Character Analysis: John Updike A&P

John Updike’s story entitled â€Å"A&P† is a narration of a man who seeks for his identity and pride. The narrator of this story is also the main character – Sammy. This protagonist is a simple man – a grocery clerk and an observer.Because of this job, Sammy used to observe his costumers and the ambiance of the A&P. However, due to one situation that occurred into the grocery store, Sammy realizes many things and gives him certain actions that changed his life. Being the main character of the store, Sammy shows different emotions – happy, angry, sad, confused, and puzzled. That is why Sammy is a picture of transforming identity from the beginning up to the end of the story.In terms of sympathy towards Sammy’s character, I have seen that Updike uses different factors and elements to show emotions and actions coming from the main character. It is to provide conflict, climax, and resolution to the story. the author sympathize with Sammy’s character that can be seen in the end of the story where Sammy realizes that he has no job and the worlds will not be a better place for him anymore.This part shows sympathy in a sense that the author makes the character realize the fact of life and did not only release the solution of the conflict. Updike shows the justification and idea of Sammy after he quit his job, which is a form of sympathy to the character.Because the character comes from a middle class, the language is casual and straight. In the beginning of the story, we could see that Sammy is very observant with people or with his environment. When Sammy wants to express his feelings, he shows it directly without any form of pretention.From this fact, it defines the identity of Sammy as a normal character with dignity and pride. However, the way he describes things or people is dramatic in a sense that he provides accurate imagination to feel and understand his perceptions. As the story goes by, we could able to show t hat Sammy starts to express his actions and words together that changed his path.Sammy is easily affected by his environment. This is the most significant trait that he showed throughout the story. From the beginning up to the end of the story, Sammy establishes a concept of being affected to everything that happens in his environment. From this fact, we could distinguish that Sammy is a composition of attraction, curiosity, inferiority, and distinction. All these factors rehabilitate the mind and actions of Sammy towards other people like Quennie and Lengel.In my own observation, I can say that Sammy’s persona is dynamic because his actions and motivations are not stable. As the story goes on, Sammy’s personality elevate from one factor to another. In the beginning of the story, Sammy is an observant. When he saw Queenie in a swim suit, he started to analyze things. When Lengel enters the scene and confronts the ladies in swim suit, Sammy talks to Lengel. When Sammy t hinks that Lengel’s actions are illogical, he quits his job. His actions had a process to establish his character – not just a static formation of his identity.From all of these, I can say that Sammy is a good character that can be played. He is flexible enough to adjust in different scenarios. This is what I like with his character. Even if he is prank, direct, and ‘weird’ character, there is a concept of intelligence that lies within his persona. It shows that Sammy was not easily manipulated by his environment but he could think and become supple to show who he really is.Work CitedUpdike, John. A&P.

Project on Budgetary Control Essay

1. A budget is concerned for a definite future period. 2. A budget is a written document. 3. A budget is a detailed plan of all the economic activities of a business. 4. All the departments of a business unit co-operate for the preparation of a business budget. 5. Budget is a mean to achieve business and it is not an end in itself. 6. Budget needs to be updated, corrected and controlled every time when circumstances changes. Therefore it is a continuous process. 7. Budget helps in planning, coordination and control. 8. Different types of budgets are prepared by industries according to business requirements. 9. A budget acts a business barometer. 10. Budget is usually prepared in the light of Past Experience. 11. Budget is a constant endeavor of the Management. 2 PREPARATION OF BUDGETS 1. Definition of objectives: A budget being a plan for the achievement of certain operational objectives, it is desirable that the same are defined precisely. The objectives should be written out; the areas of control demarcated; and items of revenue and expenditure to be covered by the budget stated. This will give a clear understanding of the plan and its scope to all those who must cooperate to make it a success. 2. Location of the key (or budget) factor: There is usually one factor (sometimes there may be more than one) which sets a limit to the total activity. For instance, in India today sometimes non-availability of power does not allow production to increase inspite of heavy demand. Similarly, lack of demand may limit production. Such a factor is known as key factor. For proper budgeting, it must be located and estimated properly. 3. Appointment of controller: Formulation of a budget usually requires whole time services of a senior executive; he must be assisted in this work by a Budget Committee, consisting of all the heads of department along with the Managing Director as the Chairman. The Controller is responsible for co-ordinating and development of budget programmes and preparing the manual of instruction, known as Budget manual. The Budget manual is a schedule, document or booklet which shows, in written forms the budgeting organisation and procedures. The manual should be well written and indexed so that a copy thereof may be given to each departmental head for guidance. 3 4. Budget period: The period covered by a budget is known as budget period. There is no general rule governing the selection of the budget period. In practice the Budget Committee determines the length of the budget period suitable for the business. Normally, a calendar year or a period coterminous with the financial year is adopted. The budget period is then sub-divided into shorter periods—it may be months or quarters or such periods as coincide with period of trading activity. 5. Standard of activity or output: For preparing budgets for the future, past statistics cannot be completely relied upon, for the past usually represents a combination of good and bad factors. Therefore, though results of the past should be studied but these should only be applied when there is a likelihood of similar conditions repeating in the future. Also, while setting the targets for the future, it must be remembered that in a progressive business, the achievement of a year must exceed those of earlier years. Therefore what was good in the past is only fair for the current year. In budgeting, fixing the budget of sales and of capital expenditure are most important since these budgets determine the extent of development activity. For budgeting sales, one must consider the trend of economic activity of the country, reactions of salesmen, customers and employees, effect of price changes on sales, the provision for advertisement campaign plan capacity etc. 4 Meaning of Budgetary Control: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England and Wales has defined the terms ‘budgetary control’ as â€Å"Budgetary control is the establishment of budgets relating to the responsibilities of executives of a policy and the continuous comparison of the actual with the budgeted results, either to secure by individual action the objective of the policy or to provide a basis for its revision.† It is the system of management control and accounting in which all the operations are forecasted and planned in advance to the extent possible and the actual results compared with the forecasted and planned ones. Budgetary Control Involves: 1. Establishment of budgets 2. Continuous comparison of actuals with budgets for achievement of targets 3. Revision of budgets after considering changed circumstances 4. Placing the responsibility for failure to achieve the budget targets. The salient features of Budgetary Control System are as follows: 1. Determining the objectives to be achieved, over the budget period, and the policy or policies that might be adopted for the achievement of these ends. 2. Determining the variety of activities that should be undertaken for the achievement of the objectives. 3. Drawing up a plan or a scheme of operation in respect of each class of activity, in physical as well as monetary terms for the full budget period and its parts. 5 4. Laying out a system of comparison of actual performance by each person, section or department with the relevant budget and determination of causes for the discrepancies, if any. 5. Ensuring that corrective action will be taken where the plan is not being achieved and, if that be not possible, for the revision of the plan. In brief, it is a system to assist management in the allocation of responsibility and authority, to provide it with aid for making, estimating and planning for the future and to facilitate the analysis of the variation between estimated and actual performance. In order that budgetary control may function effectively, it is necessary that the concern should develop proper basis of measurement or standards with which to evaluate the efficiency of operations, i.e., it should have in operation a system of standard costing. Besides this, the organization of the concern should be so integrated that all lines of authority and responsibility are laid, allocated and defin ed. This is essential since the system of budgetary control postulates separation of functions and division of responsibilities and thus requires that the organization shall be planned in such a manner that everyone, from the Managing Director down to the Shop Foreman, will have his duties properly defined. Objectives of Budgetary Control System: 1. Portraying with precision the overall aims of the business and determining targets of performance for each section or department of the business. 2. Laying down the responsibilities of each of the executives and other personnel so that everyone knows what is expected of him and how he will be judged. Budgetary control is 6 one of the few ways in which an objective assessment of executives or department is possible. 3. Providing a basis for the comparison of actual performance with the predetermined targets and investigation of deviation, if any, of actual performance and expenses from the budgeted figures. This naturally helps in adopting corrective measures. 4. Ensuring the best use of all available resources to maximize profit or production, subject to the limiting factors. Since budgets cannot be properly drawn up without considering all aspects usually there is good co-ordination when a system of budgetary control operates. 5. Co-coordinating the various activities of the business, and centralizing control and yet enabling management to decentralize responsibility and delegate authority in the overall interest of the business. 6. Engendering a spirit of careful forethought, assessment of what is possible and an attempt at it. It leads to dynamism without recklessness. Of course, much depends on the objectives of the firm and the vigour of its management. 7. Providing a basis for revision of current and future policies. 8. Drawing up long range plans with a fair measure of accuracy. 9. Providing a yardstick against which actual results can be compared. Working of a budgetary control system: The responsibility for successfully introducing and implementing a Budgetary Control System rests with the Budget Committee acting through the Budget Officer. The Budget Committee would be composed of all functional heads and a member from the Board to 7 preside over and guide the deliberations. The main responsibilities of the Budget Officer are: 1. To assist in the preparation of the various budgets by coordinating the work of the accounts department which is normally responsible to compile the budgets—with the relevant functional departments like Sales, Production, Plant maintenance etc.; 2. To forward the budget to the individuals who are responsible to adhere to them, and to guide them in overcoming any practical difficulties in its working; 3. To prepare the periodical budget reports for circulation to the individuals concerned; 4. To follow-up action to be taken on the budget reports; 5. To prepare an overall budget working report for discussion at the Budget Committee meetings and to ensure follow-up on the lines of action suggested by the Committee; 6. To prepare periodical reports for the Board meeting. Comparing the budgeted Profit and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet with the actual results attained. It is necessary that every budget should be thoroughly discussed with the functional head before it is finalized. It is the duty of the Budget Officer to see that the periodical budget reports are supplied to the recipients at frequent intervals as far as possible. The efficiency of the Budget Officer, and through him of the Budget Committee, will be judged more by the smooth working of the system and the agreement between the actual figures and the budgeted figures. Budgets are primarily an incentive and a challenge for better performance; it is up to the 8 Budget Officer to see that attention of the different functional heads is drawn to it to face the challenge in a successful manner. Advantages of Budgetary Control System: 1. The use of budgetary control system enables the management of a business concern to conduct its business activities in the efficient manner. 2. It is a powerful instrument used by business houses for the control of their expenditure. It in fact provides a yardstick for measuring and evaluating the performance of individuals and their departments. 3. It reveals the deviations to management, from the budgeted figures after making a comparison with actual figures. 4. Effective utilization of various resources like—men, material, machinery and money is made possible, as the production is planned after taking them into account. 5. It helps in the review of current trends and framing of future policies. 6. It creates suitable conditions for the implementation of standard costing system in a business organization. 7. It inculcates the feeling of cost consciousness among workers. 8. It helps the principal of management by exception to apply. 9. Management which has developed a well ordered budget plans and which operate accordingly, receive greater favour from credit agencies. 9 Limitations of Budgetary Control System: 1. Based on Estimates: Budgets may or may not be true, as they are based on estimates. 2. Time factor: Budgets cannot be executed automatically. Accuracy in budgeting comes through experience. Management must not expect too much during the development period. 3. Cooperation Required: Staff co-operation is usually not available during budgetary control exercise. The success of the budgetary control depends upon willing co-operation and teamwork, 4. Expensive: Its implementation is quite expensive. No budgetary programme can be successful unless adequate arrangements are made for supervision and administration. 5. Not a substitute for management: Budget is only a managerial tool. It cannot substitute management. 6. Rigid document: Budgets are considered as rigid document. But in reality, firm’s affairs continuously change under inflationary pressure and changing government policies. 10 ZERO BASE BUDGETS The technique of zero base budgeting suggests that an organisation should not only make decisions about the proposed new programmes, but should also review the appropriateness of the existing programmes from time to time. Such a review should particularly be done of such responsibility centres where there is relatively high proportion of discretionary costs. Costs of this type depend on the discretion or policies of the responsibility centre or top managers. These costs have no direct relation to volume of activity. Hence, management discretion typically determines the amount budgeted. Some examples are: expenditure on research and development, personnel administration, legal advisory services. Zero base budgeting, as the term suggests, examines or reviews a programme or function or responsibility from ‘scratch’. The reviewer proceeds on the assumption that nothing is to be allowed. The manager proposing the activity has, therefore, to justify that the activity is essential and the various amounts asked for are reasonable taking into account the outputs or results or volume of activity envisaged. No activity or expense is allowed simply because it was being allowed or done in the past. Thus according to this technique each programme, whether new or existing, must be justified in its entirety each time a new budget is formulated. It involves: 1. Dealing with particularly all elements of mangers’ budget requests 2. Critical examination of ongoing activities along with the newly proposed activities 3. Providing each manger a range of choice in setting priorities in respect of different activities and in allocating resources. 11 Process of Zero Base Budgeting: The following steps are involved in Zero base budgeting: Determining the objectives of budgeting: The objective may be ‘to effect cost reduction in staff overheads or it may be to drop, after careful analysis, projects which do not fit into achievement of the organizations objectives etc. Deciding on scope of application: The extent to which zero base budgeting is to be introduced has to be decided, i.e. whether it will be introduced in all areas of the organisation’s activities or only in a few selected areas on trial basis. Developing decision units Decision units for which cost-benefit analysis is proposed have to be developed so as to arrive at decisions whether they should be allowed to continue or to be dropped. Each decision unit, as far as possible should be independent of other units so that it can be dropped if the cost analysis proves to be unfavourable for it. Developing decision packages : A decision package for each unit shou ld be developed. While developing a decision package, answers to the following questions would be desirable: †¢ Is it necessary to perform a particular activity at all? If the answer is in the negative, there is no need to proceed further. †¢ How much has been the actual cost of the activity and what has been the actual benefit both in tangible as well as intangible forms? †¢ What should be the estimated cost of the level of activity and the estimated benefit from 12 such activity? †¢ Should the activity be performed in the way in which it is being performed, and what should be the cost? †¢ If the project or activity is dropped, can the unit be replaced by an outside agency? After completing decision packages for each unit, the units are ranked according to the findings of cost benefit analysis. Essential projects are identified and given the highest ranks. The last stage is that of implementing the decision taken in the light of the study made. It involves the selection and acceptance of those projects which have a positive cost-benefit analysis or which are capable of meeting the objectives of the organization. The above analysis shows that zero base budgeting is in a way an extension of the method of cost benefit analysis to the area of the corporate budgeting. Advantages of Zero Base Budgeting: †¢ It provides the organization with systematic way to evaluate different operations and programmes undertaken. It enables management t o allocate resources according to priority of the programmes. †¢ It ensures that each and every programme undertaken by managers is really essential for the organization, and is being performed in the best possible way. †¢ It enables the management to approve departmental budgets on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. No arbitrary cuts or increase in budget estimates are made. †¢ It links budgets with the corporate objectives. Nothing will be allowed simply because it was being done in the past. An activity may be shelved if it does not help in achieving the goals of the enterprises. 13 †¢ It helps in identifying areas of wasteful expenditure and, if desired, it can also be used for suggesting alternative courses of action. †¢ It facilitates the introduction and implementation of the system of `management by objectives’. Thus it can be used not only for fulfillment of the objectives of traditional budgeting, but also for a variety of other purposes. It is contended that zero base budgeting is time consuming. Of course, it is true, but it happens only in the initial stages when decision units have to be identified and decision packages have to be developed or completed. Once this is done, and the methodology is clear, zero base budgeting is likely to take less time than the traditional budgeting. In any case, till such time the organization is properly acclimatized to the technique of zero base budgeting, it may be done in a way that all responsibility centre’s are covered at least once in three or four years. Zero base budgeting as a concept has become quite popular these days. The technique was first used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1962. Texas Instruments, a multinational company, pioneered its use in the private sector. Today, a number of major companies such as Zerox, BASF, International Harvester and Easter Airlines in the United State are using the system. Some departments of the Government of India have recently introduced zero base budgeting with a view to making the system of budgetary control more effective. 14 PERFORMANCE BUDGETS Performance budgeting (or programme budgeting) has been designed to correct the shortcomings of traditional budgeting by emphasizing management’s considerations/ approaches. Both the financial and physical aspects are incorporated into the budget. A performance budget presents the operations of an organisation in terms of functions, programmes, activities, and projects. In performance budgeting, precise detainment of job to be performed or services to be rendered is done. Secondly, the budget is prepared in terms of functional categories and their sub-division into programmes, activities, and projects. Thirdly, the budget becomes a comprehensive document. Since the financial and physical results are interwoven, it facilitates management control. The Main objectives of Performance Budgeting are: (i) to coordinate the physical and financial aspects; (ii) to improve the budget formulation, review and decision-making at all levels of management (iii) to facilit ate better appreciation and review by controlling authorities (legislature, Board of Trustees or Governors, etc) as the presentation is more purposeful and intelligible; (iv) to make more effective performance audit possible; and (v) to measure progress towards long-term objectives which are envisaged in a development plan. Performance budgeting involves evaluation of the performance of the organisation in the context of both specific, as well as, overall objectives of the organisation. It presupposes a crystal clear perception of organisational objectives in general, and short-term business objectives as stipulated in the budget, in particular by each employee of the organisation, irrespective of his level. It thus, provides a definite direction to each employee and also a control mechanism to higher management. 15 Performance budgeting requires preparation of periodic performance reports. Such reports compare budget and actual data, and show variances. Their preparation is greatly facilitated if the authority and responsibility for the incurrence of each cost element is clearly defined within the firm’s organisational structure. In addition, the accounting system should be sufficiently detailed and coordinated to provide necessary data for reports designed for the particular use of the individuals or cost centres having primary responsibility for specific cost. The responsibility for preparing the performance budget of each department lies on the respective Department Head. Each Department Head will be supplied with a copy of the section of the master budget appropriate to his sphere. For example, the chief buyer will be supplied with the copy of the materials purchase budget so that he may arrange for purchase of necessary materials. Periodic reports from various sections of a departme nt will be received by the departmental head that will submit a summary report about his department to the budget committee. The report may be daily, weekly or monthly, depending upon the size of business and the budget period. These reports will be in the form of comparison of budgeted and actual figures, both periodic and cumulative. The purpose of preparing these reports is to promptly inform about the deviations in actual and budgeted activity to the person who has the necessary authority and responsibility to take necessary action to correct the deviations from the budget. 16 FUNCTIONAL BUDGET A functional budget is one which is related to function of the business as for example, production budget relating to the manufacturing function. Functional budgets are prepared for each function and they are subsidiary to the master budget of the business. The various types of functional budgets to be prepared will vary according to the size and nature of the business. The various commonly used functional budgets are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Sales budget Production budget Plant utilisation budget Direct-material usage budget Direct-material purchase budget Direct-labour (personnel) budget Factory overhead budget Production cost budget Ending-inventory budget Cost-of-goods-sold budget Selling and distribution cost budget Administration expenses budget Research and development cost budget (xiv) Capital expenditure budget Cash budget 17 Illustration: Sales Budget: Sales forecast is the commencement of budgeting and hence sales budget assumes primary importance. The quantity which can be sold may be the principal budget factor in many business undertakings. In any case in order to chalk out a realistic budget programme, there must be an accurate sales forecast. The sales budget indicates for each product: 1. The quantity of estimated sales and 2. The expected unit selling price. These data are often reported by regions or by sales representatives. In estimating the quantity of sales for each product, past sales volumes are often used as a starting point. These amounts are revised for factors that are expected to affect future sales, such as the factors listed below. 1. Backlog of unfilled sales orders 2. Planned advertising and promotion 3. Expected industry and general economic conditions 4. Productive capacity 5. Projected pricing 6. Findings of market research studies 7. Relative product profitability. 8. Competition. 18 Once an estimate of the sales volume is obtained, the expected sales revenue can be determined by multiplying the volume by the expected unit sales price, the sales budget represents the total sales in physical quantities and values for a future budget period. Sales managers are constantly faced with problem like anticipation of customer requirements, new product needs, competitor strategies and various changes in distribution methods or promotional techniques. The purposes of sales budget is not to attempt to estimate or guess what the actual sales will be, but rather to develop a plan with clearly defined objectives towards which the operational effort is directed in order to attain or exceed the objective. Hence, sales budget is not merely a sales forecast. A budget is a planning and control document which shows what the management intends to accomplish. Thus, the sales budget is active rather than passive. A sales forecast, however, is a projection or estimate of the available customer demand. A forecast reflects the environmental or competitive situation facing the company whereas the sales budget shows how the management intends to react to this environmental and competitive situation. A good budget hinges on aggressive management control rather than on passive acceptance of what the market appears to offer. If the company fails to make this distinction, the budget will remain more a figure-work exercise than a working tool of dynamic management cont rol. 19 The sales budget may be prepared under the following classification or combination of classifications: 1. Products or groups of products. 2. Areas, towns, salesmen and agents. 3. Types of customers as for example: (i) Government, (ii) Export, (iii) Home sales, (iv) Retail depots. 4. Period—months, weeks, etc Example of Sales Budget: XYZ Ltd. Sales Budget for the Year Ended 31 March XXXX Particulars Units Selling Price (P.U) Total Sales Value (Rs.) Product A Product B Total 5000 10000 75 80 375000 800000 1175000 20 LEADING TO THE PREPARATION OF THE MASTER BUDGET When all the necessary functional budgets have been prepared, the budget officer will prepare the master budget which may consist of budgeted profit and loss account and budgeted balance sheet. These are in fact the budget summaries. When the master budget is approved by the board of directors, it represents a standard for the achievement of which all the departments will work. On the basis of the various budgets (schedules) prepared earlier in this study, we prepare below budgeted income statement and budgeted balance sheet. Illustration: Floatglass Manufacturing Company requires you to present the Master budget for the 31 March 2012 from the following information: Sales: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Direct Material Cost Direct Wages Factory Overheads: Indirect Labour Works Manager Foreman Rs. 500 per month Rs. 400 per month 2.5% on Sales Rs. 600000 Rs. 200000 60% of Sales 20 workers @ Rs. 150 per month 21 Stores and Spares Depreciation on Machinery Repairs and Maintenance Other Sundries Administration, selling and Distribution Expenses Rs. 12600 Rs. 3000 Rs. 8000 10% on Direct Wages Rs. 36000 per year Solution: Master Budget for the Year Ending 31 March 2012 Particulars Amount (Rs.) Sales: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Total Sales Less: Cost of Production: Direct Material Direct Wages Prime Cost (A) Fixed Factory Overhead: 480000 36000 516000 600000 200000 800000 Amount (Rs.) 22 Works Manager’s Salary Foreman’s Salary Depreciation Light and Power Total Fixed Factory Overhead (B) Variable Factory Overhead: Stores and Spares Repairs and Maintenance Sundry Expenses Total Variable Factory Overhead (C) Works Cost (A+B+C) Gross Profit (Sales- Works Cost) Less: Administration, Selling and Distribution Expenses Net Profit 6000 4800 12600 3000 26400 20000 8000 3600 31600 574000 226000 36000 190000 23 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET: The capital expenditure budget represents the planned outlay on fixed assets like land, building, plant and machinery, etc. during the budget period. This budget is subject to strict management control because it entails large amount of expenditure. The budget is prepared to cover a long period of years and it projects the capital costs over the period in which the expenditure is to be incurred and the expected earnings. The preparation of this budget is based on the following considerations: 1. Overhead on production facilities of certain departments as indicated by the plant utilization budget. 2. Future development plans to increase output by expansion of plant facilities. 3. Replacement requests from the concerned departments 4. Factors like sales potential to absorb the increased output, possibility of price reductions, increased costs of advertising and sales promotion to absorb increased output, etc. Merits/Advantages: 1. It outlines the capital development programme and estimated capital expenditure during the budget per iod. 2. It enables the company to establish a system of priorities. When there is a shortage of funds, capital rationing becomes necessary. 3. It serves as a tool for controlling expenditure. 4. It provides the amount of expenditure to be incorporated in the future budget 24 summaries for calculation of estimated return on capital employed. 5. This enables the cash budget to be completed. With other cash commitments capital expenditure commitment should also be considered for the completion of the budget. 6. It facilitates cost reduction programme, particularly when modernization and renovation is covered by this budget. 25 FIXED AND FLEXIBLE BUDGETS Fixed Budget: According to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England, â€Å"a fixed budget is a budget designed to remain unchanged irrespective of the level of activity actually attained†. A fixed budget shows the expected results of a responsibility center for only one activity level. Once the budget has been determined, it is not changed, even if the activity changes. Fixed budgeting is used by many service companies and for some administrative functions of manufacturing companies, such as purchasing, engineering, and accounting. Fixed Budget is used as an effective tool of cost control. In case, the level of activity attained is different from the level of activity for budgeting purposes, the fixed budget becomes ineffective. Such a budget is quite suitable for fixed expenses. It is also known as a static budget. Essential conditions: 1. When the nature of business is not seasonal. 2. There is no impact of external factors on the business activities 3. The demand of the product is certain and stable. 4. Supply orders are issued regularly. 5. The market of the product should be domestic rather than foreign. 6. There is no need of special labour or material in the production of the products. 7. Supply of production inputs is regular. 8. There is a trend of price stability. Generally, all above conditions are not found in practice. Hence fixed budget is not important 26 in business concerns. Merits/advantages: 1. Very simple to understand 2. Less time consuming Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. It is misleading. A poor performance may remain undetected and a good performance may go unrealized. 2. It is not suitable for long period. 3. It is also found unsuitable particularly when the business conditions are changing constantly. 4. Accurate estimates are not possible. Flexible Budget According to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England,†a flexible budget is defined as a budget which, by recognizing the difference between fixed, semi-variable and variable costs is designed to change in relation to the level of activity attained.† Unlike static (fixed) budgets, flexible budgets show the expected results of a responsibility center for several activity levels. You can think of a flexible budget as a series of static budgets for different levels of activity. Such budgets are especially useful in estimating and controlling factory cos ts and operating expenses. It is more realistic and practicable because it gives due consideration 27 to cost behaviour at different levels of activity. While preparing a flexible budget the expenses are classified into three categories viz. 1. Fixed, 2. Variable, and 3. Semi-variable. Semi-variable expenses are further segregated into fixed and variable expenses. Flexible budgeting may be resorted to under following situations: 1. In the case of new business venture due to its typical nature it may be difficult to forecast the demand of a product accurately. 2. Where the business is dependent upon the mercy of nature e.g., a person dealing in wool trade may have enough market if temperature goes below the freezing point. 3. In the case of labour intensive industry where the production of the concern is dependent upon the availability of labour. Merits/ Advantages: 1. With the help of flexible budget, the sales, costs and profit may be calculated easily by the business at various levels of production capacity. 2. In flexible budget, adjustment is very simple according to change in business conditions. 3. It also helps in determination of production level as it shows budgeted costs with classification at various levels of activity along with sales. Hence the management can easily select the level of production which shows the profit predetermined by the owners of the bu siness. 4. It also shows the quantity of product to be produced to earn determined profit. 28 Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. The formulation of flexible budget is possible only when there is proper accounting system maintained, perfect knowledge about the factors of production and various business circumstances is available. 2. Flexible Budget also requires the system of standard costing in business. 3. It is very expensive and labour oriented. Need for flexible budget: 1. Seasonal fluctuations in sales and/or production, for example in soft drinks industry; 2. A company which keeps on introducing new products or makes changes in the design of its products frequently; 3. Industries engaged in make-to-order business like ship building; 4. An industry which is influenced by changes in fashion; and 5. General changes in sales. 29 Illustration: A factory which expects to operate 7,000 hours, i.e., at 70% level of activity, furnishes details of expenses as under: Particulars Variable Expenses Amount (Rs.) 1260 Semi- Variable Expenses 1200 Fixed Expenses 1800 The semi-variable expenses go up by 10% between 85% and 95% activity and by 20% above 95% activity. Construct a flexible budget for 80, 90 and 100 per cent activities. Solution: Particulars Budgeted Hours Variable Expenses Semi-Variable Expenses Fixed Expenses Total Expenses Recovery Rate Per Hour 70% 7000 1260 1200 1800 4260 0.61 80% 8000 1440 1200 1800 4440 0.55 90% 9000 1620 1320 1800 4740 0.53 100% 10000 1800 1440 1800 5040 0.50 30 Difference between Fixed and Flexible Budget: Fixed Budget Flexible Budget It does not change with actual volume of It can be recasted on the basis of activity activity achieved. Thus it is known as rigid level to be achieved. Thus it is not rigid. or inflexible budget. It operates on one level of activity and under It consists of various budgets for one set of conditions. It assumes that there different levels of activity. will be no change in the prevailing conditions, which is unrealistic. Here as all costs like – fixed, variable and Here analysis of variance provides useful semi-variable are related to only one level information as each cost is analyzed of activity so variance analysis does give useful information. If the budgeted and actual activity levels differ Flexible budgeting at different levels of significantly, then the aspects like cost activity facilitates the ascertainment of ascertainment and price fixation do not give a cost, fixation of selling price and tendering correct picture. of quotations. a meaningful basis of not according to its behaviour. Comparison of actual performance with It provides budgeted targets will be meaningless comparison of the actual performance with specially when there is a difference the budgeted targets. between the two activity levels. 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 ICAI Module on Cost Accounting 2 Newsletters and opinions published by ICAI 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget 4 www.icai.org

Owning a Pet

You go to the mall, and there in center court is a bunch of cute, soft, wiggly puppies and kittens; some of them are in cages and some are being walked around by handlers. There is a crowd of adults and children surrounding them. You just have to hold one of them for just a minute, and then you are hooked. Everyone knows that pets are loveable, soft and cuddly; what we forget about is the responsibility that comes with pet ownership. Outside of the time commitment to caring for a pet, there is also the financial aspect.When you own a pet, they have to be fed, groomed, exercised and loved; most of the time, with puppies, there is the training aspect of getting them to let you know when they need to go outside to eliminate waste and not to chew on furniture or other house fixtures. Try to avoid the use of second person â€Å"you† in your writing. Pets also add to the normal housekeeping routine due to pet hair and shedding which may require additional vacuuming. And, with cat ow nership, there is the need to keep the litter box clean.All of this takes time from an already busy schedule. Add to that the expense of owning a pet: food, grooming, veterinarian and training expenses, to name a few. Consequently, what seemed like a good idea can have a drastic impact on your life. Most of us work; what do you do with the pet during the day when you are away from home? Or, what if you plan a trip and are unable to take the pet with you? Do you have a family member willing to take on the responsibility of caring for your pet while you are gone?Or, do you pay to have the pet boarded while you are gone? Cats are fairly self-sufficient and can be left alone for long periods of time; dogs, not so much. If you own a dog and are away at work, what do you do about the dog using when it needs to go outside? These are all important considerations prior to walking out the door with that cute, fluffy pet. We all know that pets are loving and loyal companions. Above all, one sh ould consider the consequences of pet ownership, in terms of time and expenses.

Law of Business Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law of Business Taxation - Essay Example It was suggested that about 25% of the deduction for such expenditure is increased. Specifically, it provides that contract work outside of â€Å"any person otherwise than in the course of a trade, profession or vocation the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D,† (paragraph 4(6)(b) of Schedule 12. It disallows deduction for activity of trade, profession or vocation undertaken in any part of the United Kingdom. The Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 or ITTOIA 2005 imposes charges to income tax under trading income, property income, savings and investment income, and certain miscellaneous income. It also dealt with exemptions from the charges, provisions about rent-a-room relief and foster-care-relief, special rules for foreign income, special rules for partnership, and certain calculation rules and general provisions. The limited guidance provided by the previous legislation makes interpretation problematic such as in determining w hether a particular activity constitutes trading. Under ITTOIA, trading was defined as â€Å"any venture in the nature of a trade† (ITA 2007 s. 989) that leans on the substance of what is being carried on and how it is being carried on. The understanding of the activity by the individual conducting it may be derailed. James (2011) suggested that it â€Å"does not necessarily need to have all the attributes associated with a trade I order to be chargeable,† (16). Previously, under the ITEPA 2003, Schedule D Case 1 provides that profits derived from trade were taxable. Profits from a vocation or profession were taxable under Schedule D Case II. ITTOIA 2005 removed this distinction and trading income has encompassed incomes from vocation, trade, or profession under ITTOIA 2005 section 5 (James, 2011). Other contentions are statutory trades such as farming, market gardening, and occupation of land managed on a commercial basis for the purpose of gaining profits. For the ca se of woodlands, occupation may not be taxable but once an actual trade, an example of which is the selling of timber, occurred, then, a taxable activity is committed (James, 2011). Numerous tests called the â€Å"badges of trade† also help determine trading activities, but already, confusion have proven costly through litigations. One specific example is the American Leaf Blending Co. SDN BHD v Director-General of Inland Revenue (1979) (AC676). Lord Diplock opined that: †¦in the case of a company incorporated for the purpose of making profits for its shareholders any gainful use of which it puts any of its assets prima facie amounts to the carrying on of a business†¦ Assets held as investment due to their nature as income-producing, or have the potential for capital appreciation, or possible profit for its sale cannot be considered a trading profit. An asset acquired by loan with the potential to bear an income but only as a motive to offset interest from income ga ined is also considered of irrelevance. An investment of a property later appropriated as trading stock will have the sale as trading. Such was the case of Wisdom v Chamberlain (1969) 45 (TC 103). In this case, actor Norman Wisdom bought silver bullion as a hedge against devaluation. He then sold it at lower cost but bought more bullion which when sold gave Wisdom a profit. The second transaction was considered a trading because it was bought for short-term profit (James, 2011).

Music During Renaissance And Reformation Periods Essay

Music During Renaissance And Reformation Periods - Essay Example The English Renaissance is considered to extend from the early sixteenth to the early seventeenth century, and refers to a cultural and artistic movement in England. The Reformation is a period that overlaps with that of the renaissance. The English Reformation started in the reign of Henry VIII. (1509 – 1547 A.D.) with England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church based in Rome. This was brought about by Henry VIII, who insisted on divorcing his first wife, Catharine of Aragon, who could not bear him a male heir, to marry Anne Boleyn. Divorce was not permitted by the Church, due to which the king took this extreme measure, of taking the church’s power as well on himself. His subjects were also not happy with the church’s clergy and priests, who were fraudulent. The Pope’s power was ended, and Henry VIII became the the Supreme Head of the Church in 1534, and the country continued to be Catholic.

Information Tectnology Audit Requirements Comparative Analysis of the Term Paper

Information Tectnology Audit Requirements Comparative Analysis of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Sarbanes- Oxley Act (SOX) - Term Paper Example n response to the increased cases of bribery and other economic scandals of a national proportion, the Congress passed into law two critical Acts, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) and Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 was enacted to enforce precise companies’ record keeping systems, increase accuracy in financial recording, and to reduce bribery and corruption loopholes in the business system. The Sarbanes Oxley Act, 2002 was passed twenty years after the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act with the core objective of reducing bribery and corruption in the America cooperate sector1. Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 was projected to ensure that all chief finance officers and public companies’ chief executive officers provide an accurate financial report while Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, 1977 was designed to ensure that, all business financial information was recorded in accordance to the existing financial provisions. In the first twenty years after the enactment of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act 1977, the American Security and Exchange Commission and the America Department of Justice did very little investigations to necessitate a helpful enforcement of the Act, reducing its impacts in countering corporate bribery and other business malpractices. However, after the WorldCom scandal and Enron scandal in 2002, the United States of American government was forced by the prevailing state of affairs to enact Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 to offset the ever-increasing cases of cooperate malpractices as well as to advance global awareness on the harmful impacts of business bribery and other malpractices. The enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 was at that time intended to make bribery penalties extremely severe and to increase public awareness on the need for an accurate financial accounting and record keeping in business operations. Taking into account the level and nature of the outcomes of bribery in global economy, especially

The faulty logic behind race boundaries elucidated in literature Essay

The faulty logic behind race boundaries elucidated in literature - Essay Example Weinbaum's analysis of race treats ideologies of nationalism and racism within the American. Basically, Weinbaum's analyzes the connection between race and reproduction. Her ideas find that slavery as an institution validated by 'difference of the races' cannot continue to exist if reproduction does not occur separately inside and outside that institution. The basic statement offered in Wayward Reproductions is that America, as a racially divided nation, is in crisis. Social order is compromised because reproduction is not an orderly process. Weinbaum states that problems are grounded in "the failure of the social order, particularly the modern racial nation, to continually produce itself without a glitch" (p. 14). The basic concept to apply to the literary works by Chopin, Jacobs, and Brown, is that the idea of racial supremacy is faulty. Classification by race cannot exist in society as our reproduction isn't based nor does it occur within clear-cut racially-segregated boundaries. Weinbaum analyses Chopin's Dsire's Baby within her book and points out problems of identification and power struggle within the relationship between Dsire and her husband. Because the baby is not adequately and unquestionably Caucasian, onlookers to the child question which of the two parents have African ancestry. The thought is 'Who's guilty' Dsire is blamed for the physical appearance of the child and returns to the family home. "She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again" (247). This is to say that Dsire, on behalf of her race being disclosed and African, is not welcome among the elite. However, in truth, Dsire's husband, who still resides in L'Abri, is the one, who due to 'racial inferiority' has been misappropriated his place. Kate Chopin expertly crafts her short story, Dsire's Baby, so that the reader will see the mockery of the premise of 'racial integrity.' Meanwhile, even the main characters are oblivious to the unfair hoax of racial divisions and the injustice those racial divisions cause, just as society cannot see the hoax that occurs among us. Via critique of Chopin's piece, Weinbaum also addresses Nationalism. Just as Desiree's household was interrupted, and Desiree returned to her family home, society is interrupted by assumptions based on race. This occurs and proves that social order is not stable. Models for classification, social control, and oppression (Weinbaum 3) of the races cannot function when those systems of classification have to be maintained through reproduction, which cannot be controlled. Both Harriet Jacobs and William Wells Brown include illustrations of autobiographical/biographical characters with mixed bloodlines who were born as slaves. Through them, race issues are addressed - issues such as racially-mixed reproduction, favorable treatment to those more Anglo-Saxon looking slaves, and the ever-present status of 'slave' or negro that contradicts the value of an individual. Constantly in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Clotel, Anglo-Saxon features of slaves are referred to as more attractive or more valuable. Degree of color is important to those telling these stories. Degree of color was of importance to the slaves themselves. Harriet Jacobs

Early years in the uk context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Early years in the uk context - Essay Example This England framework is goal based and outlines large number of goals, which children should achieve in their early education. In this essay, there is an outline of comparison of England and Scotland framework of early education. This comparison gives different aspects on various themes. For instance, the education approach of early childhood in England focuses on the individual child- centered approach. On the other hand, in England all children in a class should adhere to uniform approach. In order to make a comparison between the two curriculum policies one needs to consider the aspect of flexibility. This flexibility includes teacher’s interpretation of the framework and guidelines, which appears to be the identifiable difference between these two curriculum policies. In Scotland, the mode of early year’s education, which applies, is 0-8 program while National curriculum is the mode, which applies in England, North Ireland, and Wales. There are some similarities b etween the process of National Curriculum guidance of England and Scotland. In both nations, curriculum activities follow a subject-oriented system (CLARK, 2012:14). In England, educational syllabuses followed decisions from isolated educational working groups, which include everything covering all curricular activities. Contrastingly, in Scotland each review group gave out its ideal decisions in which some were complex map of primary education. Another similarity between the two aspects of early years curriculum is how the isolated working groups were confident, had tight timetables, and fast introduction to pre-schools. Apart from these similarities, the England National Curriculum has been more effective and has more central development than Scotland 0-8 curriculum. A great difference has been due to political influence in England arising from involvement of government in Curriculum policy. However, due to lack of good approaches to National Curriculum assessment in the year 1988 through 1993 led to the establishment of slimmed down curriculum in the year 1995. During this time, the England National Curriculum differed fro Scotland (0-8) assessment program. This was due to the separation primary and secondary stages. There was first and second stage of the 0-8 Scotland Curriculum Assessment program (DELORENZI & ROBINSON, 2005:41). Stage 1and 2 involves five to seven years and seven to eleven years for primary schools and major stages 3 and 4, which involves eleven years to fourteen years and fourteen years to sixteen years for secondary schools. This Scottish form of 0-8 Curriculum and Assessment Program covers a longer time span compared to the England policy of early year’s curriculum. Another difference occurs when comparing the curriculum coverage at each stage of education. The Scotland 0-8 Curriculum and Assessment programme covers all the required concepts of curriculum with the exception of a core curriculum. On the other hand, the England Na tional Curriculum concentrates on subjects such as mathematics, English, and Science as the key subjects. Subjects like technology, history, art, music, geography, and PE are the foundation subjects at first and second stage with an addition of a National language as foundation subject at the third stage. The nature of early years study program of the two systems is of a fussy interest. In En gland, teachers and education officers

The Analysis of The short Story Mayfly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Analysis of The short Story Mayfly - Essay Example Life is as temporary as a mayfly’s life, but happiness is shorter when people lack the freedom and autonomy to express their real identity to themselves and their loved ones. The point of view of the story comes from James and it helps to shape the story’s focus because it shows his struggles in finding his identity and happiness. A third-person point of view that emphasizes one person’s perspective takes readers deep into his subconscious, where his conflicts arise and become unresolved. It shows that James cannot control his life because he cannot make autonomous choices, such as when he thinks that he does not have to explain to Molly why they should drive through the wave of monarchs: â€Å"Let Molly figure it out for herself† (Canty 65). The significance of this thought is that he wants Molly to understand on her own that their relationship is not helping them grow as individuals, but the verbal and dramatic irony is that he also cannot figure out wha t to do with his life. Furthermore, James’ perspective reveals his most intimate thoughts and opinions in life, which he does not always openly express to people who need to hear them the most. James finds Molly’s environmentalism annoying because of her impractical oversentimentality. She cries over dead butterflies, but she cannot stop smoking and find a stable job: â€Å"But James didn’t see how someone would hire her, with her smudgy eyes, her so-so-record† (Canty 65). She is a paradox, an environmentalist who cannot protect her own health and promote her own welfare. Another example is how James feels about Sam and Molly. For him, they are the same: â€Å"The two of them had the same knack for finding a sore spot and then poking it† (Canty 66), but he does not say anything and sips his beer instead. The people who need to hear his opinions do not hear them, so that they can change, hopefully, in the process of honest communication. Jamesâ€⠄¢ viewpoint, especially the absence of his voice, indicates his lack of self in the midst of people who impose themselves on his life. Aside from the viewpoint, the setting of the story enhances it by affirming its themes because it is something temporary, but is about long-term human relations and its role in their happiness. The setting of a married home suggests James’ apprehension of and hopes for marriage. James wants to have Sam and Jenny to have a happy marriage because it is the next stage of his life and relationship with Molly, but he has seen from Jenny’s infidelity that marriage is not all butterflies, but is one large mayfly with constant dissatisfaction: â€Å"It doesn’t sound like bliss† (Canty 68). Mayflies die fast, and so does happiness from marriage. Fishing is another setting that is temporary. For James and his father, fishing is their ultimate distraction from life’s miseries: â€Å"This was when his father would break out a Roll-A-Table and the cooler and set them up with sandwiches and beer...† (Canty 66). They had fun, but it became shorter and shorter after James’ mother died. Her death ended his father’s life to: â€Å"His father had seemed to lose his appetite for everything...All but the drinking† (Canty 66). His father turned into a hollow shell and lost his will to be happy. The setting underscores life’s irony that sometimes, long-term human relations cause despair, not happiness. Plot is another element

Journal # 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal # 1 - Essay Example Internship is an elemental component of nursing leadership where nursing students get to experience various professional scenarios first hand. The first day of Masters in Nursing Leadership internship at The Lake County Community Health Center involved meeting Damaris, M. She is the director of the family case management, nurse family, pregnancy prevention and health-works program. The meeting acted as introduction to what the internship entailed including the number of times such meetings were going to take place in a week. A notable engagement during the internship period was taking part in preparing for an upcoming performance review for the department (Clark 72). This created an opportunity for one to learn what is required in the operations of such a department. The internship also offered invaluable pointers onto the viability of my intended project. This was in the sense that it provided for a chance to remedy all the shortcomings of the project. The internship experience worked towards improving the content and context of the nursing leadership

Marxist philosophy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marxist philosophy - Assignment Example Analyzing slavery, feudalism and in the contemporary world, capitalism, Marx found that the social struggle between the exploiter and the exploited classes is caused by contradictions in each mode of production adopted by society. These imbalances create unrest whose end result is revolutions2 such as the 1917 upheaval in Russia. The Marxist philosophy has been applied to a diverse range of subjects in economic, political and social spheres, but the political debate is the most prevalent. Marx argues that capitalism creates a rich elite minority class and the exploited majority proletariat class working for the elite. He finds that the oppressed majority3 will revolt in order to build a new better regimes catering for equality of all people in a given society. Lenin and fellow Bolsheviks, interpreting and implementing4 Marxist philosophy in 1917, seized power in a revolution that aimed at setting up a socialist state that replaced capitalist Russia with cooperative ownership of means of production. They sought to bring down the monarchy and a long history of the oppression of the proletariat in the country embodied by the royalty5. In so doing, Lenin was also against half measures that called for a negotiation with existing government. Marxist philosophy calls for socialist world view. The Bolshevik revolution, led by Lenin and compatriots, adopted this philosophy to address oppression of the large Russian peasantry at the hand of the Tsar regime. In the series of revolutions, Marxist ideals are evident in that socialism was expected to give way to communism in Russia, a classless, stateless and humane society in which each person equally shares in production and

Compare the Crucible and the Mccarthy Era Essay Example for Free

Compare the Crucible and the Mccarthy Era Essay The McCarthy era, which took place during the 1950s in the United States was a time people was afraid of communism. Americans believed the Soviet Union going to take over the government of the United States and Americans can lose their freedom. As a result of McCarthyism Arther Miller, wrote The Crucible because people was falsely accused of communism like how in Salam that was accused of witchcraft. During this period, a climate of fear of communism existed in the United States due to certain significant events. One of these events was the trial of Alger hiss. Whittaker chambers a former Soviet Union clams that Alger hiss had been giving the Soviet Union information about the united state government. In court chambers was ask about his association with Alger Hiss. Chambers had described how he stayed with Alger and his wife Priscilla for some time. Chambers said how tried to get Alger to leave the communist party, but he refused to leave the party. Alger hiss claim that he don’t know a man name Whittaker and he never seen him before in his life. Nixon asks chambers many questions about Alger’s nicknames, habits, vacations and hobbies. Chambers said the Hiss both had the same hobby –amateur ornithologists and bird observers. On October 8, chambers find four notes handwritten by Alger hiss, copies of state documents and 35mm film. Alger was accused of making copies of state government. The documents were type using Woodstock typewriter. Another event that cause fear during the McCarthy era is the effect of the Korean War. The Korean War was between the noncommunist and communist. Korea was divided by the communist the north and noncommunist the south. On June 25, 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea. America sends over the navy, Army and some of the united nation to help South Korea fight off North Korea. North Korea pushed past and got to the capital of South Korea call Seoul. The South Korea pushes them back to the 38th parallel line. The Korea war finally ended July of 1953. The Americans fear if they had let North Korea  conjured South Korea then communism will spread to the United States. During the 1987 the Soviet Union is trying to create more deadly missiles and weapons. For the first time in 1986 an adversary has the ability to destroy our country and us in the matters of minutes (Chapman). The Soviet Union has an advantage because they have nuclear missiles. Also the Soviet Union has done their research on ballistic missile defenses and land base missals. The climate of fear of communism in the United States leads to the rise of McCarthyism. McCarthyism is a mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges. Joseph McCarthy on December 2, 1954 was voted senate of the United States. McCarthy gave a speech on February 9, 1950 in West Virginia; he said he had a list of 205 people in the State Department known to be members of the Communist Party. Joseph used his manipulate way and the era’s fear of global communism allowed him to build power while destroying lives and careers.   The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities of private citizens, public employees, and t organizations suspected of having Communist ties.

Country Research Report Colombia About Colombia History Essay

Country Research Report Colombia About Colombia History Essay When Gran Colombia collapsed in 1830, Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged along with Ecuador and Venezuela. In Latin America, Columbia is the fourth largest economy and in South America it is the third largest (Republic of Colombia). Colombia is the member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and also the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is also one of the continents most heavily populated nations. Its capital city Bogota, which was formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogota is located in the center of the country. The country has 32 administrative regions (called departamentos) plus the capital district which has its own autonomous administrative. (Industrial Field of Colombia)  . History Facts and Figures: Official Name: The official name of Colombia is Republica de Colombia. But the conventional long form of the name is Republic of Colombia and the short form, which is widely known, is Colombia. Earlier it was known as United States of Colombia (Republic of Colombia). Land Areas: The country has land area of 401,042 sq mi (1,038,699 sq km) and a total coastline of 3,207 kilometers (1,993 miles) spread between the Caribbean Sea and North Pacific Ocean. Geography: Relative Location Colombia looks like an odd-looking pear which has a thin top. Columbia is just about the similar dimension as of France, Germany and United Kingdom and United States is 9 times the size of this country. Located in the northwestern corner of South America, the country lies entirely within the tropics. Colombia is surrounded by Panama in northwest, by Venezuela and Brazil in the east, by Peru and Ecuador in the southwest, the three Andean ranges run north to south through the western half of the country. The eastern half of the country is low, jungle-covered plain with Amazon and Orinoco Rivers.teh Andes western, central and eastern cordilleras (mountain ranges) run parallel south-west to north-east. The valley of the eastern range and the fertile plateau are the most thickly populated areas of the country (Columbian Facts). Geographical Map of Colombia images (1).jpg (Geography of Colombia). Population Flag: According to population, The Republic of Columbia is the 27th largest country in the world . In overall population, Columbia ranks fourth in Latin America and in density it holds tenth position. The estimated population of the country (2012) is  45,239,079 with the growth rate of about 1.36 % (according to the report published by World Bank in 2012). The estimated birth rate is 17.23 per 1000 with infant mortality rate of 15.92 per 1000. The life expectancy is expected to be 74.79 and density per sq km is 43. The majority of Colombians live in the western coastal area of the country which means that the region east of the Andes mountain chain is thinly populated (Colombia). After the end of World War II, the countrys population grew dramatically, growing by 3.2 percent per year. In 1951 the population was 11.5 million but got doubled in the year 1973 to 22.9 million. The population is expected to attain 53.2 million by the year 2015. The country was one of those few countries of Latin America to have adopted the family planning as an authorized policy and to include it in their development plans. Distribution of population is highly uneven. About 94.5 % of the population is concentrated on 42 percent of the country, in plateaus and basins over Andes cordilleras and the valleys of Magdalena and Cauca rivers. About 58 percent of the country inhibits mere 5.5 percent of the population. The largest part of the population of country lives in the Central Highlands in the pleasant and cool region and the remainder in the Caribbean lowlands (Country Overview). According to the recent studies done in the Republic of Colombia, about 30.7% of the total population of the country consists of children below the age of 14 years, 64.2 % is the percentage of the age group between the age of 15 years and 64 years and 5.2% above 65 years age (Population of Colombia). The flag of Columbia is inspired by Christophers Columbus flag which he used in his expedition. It has three horizontal bands. The first part is yellow, the second (middle) part is blue, and the third (bottom) part is red. Yellow color of first part represents the gold found in the country. Blue color is a sign of the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that borders the country; it also corresponds to the equality of all races and classes in the countrys society. Red color stands for the sacrifices and blood spilled by the martyrs in the struggle of independence (Colombia Flag).   download.jpg Source: (Colombia Flag). Francisco Miranda created the national flag of Colombia on March 12, 1807, who was an eminent figure Lin fight for independence of the country. Miranda, Lino de Clemente and Jose Sata, offered the flag at the Congress of Venezuela in 1811 and was adopted as the national flag.   In 1834, Francisco de Paula Santander wanted some modification in the flag so that the stripes should run vertically instead of horizontally.   Later in 1861, President Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera ordered that eight stars should be positioned on the blue stripes to represent the eight provinces that make the  Estados Unidos de Colombia  (United States of Colombia) and that the yellow stripe should be positioned in the middle.  Ã‚   In addition to that, he also ordered that like original the stripes should be in horizontal position, as done by Miranda in 1807. Again in 1909, Simon Bolivar ordered that Mirandas design should be restored as the flag of Colombia .The flag was constantly modified in terms of placement of the stripes and their size. In the year 1934,    President Enrique Olaya Herrera established the present flag, which was designed by Miranda in 1807 as the National flag (National Flag of Colombia). Currency: The official currency of Colombia is the Columbian Peso which is denoted by COP or COL$. The bills are available in the denominations of $1K, $2K, $5K, $10K, $20K, and $50K. The coins are available in $50, $100, $200, $500 and $1000 (Columbian Currency). currency_looks_like_colom2 (1).gifcurrency_looks_like_colom1.gifcurrency_looks_like_colom2.gif National Day: Every year 20 July is celebrated as independence in Colombia when it claimed its freedom from Spain in the year 1810. It is happened that on July 20, 1810, Colombian nationalists stimulated the people of Bogota in streets to protest against Spanish rule. The Viceroy was forced to allow some degree of independence which later became everlasting. From then, July 20 is celebrated in Colombia as Independence Day. The Colombians are known to celebrate this day with great patriotism and enjoy with festivities, parades, traditional food and parties (National Day of Colombia). Industrial field: Colombia is basically a liberated market economy with key commercial and investment ties to the United States.  The countrys industrial hub developed around four urban areas:  Bogota (the capital city), Medellin, Cali, and Barranquilla. The other centers developed in the departments of Boyaca, Magdalena, Narià ±o, and Santander.  The mining sector of the country comprises of oil production and coal.. Its major oil export market is the United States. Oil Production is sited primarily in the Cusiana and Cupiagua fields in the Andes foothills and in the Cano Limon field in the vicinity of the Venezuelan border. All the foreign investment in the petroleum exploration and its development are done on a profit-sharing relationship contract between the investors and Ecopetrol (the state petroleum company). Most of Colombias natural gas production is done in the Guajira region. The country fabricates more than 90 percent of the worlds total emerald production and it is also known to be the second-largest South American producer of gold. It is also one of the most important coal producers in Latin America. Colombia has plentiful water wealth for hydroelectric power and so is second only to Brazil in Latin America. Hydroelectric powers offer more than 70% of countrys electricity power generation. A great deal of Colombias hydroelectric production is situated in the mountainous northwest part of the country, which produces about 40% of the hydroelectric power (Industrial Field of Colombia). The economic landscape of Colombia has changed considerably in the last 40 years, and it is shown by the changes in the manufacturing industry by the late twentieth century. Industrial manufacturing in Colombia is quite speckled. Manufacturing units are mostly located in the provinces of Antioquia, Cauca, in the capital region area, and some in Barranquilla, on the Atlantic coast. The most important products include basic chemicals, beverages, milling and cereal processing, oil refining, textiles, paper and derived products. Textiles and chemicals are at the top for nearly 40 % of all exports of the country. The construction industry (approx. 7000 companies) is one of the largest employment sectors in Colombia (Industry). Commercial Field: In the recent times, the global commercial sector represents 65% of the total world product and around 25% of business transactions in the worldwide. Particularly in the commercial sector of Colombia such as information technology, financial and banking sector have its market in the country. This commercial growth of country facilitates growth in the world and also enables to manage their natural resources and trade by generating revenues (The Service Sector in Colombia and The FTAA negotiations). Culture and Traditions: A diversified culture occupied Colombian territory before the Spanish have arrived. Some as sophisticated and advanced in such a way that produced San Agustins statue in the Huila department, profound tombs of Tierradentro in the Cauca department or in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta the Lost City. The Spanish was arrived with an aim to take over and colonization and carried slaves along with them from Africa. Because of these reasons Colombia is recognized as diversified ethnics and cultural country where each region has some unique characteristics which discriminate it from other nations. Accordingly the Andean culture that strongly experienced its European ancestry of a culture of Caribbean which is a blend of Indian and African legacy; roots of African culture with the pacific culture and Orinoquia culture and Amazon culture which is basically an Indian. This complex combination of American and European ancestry is not only articulated in the tradition of country although also comprises of several artistic ground such as handicrafts, cuisines, architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, film, photography, music, dance, theater and many more. Colombian culture is the summation of geographical sites, its colonizers, religious communities and many other things. All these have significant reflection in the lifestyle and religion of Colombian people. Along with this, these things also influenced the language and other aspects of Colombian life (Colombia Culture; Culture: Tradition and avant-garde). Landforms in Colombia: Landforms are the natural features on the surface of earth. Colombia is full of several landforms which enables it to become incredible country in the world. This country is fronted by valleys such as Caribbean, Pacific as well as Eastern Amazon which lengthen its borders Venezuela and Brazil. The western side of Colombia is crossed by three rocky equivalent ranges of the Andes Mountain which was named as Eastern, Central and Western Cordilleras. Many of the significant rivers like Cauca, Magdalena and Putumayo were climbed in the upper elevation of the mountain. These Cauca and Magdalena disconnected the three ranges of Andean Mountain, ultimately merging and later on ending in the Caribbean Sea (Landforms). Land Division in Colombia: The land of Colombia divided into many sub divisions which comprises of thirty two departments and one capital district. The thirty two departments of Colombia includes Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes and Vichada. Other than these departments, the Colombia has one capital district which is named as Capital de Bogota (Land Statistics). Information about Traveler in Colombia: In the early 00s, the Colombia has been opened for world travelers because violence has been decreased dramatically. The diversity of climate and cultural zone in the Colombia provided something unique to the travelers. In the north of country, Caribbean beaches facilitate high class resorts with some historic colonial cities although economical beach towns next to Pacific Coast like Nuqui. In the Andean region, local population resides with the diversified culture. Despite being diversified culture, climatic zone has extreme variations which contributed beauty to the region and aid Colombia as one of the bio-diverse country in the world wide. The points of attraction in the Colombia as elaborated below (Welcome to Colombia Information). Attractions: The Colombia is the country which comprises of diversified culture and climate. This diversity of climate and culture placed this country at different platform and also these diversities attracts more travelers from the worldwide. The climate of Colombia is identified by trade winds, altitude and humidity because it is an equatorial country. The country took pleasure consistent luminosity during the year with the identical duration of day and night hours. The point of attractions of the Colombia country comprises of several natural features. The historical landmarks comprises of Capitol, Capilla Del Sangrario, cathedral on Plaza Bolivar which is a main square. The capital city Bogota includes a museum the Museo Del Oro that is one of the best Colombian museums globally. It also includes churches as Iglesia de Santa Clara and Iglesia de San Ignacio. Other than this, Cartagena on the Caribbean coast is the building of colonial walled and the white sand beaches are truly attractive. A f amous Salt Cathedral in the Zipaquira which is an underground church built under a salt mine. Other than these Colombia is also full of parks such as Tayrona National park (Attractions; Attractions from Colombia). The overviews of point of attractions in the Colombia country are described underlined as below: Museums and churches: The country has many museums and churches such as Museo Del Oro, Museo national, Museo Arqueologico, Santa Clara and San Francisco. The major and unique feature of these are, all are situated in the mid of the city. The Mountain Cerro de Monserrate (Bogota): This Mountain gave pleasure to all travelers who come from worldwide. The Salt Cathedrals at Zipaquira (Bogota): Zipaquira is situated in the north of Bogota. These mines have been vacant and comprises of small reserves which place like a mountain of salt. The Island Del Rosario (Colombia): It is situated in the southwest of Cartagena which is next to the Caribbean coast. It is situated thirty kilometer in the southwest of Cartagena. This area is full of incredible scenes and sand beaches. Along with these also offered glorious coral reefs and colorful fishes. Source: (Attractions) The city of Cali: This is a rich city and having hot climate. This city is famous for its cigars and for exotic dishes. San Andres (Colombia): This Island is only 13 kilometer long and 3 kilometer broad. This island is flat and plain in nature and full of coco palms. Its sunny beaches offered a place for relaxing to the travelers. The nature reserve of Parque National los Katios (Colombia): This is one of the beautiful nature parks which are enclosed with rain forest and lakes. One of the points of attraction in the park is a waterfall of 100 meter. These natural scenes gave pleasures to all travelers who came to Colombia (Attractions; Attractions from Colombia). Country Dialing Code: The country dialing code is a series of numbers which is used for establishing connections between two telephones at the international platform. The dialing code of Colombia country is of two digits as 57. This dialing code allowed user to contact Colombia from another countries in the world wide. This dialing code 57 is dialed after the International Direct Dialing (IDD) and this Colombia dialing code is followed by an area code. By using complete Colombia dialing code a user may call in Colombia (Colombia Country Codes). Electricity: The voltage in Colombia country is 110 volts which is similar to the voltage utilized in the United States of America, Canada and Japan. The 110 volts has been considered as safer to use and less powerful because it has ad vantage over the high voltage like 230 volts. On the other hand, it costs more in the transmission of power to the end users by utilizing 110 volts as for this purpose copper lines must be thicker in size. For this reason wealthy countries are generally used these lower voltages (Electricity in Colombia). In Colombia, the electricity frequency is 60 Hz. Since electricity frequency is not a major issue in regards of compatibility because in the recent time most of the electrical equipments are supportive to the multiple frequencies (Colombia Technical Information for Travelers). The plug adapters that are used in Colombia are A or B. the electrical outlets of type A and type B are shown below: Source: (Colombia Country Codes) The graphical representation of electricity production in Colombia country is as shown below: Source: (Electricity in Colombia) The attractive feature of electricity sector in Colombia is if certain area has a number then it is called Stratum. If this number is higher than that area considered as better as compared to others and the people need to pay more amounts for electricity. This system is operated by cross-subsidies and kept very simple phenomenon that the person who earns more have to pay more for electricity. This makes sure that power is accessible by everyone (Electricity in Colombia). Conclusion: The Colombia is the country which comprises of diversified culture and climate. This diversity of climate and culture placed this country at different platform and also these diversities attracts more travelers from the worldwide. This country is known for their several landforms, culture and traditions. This gives additional advantage to the country for attracting more travelers. In totality, Colombia is the country which is considered as incredible place in the world wide.

Tata Motors losses

Tata Motors losses Can Tata Motors capture and increase its market share in India through the launch of Jaguar and Land Rover? Introduction: My commentary examines the recent acquisition of Tata Motors of two iconic brands- Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors at a staggering amount of $2.3 billion. Despite being well known brands, they are suffering losses. After Tata Motors take over, they were strategizing to launch these products in the Indian market which has huge growth prospects. The real challenge was in these brands attracting customers away from rivals in the Indian market. Simultaneously Tata Motors has launched Tata Nano to capture the Indian market for small cars. This will be reinforced by launching light- weighted aluminium and hybrid cars from Land Rover. With help of SWOT, Ansoff Matrix and Asset led Marketing my commentary will examine how successful will be the launch of Jaguar and Land Rover cars in India. SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis is a useful decision-making tool that is used to assess the current and future situation of a product, brand, company, proposal or decision. It considers both internal and external factors that are relevant to the issue under investigation.[1] Strengths: The acquisition of the two global brands- Jaguar and Land Rover acts in a crucial way to increase and develop the brand reputation and the quality of products for Tata Motors. It provides plenty of opportunity to the Indian consumer and the developing Indian automobile market can also help the launch of brands in the long-term. It can reap economies of scale through component sourcing and low cost engineering. Weakness: With different product portfolios for both brands it will be a challenging task ahead to market the same in the price sensitive Indian market. But this could be overcome through proper market research. Another concern is the diminishing image due to the continued losses and a de motivated work force due to the change in management. With right training and incentives and proper marketing strategies the company can convert these negatives to strengths. Opportunities: This launch is a great opportunity for the Indian customer and target the growing Indian market. Automobile market is developing in India and placed with launch of Nano, Tata Motors will be in a good position capture a larger share of the market. Threats: Increasing fuel prices combined with global meltdown will be a challenge for the company to stay afloat and over come the losses. In addition the strong competition can threaten the expected sales of the company. However the inherent financial and managerial strength of the conglomerate should be able to let the company withstand the challenges and move ahead. A danger that remains is that with the new ownership international brand loyalties may change and customers may move towards other models in the market. Ansoff Matrix: The Ansoff Matrix is an analytical tool that helps managers to devise their product and market growth strategies. It consists of four growth strategies namely- Market penetration, Market Development under new and existing and markets AND Product development, Diversification under new and existing products.[2] Diversification It refers to the high risk growth strategy that involves a business marketing new products in new markets. Parent companies can benefit from having a presence in a range of products and markets in different regions of the world.[6] Market Penetration- Tata could continue with the same strategy that it had adopted for the UK for the rest of world. The estate, coupe and open saloon models of Jaguar and the Freelander and Range Rover sport of Land Rover selling in the existing markets UK can help them to gain profits and increase in sales in other markets due to the reputation of the brands. For the new models that are planned to launch, promoting and advertising can be a good choice for the firms to maintain their position in the market and to attract more consumers and build customer loyalty. Tata Indica and other commercial vehicles like Tata Ace are examples of Tatas market penetration strategy that exist in the existing markets and are still earning them great profits. Product Development- Tata Motors are launching the smallest car the famed Tata Nano in the Indian markets which is a new product by the firm and launched in existing markets of India and other countries where Tata Motors operate. This car can be useful for the firm as they can easily generate profits through this product as well as their brand name. Also, the firm can compete with other businesses in the same market with the help of these products. Tata Starbus and Tata Xover are other new products that have been launched by Tata Motors in India and other existing markets of Tata Motors. Diversification- The new products planned by Tata Motors through the Jaguar and Land Rover brands can be categorized in diversification. The company plans of manufacturing hybrid, electric and bio-fuels based and environmental friendly cars with the help of latest technology through both of these brands which can be useful in boosting the brand image of the firm. Also, there may be an increase in the profits of the firm as the hybrid cars are said to be the future of automobiles in order to save the earth from pollution. These new products launched in the new markets of India and others can be termed as diversified strategy of the firm. Tata Nano can also be included in this strategy as it is also a new product and is planned to be launched into new markets of African and Asian countries. Asset led marketing: Asset led marketing is a strategy that is adopted by the business for the sales of their products or services. Here, the firm uses its intangible assets for introducing a new product in the market. Tata Motors is a well-established and well-known firm and a part of the parent company Tata and Sons. Thus, in order to launch its products or services in the market and start off with immediate sales and profits, Tatas can use this which may even be applicable for launching the two automobile brands. Tata Motors have been in the news for past several months due to the launch of the worlds cheapest car in India- Tata Nano manufactured by their own company. Simultaneously launching two brands can help Tatas in gaining a lot of customer attention and thus a larger customer base. The well established and elegant brands with the giant prestige of Tata Motors can help the firms in garnering huge amounts of profits and gaining control over their competitors. Evaluation : The biggest advantage of this acquisition is that the firm might see an increase in sales of the cars due to both firms worldwide luxury brand reputation and also due to the services and quality provided by the cars. But at the same time, the number of competitors in the booming automobile market of India has increased and finding their way out to satisfy the customers with different marketing strategies can be very costly for the firm. Tata Motors can implement various strategies such as advertising and also, various schemes can be used which guarantee consumer satisfaction and can also prove to be a part of customer attraction. These strategies can prove to be useful in boosting the brand image and the sales of the company as well. Short- term problems faced by the firm may be the recovering of the costs that has been put into the acquisition and the launch of Jaguar and Land Rover cars. The high manufacturing costs of Tata Motors, Jaguar and Land Rover might prove to be another reason for the losses in the accounts of the Tata Motors. The long-term problems can be an increase in competition as the Indian automobile market is developing at a rapid rate. If the company suffers losses, then there might be the need for job redundancies, thus leading to worker de-motivation. Conclusion: To conclude, the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover brands may be risky due to the global slowdown but Tata Motors with its brand name and established presence in India can succeed in the long run. Tata Group, a huge multinational giant worldwide can capitalize through cross-subsidization. I think that by promoting the products and launching it along with Tata Nano will be useful as each can be a backup for the other in the future. The workforce can be motivated through good learning experience as they may have access to the technology used in manufacturing these premium cars but at the same time, if the products fail to create a mark on customers, the workers may feel insecure as job redundancies may be adopted by Tata Motors to struggle with their own financial portfolio. Bibliography- 1. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE55R0LK20090628?pageNumber=2virtualBrandChannel=0 2. http://www.autoblogs.in/2009/06/tata-jaguar-land-rover-launch-india.html 3. http://free-sms-mms.blogspot.com/2009/06/tata-jaguar-land-rover-launched-in.html 4. http://www.zeenews.com/news542730.html 5. http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14790692 6. http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/In-The-News/Rough-Roads-Ahead.html 7. http://business.outlookindia.com/inner.aspx?articleid=1225subcatgid=611editionid=36catgid=44 8. http://www.tata.in/media/reports/inside.aspx?artid=r8CuZiHSZ2o= 9. http://money.rediff.com/companies/tata-motors-ltd/10510008/profit-and-loss 10. http://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/tatamotors/profit-loss/TM03 11. http://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/tatamotors/balance-sheet/TM03 12. http://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/tatamotors/ratios/TM03 13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Motors Appendix- SWOT: Strengths-  · Jaguar and Land Rover have a respected brand image in the global markets for their luxurious cars.  · A good move for Tata Motors to enter the luxury market.  · A global visibility for the owner of the company as a sprawling conglomerate.  · Benefits from component sourcing, design services and low cost engineering.  · A good learning experience for the workers. Weaknesses-  · Both brands have a vast and a different product portfolio.  · Unavailability of premium auto parts at the Indian auto parts suppliers and thus, the need to import.  · Diminished corporate image of the brands due to massive losses in the past few years.  · De-motivation of workers due to redundancies and job cuts Opportunities-  · Opportunity for the Indian customers to have near access for driving premium cars.  · India is a developing automobile market and thus, a useful step for the long term.  · Simultaneous launch of the Tata Nano and other models can generate higher profits and develop their control on both the upper and the lower and middle class market.  · Range of products with different prices helps them to diversify.  · Reinforcement of globalization. Threats-  · Negative impact on the car sales of the brands due to economic meltdown and global recession.  · Lead to value-destruction due to lack of synergies and high-cost operations.  · Prohibition of establishing a stronger market base and increasing sales due to the number of rivals such as Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, Lamborghini.  · Increase in fuel prices.  · Shifting brand loyalty due to change in ownership Ansoff Matrix- Existing product New product Existing market Market penetration This strategy mainly applies for those businesses that focus on selling existing products in the existing markets. It is a low- risk strategy and helps to increase the market share of its current products.[7] Product development This strategy involves businesses aiming to sell new products in existing markets. This strategy is also a reason for acquiring another company as the costs of starting another company can be saved and different types of customers can be catered. This strategy is also useful for businesses using brand expansion strategies.[8] New market Market Development This method serves for those businesses that apply the strategy of selling existing products into newer markets.[9] Such techniques are used by businesses that plan to expand their business and attain higher customer base. Diversification It refers to the high risk growth strategy that involves a business marketing new products in new markets. Parent companies can benefit from having a presence in a range of products and markets in different regions of the world.[10] MUMBAI (Reuters) Tata Motors (TAMO.BO), Indias largest vehicles maker, on Sunday announced the launch in India of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, the marquee brands it bought from Ford Motors (F.N) last year. Saying it was a momentous occasion for the company, chairman Ratan Tata said, This is in keeping with our desire to extend the penetration of the brands in India. The automobile firm, which controls about 60 percent of the worlds fifth-biggest truck and bus market, will soon also be rolling out the Nano, billed as the worlds cheapest car. Jaguar is launching the XF amd XK range of luxury coupes and convertibles in India starting at a price tag of 6.3 million rupees (79,000 pounds) and going up to 9 million rupees. Land Rover will initially be launching three vehicles including the Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery 3, with prices also starting at 6.3 million rupees but going beyond 9 million. The luxury car market in India is very small, but there is a huge opportunity there. It is growing fast and we expect it to grow fast over the next 5 to 10 years, said David Smith, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover. India is an important part of our plans for the future, said Mike Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar. The luxury car segment in India is less than 1 percent of the total car market there.Continued On Friday Tata Motors posted its first loss in eight years at $520 million (315 million pounds) for the year to March 2009, with its Jaguar Land Rover unit reporting a loss of 306 million pounds in the 10 months of the fiscal year to March 2009, as a brutal global recession crippled car sales. On the issue of loan guarantees for JLR, Tata said, we are in discussions with the U.K. government on the loan guarantees and hopefully we will find a solution for it and our funding plan for JLR will progress. The company is seeking guarantees for the 340 million pounds loan sanctioned by the European Investment Bank and other loans from U.K.-based commercial banks. It is seeking these funds to develop new and more fuel efficient cars for improving its competitive position. Sustaining the downturn is important for us and finding a solution (for the loan guarantees) is extremely important to us, Tata said. He also said that if there was a large financial package from the U.K. government for Jaguar and Land Rover then, there should be commensurate level of representation from them, which had to be negotiated and worked out. An ill-fated, two decade-old strategy is about to end. When Ford hands over the keys to Jaguar and Land Rover (J-LR), it will end its troubled journey with the high-performance premium car brands, which have failed to pull in expected profits despite large investments. Tata Motors is expected to finalise a deal for the two companies for just over $2 billion. However, recent reports indicate that the price might be higher than previously thought. Tata Motors is said to be looking for financing worth $3 billion to fund the deal. The Financial Times reports that Tata Motorss advisors on the J-LR deal, JP Morgan and Citigroup, have received instructions to arrange for funding from banks. What worries investors is that Tata Motors may be stretching itself. This is a critical year for the company. In January, Tata Motors introduced its ultra-cheap car — Nano — to heavy national and global interest. It simultaneously launched a new platform for the Indica, its best selling passenger car. Later this year, it will also launch the World Truck, a project that has been under development with South Korean subsidiary, Tata Daewoo. â€Å"Investors have not taken this deal positively as it will put a lot of pressure on Tata Motors highly leveraged balance sheet,† says Aniket Mhatre, an analyst with financial services firm, Prabhudas Lilladher. â€Å"Also, the Nano wont be profitable for at least the first two-three years. The combined effect is expected to put pressure on Tata Motors margins and profitability.† In January, shortly after Tata Motors was made the preferred bidder for J-LR, credit rating firm Crisil downgraded the companys long-term debt ratings to a ‘negative watch. It said that the deal would be challenging for Tata Motors as a significant portion of combined revenues would come from two newly acquired companies where Tata Motors had â€Å"yet to build and demonstrate capabilities†. The companys stock has dropped 7.9 per cent to Rs 702.65 per share on the year to date. Future Strategy What happens next depends on how well Tata Motors can handle the acquisition and service the considerable debt it will assume. The group is known to retain the services of the current management team after taking over companies. This is exactly what happened when Tata acquired Spanish bus makers Hispano Carrocera and South Korean truck makers Daewoo Commercial Vehicles. Tata executives have likely already approached Jaguars top management team to secure their services beyond the acquisition. The Tata Groups reasoning is that it avoids the hassle of new managers having to learn the ropes. Employee morale also stays high as workers stick with bosses they trust. Still, some Tata Motors executives will definitely be sent to the UK to integrate the finance and business operations of the two companies. Tata has also promised it will not tamper with Jaguar and Land Rovers business plans, made by Ford up to 2011-12. This means that no employee will be fired and no plant shut down, even if these are a financial burden. Scheduled roll-outs for Jaguar and Land Rover are also likely to carry on. â€Å"Ford has plans of launching a number of new models for the J-LR combine,† says Mhatre. â€Å"[These] are expected to do very well in their respective markets. It could provide the much needed boost to Jaguars profitability in particular.† Ford has also secured components from suppliers over the medium term. Tata Motors will enjoy this benefit as it will buy it time to integrate J-LR operations into its own extensive community of lower-cost suppliers, which include around 20 auto design studios, steel units and various component makers. Chairman Ratan Tata also assures that Jaguar and Land Rover will not be re-badged as Tata vehicles. Jaguar dealers were disappointed when they realised that the once-legendary British brands would now be owned out of India. â€Å"For the European market, Tata Motors has a ‘truck-manufacturer image,† says Mhatre. â€Å"Consumers may consider shifting their brand loyalty to competitors in such a scenario.† That is why Tatas decision to not tamper with Jaguar and Land Rovers â€Å"character† will be important. It is also consistent with moves from past acquisitions. Trucks sold in Daewoos native South Korea do not bear the Tata badge. That emblem only appears on vehicles where the Tata brand is more well-known than Daewoo, such as markets like South Asia or Africa. BRAND POWER: Jaguar and Land Rover will not be re-badged as Tata vehicles What Tata Gains The most obvious benefit for Tata Motors is the technology it will now have access to. Both Jaguar and Land Rover use advanced technology and design and production techniques to churn out their vehicles. These include the use of lighter materials such as aluminium as well as considerably more advanced engine and transmission technologies. â€Å"Land Rovers SUV technology [in particular] could be useful for the Tatas current products in the segment,† says Yezdi Nagporewalla, National Industry Director (industrial markets) at KPMG. Then theres green tech. At the ongoing Geneva Motor Show, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said that he was interested in producing green cars. â€Å"We are very keen and†¦ are looking at working on vehicles that run on biofuels, electric vehicles and hybrid fuels,† he told journalists. Land Rover already has one hybrid concept — the LRX — and says it would invest  £700 million in the development of sustainable technology over the next five years. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the two brands will give Tata Motors a foothold in the luxury space. This means that the company will have a readymade offering in every car segment from ultra-cheap (the Nano) to utilitarian (the Indica) to commercial vehicles (Ace, World Truck) to SUVs (Sumo, Safari and Land Rovers) and, finally, to premium, high-performance cars (Jaguar). The fact that it can literally buy premium brands off the shelf means that it wont have to invest its own time and money to catch up with high-end technology. This is exactly what has put car makers such as Honda or Toyota at a disadvantage in the premium segment in markets such as the US. For the moment, it is unclear whether Tatas gamble will work. $2 billion is a lot of money and, if the analysts are right, Tata Motors may not be in the best position to pay it all back. Still, the Tata group is arguably one of the most professionally managed corporate houses in the country, if anyone can pull it off, they can. Bibliography- http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/In-The-News/Rough-Roads-Ahead.html 3. Tatas to launch Jaguar, Land Rover on June 28 Last updated on: June 18, 200910:23 IST Indias [ Images ] tryst with luxury brands takes a new turn on June 28,when Tata Motors [ Get Quote ] unfurls its marquee brands, the Jaguar and Land Rover [ Images ], in its home market. The cars will be launched just weeks before Indias first global brand, the ultra-cheap Nano [ Images ], hits the road in July. Tata Motors acquired the luxury vehicles from Ford [ Images ] Motor Co for $2.3 billion in March last year. This is the first time globally that Jaguar and Land Rover will debut together. After Mumbai [ Images ], the imported cars will drive to Ludhiana and Bengaluru [ Images ]. The Jaguar will roll out five models including the XJ, XX, and XF. Two models of the Land Rover will available. Tata Motors declined to reveal the first year sales targets for its new offerings. But a senior Tata manager said they will be number a few hundreds. In the United Kingdom, the Jaguar largely sells four models: Estate, saloon, open-top and coupe. The hot selling Land Rover brands overseas are the Range Rover [ Images ], Defender, Discovery and Freelander. JLR will be the first luxury cars from the $83 billion Tata conglomerate although they had a joint venture with Mercedes [ Images ] nearly a decade ago. While the Jaguar gives Tata Motors a toehold in Indias premium car segment, the Land Rover completes its SUV range which includes the Sumo. The JLR launch comes at a time when Indias luxury car market has belied the downturn. Global brands like the Rolls Royce, BMW [ Images ], Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Maybach and the Bentley have made India their coveted destination in the last couple of years. Last year, Mercedes announced that it will invest Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) to set up its first fully-owned production facility in India. Its first plant in Pune was leased from Tata Motors. Even as compact cars clog Indian roads and drive over two-thirds of the 1.5 million auto market, the high margin luxury cars are a status symbol amongst Indias rich. Ludhiana, for instance, is the Mecca of luxury cars, auto makers say. India now has its very own luxury brands. Tatas Takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover: Bumpy Road or Smooth Ride? Published: April 03, 2008 in India [emailprotected] Will the acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar be a smooth ride for Tata Motors? That is the question that many observers have been asking since the Tata Group and Ford announced their $2.3 billion deal at the end of March. The takeover has been greeted with jubilation, especially in India, because of the prestige of these marquee brands. On the other hand, skeptics have also been wondering how this acquisition fits in with the Tata Groups overall strategy. What can the Tatas do differently than Ford to ensure that the acquisition pays off? What major challenges will Tata Motors face in integration and marketing? To help make sense of these issues, India [emailprotected] spoke withJohn Paul MacDuffie, Wharton management professor and co-director of theInternational Motor Vehicle Program, andHarbir Singh, Wharton management professor and co-director of theMack Center for Technology Innovation. An edited transcript of the discussion follows: [emailprotected]:Lets start with the question that is on everyones mind. Does this deal make economic sense? MacDuffie: Its a very fascinating deal. Its clearly not a deal that is trying to build economies of scale in just one business and just reach into new markets. Its quite a differently motivated deal. For Tata its not the first time that theyve reached for a brand with some prestige value as part of expanding their global visibility. So I think viewed as an acquisition that they intend to learn a great deal from, it could very well make sense. The exposure that the Tatas will have to the high end of the auto business, which they know very well at the domestic end, and to the managing of this very prestigious brand I think could offer a lot of learning opportunities. [emailprotected]:Harbir, just to follow up on the same issue, the Tatas have the Indica, and they also recently launched the Tata Nano, the famous one lakh rupee car, or the $2,500 car. Do brands like the Jaguar and Land Rover really fit in with that overall portfolio? Whats your sense of the fit? Singh: My sense is that the Tatas are trying to expand their portfolio in general and they are trying to offer [various brands]. I dont think its a question of the customer viewing Nano, and Jaguar and Land Rover as all offerings of the same company. Its much more a question of like Louis Moet Hennessy having a set of brands and really doing the best you can for Land Rover and the best you can for Jaguar. In terms of the economic sense of the transaction, I think another way of looking at it is: Whats the replacement value of those brands, right? And clearly whatever price they pay is much lower than the replacement value. So the real challenge here for them is to make sure that they can enhance Jaguar in its own terms and enhance Land Rover in its own terms. [emailprotected]:John Paul, do you agree? MacDuffie: Yes. Ford of course sold the companies because the company is in deep financial distress and really needed cash now. There can be a dispute, I guess, about whether the price is too high or too low, but the Tatas certainly paid substantially less than Ford did for those brands. And by all counts Land Rover is profitable and Jaguar has made a strong comeback based on building capabilities, improving quality, they have some interesting new products in the pipelines, so I do agree. [emailprotected]:Did the Tatas did get a bargain, or did they overpay because this was a higher price than the market expected? MacDuffie: Its always very tough to know exactly and theres always this kind of speculation at the time. I think that Ford was certainly counting on increasing the volumes of these brands probably particularly Jaguar to a much higher level. And so at a certain point their efforts to greatly expand the volume, I think, probably hurt them somewhat. They were introducing lower priced Jaguars that a lot of people didnt feel represent that brand very well. They were trying to leverage their own Ford design parts from other models. I actually think managing it as a prestige brand from the base that Ford established should work well for the Tatas. That appears to be their pattern with their acquisitions that they by and large allow the management to keep doing what it is doing and, as I said, look for opportunities to learn from these foreign acquisitions. [emailprotected]:Some critics have been saying that for the Tatas this was a deal motivated more by the desire to acquire marquee or iconic brands, almost like former colonials acquiring the trappings of the former empire. Does that criticism make sense? MacDuffie: Who knows about that motivation? Theres certainly a kind of interest, I think, in the whole deal that comes partly from such associations. One of the other Tata deals thats gotten some attention is the acquisition of Tetley Tea, another British brand, and also of British Steel, the remains of British Steel. And so clearly investing in Britain has worked well for Indian companies. There were competing buyers, mostly private equity sometimes in partnership with other auto companies. And both the unions and the suppliers of Jaguar and Land Rover very much prefer Tata. I suspect not because theyre an Indian company but because of their track record in the way theyve managed acquisitions. They by and large have not done wide-scale layoffs, they have not done lots of consolidation; theyve focused on leveraging the strengths and the capabilities they have acquired. Singh: I agree with everything John Paul is saying. My comment is that its important for the Tatas not to get distracted by the nationalism and those kinds of things, which are all inevitable and natural. And I think its good, the pride is well-placed. You know the pride in Tatas by Indian investors and others is well placed. But fundamentally, this transaction has to perform because its a large transaction. I think there is a very good chance of performing. But I think it important for them to not get wrapped in the overlay of national pride and British colonialism and all those things. [emailprotected]:Ford really had a tough time during the many years that it owned these brands. What could the Tatas do differently to make sure that the acquisitions pay off? Singh: Its correct that Ford struggled quite a bit with these transactions. One of the issues that John Paul mentioned earlier was that Ford is in financial trouble. So if you were to think about Tatas approach to all of this, they could get a good price because its a distress sale. I mentioned market replacement value and there is a good chance that the $2.3 billion is well below replacement value because Ford bought Jaguar for a similar reason. They wanted that luxury nameplate. And Land Rover also is a high-end nameplate. But we can also ask that based on these multiple bidders present, that what we will get is kind of almost an auction-like value, right? Except that it will, given that the bidders are all well-informed and they have had access to the books this is a private transaction, its not a pub