The Contemporary Challenges Of The Muslim Ummah Religion Essay

The Contemporary Challenges Of The Muslim Ummah Religion Essay Before scrutinizing those challenges, let us have a quick look to the definition of challenges and ummah, the key words throughout this study. Challenge is a simple everyday word. If one browses through several dictionaries he will find out that the definition given by those dictionaries is more or less the same, which is a demanding or stimulating situation  [1]  . Specifically, it refers to (the situation of being faced with) something needing great mental and physical effort in order to be done successfully and which therefore tests a persons ability.  [2]   No doubt that our ummah faces many challenges, both internal and external. While external challenges come from our surrounding most of them created by the West to control and destroy us, internal challenges are challenges that occurred within us, which sometimes difficult for us to identify (and admit) and much more dangerous compared to external challenges, if we fail to manage and overcome them. This study will focus first in discussing the internal challenges and will touch about the external challenges later. Internal Challenges Disunited Ummah: The No. 1 within Enemy The first and foremost internal challenge that Muslims need to overcome urgently is their disunited ummah. As we know, the mission of the prophet Muhammad was to bring peace and unity to the feuding tribes of the pre-Islamic days. However, after the prophet passed away, the Arabs returned to their feuding wars. Blindly tribal loyalties returned. Disputes over which tribe had the right to succeed the leadership of the Muslims ummah after the death of the prophet eventually led to the most serious and dangerous schism among Muslims. Certainly, the quarrel between Muslim sects and nations are obviously contrary to the teachings of Islam. Let us admit that Islam and the Muslim world today are divided and disarray. They are unable to cope with the changes that are happening in this world and are reversing further and further backwards. Therefore, we should resolve our own quarrels to present a united ummah. Most importantly, we should never be our own enemy. Disappointingly, personal quarrels and ambitions for power seem allowed in Muslim world, which eventually disrupt government administration, leaving it incapable of addressing the needs of the people  [5]  . As a result, Muslim nations remain largely underdeveloped, poor, unskilled, uneducated and incapable of contributing positively towards the well being of the Muslims, their faiths and nations. Though many of us are blessed with rich resources, we are unable to put such resources to the optimal use, to serve and defend Islam and Muslims against those who loudly confess their hatred against us and bravely proclaim their intention to frustrate us. The bad situation becomes worse when the best, skilful and knowledgeable people of us emigrate and contribute to the wealth and prosperity of other nations, to the some extent, to the nations which are hostile to us. This frustrated situation happened because we are unable to offer these talented people with facilities, plus the conditions of our nations are unsuitable for the application of the considerable attributes that they possess, simply because we are too busy with our petty quarrels  [6]  . Thus, we need the right people to rule the nations, and to get this, the one and only situation is to revert to the teaching of Islam, the really true teachings, not the teachings which are interpreted to justify the bad things we are doing as good. If we are not sure what is really meant by the true teachings, we need to ask only few questions. Does Islam advocate wars and violence amongst Muslims? Does Islam advocate oppression of the people by the government, or destabilize the government by the irresponsible acts of the people? Can we really say that it is our religious duty to be poor, without knowledge and skills, incapable of defending ourselves against our enemies? We clearly know the answers to all these questions, and yet, we do not care to follow the Islamic answers to these questions. Instead, we quibble about small issues, fight over minor differences. We divide Muslims and cause them to fight because differences created in our practices in Islam. Fundamentalists: The True Muslims or Extremists? Another internal challenge faces by Muslim in this contemporary world is fundamentalist Muslims. Realizing or not, fundamentalism is one of the most abused word. Most of the time, it is associated with extremism. Yet, if the teachings of Islam are revised, it would be obvious that the past best Muslims were fundamentalists. On the contrary, nowadays, the people who are usually described as fundamentalists are far away from following of the Islamic teachings. Most of them have seemingly reverted to the pre-Islamic jahilliyyah ways of extreme loyalty to their groups, to fanaticism or taasub  [7]  . The answer lies in correcting or abandoning the incorrect interpretations of Islam by some of the so called ulama. These interpreters, no matter how learned they may be in teachings of the religion, or how large may be their followers, or how established their teachings, are not prophets. Prophets can not be wrong, but these interpreters of Islam can be. If Islam appears rigid and doctrinaire, it is because the learned interpreters make it so. They tended to be harsh and intolerant when interpreting during the golden day of the Muslim empires. And so, long after the Muslims have lost their predominant era, and the world has changed, the Muslim were exhorted to adhere to interpretation which are no longer adequate or relevant. What Muslims must do is to go back to the teaching of Holy Quran and genuine Hadiths, study and interpret them in the context of the present day. It is Allahs will that the world has changed. It is not for man to reverse what has been willed by Him. Islam is not only meant for seventh century Arabs. The faithful must look for guidance from the teachings of Quran and Hadiths in the present context. If we Muslims understand this, then there will be fewer misunderstandings among us, and the world will be a better place if all misunderstandings are removed. External Challenges Globalization: The Modern Form of Colonization Globalization as defined by the West is the generalized expansion of international economic activity which includes increased international trade, growth of international investment (foreign investment) and international migration, and increased creation of technology among countries. Globalization is the increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services, labor, and capital.  [8]  Some Muslim scholars are exalted and believed that globalization will benefit and give positive impacts on Muslims, while others (including this study) take a more skeptical and critical view of this process. Realizing or not, globalization in its current manifestation is benefiting the West as their idea of a borderless would simply means the unbridled flow of capital across borders. The huge amount of wealth some of us have accumulated through the extraction of our national resources has not been invested in our own countries. We have instead taking advantage of the free flow of capital to invest in the developed countries. Effectively we have enriched them  [9]  . Unfortunately, they have used our money that we have invested, to invest back in our countries, destabilize and impoverish us by pulling out their investment suddenly. Then, they take advantage of our poverty to gain control over us. Much of our money is hold hostage abroad and is actually used against us. In fact, we are not even able to use our natural resources to enrich ourselves. We find ourselves quite helpless and unable to adjust and take advantage of these new ideas and concepts. Our own resources are the cause of our present impoverishment and weakness. But, we do not really care because we always believe that they can provide us with powerful means to assert our influence in the whole world, to strengthen and protect us from oppression. All we need is simple, the will to regulate the supply. Yet, we cannot even do this  [10]  . Nowadays, colonial control of land by military strength or physical colonialism can no longer be accepted by society worldwide, even no longer necessary. Control to currency trading that globalization has introduced holds similar effects. This form of colonialism could be achieved without sacrificing the life of soldiers. When a country becomes poor, it will be politically unstable and a power struggle will ensue. As a result, there will be successive change in leadership until a candidate who is willing to submit to the world power is found. In other words, before getting to that moment, colonization has occurred. Still, there are some of us who do not believe that what is happening now can throw us back to the early days of colonialism  [11]  . When we agreed to globalization, we thought that we would be able to share the wealth and technology of the rich countries. But, the rich countries are actually thinking about how globalization would enable them to exploit the untapped resources of the poor countries by using their huge capital and sophisticated technology. Even though exploiting the poor to enrich themselves causes more poverty and misery, so long as it is done in the name of globalization, it is still considered as fair and proper. The attack on the currencies of South East Asian countries in 1997 is the good example on how they exploit globalization  [12]  . Islam stresses a balance between materialism and spiritualism, between life in this world and hereafter. The loss of the spiritual values in the West has resulted in unbridled materialism. Money is considered as the most important thing in life. As a result, money is literally worshipped as an end in itself, not as a mean to an end. Nothing must get in the way in the acquisition of more money. And in the process of doing so, economic has to be devastated, people killed, children starved. All these are perfectly all rights as long as the objective is to make more money  [13]  . Therefore, all Muslims should work together to defend the sovereignty of our nations. What we are doing is actually defending our own independence. No less than that. Do remember, those who created the economic, political and social problems that we are facing now are just like the colonists who once colonized us. Do not ever think that their behaviors have changed. As the Malay proverb says, Tigers will always have their stripes. Globalization a world without border is a terminology introduced by the West, not by us, by Muslims. Surely, the West did not come out with this new thought to lose out. It is invented for their own interest. Let us not accept it without scrutiny, without suspicion. Let us not accept all this simply because we want them to regard us as sophisticated. Let us not be proud of being praised by them when we show how up-to-date our thinking is  [14]  . Globalization might bring many benefits to us, but this new thinking will destroy us more. The attack of our currencies is part of globalization and we only end up losing. Information Technology Another Cold War Nowadays, it is obvious that information, rather the mastery over it, will determine the course of future struggles between nations. Recent breakthroughs in the field of communication and computer technologies have made it the most valuable currency of the age. If natural resources were what represented wealth and power in the past, information now claims an equal place, and is poised to become, in the near future, the most basic source of strength  [15]  . Muslim countries have struggled so hard to catch up with advanced nations. This new technology may affect this struggle in two opposite ways. Firstly, it is possible that it may take the battle still harder. The technology might make the gap between Muslims and industrial world more difficult to bridge, increase the westernization of our culture, and further tighten the grip of those already in control of the world. However, if we take it positively, the same technology may provide wider opportunities to Muslims nations to free themselves from cultural and economic influence of the West, loosen their control over the means of knowledge, and reduce its influence over oppressed nations. Of course, these opportunities will come for us only if we know how to exploit this technology to gain our objectives. It would need vision, strategy, cooperation and solidarity. That is the only way the challenges of the next century can be met. A quick survey at the state of information in Muslim countries will show how difficult it is to speak of a joint Islamic information in the absence of strong cooperation among them. The lack of comprehensive researches and field studies reflect the true state of information in Muslim societies. Therefore, any evaluation of the state of information in the Muslim world would be no more than a general opinion based purely on personal experience and observation. To cure a disease, of course we need to be clear about what really cause it. Generally speaking, information in Muslim countries continue to suffer because of several reasons continuous dependency on foreign media, low level of cooperation and exchanges of information among Muslim nations, centralization and state control of information, and emphasize more on technical and material aspects while manpower development gets low priority. It would be unrealistic, and almost impossible to believe that individual Muslim country would be able to confront these challenges separately  [16]  . Cooperation must always be the principle guidance. Instead of complaining about foreign cultural and media invasion of our societies, we must take the initiative to stop the invasion. Appeal to Islamic government to cooperate with the private sector for the establishment of joint information, advertising projects, and supporting and encouraging information industries can be one of the valuable suggestion. To ensure the successful implementation of such projects, there must be unified policies and plans to facilitate and attract investments plus a joint Islamic fund to provide loans to finance these projects. Moreover, the infrastructure of Muslim countries should be linked together, commercial information and advertising representation unified, communication mechanism consolidated and an Islamic information bloc set up. All these promises brought about by the information revolution should make us view them with optimism and make the right investment in a way that would ensure the advancement of our societies and enable us to face the challenges facing us. They should also inspire us to plan carefully and lay down a solid ground for a coordinated effort that would free us from Western information domination. The cure lies in our ills and we know the cure. What is needed is a joint initiative to start the treatment. Conclusion Perhaps, it is too much to expect that our Muslim ummah would awake and fight all the challenges discussed above. But, still, we need to fight because it is a duty towards our religion. If we learn from the Islamic Civilization of the past, it will tell us that how a great faithful ummah can lead to greatness and establishment of one of the greatest, if not the greatest ever, civilization on earth. What has been done once by Muslims can be done again, and perhaps the second one will be everlasting. It is for us, Muslims, to decide. God willing, we will awake and we will decide, we will fight, and insha Allah, we will win.

Pharmaceutical Industry In India Economics Essay

Pharmaceutical Industry In India Economics Essay India pharmaceutical industry is one of the worlds largest and it has been ranked 4th in the world in terms of production volume and 13th in domestic consumption value. The worth of Indias pharmacetical industry is $4.5 billion and it has been growing at the rate of 8% to 9% annually. Over the last 30 years india pharmacetical industry has evolved from almost nonexistent to a world leader in the production of high quality generic drugs. There are 20,000 registered units so, this show that indian pharmaceutical industry is highly fragmented. 70% of the pharmacetical market has been controlled by the leading 250 companies. The government has control over the price and there is severe price competition. 70% of the countrys demand has been met by the pharmaceutical industry. 1.PORTERS 5 FORCE MODEL Indian pharmaceutical business environment is extremely competitive and where perfect competition exits, the profits of the firms operating in that industry will become zero, but however this is not possible because, firstly no company is a price taker this means that no company will operate where the profit is zero every company needs some profit to sustain themselves in the market. Secondly they strive to create a competitive advantage to thrive in the competitive scenario. Here, we apply this model for the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Industry competition Indian pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive with as many as 10,000 different players fights within themselves. The rivalry in the industry can be judged from the fact that the top players in the industry has roughly around 6% market share and the top players in the market has roughly around 18% market share this shows that the market is highly competitive. The industry is very attractive for new players to enter, so the growth prospects is quit high. Another factor that adds to the industry rivalry is the fact that the entry barriers to the industry are very low this factor also attracts new players in the market. Product differentiation also differentiate the companys product and gives a competitive advantage to the firm in the industry. Companies like Pfizer and glaxo have emerged as a big company over the years, which act as a product differentiation tools. So as product patents have come into play from 2005, product differentiation will enhance over the long time. Bargaining power of buyers The end user of the product is different from the influencer in pharmaceutical industry and thats the doctor. What ever the doctor say the consumer has to buy that only the consumer has no option but to buy what the doctor says. But when we look at the buyers power, we look at the influence they have on the products price. The buyer in this situation does not have much power in the pricing of the products price. But the government through its policies plays an important role in regulating the price through NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority). Bargaining Power Of Suppliers The pharmaceutical industry depends upon many organic factors. Then again the chemical industry is very competitive and fragmented. The chemicals that are used in pharmaceutical industry are mainly a commodity. The bargaining power of the suppliers is very low and a company can switch suppliers without incurring a very high cost. But however, suppliers can go forward integration to become a pharmaceutical company. Companys like orchid chemicals and sashun chemicals were basically a chemical companies which later become into pharmaceutical companys. Barriers To Entry Indian pharmaceutical industry is one of the most easily accessible industry in the country. It requires very low capital and the point of sale is restricted, as regional distribution network can be created easily. However the key for long term survival is the company has crate brand awareness and franchisee amongst doctor. In establishing new manufacturing operations, there might be some problem due to quality regulations by the government. Going forward the impending new patents regime will raise the barriers to entry. But market for generics is huge, so it wont discourage new entrance. Threat Of Substitutes Pharmaceutical industry has an infinite future. This is one of the greatest advantage of pharmaceutical industry. This is also one of the reason for high competition in the industry. The biggest advantage is that whatever happens the demand for pharmaceutical products would always be there. PESTEL ANALYSIS Political Factors The Government is controlling the price of the pharmaceutical goods through NPPA , that too on the basis of approved costs. From January 2005, there was Patent Act imposed in India. The patented drug is now manufactured using the same chemical route and is manufactured by the inventor or licentiates by using the chemicals in same specifications. So there is no difference in purity or impurities among all the brands having same active ingredient. The competition among different brands is now based on input-related innovations like packaging, colour etc. This is the biggest change that environment has imposed on the industry. The marketing effort is now more focused on innovation, operations, logistics and communications. After January 2005, the finished pharmaceutical goods became more expensive as the government started charging Excise Duty on the MRP instead of the cost of manufacturing. Due to which many a life savings drugs have become unaffordable to the poor. The minister in charge of the pharmaceutical industry in India is threatening to impose strict price control. Due to which many investment plans are going stagnant Economic Factors A very small portion of the GDP is spent on healthcare. This has stunted the demand. The expenditure on healthcare is a very low priority because per capita income of an average Indian is very low. When there is an emergency then only an Indian would visit a doctor. Due to which many unqualified doctors have started to come up and non-standardized medication have started to spread. In India there are lot of taxes. There is excise duty (State and Central), Custom Duty, Profession Tax, Service Tax, Income Tax, Royalty, License Fees, Hazardous Substance handling and other charges to be paid. This amounts to not less than 40-45% of the costs. The availability of pharmaceuticals is affected as there are few registered medical practitioners. The distribution of medicines is also affected as there are few medical shops. As a result the distribution costs also increases. The interest rate is high in India. As a result the cost of funds is double than that in America. This adds to the cost of goods. There is lack of storage and transportation facilities for special drugs. The quality of the drugs administered is affected and this adds to the costs. The network of transport (road and rail) is poor. So it takes longer time to transport. As a result the inventory carrying costs are higher and the delivery time is also very long. But now good quality highways have been constructed. Social Factors The eradicated and preventable diseases like Malaria, chicken pox and TB still prevail in India due to poverty and malnutrition. Around 1 million children under the age of 5 die each year in India due to poor sanitation n health care. People prefer using household treatments for common ailments. This tradition has been handed down for generations. The increase in pollution is also causing lot of health problems in India. Due to early child bearing the health standards of women and children are affected. Technological Factors There are being discovery for newer medications, molecules and active ingredients. Lot of advancement have been made in Stem-cell research and Bio-technology. As a result, India has moved ahead. Efficiency has also increased with computerization and advanced automated machines, increasing the output and reducing the cost factor. Ayurveda has become a well recognized science and it is providing the industry an extra competitive advantage. AIDS drugs, Insulin and Hepatitis vaccines have given the industry a pioneer status. Development of Over the Counter Drugs and Outsourcing(Pharmaceutical Industry). Â  Environmental Factors India is still ill equipped to deal with spread of Air-Borne and Water-Borne Diseases like Swine Flu, chicken gonia due to which many people is infected and many people have died. Proper treatment and disposal of bio-wastes like syringes. Proper treatment and disposal of chemical wastes produced during the manufacturing of drugs and pharmaceuticals. Pollution and hygienic conditions like poor sanitation causes diseases. Legal Factors In March 2005, a new Patent Law was passed. According to that Indias pharmaceutical sector is no longer protected by the patent law. Hence the companies have started focusing on innovation rather than imitation. The government controls the pricing of the drugs through NPPA. Key Drivers For Change 1.Growing Population And Improving Income-: the earning capacity of people have increased in the past couple of years and the proportion of middleclass in india population has also increased. As the earning capacity of people has increased there is a greater demand for medical facilities and pharmaceutical products. 2. Changing Life Style-: Rise in income and as more and more people are getting educated this has resulted in change in life style. Changing life style however is leading to a change in disease profile especially in urban areas. 3. Research And Development-: Indian companies are largely focused on chemical synthesis of molecules and their cost effective production thereof. As medical science has improve with the help of new technology Indian scientists have develop a high degree of chemical synthesis skills. This skills has help Indian company to provide quality products not only to domestic market but also has helped them to go abroad. 4. Insurance Sector Giving A Lift-: Indian insurance sector has also been one of the reason in the change in the attitude of the people towards health care. As large section of Indian population are covered by health insurance schemes people are more willing to spend on their health. Industry Life Cycle The various stages of industry life cycle are : The Indian pharmaceutical industry is in the growing stage with lot of promising increase due to the increased economic presence of Indian economy. The Indian economy is expected to grow at the rate of 7-8% per annum and the pharmaceutical industry is also expected to grow at the 14-15% per annum. Foreign companies are also now finding Indian pharmaceutical industry as a very good and profitable investment. The government of india has also been promoting and helping the pharmaceutical industry to grow in many ways. Future Scenarios One of the scenario can be as india is one of the most populated country in the world the demand for health care products and pharmaceutical products will never come down. India is the second largest populated country in the world with a large number of patients and the fourth largest pool of medical professionals in the world. As Indian economic is also improving the earning capacity of a person has also increased in couple of years this has also increased the demand for quality health care products and pharmaceutical products. With the help of rapidly improving technology and support industries such as labs and hospitals and with the help of IT industries with is supporting the RD process and clinical trials are further advantage. Big pharma companies are also been attracted because of the population of the country and the fact that the country offers 700,000 specialty hospitals,221 medical college and skilled English speaking medical personnel Another scenario can be that india can produce better quality health care products and pharmaceutical products at lesser price as compare to other country. A number of foreign companies are trying to set up there RD centers in india. From the last couple of years around 25 contract research organization and almost all the multinational companies have started there research full fledged this shows that india can become one of the largest producer of health care products and pharmaceutical products in the coming years. Reputed institutions has also been established over the last decade to train physicians in ICH-GCP guidelines. In india, big companies are spend more in india as compare to other country in the FY year 2003-04 companies have spend round about USD 59.4 where as in the previous year companies have spend only USD 29.16 million a growth of 104% when we compare it with the previous year and it is projected to grow 8-10 times every year at this rate india can become one of the largest producer of health care products and pharmaceutical products. Another scenario can be as india is a developing country there is more opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to grow this is also one of the factor that is attracting new investors to invest in pharmaceutical industry. As India is a developing country there are less competitors in the market and the demand for the product is very high as compared to developed nations and as compared to other develop nations the margin level is also very high because the cost of production in india is very low. Company can create a good brand image about their product in the minds of the customer as there are only some competitors in the market.

Public Policy Problems In The Environment :: essays research papers

Public policy is defined by Webster’s as the â€Å"The basic policy or set of policies forming the foundation of public laws, especially such policy not yet formally enunciated.† The United States Government has many policies in the area of the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970 to help identify environmental problems in our nation, and to set policy on how to deal with those problems. Yet, with so much money spent by the government to deal with problems with the environment, it must be noted that problems still exist, even within the bureaucracy that was meant to help in the first place. During the presidential campaign of the last election, an issue arose concerning the â€Å"energy crisis† that was driving gasoline and oil prices up throughout our country. Vice President Al Gore supported President Clinton’s ideology of waiting for the proper legislative initiatives to pass through Congress, and when the situation merited, provide some limited releases of oil from the national oil reserve. Candidate George W. Bush, on the other had, favored drilling in the government protected lands of Alaska to find future oil reserves so that America would no longer be so dependent on foreign oil. The problem with Bush’s plan, according to Gore, was that this could be devastating to the environment of the scarcely populated Alaskan wilderness. Regardless of the political, legal or moral implications of such drilling, there are problems dealing with multiple types of rationality in this issue. In his book â€Å"Reason in Society,† Paul Diesing describes six major types of rationality. These include technical, economic, social, legal, political and ecological rational. It is easy to comprehend that this environmental issue involves each one of these types of rationality. First of all, the technical rationality is demonstrated through the question of whether or not oil can be found in Alaska, and if it could, would there be enough present to really make a dramatic difference for the consumer? It must also be considered as to how this drilling may effect the environment of this area. Technical rationality also questions whether or not there are ways to drill that can possibly leave the natural resources of this area with as little human interference as possible. Engineers and scientists can try to come up with ways to create a process with which the area will not be devastated by the involvement with man in those areas.

Word Processing Technology and the Process of Writing :: Technological Essays

Word Processing Technology and the Process of Writing Word processors have been in use in our country and across the globe for quite some time. Elementary school students, High school Students, as well as College and University students all use them everyday to produce written texts from many different genres. Pens and paper have been forgotten. Has the formal process of writing also been forgotten? Have word processors changed the way people write – permanently (I misspelled that word and fixed it using spell check)? The most recognized definition, if there is one, of a writing process was formulated by Flowers and Hayes in 1980. They were two of the first theorists to formally recognize that there are basically three distinct types of cognitive writing processes. The first is the process of planning. This is where the writer will decide what to say and exactly how to say it. The next step is the actual generation of written text. This process occurs when the writer uses their plan to produce an actual piece of writing. The last process in the Flowers and Hayes model is revision. This is where the writer makes all possible revisions to improve the quality of their written work. These three processes do not appear to happen in any specific order. There is no set pattern to follow. The order with which the writer engages in and completes each process, as well as the amount of time each writer spends performing each process, will vary depending upon the organization methods of the writer. The w riter will look at their own individual goals and decide how to manipulate the various processes to best meet their agenda. Theoretically, these students could be moving their work forward in a purposeful direction by backtracking through a given process. This model enforced the idea that writing is a recursive process rather than a straightforward linear process incapable of being altered. The Flowers and Hayes model has often been referred to as the â€Å"writing process approach.† Of course there are many other credible models for the writing process, but this definition suits my purposes by providing a backdrop for discussing the changes made by word processors on a long accepted, though often debated, definition of the writing process (Barrow 13-18). Word processors are good for storing data, manipulating and formatting individual characters which make up the text of a final written document, and improving the writing mechanics of student work as a whole.

Wal-Mart Supply Chain Management Essay -- Wal-Mart Logistics

Retail super-giant Wal-Mart has fought its way to becoming the world's largest company. Much of their success can be attributed to providing a vast assortment of products at exceptional prices all under one roof. Wal-Mart began operations in 1964 and has since become the world leader in retail. Today, Wal-Mart is visited by 138 million customers per week at their 4,750 stores. Wal-Mart operates under four basic rules in order to satisfy such a large number of customers: Respect the individual, provide the best service to their customers, strive for excellence, and exceed customer expectations. Their corporate mission focuses on a global growth strategy through concentrated integration. The company continues to expand its existing discount stores, warehouses, and super-centers. The company maintains two goals: First, Provide the customer with what they want, when they want it, all at value and secondly, team spirit through total dependency on associates to treat customers as they would want to be treated. Their business strategy is to provide well-known name brands at an everyday low price. Wal-Mart has a wide range of products offered. They offer everything from electronics, movies, books, toys, games, gardening supplies, home supplies, photo development, gifts, jewelry, and at some locations even automobile, optometry, and grocery shopping centers. In operating its network of retail stores Wal-Mart pushes their output to the general public. Wal-Mart focuses their competitive priorities on bringing the customer the lowest prices by selling in volume. The vast size and selection essentially guarantees that the store will have what the customer wants in stock and at a cheaper price than competitors. This strategy allows them to outsell their competition. In order to facilitate the achievement of their goals Wal-Mart has designed their layout to accommodate a large number of shoppers at the same time. They build expansive stores with wide aisles so that many people can feel comfortable shopping at the same time. Wal-Mart has taken the initiative to build stores in countless rural towns and smaller cities. They have increased their market share and have gained a reputable name by doing so. At the same time, this benefit has created an enormous supply chain management problem. How can Wal-Mart effectively keep all of its... ...y at creating an efficient supply chain in order to beat the competition on price and selection has certainly paid off. Works Cited Bacheldor, Beth. Information Week. ?Sen. Leahy Calls On Congress to Study RFID.? Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?ArticleID=18402616 Beatty, Vernon L., Jr. ?You Gonna Be a Greeter Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/janfeb97/ms046.htm. Bianco, Anthony and Zellner, Wendy. Business Week. ?Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful Accesed 5/3/04. http://www.businessweek.com/maganize/content/03_04/b3852001_mz001.htm ?Carrers.? Wal-Mart. Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstores/wmstores. Fishman, Charles. Fast Company. ?The Wal-Mart You Don?t Know.? Accessed 5/2/04. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html Heizer, Jay and Render, Barry. Operations Management. Seventh Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. New Jersey, 2004. ?Stauffer v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.? US Department of Labor. Accessed 4/30/04. http://www.oalj.dol.gov/public/wblower/decsn/99sta21c.htm ?Wal-Mart Effect? Accessed 5/3/04. http://www.wordspy.com/words/Wal-Marteffect.asp.

Case Study on Golf Equipment Industry

The industry overview The retail sales of golf equipment industry, which includes golf clubs, bags, balls, gloves and footwear, declined from approximately $4 billion to about $3 billion in 2003 and then rebounded to around $3. 8 billion in 2007 with many threats remaining. The changes in the retail value of golf equipment industry are closely related to the total number of golf players and total rounds of golf played in the country. The participation rate of golf has dropped approximately 21% from 27. 5 million in 1998 to 22. million in 2007, being the largest decrease rate during the same period among selected sports and recreational activities including bicycle riding, fishing, hunting, running, swimming, tennis and workout at fitness club (Source: National Sporting Goods Association in Gamble 2008, C-80,). The total rounds of golf played in the United States had rarely changed in the last decades, it is especially flat from 2004 to 2007, with less than 1% changes recorded (Source : National Golf Foundation in Gamble 2008, C-80). 7% of golf equipment sales are from core golfers-those playing at least 8 times a year and averaging 37 rounds a year (Gamble 2008, C-80). Although, there are less players and less rounds played then before, manufacturers are compelled to go ahead with their innovation and development schedule and even boost their spending in marketing (Stogel 2009). There are two types of manufacturers in the golf equipment industry. High-end leading brands, which include well known name such as TaylorMade-Adidas, Fortune Brand (parent of Titleist and Cobra), Callaway, Ping, Cleveland and Nike spent huge amount of resources on R&D for innovative designs and distributed their product through on and off-course pro shops and major online golf equipment retailers. The low-end manufacturers such as Adam Golf and Dunlop Golf with less developed technological capabilities sold their products at attractively lower prices. They mainly focus on beginner and occasional golfers through department store, large sporting goods stores and discounters. The three defining characteristics of the golf equipment industry are the number of golfers, gear design innovations and brand recognition. The United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club (R&A) had started placing more and more performance regulations to limit the manufacturers’ ability to develop equipments, clubs and balls, with advanced technological innovations, because USGA officials believed that it’s an effective way of protecting historic golf courses that could not be lengthened due to space limitations, but also ensuring that the skill is the dominant element in determining game’s success. It is believed that such performance regulations had two impacts to the golf industry. Firstly, it discourages new golfers from taking up the game. Secondly, it equalises the technological differences between the high-end market leaders and the low-end producers. In all, the golf equipment industry is a fix-sized marketing driven market with current manufacturers, each trying to capture a bigger market share by growing reliance on price competitions. The competition in this industry for market share is fierce. The five-forces analysis We take the five-forces model of competition to analyse the competitive forces in five areas that affects the industry attractiveness. 1. The competitive pressures created by the rivalry among competing manufacturers are very strong and have the greatest effect on the industry attractiveness, mainly due to: a. All leading brand manufacturers are active in delivering advanced products with design innovations in order to improve their market standing, b. All leading brand manufacturers are quite equal in size and capability. They can hardly be differentiated in overall product performances. . There are fewer buyers with less demand. d. Equalization of technological capabilities due to regulatory limitation has shortened the differences in equipment performance between low-end and high-end products. e. There is growing reliance on price competitions. The competitive weapons used by companies to outmaneuver one another include: a. Most brands started the battle of price cutting. The aver age unit selling price of most golf equipments dropped. For example: a. Drivers and woods dropped from $231 in 1997 to $174 in 2007. b. Irons dropped from $75 in 1997 to $71 in 2007. c. Footwear dropped from $86 in 1997 to $81 in 2007. d. Golf bags dropped from $126 in 1997 to $116 in 2007. (Source: Golf Datatech in Gamble 2008, C79,) b. All brands are spending huge amount on R&D for technological advancement to give a better and easier swing, they also providing a boarder range of equipments to suit golfer with different needs (Rynecki 2001). In addition, some had added adjustable features such as the TaylorMade r7 drivers, which allow golfers to move tungsten weight plugs among a series of slots located in the rear of the driver to adjust launch angle and left/right dispersion. c. Manufacturers were relying on winning endorsements contracts with touring professionals to enhance their image. For example, Nike paid Tiger Wood nearly $100 million endorsement contract in 2007. d. Custom fitting was offered by most manufacturers and pro shops. It became important to gain market share as most manufacturers introduced shaft flex options in early 2000s. 2. The competitive pressures associated with the threat of new entrants were weak mainly due to: a. The market demand does not show any increase since the number of golfers and the total rounds played are decreasing year after year b. Most golfers have a very high degree of loyalty. They are highly likely to stick to the brand that they were using and normally have strongly believes to their favourite touring professionals’ choices. Along with the high technological product designs that influence most buyers’ purchasing decisions, it has made the entry barriers very high for this industry. c. Almost all existing manufactures are experiencing unpleasant profit grows in recent years. However, opportunities for new entrants still exist for low-end golf gears market under the current regulatory conditions. The new comer may be rofitable only if it completes the following goals: a. Become a fast & exact copy cat and compete on a low price. b. Be able to find reliable & low cost suppliers overseas. c. Originally has or be able to build good distribution channels, imaging Kmart or Target to have their â€Å"home brand† golf gears. 3. The competitive pressures from the sellers of substitute product ra ises from: a. The raising number of counterfeit equipments produced in China, selling online at attractive prices and ship to the world. b. The overall difficulty of the game, time consuming issues and the high golf fees are the three main barriers for recreational golfers. The current economic crisis had forced many families to cut their spending on leisure activities. As presented in Exhibit 2 of Gamble’s original case, while the participation rate for golf was decreasing, the rate for running and workout at a fitness club showed significant increase of approximately 37% and 50% from 1996 to 2007. On the other hand, in December 2003, six leading brand has created an alliance to against counterfeiters and had recorded some successes with Chinese government’s willingness of taking severe measures against rampant counterfeiting. Golf, also known as the perfect couple with business, is a challenging sport that suits all age and sex groups. Its ability of improving social networks, expanding business opportunities and harmonise domestic conflicts was perceived by its players. The remaining golfers are more likely to be the core golfers those are loyal to the game. Moreover, various governing bodies had successfully brought golf back into Olympics, starting 2016 Summer Olympics. Thus, the pressures from substitutes are moderate to normal. 4. The competitive pressures stemming from suppliers bargaining power were quite weak since: a. The clubheads were made by casting houses in Asia, where rarely union power was exercised. The design is owned by those leading brands manufacturers and they are being selective in establishing contracts with surplus offshore casting houses. b. Most brands manufacturers co-develop shafts with suppliers that specializing in shaft design and manufacturing. The collaboration had provided attractive win-win opportunities, but weakens the suppliers’ bargaining power and feasibility. . Both clubheads and shafts suppliers had rarely chance to integrate themselves and become official club manufacturer due to the high entry barriers, as discussed in force No. 2-new entrants. Golf manufactures need to pay more attention to background check to casting houses offshore. It is important to initiate effective controls on production and shipping procedures to prevent suppliers selling the same product on black market. 5. The competitive pressure stemming from creational golfers’ bargaining power were moderate to normal because: a. Buyers are the end users, in another word, golfers, who purchase the equipment infrequently and in small quantities. b. The manufacturers’ brand reputation and images are important to core golfers. c. Most golfers are very loyal to specific leading brand and has strong believes in its product performances. However, d. The demand was declining due to the number of golfers and total rounds played are declining. e. The USGA and R&A performance regulations had limited and equalized the technological capabilities of different manufacturers. The competitive pressure stemming from touring professional golfers are strong because their choices have strong influence to core golfers who watches the tournaments. The driving forces analysis The overall golf equipment market is downsizing. There are 3 major driving forces in this industry. Firstly, the regulatory design limitations adopted by USGA and R&A had driven the competitive changes. As a result, some leading brands’ capabilities of developing a sweeter swing were limited. Lower-end manufacturers got opportunities to catch up on technological capabilities and had gained more market shares and made more profits than before. In addition, it had lowered the overall profit margins in the industry. Secondly, product innovation is another key driving forces. Although the battle on developing the most advanced clubs and balls to the market has never stopped, the battle had been upgraded by calling design innovations within golf’s governing organizations’ regulatory limitations. Thirdly, the whole market trends are to be marketing driven. To play a better market mix such as understanding buyer interests, increasing product differentiations, appropriate pricing and use effective promotion tools is the key task for every manufacturer. Leading brand like Callaway used heavy TV schedule, plus print and radio for mass advertising in order to bring its Big Bertha Steelhead Plus metalwoods and irons to market (Stogel, 2000). Winning endorsement contracts with top tour professionals improves images of the brand and influences core golfers’ purchasing decision. The above driving forces are inter-related and together influencing this mature industry by making the competitions fiercer than ever. The strategic group map The strategic group map below shows the comparative market positions of selected golf equipment manufacturers using price and design innovations/advancement. Note: Circles are drawn roughly proportional to the total revenues of each manufacturer. ) The map provides some indication of brand positioning in general. It shows that Callaway, Ping and TaylorMade are likely to struggle more with market share competitions. On the other hand, the governing organizations’ regulation driving force will fa vour strategic groups like Adam and Nike as the design limitation smoothes the differences among their innovation capabilities to the high-end ones. However, this map may not mean much as most of the product brands have their own advantages and have significant market share in some specific golf equipment. For example, Nike with a very successful record in golf apparel and footwear sales, where it was the second leading golf shoes manufacturers, had never grown to 3 percents market shares of golf clubs. In all, Nike is best positioned in this map with almost no overlapping with another other brands. Key success factors The key factors determine the success of company competing in the golf equipment industry should be closely linked to the industry’s dominant economic characteristics, driving forces and market positions (Thompson, Strickland III and Gamble 2010, p. 92). There are several factors that could affect the competition, three of them outranked in importance from three different areas. First of all, in regards to product marketing, a well-known and well-respected brand name influences buyers purchasing decision. Therefore, clever advertising using the appropriate media to gain effective contact with the potential buyers is every golf equipment manufacturers’ market focus. Over the years, winning endorsement contract with top touring professionals with respective social image had been approved to be the most effective way of creating and enhancing brand image. Nike Golf as a late comer was a star in using endorsement contract to improve brand recognition and boost sales. The company has recorded notable success in golf apparel, footwear and ball market since its 1996 endorsement contract with Tiger Wood. (Gamble 2008, C-96) Product innovation capabilities come next in this competition pool. The overall market is still very sensitive to first-to-market new attributes and features to be added on, even though the industry is considered as mature with knowledge-customers. All leading brands in the industry had put huge amount of resources on R&D and had delivered several remarkable models to market over the years, although Callaway and TaylorMade seem to be more internationally recognised by their innovation power. Thus, there is no overall market leader in innovation, but leading models in different product group (Woods, Irons, Putters, Golf balls & Accessories) for a specific time period. Another key success factor is product distribution related. As we mentioned before, leading manufactures sell their product mainly through on-course and off-course pro shops and most large pro shops have made variety of brands and models available in stock. The retailers/sales’ preferences will more or less influence buyers’ final decision at point of purchasing. Therefore, the relationship with these retailers is important, especially for brands like TaylorMade-adidas Golf that does not offer consumers the option of purchasing clubs or apparel on its website (Gamble 2008, C-92). Callaway Vs. TaylorMade-adidas, financially The financial performance of a company is usually a good indicator of how well its competitive strategy works in the market. However, the way of translating and comparing companies’ financial result has never been easy. we take the growth rate as an example by looking at the manufactures’ 2007 total sales revenue, Callaway Golf increased its sales (rounded to the nearest million) by $107M =10% from $1,018M in 2006 to $1,125M in 2007. Callaway’s net income was more than doubled from $23M to $55M during the same time. That makes the earning per share (EPS) increased from $0. 34 to $ 0. 82. In contrast, TaylorMade-adidas’ net sales experienced a 52M = 6% decrease from 856M its peak 2006 to 804M in 2007. The company’s operating profit has also gone down from 73M to 65M during the same time. It seems that Callaway performed much better than TaylorMade-adidas in 2007. But if we compare the same figures over a 4-year period from 2004 to 2007, Callaway’s increase in net sales was $109M=20%, comparing to TaylorMade-adidas’s 171M=27% increase, the result is obviously different. Therefore, both Callaway and TaylorMade-adidas had successfully coped the key competitive forces and gained comparatively healthy financial performances between 2004 and 2007, under the given economic condition. In addition, the growth rates for each product category are also different mainly stem from the differences in innovation capabilities and buyers’ perception. From the financial data given in the case study, Callaway Golf was easier to achieve growth in manufacturing woods/drivers and iron clubs, shown 28. 2% and 19% growth during 2004 to 2007. The company had struggled with its golf sales and was unable to make any positive growth on it. TaylorMade-adidas Golf found it was easier to obtain growth and maintained the market leader position in the driver category as well as hybrid clubs. Although, TaylorMade’s irons have a very wide price range from $600 to $1300 per set, with a total market share of 15. 2%, it had never challenged Callaway’s market lead position in irons. Moreover, TaylorMade-adidas also gained significant sales increases in golf apparel and footwear, shown 107% and 63% during 2004 and 2007. Note: All calculations are based on Exhibit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 from Gamble’s original case. ) Recommendations In order to improve its competitive position, Callaway should continue invest large amount in R&D to maintain its innovation capability and maintain its leading position in iron sets and putter. It should also spend more efforts on marketing issues such as collecting different customer requirem ents to help develop new equipments and bring the product line to a wider range that suits every player. More money should be spent on advertising to improve its image as a full-line golf gear manufacturer. To frequently advertise on selected fashion and life style magazines can not only increase its overall brand recognition, but also boost apparel, footwear and other accessories sales. In addition, it is also important to build good relationship with major retailers. This normally includes higher retail outlets supporting funds, sufficient professional trainings to sales representatives and more sales incentives. The improvement opportunities are all related to the main driving forces in the industry. This case analysis recommend Callaway to maintain its current strategy of being the market lead in product performance and innovation, but do not shifting its focus to price wars. Similar to Callaway, TaylorMade-adidas should also keep investing in R&D to maintain its leading position in drivers and hybrid clubs. They will also need to spend more dollars on advertising of its market share winning apparel and footwear. Find another ‘Tiger’ and lock him/her into an endorsement contract like what competitor Nike did before is always a simple but effective idea. Finally, the company will be benefit from 2 ways from offering the customer with the option of purchasing clubs and apparel by visiting its website. One is increase sales and avoid changing of mind when visiting retailers that has several competitive brands available. The other one is to do business with end customers will help the company collect first-hand information regarding the customer needs and product performance feedback. In all, unlike Callaway who aims to be the all-round manufacturer, TaylorMade-adidas should focus on winning buyers recognition of being specialised in drivers and hybrid club and the No. 1 in golf fashion industry. This analysis recommends Fortune brands to better differentiate its sub-brands and each one’s target market. Their advertising effort should then be separated in regards to different target groups. In addition, the company should also work on cost reduction opportunities in order to cut their prices to be better positioned in the market, its ZB line of iron sets is a good example.

Rich dad and poor dad Essay

BSTM III This story about Rich Dad, Poor Dad it inspires a lot of people who already read this book. It gives us motivation in life. We all know everyone has a purpose in life. Educational attainment is important to have a successful life in the future. Treasure your knowledge about the things you’ve learned. Make some experienced like working in a company and pay yourself and buy a reward for you. By sharing your knowledge to everyone that you talked to has a chance to have more ideas in what you do. Be dedicated about your work; it is important to get involved in some investment, business ventures to have a secure and comfortable life. Used your skills about how to hold your finances right. â€Å"Rich does not work for money† they’ve work for keeping safe and the willingness to learn something new. They classify the standard of living, the powers that influenced many people and the money that controls all the necessities in the world. In the ‘Rat Race’ game in the monopoly board it shows how the player needs information to invest in a good deal to win the game and how you spent your money wisely. He never exits because he keeps going around, always returning to the same place where he was before. Once we find ways to make more money working more to pay for our expenses, we find new ways to spend our money, which in turn gets us into more expenses. That is why we never find the exit from and will keep running in the rat race. Most of us got used to it because that is what almost everybody gets from life, but if you think about it for a while; we want to get out the rat race to be able to be financially independent and have a control of our lives. Many people trapped in a rat race because they do not know manage finances are important to value your money. Even if you are rich or poor you will think a good investment and keeping your money more useful and productive. The rich man has to manage their accounts, investments, properties or assets to secure their future and the next generation. While in the middle class society they work hard and they do it for their family to give them a comfortable life but in some instances they’ve work because of the money. Rich men have a more advantages in terms in finances they have consultant and the finances they manage well. Give your kids some advice on how they spent money and teach us how to be a more responsible about the money. The biologic dad was a teacher, worked for others during all his life and died poor. The â€Å"business† dad was an entrepreneur that invested his life in learning and building new businesses, and so he became rich. The poor man has an investment in education this is the good deals they do to be a better persons and learned experienced while they doing some stuff. Give your best shot and strive to life to achieve your goals. Have a positive outlook in life. Teach yourself to set yourself always be an employee of somebody that manages those concepts and takes advantage of that to run a business using the work force of other people. Learn communication skills to deal with other people. Make your own move about all the matters you’ve encountered in life. Perseverance has obtained in our individuals personality to push you around. Make things possible. Both dads’ are thinking how the money flows. Act, manage risk, and think big, think businesses don’t be afraid to take a risk. Be more knowledgeable about your surroundings and conduct a surveys or knowing your priorities in life. It advocates financial independence through investing, real state, owning a business. It highlights the attitudes in money. In their decision making was affected because they will be smart in making decisions if they go wrong to their decisions they will lose it forever. Learn to classify your assets and liabilities. Generate a cash flow in the circulation of the market. The two dads influence their children to be more responsible about the money. Money rules 1. Spend Less Than You Earn 2. Don’t Over-Think Your Investments 3. Stop Wasting Time 4. Eliminate (and Avoid) High-Interest Debt 5. Talk About Money (And Be Honest) 6. Stop Trying to Impress Other People 7. Watch Your Progress (But Make It Fun) 8. Take Care of Your Things 9. Do It Yourself 10. Plan Ahead Every Time You Spend 11. Find and Work Toward Your True Passions 12. Build Real Friendships and Relationships 13. Improve Yourself Every Chance You Get 14. Give Without Strings or Regrets In the rules of the money basically tackles about how the money flow and to planned and make your own move to improve your ideas and knowledge about the things you’ve taking care of. Makes plans, rules and your obligations to do and make it realistic and interesting. Think another strategies and techniques on how you will find a good opportunity in investing your money. Take suggestions came from your friends, relatives and other people. Researching or by attending a seminars will help you to learn a lot of new things and you will know the potentials of your money in the market. Control your money by having an accounts, cards, notes, bonds. Reading and understanding of financial statements is a must to understand how a business operates. Teach us the basic of business and finance concepts like cash flow, assets, liabilities, income and expenses. There are good points in life management. Do some ways to invent money and have an investment that nurture your future life. The objective is to learn how to handle your finances and seeking a good opportunities. It talks about a lot of financial tricks you can apply to make more money. It is the way of life to fulfill your dreams or goals that you want to achieve. Be ready to the challenges and the problems that you encountered. It develops your perspective in life and boosts your confidence to take a risk. Learn to discipline yourself and have a point of view. Get new ideas on how you can fix things eventually. You may work for others to gain experience, knowledge and insights about the businesses. The author of this book says about your financial responsibility. It talks about focusing and finding new ways are good sources of money. Many people do not learn to their lesson in life which continues now. The lives of many of us follow the same pattern. We get jobs working for others because we need money to pay for our expenses. Once we earn our own money, we are ready to buy more things. The pattern of money spending is evident. Once we get what we want, we need more money to keep our life style. The â€Å"Rich dad, Poor dad† book teaches us how to get out of this never ending cycle. It teaches a very basic, but also very important lesson about financial education that we should have learned in schools. Most of those lessons are actually advices that you should reflect upon and choose to follow or not depending on your circumstances of life. Once you learn these basic lessons you realize how you can get the financial independence that will allow you to have a more satisfying life, working only on the projects you want, instead of just wasting your life working for others in things that are not very fulfilling. It has an outstanding content that will nourish our mind and our souls. â€Å"Enjoy life to the fullest† it is a one chance that may happen to your life and never goes back anyway.