Monday, September 30, 2019

Branding in Fmcg

Branding strategies in FMCG Chandranshu Charan 09ESHYD011 Branding strategies in FMCG Contents 2 Acknowledgement †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Objective- †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Methodology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Structural Analysis of FMCG Industry †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Distinguishing features of Indian FMCG Business †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 1. Design and Manufacturing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 2. Marketing and Distribution†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 3. Competition †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Application of functional knowledge †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 Santoor: For a Younger Skin †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Taj Mahal Tea†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Fair & Lovely: Chand ka Tukda †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Center Shock: Hilake Rakh De †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 Brand Positioning strategies for competitive advantage †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Interim findings and observation of the report †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 Brand Equity †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 Brand loyalty †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 Awareness of the brand †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 Perceived quality †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 A set of associations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 Other proprietary brand assets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 Appraising brand assets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 Ingredients for Strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Financial †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 Innovation from the inside out – R&D in the FMCG industry †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 Hul Strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 Interview with an Industry expert †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Limitation of Branding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 Reference †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 18 Branding strategies in FMCG 3 Acknowledgement I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this project. I express my deepest thanks to my Guide Dr. G Radha Krishna for guiding and correcting documents of mine with attention and care. He was always there to show me the right track when I needed his help. With the help of his valuable suggestions, guidance and encouragement, I am able to perform this project work. I would also like to thank my colleagues, who often helped and gave me support at critical junctures during the making to this project. Branding strategies in FMCG 4 A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by a customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless. Stephen King WPP Group, London Developing a brand strategy can be one of the most difficult steps in the marketing plan process. It's often the element that causes most businesses the biggest challenge, but it's a vital step in creating the company identity. Company‘s brand identity will be repeatedly communicated, in multiple ways with frequency and consistency throughout the life of a business. In Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), also known as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Consumers generally put less thought into its purchase than any other products. Here top of mind recall playing a vital role while taking purchase decision. Effective branding strategy is indispensable tool in FMCG sector. Though FMCG is the oldest market, it has gone through a complete transformation. The FMCG market becomes the first indicator of a lifestyle of a society or of a nation. Products which have a quick turnover, and relatively low cost are known as Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). FMCG products are those that get replaced within a year. Examples of FMCG generally include a wide range of frequently purchased consumer products such as toiletries, soap, cosmetics, tooth cleaning products, shaving products and detergents, as well as other non-durables such as glassware, bulbs, batteries, paper products, and plastic goods. FMCG may also include pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, packaged food products, soft drinks, tissue paper, and chocolate bars. The shorter product life cycles and increasingly competitive environment have become a global trend in FMCG sector. On an average, FMCG Company introduces 70 to 80 new products per year. Profit in FMCG goods generally scales with the number of goods sold rather than the profit made per item. The classification generally includes a wide range of frequently purchased consumer products category including: toiletries, soaps, cosmetics, tooth paste, oils, Tea, shaving products, detergents, and other non-durables such as glassware, bulbs, batteries, paper products and plastic goods. In order to sustain a fast pace of new product introduction, it is important to have potential new ideas ready for development. Brand loyalty has become irrelevant where many homogenous products are flooded in the market. Informed customers are making rational purchasing decisions. This makes niche a conditional option for FMCG companies. Moreover all the major players like HLL, P & G, Marico, Colgate-Palmolive and Britannia have tried to create a niche market within the mass market to grow profitably. Many FMCG companies time to time formulating marketing and branding strategy to gain brand equity. An effective Integrated Marketing Communication strategy helps in to achieve the required goal. Creating a strong brand identity, leveraging new product categories and growing the customer base are core concerns for consumer product companies. Firms are looking to maximize profits and market share in a highly competitive environment that includes such challenges and risks as demanding customers, consolidation and global expansion. Branding strategies in FMCG Objective- 5 ? To study branding strategies for consumer goods used by companies to attract consumers. ? To study different positioning strategies that may influence an individual‘s Behavior choices. ? To know the limitations of branding. Methodology Literature review. ? Evaluating Branding Strategies and Practices of different product category. ? Interaction with Industry Experts. Structural Analysis of FMCG Industry Typically, a consumer buys FMCG goods at least once a month. The sector covers a wide gamut of products such as detergents, toilet soaps, toothpaste, shampoos, creams, powders, food products, confectione ries, beverages, and cigarettes. Typical characteristics of FMCG products are: ? The products often cater to 3 very distinct but usually wanted for aspects – necessity, comfort, luxury. They meet the demands of the entire cross section of population. Price and income elasticity of demand varies across products and consumers. ? Individual items are of small value (small SKU's) although all FMCG products put together account for a significant part of the consumer's budget. ? The consumer spends little time on the purchase decision. He seldom ever looks at the technical specifications. Brand loyalties or recommendations of reliable retailer/ dealer drive purchase decisions. ? Limited inventory of these products (many of which are perishable) are kept by consumer and prefers to purchase them frequently, as and when required. Brand switching is often induced by heavy advertisement, recommendation of the retailer or word of mouth. Distinguishing features of Indian FMCG Business FMCG companies sell their products directly to consumers. Major features that distinguish this sector from the others include the following: – Branding strategies in FMCG 1. Design and Manufacturing 6 1. Low Capital Intensity – Most product categor ies in FMCG require relatively minor investment in plan and machinery and other fixed assets. Also, the business has low working capital intensity as bulk of sales from manufacturing take place on a cash basis. . Technology – Basic technology for manufacturing is easily available. Also, technology for most products has been fairly stable. Modifications and improvements rarely change the basic process. 3. Third-party Manufacturing – Manufacturing of products by third party vendors is quite common. Benefits associated with third party manufacturing include (1) flexibility in production and inventory planning; (2) flexibility in controlling labor costs; and (3) logistics sometimes it‘s essential to get certain products manufactured near the market. 2. Marketing and Distribution Marketing function is sacrosanct in case of FMCG companies. Major features of the marketing function include the following: 1. High Initial Launch Cost – New products require a large front-ended investment in product development, market research, test marketing and launch. Creating awareness and develop franchise for a new brand requires enormous initial expenditure on launch advertisements, free samples and product promotions. Launch costs are as high as 50-100% of revenue in the first year. For established brands, advertisement expenditure varies from 5 – 12% depending on the categories. 2. Limited Mass Media Options – The challenge associated with the launch and/or brandbuilding initiatives is that few no mass media options. TV reaches 67% of urban consumers and 35% of rural consumers. Alternatives like wall paintings, theatres, video vehicles, special packaging and consumer promotions become an expensive but required activity associated with a successful FMCG. 3. Huge Distribution Network – India is home to six million retail outlets, including 2 million in 5,160 towns and four million in 627,000 villages. Super markets virtually do not exist in India. This makes logistics particularly for new players extremely difficult. It also makes new product launches difficult since retailers are reluctant to allocate resources and time to slow moving products. Critical factors for success are the ability to build, develop, and maintain a robust distribution network. 3. Competition 1. Significant Presence of Unorganized Sector – Factors that enable small, unorganized players with local presence to flourish include the following: 2. Basic technology for most products is fairly simple and easily available. 3. The small-scale sector in India enjoys exemption/ lower rates of excise duty, sales tax etc. This makes them more price competitive vis-a-vis the organized sector. 4. A highly scattered market and poor transport infrastructure limits the ability of MNCs and national players to reach out to remote rural areas and small towns. Branding strategies in FMCG 7 5. Low brand awareness enables local players to market their spurious look-alike brands. 6. Lower overheads due to limited geography, family management, focused product lines and minimal expenditure on marketing. A general assessment of this would lead to the conclusion that FMCG is not a Structurally Attractive Industry to Enter. Entry barriers are high due the nightmare logistics associated with distributing a FMCG and the limited mass media options available to build a brand. Likewise, the intensity of competition from branded and unbranded goods and the power of retailers make the FMCG a structurally unattractive industry in which to enter and difficult industry in which to remain a competitive player. Application of functional knowledge Soap Category Santoor: For a Younger Skin Brand: Santoor Company: Wipro Agency: FCB Ulka Santoor is south India‘s no1 soap brand. As per sales data it contributed close to Rs 850 crore in 2008-09 to the company‘s coffers and became the leading brand in South India in its category. The brand which focuses on rural India has been growing at 29% for the past three years, on a year-onyear basis. The brand was launched in 1985 as an ordinary soap with sandalwood and turmeric as its main ingredients. The brand was initially test marketed in Bangalore and encouraged by the positive response, the brand became national a year after. The brand was positioned as the beauty + skin care at a reasonable price and the brand derived strength from the efficacy of the ingredients. At that time the brands which had sandal as the main ingredient was Moti and Mysore Sandal Soap. The brand derived the name from combining Sandal + Turmeric and it is not from the musical instrument that it got the name Santoor. Although the brand became popular, the company was not satisfied with the results. The customers were not buying the ingredient story. The research suggested that customers are not correlating the brand with skin care and beauty. Branding strategies in FMCG 8 Thus started the brainstorming on getting the ? WOW † factor to build the brand. The wow factor came in the form of the new positioning ? For Younger Looking Skin†. The positioning comes from the consumer insight that ultimately the customers look for a younger skin which is another smart way of defining beauty. The focus on ? Younger Skin† also acts as a powerful differentiator because other brands were focusing on â€Å"beautiful skin† or â€Å"looking beautiful†. The next big idea came in the form of communicating the ? Younger Skin? concept using â€Å"Mistaken Identity? theme (source: MG Parameswaran's Book). The brand has consistently developed this theme over these two decades of its existence. Santoor is a brand has consistently understood the consumers and was not complacent to change. The brand was the first one to use a Mother and her five year old daughter to endorse the brand. Most of the ads showed spinsters in their campaigns while for Santoor, the protagonist were Mothers. But showing Mother as the protagonist had its share of issues also. The customers felt that since this brand is meant for adults, it will not be soft on skin. This made the company to change the size texture and the shape of the product. Indian women's mindsets were evolving and breaking free from the traditional mindset. The Mother-daughter equation and the campaigns set in the supermarkets, wedding and bangle shop did not do well with the achievement oriented customers. That was a message to the marketers that the product communication has to change. The achiever protagonist was introduced in 2004. The campaign showed the mother as a successful fashion designer with the same positioning and theme. The brand also extended itself to a range of beauty products and to talc. Now Santoor have face wash, talc, soap and fairness cream. Year 2006 saw a big change in the marketing strategy for Santoor. They move into celebrity endorsement. The campaigns showed Saif Ali Khan (in North) and Madhavan (south) in the TVCs. The TVC's shows these celebrities along with the Mother and child in the theme. Using a celebrity without a change in the overall positioning will have a positive impact to the brand. The use of celebrity will make the ad sticky thus making the campaign more effective. The brand is facing tough competition from heavy weights and is now seeking support from outside to stay as a leading FMCG brand. Branding strategies in FMCG Tea Category 9 Taj Mahal Tea Brand:Taj Mahal Tea Company: HLL Taj Mahal tea has changed its Brand Face (brand ambassador). Recent TVCs show Saif Ali Khan endorsing the brand. Taj Mahal has been using the Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain as its brand ambassador from 1990's. Since Ustad Zakir was endorsing only this brand, the recall was high. Over the period of time, the brand ambassador became synonymous for the brand. Ustad and Taj Mahal were touted as the classic example of a successful celebrity endorsement. The collaboration with the brand and the ambassador went that far that Ustad once challenged in a TVC in 2001 that he will stop playing tabla if he come across a better tea. That TVC created lot of controversy. The new brand ambassador is Saif. The new face may be an attempt to make the brand more contemporary. Ustad and his fans are getting older. Hence there is a chance that the new generation may miss out on the charm of Ustad (generation gap). So the attempt may be to make the brand relevant to the new generation. In theory we site examples where the users of the brand getting older and the brand not able to connect with new generation. HLL does not want this to happen with a power brand like Taj Mahal. Cosmetic Category Fair & Lovely: Chand ka Tukda Brand: Fair & Lovely Company: HLL Agency: Lowe Fair & Lovely (FAL) is the brand that revolutionized the Indian Skin care industry. This brand is World's first and largest Fairness cream brand with a presence in 40 countries and a value of around Rs. 6 billion. Indian skin care market was dominated by conventional beauty care products like Bezan, Multani Mitti etc. FAL changed all that. Launched in 1975, FAL is the product born in the Unilever research center. In 1988 the brand went international. FAL commands a market share of over 70% in the Rs 1000 crore fairness market in India. FAL virtually created and owned this category for long. In the fairness market, FAL enjoyed monopoly till Cavin Kare entered this lucrative segment with Fairever. The success of Fairever prompted many players like Godrej to tap the market. Branding strategies in FMCG 10 FAL sustained the pressure from the competitor by careful branding and new product launches. The brand never failed to emulate and learn from the competitor . When Fairever launched the ayurvedic variant, FAL launched a much better variant. Competition is coming from Ozone Ayurvedics with their brand ? No Marks‘ tries to carve a niche. HLL countered with FAL Antimarks and launched a controversial comparative ad that took the steam out of ? No Marks‘. When Fairever launched the soap, FAL also responded with soap. FAL never allowed the competitors to gain an upper hand in the market which it created. FAL achieved such tremendous success because of careful branding and ad campaigns. Initially HLL do some ugly talking about fairness. Some of the ads were controversial because of gender inequality and stuff like that. It was necessary at that period because the category was new and the brand should first talk about the need to be fairer. Now the brand has laddered up to more aspirational values like â€Å"Transformation of Women† The insight is that the transformation will be more than skin deep. The ads showing a girl achieving the ambition of being a cricket commentator (a male bastion) were very much effective in connecting with the target group. HLL has also extended the brand to more aspirational values by launching Fair& Lovely foundation that works for Women Empowerment achievement and Transformation which are the qualities for which FAL stands for. FAL have also launched a premium sub brand Perfect Radiance to tap the premium segment of the market. Fair & Lovely was able to dominate the fairness market because of careful marketing and is a showcase of the marketing genius of HLL. Confectionary Category Center Shock: Hilake Rakh De Brand: Center Shock Company: Perfetti Vanmelle Agency: O & M Center Shock is an interesting brands or rather it is a disruptive brand in the sense that the brand just makes all marketing theories look funny. Conventional marketing wisdom says that the product should deliver a promise and satisfy a need. Here is a confectionery brand that tasted sour making itself a market leader in less than 6 months time. Center Shock was launched in 2001 and at that time, the chewing gum market was at cross Branding strategies in FMCG 11 roads. The market lifecycle was at the decline stage. Although the market was worth Rs 300 crore, it was declining at a faster rate at 25-30%. Perfetti then decided to break the category degrowth and make this category more exciting to the customers. This peculiar gum gave a distinct fruit filled acidic taste to the customer which really gave the customer a shock. The brand was an extension of the highly popular Center Fresh known for its Fruit Gel Center. Center Shock came in two flavors: Peach and Apple. Center Shock broke into picture through two clutter breaking ads crafted by O. The first ad of the barber created a huge impact in the market. The ads won lot of accolades for O. According to reports, the brand became market leader within no time with a share of over 35% beating Center Fresh from the same company. The first TVC was followed by the second one featuring a dude visiting his girlfriend's home to meet the parents. According to brand experts the creative brief for Center Shock was simple -break the clutter and make it funny and distinct and really shocking and the ads just did that. The brand adopted one of the funniest and best taglines ? Hilake Rakh De? which translates to ? Will shake you UP†. The brand was positioned as a fun brand and customers liked the change. The brand had virtually shaken the market. During those days most of the chewing gum brands were sold on sales promotions and seldom marketers invested any thing more on ads. Center Shock brought back the trust on advertising in the category players. To sustain a brand like Center Shock for longer period of time is a difficult proposition. Although this brand had a very short PLC, the brand showed the power of advertising. A good advertising can make people eat a sour candy and be happy about it. Brand Positioning strategies for competitive advantage In present scenario the consumer mind is cluttered with numerous brand names for various categories. So companies‘ strategy is to create a perception for their brand in the prospect‘s mind so that it stands apart from competing brands and approximates much more closely to what the consumer wants. One of the major contributions of positioning theory t marketing strategy is to bring out the concept of ? distance‘ and dissimilarity between brands in the ? perceptual space‘ of the prospect and to uncover the many opportunities for such perceived differentiation based upon the capabilities of the product and its antecedents. These differentiation strategies revolve around different aspects of the brand which can be expressed as four questions- Branding strategies in FMCG 12 1. Who am I? This question deals with the origins of the brand, its parentage. The brand can be position with reference to its corporate identity or as an extension of a well established brand. 2. What am I? This question relates to the capabilities of the brand and can be further broken up: (a) Category-Related Positioning (b) Benefit-Related Positioning (c) Positioning by Usage Occasion (d) Price-Quality Positioning 3. For whom am I? This is the strategy of positioning a brand for a carefully chosen target segment where it is the best fit and has competitive advantage. Any functionally similar products can be differentiated through positioning by different segments. Such positioning can be by demographic, behavioral, benefit seeking and psychographic segments. 4. Why me? All the above strategies should enable to create a distinct and persuasive perception of a brand. Aggressive marketing companies try to add to their brand a clinching advantage through some unique feature. Positioning by competitor, that is through compassion with the main competitors, is another way to demonstrate a brand‘s superiority and answer the question ? why me? ‘ Interim findings and observation of the report One such intangible asset is the equity represented by a brand name. For many businesses the brand name and what it represents is its most important asset-the basis of competitive advantage and of future earnings streams. The first step in identifying the value of brand equity is to understand what it is-what really contributes to the value of a brand. Subsequently look at several methods of placing a value upon a brand which will provide additional insight regarding the brand concept. And finally some issues facing those who create or manage brands will be introduced. Brand Equity It is a set of brand assets and liabilities linked to a brand, its name and symbol that add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm or to that firm customers. If the brand‘s name or symbol should change, some or all of the assets or liabilities could be affected and lost, although some might be shifted to a new name and symbol. The assets and liabilities on which brand equity is based will differ from context to context. However, they can be usefully grouped into five categories: Branding strategies in FMCG 13 Perceived Quality Name Awareness Brand Association Brand Loyalty BRAND EQUITY Name Symbol Other Proprietary Brand Assets Provide value to customer by enhancing customers: Interpretation/Processing of information Confidence in the purchase decision Use Satisfaction Provide Value to firm by enhancing: Efficiency and effectiveness of marketing programs Brand loyalty Price/margins Brand extensions Trade leverage Competitive advantage Fig-Brand Equity (Source-D. A. Aaker) Brand loyalty-for any business it is expensive to gain new customer and relatively inexpensive to keep existing ones, especially when the existing customers are satisfied with or even like the brand. The loyalty of the customer base reduces the vulnerability to competitive action. Competitors may be discouraged from spending resources to attract satisfied customer. Further higher loyalty means grater trade leverage, since customer expect the brand to be always available. Branding strategies in FMCG 14 Awareness of the brand- people will always buy a familiar brand because they are comfortable with the familiar. A recognized brand will thus often be selected over an unknown brand. The awareness factor is particularly important in context in which the brand must first enter the consideration set-it must be one of the brands that are evaluated. Perceived quality-it will directly influence purchase decision and brand loyalty, especially when a buyer is not motivated or able to conduct a detailed analysis. It can also support a premium price which in turn can create gross margin that can be reinvested in brand equity. Further perceived quality cab be the basis for a brand extension. If a brand is well-regarded in one context, the assumption will be that it will have high quality in a related context. A set of associations- the underlying value of a brand name often is based upon specific associations linked to it. Association such as Ronald McDonald can create a positive attitude or feeling that can become linked to a brand such as McDonald‘s. If a brand is well positioned upon a key attribute in the product class competitors will find it hard to attack. Other proprietary brand assets- brand assets will be most valuable if they inhibit or prevent competitors from eroding a customer base and loyalty. These assets can be several forms. E. g. a trademark will protect brand equity from competitors who might want to confuse customers by using a similar name, symbol and package. Appraising brand assets Brand loyalty-what are the brand loyalty levels by segment? Are customers satisfied? What do exit interviews suggest? What are customer feedback regarding their problems with buying or using the brand? Awareness- what brand awareness level exists as compared to that of competitors? What could be done to improve brand awareness? Perceived quality- what drives perceived quality? What is important to the customer? What signals quality? Are prices and margins are eroding? Brand associations- what mental image, if any, does the brand stimulate? Is there a slogan or symbol that is a differentiating asset? How are the brand and its competitors positioned? What does the brand mean? What are its strongest associations? Other brand assets-is there a patent or trademark that is important? Are there channel relationships that provide barriers to competitors? Branding strategies in FMCG Ingredients for Strategy 15 Creating a strong brand identity, leveraging new product categories and growing the customer base are core concerns for consumer product companies. Firms are looking to maximize profits and market share in a highly competitive environment that includes such challenges and risks as demanding customers, consolidation and global expansion. The components of strategy would be- Financial Adi Godrej, Chairman Godrej Group stated, ? We are aiming to triple our turnover by 2012 by focusing on our fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business — Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), Godrej Sara Lee and Godrej Hersheys. At present the consumer goods turnover is Rs 2,300 crore and the group aims to reach revenues of Rs 8,000 crore for this business in the next four years. We will also look at inorganic growth as a medium to grow.? In the process, the group would be investing Rs 100 crore per year on brand communications. So for any successful branding strategy Finance played a vital role. The brand salience requires advertisement in different media vehicle. Innovation from the inside out – R&D in the FMCG industry R&D plays a key role in helping FMCG manufacturers meet constantly changing consumer needs whilst driving down costs. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is highly competitive and driven by consumer preference. Research and development (R&D) and innovation, therefore, play a key role in helping manufacturers meet constantly changing consumer needs, whilst driving down costs. Hul Strategy We shall now take up one company, HUL (Hindustan Unilever Ltd) formerly HLL and see how the complex task of brand management is actually handled. This company is taken for this article as HUL is considered as one of the most successful in Brand Management . HLL has a large brand portfolio consisting of nearly 110 bands. In every product line, it has built a number of brands over a period of time. Quite a few brands have come to its fold from the parent company. It has also acquired several ongoing brands from the market. HLL also vigorously pursues brand extension strategy. And concurrently, HLL undertakes line pruning and brand restructuring and consolidation, based on marketing compulsions. HLL is also playing the rejuvenation and relaunch game. With great benefit the corporate-level endeavors at business expansion and diversification are also throwing new challenges on the brand strategy front. HLL lends itself for a proper understanding of the complexity of the brand management task. We shall examine how HLL handles the complex demands in brand management. Such an array of brands is the outcome of a conscious corporate strategy by HLL. As a corporate, HLL wants to be a leader in every one of its businesses and the strategy is to fight on the strength of the competitive advantage arising from the possession of strong brands. It is this strategy that is Branding strategies in FMCG 16 getting reflected in the development of a multitude of strong brands. If we take the business of bathing soaps, as an example, HLL has the objective of being a national player (not a niche or a regional marketer) and the leader therein. HLL also wants about 30 per cent of the corporate income to come from this line. So, HLL opted for the strategy of developing quite a few strong brands in this line, and among them they cover different market segments and price points. Dove, Lux, Liril, Rexona, Pears and Lifebuoy are the outcome of such a well planned brand strategy implemented over time. Interview with an Industry expert In order to gain industry insight regarding the FMCG best practices in branding strategy I got an opportunity to have a telephonic interview with Perfetti Van Melle (India) Ltd. Brand manager based in Delhi. (Due to some reason he does want to disclose his name. ) Q. What is your branding Strategy? A. We are currently managing 15 brands and for each brand we adopt differential branding strategy. But everything depends upon the distribution channel. So our strategies always focus to strengthen the distribution network. Q. What strategies you adopt to launch a new communication plan? A. It starts with Idea generation then financial investment. Under financial

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The World in a Train by Francisco B. Icasiano

One Sunday I entrained for Baliwag, a town in Bulacan which can well afford to hold two fiestas a year without a qualm.I took the train partly because I am prejudiced in favor of the government-owned railroad, partly because I am allowed comparative comfort in a coach, and finally because trains sometimes leave and arrive according to schedule.In the coach I found a little world, a section of the abstraction called humanity whom we are supposed to love and live for. I had previously arranged to divide the idle hour or so between cultivating my neglected Christianity and smoothing out the rough edges of my nature with the aid of grateful sights without – the rolling wheels, the flying huts and trees and light-green palay seedlings and carabaos along the way.Inertia, I suppose, and the sort of reality we moderns know make falling in love with my immediate neighbors often a matter of severe strain and effort to me.Let me give a sketchy picture of the little world whose company Ma ng Kiko shared in moments which soon passed away affecting most of us.First, there came to my notice three husky individuals who dusted their seats furiously with their handkerchiefs without regard to hygiene or the brotherhood of men. It gave me no little annoyance that on such a quiet morning the unpleasant aspects in other people's ways should claim my attention.Then there was a harmless-looking middle-aged man in green camisa de chino with rolled sleeves who must have entered asleep. When I noticed him he was already snugly entrenched in a corner seat, with his slippered feet comfortably planted on the opposite seat, all the while his head danced and  dangled with the motion of the train. I could not, for the love of me, imagine how he would look if he were awake.A child of six in the next seat must have shared with me in speculating about the dreams of this sleeping man in green. Was he dreaming of the Second World War or the price of eggs? Had he any worries about the perman ent dominion status or the final outcome of the struggles of the masses, or was it merely the arrangement of the scales on a fighting roaster's legs that brought that frown on his face?But the party that most engaged my attention was a family of eight composed of a short but efficient father, four very young children, mother, grandmother, and another woman who must have been the efficient father's sister. They distributed themselves on four benches – you know the kind of seats facing each other so that half the passengers travel backward. The more I looked at the short but young and efficient father the shorter his parts looked to me. His movements were fast and short, too. He removed his coat, folded it carefully and slung it on the back of his seat. Then he pulled out his wallet from the hip pocket and counted his money while his wife and the rest of his group watched the ritual without a word.Then the short, young, and efficient father stood up and pulled out two banana le af bundles from a bamboo basket and spread out both bundles on one bench and log luncheon was ready at ten o'clock. With the efficient father leading the charge, the children (except the baby in his grandmother's arms) began to dig away with little encouragement and aid from the elders. In a short while the skirmish was over, the enemy – shrimps, omelet, rice and tomato sauce – were routed out, save for a few shrimps and some rice left for the grandmother to handle in her own style later.Then came the water-fetching ritual. The father, with a glass in hand, led the march to the train faucet, followed by three children whose faces still showed the marks of a hard-fought-battle. In passing between me and a person, then engaged in a casual conversation with me, the short but efficient father made a courteous gesture which is still good to see in  these democratic days; he bent from the hips and, dropping both hands, made an opening in the air between my collocutor and m e – a gesture which in unspoiled places means â€Å"Excuse Me.†In one of the stations where the train stopped, a bent old woman in black boarded the train. As it moved away, the old woman went about the coach, begging holding every prospective Samaritan by the arm, and stretching forth her gnarled hand in the familiar fashion so distasteful to me at that time. There is something in begging which destroys some fiber in most men. â€Å"Every time you drop a penny into a beggar's palm you help degrade a man and make it more difficult for him to rise with dignity. . .†There was something in his beggar's eye which seemed to demand. â€Å"Now do your duty.† And I did. Willy-nilly I dropped a coin and thereby filled my life with repulsion. Is this Christianity? â€Å"Blessed are the poor . . .† But with what speed did that bent old woman cross the platform into the next coach!While thus engaged in unwholesome thought, I felt myself jerked as the train mad e a curve to the right. The toddler of the family of eight lost his balance and caught the short but efficient father off-guard. In an instant all his efficiency was employed in collecting the shrieking toddler from under his seat. The child had, in no time, developed two elongated bumps on the head, upon which was applied a moist piece of cloth. There were no reproaches, no words spoken. The discipline in the family was remarkable, or was it because they considered the head as a minor anatomical appendage and was therefore nor worth the fuss?Occasionally, when the child's crying rose above the din of the locomotive and the clinkety-clank of the wheels on the rails, the father would jog about a bit without blushing, look at the bumps on his child's head, shake his own, and move his lips saying, â€Å"Tsk, Tsk.† And nothing more.Fairly tired of assuming the minor responsibilities of my neighbors in this little world in motion, I looked into the distant horizon where the blue C ordilleras merged into the blue of the sky. There I rested my thoughts  upon the billowing silver and grey of the clouds, lightly remarking upon their being a trial to us, although they may not know it. We each would mind our own business and suffer in silence for the littlest mistakes of others; laughing at their ways if we happened to be in a position to suspend our emotion and view the whole scene as a god would; or, we could weep for other men if we are the mood to shed copious tears over the whole tragic aspect of a world thrown out of joint.It is strange how human sympathy operates. We assume an attitude of complete indifference to utter strangers whom we have seen but not met. We claim that they are the hardest to fall in love with in the normal exercise of Christian charity. Then a little child falls from a seat, or a beggar stretches forth a gnarled hand, or three husky men dust their seats; and we are, despite our pretensions, affected. Why not? If even a sleeping man wh o does nothing touches our life!

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Nuclear warfare

Introduction.John Hersey’s article entitled Hiroshima was an account of six residents in the city of the same name who survived the bombing on August 6, 1945. The six survivors consisted of a physician, a personnel clerk, three small children and their mother, a young surgeon, a pastor and a missionary priest.Compared to other accounts of the Hiroshima bombing, Hersey’s account dryly described the experiences of the survivors, beginning from the time they woke up until the time the bomb went off. While it made considerable noise within and without the publishing world, Hersey’s account was not intentionally written as a call to action, nor did it eventually give rise to a mass action. Rather, it was intended to be a mere impassive report of the impact made by the bomb on the lives of many.Ethical Theories.There are many reasons for the opinion that nuclear warfare is not morally justified, the most familiar and popular of which is the opinion that nuclear warfare involves an intention to use nuclear weapons, where such use would be immoral (McMahan, 1985).  Moral philosophy has several positions on the issue of nuclear warfare. One such position falls within the deontological position (McMahan, 1985). This position consists of three claims, the first of which is that the use of nuclear weapons is not morally justified (McMahan, 1985).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This first argument is rationalized by the theory that use of nuclear weapons would lead to a violation of at least one criterion of the traditional â€Å"just war† theory (McMahan, 1985).The just war theory refers to justice in war or moral support for war (Moseley, 2006). This theory has two aspects, namely, the theoretical and historical traditions (Moseley, 2006). The former discusses the justifications and reasons for engaging in war; while the latter focuses attention on the body of rules and agreements entered into by international bodies that are supposed to be applied in t imes of war (Moseley, 2006).The just war theory has two criteria, namely, the criterion of proportionality and the criterion of discrimination (McMahan, 1985). The first one mandates that â€Å"the level of force employed must be proportional to the good it is intended to achieve (McMahan, 1985).† On the other hand, the latter criterion provides that â€Å"force should be used in a way which respects the distinction between combatants and noncombatants (McMahan, 1985).Applying the two criteria, one can arrive at an opinion as to whether the dropping of the bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima was justified. The first criterion demands that an act be justified by the good consequences achieved by the act be able to outweigh the negative consequences it may have caused (McMahan, 1985). Moreover, there must be a direct proportion between the degree of force used and the positive consequences produced (McMahan, 1985).Considering that both bomb attacks had caused the loss of numer ous lives, mostly those of innocent citizens, there is no way that they could have been justified by any positive consequences. Whichever motivation led to the decision to set off the attacks, it could never be enough to justify the killing of countless innocent lives. The brutality of the acts involved in both bombings negate any argument that there is a direct proportion between the act committed or the degree of force used and the consequences it produced.The second criterion cannot also be used to justify the bombings, since it forbids the killing of noncombatants in war (McMahan, 1985). A distinction should be made between people who are combatants and not (McMahan, 1985). However, based on numerous accounts on the effects of the bombings, including that written by Hersey, it is apparent that many people who were noncombatants died during the attacks. This is a clear violation of the second criterion of the just war theory (McMahan, 1985).Again applying the deontological tradit ion, any future use of nuclear weapons in war cannot be justified. The use of that kind of weapons is a deliberate choice made by those who lead the war. They know that such use necessarily involves the killing of man innocent people.As argued by one study, deaths occurring in nuclear attacks are neither incidental nor unintentional results of lawful military action (McMahan, 1985). Rather, such deaths are deliberate aims made by those who chose to act using nuclear weapons (McMahan, 1985).Thus, the same argument would negate any justification that would be put forward by a country that intends to retaliate using nuclear weapons. Retaliation can be exercised in various forms and it is recognized under international law to be valid means of protecting a country’s interests and sovereignty. Nevertheless, even through a good reason exists for retaliation, doing the same through nuclear weapon still cannot be justified because of the consequences involved in such action, which wo uld cost thousands, if not millions, of lives. Indeed, nuclear warfare is no room for the ancient adage â€Å"an eye for an eye.† Other means of retaliation, like demanding reparation or using economic measures, should instead be used rather than resorting to nuclear warfare.Conclusion.Nuclear warfare cannot be justified under any circumstance. The deliberate use of nuclear weapons is equivalent to deliberate killing of numerous innocent people. Such an act cannot be considered proportionate to the aim involved; nor would such act discriminate between people who engaged in war or not. These consequences obviously violate criteria of the just war theory, which negates any morality in the acts.ReferencesHersey, J. (1946). Hiroshima. The New Yorker.McMahan, J. (1985). Deterrence and Deontology. Ethics 95(3) Special Issue: Symposium on Ethics and Nuclear Deterrence, 517-536. Moseley, A. (2006). Just War Theory. Retrieved October 31, 2007, fromhttp://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/ Nuclear warfare Introduction.John Hersey’s article entitled Hiroshima was an account of six residents in the city of the same name who survived the bombing on August 6, 1945. The six survivors consisted of a physician, a personnel clerk, three small children and their mother, a young surgeon, a pastor and a missionary priest.Compared to other accounts of the Hiroshima bombing, Hersey’s account dryly described the experiences of the survivors, beginning from the time they woke up until the time the bomb went off. While it made considerable noise within and without the publishing world, Hersey’s account was not intentionally written as a call to action, nor did it eventually give rise to a mass action. Rather, it was intended to be a mere impassive report of the impact made by the bomb on the lives of many.Ethical Theories.There are many reasons for the opinion that nuclear warfare is not morally justified, the most familiar and popular of which is the opinion that nuclear warfare involves an intention to use nuclear weapons, where such use would be immoral (McMahan, 1985).Moral philosophy has several positions on the issue of nuclear warfare. One such position falls within the deontological position (McMahan, 1985). This position consists of three claims, the first of which is that the use of nuclear weapons is not morally justified (McMahan, 1985). This first argument is rationalized by the theory that use of nuclear weapons would lead to a violation of at least one criterion of the traditional â€Å"just war† theory (McMahan, 1985).The just war theory refers to justice in war or moral support for war (Moseley, 2006). This theory has two aspects, namely, the theoretical and historical traditions (Moseley, 2006). The former discusses the justifications and reasons for engaging in war; while the latter focuses attention on the body of rules and agreements entered into by international bodies that are supposed to be applied in times of war (Moseley, 20 06).The just war theory has two criteria, namely, the criterion of proportionality and the criterion of discrimination (McMahan, 1985). The first one mandates that â€Å"the level of force employed must be proportional to the good it is intended to achieve (McMahan, 1985).† On the other hand, the latter criterion provides that â€Å"force should be used in a way which respects the distinction between combatants and noncombatants (McMahan, 1985).Applying the two criteria, one can arrive at an opinion as to whether the dropping of the bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima was justified. The first criterion demands that an act be justified by the good consequences achieved by the act be able to outweigh the negative consequences it may have caused (McMahan, 1985). Moreover, there must be a direct proportion between the degree of force used and the positive consequences produced (McMahan, 1985).Considering that both bomb attacks had caused the loss of numerous lives, mostly those of innocent citizens, there is no way that they could have been justified by any positive consequences. Whichever motivation led to the decision to set off the attacks, it could never be enough to justify the killing of countless innocent lives. The brutality of the acts involved in both bombings negate any argument that there is a direct proportion between the act committed or the degree of force used and the consequences it produced.The second criterion cannot also be used to justify the bombings, since it forbids the killing of noncombatants in war (McMahan, 1985). A distinction should be made between people who are combatants and not (McMahan, 1985). However, based on numerous accounts on the effects of the bombings, including that written by Hersey, it is apparent that many people who were noncombatants died during the attacks. This is a clear violation of the second criterion of the just war theory (McMahan, 1985).Again applying the deontological tradition, any future use of n uclear weapons in war cannot be justified. The use of that kind of weapons is a deliberate choice made by those who lead the war. They know that such use necessarily involves the killing of man innocent people.As argued by one study, deaths occurring in nuclear attacks are neither incidental nor unintentional results of lawful military action (McMahan, 1985). Rather, such deaths are deliberate aims made by those who chose to act using nuclear weapons (McMahan, 1985).Thus, the same argument would negate any justification that would be put forward by a country that intends to retaliate using nuclear weapons. Retaliation can be exercised in various forms and it is recognized under international law to be valid means of protecting a country’s interests and sovereignty. Nevertheless, even through a good reason exists for retaliation, doing the same through nuclear weapon still cannot be justified because of the consequences involved in such action, which would cost thousands, if n ot millions, of lives. Indeed, nuclear warfare is no room for the ancient adage â€Å"an eye for an eye.† Other means of retaliation, like demanding reparation or using economic measures, should instead be used rather than resorting to nuclear warfare.Conclusion.Nuclear warfare cannot be justified under any circumstance. The deliberate use of nuclear weapons is equivalent to deliberate killing of numerous innocent people. Such an act cannot be considered proportionate to the aim involved; nor would such act discriminate between people who engaged in war or not. These consequences obviously violate criteria of the just war theory, which negates any morality in the acts.ReferencesHersey, J. (1946). Hiroshima. The New Yorker.McMahan, J. (1985). Deterrence and Deontology. Ethics 95(3) Special Issue: Symposium on Ethics and Nuclear Deterrence, 517-536.Moseley, A. (2006).Just War Theory. Retrieved October 31, 2007, fromhttp://www.iep.utm.edu/j/justwar.htm

Friday, September 27, 2019

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - Term Paper Example With time, the original group split into other factions though all had a common goal: create a separate Tamil state. However, the constitution published in 1972 created a fertile ground for attacks as the Tamil factions saw it as being largely anti-Tamil. This spurred the Tamils into action, and thus joined in the fight. In 1983, countrywide clashes with the Sinhalese that left thousands of Tamils dead saw the rise of the LTTE and the fight against the Sri Lankan government began (Swamy and Narayan 8; McConnell 61).Structure. As noted hereinabove, the LTTE had quite an elaborate command structure with almost all parts of a full government. They had a well organized leadership that was structured along two tiers: the military and the political wings. There was a governing committee whose role was to oversee the running of both wings that was headed by Prabhakaran. This is the body mandated with controlling and directing several of the group’s subdivisions such as the airborne g roup, the navy and the elite fighting wing. They also had a suicide commando unit and an intelligence unit aimed at gathering intelligence (Swamy and Narayan 12). They even had an international secretariat within the governing committee that was in charge of all global networks and communications. There was a truce in 2006 from the government after an onslaught carried out by government military, and this gave them a leeway to increase their strength by recruiting more than 11,000 guerrillas to increase the cadre.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

'Discuss the biology of Alzheimer's disease' Essay

'Discuss the biology of Alzheimer's disease' - Essay Example The clinical features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are, loss of short-term memory, deficient in praxis (ability to perform skilled movements) and the skill of reasoning and judgment (Doraiswamy PM, 1997). These symptoms arise from involvement of the temporal lobe, hippocampus, and the parietal association cortices, with lesser involvement of frontal lobes, until the disease is in its later stage. A second most prominent neuropathological feature which is also present in AD is the complex, fibrilar deposits in the cortex of the brain; this is known as senile and amyloid plaques. Amyloidal plaques have been the subject of AD research in recent times. These plaques contain a number of proteins, including apolipoprotein E, and 1-anti-chymotrypsin (Carlos Morgana, 2004). The principal component amyloidal plaques are amyloidal-beta peptide that is derived from a beta-amyloidal precursor protein. The presence of another distinct characteristic, that is also present in other dementias like Le wy Body Variant of AD and Fronto-temporal dementia, is the incidence of neurofibrillary tangles. These tangles are intraneural inclusions that are composed of hyperphosphorylated forms of a microtubule associated protein known as tau (Peter H. St George-Hyslop, 2004). In other words neurofibrillary tangles are the pathological neuron aggregates present in the neurons of the patiets suffering from AD. In the last several years, due to the increasing incidence of AD, researchers have been focussing on the main causes of this disease in the general population. Much research has been carried out, and it generally confirms that the overall life time risk of AD in a first degree relative of someone with AD is about 38%, by the age of 85 years. Three main reasons seem to reflect a complex mode of transmission (1) single autosomal gene defects, (2) multi-gene traits, (3) a mode of transfer in which both genetic and environmenal factors connect. The research also suggested that only a smal part of human poulation reflected, the transmission as a pure autosomal dominant mendelian trait. Recent genetic studies have identified four genes associated with inherited risk for AD (presenilin 1, presenilin 2, amyloid precursor protein, and apolipoprotein E) (Peter H. St George-Hyslop, 2004). The first gene to be identified as a precursor for AD is the amyloid precursor protein (APP). This gene is responsible for encoding an alternatively spliced transcript which, in its longest isoform encodes a singe transmembrane that spans a polypeptide of 770 amino acids (J. Kang, 325). This protein undergoes a series of endoproteolytic cleavages. This is mediated by a membrane-associated alpha-secretase that cleaves this protein in the middle of the A peptide domain, and liberates the extracellular N-terminus APP. The other cleavage pathway involves sequential cleavages by the - and -secretases, thus generating a 40-42 amino acid A peptide. The second protein responsible is Apolipoprotein E. This protein in humans contains 3 common polymorphisms. Analysis of these polymorphisms in AD unaffected persons has shown that there is an increased frequency of the delta 4 allele in people with AD. The third gene responsible for AD is Presnilin 1 (R. Sherrington, 1995). Presenilin 2 is the fourth gene that was identified during the cloning of Presenilin 1 on chromosome 14. This gene encoded a po lypeptide whose open reading frame

How to Control and Prevent Delinquency Research Paper

How to Control and Prevent Delinquency - Research Paper Example The increasing number of youth offenders does not stem from a single cause nor a single set of causes. Sociologists agree that social disorganization is one of the most important factors that influence the rate of juvenile delinquency. Thus, in slum areas, where families come from different regions of the country or speak different dialects, where people are constantly on the move, and where diverse cultural standards flourish side by side with little interaction and community solidarity, delinquency is most often found. Some researchers suggest that more often delinquents have parents characterized by drunkenness or criminality, ineffective household management, economic difficulties, and low self-respect. Delinquency often indicates that their families are not concerned about their welfare. Most delinquent children do not experience a real home life. They are left to themselves the whole day with any companion they choose to have. Marriage may be temporarily or permanently broken. Temporarily broken homes refer to the separation of husband and wife caused by war, migration, hospitalization, imprisonment, or employment conditions. Permanently broken homes refer to separation caused by desertion, divorce or legal separation, life imprisonment, or death. Behavioral as well as social scientists express the view that broken homes can create far-reaching problems such as juvenile delinquency, unwed mothers, poverty, etc. Many of the juvenile delinquents here and abroad were found to come from broken homes. But it does not follow that broken homes will surely cause young children and adolescents to go wayward and develop into delinquents. Many separated parents have produced offsprings that climbed into fame. Clear knowledge of the causes of the emergence of youth offenders can naturally lead to a better understanding of how to control and prevent delinquency.  Ã‚  

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Simulation in Nursing Training Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Simulation in Nursing Training - Article Example Simulation also enabled the students to learn and practice procedural skills and develop crisis management skills; it also infuses teamwork spirit among students (Joint Commission Resources, 2008). Simulation based education in nursing became popular because as students the nurses did not get the required clinical educational experience that would prepare them for handling emergencies and other hospital situations (Gaberson & Oermann, 2010). Simulation plays an important role in the training of nurses as it enhances the quality of education by meeting the training needs better. Most institutes have adopted full scale simulation training. Simulation has proved to be a useful learning tool as it supports the theoretical and conceptual background of the nursing education (Campbell & Daley, 2008). In healthcare where the safety of the patients and accuracy of care is given utmost importance, simulation and simulators provide a less threatening environment for practice (Sanford, 2010). Si mulation based teaching in nursing prepares the students for independent practice through technical skill development and advanced clinical learning. It also prepares the nurses for high risk situations such as traumas which may occur infrequently (Gaberson & Oermann, 2010). An interactive and participative environment can be created with simulation and the learners can overcome their weaknesses with the instant feedback provided by most simulators. Although numerous skills can be learnt through simulation, it is an exceptional teaching strategy for critical care nursing. In case of critically ill patients, nurses are required to collect, examine and respond accordingly to the data collected and all these skills can be acquired through simulation. The... This paper approves that both low and high fidelity mannequins are highly useful in developing clinical skills as student nurses collect information such as the history, drugs, allergies, laboratory values and other data about the simulated patient helpful in clinical decision making. The student nurses also learn to access electronic data as well as access the information systems present on the computer. In short these kinds of simulators develop technical and clinical skills in student nurses regarding where to find the patient’s data and how to use it. This report makes a conclusion that the advantages of low fidelity mannequins are restricted to the development of gross psychomotor skills but high fidelity mannequins can be used in the learning of community health, critical care, pediatrics and nurse anesthesia. It enhances critical thinking skills and improves clinical judgment. The use of low and high fidelity mannequins has increased in nurse education and has resulted in a decrease in time. The expense for residency programs and orientation has also decreased. A safer environment for both patients and nurses is also possible because of the high fidelity mannequins. Competency in testing skills is also achieved with high fidelity mannequins. High Fidelity mannequins are those that interact dynamically with the users. These mannequins are computer operated and are manufactured with advanced features such as palpable pulses, chest wall that replicates respiration, breath and bowel sounds and programmable heart.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

International Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

International Finance - Essay Example In this age of globalisation, many companies conduct businesses in countries other than their own. With opportunities in new markets come various types of risks—business risks, macro environmental risks, as well as foreign exchange risks (Pattichis et al. 2004). When a company conducts a business outside the country where it is based, the company is said to be exposed to some foreign exchange risks, where the fluctuations in the differences between the home countrys currency and the host countrys currency may result in adverse impacts in the companys income from international operations, as well as its balance sheet. In this age of globalisation, many companies conduct businesses in countries other than their own. With opportunities in new markets come various types of risks—business risks, macro environmental risks, as well as foreign exchange risks (Pattichis et al. 2004). When a company conducts a business outside the country where it is based, the company is said to be exposed to some foreign exchange risks, where the fluctuations in the differences between the home countrys currency and the host countrys currency may result in adverse impacts in the companys income from international operations, as well as its balance sheet. Companies need to protect themselves from these risks; a drastic change in the exchange rate between the home countrys currency and that of the host country can result in significant gains or losses (Nazarboland 2003). Aside from this, those which are otherwise very profitable international ventures of the company, due to fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate, may seem to be a losing business. For companies that have significant foreign direct investments across the globe, in order to assess more accurately the performance of their international subsidiaries, managing the foreign exchange risk is very important (Collier et al. 1990). Also, these differences will have a

Monday, September 23, 2019

Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it Research Paper

Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it - Research Paper Example A research conducted by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) revealed that alcohol related deaths among college students has been on the rise in the United States (Reinberg). This implies that underage drinking is seriously affecting the country mainly because of premature deaths. Alcohol has its health problems but heavy drinkers have a higher probability of engaging in other risky behaviors such as drank driving and engaging in unprotected sex among others (Hanson). All new undertakings are exciting and this is the reason why college students are faced with challenging environments as they start living away from home. It is worth noting that college students have very many challenges because most of them are living away from home for the first time. College students suddenly realize that they have become their own masters because their parents’ vigilance is no longer there. After they realize that they are independent, most of them are tempted to test t he things, which they have never done. Moreover, the pressures associated with college education drives many students into engaging in alcohol and other drug abuse (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). 2.0 Alcohol Abuse among College Students According to Reinberg, it has been established that in excess of thirty percent of Americans have had problems with alcohol at a certain stage of their lives. 17.8% have abused alcohol while 12.5% are alcohol dependent. Alcohol abuse leads to daily living problems, financial problems and interpersonal problems that are caused by excessive drinking. It has been established that majority of the people start to drink when they are very young. Although the government has put in place measures to control underage drinking it has been very hard to implement it because of technological advances, which enable underage people to buy alcohol via the internet. Those who sell alcoholic beverages via the internet should come up with ways of establishing the ag es of their customers (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). Studies have established that higher education drinkers are heavy drinkers and they are supposed to be responsible. Despite the measures that the government has taken to reduce college drinking, studies have established that annually, more than one thousand and four hundred college students die from alcohol related events, which are mainly associated with road accidents. Researchers have established that around two million students in college drive under alcohol’s influence occasionally and in addition, about three million of them ride with colleagues who are under the influence. This is the leading cause of deaths among young people in the United States because they do not care about what happens when they are drank (Monahan et al 290). 2.1 The Role of Parents in the Care of Their Children Parents have a leading role to play when it comes to reducing binge drinking among their children. This can be attributed to the fa ct that parents are the best people who are in a position to understand their children’s behaviors. Heavy episodic drinking is a problem that is common across the world. Although it varies from one place another, it is important to acknowledge that it

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Owning a car when one turns 16 Essay Example for Free

Owning a car when one turns 16 Essay There are many advantages and disadvantages to owning a vehicle. A life style change can occur or an empty wallet or purse I can almost expect someone will have when they first start driving a vehicle of their own. This impact in ones life can not only change their life style and their money situation but also there grades, sports, social life, and most of all their physical health. These advantages and disadvantages can be for the better but most of all the worst. In my opinion, owning a vehicle at a young age develops a good source of financial planning, responsibility, and awareness of what can happen to them if they become an uncontrolled driver. Next, with the purchase of a car there can be a life style change and also a huge financial decrease. If one owns a car, especially a teenager, they become cocky and act like a hot shot because they have a vehicle. With this problem a teen may start to develop a new driving style. They will drive with only one arm and will constantly change the CD player to different compact discs and radio station. With having them do this they will increase the chances of not paying attention to the rode and will cause an accident. So, a driver needs to keep their eyes on the rode to not only protect to their own life but the lives of others. Then, the new driver has already developed the bad habits of driving and this will lead them into a having bad grades, missing practices for sports, and lose a social life. The bad grades can come from driving too much, but if one drives, they will need a job. A job is where a loss in a social life comes together. If they are working to drive, they will not have enough time to spend with their friends. Now that they are trying to find time out of work to drive, hang out with friends, and play sports. Sports are after school each day. I dont expect a driver to play sports all week and only work two days and still have enough money to pay for their vehicle. Finally, the most difficult sacrifice to give up is their physical health being tampered with. By working all the time and constantly trying to join sports and hang out with friends this will affect their health. Where is their time to sleep? One will be doing it all but; they do need time to sleep. All of these advantages and disadvantages will change their entire  life style. I believe owning a vehicle will do that but in some cases a change is a good thing so there is always something to look out for. Change can be good but the time will keep ticking away. So, do what makes one happy and make it how you want it.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Transaction Oriented Middleware

The Transaction Oriented Middleware Middleware is a class of software technologies designed to help manage the complexity and heterogeneity inherent in distributed systems. It is defined as a layer of software above the operating system but below the application program that provides a common programming abstraction across a distributed system. In doing so, it provides a higher-level building block for programmers than Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) such as sockets that are provided by the operating system. This significantly reduces the burden on application programmers by relieving them of this kind of tedious and error-prone programming. Middleware frameworks are designed to mask some of the kinds of heterogeneity that programmers of distributed systems must deal with. They always mask heterogeneity of networks and hardware. Most middleware frameworks also mask heterogeneity of operating systems or programming languages, or both. A few such as CORBA also mask heterogeneity among vendor implementations of the same middleware standard. Finally, programming abstractions offered by middleware can provide transparency with respect to distribution in one or more of the following dimensions: location, concurrency, replication, failures, and mobility. The classical definition of an operating system is the software that makes the hardware useable. Similarly, middleware can be considered to be the software that makes a distributed system programmable. Just as a bare computer without an operating system could be programmed with great difficulty, programming a distributed system is in general much more difficult without middleware, especially when heterogeneous operation is required. Likewise, it is possible to program an application with an assembler language or even machine code, but most programmers find it far more productive to use high-level languages for this purpose, and the resulting code is of course also portable. Usage of Middleware There are various different kinds of middleware that have been developed. These vary in terms of the programming abstractions they provide and the kinds of heterogeneity they provide beyond network and hardware. Generally, middleware services provide a more functional set of application programming interfaces to allow an application to:- Locate transparently across the network, thus providing interaction with another service or application Filter data to make them friendly usable or public via anonymization process for privacy protection (for example) Be independent from network services Be reliable and always available Add complementary attributes like semantics Transaction Oriented Middleware (TOM) (or Distributed Tuples) A distributed relational database offers the abstraction of distributed tuples (i.e. particular instances of an entity), and is the most widely deployed kind of middleware today. It uses Structured Query Language (SQL) which allows programmers to manipulate sets of these tuples in an English-like language yet with intuitive semantics and rigorous mathematical foundations based on set theory and predicate calculus. Distributed relational databases also offer the abstraction of a transaction (which can also be performed using Transactional SQL or TSQL). Distributed relational database products typically offer heterogeneity across programming languages, but most do not offer much, if any, heterogeneity across vendor implementations. Transaction Processing Monitors (TPMs) are commonly used for end-to-end resource management of client queries, especially server-side process management and managing multi-database transactions. As an example consider the JINI framework (built on top of Java Spaces) which is tailored for intelligent networked devices, especially in homes. Advantages Users can access virtually any database for which they have proper access rights from anywhere in the world (as opposed to their deployment in closed environments where users access the system only via a restricted network or intranet) They address the problem of varying levels of interoperability among different database structures. They facilitate transparent access to legacy database management systems (DBMSs) or applications via a web server without regard to database-specific characteristics. Disadvantages This is the oldest form of middleware hence it lacks many features of much recent forms of middleware. Does not perform failure transparency Tight coupling between client and server Remote Procedure Calls A Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is an inter-process communication that allows a computer program to cause a subroutine or procedure to execute in another address space (commonly on another computer on a shared network) without the programmer explicitly coding the details for this remote interaction. That is, the programmer writes essentially the same code whether the subroutine is local to the executing program, or remote. When the software in question uses object-oriented principles, RPC is called remote invocation or remote method invocation. Remote Procedure Call Middleware (RPCM) extends the procedure call interface familiar to virtually all programmers to offer the abstraction of being able to invoke a procedure whose body is across a network. RPC systems are usually synchronous, and thus offer no potential for parallelism without using multiple threads, and they typically have limited exception handling facilities. Advantages Language-level pattern of function call which is easy to understand for programmers. Synchronous request/reply interaction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Natural from a programming language point-of-view à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Matches replies to requests à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Built in synchronization of requests and replies Distribution transparency (in the no-failure case) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Hides the complexity of a distributed system Various reliability guarantees à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Deals with some distributed systems aspects of failure Failure Transparency is performed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ May be due to network and/or server congestion or client, network and/or server failure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In such situations an error maybe returned to programmer, either at once or after the RPC library has retried the operation several times. Disadvantages Synchronous request/reply interaction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tight coupling between client and server à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Client may block for a long time if server loaded hence needs a multi-threaded client à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Slow/failed clients may delay servers when replying multi-threading essential at servers Distribution Transparency à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Not possible to mask all problems RPC paradigm is not object-oriented à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Invoke functions on servers as opposed to methods on objects Message Oriented Middleware Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) provides the abstraction of a message queue that can be accessed across a network. It is a generalization of the well-known operating system construct: the mailbox. It is very flexible in how it can be configured with the topology of programs that deposit and withdraw messages from a given queue. Many MOM products offer queues with persistence, replication, or real-time performance. Advantages Asynchronous interaction Client and server are only loosely coupled Messages are queued Good for application integration Support for reliable delivery service Keep queues in persistent storage Processing of messages by intermediate message server(s) May do filtering, transforming, logging, etc. Networks of message servers Natural for database integration Disadvantages 1) Poor programming abstraction (but has evolved) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rather low-level (cf. Packets) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Request/reply more difficult to achieve, but can be done 2) Message formats originally unknown to middleware à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No type checking (but JMS addresses this in its implementation) 3) Queue abstraction only gives one-to-one communication à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Limits scalability (JMS publisher/subscriber implementation) Java Messaging Service The Java Message Service (JMS) API is a Java Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) API for sending messages between two or more clients. JMS is a part of the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition, and is defined by a specification developed under the Java Community Process as JSR 914. It is a messaging standard that allows application components based on the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) to create, send, receive, and read messages. It allows the communication between different components of a distributed application to be loosely coupled, reliable, and asynchronous. Web Services A web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices. The W3C definition of a web service is as a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. It has an interface described in a machine-processable format (specifically Web Services Description Language WSDL). Other systems interact with the web service in a manner prescribed by its description using SOAP messages, typically conveyed using HTTP with an XML serialization in conjunction with other Web-related standards. There are two major classes of Web services, REST-compliant Web services and arbitrary Web services. In REST-compliant web services the primary purpose is to manipulate XML representations of Web resources using a uniform set of stateless operations. Whereas in arbitrary web services, the service may expose an arbitrary set of operations. Big web services use Extensible Markup Language (XML) messages that follow the SOAP standard and have been popular with traditional enterprise. In such systems, there is often a machine-readable description of the operations offered by the service written in the Web Services Description Language (WSDL). The latter is not a requirement of a SOAP endpoint, but it is a prerequisite for automated client-side code generation in many Java and .NET SOAP frameworks. IBM MQ Series IBM WebSphere MQ (formerly known as IBM MQSeries) is a message-oriented middleware platform that is part of IBMs WebSphere suite for business integration. Messages are stored in message queues that are handled by queue managers. A queue manager is responsible for the delivery of messages through server-to-server channels to other queue managers. A message has a header and an application body that is opaque to the middleware. No type-checking of messages is done by the middleware. Several programming language bindings of the API to send and receive messages to and from queues exist, among them a JMS interface. WebSphere MQ comes with advanced messaging features, such as transactional support, clustered queue managers for load-balancing and availability, and built-in security mechanisms. Having many features of a request/reply middleware, WebSphere MQ is a powerful middleware, whose strength lies in the simple integration of legacy applications through loosely-coupled queues. Nevertheless, it cannot satisfy the more complex many-to-many communication needs of modern large-scale applications, as it lacks natural support for multi-hop routing and expressive subscriptions. Object Oriented Middleware (OOM) or Distributed Object Middleware (DOM) Object Oriented Middleware provides the abstraction of an object that is remote yet whose methods can be invoked just like those of an object in the same address space as the caller. Distributed objects make all the software engineering benefits of object-oriented techniques encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism available to the distributed application developer. Every object-oriented middleware has an interface definition language (IDL) and supports object types as parameters, exception handling and inheritance. It also presents the concept of client and server stubs which act as proxies for servers and clients. The stubs and skeletons are created using the IDL compiler that is provided by the middleware. In addition, the OOM presentation layers need to map object references to the transport format. This is done via marshalling and unmarshalling of serialized objects. Advantages Support for object-oriented programming model Objects, methods, interfaces, encapsulation, etc. Exception handling is supported Synchronous request/reply interaction same as RPC Location Transparency system (ORB) maps object references to locations Services comprising multiple servers are easier to build with OOM RPC programming is in terms of server-interface (operation) RPC system looks up server address in a location service Disdvantages Synchronous request/reply interaction only and therefore ad to implement Asynchronous Method Invocation (AMI) in the technologies. However this led to tight coupling. Distributed garbage collection is available which will automatically release the memory held by unused remote objects OOM is rather static and heavy-weight. This is bad for ubiquitous systems and embedded devices Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) CORBA is a standard for distributed object computing. It is part of the Object Management Architecture (OMA), developed by the Object Management Group (OMG), and is the broadest distributed object middleware available in terms of scope. It encompasses not only CORBAs distributed object abstraction but also other elements of the OMA which address general purpose and vertical market components helpful for distributed application developers. CORBA offers heterogeneity across programming language and vendor implementations. Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) DCOM is a distributed object technology from Microsoft that evolved from its Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and Component Object Model (COM). DCOMs distributed object abstraction is augmented by other Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft Transaction Server and Active Directory. DCOM provides heterogeneity across language but not across operating system or tool vendor. COM+ is the next-generation DCOM that greatly simplifies the programming of DCOM. Remote Method Invocation (RMI) Remote Method Invocation (RMI) is a facility provided by Java which is similar to the distributed object abstraction of CORBA and DCOM. RMI provides heterogeneity across operating system and Java vendor, but not across language. However, supporting only Java allows closer integration with some of its features, which can ease programming and provide greater functionality. The RMI compiler generates stubs and skeletons for the coded Client and Server programs. The server class usually inherits from a pre-coded Unicast Remote server object and a security manager is installed. This class is then registered using the RIM Naming service. Any client can look-up a remote server object on the registry; provided its name is known. Reflective Middleware Reflective middleware is simply a middleware system that provides inspection and adaptation of its behavior through an appropriate causally connected self-representation (CCSR). It is a type of flexible object oriented middleware for mobile and context-awareness applications. Its adaptation to context is through the monitoring and substitution of components. It also provides interfaces for reflection and customizability. Objects can inspect the middleware behavior and it allows for dynamic reconfiguration depending on the behavior. Advantages It is more adaptable to its environment and better able to cope with change Useful in hostile and/ or dynamic environments More suited for multimedia, group communication, real-time and embedded environments, handheld devices and mobile computing environments Event Driven Middleware This is new underlying communication paradigm for building large-scale distributed systems on top of a middleware. Event-based communication is a viable new alternative for the above mentioned middleware types and it uses events as the basic communication mechanism. First, event subscribers, i.e. clients, express their interest in receiving certain events in the form of an event subscription. Then event publishers, i.e. servers, publish events which will be delivered to all interested subscribers. As a result, this model naturally supports a decoupled, many-to-many communication style between publishers and subscribers. A subscriber is usually indifferent to which particular publisher supplies the event that it is interested in. Similarly, a publisher does not need to know about the set of subscribers that will receive a published event. Advantages Asynchronous communication à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Publishers and subscribers are loosely coupled Many-to-many interaction between pubs. and subs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Scalable scheme for large-scale systems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Publishers do not need to know subscribers, and vice-versa à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Dynamic join and leave of pubs, subs, (brokers see lecture DS-8) Topic and Content-based pub/sub very expressive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Filtered information delivered only to interested parties à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Efficient content-based routing through a broker network Hermes This is a scalable, event-based middleware architecture that facilitates the building of large-scale distributed systems. Hermes has a distributed implementation that adheres to the design models developed in the previous chapter. It is based on an implementation of a peer-to-peer routing layer to create a self-managed overlay network of event brokers for routing events. Its content-based routing algorithm is highly scalable because it does not require global state to be established at all event brokers. Hermes is also resilient against failure through the automatic adaptation of the overlay broker network and the routing state at event brokers. An emphasis is put on the middleware aspects of Hermes so that its typed events support a tight integration with an application programming language. Two versions of Hermes exist that share most of the codebase: an implementation in a large-scale, distributed systems simulator, and a full implementation with communication between distributed event brokers. Advantages Logical Network of Self-Organizing Event Brokers (P2P) Scalable Design and Routing Algorithms Expressive Content-Based Filtering Clean Layered Design Cambridge Event Architecture (CEA) The Cambridge Event Architecture (CEA) was created in the early 90s to address the emerging need for asynchronous communication in multimedia and sensor-rich applications. It introduced the publish-register-notify paradigm for building distributed applications. This design paradigm allows the simple extension of synchronous request/reply middleware, such as CORBA, with asynchronous publish/subscribe communication. Middleware clients that become event sources (publishers) or event sinks (subscribers) are standard middleware objects. First, an event source has to advertise (publish) the events that it produces; for example, in a name service. In addition to regular methods in its synchronous interface, an event source has a special register method so that event sinks can subscribe (register ) to events produced by this source. Finally, the event source performs an asynchronous callback to the event sinks notify method (notify) according to a previous subscription. Note that event filtering happens at the event sources, thus reducing communication overhead. The drawback of this is that the implementation of an event source becomes more complex since it has to handle event filtering. Despite the low latency, direct communication between event sources and sinks causes a tight coupling between clients. To address this, the CEA includes event mediators, which can decouple event sources from sinks by implementing both the source and sink interfaces, acting as a buffer between them. Chaining of event mediators is supported but general content-based routing, as done by other distributed publish/subscribe systems, is not part of the architecture.

Friday, September 20, 2019

One Thousand Paper Cranes -- One Thousand Paper Cranes Short Stories E

One Thousand Paper Cranes Walking toward his mother's bedroom, Mark slowed his pace. His heart ached and felt heavy. His mother's illness hung over him like a shroud, turning his life black. She had cancer in her lungs and he didn't know why and who to blame. She didn't smoke, so why did it have to happen to her. He questioned. He stopped at the door, gathering his thoughts. What would he say to his mother?. He took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and opened the door quietly. "Mom, how are you today? I'm sorry I haven't come to see you for a while." Mark said as he smiled at her trying to be cheerful. "Mom, I have a surprise for you today. I'm sure you will love it." He held his surprise behind his back with his right hand, but was so excited that he couldn't hide his feelings. He imagined her smiling as he revealed his gift. Maggie lay in her bed , lost in thought, and showed little interest. "Mark, is that you? Come close to me." She glanced at her son and tried to move her body to sit up, but she couldn't. She took a deep sigh and said, "I'm sorry, Mark. I don't feel good today." She knew she was dying. She suffered from lung cancer for a year. She had two painful operations in the last couple of months that had drained all of her strength. She was getting weaker and weaker. Now she stayed in bed all day, reading, watching TV, seeing occasional visitors, and remembering her life. She found momentary relief with her visitors, but always she would quickly tire and have to sleep. She smelled death around her. An independent woman all of her life, she wanted to take care of herself, but she was too weak to do so. Her body was dying daily, but her mind remained clear so she started writing her journal. She a... ...cranes and wonder at the folding. I will treasure senbazulu for years. Thank your Japanese friend for me." Mark had forgotten about the thousand cranes since his last visit. That was a wonderful gift for her. He didn't really believe its myth, but he wondered now that maybe it could be true. Summer was over. Four months passed since he had a family reunion at his hometown. He sat on his mother's empty bed in the dimly lit room and looked at the cranes hanging on the wall. His mother had died. He read her last letter to him. For a moment, a cool fall breeze fanned into the room through the slightly opened window. He could hear his grandfather's old clock across the room ticking loudly. He thought that one of the cranes smiled down at him, broke free and flew in the sky. He cried as he watched it fade into the horizon. "Take care of my mom," he whispered.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Pearl :: Pearl

The Pearl Microsoft Encarta defines superstition to be an irrational but usually deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a particular action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing it. Religion is defined as people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life. In the first chapter, we find out that Juana does not know whether to trust her original polytheistic religion, or the newly introduced monotheistic religion (most likely Catholicism). "Under her breath Juana repeated an ancient magic to guard against such evil, and on top of that she muttered a Hail Mary between her clenched teeth."(4) This could have different meanings about what is, and what is not superstition, depending on your point of view. One who believes the native religion would believe strongly that the "ancient magic" would help Coyotito. The Catholic idea of just one god is ludicrous and irrational, which means that from this point of view, Catholicism is a superstition. A Catholic will believe that saying Hail Mary will help Coyotito, but it is not a good thing to pray to the other gods. In the Catholic religion, God is always testing your faith. Believing in two religions means that your faith is weak, so God might punish Juana's family. If the person viewing this is an atheist they will believe that there is no god or gods and will consider it irrelevant. That means they think that both the methods of prayer are mere superstitions, and doing one or both will have no positive or negative effect. The last point of view is Juana's. Juana is pretty sure that there is a higher power, but is not sure to trust her history, or this newly proposed god. She doesn't know what to choose, so she decides not to make a choice, and pray for both gods. She wants Coyotito to have the highest chances of surviving, so she prays to all gods.