Monday, March 30, 2020

Environmental factors affecting Nespresso in China Essay Example

Environmental factors affecting Nespresso in China Paper There was a case of McDonalds in Beijing who were forced out of their property by the government during the contract period (China unique, 2013). This spells an unstable working environment for newspapers. ECONOMIC FACTORS Economic factors include, Unemployment rate, exchange rate, inflation, interest rate, consumer discretionary income, labor cost. Unemployment: According to the ministry of human resources and social security of the PRE, there has been a significant decrease in unemployment rate in China from 4. 0 in the last quarter of 201 3 to 4 percent in the second quarter of 2013 (Trading economics, 2014). This will increase salaries and wages due to scarcity of labor as only few of the population are unemployed. Similarly, Chinas inflation rate as reported by National Bureau of Statistics of China was at 2. 50 percent in January 2014 (Bloomberg business week Jan. 2014). This has caused a reduction in unemployment and an increase in wages. This might mean an increase in sales for western brands like newspapers and luxurious brands. According to ban and company luxury goods purchases has slowed down by percent as Chinese shoppers now do their usury shopping abroad (Ban and company 2013). This might not be too good for foreign companies in china but it shows how passionate Chinese are for luxury brands. Chinas GAP were recorded at 7. 7 percent (9. 4 trillion USED) in the fourth quarter of 2013. (Bloomberg business week Jan. 2014) The above information shows that Chinas economic environment would promote and facilitate business activities. (Trading economies, 2014). Lower unemployment rate implies high purchasing power of customers. Inflation will affect newspapers because suppliers fall demand more. High interest rate means high return on investment. We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental factors affecting Nespresso in China specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental factors affecting Nespresso in China specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental factors affecting Nespresso in China specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The higher consumers discretionary income, the higher their purchasing power especially for premium products like the newspapers brand. POLITICAL FACTORS. Factors present in the political environment include Political Stability, government involvement, trade barriers (tariff and non-tariff) Political stability: The three decades of reform in china has led to both a political and social landscape. (China daily Feb. 2014). China has a unique form of political risk which is a constant battle between the central government and local government over applicable laws. For Nosiness, this stability and a clear understanding of local law would guarantee a stable business environment in the long run. Government involvement: The purpose of this is to protect domestic firms. (Protectionism). Government may impose barriers (tariff and non-tariff) on imports or foreign investment in order to protect domestic industries and to reduce competition. Although china has continuously opened its market for foreign investors, it has also place restriction on some foreign businesses in certain industries. For instance the restriction on American producers of autos, beef and steel into its market. Therefore many firms are capitalizing on the power of the internet by doing series of online rumination. (Adage, 2013) Online retail sale according to Bloomberg, went up by percent last year (adage, 2013). The surging internet purchase indicates that Chinese consumers are moving away from bricks and mortar outlets for their shopping. Opportunities of online CRM and sales include; Wider reach. Using the internet, newspapers can keep up with a large number of its customers on a daily or weekly bases. Advertising. Newspapers can also use the internet to advertise its product to millions of customers at the same time. This could be cheaper to operate too. Segmenting purposes. The record of customers and their previous purchase can help newspapers in automatically segmenting it customers based on purchase history Feedback and adjustment. Customer feedbacks is very important as these information can be used in making services or products better. Despite the attractive and promising nature of using the internet, investors and firms should also consider the drawbacks of using the internet for sales and communication. The Chinese government recently just imposed a new law regarding e- Commerce in China. The law stipulates that real names registration of sellers n third party platforms, strict seven days return policy, and also online payment market place must safeguard users privacy. (Pace net services, 2014) Another report says the government is imposing a law where all consumer to consumer online trading would have to register for a business license and also pay taxes (China daily, 2014) Legal system. There are different legal restriction and regulation from government and regulatory bodies. Payment environment: the cash payment culture of the Chinese creates difficulties for online shopping. International credit cards are not accepted in most online hops. There is unavailability of credit card payment in most transactional websites. The online payment system in china is still at an infant stage. Logistics network environment: there is a restriction on foreign investment of logistics companies. Limited choices of delivery therefore, much more time is spent on delivery (kit, 2007). QUESTION THREE Despite the large number of internet users I personally would recommend that newspapers adopt another marketing strategy as it will be very harmful to assume that the newspapers club would work in the Chinese market. From ireful observation of the forces at work in the Chinese market environment, can say that there is high level of government protectionism and regulation on internet businesses (Commerce) that tends to favor Chinese owned firms and businesses. Report has it that not only were a lot of websites blocked in china, there were also a Chinese replacement. Sites blocked include Backbone, yahoo, Google, twitter, Youth etc. According to report, the British newspaper The Guardian along with The New York times and Bloomberg news has been blocked in china for over a year. Motives for this act remains known (Taipei Times, 2014). Newspapers use of the internet is limited as not so much can be achieved due to interference by the government therefore using the internet could hinder performance as there is too much interference from the government. Newspapers should adapt its marketing mix to overcome the current situation of internet insecurity so as to reduce reliance on the internet. Though the internet can be used to position the newspapers brand image in the minds of the consumers for sales, or advertising or customer relationship but it wont be wise business decision to apply the newspapers club concept in China because the government can decide blacklist them just like the case of Backbone. Newspapers should create more awareness about its brand to the Chinese public especially the less educated ones explaining the difference between house coffee and the newspapers brand Lastly, since there is already a tea drinking tradition amongst the Chinese population, newspapers should consider a local adaptation which involves offering other kinds of hot drinks so as to have a variety of products for it ever growing tea drinking customers.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Jack Kerouac And The Beat Movement Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Jack Kerouac And The Beat Movement Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Jack Kerouac And The Beat Movement World War II marked a wide dividing line between the old and the new in American society and the nations literature(The World Book Encyclopedia 427) . When world War II ended there was a pent up desire that had been postponed due to the war. Post war America brought about a time when it seemed that every young man was doing the same thing, getting a job, settling down and starting a family. America was becoming a nation of consumers. One group that was against conforming to this dull American lifestyle was referred to as Beatniks. The Beats or Beatniks condemned middle class American life as morally bankrupt. They praised individualism as the highest human goal(The World Book Encyclopedia 428). This perspective was present in poetry and literature through out the beat movement. One of the most important works produced during the beat movement was Jack Kerouacs On The Road. In the novel Jack Kerouacs alter ego Sal Paradise represents the American man who realizes he doesnt want to conform to societies pressures but still hasnt realized what it is exactly he wants to do. He is a man who has very little direction and is very much lost in the world as he knows it. Kerouac seems to be constantly trying to escape. In examining the novel one might wonder what is Kerouac escaping and by what means does he do so? Kerouac used two means of escape through out the novel and through out his life. His first means of escape was his constant travel. He traveled from east to west, New York to San Francisco and stopped everywhere in between. He made this trip over and over, constantly on the road. The simple title of the novel exemplifies Kerouacs ongoing need to travel. When he and his friends got tried of traveling east to west they traveled north to south, driving all the way down to Mexico City. His travels gave him the opportunity to be an outsider with no worries. He was able to witness and observe all that there was to offer throughout the country. While journeying across the states, staying in small towns for no more than a few nights, Kerouac was able to obtain a life with no commitment or responsibility. Even if he was to make some sort of commitment to one of his many girls along the way, it wasnt unlike him to just pick up and leave. After all the only thing people around seemed to know about him was that he liked to drink. This leads to the other form of escape Kerouac used, the alteration of reality. Kerouac would mentally alter his perception of reality through the use of drugs and alcohol. I was getting drunk and didnt care; everything was fine(Kerouac 35). To him everything in life was fine as long as he was drunk. He was beginning to drink heavily, and to drink whiskey and gin instead of just beer (Nicosia 96). That was only the beginning of his disillusionment. Jack began taking benzedrine and smoking marijuana(Nicosia 102). Having the means by which he escapes, the question still remains what is Kerouac trying to escape? In order to understand this we must explore some of Jacks personal issues. A issue concerning Kerouac that is very often eluded to but never really spoken about in On The Road is his possible homosexuality. While Jack never actually came out about his sexuality, his close friends would often witness Jacks participation in endless rounds of sex with both men and women(Nicosia 102). Kerouacs homosexual tendencies caused an overriding psychological conflict: Kerouac was gay but despised homosexuals. Jack talked incessantly about all the big old fags he knew(Nicosia 493). Even though Kerouac would have homosexual encounters, he felt a private guilt over his homosexual feelings. In an attempt to ease his guilt Jack would denounce homosexuality, saying that gay sex is not in my line(Nicosia 142). Jack was obviously ashamed of his homosexual experiences and fought all his life against the label queer(Nicosia 154). In 1945, he wrote a letter to Allen Ginsberg trying to resolve the issue of his possible homosexuality. He stated that the physical