Jesus & Mohammed Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jesus & Mohammed Paper - Assignment Example Jesus and Mohammed singlehandedly made a greatest impact on the society of their time and shaped the course of history for over two thousand years. Their religions reflected similarities and differences in lives and deaths of both Jesus and Mohammed. Jesus was born 4BC from Virgin Mary and did not have an earthly father but was raised by his mother and stepfather. Mohammed was born 570 CE (Common Era), almost 6 centuries after Jesus, from Abdullah and Aminah, and was raised mostly by his nurse as was customary in the desert countries, as well as grandfather and uncle because his parents and other closest relatives had died when he was just a boy. (Rodinson, 2002, p.46) The lives of these great religious leaders were described in hagiographical books: Jesus’ in Gospels and Mohammed’s in Suras. Jesus was a carpenter and Mohammed was first shepherd and then caravan trader. (Rodinson, 2002, p.58) Jesus was speaking Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek (Peters, 2011, p.45) but did not write any book himself; Mohammed spoke Arabic and left records that were compiled into Quran (Phipps, 1999, p.81). Jesus started his ministry at 30 and continued it for the next 3 years. Most of the time, he was staying in Galilee. It is believed that Mohammed have received a revelation and a call at 40 and ministered for 22 years traveling more widely due to his occupation. (Peters, 2011, p.65) Both Jesus and Mohammed performed miracles. The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine at the wedding party (John 2:1-11); to contrast, Mohammed forbade wine drinking as he considered it â€Å"an abomination of Satan's work† (Quran, Sura 5:90). Jesus attracted people by miracles, signs and sermons (Peters, 2011, p.47) and Mohammed - by his teaching and wisdom. In the Gospel, Jesus is often described in the presence of women; however, there is not a single mention about any relationship or wife. Jesus did not have a wife; he was a celibate (Peters, 2011, p.46). The n umber of Mohammed’s wives is uncertain as they go in Quran unnamed and uncounted (Peters, 2011, p.180). Both spiritual leaders caused religious disruption and brought change to the traditional establishments. Their ministries and teachings led to the new religion creation rather than reformation of the old. Jesus shook Judaism, stating that he was the Son of God, while Mohammed never made such claims. Their messages were contrasting in many ways. Jesus himself did not wage any war and never ordered to kill anyone. To the contrary, he taught to â€Å"turn the other cheek†, did not resist the arrest and discouraged his disciples from the fight. Jesus’ legacy is the religion of pardon, tolerance and love even for the enemies. On the opposite, Mohammed fought in a number of battles, converting captives into Islam; he was granting them forgiveness in exchange for conversion. He wore â€Å"two coats of mail†, swinging the sword and leading Muslims into war (Phi pps, 1999, p.62) He believed that Allah gave him permission to cut infidels (The Quran, Sura 9:5, 29), calling his actions â€Å"Jihad† – â€Å"holy war†. Jesus death was public: he was crucified by Romans at the age 33 as one of the worst criminals, suffered an excruciating pain, was forsaken by all and a mob was spitting on him. However, after such a terrible death, Jesus resurrected and ascended to Heaven. The tomb he was buried in was opened three days after his death by angels. Mohammed

Human Factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Factors - Essay Example External environment plays a very significant role in the success of the business. The analysis method that will be most appropriate in evaluating the operations of the external environment is the Porter’s Five Force Model, while the PEST analysis would be used in investigating and evaluating the macro environment. Porter’s Five Force Model examines very sensitive and significant areas of the business organization (Porter, 2004). The next aspect of consideration is the internal analysis of the business in distributing the target tape to hospitals that would be very important in understanding and evaluating the operations of the business. This kind of analysis will be very important in determining whether the company will be successful or will collapse along the way. The internal analysis under consideration would include the primary activities like human resource management, finance, customer service, and marketing (Chaffey, 2009). It is however, of great importance for the business to possess unique capabilities and characteristics in order to enable the management develop a strategy that would assist in distributing quality target tapes to hospitals and health care institutions. Another important aspect to note in the implementation is the generic competitive strategies that would enable the firm fit in the competitive nature of the market. Some of the challenges experienced in a competitive environment ar e the increased demand for high quality target tapes and the growing need to adopt new technology in order to serve the diverse needs of the patients. These are the business organizations that would have the ability and the will to join the existing business environment and hence make the competition be tenser. The planners need to understand that profit levels of the business will tend to depreciate because as other organizations strive to join the product market, there will be increased rivalry (Porter, 2004). Therefore, it is

Trading Financial Risks and Jobs & Crossing Borders Essay

Trading Financial Risks and Jobs & Crossing Borders - Essay Example the US government must relax its rules on immigration and welcome more foreign skills into our land because these immigrant skilled workers create jobs in America and even for Americans. It is a very interesting idea, indeed. The aforementioned proposition was the theme of the two articles which are the subject of rhetorical analysis in this paper. The first article is Thomas L. Friedman: The open-door bailout, written by Thomas L. Friedman in Bangalore, India and published by the New York Times on November 1, 2009. The second article is Bill Gates: Testimony before the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, a transcript of the testimony given by the Chairman of Microsoft before the US Congress on March 12, 2008 and published in the Microsoft website. After a thorough evaluation of the two articles, the formal and technical arguments made by Bill Gates proved to be more convincing and more effective than the conversational and layman line of reasoning presented by Thomas Friedman. Both authors addressed their papers to the US government because the solution that they are proposing involves a shift in US immigration policies from that of protectionism to free access to foreign skilled labor. If indeed the US government decides to relax its stringent rules on immigration and issues more of H-1B visas, Bill Gates would have the better right to claim credit for the change in policy than Friedman. Gates would be in a better position to assert that his voice was heard and seriously considered by the government’s policy-makers. Gates can validly declare that his presentation have influenced, in whatever degree, the decision-making in US immigration policies. Foremost, Gates was invited by and was directly addressing the US Congress. The Committee on Science and Technology was interested in what Gates had to say. As a matter of fact, after his speech, the members of the committee took turns in asking questions and Gates had the

Refer to attachments ( Feature writing) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Refer to attachments ( Feature writing) - Essay Example The chain in the US has about 270 branches (sizzler.com). At present there are two braches in Singapore, one at Suntec and the other at Toa Payoh. Sizzler is famous for its mouth watering and sizzling steaks, crunchy seafood and creamy salads and desserts. The opening hours from 1100 to 2200 hours are quiet reasonable so we decided to be there by 0100 hours. When we entered the place I was impressed by the clean, colorful and calm look of the place. It wasn’t much of a romantic place yet I couldn’t help grading it any less. The walls were decorated by a number of attractive paintings together with colorful pictures with prices of food on it; this made it easier for us to order the right kind of food. A genial manger with a smile on his face greeted us and explained how the menu works. I liked the tranquility of the place. The dining hall was very well lit too. The sofa-type chairs fixed near the windows were colorful and seemed comfortable. The view from the windows was exquisite. The menu, with all the details and pictures of the food, on it was quite detailed helpful. There were several steak items, seafood choices, chicken varieties, and burgers listed in the menu. The exclusive Suntec-salad-bar-promotion was enticing because it offered a saving of $3. The multihued menu appeared like a rainbow. The variety of steaks was quite tempting too. The steak variety included: Sizzler steak complimented with Shitake mushroom sauce, Ribeye scallop sauce with premium scallop sauce, Teriyaki Mushroom Cheese Steak basted with Teriyaki glaze topped with mushrooms, Swiss cheese and crispy onion stack, fillet mignon, and trio pepper steak with trio pepper sauce. We, however, ordered Teriyaki mushroom cheese steak. The amazing thing about Sizzler was its separate kids’ menu with a variety of choices including Beery Patty, Chix Little, Chix Nuggets, and Fis Fis Fillet. The two kids decided to go for Fis Fis Fillet (sizzler.com.sg). The

Final Reflection &Portfolio of Final Versions Essay Example for Free

Final Reflection Portfolio of Final Versions Essay â€Å"My Journey as a Writer† I have accomplished a great deal in the past three months. As the semester ends I find myself reflecting not only on how I have survived the first semester but also what I have learned. Writing is hard work. There is so much more to it than just writing an interesting story. I also learned another important lesson; just because I worked hard on an essay before presenting it and reviewed the daylights out of it did not mean it was ready for submission. Every time I went back to read it I found new changes, typos and other mistakes I had missed before. Reviewing and revising an essay is an essential part of writing. Reviewing allows me to rewrite and make changes in the essay’s content, organization and sentence structures. It allows me to add, remove, move or substitute words to make sure it communicates effectively the purpose of the essay. The task of reviewing the essays I wrote for this course allowed me to learn and improve my writing skills; as a result my essays have evolved into more stylish and fluent pieces of writing. Out of all the essays I wrote in this course, â€Å"A Book with Nostalgic Flavor† is my favorite and the one I would like to improve even further. I would love to add more content to the body of the essay and expand it by discussing specific cooking recipes and the family stories tied to them. I think that by making these changes the essay will become richer and more pleasant for the reader. I have also learned how to avoid certain patterns of error often found in my writing. Limiting the use of complex words and use simple, straightforward vocabulary instead. Using sentences that are direct and simple instead of sentences that are long and confusing. Avoiding patterns of error ensures that my writing clearly communicates its purpose and it is easy to understand. I still need to improve the use of punctuation signs, the use of commas to be more specific. Having a better understanding of the proper use of punctuation signs helps to avoid comma splices and other mistakes that affect the natural flow a good essay needs to have. Comparing the first essay I wrote at the beginning of this course to the most recent essay I have written. I notice how my writing skills have improved, my ideas have become more developed and my essays flow better and are less awkward. Throughout this course, I have learned and grown in ways I never would have imagined. I know I still have a long way to go, but I am getting there. â€Å"A Book with Nostalgic Flavor† Many years have passed since I started thinking about writing a book . A book that combines my passion for cooking and the nostalgia I feel being away from my home, my family and the land I will forever hold dear, Guatemala. I remember I was just a child when my passion for cooking first awakened. It came as no surprise to me, since it was in my grandmother’s kitchen where some of the sweetest memories of my childhood happened. It has been almost 20 years since I left Guatemala; I was just a kid back then. I would have never imagined that after so many years the most trivial memories would make me feel nostalgic. This is why I would like to write a book a tribute to my precious homeland and an opportunity to share those experiences and the inedible imprint they left on me. Cooking is a big part of family and social life in Guatemala. Cooking recipes are passed down from generation to generation while socializing, sharing old family stories and traditions that have been in the family for centuries. Traditions that are the backbone of our family history and a big part of Guatemalan culture. It is now up to me to pass down those traditions. It is thanks to my family, especially my grandmother’s guidance and patience that I am able to keep the family recipes and traditions alive. I’m looking forward to writing this book a testament to the invaluable heritage and the unique flavor it gives to my identity. â€Å"Changing Our Lives† Earning a degree has a dramatic socioeconomic impact in a person’s life and it is the reason thousands of working adults decide to go back to school every year. For instance, a degree can help start or change a career, it can push forward professional development, and it can lead to a significant increase of income. Also, it provides each individual with a sense of accomplishment and as a result it increases self-esteem. There are countless ways in which earning a degree will impact our lives. Deciding to go back to school is the first step towards â€Å"Changing Our Lives†. That is precisely what I decided to do the fall of 2012, after almost 20 years I decided to go back to school and earn a degree. It was not an easy decision to make, the thought of juggling work, marriage and school scared me. I felt stuck, I needed to change my life and I knew that without a degree it would not be possible. I made a list of all the pros and cons, and it was clear the pros outweighe d the cons. That’s when I decided to enroll in school. I was not going to let anything keep me from reaping the benefits of having a degree. I will not continue to be afraid instead I will be brave and go back to school despite all the reasons and obstacles that had stopped me before. I am proud I took the first step towards changing my life forever, I am back in school. I know I am on my way to a better career and a better me. I’m looking forward to the sense of accomplishment getting a degree will bring to my life and after so many years of putting it off I can finally say; I am on my way! â€Å"Conquering my Fear of Writing† I have to admit that I’m not a good writer. Luckily, I can say that in my life I have not had the need to write a lot and have not faced many opportunities that required me to do so. Professionally, I was lucky enough to always have had someone help me with any projects that involved heavy use of writing skills. On a personal level, I have tried as much as possible to stay away from it because I know that I am not good at it. These are facts that I am not proud of and now I have decided to change. Registering at school is the first step I have taken towards conquering my fear of writing. My fear of writing has not helped me throughout the years. I am a firm believer that by staying away from writing and limiting my exposure to situations where I had to write I crippled myself even further. Instead of using every chance I got to write as practice and use it as a learning experience, my lack of practice only made me more afraid. I refuse to continue feeding the same cycle. I hav e decided to confront my fear and I hope that by taking this class and being back in school I will be able to learn the skills necessary to write without fear. One of the worst experiences I can remember and the one that probably is the biggest reason I am afraid of writing happened at work. I remember early in my career I was working on a report, I was aware that I was not the best writer, however, I did not think I was the worst. I decided to write the report despite my lack of writing skills only to embarrass myself beyond belief. When my supervisor reviewed it, she had nothing but horrible comments about it. I was so embarrassed I never again ventured to write anything on my own again. At this point in my life I am tired of being a bad writer, and I’m tired of being afraid of writing. I want nothing more than to be able to write a paper like the one I’m writing and not be afraid of turning it in. I hope that my efforts pay off and I’m finally able to conquer my fear of writing.

The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho Santiago Analysis

The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho Santiago Analysis Paulo Coelhos magical novel follows the adventure of Santiago, a young Sheppard from an Andalusian town who disobeyed his fathers will for him to become a priest. For this reason Santiago can be described as a determined, curious as well as adventurous child as he leads his sheep through the unknown deserts. At the beginning of the novel, we see Santiago at an abandoned church, where he has been having reoccurring dreams of a hidden treasure found at the Pyramids of Egypt. Having no knowledge of omens or Personal Legends at that point, he shrugged off this dream until he decided to visit a fortune-teller. Both she and an old man (whom he meets shortly afterward) tell him that he has a quest in life that he must realize, and that is a part of his existence. While pursuing his journey, he learns a fair bit about the world around him. Although he has been grateful to have trusted individuals such as Melchizedek, there were many negative lessons learned such as depression (the Crystal Me rchant), distant love (the bakers daughter) as well as deceit (the thief that stole his money). All of these obstacles held Santiago back on his quest to finding his Personal Legend. However, as the reoccurring quote When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it (Coelho, 62) remains engraved in his head, his levels of motivation are once again replenished. There are a number of occasions when Santiago is forced to make choices that could alter the outcome of his journey. For example, he had to give up being a Sheppard and sell his sheep in order to have enough money to be able to finance his voyage to Egypt, in hopes of finding his treasure. I find Santiago to be a dynamic character as he matures and finds true love near the end of the book. He has come to learn about the different languages of the world, of the soul and unite himself with his environment. The Soul of the World is one of the biggest spiritual advancements that Santiago discovers througho ut his journey for his Personal Legend. This term is almost directly associated with collective worship. All of these worshippers from different religions worship a certain mystery. But in the end, all of the religions point towards the same mystery that is the true Soul of the World. Santiagos dynamic qualities are more apparent near the end of the book, where he almost gives up completely on pursuing his Personal Legend. Like the Crystal Merchant, he starts to show more materialistic qualities and deems that his current possessions are satisfactory for him and that the journey towards a supplementary but greater treasure is not necessary. Evidence of this is found when Santiago tells the Alchemist I have already found my treasure. I have a camel, I have my money from the crystal shop, and I have fifty gold pieces (Coelho, 115). By the end of the novel, Santiago has acquired a lot of experienced, mostly gained by the knowledge of the Alchemist. Santiago learned to relinquish fear by listening to his heart, which guided him in the right direction and ultimately guided him to his treasure, which was found at the sycamore tree in the abandoned church at the beginning of the novel. Santiagos understanding of the Soul of the World is at its highest point during the event where Santiago was forced to turn himself into the wind by a bunch of warriors from the desert. At that point, Coelho uses figurative techniques in order to bring life to the sun, the desert, the wind as well as the heavens. The use of personification attributed to these elements demonstrates how much Santiago has learned and deepened his understanding of the world. Santiagos experience has brought him to understand the universal language of the world and is thus able to communicate with these inanimate elements. If there was one thing I discovered by the end of this novel, it is that the character of Santiago can be symbolic to the way we live our own personal lives. Like each and every one of us, we have character flaws that can often keep us from achieving our goals in life. Although most of us do not rely on omens in order to know if we are on the right track, we often rely on others invaluable sources such as our family members and friends who provide moral support to help achieve our Personal Legend. Obstacles will surely be met (we have seen many throughout Santiagos journey) however thanks to the help of characters such as the Englishman and the Alchemist, Santiago was finally be able to fulfill his destiny and finally reunite himself with Fatima, the girl of his dreams. ISU Journals: Personal Legend In Paulo Coelhos The Alchemist the author puts a lot of emphasis on Personal Legends. Upon Santiagos quest, he meets a stranger who later reveals himself as Melchizedek, the king of Salem. He reveals to Santiago an important moral rule, in which consists the foundation of Coelhos whole novel: Following ones own Personal Legend. The king describes this legend as A point in someones life where everything is clear, everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives (Coelho, 21). Furthermore, the king explains how there will be difficult obstacles to overcome in the path to realising the personal Legend. One of the obstacles presented in Part 1 of the book is a young boy who agreed to help lead him towards the Egyptian Pyramids for a cost. Little did the innocent boy know that the boy was in fact a thief and that dishonesty runs rampant in the city of Tangier. A second instance is when Santiago meets an Ar abic Crystal merchant, a man who has maintained his shop for over thirty years at the top of a hilly street. Through the crystal merchants character in Part One of the novel, we can see that he was unable to fulfill his own Personal Legend (which was to travel to the Mecca). While reading this particular instance of the novel, I felt that the merchants character greatly contrasts the protagonists quest into pursuing his own destiny. Phrases such as he had been in the same place for thirty years there was a time and it was too late to do anything else really show how much faith the merchant lost in his personal dreams. I found that this really affected Santiagos morality and hence, I listed this figure as an obstacle to the fulfillment of Santiagos Personal Legend. Nonetheless the boys depression was soon relieved once the old merchant offered to help the young boy to fulfill what he once dreamed of doing. ISU Journals: Sheep At the beginning of Paulo Coelhos The Alchemist we are brought upon the idea of the symbolism of the young Santiagos flock of sheep. Santiagos flock of sheep are first presented at the beginning of the novel. The Sheppard and his flock had ventured through the countryside of Andalusia for the past two years in search of food and water. Both the animals and their master have certainly formed a solid bond of friendship and it is explicitly shown in the text when Santiago explains They are so used to me that they know my schedule (Coelho, 4). He would read to them regularly, commentate on the views that they passed by while pursuing their journey and comfort them when they would begin to stir. Santiago also comments that the amount of knowledge and understanding that he received from his sheep is quite superior to that of a book. Although Santiagos gratitude and expressed love for his sheep are inevitable, the greater symbolism lies in the feelings of disgust that he has towards them. While reading the novel, I have noticed instances where Santiago says that the only things that sheep care about are food and water. The simplicity of happiness for animals is greatly contrasted with that of humans. Santiago is amazed by how careless the sheep are of their surroundings so long as they are provided with nourishment. This brought me to recognize that the limited perspectives on life of these sheep could in fact be paralleled with that of the Crystal Merchant as well as the baker. Evidence of this is shown when Santiago says If I became a monster today and decided to kill them, one by one, they would become aware only after most of the flock had been slaughtered.(Coelho, 7) Similarly to the Crystal Merchant and the baker, the sheep care nothing else but their material desires (being the food and water). In the case of the Crystal Merchant, he is too preoccupied with his boring daily life (for more than thirty years) and the desire that everything remains the same. According to the king of Salem, individuals who present similar characteristics to the merchant are unable to fully neither understand nor appreciate their purpose in life, nor the creations of God. This is one of the reasons that have kept them from pursuing their destiny. Setting/ Epoch Paulo Coelhos The Alchemist has numerous settings which progress along with the novel. For instance, the beginning of the story is taken place in the lands of Spain. Evidence of this is shown primarily by the name of the protagonist: Santiago and by the fact that the boy first sets off his journey in the region of Andalusia. Also, there is a passage in the story making relevance to the Moorish invasion over Spain The girl was typical of the region of Andalusia, with flowing black hair, and eyes that vaguely recalled the Moorish conquerors. (Coelho, 5) By this quote alone, we can already assume that the storys epoch is set in a pre-modern context (several centuries ago) during the time in which most technologies such as computers, cellphones were absent. Also, caravans as means of transportation are not used as much in the modern era as opposed to in the story. Additionally, the following quote provides proof of the setting by revealing the type of currency The next day, he gave his s on a pouch that held three ancient Spanish gold coins (Coelho, 9). In addition to the epoch, Alchemy was a practice that had been abandoned years ago as it had been confirmed that you could not turn any stone into another by simply melting it and waiting several years. The setting shifts to another Spanish town located in Andalusia called Tarifa. It is at this landmark that Santiago meets with the king of Salem and is given instructions on pursuing his Personal Legend. Evidence of this is shown when the author describes the scenery and mentions that At the highest point in Tarifa, there is an old fort. Built by the Moors. (Coelho, 33)The plot line shifts continents and is currently found in a city called Tangier, which is found in Morocco (North Africa). We can confirm this setting because we find that the main language is Arabic, which Santiago isnt accustomed to. Clues such as the gigantic pipe (Coelho, 34) which can also be referred to as a shisha; women with their faces covered (34) and priests that climbed to the tops of towers and chanted (34) all suggest an Arabic (Muslim) community. The final setting is in the Sahara desert, in which Santiago crosses in order to get to Egypt. Once again, clues such as the Al Fayoum oasis which is located near the Nile River as well as the Arabic people confirm the final major setting of the novel. Plot summary Paulo Coelhos The Alchemist follows the story of a young Andalusian boy named Santiago whose adventure begins after having a reoccurring dream about him and a mysterious treasure found in the Pyramids of Egypt. Piqued by curiosity, the young encounters numerous individuals, who influence his journey (both positively and negatively) to his treasure. Some of these individuals include: the Gypsy, the king of Salem, the thief at Tangier port, the Crystal Merchant, the baker, the Englishman, Fatima as well as the Alchemist himself. The main event in the story is set when Santiago is forced to make a series of sacrifices in order to obtain his Personal Legend. For example, the first instance is when he follows the king of Salems advice to sell his sheep and to travel to Tangier. The King teaches Santiago about omens which aid Santiago in making the right decisions. However, the young boy got robbed and therefore got a job at a Crystal merchants shop. There, he was able to teach the merchant on the meanings of life and how he shouldnt have given up on pursuing his own Personal Legend to one day travel to the Mecca. By making enough money, Santiago is able to pay his way across the Sahara desert towards the sands of Egypt by means of a caravan. He then encounters an Englishman, who has also set himself on a journey in order to find his Personal Legend (to become an Alchemist). Through this man, Santiago learns about alchemy and the amount of difficulty associated with it. Arriving at an oasis, Santiago envisions a horde of men attacking the desert and warns the chieftains. They were successfully able to defend against these men and Santiago finds the opportunity to meet the Alchemist in person. The Alchemist teaches the boy an innumerable amount of valuable lessons such as listening to ones heart, never giving up, understanding the Soul of the World etc. Santiago is put to the ultimate test when he has been captured by a group of Arabic soldiers and ordered him to turn himself into the wind as a display of his magical powers. By linking his heart to the Soul of the World, Santiago communicates with the sun, the wind and The Hand that Wrote All which invoked a powerful storm that brought Santiago to the other side of the hostile camp. Santiago and the Alchemist were free and Santiago finally makes it to the Pyramids of Egypt. However, Santiago is severely beaten and robbed at his final destination. One of the men describes his own dream as having seen a treasure buried at an abandoned church beside a Sycamore tree in Spain. Alarmed, Santiago finally understood this meaning and found his own treasure which has been at the starting point of his whole journey. Author relevance/ Writing Style Paulo Coelho is the author of one of the most compelling books that I and many others have ever read. I believe that the character of Santiago is easily portrayed by the author himself as both undergo a quest of self-freedom and to find their own happiness. Similar to Santiagos job as a Sheppard, Paulos dream of becoming a writer was heavily frowned upon by the members of his family. His mother told him that his father was a very bright engineer and that becoming a writer wasnt a job that got a lot of praise. As a matter of fact, Santiagos parents were equally perplexed about his dream of becoming a Sheppard. Unlike Coelhos family however, the young boys parents accepted his dream quicker than the author. The turning of point of Paulos life was when he walked the 500 plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain. During this pilgrimage, Paulo had a spiritual awakening and therefore had a different view on life. This part of his life had a great impact on his award winning novel. It is without a doubt that the protagonists name had been inspired by the city of Santiago de Compostela. Similar to the sheep in the novel, Coelho lived his life solely on food and water and wasnt living his life in order to pursue his Personal Legend, which was to become a full-time writer. The obstacles that Coelho have faced in order to become a writer, and therefore fulfilling his own Personal Legend, are paralleled to Santiagos own obstacles in the novel. Depression, thievery as well as physical assault are things that both the author and Santiago have undergone before realising their dream. Unlike Coelho however, Santiago had moral guidance as well as charms (Urim and Thummim) in order to guide him to realise his quest with better ease. After having read the authors biography, I find that Santiagos journey was not necessarily an adventure to find a material treasure, but also a pilgrimage for a spiritual awakening (similar to Coelhos path). Important messages such as listening to ones heart, following ones dream, understanding the Soul of the World etc. are things that Coelho himself has also endured. During his pilgrimage, he has ultimately formed a bond with nature and it is very apparent in his writing style when he brings inanimate elements such as the sun and wind to life. Coelho has a very interesting style of writing that appeals a lot to me personally. Many books nowadays are several hundreds of pages long and focusing too much on scenery/setting that often detract readers from understanding any type of moral or life-changing message. Similar to my literary compositions, I strive to only include key points and keep most text-fillers out. Although The Alchemist is a very short novel, Coelho avoids many unnece ssary descriptions such as the scenery, characters and his use of imagery is very limited. Even having completed the novel, we do not know of many of the characters age nor their physical appearance. The reason being is that Coelho neglected most of these useless elements to develop the storys main message: to follow ones Personal Legend. Using a linear progression of writing, the author keeps the story rolling with plot-relevant details such as what the character is doing. Themes/Connections I believe one of the most important messages in this whole novel is to simply follow ones dream. Although this cheesy theme has been recycled many times and can be found in various films and literary works alike, Coelhos writing style is what sets his book apart from the others. For example, the authors use of Alchemy greatly enforces the books central theme. As the practice of Alchemy is to transform an ordinary stone (particularly lead, in this book) to gold, we can metaphorically associate Santiago to a block of lead. The process of alchemy does take several years and this is also associated with the time that Santiago spent in the Spanish pastures, Tarifa, Tangier and the desert in order to better understand his Personal Legend. Once Santiago met the Alchemist (the final piece to the puzzle) he got a crash course on spiritual awakening, listening to his heart/soul and communicating with nature. That was the final process in which Santiago needed to undergo in order for him to be fully transformed from a piece of lead to gold, hence fulfilling his Personal Legend and finding his treasure under the sycamore tree at the abandoned church. Im sure that most of us can relate to this particular theme as we all have had our personal aspirations or goals during our lifetime. When looking at most successful people in the world such as Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Bill Gates or even Steve Jobbs, they didnt lives solely off food and water as the Crystal Merchant, Baker and Santiagos sheep did. They did have material possessions at the time but the difference is that they made risks in their lives in order to achieve their dreams (whatever they may be). The same applies to Santiago, when he made a huge sacrifice of giving up his sheep to get money in order to travel to Egypt. Many novels illustrate some form of sacrifice in order to fulfill their own dreams. Using the books theory, Mother Theresa was also an ordinary woman, who was ordained a Saint several years ago after devoting herself to help the poor. Although I have not figured out my Personal Legend yet, I believe that the book points out important problems with the world around us. I see the Crystal Merchant as a metaphor to the Average Joe of the modern era. A person that is solely content with his material possessions and the ways things are. Even Newtons first law of physics (inertia) shows us that our body loves to be found at a same position and attempts to resist to changes. Consequently, a lot of us dont travel far enough from our comfort zone because we are either scared of the unknown or scared that we will falter. Literary Devices/Predictions In Coelhos novel, the most prominent and important literary device is foreshadowing. My predictions set for my novel are heavily based on the clues I encounter from the reoccurring elements of foreshadowing. However, other literary devices such as irony, metaphors, personifications, symbols, motifs, themes are also included in the novel. The first prediction that I made within the first couple of pages of the novel was his dream about having sought out his Personal Legend in the Pyramids of Egypt along with the help of a boy. Before having completed the book, I assumed that this boy was to be later revealed as an alchemist; however the identity of this boy remains concealed. This element of foreshadowing plays a big role in the overall progression of the book as it is this incident that sparks the whole story line as it initiates him to talk to the Gypsy, in which he later encounters the king of Salem etc. After all of Santiagos influences, Ive came to the conclusion that he would nonetheless have a change in his personality one way or another. Since Santiagos journey relies heavily on the use of omens, it is easy to predict future events and the decisions that he will make in order to accomplish a task. For example, Ive predicted that the Crystal Merchant would surely travel to the Mecca to realise his Personal Legend after having encountered Santiago and deemed him as a good omen. Ive also predicted Santiagos loss of hope and that he would ultimately give up his journey after he packed up his bags to return to Spain. However, I later discovered that the omens of Urim and Thummim have signalled to Santiago that he must not give up and must in fact continue his journey to find his Personal Legend. Further on in the story, I noticed that Santiago and the Alchemist have encountered hostile Arabic soldiers on their way to the Pyramids. I then noted that travelling in such an area would le ad to their eventual capture. On the note of literary devices, personification played a grand role in the development of the climax (human traits were given to the sun, wind as well as the Hand that Wrote All). The story alludes to many characters throughout history as well as mythology. For example, Biblical allusion is made towards the king of Jerusalem Melchizedek who brought bread and wine and offered a blessing (Urim and Thummim in The Alchemist) to Abraham after he won a harsh battle. Also, in the novels prologue, there is allusion to the Greek mythologys Narcissus. This character brings to our attention that everyone is a part of the Soul of the World. Evidence of this is shown when the lake mentions I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected (Coelho, X).

Nestle: A Global Multinational company

Nestle: A Global Multinational company Brief of company: Nestlà © with headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestlà © and is today the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness company. Its sales for 2009 were $ 112.3 billion, with a net profit of $ 11.1 billion. They employ around 276,050 people and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. Reasons for selecting the company: Nestlà © can trace back its origins to 1867, from selling milk-based baby foods and condensed milk as its primary products to a market leader in todays Food Beverage Industry with more than 6000 brands under its belt ranging from coffee and candy to hotdogs and pasta. Instead of just reaping the profits from the market, Nestlà © has given back to the community by adopting social responsibilities, showing above the bar ethical behaviour and in many cases raising the standards in the industry. Its founding ethos reflects the basic ideas of fairness, honesty, and a general concern for people. Main strategic issues facing the company: Nestlà © has been facing Nestlà © boycott since 1977 due to its promotions of the use of artificial infant foods. Growing resistance of consumers against the use of genetically engineered foods in Nestlà ©s products. Increasing competition. Increasing awareness in the consumers with the demand of being socially and ethically responsible increasing day by day. Increasing control and regulations in the policies of the governments worldwide. Companys contribution to the National Economy: Switzerlands GDP for the year 2009 was estimated at $522.4 billion with GDP growth rate of 2.8% (2010 estimate). Out of which Merchandise exports for 2009 were of $173 billion. *Companys contribution to the regional economy: Nestlà © employs around 280,000 people all over the world and have factories or operations in almost every country in the world. Nestlà ©s gross revenue for the year 2009 was $ 112.3 billion and RD investment was $ 2.11 billion. *Recent strategic dilemma: Environmental impact of palm oil and the role of multi-nationals such as Nestlà © in this. Recent strategic choice: In March 2010, Nestlà © purchased Krafts North American frozen pizza business for $3.7 billion. Nestlà © has been heavily investing in Africa. Source of Information on Company: http://www.nestle.com (334 words) Executive Summary This assignment analyzes Nestlà ©s current situation and strategies in context of Global Food Beverage Industry and then recommends the key strategies Nestlà © should use to be more successful and retain its status as the global market leader in future. To analyze the FB Industry on a higher level and examine Nestlà ©s external environment, the following business models are used in this assignment: Industry Life Cycle, Key Success Factors and Porters Five Forces. And to analyze Nestlà ©s current status and its internal environment the business models used are: SWOT analysis, Strategic Factor Analysis, TOWS Matrix. After analyzing the information based on the above mentioned models, Nestlà © is currently facing issues like product recalls, stagnant growth, high logistical costs, negative publicity and false allegations which are damaging its image and goodwill in the market. To combat some of these issues Nestlà © has introduced innovative and healthier food products to cater the rising number of health conscious consumers, started focusing on the rising middle class consumers in developing and emerging economies, which has helped Nestlà © to increase their growth again post the 2009 Financial Crisis. For further improvement in the market share and company image, key strategies recommended to Nestlà © are Expansion strategy through strategically acquiring and merging with its competitors and investing in production facilities in developing economies and Growth through Innovation in health nutrition food segment. One area that Nestlà © has to care of immediately is improvement in its Public Relations management to create a high level of loyalty and trust in its customers by building and reinforcing the notion that Nestlà © still follows its founding ethos of fairness, honesty, and a general concern for people. (277 words) Industry Life Cycle Introduction Growth Maturity Decline Time I ND U S T R Y SALES The Global Food, Beverage and Tobacco Industrys growth has slowed down in recent years. But all this is set to change due to the recent technological advancements, rapid globalisation and opening up of the many restricted markets worldwide such as India, China, African nations, etc. With the technological advancements in food processing, handling and storing capacity and the rapid emergence of organized retailing in Asia, Africa, and other third world countries, along with fast changing demographics and habits has changed consumption the patterns and is fuelling the next growth trajectory for the global food, beverage and tobacco industry. The Global Food, Beverage and Tobacco Industry is in the High Growth stage of the growth phase as the increase in sales has slowed down in recent years. The global food, beverage tobacco industry generated total revenues of $6,319.2 billion in 2009, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4% for the period spanning 2005-2009. Food sales generated total revenues of $4,235.4 billion, equivalent to 67.1% of the industrys overall value and sale of beverages generated revenues of $1,581.7 billion in 2009, equating to 25% of the industrys aggregate revenues. The industry is forecasted to grow at CAGR of 3.8% for the five year period 2009-2014. Nestlà © recorded revenues of $99 billion in year ending December 2009, showing decrease of 2.1% compared to fiscal 2008. In 2009, Nestlà © renovated 7,252 products for nutrition or health reasons, as health awareness among consumers is rapidly increasing and it wants capitalize on the health conscious trend. Nestlà © has been active in Developing Emerging (DE) economies through its subsidiaries in Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and Latin America. Nestlà ©s sales in emerging countries accounted for almost 32.5% of total revenue and reached $32.32 billion in 2009. According to IMF, the advanced economies are set to grow at 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively, in 2010 and 2011, while the DE economies are forecasted to grow at 6% and 6.3% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Therefore in the future, Nestlà ©s growth will be driven by high-growth DE economies. Key Factors for Success Key Success Factors Weight Rating Weighted Scorecard Rating Weighted Scorecard Rating Weighted Scorecard Branding 0.20 5.00 1.00 4.00 0.80 4.50 0.90 Diversification 0.15 4.50 0.67 4.00 0.60 4.50 0.67 Product Quality 0.15 4.00 0.60 4.00 0.60 4.00 0.60 Pricing 0.15 3.50 0.52 3.50 0.52 4.00 0.60 Distribution Network 0.10 5.00 0.50 3.50 0.35 5.00 0.50 Packaging 0.10 4.00 0.40 3.50 0.35 4.50 0.45 R D 0.10 5.00 0.50 3.00 0.30 4.50 0.45 Market Dominance 0.05 5.00 0.25 4.50 0.22 4.00 0.20 Total 1.00 4.44 3.74 4.37 Key Factors for Success in the Food and Beverage Industry: Branding in FB industry is of utmost importance as people do not prefer to buy products that they are not familiar with; also in this industry brand image is everything as it can attract consumers to a companys new products if it is already reputable in the market. Diversification in FB industry are almost always related as companies prefer to have a healthy portfolio of products while still maintaining their core competencies and using them in their related products; as by having a large range of products a company will be more competitive and would not have to rely on a single product. Product quality is very important in FB industry, as bad quality products can will lead to consumer boycott of the companys products, health issues in consumers and lawsuits against the company. While quality of the products also have to justify their prices, such as normal milk chocolates (Nestlà ©, Cadbury, etc.) cannot be priced high while specialty chocolates (Lindt, Godiva, etc.) are high priced. A strong distribution network is a must in FB industry as it gives the companies low costs operations, fast delivery, and optimal shelf presence in retail stores. RD is vital for gaining market share for the companies as development of better tasting, more nutritional and new foods beverages is the fastest way of capitalizing on the fast changing trends of the consumers (like current healthy organic food trend). Two of the many competitors that Nestlà © has, I have chosen Kraft Foods and Unilever for the comparison of KFS. After analyzing the KFS it is clear that Nestlà ©s response to the current and expected key success factors is above the industry average, with Unilever quite close behind and Kraft Foods just managing the industry average. So the analysis of KFS also reinforces Nestlà ©s position as the largest FB Company in the world. Porters Five Forces Model: Potential Entrants: Product Differentiation Switching Costs Distribution Channels Cost Disadvantages Suppliers: Financially weak Large no. of suppliers Buyers can do Backward Integration Substitutes: Private label products Niche products Cheaper alternatives available Buyers: Large Retailers Financially strong Backward Integration Low Profit margin Other Stakeholders: Health Groups Environmental Groups Fair Trade Organizations Rivalry among existing firms: Large number of players Dominance of big players Highly diversified markets Analysis of Porters Five Forces: The Bargaining Power of Suppliers (Low): The bargaining power of suppliers in FB Industry low as the raw materials for this industry includes fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, dairy products and grains, tobacco, cereals and grains, etc which could be purchased in the open markets around the world. And some FB producers have integrated backwards into producing their own raw materials, negating the need for suppliers. Also suppliers tend to be financially quite weak giving market players upper hand. The Bargaining Power of Buyers (High): The bargaining power of suppliers on the other hand is quite high as typical buyers are large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, etc. who are financially very strong and usually make large purchases and enter into long term contracts with market players; as the profit margins for the buyers is quite low. So loss of one retailer could significantly impact upon a manufacturers revenue. Buyers are frequently integrating backwards, with many retail chains offering their own branded packaged food goods usually referred to as Private label products. The Threat of Potential New Entrants (Present): The threat of new entrants is high for small players who only serve few products and few markets (regional or national players) but is low for highly diversified big market players such as Nestlà ©, Unilever, etc. who operate globally. Since its a highly fragmented market small-scale entrance by occupying a niche in the industry is possible and high these days. But new entrants have to bear switching costs (which can be quite high) as its very hard to convince consumers to try new brands/products. Also big players can restrict the access to distribution channels for new players through their contacts and power in the market. The Threat of Substitutes (High): The substitutes are often cheaper and just as popular with consumers in FB Industry as most of the products in this industry are in a way a substitute of some other products, like Tea for Coffee, Coke for Pepsi, NutraSweet for Sugar, etc. These days private label products, organic foods; nutritional foods, etc. are also rapidly substituting the packaged foods. And there are almost no switching costs for end consumers as they just pick any new products instead of their regular ones if they want to experiment. The Extent of Competitive Rivalry (High): The competitive rivalry among the firms is quite high in this industry as the enormous size of the industry creates endless opportunities for the players to compete for. Large number of players, ready availability of substitutes, low entry barriers, low bargaining power of suppliers and fast changing customer tastes intensifies rivalry in the FB Industry. And also slow down of sales in the industry in 2009 will intensify the competition in the market, as everyone would try and gain market share now by take sales away from other competitors. Relative Power of Other Stakeholders (High): SWOT Analysis: Internal Factors Analysis Summary (IFAS): Internal Factors Weight Rating Weighted Score Comments Strengths S1: Finance 0.15 5.00 0.75 Low debt/asset ratio S2: Global Presence 0.10 4.50 0.45 Market Leader S3: Brand 0.10 4.50 0.45 One of USAs most admired S4: RD 0.10 5.00 0.50 Industry leader S5: Diversified Portfolio 0.05 4.50 0.22 More than 6000 brands Weaknesses W1: Quality Control 0.20 3.50 0.70 Increase in product recalls W2: Growth 0.10 3.00 0.30 Growth recovery slow W3: Emerging Markets 0.10 3.20 0.32 Less emphasis W4: Logistics Cost 0.05 2.00 0.10 Quite high W5: Perceived Image 0.05 2.00 0.10 Considered to put profit first Total Score 1.00 3.89 Strengths: Nestlà © apart from being the market leader in FB Industry is also financially very strong with highly diversified portfolio of more than 6000 brands, global presence, and strong RD capabilities; and in the process has developed a very strong brand image which it uses as leverage to generate high sales. As it has global presence it has customized its products according to consumer preferences in the local markets. Nestlà © is also the leading company to invest heavily in RD (annual invest of $ 1.8 billon approx.) as it considers innovation as one of its primary growth drivers. Weaknesses: Due to the sheer size and geographical diversity of Nestlà ©, controlling quality in many of its factories and supply chains is becoming difficult for Nestlà ©; which in turn is resulting in product recalls, loss of goodwill, and effect to the brand image of the company, which can lead to low customer loyalty. Another one aspect where Nestlà © is lagging behind is that it has not been focusing much on emerging markets as majority of its sales are from developed markets. Its logistical costs and inventory management costs are also quite high due to its geographical diversity. Its growth has been has slow after the economic downturn as compared the industry as a whole, which has been on the recovery track since. External Factors Analysis Summary (EFAS): External Factors Weight Rating Weighted Score Comments Opportunities O1: Health food trend 0.15 4.50 0.67 Rise in health consciousness O2: Developing Emerging economies 0.10 3.50 0.35 High growth rate O3: Opening of Eastern Europe 0.05 3.00 0.15 Can expand there O4: Out-of-home consumption 0.10 3.50 0.35 More than 40% in Americas O5: Premiumisation 0.10 3.20 0.32 Growing incomes Threats T1: Rising prices of raw materials 0.10 3.00 0.30 Climate change food shortages T2: Specialized competitors 0.15 3.50 0.52 General Mills in Yogurt Mkt. T3: Increasing Regulations 0.15 4.00 0.60 Spats with FDA T4: Currency Fluctuations 0.05 2.50 0.12 Strong Swiss Franc T5: Negative Publicity 0.05 3.00 0.15 Due to alleged unethical business practices Total Score 1.00 3.53 Opportunities: One of the major opportunities which can be the future growth driver for Nestlà © is healthy and nutritional foods segment, as by 2014 the global organic food market is forecasted grow by 60.7% since 2009 and while the global functional drinks market is forecasted to grow by 32.9% since 2009. Also further penetrating the Asian, African and Eastern European markets by using merger, acquisition and joint venture strategies can also be a major growth driver for Nestlà ©. The growing level of incomes of the middle class around the world is also providing Nestlà © with opportunities for launching its premium products such as Mà ¶venpick, etc. in the developing economies. Threats: Two of the major factors threatening Nestlà © are specialized competitors and increasing regulations by government bodies. As Nestlà © is highly diversified it faces problems when it has to compete with competitors who are highly specialized in one product such General Mills in US Yogurt Market. Also any change or stricter enforcement of regulations by government bodies like FDA, tend to threaten Nestlà © as it would have to change its production process or may even face lawsuits pay fines due to some violations of the regulations, which will also give rise negative publicity about the company. Due to the economic downturn of 2009, currencies fluctuations have been hurting Nestlà © as Swiss Franc has strong against the most of the other currencies. Strategic Factors Analysis Summary: Strategic Factors Weight Rating Weighted Score Duration Comments S H O R T I N T E R M E D I A T E L O N G S1: Finance (S) S3: Brand (S) 0.15 5.00 0.75 X Large amount of cash 0.10 4.50 0.45 X Major global brand W1: Quality Control (W) W3: Emerging Markets (W+O) 0.20 3.50 0.70 X Recent product recalls 0.10 3.20 0.32 X Give more emphasis O1: Health Food Trend (O+S) O5: Premiumisation (O) 0.15 4.50 0.67 X Major growth area 0.10 3.20 0.32 X Increasing incomes T2: Specialized Competitors (T+O) T5: Negative Publicity (T) 0.15 3.50 0.52 X Possibilities of JVs 0.05 3.00 0.15 X Significant impact on customer loyalty Total: 1.00 3.88 Short Term: The FB Industry can see short and explosive bursts of growth, so it is necessary for Nestlà © to always have few strategies ready for short periods or it might not be able to capitalize on important trends or fads. For short term Nestlà © should focus on Premiumisation in developing and emerging economies as the incomes of the middle classes is rising there, which is fuelling their want of premium products now. Since Nestlà © already has lot of products in the premium segment, so all it has to do is to launch them into developing and emerging economies now; which will only take short time period to do and with minimum costs. Intermediate Term: Quality Control, Emerging markets, health food trend and specialized competitors are factors which Nestlà © will have to address in the intermediate time period, as they can adversely its sales if left unchecked. Nestlà © has to bring its quality in to control quickly otherwise it will be at risk of losing its loyal customers and might even face lawsuits. By expanding and capitalizing in emerging markets like India, China, etc. and current health food trend Nestlà © will be able to compete with its competitors and maybe also gain market share in the process. Collaborating with its competitors or buying them out in the segments which require specialized skills will take some time but is a necessary step or in long term they might become a huge threat to it. Long Term: Nestlà ©s long term scenario is quite balanced as it is financially very strong with a brand name that is counted among the top 25 brands in the world, but it also has repair its deteriorating image in customers minds. Being the market leader in the industry and with worldwide renowned brand Nestlà ©s sales revenue is far greater than that of its competitors which gives it high leverage capabilities while operating in the market. It has been coming under attacks from various social groups in recent years, which has been damaging its goodwill among its customers. Nestlà © has to strongly address this issue slowly and carefully so that it is come back to haunt it, and do that it has to invest heavily in very effective and efficient Public Relations management team. TOWS Matrix: Internal Factors (IFAS): External Factors (EFAS): Strengths (S): Finance Global Presence Brand RD Diversified Portfolio Weaknesses (W): Quality Control Growth Emerging Markets Logistics Cost Perceived Image Opportunities (O): Health Food Trend Developing and Emerging Economies Opening up of Eastern Europe Out-of-home consumption Premiumisation SO Strategies: Develop products for health nutrition segment. Find joint venture partners in Eastern Europe. WO Strategies: Expand Nestlà ©s presence in Eastern Europe Asia. Change Nestlà ©s perceived image. Threats (T): Rising prices of raw materials Specialized Competitors Increasing Regulations Currency Fluctuations Negative Publicity ST Strategies: Do backward integration. Either use joint venture acquisition strategies or RD to gain market share. WT Strategies: Invest in PR management to improve the image of Nestlà ©. Emphasize on developing emerging markets to gain market share. SO Strategies (Maxi-Maxi): SO strategies are formed so that the strengths of a company can be used to capitalize on its external opportunities. So by analyzing Nestlà ©s strengths and opportunities available to it I have decided to use two strategies for Nestlà ©s future growth. As the demand of healthy nutritional foods is increasing Nestlà © can use its strong RD capabilities to develop products for this segment. Another strategy that Nestlà © can use is to find partners for joint ventures in Eastern European market as it being relatively new, it might not be aware of how things happen there; so it should first do joint ventures there to study the market first as opposed to moving with full force in the market. ST Strategies (Maxi-Mini): A company applies ST strategies to avoid its external threats using its strengths. As Nestlà © is financially very string it has the capabilities to do backward integration with its suppliers, which will in turn insure Nestlà © of a secure steady supply chain and quality of its raw materials. Another strategy that Nestlà © can also use is that through its financial strength, brand image and global presence it can either acquire or enter into joint ventures with its competitors who are highly specialized; or it can use its strong RD to also develop specialized products for that segment. WO Strategies (Mini-Maxi): WO strategies are aimed to improve a companys internal weaknesses by capitalizing on its external opportunities. Nestlà © can reduce its logistical and inventory management costs by expanding its presence to Eastern Europe and Asia. Another strategy that Nestlà © can use is to change its Perceived image (of putting profit first) by developing and introducing more healthy nutritional products. WT Strategies (Mini-Mini): WT strategies are defensive tactics employed by a company to reduce its weaknesses and avoiding its external threats. As the image of Nestlà © is being tarnished by negative publicity arising out of recent product recalls, compliance issues for violating regulations, etc. it should heavily invest in its PR management; so that such negative publicity could be avoided next time. Nestlà © should put more emphasis on selling in developing and emerging markets to continue steady growth while increasing market share and also for purchasing and producing there to counter the rising prices of raw materials and labor costs. Assessment of Current Company Performance: Efficiency: Nestlà ©s recently been following the strategically expanding through acquisitions and investments. It has been quite successful in expand its line of frozen foods in North America through the acquisition of Kraft Foods frozen pizza line for $ 3.7 billion in cash. Nestlà © also had several other small acquisitions in the first quarter of 2010 which did not have a significant impact on the Groups sales and profit for the period. Nestlà ©s acquisition related costs in the first quarter of 2010 were about $ 13.4 million. Effectiveness: Nestlà © was effective in carrying out its expansion strategy through acquiring frozen pizza line from Kraft Foods as where the company had only a minor presence until now; it is the market leader in frozen food segment in North America. It successfully integrated Kraft Foods pizza business into the Nestlà © Group as well as its 3,620 employees, with their valuable talent and expertise in Nestlà ©. The frozen pizza line showed 14% organic growth in the first quarter of 2010. Sales and profit of Kraft Foods frozen pizza business in the first quarter of 2010 amount respectively to $ 6.11 billion and $ 65.2 million. Return to Investors: Nestlà © paid dividend of $ 5.632 billion in the first quarter of 2010 which showed an increase of 7.8% when compared to the dividend payment of $ 5.223 billion in 2009 for the same period. Increase in dividend shows that Nestlà © is starting to recover from the financial crisis of 2009. The share value of Nestlà © went up by $ 0.91 per share for 2010. Review of Options for Future Direction In order to address its weaknesses and external threats Nestlà © has to critically use its strengths and capitalize on its external opportunities by using some of the strategies mentioned in the TOWS matrix earlier. One of the strategies that Nestlà © can use is expansion strategy through strategically acquiring and merging with its competitors and investing in production facilities in developing economies. It should acquire or start joint ventures with firms in developing markets like India, China, Russia, etc. to capitalize on their booming economies and gain market share quickly before other global players enter the markets as it has the financial backing to support such expensive ventures. Also it should start investing in developing markets to develop its own production and distribution facilities so as to eliminate dependency on local players. Another strategy that Nestlà © should undertake is Growth through Innovation in health nutrition food segment. Due to the rising education levels and general awareness around the world consumers are becoming more more health conscious, which is an important opportunity and will be a future growth driver for Nestlà ©. It should use its highly developed RD capabilities to develop more healthy and nutritional foods to cater to this growing group of consumers. Implementation of New Strategies Structure: Nestlà © has a decentralized organizational structure which has been very beneficial to it as far flung divisions could take decisions in real time to exploit the opportunities present to them; but due the huge technological advancements in the past few years this autonomy has led to conflicting practices within the company; making it a nightmare to coordinate activities between divisions in different geographical zones. It has to centralize its operations to gain a tighter control over its far flung divisions and businesses, so that Nestlà © can (with a unified centralized system) leverage its products in real time on a worldwide scale to generate higher sales. Systems: Nestlà © has its production and logistical systems under control to meet any unexpected growth surge in a short period of time and to fuel growth for expanding in developing markets. But Nestlà © has to take care of its supply chains as they can virtually leave Nestlà © hanging in the air if any change in natural political environment takes place with the possibility of disruption in supply of raw materials or a drop in the Why do Multinational Companies Exist? Why do Multinational Companies Exist? According to Needle (2010), Multinational enterprises are those enterprises which carry its production activities in more than one country. These companies make sure of the supply of raw material to the other country they are operating in. As per Buckley and Casson (2009) many of the multinational operate in different country because of many reasons such as low labour costs, serving a huge market, cutting of their taxes and production costs, innovation in technology and exploitation of resources. According to Dickens (2011), today we are living in borderless world as there are no boundaries that exist between the countries or nations. Globalisation is the new trend changing the political and cultural order of the world (Buckley and Ghauri,2004). Every operation that has been carried out by companies goes around the world. Innovation is growing very fast and so do competitiveness. Globalisation can be define as the increase in the frequency and duration of linkages between countries leading to similarities in activities of individuals, practices of companies, and policies of governments (Czinkota 2005). From the statement we can say that companies go global because of many reasons as now the countries are linking to each other to share the information and wealth. As said by Rugman and Verbeke (2005), Firms become multinational because they want to grow, expand and diversify their operations. Operating in their home country wont satisfy them so they go global. Using the resources of their home country make it obsolete or bound them in a limit to not to go further. Then firm decides to go global by making investment on their further growth. As argued by Madura (2008) following are the theories which a firm follows when it globalises such as: Theory of Comparative Advantage The Imperfect Markets Theory The Product Cycle Theory As explained by Madura (2008), Comparative advantage theory says that when countries specializes or have expertise knowledge in one field than they dont waste their resources or energy on research of other field, they share or trade with other countries to share their expertise field. They take advantage of their expertise knowledge and become a head in comparison with others. Labour force is skilled and lower in cost in India and China as compared to western countries. They can be transported or hired for the operations for other companies. Companies such as Intel, IBM, Wipro operate in different countries because to utilise their efficient resources. These companies are operating in India, having their call centres outsource sharing the expertise knowledge in the field of Information Technology as India produces a large amount of IT experts. Imperfect market theory says that if the markets of a country stop trading with other countries than there will be no international trade. As per Dewey (1969), if the markets of the countries were perfect then there would be an easy transfer of resources from one country to another. Factors of production like labour, raw material, machines and capital can be transferred wherever they are demanded. This temperament of deal between the countries creates a similarity in costs and removes the relative cost of advantage, global trade and investment. In todays world there are situation when imperfect market conditions arises, where transfer of labour and other factors of production is restricted at some level. For example, MNEs such as Gap and Nike take advantage of the resources related countries. Imperfect market offers these companies to exploit their market and cross the trade barriers of import and export. According to Madura (2008), in Product Cycle theory, firms establish first in their home country by utilising all the resources available in the market. In home market they have an advantage over competitors. After operating in home market firm feels to expand their operations by entering into foreign market and producing their products overseas, reducing their transportation cost and other cost of production. There are existing competitors in the global market and to compete with them they introduces new technology and products in the market. For example, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba are the companies who spent lot of their resources in their research and development for the latest technology. As argued by Kapoor and Grub (1973), firms motivate themselves to become multinational enterprises because of the foreign direct investment that helps in crossing the trade barriers to other countries. They also explore different cultures and management structure followed in different countries. Firms become multinationals in order to reduce the risk of foreign trade and become politically and economically well established. By going global they create a good relationship between the nations and create a name and goodwill to the firm. For example, many of the American companies are going global as they now operating their activities in the growing economy of different countries such as Brazil, China, India, Russia etc. Many of the emerging market companies such as HTC, Samsung, Nokia etc. are also spending on their research and development and sharing the information on technology sector. According to Markusen (1995), as he explains the Dunnings OLI framework that there are three advantages in which a company can have direct investment. Firstly, Ownership advantage is when a company has trademarks and copyrights of producing a product line and no other company can duplicate their product. Secondly, Location advantage is there when a firm creates his monopoly in a particular region serving a large amount of society. It is done as the foreign market offers the low cost of production to firms which make it profitable for the firm to serve that region. Thirdly, Internationalisation advantage says that if there is a market to cater than instead of going out there and start a new production unit, its better to license and sell your technology to a company and they will produce units for you. As stated by Madura (2008), there are some ways by which firms become multinational enterprises. International Trade Licensing Franchising Joint Ventures Acquisitions of existing operations Establishing new foreign subsidiaries According to Hill (1994), International trade means exporting and importing of goods and services between different nations and different companies. If a company start facing losses that it can reduce or stop exporting or importing from different countries as there is no huge investment involved in it. For example, many of the U.S. firms such as Microsoft, IBM, General Electric generates there huge amount of revenue from import export. As argued by Needle (2010), Licensing means that a firm uses several modes such as copyrights, trademarks, patents etc. to register their process of operations or the technology they use. They can transfer or share their technology with others according to their wish with low capital involved in it. For example, in India all the parts of telephone communications are manufacture by ATT and Verizon Communications as they have a licensed agreement. All the drugs that are produced and exported to Hungary and other countries are made by Eli Lilly Company. It has been argued (Spinelli et al. 2004) that Franchising means when a company authorizes its residents of the same country or other country to open an outlet using the brand of the company. Its market policies, product line and the franchisee have to follow the protocol of the parent company. In return to this the franchisee has to pay a royalty fee to the company periodically. For example, McDonald, Pizza Hut, Subway sandwiches have many outlets in many countries that are operated by the local residents of the respective countries. As per Yan and Luo (2007), in Joint Ventures two firms come together to achieve their common goal in the competitive market. In ventures risk sharing ratio is equally divided for the defined project and there should be a mutually understanding between them. These enterprises are also politically acceptable in different nations. For example, Nestle has a wide distribution of its home products throughout the world. So there has been a joint venture between General Mills Inc. and Nestle to distribute the cereals produced by the General Mills by using the distribution channel of the Nestle. It has been argued (Reed et al. 2007) that acquisition of existing operations means that the company acquires the existing competitors in the local market or in the foreign market. A company takes over another organisation as they incur heavy losses and cannot operate in the competitive market and also to vertically or horizontally integrate. A company explores the resources of another company and take advantage of the already setup done by that company. For example, Procter and Gamble acquired a bleach company situated in Panama. According to Rugman and Verbeke (2005), another way of entering in global world is by establishing new subsidiaries. The large organisations create or distribute its departments into different companies and are wholly or partially controlled by the parent company. The main organisations are called the parent company and the other is known as holding companies. If the company is totally owned by the parent company that their stock is also owned by the parent company. There is always a protection of technology as the information is not leaked out. At the same time it also involves high costs and risks in the foreign market. For example, a truck company called Overnite Transportation is a totally purchased subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation. Conclusion At last it can be said that, the role of MNC in developing itself and the nations are very important. It in one way helps to build and economy by various advantages. At the same time it can have different repercussions if not properly strategized. The above description gives all the major points in making of an MNC. Also the essay describes the various parameters needed in making of an MNC.