Reproposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reproposal - Essay Example On March 17-2011, about 1000 Saudi troops were deployed to Bahrain from Peninsula Shield Force for aiding the Bahraini authorities to get control of the local situation. This act was criticized and condemned by the Iranian authorities. The Iran’s criticism was highly opposed in the Saudi news papers by the Saudi officials. This news had three perspectives engraved in it. One perspective is that of the Saudi government and Bahraini regime, the second perspective is that of the protestors in Bahrain and third perspective is of the Iranian officials. This paper will seek to investigate that whether the print media in Saudi Arabia was biased or not in covering this story or were the Saudi newspapers manipulated by the Saudi authorities for their own interest. It will be important to determine how well the three perspectives were covered by the Saudi newspapers to convey the truth to the people. Justification News provides us with information on every aspect of life, and can relate to individuals or entire nations of people. Thus, the legitimacy of news as well as the freedom of press and speech have always been the controversial and debatable issues, particularly in a country like Saudi Arabia, which is an important and influential Islamic state governed by a Monarchy regime. News coverage in an Islamic state goes through various filters, especially if related to terrorism, extremism or other controversial topics. This compels the states to take extra measures in relation to how they want to portray their image in the media, both locally and internationally. Thus, the media in Saudi Arabia does not enjoy the freedom of press, like any other country in the Middle East, mainly due to the government pressure. The news presented to the audience in these countries goes through a substantial amount of processing, screening and editing before being delivered. Eventually, the common people sometimes only acquire a limited amount of information based on the actual re ality. Despite the obstacles, journalists and reporters in Saudi Arabia strive to provide the unbiased truth to their audience. Their job is tough due to various factors and issues, notably the strict regulations and the scrutiny of print media that influences the publishing and shaping of news in Saudi Arabia. In response to these regulations, most newspapers in Saudi Arabia have looked to acquire transparency and credibility with the help of international groups including CASTOR (Circulation Audit Steering Organisation). This is a joint venture of the GCC Advertisers’ Business Group, the IAA (International Advertising Association) and the Media Agencies’ Council, formed in the UAE in 2005 with the goal of promoting the adoption of circulation auditing so to increase transparency and credibility in the print media industry. Given all this information, it is clear that the dissertation topic offers a great deal of research and investigation of the news content on the B ahrain case as published in Saudi news papers. Literature Review Saudi Intervention The military intervention by Saudi Arabia could crush the peaceful transition in Bahrain while regionalizing a domestic political struggle. It could also aggravate the sectarian conflict in Bahrain and also across the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia,

English Language Article Comparison Essay Example for Free

English Language Article Comparison Essay In this piece of work I will be comparing two articles from newspapers. Both the articles are about the same story and were printed on the same day (Tuesday October 13th 1998), however they are from two different newspapers. One of them is from The Sun and the other from The Telegraph, the main difference between these two papers is that The Sun is a tabloid and The Telegraph is a broadsheet. Throughout this piece of work I will try to examine the difference in their attitudes towards writing news due to this variation in category of newspaper. The article concerns dogs that were at a police dog training unit, the instructor allegedly forced a handler to kick and hang the dogs, one of the dogs involved died. The first and most distinctive thing you realise about these two stories is the difference in headlines. Firstly in The Telegraph the height of the letters involved is only approximately 1cm where as in The Sun it is 2. 6cm. This clearly shows that The Sun wants to make a larger impact and draw your attention to that particular story. Other points about the headlines that back this up are the style of writing. In The Telegraph the headline has been written in serif, this means that the editor has decided to use a font which includes small decorative lines at the ends of letters, however The Suns headline is in sans serif and so doesnt have these lines. This makes the letters much more sharp, and right-angled this gives a hard feel to the words and helps attract readers. Another way the editor has used the headline to attract the reader in The Sun is by using block capitals, this instantly makes the letters bigger, stand out and coupled with the words being in bold black and sans serif gives a real shock effect. A similarity between these two headlines though is that they both use quotes, this makes it sound and feel more real to a reader because it says exactly what actual people said and after having read the subheadline, probably what they said in court. However, I personally feel that the main difference is the actual words that have been used. The Suns headline is much more emotive, it uses words such as cruel, kick and death. These words will instantly capture people and conjure up images that will stir their imagination and make them want to read on. Not only this but the headline also reads kick his own dog to death, this makes it seem even worse because it wasnt a dog belonging to the police but his own family pet. It makes the whole thing seem even more cruel and will once again make people more interested in the story, especially for people who have pet dogs. However, The Telegraph is much more informative and factual, it makes a statement about what happened without going into detail about the emotions of it. It says; Police told to kick and punch dogs, although it does uses words such as kick and punch it uses them in a way to inform what the police had been told to do and doesnt go into detail about what the trainer was like. I also feel an interesting thing to also look at is the use of made and told in these two headlines. When The Sun says made cop kick his own god to death it uses made to incriminate the trainers, it makes it sound like the policemen didnt have a choice and that the whole incident was the trainers fault. Whereas The Telegraph uses told, this is much more informative and is simply saying what happened, there is no emotional influence in the way The Telegraph have written this headline. The subheadlines are also quite interesting, firstly their placing, The Telegraph has decided to place the subheadline before the main headline and in The Sun it has been placed after the headline. This may have been done for a number of reasons. In The Telegraph the subheadline reads; German Shepard died after punishment, court told this subheadline has probably been used to give the reader a bit more information about the story before they read on like the type of dog involved and the fact that the dog died. In The Sun they have decided to put the information that the dog died in their headline and the fact it was a German Shepard isnt mentioned in The Sun at all. On to The Suns subheadline and it simply reads Jury told of punishment this has been put after the headline to inform the reader of where the quote of the headline came from. As well as this in The Sun not only does it have a subheadline after the headline, it also has other subheadlines throughout the story to introduce new parts of the article and to split it into three parts; the extra subheadlines are Warned and Shaking. These words are actually used in the section of the article they introduce so that the reader will want to continue. You notice these words and they stand out because they are very expressive and they give you information about what is going to happen in the article even if you dont read on. I also feel that The Sun has used these particular words to good use, if you didnt have time to read the whole article and only read the headline and these subheadlines you would leave with a very strong feeling of hatred towards the trainers. Not only with words like made which I have already explained, but when it is followed by a subheadline of warned it makes you feel as though the police were threatened by the trainers and were warned by them to do nothing wrong. I personally feel that The Telegraph has a more hard-hitting headline for a particular reason. The Sun has made its main headline strike out of the page and really make you read on, this means they have put a simple subheadline so as not to overshadow the headline. Whereas The Telegraph has done it the other way around, their headline is not so hard-hitting so the editor has decided to include an emotive subheadline to aid the reader in being interested in the story and to red on. After having seen the headlines and been attracted to the story you begin to read the main text. Straight away in the hook paragraph you can see differences in the papers attitudes. Firstly, and most obviously the fact that in The Sun the first paragraph has been written in bold, and simply written normally in The Telegraph. Once again it seems that The Sun has been much more emotive in its approach. Words such as forced and kicked it are used, not only this but the word DIED is written in block capitals, this is to emphasise the word and everything it means and the horror of what happened to the dogs. Words used in The Telegraph are very interesting. The first line explains that the dogs were chastised, it is interesting they should use this word because although it is hard hitting it probably doesnt have the same effect on you as kicking (which is in The Sun). However The Telegraph does say that dogs were hung helplessly from a wall by their leads this is then followed by a court was told yesterday it is as though The Telegraph wants to remain on the fence by simply stating what was said but at the same time drumming up emotion in the reader and making them read on, all in all The Sun is more opinionated and The Telegraph is trying as best it can to stay factual. A similarity between the two stories is the use of quotation. Both articles have many quotes from the police officers and trainers in question and almost all of the quotes were said in court. This could well be because on the day these two articles were published the case was still in court and they had little else to go on than this. Also the writer of the article in The Sun has done something slightly unusual in that he has decided to put some paragraphs into italics. This is almost certainly to draw the readers attention to that part of the story and make them read and think about it a different way. There are three paragraphs throughout the article that are in italics and out of these two of them focus on the cruelty to the animals, they go into detail about the way in which this happened and how the dogs reacted to it. The third paragraph describes how two of the handlers left in protest to what was going on before the dog died. Both these points are quite significant to the overall story and you can see why the writer may well have wanted the reader to be more aware of these facts that perhaps other points. Another point that I have found very interesting is sentence type used in both articles. It is normal for newspapers to use a lot of declarative sentences, these help the reporter to get across to the reader all the important information quickly and easily. An example from The Sun would be; PC James English told the court his dog Tazz had been hanged for growling and The Telegraph; Trainers at the police dog unit, based at Sandon, Chelmsford, Essex. However, differences occur between the newspapers when you look at the use of complex sentences, these are more rarely used in papers as they are longer and are not so dramatic. However, as you would except it is The Telegraph that has used a couple but The Sun has used a lot fewer. As I have already described, The Telegraph is a more up-market paper and is aimed towards a sector of society who appreciate this sort of writing whereas The Sun is not. In fact a complex sentence has been used in The Telegraph to say the same as my last quotation of a declarative sentence from The Sun; PC James English said his dog, Tazz was twice subjected to the hanging method after he had growled during training.

Product Summary Of Continental AG Marketing Essay

Product Summary Of Continental AG Marketing Essay Continental AG stands fourth in position globally as the supplier of Automotive spare parts. The company is the Europes second largest in the same industry. The manufactures and provide services over a wide range of automotive parts. Continental AG was started in HANOVER IN GERMANY in the year 1871. The company stands differently from its competitors and gives prior importance to the safety and comfort of the consumers. The company is also conscious about reducing the harm to the environment. Although the company faced many travails and hindrances in its path of growth, it efficiently faced and solved them and continues as one among the giants in the industry. In this BUISINESS PLAN I am focusing on the thorough study of the business of Continental AG. This industry provides employment to millions of people and provides a good source of income for many countries. The demand for rubber and other related products are increasing day by day. Many branded companies and firms are operating in this industry. The competition in this industry resulted in the evolution of the giants in this industry. The graph for this industry is showing positive signs in the beginning of this century and the experts predicted that this trend will go on. The increasing demand for the rubber related products can be considered in this regard.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire) It is estimated that the demand for rubber and tube and other related products will exceed 31.3million metric tones and that of the tire cord industry will exceed 1.3 million metric tones by 2015. The recession caused for a depression in this industry but now this industry is again on its path of growth and growing at a rate of 4.3%. The prolonged recession in the developed countries caused distress in the automobile industry in those industries and developing countries like India and china emerged as promising market for this industry. The recession caused for the geographic change of the industry from the Europe to the Asia pacific. Availability of the material resources and human resources available in the area fastened the growth of the industry. After the recession the healthy recovery of the motor vehicle industry in the leading producing countries like France, Canada and United States of America also fastened the growth of this industry. The increasing growth rate of china demands almost half of the new rubber in the industry and the country accounts for the consumption of almost one third of the production in the industry. As this industry is a growing and a highly competitive industry all the companies and corporate in this industry are seeking for better strategies to get achievement and sustained development in the industry. The major holders of this industry are organizing researches to modify their strategy and to develop new to make their company adaptable to the changing demands and priorities of the auto mobile industry. The companies are adopting new theoretical models to improve the organizational performance and to improve marketing of the product. Good and competitive global corporate policy is essential for the proper coordination and function of the particular firm in this industry. They have to review their business objectives and organizational aim and to determine whether they are going with the international trends and demands. PRODUCT SUMMARY OF CONTINENTAL AG The company Continental AG focuses on the development, production and marketing of the automotive and vehicle parts which helps to improve the driving comfort, safety and dynamics of driving. Continental AG stands for innovative technology and products world wide and they got a world wide network. The organization of the company is mainly divided in to two grouped and each group is further divided into three sections. The two main groups include AUTOMOTIVE AND RUBBER Automotive group include three sections namely Chassis and Safety, Powertrain, and Interior The Rubber group includes three sections namely Passenger and light truck tires, Commercial vehicle tires, and Contitech tires. Chassis and safety: focuses on the safety of the customer and provide various techniques and equipments which ensure the safety of the driver and passenger. Powertrain: involves all the innovative techniques and system solutions which affect the powertrain of the vehicle. It also aims at increasing the comfort and pleasure of the driving. Interior: This division is concerned with the information management that is display, and administration of the information in the vehicle. Passenger and light truck tires: this division manufactures passenger and light truck tires for compact, medium and full sized cars. Commercial vehicle tires: This division ensures economic stability in goods transport, passenger transit etc. Contitech tires: This division s specialized in rubber and plastic technology The Continental AG Is one among the giants of the au8tomnobile industry. The company holds the fourth place in the Worlds Leading produces in the tire and tube industry. The company manufactures a wide range of products. The products include tire, brake systems, chassis and its components, and various electronic products for the vehicles, list of products and the various services available from the company. BUISINESS STRATEGY OF CONTINENTAL AG Every employee in the continental AG has the full responsibly of all his actions and he is ready to perform it all the time. Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcomed from the employees to increase their activities and role in the management process and to develop their own ideas. Another important characteristic of the leadership in the Continental AG is that they provide and encourage continuous education for all the employees. By this process their knowledge will be improved and they can contribute more significantly for the organization. It also help them to adapt to the quickly changing environments in the industry. The management and leadership is keen to make sure the exchange of knowledge between the external and internal environment of the organization. By 1991 Continental AG become the worlds largest producer in rubber and tube industry. They had to face severe economic crisis during the early 1990s. The company made some significant effort to extend their share in the automotive industry during this time. In the early 1990s the company faced severe competition in the market. The company achieved some recovery during the first half of 1992 but the condition of the company was miserable in the beginning of the 1993. During this time the company introduced cost reduction plans and widespread restructuring in the company. The company reduced labor cost as the preliminary step to bring down cost reduction in the organization. As the second step they laid down 20% of their total work force. In 1994 company announced a plan to trim another 2000 employees from their ranks. In order to increase the profit they changed the manufacturing centers from Germany to other countries. This is because of the high labor cost and other restrictions in the country. By 1998 Czech Republic become the center of the companies largest car tire manufacturing unit.(http://www.nytimes.com/keyword/continental -ag) FINANCIAL SUMMARY The continental AG achieved sale of 28,030,286,188 $ in the year 2009.The statement is according to the company reports in Dec 2009.The company raised I billion euro in January 2010 to repair the sagging balance sheet of the company. The total revenue of the company as per the financial data in dec2006 was 14887 million Euros and it is increased to 16620 million Euros in Dec 2007. The total revenue in dec31 of 2009 was 20096 million euro. The gross profit in Dec 31 2009 was4014 million Euros. The other operational expenses in 2009 was 3108 million euro IN DEC2009 CONTINENTAL AG STRATEGY Here in this assignment we are studying the strategies and theories applicable to the global rubber and tube industry by taking the example of the Continental AG the leading company in the global rubber and tube industry. This German company is shortly known as Contl and it manufactures diverse products for the automobile and transport industries. This company is based in Hanover in Germany. It holds the fourth place in the leading tire manufacture of the world. One of the important strategies followed by the technological and production wing of the company is fuel consumption reduction and this is achieved by the use of efficient fuel ejection systems, reduced rolling resistance of the tire and by the use of sophisticated propulsion systems. The company produces tires for almost all type of vehicle and therefore got wide and good acceptance in the industry. As a part of the strategy to enlarge the company and business they purchased German automotive rubber and plastic company. This is also carried out some important takeovers. During the time of takeovers also the management tried to preserve the independence of the company. As a part of their strategy to expand the trade the entered the north American tire industry in the year 1987.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_AG) The Continental AG follows a clear cut corporate strategy in their company. They clarified that their strategy is to develop products and services according to the trends of the automotive industry. The company wants to maintain a leading position in the area where they are operating. The companys strategy is to embed entrepreneurial action in all levels of their organization. One of the most important strategies which they are following is to generate 40% of their sale outside the automotive industry. This will reduce the total dependency in the automotive industry and the immediate fluctuation and trends in the automobile will not affect the company badly.(http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Continental-AG-Company-History.html) There are some important components for the strategy of this company. They are giving the prime importance to safety due to the law requirements and demand by the drivers. So the company is focusing on developing and manufacturing components and systems which ensure the safety of the customer. The safety division of the company is aimed at increasing the road security and adopted this as one of the important strategy of the company. Another strategy is to reduce the number of the fatal accidents by providing driving assistance systems, electronic braking systems etc. Another strategy of the company is the environment friendly operations which is relevant and important in this century. The environmentally friendly technologies which the company is following are aimed at reducing the fuel consumption and thereby reducing carbon dioxide emission which will subsequently reduce global warming. This is also because of the strict standards and regulation followed in the industrialized countries like US, France, EU, and Japan. They are providing consumers which helps in reducing fuel consumption. Another important strategy is that the company is enabling the exchange of information between the drivers and the external environment. This will help in reducing traffic and to increase safety during driving. The information is exchanged in a concise manner. This facility is aimed at providing the necessary information to the passengers and drivers during driving. The companys strategy is to remain among the top three in the area where they are operating. They are also aiming at maintaining a balance between the sales between the automotive and other sectors. 67% of the total sale is from the automotive industry and the rest from outside industries such as replacement market. Their strategy is t increase the share of the outside sector to about 40%. Another strategy which they are planning for the future growth is the mutual cooperation with Schaffler group. The mutual cooperation between the two companies is aimed at forming a new company with a wide range of diverse products and thereafter to acquire a leading role in the automotive industry. MODEL FOR STRATEGY Porters Value Chain Porters Value Chain is invented by porter. It is a chain which is showing the relations between inputs and outputs in an organization. The idea of the Porters Value Chain is based and clarified on the process view of the organization. Cost, labor, input output, major systems in the organization, subsystems in the organization, transformations equipments,, building, administration and management of the organization. The way we carry out the value chain determines the cost and profit of the organization. Most of the companys particularly large companies engage in thousands of activities in transforming inputs to outputs. Out of these some are primary activities and the rest are support activities. According to porter in 1985 the primary activities are listed below. Primary activities 1. Inbound logistics: It involves relation with the suppliers who provide with the necessary inputs for the organizational 2. Operations: It includes all the activities involved in the transformation of inputs to outputs. 3. Output Logistics: It includes all the activities required for the storage and distribution of products or outputs. 4. Marketing and Sales: It helps to improve the sale of the products and the various steps taken to improve the sale of the products. 5. Service: These are the steps taken the company to keep the product or service working effectively after the product is sold.(Porter, Michael E., Competitive Advantage. 1985, Ch. 1, pp 11-15. The Free Press. New York.) Secondary activities: 1. Procurement: It involves the acquisition of the inputs and other resources for the firm 2. Human Resource Management: It includes all the activities which is aimed at the proper utilization of the human resources available for the organization 3. Technological development: It includes the development of the technological aspects which is required for the transformation f inputs to outputs. 4. Infrastructure: It includes the various departments which is required for the smooth functioning of the organization. The infrastructure include departments such as finance, planning, public relations, legal affairs, general management etc.(http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/paradigm/valuch.html) Technical innovation is one of the methods achieved by company to bring down the total cost of the company. To facilitate the globalization of the tire products the company developed a technique known as modular manufacturing process which means manufacturing of the parts in low cost areas and assembling these parts in the main factory after shipping them to the sites. As a result of these reforms the company achieved 67% increase in the income in the year 1997. So we can conclude that the company was successful in applying the Poters value chain in their company which advocates the principle of cost reduction and increase in the profit through the proper management and control of the various processes in the organization. Corporate leadership in Continental AG The company is focusing on corporate spirit. The leadership and entrepreneurship of the company aims at achieving this. They are conscious to maintain a culture of high performance in their company. The leaderships emphasis on high performance inspires each and every employee at various levels of the company worldwide. They are following then practice of striving for the best in their business practices. The leadership plays the most important role in this. The make the employees aware about the ambitious aim of the company and insist the employees to hope and work for the best. The leadership in the Continental AG plays a key role in encouraging team work and cooperation in the company. The spirit of cooperation controls and drives all the levels and divisions in the cooperation. This will in turn helps to maintain good relationship with top level management, employees at the various levels and the representatives of the company. The leadership in the cooperation encourages both external and internal cooperation in the corporation. They took some revolutionary steps to encourage cooperation and team work in their company that is they abolished bureaucracy and hierarchy in the company. They promote and follows a culture of delegation and rewards entrepreneurship.(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smj.4250150703/abstract) . MARKETTING STRATEGY OF CONTINENTAL AG The marketing strategy of the company is innovative and stands different in the content and method. Continental AG continues marketing strategy for light truck and passenger tires. The Continental AG was the official tire partner for the 2010 FIFA world cup held in South Africa. They have the option to extend their sponsorship to 2014 football world cup in Brazil MARKET TRENDS Market trends can be defined as the tendency of the market to move in a particular direction over a period of time. Market trends can be considered as the driving forces in a particular market or industry. The Global financial crisis created scars on the Growth of the Continental AG. But the situation has changed. Now the market trends are favoring the growth of the industry as there is increase in the sale of automobiles increased worldwide and is showing signs of growth in the coming future. The trends in the rubber industry do not affect the company much because the major income of the company is coming from the automotive sector. MARKET RESEARCH OF CONTINENTAL AG The market research done by the Continental AG identified India as a promising market for future. The company wishes to launch products in the country which focuses on safety, information, and environment and at an affordable rate. The importance of the automotive industry in the Global arena is increasing day by day. With this aim the company participated in the Auto Expo 2010. By market research the company means a thorough analysis of the organizational factors, the business segments of the company and the competitors in the market. By carrying out the market research the company can identify the trends prevailing in the particular market and the scope for the development in the particular market. A thorough market research is a necessity for the expansion of the business in to particular area. MANAGEMENT OF CONTINENTAL AG The success of the Continental AG in the highly competitive industry is attributed to the efficient management of the company. Visionary leadership and innovative ideas of the management team also contribute to the success and growth of the company. The project team of the company is constituted with experts in the respective fields and constituted separately for the interior and tire division of the company. The company management is conscious of implementing quality systems in the organization and carry out continuous monitoring of the overall activities of the organization. The management of the organization is giving prior importance to the proper and complete utilization of the human resources of the organization. BUISINESS LOCATIONS AND DESTINATIONS OF CONTINENTAL AG The company considers India as a key market in the future. The country is emerging as one of the key Asian market for the company. The development of the automobile industry in the country makes the country a promising market for the Continental AG. The Company is planning to expand its operation in the country in the next few years. The company is planning to start new tire manufacturing unit with the aim of acquiring prominent place in the worlds second largest automotive industry. Despite of the market saturation in the automobile industry in certain parts of the world such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan, The worldwide production of cars is increasing at a drastic rate. It was predicted that the sale of the cars will be 74 million by 2013. Countries like India, China, Russia and Brazil are predicted as the emerging markets for the automotive industry. There share in the car production will increased firm 14% to 20% by 2013.( http://www.autospectator.com/cars/topics/continental-automotive) Budget allocation of a company is very essential for the proper management of the organization. OPERATIONS OF CONTINENTAL AG The company mainly operates in Europe. The headquarters of the company is in Hannover in Germany. The company holds employee strength of almost 140000. The company suffered a severe fall in its revenue and income due to the economic crisis of 2008. The company suffered a loss of 17% in the year 2009 when compared to 2008. The net loss of the company in the year 2009 is $2300 million which is less compared to the loss in2008 which is almost $1653 million. CONTINENTAL AG Continental AG is the leading tire and tube producer in Germany and ranks fourth in the world market. It acquired prominence in the international market through a series of major acquisitions in the Europe and in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. It started acquisitions in the year 1979. The company faced severe economic crisis in the 1990s.Yet the company management faced the challenges with courage. The most important and large acquisition is made by the company in the year 2001 when it bought TEMIC auto electronic systems from Daimler Chrysler. The Company has its origin in the year 1871 as a rubber good manufacturing company. The Company was established in Hanover in Germany and still this place is continuing as the centre of the companys business operations. The Continental AG was promoted by a group of financiers and industrialists having interests in the rubber industry. The initial capital of the company was 900000 MARKS. The companies initial products include water proof fabrics, footwears, and tires but soon they expanded their business to sundry consumer items such as balls toys, medial products and industrial rubber goods.( http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/24/Continental-AG.html) The increasing demand of the automobiles in the 1890 and 1990 favored the growth of the industry. The prominence and efficiency of the German engineers created additional market for the company. SWOT ANALYSIS OF CONTINENTAL AG SWOT Analysis of the Continental AG is very important. Because it is an important source for the getting the top level management data and information regarding the top level organization of the company. In SWOT analysis there is a thorough analysis involving the key business areas of the company, the history of the company, and the product and operational strategy of the company and analysis of the financial lines of the company. The SWOT Analysis of the company analyses the various products of the company such as tire and tube, braking systems, electronic systems for the vehicle and identified the markets and share of the products. The SWOT Analysis carried out a significant research in the fiscal matters of the company and Analyzed the loss and reduction in the total revenue of the company which the suffered in the years 2008 and 2009. The SWOT Analysis identified that this is p[primarily due to the financial crisis which the world economy and market faced during these years. The SWOT Analysis of the company provides the necessary information to plan future business strategy of the company and to face the competition in the market. The SWOT Analysis of the company helps in the easy understanding and study of the various internal and external factors affecting the company. The studies are supported and evidenced by the various elements used in the SWOT Analysis such as key executives, business strategies, and structure of the company. SWOT Analysis of the company helps in increasing the sales of products because of the increased knowledge of the customers interests. The SWOT Analysis helps to maintain quality through out the operations of the company. This analysis helps to gain a better understanding of the competitors business, strategy and prospects. The analysis keeps a record of the performance of the company during the previous years. COMPETITORS OF CONTINENTAL AG Continental AG is ranked as the one of the giants in the suppliers of automotive parts and is facing severe competition fro the industry. The important ant competitors for Continental AG in the industry are Good year, Michelin etc. Both the companies hold major shares in the industry and providing quality service to the consumers and got a widely accepted brand image. Yet the Continental AG has been successful in maintaining the key position in the industry and got the scope and strategy for future growth and development in the industry. CUSTOMER SEGMENTS The Continental AG introduced innovative Tire Finder technology for commercial vehicles. This technology provides the consumers with clear recommendations for truck tires. This technology is highly beneficial to the consumers. The importance3 is that the technology is available online and the service can be used and ailed easily. This technology recommends the right tire for the users after collecting the necessary information from the consumers. The Consumer segment, the transport category and the type of assignment are decisive here. They technology efficiently categories the various transport categories and suggest the tire size and vehicle for the consumer by analyzing the various factors. They are the only company which provides this technology and recommendation regarding the use of the most appropriate vehicle parts after considering the various influential factors. PRICE STRATEGY OF CONTINENTAL AG The companys strategy is to achieve profitable growth through the marketing of the innovative and quality products and my maintaining competitive price. Continuous profitable growth is the main motto of the company. The Company knew that the lowest possible cost is essential to maintain its ability to compete in the market. The cost awareness is so important for the company because the automotive manufactures expect price reduction at the rate of 3 to 5% every year as the suppliers of the auto motive parts. This demand not only affects the technological aspect of the company but also the procurement of essential raw materials and components for the industry. The overall coordination of then activities of the company is relevant in determining the pricing strategy of the company. MARKET DEVELOPMENT The company is conscious about converting the positive developments in the automotive industry to increase their sale. The globalization of the automotive industry and emerging industry like Brazil, China, and India provide them with the scope of achieving future growth in the industry. The company is looking for new markets in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. The automobile manufactures are setting up new factories in these countries and this demands the supply of vehicle parts. So the company has to set up new production units in this countries and this requires huge capital investment which is driving the consolidation process in the industry. This is beneficial for a large vehicle parts supplier like Continental AG. ADVERTISING OF CONTINENTAL AG They are focusing on soccer as a strategic platform for advertising their premium tire brand. They are following different and diverse methods for advertising. TYRE TV spots are one of the most important methods of advertising of the company. Print campaigns are also successfully applied by the company as an advertising tool. Internet advertising is an innovative method adopted by the company for advertising their products. Boarding thee stadium during soccer games and other games is also adopted by the company as tool of advertisement. Special advertising formats are also used by the company to improve the sale and brand image of the company OBJECTIVES AND PLANS OF CONTINENTAL AG The Continental AG Corporation has got clear cut objectives and plans to achieve further growth and development in the future and to remain competitive in the industry. The global automotive industry is showing signs of growth and this favors the growth of the Continental AG which is the global leader in thee supply of automotive parts. Te Company is looking forwarding in the emerging markets of China, India, Brazil and Russia. The company started tire manufacturing unit in China as a part of their strategy to expand their trade to the global level. The company aims at providing quality and innovative services to the consumers such as tire finder technology. The companys objectives is not only limited to selling of the products and making profit but also aimed at providing security, comfort and safety to the consumers. The company also plans to implement excellent engineering technology in the organization to improve the quality of the products and to expand their business to the glo bal scenario. RESOURCE ALLOCATION OF CONTINENTAL AG One of the important problems faced by the Continental G is the fluctuating price of the raw materials and other resources of the company. The rubber division of the company will be adversely affected by the rising prices of oil and natural rubber. The automotive sector of the company will be affected by the rising prices of the steel and other ele3ctronic components. The source for the natural rubber for the company is Malaysia and India. BUDJET ALLOCATION OF CONTINENTAL AG As per the records of the economic times the company has plan s to invest$216 million in China to build a tire manufacturing unit there. The companys strategy is to boost the sales in the worlds second largest auto market. This is a good example for the intelligent budget allocation of the company with a future perspective to boost the sales. The company is planning to start a production plant in Hefei, in Anuhi province by the beginning of the 2010. The company is planning to manufacture 4 million tires annually from this plant. The company is planning to implement an increase in the pay for 25000 employees in the German metal and electrical industry by feb2011.( http://www.just-auto.com/companies/continental-ag_id174) START UP BUDJET OF THE COMPANY The company was started in the year 1871 with an investment of 200000 marks in Hanover in Germany. The company was greatly supported by the industrialists and other investors interested in the rubber and allied industries. So the company got favorable conditions for the initial growth of the company. CHART SHOWING THE SALE OF CONTINENTAL AG Snapshot of CONTINENTAL AG (CON) OPEN â‚ ¬57.41 PREVIOUS CLOSE â‚ ¬57.35 DAY HIGH â‚ ¬57.98 DAY LOW â‚ ¬56.64 52 WEEK HIGH 12/7/10 â‚ ¬68.53 52 WEEK LOW 02/25/10 â‚ ¬31.86 MARKET CAP 11.5B AVERAGE VOLUME 10 D 574.9K EPS TTM â‚ ¬0.93 SHARES  OUTSTANDING 200.0M EX-DATE 04/29/10 P/E TTM 61.6x DIVIDEND DIVIDEND YIELD K  =  Thousands  Ã‚  M  =  Millions  Ã‚  B  =  Billions Current Stock Chart Performance for CONTINENTAL AG (CON) CON:GR Historical Stock Quote CON:GR Advanced Stock Chart (http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=CON:GR FORECASTING THE FUTURE GROWTH OF CONTINENTAL AG Continental

Frederick Douglass Influence on the Anti-Slavery Movement Essay

Frederick Douglass' Influence on the Anti-Slavery Movement Frederick Douglass was one of the most influential men of the anti-slavery movement. He stood up for what he believed in, fought hard to get where he got and never let someone tell him he could not do something. Frederick Douglass made a change in this country that will always be remembered. Born Frederick Baily, Frederick Douglass was a slave, his birthday is not pin pointed but known to be in February of 1818. He was born on Holmes Hill Farm, near the town of Easton, Maryland. Harriet Baily was Frederick's mother. She worked the cornfields surrounding Holmes Hill. As a boy, he knew little of his father except that the man was white. As a child, he had heard rumors that the master, Aaron Anthony was his father. Frederick's mother was required to work long hours in the fields, so he lived with his grandmother, Betsey Baily. Betsy Baily lived in a cabin a short distance from Holmes Hill Farm. Her job was to look after Harriet's children until they were old enough to work. "Frederick's mother visited him when she could, but he had only a hazy memory of her." He did not think he was a slave during the years with his grandmother. When Frederick was six he was put to work on the Lloyd Plantation. This was the last he saw of his grandmother as he realized that he was now a slave. He learned that the master, Aaron Anthony, would beat his slaves if they did not obey order. Luckily for Frederick he was picked to be Daniel Lloyd's friend, the youngest son of the plantation's owner. Frederick also found a friend in Lucretia Auld, the master's daughter. One day in 1826 Lucretia told Frederick that he was being sent to live with her brother-in-law, Hugh Auld, who managed a ship building company in Baltimore. When Frederick got to the Auld home his only duties were to run errands and care for the Auld's infant son, Tommy. Frederick liked the work and grew to love the child. Sophia Auld was the master's wife, she often read the bible to her son and Frederick. She started to teach Frederick to read and write but soon after the master learned of this and forbid it. Frederick only learned the abhalbit and some words. So he learned the rest by himself. Soon Frederick bought a local paper and learned about abolitionist. This changed his views on many things but was soon sent back to work on a plan... ...ass was given the ceremonial position of marshal for Washington, DC. He enjoyed this post that had a large staff responsible for the overseeing the criminal justice system in Washington D.C. As he got older Douglass settled down doing fewer speeches each year and concentrated on being Marshall. This was until he was appointed to the post of recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C., after the election of 1880. He held the job for 5 years over seeing the department that made records of property sales for the capital. This job left him time to write. He was with his wife until she died in August of 1882. He married again in 1884 to Helen Pitts who was 20 years younger than him. They remained together for 9 years, that was until his sudden death of a heart attack on February 20, 1895. He was 77. Frederick Douglass was laid to rest in Rochester, New York. All of the black public schools closed for the day that he died. Frederick Douglass was a man that touched the hearts of millions and spoke out when no one else would. He fought for the freedom of the black man and stride for the basic human rights they deserved. Frederick Douglass was truly a great man who cried out for freedom.

Eu – Russia Relations

Slide 3-4 The European Union and Russia have a strong trade relationship. Bilateral trade and investments continue to grow rapidly. Since 1997 the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement has been the framework of the EU-Russia relations, regulating the political and economic  relations between the EU and Russia. One of the main objectives of this agreement is the promotion of trade and investment as well as the development of harmonious economic relations between the EU and Russia. EU imports from Russia are, however, to a very large extent not subject to any restrictions.The recent WTO accession of Russia will prevent Russia from adopting unilateral tariff hikes as has been the case in the past. The new EU-Russia Agreement – currently under negotiation – should provide a comprehensive framework for bilateral relations with stable, predictable and balanced rules for bilateral trade and investment relations. It will focus on improving the regulatory environment by buildi ng upon the WTO rules and strengthen bilateral trade relations. The EU was a strong supporter of Russia's WTO membership since the start of the process to the actual accession on 22 August 2012.Russia's WTO membership will gives a major boost to further development of the economic relationship between the EU and Russia. Slide 5 Russia is the third trading partner of the EU and the EU the first trading partner of Russia. Trade between the two economies showed steep growth rates until mid-2008 when the trend was interrupted by the economic crisis and unilateral measures adopted by Russia that affected EU-Russia trade. Since 2010 mutual trade has resumed its growth reaching record levels in 2011. EU exports to Russia are dominated by cars, medicines, car parts, telephones and parts and tractors.EU imports from Russia are dominated by raw materials, in particular, oil (crude and refined) and gas. For these products, as well as for other important raw materials, Russia has committed to f reeze or reduce its export duties. The EU is the most important investor in the Russia. It is estimated that up to 75% of Foreign Direct Investment stocks in Russia come from EU Member States. Slide 6 Directions: 1) Energy sector 2) Human resources 3) FDI 4) Technologies Slide 7-8 Russia and the EU still disagree primarily over the issues surrounding the energy sector.Russia is the most important supplier to the EU not only in gas and oil, but also of coal and uranium. Its oil and gas exports account for around two thirds of overall export earnings and revenues from this sector, and this contributes to over forty percent of the federal budget income. On the other hand, the EU is a major buyer of energy products what makes the EU over-dependent on Russian oil and gas, which undermines the EU’s political confidence. This anxiety is a result of Russia’s efforts to use this insecurity not only for economic objectives, but also for political purposes what give a rise to con cern about future supply.The energy partnership within the  EU-Russia Energy Dialogue   aims at improving the investment opportunities in the energy sector to ensure continued energy production, to secure and expand transportation infrastructure as well as to reduce the environmental impact. Other important objectives are to encourage the opening up of energy markets, to facilitate the market penetration of more environmentally friendly technologies and energy resources, and to promote energy efficiency and energy savings on the way to a low-carbon economy.Slide 9 A well-educated but cheap labour force – could provide Europe with an important boost to its competitiveness as a complex global economy emerges. Russia offers access to a skilled and well-educated human resource pool, letting companies recruit where they work. Russia has one of the most highly skilled workforces in the world, backed by an educational system with a solid global reputation and producing professio nals who take up leading positions in areas such as natural and pplied sciences, programming, R&D, engineering, etc. (7th  in the world with 75 million workers, 99. 4% literacy rate, 41 Russian Nobel laureates) The government has begun implementing a program aimed at finding tomorrow’s leaders and providing priority support to them. Slide 10-11-12 Why? 2. One of the Largest  Consumer Markets 3. World-Renowned Human Capital Vast Natural Resources Unique Geographic Position Technologically Advanced Economy Attractive Taxation System Extensive Government Support Stable Social and Political SystemRussia has a relatively small share of the EU’s total external FDI, at 4%,but this is actually significantly more than China’s. Despite that, the EU is by far the largest investor in the Russian economy. On the other hand, it seems that a significant part of the FI inflows, and also of the recent increase, may be Russian capital repatriated from abroad. Services have re ceived between 50% and 60% of the total FI. Among the other sectors, natural resources and manufacturing attract roughly comparable amounts of FI (and close to their weights in Russia's GDP).But†¦ †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the share of the energy sector is larger in FDI (i. e. , without Portfolio and â€Å"Other Investments†). The share of the energy sector in the FDI inflows in the period 1Q-3Q 2007 seems to have been nearly 2/3 of the total. †¢EU MS seem to be among the largest investors in virtually allthe sectors of the Russian economy. In other terms, Russia performance is not as bad as one might expect, which is not to say that there are not areas for improvement. There are, and one such one is the legal framework .European Union accounts for 4/5  of  the accumulated direct investment in  Russia, and the amount of  capital investment in  absolute terms has grown significantly over the past few years European busi-ness community rated Russia third, while neither Asian nor North American investors included it  even in  the top dozen     According to  the calculations done by  the Institute of  World Economy and International Relations, the burgeoning Russian trans-national companies, despite their global inter-ests, have nevertheless concentrated 2/5  of  their long-term foreign assets in  the EU     According to  the new long-term forecast of  the Institute of  World Economy and International Relations, the share of  the  EU-27  in  the world’s  GDP (calculated by  the par index of  the purchasing power of  currencies) will go  down from 21%  in  2005  to 16%  in  2020  . This means that Russia’s  more forward-looking markets will be  not its traditional European partners but China and other large developing countries. Slide 14 Strong Russian scientific knowledge provides excellent opportunities for R;D partnerships with Russian research institutes and universitie s.While Russia possesses some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, some of them have become harder to recover. This is a great opportunity to introduce innovative technologies to develop new gas and oilfields. Additionally, critical technological areas are eligible for government co-financing on a competitive basis to facilitate research and development of innovative capabilities and leading technologies in: * Aerospace * Aviation * Shipbuilding * Automotive * Machinery * Metallurgy * Construction * Chemistry and pharmaceuticals * Nuclear physics * And many more. Interesting fact: Russia leads the world in the number of annual spacecraft launches.

Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain Business 186 The ancient right, for the government to take property from an individual with out consent for a common good is called Eminent Domain. Some examples of a common good are, to build a dam, an airport, a hospital or a highway. The U. S. constitution understands that right; as long as â€Å"just compensation† is paid they are permitted to take the privet property for public use. However, New London took land from one privet party and gave the property to another privet party. By doing so the city promises to attract new growth, which in return will help invigorate the community and bring in more tax revenue.The area they want to build all these new structures is where the Undersea Warfare Center of the Navy was. When the Navy moved it took 1,400 jobs with it. The unemployment rate of the city only got worse. This has been a rough neighborhood for quite some time. Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company built a $350 million research center, which created 1,400 job opportunities. Since then the government has created parks and opened up the river fort access to the public. Furthermore, the city wants to build new homes for professionals, office buildings and a hotel.They want space to build these luxurious homes for the professional employees of Pfizer. The houses that sit above the Thames River in front of Fort Trumbull is the area they want to use to build all these new structures. Though many people have left their houses, there are still a few that remain in their homes in this area. The city is offering a fair price for their homes but the residents do not want the money, they just want to keep their homes that they worked very hard to get. The Supreme Court upheld the city’s condemnation right; the homeowners had to forcefully sell their homes.It ruled that required purchase to foster economic development falls under public use and is constitutionally permissible. By making this decision the Supreme Court drives the argument o ver eminent domain back to the states and local communities. Eminent domain has been used correctly to rebuild decayed urban areas or start economic growth; conflict now is rising with political and legal battles, there are many states that are taking advantage of it. In 2009 Pfizer closed its New London location and transferred its 1,400 employees to a campus the company owns in Groton, Connecticut.I enjoyed this article because it opened my eyes to what people are experiencing around the country with Eminent Domain. I don’t think New London treated their residents fairly by authorizing these structures built over their homes. Towns such as New London and others are not pursuing their decisions wisely as to their beneficial and progressive social policies. I think that they are socially harming and being biased against ordinary working people and small business owners. I do not think that eminent domain is a morally legitimate right of the government.I do not think that the government should have the right to take away your property. It takes someone about thirty years to pay off a home and finally be able to call it their property and not the banks. I think that after thirty years of slaving away making payments and paying interest rates, the government should not be able to just come in and take your property, it is not morally correct. Now on the other hand, if the property is abandoned then yes, the government should be able to obtain it for public use. I do not think its right for the government to forcefully vacate someone from his or her home to use it publicly.