IMC Plan for JK Tyre Industry

IMC Plan for JK Tyre Industry Tyre Industry in India Introduction: Tyre (or tyre in British English) is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground. The word itself is derived from the word attire, referring to the dressing of the wheel. The fundamental materials of modern tires are rubber and fabric along with other compound chemicals. Their constructive make-up consists of the tread and the body. The tread provides traction while the body ensures support. Before rubber was invented, the first versions of tires were simply bands of metal that fit around wooden wheels in order to prevent wear and tear. The most recent and popular type of tire is pneumatic, pertaining to a fitted rubber based ring that is used as an inflatable cushion and generally filled with compressed air. Pneumatic tires are used on many types of vehicles, such as bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, earthmovers, and aircraft. Technology generation in the Indian tyre industry has witnessed a fair amount of expertise and versatility to absorb, adapt and modify international technology to suit Indian conditions. This is reflected in the swift technology progression from cotton (reinforcement) carcass to high-performance radial tyres in a span of four decades. Globalization has led to the linking of the economies of all the nations and therefore major Indian players in the tyre industry are pursuing global strategies to enhance their competitiveness in world markets. The present section broadly undertakes an overview of the Indian tyre industry through an examination of its growth trends with respect to production, exports and acquisition of technological capabilities. TYRE INDUSTRY SCENARIO Indian Tyre Industry can be globally competitive on a level playing field Robust growth in the economic activity in various sectors of the economy as well as in the Surface Trans- port sector and renewed thrust in the infrastructural spends continued to be growth drivers for the Tyre Industry. The reduction in excise duty from 24% to 16% was a welcome move, The completion of Golden Quadri- lateral and North- South and East-West corridor projects will further boost the Automobile sector. This augurs well for the Indian tyre industry. While the demand continues to be buoyant, rising input costs in general and petro-based raw materials in particular is a matter of concern. During the year, the Tyre Industry faced pressure on margins on account of imbalances in the cost increases and tyre prices. There are significant deficiencies in the infrastructure and its cost thereof vis-a-vis the global one thus putting the Indian Industry in a disadvantageous position. While the reduction in the import tariffs is a step in right direction, it needs to be calibrated with the development of infrastructure in the country. Key Features: there are 40 listed companies in the tyre sector in India. Major players are MRF, JK Tyres, and Apollo Tyres CEAT, which account for 63 per cent of the organized tyre market. The other key players include Modi Rubber, Kesoram Industries and Goodyear India, with 11 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per cent share respectively. Dunlop, Falcon, Tyre Corporation of India Limited (TCIL), TVS-Srichakra, Metro Tyres and Balkrishna Tyres are some of the other significant players in the industry. While the tyre industry is largely dominated by the organized sector, the unorganized sector is predominant with respect to bicycle tyres. The industry is a major consumer of the domestic rubber market. Natural rubber constitutes 80% while synthetic rubber constitutes only 20% of the material content in Indian tyres. Interestingly, world-wide, the proportion of natural to synthetic rubber in tyres is 30:70 The sector is raw-material intensive, with raw material accounting for 70% of the total costs of production Total production s in tonnage: 11.35 lakh MT total production of tyres in all categories: 811 lakh (2007-08) Current level of radialization includes 95% for all passenger car tyres, 12% for light commercial vehicles and 3% for heavy vehicles (truck and bus) Restrictions were placed on import of used /retreaded tyres since April 2006 Import of new tyres tubes is freely allowed, except for radial tyres in the truck/bus segment which has been placed in the restricted list since November 2008 Total value of tyre exports form India is approximately Rs 3000 crore (2007-08) The major factors affecting the demand for tyres include the level of industrial activity, availability and cost of credit, transportation volumes and network of roads, execution of vehicle loading rules, radialization, retreading and exports. The tyre technology upgradation is an extremely difficult process, particularly in the Indian scenario, due to several factors. First, since tyre technology encompasses various disciplines such as polymer, chemical, steel etc. compromises have to be made in the upgradation of technology because of a) the conflict and complimentarity inherent in these disciplines, b) the usage pattern of the tyres and c) the cost factor. Further, a tyres performance could be affected due to factors such as the weather, loading pattern etc. Despite these bottlenecks technology upgradation in Indian tyre industry during the last few decades has been significant. This has been possible to some extent due to government approvals of collaborations with MNCs in this sector. The emphasis given by Indian tyre companies to applied research, the setting up of well-equipped in house RD centres by large tyre companies, manned by experts and experienced professionals have also helped in technology upgradation. Ind ian tyre technology has exhibited versatility in maintaining inflow of technology through foreign collaborations and tailoring the same to Indian needs. Automation: The production system in the Indian tyre industry has been traditionally very labour intensive. The automation of manufacturing processes has increased gradually, which has slashed the size of the workforce to a considerable degree and has effected a change in its composition. The degree of automation has been greater in the area of radial technology, while cross ply technology is still labour intensive. The firms have been resorting to automation in order to tackle problems related to labour unionization and indiscipline in the sector. The rationale provided by the firms for the increasing drive towards automation of the manufacturing facilities has been that high quality and uniformity of the final product usually cannot be guaranteed with a labour intensive process. (Iyer Upadhyay 2008). New Policy Initiatives The tyre industry in India has had to grapple with raw material price volatility, rupee appreciation and cheap Chinese imports. In this connection, some of the recent initiatives by the government to facilitate the growth of the sector include: No WTO bound rates for Tyres and Tubes No restrictions on the import of all raw materials required for tyre manufacture except carbon black, which has been placed in the restricted list Increasing thrust on development of road infrastructure The Marketing Communications Mix A companys total marketing communications mix, or promotion mix, consists of the specific blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations tools that the company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives. The five major types of promotion are: Advertising: Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Personal selling: Personal presentation by the firms sales force to make sales and build customer relationships. Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. Public relations: Building good relations with the companys publics by obtain- ing favourable publicity, building up a good â€Å"corporate image,† and handling or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories, and events. Direct marketing: Direct communications with carefully targeted individualconsumers to obtain an immediate response—the use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, and other non-personal tools to communicate directly with specific consumers or to solicit a direct response. Each type of promotion has its own tools. Advertising includes print, broadcast, outdoor, and other forms. Personal selling includes sales presentations, tradeshows, and incentive programs. Sales promotion includes point-of-purchase displays, premiums, discounts, coupons, specialty advertising, and demonstrations. Direct marketing includes catalogues, telemarketing, fax transmissions, and the Internet. Thanks to technological breakthroughs, marketers can now communicate through traditional media (newspapers, radio, telephone, and television), as well as its newer forms (fax machines, cellular phones, pagers, and computers). These new technologies have encouraged more companies to move from mass communication to more targeted communication and one-on-one dialogue. At the same time, communication goes beyond these specific promotion tools. The products design, its price, the shape and colour of its package, and the stores that sell it—all communicate something to buyers. Thus, although the promotion mix is the companys primary communication activity, the entire marketing mix promotion and product, price, and place must be coordinated for greatest. Over the past years, tyre companies around the world perfected the art of mass marketing —selling highly standardized products to masses of customers. In the process, they developed effective mass-media advertising techniques to support their mass-marketing strategies. These companies routinely invested millions of dollars in the mass media, reaching tens of millions of customers with a single ad. However, as we move into the twenty-first century, marketing managers face some new marketing communications realities. The ChangingCommunications Environment There are two major factors are changing the face of todays marketing communications. 1. As mass markets have fragmented, marketers are shifting away from mass marketing and developing focused marketing programs, designed to build closer relationships with customers in more narrowly defined micromarkets. 2. Astimprovements in information technology are speed- ing the movement toward segmented marketing marketing. Todays information technology helps marketers to keep closer track of customer needs—more information about consumers at the individual and household levels is available than ever before. New technologies also provide new communications avenues for reaching smaller customer segments with more tailored messages. The shift from mass marketing to segmented marketing has had a dramatic impact on marketing communications. Just as mass marketing gave rise to a new generation of mass-media communications, the shift toward one-on-one marketing is spawning a new generation of more specialized and highly targeted communications efforts.3 Given this new communications environment, marketers must rethink the roles of various media and promotion mix tools. Mass-media advertising has long dominated the promotion mixes of consumer product companies. However, although television, magazines, and other mass media remain very important, their dominance is now declining. Market fragmentation has resulted in media fragmentation into more focused media that better match todays targeting strategies. For example, in 1975, what were the three major US TV networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) attracted 82 percent of the 24-hour viewing audience. By 1995, that number had dropped to only 35 percent, as cable television and sat ellite broad- casting systems offered advertisers dozens or even hundreds of alternative channels, which reachsmaller, specialized audiences. Its expected to dropeven further, down to 25 percent by the year 2005. The few mass magazines of the mid-twentieth century have been replaced by thousands of special-interest magazines. HMF alone publishes these and more than 20 other magazines reaching 17 different markets and more than 47 million readers, not to mention a wide range of online, broadcast, outdoor, and other media. focused audiences. Beyond these channels, advertisers are making increased use of new, highly targeted media, ranging from video screens on supermarket shopping carts to CD-ROM catalogues and Web sites on the Internet.4 More generally, advertising appears to be giving way to other elements of the promotion mix. In the glory days of mass marketing, consumer product companies spent the lions share of their promotion budgets on mass-media advertising. Now a days, media advertising captures only about 26 percent of total promotion spending.5 The rest goes to various sales promotion activities, which can be focused more effectively on individual consumer and trade segments. Marketers are using a richer variety of focused communication tools in an effort to reach their diverse target markets. In all, companies are doing less broadcasting and more narrow casting. The Need for Integrated Marketing Communications The shift from mass marketing to targeted marketing, with its corresponding use of a richer mixture of communication channels and promotion tools, poses a problem for marketers. Consumers are being exposed to a greater variety of marketing communications from and about the company from an array of sources. However, customers dont distinguish between message sources the way marketers do. In the consumers mind, advertising messages from different media—such as television, magazines, or online sources—blur into one. Messages delivered via different promotional approaches—such as advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, pub- lic relations, or direct marketing —all become part of a single message about the company. Conflicting messages from these different sources can result in confused company images and brand positions. All too often, companies fail to integrate their various communications channels. The result is a hodgepodge of communications to cons umers. Mass advertisements say one thing, a price promotion sends a different signal, a product label creates still another message, company sales literature says something altogether different, and the companys Web site seems out of sync with everything else. The problem is that these communications often come from different company sources. The advertising department or advertising agency plans and implements advertising messages. Sales management develops personal selling communications. Other functional specialists are responsible for public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, online sites, and other forms of marketing communications. Such functional separation has recently become a major problem for many companies and their Internet communications activities, which are often split off into sepa- rate organizational units. â€Å"These new, forward-looking, high-tech functional groups, whether they exist as part of an established organization or as a separate new business operation, commonly are located in separate space, apart from the traditional operation,† observes one integrated marketing communications expert.â€Å"They generally are populated by young, enthusiastic, technologically proficient people with a burning desire to ‘change the world,† he adds, but â€Å"the separation and the lack of cooperation and cohesion† can be a disintegrating force in marketing communications In the past, no one person was responsible for th inking through the communication roles of the various promotion tools and coordinating the promotion mix. Today, however, many companies are adopting the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC). The company carefully integrates and coordinates its many communications channels to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its products.6 As one marketing executive puts it, â€Å"IMC builds a strong brand identity in the marketplace by tying together and reinforcing all your images and messages. IMC means that all your corporate messages, positioning and images, and identity are coordinated across all [marketing communications] venues. It means that your PR materials say the same thing as your direct mail campaign, and your advertising has the same ‘look and feel as your Web site.†7 The IMC solution calls for recognizing all contactints at which the customer may encounter the company, its products, and its brands. Each brand contact will deliver a message, whether good, bad, or indifferent. The company must strive to deliver a consistent and positive message at all contact points. To help implement IMC, some companies appoint a m arketing communications director, or marcom manager, who has overall responsibility for the companys communications efforts. Compaq Canada, for example, has a vice-president of integrated marketing communications. IMC produces better communications consistency and greater sales impact. It places the responsibility in someones hands—where none existed before—to unify the companys image as it is shaped by thousands of company activities. It leads to a total marketing communication strategy aimed at showing how the company and its products can help customers solve their problems. J. K. Industries Ltd. J.K. industries achieved yet another milestone and the turnover touched an all time high of Rs. 2,400 crores during the year. Operating Profit for the year was Rs. 132 crores and after providing for cost of borrowings, depreciation and taxation, Profit After Tax is Rs. 17 crores as against Rs. 12 crores in the previous year. There has been a sharp increase in input costs in view of increase in the prices of petro-based raw materials. Commensurate increase in the selling prices of tyres could not be made thereby affecting margins. It is a matter of concern that this overhang of increase in input costs continued throughout the year. The Company has been trying to meet this difficult situation by adopting various measures including aggressive cost cutting, business process improvements, product re-engineering as also enrichment of product and market mix. The Company has also renegotiated the rates of interest on existing term loans. As a result, interest cost in the current year is expe cted to witness a significant reduction. Completion of expansion resulting in increased capacities coupled with aforesaid steps, is expected to result in improvement in the margins in coming year. APPROPRIATIONS The amount available for appropriation, including surplus from previous years and debenture redemption reserve no longer required, is Rs. 57.81 crores. The Directors propose this to be appropriated as under: Rs. Crores Debenture Redemption Reserve 5.99 General Reserve 1 .75 Dividend 7.49 Corporate Dividend Tax 1.05 Surplus carried to Balance Sheet 41 .53 DIVIDEND Company are pleased to recommend dividend of 20 % (Rs. 2 per Equity Share) on the Equity Share Capital of Rs. 37.46 crores. The dividend outgo will be Rs. 8.54 crores (inclusive of dividend tax of Rs. 1.05 crores) as against Rs. 8.47 crores (inclusive of dividend tax of Rs. 0.98 crores) in the previous year. The dividend in the hands of the shareholders is tax free. SUSTAINED LEADERSHIP AND GROWTH Quality Excellence The Company continues to play a leading role in the Tyre Industry in India. During the year, production increased to 57.74 lac tyres compared to 55.62 lac tyres achieved last year. All the four Tyre Plants of the Company operated at optimum capacities producing world class quality tyres. CUSTOMER FIRST If is a matter of great pride that your Company has been ranked No.1 in the Tire Customer Satisfaction Index Study conducted by J D Power Asia Pacific 2005 India. Company acknowledge the support of all its valued customers in attaining the leadership position in the Tyre Industry in India. JK Tyre continues to be Indias only Tyre Superbrand. It reinforces our belief of putting the customer first in all our endeavours. TRUCK/BUS RADIAL TYRES Production GraphDuring the year, your Company achieved yet another milestone and rolled out One Millionth All Steel Truck/Bus Radial Tyre. The Company has produced radial truck/bus tyres of the value of more than Rs.1,000 crores so for and has been exporting the same to several global markets. Your Company continues to produce more than 80% of Indias All Steel Truck/Bus Radial Tyres. The expansion of capacity of Truck/Bus Radials by 50% was completed and has now become operative. This would allow the Company to continue its leadership role in this vital growth area and meet Indias growing demand for Radial Truck Tyres. Innovative Promotion and Concept Selling marketing strategy helped the Company to accelerate the use of Truck/Bus Radial Tyres in the country. With renewed thrust on the improvement and enlarging road network and highways, the pace of radialization shall pick up in the years ahead. Increasing number of buses are being fitted with radials and with the increased road movement as a result of better road quality and network, radials will find application on larger number of buses. Plans are well under way to further expand the capacities to meet the demand for accelerated radialization. EXPANSION In addition to expansion of the truck radial capacity as mentioned above, the passenger radial capacity expansion by 30% has nearly been completed. The benefits of both these enhanced capacities will be available in the coming year. To meet the surge in demand for the Companys tyres as also maintaining our leadership in the Tyre Industry, further capacity expansion is planned. Exports GraphEXPORTS Your Company continues to be the lead exporter of tyres from India. During the year, exports increased to Rs. 383 crores. The Company has developed an extensive global marketing net- work and its tyres are sold in 60 countries across 6 continents. JK Tyre is a preferred brand in several leading global markets. This is yet another recognition of the Companys world class quality tyres. HUMAN CAPITAL The Company believes that human resources are key to the success of business. It has been taking several steps to enhance employee skills through training development, empowerment and nurturing talent. In recent years, major initiatives on Competency based Leadership Development and Business Process Re-engineering were taken up which have yielded excellent results. JK TYRE -MARKET LEADER Production during the year touched a high of 57.74 lac tyres against 55.62 lac tyres last year. All the 4 Tyre Plants of the Company worked at the optimum capacities at high operational efficiency levels, producing world- class quality tyres. During the year, the Company achieved yet another land mark of being ranked No.1 in the Tyre Customer Satisfaction Index Study conducted by J D Power Asia Pacific 2005 India -a distinct customer satisfaction endorsement of your Companys products. This has reinforced our market leadership. It is indeed a matter of great pride and satisfaction that JK Tyre has received the most coveted recognition of Superbrand and now No.1 ranking in the Customer Satisfaction. This, more than amply demonstrates the Companys commitment to its customers and its leadership in the Indian Tyre market. COMMERCIAL TYRE SEGEMENT The segment constitutes Bus, Truck and LCV tyres. Their efforts have been to not only meet customer expectations but also to give the very best in quality and performance driven products. During the year, Company made new offerings and introduced various tyres, the principal ones being Jet Xtra, Jet Rock and Jet Star for segment specific Bias Truck applications. Nine new tyres were introduced for LCVs for different usage and road conditions. The Company continued to establish great focus on customers through customer contact programmes in LCV tyres and also by partnering the fleet program of Indian Oil Corporation. Training camps were organized to create awareness amongst tyre fitters by organizing Master Tyre Fitter Programmes a first in the industry. AIDS awareness programme was launched amongst Truck Drivers to educate them for prevention and care of this deadly disease. TRUCK RADIALS Companys initiative of introducing all Steel Truck Radial tyres in India have started yielding results and the roll out of the millionth tyre at the most modern plant at Mysore in July 05 is a testimony to the far sighted vision of your company. Company is not only the No.1 truck radial manufacturer, but is a dominant leader in the market with more than 80% market share. New products and sizes of tyres were introduced in the market which received excellent consumer acceptance. JK Tyre Truck/Bus Radial Tyres are gaining increased fitment by Original Equipment Manufacturers. Customers education and participative involvement with end users has taken shape under the Unique Fleet Management Programme. Dedicated personnel have been attached to the fleets to enable them to fully realize the benefits of usage of radials. The Tyre Care Center Network along prominent highways continues to provide round the clock service to truck/bus operators. Your Company is able to see the rapidly growing pace of radialisation moving from current levels of approximately 2% to 5% in the immediate future to 10% in next 5 years. Expansion of capacity by 50% will help maintain companys leaderships in domestic market as also service its export to sophisticated markets across the globe. CAR TYRES During the year under review, your Company continued its thrust on partnering growth with OEM Customers. Various consumer oriented activities such, as Zip and Sip offer, participation in Indian Oil Extra Rewards programme and Monsoon Protection offer were undertaken to strengthen bondage with customers. Product aesthetics, introduction of newer range, addressing product requirement across different types of cars continued to be important focus areas for radial car tyre segment. Various new sizes and patterns such as Vectra and Zephyr for car radials were introduced for the new models launched by the auto manufacturers. Through relentless efforts, the Company achieved Unique Distinction of being ranked No.1 in Customer Satisfaction by JD Power Asia Pacific, a world leader in assessing customer satisfaction in the automotive segment. Expansion in capacity by 30% shall enable the company to increase its participation in replacement as well as OE segments. STEEL WHEELS At the forefront of all car consumer-reach programs has been the Steel Wheels retail network as an important Customer Interface touch point. This year, Steel Wheels played a significant role creating awareness on tubeless tyres usage. Over hundred outlets across the country cater thousands of customers with value added services including wheel alignment, wheel balancing and automated tyre changer apart from providing ready guide on tyre care in a pleasant ambience. ORIGNAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACURERS(OEMS) India is fast emerging as a global automotive hub. The Automotive industry is maturing and New Models being introduced at a rapid pace is a challenge for the tyre industry. It is our privilege to be a major business partner to highly prestigious OEM manufacturers with increased share of Business both in Commercial as well as Passenger categories. It may be recalled that JK Tyre product development group was entrusted with the task of developing tyres for Maruti Udyogs New Generation Global Car. It is heartening that during the year, JK Tyre was listed as a single source vendor for Maruti Swift Car, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. selected your Company for supplying specially developed ELANZO tyres for their luxury Scorpio vehicle. OFF THE ROAD TYRE(OTR) Your Company has put renewed thrust on development of OTR Tyre business. Both production and sales increased by various folds in the last four years with JK Tyre OTRs attaining improved market share. Continued thrust on development of new sizes of products has helped the company to emerge as the best in class in the domestic replacement market. MOTOR SPORTS JK Tyre has been successful in promoting motor sports in India during the last more than 10 years and has being pursuing the task of nurturing talented drivers to achieve greater heights for their recognition at various platforms in domestic racing championships as well as international arena Narain Karthikeyan -JK Tyre Prodigy became the first ever Indian Formula- 1 Racing Driver. Karun Chandhok and Armaan Ebrahim became A-l drivers with Armaan becoming a success in Formula BMW Asia. The Company organized 5th National Karting Championship and Racing Championship during the year. The Company also participated in Dubai Endurance Test and now re-entered National Rallying with great elan and success. GLOBAL PRESENCE Being the largest tyre exporter, your Company accounted for over 30% of total tyre export from India during the year, with export turnover of Rs. 383 crores. It was made possible mainly by the continued thrust on strengthening international network and building JK Tyre brand in the overseas markets. Your Company continues to operate through an extensive distribution network spread across 60 countries over 6 continents. The company is enhancing outsourcing activities from China for international and for Chinese markets in its own brands. It is a matter of pride that JK Tyre and Vikrant Tyre brands are rated amongst premium brands in highly quality conscious global bias tyre markets. TECHNOLOGY Being a pioneer of Radial Technology in India, Company continues its zeal to maintain Technology Leadership. It has established many firsts in the areas of Technology in the past and has further accelerated this pace through extensive in-house Research and Development activity as well as through adoption of latest technology from its collaborator, Continental AG, Germany -the 4th largest Tyre Company in the world. The fact that SWIFT -a new world class model of Suzuki has only JK Tyre as its 100% supplier, is yet another endorsement of Companys leadership in Technology. JK Tyre is the first Indian Company to commercialize V rated (speed rating of 240 kms/hour) Passenger Radial tyres. HASETRI (Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer Tyre Research Institute),. an independent institute dedicated to Elastomer and Tyre research, promoted by your company is driving companys Technological advancement. HASETRI is a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) and besides up- grading the facilities, infrastructure and manpower capabilities, is working jointly with Technology team of the Company to come out with new and advanced products. Towards this endeavour, HASETRI is not only benchmarking technological capabilities, but also collaborating with various National and International academic institutes. The Company has also established a Centre of Excellence for Tyre and Vehicle Mechanics in IIT, Chennai for latest computational system, which is the first such Centre in this field for tyre vehicle dynamics technology. This idea has been well appreciated by Automotive companies as it aims to develop superior products for Indian Automobiles. With this strength and Technology Leadership initiatives, customers

Events Provision in Birmingham

This assignment will identify the range of events being promoted in the city of Birmingham, it will also classify whether the events are organised by the public, private or voluntary sector. There will also be an overview of the visitor's perception of the city and event and finally it will analyse the local resident's attitudes towards the event. The six events which will be analysed are the MPH Show '06, which is a motor event hosted by Jeremy Clarkson. Mitchell and Webb Live, which is a comedy sketch show. The BBL Cup Final. The Survivor Series Tour, which is a sports entertainment event. Mela 2006 and the final event is Little Britain Live. Theorists such as Allen 2002 state that an event is defined as a significant gathering or activity that takes place often in a social setting. (J. Allen 2002) The first event, which will be analysed, is the MPH Show '06. The event was in operation between 26-29 October 2006 at the NEC Birmingham. The MPH Show's web page describes the event, as â€Å"a 75 minute theatre show in an explosive combination of car chases, outrageous stunts, incredible driving and world debuts. A personal look at the finest selection of the most stylish, rare and expensive cars in our galleried exhibitions – its motoring heaven!† (www.mphshow.co.uk) This event can be categorised under the mega events typology group. The reason for this is that the event has the potential to attract over one million visitors. A further reason that this event can attract a vast amount of large visitors is that well-known motoring expert Jeremy Clarkson is hosting it. Due to the motor show being taken away from Birmingham, The MPH Show can be its ideal replacement and generate a high level of economic and tourism impact into Birmingham. Theorist such as Getz 1997 states, â€Å"Mega events, by way of their size or significance are those that yield extraordinarily high levels of tourism, media coverage or economic impact for the host community and destinations.† (Getz 1997) There could be arguments suggesting that it can be put under the special events typology. The reason for that being that the event is a one off event and is an event, which comes under persons social activities such as football and music. The second event that will be analysed is Mitchell & Webb Live, which will take place at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 5th November. The event brings comedian duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb to the Hippodrome as part of their live tour. This event can be categorised under the special events typology group. Getz states, â€Å"A special event is a one time or infrequently occurring event outside the normal programme or activities of the sponsoring or organising body.† (Getz 1997- lecture hand out) The third event that will be analysed is the Survivor Series Tour, which is organised by sports entertainment company WWE. The event will be held on 12th November 2006 at the NEC. This event can be categorised into the special events group. The reason for this is that it is part of a person's social interest and it is place where they can go with family and friends to the event. Getz 1997 states, â€Å"To the customer or guest, a special event is an opportunity for leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience.† (Getz 1997) The fourth event, which will be analysed, is Little Britain Live, which will be held in The NIA. According to the NEC group website, â€Å"David Walliams and Matt Lucas have extended their phenomenal Little Britain Birmingham tour dates with a 14th night at The NIA on Saturday 9 December.† (www.necgroup.co.uk) This event can be categorised in to the special events typology category, due to this event being a social interest event. The fifth event, which will evaluated is the BBL Cup Final that will be held in The NIA. The BBL Cup Final is the basketball tournament finals that will come to a climax in Birmingham. Also in the event are the women's basketball tournament finals. This type of event can be categorised under the hallmark typology. The reason for this is that it is a one off event. Theorist such as Ritchie 1984 defines a hallmark event as â€Å"A major one-time or recurring event of limited duration, developed primarily to enhance the awareness appeal and profitability of a tourist destination in the short or long term.† (Ritchie 1984) The final event is The Asian Mela 2006, which is to be held between 17-19 November 2006 at the NEC. The Asian Mela is an event targeted at the Asian community by holding an event that has Asian fashion, entertainment and many more experiences. This type of event can categorised in to the special events typology group. A special event recognises a unique moment in time with ceremony and ritual to satisfy specific needs. The reason for this being is that it relates to the cultural aspects of the Asian community and also can be an event that brings together people from different backgrounds to celebrate Asian lifestyles and how it has made an impact in today's British society. The second part of this assignment will identify whether the events have been organised by private, public or voluntary sectors. The Mph Show was organised by the fuel company shell. Shell is considered a global group that produces oil, fuel and other types of energy sources. The company is considered part of the private sector. Theorist such as Fardon state, â€Å"The private sector compromises of businesses which are directly or indirectly in private ownership.† (Fardon 2000) The Mitchell & Webb Live event is being presented at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The Hippodrome is a theatre, which is a charity run theatre. The charity ‘The Friends of The Hippodrome' is an organisation, which counts on donations from corporations such as Lloyds TSB and even donations from the public. The Survivor Series event, which is an event run by the sports entertainment company WWE. The company is a private limited company that runs live events mainly in the United States, but also tours the rest of the world. The Little Britain Live event, which is being shown at the NIA. The event is by the NIA group, which is linked with the city council. This sector can be put in the public sector, as it is part of the district council. The BBL Cup Final is an annual event, which is to be held at the NIA, is being organised by the British Basketball League Association. This is part of the public sector. Websites such as www.whatsis.techtarget.com have given a definition to the public sector, which states, â€Å"The public sector overlaps with the private sector in producing or providing certain goods and services. The extent of this overlap varies from country to country, state to state, province to province, and city to city.† By evaluating this statement and relating it to events, the public sector needs sum form of assistance from the private sector such as funds and sponsorship. It can be an advantage for both private and public sectors, as the private sector organisation is getting good recognition by giving a helping hand to the public sector organisation. The Asian Mela event is presented by the Asian television station Zee and events firm Clarion Events. Both companies are part of the private sector. This part of the assignment will explain the impact that the actual events provision of the city has on visitor perceptions. When discussing event impacts there are various elements that need to be considered. These elements are as follows, social/cultural, economics, political and developmental. The social/cultural implications are to bring increased community spirit and bring people from different cultures to unify and enjoy the events. In today's world, there are many negative issues surrounding different cultures. It is vital that there are events that can bring people from different backgrounds and faiths so that they can enjoy them without any fear or scepticism. The economic side of the impact is that it can help with the cities revenue, resulting in the city bringing more events and even construct new buildings to present the events. As Birmingham is one of the United Kingdoms visited places with hot spots such as The Bull Ring and The Mail Box for shopping and leisure and recreational areas like Star City and AMC. Which ever type of event is happening in Birmingham there is high possibility of tourists staying over the local hotels and bed and breakfasts, which also is a plus for the local businesses as well as the city. The political element is that increases the cities national reputation and improves its profile. The developmental and environmental elements of having events in Birmingham are that it can have effects such as urban regeneration. This can have a positive outcome on the less funded areas of the city. With the money generated from these events, by giving the lesser funded area's resources to rejuvenate the area by constructing community centres for young people who have broken backgrounds to learn new skills and make more of their lives. When considering these types of impacts for the events chosen for this assignment. The MPH Show will bring in many visitors who have an interest for exotic and concept cars, these are also known as ‘petrol heads'. The main target market for this event will be 18-30 mainly male. The economic side of the event will be a benefit as it is running for three days, this is a bonus for hotels as there will be visitors from outside of Birmingham who may want to go to the show, whilst site seeing and going to local businesses. The political element will be affected, as Birmingham was once home to the motor show. By having this type of event with a well-known host such as Jeremy Clarkson may not replace the revenue and the publicity that the city used to get from the motor show, but it will be a stepping-stone to bringing in similar types of events to the city. The BBL Cup Final will target mainly basketball fans from different ages. Although basketball is not one of England's favourite sports, a minority can be targeted effectively. The economic element will bring in the minority of basketball fans through as much advertising there can be. This can also be a positive for accommodation businesses. Whether or not the NIA is going to remain being the host of the tournaments finals, it will be a positive for the city council, which can attract other indoor sports events. The Survivor Series event will be targeting mainly young males aged 16 and over. However, there has been an increase in female attendances to the sports entertainment events. Although the company is originated in the United States, the business does have strong relations within the UK. This can bring in tourists from outer Birmingham and even out of England. This resulting in massive revenue for hotels and other local businesses. The Mitchell and Webb Live and Little Britain Live events will both have similar type of element results. The target for these events are going to be varied as the events are based on shows from television, this is a positive because it can attract young and older generations. Economically it will be good for the city as these events are apart of a long tour, generating revenue for local businesses. This will raise the profile of the city by having well known comedy gigs and even make aware of other comedy performances to add the city to their tours in the near future. The Asian Mela event will target mainly the Asian community and even target other cultures, as it is known that different cultures are adapting Asian fashion in to their lifestyles. This will be a good event for local businesses, as the event will attract tourists from other regions. Regarding the political element, this is an event that will be popular as the more it goes grows with the community, there will be more ideas for events for other cultures. By attracting the non Asian community to the event, it can bring a unity to the general public and let the people know that there is room for understanding to the cultures and not the dark cloud that hangs around the Asian community as misinterpreted in today's media. The final part of this assignment will consider local residents attitudes to the events within their city. When events such as the MPH Show come into Birmingham, resident's attitudes are going to be stereotypical. They may assume that the event may attract a group of hooligans and maybe concerned that there will be a riot of some sort. The residents will more likely welcome the sporting events the BBL Cup Final and the Survivor Series Tour, as they are events the whole family can go and watch. The basketball final's tournament is something in which the local residents can be proud that their city is part of. This can result in pride in association with the city. It can also be a positive for locals because it is bringing in tourists and even be welcomed by shops and other business. The comedy events Little Britain Live and Mitchell & Webb Live will be welcomed, as both events are family friendly and are based on television shows that are well known. Birmingham is known for being a cultured city, with evidence being backed up by Birmingham City Councils webpage which provides statistics in the form of charts. One way of showing this is by holding an event targeted for its Asian community, The Asian Mela. As Birmingham has a high percentage of Asians as one of its many ethnic groups, the Asian community will welcome the event. By holding this event, it can even attract other people from different ethnic groups and be welcomed by everyone. A family event for al to enjoy the community will be proud to have it in their city. In conclusion a city such as Birmingham will welcome it. The main factor is that it can hold majority of events within its venues such as the NEC, the NIA and the Symphony Hall. Bringing in more events will increase tourism and revenue for the city. This is a plus as the money generated from the events can go on to bring in more opportunities for people with different interests and backgrounds. Making the city a hotspot for events.

Success, challenges and future prospects of IS outsourcing in the UK: A case study of an UK company outsourcing most of its IS activities.

Outsourcing has become increasingly attractive for many organizations. In such relationship, a company contracts with a vendor that rents its skills, knowledge, technology, service and manpower for an agreed-upon price and period to perform functions the client no longer wants to do. Much attention has focused recently on the outsourcing of IS/IT services to countries such as India and the Philippines. Indeed outsourcing any business activity creates potential risks as well as benefits.Companies can find themselves overly dependent on suppliers, and they can lose strength in strategically core competencies. Interestingly, given the importance of the outsourcing decision and the amount of academic and practitioner literature on it, there is surprisingly little consensus about the topic, probably because of the multiplicity and complexity of the factors involved. In this section, the authors identified six key factors that companies should consider when making outsourcing decisions. Th e framework, which helps assess the pros and cons of outsourcing, can be applied specifically to IS/IT functions.Changes in the broader business environment are affecting nearly every aspect of how companies manage their human resources, altering the balance of pros and cons for outsourcing IS/IT business process. First, conflicting pressures in the labor market have brought the role of human resources to the fore. On the one hand, the 1990s bought the so-called war for talent for IT professionals. On the other hand, intensifying competitive pressures have forces companies to be more aggressive in cutting costs, often by reducing head count.Human resources have had to manage such downsizing, while also trying to be innovative in attracting and retaining valuable employees. Second, IS/IT themselves have become the target for belt-tightening efforts, and they must now find ways to provide more value at lower cost. Many have argued that the key is to focus on activities that are essent ial and outsource the rest. Third, the growing complexity and increasing regulatory changes in the legal environment for human resource management, in particular in the areas of health care, stock-related compensation, overtime-pay calculations, pension reform, and eligibility for contingent workers.This has driven demand for outsourced IS/IT activities from vendors that are subject-matter experts. Globalization poses a comparable challenge, requiring IS/IT departments to address the needs of the business and moving between different countries and markets. Lastly, mergers and acquisition have become increasingly frequent, creating huge IS/IT integration challenges. Often, IS/IT is charged with the simultaneous tasks of integrating and managing the technologies and business processes in the face of continuous change. Problem StatementThe primary objectives of this dissertation will be to investigate the issues involved in factors affecting the success or failure of outsourcing IS/IT activities. Before doing this however there will have to be a thorough examination of the current state of global IT outsourcing services. The main task of the research is to find out what actually makes outsourcing work for Welsh Water. Challenges of having multiple suppliers and the steps Welsh Water undertakes to make outsourcing success. The following is a list of objectives which the author aspires to accomplish in the dissertation:– To analyse the objectives for outsourced services, selecting outsourcing suppliers, benchmarking. – To research contractual aspects of ‘multiple suppliers’ outsourcing, problems and risks associated with it. Assessment of contracts/SLAs: structures, similarities and differences between contracts/SLAs – What steps Welsh Waters undertakes to make outsourcing success (outsourcing program management, contract management, building outsourcing relationships, partnership, mutual benefits, communications, change control, h ow performance is measured, what constitutes for success/failure, etc)– To investigate if any proven/best practices have been adopted by Welsh Waters to mitigate the risks and manage the suppliers effectively. – To look at the ‘uneasy’ relations between the Welsh Waters IT management and some of the suppliers – To research relations between suppliers themselves (possible hostile behavior towards each other, rivalry, hidden conflicts, etc). The Overview of the Study The remainder of this study is as following statement: Chapter 2, Literature Review, will provide first a concise concept and explanation of IT outsourcing.We will examine the competitive landscape within the IT outsourcing industry. We will also define critical success factors and key trends for IT companies operating in this market. We also look different related literature on supplier management and sourcing decision framework for clients. Chapter 3, Methodology, will describe the rese arch design of this study. The research design of this study is empirical research method using secondary data for quantitative analysis. The researchers administered a case study framework to understand the factors affecting the IT sourcing decisions of clients.Chapter 4, Results, will demonstrate the results of this study. The authors will provide a brief description of the company under study, highlighting IT sourcing decision of the company. The research also will employ statistical data such as frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation on the different factors that affect the success and failure of IS/IT outsourcing. These data will be tabulated and analyzed to examine the effect of the various variables. The findings will then be generated from these analyses will be presented and interpreted.Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary† section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å" Conclusion† section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations† will be proposed to help companies improve IT implementation with partner suppliers and avoid pitfalls and traps. In next chapter, we will discuss the environmental analysis on Global outsourcing highlighting process management services, IT management, and data processing. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThe literature review will first define nature of business process outsourcing. This section will offer a concise definition of IT outsourcing and its ability to thrive in a globalized economy. Then, the review will consist of three parts: (1) Environmental Analysis of the Outsourcing Industry and competitive landscape in the industry, (2) define the common IS/IT activities that are outsourced, (3) identify the key success factor of IT outsourcing and define the maturity stage of the company, and (4) the importance of customer-vendor relationship in providing innova tive solutions to the clients.Defining of Business Process Outsourcing Given the potential headaches of managing IT, it is tempting to hand the job over to someone else. Indeed, outsourcing once appeared to be a simple solution to management frustrations, and senior management teams at many companies negotiated contracts with large service providers to run their entire IT functions. At a minimum, these providers were often able to provide IT capabilities for a lower cost and with fewer hassles than the companies had been able to themselves.But many of these outsourcing arrangements resulted in dissatisfaction, particularly as a company's business needs changed. Service providers, with their standard offerings and detailed contracts, provided IT capabilities that were not flexible enough to meet changing requirements, and they often seemed slow to respond to problems. Furthermore, a relationship with a supplier often required substantial investments of money and time, which entrenche d that supplier in the company's strategic planning and business processes.The company then became particularly vulnerable if the supplier failed to meet its contractual obligations (Ross and Weill, 2002). Problems arose because senior managers, in choosing to outsource the IT function, were also outsourcing responsibility for one or more of the crucial decisions they should have been making themselves. Companies often hired outside providers because they were dissatisfied with the performance of their own IT departments—but that dissatisfaction was primarily the result of their own lack of involvement.In light of this track record, most larger companies, at least, are deciding to keep their main IT capabilities in-house. But many engage in selective outsourcing. Good candidates for this are commodity services, such as telecommunications, in which there are several competing suppliers and specifications are easy to set, and services involving technologies with which the compa ny lacks expertise. Unlike decisions to outsource the entire IT function, selective outsourcing decisions are usually best left to the IT unit, assuming that senior management has taken responsibility for overall strategy.Beaumont and Costa (2002) studied IT outsourcing in Australia. They found that almost 40% of Australian organizations outsource one or more IT applications. Large organizations tended to outsource more than small ones. The three most important reasons for outsourcing were access to skills, improved quality and focus on core business. Four factors contributed to successful outsourcing: a tight contract, a partnership, a change process, and the IT manager's role changing from managing projects and operations to acquiring and managing the internal and external resources required to do the organization's IT work.Successful IT outsourcing relationships enable participants to achieve organizational objectives and to build a competitive advantage that each organization co uld not easily attain by itself. Outsourcing success can be viewed as the level of fitness between the customer's requirements and the outsourcing outcomes. Outsourcing success can be measured in terms of both business and user perspectives. From a business perspective, outsourcing is motivated by the promise of strategic, economic, and technological benefits.The success of outsourcing, then, should be assessed in terms of attainment of these benefits. From a user perspective, outsourcing success is the quality level of services offered. A decision to outsource on the basis of saving costs without analysis of the quality of services frequently leads to higher costs and lower user satisfaction. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct a proper analysis of the service quality before building a relationship with a service provider for a successful outsourcing arrangement (Lee & Kim, 1999).In this paper, we define outsourcing as the process of turning over an organization's computer cente r operations, telecommunications networks, and/or applications development to external vendors is called outsourcing (Laudon & Laudon, 2005). Loh and Venkatraman (1992a) define IT outsourcing as the significant contribution by external vendors in the physical and/or human resources associated with the entire or specific components of the IT infrastructure in the user organization. Vendors may contribute computer assets for the user from outside the organization.Alternatively, the ownership of certain computer assets of the user may be transferred to the vendor. Similarly, vendors may utilize their personnel to provide the required services, or the vendor may employ existing staff of the user. In their research, they attempted to explain the degree of IT outsourcing by using cost structures and economic performance. They found that the degree of IT outsourcing is positively related to both business and IT cost structures, and negatively related to IT performance.IT outsourcing was fr amed as a make-versus-buy decision, where contractual modes differ in the domain of influence within the corporation (Loh & Venkatraman, 1992a, 1992b). Environmental Analysis of Outsourcing Market In the global front, the increasing trend towards outsourcing is evident from the high year-on-year growth of the global market for data processing and outsourcing, a sector, which consists of the provision of commercial electronic data processing and/or business process outsourcing services.Since 2001, the market has expanded by almost 50%. The global data processing and outsourced services market reached a value of $265. 5 billion in 2005, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9. 7% in the 2001-2005 period. The rise in credit card use and Internet banking/payment has created new types of problems for operators in this area; firms in this market are engaged in developing and refining data protection techniques to fight against money laundering and fraud.

Homemade Non-Toxic White Face Paint Recipe

Many commercial face paints contain chemicals you dont want, such as heavy metals or allergens. Here is a recipe for a homemade white face paint you can make that uses natural, non-toxic ingredients. White Face Paint Materials You only need a few common household materials to make your own white face paint. 2 tablespoons solid white shortening5 teaspoons cornstarch1 teaspoon white flour3-5 drops glycerin Make the Face Paint Mix the cornstarch and flour together.Use a fork to blend in the shortening.Slowly mix in the glycerin until you have a creamy mixture. If the mixture is too runny, add more flour or cornstarch.You can use this white face paint as it is or you can mix in a few drops of fruit juice or food coloring to attain any color you need. Be aware, adding coloring  may result in a product which could stain your skin.Apply the face paint with a paintbrush or sponge, taking care to avoid getting it in the eyes.To remove this face paint, first use a tissue to remove as much face paint as possible. Then wash the face with soap and warm water.