Global Financial Corporation Essay

Global Financial Corporation (GF) a subsidiary of Global Equipment Company (GEC) is tasked with handling financing for those customers who wish to purchase GEC heavy equipment. Currently GF only processes 51% of the leases within the â€Å"10 days or less† time frame, with some loans taking up above 41 days. Ms. Rodriguez, the Vice President of GF has been directed to decrease loan processing time to 10 days or less with the current staff she has. The current structure of the analysis and evaluation stage does not maximize staff time effectively and as a consequence creates a bottleneck in the process. We recommend switching to a case manager structure. lLan applications can be processed and completed in approximately 3 days. This would allow for an increase in volume to 255 without adding staff (assuming 60% are remain new applications), which is a 16.9% increase, exceeding the 10% anticipated application increase. Background Global Financial Corporation (GF) a subsidiary of Global Equipment Company (GEC) is tasked with handling financing for those customers who wish to purchase GEC heavy equipment. Due to the expense of the equipment many customers chose to finance the purchase with a lease agreement. Currently these loans are processed at GF Bakersfield location, which employs 14 people. A competitor of GEC has promised processing of financing in â€Å"10 days or less†. Currently GF only processes 51% of the leases within the â€Å"10 days or less† time frame, with some loans taking up above 41 days. Ms. Rodriguez, the Vice President of GF has been directed to decrease loan processing time with the current staff she has. Problems The Bakersfield office is operating at only 86% of capacity utilizing 2990.5 hours of processing time (full capacity 3485 hours). In October they processed 218 applications, 89 were standards and 129 were News. The analysis by region shows that Region 1 is handling the most applications at 78 (52 new, highest number among the different regions), averaging 126.7 hours which, equates to 20.1 days. Region 2 is only handling a total of 66 applications (35 new) with an average processing time of 5.7 days, and Region 3 handling 74 applications (42 new), averaging 8.7 days. The Northeast office handles about 35% more applications with essentially the same staff. Only 51% of the applications are processed within the 10 day or less requirement. Analysis of the Current Processing Steps 1. Analysis and evaluation stage is a single channel, interest rate multi channel, loan terms single channel, and final issuing a multichannel. (Exhibit A)The current structure of the analysis and evaluation stage does not maximize staff time effectively and as a consequence creates a bottleneck in the process. With the single channel structure loan applications are unevenly distributed among teams and create higher idle time for teams with less volume of loan applications to process. Utilization among regions varies greatly between 73% – 95%. The following observation of the current structure was achieved using the MMK model (See exhibit B): * Expected wait time in the system for an application in Region 1 is approximately 37 days, with actual processing time of 14.10 hours. This is where the bottleneck occurs as it takes the evaluation team over 16 days out of the 37 to perform the review of 78 applications. * Expected wait time in the system for an application in Region 2 is approximately 11 days, with an actual processing time of 13.40 hours. Of the three Regions, Region 2 processed the least applications of 66 during the quarter being reviewed. With a utilization rate of 73%, Region 2 experienced the most idle time in the evaluation process. * Expected wait time in the system for an application in Region 3 was approximately 15 days, with an actual processing time of 13.56 hours. With utilization rate of 84%, this Region has the ability to handle an increase in applications. * Each region utilized over ten days of average time in system and showed bottlenecks. 2.  Interest rate stage is a multi channel process and is working effectively. Applications are processed quickly and are usually turned over to the next step within 30 minutes. The utilization rate is consistent at 64%, which means that this staff member can continue to devote only half of his time to this task. 3.  Loan terms stage is a single channel and has similar issues as the analysis and evaluation department. It creates bottleneck and work is unevenly distributed. 4. Final issuing stage is an effective multichannel process with a consistently high utilization percentage. Each application takes less than 4 hours to process and utilizes time consistently at 93% of capacity. Alternatives Redistribute the staff to eliminate the bottlenecks in the process. Automate the input of information into a computer database at the sales level eliminating duplicate entry. * Generic queue would decrease processing time to 9 days. Evaluation will drastically reduce to 2 days of processing, increasing utilization and reducing idle time. Active time in the system will be reduced to 13.72 hours. Change all stages to a multiple, multiphase channel (Exhibit C &D). There would still bottleneck from the evaluation stage. * Case manager would increase active time of application to 18.5 hours; however, significantly reduce queuing time to approximately 3 days. This is assuming there are no teams during the evaluation stage and that the average time would double to 9.5 hours, which may not be the case. Change to multiple channel – assignment – multiphase. (Exhibit E &F) Eliminate bottleneck, service rate of 22.2 per FTE, per quarter. Recommendation We recommend switching to a case manager structure. This would mean that one person will be responsible for the completion of a loan application (Exhibit E). This will provide for most efficient way to minimize idle time and maximize utilization rate. Loan applications can be processed and completed in approximately 3 days. This would allow for an increase in volume to 255 without adding staff (assuming 60% are remain new applications), which is a 16.9% increase, exceeding the 10% anticipated application increase.

Operations and System Management of a Car Garage

OBSM Coursework Assessment – Element One Powell’s Garage Report Introduction The following report will be researching into a small garage named Powell’s, located in Illogan, Cornwall. Powell’s garage is a family business that was established in 1953. This organisation offers a range of services and products, including MOT’s, tyre replacement and full car servicing. Primary research will be used in order to gain data in order to examine specific factors in Powell’s garage. Slack et al. ’s five performance objectives will display which ways the organisation is thriving and in which ways they are failing. Looking at the design capacity, effective capacity and actual outputs will give an overview of how well they are using their resources within the organisation. Finally, by calculating the organisation’s capability index, a specific operation can be explored in order to highlight the reliability of the service and whether there is any potential room for improvement. Five Performance Objectives Slack et al (2004) states that there are five performance objectives that can evaluate performance of an operation. The first of these being cost, this is the ability to produce at a low cost. By pricing goods and services appropriately to the market, customers will always be attracted and it will allow for a good return to the company. Powell’s have a few competitor garages surrounding them, therefore pricing is a very important aspect of the organisation as they must keep it low enough to rival other garages, but high enough to ensure profit from their services. Quality is another performance objective and this is the ability to produce in accordance with the specifications without error. This will ensure full customer satisfaction and a high-quality reputation. It is essential that Powell’s provide a premium service as not only does it guarantee safety for their customers, but it gives them an advantage over competitors. Dependability is the ability to produce goods and services in accordance to the promises made to the customer. This could include a time deadline that the service needs to be completed by, therefore Powell’s must ensure that they fulfil any tasks given by customers’ and remain reliable or a bad reputation could circulate, resulting in less business. The ability to do things quickly in response to the customer’s demands is known as speed. This should also reduce time between orders from the customer and when they receive it again. Being a busy garage means that Powell’s must complete services as quickly as possible in order to keep up with the level of demand they receive. If this is not met, customers’ could use another organisation that can offer a quick service. Finally, the last performance objective from Slack et al. is flexibility. This is the ability to change the operation in a variety of ways. This therefore means that Powell’s must offer a wide variety of goods and services in order to fit with any customer needs and keep the amount of business high. These five performance objectives can also be linked, and these links mean that an organisation can excel in certain operations and compete with other organisations. For example, quality reduces cost and increases dependability. High quality therefore means fewer mistakes made in the operation, this leads to a reduced amount of time needed to correct any errors, and less time spent on the operation means reduced cost. This results in the customer being satisfied with the service. It will also more than likely mean they will feel confident using the organisation and will return for future business. From using primary research to study Powell’s garage, it is noticeable that quality is the most vital objective to ensure its success in their marketplace. Through questionnaires, shown as Appendix 1, and interviews with customers and within the organisation; it is quality that is the most prominent feature of Powell’s garage. This organisation deals with motor vehicles, which makes it crucial that the main priority of their services is to provide high-quality results or else the customer’s safety is at risk. The following polar diagram demonstrates the customer’s view and the manager’s view on Powell’s services and products according to Slack et al. ’s five performance objectives theory. The customer’s view is an average calculated from 20 questionnaires that were completed by customers. The manager’s view is a combined result from the two managers that work at Powell’s. As shown above, the manager’s view is quite different to that of the customers. The customers did not rate the garage as high as the manager’s but there is an agreement on the speed of the operation. Powell’s garage has two major competitors in the area that offer similar services. In order to ensure that this organisation has the edge over them, it is essential to investigate what is regarded as important by their customers and how each garage provides that service. Perceived user value (Bowman, 1998), is the best method to show customer’s opinions on the services of the three garages and will also include objectives that are not included in Slack et al. ’s theory. The two garages that are geographically closest to Powell’s are K W Autos and J K Motors. The customers were asked to rate the objectives of the garage from 0 to 10 on a questionnaire (Appendix 2), these figures were then made into an average and shown in the following table. Objective| Powell's | K W Autos| J K Motors| Speed| 8| 8| 7| Quality| 8| 7| 7| Cost| 7| 6| 7| Dependability| 7| 8| 6| Flexibility| 7| 7| 7| Quality of Facilities| 8| 6| 5| Courtesy of Staff| 9| 6| 6| Working Hours| 7| 7| 8| The data collected from the customers was then put into a graph to demonstrate the differences between the garages more clearly. From these figures, it is clear to see that Powell’s has an overall higher rating than its competitors. Although this is very positive, there are some objectives that Powell’s are lower. These are the operations that need to be targeted and improved in order to guarantee that K W Autos and J K Motors do not overtake Powell’s in their sales. Capacity The definition of the capacity of an operation is â€Å"the maximum level of value-added activity over a period of time that the process can achieve under normal operating conditions† (Slack et al. 2001, p. 338). Regarding this report, there are two types of capacity that are useful to Powell’s garage; design capacity and effective capacity. Design capacity is â€Å"the capacity to which its technical designers had in mind when they commissioned the operation† (Slack et al. 2001, p. 335). Effective capacity is simply design capacity minus planned loss. Therefore it is what the operation actually runs like. The capacity of Powell’s garage is simply the amount of motor vehicles that can be held in the garage at one time. Powell’s garage has a total of 7 vehicle ramps within the garage; however, 2 of these ramps are designated specifically for MOT servicing. Therefore, altogether, Powell’s can have 8 cars in its premises at one time. In terms of capacity processing, on average, Powell’s can see between 30 and 40 vehicles a week. Although, there are weeks in which it can exceed this and also weeks in which not as many vehicles pass through. Powell’s employ 6 full time mechanics; however, there are always 2 mechanics on the MOT ramps as it always full. This therefore leaves 4 full time mechanics working on 5 ramps for servicing. Straight away, understaffing is the obvious main capacity constraint, as if the garage is completely full, they do not have enough staff to service the vehicles. This would therefore be a planned loss of the organisation. Other planned losses would be mostly time consuming, for example, waiting for vehicle parts to arrive, working hours and waiting for customers to collect their car. As stated before, effective capacity is how the operation actually runs; therefore the everyday realities of a production line will contain something to slow it down. For example, staff breaks, power cuts and maintenance to tools and equipment. Powell’s design capacity (excluding the MOT services) in their garage would be for 5 vehicles to be serviced. However, there are only 4 mechanics available at one time. This means that their effective capacity is 80% of its design capacity. These losses are unavoidable but it results in Powell’s output to be reduced by 20% of what it could have. Actual output is simply effective capacity minus avoidable loss. This is essentially what is produced by the operation when the planned losses and avoidable are taken into account. Avoidable losses include mechanical failure, lighting failure or poorly trained staff. Actual output is therefore much less than the design capacity. It can only be predicted, but this would be estimated around 50%. The following diagram displays the losses against the design capacity and shows how the actual output is calculated. A ‘bottleneck’ is a micro-operation or operations that cause a process to slow down and causes output to take longer. Powell’s main bottleneck is the fact that they are understaffed. However, there are more constraints that prevent operations, these include the type of repair that the car will need, the availability of parts needed to complete the service and working hours. These all affect the processes in the organisation. Capability Index This measures the capability of an operation process within an organisation. This capability index will measure the time any operation can take regarding the services that Powell’s offers. The capability index should give the result as being greater than 1 as this will mean that Powell’s is reliable and capable. However, if the results show that the capability is less than 1, it will prove that Powell’s servicing is incapable and unreliable. The tables below show the amount of time spent servicing vehicles over one month in Powell’s garage. This was recorded from observation and from staff records. Weekly updates allowed a gradual build up of data which could then be grouped to calculate the capability index. Servicing Times| | | 30 minutes| 1 hour| 1 day| 1 hr 30 mins| 1 day| 5 hours| 45 minutes| 3 days| 30 minutes| hours| 6 days| 5 days| 1 day| 2 days| 3 days| 4 days| 3 days| 1 hour| 4 hours| 3 hours| 5 days| 2 days| 1 day| 2 hours| 2 days| 3 days| 6 days| 7 days| 30 minutes| 4 days| Servicing Times| Number of Customers| ;1 Hour| 4| 1 hour – 1 day| 8| 1 – 2 days| 4| 2 – 3 days| 3| 3 – 4 days| 4| 4 – 5 days| 2| 5 – 6 days| 2| 6; days| 3| Capability Index is calculated using the following formula: Cp = USL – LSL 6? Key Cp = Capability Index USL = Upper Specification Limit LSL = Lower Specification Limit ? = Standard Deviation From the data collected above, the USL will be 7 days and the LSL will be 0. 05 as it is in minutes. Cp = 7 – 0. 05 6? Standard Deviation was calculated using all the data collected. In this instance, 1 hour would be 0. 1 and 1 day would be 1. Standard Deviation = 2. 083849 Cp = 7 – 0. 05 6 x 2. 083849 Cp = 6. 95 12. 503094 Cp = 0. 5558624129 Cp = 0. 56 (two decimal places) USL = 7 LSL = 0. 05 This figure and the graph shows that Powell’s garage is operating at a level lower than 1, which indicates that it is not operating at the potential capacity level. Although the capability index worked out to be lower than 1, there is a variety of different service times which suggests that Powell’s offer a wide range of services and at many different time scales. There are many causes for this variation which includes; the nature of the service. The bigger the problem in the vehicle will mean that the service will take longer, and therefore take space for a longer period of time in the garage. There is also the matter of ordering external parts for the repair. This again, could take a long time as Powell’s must wait for the parts to arrive before the repair can begin. All of these variants are time costly in some way but there could be potential initiatives to reduce this. Powell’s could create more space for vehicles outside their garage, by expanding the car park from 1 to 4, this will provide an area to hold cars that require parts from an external source. This would then leave more room available in the garage for less time consuming services. This would see Powell’s garage gain more business and improve their timing for customers. An outside area would also offer a place where very small services are required, for example changing a tyre. This service takes on average 30 minutes to complete. Powell’s would save a lot of time as the car would not need to be taken into the garage or raised on the ramps. Another initiative could be to use the MOT ramps when there are no vehicles using them. This expands Powell’s capacity to 7 full servicing ramps which would provide more business and a faster operation process. An initiative that would also be very effective would be increasing the number of staff; this would allow vehicles to be serviced much quicker. Even if two mechanics worked on one vehicle, this could potentially half the time in which it takes to complete the service. This would then result in extra customer satisfaction, which in the long run would improve Powell’s reputation. It would also allow for more vehicles to be brought in to service as there would be space for that vehicle in a shorter amount of time. Word Count 2,271 References James, P. Rowland-Jones, R. ; O’Brien, L. (eds) 2009. Operations and Business Systems Management. Harlow, Pearson. Slack, N. , Chambers, S. , ; Johnston, R. , 2004. Operations Management. 4th Ed. London: Pitman Publishing. Cengage (2007) Operations, Strategy and Operations Strategy [Online] Available from: http://www. cengage. co. uk/barnes/students/sample_ch/ch2. pdf [Accessed: 26/11/2010]

Issues Faced by Oreedoo Telecommunications Essay

Issues Faced by Oreedoo Telecommunications - Essay Example This paper illustrates that although being one of the largest organizations in its domestic marketplace, Oreedoo Telecommunications is not the biggest market shareholder. The biggest competitor of Oreedo is Omantel. Omantel is also one of the most influential companies in its concerned marketplace. It has set up connections with various influential people and already developed a considerable customer base. Apart from competition, Oreedoo is also facing other challenges related to the regulations of the market and internal problems associated with their talent and employee management. Oreedoo is finding it hard to manage their human resource elements as the employee base is not steady and the employee turnover rate is high. Furthermore, although Oreedoo has acquired the resources for pursuing their strategic objectives, limited employee base in causing barriers to the process. As observed in the given case study of Oreedoo Telecommunications, the company is trying to establish itself in the communications industry of Oman but is facing some critical problems in doing so. The first issue noted was the immense competition faced by the established player such as Omantel. Being one of the early entrants in the communications segment of Oman, Omantel has been able to acquire a large consumer base and have also established relationships with influential and well-positioned individuals. This also focuses on another critical barrier for Oreedoo Telecommunications which is the underdeveloped legal and regulatory structure of the communications segment of Oman. Because of limited regulatory functions in the industry, the manipulation of the legal framework is high. It can be mentioned here that the telecommunications industry of Oman is yet underdeveloped and does not have an appropriate governing body.

Software Engineering - 56D Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Software Engineering - 56D - Research Paper Example The architecture may have to be designed before specifications are written to provide a means of structuring the specification and developing different sub-system specifications concurrently, to allow manufacture of hardware by sub-contractors and to provide a model for system costing. Object-oriented development helps to reduce these problems as it supports the grouping of entities (in object classes) so therefore simplifies program understanding. It also provides protection for entities declared within objects so that access from outside the object is controlled (the entity may not be accessible, its name may be accessible but not its representation or it may be fully accessible). This reduces that probability that chances to one part of the system will have undesirable effects on some other part. A consistent user interface may be impossible to produce for complex systems with a large number of interface options. In such systems, there is a wide imbalance between the extent of usage of different commands so for frequently used commands, it is desirable to have short cuts. Unless all commands have short cuts, then consistency is impossible. An example of such a system is an operating system interface. ... It may also be the case in complex systems that the entities manipulated are of quite different types and it is inappropriate to have consistent operations on each of these types. An example of such a system is an operating system interface. Even MacOS which has attempted to be as consistent as possible has inconsistent operations that are liked by users. For example, to delete a file it is dragged to the trash but dragging a disk image to the trash does not delete it but unmounts that disk. Section 22.2: A program need not be completely free of defects before delivery if: Remaining defects are minor defects that do not cause system corruption and which are transient i.e. which can be cleared when new data is input. Remaining defects are such that they are recoverable and a recovery function that causes minimum user disruption is available. The benefits to the customer's business from the system exceed the problems that might be caused by the remaining system defects. Testing cannot completely validate that a system is fit for its intended purpose as this requires a detailed knowledge of what that purpose will be and exactly how the system will be used. As these details inevitably change between deciding to procure a system and deploying that system, the testing will be necessarily incomplete. In addition, it is practically impossible for all except trivial system to have a complete test set that covers all possible ways that the system is likely to be used. Section 22.4: Program inspections are effective for the following reasons: They can find several faults in one pass without being concerned about interference between program faults. They bring a number of people with different experience of different types of

Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trends - Essay Example The chief diplomat handling the situation in Paris, was given the go-ahead to negotiate a purchase deal with the French, somewhere between two and ten million dollars. To everyone’s surprise, Napoleon agreed to this deal but demanded a lot more. He wanted to continue his expansionary aims and for that he needed money, therefore, he offered the American government the whole territory of Louisiana for fifteen million dollars. Jefferson agreed to this and the deal was finalized in April 1803. Although Jefferson considered it to be a great diplomatic and political achievement, the deal was met with a lot of controversy. (Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase, n. d.) By signing a deal with Napoleon, Jefferson was forced to ignore his limitations that were set by the Constitution. This deal was a defiance of the principles set up in the Constitution, and he also could not wait for a constitutional amendment, as that would have resulted in the failure of the deal. Although, it was not a very wise political move, the President still managed to gain support of the masses. America also did not have enough money to make the full payment; therefore, it was forced to take loans from the British government at six percent interest. Some people saw this purchase as a decrease in the political power of the United States. Also, the act of undermining the constitution to some extent set an example for future presidents, to stretch the constitution a little further, without making amendments to it. This was a poor example set by President Jefferson (Kelly, n. d.). The purchase of the Louisiana territory did add a considerable amount of land to America; it was met by various views. Some politicians thought that this act proved that the Congress could defy the constitution, if the majority of people in the Congress voted for the decision to be

A news feature story about Indiana Universitys effort to control Essay

A news feature story about Indiana Universitys effort to control student costs by making it more likely that students will graduate on time - Essay Example According to Mr.McRobbie, the program will allow qualified students to receive on-time completion award equal to any increase in tuition and fees that they could otherwise have incurred during their final two years in the university. The program will also allow any qualifying student who has not graduated to pay the current tuition and fee according to the current rates for any time at Indiana University beyond their fourth year. This move is seen as a step aimed at encouraging students to graduate in four years without having to incur excessive debt. To eco this, McRobbie said †this award makes two things clear: that we are serious about holding down the cost of an IU degree, and that we are equally serious about providing tools and incentives to help students stay on course for on-time degree completion.†. He continued to state, â€Å"The University has clearly put into consideration both the students and families message that to them, cost matters when pursuing a degr ee course. Our efforts in trying to keep our degrees at affordable standards will not only improve will not only improve on graduation time rates, but also lower the cost of the degree.† The university has not only sought to reduce the tuition costs alone. It has instituted a financial literacy program for students. The move was welcome by students who saw it as a great relief from the backlog of academic tuitions as well as instilling more knowledge on their financial understanding. Most of the students in their final years of their study previously, were not exempted from class work. â€Å"This move by the university comes as a relief to most students who are on their final years of their studies with minimal work to cover. Indeed, mostly, students at this stage of their program rarely attend classes,† Said the Universities’ student spokesperson in an interview. â€Å"At least, we now can position ourselves as students with enough information on financial literacy† he states.

Principles of accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Principles of accounting - Assignment Example Each journal entry must have a credit and debit of equal amount. There are different ledgers accounts used in an accounting system such as the cash, expense, account receivable, equity, accounts payable, sales, and depreciation account among others. Each account has a normal balance. If the normal account is a debit the account increases through debit and decreases by way of a credit. When the normal account is credit the account increases through a credit and decreases by a debit. The income statement is a very important financial statement that provides information regarding the profitability of a company during an accounting period. All financial statements are prepared at the end of the accounting cycle. There a certain journal entries that affect only the income statement. An example of a journal entry that affects the income statement is recording a cash sale. For instance if the business makes a sale and the customer pays by cash the corresponding journal entry is a debit to c ash and a credit to sales. Based on the assumption that the normal balance of cash is debit this transaction increases the cash account of the company because the firm received money. The balance sheet is another major financial statement that is regarded as a statement of position.

IMC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IMC - Essay Example It is not easy to market an intangible place because of the conflicting interests that come as a result of it having many stakeholders. However, one marketing approach that has been highlighted in the article is the use of brochures which create favorable images of places. Marketing approaches like media advertising and public relations can also be utilized especially if the target is to maximize the impact of communication (Skinner, 2005). Marketing approaches that are often used for tangible products include sales promotions, general media advertising, and public relations. These approaches aim at making the target consumers aware of the products being produced by a particular company. Some of these approaches are the same as those being utilized in marketing intangible places. The aim of marketing tangible products and intangible places is also the same. In the case of tangible products, the aim of marketing is to attract customers to want the products while in the case of intangible places the aim of marketing is to make a place in order for it to be a traveler’s choice. When looking at services businesses, it is crucial to understand that they are different from businesses that produce physical goods. When marketing, these businesses need to focus on the people who will benefit from the services, the physical evidence that can show the quality of the service being provided, and the process of delivering the services. Service businesses face the challenge of differentiating their services making this hard to gain a competitive advantage. The alternative way is to differentiate themselves through their marketing strategies. Some approaches which can be utilizes in service businesses include sales promotion and media advertising. Sales promotion can be by including innovative features. Apart from what the customer expect, a secondary service feature can be added. For example, an accounting firm can offer free consultation to

Visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingh Essay Example for Free

Visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingh Essay Brief background on CBL (Munchee) It was the visionary Mr Mineka Wickramasingha in 1960 who wanted to expand his family business from the chocolate market. It was at the same time that CARE looked at sources of nourishment for the poverty stricken. It was a substitute of a biscuit that Mr Wickramasinghe proposed looking to expand on those lines. At that time the market leaders were Maliban. They were the ones who were awarded the contract. Due to lack of space, CBL was first launched at Dehiwela in his own premises to produce a high protein biscuits for schools. From this footing Munchee, has marched forward to capture 80% of the market of the local market. For over 40 years the brand has developed a certain nostalgia that is irreplaceable by any other brand. The taste is enjoyed young and old alike. There vision is to become the number one biscuit in Asia. Product portfolio CBL now produces various food items which have become house hold names in Sri Lanka. CBL expansion is not only with biscuits to which consumers are more familiar, they also have chocolates under brand name ‘Ritzbury’ since 1990s. The other brands are Tiara and Lanka Soy. There are numerous subcategories under each product. There are jellies, soya base products, cereal products, herbal porridges, soups and much more. Sub Categories under the Munchee brand Sweet biscuitsCrackers Puffs Savory Biscuits Cream Biscuits Marie Cookies Assorted HerbalWafers These are premium and hand-moulded chocolates. They come in boxes and slabs. Can be as a coated biscuits or wafers or beans or candy bars. It is in different flavours, type, and size. Sub Categories Chocolate Coated Biscuits Chocolate Slabs Miniature Caterers RangeChocolate Coated Beans Chocolate Coated Balls Chocolate Coated Candy Bars Specialty ChocolatesChocolate Coated Wafers Soft sponge cake made to perfect texture and taste Layer Cake Portion Cake Butter Sponge Cake Swiss Roll Company performance Ceylon Biscuits is of undisputable quality. CBL has shown a growth both in sales and profit for the last 5 years. Revenue had doubled from Rs.1.9 to Rs 5,2 Billion by 2005. Group turnover grew by 48% that same year. Net profit that year was Rs.533 Mio. This was the highest recorded profit for this company. CBL profit gradually grew, as it caught on to an international market. By 2011 sales revenue has grown by 25% in comparison to 2010. The overall profit margin was around 9% for the recently past five years. If ever the company saw a small decline it was due to industrial unrest. This biscuit is spread over 95,000 retail outlets all around Sri Lanka. CBL exports to 36 international destinations. It has been able to spread it’s fame in South Asia as well. Some of the countries of export are USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, China, India, Maldives and even the Middle East countries. The annual export revenue is about US $ 4 to 5 million. CBL has many awards for its entrepr eneurship. These awards are Exports in the Gold Category, Product Brand of the Year for four consecutive years, Anugu International Food Fair award. The daily production is around 150 tons. The annual production is around 45,000 tons. The company’s labor force is about 3,500. Company sustainability relies on strict norms on quality, texture and taste. For this it uses the latest technology, innovative marketing, research and development. The three C analysis There are three phases that need to be carefully scrutinized in order get a total overview of the product. Customer analysis Of the main brand Munchee, the customer analysis will be done on a sub category -Marie widely known as â€Å"Tikiri Marie –or Munchee Tikiri Marie. It is a small sized biscuit. The market segment chosen were children. Presently it is packed in a ‘keep fresh pack’ sold at a economical price. The advertisement that was done on a range of media was presented in the most attractive way, backed by lyrics that set a smile on the lips of any child. It was later that Maliban put a Marie range into the market. But by then Munchee Tikiri Marie had taken the market by storm. Competitor analysis There has been great potential for a children’s biscuit in the market. CBL had limited resources, especially in production technology which restricted revenue. It was the consumer preference that motivated CBL to keep producing the Marie Biscuit. At one point in time 50% of the production was Marie. Yet, the company was unable to raise profits. Maliban held strong to its position. No advertising, trade promotions or merchandising was able take over the market share that Maliban held. Maliban Marie has an unique flavor that was unmatchable. Volume market share (Total Biscuit Market-February 2005) Communication analysis This is a (B2C) nature of business. The company has used campaigns such as Tikiri Marie scholarship program.-Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara. Expansion programs worth Rs. 500 million Rs. 300 million for state of the art plant. It was known as Plant 6 from Italy. CBL went to war using all types of media from TV, newspaper, radio, magazines, even websites to introduce a new Marie. There was a series of advertisement for Tikiri Marie- from ‘Kohomada Tikiri Mole’ to the first day in school. All campaigns had been embarked under their corporate moto-‘A crowning success’. This was CBL communication approach of tacking Maliban. Target market for Munchee Tikiri Marie The brand â€Å"Munchee† has not only spread over domestic market but also the export market. Munchee is now exported to over 36 countries. Munchee can be seen in Gourmet Shops in Australia, supermarket like Wal-Mart, K-mart worldwide in countries like UK, Germany , Italy , Middle-East , Canada and Japan. South East Asian region is spread over 11 countries. When Munchee is target marketed in this area, it must be the same target market as of the other South Asian countries. It is the high quality, texture and taste that captivate any child in any country. Because of this CBL must ensure that they do not loose the perception of ‘a biscuit for children.’ As it is not being partnered by any company as it was in UK the brand name can prevail. Here CBL needs to position its product, thus no private label will be needed either like NTUC of Singapore and Supreme brand in China. Segment for Marie Geographical segmentation-South Asia, Europe, America, UK Demographical Segmentation Age, taste, texture, income Behavioral segment- instant, nutritious Product positioning of Marie Brand Identity vs. Competition (Source- AC Neilson) Premium quality, Innovative and value for money brand available at arms length of desire. Scope of this Integrated Marketing Communications Plan It looks in to objectives, strategies, and tools in communication used to successfully bring about integrated marketing. The plan will discuss ways to launch a program to communicate product. Marketing objective Increase the sale of Munchee Buiscuits. CBL is looking to increase sales by 5% within the next two years. With this to increase the market share by 5% at the end of the second year. Increase the company profile while enhancing the product among the target market. Munchee also wishes to strengthen Brand image among South East Asian countries as a healthy, nutritious biscuit. Communication Objective Awareness program to reach 20% of target market through television, newspaper advertising and web promotions. At least 5% the target market must purchase the product. Issues and Challenges The target market may have other preferences in biscuits. This entirely depends on texture, flavor, taste, shape and size. Thus the promotions/advertising will have to be attractive, creative and innovative in order to reach the hearts and minds of South East Asian Children. Situational analysis Current problem facing product * The target audience may not be reached. * They may prefer other biscuits. * Difficult to build brand loyalty in the food industry. Identifying target * The target market is chosen taking taste and nutrition in to consideration. * Targeting people who looks for low price but has to be of quality. Selecting a Market to Target South East Asia Geographic segmentation Children of the age 1-16 , Middle class Demographic segmentation Target market Instant, nutritious Behavioral segmentation The target market that has been chosen is of the geographical location of South East Asia region among a demographic target of children between the ages of 1-16. In modern South East Asia food in freely available for purchases for people who are one the move. This biscuit provides nutrients that are good for children and is an easy snack in a keep fresh pack. It is instant food for hungry youngsters. Positioning through Marketing Strategies * Introductory price * Chance to taste Competition Product Comparison There are companies like DIMOs that offer discounts to Government servants but no company has offered it to Bankers. AMW is the first to get into this program. Barriers to Entry * The awareness in low. * Banks have tied with other automobile companies, on a separate basis for their leasing requirements and the staff gets their vehicles also leased through those companies. * Buyers may go for second hand as the economic situations are tough. Competitor Differentiation | Chery QQ| Micro Panda| Features | Small hatch back with comfortable interior, Three Cylinder DOHCMPI 12V Petrol 812 CC engine Chery is imported from China and marketed in Sri Lanka by David Peiris Motor Company| Micro car, Volvo tech, 1300 cc engine. Made in Sri Lanka. Comes with and without air bag.| Target Market| Working professionals| Working professionals| Strengths | Low price, Brand backing | Made in Sri Lanka| Weakness | Small range of customers, No discount| Small range of customersNo discount| Consumer Behaviour – problems faced in addressing communication message There is nothing extraordinarily attractive about the AMW Maruti. But the interior is appealing. It is economical on the fuel. There is a one year warranty on the car. These are some of the aspects in regards to the car that a consumer will look at. Then the consumer is going to look at the company that selling the car. Associated Motor Ways Ltd is one of the oldest automobile conglomerates in Sri Lanka. They are the sole distributors of Suzuki vehicles in Sri Lanka and are affiliated with several brand names in the motor industry such as Nissan, Yamaha, and Goodyear. Addressing the problems with the vehicle such as no extra ordinary beauty about the vehicle or that there is fume emission from the vehicles which is hazardous to the external environment, what AMW concentrates on is the interior of the car and how economical it is. The Maruti is good on fuel. The size makes it easy to handle. This car is val ue for money. Branding Bankers are likely for a discount program where the vehicles are leased giving a bank loan. Maruti is likely to stay in the minds of the buyer due to features of the vehicle, the interior and the engine capacity in relation to the other brands of this same model which where given under competitor analysis. The Maruti is a more durable and dependable brand. Position statement This promotion is available only for bankers that are permanent in their jobs and the loan facilities are available. Any other financing will not be permitted. The discount is available for all colours of Maruti. Promotion The promotion is done within Colombo and its near suburbs. For this promotion 50% of the budgeted funds are allocated. This was first circulated to family and friends, for the word of mouth is the cheapest and the best way of promoting a discount program. Gradually as the awareness starts to increase it will be circulated among banks, first on a personal basis to call whose contacts can be acquired. Then the leasing managers or the staff managers in charge of staff leasing will be approached. Depending on the geographical location, banks will be approached in regards to the promotion. Once the approval has been obtained by the management, posters will distribute to main branches. These are known as power position advertising. The dealership logo will be indicated in the poster. A list of the eligible staff members will be collected and a web based mailer will be sent out to them. Permission will be acquired to post the promotion on an intranet facility that is accessible only to the relevant bankers of the targeted bank. A car may be sent out to the main branch for display. Once the initial promotions have been done in and around the main branches where web may not be the best promotional attribute a news paper advertisement will be posted. The news paper will carry a pictureous depictation of the car with a Brand Ambassador. The Brand Ambassador can be a cricketer or any other sportsman who is working in a bank indicating that this is the best leasing offer ever. These adds will have to run every often and it must be made sure that the adds are not too small to see. It may be preferable to advertise in a Sinhalese paper when thinking of promoting the discount program among the suburbs. There has to be creativity, innovation and an even flow for an advertisement to catch the eyes of the reader. A Saturday or Sunday paper is preferable as people have more time than on a weekday to read the paper. Television can be used as last resort. This is expensive but can be the most influential method of advertising. This is a sure a way of information gathering for viewers. The television adds usually have a lasting impression on the viewer. This is a sure way of assuring results for IMC. There are many highly watched channels of those the cheapest but the most effective can be used. The TV add can play between programs. The programs after which the add will be aired will have to be carefully chosen. It will need to depend on viewer’s discretion. The advertisement can go on for a period of 6 months at least. The web based marketing is another method by which advisement can be done. This is the most modern method. Some of the websites frequently visited by banke rs are Facebook, ESPN, Google, YouTube, Digg.com, Myspace, and Perezhilton.com. The most popular of them all is Facebook, Google, and Youtube. All these websites focus on online advertisements. Websites like Facebook taps a large audience. This not only enables promoting to bankers but also lets others know the car sale. This is a good way to get other companies to tie up with the dealership of AMW. Communication Tactical Calendar | Jan| Feb| Mar| Apr| May| Jun| Jul| Aug| Sep| Oct| Nov| Dec| Poster| | | | | | | | | | | | | News paper| | | | | | | | | | | | | TV| | | | | | | | | | | | | Web| | | | | | | | | | | | | Display| | | | | | | | | | | | | Budget The largest potion that is 50% of the budget is for promotion. Of the 50% promotional budget 30% will be allocated for television commercials, the remainder 20% for news paper, posters, display and web. The remainder 50% will be allocated for Brand Ambassador and miscellaneous expenses. The total allocation for the budget is Rs. 2,000,000/- Measurement system Implementation Controls Monitoring, review and control will be done by the dealership company with the collaboration with the bank that is leasing the vehicle. The review to be done on a monthly basis. Progress against targets to be analyzed. For this a marketing plan has to be drawn out. A target market needs to be chosen and a pilot project done before, the discount program is advertised. Once the dealership feels that this can be a successfully implemented then monitoring has to be undertaken. This has to be done carefully. Gap analysis done on a regular basis. Correction actions need to be taken if there is no progress within the first three months of advertising. Dealership may go back to the drawing board and redo the marketing plan again. Quality Assurance Around this time the company was receiving a number of complaints regarding its biscuits breakages, poor taste, quality etc. Rather than ignore the issue, CBL decided to place an emphasis on investigating the cause of the complaints, and took corrective action, including formula changes, to reduce the high number of returns at the time. Setting up better procedures for packing, product handling and transportation, the company prepared for its future growth. It conducted daily taste tests of its own products and organized regular taste panels to compare its products with those of its competitors. It also methodically documented the specifications of all products being manufactured knowledge that had previously been passed on through practice and word of mouth. As the demands on the Quality Assurance department began to rise, the company decided in 1996 to seek ISO certification Today, quality assurance remains an area of particular pride for Munchee. The department plays a critical role in product testing and development of production process controls and systems. High hygiene standards for toilet habits and hair, together with regular swab tests of employees are strictly enforced. Every shipment of incoming materials is tested for quality and those that fail are rejected. Following a complaint, products are collected from customers and subject to laboratory analysis. In 2004, CBL received HACCP certification for food safety together with SLS certification for its biscuits23.. With these in hand CBL became the only confectionary company in Sri Lanka to acquire all relevant quality certifications for its line of business i.e. SLS, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 1400124 and HACCP. Product Development Product development also became an area of increased focus. While CBL had begun operations with a line of distinctive biscuits, along with some generics. However, in the recent years the push for higher turnover had resulted in innovation playing a secondary role. Some of the biscuits that had made Munchee distinctive, were neglected in favor of more mass consumer products. CBL began formulations and potential improvements to flavor and quality. The company also began to actively investigate and keep up with new technologies and machinery by participating regularly at trade exhibitions and through membership in industry associations. Distribution Around this time CBL took the decision to rethink its methods of distribution and undertook to overhaul its sales and distribution efforts in favor of a much bolder plan. Up to this point the company had depended almost completely on wholesalers to sell its products as a hassle free means of managing its distribution efforts. As a result, while CBL had the logistic and cost advantages of maintaining a lean sales team, the company suffered due to its dependence on the enthusiasm of its wholesalers to push its products. CBL decided to bite the bullet and invest heavily in its sales force. It expanded its distribution reach, increasing its number of distributors, changed the demarcation of sales regions into much smaller areas for more intensive sales efforts and recruited the regional and senior sales personnel required to cope with this new direction. 5.4.4 Customer Intimacy With the changes to its sales force, CBL was forced to face up to the fact that it was very removed from its consumers. The company recognized that it had been paralleling the moves and decisions made by Maliban rather than acting on real consumer insights. CBLs focus had been very much product centric concentrated on improvement of its formulation and production technology. It developed its products in isolation and once developed attempted to market them. Little attention had been paid to market research, even on an informal basis. Moreover, CBL began to understand that its customer was a new, youthful generation whose tastes and style were very different from the consumer of the previous ten years. Beginning in 1996, the Board itself acknowledged this changed attitude by beginning to go to the field on a regular basis to a top down attempt to gauge market perceptions and trends. The newly developed sales force provided feedback from consumers and distributors and the company took the further step of setting up a separate subsidiary to plan its marketing activities and to become more responsive to market needs an gaps. The holding company became primarily responsible for improving product quality and procedures. 5.4.5 Image Building CBL also recognized that in order to grow it had to become a better known name as a company. Partly as a result of its multiple brand names, CBL itself was relatively unknown as a corporate entity. Embarking on a campaign to raise the profile of the company, CBL engaged the services of a consultant, and set out to gain greater corporate recognition for itself among both consumers and the business community. The publics lack of knowledge of the breadth of the companys activities was hindering its activities as a holding company, particularly for purposes such as tapping the capital market. With the help of its consultant, CBL set about establishing a public image for itself. This was done primarily through the print media. Every week or so, an article regarding the company and its various corporate activities and Latest initiatives, including its export plans and CSR, appeared in the newspapers. Competitiveness Behaviour The Biscuit Wars Around 1995, CBL had hit a wall in terms of increasing its turnover. Limited by its existing production technology and consumer tastes, t its highest growth opportunity lay in the Marie biscuit market. While CBLs Marie25 biscuits now made up 50% of total production, the company was unable to meaningfully increase its sales and market share of the Marie category. It had attempted a variety of marketing activities including extensive advertising, merchandising and trade promotions, but was still not able to take sufficient market share away from Maliban. The Munchee Marie biscuit was at this time essentially a knockoff of Malibans Marie and used very similar packaging. However, despite much effort and testing, eBL was not able to exactly reproduce the Maliban Marie flavor. Although market share was a (then) respectable 10% and despite fervent urgings from its own sales team to the contrary to be more like Maliban, CBL decided that the time had come to change tactics and be different in order to try to break through the turnover barrier. The Tikiri Marie Campaign Munchee hit on the winning concept of launching its own Marie as Tikiri Marie – a petit sized Marie biscuit using an aggressive campaign entitled Tikiri Mole†, to bring the little biscuit to the attention of consumers. The campaign targeted children with the use of attractive advertising and proved a real turning point in Munchees growth and image. The biscuit was so successful that the smaller sized Tikiri Marie became the number one Marie biscuit in the Sri Lankan market, with a phenomenal 50 per cent of Marie market share and eventually forced the giant Maliban to acknowledge Munchee as a significant market player by playing copy cat and resizing its own Marie. 7 Part of Munchees success with Tikiri Marie stemmed from Malibans complacency and its failure to react to this attack on the Marie category. The Tikiri Marie campaign brought into effect other changes at CBL such as the introduction of Munchees keep fresh pack, which ensured better product freshness. Followin g its success with Tikiri Marie CBL expanded the use of the fresh pack to the entire Munchee biscuit range. The company also commenced a Tikiri Marie scholarship program for school children in 1997 entitled Munchee Tikiri Shishyadara which it continues to this day. Now in its eighth year, the program provides 120 deserving children with scholarships of Rs. 1000 per month for one year with fresh applicants being selected annually. By 1998, the cumulative effect of the changes made through the 1990s, resulted in CBL achieving a 30% market share of the biscuit market (up from 20% at the start of the 1990s) and topping the Rs. 1 billion turnover mark. This was a major milestone for CBL, both internally and externally. The company was becoming better known, both to consumers for its brands and quality products and to the industry for its investments in good technology. CBL reinforced this reputation by committing to a Rs. 500 million expansion program Rs. 300 million of which was spent on a large state of the art plant from Italy. Plant 6 as it was known, was CBLs largest capacity plant thus far with five lines that could handle both hard and fermented dough. This action by CBL sent a strong message, to its staff and associates, about CBLs optimism and confidence in the companys future growth commercialization of this new plant, CBL planned to introduce a new range of biscuits to tackle Maliban head-on. 6.1.2 The Lemon Puff Battle CBLs next strategic attack on Maliban came in 2001 with its Lemon Puff. The Munchee Lemon Puff had a solid 30% market share but as was the case with Marie, failed at growing sales further as a me too product. CBL decided to re-Launch Lemon Puff, by promoting it as a sandwich biscuit with a higher quantity of lemon cream. The campaign was heralded by an intensive television campaign directed at capturing the attention of a new market. What the company did not reveal in its advertising was that the cracker itself had been vastly improved, through a new formula and upgraded technology. It was in fact a noticeably better overall sandwich biscuit than Malibans Lemon Puff rather than just being a look alike with more cream. Going against the advice of its advertising company, Munchee replaced the traditional yellow packaging, synonymous with the Lemon Puff category, with a white wrapper. The superior moisture and odour barriers of the new metalized wrapper combined with the new pillow pack technology, which used only two seals to achieve increased air-tightness, better preserved the crispness and freshness of the sandwich biscuit. This had been a problem that had plagued both companies puffs for decades. Consumers who tasted the Munchee Lemon Puff for its extra cream (not enough cream was a complaint associated with both Lemon Puffs for years) were pleasantly surprised and rapidly switched loyalty to the Munchee Lemon Puffs. Thus Munchee demonstrated that it was in touch with tastes of its consumers and used their feedback to improve its biscuits. The impact of the product changes were felt immediately. Munchees market share in puffs went up from 30% to over 50% within a mere four months following this relaunch, and grew the entire puff category from 12 to 16%. As a result, Malibans share of Lemon Puff which had been a staggering 70% plummeted to 29%. By now Munchee had 45% of the local biscuit market and was vying with Maliban for market leadership. CBLs next big ch allenge was clear take on Maliban in the cream cracker market. Despite Munchees success at growing its sales, Maliban still had nearly 75% of the lucrative cracker market while Munchee was at a meager 23%. The Maliban cream cracker was well accepted and entrenched in the market. CBL had to find a way of breaking through with an innovative cream cracker to take on this market. 6.1.3 The Cream Cracker Assault The following year, in 2002, CBL re-Iaunched its cracker as a Super Cream Cracker, enriched with vitamins in a bold campaign, with live broadcast of two music shows held simultaneously in Colombo and Anuradhapura before massive crowds As they had done with the Lemon Puff, CBL used a new metalized pillow-pack with a contemporary look to break away from the traditional solid red Maliban packaging synonymous s with cream cracker and re-formulated the cracker to deliver a crisper and tastier product. The Munchee strategy of delivering a superior quality product that convinced consumers to switch brands proved a success and the results were phenomenal. Cracker sales grew, expanding its own market not merely taking over competitor share. Growth in sales nearly tripled and Munchees market share in cream cracker immediately doubled to 40%, reaching 50% the foHowing year. Today, of the total cream cracker category, which makes up 20% of the total domestic biscuit market, Munchee owns a 60% sh are. Super Cream Cracker accounts for 30% of the companys turnover, with a profit margin of over 25%. Munchee continues to fight aggressively for market share. Its most recent marketing campaign entitled Podi Badaginne† targets the large 500 gm pack market, previously serviced by loose crackers. The focus is to use the cracker as a substitute for a full meal for chummary factory workers who are already provided with two meals from their work place. The company has again demonstrated its knowledge of customer needs and changing trends and lifestyles in Sri Lanka as the record 128% growth of this heavy use pack from 2004 to 2005 shows. Business Expansion Beginning from the 1990s, CBL began looking at other areas in the food and confectionary industry to expand its businesses activities. 6.2.1 Ritzbury One of the first areas CBL explored was one naturally complementary to its existing line of business: chocolate. At one time, the company had produced chocolate for Nestle and had some exposure to Nestles chocolate operations. Launched in 1991, Ritzbury chocolates began with chocolate coated (enrobed) biscuits. The company went through much teething pain in developing the right quality chocolate for its use. It struggled to develop a workable formulation one that tasted good while withstanding the melting and rancidity caused by the tropical Sri Lankan weather. Ritzbury gradually developed its market by first growing its range of coated biscuits, then expanding to chocolate candies and hand made chocolates, and only recently moving into the traditional slabs the largest market category. The companys strategy is to provide innovative eye-catching products to its consumers and thus differentiate from its competition. Ritzburys first entry was Chunky Choc (chocolate covered biscuits sandwich with butterscotch cream filling), followed by Chit Chat (chocolate coated wafer with hazelnut cream) and Chocolate Fingers (chocolate coated finger biscuit). Another innovation for Sri Lanka was Pebbles (brightly colore d, sugar coated chocolate candies). The Ritzbury range includes Nik Nak, (chocolate coated vanilla cream wafer), Go Nuts (colored chocolate coated peanuts), Choosy (liquid chocolate stick) and Choco-La individual nuggets. Although it started out originally as a poor number four, Ritzbury recently beat Kandos (Ceylon Chocolates) to the number two spot in the chocolate market. However, at 21 % vs. 42% Ritzbury has only half the market share of market leader Edna and a long way to go to become number one. Further, Edna has itself shown to be very aggressive and quick in bringing out innovative products to the chocolate market. Ritzbury for its part, offers over 60 differentiated items, at the full range of price points and with a dedicated sales force certainly provides its consumers affordability and access. Despite being a small local brand, it offers consumers a complete range of chocolates and chocolate coated products and for other products frequently provides comparable alternati ves to more expensive imported products. Examples are Pebbles as an alternative to Smarties, Chit Chat to Kit Kat and Go Nuts to MMs. Yet, apart from the hand molded specialty chocolates and coated biscuits products, the company has yet to fully convince local consumers that the quality of its slab range is on par with that of imports or Kandos. By 1997, following its first biscuit war and having grown its market share in the biscuit market to a respectable 30%, CBL began to focus on sales of Ritzbury. One hindrance to improving growth CBL realized was the then single chain of distribution it used for both biscuits and chocolates. In practical terms what this implied was that once a retailer had gone through purchases of the more established Munchee list of biscuits they would have little money left for Ritzbury chocolates. Ritzbury sales were materially affected and it became evident that an alternative would have to be sought out. One option was to increase the breadth of the CBL range in order to afford to maintain a second line of distribution. 6.2.2 Pancho Snacks With this in mind, CBL decided to enter the snack food market in 1998 under Ritzbury. Named Pancho, this snack range was made up primarily of extruded snacks. However, despite the companys sustained efforts with Pancho and the separate sales force, the impulse buy snack market proved a disappointing arena for CBL. Despite the introduction of two products under a new line named Catch Me together with a re-Launch of Pancho in 2000, the company found that it could only succeed in this market with a near continuous stream of promotions. Although CBL persevered in snack foods for nearly five years, it was eventually forced to close up this operation and admit failure. With the aim of an expansion of its range still in mind, CBL next entered a completely unfamiliar food market. In 2000 due to its own financial difficulties, Yanik Incorporated, an investment bank, was selling its 79% stake in Soy Foods (Lanka) Limited, a public listed company manufacturing textured vegetable protein (TVP) n uggets. Soy Foods was a loss making number four player in the market but had pioneered a number of soy products under the brand Lanka Soy. CBL seized this opportunity to expand its range, encouraged by its present Managing Director who had experience in the soya area. CBL purchased the stake in Soy Foods at Rs.9/share and took over operations in September 2000; by 2002 the company had been successfully turned around and had become a viable entity. This was the success story that CBL had been searching for. The Soy Foods line allowed CBL to maintain a dual distribution network, one for its biscuits and another for chocolates and soy. The effects of this isolation of chocolate sales from biscuits were immediate and notable. By 2002 Ritzbury had made impressive inroads into its competition and grown market share to over 15%. 6.2.3 Lanka Soy In 2000 when CBL bought over management of Soy Foods (Lanka) Ltd. from Yanik it was a loss making company. Despite being the pioneer in the local soy market, Lanka Soy was at the time selling only 50% of the volumes of the market leader Raigam, with a 15% market share. The companys growth was stagnating in a rapidly growing market, and many smaller competitors were cashing on its market with lookalike products. The ambitious strategy set out for a turnaround of the company was to aim to make it not merely profitable but the market leader. CBL decided that not only was it necessary to grow Lanka Soys market share, through a fresh look and product, it was going to grow the total product market through a change in positioning. Thinking very innovatively, the company decided what was needed was to position soya not just as a vegetarian food, but as a more economical substitute for the protein content of a main meal. Touting advantages such as convenience, price and the lack of freezer requirements together with newly introduced catchy features such as interesting shapes and flavors, a whole range of new branded soy products were launched under the Lanka Soy umbrella. Given that at the time, chicken flavored soya was the most popular soya product the company decided it would introduce interesting flavors to accompany new presentation efforts. In order to take the competition head on, it improved the taste of its traditional range, while also increasing its product range. It developed not one but a range of chicken flavors, under the brand Chikosoy, consisting of tandoori, masala, roast and chilli chicken flavors. For the traditional vegetarian market, it introduced the Vegesoy range a further four flavors of mushroom, hot and spicy, Chinese chop suey and Indian rasam. But its piece de resistance was a completely new entrant Malusoy. This range of not merely fish but also seafood flavors truly tapped into a very strong local preference for seafood. Malusoy comprised spratts, devilled prawns, cuttlefish and ambul thiyal flavors. Packaging for the four new sub brands was done using a range of appealing eye-catching colors, with a unique logo designed for each. Advertising again interestingly was carried out individually on a sub brand basis. For example, Malusoy used a two column poster conveying the advantages over canned fish. The company also took the extra step of providing a sauce sachet to provide a one step cooking process. Emphasis was placed to introduce the cooked product to consumers by way of cookery demonstrations and street promotions. In particular, Malusoy was aimed at areas with little coastal access. Sales efforts were overhauled, re-demarcating a network to reach 35,000 outlets with designated representatives for supermarkets, catering and restaurant sectors. The results were strong. By early 2002 Lanka Soys market share had jumped to 25% hitting 30% and market leadership a year later. Malusoy to eBLs surprise turned out to be Lanka Soys front runner in sales. The strategy to offer consumers, as a household, their daily main dish at a price less than half the price of canned or fresh sea food was highly successful. Within 24 months Malusoy sales exceeded 500,000 packets a month, making up over 14% of the total soy market. Due to the sudden launch of many interesting products at the same time Lankasoy established itself as trend setter and frontrunner of the soya product market. 6.2.4 Tiara Cakes eBLs next expansion was within the local confectionary business -the lucrative Rs. 4 billion plus local cake market. eBLs main biscuit and chocolate operations had traditionally taken place at its home factory located along with its head office in Pannipitiya. However in 2002, the company invested Rs. 1.5 billion to set up eBL Foods International (eBL Foods), a Board of Investment (BOI) approved company in Rannala, about one hour away. Awarded a 10 year tax holiday, eBL Foods has a mandate to manufacture bakery products and chocolates the former includes a new line of cakes under the brand name Tiara. The new venture commenced operations in September 2004 with a new line of portion cakes individually wrapped sponge layer cakes, marketed under the Tiara sub brand Okay, The product line also includes swiss rolls. CBL Foods boasts a state of the art plant intended primarily for cakes and a Clean Room,,33 to guarantee freshness for a shelf life of up to eight months. Due to production constraints faced elsewhere however the 110,000 square foot modern facility also includes manufacturing and packing for chocolates, wafers and biscuits the latter including both hard and soft dough. CBL expects that its group tax slab will come down to 32.5% as a result of CBL Foods tax advantaged status and the shifting of these manufacturing of chocolates, wafers and biscuits, which previously came under Ceylon Biscuits tax slab. The company uses a formula to determine profit and is taxed at the preferential rate of 15% on its export. 6.2.5 Other Snacks In 2004, CBL invested Rs. 50 million to acquire a 60% stake in Cecil Food (Pvt) Limited (Cecil Food) an organic manufacturer of dehydrated fruit products, fruit juices, desiccated coconut and cashews primarily for the export market. Though the company had been in existence for 10 years and exported to 20 countries, it was facing financial difficulties. CBL brought to Cecil Foods the financial strength and management experience that it needed, while the founder retained a 25% stake. CBLs main interest in Cecil Food was its exposure to rural agriculture and its export and local market potential. The company presently exports to countries including the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Malta, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Armed with CBLs financial backing the company has overcome its working capital needs. CBLs infusion of capital has enabled the purchase of new equipment and is now looking at expanding sales to tap the local market. Cecil Foods also has a 100% o wned subsidiary Cecil Fruit Canneries which concentrates on natural fruit juices for both the domestic and export markets. CBL intends to launch this range to the domestic market by introducing a line of fruit juices in novelty pouches. Export Markets CBL has also set its sights on growing its revenues through tapping sales in overseas markets. Although CBL had been exporting biscuits from inception, around 1997, the company began to export regular container loads to the United States, Canada, Australia and India, while also investigating at lucrative export markets such as the Middle East. India became a particular focus, with the company beginning its own marketing effort there. By 2000 CBL was also exporting to the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Sweden, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Fiji Islands and the Maldives. Although the export sector took a long time to stabilize, export orders now go out to 36 countries, exceeding Rs. 110 million in value (USD$ 1 million) in 2004/5. Exports to the UK, Middle East and Canada are mainly to the so called ethnic markets catering to the Sri Lankan diaspora, but in other countries demand is slowly establishing into in the established biscuit market through chain distributors. While most e xports are under private labels that it, outsourcing for foreign biscuit companies CBL has managed in some instances to establish its own brand. This is particularly the case in Australia where the company has taken the additional step, as it did in India, of setting up its own marketing effort by establishing a company representative as market manager. Australia is now the main export market for CBL, having overtaken the United States. CBL also enjoyed some recent success making inroads into western Africa. 6.3.1 Entry into India There are four accepted methods for a company to enter a foreign market: exports, licensing, joint ventures and direct investment, which often represent an evolution in the degree of interest the company develops once it is present in the market. Beginning with straightforward exports from the mid 1990s and early exports of containers to India in 1999 CBL took the next step in developing the Indian market by investing Indian Rupees 3.6 crores (36 million) to purchase Parrys Confectionary based in Pondicherry, about an hour from Chennai. Setting up a 100% owned subsidiary Ritzbury India, CBL began manufacturing operations for the first time outside Sri Lanka. The acquisition provided CBL with a six line 350 ton a month manufacturing plant. The company entered the Indian market with the Munchee and Ritzbury brands, for distribution in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. While the chocolates were manufactured in Sri Lanka, most of the Munchee range was baked in India. CBL produced nine varieties of biscuits including Marie, Glucose biscuits and several creams at the Pondicherry plant. This manufacturing base in India proved to be both a blessing and a distress to CBL. On the one hand, it became a strong negotiating tool for CBL at a time of labour unrest. CBL was able to take a tough stance, threatening closure and the moving of its entire manufacturing operations to its base in India. However, on the other hand, distribution arrangements provided by Parrys proved to be less than satisfactory. The company began a losing battle in trying to distribute its products. Revenues were far below expectations and Ritzbury India further faced a number of detrimental tariffs in South India. Despite a Free Trade Agreement with India, and a reduction of duty to 3%, the state sales tax in Tamil Nadu was increased by 8% for imported goods effectively nullifying any duty concessions. Following a second acquisition in India, CBL decided to completely dispose of its Chennai operations at a loss , dissolving Ritzbury India. In 2003 CBL heard about the sale through court auction of Bakemans, once the third largest biscuit manufacturer in India with a market share high of 13% of the total Indian market. Outbidding its Indian competition in July 2004 CBL successfully acquired the assets of Bake mans at a cost ofRs .. 300 million. Along with the premises the company also gained six biscuit lines from the acquisition, two of which it chose to bring to Sri Lanka for installation at CBL foods to allay its present capacity constraints. Based in Patiala in the state of Punjab, CBL set up CBL India with plans to commence commercial production in the near future, using one biscuit line. Having recruited Bakemans former CEO, who had been directly involved in the companys rise to its one time number three position, CBL has ambitious plans for India and its manufacturing operations there in the future. Tentatively speaking of a Munchee-Bakemans brand name, CBL aspires to become number three in India within two years of operations and have the same type of success at retail that Dilmah has achieved in India CBLs challenge in India is to find a mass consume r line of biscuits similar to Marie and Cream Cracker in Sri Lanka. Glucose biscuits are an area that the company will have to examine, given their present popularity in India, but to compete with established players such as Parle-G and Britannia, CBL will need both a reliable distribution network and an attractive proposition for the Indian consumers to give it a try. The use of the Bakeman name, which would certainly aid the latter, is presently an issue. If CBL is able to use the Bakeman brand name in some form it will cut down market establishment time considerably. CBLs strength is that it has the innovation to develop a product to suit this market and it has proved in Sri Lanka that it has the quality and taste to convince consumers to switch to its brand. What remains to be seen is whether it will have sufficient insight into the Indian market to correctly select what that winning product and distribution strategy should be. Other Indian Ventures In 2004 CBL entered into an agreement with Ferrero of Italy to distribute and undertake manufacturing on Ferreros behalf. Ferrero is the world renowned producer of Nutella, Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher and Mon Cherie brands of chocolate and another family owned business. Presently the agreement entails the manufacture of boxes for Tic Tac, Ferreros signature mini mint, intended to be extended to the manufacture or finishing of the mint pill also. CBL distributes Ferrero Rochers foil wrapped boxed chocolates, Nutella and Tic Tac for Ferrero in Sri Lanka and India. Manufacturing commenced in August 2005, packing pills imported from Australia into the boxes. Distribution is intended for Sri Lanka, Africa, India and Pakistan. The linkup with Ferrero is another example of CBLs chairmans dynamic personality and relationship building skills. Following initial contact in India, CBLs directors visited Ferreros head quarters in Alba, Italy, which Ferrero reciprocated with a visit to Sri Lanka. The company has expressed an interest in using Sri Lanka as a base for South Asian activities, moving its present activities from India, convinced of CBLsabilities as a business partner. CBL in turn hopes the association will expand its knowledge base through contact with the 60 year old Italian family business. Business Unit Contribution Biscuits Turnover from Munchee biscuits, the biggest contributor to group turnover, grew 30% in the financial year 2004/5 and early results for 2005 show this trend continuing. Past years sales have grown at a similar overall pace, although specific products have shown even higher growth rates at times of changes and innovation. Profit margins on biscuits range from 20-25% with products such as Super Cream Cracker, Tiffin and Chocolate Puff being the most profitable. Biscuit sales are presently constrained primarily by production capability, with demand strong and the company intending to increase its production lines in 2005/6. To try to keep up with demand, CBL has brought down two lines already from its recent acquisition in India and plans to import a new 2 ton per hour machine from Italy, expected to be installed in early 2006. Group Performance While CBLs overall growth has been strong over the past five years with revenues more than doubling from Rs. 1.9 to Rs. 5.2 billion over the period, profit increases have been even higher due to various tax benefits. In 2005 CBLs group turnover grew 48% to Rs. 5.2 billion and net profit after tax grew 63% to Rs. 533 million, the highest ever in the companys 36 year history. Sales surpassed the previous year across all areas of biscuits, chocolates, Soya and exports. The tremendous bottom line growth clearly indicates the contribution accrued from CBL Foods tax advantaged status. In comparison the 2004 figures were 11% top line and 23% bottom line growth. On average, overall profit margin has been near 9% over the five year period. This is taking into account FlY 200112 which differs due to both the industrial unrest that CBL faced for two months of that financial year as well as the exhaustion of the tax benefits afforded by the 1988 Investment Tax Allowance. The companys latest earning per share figure (EPS) is an astonishing Rs. 53.12 and more impressively has grown from Rs. 36.75 in 2003. This EPS figure reflects the extraordinary growth that CBL has experienced over the last 10 years. EPS in the late 1990s was actually in the Rs. 3000 range on the companys original ordinary share capital of Rs. 390,000 (made up of 39,000 Rs. 10 shares). Path Forward Ceylon Biscuits faced with production capacity constraints for its biscuits, as demand has grown well beyond forecasts. It has adopted the following three pronged approach to increase capacity: a) bringing down two biscuit lines from India from its Bakemans operation for immediate capacity expansion, b) importing a brand new large capacity plant from Italy and c) future capacity expansion of its Indian manufacturing operations. CBLs future growth will come from increasing exports of its established products and diversifying by leveraging its domestic logistics and distribution capabilities to market its other products. The company is also increasingly open to looking at new opportunities, an example being manufacturing for Italian chocolate maker Ferrero. The companys core competencies for the future will be investment in technology, financial strength, sales and marketing competency and focused management. Key challenges will be dealing with its production restrictions and becoming able to compete on a global basis by 2007. CBLs greatest test will be when the Indo Lanka FTA final phase permits Indian biscuits to be imported duty free beginning 2007. CBL intends to examine becoming listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange over the next few years. Since the desire for listing does not seem to be driven by financial needs only, it is still unclear what CBL will gain from this step. The company wishes to formalize its procedures in order to firm up its financial transparency and professionalize its organization structure and operations to ensure future continuity and success. There is a sentiment that going public will enforce the discipline required to ensure this. CBL is well poised with a business model to ensure ongoing value creation. It has spent time building strong brands that have future earnings potential. The brands have proven their competencies in that they have been replicated across new markets with success. However there are some concerns that need to be explored. Managing export markets Export marketing could be more aggressive the model adopted by Munchee for Australia of establishing a marketing office seems the proven route to establish and develop key markets. We see some amazing possibilities for synergies for CBL in inviting someone of the caliber of Merrill 1. Fernando Chairman Dilmah to its board, perhaps even offering Dilmah some equity in an export division or forming a separate export company, who could help with establishing relationships with some of Dilmahs retailers and distributors in Australia. One way or another, the use of a different model to fast track export market expansion is advisable. 5. Managing Indian market entry This is the second greatest challenge facing the company. India is an amazingly dissimilar market to Sri Lanka despite certain cultural similarities. It is fragmented with over 15 million retail entities, the largest number in the world. The organized retail sector in India is only 3%. However, over 51 % of its population is under 25 years of age and the fastest growing sector is the retail high-end supermarkets -expected to grow over three fold in the next five years (from US$8 billion to US$25 billion). Beginning with three malls in 2003, India had 25 by 2005 and is building 200 more. The pace of change is phenomenal. It makes sense to enter this high-end retail Focus on core competencieslRefocus on Sales and Marketing CBLs passion for quality, capacity to build brands and technological and production innovativeness are great competencies to be retained. Skills like marketing and sales are always unstable. Such skills are in demand, pressures are great and often new challenges are looked for in different cycles of growth. No proper product management system or category management is in place. It is important to have some depth to the marketing department. And while CBLs success speaks volumes for the capabilities of its current Director of marketing there is a need for a diversity of approaches and opinions so that marketing efforts do not grow stale. Key mid level appointments need to be made. Customer intimacy! Product leadership / Managing brand TOM In spite of CBL making all the right moves, and succeeding in achieving higher scores than Maliban in most of the consumer research categories (see chart below), Munchee is still behind in brand Top-Of-Mind (TOM) recall. This is despite Munchee having strong market noise levels in share of voice and especially with the competition making so many mistakes. Part of the gap between Munchee and Maliban in top of mind recall can be explained by the long history of Maliban as a market leader, and that it was the dominant player for a very long time. Part of the gap between Munchee and Maliban in top of mind recall can be explained by the long history of Maliban as a market leader, and that it was the dominant player for a very long time.

Emerson and Thoreau Transcendentalism Beliefs Essay Example for Free

Emerson and Thoreau Transcendentalism Beliefs Essay Both Emerson and Thoreau use the images of eyes, vision, and perception to properly demonstrate their transcendentalist beliefs. Transcendentalism is defined as the â€Å"idea that our spirits have a deep connection with nature and our ideas transcend to the natural world. † By using the â€Å"transparent eyeball† and other uses of perception of the whole in nature in their works, both authors establish a strong belief of perception through transcendentalism within the natural world. Their works have many parallels between them regarding perception and ultimately the use of eyes. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a very important author whose ideas were adopted and adapted almost immediately after his works came to light. First, in Emerson’s piece, Nature, he introduces the audience to an idea of a transparent eyeball. He states, â€Å"Standing on the bare ground, my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. † (1112). The most influential line in this quote is â€Å"all mean egotism vanishes. † This exemplifies the idea that it is not a personal experience in which he is undergoing; it is, in fact, a spiritual involvement with the natural world. By using the impression of an eyeball, it shows that he sees all and is part of nature as a whole. â€Å"The ruin or the blank †¦ is in our own eye. The axis of vision is not coincident with the axis of things, and so they appear not transparent but opaque. The reason why the world lacks unity is because man is disunited with himself. † (1133). While things in Nature should be seen as transparent, we view them as impervious, which affects our perception within. Emerson also states, â€Å"There is a property in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts, that is, the poet. † (1112). This quote shows the importance of seeing the natural world as one. Emerson also wrote a poem called â€Å"Each and All. † In this piece, his main theme is the idea of gratefulness in the natural world. He explains that every moment in nature is a whole. He states, â€Å"I thought the sparrows note from heaven, Singing at dawn on the alder bough; I brought him home in his nest at even;—He sings the song, but it pleases not now; For I did not bring home the river and sky; He sang to my ear; they sang to my eye. † (341). This part of the poem is momentous, because it explains that although the moment of hearing the sparrow sing is over, he has taken it in through the eye and now it is a memory as a whole. By using perception of the eye throughout his pieces, Emerson shows a vital key of knowledge in the transcendentalism ideals. Secondly, Henry David Thoreau had a major influence on the transcendentalist belief with his work called Walden. Walden Pond was a place in which Thoreau went for two years to build his house and wrote a narrative based on his learning and understanding of himself and nature during his time spent there. The depth of the Walden Pond was about 104 feet deep and it was blue with a tint of green. This pond was unique because of its clearness of the water, and the fact that it almost looked like the iris of an eyeball. Throughout his work, Thoreau used the pond as a metaphor of his existence in nature. By using the themes of economic, political, environmental, individualistic, and finally transcendental, Thoreau described an understanding of seeing all in nature. As he describes his surrounding, we get an idea of him becoming a â€Å"transparent eyeball. † Because Emerson was one of the most influential and important friendships in Thoreau’s career, he was heavily impacted by the idea of the â€Å"transparent eyeball†. By continuously describing his individualistic tendencies he learns while being on Walden Pond, it is evident that he is becoming a â€Å"transparent eyeball. † As we continue reading, Thoreau states, â€Å"I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life. † (1920). By relating his life to the Walden Pond and its significant depth, he establishes a powerful awareness of perception in nature. His point of perception is also demonstrated by how Walden, is structured. He goes through each season making cycles for what he completes and the perception in which he completes it. In the idea of transcendentalism, the use of eyes and perception are very important because it creates a real life clarification as to what really matters. Becoming one in nature is a major element within the transcendentalism belief, and each author who believed this obviously put an emphasis on this metaphor. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both had important transcendentalist ideas and contributed a great deal to other authors from then on. By allowing an eyeball and other uses of perception to explain all philosophy of transcendentalism, it simplifies the bigger meaning and allows readers to understand more effectively.

The Senegalese Peoples Clothes Cultural Studies Essay

The Senegalese Peoples Clothes Cultural Studies Essay Senegal is a unique country with many languages, 36 to be exact. Linguists divide the languages into two different families. These families are Atlantic and Mande. The Atlantic family is generally found in the western part of the country. It includes Wolof, Serer, Fula, and Diola. The Mande languages are found in the eastern part and include Bambara, Malinke, and Soninke. French is the official language, because it was inherited from the colonial era when Senegal was under French rule. The most dominant language is Wolof. Wolof is related to Fula, which is also spoken by a large part of the population. The other languages are Bainouk-Gunyaamolo, Balanta-Ganja, Bayot, Crioulo, Upper Guinea, Badyara, Ejamat, French, Fulah, Gusilay, Jalunga, Jola-Fonyi, Bandial, Jola-Kasa, Karon, Hassaniyya, Kerak, Kuwaataay, Laalaa, Mandinka, Kobiana, Maninkakan, Western, Mankanya, Mlomp, Ndut, Nko, Noon, Oniyan, Palor, Pulaar, Bedik, Saafi, Serer-Sine, Soninke, Wamey, Wolof, Mandjak, Bainouk-Samik, an d Xasonga. There are probably many different languages in Senegal because many other part s of Africa have different languages because they were colonized by different groups and when people come into Senegal, they bring their language with them. Education for the deaf uses American Sign Language. They also have twenty ethnic groups of varying size, a very high amount for such a small country. One ethnic group is called the Mandà © people. These people have been primarily Muslim since the 13th century. Many of the Mandà © people believe in initiation groups such as Chiwara and Dwo and they believe in the power of Juju. The Mandà © peoples arts are primarily carvings and jewelry. The Mandà © produce beautifully woven fabrics, which are very popular in Western Africa. They also make necklaces out of silver and gold, bracelets, armlets, and earrings. The bells that are seen on the necklaces are meant, spiritually, to be a way of contacting spirits, ringing in both worlds so their nonliving ancestors could hear them. Mandà © hunters wear a single bell, so that it can be silenced when stealth is vital. Women wear multiple bells, giving a sense of community, because of their harmonious ring. Much of the music of the Mandà © people is played on a kora, a stringed instrument wit h at least 21 strings. It is performed by families of musicians. The Mandà © languages are Mandika, Soninke,  Bambara,  Dioula, Bozo,  Mende,  Susu, and  Vai.   Another Senegalese ethnic group is the Wolof. Wolof is the most dominant group, with 43.3% of the population. They are also mostly Muslim. Next is the Fula, the second most populous ethnic group with 23.8% of the population. They speak the Fula language and were Islamized long ago. A slightly smaller group, the Serer, encompass 14.7% of the Senegalese population. They speak the Cangin languages. The other ethnic groups are minor, representing less than 5% of the population. Europeans  and  descendants of Lebanese migrants are also present in Senegal. They are around 50,000 in number. The ethnic groups share many commonalities, including, while not the exact same languages, some language similarities. A lot of the words in each language are cognates from a different language. Also, they have no cultural boundaries. For example, it is common for a member of one ethnic group to marry someone from a different ethnic group. As mentioned earlier, Muslim is one religion found in Senegal. Muslims make up 92% of the population. 2% of the population is Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) and the other 6% are indigenous beliefs. The Islamization of Senegal dates back all the way to the eleventh century. The Christian part of Senegal is fairly recent. Women have high rates of illiteracy. They are responsible for cooking, cleaning, and watching the children. They are also in charge of agricultural work, like weeding and harvesting crops like rice, most commonly. In recent times, cultural change has led women to become office clerks, retail clerks, and unskilled workers in tuna canning factories and textile mills. There is a large range of housing types in Senegal. Most of the houses in Dakar, the capital city, are European-style. Outside of Dakar, circular mud huts are common in the villages. Professional builders build the houses out of brick and industrial cement. Along the coast of Senegal, there is an interesting mix of European and African architectures, such as in the island of Goree, which is famous for it. Normally, the men build the houses and the women decorate and maintain them. The Office of Moderate-Rent Housing is trying to implement low cost housing in Dakar. There is an average of 4.9 people in each household. Most Senegalese families have about ten people. Polygamy is common in Senegal. It has caused an extra woman living in a household and more children. Technology in Senegal has come a long way. Now, the African Regional Center for Technology, which has over 30 member states, is located in Dakar. Most research centers in Senegal are focused on agricultural issues. Dakar also has a center for mining and medical research and an institution directed toward African food and nutrition problems. Most of the Senegalese peoples clothes are made of local cotton. Clothes that are dyed or hand woven are reserved for special occasions. Dying is a special skill that is traditionally passed down from mother to daughter. They use vegetal chemicals, particularly indigo. While dying is passed down through the female side of the family, weaving is transmitted between the males of the family. Just like in the U.S., the fashion varies depending on the occasion. For women, they wear a Muslim gown called a bubu after work. They also have a head tie selected to match the color and design of the bubu. They like radiant colors. After work, men wear a shirt over short trousers. Hair dressing is another thing that is important to them. Girls often have their hair braided with beads and boys have their head shaved according to their familys style. For special occasions, they wear gold, silver, iron, and copper jewelry. For the Senegalese, breakfast normally consists of porridge or grits with milk. A traditional lunch is cooked rice with fish and vegetables served in a tomato sauce. For dinner, they can expect meat or fried fish. After they eat, they drink water to quench their thirst, but if they have visitors, they will offer them mango juice, or industrially made pop drinks. For almost all of Senegal, an important tradition is lively baby naming festivals. When the baby is about one week old, the older members of the village they are in assemble in the morning and name the baby while killing a goat, sheep chicken, or cow, dependent upon the familys wealth. After that part of the ceremony, the rest of the village joins and the party continues until late at night. There is a lot of dancing and singing for the baby. Tabaski is a two day celebration where Muslims slay a ram to honor when, from history, Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God. Celebrated around the world, including Senegal, by Muslims is Ramadan. It is a 30 day festival for spiritual reflection and prayers where all of the Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. They have to abstain from food, drink, gum, and any tobacco. They are not even supposed to swallow their own saliva. This is also for sympathy for the less fortunate. One popular form of Senegalese music is drumming. The tama is a single faced drum that has strips of leather attached to the outside and the base. The drum is held under one arm and beat with the other. The arm holding it is squeezed to adjust the pitch and tone. The other popular form of music is folk music. This music is played with the kora. The final type of music is singing where many voices come together to produce a song. There are also traditional Senegal dances. The most popular of which is the sabar dance. It is performed at weddings, parties, and other celebrations. The dance is unique and also competitive. During the dance, people gather in a large circle, and individuals or pairs go in the center and show off their best moves. The dancers show stomping footwork, outstretched arms, and jumps. Senegal is a unique country with a diverse culture. They have many ethnic groups, many similar languages, dominantly Muslim religion (with some others), long, decorative dresses, delicious food, beautiful art, interesting festivals and Muslim traditions, and energetic music and dances. They have medium sized families with a few people per household and some unique combinations of architecture.