Tourism and globalisation

Tourism and globalisation INTRODUCTION The overall world making (tourism and globalisation) highlights the trade which is going on in existing tourism industry. It also explains the effects of globalizing forces of post industrial movement of tourism. Moreover, it also emphasises the function of tourism which helps to produce the new global orders. During the whole session Prof Keith Holinshed have expressed different views towards worldmaking in tourism and globalisation of different authors. Some of the authors have highlighted about Disjuncture and Differences in the global economy, Globalization, Travel Migration and images of social life, Orientalisam, Worldmaking and ethnocentrism in tourism and also about sightseeing and sight exerperiencing from the article ‘intelligent tourist by Horne. Prof Keith Holinshed has also explained about the writing of Meethan who focuses on issues relating to problems of culture commodification in terms of social production of place, culture and consumption. He also shows the re lationship between tourism, globalisation, people and place. Discussion by Prof. Keith Hollinshead in the sessions Prof Keith Holinshed have explained during the Worldmaking session about different writing of authors out of which Colin Michael Hall focuses on tourism which is worlds largest industry and has many major economic environmental and social effects which are politically significant. He also addresses in the book about politics of tourism and gives us knowledge about the problems which are faced in tourism like terrorism and political instability, development and dependency, urban tourism development and its political problems etc. The author Appadurai highlights the relationship of the global cultural economy and globalisation in the worldmaking. He tells that globalization is a way to de-territorialisation but some boundaries are still existing that is he tells that there should be no deteritorialisation. He has divided the world into five dimensions that is ethnoscapes, finanscapes, mediascapes, ideoscapes, and technoscapes. The author Axford says that globalization is a single place . It involves interconnection between some boundaries and dissolving of other boundaries. It is the interaction between economic, political and cultural forces to making the single world. Sardar has explained about Orientalism which is the knowledge of Asian culture, people and languages. He also provides highly original Asian view point and highlights how orientalism has modified and reinvested during the middle ages. (Sardar 1999, 78-4) Keith has also discussed about the importance of World Disney in America. He tells that Fjellmans writings offer a review of the theoretical insights which shows the representation and signification in culture. The representation and significant in making of culture is enclosed in Fjellmans work for commodification.He has also explained about the attention which turned to Fjemllman sees the creative techno-corporate ways in which the Disney companies catch the narratives in heritage/culture and reduce them via his preferred forms of destroy and it purely match to his own national and transnational interest. (Keith 1998. Current Issues in tourism. Vol. 1, pp 58). Meethan Text Kevin Meethan have mentioned about the analysis of tourism as a global phenomenon.It examine the links between the political economy and culture. It also produces a critical analysis of concepts like authenticity, the modern and primitive , and the problem of cultural commodification.It also provides the traditional ways in which the tourism have been formulated and calls for a new approach which concentrates on the role of tourism in dynamics of change and alteration to place and cultures in a globalised world. Globalisation is not entirely the part of international and transnational connections between places but rather include a different order of relationships structured across space and time. (Meethan, 2001, pp 34, ch-2).He has also explained that the production of tourist space which involves the material environment and the socio economic circumstance which give rise to its form as well as shortening symbolic orders of meaning for both hosts and guests. He also mentioned that tourism is best conceptualised as global process of commodificaiton and consumption involving sequences of people, image and culture.Meethan have covered the issues of identity in relation to culture and place and the themes of the place, identity and authenticity which will be investigate the complexities involved in the give and take between the tourist and host population.(Meethan, 2001: 7) .Some chapters have also examine the global political economy of tourist space which deal with a symbolic and cultural economy. He said it is also important to focus on the ways in which tourism used as form of economic and social development and how this in relations to the development of a global economic order. Conclusion: From the whole unit according to me Prof. Keith make us understanding about the issue of globalisation in todays world. He tries to give us the review of how to be a part of Worldmaking and knowledge about inter connection between tourism and globalisation. He also makes us understands the Muslim view western culture through the concept of Orientalism which was written by Sardar.Meetan tries to explain the old traditional view of tourism and he argues transformation of tourism which playes dynamic role in change and reformation of place and cultures in the globalised world. While Hall highlights the negative impact of modern tourism through giving the brief overview regarding terrorism, urban tourism development and political and economic instability. Moreover Meethan tells that after seeing the complexities of modern tourism the tourist and the host population will finally get involved in culture of tourist who comes from diffent countries and different religion. On the otherside Pr of Keith explains us the writing of Sardar as the impact of western culture on Muslim people through orientlaism. He tells that Orientalism has been used as a tool of representation of western culture and impacts on host population through exploring different tools like films, television, fictions and CD -Rooms. Conclusively I would like to tell that Prof Keith has given us a deep understanding about worldmaking tourism and globalisation and how the modern tourism has shown the impact of western culture where they consider the globalisation as a single place in the whole world.

Language Planning and Language Development Essay

Language is a typically human phenomenon. In moving from the ‘natural being’ of animal existence to the ‘cultural being’ of human existence, language plays the decisive role. Language gives a sense of identity to an individual as well as a social group and, in the process, creates multiple identities. The maintenance, merger, clash and change in identities based on and reflected in the language change has prompted linguists, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists to study language in its multifarious dimensions. Since economic and societal planning have to, of necessity, take into account the context of planning, there is no wonder that worldwide attention has been drawn towards language planning. Language is an asset and a primary instrument of human communication. However, language can become a problem and a barrier to communication, sometimes symbolically so, under conditions of multiplicity of ethnic groups, languages, dialects, styles, registers and scripts. These conditions may lead to one or more of the following situations which necessitate language planning : (i) Mutually unintelligible language, dialects or scripts competing for supremacy of dominance (ii) Mutually intelligible languages, dialects or scripts, (a) threatening mutual identity, (b) with mutually unfavorable attitudes. (iii) Existence of diglossia, triglossia or multiglossia. (iv) Existence of languages with dominant/minority relationship with a national frontier. (v) Social variables correlating with language use and creating communication zones. (vi) Official action in recognising official languages, distributing patronages for development of languages which may even have the remote implication of displacing or disturbing in reality or symbolically, the existing domains of language use. (vii) Language used by the politicised elite to retain their elitist privileges by restricting language use in education, administration and mass media. There is an urgent need for serious attention to language planning in a country like India. The following examples are illustrative of situations which demand the attention of educationists and planners to the crucial importance of language in society. 1. Sometime back, the Physics Department of the Aligarh University administered a standardised creativity test to the high achievers of the University. To their great surprise they found the result absolutely erratic. After hurried consultations among the scientists involved, it was decided to translate the test into Hindi—Urdu, the mother tongue of the students taking the test. It is only then that the test yielded the expected standard result2. 2. A very significant programme, the preparation of a Bridge Course in Kannada, was undertaken by the Central Institute of Indian Languages some years back. From experience and observation the Institute came to a few conclusions: 1. Language teaching, particularly that of teaching the mother tongue in the Indian schools, is defective 2. What is taught in the name of language is literature. 3. The teaching of literature is restricted to the teaching of ancient and medieval literature and seldom touches the contemporary. 4. Even in literature, more emphasis is given to teaching about literature than really teaching literary sensibility and critical judgment. 5. No attention is paid to the teaching of different registers. 6. As a result, there is a gap between the language attainment at the end of the school stage and the language requirement at the beginning of the college stage, particularly when taught through the mother tongue medium. As a result of this, the students cannot cope with their college studies. Some 900 students selected from three Universities of Karnataka were given a pre-test. A hundred-hour Bridge Course developed by the Institute was offered to an experimental group of about 400 students and a post-test given to all the 900. It was established that the hypotheses suggested by the institute were valid and that, pending revision of the school curriculum, the Bridge Course was of immediate necessity, particularly in the context of switchover to the mother tongue medium at the University stage (Upadhyaya 1972 and Dave 1974). 3. In Nagaland, there are 22 mutually unintelligible Naga languages, of which 16 recognised by the State Government. The language of communication among the people is Pidgin Naga, which is used even in the floor of the Assembly, though not an officially recognised language. In the absence of an acceptable common language, the State Government has adopted English as the State Language (Sreedhar 1974). This has not only created a wide gulf among the elite and the masses of people, but also deprived the common man from effectively participating in the processes of governance of the State. 4. The widespread radio network in the country has shrunk distances. The growing television network has demonstrated the potential of revolutionising communication in a very short time. However, out of the 1652 mother tongues of the country, broadcasting is not done even in 150. Broadcasting in languages other than the 15 major languages is meant mostly either for entertainment, or for purposes catering to peripheral interests of the listeners. The television is much more restricted in the coverage. Under these circumstances, in spite of all the outer-trappings, the message broadcast over the mass media reaches a very restricted audience (Pattanayak 1974). A study of the language of newspapers and that of the film is bound to reinforce the above conclusion. 5. Illiteracy is a major problem of the country (Pattanayak 1974). Out of 800 million illiterates in the world, India is credited to have 400 million . if in eradicating illiteracy the intention is to move from a ‘culture of silence’ to a ‘culture of thinking’ participation and the emphasis is on the creation of an intelligent task force for economic and industrial development, then, urgent and bold steps need to be taken in this area. Literacy in a multilingual must be based on the expressed needs of a people3. Secondly, the language of literacy has to be determined keeping in view the various contexts of language use and strategies linking the languages of literacy with that of education and administration. It would thus be quite clear that whether it is in the field of language use in education, language use in administration or in mass media, there is a constant need to weigh alternatives and plan action. The examples cited above are as true of any multi lingual country as they are of India. Such examples not only establish the necessity for language planning, but also the need to analyse its process and product. Before talking about language planning, one must understand the motivation and mechanisms of planning. Planning is not merely a catalogue of resources and the organisation and mobilization of these resources to reach a certain defined goal. Since the technocrat is seldom the decision maker, it is important that the planner provides alternatives and options are given, the goal is stated and the strategies are spelled out the politician-decision maker can take a decision. The two aims of planning are growth promotion and environment amelioration. Here, environment is not used merely in the physical ecological sense, but is used in the sense of sociocultural context of the individuals in society. It is most unfortunate that the pre-occupation with economics as the only discipline of concern of planning blinded the planners to its equally important second aspect of planning. Those who are obsessed with growth and economic development take the social and cultural imperatives for granted. Like the textbook and laboratory controlled experiments, where all other conditions being equal a certain conclusion flows out of it, the economic planner takes the context of planning for granted and concentrates on the economic planning. He forgets that in actual life all the conditions seldom remain equal and that the context in which social problems are nurtured is as important as the problems themselves. Planning is not merely a balance sheet of inputs and outputs. That input-output statements of growth have to be checked against cost benefit to the society, need to be emphasised more, if planning is not to defeat its own purpose. Language planning does not merely entail drawing a list of mother tongues spoken in a defined territory, nor does it merely mean listing of their actual and desired domains of use. Whether in a unilingual or in a plurilingual society, language planning is essential to deal with such problems of dialect, language standard, all aspects of language development and the contexts of language use are areas of concern of a language planner. It would be much more meaningful and sensible to talk of relatively unitary and pluralilstic societies, as the great divide seems to be unitary and pluralilstic rather than developed and developing in the context of language planning. In pluralistic societies, choices, options and alternatives are imperatives of planning, as the basis of pluralism is transparent and easily manipulated. Speaking of language development, Khubchandani (1975:102) offers the following framework which accepts the distinction between developed and undeveloped languages: Dimension Developed Language Undeveloped Language Range of communication Wide,Sometimes multinational. Limited to region. Ecological status. Spoken by dominant majorities. Spoken by dominant minorities. Domian of use. All. Restricted as with vernaculars. Writing system Present. May not be present. Literary status With literary traditions. Colloquial, bazar languages. Social prestige Standard language, acceptable to the elite. Non-standard or sub-standard: slangs, hybrids This is too simplistic a model. Following this one can argue that the major (scheduled) languages of India are both developed and un-developed and they are neither developed nor un-developed. One can say that, barring their restricted domain of use, they fulfill all the criteria of developed language. At the same time, looking at the situation from national and international perspective, one can say that, being diglossic, they have all the features of undeveloped, whereas in Latin America, the major language is developed and the minority (such as Indian) languages are undeveloped. If one takes the case of English alone, this scheme will lead to untenable conclusions. Actually such a schematic presentation conceals and confuses issues rather than clarifies them. Ferguson’s criteria (Fishman 1968 : 28) of a developed language, inter-translatablity with languages in the industrial society, is ethnocentric. One may wish to give the benefit of doubt by saying that the industrial so ciety probably has developed the most varied registers of the language used. But, in the agricultural society, certain contemplative disciplines have flourished which may not have found place in the industrial society. In any case, there is no reason why value judgement about a society need be bodily transferred into the discussion of language use without establishing its relevance to such discussions. What, then, is language development? Can a language be developed by a language planning society ? One popular notion of a developed language is its antiquity. Languages which are older are generally considered more developed. Scholars of history of language and literature in all Indian languages usually devote considerable space and time to this aspect of the question. Another popular notion is linked with the availability of creative literature in a language. Thus, a quarrel whether Bengali or Tamil is more developed has resulted in a lot of unproductive debate. A corollary of this stand is the rejection of spoken languages as languages and give them a grudging recognition as dialects. Scholars have even gone to the extent of saying that Saora has only 700 words, and therefore it does not deserve the status of a language, thus putting the premium on the vocabulary. Presentation of a norm or standard where competing varieties of a language exist is a primary step in language development. This can be achieved by standardising spelling, writing grammars, dictionaries, textbooks, etc. Developing a script for non-literate languages forms a legitimate concern of language is another major concern of language development. This is best achieved by promoting new registral writing, creating technical terminology, and encouraging translation, etc. In a multilingual society, allocation of domains of use to each language and ensuring its increased or decreased use for specific domains forms part of the study of language development. Language planning agencies, endowed with sufficient technical expertise, and executive power, and certainly do a great deal to influence language development, and, through planning, help reduce conflict and tension. The problems in a linguistically plural society are complex, the options are competitive and the goal is difficult to perceive, because of the volotile nature of the context of language use. It must be understood that no language or culture group is absolutely unitary or monolithic in nature. For example, all persons speaking English do neither speak a uniform language nor do they share a single culture. Even all English speakers in England or America cannot be so classified. Communication facilities, ethnicity, religious grouping, uneven opportunities leading to uneven education and cultural development are some of the parameters which account for regional linguistic differences even where a single language is dominant. In the past, linguists assumed a uniform and invariant structure of language. At the present moment it is generally accepted that the speech matrix of a community is constituted of varieties of varieties of the language. These are generally treated under rubrics of style, register, dialect, sociolect, etc. While in a single dominant language society, the different varieties tend to have specialised functions, in a multilingual society, in addition to varieties of mother tongue, one or more other languages share the communicative domain. When there are people using different languages and different varieties of a language, it is natural that they develop certain attit udes towards each other. These attitudes indicate social ranking and relative status of groups and also intergroup cohesiveness or lack of it within a broad framework. Each person considers his language to be the paragon of beauty and sweetest sounding of all. The neighbour’s language usually comes in for a drubbing. The neighbour with whom one comes in constant communication, competes for socio-economic advantages, trades and establishes other societal relationship, naturally exerts a lot of linguistic influence. The nature of this influence depends on many factors, the important one being the political-economic power of the communities concerned. A Telugu speaker calls Tamil by the given name ‘Aravam’, meaning ‘sound not sweet to hear’. The neighbour’s language is described in many languages as the sound of pebbles in a tin drum or sounds coming from a mouth filled with pan. One’s own language is like peeled sweet banana, sweet as sugar and like nectar. When so expressed the unconscious feelings are expressed as conscious attitudes. The epithet of Devabhasha ‘language of the gods’ brought out the retort from the Maharashtra saint poet, ‘If Sanskrit is the language of gods, is Prakrit the language of thieves ?’ All such overt attitudinal statements are grist in the mill of the linguist and the language planner. The above attitudes are not strictly confined to interlingual relationships. Attitudes of dialect speakers of one language towards each other may result either in consolidation and standardization of the language, or separation and split of a language. The notion of dialect may or may not have a pejorative connotation for the for the standard language speaker, but, for the dialect speaker, it is related to local pride. Any effort at standardisation must take this factor of local pride into consideration. A study of dialects of Hindi in India alone will provide examples of both consolidation and separation. As attitudes towards others’ language have serious sociolinguistic implications, so has one’s attitude towards one’s own language. A derogatory attitude or a sense of deficiency towards one’s own language results in the looking for an external standard, acceptance of a culture language or even language loss. The Canadian French speakers looking towards Parisian French, the Caribbean Hindi speaker, the Ceylonese Tamil speaker and the Malayalee settlers in Hon Kong looking towards India, for standards is the result of a feeling of deficiency by the speakers of those languages outside their homeland. Non-literate minority languages adopting a dominant language for almost all purposes other than home use, as in the case of Kannada for Tulu, Kodagu and Marathi or Kannada for Konkani in India, are examples of culture languages. Examples of loss of language due to weakened loyalty can be found almost in all parts of the world. In India various tribal languages which are lost because of the modernising thhrust of various dominant languages may be taken as examples. Sometimes loyalty towards one’s own language is shaken due to induced circumstances. For example, the team roller publicity in favour of American white English and standard is responsible not only for the lack of confidence in the native black and brown speakers of English about the standard of their mother tongue in the USA itself, but also for the lack of faith of the non-English world in Asia and Africa in the non-white speakers, including native speakers of English of Latin American origin in the USA as class room models. As would be clear by now, although language planning in some form is needed in al societies, the need for it is greater in a muitllingual society where the problem of communication is complex, and confronts the speaker with multiple options. Linguists have conceived of primary, secondary and tertiary speech communities on the basis of communicatory situations linking the National languagewith the secondary and the international language with tertiary (Haugen 1972:166). But such a simplified model is inadequate to explain the situation in multilingual societies in general and Indian situation in particular. Take for example, a group of Dravidian and Munda language speakers using a common code, Desia, for communication, which is a dialect of Oriya, an Indo-Aryan language. Oriya as a language has dialects which shade of into Marathi, Hindi or Bengali. If one measures the country in any direction on a straight line with points at short intervals, it will be quite evident that there is break in communication only at the extreme points of the scale. Viewed from on angle, there is ‘partial understanding’ among contiguous speech communities in India; viewed from the other, there is Switzerland – like tertiary speech communities among whom interpreters are needed as there is no of creation and change of primary language loyalties, the process of a group transcending the primordial linguistic loyalty through and identities, sub-national or national, is concealed in these simplified models. Because of ethnic cohesiveness and consequent density in communication, at the intermediate contiguous points even languages belonging to two different families are found to share a common grammar. Gumperz (1971 ; 255) has pointed out that the bilinguals in the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka operate with a single grammar and move from one language to the other through a set of transformation rules. It is not always that a third language is used as a common code. In the cases of Konkani : Marathi : Tulu : Kannada, the former has adopted the latter as culture languages, thus allocating the culture language the domain of formal commuinication. All these call for a re-examination of notions like national language, George Puttenham’s comment (1589) â€Å"After a speech is fully fashioned to the common understanding, and accepted by consent of a whole country and nation, it is called a language† is a poor definition both of nation and of language. In a nation like India, where there are languages of all India importance, languages of regional importance and languages of local importance, all the 1652 mother tongues, listed by the Census are national languages. This includes the so-called foreign mother tongues which have become part of the national cultural heritage of the country. It must be understood in this connection that ‘nation’ is a political concept. A political entity becoming a nation faces the challenge of developing a sense of nationalism among all the people inhabiting it. If already a majority of people have imbibed the spirit of nationalism, the task is to persuade the minority to accept the national goals set by the majority. In a nation inhabited by people of diverse ethnicity and language without a dominant group, a national outlook has to emerge through consensus. This requires coherence between the local group needs and national needs, between micro-planning, and macro-planning, and between economic development and political development. In short, it requires coherence between economic development through planning and socio-political context for such developmental planning. The ‘sons of soil theory’ as propounded in different regions of India has to be viewed in this general perspective. In fact, this phenomenon is not peculiar to India. The demands of the French in Canada, the Tamil in Sri Lanka, the Bengalis in the erstwhile Pakistan, the Flemings in Belgium, the various ethnic groups in Philippines, UK, USA and even in the USSR for equal national importance and equal share in development can be subsumed under this rubric. Such theories arise out of micro-planning at its narrowest application and is anti-national in both approach and content. India as a nation can be viewed as constituting a single soil, Maharshtra or Tamil Nadu may be viewed as disparate entities and independent soils. Within Maharashtra. Vidarbha and Marathwada claim independent soil status, whereas Marathas, not to speak of the backward classes, are not even given equal treatment with Brahmins in the same soil. Under these circumstances ‘sons of soil’ is n ot only a pernicious doctrine, but any planning based only on such considerations without reference to macro-planning is bound to defeat the very purpose of planning. Those who plead for sons of soil theory, often due to lsck of perspective, draw strength and support from notion such as situation-bound language planning (Khubchandani 1975). In a nation state with pluri-lingual society, it is important to be aware of the local needs as well as the national needs. Exclusive concern either with the dominant or the minority without reference to the other is bound to hurt both and destroy the society. Neighbourhood is important and of immediate relevance to all; but extension of the neighbourhood or at least the awareness of its extended frontiers so as to reach out to the national frontiers is of equal importance from the point of view of the existence of a nation. If there is no coherence between a speech area and a language area, then it is bound to create conflict. Language planning and language development, to be effective, must have the twin focus on micro and micro level needs, aspirations and resources. The Western view is liner and binary whereas the Eastern is cyclical and spiral. However, the westernised eastern elites, who are in charge of planning, follow essentially the Western world view. That is why, all language problems are reduced to binary oppositions such as English:Hindi; Hindi:Urdu; Hindi:Indian languages, etc; and all integrative solutions elude them. ‘Unity in diversity’ is so worn out through constant use that it is often rejected as a cliche. And yet if language planning is to be achieved without coercion in a multilingual, multi-ethnic society, it has to be viewed in the grand design offered by Gandhi in his concept of the ‘oceanic circle’. In this structure, composed of innumerable speech communities, â€Å"life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual†, always ready to defend and enrich his mother tongue, each speech community ready to defend and enrich the standard, the superposed or the culture language, each such group ready to defend, enrich and sacrifice for the regional dominant language and the latter ready to defend, enrich and sacrifice for the link language, national language or language and languages of national and international integration, â€Å"till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral unit†. NOTE 1. These multiple identities may be both multi-lingualism in the mother tongue and plurilingualism in the sense of different language use. See : wandruszka, Mario, Interlinguistics-Outlines of the New Linguistics. Education; Vol. 12. Institute for Scientific Co-operation, Tubingen, Landhausstr. 18, FRG, 76 ff. 2. Personal communication from Prof. Rais Ahmed, formerly Professor of Physics, Aligarh Muslim University, and later Director, NCERT, New Delhi. 3. Ph.D. thesis of Daniel Moulton in the University of Texas based on his field work in Andhra Pradesh, India under supervision of the author.

Fast Food Industry Essay

1. Executive Summary This report provides an analysis of the international marketing environment of fast- food industry in US and evaluates the international marketing activities of McDonald’s, which is considered a key player. Firstly, the PEST framework is used to analyse external environmental factors influencing the industry. The Porter’s Five Forces framework is utilised to analyse the competitive rivalry within the industry, and its attractiveness for potential new entrants. Key players and their positioning was identified using a strategic-groups model, mapping brand value against global presence. Based on the industry analysis, McDonald’s was identified as the market leader and an examination of their market entry modes was carried out. Their international marketing mix was evaluated to identify success factors, drawing focus upon international branding, international distribution, international communications and standardisation vs. adaptation of the service offering. An internal analysis identified the firm’s strengths and weaknesses whilst an external analysis considered the opportunities and threats posed to McDonald’s as market leader. Finally, short and long term strategic and tactical recommendations were outlined in order to enhance McDonald’s competitive position within the global fast-food industry. These recommendations are both realistic and well supported, based upon the evaluation of their current strategy and activities. 2. Introduction The global fast-food industry is dynamic with a variety of competitors. This report identifies the current factors influencing the industry before specifically focusing on McDonald’s Corporation, who is considered as the current global leader. Based on this analysis, the report identifies several areas for improvement and makes strategic recommendations for McDonald’s to enhance its position. 3. International Marketing Analysis†¨3.1. PEST Analysis and Environmental Impact Matrix (Macro Environment) The following framework provides an analysis of the external international marketing environment, relating to the fast-food industry: *These ratings are based on the authors’ subjective judgement Political Global fast-food firms must comply with country-specific political requirements, such as national minimum wage regulations, affecting costs. Hygiene and quality regulations vary significantly between nations and may influence the quality of products provided by fast-food outlets (FDA, 2012). Different countries set varying regulations regarding labelling and packaging. For instance the UK government pressured firms to promote healthy eating, and several fast-food companies have voluntarily included calorie information on their products (BBC, 2011). Economic Despite the 2008 recession and the resulting decrease in consumer confidence across the globe, average consumer fast-food spending has increased (The Economist, 2010) due to convenience and low-cost. Consumers are still looking for the convenience of eating out, but are drawn to the low prices of fast-food over table-service restaurants (Financial Times, 2009). Many fast-food chains have capitalised upon the recession by introducing new deals in addition to their already low-priced menus. Between 2005 and 2010, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and Russia accounted for 89% of global growth in the fast-food industry (Passport, 2012). Social Increasing consumer awareness about healthy lifestyles has pressured many fast-food players to offer healthier selections within their menus (BBC, 2011). This includes offering low- calorie options and salads alongside burgers, and prominently displaying nutritional content. The fast-food industry has also been heavily criticised for targeting young children by including toys within children’s meals (New York Times, 2003). Recently in the UK, the broadcasting of ‘junk food’ adverts during commercial breaks in children’s programmes has been banned (BBC, 2007), following increasing childhood obesity. Technological As consumer familiarity with new technology increases, fast-food firms are using channels such as social media websites to engage with their customers. For example, McDonald’s is the 9th most ‘liked’ brand on Facebook (CNBC,  2012) (Appendix 1). Additionally, digital displays allow outlets to change their menus efficiently, to suit the time of day (NRA, 2012) and self-service ordering points have increased service speed and reduced labour costs. Environmental Environmental lobbyists and governments are pressuring the fast-food firms to become more ‘green’ (Greenpeace, 2012). Rainforests are being destroyed to increase the area of land for beef production to meet the demand for beef-burgers (Kline, 2007). Recycling is a prominent global issue and in response, McDonald’s adopted recyclable packaging. Increased environmental awareness among consumers provides firms with a significant opportunity to position themselves as ‘green’ to garner customer loyalty (National Pollution Prevention Centre for Higher Education, 1995). Legal Global operators must comply with country-specific regulations and legislation. This includes opening hours, taxation and employment regulations such as the National Minimum Wage Regulations (1999) in the UK. Firms are often required to meet national food standards such as the requirements set out by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Furthermore, authorities are becoming increasingly worried about childhood obesity associated with the industry (WHO, 2012) and have tightened regulations regarding targeting children. 3.2. Porter’s Five Forces – Fast-food Industry This framework identifies the competitive forces affecting the fast-food industry: THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS Industry dominated by global chains with very high brand values High brand awareness and loyalty Retaliation from strong incumbent players Low initial capital outlay Low fixed costs Economies of scale POWER OF SUPPLIERS Many undifferentiated suppliers Fast-food chains have high purchasing power due to high volume COMPETITIVE RIVALRY IN THE FAST-FOOD INDUSTRY Fragmented market Low exit costs Low margin, high turnover – drives competition High brand power POWER OF BUYERS High product differentiation Target many segments High price sensitivity THREAT OF SUBSTITUTIONS Alternative foodservice options Ready meals and home cooking ingredients Main players quite differentiated No switching costs Convenience is the value adding component which is difficult to substitute Threat of New Entrants – Moderate The industry is dominated by a number of international Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC and Domino’s (Datamonitor, 2010). These global brands are extremely valuable, boasting strong customer loyalty and recognition; indicating consistent quality and service. Key players including McDonald’s, adapt their marketing orientation to suit local cultures and social norms (Datamonitor 2010), strengthening the brand and avoiding consumer alienation. New players struggle to compete with incumbent firms, as their brands are unknown and advertising campaigns are expensive. Established chains have the resources to retaliate aggressively through pricing promotions, deterring new players from entering the marketplace. New entrants lack economies of scale, which existing chains have developed over time, and utilise to remain competitive in this low-margin, high-turnover industry. However, social media websites have evened the playing field in terms of marketing communications; they allow firms to efficiently communicate their message inexpensively. Initial capital outlay and fixed costs are low, encouraging new entrants (Datamonitor, 2012). Threat of Substitutions – Moderate Substitutes are readily available: food can be purchased almost anywhere, through foodservice or retail. However, convenience is the value-adding component of the service which reduces the threat of substitutes. Consumers can cook at home cheaply, but this lacks the convenience element which people require nowadays. Ready-meals are therefore a more substantial threat, competing with fast-food on price as well as convenience  (Datamonitor, 2012). If you are ‘on-the-go’ however, without access to a microwave, QSRs are almost uncontested if you want a hot meal in a short timeframe. With many differentiated players (Datamonitor, 2012) and varying service offerings, customers can select the best value option. Competitive Rivalry – Strong Although McDonald’s and Burger King almost hold a duopoly in the ‘burger segment’, the market as a whole is fragmented with many global chains and independent operators (Datamonitor, 2012). Competition is primarily cost-based with firms continuously investing in their production and service processes to undercut competitors. Exit costs are low and capacity is easily increased through franchising. Branding is the most prevalent weapon for competing; McDonald’s spent over $650 million on global advertising in 2009 (Datamonitor, 2012). Power of Buyers – Moderate Figure 1 shows sales and growth of the top ten fast-food companies (Euromonitor International, 2012). The market’s competitiveness increases buyer power and customers are price sensitive (Muhlbacker et al., 1999) with no switching cost between providers. However, key players attempt to reduce buyer power, offering a product range which caters for the entire demographic, rather than one specific segment. For example, McDonald’s target children with ‘Happy Meals’ and professionals with breakfast options and take-away coffee (McDonald’s, 2012). Firms are increasingly promoting differentiated products: McDonald’s â€Å"Big Mac†, Burger King’s â€Å"Whopper† and offers such as Domino’s â€Å"Two for Tuesday† campaign. High brand value and customer loyalty has reduced buyers’ bargaining power. The 2011 ranking of the top 100 brands indicates McDonald’s’ success (Interbrand, 2011). 10 Power of Suppliers – Moderate Figure 1: Top Ten Fast-food Companies by Growth. With a competitive global supply chain, supplier power is limited. â€Å"17,500 British and Irish farms that provide us with top-quality ingredients.† (McDonald’s – UK, 2012) These farms supply Tier 1 suppliers who transform raw materials into food items, ready for McDonald’s to cook and serve. Due to the number of suppliers in the industry, it is difficult for them to  leverage significant power over fast-food firms. The supply of soft-drink is dominated by Coca-Cola (McDonald’s and Burger King) and Pepsi (KFC) due to their global distribution channels. Additionally, Coca-Cola and Pepsi provide fast-food chains with equipment such as refrigerators and drink dispensers. This markets their brand and aligns it with fast-food brands, reducing costs for customers, which would otherwise be passed onto them (SMO, 2011). 3.3. Identification of Key Players and their Competitive Position 3.3.1. Strategic Groups The following framework identifies the key players in the international fast-food industry and identifies which firms are in the most direct competition with each other: Brand value and the chain’s global presence (Appendix 2) are significant indicators of overall performance. The above strategy-group chart maps the firms’ performance. Brand value (US$) is plotted against the chain’s global presence, in terms of the number of outlets worldwide. The strategy-grouping shows that McDonald’s has the highest global market value and revenue in the industry, despite Subway having more international outlets. 4. Key Player – Evaluation of International Activities 4.1. Identification of Key Player Based upon their global presence, market value and revenue, McDonald’s is identified as the key player in the industry. 4.2. McDonald’s International Market Entry Modes In 1940, McDonald’s operated only one QSR but today has restaurants at 33,000 locations in 119 countries. McDonald’s utilises a variety of international market entry modes for rapid expansion: sole ventures, franchising, master franchising and joint ventures. 15% of McDonald’s branded restaurants are operated as sole ventures. This involves a significant capital commitment but allows the highest degree of control.†¨Most restaurants are operated as franchises, allowing rapid expansion without high capital requirements. Franchising has also allowed McDonald’s to benefit from local knowledge, demonstrated by the menu differences by country. However, McDonald’s maintains control over crucial aspects such as the supply chain, marketing mix and staff training. Master Franchising introduces a third party as a ‘go-between’ to overcome geographical and cultural barriers. The combination  of the master franchisee’s local knowledge and McDonald’s brand and model has been a successful formula, allowing expansion whilst maintaining significant control. McDonald’s has also expanded internationally through joint ventures. Again, this allows for rapid expansion and utilises the knowledge of firms in closely-linked markets. Both firms invest equity in the project, there is a lower financial risk for both parties; however, many joint ventures end in hostility and conflict due to firms taking advantage of one another (Brown and Harwood, 2010).

Role Of A Typical American Woman - 935 Words

Prompt #1 Throughout much of the early 20th century, women were regarded as traditional housewives. The role of a typical American woman was quite simple, compared to the standardized 21st century female; her job was to conceive children, take care of any household cleaning duties, and make sure her husband was happy. At the time, both parties were happy; the husband would go off to work and the spouse would reside at home; no worries. However, the economic downfall of the United States, ever so infamously called The Great Depression, eventually shined an immense light on the flaws of the lives in most American middle-class households. During the Great Depression, most middle-class families suffered immense financial hardships. Your average consumer was not purchasing goods, the unsold products would go to waste, the stock market crashed; the whole country underwent a state of peril. This form of dysfunction had its effects last roughly around a decade, but thanks to the president Franklin D. Roosevelt and a few other people with high political power, things seemed to recover gradually. Things did gradually change, the economy was beginning to rebuild, but it came at a price; that price was draft of World War II. During this draft is where all things changed drastically, men were needed at war, but the country needed to produce machinery in order to provide the soldiers with proper utilities for combat. In essence, the United States needed twice the number of men in orderShow MoreRelatedLove in L.A. by Dagoberto Gilb801 Words   |  3 Pagessociety; it wouldn’t be our society with typical stereotyping. Stereotypes have an enormous impact on how we feel and see things. In Gilb’s point of view he is stereotyping the life of the typical Mexican American lifestyle. In all four stories he has a stereotype or he is stereotyping the life style of a family, man or woman. 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