Organizational Culture, Business Strategy and HR Practices affect diverse teams‘ performance Essay

The Later Findings: Organizational Culture, Business Strategy and HR Practices affect diverse teams‘ performance Effects of Organizational Culture and Business Strategies Effects of Organizational Culture and Business Strategies Diverse groups show a higher level of performance in a people-oriented culture Educationally diverse groups perform better within a growth-oriented business strategy Educationally diverse groups perform worse within a stability-oriented business strategy Growth-oriented cultures need creativity and innovation, this is provided through a diverse group Diverse work teams need an appropriate work environment (innovative, creative, group ID) Effects of HR Practices Members of diverse groups are generally rewarded higher in stock options within a diversity-oriented HR environment Companies, which manage diversity well are well managed overall Good diversity management is provided through a strong support from the CEO The Expanded, Nuanced Leadership Role 2050 non-whites will be the majority in the USA Specific and practical recommendations for leaders of diverse teams: 1. Be attuned to issues of social category diversity and identity groups Reflecting about the own social identity, about the one of others and the associated reactions to it 2. Keep refining and developing your own emotional and social intelligence Becoming more aware of the own strength and weaknesses, be aware of the own mood and how to manage it. A high level of self-awareness and flexibility are vital for social intelligence. Be aware about your own verbal and non-verbal language and try to manage them well. Be able to adapt to different cultures and gain crucial knowledge about them. 3. Focus on the diversity values of the team, early and often A good performance is provided through an early alignment of vision and values. 4. Create a strong team identity or brand Team leaders need to build the team’s identity and connection to the organization. Shorthand identification, which can be repeated and demonstrated until it becomes accepted and well known. 5. Hone your skills at having tough conversations See conflict as creative tension that can build positive results. 6. Focus on building organizational culture and human resource practices that are needed to translate diversity into positive results Ensure that a suitable work environment, business strategy and HR practices are in place for diverse teams.

Does the Current Electoral Process Result in the best Candidate for President?

History informs us about the first method the parties developed in order to pick their presidential candidates. This method was the congressional caucus. The framer’s method in 1787 was that each elector would cast two electoral votes, each for a different person for president. The person who received the majority of the electoral votes would win the presidential election and the person who received the second most amount of electoral votes won the vice presidential election. However, the rise of political parties and the election of 1800 made a great change to the system.During this time the electors cast their two votes for two different persons. The 12th Amendment established the separation of the presidential and vice presidential election. With the election of Thomas Jefferson, each of the 73 Democratic- Republican Party voted for Thomas Jefferosn and Aaron Burr which caused a tie. To resolve this there was 36 separate votes in the House of Representatives to select the P resident and Vice President. In 1832, both major parties turned to the national convention as their presidential nomination device and still continues to serve them.Whether the current electoral process results in the best candidates for president is debatable. We must further look into the steps taken in order to become a president. Electing a president consists of five steps. These steps include primaries/caucuses, nomination at national convention, campaigning, election, and electoral college. Presidential primaries help to ensure that a party gets strong candidates for president. They do this by democratizing the delegate selection process and force would-be nominees to test their candidacies in actual political combat.This is how most states select the Democratic Republican candidate who will run against each other. A caucus is a nominating device where a group of people with similar views meet to select delegates to the national convention. Not just anyone is nominated. To be nominate one must be more than just an older white male. Though, it is usually male. One must have experience and have served in elective offices. They sometimes are protestant or incumbent with a pleasant appearance and developed speakings skills.Once all the primaries and  caucuses have been held and delegates are selected, the two major parties hold their nation conventions. The three main goals of the national convention are promoting party unity, adopting the party’s platform, and naming the party’s candidates. During this time each Presidential candidate chooses a running-mate for Vice-President. Once a candidate has won their party's nomination, he or she begins mapping campaign strategy . Campaigning is very important in order to win the votes of the American people. Through campaigning the cadidate states his or her position on various current issues.He or she steps up efforts to raise money and recruit volunteer workers. Fans of the candidates most likely w ill begin holding up signs encouraging to vote for their choice of candidate. Swing voters are important to campaigns since these are the 1/3 of the electorate who has not made up their minds at the start of the campaign. They are more open to persuasion for either campaigns. They also focus on battle-ground states since either candidate could win in those states. Finally on the first tuesday of November, the people vote for one candidate. This happens every four years.When a person casts a vote in the general election, they are not voting directly for an individual Presidential candidate. Instead, voters in each state actually cast their vote for a group of people, known as electors. These electors are part of the Electoral College and are supposed to vote for their state’s preferred candidate. In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. For example, a large state like California gets 54 electoral votes, while Rhode Island gets only four.All together, there are 538 Electoral votes. In December after the election, the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets more than half, 270, wins the election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect then take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th. Returning to the main question, I don’t believe the electoral process results in the best candidates for President. I believe the choice should not be left for the electoral college but for each person’s vote to count.One alternative is the popular vote where everyone’s vote would count for one vote. I don't think it is fair to try to convince people that they have a voice and encourage them to vote, when the Electoral College has the final say. The Electoral College leads to things like there being massive amoun ts of campaigning being down in â€Å"battleground states† like Ohio and Florida while people in solidly â€Å"red† or solidly â€Å"blue† states have their issues basically ignored because it's almost certain which way the state is going to go.History informs us about the first method the parties developed in order to pick their presidential candidates. This method was the congressional caucus. The framer’s method in 1787 was that each elector would cast two electoral votes, each for a different person for president. The person who received the majority of the electoral votes would win the presidential election and the person who received the second most amount of electoral votes won the vice presidential election. However, the rise of political parties and the election of 1800 made a great change to the system.During this time the electors cast their two votes for two different persons. The 12th Amendment established the separation of the presidential a nd vice presidential election. With the election of Thomas Jefferson, each of the 73 Democratic- Republican Party voted for Thomas Jefferosn and Aaron Burr which caused a tie. To resolve this there was 36 separate votes in the House of Representatives to select the President and Vice President. In 1832, both major parties turned to the national convention as their presidential nomination device and still continues to serve them.Whether the current electoral process results in the best candidates for president is debatable. We must further look into the steps taken in order to become a president. Electing a president consists of five steps. These steps include primaries/caucuses, nomination at national convention, campaigning, election, and electoral college. Presidential primaries help to ensure that a party gets strong candidates for president. They do this by democratizing the delegate selection process and force would-be nominees to test their candidacies in actual political comb at.This is how most states select the Democratic Republican candidate who will run against each other. A caucus is a nominating device where a group of people with similar views meet to select delegates to the national convention. Not just anyone is nominated. To be nominate one must be more than just an older white male. Though, it is usually male. One must have experience and have served in elective offices. They sometimes are protestant or incumbent with a pleasant appearance and developed speakings skills.Once all the primaries and caucuses have been held and delegates are selected, the two major parties hold their nation conventions. The three main goals of the national convention are promoting party unity, adopting the party’s platform, and naming the party’s candidates. During this time each Presidential candidate chooses a running-mate for Vice-President. Once a candidate has won their party's nomination, he or she begins mapping campaign strategy . Campaigning is very important in order to win the votes of the American people. Through campaigning the cadidate states his or her position on various current issues.He or she steps up efforts to raise money and recruit volunteer workers. Fans of the candidates most likely will begin holding up signs encouraging to vote for their choice of candidate. Swing voters are important to campaigns since these are the 1/3 of the electorate who has not made up their minds at the start of the campaign. They are more open to persuasion for either campaigns. They also focus on battle-ground states since either candidate could win in those states. Finally on the first tuesday of November, the people vote for one candidate. This happens every four years.When a person casts a vote in the general election, they are not voting directly for an individual Presidential candidate. Instead, voters in each state actually cast their vote for a group of people, known as electors. These electors are part of the Electora l College and are supposed to vote for their state’s preferred candidate. In the Electoral College system, each state gets a certain number of electors, based on each state's total number of representation in Congress. Each elector gets one electoral vote. For example, a large state like California gets 54 electoral votes, while Rhode Island gets only four.All together, there are 538 Electoral votes. In December after the election, the electors cast their votes. When the votes are counted on January 6th, the Presidential candidate that gets more than half, 270, wins the election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect then take the oath of office and are inaugurated two weeks later, on January 20th. Returning to the main question, I don’t believe the electoral process results in the best candidates for President. I believe the choice should not be left for the electoral college but for each person’s vote to count.One alternative is the popular vote where e veryone’s vote would count for one vote. I don't think it is fair to try to convince people that they have a voice and encourage them to vote, when the Electoral College has the final say. The Electoral College leads to things like there being massive amounts of campaigning being down in â€Å"battleground states† like Ohio and Florida while people in solidly â€Å"red† or solidly â€Å"blue† states have their issues basically ignored because it's almost certain which way the state is going to go.

EU Food Supplement Directive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

EU Food Supplement Directive - Essay Example The directive which took effect in 2005 was also meant to ensure free movement of these products across national borders since there would be harmonised standards of all the supplements. The directive (2002/46/EC) therefore gives important definition on the limits and ingredient for supplements. (Jungbeck, 2004, p. 1) Among the 25 nations which makes up the EU, the EU has put in place directive regarding Dietary supplements which actually reclassifies vitamin supplements as medical drugs and allows for low dosage level in the usage while at the same time it outlaws many other supplements ingredients which are currently unavailable. The EU has therefore created a positive list which mandates some of the dietary supplements which are supposed to be sold in the region. Among the victims of this list has been vitamin E which is widely used by the population. Although this has been turned to legal battle between the health companies and the EU court ruling from the EU courts has given a go ahead in the implementation of the directive. This has been upheld in the sense that it is meant to protect the pupation from the adverse effects of these supplements. The alliance for Natural Health has been one of the umbrella bodies which have taken various measures which are meant to reverse the effect of the directive. It has been calling for the EU to overturn the directive and allow the sale of the supplements to continue. But in 2005 the EU court in Luxemburg gave a ruling which confirmed that the directives were put in place to stay and protect the health of the EU residents. It has therefore been argued that the EU has given the positive list of ingredient which should be used in the supplements and therefore by banning the use of some ingredients, the EU is acting in the interest of the public health. A dietary supplement which is common known as food supplement in the market is a aimed at supplying the important nutrients to the body like vitamins, mineral fatty acids, amino acids and others. Therefore it is usually intended to supplement the supply of nutrient form food especially for the import nutrients which are not supplied in adequate amount in the body. But scientific research has proved that some of the mineral supplement which are used are actual harmful to the body and this has been the main argument of the EU. It has been calling for the continued sale of supplements which are beneficial to the body and banning of those which are not beneficial to the body. The EU directive has shown that there has to prove that the supplements are safe to use both in their quality and their quantity. This is based on the fact that some of the vitamin supplements are very essential when supplied in small amounts but they can be very harmful when the they are supplied in large amount to the body notably among this being vitamin A which is widely supplemented. Therefore the EU directive asserts that it is only those supplements which are deemed safe for the body that are supposed to be sold. The EU has also established that food supplement must not be labelled with drug claims which are contrary to the health concept but which have been widely practiced in many countries in the

Analysis on Antigone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis on Antigone - Essay Example The issue of burial would change from Polynieces being left out for the carrion, which would be illegal, to being buried anonymously out in the woods and without a memorial. An interesting twist might be to make the organized crime family Japanese, a story based upon the Yakuza rather than the more commonly known organized crime structure of the Italian mob. The setting of the play is justified because of the familial themes that are similar in both of the genres. The Greek setting is based upon royal familial ties and the need for both legitimacy in Creon’s authority and a conflict in which Antigone must defy his decision. The character interactions in the play by Sophocles are defined by their ties within a family and this makes the transition to a setting in which organized crime is involved have a strong potential. The genre of organized crime is based upon the ‘family’, thus the line of succession is a part of their power structure. That the role of Creon wou ld be in jeopardy of losing his place would also play nicely in the organized crime genre because although family is important, it is not the only criteria for establishing power. The son of an organized crime boss or the brother is not necessarily in line to inherit the control of the syndicate. The misogyny in organized crime can also be translated from the Greek. In the literary genre of organized crime stories women typically do not have a great deal of power and are more often portrayed as victims. Women in Japanese society have a tradition of being submissive, thus the nature of Antigone would have the same meaning if translated into a modern context. She is both young and female, thus her opinion would not be taken into consideration similar to the way it was not taken into consideration in the Greek version until she acted. Although modern Japanese women have more power than in the past, the organized crime syndicate of the Yakuza is based upon lower socio-economic male memb ers of the Japanese society who are disenfranchised and find a brotherhood with the Yakuza gangs. It is typically male oriented (Howard, 2011). The setting of Japan in the environment of the Yakuza means that male dominance and family importance both remain important themes. Generation gaps in belief systems can be used to show the older generational beliefs in male dominance in conflict with female assertions of power from a feminist perspective. The central issue of funeral can be translated between an anonymous burial of Polyneices in the woods instead of the customary cremation with honor. Characters The main characters of the play are Antigone, Haemon, Creon, and Ismene. In addition, the names of Polynieces and Eteocles would have to be changed as well. Antigone would become Aneko, which means older sister. This gives her a familial designation which also supports a sense of her wisdom. While Antigone means â€Å"against offspring,† the familial tie is reinforced through the use of the name Aneko (Behind the Name, 2012). Ismene would be changed to Junko, which means â€Å"child of obedience,† relating to her reluctance to go against the will of Creon. Creon would be named Eito, meaning a â€Å"prosperous person† designating that he is wealthy as he has taken control of the organized crime family (Baby Names World, 2012). Haemon can be changed to the name Hansuke which is translated to mean â€Å"helpful friend.† Polynieces is changed to Ryoji which is translates to â€Å"

This is a continuation of your first assignment. Imagine your company Essay

This is a continuation of your first assignment. Imagine your company does not currently have an ethics program and you believe - Essay Example Its aim, as far as workers are concerned, is to ensure that they work in a favorable environment that supports their career development and are treated with dignity. St. Louis Delights, though a small company when compared to international players in the chocolate industry, has a diversified workforce. The company is also committed to ensuring that it remains profitable and preserves cordial relationships with its suppliers. For the company, its stakeholders are a kind of extended family which it treats with respect. St. Louis Delights also strives to maintain the best possible service for all customers while actively looking for ways in which it can contribute to their further development. The community at large is guaranteed high quality food products and a commitment to meet and fulfill universally accepted ethical values. The company also aims to be a participant in the social as well as economical development of its community. The internationally known chocolate company, Mars, I ncorporated, has a group of five principles that it strives to adhere to in its operations in different nations. These include Mutuality, Quality, Efficiency, Responsibility, and Freedom (Karunakaran and Chatterjee, 2008). Mars Incorporated has also recently been recognized for its efforts towards ensuring that cacao harvesters in third world nations, who are its main suppliers, also benefit from the business. In West Africa, the world’s largest Cacao producer, Mars Incorporated has started programs such as the ‘Sustainable Cocoa Initiative’ to make it possible for poor farmers to operate sustainable businesses by increasing incomes along the cocoa chain of supply (Hosmer, 2008). Mars Incorporated also aims to meet other environmental preservation targets such as minimizing water use, and stopping the use of fossil fuels as an energy source in the next three decades. Other famous international corporations such as Barry Callebaut and Kraft Foods which took over C adbury’s, along with seeking to improve working conditions for third world suppliers, have also vowed to deal only in cocoa that is ethically sourced (Karunakaran and Chatterjee, 2008). All over the world, consumers, particularly in developed nations, are increasingly becoming interested in only procuring socially conscious products. St. Louis Delights is well aware of this and aims to make the necessary changes before the ethical market for chocolate grows too large to accept new entrants. Analyze ways ethical challenges affect your business and create a code of conduct for your company. Provide a rationale on how these specific codes enhance your company’s ethics program. St. Louis Delights, though not an international corporation yet, is aware of the conditions that most West African suppliers work with. The biggest ethical issue concerns the use of child labor; or, more specifically, child slaves. In West African communities where cacao is grown, poor children are used to harvest the crop without being paid in most cases (Karunakaran and Chatterjee, 2008). The children may be provided with a single meal as payment for their services. However, for them, as well as their parents, they may feel that this is adequate because they would not have any food otherwise. In places where they are paid, they receive extremely low wages. At present, there is no fail safe strategy that can be used to

Marketing analysis - industries, trends and competition Thesis

Marketing analysis - industries, trends and competition - Thesis Example (Charles, 100) Some of the services offered by contractors are professional services that have been traditionally offered by A/E consultants for a long time. A/E consultants, faced with contractors taking away a large slice of the professional service pie, must defend their market shares, and expand their service base. This expansion will require A/H consultants to add new non-traditional services specifically tailored to the front end and back ends of M. Charles. Congress Approves New Design/Build Law. (Civil Engineering 2006) Pg100. the project cycles. Services in these segments include financing assistance, permitting, regulatory assistance, life cycle cost analysis, operation and maintenance (O&M) and renovation services. Marketing professional and construction services in the new millennium is not a simple task anymore. Architects in the past have relied heavily on their reputation and name recognition to get jobs. Consulting engineers relied on the 80/20 rule (80 percent of bus iness comes from 20 percent of clients), to drum-up business, and general contractors fell back on low bids in competitive bidding. (Friednian, 173) These techniques have worked in the past. However, recent shift in the project delivery system, and advancement in communication technology, necessitate that corporations look closely at their marketing efforts in the 21st Century. As general contractors move into the professional service arena, they seize market shares from A/E consultants. A/E consultants must react in any of the following three ways. They must reinforce existing market niche (services and clients). Develop marketing plans focused on client's retention (holding to market shares). Restructure their organizations to offer flexibility in the people and services (new services). The US construction market is a sizable lucrative market, and presents unique opportunities for foreign firms to set up local subsidiaries to actively pursue work. There Friednian, W. Construction Marketing and Strategic Planning. McGraw-Hill, Inc., NY. 2004, Pg172-173. are indications that foreign firms have successfully penetrated the heavy civil and highways public works markets in California, Massachusetts, and Florida. Forensic Construction Forensic construction involves the utilization of science in making decisions for legal disputes about buildings that have been constructed; chiefly involve the kind and quality of the building material, style and labor job. (Humphreys, 02) The design/build method, at-risk construction management, and the build-operate transfer (BOT) methods, have emerged as innovative alternatives to the competitive bidding method to deliver projects on time and on budget. This has resulted in a major shift in project delivery, challenging the conventional thinking, revolutionizing procurement of projects, and redefining the construction process. Trends for the 21st century are: Paradigm shift in the project delivery system. Refocus on the front end and back ends of project cycle. The construction market is becoming a service marketplace, rather than a commodity marketplace. Emphasis on life cycle costs (LCC), and total costs of a project. K, Humphreys.K. Jelen's Cost and Optimization Engineering, McCraw Hill, Inc., NY. 2008. Pg 1-2. Emphasis on value of

Core Team of Change Champions Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Core Team of Change Champions - Term Paper Example This is of significance in ensuring activities and processes for planned change are in line with national and international guidelines. Non-governmental organizations whose mandate is ensuring equal opportunities for all in terms of access to quality and safe care would in this regard be one of the core team of my planned change. For instance, the WHO would provide financial support. In achieving planned change, there must also be the creation of shared need. In this regard, it would be important to ensure individuals involved in improvement strategies have a shared objective. These individuals in the context of my planned change include nurses, physicians, the administration or management of the healthcare organization, patients, and the community in general. Nurses are the primary care givers and thus their involvement is critical for the achievement of planned change. If physicians and other care providers understand the main objective of care delivery and conform to their assigned role, then they will direct their efforts in terms of conforming to quality improvement in the achievement of planned change. The role of patients and local community as members of the team of change is to provide feedback needed in assessing outcomes. In a nutshell, the core team of change will involve all stakeholders: Nurses, physicians, patients, the local community, government organizations, and non-governmental

Farm Resource Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Farm Resource Appraisal - Essay Example Measurement of assets and liabilities of the farm give its clear financial standing which can help identify and solve farming issues. Data for appraisals can be collected from farm records, production and market research and from other consultant agencies. This information can be collected in the form of surveys and interviews. General physical and technical information has to be collected on the farm visit such as soil characteristic, climate and weather, land characteristics, production capacity, production technology and labor inputs. Soil characteristics encompass soil type, texture and soil analysis. Climate takes into account factors such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, droughts and hurricanes. Slope, topography and land elevation fall in land characteristics while yield per acre or hectare is covered in the productions capacity. Production technology accounts for the harvest and post-harvest operations, diesel control and fertilizers. Finally details of labor such as its s ource, distribution and gender are covered in the labor inputs. To prepare a farm resource appraisal, farm visit is necessary and along with the general physical and technical information, farm records and accounts information is also necessary. It can help farmers manage the farm properly since farm records and accounts can assist in measuring economic performance, meeting legal requirements etc. Moreover, operational records serve as a key factor in managing everyday activities of the farm. Financial records on the other hand can be used to evaluate the farm and for tax purposes. Some of the operational records are the farm map, field material input record, labor records and livestock records, income records and farm expense records. Balance sheet, on the other hand is the most commonly used financial record. It states the assets and their sources of financing. It is primarily used for taxation purposes. The farm map should be relative to the scale and must highlight field and oth er major areas of the farm. Field material input record provides information on material inputs such as fertilizers and seeds. Labor records gauge the workers-days per task information. Livestock records provide the information related to keeping livestock. Lastly, revenue and cost are covered in income and farm expenditure record. Sample records (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2006) of field material input, labor, income and expenditure have been presented below for better understanding. Field Material Input Record (figure 1) Area Planted: Date Input Quantity Price per unit Value                                              Total             Labor Record (figure 2) Area Planted: Date Task Persons/ task Hired Value (labor days)          No./ day Cost/ day Value                                                                   Total                   Income Rec ord (figure 3) Area Planted: Date Product Sold Stored       Quantity Price/unit Value $                                                       Total                Farm Expenditure Record (figure 4) Area Planted: Date Item Quantity Price / Unit Value                                                             Total             Farm Inventory The next step is the farm inventory count, recording resources and methods of valuation. The ideal time for farm inventory is a few weeks before

Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Investment - Essay Example Shareholders are the biggest players in any investment and their attitudes towards risks cannot be ruled out. Modern portfolio theory fails to incorporate the needs of all shareholders and uses a single set of shareholders resulting in an unrealistic indifference curve in the modern world. A period of 60 years calls for appropriate adjustments to the practical aspects of the theory. However, the modern portfolio is anchored in a single time period that is used to risks and returns scrutiny. Financial managers are assessed through a series of successive time periods as opposed to the proposition of a single period from modern portfolio theory. Additionally, a single period cannot be used for any meaningful predictions on returns. Therefore, Modern portfolio theory does not cover all the components required to come up with investment strategies for risk reduction. Investing in Apple and Microsoft shares on an equal basis is misguided because the companies have different financial prospects. Microsoft has a higher growth potential than Apple. The 50/50 basis would create a tolerance risk, but it would not realize much returns when compared to when clients invested more money in Microsoft than Apple. The valuation and expected growth for Microsoft will grow considerably because of the popularity of its operating systems and smartphones worldwide (Tilson and Heins, 2011). The clients should also track the stock prices of both companies to check earnings per stock in the last five years. EMH suggests that an investor should assess both historic and current patterns of share prices. Additionally, technical analysis would allow the clients to track share price movements for each company. An increase in the shares prices of either Apple or Microsoft should be reflected in the way they invest their lottery jackpot. Therefore, based on the potential o f growth for Microsoft and Apple’s share price performance, a 70/30 investment in favor of Microsoft would

Compare and contrast Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Compare and contrast - Research Paper Example The second point he argued that true religion consists of genuine inward persuasion of the mind, while the power of the government is force. By this he meant that force will never bring people to the true faith. The third point he argued that if the magistrate would have power to change people’s mind, still it will not bring people to the true faith since many of them believe in wrong religions (Locke, 1796). One of the historic researches that scholars have found out is that Judaism and Christianity was once unified, but time came and they parted ways because of competition. The anti-Jewish Christians statements about late antiquity suggest that salvation was first for the Jews but it was entrusted to them through grace. For example when Jesus Christ came into the world and was he rejected by the Jews. The anti-Jewish believed that at that point it was their opportunity to receive salvation. Martin Luther’s anti-Jewish were very caring in that he accused the catholic of being unfair to Jews and treating them â€Å"as if they were dogs,† he also was annoyed by them when they refused to convert and said â€Å"A Jewish heart is as hard as a stick, a stone, as iron, as a devil.† It is very fascinating how theological issues are viewed differently with scholars, believers as well as theologians. For instance, Mircea Eliade, James George Frazer and Rudolf Otto brought their point in a very interesting way. For example, James in his book The Golden Bough distinguishes between magi and religion. He argued that magic is for primitive people while reign through faith. His remarks can be compared to that of Otto who focused on religious experiences with a fear which benefits people’s relation to God. God is taken to be presented in peoples responses and these responses have this role because they are assigned a phenomenological character which is different from other feelings experienced elsewhere in this human life. Eliade

Isolation in Hardys poems Nobody Comes and The Darkling Thrush Essay Example for Free

Isolation in Hardys poems Nobody Comes and The Darkling Thrush Essay In the poems â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† [‘TDT’] and â€Å"Nobody Comes† [‘NC’], Hardy presents two similar images of isolation. In both poems, the personae are isolated from human company, whilst Hardy explores this using imagery of ghosts and the supernatural in both also. However, individually there are differences in tone; although NC ends upon as dire a note as it begins, Hardy engineers an optimistic outlook in TDT and suggests that the persona’s isolation may not Hardy ensures that the persona of ‘TDT’ is isolated from any other human presence or, until the poem’s third stanza, any living organism. Whilst leaning against â€Å"a coppice gate†, he notes that â€Å"all mankind had sought their household fires†. Although this is an indication of the low temperature, it is noticeable that the rest of humanity are seeking light in an otherwise dark environment; reciprocally, the persona is deprived of both warmth and living company. To further this point, Hardy personifies non-human entities, such as frost and winter – â€Å"Winter’s dregs†, for example. In this way, Hardy makes the reader personal not with living creatures but with inanimate entities, isolating the animate persona even more. Indeed, Hardy makes such a division more striking by picturing the persona’s surroundings as very extreme. Surrounded by deathly imagery, the persona imagines the landscape as â€Å"the Century’s corpse/ His crypt the canopy,/ The wind his death lament†. Even Hardy’s animate entities seem ghostly; â€Å"Frost was spectre-gray† and â€Å"mankind haunted nigh†. Such is the state of decay that even â€Å"the ancient pulse of germ and birth was shrunken† – the regenerative power of life has itself died, leaving the persona as the sole animate existence. A similar loneliness can be seen in ‘NC’, especially towards the end of the poem. In the aftermath of the car passing, the persona observes, â€Å"mute by the gate†, that he â€Å"stand[s] again alone.† The sudden silence and soft, finite ‘t’ sound of â€Å"mute† – in contrast to the onomatopoeic â€Å"whangs† – amplifies the persona’s loneliness; as does the empty assonance in the repeated ‘a’ sound, in â€Å"alone† and â€Å"again†. Equally, the present tense verb â€Å"stands† and â€Å"again† emphasizes that this is an ongoing and repeated state of isolation. However, the persona in ‘Nobody Comes’ is not simply isolated in terms of being physically alone or the sole living creature – he is also isolated from modernity. Hardy again uses ‘supernatural’ imagery to explore this. The persona notes that â€Å"The telegraph wire intones like a spectral lyre/ Swept by a spectral hand†. Rather than see the telegraph wire as a means of communication, the persona rejects it in presenting an image of disassociation; the vagueness of the verb â€Å"intones† summons an image of faceless voices. He also creates negative supernatural connotations; there is an innate ghostliness about the archaic lyre – juxtaposed to contrast with the innate modernity of the telegraph wire – which is reinforced by the wraithlike â€Å"spectral†. Hardy repeats this for emphasis in â€Å"spectral hand†. In this phrase, he also creates an incongruity between the concrete verb â€Å"swept† and noun â€Å"hand† and the abstract concept of â€Å"ghostliness† – the ‘hand’ does not exist. Its invisible presence and visible effects are unnerving, making the modern telegraph wire an unpleasant image. The persona’s rejection of modernity can be seen also in the depiction of â€Å"a car com[ing] up†. Having shone its aggressive lamps at â€Å"full glare† – which Hardy emphasizes by placing at the end of the line –the persona states that â€Å"it has nothing to do with me†. This maxim, in being so blunt, is very powerful. It operates to present a rift between the persona and the modern world and, given the unusually colloquial verb â€Å"whangs†, it indicates that the car is viewed as a callous representation of modern life from which the persona wishes to isolate himself. It leaves â€Å"leaving a blacker air†, which may indicate either a corruption of nature (in terms of polluting the otherwise fresh air) or a darkening in the persona’s emotions. Indeed, the poem concludes with the same negativity, with the word â€Å"nobody† in both the title and the last line. The persona is left â€Å"again alone† and isolated, prompting a large amount of sympathy from the reader. By contrast, ‘TDT’ concludes with a hopeful note. At the appearance of the thrush, in the third stanza, the reader notes that the bird is similarly isolated and surrounded by death. In truth, the reader’s initial reaction to the â€Å"aged frail, gaunt and small† thrush is to question whether the creature will survive the bleak conditions. There is a sense of desperation present â€Å"fling[ing its] soul/ Upon the growing gloom.† However, the persona notices â€Å"some blessed Hope† in the bird’s â€Å"happy good-night air†. Although â€Å"unaware† of why this may be – such â€Å"joy illimited† is unintelligible to the persona – this leads the poem to end in an optimistic fashion. Although both the persona and the thrush remain isolated from any other company (the persona fails to deeply associate with the bird) and the anxiety about the future lingers, Hardy does much to suggest that such deep rooted â€Å"fervourlessness† may change in TDT’s persona, as opposed to the ongoing isolation present in NC.

Carrefour Hypermarket Essay Example for Free

Carrefour Hypermarket Essay A hypermarket or multi department store is a superstore which combines a supermarket and a department store. The result is a very large retail facilitywhich carries an enormous range of products under one roof, including full linesof groceries and general merchandise. When they are planned, constructed, andexecuted correctly, a consumer can ideally satisfy all of his or her routine weeklyshopping needs in one trip. The example of hypermarket have been set up inMalaysia is Carrefour, Tesco, Jusco, and Giant (foreign hypermarkets) besidesother local hypermarket such as Mydin. Following are background of theCarrefour hypermarket and Mydin hypermarket.The first Carrefour store opened on 3 June 1957, in suburban Annecy near a crossroads (carrefour in French). Today it is the smallest Carrefour location inthe world. The group was created by Marcel Fournier and Denis Defforey andgrew into a chain from this first sales outlet. In 1999 it merged with Promodà ¨s,known as Continent, one of its major competitors on the French market.Marce Fournier and Denis Defforey had attended several seminars in theUnited States led by The Pope of modern distribution Bernardo Trujillo, whoinfluenced other famous French executives like Édouard Leclerc (E.Leclerc),Gà ©rard Mulliez (Auchan), Paul Dubrule (Accor), and Gà ©rard Pà ©lisson (Accor).Their slogan was No parking, no business.The Carrefour group pioneered the concept of a hypermarket a large supermarket and a department store under the same roof. They opened their first hypermarket 15 June 1963 in Sainte Genevià ¨ve des Bois, near Paris inFrance.1976 Carrefour introduces  ³produits libres ´ which are unbranded product but ³just as good, and cheaper ´. In 1992, Carrefour creates filiere quality systems,which quarantee product origin and traceability. Carrefour opened their firsthypermarket 1994 in Malaysia. In the 21st century, hundreds of millions of men and women will become part of the consumer society within a globalized economy. Globalization does, however,pose new types of risk for both human society and our planet. Faced with suchrisk,  and in order to improve prospects for future generations, it is crucial tofollow the path of sustainability, which combines economic profitability, respect for the environment and both social and ethical development. mission Carrefour are totally focused on meeting the expectations of their customers. Carrefour mission is to be the benchmark in modern retailing in each of their markets, by offering : * Their customers: the best prices and the best merchandise, in every banner and every country. * Their staff: the possibility of growth and fulfillment in a trusting environment, withinteresting jobs and motivational compensation. * Their shareholders: a sustained return on their investment and the growthprospects of a global, multi format retailer. * Their partners, franchisees or affiliates: leading banners and brands, marketingand sales expertise, purchasing power and constantly improving techniques. * Their suppliers: markets, customer intelligence, and cooperation to improveproducts through long term, mutually beneficial relationships. * Public, local and national authorities: a deep commitment to the community,as a socially responsible economic actor and good corporate citizen. Objectives †¢Improve customer satisfaction †¢Improve profitability †¢Significant reduction in excess inventory Carrefour is a public limited company with a share capital of 1,790,354,427.50 euros divided into 716,141,771 shares and with some 460,000shareholders. Carrefours employees own 2.98% of the Groups share capital.Their attention to social and environmental performance preserves their share price and attracts new investors sensitive to social and environmental issues.Carrefour strives to guarantee to its shareholders the transparency of its corporategovernance. Ethical, social or environmental issues are dealt with by Carrefour’s key decision making bodies : 1. The Board of Directors is Carrefour’s main governing body. It comprises 11members of whom 3 are independent directors, and is assisted by a Strategic Steering Committee, an Audit Committee and a Wages and Salaries Committee. 2. The Executive Committee is the backbone ´ of Carrefour’s managementstructure. Under the impetus of its chairman, it recommends strategic directionsand guidelines and organises their deployment. Its membership reflects the waythe Group is structured per geographic area with cross sector support functions. 3. The Quality Sustainable Development department, which manages thesustainable development programme, reports directly to the CEO and advises theExecutive Committee on sustainability issues. Carrefour products Besides, With its customers needs in mind, Carrefour decided in 1985 toreplace its produits libres, generic product line created in 1976, with an own -brand line, which is produced for the most part by small and medium sizedbusinesses and manufacturers. Today, Carrefour sells over 2,000 products thatmeet very strict specifications with regard to their price / quality ratio, taste,authenticity, food safety, traceability and innovation. Carrefour also sells 5,000 non- food products under its own brand names. Outside laboratories conduct qualityaudits of our non-food products at various stages in their production to make sure theymeet our specifications. Carrefours organic line now offers 130 products in its freshfood, grocery and frozen food aisles. All products in the Carrefour organic lineare inspected and certified by the independent certification organization ECOCERT,and must meet organic farming specifications (no chemical fertilizers, no syntheticpesticides). Everyone who works with Carrefour to produce its organic line makes a long term commitment to adhere to demanding production control and producttracking specifications. Regular inspections are conducted at every stage of themanufacturing process, up to and including inspections of the finished product. Carrefour market positioning Carrefour does business, its stores have further moved its marketpositioning towards the discount end through a policy of low prices andlargescale promotions. The banners concerned by the conversion to the eurolocked in their prices through May 2002 and maintened a freeze on own brandsover the whole year. The price positioning was supported by many promotionalcampaigns. In the first half, Carrefour won back market share in Brazil byconducting three short promotional campaigns a week. In the second half, thegroup’s 40th Anniversary offered a worldwide opportunity to display thecompetitive nature of the product range. Other international promotions such asthe ones in countries involved in the World Football Cup, helped to boostthe stores financial performance. Carrefour branches With operations in 30 countries, Carrefour is the world’s second largestretail group. It is the number one retailer in Europe. Carrefour has  also been present in the Americas since 1975 and in Asia since 1989. This success stems from their ability to adapt their strategy to fit local markets and to make globalisation an Opportunity for progress. Wherever they do business, they striveto raise local standards in terms of quality, service, working conditions and preserving the environment. They also mindful of their contribution to the labour market, in some countries, like Argentina. Carrefour is the largest private sector employer. Market positioning is the act of designing the company’s offerings and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of target market for its product, brand, or organization. It is the relative competitive comparison their product occupies in agiven market as perceived by the target market. Market positioning strategy usedby all retail in dustry such as foreign hypermarket. Below type of market positioning strategy used by retail industry . Product offered by Carrefour is a basis to differentiate other hypermarket product. The bases used in Carrefour hypermarket are * Quality Quality is one of Carrefour main source of competitive differentiation and is partof the fundamental policies defining the implementation of the Carrefour’s strategy. It always corresponds to what the customer explicitly or implicitly wantsand must be clearly perceived as such. The value for money must be the best.Controlled products whether banner brands or own brands, offer exemplary qualityand safety. A product must demonstrate the required quality level before it canbe approved for purchase. * Guaranteeing food products safety and quality The best possible value for money is offered at every price level (first priceproducts/ own brand and banner brand products). For own brand and banner brand products, the quality process includes signing a set of specifications,approving production sites and product control plan, processing and archiv ing anycon-compliant products and following up of customers claims. To complete thissystem, Carrefour has deployed in 2005 a Quality Scorecard available on theintranet site, which enable all the Carrefour to track products at every stage of their marketing and to react more efficiently in case of a crisis. * An approach shared with our suppliers To guarantee the quality of its food products and its own brand and banner brand products, Carrefour systematically conducts audits on its suppliers’s production sites, which are audited health and safety conditions. Suppliers’s production sites are audited by Carrefour,  its service providers or certificationagencies. Suppliers are audited with respect to health and safety conditions, riskcontrol, traceability and compliance with specifications. In addition, Carrefour endeavours to verify progress in product development Quality at the best price: first price products First price No1 ´ products launched in Malaysia. Drawing on synergies andpurchasing volumes at the Carrefour, these products are intended to offer consumers quality products at a price that is 5% to 7% below hard discountprices. In addition to meeting existing legal requirements, No1 products alsoreflects the quality and safety approach that characterizes all their own brandand banner brand products. Carrefour has decided to apply the same position for No1 products as for own brand and banner brand products by excludinggenetically modified organisms from the composition of all products. * Quality information on non food products labels To promote the quality of its own brand products and retail brand productsamong consumers, Carrefour hypermarkets decided to optimize the quality of information on the packaging of its Carrefour brand non food products. Four criteria, symbolized by four icons, were adopted, referring to usage, safety, health and the environment or social conditions of production. The packaging points outthe most striking criterion for each product by explaining in one or two sentencesthe product’s added value. This is signed with the commitment logo of Carrefour, which provides Consumer services with evidences of its procedures.Carrefour has already used this method on paints, backpacks, toys and scents. This approach will be extended to include children’s products, paper goods,sporting goods and food containers. * Ensure in store safety and quality The proper upkeep of stores and the respect for the cold chain and food safetyare key elements of the Carrefour’s policy in Malaysia . Thus the Carrefour mobilizes all its employees to ensure respect for health and safety rules. Thisinvolves training, establishing procedures, and systematic hygiene and qualityaudits in stores and warehouses. * Improve nutritional information on food products labels Facing with a disturbing rise in food-related problems and to help customers tocombine food products better for a more balanced diet, in early 2005, Carrefour has optimized the labelling of its Carrefour brand products. The Carrefour’s Commercial Department has worked with the CLCV to develop a more accessibleand helpful presentation of nutritional  information. The packaging has now a ³nutrition box ´ indicating the share of daily needs for six main nutrients ( fats,sugar, carbohydrates protein, fibre and salt) provided by the products. Brand The Carrefour has had successful financial results, has gained market share,and makes customer happy. This is a reward for all employees, as all of themplay a role in this result. In fact, over 90% of the employees work in contactwith customers. That means that customer happiness is closely linked to theemployees’ performance. The Carrefour has developed various tools, depending onthe employee’s position to assess the employee’s performance. For instance,tools for cashiers include such indicators as turnover and absenteeism. A number of teams participated directly in the preparation of the strategicplan through participating. In task forces that brought together people from allstore formats and all geographical areas. Being linked to the global strategy is agreat motivation for store managers. Moreover, the strategy is probably moreappropriate this way, so it is in turn easier for managers to implement theprograms with the employees. Since 2000, hypermarkets have systematized listening to employees toassess their satisfaction. Over 8,000 persons, both managers and employees,used it to express their point of view. It enables the Group to have a fair overview of labour relations, to adjust its management style and to draft actionplans that factor in employees’ recommendations and comments. Besides, general staff benefits include such as * Contractual Bonus * Service Awards Programme * Out Patient Treatment Benefits * Group Personal Accident Plan * Group Health Plan (Cover includes immediate family members) * Structured Skills Career Development (Programmes Structured SkillsCaree) Additional benefits for Non-Executives include allowances for: * Transportation * Attendance * Punctuality * Cashier ( cashier only ) * Festive incentive ( ie: Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali) At Carrefour, they constantly strive to be a responsible corporate citizen andundertake various measures to give back to the community and society as awhole. Carrefour strive to make a difference in the lives of the community fromthe urban to the rural and they are driven by the belief that all life is special anddeserves attention. Carrefour believes in operating business with integrity andcommitment to quality. This conviction that begins with us as an individual andthrough this inward conviction, Carrefour will make a difference in the lives of people around Malaysia. Personnel Differentiation The Carrefour Group has formalized its progressive approach based onthree key commitments: quality and safety, respect for the environment andeconomic and social responsibility. Safety commitment on Drug Perfume and Hygiene products (DPH) All suppliers are required to abide by Carrefour’s policy on cleaning,detergent and cosmetic products. No cosmetic product has been tested onanimals by Carrefour’s purchasing office or on its behalf for 10 years. Products and their formulas are rigorously scrutinized by a team of six internal specialists,with the support of an additional team of recognized external experts. Some of the group’s banners are taking this approach even further. Safety commitment on textiles and clothing for babies and children In 2003, Carrefour has developed specifications to improve the safety of clothing and textile products intended for children and babies. In two years, morethan 5,000 textile products involving over 200,000 substances were tested byindependent agencies. This safety requirement has been boosted by regular monitoring conducted with the help of specialists, toxicologists and allergists for all textile products. Based On services Differentiation The Carrefour puts its customers at the heart of everything it does. To thisend, it has simplified its organization, giving more independence to storemanagers to enable them to adapt their business as closely as possible to theneeds of their catchment area. Alongside this, the Carrefour has expandedcustomer choice, adapted its store brand ranges and increased its  serviceoffering. New store concepts have been introduced to respond to evolutions intheir customers’ lifestyles. For some years now, the Carrefour has also beenstrengthening its loyalty programs around this country to ensure that they reflectthe latest consumer and social trends.Over the years, Carrefour has added numerous practical and accessibleservices to its offering. The Carrefour has thus become a competitive player andthe benchmark in several areas of activity outside of its core business line.Carrefour made significant capital expenditures in 2002 to reconfigure its stores tomake them more attractive and im prove customer service. Reorganized salesareas and product staging make the best of the Carrefour’s various areas of expertise. This applies to both the food and non  ± food areas in hypermarkets. At Carrefour, they welcome customer views and comments which will help themimprove their service to customer. As in many other businesses, it is a crucial point for the Carrefour to learnabout their customers and to do everything they can to satisfy them. ThusCarrefour has defined what builds up a positive experience for the customer;apart from the differentiation strategies, price positioning strategies, distributionchannel and marketing mix, can see that the success factors contribute on itsproducts or services. The Carrefour mostly sells consumer goods and servicessuch as: * Convenience goods (food products, gas) which are sold by all formats of retail stores. * Shopping goods and services (household appliances, electronic devices)which are sold by hypermarkets only. * Cash Carry and wholesale stores sell industrial goods (mostly food) asthey sell to businesses (food trade professionals).Carrefour’ s success factors used on its product are: * The Carrefour ¶s product be unique and different from the existingproducts in the market. (CG Home theatre system very unique and different from other Hometheatre at market). * The product has sales in needed and wanted by the consumers.(Carrefour arrange different product in festival seasons such as HariRaya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas. Example: LuckyBamboo, cai Shen scoll, honey mandarin and assorted paper card inChinese New Year and Christmas table, Christmas trees and colourfullights  ± in Christmas.) The product have hi gh consumer demand and a high growth rate. ( allkind of product). * The product has to be reasonably priced and affordable to the majorityof consumer. ( all kind of product). * The  Carrefour have sufficient funds to build consumer awareness andcarry on other promotional activities. ( Carrefour Gift Vouchers, Carrefour Bonus ) . Form The products design different from other products, example GC product.QualityCarrefour always guarantee that all products they sales are safety and goodquality. Brand At Carrefour they sales CG brand products, which one mostly unique anddifferent from other brand products at market. Besides Carrefour also sales other product such as TOSHIBA, PENSONIC, ELBA, FABER, SAMSUNG, SHARP, LG,Goldsonic and etc.Durability A product that can last for many years is perceived as a product of goodquality.FeaturesCG products have various attractive features such as CG television set with loudstereo sound, clear picture quality , remote control and a big screen falls into thegood quality product category. Carrefour FreshFOod Carrefour also offer fresh food to consumers which one given the opportunity toconsumer to make many choices, an opportunity which has so far been lacking in Malaysia Carrefour. In terms of fresh produce, choice also pervades. Pursuingthe unconventional, for example, Carrefour will carry those items that other storesshy away from: at Carrefour one can find curved cucumbers, freshly harvestedcabbage (ones that have not gone through any additional processes), and other items that suffer from no real, discernible defect in quality. Besides Carrefour also carry fresh food like fresh chicken, fresh fish, fresh Australia Beef, freshprawn and etc.Differentiation strategies on Carrefour Fresh Food are based on productdifferentiation.QualityThe Quality Way products are the result of the collaboration between Carrefour and chosen producers, who have committed themselves to strictly follow a qualityletter statutes agreement. The aim of the collaboration is to provide consumerswith healthy and safe products. The products certified with the Quality Way signare quality and safety guaranteed, from the first production stage until the finalpositioning on the shelves. Some fresh food in Carrefour certificated as QualityWay are : Halvah quality way, Chicken quality way, Free Range Eggs quality way, Fresh Fish tsipoura quality way, French beef, Salmon, Biological bread, Barrel Feta quality way, Pork quality way, Apples agorin quality way, Peaches and Nectarines Veria quality way, Seabass quality way, Kiwi quality way, Feta Tin quality way Based on services differentiation.Carrefour also provide customer service such as Cutting Service (Scalling / Cuttingservice for meat products upon request). Carrefour Family G oods.  Carrefour also carry family Goods such as Carrefour Baby Goods (Food range,hygiene, perfumery, childcare products, toys, apparel developed under the adviceof a committee of pediatricians and specialists, in order to guarantee the baby’s development from 0 to 36 months with security and comfort.), Carrefour KidsGoods ( Food range, general merchandise, apparel, designed to develop goodhabits (fight against obesity with less fats, sugar and salt), as well as developingautonomy, satisfying the tastes of children between 4 and 10 years old throughadapted packaging and the use of the mascot: Genius), Men’s clothes, Lady’ sclothes (variety of clothes) and etc. Differentiation strategies on Carrefour Family Goods are based on productdifferentiation.QualityCarrefour always guarantee that family goods they sales are safety and goodquality specially Babys Goods. To guarantee the quality of its products and itsown brand and banner brand products, Carrefour systematically conducts auditson its suppliers’ production sites, which are audited health and safety conditions..Suppliers are audited with respect to health and safety conditions, risk control,traceability and compliance with specifications. Distribution Channel The Carrefour as a whole is an efficient channel of distribution: it is a whole setof marketing intermediaries that have joined together to transport and store goodsfrom producers to consumers. The Carrefour acts as a wholesaler as the Groupsells products to franchises. All the retail stores are other intermediaries. Some of the producers are local while other goods  are bought by bulk purchases or global sourcing. That means that Carrefour has to organize the wholetransportation to its retail stores. Carrefour is mainly concerned with outboundlogistics as they manage flows of finished products to ultimate customers (and tobusiness buyers for cash carry). This is a critical activity for Carrefour: they just cannot have empty shelves because that would not make customers happy!Each day, 8 trucks are needed to deliver products to one hypermarket! They usesophisticated software to create an efficient link between sales and purchases.They use  ³push  ± pull push ´ logistics. It means that they both do forecasts andthey also control what is sold in order to adapt. Before the merger Carrefour  ±Promodà ¨s, both firms had their own channels of distribution. After the merger,they decided to organize a common and efficient channel of distribution. It can bedivided into three networks: î€ grocery products which stay a very short time in warehouses for hypermarkets the same products for supermarkets, convenience stores and Promocash î€ products which stay a bit longer in warehouses, and that are delivered toall formats of stores This new system enables to reduce the distance over which the products aretransported (thus reducing the cost), and also shortens the time for the delivery.Moreover, with the  ³multidrop system ´, only one truck is used to transportproducts from a manufacturer to two close warehouses. Carrefour owns manyhuge logistics platforms (also called distribution warehouses). They gather products from different manufacturers (which are suppliers for Carrefour), andredistribute these products to the different stores when they need them. Theyhave introduced technological tools: those who prepare orders are helped by avocal recognition tool, in order to avoid any mistakes. Manufacturers used tostore finished goods in their own warehouse, and then, the goods weretransferred to Carrefour warehouses. Carrefour now wants to transport directly thefinished goods from the manufacturers’s to Carrefour warehouses. Marketing mix The marketing mix looks at the four main factors that go into a marketingprogram (Product , Price , Place , Promotion ) , which are referred to as the 4 Ps. PRODUCT The Carrefour needs to design their stores so that they meet customers need.This includes having the right store format, helpful services, the  appropriateproduct mix , and a reliable private label brand.Carrefour have adapted the kinds of products they sell to the local culture. For instance , Chinese people do not always have a huge refrigerator , so theyappreciate fresh products. Thus , Carrefour , by guaranteeing both prices andquality for lots of fresh products has a real advantage : it is much easier andpractical to buy fresh goods.Moreover , in Carrefour , they also sell western products for the western peopleliving here. This market segment needs were not yet fulfilled, as westernproducts are not sold elsewhere. In Carrefour Malaysia, people can buy suchgoods as chocolates, wine, and even cheese or cookies just like in France. Thegroup also adapted its services to local shopping habits. For instance, inMalaysia , people often drive to hypermarkets , only once a week. They buyeverything they need for the week, and a car is very useful to transport thegoods back home. That is why big parking lots are needed. ( in convenience stores ) Although the Carrefour sells a lot of goods with a manufacturer’s brand names(such as Danone , Yoplai t or Nestlà © ), they also sell dealer (private label)brands: * Carrefour (in Carrefour hypermarkets) , * Champion( in Championsupermarkets ) * Grand Jury ( in convenience stores ). Thus, these products donot carry the manufacturer’s name. The Carrefour product range now includes11,000 mass-market products and miscellaneous household goods.They have paid a special attention to the packaging so that the brand isimmediately recognizable . It has a special colour code , displays the Carrefour’squality commitment, complete labelling information and a display of the Carrefour’s satisfaction or consumer money back ´ policy. In order to improve these brandsequity, they use widely recognized labels to promote trust among customers. The brand loyalty  is very high. The Carrefour brand is the best selling brand inCarrefour hypermarkets, representing 25% of the total sales. Nine out of 10customers fill their shopping carts with Carrefour brand products. Thus, these products donot carry the manufacturerss name. The Carrefour product range now includes11,000 mass-market products and miscellaneous household  goods.They have paid a special attention to the packaging so that the brand isimmediately recognizable . It has a special colour code , displays the Carrefourssquality commitment, complete labelling information and a display of the Carrefourss satisfaction or consumer money back ´ policy. In order to improve these brandsequity, they use widely recognized labels to promote trust among customers. Thebrand loyalty is very high. The Carrefour brand is the best selling brand inCarrefour hypermarkets, representing 25% of the total sales. Nine out of 10customers fill their shopping carts with Carrefour brand pro ducts. PRICE This is a very important P in Carrefour’s strategy, they even talk of the  ³priceimage ´ of the group.The objective of the Carrefour is to reduce prices in all formats of stores.In 2005, the clearly stated objective of each hypermarket was to be the leastexpensive store within its market radius. This is a competition based pricing,their strategy is based on what other competitors are doing (including harddiscounters and informal traders), and the Carrefour tries to set the price belowthe competitors.However, they also seem to have a demand based (or target) pricing  as theyconstantly try to reduce prices to meet or exceed customers expectations, eventhough they are already under their competitors’ price. The objective of this pricereduction strategy is to attract more people to the stores, thus gaining market shares. The objective can be explained as a virtuous circle: the more they sell,the more economies of scale they can do, the more they can lower prices thusattracting more customers. The Carrefour has reduced the necessary time toanalyze the research data and to adjust price displays in each department to 24to 72 hours maximum. They pay a particular attention to the pricing of  ³sensitive ´categories of products (those that the customers notice). They have also studiedwhat factors contributed to this image. The main ones are fresh product pricecompetitiveness, reliability and quality of the price indications, pricecompetitiveness of the private label range. PLACE This P is about putting the product in a place where people will buy it.The  Carrefour adds value to goods or services by different means. Form utility The fresh bakery department in hypermarkets uses variousingredients to make croissants, bread and baguettes on the spot. Other departments such as the butchers’s and the fish department also perform formutility. Time utility. In order to make products available when they are needed, theCarrefour has developed a new format according to consumer needs and wants. Place utility In order to sell products where people want them, the Carrefour has different store formats. For instance, in Malaysia , hypermarkets are intown suburbs easily accessible by cars. Possession utility The group provides credit. With the PASS Card, customerscan spread out their payments and make their purchases on credit. TheCarrefour also helps to take a loan to buy a car for example. When you buybig goods, hypermarkets can deliver them to you. PROMOTION Promotion is the effort to inform and remind people in the market about productson sale in the stores, and to persuade them to buy. Carrefour uses various tools(advertising, public relations, sales promotion) which altogether are called thepromotion mix. It is worth noticing that as other big retailers, they do not usepersonal selling. Advertising Carrefour slogan (Lebih Jimat, Lebih Hemat ) is probably one of the best knownamong Malaysian people. It is quite simple to remember. It just means that withCarrefour, can be very optimistic as everything is so great in these hypermarkets. As they target the local market, it is highly efficient as people see the billboardsmany times. Time to time, they use other medias such as the TV to promotenation  ± wide events. Public relations In order to inform the public of the changes that are being made by Carrefour,and to show how this is a good thing to customers, Carrefour has a veryefficient information programme. Moreover, as Carrefour is one of the biggestfirms, there are many newspaper articles about the Carrefour. Overall, thesepublications are a good publicity for the Carrefour. Sales Promotion is the promotional tool that stimulates consumer purchasing anddealer interest by means of short term activities. Carrefour Hypermarketsregularly send catalogues to all households that live nearby. In each hypermarket, they have a reserved zone where they make special displays to present newproducts. There are also reduction coupons for those who have  the loyalty cardCarrefour. They can have reductions of 20% on most popular products. Specialevents are organized each time they open a store. They also use bonuses (buyone, get one free), especially one they want to get rid of their stock. The Carrefour’s need to attract the greatest possible number of people totheir retail stores. As different market segments have different needs, they needto have different formats of retail shops to fulfill these needs. For instance,elderly person often do not have a car and live alone, so they need a storenear their house, they need district shops. However, large families with childrenare looking for hypermarkets where they can buy goods at a cheap price, justonce a week. So that Carrefour need deploying an ongoing and aggressive low-price policy by expanding its in  ± store promotions and communications.Besides Carrefour need to: Strengthen environmentally conscious product and packaging design anddevelop a range of products with social and environmental added value. * Ensure product safety and quality, and customer and and employee safetyat our store locations. * Guarantee respect for human rights internally and along their productssupply chain. * Promote staff training and development, and inform staff of their view of the world, and their core values, their policies and their approach tosustainability. * Respect customers freedom of choice by offering them a wide range of products at attractive prices with full, factual information. * Making the brand work harder will help Carrefour grow sales and profitsin Malaysia. * Offer a more diversified product mix than traditional with hard discount. Reference * Carrefour Malaysia. (online). Available: www.Carrefour.com.my. * Carrefour Group. (online). Available: * www.Carrefour.com. * Wal-mart store inc. (online). Available: www.Wal-mart.com

The Classification Of Fruits Marketing Essay

The Classification Of Fruits Marketing Essay The literature review carried out on this research contains information and data from different sources. Since there was very few numbers of literatures available on this topic locally, most of the information was gathered from the internet and through the internationally published journal articles. Some of the information was collected from locally published citations and through local institutions and organizations. The literature review attempts to make some relevant information of fruit processing sector, namely, fruit industry, consumption and trade, fruit processing, type of processes, industry and quality practices in developing countries and quality issues related to fruit processing industry. 2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS Fruits can be commonly classified according to the growing region as follows: tropical, subtropical and temperate-zone (Kader and Barret, 1996). The quality of fruit is mainly affected on growing region and most significantly the environmental conditions specific to each region. Listed below are the examples of fruit grown in each region. 2.2.1 Tropical Fruits Major tropical fruits: banana, mango, papaya, pineapple Minor tropical fruits: cashew apple, durian, guava, longan, lychee, mangosteen, passion fruit, rambutan, tamarind, sapota, carambola 2.2.2 Subtropical Fruits Citrus fruits: orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, pummelo, tangerine, mandarin Non-citrus fruits: avocado, pomegranate, cherimoya, fig, kiwifruit, olive 2.2.3 Temperate-Zone Fruits Small fruits and berries: grape (European and American types), strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, cranberry Pome fruits: Asian pear (nashi), European pear, apple, quince Stone fruits: plum, peach, cherry, apricot, nectarine Fruits are essential in the human diet. They contain compounds of nutritional importance, including vitamins which are not synthesized by the human body. Fruits serve as a rich source of energy, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines encourages consumers to choose fresh, frozen, dried or canned forms of a variety of colours and kinds of fruits. Fruits can be defined as the reproductive organs arising from the development of floral tissues with or without fertilization. 2.3 WORLD PRODUCTION OF TROPICAL FRUITS The availability of detailed information and reliable statistics is very less on tropical fruit production and world trade (Chang, 2007). Therefore, it constitutes a major constraint in the analysis of supply and demand trends of tropical fruits in the world market (Kortbech- Olesen, 1997; Chang, 2007; and FAO, 2008a). Most fruit producing countries do not have proper routinely record or collect data regarding tropical fruits that are basically produced and/or traded in small quantities (Chang, 2007; and FAO, 2008a). Therefore, production and trade data from reporting countries suffer from a lack of uniformity (FAO, 2003). Data on tropical fruit production, commercial applications and trade are difficult to be estimated when analysing the global reports, an attempt has been made in this dissertation report to analyse the global production, supply and demand trends of tropical fruits in the world market. In fact, the analysis gives much importance on the research study with regard to the development of fruit processing industry in our country to foresee the future of the fruit industry. According to the research report published by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources and Development has stated that worldwide fruit species of tropical and subtropical are estimated to be around 3,000. Moreover, they have revealed that 500 out of total fruit species are found in Asia. In South East Asia around 120 major and 275 minor species of tropical and subtropical fruits and nuts are found. The most interesting part of that publication is that around 200 species of fruits are remained undeveloped and underused. According to the report published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the world tropical fruits production reached 96.8 million tonnes in 2000 excluding banana. This production increased approximately 3.6% annually during the period 2000-2007 to reach 123.7 million tonnes in 2007 (FAO, 2008b). Tropical fruits production in 2004 represented 8.1% of the global world production of fresh fruits and vegetables (FAO, 2007). The annual increase of world production of tropical fruits has been estimated to be 1.7% (FAO, 2003; and Chang, 2007). The projected value of world production of tropical fruits is 139.2 million tonnes by 2014. Banana, mango, pineapple, papaya and avocado are the five major tropical fruit varieties produced and constitute the most important tropical fruit species produced worldwide which account for approximately 75% of the global fresh tropical fruit production (Chang, 2007). Asia consists of major producing region followed by Latin Americ a and the Caribbean and Africa. The world production of tropical fruits from these countries is estimated to be 98% (Ramiro, 2000; FAO, 2003; and Centeno, 2005). 2.4 CONSUMPTION AND TRADE OF TROPICAL FRUITS Approximately, 90% of all tropical fruits produced worldwide are consumed domestically. The remaining 10% of tropical fruits produced is traded as fresh, accounting for 5% or processed tropical fruit products, accounting for 5%. These processed tropical fruit products include dried or dehydrated fruit, frozen fruit, fruit juice, concentrate, pulp and puree which is further referred to as fruit juice and concentrate and canned fruit (Kortbech-Olesen, 1996; FAO, 2003; CBI, 2007a; and Chang, 2007). Although, the proportionally small quantities of tropical fruits traded internationally, the trade value of them is very significant. The total value of trade of fresh and processed tropical fruit products was estimated at 4.0 billion US dollars internationally in 2004 (Chang, 2007). The total international trade value of fresh tropical fruits amount was 4.7 billion US dollars in 2006. Moreover, an additional 1.3 billion US dollars accounted for the processed tropical fruit products. On the o ther hand, the value of international trade of bananas and plantains reached 5.6 billion US dollars in 2006 (Chang, 2008). Pineapple is the most dominating fruit in international trade in fresh and processed tropical fruits, with a significant growth in volume and value (Chang, 2007, 2008). Asia is the leading supplier of processed tropical fruit products. According to the trade data, it shows that Latin America and the Caribbean as the major exporters of fresh tropical fruits (Ramiro, 2000). The European Union (EU) is the largest import markets for both fresh and processed tropical fruits making the United States of America (USA) as the second largest. The both import markets are together accounting for approximately 75% of import of tropical fruits in world production (FAO, 2003; and Chang, 2007). The import of fresh fruits in the EU reached 26.4 million tonnes (8.6%) and 21.0 billion Euro (10.7%) for the concerned tropical fruits. Import volume of fresh tropical fruits in the EU can be cascaded as follows: pineapple-56.3%, mango-14.7%, avocado-13.2% and papaya-2.2%. The total is accounting for approximately 86% of all fresh tropical fruits imported in the EU in the year 2007 (Eurostat, 2005, 2006, 2008). The processed fruit products in the EU increased during the per iod 2003-2007, accounting for 10.5 million tonnes and 10.0 billion Euros in total imports in 2007. Fruit juice and concentrate of about 62.8% accounted for the largest group of processed fruit products in 2007 in terms of volumes and other processed fruit products accounted for: canned of about 24.8%, dried of about 6.8% and frozen of about 5.6% fruit (Eurostat, 2008). From the total import volume of processed tropical fruits in 2003 constituted 15.4% and it increased to 17.1% in 2007. One of the most internationally traded tropical fruit is banana which accounted for about one-fourth of 70.89 million tons in 2004 production sold overseas. The export of remaining tropical fruits is less than 10% of the total production. As the major exporters of banana, Ecuador, Costarica and the Philippines accounted for 85% of all tropical fruit exports. Volume of export grew up from less than 1% in 2002 to nearly 8% in 2004 (FAOSTAT, 2012). United States is the major market for banana, accounting 26% of world total production in 2004 followed by Germany and Japan. Mexico, India and Brazil represented the bulk of mango exports. The total volume exported increased in 2004 by a modest 5% in contrast to an enormous increase of 41% in 2003. The total exported amount of mango by Mexico is about 190 kilotons while the Brazil is about 140 kilotons. USA is the major importer of mangoes accounting for 35% while the EU accounting for 20%. Papaya is major tropical fruit with exports increased by 47% in 2004 compared with the year 2003. The largest exporter of papaya was Mexico accounting for 75 kilotons during the year 2004 followed by Malaysia accounting for 70 kilotons Brazil accounting for 40 kilotons. USA was the major papaya importer that accounted for 50% of the world total papaya production. Import demand for tropical fruits worldwide for the next decade is expected to increase, thus import volume is also projected to expand. The projected increase in exports of tropical fruits by FAO in 2014 indicates an annual increase in export volume by 1.4% for mango, 1.7% for pineapple, 2% for avocado and 5.6% for papaya while the USA, EU and Japan remain the largest import markets for tropical fruits. (Rita M. Fabro, ST Media Service) 2.5 FRUIT PROCESSING Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of many nutritional intakes to human beings and are widely consumed in varying amounts. Although it has been highly advised to have good consumptions of fresh, unprocessed fruit and vegetables it is not always realistic or possible. This may be due to the cost, availability and seasonality. Processing of fruits and vegetables is, therefore, necessary and in many ways desirable. The processed forms of fruits may be complemented the increase of overall consumption as well as enabling regular intake throughout the year instead of fresh produce. Fruits are highly perishable, therefore, they need kind of processing to aid their preservation. Processing (canning, drying, freezing, and preparation of juices, jams, and jellies) increases the shelf life of fruits and vegetables (Cantwell and Suslow, 1999). Processing steps include preparation of the raw material, cleaning, trimming, and peeling followed by dehydrating, canning, or freezing. Fruit process ing extends not only the shelf life but also results in value addition, generation of employments. This also enables vertical integration and diversification. Processing will, further, help to combine different ingredients, removal of inedible parts and carrying out other steps that consumer would do at home. 2.5.1 Fruit Products Canned juices, pulps, fruit drinks, jam, cordials, jelly, dried and dehydrated fruit products are the products that can be considered as direct fruit products in the current consumer market which are available locally as well as globally. Individual quick frozen (IQF) products do not fall in to the direct product category. The IQF products are globally used as substance for baby food manufacturing (cereals), bakery productions and confectionary manufacturing (chocolate). Depending on their applications, dehydrated fruits are also considered as a substance for the derived products as IQF products. 2.5.2 Types of Processes used in fruit processing Within the current trend in behaviours of consumers, it can be seen that the healthy eating and drinking (Datamonitor, 2007; and Hughes, 2008) have shown growing potentials. When aiming at satisfying health-related consumer needs and demands, the number and variety of processed fruits have substantially increased in the recent past. With the recent development in the technology, updated and modernized processing and preservation methods such as heating, drying or dehydration and freezing together with more commercialized varieties of processing techniques continue to serve the consumers with the increased varieties of processed fruit products. These achievements have been gained through new process protocols and products, new heating and freezing techniques, namely, microwave or ohmic heating, cryogenic freezing and radiation treatments. The trend in recent processed fruits is value addition through the increase of taste or flavour while retaining their nutritional value, making a nu mber of varieties of fruit products with longer and more consistent shelf life. The following describes the types of modern processing techniques those are being innovated and used by the developed countries in order to get competitive advantages over the developing countries in the international processed fruit market. xxxx-more neededxxxx 2.6 FRUIT INDUSTRY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES It has been evident that there is high potential growth and trend in fruit processing industry in many of the developing countries (DC) in Asia, Africa and former Soviet countries. The major trends on these DCs can be analysed on focusing the quality oriented aspects where it is a major concerned when exporting processed fruits to the developed countries especially European Union (EU), America and Japan. This will be beneficial to identify and indicate the major issues that are needed to be addressed in quality aspects when such products are exported. The fruit processing industry in the developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region is booming rapidly. This potential is due to the less trade barriers and agreements of global trade and increasing demand of consumers in developed countries. The reason for this boom is not merely for economical factors. This has major concerns regarding healthy, tasty and safe foods. The processed fruit industry is dealt with the challenge of being competitive in the international market where quality oriented aspects are of high concern. Many of the developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region, however, have only a few fruit processing and exporting companies that are practising the modern quality assurance and improvement systems for fruit processing. Therefore, processed fruit products from such countries cannot cope in the international processed fruit market due to the lack of quality assurance and the products those have usually been declared to lower end markets. India accounts for a wide variety of fruits and vegetables production. It is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables production in the world while China ranks the first. It accounts roughly 10 and 15 per cent of fruits and vegetables in global production respectively. According to the report published by National Horticulture Board, during 2009-2010, India produced 71.52 million metric tonnes of fruits and 133.74 million metric tonnes of vegetables (National Horticulture Database in India, 2010). At present, the country processed around 2.2 per cent of fruits and vegetables, even though it is ranked as the second in the world in terms of production. When compared with other countries, the processed fruit and vegetable industry is comparatively low. In Brazil the processed fruit and vegetable industry is 30 per cent, USA 70 per cent and Malaysia 82 per cent. The major fruits cultivated in India are Banana, Mangos, Papaya, Grapes, Apple, Apricots, Orange, Water Melons, Avocados, Guava, Lichi, Sapota. Mango accounts for 40% of the national fruit production and India and one of the leading exporters to the global market. The positive growth in the global market for processed fruits and vegetables products (dried or preserved and dehydrated vegetables and fruits), ready to serve beverages, fruit juices and pulps has led the countrys economy towards new way. The existence of 4000 fruit processing units offers India tremendous export opportunities. During the period of 2010-2011, India has exported fruits and vegetables worth 7 million USD comprised of fruits worth 4.8 million USD and vegetables worth 2.2 million USD (National Horticulture Database in India, 2010). The major importers of Indian fruits and vegetables are UK, UAE, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan. Even though the share of India in the global market is still nearly 1% only, the tendency towards increasing acceptance of horticulture production is high in the country. The concurrent developments in cold chain infrastructure in the areas of state of the art technology and quality assurance measures have paved the way for this tremendous growth in this sector in India. Moreover, large investment funded by the private sector and public sector has also taken initiatives with Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority in India (APEDA). With APEDAs assistance, several centres for integrated post harvest handling and perishable cargoes facilities have been established in the country. Also in achieving these growth rates in processed food industry, the programmes like capacity building initiatives at the farmers, processors and exporters levels has also contributed towards this effort. As the Indian food processing industry is still largely based on primary processing accounting for 80% of the value addition, Indian government has set up a separate fully authorised ministry called Ministry of Food Processing Industries for the entire development and promotion of food processing industries within the country. Harvesting of fruits is widely practiced by manual methods due to the abundant supply of surplus agricultural labour. The fruits are mostly harvested by hand or by simple hand tools, Sorting and grading of fruits are done on a very limited scale and that are only based on visual inspection methods. Limited pre-cooling facilities are only available for grapes, strawberries etc. for exporting purposes. Indian farmers suffer from disfavour in growing fruits as it requires high initial investment and long gestation period. The yield of fruits and thereby return to the farmers are highly affected due to the poor quality of seeds and other planting material available . Low educational level together with poor technical training facilities has led the farmers to the reluctance of adaptation to the new technologies and it has always been a problematic area. These factors result in non-uniformity in quality of fruits produced in India. To ramp up the fruits and vegetables processing, the ministry is pumping financial support for setting up new units, modernization and up gradation of existing units in processed fruit industry. The Indian national policy targeted to increase the percentage of food processed in the country to 10% by 2010 and would aim 25% by 2025. When it is taken in to the consideration of Thailand processed fruits market, its major exporting market is the United States, the EU and South-East Asia. Thailand today is accounting for a significant amount for total horticultural exports from the country. This amount is about 50% together with processed vegetables. The most exported processed fruits by Thailand comprise of juiced and canned pineapple, canned banana from which 30% goes to the United States while 90% of fresh banana are from Hong-Kong and China. The United States and EU markets are the most prominent importers of dried and canned mango from Thailand and most fresh mango importers are Asian countries. The other factors that contribute to the growth in processed fruit industry in Thailand are: maintaining of high quality of processes, products and value addition with low cost by the use of modern technology for their processing industries. To face to the competitiveness in the demanding market environment in processed fruit industry, Thailand maintains relatively high standards in processes as well as in facilities. This is of much more importance as the quality aspects of processed fruits are very stringent in countries like European Union, USA, Japan etc. The practice of GMP, HACCP and other modern quality aspects in Thailand is higher compared with other Asian countries so that they gained competitive advantage over other countries to enter into the developed countries processed fruit market. The modern fruit processing industry in Bangladesh covers relatively small volumes of canned fruits, jams, jellies and dehydration of fruits. But the volume of production of jams and jellies are done in large quantities. Mainly the small entrepreneurs at the home or cottage scale level are engaged in this jams and jellies processing. Most of the larger companies have new facilities in fruit processing which operate more hygienically to conform with the good manufacturing practices (GMP) used by most of the food industry. When considering most of the facilities available in fruit processing sector in Bangladesh it seemed that there is a need of upgrading quality aspects, technology, processing techniques and requirement of considerable training on personnel who are engaged in the industry. 2.7 QUALITY PRACTICES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The developing countries in the world have shown a continuous growth in the fruit processing industry (FAOSTAT, 2009). The processed fruits and vegetables trade in international market is very large with an ever increasing number of different types which are processed and exported. Once the processing of fruits and vegetables was limited to mostly temperate zone climate types, but now the change has widened to include the types of tropical and subtropical species. There are many reasons for this change, but they can be broadly explained as the increase in consumers dietary habits in developed as well as in developing countries that have become more diverse. This is not merely due to the economical reasons of increase of per capita income but for the healthy, tasty and safe food consumption. The industry is facing to the challenges of being competitive in the international market where quality oriented aspects are of high concerns. The other reason for the change is the development an d growth in processing techniques. The processing of tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables have been improved to an extent where final product is palatable, nutritious and of long and reliable shelf life regardless of whether they are for drying, canning or freezing. Due to continuing demand for processed fruits and vegetables worldwide, many of the developing countries have taken advantages over it and earning valuable foreign exchange from exports of products to profitable markets around the globe. The quality control and inspection in this industry is very important and directed at ensuring that the final products have been processed in a registered establishment that is constructed, equipped and operated in a hygienic and efficient manner. The conformation to the requirements of the export regulations for processed fruits and vegetables and those of the importing country play a vital role with respect to the ingredients, quality grades, defects, packaging materials, sty les, contaminants, additives. Apart from these, the following aspects are also of high concerns when exporting the processed fruits and vegetables. They are: conformance to labelling requirements, drained weight, filling of container. Even though the aspects of quality matters are high in this industry, many of the enterprises engaged in this processed fruit industry are very few those who have equipped with modern quality assurance and improvement systems. Therefore, the developing countries with such kind of shortage in quality assurance systems in place lack their competitive edge in competing with other developed countries in international processed fruit market thus their product have usually been usually directed to lower end markets or in some cases products are abandon. This situation requires immediate attention to improve the quality aspects of the fruit processing industry where the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are in particularly of much importance in developing countries. These SME sector represents a large proportion of the fruit industry in the region. This requirement can be fulfilled by creating awareness among SMEs of modern concepts of quality assurance, good manufacturing practices-GMP and improved concepts such as hazard analysis and critical control point-HACCP and ISO 22000. Much stress is put on implementing such systems in the relevant industry. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) can be applied in production and harvest while Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) can be especially applied during post-harvest and Quality and Safety Assurance Systems such as HACCP, throughout the entire food chain to avoid hazard and to control them. HACCP is currently recognized as global system for the management of food safety for all companies that are engaged in the processing, production, storage, and distribution of processed foods for the consumption of human beings. But most of the companies engaged in fruit processing industry are confronted with many technical issues, legal, socioeconomic and challenges in the process of adoption of HACCP or ISO 22000. Asian countries like, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Philippine and South American countries like Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, etc are in the continuous process of overcoming the barriers to the widespread adaptation of HACCP, ISO 22000 and other quality assurance systems in processed fruit and vegetable industry as this industry has now become the driving seat of the economy of most of the developing countries. Even though some of the enterprises who have been awarded with above certifications, their applications in practical scenario are questionable in most of the developing countries due to lack of awareness, competence and management support in implementation. Apart from these quality assurance systems, there are other quality systems that can be applied to the processed fruit and vegetable industry. Those quality systems are namely, Total Quality Management (TQM), Six sigma, The Toyota Way etc. In the recent past, quality experts have put forward the approaches, concepts and systems for addressing quality during manufacturing in all aspects. Total Quality Management (TQM), ISO 9000 and ISO 22000 have been set up in large manufacturing and service industries worldwide. Most of the processed fruit and vegetable manufacturing establishments have developed and implemented TQM or ISO 9000 or ISO 22000 series programmes in order to enhance their quality objectives. Details on applications of these quality programmes in the food industry have been reviewed recently (Surak, 1992, Battaglia, 1993; and Golomski, 1993). Since the lack of availability of literature on these quality assurance systems with regard to processed fruit and vegetable industry, their correct applicability in the fruit industry should be further studied. 2.7.1 Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Good manufacturing practices are the written procedures intended to be followed while the processing plant is constructed and when it is in operation to make sure the wholesomeness of foods. These practices are the minimum requirements of processing and sanitary conditions that should be followed in processing plants built on proper requirements. GMP includes the following requirements. They are: Cleanliness and sanitary for personnel involved in Building and facilities used in Equipment and utensils used in Food processing requirements and controls The requirements of cleaning and sanitation can be considered as a procedure involving the cleaning and sanitizing of the processing plant. Food processing and controls highlight the actual manufacturing operations which include cleaning, sorting, grading and packaging that can be applied to both fresh and processed foods. With the correct implementation of GMP will help to reduce the new forms of biological, chemical and physical contamination while eliminating existing contamination. The processing plants and facilities should be constructed as per the U.S. and European standards. These facilities should be used with approved materials and maintained under proper hygienic and sanitary requirements. The following of GMP will make sure that the foods produced in an establishment are healthy and wholesome for the consumption of human beings. The applicability of the GMP in processed fruit and vegetable sector is very useful for their quality assurance system and it establishes better perspectives in consumers minds regarding the products that they consume while keeping competitive in the market due to the proper quality of their products. This will lead to increase the revenue of a company who follows the GMP making more space to further development in GMP. 2.7.2 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) HACCP is a management tool that was developed in the United States in 1971 in space flight programmes to make sure the safety of foods (Ropkins and Beck, 2000). The technique used for ensuring food safety has become widely accepted in the food industry. Most of the government regulatory agencies, food manufacturers and world organizations such as WHO and FAO are following this tool for food industry and related industries (Perera and De Silva, 1999; Ropkins and Beck, 2000). North America, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and many other countries have implemented the HACCP system today. Effective measures for ensuring the safety of foods and food products are the key aspects addressed by HACCP with regard to known hazards. HACCP has now become the basis for controlling and ensuring food safety in food manufacturing processes. It has become part of total quality assurance programs in the food industry and can be incorporated within an ISO 9000 quality system (BSI Q uality Assurance, 1991; Perera and De Silva, 1999; and Ropkins and Beck, 2000). The implementation of an HACCP programme in the fruit industry can lead to the identi ¬Ã‚ cation of known hazards that affect the safety of the  ¬Ã‚ nal product. The objectives of HACCP programme are the eliminating of those identified hazards at the earliest possible stages and at any subsequent stage of the manufacturing or production system (Alli, 1993; Perera and De Silva, 1999). In the fruit industry, there are wide varieties of known hazards. In fresh, frozen or canned fruit, the detriments associated with the product might vary in signi ¬Ã‚ cant amount depending on the types of products. Also, the HACCP is not a stand-alone system where it requires GMP as a pre-requisite to be in place before HACCP is applied. With the successfully implemented HACCP system having a proper monitoring will make sure the effective control of hazards as well as public health risks. This will ultimately lead to improved food safety. As all the known hazards are taken care by HACCP procedures in any production line, it helps to improve product and process efficiency, reduces waste and reduces the need for rework in the production lines. This cuts down on cost, enhance sales performance and improve consumer con ¬Ã‚ dence in the product. The relative significance in quality and safety of processed fruits are directly connected to the level of quality of the incoming fresh fruits which are used in subsequent processing. The incoming fruits must meet certain minimum speci ¬Ã‚ cations to avoid microbial contaminations, impurities and the general appearance which are used in production. It is of much importance that the suppliers follow an HACCP procedure to make sure that all raw materials coming in shall meet the desired speci ¬Ã‚ cations of producers of processed fruits such as canned, frozen and modi ¬Ã‚ ed atmosphere packaged (MAP