International retailer enter Indian market

International retailer enter Indian market INTRODUCTION Today retail is no more restricted to just selling goods to consumer. It is worlds largest private industry with the sales of US$ 6.6 trillion. (McKinsey Global Institute Report, 2001)Cox R and Brittain P (2004) gave the modern definition of retailing as Retailing is the sale of goods and services to the ultimate consumer for personal, family or household use. In UK retail sector is the second largest employer, contributes 23% in GDP and accounts for the 35% of consumer expenditure. (Cox R and Brittain P, 2004) The sector seems to be mature in UK. But there are few emerging markets in which retail sector is still in its growth phase. One of them is Retail Sector of India. AIM AND OBJECTIVES Aim: To determine the barriers for an international retailer like PRIMARK to enter Indian Market and to find out the suitable marketing policies depending upon the problems they might face. Rationale: Until the fall of communism the countries in the world were divided in to two types- communists and capitalists; depending upon the economical system they had adopted. But there were few newly Independent countries which adopted the mixed type of economy. As the strength of capitalism was proved all the economies tend towards it. Still there are countries like India which are conserved in nature. Route of entering the Indian Market is still full of hurdles for any foreign investor. But the challenge is acceptable because at the end of the route there is a huge market with millions of potential consumers. Objectives: Analysing the potential of Indian Retail sector, market requirements and risks involved. Review the policies of Indian government about Foreign Direct Investment in retail sector. Review how other companies have entered Indian Market. E.g. M S, Wal-Mart, Woolworths etc. Review PRIMARKS mission, vision, operation strategy and marketing policies. Study how PRIMARK has entered in other countries. Learning few appropriate strategies and marketing policies which PRIMARK can adopt to make a successful entry in India. LITERATURE REVIEW International Retailing: Two sets of factors can make a domestic retailer go international. First is push factors which includes saturation of the domestic market, recession and planning restrictions. The other set of factor is known as pull factors which is nothing but market attractiveness for the foreign retailer. It consists of falling barriers to market entry, supplier strategy, strategic alliances, emerging markets, changing consumer taste, economies of scale. But as the venture involves huge investment various strategic methods are used reduce the risk. Thus market research followed by the deciding upon entering strategy such as acquisition or joint venture etc. would be the most suitable path for any retailer. (Cox R and Brittain P, 2004) Indian Retail Sector An Opportunity: The time when developed economies are facing recession, two countries are balancing world economic growth, one of them is India. Indias GDP growth was 9.4% in 2007. According to McKinsey report there are 12 m retail outlets in India. Most of them are small and unorganised, but contributes 6% in GDP. (McKinsey Global Institute Report, 2001)The Indian Organised and Modern Retail Market is only 9% of total retail industry, which too low compared to western world (65% in USA) as well as other Asian countries. (Appendix 1) Thus the sector as such is underdeveloped. Indias Favourable demography, availability of the disposable income with young generation and stability due to vibrant democracy are other advantages for any foreign investors. (Country Profile 2007 India) Report by McKinsey also suggests if the government become a bit liberal and bureaucracy is reduced then the productivity of retail sector would increase by two and half times (250%) and wo uld create 8 million jobs. (McKinsey Global Institute Report, 2001) Market potential can be further back up by study of Kearney A. T. (2006) about Global Retail Development Index. Understanding Indian Consumer: India is a huge country with varied consumer pool. Supporting to the view Ramamurthy K and Naikare A (2007) from Synovate Business consulting says, The Indian market shows differences in consumer behaviour from one region to another in terms of usage, preference, brands, tastes etc. Advocating to the point Mr. Biyani simplify it as, Indian Consumers, unlike people elsewhere, demand ideas and solutions that are uniquely Indian. Mr. Kishore Biyani (CEO, Future Group and Managing Director of Pantaloon Retail, India) Thus any international retailer planning to enter the Indian market would have to consider the same for planning the marketing strategies. Indian modern retailers are attracting only one stratum of people, which includes educated urban Indians, but those which are having the lower purchasing power especially people from sectors such as plumbing, carpentry etc. are often neglected. On January 26, 2006 Big Bazaar announced a Lowest Price Day to attract the later segment. (Biyani K, 2007) So it means there is a GAP in the retail segment which is attractive and can be exploited. The dissertation would evaluate the suitability of marketing strategies, product range etc. for retailer to enter India. Indian Government Policies for Foreign Investor: Foreign company intended to do business in India can follow one of the three routes as explained by Titus and Co., Advocates (2007) Open A liaison office Set up a branch office Incorporate a company If the company wish to set up its own permanent unit in India then it has to follow the third path. But then depending on the sector company can have Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) or Joint Venture (JV). (Titus and Co., Advocates 2007) India has not completely opened the retail sector for foreign investors and the liberalisation is proceeding gradually. Till 2006 the only route for FDI in retails was Franchisee. Government then allowed 51% FDI in single brand retailing. (Country Profile 2007 India) But the retail distribution is still forbidden. (Appendix 2) Along with these ownership policies, India is ranked higher in putting barriers such as discriminatory procedures, tariffs and regulatory barriers on Foreign Investment. The other hurdle for entering Indian market is various barriers to entrepreneurship. Though India has reduced the legal barriers such as getting license or permit it has not reduced the administrative burdens on new entrepreneur. (OECD Economic Survey India, p. 91, 92) For investing in single brand retail sector an investor has to take an approval from SIA (Secretariat for Industrial Assistance), the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi. (Titus and Co., Advocates, 2007) The dissertation would study the regulations of Indian Government for foreign retailer. Entry of Foreign Retailers in India: Retail market potential of India has lured many foreign investors to enter Indian market by various means. The dissertation will analyse the strategies used by them to enter India. Wal-Mart entered wholesale business in India through joint venture with Bharti Enterprises. Bharti-Wal-Mart is panning to open many cash and carry shops by 2015. (The Economist, August 9, 2007) Auchan International SA from France is having regional purchasing and liaison office in India. Cargill India Pvt. Ltd. well known USA based company have launched NatureFresh brand of Atta (wheat floor), refined oil, salt, branded rice etc. Mc Donalds Restaurant has joint venture with Cannaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. to operate in Delhi, Jaipur and Mathura region. (Source: Foreign Companies In India Yearbook 2007) Dairy Farm International Holding Ltd. of Hong Kong along with Food World Supermarkets Ltd. (India) in a joint venture has opened 89 retail shops in India. Procter and Gamble Hygiene and Healthcare Ltd. (USA) have launched consumer and health care products in India. In the project 35% investment is from Indian Share holders and 65% is from Procter and Gamble Company and Procter and Gamble Home Products Ltd. Marks and Spencer c/o Planet Sports Pvt. Ltd. is having 14 retail outlets and distribution network in Delhi, Mumbai, Haidrabad, Jaipur, and Pune etc. in India. (Source: Foreign Companies In India Yearbook 2007) Marks and Spencer has re-entered Indian Retail Market together with Reliance Industries (India). In a joint venture Marks and Spencer is having 51% ownership. Duo is planning to open 50 shops in near future. (Hall J, April 19, 2008) Failure: There are few examples of failure as well. Few organisations have withdrawn their interest in entering Indian market. E.g. Carrefour and Tesco went out of the negotiation for joint venture in India. Starbucks after getting to disapprovals from the Government of India pull out two proposals for franchise. Metro (German Retailer) enter wholesale business in India but since then it has engaged in solving the dispute with state government of Karnataka as state law does not allow Metro to sell agricultural products. (The Economist, August 9, 2007) The dissertation would make an attempt to investigate the reasons behind those failures. Review of PRIMARK: Associated British Food the parent company of PRIMARK opened its first value clothing store in Dublin in 1969. Since then it has opened 177 stores in Ireland (trade with brand name Penneys), Spain and UK. (www.primark.co.uk) The retailer targets the age group o to 35 and especially women customers by providing good quality fashionable cloths at reasonable price. The retail chain basically became popular because of its value for money price. The major strategies of the company involve, Bulk production, Simple to produce designs and Production of only popular sizes. (Atherton J, 2008) The company also deals directly with the producer and there is no intermediate in between and thus avoid huge overhead costs. PRIMARK also does not spend much on advertisements and believes Word of Mouth is the most effective way of advertising. PRIMARK became the member of Ethical Trading Initiative in October 2006 along with the Marks and Spencer, Nike, Gap and Levis. (Staff Induction Handbook, Primark). The PRIMARK is currently operating in Ireland, UK, and Spain. It is expanding internationally and further planning to move in to Portugal and Germany. PRIMARK is selling the similar stock in all countries. It is not favourable for any organisation if they had to change a lot while going international. According to Gavin George from Ernst and Young, Emerging markets offer exciting growth prospects, while many European markets have high spending, but relatively weak competition. Primark will be in an interesting place in Germany because while there is an extensive value clothing proposition there are not so many fashion-oriented players. (McAllister D, 2008) The compatibility of PRIMARK with Indian Consumer and Government would be analysed to find out the appropriate way for entering India. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Research design is the general plan to conduct the research. Saunders et. al. (2007) compares it with onion. The first layer of an onion is deciding upon the Philosophy of research, then the approach, strategy and at the core of an onion lie the data collection and data analysis. Research Philosophy: The research philosophy adopted by the researcher defines the further path he would follow. The problem stated as a topic in this piece of research proposal is practical and related to realities. Thus it adopts the functionalist paradigm. According to Burrell and Morgan (1979:26) It is often problem-oriented approach, concerned to provide practical solutions to practical problems (Cited in Saunders et. al. 2007) This paradigm has two dimension as objectivism and regulation. Objectivism is one of the aspects of Ontology philosophy. But this research would rather proceed with Pragmatism approach, which means the research can follow the philosophy of epistemology as well as ontology. (Saunders et. al., 2007, pp. 101-113) Research Approach: The second layer of a research onion is research approach. This research would use an inductive approach for research which is much more appropriate for answering this sort of questions. Inductive approach gives the necessary flexibility for choosing the research methodology depending upon the research question. (Saunders et. al., 2007, pp. 119) Purpose: The purpose of this research is more of exploratory study and a bit of explanatory study. It would explain the constraints in entering Indian market and how other foreign investors have entered the market. Depending on that it would make an attempt to explore the policies PRIMARK should embrace to enter Indian market successfully. (Saunders et. al., 2007, pp. 133) Strategy: As Robson (2002:178) defines the case study research as a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence. (Cited in Saunders et. al. 2007, p139) The case study research would be the strategy of choice for this research. DATA COLLECTION METHOD For the philosophy, approach and strategy opted for this dissertation the most suitable method of data collection would be the qualitative method. (Saunders et. al., 2007) The data would be collected by in-depth interview of the people form various sectors related to retail business. The main advantage of the method as stated by Burgess (1982:107) is, it is the opportunity for the researcher to probe deeply to uncover new clue, open up new dimensions of a problem and secure vivid, accurate inclusive accounts that are based on personal experience. (Cited by Smith et. al. 2008) The principle source would be the Management of PRIMARK. As the researcher is working with PRIMARK Hammersmith, London; Access to the Store Manager Mrs. Katarina Taggard has been negotiated. Though she has agreed to help with the dissertation, the permission from the Head Office, Reading, UK; is yet to receive. The another person to be interviewed is Mr. Ashdin Doctor, A Market Research Analyst, Retail Sector M umbai, India. The formal approval has been negotiated with him. The questionnaire would be sent to him through e-mail. The questionnaire would be sent to Eva George, China and India Business Development Officer, London and Anita Nandi, City Representative, Mumbai. (Leaflet, City Business Library) In a mean time other important retailers from India are being contacted for the same purpose. ANALYSIS AND PRETSENTATION OF DATA The data gathered from the qualitative method would be analysed by using the Grounded Analysis method of analysing qualitative data. The data would be read and understood well and then it would be linked with the theory or the secondary data. The whole data would be presented in the form of charts, tables and graphs following the critical analysis. SECONDARY DATA The information collected by some body else is regarded as secondary data. The proper utilisation of secondary data depends on analysing and interpreting skills of the researcher. (Smith et. al. 2008) The secondary data would be collected from the books and journal articles regarding the retail sector of India. The information about the country profile and statistics about India would be accessed from following official web sites, www.cia.gov/cia/publications/facebook www.rbi.org.in www.statisticsofindia.com www.finmin.nic.in (Leaflet, City Business Library) CONCLUSION The dissertation aims to analyse the problems international retailer might encounter while entering the Indian market. Eventually it is expected to answer following things; Attractiveness and market growth of one of the segments of Indian market which is not yet entirely exploited. All available paths to enter India and the most suitable one for PRIMARK, e.g. Joint Venture. Choice of marketing policies to be employed. E.g. target group, state-wise choice of clothing, buying occasions and price range etc. Factors to be taken care of and hitches to be aware of while doing business in India. e.g. currency fluctuations, unstable areas, political will and taxation laws in different states etc. REFERENCE Atherton J (2008), Primark stops buying from child labour firms, METRO BUSINESS, METRO, London. June 17, 2008. p.49. Biyani K (2007), Retail Revolution Lure of huge consumer base, In Ram N. (eds.) (2007) THE HINDU SURVEY OF INDIAN INDUSTRY, Chennai: Kasturi Sons Ltd. pp. 285,286,291. Burgess R. G. (1982), Field Research: A Source Book and Field Manual. London: Allen and Unwin. Cited in, Smith M, Thorpe R and Jackson P (2008), Management Research, 3 Edition, London: SAGE Publication Ltd. Chapter 7, pp. 144 Leaflet, City Business Library (n.d.), I need information on India, City of London Libraries, London. Country profile 2007 India, (2007), Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, UK. P. 30, 44. Cox R and Brittain P (2004), Retailing An Introduction, 5th Edition, Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited. Chapter 1 and 5, pp. 1-7, 41-49. Department of Economic Affairs (2007), Foreign direct investment, Government of India. Cited in OECD Economic Surveys (October 2007), Reforming Indias product and service markets, OECD Economic Surveys India, Volume 2007/14, France: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. p. 111 Foreign Companies In India Yearbook 2007 (2007), Commercial Intelligence Service, a division of Business Monitor International, UK. Pp. 24, 34, 38, 51, 75, 88, 93. Kearney A. T. (2006), Emerging Market Priorities for Global Retailers, Global Retail Development Index, Cited on June 20, 2008, Available from http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/pdffiles/emerging-market-priorities-for-global-retailers.pdf McAllister D (2008), Primark set for European Expansion, Retail News, CITYA.M., London. 4 June 2008, p.9. McKinsey Global Institute Report (September 2001), Retail Sector, India: The growth Imperative, McKinsey Company. cited on June 14, 2008, Available from http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/reports/pdfs/india/Retail.pdf OECD Economic Surveys (October 2007), Reforming Indias product and service markets, OECD Economic Surveys India, Volume 2007/14, France: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. pp. 91-92 PRIMARK Background (online) Cited on June 14, 2008. Available from http://www.primark.co.uk/background.shtml Ramamurthy K and Naikare A (2007), Analyzing the Indian Market, In Millar R (eds.) (2007) Global Market Briefings Doing Business with India, 2nd Edition, Great Britain: GMB Publishing ltd. P.71 Saunders M, Lewis P and Thornhill A (2007), Research Methods for Business Students, 4th Edition. Spain: Pearson Education Ltd. Chapter 4,5, pp. 100-145. Staff Induction Handbook PRIMARK. Pp. 4, 5. Economist Indian Retailing (2007), Gently does it (August 9, 2007) The Economist print edition. Cited on Economist.com, on June 14, 2008, available from http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9622068 Titus and Co. Advocates (2007), Available Legal Structure, In Millar R (eds.) (2007) Global Market Briefings Doing Business with India, 2nd Edition, Great Britain: GMB Publishing ltd. Pp. 109-123. UWIC Business school (2006/07), MBA Individual Research Dissertation Handbook Academic Year 2006/07, 5th Revised edition, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. Vedamani G (2007), Modern Retailing Comprehensive policy vital, In Ram N. (eds.) (2007) THE HINDU SURVEY OF INDIAN INDUSTRY, Chennai: Kasturi Sons Ltd. pp. 281-284. Mrs. Katarina Taggart, Store Manager, Hammersmith, PRIMARK. 1, Kings Mall, Kings Street, London. Post Code: W6 0PZ Mr. Ashdin Doctor, Mumbai, India. E-mail: [emailprotected] Anita Nandi, City Representative, City office in Mumbai. E-mail: [emailprotected] Eva George, China and India Business Development Officer, City of London, P.O. BOX 270, Guildhall, London. E-mail: [emailprotected] BIBLIOGRAPHY Kumar R and Sethi A (2005), Doing Business In India, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.

Narrators in Faulkner’s Barn Burning and The Unvanquished Essay

Narrators in Faulkner’s Barn Burning and The Unvanquished â€Å"Barn Burning† and The Unvanquished present very different ways to tell a story. In â€Å"Barn Burning,† Faulkner uses a third person, limited omniscient point of view that allows him to enter the mind of the story’s protagonist, Colonel Sartoris Snopes. In this point of view, the narrator establishes that the story took place in the past by commenting that â€Å"Later, twenty years later, he was too tell himself, ‘If I had said they wanted only truth, justice, he would have it me again.’ But now he said nothing† (8). The narrator of â€Å"Barn Burning† develops Colonel Sartoris as a child by describing his relationship with his father; no matter how many times Ab Snopes burns a barn or strikes his son, Colonel Sartoris wants to believe in his father’s goodness and potential for change. In the first half of The Unvanquished, Bayard Sartoris’s character often reflects innocence and naivetà ©, but Faulkner develops the character in an entirely different way. Rather than using a third-person limited omniscient narrator to describe Bayar... Narrators in Faulkner’s Barn Burning and The Unvanquished Essay Narrators in Faulkner’s Barn Burning and The Unvanquished â€Å"Barn Burning† and The Unvanquished present very different ways to tell a story. In â€Å"Barn Burning,† Faulkner uses a third person, limited omniscient point of view that allows him to enter the mind of the story’s protagonist, Colonel Sartoris Snopes. In this point of view, the narrator establishes that the story took place in the past by commenting that â€Å"Later, twenty years later, he was too tell himself, ‘If I had said they wanted only truth, justice, he would have it me again.’ But now he said nothing† (8). The narrator of â€Å"Barn Burning† develops Colonel Sartoris as a child by describing his relationship with his father; no matter how many times Ab Snopes burns a barn or strikes his son, Colonel Sartoris wants to believe in his father’s goodness and potential for change. In the first half of The Unvanquished, Bayard Sartoris’s character often reflects innocence and naivetà ©, but Faulkner develops the character in an entirely different way. Rather than using a third-person limited omniscient narrator to describe Bayar...

Matrix Organizational Structure Essays -- Business Management

Organizational structure is the way that an organization arranges people and jobs so that work can be performed and goals can be achieved. Good organizational design helps communications, productivity, and innovation. Many organization structures have been created based on organizational strategy, size, technology, and environment. Robbins and Judge (2011, p. 504) listed three common structures: simple, bureaucracy, and matrix. In this post the author will describe the matrix structure, and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. Matrix structure is first introduced in the aerospace industry in the 1960s and become one of the popular organizational design options in today’s business and industry (Derven & Alexandria, 2010). Burns and Wholey (1993) poinited out that matrix structure were used in advertising agencies, aerospace firms, research and development laboratories, hospitals, government agencies, and universities. Matrix structure is the combination of two or more different structures and take the advantages of the pure functional structure and the product organizational structure (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 497). The employees in the matrix may have two bosses: their functional department managers and their product managers. For example, all engineers may be in one engineering department and report to an engineering manager, but these same engineers may be assigned to different projects and report to a project manager while working on that project. In many organizations, a matrix structure is i mplemented to address the requirement to do more with less and become more agile. The matrix structure, which focuses on horizontal as well as vertical management, has become more widespread as a result of globalization and the... ...llustrate his points. References: Burns, L. R., & Wholey, D. R. (1993). Adoption and abandonment of matrix management programs:Effects of organizational characteristics and interorganizational networks. Academy of Management Journal, 36(1), 106-139. Carter, L., Ulrich, D., & Goldsmith, M. (2005). Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable leadership. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons. Derven, M., & Alexandria, T. D. (2010). Manging the matrix in the new normal. T + D. Alexandria, 64(7), 42-49. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Sy, T., & Cote, S. (2004). Emotional intelligence: A key ability to succeed in the matrix organization. Journal of Management Development. 23(5). 437-455

The worst birthday ever

The Worst Birthday Ever Vive had my fair-share of bad birthdays, but there Is one that tops them all by a long shot. In order to understand the happenings in the story to come, you must know a few things. My younger brother, Austin, had been sick a few days prior to this particular day. Austin had a high fever, a cough, and a drippy nose. Worst, or best of all, depending on how you look at it, he was constantly sleeping! By nature, my mother was worried about him. She was constantly giving her attention to him, if she wasn't working.On February 18, 2008, I woke up finally as an eight year old! I was so excited that it was my birthday and to get the extra attention. My eyes opened and I immediately thought of the cake, the presents, the attention, the birthday wishes, the money, and the food. I got up and went to the computer room. My mom was on the mall computer working while my brother was lying on a padded bench, wrapped In a blanket, sleeping. I walked In and no one said a word to me; â€Å"How dare they! † I thought. I didn't say anything and just walked over, to the spare computer, to play my favorite game, Virtual Knee Surgery.It felt like I had been on the computer for hours! I finally got up to go to the bathroom. I opened the door to see my older sister, Cattail, finally awake, sitting on the toilet. I quickly shut the door. I had to go to the bathroom so bad; I thought I was going to explode. I was waiting so long that I didn't even have to go anymore. I finally walked back to computer room. I got back on my game. Not even ten minutes went by, when, BAM! It happened. I heard a slight moaning noise coming from my brother's direction. I Immediately looked up at my, sick, little, brother and saw the Image that I can't forget no matter owe hard I try.He was shaking violently. He spitting, drooling, and even foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. His eyes were indeed opened, but his pupils were certainly not present. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head. His skin turned a bluish color. He had saliva all over his face and chest. I had been looking at him for a solid three minutes before he got loud enough for my mom to hear. I was frozen in place with my mouth open, starring in terror. I had no clue what was going on. He couldn't talk or even breathe. I remember thinking, â€Å"Oh no, not on my birthday! My mom finally looked over and freaked out.She shook him gently for a few seconds. He wouldn't budge. He wouldn't respond to anything she said. She grabbed him and carried him Into the bathroom. My sister and I sat In the doorway and watched as she ran cold water over his head. He was still shaking and foaming. My mom told us to call 91 1 and then told us what to tell them. We Immediately ran to phone. She picked up the phone and dialed 911. While it rang we fought over who got to talk to the 911 operator. I was extremely ringing and a lady answered the phone. My sister immediately yelled, â€Å"My brother is yin! Afte r the lady asked my sister a few questions she put the phone down. We waited maybe two minutes before the paramedics showed up. The walked in and went straight to the bathroom. They handled everything and got my brother under control. Later that night we left the house for my birthday dinner. I was excited to finally have the attention on myself. Nope. We got there and all the attention was on my brother. I had to sit at the end of the table while my brother sat at the front of the table getting my attention. Needless to say, that was my worst birthday ever!

Gerard Egan

An Easy Introduction to Egan’s Skilled Helper Solution Focused Counselling Approach By Patrick JM Nelson Part One What is it? Gerard Egan’s Skilled Helper Model of eclectically based counselling provides a structured and solution focused basis for counsellors, psychotherapists and hypnotherapists. It is a three stage model in which each state consists of specific skills that the therapist uses to help the client move forwards. By mastering the process of using these basic skills in an appropriate manner (often in a cyclical process of stage 1 – 2 – 3 evaluate 1 – 2 – 3 evaluate) the talking therapist may be able to increase their efficiency and structure their work in a more logical way, thus helping clients in a more consistent manner and being less reliant upon their fluctuating ‘therapeutic inspiration’. Theoretical Origins Theoretically the Skilled Helper approach draws on Carkuff's theory of high-level functioning helpers (which explains that helpers with the skills of empathy, respect, concreteness, congruence, self-disclosure, confrontation and immediacy are most effective); Strong's Social influence theory (which explains that helping is a process whereby clients are influenced by others because they perceive therapists as having particular attributes and with this influence being most powerful when the the therapist avoids both laxity and coercion and is instead collaborative, empowering and democratic) and Albert Bandura's Learning theory (in which clients are seen as acquiring skills through coming to understand the processes of learning and developing appropriate self-efficacy expectations – expecting to achieve their goals by learning useful behaviours). Essential Therapeutic Orientations The Egan Skilled Helper approach encourages clients to become active interprete rs of the world, giving meanings to actions, events and situations, facing and overcoming challenges, exploring problem issues, seeking new opportunities and establishing goals. Quite simply, success usually comes when human beings become active in initiating positive behaviours and developing problem-solving strategies. The Skilled Helper aims to help their clients develop the skills and the knowledge necessary to solve both their current problems issues and ones that may arise in the future. To facilitate client development the helper builds a healthy therapeutic alliance with the client based on collaboration, warmth and acceptance. The Skilled Helper facilitates the client by helping them to formulate a plan of action, helping them accept their responsibility for becoming a more effective person and helping them to develop their own inner resources. The Skilled Helper also helps their client to transfer newly acquired skills and knowledge to fresh situations, facilitates them in establishing appropriate and realistic goals (that match their problem-solving skills), encourages them to become selfdirective and develop the skills of problem-solving, helps them to build on their inner strengths and to utilize external resources and support groups, helps them realize their potential and facilitates them in developing goals which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, ethical and reasonable. Furthermore the Skilled Helper remains in a state of external sensory awareness and retains an awareness of their client's non-verbal communications. Effective Listening – SOLER Effective listening is key to being a Skilled Helper. It consists of various skills, which Egan covers with the acronym : S. If it suits them, face the client Squarely (some prefer up to 45 degrees etc) O. Maintain an Open Posture with the client. L. Lean towards the client (as appropriate). E. Maintain appropriate Eye Contact with the client. R. Be a Relaxed helper as by doing so you greatly improve the quality and comfort of the sessions. Active Listening & Empathy Active Listening is a key skill for the Skilled Helper. It consists in concentrating on the client's non-verbal and verbal communications and relating them to the client's story (non-verbal communication includes body language, expressions, reactions etc). Verbal communication articulates the client's experiences, behaviours and feelings. The Skilled Helper encourages the client to stick to the point (what is relevant), they are non-judgemental and they are Empathic rather than sympathetic. Appropriate Empathy is a state of human interaction in which the helper enters and understands the client's perspective, whilst getting in touch with their thoughts and feelings, however, in this the helper remains rational in their understanding of the client's situation and reality. Unlike in some counselling approaches, although the Skilled Helper communicates Empathy to the client as the basis of counselling, when appropriate they may also use challenging skills with the client when particular and clearly harmful irrational statements or destructive patterns etc keep resurfacing, however any challenging must be congruent with the maintenance of therapeutic Rapport and Empathy because Empathy and Rapport provide the client with the warmth, comfort and safety needed to facilitate effective positive change. Exploring Skills (Egan Stage I Introduction) Exploring the client's Existing Situation The stage one skills of the Egan Helping Model are based upon the exploration of the client’s situation and they basically correlate with the Rogerian counselling skills of the Person Centered Approach. The purpose of Stage I is to build a nonthreatening counselling relationship and help the client explore their situation and then focus on chosen issues. In this stage the Skilled Helper helps the client to identify and clarify problems and opportunities and assess their resources. Clients are often reluctant or resistant at this stage, therefore the therapist helps them to explore new perspectives, challenges negative modes of thinking and constructively challenges the client's excuses, evasiveness, distortions and negative self-statements. This stage is based around helping the client in establishing priorities and developing action plans that put into practice productive strategies. Stage I exploring skills include: Open-ended questions Silence Focusing Empathy Paraphrasing & Reflecting Meaning Paraphrasing & Reflecting Feeling Structuring Summarising Understanding Skills (Egan Stage II Introduction) Helping the Client Establish Aims and Goals The purpose of Stage II is to help facilitate the client in developing a more in-depth and objective understanding of their situation. This stage is enacted as the Skilled Helper assists the client in exploring options and possible goals. The Skilled Helper establishes what the client really wants and needs and the client is encouraged to consider new possibilities and perspectives, choosing ones that are realistic, consistent with their values and for which there are adequate incentives. The Skilled Helper facilitates the client in developing rational decision-making based upon healthy data collection, analysis and action planning. In this state brain-storming, divergent thinking, a balance-sheet approach and force-field analysis may be used with the client in order to facilitate choices between different ways of dealing with situations and achieving goals. These techniques help the client to explore various options and strategies as well understand and work around blocking factors with facilitating factors. Stage II understanding skills include: Recognising Patterns & Themes Alternate Frames of Reference Self-disclosure Immediacy Challenging Timing & Pacing Advanced empathy Acting Skills (Egan Stage III Introduction) Help the Client to Develop Strategies Stage III skills are assist clients to take appropriate action by defining goals, changing ways of relating and working through issues using problem solving or decision making methods, while providing support and encouragement. Stage III skills help the client to cope with current problems and assist in the learning of new skills that will enable them to live more effectively in the future. Action is based on exploration and understanding gained by using stage I & II skills. In stage III the Skilled Helper facilitates the client in finding ways of achieving their goals. After helping the client to come up with as many strategies as they can the Skilled Helper then helps them to focus upon those that are viable in terms of client situati on, needs, aspiration and resources. This process is designed to help the client move from the current situation to one that they would prefer. Transition experiences may make the client feel vulnerable therefore the process may often be built upon the taking of small comfortable steps as the client grows in confidence (but this must be based upon the needs of the client – some like big jumps). Realistic achievable planning and time-tabling are key to success and the Skilled Helper is warm and supportive – helping the client look out and overcome obstacles, turning challenges into opportunities and inspiring the client to mobilise their personal, social and material resources (particularly helpful family members, friends and self-help networks etc). Stage III action skills include: Divergent Thinking Goal Setting Decision Making Problem Solving Programme Choice Evaluate Knowledge of Resources Using Knowledge of How Behaviour is Changed Using Knowledge of How Useful Behaviour is Maintained Teaching skills & Promoting Learning skills Evaluation In addition to Explore, Understand & Act skills evaluation of the therapy process is also important. It can take place at the end of each session as a summarization, whenever appropriate. It helps the client understand what ground they have gone over, helps them perceive progress they have made and inspires them with understanding on how they want to move forwards. To learn about this approach in detail see Part II, III & 4 of An Easy Introduction to the Egan’s Skilled Helper Solution Focused Counselling Approach by Patrick JM Nelson. Gerard Egan’s ‘The Skilled Helper’ is available from the FETT Bookshop Article Copyright Patrick JM Nelson 2007

English as Global Language Essay

The phenomenal rise in use of English has mainly taken place over the last two decades. English has reached high status world-wide because of several factors; as the mother tongue of millions of people all over the world, as the language that millions of children learn at school and the language that is used in international relations, for global communication and as the major media language. The importance of a global language has become major, in some contexts such as communication, e.g. international web-pages on the Internet, English is the only language used. In addition, English is used to establish and maintain connection and relationship between people with different backgrounds from different cultures. In this discursive essay, I will discuss the different aspects of a global language and how it will affect cultures, minority languages and communities all over the world. Disposition of body †¢ Definition of Lingua Franca †¢ Do we need a global language? †¢ Should English be a global language? Why/Why not? †¢ Which standard will be the Standard? / Strict or loose standards? †¢ Will native speakers take advantage? †¢ What will happen to minority languages and communities? Method Before I started to write the essay, I read relevant literature. David Crystal’s â€Å"English as a Global language† contains a lot of useful information, and so does â€Å"Sociolinguistics† by Peter Trudgill. In order to retrieve I want different aspects on the subject, I also used the Internet for research. I was also interested in average people’s opinion, therefore I asked approximately 40 people of different backgrounds, age and gender what they think of English as a global language. 1. Definition of Lingua Franca Many people do not know what a lingua franca is, therefore I will start by defining the term Lingua Franca and also tell a bit about its history. 1.1 Lingua franca is Latin and means â€Å"French language†. The first text written in a lingua franca is from 1353, but a simpler form of it appeared in the 11th century. The origin of this term is from the modern era when French became the language mostly used in commerce and diplomacy between the European countries. Not only French serves as a lingua franca, several European languages had the same status; e.g. English, Greek, Latin and German. The term lingua franca became so common that it continued to be used for any â€Å"universal† language. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca 2005) 1.2 A lingua franca can be any language which is used for communication among people who have no native language in common. In many of the former European colonies in Africa, French or English are used as the language of communication in trade and business. (Trudgill 2000:132) In some parts of Africa, other African lingua francas, such as Swahili and Hausa, are used. These languages are indigenous in some countries and have become used because of political reasons. When a language is used as a lingua franca, it undergoes a certain amount of reduction and simplification. The simplification often refers to getting rid of irregularities and grammatical gender in the lingua franca. This happens because adults are, unlike children, generally not good language learners, and therefore need a simplified version of the language. (Trudgill 2000:165) Should English be the Global Language? People in general have different opinions on English as a â€Å"global† language. There are positive as well as negative aspects of this. Do we need a global language? Why do we need it? Why should English be the best option? 2.1 Translation has always played a central role in interaction between people with different languages and language skills. Thousands of years ago, monarchs, ambassadors and merchants had to rely on someone to translate. But the more linguistically mixed the community got, the less they could rely on individuals to ensure their communication. Most of these problems have been solved with a lingua franca or a â€Å"pidgin†. A pidgin is a language created, usually spontaneously, from a mixture of other languages as a means of communication between speakers of different languages Pidgins have simple grammar and few synonyms. The prospect that a lingua franca might be needed for the whole world is something that has arisen in the twentieth century. Sin ce the 1950s, many international organisations have come into being e.g. the UN and the World Bank. Also political groupings e.g. The European Union and The Commonwealth have come into being. The pressure to make an agreement concerning one language has become urgent, but it is a sensitive issue. (Crystal 2003: 12-13) The need for a global language is mainly appreciated by the international academic and business communities, but also by individuals as the world becomes more and more global. (Crystal 2003: 12-13) 2.2 Why English has grown as much as it has, and why it might be seen as the best option for a global language have more than one answer. One is the geographical-historical reasons, and another is the socio-cultural. The geographical-historical part explains how English has reached its position and the socio-cultural explains how and why it remains that way. (Crystal 2003: 29) 2.2.1 English came to England from northern Europe during the fifth century and started to spread around the British Isles. (Crystal 2003: 30) The historical movement of English around the world began with the expeditions to Asia and America and continued with the colonial developments in Africa and the South Pacific. When many colonies became independent during the mid-twentieth century, they kept English as their official language or semi-official language. This led to a major step forward for the English language; it is represented on every continent and on islands in the three major oceans, making the label â€Å"global language† a reality. (Crystal 2003: 29) 2.2.1 The socio-cultural aspect looks at the way people in many ways have become dependent on English for their social life and for their economic well-being. English is the language of many business and political domains and also the language of entertainment such as television, the film industry, the music business, communication (internet, telecommunication and computers) and safety. (Crystal 2003: 29) 2.2.2 Today’s status of English has mainly two reasons; the expansion of the British colonial power and the emergence of the economical power of the United States. The latter is what scientist argue explain the status of English in the world today. (Crystal 2003: 59) 3. Positive and Negative Aspects on English as a Global Language 3.1 Positive aspects of English as a Global Language According to Buck (2005), English has, without doubt, reached the top position in the language hierarchy. Almost 30 % of the population are already â€Å"reasonably competent† in English. As the language of commerce, economy and politics, knowledge of and fluency in that language is helpful when participating in these fields. The economic power houses, the political bodies and commercial organisations also use English as their language of communication. More than 85% of the scientific, technological and academic production in the world today is performed in English. By using English you are able to communicate with people in almost all countries all over the world. English is the most widely spoken language with regards to number of countries, even though Chinese, Hindi and Spanish have more native speakers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language 2005) The case might be that even in countries where one of the other languages is spoken you will be able to communicate wi th the inhabitants, using English as a lingua franca. It is often taken for granted that one speaks English and when someone does not, one might be looked upon suspiciously. I asked approximately 40 people from different backgrounds, different age and with different nationalities which language they would prefer as a global language and the majority answered English. The following reasons were given: It is the language you hear and read every day; the younger generations have learned it in school and it would be the best global language because it is the most spread all over the world. The people, who disagreed, said that Spanish would be the best global language, because it has more native speakers than English. 3.2 Negative aspects of English as a Global Language Even though there are many positive aspects of having a global language, there are negative aspects as well. How would it be possible to carry through a global language? Are there any dangers with having a global language? A global language might cultivate an elite class with native speakers, who take advantage of the possibility to think and work quickly in their mother-tongue. If this was the case they might manipulate it to their advantage at the expense of those who has another language as their mother-tongue and in this way create a linguistic gap between people. (Crystal 2003: 14-15) English has a history, sometimes cruel and violent with colonialism and war, and introducing English as the global language might be seen as a threat of future dominance. Perhaps a global language will make people unwilling or unable to learn other languages and make other languages unnecessary. (Crystal 2003: 15) One of the â€Å"risks† having only one language is that the chosen language may become very technical and â€Å"impoverished† for non-native speakers, e.g. the Eskimos, who have several words for snow, because they need it. They would probably not be able to express themselves properly if they only had one word for snow. And Swedish people would not be able to use the word â€Å"lagom†, a word which says a lot about the Swedish society and people. Many of the people who answered my question about â€Å"English as a Global Language†, expressed a worry that if we only had one language, they would feel â€Å"poor† when it comes to expressing feelings and emotions in a language that is not their mother-tongue, that they would not know enough words to be able to really express how and what they feel. 4. Standards – which standard should be used? Strict or loose standards? English is the mother-tongue of millions of people in different parts of the world. If English were to become a global language, which standard of the language would be the global standard? Perhaps the standards would become looser. 4.1. Standard English is the English that is usually used in print. It is also the English which is normally taught in school and to non-native speakers learning English. This is also the standard that is spoken among educated people and used for news broadcasts. (Trudgill 2000: 5-6) Historically, the British Standard developed from the south-east part of England (the area around London). These dialects were spoken in court, used in law and by the government. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English 2005) Standard English has a widely accepted grammar, and an accent that comes with this standard, the British English accent, also known as the â€Å"Oxford English†, is the accent that is taught is schools. (Trudgill 2000:6-7) Furthermore this English has a major cultural influence, especially on the languages in the former Commonwealth countries, e.g. South Africa, Australia, and India as well as the European Union. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English 2005 ) 4.2 We often hear about â€Å"American-English†, â€Å"South African-English† or other â€Å"Englishes†, but no such terms really exist. The different types of English are based on the British English but have developed grammatical and vocabulary differences because of influence and â€Å"loanwords† from other languages.(Trudgill 2000:6-7) 5. Minor Languages and cultures What will happen to minor cultures and languages if we introduce a global language? An introduction of a global language might lead to discrimination of other languages. Losing a language equals losing identity. The language is much more than just a tool for communication. According to Trudgill there is an intimate relation between language and culture and a large homogenisation of culture might lead to a shift in language where native people adopt another language and eventually the old language may die out. There is a difference between â€Å"language death† and â€Å"language murder†. Language death is when a language disappears naturally; its speakers are leaving it voluntarily, but â€Å"language murder† means that the killer language actively discourages use of other languages. Minority languages may be removed from the media and educational systems. English is referred to as a â€Å"killer language†, which means that it is a dominant language learned subtractive, at the cost of the mother tongues, rather than additively. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_language 2005) In the United States there have been a few â€Å"English Only† movements, the first one in 1803, when they banned the speaking of French among the population in Louisiana. After that, several attempts to remove Spanish and French have taken place. English is declared as the official language in several states in the US. The English-Only movements have been rejected by linguistics; they mean that a language does not create political unity, it takes more than that. The use of one single language in a community is no guarantee for social harmony or mutual understanding. This has been proven several times during the history, e.g. American Civil War, Spanish Civil War and former Yugoslavia. (Crystal 2003:16) 6. Conclusion This essay has shown that the creation of a global language has numerous advantages and disadvantages. Mutual intelligibility, great career opportunities and reduced administrative costs are some of the advantages a global language would give. The disadvantages are that English is closely linked to the British and the American cultures and history and is therefore not a â€Å"neutral† language. Perhaps a language with less historical and cultural connections would be a better option? We are in need of an international language for communication, politics, trade and security, but at the same time we are worried about language death, the advantages native speakers will have and all the disadvantages non-native speakers will face. English is growing, it is a strong language, and its future seems bright. My opinion is that if there will ever be an international language, English is the best option. It is a strong, well developed language with millions of speakers. Even if a global language might be important, different languages are of importance for their culture and for the development of their native speakers. Languages make the world more interesting and more alive.

International Comparison Program(2005) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Comparison Program(2005) - Essay Example Therefore one can think of investment in either India or China. I took India as the country to develop new product because cosmetic, especially 100% herbal and vegetarian Lipstick with variety of shades can be a new product that can be developed in an Indian Market. The increasing urbanization and a growth in the number of office workers have resulted in a strong focus on grooming in that country. 65% of the total population of India is below 35 years of age but only around 30% of the women use lipsticks in India, so there is a wide scope to flourish in India. The USP (unique selling proposition) of this product is its attribute of being 100% Herbal and Vegetarian as almost 40% of the total population in India is vegetarian and till now no other company has launched this type of product in the Indian Market. Cosmetics and toiletries have seen tremendous growth in 2007. Growth was partly due to high levels of inflation but volume sales also saw dynamic growth. Rising income levels resulted in lower-income groups being able to afford more cosmetics and toiletries and also saw many trading up from unpackaged to packaged products. Meanwhile, mid- and high-income consumers in urban areas began to seek out value-added mass brands and premium products. India can be taken as the country to sell the product as Indian females are considered an epitome of beauty and they are more and more becoming beauty and fashion conscious. The product that can be marketed is a wide range of cosmetics (100%Vegetarian) especially lipsticks and it can be launched in the Indian market by the name: Zebra For the beautiful Diva in you Indian Culture:- Culture is the manner in which things are performed within a society, community or nation. Culture is not a trait that comes with birth but it is learnt over a span of several years. The major things that can be observed amongst Indian culture are as follows:- The Terpstra and Sarathy Cultural Framework helps marketing managers to assess the cultural nature of an international market. The Eight categories are Language, Religion, Values and Attitudes, Education, Social Organizations, Technology and Material Culture, Law and Politics and Aesthetics. 1. Language: - There are as many as 22 official languages in India. The national language of the country is Hindi and most of the people in the country are quite well versed with English as well owning to the British rule in the country for around 200 years. 2. Religion: India is considered to be a land of unity in diversity. Many religions are practiced in the country including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islamism, Sikhism, Christianity etc. The cow is considered sacred in Hinduism. She is the one who should be worshipped for the various graces She bestows on humanity. 40% of the total population is Vegetarian. 3. Values and Attitude:- Generally people in India have a high regard for their elders. Although traditional roles are changing, especially in urban areas, there are important values shared by most Indian families. Normally, Indians hold family progress, unity and support in high regard throughout their lives. Mostly people live in an extended family, in which every member has their own role, often determined by age and gender. There is typically a head of the family who takes the major decision with respect to the family and his decision is respected by everyone in the family. Elders are supposed to use their experience and wisdom to help guide