israel, introduction of low fat food across the chain, and menus according to particular French, Chinese and South American tastes are a few examples. It has integrated local eating trends and traditions successfully across the world by changing the local menus in several regions of the world, McDonalds have almost always adapted to the changes in the costumers preferences despite some of its failure to regain sales revenues in late 1990s. WEAKNESSES: a) Weak Strategic Direction Chairman and CEO Alan Greenberg took the full responsibility of its poor performance and resigned after face the first ever loss In fourth quarter 2002. The collapse was mainly cause of launching many concordant initiative and be deficient of will to completely implement them or waiting for the outcome of any particular initiative. Due to this deprived strategic decision making, management was left with no clear directions. Increased competition and hostility among the franchises forced company to review its policies regarding development, association, quality and customer services. At one stage company publicized 40 new menu items and customized cooking system which cost company a hefty $420 million. (Marino, 2004) A week strategy or failure to fittingly launch a strategy may result in a week performance of the overall business. (Thompson Strickland, 2003) If a company alter its business strategy it may result in customer confusion, price oriented customer may switch to another low cost leader if the business employing a low cost strategy shifts its focus to differentiation strategy At the same time those customers willing to pay a premium price may not identify the organizations strategic change. (Parnell, John A.,2003) b) Customer Services McDonalds discontinued its principal of restaurant evaluation system in early 1990(namely QSVC, Quality, Service, Value, and Cleanliness) in order to reduce the tension among franchises and to pave way for international growth and to improve its partnership with leading superstores. It was expected that companys image would regain When Greenberg reinstituted its Quality, Service, Cleanliness inspections and mystery shopping in 2001, but in 2002 company was ranked lesser than its main rivals including KFC, Wendys, Burger King, and even US internal revenue services. c) Revenues Losses and Share value In the start of 2003, McDonalds had to face a loss of $343.8 million in its first quarter Followed by a constant decline in revenue during 12 months to April 2003. Companys share value dipped to all time low. At one point in March 2003 it was being traded at $12.50. Putting further pressure on short term and long term liquidity and constraining the company to keep equity at sustainable level. d) Employees Turnover Employee turnover is very important in any organization accurate, efficient and quick customer service mostly relies on staff training and experience. McDonalds has 300 percent high employees turnover than industry average. This clearly means McDonalds not only have to train more than average employees but also have to wait until they are fully functional and experienced. It is 40 seconds slower than its close rival Wendys in drive-thru operation but still it generates almost 60 percent of its revenue from them. EXTERNAL MARKET FACTORS OPPORTUNITIES: a) Revenue Generation The strong worldwide presence of McDonalds provide it an opportunity to produce revenues from public offering and this was experienced successfully in case of Japan. Public offering could be phased out in 120 countries of the world once McDonalds could grow strong in each country. b) Diversification materialization of mega-store and expansion in their process has unlocked a new market segment for McDonalds retail products. Further new opportunity include launching McDonalds novelty products like watches and toys to be sold across the world and going into joint schemes with non rival companies to use MacDonalds premises to uphold their product. THREATS: a) Trends in Sandwich Restaurant industry McDonalds has faced challenges by the new trends in eating healthier food alternatives along with the other industry players. Customer dietary awareness grew after findings of various scientific researches advocating eating healthy food with lesser fats, oil and sugar contents. Sandwich chain have to keep modifying their menu in order to be concerned about customers wellbeing. McDonalds has to continue focusing on adjusting its policy to reflect healthier aspects of menu items or it could be an easy target for negative publicity. McDonalds main rivals Burger King and Wendys have addressed current consumer health trends more successfully. Particularly, Wendys has responded to this with the introduction of their gourmet salad line. Typically 30% of those consumers visiting Wendys do so specifically for the purpose of purchasing salads from their Garden Sensations salad line. (Marino, 2004) Soon after recognizing the market, the super store jumped into sandwich industry by offering read ymade meals and sandwiches at competitive prices further increasing competition for McDonalds and its rivals as well. b) Intense Competition After 2003 it was expected for systemwide sandwich industry in USA to grow around only 2 percent for foreseeable future. There was a shrinkage in local restaurant industry due to increased competition amongst traditional rivals, many chains were copying McDonalds theme at that time increasing market share was more difficult in both USA and worldwide. (Marino, 2004) a large number of customer was shifting to other low price outlets of similar quality and service as they were becoming more price conscious. The ideal condition is for the strength/ competitive assets to outweigh its weakness/ competitive liabilities by an ample margin-50/50 balance is definitely not the desired condition. (Thompson Strickland, 2003, p120) PEST ANALYSIS The analysis of macro environment in which business operates is called PEST analysis its consist of four elements Political, Economical, Social and Technological. POLITICAL FACTORS Individual state policies enforced by the government greatly influenced the international operations of McDonalds. Many groups in Europe and USA clamor for the actions taken by the state pertaining to the hygiene, health and fitness proposition of eating fast food. They have pointed out that things like cholesterol are harmful for human body and adverse effects like obesity are attributable to consuming fast food products. (ivythesis 2010) On the contrary, there are number of internal policies and regulation in order to control the company, specific segments of the market focus on different fields of concern for example environment, worker protection and specially health. In all parts of country and outside the country government check all these elements before issuance of any kind of license in the respective states. In countries like India it is a looming legal dispute in the franchise of McDonalds where certain breach of rights and violation of religious laws pertaining to the contents of the food, it is highly offensive to the Hindu religion in that region to have meat in their menus. There are also other studies that points to the infringement of McDonalds Stores with reference to the existing employment laws in the target market. Like any business venture, these McDonalds stores have to contend with the issues of employment procedures as well as their tax obligations so as to succeed in the foreign market. (ivyth esis 2010) ECONOMIC FACTORS It is seen that there are always numerous problem available to fast food industry and no organization in this business are excused for any disputes and troubles, all have concerns up to certain extant regarding economic factors individually. Branches and franchises of fast food chains like McDonalds are likely to experience difficulties in case the economy of any country is hit by inflation and a rapid change in exchange rates. In conditions like this customer have to go over the usual budget and they have to think whether or not they should use up more of these foreign fast food chains therefore these businesses must think of some solutions to deal with the effects of the economic environment specially when the problem are caused by the consumer behavior these issue can lead to a serious problem as it could influence their general sales. In regarding the operations of the company, food chains like McDonalds tend to import much of their raw materials into a specific territory if ther e is a dearth of supply.   Exchange rate fluctuations will also play a significant role in the operations of the company. if a franchise operates in a particularly economically weak state, hence their products shall cost higher than the other existing products in the market, then these franchises must take on certain adjustments to maintain the economies of scale. (ivythesis 2010) SOCIAL FACTORS The surveys and articles on the international strategies of McDonalds have been working in many areas to assure worthwhile returns for the organization. The company put so much effort to improve on establishing a favorable mind set from their basic consumer. McDonalds indulge a particular variety of consumers with definite types of personalities. It has also seen that McDonalds has provide the market such as United Kingdom an extra option in their dining needs and requirements as they have introduced a valued and reasonable set of food that affectionate a reliable level of quality for the respective market where it operates.   Additionally, those who are aged just below the bracket of thirty-five are said to be the most frequent consumers of McDonalds franchises. ( 2005) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS McDonalds produces demand for their own products. Television advertisement is one of the companys key tool for marketing. It has also been seen that McDonalds are inclined to the interest the younger populations more, this can been seen in different ways such as distribution of toys in their meals offered by the company and the existence of play spots in the restaurant areas. Similar demonstrations can be seen in the commercial they make it clearly reflects their marketing strategy. They employ animated depictions of their characters like Grimace and Hamburglar. On the other hand they hire popular celebrities in order to promote their products. Their campaign regarding their logo Im Loving it is renowned across the globe and is recognized well in people of all ages. Moreover McDonalds has significantly been infused with new technology in their operating system and their biggest achievement is to introduce a Just In Time strategy Elements like the inventory system and the management o f the value chain of the company allows for easy payments for their suppliers and other vendors which the individual stores in respective markets deal with. The integration of technology in the operations of McDonalds tend to add value to their products. Basically, this is manifested in the improvements on its value chain. The improvement of the inventory system as well as its supply chain allows the company to operate in an international context. (ivythesis 2010) FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS 1. Rivalry Amongst Existing Competitors It has been seen that the competition in restaurant industry is too high as there are large number of many fast food businesses that are fighting with each other in order to get the bigger market share and to improve their customer base, McDonalds is not an exception to this, it has excelled in this sector of the market since its commencement in 1940. Nevertheless to stay competitive they started with McCafe and gained a huge success as a fast food providers. Another major step came out when McDonald started Breakfast to compete with the existing business serving breakfast. Hence, this industry is extremely competitive and the MDC should be up to date with customer taste preferences.(quickmba 2010) 2. Threat of Entrants It is hard to set up a different brand name as well as to enter the restaurant business, The cost of entry in the market is extremely high there is big research and development costs. Large established companies with strong brand identities such as McDonalds do make it more difficult to enter and succeed within the marketplace, it is difficult for new entrants to find their place as they are faced with price competition from existing chain restaurants.(quickmba 2010) 3. Threat of Substitutes There are many substitutes in this industry. Since there are a wide variety of products that people can choose, they could either be substituted by MDC Burgers, Beverages, dairy products, and others. 4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Power of suppliers within the fast food industry would be relatively small, unless the main ingredient of the product is not readily available. 5. Bargaining Power of Buyers Relatively strength of buyers is low in this industry http://maven.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/porter5forces3.gif SCHOOLS OF STRATEGY Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel discuss various approaches to strategic planning and they identify 10 different schools of thought which are divided into Prescriptive and Descriptive. We can apply Prescriptive schools for Strategy formulation and Descriptive School for Strategy formation. A) PRESCRIPTIVE SCHOOLS Prescriptive means what can be done most realistically. The prescriptive strategy takes other factors into consideration while analyzing multiple criteria and conflicting objections. After this, then chooses what strategy would or could be done realistically based on the objectives previously listed. According to the prescriptive strategy, the second best decision might be more appropriate. The prescriptive approach includes an analysis of possible decisions around a chosen solution known as sensitivity analysis. 1. Design School: This strategy is adopted by McDonalds in a way they have matched their internal situation of the company with the outside situation caused by the environment. Thus the strategy of the company is made and function to signify the best likely fit. 2. Planning School: Here strategy arrangement is seen as a prescribed procedure, which follows a thorough set of steps from scrutiny of the condition to the growth and exploration of different substitute scenarios. 3. Positioning School: This is very important approach as it is very much influenced by the Porters work, formation of strategy as an logical process that place the organization in the same context of the business the company is in, McDonald as a business used this as a strong tool of their strategy. B) DESCRIPTIVE SCHOOLS Descriptive means what is usually done. The descriptive strategy is done based on past evidence. It is something that has been most likely done in the past. 1. Entrepreneurial School: In McDonalds this approach look upon strategy formation as a visionary process, that is going on within the mind of the captivating founder or leader of the company. 2. Learning School: The whole function of this strategy is to educate people where the management of an the company take care of the workers that they work efficiently and does not work over time and incorporates these lessons learned into their overall plan of action. 3. Power School: Here strategy progress is appear to be a process of cooperation between power holders within the company, and or between the company and external stakeholders. 4. Cultural School: This strategy talk about developing a culture that makes the working condition comfortable for all this school takes the strategy formation as collective process that includes multiple groups and departments within the organization the strategy developed is thus a reflection of the corporate culture of the organization. 5. Environmental School: In response to the current challenges imposed by the external environment, this strategy structuring is seen to be a reactive process. 6. Configuration School: This is the last school and the purpose of strategy formation can be easily seen as method of altering the organization from one type of decision making structure into another. CONCLUSION McDonalds have increase its product line to ensure they have multiple products to choose form and to remain competitive to their rivals, and have focused to provide better and continuous service, they also have reduced their cost by reducing their supply chain expenses. In order to retain customers they have expanded their happy meal choices and took further step by adding premium and different coffees in their beverages menu as well as cakes and pastries. The concept of toys introduced by McDonalds for all kind of generations specially for kids was new to everyone in the market. As a suggestion they must provide special promotion during the festivals, apart from organizing birthday parties they should move on to one step ahead in organizing or sponsoring college festivals. After analyzing the marketing mix of McDonalds, it is clear that the company can be said to be `global, i.e. combining elements of globalization and internationalization. McDonalds have achieved this through apply ing the maxim, `think global, act local REFERENCE Marino, L. Jackson, K.B., 2004; McDonalds: Polishing the Golden Arches, p. c213-c234, Case Study 13, Thompson A. A. Strickland, A. J., 2004, Strategic Management, Concept and Cases, 13th Edition, McGraw Hill †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Thompson A. A. Strickland, A.J., 2003, Strategic Management, Concept and Cases, 13th Edition, McGraw Hill. †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Johnson, Gerry Scholes, Kevan; 2002, Exploring Corporate Strategy, Text and Cases, 6th Edition, FT-Prentice Hal †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Hooley, G.J., Saunders, J.A. Piercy, N. 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Arndt, Michael. Business Week Magazine, March 3, 2003. http://www.businessweek.com/@@LWIXFoUQQDDeyAwA/magazine/content/03_0 9/b3822085_mz017.htm) [Accessed: 5 January 2009] †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  McDonalds Corporation Official website http://www.mcdonalds.com/ †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Fortune 500; http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/ wwwfortune500.com †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Macarthur, Kate., 2005, Wendys Overhauls Marketing Strategies, May 19, 2005, http://adage.com/results?end http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/02/pestle-analysis-of-mcdonalds.html (Accessed on: October 2, 2010) http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml (Accessed on: October 2, 2010)

A Memorable Game of Cricket :: Art

A Memorable Game of Cricket Statement of Intention: My intended audiences for this piece of writing are teens who are interested in sports. I aim to show them that in times of need how people from all different interests come together as one to help those in need. I plan to do this with a very soft, friendly yet excited tone of writing, which I am writing a journal entry. Dear Diary, Cricket, one of the best sports any can play, where eleven fielders and two batsmen stand on a field trying to show how they are better than the other. This was definitely not the case at one of the best cricket matches I have ever been to. The Asian XI VS The Rest of the World XI match which was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January 2005. This match was played for the reasons of Charity for the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster in 2004. The match was very different to a normal cricket match where racial slurs would be thrown around and people would only be supporting their own team and putting down the other. There were many factors that made this match very special and very memorable. Well excluding the first factor that made this match special that millions of dollars were being raised to go to the countries that were hit by the terrible Tsunami disaster, there were so many others. One of the things that made this match very special, which would be near the top of my list was that you got to see all your favorite superstars in the one go. You had some of cricket’s greats including Sachin Tendulkur, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Daniel Vettori and last but not least muttiah muralitharan. To see all these players, playing together in the same teams was just excellent. Talking about teams I don’t think there were any. Even though the players were in two different teams playing against each other the crowds didn’t seem to think so. For the first time at a cricket match that I have seen people from all countries supporting not just their own country but all the others no matter which side they were on. Everyone was joining into the chants no matter which country they were from or were supporting. I being Indian was sitting in a huge group of Indians and what really got my attention was that the Indians were joining the Go Aussie Go chants and the Australians were joining into the Indian chants though I doubt they new what they meant but yet still chanting along.

Reflection on Concussions

I learned many things from the completion of my senior exit project. My research has taught me the most because it furthered my thesis statement. The research proved that if the padding was reorganized and strategically placed into the helmet, that more protection would be offered to players and the severity of the injuries would be significantly less. When I discuss this topic with my teammates, they strongly agree with my new placement of the padding because they themselves have suffered concussions and other serious injuries due to the poor choice of padding placement in helmets.I have also suffered many injuries myself due to the lack of properly placed padding, but I have never had a concussion. I learned many things about myself throughout this project. I learned that I can manage my time a lot better than I thought and stick to scheduling in order to complete this project without getting distracted. I demonstrated that I am able to do extensive research on a topic that I am in terested in as well as being involved with by being an athlete, without getting bored.Lastly, I learned I can push myself to strive to be my best. In the past I have struggled with staying on task and battled Attention Deficit Disorder which I thought would have hindered my progress, but to my surprise, I was able to finish this project with confidence. I feel that I possess the qualities needed to succeed later in life because my confidence has risen. The research developed, gathered, analyzed, and studied from this project has helped me to gain a new perspective of myself when it comes to studying and working hard.

Martin Luther King – I Have a Dream Analysis

Topic Choice: The topic choice ‘I have a dream’ was chosen after a lot of soul searching. It reveals the speaker’s previous experiences growing up and living in a segregated society. He only dreamt of being treated as an equal citizen, not based on the colour of his skin and ethnic background. This topic was directed at millions of African Americans suffering from extreme poverty as a result of being denied opportunities in their own country. The topic resonated with everyone in the crowd on that day and would be repeated several times in the speech.The majority of the people taking part in the march for freedom on that day only dreamt of being accorded the same opportunities and rights that their fellow white citizens enjoyed. ‘I have a dream’ was an excellent topic choice for the event and still remains synonymous with the struggle for freedom up to this day Word Order: In [1], the speaker acknowledges and thanks the audience for attending the histo ric march for freedom and equality, and he reminds them that that particular day would go down in history as the greatest for freedom in the United States of America.He takes them back five years ago and reminds them that despite all the joy and hope they felt when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Act, freedom was still far away. Nothing had changed among blacks, Hispanics and other visible ethnic minorities living in the United States: [1] â€Å"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity†.Martin Luther King’s demeanor was calm and collected and waited for the words to sink in the audience’s mind before proceeding with the next part of the speech. The order of his words was well org anized right from the start: [1] and [2] talks about the Emancipation Proclamation and its mirage sense of equality. [3], [4] and [5 is a reminder for the United States Government to apply the Emancipation Proclamation to all men black and white. [6] and [7] is a declaration that unless the situation was corrected by the government, revolutions and disturbances will continue. 8], [9] and [10] is a reminder to the audience of the importance of avoiding violence and to restore to peaceful and dignified protests. [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18] and [19] are all an inspirational talk that is the essence of the speech ‘I have a dream'. Stress, Intonation and Coherence: The speaker stresses the importance of his message through his tone. This was not considered an ordinary message. This was supposed to be an extraordinary message from an extraordinary man at a crucial point in the history of African Americans in the United States of America.This was the only non viole nt weapon available to millions of disadvantaged people and the speaker knew the importance of this historic occasion. The speech had been written and revised several times until the Reverend Martin Luther King felt it was now ready to be delivered. Despite all the care, thought and effort put into drafting this speech, its message would be useless if it was not delivered in a coherent and logical manner. In [2] people are still reminded that the Negro is still not free. By invoking the word Negro, he really wanted to bring the message home to thousands of African Americans across America.The tone of his voice was authoritative, commanding as well as captivating the audience. He constantly reminded black people in America how they were living in dire poverty when in fact they were living in the richest country on earth. He was aware that his message would be broadcast in millions of homes across America and the world at large. There were applauses and cheering coming from the thousa nds of people standing in the crowd urging him to go on with the speech. His message was being well received: [2] â€Å"One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition†. In [2], Martin Luther King was not only reminding black people that they were languishing in poverty and being denied all the available opportunities in the land of plenty, but he was speaking directly to the United States government and the majority of white people in America. He was merely telling them they should not forget how wealthy they were at the expense of the suffering poor black people and it was time to change the status quo.Therefore, his audience was not just the thousands of people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, but the millions of white people who would be watching and listening to his speech in their luxurious homes. Local Semantic Moves: The s peaker does not use just ordinary language to convey his message. He makes use of a number of semantics to enrich and make his message bold. In [3] he speaks of having come to the nation’s capital to cash a cheque and refers to the Declaration of Independence as a promissory note signed by the government.Once a promissory note is signed one cannot go back on that promise and by this he was reminding as well as warning the government that they had to act on their promises and failure to do so would continue to be met with demonstrations across the country. In [4] the speaker, reminds the authorities of having defaulted on their promissory note and the black people’s refusal to believe that there are â€Å"insufficient funds in the bank of justice† and that there are insufficient funds in the† great vaults of opportunity â€Å"of this nation.He invokes colorful language of banking to add meaning to his speech. He maximizes the use of his great oratory skill s. By using semantics, he keeps his audience attentive and wanting to hear more. Martin Luther King chooses his words carefully to inspire in his audience the attitude he wants them to adopt in their quest for freedom, a non violent pursuit o freedom: [8]†We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.Again and again [slightly rising intonation] we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. † Words such as â€Å"dignity, discipline, creative protest, majestic heights, and soul force† inspire a sense of self worthiness and mature dignity in the audience. In [10] King chooses his words brilliantly to reinforce the notion of a peaceful protest. He tells his audience that he is not â€Å"unmindful† of their situation. He totally understands and shares their plight and hardship. The speaker uses adjectives such as †Å"storms nd winds† in describing the audience's fight for freedom. It is like a typhoon that twirls them around and rips them apart but they have to endure it with â€Å"creative and redemptive suffering† and go back to their towns, to their demeaning jobs and to their ghettos to continue their dignified struggle for freedom. King used stimulating words to inspire his audience to seek their lost freedom but at the same time he chose his words carefully to control the probable physical effect of his inspiring words.He was protecting his hearers from any form of violence and brutality that might erupt after the speech. Speech Acts and Schematic Organisation: Throughout his speech, the speaker shows an impeccable sense of organisation and shows how gifted he is in the art of speaking. In [5] and [6] he invokes a sense of urgency of attaining freedom. He reminds the authorities of the seriousness of the matter despite the fact that he might be put in jail after the speech. Here is a man who knew anything could happen to him immediately after addressing this crowd and the nation.He displays his charisma and fearlessness: [5] † NOW [rising intonation] is the time to make real the promises of democracy. † â€Å"NOW [rising intonation] is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. † â€Å"NOW [rising intonation] is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. † â€Å"NOW [high intonation] is the time [pause] to make justice a reality for all of God's children. He emphasizes the word ‘now’ in [5] indicating that they were tired of waiting and something had to be done immediately to address these social injustices. In [6] the speaker warns the authorities of the repercussions of ignoring their requests: â€Å"There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizen ship rights. † This was no joking matter. Although the speaker was addressing the audience gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, this particular message was directed at the United States government and the whole world was listening and watching.In [7] his tone changes as he reminds the authorities once again of what awaits them if they don’t address their concerns: â€Å"The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. † Despite these seemingly harsh and inciting words, the speaker quickly turns his speech around and addresses the black people warning them never to use violence or revenge as a means of attaining freedom. He displays his rhetorical and organizing skills in the process.In [8], [9] and [10] he skillfully urges all black people in America to continue fighting for freedom none violently. Propositional Structures turn Takings, Repairs and Hesitation: In [11] the speaker shows that he is a great man of faith and strength. Despite all the injustices and persecution, he is prepared to continue leading his people in the fight for freedom. He strongly believes that all human were created equal and should be entitled to the same opportunities.In [12], [13], [14] and [15] he starts each of the next paragraphs with a very strong and authoritative voice making the same utterance ‘I have a dream’. This is met by thunderous applauses and delight from the audience. At times he seems to hesitate to start the next sentence. He is simply making sure that his message is sinking deeper into his audience’s hearts and minds: [12] â€Å"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. [13] â€Å"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. † [14] â€Å"I have a dream that one day [pause] down [long vowel] in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day down RIGHT THERE [high voice] in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. [15] â€Å"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. † The power of the speech’s title is clearly visible in all these words and they get the crowd jumping up and down, clapping their hands and nodding their heads all in agreement with the speaker. Hope and Freedom In [16], [17], [18] and [19] in the closing stages of his speech, Reverend Martin Luther King changes his speech act in order to drive the final message home.While he has been addressing the United States government and other stakeholders, his attention now turns to the African American gathered here and listening across the United States. He reminds them that despite all the suffering there is still hope and freedom is coming. People just need to persevere. In [18] he reminds the whole nation that freedom is coming to all corners of their country: [18] â€Å"So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. (a) Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. (b) Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! c) Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! (d) Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! (e) But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! (f) Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! (g) Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. (h) From EVERY MOUNTAINSIDE [high intonation] let freedom ring. † The tone in his voice changes considerably when he makes these utterances. His voice displays the seriousness, urgency and boldness associated with the quest for freedom.His concluding remarks show a man who has devoted his life fighting for equality and social justice. He reminds the American people of the beauty of allowing every human being to be free. In his mind, despite all the challenges and struggles of life, the black people will definitely be free one of these days: [19] â€Å"FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALIMIGHTY, WE ARE FREE AT LAST! â€Å"[high intonations][applause and cheering]. The Results of the Analysis: The analysis of this speech illustrates how the Critical Discourse Analysis can explain hidden meaning in language.It does not dwell on one particular theory of discourse analysis but embraces a number of theories available. Using a number of different ling uistic markers has revealed a number of linguistic traits displayed by Martin Luther King. A critical analysis of the topic choice reveals that it was chosen after a thorough and thoughtful process. ‘I have a dream’ becomes engrained in most parts of the speech as a way of emphasising the central theme of the message. The speaker’s style of presentation and rhetorical skills are unique.The speech invokes historical injustices that are still visible in American society and need to be urgently addressed. Just like the urgency with which poverty, injustice and lack of freedom has to be addressed, the speaker delivers his speech with so much punch and vigour. He uses very colourful language in trying to add more meaning to his speech. The audience are mesmerised by the strong and powerful message conveyed by the speech itself. The speaker switches his attention between the people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Authorities as he subconsciously addresses them every now and then.Overall, this was a brilliant speech on a historic occasion which managed to achieve its main objectives. The message was heard by African Americans and the United States government loud and clear. This speech has gone down in history books as one of the best speeches ever to be delivered and still remains an inspiration to millions of people around the world up to this day. The Conclusion: Critical Discourse Analysis is a powerful tool for analysing speeches. Often, some speeches especially media texts, may not be comprehensible to the audience.Critical Discourse Analysis aims to demystify anything not apparent from the speeches and it tends to be more associated with power, struggle and politics, hence it has been appropriate to analyse Martin Luther King’s speech using Critical Discourse Analysis. Additionally, Reverend Martin Luther King’s speech owes its background to years of struggling, poverty and denial of opportunities for th e majority of black Americans. He delivers the speech in a perfect setting after a long March for freedom when everyone was quiet anxious and expectant by the end of the day.The authorities were carefully watching him and scrutinising every word that came out of his mouth. Despite all the attention, he delivered the speech flawlessly and without any fear. His style and rhetoric was just unique and his speech was very well received by those gathered and everyone else watching at home. He continually repeated the title of the speech, ‘I have a dream’ as he attempted top drive his message home. In using the critical analysis approach, the writer attempted to unravel some of the hidden meaning engrained in this speech.