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Indonesia has long been using English as a high power language as a language of modern communication, while the national language is regarded as a force of unifying the nation and local languages as carriers of ‘tradition’ or ‘historical’ identity (Lie , 2017). Indonesia has chosen English as the foreign language to be taught all over Indonesia and inserted as part of the curriculum. In practice, English has been taught as a foreign language in the curriculum in Grades 7 through 12 as well as at the university level. Although in the new curriculum (K-2013), English as a subject has been reduced to its implementation in school, the importance of English is still hot issue to teaching curriculum application.
Get original essayOn the other hand, Indonesia is rich in its ethno-linguistic population. The population is mostly tolerant in linguistic diversity. The history of youth pledge in 1928 which says that Bahasa Indonesia is a national language has shown that Bahasa Indonesia has managed to maintain its function as national identity and at the same time allowing and even encouraging the continued maintenance of other regional languages along side the national language, while promoting the nation wide usefulness and prestige of the latter. It is found that the use of Bahasa Indonesia has enabled the inhabitants to maintain the national identity and at the same time maintain their indigenous languages which are spread throughout the country. This condition emerges tolerance and understanding among the language users.
The increasing dominance of English has also brought implications in cultural identity transformation among its users. The habit of mixing English vocabulary in Indonesian by members of the elite group, from politicians to celebrities, is developed to “ foreground a modern identity” (Lowenberg, 1991, p.136) and this code-mixing habit is increasingly imitated by others (Renandya, 2000,p 116). Indonesia is facing the dilemma between maintaining its national language as well as its cultural Identity and taking part In international development. Issues related to the inevitable spread of English and its implication in the re-shaping of the cultural identity need to be addressed. L2 motivation is currently in the process of being radically reconceptualised and re-theorised in the context of contemporary notions of self and identity.
Objectives
Methodology
This study will use qualitative method, in which the data that is going to be collected and analyzed will be primarily from surveys, interviews and focus group discussion. The surveys will reveal the data on what cultural identity senior high school students have with Bahasa Indonesia, and with/without English at school, and with/without Regional Language at school. The interviews will be conducted to find out deep data in re-theorizing the notions of self and identity of senior high school students as Indonesian related to English implication. The forum group discussion will be used to find out ways on how to maintain the national identity and at the same time maintain their indigenous languages which are spread throughout the country through English as a medium.
Research Questions and Hypotheses:
The most important question in this research proposal is how senior high school students as Indonesian reconceptualize the cultural identity of related to English implication. It is important to identify how the senior high school students reconceptualize their identity as it becomes part of identity construction. As it is stated by Norton (2001), who argued that in many language classrooms, the targeted community may be, to some extent, a reconstruction of past communities and historically constituted relationships, but also a community of the imagination, a desired community that offers possibilities for an enhanced range of identity options in the future.
The researcher argues that students of senior high school in Indonesia are expected to maintain their identity as two-side of a coin. On one face, they need to maintain their national identity which is to master Bahasa Indonesia skills. On the other face, they need to pursue their English language skills as part of their desired community that offers possibilities to be part of global world and enhanced their global world identity. Significance This project is important since it provides the new concept of cultural identity related to English implication in Indonesia. As developing country, Indonesia needs to find out ways to maintain its national identity and at the same time be the part of global community. As Brown (2001) stated that we can can at least begin to guard against falling prey to the myth that native-speaker models are to be emulated at all costs.
In terms of degrees of acculturation, on the surface one could conclude that second language learning in a culture foreign to one's own potentially involves the deepest form of culture acquisition. learners must survive in a strange culture as well as learn a language on which they are totally dependent for communication .On the other hand, one should not too quickly dismiss second language learning in the native culture (e.g., Nigerians learning English in Nigeria) from having a potential acculturation factor. In such contexts, the learner could experience consider¬able culture stress, depending upon the country, the cultural and socio political status of both the native and target language, the purposes for which one is learning the language (career, academic, social), and the intensity of the motivation of the learner. What is being termed as Linguistic Imperialism and Language Rights is one of the more controversial issues to rear its head in the global spread of English Language Learning. It is the extent to which the propagation of English as a medium of education, commerce, and government has impeded literacy in mother tongue languages, has thwarted social and economic progress for those who do not learn it, and has not generally been relevant to the need ordinary people in their day-to-day or future lives (Ricento, 1994, p. 422). Bahasa Indonesia, in this case, need to find out ways to complement its function as national identity and not to overlapped with English use.
Linguistic imperialism, or linguicism, as this issue has come to be named (Scollon, 2004; Canagarajah, 1999; Skutnabb-Kangas, & Phillipson, 1994; Phillipson, 1992; Skutnabb-Kangas & Cummins, 1988 in Brown,2001), calls attention to the potential consequences of English teaching worldwide when Eurocentric ideologies are embedded in instruction, having the effect of legitimizing colonial or establishment power and resources, and of reconstituting cultural inequalities between English and other languages. In this case, English has to be identified in the terms of new concept of Identity for Indonesia in the future, and its ways to seek the re-conceptualized dentity for its imagined communities in the future.
1. Scollon, 2004 Canagarajah, 1999 Skutnabb-Kangas, & Phillipson 1994 Phillipson, 1992 Skutnabb-Kangas & Cummins, 1988 Brown (2001)
2. Lie, A. (2017). English and Identity in Multicultural context: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities. TEFLIN Journal, 28(1), 71.
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Get custom essay3. Lowenberg, P. H. (1991). English as an additional language in Indonesia. World Englishes, 10(2), 127-138. Norton, B. (2001) Ricento( 1994)
Hundreds of Buddhist monks try to attain Nirvana daily. They all follow the teachings of Gotama Buddha, but most fail to reach their goal and end up being reborn as new creatures. In Hermann Hesse’s book, Siddhartha, a young boy, Siddhartha, rejects the teachings of Gotama Buddha and follows his own path to enlightenment. His location of enlightenment, in a departure from the Buddha’s tree, is a river. In the book, Hesse uses the river as a key catalyst to lead Siddhartha to Nirvana. The river acts as an archetype for timelessness, as a transition between phases of life, and as a teacher.
Get original essayThe archetype of timelessness is one of the most obvious motifs that surrounds the river. The river shows timelessness for the first time when Siddhartha notices how it only has an illusion of movement. He sees “that the water continually flowed and flowed and yet it was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new” (Hesse 83). He realizes that both the river and time move in a questionable fashion. Just as the river seems to be continuously moving but remains in one place, time also seems to be moving but remains in one place. The river shows its archetype of timelessness when Siddhartha is listening to its voices. While Siddhartha listens to the river, he hears the “song of a thousand voices,” but “when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om — perfection” (111). When Siddhartha focused on one aspect of the river, he did not feel anything. However, when he let all the opposites form together, he found perfection. When all the voices are separate, this phenomenon represents time, since there can only be one voice at a time, but when the voices combine, they exhibit timelessness. This realization of timelessness brings Siddhartha to enlightenment. Towards the end, we see that Siddhartha ingrained the idea of timelessness into himself when Govinda looks at Siddhartha and "no longer saw the face of his friend Siddhartha. Instead he saw other faces, many faces, a long series, a continuous stream of faces — hundreds, thousands, which all came and disappeared and yet all seemed to be there at the same time, which all continually changed and renewed themselves and which were yet all Siddhartha” (121). Siddhartha has become so full of timelessness that his past, present, and future all appear on his face at once. He has transcended time. This is one of the main ideas that eventually leads him to enlightenment. Overall, the use of the river to symbolize the archetype of timelessness is a key part of Siddhartha’s enlightenment process, even though he only learns this in his last stage of his life.
The river is also very important to Siddhartha’s transition between phases of life, which allows him to have experiences that help lead him to enlightenment. The first phase change is when Siddhartha switches from a life of spirituality to one of sensations. He reflects on the first time he crossed the river, when he “reached the long river in the wood, the same river across which a ferryman had once taken him when he was a still a young man and had come from Gotama’s town” (71). He was coming from Gotama Buddha’s “town,” which was a spiritual place, and he was heading off to start a new life in the city, one of physical pleasure. This was his first change in life phases, from spiritual to physical. Later, when he is returning from the city, he reaches the river and contemplates suicide. The river then makes him fall asleep and purifies him with the word Om. When he wakes up from his slumber, “The past now seemed to him to be covered by a veil, extremely remote, very unimportant. He only knew that his previous life...was finished” (73). He has awakened as a new person. This is his second change in life phases, from a life of physical pleasure, to a life of spiritual awakening. Both of these phases were necessary for Siddhartha to experience to reach enlightenment. Towards the end he returns to his previous phase in life when he tells Govinda, “I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary for me to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depth of despair in order to learn to resist them, in order to learn to love the world, and no longer compare it with some kind of desired imaginary world, some imaginary vision of perfection, but to leave it as it is, to love it and be glad to belong to it” (116). Although in theory his time in the city may have been a waste of time, in reality, he needed the experience to reach enlightenment. And although he could have experienced the life in the city on his own, if the river had not purified him, he would have committed suicide. The river leads Siddhartha to enlightenment by letting Siddhartha fill himself with sin and then purifying him afterwards.
Yet the river’s most important role in the book is its activity as Siddhartha’s teacher, the main reason he reaches enlightenment. After the river purifies Siddhartha, he accepts it as his guide. He recounts that “It seemed to him as if the river had something special to tell him, something which he did not know, something which still awaited him. Siddhartha had wanted to drown himself in this river; the old, tired, despairing Siddhartha was today drowned in it. The new Siddhartha felt a deep love for this flowing water and decided that he would not leave it again so quickly” (81). With this, he accepts his last teacher, the river. He feels that it has wisdom that it can teach him, something no other teacher was able to do. This is very special since his whole life Siddhartha had avoided teachers. He never felt that they could teach him something new. However, in the end, Siddhartha does learn from the river. “The river has taught me to listen; you will learn from it, too. The river knows everything; one can learn everything from it. You have already learned from the river that it is good to strive downwards, to sink, seek depths...You have also learned this from the river. You will learn other things, too” (86), Vasudeva tells Siddhartha after he takes him as an apprentice. As the book continues this statement holds true. Siddhartha learns how to listen, wait, and remain taciturn. Altogether, these teachings allow him to reach Nirvana. As Siddhartha is talking to Govinda, Siddhartha tells him, “There was a man at this ferry who was my predecessor and teacher. He was a holy man who for many years believed in the river and nothing else. He noticed that the river’s voice spoke to him. He learned from it; it educated and taught him. The river seemed like a god to him and for many years he did not know that every wind, every cloud, every bird, every beetle is equally divine and knows and can teach just as well as the esteemed river. But when this holy man went off into the woods, he knew everything; he knew more than you and I, without teachers, without books, just because he believed in the river” (118). Vasudeva believes in the river to the extent that he can learn all the wisdom of life from it. Siddhartha learns how to do this as well, and just as the river helps Vasudeva reach enlightenment, so to it helps Siddhartha reach enlightenment of his own. Siddhartha later says, “I know I am at one with Gotama” (119), meaning that just as Gotama had reached enlightenment, so to he, Siddhartha, had also reached it. The wisdom the river gives over to Siddhartha is the key to his enlightenment.
For Hesse's protagonist, the river plays an extremely large role in the quest for enlightenment. The river embodies the archetype of timelessness, the transition between life phases, and the role of a teacher. Altogether, one can learn many lessons from Siddhartha’s story. Perhaps following a very popular belief system may not be the best way to reach enlightenment. It may be best to listen to a river, instead of even the great Gotama Buddha.
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Get custom essayHesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. Trans. Hilda Rosner. New York: New Directions, 1951.
This documentary provides insights into the rich African culture that is intertwined in Mexico and Peru. Over time, Africans became a part of the Spanish society and were identified as mestizo, creole, and mulatto. The Mexican historical museum historian explained that there were several variations of blackness. He even mentioned that Barack Obama and Beyonce would be considered mulattos. Mexico has a unique rich history in integrating slaves into their society. Peru was opposite because individuals with African roots were discriminated against. For example, Susana Baca is a Black Peruvian who was denied an opportunity to become involved with a dance company. This documentary raises awareness about African ancestry in Central and South America.
Get original essayPrior to this documentary, I have been aware that people from Latin America have African ancestors. During Fall 2015, I went to an exhibit called Latinas and Intimacies, that showcased women with strong ties to their African roots. Most Afro-Latinas viewed themselves in a negative perspectives about discrimination and insecurity. However, despite the negative perceptions some women embrace themselves by encouraging the future generation to not feel ashamed of their skin colors. This relates to the documentary because there were people who had influence in their community such as the Trindadian priest, Israel the radio talk-show host, and the women that was trying to cancel the racist podcast Negro Mama. They were challenging society so that they can be recognized as citizens. The show, Negro Mama painted Black Peruvians as criminals, which created racial profiling. The documentary covered the historical, political, and social aspect of how the people learned to deal with the discrimination that they faced. However, the art pieces reflected no distinction of race and that everyone was able to coexist. Overall the documentary, was especially fascinating because the line between the Latin American and African cultures completely blended.
The documentary was very unique because it started by introducing Fandingo, which is a blend of African, Mexican and indigenous. Another aspect that I noticed about the documentary was that there were a lot of close ups of the people who had interviews with the guide. There were also location shots of historical sites, towns, and the ports that emphasize there value of being a part of the “lost history.” When the documentary spoke about free town that was founded by an escaped slave Yanaga, there was a close up that was supposed symbolize importance. I really learned a lot from this documentary of how some Mexicans and Peruvians who have unique identities and do not fit into one category. The one thing I noticed about the documentary is that the people who were interviewed did not believe of the importance of race. But instead created their own identities that they can call their own. Another reason why I would recommend this documentary because it shows Latin America as multi-dimensional with an intricate web of intimate family ties.
The main philosophy behind the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is that an employee or an executive could access all the enterprisewide information for making better decision in any business processes (Wilmington University, 2015). In a brief, it can be said that an ERP system integrates all the data from every department that are important to operate and manage an enterprise and the information integration provides seamless process automation across entire organizational functions. ERP has been widely adopted in the premise that most companies believe information integration would provide competitive advantage to them (Stratman, 2007). This belief is somewhat controversial where competitive advantage is derived from market power or monopoly. However, it is true that ERP boosts competitive advantage when it is derived from internal resources or competitive capabilities that are built through organizational practices (Stratman, 2007). Nonetheless, ERP system is considered as a powerful organization tool. There are many reasons behind ERP’s wide acceptance. One of them is its capacity to gather a mess of information in an omni-channel that is much effective to read and understand. The next reason of ERP’s adoption is that it addresses the need of global information sharing and reporting. Another reason is that it can fix the legacy system in an enterprise at a minimum cost (Wilmington University, 2015).
Get original essayAdopting ERP is proved to add many benefits to an enterprise. For instance, an ERP gives integrative financial information that helps executives to understand the overall organizational performance and helps to formulate streamlined financial view (Wilmington University, 2015). Similarly, assisting in monitoring inventories, streamlining deliveries, unified HR information, effective and efficient manufacturing process are some of the major advantages of ERP system (Wilmington University, 2015). If we observe well, all the advantages are linked to business process decision making. For example, an ERP system composed of several software modules that assist in planning, purchasing, inventory control, sales, financial activities, and human resources within a single and shared database. Using this information, a manager can determine how much inventory is required for a year, how the sales activities are ongoing, and many more (Farzaneh, Vanani, and Sohrabi, 2013).
This paper is oriented to illuminate ERP’s roles in organizational decision making. Furthermore, the risks associated with traditional decision-making system will be viewed, analyzed, and compared with ERP integrated organizational decision-making system.
Organizational decision making includes three major dimensions namely operational, managerial, and strategic decisions (Wilmington University, 2015). All these three dimensions require analytics or facts or data as an important parameter for making an effective decision. In operational level of decision making, it requires massive information about employees, inventory, accounting, weekly production schedule and so on. In managerial decision-making process, business intelligence plays a key role where raw data are presented in meaningful information. For instance, best customer of the month, best seller of the year, sales forecast for upcoming year, sales growth, project and campaign results, and so on. For strategic decision making, knowledge of political, economic, and competitive business environment is essential (Wilmington University, 2015). Regardless the level of decision making, information is crucial component. Insufficient or inadequate information may lead to inappropriate decision making that may result in business failure (Wilmington University, 2015).
The traditional approach of decision making is deprived of the enough use of information from various departments. Such independent decisions without adequate communication between all departments and stakeholders may or may not be fruitful always. Moreover, enterprises today face several challenges of increased competition, rapidly expanding market size, and high consumer expectations (Farzaneh et. al., 2013). This requires companies to make the entire supply chain much efficient and effective by reducing inventories, expanding product choice, better customer service, and effective coordination of global demand, supply, and production (Farzaneh et. al., 2013). In such a complex environment, the traditional decision-making system seems incapable to make competitive decisions. Instead, companies require multi-dimensional solution suits, such as ERP system, to sustain their competitive advantage (Farzaneh et. al., 2013).
ERP is an information system tool that integrates internal and external business critical functions into a single system through a common database to create value through product or services (Esendemirli, Turker, and Altuntas, 2015). This supports and speeds up the entire business process. By implementing ERP system, an organization can monitor three vital resources viz. materials, facilities, and employees (Lecic and Kupusinac, 2013). These three resources are the backbone of any enterprise and they are used in financial management, production, and distribution. Eventually, the three resource elements form the basis for decision support system (Lecic and Kupusinac, 2013).
The decision support system includes three layers namely operational decision system, managerial decision system, and strategic decision system (Wilmington University, 2015). Massive amount of information generated in centralized database of ERP is used in all three levels of decision making. ERP, thus, benefits managers to overcome challenges related to information gap originated from non-coordination of every departments (Lecic and Kupusinac, 2013). ERP’s centralized database is the single point where the decision makers and analysts dive in and get what they need. Therefore, ERP is an efficient and effective means to find information, process that information on various levels, and use that information to draw a decision.
There are several modules of ERP that are applied in operations system. For instance, production planning module is there to optimize the manufacturing capacity, production, and forecasting. Purchasing module is there to streamline procurement of raw materials. Similarly, inventory control module facilitates the maintenance of stock in warehouse and balancing the inventory. Sales and marketing module streamline sales and marketing processes more efficiently and effectively. Financial ERP module is the core one that collects financial information from various departments and generate financial reports. Human resource module is responsible for maintaining employee data which is also a key to optimize the utilization of expertise of all employees (Madanhire and Mbohwa, 2016). These modules are the basis for operational requirements in any enterprise and using these modules, an organization can achieve its operations goal to best meet the market requirement and customer expectations (Madanhire and Mbohwa, 2016).
Moreover, an ERP system integrates all departmental data in a shared common database. With extended portal capability, an ERP system can be extended to concerned suppliers and customers to participate in the workflow process. This enables the ERP to penetrate the entire value chain and helps organization to achieve operational efficiency (Wilmington University, 2015, p. 275).
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Get custom essayERP eliminates the risks associated with traditional practice where distribution of information between all the departments used to be inadequate and decision making was challenging. Since ERP centralizes all the departmental information in a central database, the problems of incoordination between the departments due to various reasons are reduced greatly (Madanhire and Mbohwa, 2016). This ensures all three levels of decision making is effective due to streamlined information flow throughout the enterprise. Moreover, implementation of various ERP modules enhances the operation efficiency by reducing inventory, reducing delivery time, reducing redundancy of information, and enhancing coordination within the organization as well as the external parties and customers.
Entrepreneurs brainstorm and start their ventures with the primary goal of making it prosperous and progressive. However, one of the significant determinants of every enterprise’s success is entrepreneurial finance that incorporates a couple of factors and aspects. In business studies, “Entrepreneurial Finance” refers to the application and adaptation of various financial techniques and tools to the operations, funding, valuation, and planning of an entrepreneurial venture. Therefore, entrepreneurial finance can be simplified as the finances and financial practices involved when running a private enterprise. Correspondingly, the study of entrepreneurial finance can be contrasted to business finance, which focuses on critical principles such as risk analysis, financial objectives towards increasing company’s value, assets, liabilities, privacy, negotiation, and overall business management. In other words, entrepreneurial finance is a broad subject that can be conferred deeply through debt and equity. Nevertheless, using typical examples, this paper provides an extended argument for exploring how debt and equity can be used to source entrepreneurial finance.
Get original essayFollowing the increasing demand for finance in the corporate world, most economies around the globe have offered several options and methods of not only building capital in the business, but also maximizing the existing capital. Most importantly, management of economies of scale is one of the most believed methods of increasing business performance and generating more capital. Nevertheless, it is argued that business growth is directly proportionate to entrepreneurial finance. This means that the higher the finance, the faster the business growth. Therefore, each capitalist has differing development goals that can be achieved at different stages of the business lifecycle. The path towards a successful venture is complicated mainly because of risks and other complexities. For instance, most capitalists are motivated by lifestyle factors, which lead to the external finances. Others face significant crises since they ignore the present factor to focus on the future growth plans that demand heavy financing.
Each of these stages has different financing sources and needs. For instance, it is essential to denote that most firms and entrepreneurs undergo the same cycle when it comes to entrepreneurial financing. First, the entrepreneur injects his or her savings, along with family/friends assets, to finance or run the venture in the development stages. Secondly, next financing comes from Angels and potentially Venture Capitalists. Moreover, the third financing is typically the largest, and it comes from large bank loans and venture capitalists since the enterprise is now vast.
Fraser, Bhaumik, and Wright (2015) argued that many economies have seen a significant decline in both debt and equity finance flows to SMEs. Consequently, there are concerns that the associated funding gap may be limiting firm growth and as a result constraining economic recovery. They proved that both developing and developed economies have suffered from these challenges but the United Kingdom, in particular, has shown major structural problems in the markets for both alternative sources of finance such as entrepreneurial capital and traditional bank credits. Additionally, the UK Government has established a British Business Bank, modeled on the lines of the German state-owned bank Kreditanstalt für Weideraufbau (KfW), to help improve flows of debt/equity finance to SMEs. Similarly, this similar approach has been tested and used here in Kenya through various financial products or instance, the issue of funding gaps in the country, in the provision of debt and equity, has been a persistent constraint on the development of small businesses.
Small firms and new businesses have become an increasingly important component of economic development in Kenya. The Kenyan government through the ministry of finance and Small-Medium Enterprises collaborated and identified these gaps in the supply of small-scale equity investments from which unique financial products such as Uwezo Fund, Youth Fund, and others were introduced. Even though these products have faced major complications, there has been notable progress in boosting entrepreneurial finance across the country (Cumming, 2012). Another primary source of venture capital in Kenya is Microfinance Finances Institutions (MFIs) that have existed for over three decades. Some of the leading MFIs include Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) that played a significant role in empowering women and businesses. However, recent studies have confirmed that though various tools and players have been in the markets for a while, starting and running a venture in Kenya remains to be a major challenge for many people.
According to a study done by FSD Kenya (2016), many Kenyan entrepreneurs and investors have almost similar financial problems in their businesses. In a number of the cases, banks played an important role in enabling the entrepreneur to achieve business success (FSD Kenya, 2016). Nevertheless, many of those interviewed by FSD experienced moments in their development journey where the banks were unable to provide them with the necessary finance, requiring them to look elsewhere for funds and support. The entrepreneurs felt that the banks needed to make changes to improve financing for SMEs. These suggestions are summarized, together with additional recommendations that the researchers explored came out of the study. As for this reason, economists and business analysts have sourced alternative financing options that are simple, convenient, reliable, and secure. The three main alternative financing options that are available to most Kenyan start-ups include Bitcoin-based small business loans, Africa-focused Crowdfunding, and Peer-to-peer microfinance loans. It is essential to mention that some of these products are very fresh in the market and thus they need deeper conceptual and practical studies to prove their reliability and terms of usage.
Although start-ups and venture capital finance are often linked in the public eye, bank loans are a more common source of funding to many entrepreneurial firms. Both sources share some common features. Because entrepreneurial firms are usually small and have a high risk of failure, both venture capital, and bank loans require careful monitoring of borrowers. Both types of finance use covenants to restrict the borrower’s behavior and provide additional levers of control if the firm performs poorly. These covenants are often limiting the ability of the firm to seek financing elsewhere, which ties to yet another common feature: the use of capital rationing through staged funding and credit limits as means of controlling borrowers’ ability to continue and grow their business. Despite these similarities, there are significant differences between these two types of financing. Whereas banks lend to a wide variety of firms, firms with venture capital finance tend to have very skewed return distributions, with a high probability of weak or even negative returns and a small probability of extremely high yields.
Debt is less risky than equity, and so the institution’s assets are less affected by its private information about the firm, reducing adverse selection problems when the institution itself needs additional funding. Since these costs are passed on to the entrepreneur in her costs of funds, she shares this preference for debt, else equal. This simple picture is complicated by the fact that, even if it is optimal to keep the entrepreneur’s firm going, there may be additional choices to be made. One of the most critical issues facing entrepreneurial firms is their ability to access capital (Denis, 2004). Because such firms are typically not yet profitable and lack tangible assets, debt financing is usually not an option. Consequently, entrepreneurs tend to rely on three primary sources of outside equity financing: venture capital funds, angel investors, and corporate investors. Venture capital funds refer to limited partnerships in which the managing partners invest on behalf of the limited partners. Corporations invest on behalf of their shareholders, for financial and strategic reasons.
The existence of multiple sources of financing raises the question of whether the source of funding matters for the entrepreneurial firm. This question is analogous to similar issues addressed in the corporate finance literature. For example, an extensive research is devoted to studying the importance of the source of debt financing. This literature generally concludes that banks are ‘‘special’’ in that they provide services such as monitoring that is not provided by other debt claimants, while non-bank private debt serves a vital role in accommodating the financing needs of firms with low credit quality. Therefore, debt vs. equity ratio is a major factor in entrepreneurial finance since it involved financing decisions. The existence of asymmetric information based on theories is used to understand market failure and examine the rising demand for financing. In overall, sourcing debt and equity have complex processes that raise other considerations in financing decisions. It is important to mention that most profitable ventures use minimal external finance while fast-growing companies with higher funding needs are usually most likely to seek foreign funds.
Although it is difficult to quantify the aggregate dollar amounts of capital coming from each funding source, various estimates suggest that all three sources contribute a substantial amount of capital to entrepreneurial firms. Some of the major hindrance to accessing capital includes agency issues (Denis, 2004). Evidence of agency issues is supported by a positive relationship between leverage and tangible assets. Industry effects, relating to the availability of collateral, also affect leverage and debt maturity. Access to external finance improves with size and age supporting the idea of a financial growth life cycle. In addition, the economic cycle is vital for reliance on short-term debt increasing in a recession (Coleman et al., 2016). Under the entrepreneurial objectives, control aversion and risk perceptions are essential but are largely ignored in the studies of financing decisions.
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Get custom essayMoreover, some progress has been made in contrast between equity and debt ratio including business planning, growth/lifestyle objectives and the importance of retaining control in models of financing decisions, which raise the explanatory power of entrepreneurial finance. Considerably, entrepreneurial cognition in financing decisions has indicated why the debt-equity ratio is high and low in some ventures. The decision to use equity or debt to finance your company ultimately comes down to how much control you wish to maintain over your business. However, an early-stage company that could take years to generate profit is likely to struggle with a high debt load. At the same time, startups have a hard time attracting venture capital until they show strong profit potential. Most experts suggest that businesses use both debt and equity, in a reasonable ratio.
Entrepreneurs invest their own resources and attract fund (in the form of debt, equity and more) from investors, lenders and the public. This deploys public wealth and allows people to gain advantage from the success of entrepreneurs and developing businesses. This kind of pooled capital that results in wealth creation and distribution is one of the basic imperatives and goals of economic.
Get original essayBy nature and definition, the entrepreneurs are job creators, as opposed to job seekers. For an example, when one become an entrepreneur, there is one less job seeker in the economy and then one can provide employment for multiple other job seekers. This kind of job creation by new and existing businesses is again is one of the basic goals of economic development. They generate a lot of job opportunities and helps in expanding or increase the standards to an international level.
Entrepreneurs help in increasing the standard of living of people in a country is yet another key goal of economic development. They don’t only promote job opportunities, but also by develop and adopt innovations that lead to improvements in the quality of life of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders in the country. As an example, automation that reduces production costs and enables faster production will make a business unit more productive, while also providing its customers with the same products at lower prices.
Community development requires infrastructure for healthcare and education, training and other public services. For example, you need educated and skilled workers in a community to attract new businesses. If there are educational institutions, technical training schools and internship opportunities, that will help build the pool of educated and skilled workers.
Setting up new businesses and industrial units help with regional development by locating in less developed and backward areas. The growth of industries and business in these areas leads to infrastructure improvements like better roads and rail links, airports, stable electricity and water supply, schools, hospitals, shopping complex and other public and private services that would not otherwise be accessible.
Entrepreneurs also create social change. Through their unique offerings of new product and services, entrepreneurs break away from tradition and indirectly support freedom by reducing dependence on obsolete systems and technologies. For example, the water supply in a water-scarce region will at times force people to stop working to collect water. This will impact their business, productivity and income.
Every new business that locates in a less developed area will generate both direct and indirect jobs, helping lift regional economies in many various ways. The combined spending by all the new employees of the new businesses and the supporting jobs in other businesses adds to the local and regional economic achievement. Any developing business will eventually want to get started with exports to expand their business to other foreign markets. This is an important ingredient of economic development since it provides access to bigger trading, and leads to currency inflows and access to the new cutting-edge technologies and processes being used in more developed foreign markets.
Another advantage is that this expansion that leads to more stable business revenue during economic downturns in the local economy. In addition, entrepreneurs also add to national income. It can generate new wealth. New and improved offerings, products or technologies from entrepreneurs enable new markets to be developed and new wealth created. For example, more business operates in a country more tax will be received, therefore the income of the nation will increase.
The ability to turn ideas into new products and services that people need is the fount of prosperity for any developing country. Economic growth, generally speaking, is driven by new technologies and their creativity applications. Duration of rapid innovation historically has been accompanied by duration of strong economic growth. The impetus of innovation is the greatest natural resource of all, such as the human mind. Creating innovative products and solutions requires an educated population and an environment where collaborative work can take place. In order to being good for business, education increases workforce creativity and quality of life.
Path breaking offerings by entrepreneurs, in the form of new product & services, result in new employment, which can produce a cascading effect or virtuous circle in the economy. For example, a few IT companies founded the Indian IT industry in the 1990s as a backend programmer’s hub. Soon the industry gathered pace in its own programmer’s domain.
Technology has made it possible for small businesses to expand into local and international markets. When new businesses export product and services to nearby regions, these enterprises contribute directly to a region’s productivity and earnings. This increase in revenue stabilise an economy and promotes the overall welfare of a population. Economies that trade with one another are almost often better off. This has never been more true than it is today, as we live in an increasingly interconnected global economy. Even for a large and advanced economy like the United States, foreign markets have a significant role. Foreign trade, according to some estimates, is responsible for over 91% of the economic growth.
Entrepreneurs make much contribution to the national exchequer and to the country’s economy as whole. The GNP of the country is computed based upon the sum of products and services available in a respective country. The more products and services available the higher the GNP. It indicates the economic growth of the country.
Entrepreneurship and innovation is the topic of this essay, as it is of utmost importance in today's society. These two concepts are intertwined and can lead to great success. The exchange of ideas, which is often diverse, is the foundation of innovation. Entrepreneurship and innovation can create new products and services that satisfy the needs and desires of consumers. Cities with diverse populations are often hotspots for innovation. With the help of technology and better communication, smaller towns and cities are starting to become more influential in the startup world. Startups in these atypical areas are being driven forward by diversity in culture, knowledge, and people. Additionally, entrepreneur-friendly spaces, talent, funding, and favorable laws are all found in the hotspots of today.
Get original essayBefore discussing the up-and-coming startup hubs, it’s important to analyze the causes of today’s traditional entrepreneurial hotspots. Cities like London, the Silicon Valley, Boston, Tel Aviv are at the center of business. Their proximity to well-established corporations, universities and colleges, and the well-developed environment make these cities attractive for businesses. According to Ressi, “grassroots efforts led by a few” are more successful than “top-down”, government driven efforts. This is due to the fact that successful entrepreneurship comes from the novelty and value created from an idea. Therefore, ideas that come from the people, rather than the government, can properly address the needs of a niche. In addition, without the rest of the makings of a startup ecosystem in place, government efforts are likely to fall short. Policy initiatives only relieve business people from bureaucratic red tape and do not necessarily promote creativity. That being said, the local government still plays a large role in the creation of startups through the promotion of accelerators and incubators, as well as ensuring that the laws and policies are entrepreneur-friendly.
While the government plays a large role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, other factors influence startup hubs as well. For example, the flow of ideas across students to students, student to faculty, and faculty to faculty significantly helps with the evolution of ideas. The presence of universities means that the smartest minds congregate in one place. Academic institutions are at the forefront of research and are constantly discovering applications for new knowledge. Furthermore, the physical environment must be conducive to innovation and creativity. Startup hotspots tend to have “co-working spaces, networking events, …, accelerators and incubators” (Ressi). Coworking spaces allow for collaboration. Without collaboration, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to get constructive criticism or obtain opinions from people in other fields. In cities, the proximity to industry experts, corporations, universities and think tanks increase the ease of communication. In contrast, in a rural town, it may be more difficult to hear, see, and feel what others need from an entrepreneur.
Furthermore, the need for internet access is paramount for an everyday consumer, even more so for an entrepreneur. A city like London or Los Angeles already has the infrastructure in place for such technology. A rural town in Czechoslovakia might not. The availability of technology can dictate whether an area becomes an emerging hotspot. Without the flow of ideas from others, the startup ecosystem is stagnant and difficult to succeed. Lastly, one of the most important parts of a thriving startup hotspot is the ability to gain funding. The proximity to venture capitalists and angel investors is fundamental for a budding business to grow. Due to convenience, many accelerators and investing firms are based in cities and often happen to be offshoots or smaller branches of larger corporations. In all, the accessibility to collaboration, communication, knowledge, and funding are the factors essential for a successful startup ecosystem.
With these factors in mind, it is then inferrable that other cities are on the up-and-coming areas for entrepreneurs. According to CB Insights, Dublin, Jakarta, and Buenos Aires compete in the top 10 list of non US emerging startup hub cities. Austin makes up one of the many emerging hubs in the United States (Caminiti).
As a university town in Texas, Austin is a magnet for students and young people. In combination with one of the best computer science programs in the nation at the University of Texas, Austin’s tech industry startup scene is becoming a hotspot. According to VOAnews, the culture of Austin and the recent moves of Dell, Facebook, and Google corporate offices make Austin an attractive spot for entrepreneurs (Lee). The recent development of tech offices in Austin may explain why the city is developing into a startup hub now versus developing years ago. Many employees at these tech companies tend to use their work experience to start businesses of their own. The openness of the city and the university allows for collaboration between people of all backgrounds and education levels. In addition, the availability for funding “totaled more than $600 million” in 2016 (Caminiti). Combined with the fact that the University of Texas also provides funding for its entrepreneurial students, the availability of money is widespread. The vibrancy of the city combined with its knowledge foster the creative energy in Austin, making it a lively environment for businesses.
Outside of the United States, Jakarta, named “8th among 45 cities in the world with the highest confidence … for digital transformation,” is an emerging Southeast Asian tech hub with four “unicorn” startups (Wijaya). Many entrepreneurs tend to flock to Jakarta for tech and digital businesses. As the population grows in Asia and less space is available in Hong Kong, Mumbai, or Tokyo, many flock to Jakarta for opportunities. Business ventures are supported by the local startup community. Government initiatives have eased the process of starting a business and are supportive of startups. Many coworking spaces have opened, attracting many to the city. In addition to privately-owned coworking spaces, there are city-owned spaces as well. Government regulations have eased, allowing innovators to start businesses easily without the hassle of bureaucratic paperwork. While the city is on the way to becoming an ecosystem for businesses, it still lacks talent (Marzuki). That being said, this could explain why Jakarta has not traditionally been considered an entrepreneurial hotspot. However, with the city itself open to new collaborations, the thriving economy and business-welcoming regulations, Jakarta enables itself to becoming one of the next startup hubs.
Traditionally, Dublin has always been overshadowed by London when thinking about startups. London has the built-in physical, social, and intellectual infrastructure to support entrepreneurs. However, according to Kobie, due to recent events such as Brexit, Dublin is now becoming a fledgling hotspot. With concerns about the effects of Brexit on the economy, Dublin is a good substitute for London due to its English-speaking culture. Its proximity to England allow for potential entrepreneurs in London to do business in Dublin with less hassle. In addition, private and government support help startups with funding. “Enterprise Ireland … even local councils” are supportive of new businesses and tend to help with “early-stage investment” (Kobie). With the presence of Facebook and Google offices, the availability of bright minds and talent are not at a shortage. Consequently, the majority of Dublin startups are based in tech, health, and finance. Combined with the talent pool and the fostering environment the local government promotes, Dublin is a promising hotspot on the rise.
On the southern hemisphere, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, attracts many entrepreneurs and companies. According to Besserman, the physical location, community that encourages entrepreneurial growth, and financial factors promote the startup culture in Buenos Aires. As a large capital city in South America, it provides easy access to the rest of the continent, enlarging the potential market. In addition, the lateral difference from New York City allows for ease of communication across the 1 hour time zone. Meetings with potential investors or other businesses aren’t necessarily hindered by time. Furthermore, the amount of co-working spaces in Argentina are based in Buenos Aires. The availability of these spaces allow for more entrepreneurial education and networking workshops that help promote the startup ecosystem. In addition to help from the private sector, the government promotes entrepreneurship through having its own incubator program. Not only does this provide a potential source of funding, it sends a signal that Buenos Aires is ready for businesses to flourish. Lastly, the financial influences in Buenos Aires are a huge contributor to the emerging hotspot. The cost of living and wages means that an entrepreneur can spend less on their own living expenses while saving money on investing on the physical labor for the company. Skill levels and talent in Argentina are comparable to the US with “the highest language of English proficiency in Latin America” and the “largest amount” of “tertiary educated citizens” (Besserman). The salary of a software or web developer in Argentina is much less than the US counterpart. This allows for a company to cater to English-speaking countries while staying at a low cost, a preferred balance at the startup phase. Buenos Aires has all the makings of a startup hub with its availability of talent, money, ease of regulations, and access to different markets in the world.
Across the ocean from South America, Nairobi, with poor infrastructure and relatively high crime rates, is not a city when one thinks of startup hotspots. However, the increase in university graduates with degrees in the STEM fields have propelled this city to significance. Factors such as IBM investment, government initiatives, and an increase in mobile phone usage have positively changed the tech startup industry in Nairobi (Henry). With attention from IBM, many people flock to Nairobi as a source of employment and networking. These young employees bring their entrepreneurial ideas as well. The recent increase in mobile phone ownership has brought along creative ideas. Mobile app innovation is a product of rapid expansion (i.e. mobile phones) and non-technological needs (i.e. farming). For example, according to Henry, a startup has recently developed an app for farmers to query the prices for farm supplies and sales. This has effectively cut out the middleman and has the potential to increase profit margins for Kenyan farmers. This type of startup has benefited the local economy and revolutionizing the farm to market process. The rapid expansion of personal technology has allowed young entrepreneurs to think of new ways to solve old problems. This is an aspect of innovative entrepreneurship that should not be overlooked. With its international investment from IBM, surge in education, and government regulations, Nairobi is certainly an emerging startup hotspot.
The importance about the diversity of these cities should not be overlooked. They are not the traditional cosmopolitan cities that are built for businesses; but instead, Austin, Jakarta, Dublin, Buenos Aires, and Nairobi are evolving to fit the world of today. The change that these cities bring are shaped to fit the needs of the future and bring with it the inventive minds of today. For the future of entrepreneurship, emerging places allow more opportunities for rural or, non-cosmopolitan areas to grow and enter the world market. This allows for economic growth in the area, providing more chances for an everyday consumer to become an entrepreneur. In turn, this could potentially allow more lateral movement in each area’s society. For example, if a farmer entrepreneur from Shenzhen has a successful business proposition, then he may be able to move up from a farmer’s wage to an entrepreneur’s earnings. The significance of this is that it allows economically “stuck” people to succeed without having to have to move miles or kilometers away to a new city. Overall, emergent hotspots level the playing field for the majority of the world’s citizens and allows those who cannot access big metropolitan cities to participate in entrepreneurship.
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Get custom essayThe new hotspots in Austin, St. Louis, Jakarta, Dublin, Buenos Aires, and Nairobi mean that the need for innovation is widespread and can come from anywhere with smart minds and good support. The combination of academic knowledge and physical location makes networking and the flow of ideas possible for startups to grow and succeed. The overarching theme of emerging hotspots is the ability to communicate. This has been expedited by the rapid, exponential expansion of internet, mobile phones, and computers to the more remote areas of the world. Consequently, many startups, especially in developing areas, tend to start businesses based on technology. Hopefully, the emergence of non-traditional startup hotspots will open doors for people who may not have had such opportunities before.
Tesco is managing its operations on a global scale, thus, it will be affected by political and legal factors. Additional external factors would be sourced from entities such as the European union in mandating new trade laws. Balchin (1994) states that legislations related to employment put in place by the government has provided incentives to retail employers to provide jobs for people from different backgrounds. The effect of this is that people from other demographics would be provided opportunities for work, such as students, the elderly and even disabled people. The effect on Tesco itself would be that if Tesco would to adhere to these laws, this would produce loyal employees.
Get original essayAccording to the office for national statistics, in the past 5 years, the unemployment rate for people above the legal age has dropped steadily. This factor would likely indicate that the economical condition is slowly improving as economical factors would definitely affect demand and cost of goods. However, it is still imperative for the Tesco’s higher management to ensure precautions are in place if the unemployment rate were to drop. Although Tesco has a large presence internationally which brings them high profits, its performance would be dependent on the health of the UK market, thus a recession would cause a slowdown which in turn could have detrimental effects on Tesco.
Social attitude trends change gradually from time to time. It influences how people act and think, which in turn would affect their preferences and decisions and possessing different attitude and behaviour , each of these issues could be considered by the management of Tesco in planning their strategies. According to Calof et al. (2005) consumers are becoming more knowledgeable and demanding. There is also the ever more increasingly materialistic attitude of current generations. The demand of quality products with the lowest price is a common theme.
Advancement of technology has provided various opportunities for Tesco. The internet has helped shaped consumer purchasing behaviors (Siddiqui et al., 2003). Online shopping with facilities for home delivery and secondly, self service checkout points have provided convenience and ease for customers which also lowers labor costs.
Customer satisfaction levels have increased due to this and a majority have also adopted a more personalized style of shopping. Although there would be drawbacks to this as automation has cut the need for face-to face- services thus reducing jobs, it does increase the need for more technical and high skill based jobs. This is because the maintenance of such machinery and programs would require skilled labour.
Tesco would have to abide by certain government legislative and rules which could affect the performance of the company. Government intervention in providing restrictions for monopoly and by reducing a buyer’s power in a sector, it could limit its entry into that particular sector (Mintel report, 2004).
As time goes on, people are becoming more aware of their environmental footprints. Environmental NGOs and activists constantly monitor the potential harm that could be caused by businesses. The public demands a cleaner, greener and more sustainable world (Albino et. Al., 2009).
Regulatory bodies are also concerned with pollution caused by factories of businesses. These factors would cause consumers to opt for more green products or from those socially responsible businesses (Bergmiller et. Al., 2009) and this should not be ignored by retailers. By proactively implementing policies to preserve the world, a retailer can possibly affect the view of consumers on its company and brand (Doyle et. al., 2006).
According to Johnson et al (2011 :74) a resource based view allows certain organizations to view its key strategic capabilities and using them as a means of competitive advantage. The table below highlights aspects linked to the core competences of Tesco.
Tangible Resource Physical Resources: Being a global organization, it has in its disposal, various networks globally. This would indicate that Tesco has access to not only global logistic systems but also the experience of operating in international markets.
Financial Resources: Tesco is considered the second largest retailer in the world by profits. The entity has access to significant financial resources providing Tesco with the means to settle capital needs internally.
Intangible Assets Years of operating in International Markets: Currently, Tesco operates in over 10 international markets, providing the firm with the access to various experiences and lessons learnt. This is significant as it serves as an important aspect which could assist in devising an international strategy for its business.
Brand Image: Tesco is a well known brand and is recognized across the globe. This would serve as an important factor in terms of competitive advantage from a brand awareness point of view.
Organization Structure Tesco’s organizational structure and the ability to have access to its expertise of over 100,000 employees puts the firm in a unique position in terms of internal expertise.
Two main components for the main competencies of Tesco, this would be employees and the other being its customers. According to Kotler and Keller (2009) the staff are the ones that determine level of competitiveness through the business processes whereas customers would influence external factors such as profitability. If performance were to drop, Tesco would have to divert focus on how to satisfy its customers more compared to its competitors.
Review of Tesco’s annual report has shown that, within 6 months of introducing its club card, Tesco has achieved 17% of its customer usage. This proves that the usage of the clubcard not only enhances customer loyalty, it could also act as an effective customer relationship management for Tesco as they would have access to data and would be able to analyze its customers.This could inevitably reduce costs and improve the company’s service quality and customer satisfaction.
Wood and Mccarthy (2014) considers the company as being known to provide various value deal products to its customers. They also place an emphasis on ensuring convenience for customers. Tesco’s global operations has in their arsenal, strengths such as online shopping and joint ventures, as well as employing local skilled workers. (Koen, Bertels and Elsum, 2011). Tesco also benefits from economies of scale due to their abilit to purchase items in bulk (Blythman, 2012). This would benefit policies of Tesco keeping prices low and competitive with other big retailers such as Asda or Sainsbury’s. Lastly, their clubcard loyalty programme provides incentives to retain customers this creating long lasting relationships. (Felgate, Fearne and Di Falco, 2011).
Tesco has diversified into wide array of products and services including providing credit. Ruddick (2014) mentions that this has resulted in profits being affected negatively from credit card debt and high levels of insurance claims from households. To improve on their technological assets, large investments of cash would be required to improve their web technology as well as refurbishing stores. This would impact cash needed to accomplish price strategy goals. (Ruddick.2014). This would ultimately affect sales. Another issue that could be highlighted is Tesco’s own insufficient experience in markets it intends to enter such as the smart phone and table markets (Woods and Gibs, 2014)
In this era of rapid technological advancements, opportunities which Tesco could take advantage of would include areas such as digital entertainment through their investment in Blinkbox (Hall, 2011). The aforementioned move by Tesco to enter into the tablets and smartphones industry could complement this investment rather well, particularly in foreign asian markets. (Piercy,Cravens and Lane, 2010). By doing this, greater convenience could be offered to its customers through online shopping.
Tesco’s current number one position in the UK’s retail sector means that they would not lack sources of competition from other large retailers such as Asda, Sainsbury,Morrison’s and Lidl and Aldi (Stevensons,2014). According to Brand Finance (2014), one brand that continuously competes with Tesco on a global scale is Walmart. As the ninth most-value brand in the world, Walmart possessed the necessary resources and expertise to cause Tesco problems, such as the takeover of Asda by Walmart which Tesco continuously tries to resist. The effect of consumer from small towns disdain for out of town stores could also impact Tesco’s expansion plans as these neighbourhoods would be concerned with the livelihood of small shops. (Stevensons, 2014).
Tesco could consider entering into the Asian sector through Singapore or Japan, by doing this Teco could provide opportunities for expanding its operations and increasing its influence. A strategy that could be considered would be entering into a strategic alliance preferably with one of the retailers which already has a dominant presence in Asia. This would improve growth and also provide opportunities to use current core competences and resources of the company. By entering into a joint venture, Tesco would be able to draw on its partner’s wide operating expertise as well as local market knowledge to tailor its delivery of providing a more effective shopping experience to its customers. As a result, Tesco would be able to claim a larger market share as well as economies of scale. (Lynch 2012)
A well thought out product development strategy would have to be drafter by Tesco’s higher management it was to plan on providing new products to its existing customers. (Johnson & Scholes 2011). This would include hiring market research companies on gauging the customer’s expectation, needs and views on a product to see if it would be a success. In relation to a company’s product mix, a proper plan of action should also be made and followed. This is to ensure that there would be no lack of focus on key areas to ensure the new product would be a success. The execution and size of the expansion should also be taken into account. This is to ensure that it would not affect the company’s current principle and diversity of its portfolio. However, introducing a new product would increase research and development expenditure, which in turn increases cost. (Lynch 2006)
A joint venture or strategic alliance provides opportunities for growth without compromising ownership of the company. This would be true for Tesco especially if it were to focus on expanding into markets of different regions. If Tesco were to partner up with an existing business with an established presence in Asia, it could reduce the risks for Tesco as well as providing other benefits such as
lBenefiting Economies of scale and synergy
lAccess to the partner’s intellectual property
lRemoving potential partner as a competitor if JV or alliance were not formed
lSharing of information and expertise
Thus, the proposed strategy would be Market development and Diversification either through a joint venture or a strategic alliance.
One of the main sources of success would be Tesco’s strategy in emphasizing its business models. One of its core purpose would be to earn lifetime customer loyalty, this is proven effective through the results of introducing its Club Card programme. Its business model is simple, as customers are the parties that influence how products are moved in and our, thus customer’s view and preferences are used to improve business performance.
Due to a disastrous decision by Tesco to delay payments to boost profits that resulted in a proposed legal action by its shareholders, proposals to expand into newer markets for growth would not seem to be unacceptable to its shareholders. However, Tesco would have to refrain from making similar mistakes if it were to retain shareholder confidence
Due to Tesco’s large access to a wide array of resources and expertise, it does provide Tesco with the capability to penetrate into different markets as it has unique physical and intangible resources to help it take up its responsibilities as well as to produce results.
A few recommendations could be specified to enable Tesco to grow into a more dominant brand with even more success both locally and internationally.
Tesco also faces stiff competition from Asda’s and Sainsbury’s as well as Walmart on a more global scale, if they wish to be viewed as the number one “one stop shop” then effort would need to be placed into the non-food areas otherwise customers would prefer to use a different supermarket that does satisfy their consumer needs.
Currently there has been a serious case for concern that carbon foot print needs to be reduced. As with all supermarket and retails, there exists a presence of high level of waste; cardboard, plastics and paper. This problem would need to be addressed although Tesco themselves have stated that they wish to be carbon free by 2050, they need to ensure that steps have been taken to ensure it is realized.
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Get custom essayThese variables could be reduced by having less packaging on their products, promoting recycling as well as removing the use of plastic bags altogether and instead utilizing long life bags that customers could use when they visit Tesco stores.
In the circle of life the ideas resolve by connecting compatible minds; extending the path of progress; building communities i.e., changing destinations. Giving meaning to their philosophy of “Being together and growing together” and making everything happen at Balkrishna Industries (BKT).
Get original essayBalkrishna Industries manufactures off-highway tires OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) used in specialist segments like consisting of Agriculture, Industrial, Construction, Earthmoving, Mining, Port, Lawn and Garden and All-Terrain Vehicle Tires (ATVs) etc. BKT has its manufacturing plants in Aurangabad, Chopanki, Dombivali and Bhuj. In addition to its massive structure, from its highly trained or motivated workforce and from cutting edge technology, BKT has implemented a highly evolved work order, as well as management system for all its plants.
With a total annual gain of more than 610 million dollars and a composite rate of growth of 35% over a decade, BKT is the only centralized company that satisfies all the requirements related to tyres and reinforces the confidence of customers with their storage units that maintain upto 2000 additional units to those required. The coverage of its clientele covers 120 countries which is why BKT is the world leader in the manufacture of all terrain tyres.
Balkrishna Industries predominantly caters to the replacement market in North America and Europe. Its North America office is located in Akron, Ohio with one warehouse in Wando, South Carolina. About 80 percent of Balkrishna Industries business in the United States is in the farm market. The growth rate in “Off-Highway Tires Segment” is ranging between 4-5%. The industry is witnessing positive moment for couple of years.
Environmental analysis is a strategic tool which helps you identify the all the internal and external elements , which can affect the organization’s performance. The analysis helps align strategies with the firm’s environment.
The analysis is also known as PESTLE or PEST, depending on how many environmental factors are included. This method takes a big picture or birds view approach, which means that it looks at the project in a wider context. This enables project teams to anticipate changes and include these changes into their planning instead of being surprised by them.
The tyre industry in India has had to grapple with raw material price volatility, rupee appreciation and cheap Chinese imports. In this connection, some of the recent initiatives by the government to facilitate the growth of the sector include:
India’s inflation rate has been decreasing since 2010. India’s economy, however, has been doing quite well with its GDP steadily increasing. But for the past five years it has been steady. This allows the manufacturing company’s like BKT to maintain its equipments, raw material costs and other input costs along with a budget plan for the next year.
In terms of net sales growth and highest profit margins, Balkrishna Industries is far ahead from other players with the profit margin defined as 10.55% (average of 5 years) in the industry as it operates in the Off Road Tyres (OTR), a niche segment.
Also, the BKT Industries depends majorly on the agricultural sectors for its sales. The agricultural sector in the US is vast and the requirement is also high. In this case, currency plays a key role. Devaluation of currency of a country has an immediate impact on the companies involved in imports. BKT Industries import Natural Rubber from other countries as its the primary raw material for the tyres and therefore, this increases the production costs.
BKT derives 80% of its revenue from the replacement market, OEMs account for 14%. The company is a leading supplier to OEMs like Volvo, John Deere, CNH, Class, BOMAG, SAME, Ferrari, among others. Also, many global tyre makers sell BKT’s tyres under their brand, a proof to the company’s superior
products and strengthens confidence in BKT. The company has developed a strong global network comprising 200 distributors across 120 countries to cater to the wide replacement market. Moreover, the replacement cycle for agriculture tyres is around two-three years while that for mining and construction is around 9 to 12 months. Margins in the replacement market are around 3-5% higher compared to OEM and also lend stability to growth in turbulent times.
BKT tires are entirely manufactured in India at our their three main production sites. Their R&D division deals with anything related to the technical product development: from designing a new tire to developing new compounds to improve product performance as well as implementing always more efficient production processes. They invest around 3.5% of their annual sales into R&D.
Customer satisfaction and their research processes are the key factors for a rise in the standards and making BKT products always more reliable, more competitive and highly technological. As part of their research and development analysis, they design, develop and produce 60-80 new tyres every year. BKT’s excelling technological progress has been recognized by the Indian government through the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
The Indian tyre industries are requesting the Indian Government to allow duty free carbon black which is one of the primary raw materials for the manufacture of any kind of tyres. The US Department of Commerce on March 7th, 2017 revised the countervailing duty (CVD) for off-road tyre import from India to 4.94 percent from 5.06 percent. However, the CVD against the biggest player in the segment, Balkrishna Industries was left unchanged at 5.36 percent. Only 5-7 percent of the company’s exports to the US are subject to the CVD, and there is not much risk of an upward revision. CVD, an import tax imposed on certain goods in order to prevent dumping or counter export subsidies, is subject to annual review by the department of commerce for next 5 years.
Both the regard for nature and the utilization of sustainable power sources are fundamental qualities for BKT. Every one of their locales work in full consistence with natural guidelines. In accordance with their pledge to control the effects getting from the current generation forms. Furthermore, all BKT tires are fabricated in consistence with the European Directive REACH managing and controlling the utilization of synthetic compounds.
Their decision of practicing environmental safety has been perceived by the Indian government. All things considered, they have received the National Energy Conservation Award being given in order to recognize consistent effort to protect the environment.
This is also a strategic analytical tool for assessing strengths and weaknesses of a business, analyzing opportunities available to the business, as well as, threats faced by the business. It can be used at organizational levels and also personal levels too.
The strengths and weaknesses of the organization are internal, i.e. the understanding and manipulation of their strengths and weaknesses. Opportunities and threats on the other hand, are external, i.e, organizations can only react to these factors but do not have the tools to influence them.
BKT is ranked as the top fifth manufacturers when it comes to Off-Highway Tire (OHT) market in India. They have an extensive market lined up with over 2300 products.
They have a wide and comprehensive product portfolio and a deep understanding of the OHT market which has led to a large base of Stock Keeping Units( SKUs) to meet the diverse needs and applications.
They have successfully scripted a sales network across 120 countries around the globe. Balkrishna Industries predominantly caters to the replacement market in North America and Europe.
The industrial segment of the company has always adapted and updated to the technological advancements and never observed any wild fluctuations in demand for its products.
In order to make sure that there are no interruptions with the supply of raw materials, the company set up a Carbon black plant at Bhuj, Gujarat.
They have a strong CSR policy which ensures the promotion of education, health, rural development and help society when in need.
The company functions in a sector which is primarily known as “large varieties- low volume” segment that requires large amounts of investment and also needs a large workforce. Hence, any new initiative is costly for the economy.
The rise of the crude oil prices directly affects the prices of the raw materials necessary for the manufacture as well as production purposes.
Almost 30 percent of the company’s revenue is generated through a product category which is cyclical in nature and therefore, the company is exposed to market risk.
The company has an incremental opportunity to develop “Earth Moving Tyres” by expanding its base into its various sub-segments like agricultural, industrial, construction, mining, winter and solid tyres.
The company is also foraying into the two-wheeler tyre market as part of a diversification process. They have already introduced two products- Pilot and Raftar and will partner with the vehicle manufacturers as the production scales up.
Like any other company, BKT is also exposed to various threats like competition from small players, retention of employees, labour unrest, increase in the raw material prices and other input costs etc.
Fluctuation in raw materials - The company’s major raw material is Natural Rubber, which is an agricultural produce and also its prices fluctuate significantly. In order to minimize such risks, the company enters into contract and also stocks large quantities. Since most of the raw materials are imported, the company is exposed to foreign currency risks too.
Labour Relations - The company’s manufacturing process is that of batch processing, it requires lot of skilled as well as unskilled workers and maintaining such a huge workforce is a big challenge. In order to mitigate this risk, the Company follows good HR policies to promote the welfare, safety of its workmen and improve the work environment.
Retention of skilled manpower - Like other players in the industry, BKT is also exposed to this risk, more particularly when there is shortage of skilled manpower in the industry.
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Get custom essayCurrency fluctuation - The company revenues are mainly generated through exports. They also import a lot of their raw materials and capital equipments. Moreover, all its borrowings are in foreign currency and it is therefore exposed to risks due to currency fluctuations.
We now live on a dying planet, the Earth. And the only way for us to remain here is to restore nature, the Earth that has sheltered us. Knowledge is power, so learn more about the science behind our climate challenge and the role that all sectors must play in addressing it. In essay about environmental awareness I will add my voice to the issues shaping the climate debate, as well as emerging, evidence-based data directly related to climate change.
Get original essayClimate change and its ramifications in a variety of sectors are one of the issues confronting humanity and the world today. Climate change on Earth is caused in part by the natural cycles of the Earth, but human activities are still a major source of climate change. Increased levels of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, bring more heat to the earth because they have the ability to absorb and emit heat in the atmosphere, keeping the earth warm. Some dangerous human activities, such as the use of fossil fuels, deforestation, technological advancements, and so on, contribute to the increase of toxic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. All greenhouse gases cause the earth's temperature to rise at a faster rate, which is harmful to human, animal, and plant life. Rising sea levels are another example of climate change caused by global warming, which causes floods, droughts, and increases the risk of malaria and other parasites.
For a long period of time, our waste has been destructive to the environment. We are generating an excessive amount of trash and are unable to manage it sustainably. Non-biodegradable waste that cannot be properly recycled is clogging our oceans and landfills. As a result, it had a devastating effect on our most basic needs, including the food that we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. The manner in which we dispose our waste is already alarming and concerning. What's more is it appears as though waste disposal has become more careless in the last decade alone. With the way we treat our planet, we cannot inhibit or promote longevity. The more emissions we yield as a result of our trash creation has a long-term implication on us. As a result, it is vital that we take immediate action. We must be aware of the consequences of waste pollution and improper disposal; if no action is taken, a disastrous way of life may arise. Let us become informed, vigilant, and proactive immediately.
Air is considered polluted when certain substances are present in sufficient concentrations and for long enough periods of time to cause harm or undesirable effects. Air pollution reduction is critical for human health and the environment. Air pollution has a detrimental effect on human health, most notably on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Pollutants can also cause damage to plants and structures, and smoke and haze impair visibility. The simplest solution to air pollution is to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal. It is critical to generate clean energy. However, it is equally important to reduce our energy consumption through responsible habits and the use of more efficient devices.
We must be vigilant and accountable for our actions. Contribute to the protection of mother nature. We are all aware that pollution has a notable impact on the various environmental problems we are currently experiencing. We simply do not have enough time! We are rapidly approaching the end of our time. Therefore, take action immediately.
The only way to ensure our continued existence on this planet is to repair the life-sustaining agent, nature itself, the Earth that has protected us. And as the world's health problem continues and our economy continues to deteriorate, the country's financial stability continues to deteriorate, we must not forget that we still have our greatest source of strength and vitality, Nature. As much as we believed that only hospital oxygen tanks could sustain our life, we must remember that we have fresh air to breathe and can stay alive if we properly understand how to care for it. And when we overcome it, we will never forget what kept us strong, what kept us united, where our food came from, what provided us with air and water, and what supported our life, the Earth and her natural riches!