A Mental Exercise To Increase My Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

I understand that it must be a matter of subjectivity for the reader to focus on a single type of intelligence while perusing Armstrong’s (1994) book, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom.In my case, it has been the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, most probably because I feel the need to increase my own.   Unfortunately, my school teachers were not aware of the multiple intelligences theory.   Even if they were, they would certainly not have decided to speak to my bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.   Just the same I admired children whose bodies performed more amazing functions than mine.This is the reason why my reflection on Armstrong’s book must be centered on bodily-kinesthetic intelligence as a subconscious exercise for me to increase my own.   Still, I agree with the author that all types of intelligences are equally important.   Moreover, I trust the fact that all intelligences are important enough to be studied individually and in depth.   The vari ous types of intelligence may also be understood in greater depth through the study of a single type of intelligence.It was Gardner (1983) who changed our views about intelligence forever when he proposed in his famous book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, that there are actually seven kinds of intelligences as opposed to the singular type of genetic intelligence that had built the foundation of the Stanford-Binet IQ Test.According to the theory of multiple intelligences, it is possible for a child to be a genius in terms of interpersonal intelligence, and a nerd in logical-mathematical intelligence, and yet fail in school because his or her greatest strength lies in a high level of bodily-kinesthetic awareness and the teacher of the pupil does not know how the child must be taught with special reference to his or her principal abilities.Armstrong states that children with a higher than usual degree of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence should be taught spelling b y associating it with movement.   As an example, â€Å"a teacher might try to connect sitting with consonants and standing with vowels (Willingham, 2004).†Ã‚   Indeed, Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has led not only to new ideas like the ones put forth by Armstrong, but it has also led to a revolution in the study of intelligence.

Reconstruction of signals for data length of the ultrasonic signals

Introduction:Since really early from 1960s, signal Restoration remained as one of the most popular and ambitious jobs for supersonic proving techniques in signal analysis. A figure of techniques have been developed since that clip, opposite and pseudo opposite filtering, rental squares methods, maximal information etc. However from the positions of assorted writers in all mentions in this thesis we can non stipulate that one method can be used to bring forth a high declaration in existent or practical applications. The ground of failure for existent universe applications of the signal Restoration is connected to the ill-posedness of the job. Ill-posedness can be defined as figure of independent grades of freedom of the deformed signal is by and large than that of the original signal [ 17 ] . Distortion is caused due to the noise and other effects ensuing in end product with some spectral constituents or uncomplete information. Therefore Restoration by necessity requires the usage of extra information about the original signal that is non present in the deformed signal ( end product signal ) . To reconstruct the signal every bit near as possible to the original signal is taken from a Priori cognition or from somewhere else. Deconvoltuion or decryption of the signals such as image, address, ultrasound signal received must be a replicate of the original signal sent signifier the transmittal terminal to analyze the concealed information in the signals from the surfaces under trial. To analyze the signal or information we need to deconvolve the signal or decrypt the informations. Assorted techniques are available in digital signal processing as described in the earlier chapters to deconvolve the signals. Deconvolution has shown promised consequences in signal analysis. There are different devonvolution methods in assorted signal spheres as classified in the chapter-2. Recorded Signals suffer from deformation map to bring forth the original signal. The chief ground for deformation is linear noise every bit good as the other internal and external effects. The pertinence of the proposed Wiener and Blind devonvolution based signal analysis techniques presented in the above two chapters are applied to the fake s tationary and non-stationary, existent clip signals. Our aim is to retrace the signals for informations length of the supersonic signals, Signal to resound ratio and the deformation maps. We think it will be better to advert that the signal analysis is carried out for fake and existent signal. When a existent signal is restored we do non hold an original signal. So in order to compare out our algorithms public presentation simulated signals are really helpful. It is really hard to supply a valid definition for comparing of existent signals in supersonic testing. In general the Ultrasonic Non Destructive Evaluation ( NDE ) is used for defect sensing and localisation in construction under trial. The recorded supersonic signal characterizes construction, defect or cleft, and material surface. These contemplations are called reverberations classified as, mistake reverberation, back-wall reverberation and the noise ( grain ) . The backscattered reverberations present valuable information pertaining to the features of stuffs. Most of the supersonic applications i.e. subsample clip hold appraisal, deepness profiling, thickness measuring of thin beds rely on high declaration Deconvoltuion.Consequences and treatments:In this chapter we focus on public presentation of the Wiener, Blind and some other deconvolution techniques from the MATLAB tool chest for different parametric quantities such as, The signal Restoration is carried for existent with different lengths ( sample N = 256, 512, 1024 ) .Signal-to-Noise Ratio is calculatedMinimal Mean Square is estimated comparing the obtained coefficient of reflection map ( particularly simulated signals ) . Ocular comparing ( proving ) utilizing the estimated signal with the original signal. Deconvolution operation is performed on fake stationary and non-stationary signals and every bit good as the existent signals. We need to cognize about the deformation maps. Here we present the signals and Impulse response maps. we have simulated a stationary and non-stationary signals. the analysis is carried out utilizing the consequences of the existent signals and fake signal. We have two signals recorded from 50MHz and 230MHz transducers. We present the signals, Signals recorded in supersonic non-destructive rating from the surfaces under survey are distorted by features of noise arising from internal and external beginnings, and extension waies. The two of import features restricting the public presentation of the Wiener deconvoluion are Attenuation of noise in the supersonic signal, and Band bound. Since the frequence bandwidth of the original signal is by and large narrow, frequencies beyond this limited part in impulse response lend a small in signal Reconstruction. Wiener filter is called Minimal mean square ( MMSE ) calculator. It is sensitive to the power spectrum of the original surface. In this the reconstructed coefficient of reflection map differs in frequence features. It is proved that wiener deconvolution when suitably applied can supply effectual consequences even under unfavorable conditions [ 84 ] . In this we present a solution for signal Reconstruction utilizing wiener filter theory. The public presentation and the analysi s of the consequences are chiefly affected by noise. NOISE LIMITS THE AMPLITUDE OF THE REFLECTIVITY FUNCTION, as per the consequences shown below. Due to signal to resound ratio in the denominator Wiener filter underestimates the amplitude as shown in equation ( 5.1 ) . High declaration signal Restoration can be achieved by big SNR betterment without deformation. Ten ^ ( ? ) =G ( ? ) Yttrium ( ? ) = [ ( H^* ( ? ) ) / ( |H ( ? ) |^2+ ( S_v ( ? ) ) / ( S_x ( ? ) ) ) ] Y ( ? ) — — — ( 5.1 ) Where, G ( ? ) = Wiener filtering S_v ( ? ) and S_x ( ? ) are power spectra of noise and original signal. Noise can be reduced different signal processing methods, as discussed above to cut down the electrical noise, even after averaging if the SNR is deficient filtering is required, the lower the SNR, the restored map becomes undependable. High declaration or acceptable consequences can by taking a moderate SNR. Reliable coefficient of reflection map can obtained for a moderate SNR. The consequences presented below are at different SNR values such as eternity, 20db, 40db. Fake Stationary signal: Signal Sigma noise coefficient Gamma Thresholding SNR dubnium Mistake MSE Simulated_stationary_1 0 100 Infinity 1.0982e-005 Simulated_stationary_2 0.1 100 20.9315 0.4214 Simulated_stationary_3 0.01 100 30.5329 0.1387 Simulated_stationary_4 0.001 100 40.7859 0.0117 Fake non-Stationary signal: Parameters for fake non-stationary signal: Signal Sigma noise coefficient Gamma Thresholding SNR dubnium Mistake MSE Simulated_stationary_1 0 100 Eternity 0.3320 Simulated_stationary_2 0.1 0.3 3.443 0.4214 Simulated_stationary_3 0.01 0.98484 13.0852 0.5831 Simulated_stationary_4 0.001 100 23.2153 0.3368 To back up the account on the effects of noise to retrace the coefficient of reflection map in above few pages is presented utilizing consequences from the fake signals. The consequences tabulated in tabular arraies ( table 5.1 and table 5.2 ) show that SNR limits the signal Reconstruction. Better public presentation can be obtained by bettering the signal-to-noise ratio. One of the many methods to better the signal to resound ratio is to extinguish the background noise utilizing the thresholding procedure. One of the methods is threshold method in reverse filter explained in chapter -3. The lower the SNR, the larger the variableness of estimated spectra and hence the more undependable the computed maps and restored signal. The application of Wiener filtering is utile merely if the SNR is moderate for the of import signal frequence constituents. Data provided in the tabular array ( ) support that the SNR value limits the amplitude of the coefficient of reflection map. In the undermen tioned subdivision we restore the coefficient of reflection map for the existent signals. The job is we do non hold the original signal to prove the public presentation. It is apparent that the signal constituents obtained by Wiener filtrating are utile when restored with MODERATE SNR value. So we assume signal restored with moderate SNR value contain utile information for the signal analysis under Wiener filtering. Signal Restoration for Real Signal recorded utilizing 50MHz ( 1:1024 ) : Signal Sigma noise coefficient Gamma Thresholding SNR Doctor of Divinity Our purpose is to reconstruct the first from each pulsations of signal as shown in the figure ( 5.9 ) . Now we deconvolve the signal for three different length where N = 256, 512 and 1024. Thus the lengths of the sequences will the consequence the Restoration of the signal. The Restoration is performed utilizing different deformation map or impulses responses. The sequence selected 1:212, The sequence is selected from 1:540, Next we will show by changing the noise coefficient sigma for the above set of sequences and the values are tabulated, Signal Sigma Gamma Thresholding SNR Doctor of Divinity From the tabular array, the first and 2nd rows correspond to the signals with the sequences ( 1:212 & A ; & amp ; 1:540 ) with the parametric quantities such as the noise coefficient sigma =0, when we compare the figure-5.11 with figure- 5.13 and figure- 5.12 with figure- 5.14 the coefficient of reflection is much more better than the other the 1. The figures 5.13 and 5.14 are the signals with added noise ensuing in a moderate SRN value. As discussed in the above subdivision to obtain a high declaration end product we need to seek for a good or moderate SNR and every bit good as the Thresholding value it minimizes the background noise and therefore ensuing in a better coefficient of reflection map. Harmonizing to the belongingss of supersonic signal, the incursion or the traveling is limited harmonizing to the frequence of the signal. The lower the frequence of the transducer more the ultrasound signal can inspect the construction under trial. Due to this restriction, we have a job even when entering the signals. In this above subdivision we presented the Deconvolution operation on the 50MHz signal, here we produce some consequences obtained utilizing 230MHz, for different sample lengths e.g. 1024, 256 and 512. Some of the signals and urges responses are as shown, Simulation-1: existent signal A * impulse response-A ( 20:900 ) : Simulation 2:Blind Signal deconvolution:In this subdivision we use the blinddeconvolution availabel in matlab signal processing tool chest. We use deconvblind to reconstruct the coefficient of reflection map. For above mentioned signal in Figure- 5b. Coefficient of reflection maps are restored for the signals recorded usinf 50MHz and 230MHz utilizing the impulse response. Simulation 1: Simulation 2: The consequences are produced utilizing iterative process. Appraisal of the parametric quantities is implimented utilizing Maximal Likelihood method. We foremost estimate the coefficient of reflection map x ^ ( T ) which is given in timedomain as, ten ^ ( T ) = ? Y ( T ) The iterative theoretical account in frequence sphere is given as, Ten ^_0 ( ? ) = ? Y ( ? ) Ten ^_ ( k+1 ) ( ? ) = X ^_k ( ? ) + ? Y ( ? ) – Ten ^_k ( ? ) H ( ? ) The chief advantage of the iterative filter iterative process is that it can be stopped after a finite figure of loops. Using this method high declaration end product can be obtained because this method is less sensitive to the noise.Decision:In the field of supersonic Non Destructive Evaluation ( NDE ) , the Restoration of signal is the chief job. Therefore, in this thesis the classical and the conventional deconvolution methods are studied and implemented to reconstruct the coefficient of reflection map of the sparse signals. One of the of import factors is execution of these two methods to reconstruct thin signals. Though there are some advanced techniques already in usage, such as – ripple, thin deconvolution and fiting chase. Here, we have used Wiener and Blind deconvolution techniques to reconstruct the coefficient of reflection map from the sparse signals. These methods are chosen with regard to the handiness of the clip and cognition I have sing the topic. The motive b ehind taking this subject as a portion of my MSc thesis is to better my bing cognition on the digital signal processing techniques and its applications in Ultrasonic Non-destructive rating methods. We think it will be better to advert about the background I have on the Deconvolution technique before get downing this undertaking. The lone thing I know is that deconvolution is the reverse operation of whirl. Deconvolution is known as opposite job. Performance of the coefficient of reflection map depends on the word picture or appraisal of the deformation map or Point Spread Function ( PSF ) . We restored coefficient of reflection map utilizing a non-blind deconvolution and a unsighted deconvolution technique. Non blind deconvolution can be advantageous, since it admits a closed signifier solution via Wiener Filtering. Additionally, in the instance of non blind deconvolution, it is easy to integrate diverse statistical priors on the surface coefficient of reflection map under trial. Once the PSF is known it is no longer important to reconstruct the coefficient of reflection map. The non blind deconvolution should be considered as an of import boosting phase supplementing the opposite filtrating [ 68 ] . Two related steps of public presentation will be used to assist over the quality of Restorations: the mean square mistake and the betterment on signal/noise ratio ratio. Even though MSE is non a dependable calculator of the subjective quality of a restored signal it will be used to give some indicant of the public presentation of the method. Performance of the algorithms is similar to that for noise less conditions. The consequences obtained for different Signal-to-Noise ratios are tabulated in ( 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 ) . It is apparent from the tabular arraies that wiener filtrating conserves most of the information associated with the signals at parts of high signal to resound ratio in the frequence sphere. Wiener deconvolution produces high declaration coefficient of reflection map for stationary signals. The public presentation of the proposed Wiener deconvolution is investigated on the fake stationary and every bit good as the non-stationary signals. Using wiener deconvolution to a computing machine generated signal is summarized. In the above figure ( 1 ) shows the convolved signal Y ( T ) ( 2 ) is the impulse response ( 3 ) coefficient of reflection map ( 4 ) Reconstruction of the coefficient of reflection map. The coefficient of reflection map is reconstructed for different SNR = inifinty, 20dB, 40dB. The figures 5.1-5.4 represent the coefficient of reflection maps with diminishing MSE with increasing SNR. Wiener filter method has satisfactory public presentation at comparatively high SNR values. At low SNR values wiener filter method public presentation is badly affected by noise.Future work:Harmonizing to the increased broad scope of applications based on deconvolution of supersonic signals, wiener deconvolution and blind deconvolution are studied and implemented in this thesis. Wiener filtering is called Minimal Mean Square calculator. This job has a broad assortment of applications in digital signal processing like geophysical modeling, supersonic analysis or bio-medical technology. Wiener Filtering is sensitive to the noise. Implementing Wiener filtrating suitably can bring forth appropriate consequences even under unfavorable conditions. In existent universe applications it is hard to gauge parametric quantities or conditions suitably. Signal analysis is carried out utilizing sweetening of Signal-to-Noise ratio and gauging the Minimum Mean Square mistake. Signal to resound ratio is enhanced by extinguishing the background noise or deformations added to the signal recorded from Ultrasonic Non destructive rating. The Minimal average square mistake is decreased by bettering the SNR value. Another classical method implemented in this thesis is Blind deconvolution. Signal Restoration appears in many Fieldss. These Fieldss have different purposes for signal Restoration, but certain basicss are common to all signal Restoration. As explained earlier signal debasement is due to two grounds ( a ) Noise, and ( B ) Distortions. The cardinal hurdle in signal Restoration is lack of information. In some instances it is non possible to hold cause for signal debasement. Most of the signal Restoration algorithms by and large require some a priori information in order to reconstruct the signal. The a priori information in blind deconvolution is estimated utilizing the maximal likeliness appraisal method. The above discussed two methods autumn under 2nd order statistics. These methods suffer from non minimal stage job. To get the better of the job high order statistic method is approached. The high order statistic methods exploit the belongingss of cumulants and polyceptra as mentione d in chapter -4. Execution of this method depends on the cognition of high order cumulants of the involved signal. Third order statistics based method is the particular instance out of the High Order statics, enables to [ 28 ] , Operate under high signal to Noise ratio, Operate expeditiously under the noise environments Continue the exact non minimal stage. It is clear that the conventional deconvolution techniques can non supply a high declaration end product when applied for thin signals. Transform-domain supersonic signal processing techniques were developed to find the defects in thin multilayered construction. In all these methods broadband supersonic signals were used, which are analysed in the clip or frequence spheres. These signals are normally clip limited or band-limited. The time-domain processing techniques can be confounding when the signals are distorted or the reverberations overlapped. The frequency-domain processing techniques are non suited when the defects are close to the surface or the reverberations overlapped [ 34 ] . So the hunt for dependable techniques is demanded. To obtain utile information about the concealed defects, time-frequency signal representation is developed. Thus L1 NORM DECONVOLUTION produce a high declaration end product even applied for thin signals. The time-frequency sphere methods such as WA VELET TRANSFORM, MATCHING PURSUIT and SPARSE DECONVOLUTION will bring forth high declaration coefficient of reflection map from thin signals.Ripples Transform:Ripples is a quickly germinating signal processing technique because of their localisation parametric quantities that adapt better to the signal features than the traditional Fourier transform. Applications range in many Fieldss such as, geophysical sciences, mathematics, and theoretical natural philosophies and in communicating. There are different types of ripple transform method, Continuous ripple transform, Daubechies wavelet transform Gabor transform. Discrete ripple transform The ripple transform is defined in the footings of footing maps obtained by switching and dilation [ 39 ] . It is found that Gabor transform to be the most suited method to supply information in clip frequence sphere. Wavelet transform is the correlativity between the signal and a set of basic ripple. The information presented in this subdivision is collected form mentions [ 39, 40, 85, 86 ] . In ripple transform an square integrable female parent ripple H ( T ) is chosen to analyze a specific signal. Number of daughter ripples ha, B ( T ) is generated from the female parent ripple H ( T ) by dilation and displacement belongingss. The ripple sequence W ( a, B ) of the signal ten ( T ) are given by, W_s ( a, B ) = ? _ ( -8 ) ^8? s ( T ) ? h^* ? _ ( a, B ) ( T ) ? dt = s ( T ) ? 1/va h^* ( t/a ) Where the girl ripple map is given by, h_ ( a, B ) ( T ) = a^ ( 1/2 ) .h ( ( t-b ) /a ) This is the basic ripple transform theoretical account. This theoretical account can be used to observe the pulsation and suppression of noise. Using this ripple transform technique the signal is represented in time-frequency sphere. For the appraisal of the daughter signal see [ 39 ] . One of the advantages of the ripple transform is the sub set filtrating that decomposes a signal into different frequence sets. The signal is divided in to estimate and item coefficient such as, A1 and D1 for the first degree decomposition so these are decomposed in to A2 and D2. It repeats this process until the degree reaches the upper limit that is limited by m where the entire information is 2m. The decomposition is represented by Discrete Wavelet Transform ( DWT ) in figure.

Anne Sexton Literary Essay

Anne Sexton transforms the well-known fairytale Snow White into a sardonic piece of writing that reflects societal perceptions of the woman. In her poem she explores the idea that a woman is nothing more than a doll, something that sits pretty on a shelf for all to admire. She also describes the reliance on men, and how women are becoming dependent and incompetent. She counteracts this with a women’s intelligence compared to her beauty and vanity, and what a woman should be. She explores the idea of beauty and vanity going hand in hand, meaning that even princesses can be vain. Fairytales aren’t real, and they are overrated- happily ever after does not exist, especially for those who aren’t beautiful. All fairytales have a female antagonist, and one that is usually a princess. Snow White is sexualized as the virgin. Good Day Mama,  and shut for the thrust  of the unicorn. She is unsoiled. She is as white as a bonefish. (9-13) This text explains that she innocent and untouched. All that matters to a prince is that she is beautiful and a virgin. A brand new doll with porcelain skin and glassy eyes. cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper, arms and legs made of Limoges, lips like Vin Du Rhà ´ne, rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut. (3-7) Sexton compares Snow White to a doll because she is merely an object for ones admiration and love. She is to be pampered and taken care of in return of sitting pretty on the shelf, to be admired. Beauty and vanity play the two-sided coin in this poem, you can’t have one without the other. The queen epitomizes vanity, when she asks the mirror who is the fairest of the land. When the reply is Snow White, she is outraged. Being the most beautiful person in the land is what the queen desires. She craves the attention because beauty is so valued, and Sexton makes that clear. If Snow White or the Queen weren’t beautiful, would anyone ever notice them? Sexton says,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Beauty is a simple passion.† Meaning everyone desires beauty, so those who have it are more noticed. Because Snow White is beautiful, both the prince and the dwarves value her. But with beauty comes vanity, and that is something that Sexton believes in. She believes women should be active and intelligent; beauty is just a faà §ade that relieves women of reaching their full potential. If a woman is beautiful, she can be just as successful as a smart woman without doing all the work because she can rely on men. Any man will want a beautiful wife that does not interfere with his matters. This is what the prince seeks, and finds when he falls in love with Snow White only for her beauty. He stayed so long his hair turned green and still he would not leave. The dwarfs took pity upon him and gave him the glass Snow White– its doll’s eyes shut forever– to keep in his far-off castle. Sexton believes all women should work to be smart, and beauty is no reason not to achieve that. Snow White is unintelligent because she keeps opening the door to the queen even when the dwarfs urge her not too. Her unintelligence is linked to her reliance on a man because she ends up in the happily-ever-after position as the wife of a prince even though she did nothing to deserve it. But what Sexton is trying to show us at the end of the poem that Snow White is now obsessed with herself and her status, and that she will one day be the queen that tries to kill the next young beauty. Meanwhile Snow White held court, rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shut and sometimes referring to her mirror as women do. The fairytale ending is fictional. The world isn’t Prince Charmings, beautiful princesses, and evil queens that always lose. ‘The End’ isn’t ever the end because it’s a cycle of innocence, beauty, vanity, and then ultimately envy. Beautiful women are nothing more than an item; they rely on men and are not intelligent. They are envious, and full of vanity. The  perfect women doesn’t exist, and there will never be a happily ever after.

Business Research Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Business Research Analysis - Essay Example However, due to an increase in the intensity of competition within the tourism industry, it is essential to look into the level of customer satisfaction. In order to carry out the same the study has used a questionnaire survey among the existing customers of the company. The questionnaire is described below in the appendix section of the project (Questionnaire Appendix 1.) PART I (b) Distribution Method and Associated Documents As mentioned above, the study intends to examine the level of customer satisfaction among the existing customers of the company. In order to do so, a questionnaire survey will be used by the company. However, only the development of questionnaire will not serve the purpose it needs to be distributed properly so as to ensure higher response rate. Presently the company has 3200 registered customers in the data base. Among the total numbers of customers around 20% i.e. 640 customers will be contacted by post. The remaining 80% of the customers will be approached via e-mail. The respondents will be sent an email with the attachment of the questionnaire. The customers will be asked to reply back with their responses. ... However, the SMS will not disclose the incentives to be provided but will notify about a guaranteed prize. The incentives to be offered to the customers for taking part in the survey will be flat 20% discount in the next trip. Furthermore 3 lucky respondents will get digital camera from the company, 10 lucky winners will get travel bags and 20 lucky respondents will win 8 GB memory stick. With such lucrative offers, it is expected that the company will be able to achieve at least 30% overall response. The coding plan as well as other supported documents such as consent form, confidentiality forms etc. that are to be sent to the customers are presented in the Appendix section of the study. PART I (c) Critical Evaluation of the Questionnaire Tours and Travel industry is one of the rapidly growing industries of the world. This is probably the only industry which is least impacted by the external business situation. Although, economic crisis and financial downturn reduces the growth rate of this industry, but it maintains a steady growth rate despite of several unwanted situations. According to reports, tourism is one of the major contributors to the national economy of a country. Due to the robust growth of travel and tourism industry, the level of job creation is growing at a robust pace accounting to one and half times faster than the other industries. It is one of the labour intensive industries of the world and employs around 200 million people worldwide. There are several forms of tourism namely sustainable tourism, eco tourism, pro-poor tourism, medical tourism, recession tourism, educational tourism, dart tourism, creative tourism, and doom tourism among others. This project intends to shed light on the

Payments and Finance in International Trade Essay

Payments and Finance in International Trade - Essay Example In sharp contrast to the results, we find that liberalization has, on average, robust positive effects on growth, openness and investment rates within countries. We have some examples of Trade Liberalization (Arnold, 2007). The payment instruction was subsequently misplaced on the desk of a clerk at Mega Bank and accordingly the relevant accounting entries for crediting Alpha's account were not made by Mega Bank, and Alpha was not notified that payment from Delta had been received. On July 5th, Delta instructed its bank, Grand Banque in Paris, to make a funds transfer to Alpha's account at Mega Bank in London to be credited on or before July 7th. On the morning of July 6th, in order to effect the payment, Grand Banque debited Delta's account and simultaneously sent payment instructions via SWIFT to its correspondent bank in the UK, Royal Bank PLC, instructing it to make an inter-bank transfer to Mega Bank in sterling for credit to Alpha's account on or before close of business on July 7th. Royal Bank went ahead and sent the payment order to Mega Bank on July 6th, with instructions to credit the account of Alpha on or before close of business on July 7th. White barle... Alpha is frustrated that it has not yet been paid and advises Delta on 8th July that it is no longer liable to perform under the contract (Balamurugan and Madhura, 2002). Many of the hurdles to international trade took the shape of high tariffs on imports of manufactured goods. The typical aim of such tariffs was to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. On consequence, however, were "beggar of neighbor" retaliatory trade policies with countries progressively raising trade barriers against each other. Ultimately, this depressed world demand and contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. This event was the boom that woke the world up but it was not the only reason that led to liberalization. People begun to realize that their basic necessities were not satisfied because they are not available in their home country or too expensive because of the imposed tariffs. They also realized that they will gain advantages through engaging in international trade, like improving their living standard and satisfying more needs (Brennan and Cao, 1996). If the country is going to export, it will need to expand it output which means more people will be hired and living standard will improve. Moreover when removing tariffs imposed on imported goods that my country doesn't produce, people will be able to purchase them at reasonable prices therefore satisfying more needs. The developed countries realized that even if they have comparative advantage in some products, they should specialize in the production of those goods that it produces most efficiently and to buy the goods that it produces less efficiently from other countries, even if this means buying goods from other countries that it could produce more efficiently itself (Brinblatt,

Marbury v. Madison and It's Effects on the United States Today Term Paper

Marbury v. Madison and It's Effects on the United States Today - Term Paper Example The rising power of Adams-appointed Marshall also pushed the judiciary into the political struggle between Federalists and Republicans and made the Marbury v. Madison a critical pawn in the government's political chess (Henderson, 2010, p.43). This paper summarizes the facts and decision in the Marbury v. Madison and explores the effects of its ruling on the United States today. It argues that the Marbury v. Madison emphasized the role of the independent judiciary, separation of the judiciary from political squabbles, and the importance of checks-and-balances in the American government. Marbury v. Madison: A summary As his term ended, President John Adams had made a number of federal appointments, including William Marbury, as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia, in the process known as â€Å"midnight appointments.† Thomas Jefferson, the new president, noticed the pile of documents related to these appointments and refused to recognize them, including Marbury's ap pointment. The Secretary of State James Madison should have delivered these appointments, but he followed Jefferson and did not deliver Marbury's commission (Henderson, 2010, p.59). Marbury sued Madison, and the Supreme Court handled the case. ... The primary question is that: Could Congress, based on the 1789 law, broaden the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, as indicated in Article III of the Constitution? Article III clearly stated that: â€Å"In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to Law and Fact† (qtd. in Henderson, 2010, p.60). Marshall argued that according to the Judiciary Act of 1789, delivering these commissions for judges and justices was unconstitutional, since it provided higher authority to the Supreme Court, which infringed on Article III of the Constitution. The Congress did not have the authority to expand the powers of the Supreme Court. Hence, the Supreme Court ruled that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional and should not be followed. Since the law that prov ided authority to the Court in issuing writs of mandamus was void, the Court could not give a writ of mandamus and Marbury v. Madison had been dismissed. Effects of the Marbury v. Madison Independence of the Judiciary Marbury v. Madison asserted the role of an independent judiciary in having the â€Å"last word in law and the Constitution† (Sloan & McKean, 2009, p.49). Chief Justice Marshall established the Court's authority â€Å"to say what the law is† (Lively, 2000, p.392) and not have the executive and legislative power dictate how the law should be interpreted by the judiciary. This case is a landmark case, because it emphasizes the power of the judicial review in aligning laws with the Constitution. Marshall provided a â€Å"narrow† interpretation of the limits

HR Factors that Affect Quality of Customer Service in the Banking Essay - 1

HR Factors that Affect Quality of Customer Service in the Banking Industry in the UAE (National Bank of Abu Dhabi) part 2 - Essay Example This factor become and acts as a challenge for the businesses which gives customer satisfaction a lot of emphasis. There have been different studies in the past that has aimed at studying the minds of the customers however still date the minds of the customers has remained a mystery. In the present study the aim to study the customer satisfaction of the customers of the banks of United Arab Emirates. In particular the study focuses on the customer satisfaction of the customers of national bank of Abu Dhabi. In analyzing the factors behind the customer satisfaction and the quality of customer service provided by the employees of the bank the role of human resource in particular is identified. The study is aimed at studying if the human resource factors at all determine the quality of service provided by the employees of the bank to the customers. In order to understand the function of hr in ensuring that the quality of customer service is upheld the research focuses to study the matte r both on the qualitative and quantitative lines. As process of trying to find the impact the research first tries to find out the view of different researchers regarding the issue. After doing the literature review in order to analyze the view point of different researchers on the matter the next step that has been taken to carry the research forward is to analyze the primary data that is collected through survey of the customers to understand whether the customers are satisfied with the quality of the customer service provided by the banks. After analysis of the customer service that the bank provides to the customers of the bank the factors of the human resource and the effect that human resource has on the quality of service that the employees of the bank provides to the customers of the bank. As per the research it is found out that the lack

Depression -bachelor in nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Depression -bachelor in nursing - Essay Example This is one of the primary mood disorders characterized by a depressed mood and/or a decrease in interest in things that used to give pleasure. Depression acquires more severe proportions when the early warning signals get ignored by the person, his/her family or friends. Families and patients often tend to overlook this condition as they 'think' they should be able to control it themselves or the symptoms would soon disappear on their own. Some of the symptoms which lead to depression are; Though depression knows no limits of age or sex, yet the phenomenon is more prevalent in elder people and female. Ladies are more prone to depression as compared to their male counterparts owing to an additional type known as postpartum depression - the psychiatric disorder which grips the female soon after giving birth to a baby, also known as postnatal depression. Depression, in general can be classified as; Clinical Depression: Depression is classified as clinical when it is being felt by the family or friends that the patient requires clinical assistance for treatment. It is also known as Major depression or unipolar depression. People with this type of depression feel sad and appear detached from entertaining activities. Incoherent memory, problems in concentration, laziness and loss of appetite are some of the symptoms of such a disorder. Dysthymia or Persistent De... Dysthymia or Persistent Depression: This is a less severe type of depression often termed as minor depression. Under such type the person may feel like sad and dissatisfied with the happening around him/her. Such symptoms may temporarily disappear, only to recur with more severity if proper attention is not paid to the early warning signals. At times the person may not be aware of existence of such a depression as he/ she make it a part of their routine, often unenjoyable, life. Fatigue, low self-esteem, insomnia, bouts of concentration loss and appetite disturbances are some of the symptoms of Dysthymia, which are not considered severe enough to go for treatment. A person may feel sad on account of certain circumstances but, recurrence of such sadness leads to depression. Atypical Depression: This type of depression borders near major or clinical depression, but with less severity. Symptoms of atypical depression include fatigue, oversleeping, overeating and subsequent weight gain. Such a depression might be long lasting as the person feels unduly elated and looks for happiness even in circumstances where there's none. Bipolar or Manic Depression: As the name itself suggest, bipolar depression leads to formation of two different poles of mood, varying from lower levels to extremely high levels (manic situation), which leads to overreaction and often leads to suicides. For example, one of my neighbor who was just 39 yrs, with a family of two lovely kids and a working wife felt ignored by his wife and friends. He took retirement from a police job and started working as an instructor in a high school. During the police job he used to be

Economic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Economic - Assignment Example In the perfect competition case the focus of the discussion is break-even profits in the long run. In the perfect competition scenario the emphasis of the analysis is on product differentiation strategy. In our first case we have small firm operating in a very competitive environment. The type of environment this company is dealing with can be categorized in economic terms as a perfect competition market structure. Perfect competition is an economic market structure that has many sellers and buyers participating where the firms sell identical products which allows for customers to substitute goods or services with ease (Investopedia, 2009). In this market structure the barriers of entry as low. The low barriers of entry create easy access for suitors to participate in the marketplace. Due to the intense competition companies often leave the marketplace. The fact that products are similar in nature allows for many substitute products to appear. A good example of businesses that participate in perfect competition is the agricultural industry players. In perfect competition the formula to determine profits is price equals marginal costs equals marginal revenues (P=MC=MR). A qualitative interpretation of this formula is that there are cero economic profits achieved in the long run. Since the sellers realize the existence of the zero profit phenomenon merchants are not worried as much about unitary profits in the short run, they instead concentrate on accumulating profits over the long survival. Survival for companies operation under perfect competition is the sign of success. Appendix A shows a graphical illustration of profit behavior under perfect competition. Case b in the graph illustrates the zero profit long run scenario. Appendix B provides more details about the equilibrium that creates a break even profit. Understanding the true reasons why there is not profit in this market structure in the long run is not really that complicated. The profits and

Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Islam - Essay Example Similarly, Sufism involves all practices that ensure a person has deeper knowledge of their God, who is Allah (BBC, 2011). This includes worshipping and seeing Him, which is the ultimate goal in Islam. This will guarantee all the Allah worshipers a heavenly life with utter obedience of spiritual purification. On the other hand, mysticism is attractive in that it modifies a person’s inner life. A person’s inner life is modified in that the person gains the truth of experience. This is in line with a person’s quest for identification, communion and awareness. As such, a person will maintain high levels of truthfulness, divinity and have a strong spiritual life. This draws a person closer to unity with reality, making a person lead a better life in connection with communication and expressions. 2. Explain in Detail the Five Pillars of Islam Muslims have various practices that should be observed. Of all these, the five pillars are considered the most vital. These are the critical obligations that should be observed by any Muslim in leading a responsible life. They include Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj (Gulevich, 2005). To begin with, Shahadah is reciting the Muslim’s faith. Shahadah states that there is no other God but Allah, with His messenger being Mohammad. Reciting this faith has several meanings. First, it is an open declaration that Allah is the only God and Muhammad is His prophet. Secondly, a Muslim openly accepts this statement as it is recited loudly and in sincerity. Thirdly, it means that a Muslim will extend commitment to Islam in their entire lifetime. The second pillar of Islam is Salat. These are Muslim prayers which are obligatory to an individual and should be performed five times in a single day. They are performed before the sun rises, midday, in the afternoon, shortly before the sun sets and the last prayer is performed before midnight (BBC, 2011). These prayers have various advantages; first, they set the p ace of the day. Secondly, they show unity in the Muslim culture, and lastly, they unite the body, mind and soul. The third pillar of Islam is Zakat. This is a compulsory practice where an individual Muslim gives part of their wealth to other people in form of charity. It states that each Muslim should take 2.5% of their wealth and give it to the poor. This is a sign of obedience, discipline and honesty. Similarly, it is an expression that one is not in love for money, greedy or loving oneself. The forth pillar of Islam is Sawm. This is the occasional fasting in Islam, which is done on the ninth month in the calendar of Islam. All Muslims take a total of 29 or 30 days and stop participating in some activities (BBC, 2011). As such, Muslims are not supposed to eat, drink, smoke or participate in any sexual activity during the day. This shows that Muslims are obedient, self disciplined, appreciate God’s gift and are gaining spiritual strength. Similarly, they consider it a time f or generosity, giving thanks to their holy book and fellowshipping with other Muslims to show unity. The last pillar of Islam is Hajj, where Muslims from different parts of the world gather in Mecca to praise Allah. All the Muslims at the event stand in front of Kaaba and praise Allah together (BBC, 2011). This shows Islamic unity and equality, with the promise of brotherhood and sisterhood. According to Islam, if one is not able to make it every year, they have to ensure they at least attend this practice once in their lifetime. 3. Contrast between Contemporary

How a new company deal with orgnizational behavior in a new country Essay

How a new company deal with orgnizational behavior in a new country - Essay Example nced by, or learnt from their superiors since an enabling organizational behavior can be achieved if leaders set a good example to employees, and practice ethical behavior towards everyone in the organization. Leaders need to be emphatic, and be considerate on how such as decision shall affect the total morale and attitudes of the organization as a whole (Bonin, 2012). In addition, the notion of leaders giving instructions or making ethical judgments, while they themselves do not apply it would create a negative impression on employees hence affect organizational behavior. Secondly, the author relates the influence of changing technology on organizational behavior, and organization as a whole. He argues that changes in technology create a competitive advantage for the organization, and if handled well it enables the organization to increase its bottom line. Moreover, when these changes are introduced to the organization they usually lead to the production of higher quality products and services. With this change in technology, employees work performance may be affected as they have to adapt to these changes. Changes in technology may affect the employees work performance negatively; in turn, increase work related stress among them. This stress levels affect them physically and mentally and if not handled well shall affect the work performance of employees, reduce job satisfaction and in the long run the overall organizational output (Bonin, 2012). The article provides a solution in handling this work related stress in the workplace that may be caused by technological change. It states that in order to create better organizational behavior among employees, organizations need to provide training to employees on the changes in technology to enable them adapt well. There is also need to provide information on literature on stress, and if possible provide counseling to employees to help reduce stress. In the case of a new company in a new country, it should consider

Swimming Essay Example for Free

Swimming Essay Physical demands of swimming are/power to pull yourself through the water quickly, flexibility to perform the different strokes properly, CRE to push your body harder for longer, LME because your arms and legs are constantly working. Reaction time determines how quickly you react to the start of a race, co-ordination/timing to perform strokes properly, motivation is needed in the longer distance swims e.g. 800.1500,determination you won’t win a race if you don’t want it, confidence you need to be confident in your own ability and not worry about anyone else. Skills involved in the activity are tumble turns, starts and technique, tumble turns is were you could lose a race they need to be fast and you must get distance of the wall, starts are just as important you need to be fast and get good distance reaction time is vital for starts, there are two kinds of starts:1-standing on the blocks 2- back crawl starts are in the water holding onto the blocks and throwing yourself of in a streamlined position, technique determines how efficient and fast your are in the water/ butterfly is possibly the hardest because you need strength to pull yourself up and through the water and co-ordination is needed to help the stroke flow. Race strategies/ If its is a sprint event e.g. 50,100 I like to go full out! Longer distances e.g. 200,400,800,1500 I go out fast on the first 25: fast pace in the middle; and a 50m sprint to finish. If the event is an I.M I will swim to my advantages. I prefer individual sports as opposed to team games because you control your own race and you don’t rely on anyone else. Social factors which help me participate in the activity are self-confidence, self esteem, One aspect of fitness that is important to my activity is CRE, a fitness test I did to establish this was a speed endurance set. The set was as follows- 5x 400 alt I.m f/c on 6:00 10200 alt f/c b/c on 3:00 20x 100 f/c on 1:45. 9,000 meters in total plus warm up and cool down. My performance in Buckie in April was a learning point for me because there was things I could have done better to improve my races, I got 1 pb and 1 DQ . My strengths were good warm ups, butterfly, starts, eating and sleeping, the weaknesses were turns, sprinting, concentration, confidence, I doubted my own ability and this resulted in me not performing my best. I wasn’t well prepared and hadn’t trained for the event which possibly affected my race as well. A tumble turn Preperation/ practice swimming and somersaulting in the middle of the pool before you approach the wall try this a few times until you are confident Action/Maintain speed approaching the wall keep arms at sides after the last two strokes. Tuck head to chest rotate hands and push down with palms while using a small dolphin kick to engage your core then flip feet over the surface of the water. Plant feet on the wall with knees bent, stretch arms above head into a streamlined position and push off the wall facing the surface of the water. Recovery/During streamline, use core strength to rotate upper torso then lower torso to return facing the bottom of the pool. After a few fly kicks return to the surface of the water and continue swimming.

advantages and disadvantages of vaccinations

advantages and disadvantages of vaccinations Introduction Vaccination or immunization is a means of providing specific protection against many common and damaging pathogens by stimulating an organisms immune system to either produce humoral antibodies against the pathogen (or toxins produced by the pathogen) or T cells that can provide cell-mediated immunity (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Though ancient scientists did mention about prevention of infectious diseases through immunisation, it was Edward Jenner who developed the first vaccine. The vaccine was developed against small pox in the year 1796. The next vaccine came up almost a century later by Louis Pasteur. The vaccine was anti-rabies vaccine and was first used in 1885. The development of anti-rabies vaccine kindled hope for prevention of other infectious diseases, leading to immense research and development of several other vaccines (Shah, Nitin and Kukrej, 2007). The term vaccination was coined by Edward Jenner. Vaccination is the method of causing immunity to a disease by administration of an antigenic material into the body. The term vaccination is used interchangeably with immunity, which is derived from the Greek word immune which means to be protected. Several vaccines have been developed which either prevent or ameliorate several infectious diseases. The first disease for which vaccine was developed is small pox. Infact, even before Edward Jenner developed a proper vaccine against small pox, people in India and China inoculated fluids taken from small pox vesicles of patients suffering from mild course of disease. Despite the marked usefulness of vaccination in the prevention of infectious diseases, vaccination is still a much debated topic and has several medical safety, ethical, political and religious implications. In this essay, vaccination, types of vaccines, implications of vaccination and novel vaccines will be discussed with reference to recent literature. Mechanism of action of vaccines Vaccines act by developing immunity to the particular disease by inducing the development of antibodies. There are basically 2 types of immunity, innate immunity and acquired immunity. Innate immunity develops after actual exposure to the disease organism. Acquired immunity develops after exposure to vaccination. Acquired immunity may be active or passive immunity. Active immunity is that immunity that develops following exposure to antigenic stimulus, while passive immunity develops after direct injection of antibodies in the form of either sera or immunoglobulins, inside the body. The type of immunity rendered by vaccination is active immunity. Passive immunity confers temporary protection. The antibodies are taken from individuals or animals who are already infected with the disease. Active immunity renders long term protection (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). A pathogenic infectious agent induces disease and at the same time triggers the immune system of the host to develop antibodies against the disease. These antibodies help in the recovery of the host from the disease and continue to offer protection to subsequent infections from the same pathogen. This principle has been used for vaccination. Through vaccination, antigens which mimic the original pathogen of the respective disease are introduced into the body. The antigens only trigger the immune response, but do not cause the disease. The immune response may be cell-mediated or humoral, or even both, depending on which series of T helper lymphocytes are stimulated. Stimulation of Th1 series leads to lymphocytic response, while stimulation of Th2 series leads to humoral response. The timing of vaccine is based on several factors, the most important of which is the susceptibility of the disease, reactogenecity and presence of maternal antibodies. Thus, BCG and OPV vaccines are given at birth, because the child can get exposed to tuberculosis and polio at birth due to absence of maternal immunity and risk of susceptibility at this age. Similarly, vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hemophilus influenza are given in early childhood for maximum reactogenecity and protection against the diseases (Shah, 2007). Many vaccines are given together and this makes sense because concurrent administration of more than one vaccine does not interfere with the take of one another. It is important to give atleast 4 weeks time before the administration of second dose of the same vaccine (Shah, 2007). Types of vaccines The antigens in vaccines may be either live organisms, modified exotoxins, subunits of organisms or whole inactivated organisms. There are basically two types of vaccine: live vaccines and inactivated vaccines. In live vaccines, the pathogen, either virus or bacteria is weakened or attenuated. They act by causing non-clinical and self-limiting disease, thus triggering the immune system and inducing immunity. On administration, the pathogens multiply in the host and trigger immune response. The pathogens do not cause any disease because they are attenuated. However, in immunocompromised patients, live vaccines can cause disease. One major advantage with live vaccines is that a single dose is sufficient to confer long-term immunity. Examples of live vaccines are oral polio vaccine, measles vaccine, mumps vaccine and yellow fever vaccine (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Inactivated vaccines consist of either killed pathogens, subunits of pathogens or toxins released by pathogens. The killed vaccines are made up of pathogens which are grown in suitable culture, subsequent to which the pathogens, either bacteria or virus are killed either thermally or chemically with formaldehyde. More often than not, the polysaccharide immunogenic antigen is binded chemically with a protein molecule, to enhance the immunogenecity of the vaccine. Inactivated vaccines have to be given in multiple doses. The immunity is for a short period. Hence boosters doses are essential. Examples of inactivated virus vaccines are, hepatitis A vaccine, inactivated polio vaccine and rabies vaccine. Inactivated bacterial vaccines are whole cell killed typhoid vaccine and pertussis vaccine. Viral subunit vaccine is HBsAg vaccine. Toxoid vaccines are tetanus and diphtheria vaccines. Capsular polysaccharide vaccines are hemophilus influenza, typhoid Vi, pneumococcal and meningococcal vacc ines. In these vaccines, though the pathogens are destroyed and are not able to undergo replications, the capsid proteins, which are antigens are recognized by the immune system of the vaccinees, causing an immune response (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Bacterial subunit vaccine is acellular pertussis vaccine. Sub-unit vaccines are those which use purified components of the cell wall to initiate immune response in the vaccinee. Some of the examples of such vaccines are meningococcus, pertussis, hemophilus and pneumococcus vaccines. An interesting vaccine worth discussing at this juncture is the hepatitis-B vaccine which is developed by purification of the antigenic proteins that are manufactured subsequent to expression from a gene that is cloned into a vector like yeast (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Polysaccharide vaccines are basically weak antigens that are T-independent and hence cause IgM responses without development of immunologic memory that is critical for stable and long-term imm unity. In such vaccines, the immunogenecity is enhanced by conjugating the antigens with other proteins like meningococcus, hemophilus and pneumococcus that are T-dependent and induce immulogic memory (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). The type of vaccination needed for a specific disease depends on the pathogenesis of the disease. For example, pathogens like diphtheria and tetanus cause the disease by releasing certain toxins called exotoxins. In these cases, antibodies which neutralise and prevent the binding of the exotoxin to respective receptors on the target cells prevent the disease. Thus vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus are toxoids. On the other hand, other pathogens have other pathogeneses, and consequently, antibodies which either react directly with the pathogen or eliminate the pathogen through either intracellular killing, complement mediated lysis or phagocytosis are essential. Pathogens like protozoa, viruses and intracellular bacteria which harbor inside the cells cannot be accessed by the antibodies and in such diseases, cells harboring the pathogens need to be destroyed (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Immunity conferred by a particular vaccine may be either lifelong or may last for few months. Examples of former type of vaccines are mumps, rubella, measles, tuberculosis, small pox and yellow fever. Cholera vaccine confers immunity only for few months and hence may be used only during outbreaks. Vaccines like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and hemophilus influenza are part of primary immunization and must be given between 2-3 months of age. Mumps, measles and rubella vaccines must be given between 13- 15 months (Shah et al, 2007). Adjuvants Adjuvants are those chemicals which are added in the vaccine to enhance the immunogenecity of the vaccines. The most widely used adjuvants are aluminum salts, which are used in DPT. Other adjuvants which are in experimental stage include Freuds complete and incomplete adjuvants, certain oligonucleotides and some synthetic polymers. Certain bacteria also act as adjuvants and examples are Nocardia and BCG. Adjuvants increase immunogenecity by recognizing TOLL-like receptors, leading to activation of mononuclear phagocytes and induction of certain cytokines which enhance Th1 and Th2 responses (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Prophylactic and therapeutic immunisation Most of the vaccines are given as a prophylactic measures against their respective diseases, in the sense, the vaccines are given prior to exposure to the disease pathogen. In case of rabies and tetanus, the vaccination is given after exposure to the pathogen and this is known as post-exposure immunization. In some situations like tetanus, which has very short incubation period, both active and passive immunisation may be necessary post-exposure (Shah, 2007). Strains used Only particular strains are used for the development of any vaccine. Danish 1331 and Copenhagen are the commonly used strains in the BCG vaccine. Both are strains of mycobacterium bovis. In each 0.1ml, 0.1- 0.4 million live viable bacilli are present. Each vial of OPV vaccine contains more than one million inactivated viruses 1,2 and 3. Measles vaccine is derived from live attenuated Edmonston Zagreb strain that is grown in the human diploid cell culture. MMR vaccine vaccine contains 1000 TCID50 of measles, 5000 TCID50 of mumps and 1000 TCID50 of rubella virus . There are several strains from which measles vaccine is developed and they are Edmonston Zagreb, Schwarz, Moraten and Edmonston B strains. The strains are grown in human diploid cell culture and live attenuated viruses are used to prepare the vaccine. Of these, Edmonston Zagreb strain is the most commonly used strain. The mumps strains used are Urabe AM9, Leningrad-Zagreb, RIT 4385 or Jerryl Lynn. The efficacy between various strains is similar. The strains are grown in chick embryo or human diploid cell cultures. For preparing the rubella vaccine, the strain used is RA 27/3 vaccine strain. The virus is grown in human diploid or chick embryo cell cultures. Live attenuated form of the virus is used for preparation of the vaccine (Shah, 2007). Market availability BCG vaccines are available in multi-dose dark colored ampoules. Single dose vaccine is not available. The vials are available as 10-dose vial and 20 dose vial. The 10 dose vial has to be reconstituted with 0.5 ml of normal saline and the 20 dose vial has to be reconstituted with 1ml sodium chloride solution (Shah, 2007). Storage Storage again, depends on the type of vaccine. Constituents of BCG vaccine are freeze-dried and can be stored at temperatures between 2-80 degree centigrade for one year. The preparation is vacuum sealed. Hence the ampoule must be opened carefully after gradual filing to avoid sudden entry of air and spillage of the contents. Reconstitution is done using normal saline. The vaccine has no preservative and thus the chances of bacterial contamination are high. Hence after reconstitution, the vaccine must be used within 4 hours and the left over vaccine must be discarded. Until those 4 hours, the vaccine has to be stored between 2- 8 degree centigrade. Oral polio vaccine contains stabilising agent magnesium sulphate and hence is stable after refrigeration. At state and district levels, the polio vaccine stocks must be stored at -200 degree centigrade. In clinics, it must be stored in the freezer. While transferring the vaccine to an outreach facility, the vaccine must be carried in prope r vaccine carriers loaded with ice packs to maintain temperature between 2- 80 degree centigrade. DPT vaccine has to be stored between 2-8 degree centigrade. The vaccine should never be frozen and any vial accidentally frozen must be discarded. Measles vaccine can either be frozen or stored in refrigerator compartment (Shah, 2007). Shelf life Shelf life varies from vaccine to vaccine. While some vaccines can be stored for several years, some others can be stored only for few months. For BCG, when stored under recommended temperatures in dark place, the shelf life is 24 months. Measles vaccine is supplied as freeze-dried and the shelf-life is 1-2 years or even more (Shah, 2007). Reconstitution While some vaccines like DPT and typhoid are ready-to-use vaccines, others like BCG, measles and hemophilus influenza vaccines are freeze dried need to be reconstituted with appropriate solutions. BCG vaccine has to be reconstituted with sodium chloride solution provided by the manufacturers. measles vaccine must be reconstituted with sterile water. The vaccine does not have any preservative and hence strict asepsis must be maintained while diluting and aspirating contents. Reconstituted vaccine must not be stored (Shah, 2007). Administration Site and mode of administration depends on the vaccine. For BCG, the vaccine can be given anywhere. However, the recommended site is the convex aspect of the left shoulder for the purpose of easy visualization of the scar. The most preferred site of injection is the site at which the deltoid inserts into the humerus. Injection at sites higher than this level on the arm are likely to develop keloid (CDC, 2009). Oral polio vaccine is administered orally. The principle behind oral vaccination is that high gut immunity levels prevent transmission of the wild or pathogenic polio viruses. DPT, Hemophilus influenza, inactivated polio , hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, and other such vaccine shave to be given intramuscularly and measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccines need to be given subcutaneously. The seroconversion rates of the oral polio vaccine are variable. For polio viruses type- 1, 2 and 3, the seroconversion rates after one dose of vaccine are 73%, 90% and 70%. Hence multiple doses are recommended to achive seroconversion of 90- 95 percent for all the 3 types of vaccine (Shah, 2007). Advantages of vaccination The advantages of vaccines are innumerous and hence all countries in the world have adopted vaccination in their public health policy. infact, vaccination is the best means of prevention of certain infectious disease, especially in new borns, infants and childrens who are vulnerable to certain diseases. In many cases, even if the vaccinee develops the disease for which he or she is vaccinated, the course of the disease is usally mild and recovery is fast. Attenuated vaccines trigger all phases of immune system and confer more stable immunity. Most live attenuated vaccines need no boosters. they are cheap and immunity develops quickly. The drugs are easy to transport. Some live vaccines like oral polio vaccine are easy to administer, can be given orally (Shah, 2007). Vaccines are useful not only to prevent disease, but also to eradicate the disease from the globe. Small pox, a deadly poxy disease was eradicated from the world only through vaccination. Currently, polio is on the verge of eradication because of oral polio vaccines and inactivated polio vaccine. However, there is ongoing debate about the continuing use of these vaccines with respect to community protection, as against individual protection. This debate arises in the wake of rising cases of paralytic poliomyelitis and vaccine derived polioviruses with oral polio vaccine (Thacker and Shendurnikar, 2003). Researchers are under the opinion that once poliovirus is eradicated, vaccine derived poliomyelitis will surge if oral polio vaccine administration is continued. To gaurd the development of this problem, inactivated polio vaccine which is administered in the form of injection is being introduced even in developing and underdeveloped countries (Shah, 2007). Bacillus Calmette Guerin vaccine or BCG vaccine is a vaccine against tuberculosis that was first developed in 1921 by Albert Calmette, a French microbiologist and Camille Guerin, a veterinary surgeon. Currently, BCG is the only vaccine against tuberculosis. The mechanism of immunity induced by this vaccine is cell-mediated immunity. The protective effect of this vaccine is not very good, especially for pulmonary tuberculosis ( Vaccines are a of immense economic value in the health care system and this is evident from the cost-benefit ratios (1:10) of poliomyelitis and measles (Mason et al, 2002). However, in developing and underdeveloped countries many people do not have the access to many vaccines due to lack of infrastructure, coordinated health policies and cost factor. Disadvantages of vaccination Vaccination is associated with many side effects. However the benefits of vaccination outweigh the disadvantages of vaccination. The safety of vaccines is always a disputed aspect, expecially by critics. However, vaccines are selected basically based on the necessity, safety and efficacy and they licensed only after undergoing 3 phases of trials. The first phase is on human volunteers for safety and tolerance aspects. The second trial tests immune response and safety in human volunteers and the third trial checks for field efficacy nd safety. After these trials, potency, purity and sterility tests are performed by both the manufacturer and the Drug controller of the country and only when these are satisfactory is the vaccine released into market. The efficacy of certain vaccines like BCG is doubted. While many studies have shown this vaccine to be efficacious, promoting its ised in Asian and African countries, the vaccine is not recommended for routine use in the United States because of the doubts casted on the benefits of the vaccine through some studies (CDC, 2009). Improper manufacturing of inactivated vaccines can result in infections due to intact pathogens. Booster doses are essential for inactivated vaccines because the antigens cannot reproduce and thus periodic reinforcement of immune response is mandatory (Ghaffar and Haqqi, 2010). Some previous studies published a causal relationship betwen measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism. However, the Institute of Medicine nd Immunisation Safety Review Committee (2004) investigated the relationship and rejected the causal relationship. Though vaccination against varicella is highly efficacious, many experts do not recommend the vaccine because naturally acquired immunity offers protection life long and prevents adult chicken more which is more severe than childhood chicken pox. Infact, some studies have shown that iniversant infant vaccination of chicken pox will cause a surge in chicken pox in adulthoos and during pregnancy. Based on these studies, experts are of the opinion that though chicken pox vaccination prevents economic loss due to loss of work time, health care costs may arise (Ferson, 1995). Some experts are of the opinion that the shift of surge in cases towards adulthood and oldage can be minimised by administering the vaccine in 2-3 doses, instead of single dose (Senterre, 2004). In some countries, a new combination vaccine consisting of vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella has been developed. While the argument as to whether universal vaccination against varicella continues, this co mbination vaccine is viewed from a critical point because of increased risk of febrile seizures. (Klein et al, 2010). Vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis, a zoonotic viral disease is widely used in countries in Asia. The vaccine is an inactivated vaccine developed from infected brain tissue of mouse. This vaccine is expensive and needs to be administered in 2-3 doses. Even booster dose is required for this vaccine. However the vaccine is associated with adverse reactions in significant number of people. In China and other regions like Korea, a cheap vaccine is used with strain SA 14- 14- 2. This vaccine is not associted with significant allergic reactions. Though the vaccine has been deemed effective, there are not many trials to support the safe and efficient use of this vaccine (Plesner, 2003). Some vaccines are very costly. For example, the vaccines against HPV virus, for the prevention of cervical cancer are around 100US dollars. The efficacy of the vaccine is 70 percent and hence screening for cervical cancer needs to be done even despite vaccination. The vaccine has to be given in 3 doses and many people cannot afford the price (Madrid-Madrina, 2009). Live attenuated vaccines are difficult to transport and have a risk of undergoing secondary mutation which can cause virulence. Also, these vaccines can cause disease in immunosuppressed persons, which makes them useless in those with immunocompromise. It is for these reasons that live oral polio virus vaccine, also known as the Sabin vaccine is being gradually replaced by inactivated polio vaccine or Salk vaccine. Almost all vaccines have some adverse effects. The most common adverse effect is soreness and redness at the site of injection. other adverse effects include fever, malaise, disconfort, allergic reaction or even neurological problems. The type of side effect depends on the vaccine. In BCG, adverse reaction in the form of papule and ulcer formation is an indication of successful vaccine administration. Soon after the vaccine is administered a wheal of atleast 5 mm develops which is an indication that the vaccine was administered in the most appropriate manner. After about 2-3 weeks, a small papule develops at the site of injection which gradually increases in size to about 4- 8mm by the end of 5-6 weeks. After about 6 weeks, the papule ruptures and an ulcer develops. This ulcer heals slowly and develops a scar after 6- 12 weeks. Other undesirable adverse reactions can occur in 1-10 percent cases. They are delayed healing of ulcer, lymphangitis, enlargement of ipsilateral cervical and axillary lymph nodes, abscess formation, osteomyelitis and rarely disseminated BCG vaccination. After DPT administration, side effects in noted in more than 40 percent of vaccinees. The most common adverse effect noted is pain and redness at the site of injection. The pain may be so severe that the child may not be able to move the limb and walk. Induration and swelling may also be present. Fever is also very common. It may last for 24- 72 hours and responds well to paracetamol. All children who have been administered this vaccine must receive paracetamol whether there is fever or not, for control of pain. Other systemic side effects include vomiting, anorexia, irritability, lassitude and excessive crying.The side effects are due to pertussis vaccine. Rarely, seizures can occur after administration of the vaccine. For vaccines like measles and varicella, rash and fever many occur (Shah, 2007). Some adverse effects can be nasty. For example, Swine flu vaccine is associated with Guillian barre syndrome, anaphylactic shock, vasculitis, paralysis and even death and this aspect is preventing many individuals from taking the vaccine.(Menzies et al, 2008). Pneumococcal vaccine can rarely can anaphylactic shock or even convulsions (Haber et al, 2009). Thus vaccination is associated with several risks and prior to administration of vaccines, the risks and benefits must be ascertained. Combination vaccines 2 ore more vaccines can be either given together at the same time. Currently, two or more vaccines are administered through the same injection. The combination depends on the vaccine and the manufacturers criteria. For several years, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis were given as combination vaccine, known as DPT. Similarly measles, mumps and rubella are also available as combination vaccines. other recent combination vaccines include hepatitis A and B vaccines, DPT with hemophilus influenza and inactivated polio vaccine, etc. Combination vaccines are safe and reduce the number of injections that need to be given to the child. They do not decrease the efficacy of vaccination. They increase the compliance to vaccination (Shah, 2007). Novel vaccines Some novel vaccines have been developed and are under trial in the wake of debate between advantages and disadvantages of current vaccines available. Some of the important ones are DNA vaccines, immunodominant peptides and anti-idiotype molecules. of recent interest in the field of vaccination are plant-vaccines, which are erived from plants and can be administered orally or through oral mucosa (WHO, 2010). The vaccines derived thus are expected to be cheap with minimal side effects. research in plant vaccines is a result of revolution in proteomics and genomics, and greater understanding of the molecular basis of infectious diseases and advances in modern biotechnology. Edible plant vaccines employ a new strategy of combining plant biology with medical science. Research has shown that some variants of tobacco express hepatitis B surface antigen and streptomutans surface protein and infact the torch of research in plant-derived vaccines is taken from here. Novel vaccines have only su b-units of the pathogen and hence do not cause any virulence even in immunosuppressed patients. other than tobacco, other plants which are potential sources of vaccines are tomato, banana, alfalfa, legumes and certain cereals (Refer figure and tables below). Some research has pointed to the role of oral transgenic plant-derived vaccines in the prevention of diarrhoeal diseases by some pathogens like norovirus, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and cholera (Tacket, 2004). Plant-derived vaccines have several advantages. Besides lower cost of vaccination, another major advantages of the vaccines are that they are administered orally and hence the need for injection equipment is not needed. This decreases the risks associated with injections like unsafe injection, poor sterilization, misuse and reuse. The vaccines will need less rigorous formulations for manufacture and supply unlike injections. Another major advantage of plant-derived vaccines is heat stability which avoids the maintena nce of expensive cold-chains, and allows easy portability of the vaccine. Since most of the plant-derived vaccines are effective mucosally, it is an advantage because most infections are acquired through mucosa and mucosal immunity prevents entry of the pathogens into the host. Plant-derived vaccines can be given as combination vaccines. Plant derived vaccines can be given even for diseases not covered under regular vaccination like sexually transmitted diseases, dengue hookworm and HIV. The development of plant-derived vaccines is yet in cocoon stage due to return of investment doubts, uncertain licentures, limited human trials and lack of expertise (Arzten, 2002). Fig.1. Plant derived vaccine development strategy (Das, 2009). Table 1. Antigens produced in transgenic plants (Das, 2009) Protein Plant Hepatitis B surface antigen Rabies virus glycoprotein Norwalk virus capsid protein E.coliheat-labile enterotoxin B subunit Cholera toxin B subunit Mouse glutamate decarboxylase VP1 protein of foot and mouth disease virus Insulin Glycoprotein swine-transmissible gastroenteritis cornavirus Tobacco Tomato Tobacco Potato Potato, tobacco Potato Arabidopsis Potato Arabidopsis Table-2. Transient production of antigens in plants after infection with plant viruses expressing a recombinant gene (Das, 2009) Protein  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Plant  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carrier Influenza antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     TMV Murine zona pellucida antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TMV Rabies antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spinach  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AFMV HIV-1 antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AFMV Mink enteritis virus antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Black eyed bean  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CPMV Colon cancer antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   TMV Table-3 Antibodies and antibody fragments produced in transgenic plants (Das, 2009) Antibody  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Plant IgG (k)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transition stage analog  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco IgM (ÃŽÂ »)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   NP(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  acetyl hapten Single domain (dAb)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Substance P  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco Single chain Fv  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phytochrome  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco Single chain Fv  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Artichoke mottled virus  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  coat protein Fab; IgG (k)     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human creatin kinase  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arabidopsis IgG (k)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fungal cutinase  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco IgG (k) and SIgG/A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   S. mutagens adhesin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Tobacco hybrid Single chain Fv  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abscisic acid  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco Single chain Fv  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nematode antigen  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco Single chain Fv  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ²-glucuronidase  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tobacco   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ²-1,4 endoglucanase  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Single chain  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Atrazin, Paraquat  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco antibody fragment  Ã‚  Ã‚   IgG  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Glycoprotein B of  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Soybean   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Herpes simplex virus  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion

Strategy Of Tesco To Nigeria Commerce Essay

Strategy Of Tesco To Nigeria Commerce Essay This report seeks to analyse the different modes of entry into a foreign market available to an organisation, showing their relevant strengths and weaknesses. For the purpose of this, Tesco Plc. has been chosen, showing the various entry modes available to the organisation as it seeks to diversify into the Nigerian grocery market. In an attempt to evaluate these entry modes, this report has been structured into three main parts: First, PESTLE and Porters five forces as tools used to assess the attractiveness of a given market were analysed showing their strengths and weaknesses. The second part of this report focuses on the value chain and SWOT analysis as analytical tools which can be used by an organisation to gauge its internal capabilities. Finally, the different entry modes available to Tesco such as; exporting, licencing, franchising, joint venture and wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) were discussed and the most appropriate mode of entry recommended. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Strategy is a long term direction of an organisation (Johnson et al 2011). It is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a specific goal, directed towards the achievement of the set objectives of an organisation. According to Jones and Hill 2010, strategy is a set of related actions that managers take to increase their companys performance. It shows the plans and actions carried out by managers in an organisation to improve its performance and gain a position of advantage over its competitors. Strategy shows the position of the organisation in relation to its external environment, the strategic choices and directions available to the organisation and the action plan on how to achieve the strategies in line with the organisations goal and objective. Strategy is a design or plan for achieving a companys policy, goals and objectives; it is a design or plan that defines how policy is to be achieved (Davies 2000). Huff et al 2009, sees strategy as a purposeful attempt to achieve an objective. This shows that the strategic plan of an organisation is intended and directed towards the achievement of the objectives of the organisation. Corporate Level StrategyThree levels of strategy exist in an organisation; Business Level Strategy Operational Level Strategy Figure 1: Levels of strategy (Adapted from Johnson et al 2011) The corporate level strategy is a strategy that affects the overall scope of the organisation, the business level strategy is a strategy made at the strategic business units in an organisation and such strategy does not affect the whole organisation. While the operational level strategy deals with the processes or people used in implementing both the corporate and business level strategies. In an attempt to understand these concepts defined above, this report will address the market entry potentials and the different modes of entry available to Tesco in its bid to internationalise into the Nigerian grocery market, using relevant tools and framework. This report will be structured to address three different tasks: First the analytical tools used in gauging the attractiveness of a given market such as; PESTLE, Porters five forces, Porters Diamond, Scenarios, BCG matrix etc. Secondly, analytical tools such as Value chain, SWOT, Strategy canvas, Ansoff matrix, Value network etc. used to gauge the internal capabilities of an organisation, with emphasis laid on the value chain and SWOT analysis, will be assessed. Finally the different modes of entry available to Tesco, such as exporting, licensing, franchising, sales subsidiary, joint venture, wholly owned enterprise will be discussed in details in this report and the most appropriate mode of entry recommended for the organis ation. 2.0 ANALYTICAL TOOLS USED TO GAUGE THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF A MARKET A strategic decision maker has a range of analytical tools which could be used for this purpose, such as; PESTLE, Porters Five Forces, Scenario Analysis, Porters Diamond etc. these analytical tools helps the manager to assess the attractiveness of a given market in terms of cost, profitability, competition and other external factors which might influence the smooth operation of the organisation in the market. Scenario Analysis: Scenario analysis helps strategic decision makers to manage and minimize relevant risk and it also helps them to address key uncertainties which might arise in future. A scenario may depict an explanation of how some future state evolves including the sequence of events, conditions or changes that precede or cause the future states to occur (Linneman et al, 1983). Porters Diamond: This tool proposes that the characteristics of the national environment influence the competitive advantages of a nation (Mann and Byun 2011). Four interrelated determinants of national advantage have been identified in the work of Dogl et al 2012, that influence competitive advantage of organisations such as; factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. In order to assess the attractiveness of a given market, emphasis will be laid by this report on the PESTLE and Porters five forces, bringing out their relative strength and weaknesses. 2.1 PESTLE ANALSIS Pestle analysis is in effect an audit of organisations external environmental influences with the purpose of using this information for strategic decision making (CIPD 2010). It is an important macro-environmental audit tool, which shows the various factors in an organisations external environment likely to affect the operation of the organisation. These factors includes; political, economic, social, technological, legislative and environmental. Pestle analysis consists of carefully determining all these factors and finding out exactly in what way and to what extent these factors influence a certain organisation and it also provides the organisation with vital information about its environment; hence it is a mandatory analysis (Marketing Minefield 2012). Organisation Legislative Environmental Economic Social Political Technological Figure 2: PESTLE Framework of an organisation (Adapted from Marketing Minefield) Political: This represents the way through which the government and political situation of a country influence the performance of an organisation. Political forces can influence marketing decisions by setting the rules by which the business will be conducted (Jobber 2010). Some of the political factors which are likely to influence an organisation include; Political stability Tax policy and reforms Trade restrictions Consumer protection laws Government policies and rule of law The political instability evidenced in Nigeria at present and other government policies and laws are likely challenges to Tescos internationalisation strategy to Nigeria. Economic: Prevalent economic conditions in a given country will pose a great challenge to the operations of an organisation. According to Kotler et al 2008, the economic also consists of factors that affect the consumer purchasing power and spending pattern. Some of these factors are; Income distribution Labour cost Fluctuations in interest and exchange rate Rate of economic growth Inflation Cost of living Income distribution, poor infrastructure and inflation in Nigeria are some of the factors Tesco should consider before moving into the Nigerian market. Socio-cultural: Changes in the socio-cultural trends of a country such as the population growth rate, health, social attitudes, age distribution and cultural beliefs of the country can affect the operation of an organisation and therefore have a direct impact on the demand for the companys product. Technological: The rate of technological advancement today will pose a challenge to an organisation. Rapid change in technology is a huge factor that will influence an organisation. Hence organisations have to be aware of the current technological trend of the environment in which they carry out their business. Some of the technological factors likely to influence an organisation are; Internet and various information systems Speed of technology transfer Impact of emerging technologies. Research and development Legal: Laws such as, health and safety laws, consumer protection laws, licensing laws, competition and employment laws prevalent in any country will affect the smooth operation of organisations. Environmental: These are laws or factors on the surrounding environment of an organisation which can influence the way the organisations operates. Factors such as environmental laws and regulations, waste disposal, energy consumption, geographic location are likely to affect an organisation. 2.2 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF PESTLE ANALYSIS STRENGTHS It provides the organisation with a better understanding of the prevailing conditions in their business environment. It helps organisations to detect or anticipate future problems and take necessary actions to avoid or cushion its effect. Opens up available business opportunities for the organisation to exploit. It encourages the development of strategic thinking within an organisation. WEAKNESSES PESTLE analysis could be time consuming and expensive to carry out. It does not take into consideration key players in the organisations industry such as the competitors (analysed by the five forces) which could be a great force to reckon. The analysis needs to be reviewed on a regular basis for it to be effective. Results of the analysis are often subjective and could be based on assumptions. 2.3 PORTERS FIVE FORCES Bargaining power of Suppliers Bargaining power of Buyers Threats of new EntrantsThe five forces framework helps to identify the attractiveness of an industry or sector in terms of the competitive forces (Johnson et al 2008). It offers a way of assessing the likely strength of competition in any given market (Blythe 2006). Competitive rivalry Threats of Substitutes Figure 3: Porters Five Forces Model (Adapted). The aim of the Porters five forces analysis is to identify the nature, strength and impact of these competitive pressures so that individual forms can create strategies that defend them from their impact or influence them in their favour (Kippenberger 1998). It forms a useful starting point for undertaking a competitive analysis (Brassington and Pettitt 2006). Threats of New Entrants: This refers to the possibility of new firms entering into the industry. New entrants into an industry have the potential of increasing the level of competition in such industry, thereby reducing its attractiveness. Some of the barriers of entry into an industry are; Economies of scale Capital requirement Customer Loyalty Experience Government restrictions (Licensing) The entry barrier in the Nigeria grocery market is low; hence this will not pose a challenge to Tesco moving into the country. Although there will be a strong retaliation from companies operating in the industry such as Shoprite and Spar. Threats of Substitutes: substitutes are products or services with similar benefits or attributes to a companys product. This may exist when the demand of a companys product reduces due to a change in the price or performance of a substitute product. Determinants of threats of substitute include, Price and performance of substitutes Relative switching costs to substitute products. Bargaining Power of Buyers: If the buyers have a high bargaining power, they can demand lower prices, product or service improvements and this will in turn affect the profit of the organisation. The most important determinant of buyer power is the size and the concentration of customers (Karagiannopoulos et al 2005). Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers will definitely affect the attractiveness of a given market. If suppliers of a companys products possess high power, they tend to fix the prices of their products and might eat up the profits of the company. Suppliers tend to possess more powers when; There few and concentrated suppliers Switching cost is high Suppliers provide a specialist or rare input. The bargaining power of suppliers in the Nigeria market could be between medium to high and Tesco has to consider this before moving into the country. A backward integration of maybe an alliance with the suppliers will be a good strategy to adopt in order to avoid the effect of suppliers powers. Competitive Rivalry: These are organisations in the same industry with similar products and services, also targeting the same customers. Threats from competitors are the most important challenge facing an organisation. The major competitors in the Nigerian grocery market which could pose a challenge to Tesco are, Shoprite, Spar and Mega Plaza. Tesco in order to avoid the effect of these competitors could be either cost focus by offering quality products at a reduced price or focus differentiation by targeting a different segment of the market. 2.4 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FIVE FORCES STRENGTHS The five forces shows the attractiveness of a given market It provides a detailed analysis of the key players in the industry such as the suppliers, buyers and competitors. It is a useful tool used in strategic planning in organisations. It opens up the relevant threats in the companys industry such as the threats from competitors. WEAKNESSES The model fails to consider other macro-environmental factors such as political, economic, legal etc. (like the PESTLE model) which might affect the operation of an organisation. Porters model does not pay much attention to non-market sources of change in an organisation (McGowan and Mahon 2000). It does not consider the possibility of creating a new market. 2.5 COMPARISON OF THE PESTLE AND PORTERS FIVE FORCES From the discussions of both analytical tools, the PESTLE focuses more on the macro-environmental factors that can affect an organisations operation and fails to take note of the key players in the organisations industry such as suppliers, buyers and competitors whose impact could also affect an organisation. The five forces while trying to bridge the gap by analysing the organisations immediate environment, took into recognition the buyers, suppliers and competitors, which is an important player in the industry. However, it fails to have a broader view and consider other factors within the organisations external environment which can affect the operation of the organisation. 3.0 ANALYTICAL TOOLS USED TO GUAGE THE INTERNAL CAPABILITIES OF A COMPANY Analytical tools such as the value chain, SWOT, value network, strategy canvas etc. are available for use by a strategic decision maker to assess the internal capabilities of a company moving into a new market. However, for the purpose of this report, the SWOT analysis and the value chain will be used, showing their respective strengths and weaknesses. 3.1 POTERS VALUE CHAIN A value chain is an interrelated series of processes that produces a service or product to the satisfaction of the customers. It involves internal linkages between a firms core processes, its supporting processes and its external linkages with the processes of its customers and suppliers (krajewski et al 2007). A value chain therefore refers to all those activities that support the process of value creation in an organisation. There are a lot of activities grouped into the primary and supporting activities that shows the internal capabilities of a firm as it creates value for the whole organisation. IT Infrastructure Supporting Activities Inbound Logistics Human Resource Margin Finance Procurement Outbound Logistics Services Marketing and Sales Operations Margin Primary Activities Figure 4: Porters Value Chain (Adapted) According to Kippenberger 1997, the value chain is designed to show the total value of a firm and consists of the firms value activities aimed at improving its margin. The values chain evaluates each activity in the organisation and the way it creates or adds value to the whole organisation through its margin (profit). The way an organisation creates value through its activities creates a good position about the organisation in the minds of its customers. This suggests that if an organisation creates adequate value through its activities and its relationship with its customers, it will gain a competitive advantage over its competitors and increase its margin as well. For Tesco to survive in the Nigeria grocery market, it is important that it understands and improve on its internal capabilities (resources and competences), thereby creating adequate value through its activities as this will give it a competitive advantage over its competitors. A companys competitive advantage largely depends on how it manages all its value creation activities in relation to competitors in the same industry. Tesco can create value for its through its activities by: Offering unique product or service. High quality and low-priced products (being cost focus). Immediate response to the changing environment and customer needs. Developing distinctive capabilities to meet the needs and demands of customers effectively. 3.2 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE VALUE CHAIN STRENGTHS The value chain shows the activities and the processes involved in creating value in an organisation. Information provided by the value chain forms a basis for an organisation to develop alternative strategies. It enables an organisation to identify its internal capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Value chain helps the organisation to determine its value creation to customers; this will enable them to note areas of improvement. It reveals an organisations competitive position with competitors in the same industry. It enables organisations to determine their strategic position and make good strategic decisions. WEAKNESSES The value chain analysis is designed only for the organisations internal purposes. Value chain activities of an organisation cannot exist individually; hence cooperation between the activities is required for the chain to function properly (Glaser 2008). It focuses more on profit and how to increase the margin of the organisation. 3.3 SWOT ANALYSIS Undesirable DesirableA SWOT analysis is a structured approach to evaluating the strategic position of a business by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It provides a simple method of synthesizing the results of the marketing audit (Jobber, 2010). A SWOT analysis of an organisation shows a summary of the organisations traits or competences, which are its strengths and weaknesses, as well as the competitive factors it faces in its environment (opportunities and threats). A good SWOT analysis of an organisation will expose the opportunities available to the organisation as well as the threats which could pose a challenge to the smooth operation of the organisation. A proper understanding of the SWOT of an organisation will enable the organisation to convert its weaknesses into strength and the threats in its environment into opportunities. Strengths Weaknesses Uncontrollable Controllable Threats Opportunities Figure 5: SWOT Framework (Adapted from Novicevic et al 2004) The SWOT analysis shows a summary of the firms marketing situation which encompasses the findings form the internal and external strategic analysis that provides the back-end planning perspective of controllable and uncontrollable variables/events (Novicevic et al 2004). According to Duarte et al 2006, a SWOT analysis is a way to analyse the environment, allowing for the segregation of the environment into internal strengths and weakness and the external opportunities and threats as well as positive and negative environment. For Tescos internationalisation strategy, a SWOT analysis of the company should be properly carried out to assess its internal capabilities through its strengths and weaknesses, and its ability to survive in the environment by overcoming the threats and turning them into opportunities. SWOT analysis of Tesco Plc. is shown below; Strengths Weaknesses Strong brand image Unique products Strong financial position Large size Good customer service High reliance on the UK market Exposed to macro-economic issues in some markets Opportunities Threats Strategic alliances Diversification into new markets Increase international growth Develop additional services Strong and stiff competition Economic recession Political instability and government policies Fluctuations in exchange rate Figure 6: SWOT Analysis of Tesco Tesco has to adopt the conversion and matching strategies in order to use its internal capabilities to overcome its weaknesses and threats in the environment. Hence, weaknesses can be converted to strengths, threats into opportunities and its strengths matched with the opportunities. 3.4 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS SWOT analysis is used to assess an organisations competitiveness, capabilities and core competences. It guides the organisation in setting objectives for strategic planning and decision making. It exposes the opportunities available to an organisation as well as the threats. It aids the organisation to take advantage of its strengths to address the weaknesses. WEAKNESSES High dependence on external factors relies on the PESTLE analysis and other environmental scanning models. It does not provide solutions or offer alternative decisions to issues identified. While SWOT is useful to profile and enumerate issues, it does not provide actual strategies to implement and take advantage of opportunities while leveraging strengths (Helms et al 2011). 3.5 COMPARISON OF THE VALUE CHAIN AND SWOT The value chain focuses on the internal capabilities of the organisation as it strives to improve on its activities to create more value while satisfying the needs of its customers. It fails to analyse external threats to the organisation or opportunities which could be explored by the organisation. Also, the value chain seeks to improve the margin of the organisation through it activities, rather than evaluate the strengths and opportunities which could be of great help in improving the margin of the organisation. SWOT analysis on the other hand, while trying to look at the internal capabilities of the organisation through its strengths and weaknesses, also considers the relevant threat and opportunities in the organisations environment. This guides the organisation in setting its objectives for strategic planning and decision making. Hence, an understanding of the SWOT analysis is very essential for any organisation as this will form the basis upon which it creates value for itself. 4.0 INTERNATIONAL MARKET ENTRY MODES There are several foreign market entry modes available to organisations seeking to internationalise into new markets. According to Sun, H. (1999), entry modes are seen as the forms of capital participation by an organisation in international enterprises and two basic entry modes exist; wholly owned subsidiary and joint venture. Internationalisation strategy of an organisation will involve great resource commitment; hence the mode of entry is a very important strategic decision to avoid failure. However, for Tescos strategy to enter into the Nigerian market, the following entry modes are available to them; exporting, licencing, franchising, alliances, mergers and acquisition, sales subsidiary, joint venture and wholly foreign owned enterprise(WFOE). 4.1 EXPORTING According to Joynt, P and Welch, L. (1985), most organisations begin their international operations through exporting rather than other means of entry such as licensing or foreign direct investment. Exporting as a mode of entry into a foreign market involves the exportation of countrys product into a foreign market. This could be driven by the need to extend customer base, increase profit, or due to limited growth potential in the home country. Exporting is particularly important in the exchange world system and it is largely used as a mode of entry into foreign markets for manufactured goods firm, especially those in the early stage of internationalisation (Khemakhem 2010). Exporting could be either direct, where the goods of an organisation is exported directly to a partner firm in the country or indirect through the use of intermediaries. 4.1.1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF EXPORTING STRENGTHS It is considered as the easiest, simplest and most used mode of entry. Risk involved is minimal due to limited investment. It creates an opportunity for the organisation to study the overseas market preferences before investing in the country. Exporting helps an organisation to achieve economies of scale by manufacturing its products in one location and exporting to a larger market. It is cost effective and improves the margin of an organisation. WEAKNESSES Trade restrictions and laws in some countries could pose a huge challenge to exporting. Transportation cost and distribution channel problems. Stiff competition from indigenous firms. Export licenses and custom laws may vary in different locations. 4.2 LICENSING This is a form of contractual agreement whereby the licensor grants access to property rights which could be patents, trademark or know-how to the licensee in exchange for some form of payment. According to Okoroafo (1992), licensing is seen as direct investment royalties, license fees and other fees for the sale of intangible property rights including patents, industrial processes, trademarks, copyrights, designs, know-how, techniques etc. 4.2.1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF LICIENCING STRENGTHS Licensing creates an opportunity for future investment into a given market. It enables expansion with limited direct exposure to risk and low investment. It creates rapid entry into a foreign market. Creates access to new markets not easily accessible by exports or other modes of entry. It maximizes return from an investment. WEAKNESSES There is limited control due to the contractual agreement. Difficulty in identifying what to licence. Terminating the agreement might be difficult till the expiration of the contractual duration. Licensing can create competition as the foreign partner might become a competitor. 4.3 FRANCHISING Franchising is a special form of licencing in which the franchiser makes a total marketing program such as brand name, logo, products or method of operation, available to the franchisee for a fee (Gillespie et al 2004). Franchising is often used for indirect entry into a foreign market and most local service firms get the exclusive right to a marketing concept, which may also include right to a certain operational mode (Gronroos 1999). In franchising, the franchisee obtains the right to sell the franchisors product or use his brand name or logo for business purposes, this method has been adopted by organisations in recent times and its mostly seen in the fast food industries. 4.3.1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF FRANCHISING STRENGTHS Franchising encourages rapid growth and expansion. It involves a low cost of investment with minimal risk. Franchisor can tap on the franchisees wealth of experience, financial and managerial capabilities. Franchising improves brand development. WEAKNESSES There might be cases of the franchisee giving the brand a bad reputation. Control restrictions on how the business would be run by the franchise agreement. There might be reduced margins or profit if the franchisee fails to manage the business efficiently. Difficulties experienced by the franchisee may directly affect the franchisor. 4.4 JOINT VENTURE Joint venture is a form of strategic alliance where two or more organisations pull resources together to create a separate legal entity. It is seen as a contractual agreement and a mode of entry into the foreign market, whereby a foreign firm brings in its wealth of experience and expertise to create a business with an indigenous organisation. Joint venture allows the firms to pull and combine their resources together for the purpose of creating a new entity. The parties involved share the risk, expenses and profits from the venture together. According to Davis et al 1996, joint venture provides a vehicle for the cooperation between organisations with different but complementary strategies. 4.4.1 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF JOINT VENTURE STRENGTHS It creates access to organisations into foreign market and increases their distribution network. Inherent risk involved in the business, operating expenses and losses is shared between the two organisations. Joint venture pulls resources, expertise, core competencies and capabilities from different organisation to create a new entity. It creates synergy, sharing of skills, technology and experience between the organisations involved. It gives competitive strength to the new organisation and creates a stronger defence against competitors. WEAKNESSES There might be conflict of interest between the organisations. Problem of control and management of the new venture. Profit is shared between the organisations involved in the venture. Cultural differences, economic and political systems in the foreign environment might pose a challenge to the venture. 4.5 WHOLLY OWNED FOREIGN ENTERPRISE This is a mode of foreign market entry where an organisation creates its own enterprise in another country. For instance, Tesco moving into the Nigerian grocery market and open new Tesco stores. This mode of entry is different from the others because the organisation has sole ownership and management of the new enterprise. A wholly owned enterprise is seen as a permanent enterprise in the host country wholly owned by the entrant, where profits and responsibilities are assigned exclusively to th