Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lab Report Example Young’s Modulus is the measure of the material’s stiffness. The Young’s Modulus indicates the extent to which a material stretches as a result of stress. Mathematically, the Young’s Modulus can be expressed as In two graphs below shows the experimental results of values of stress plotted against strain (stress-strain graph) for steel and aluminium. From the two graphs, the Young’s modulus for the two materials: Steel and aluminium were determined. Hook’s law of elastic states that Load or Force is directly proportional to the extension of the material so long as the given load does not exceed an elastic limit. This relationship is often expressed as the word done or Elastic Potential Energy required to stretch a material and it is equal to the area of the Tension/extension graph and can be expressed as We therefore, used the above principle to find the area under the curve. This way, the area is the cross section area of the steel which is 10.12 mm2 (12.49 mm X 0.81 mm). Equally, the modulus of elasticity of steel was found from the stress-strain graph as: The results of this experiment shows that steel has a higher Modulus of Elasticity compared to Aluminium. Based on the results of this experiment the Modulus of Elasticity of Steel is , which is higher to the Aluminium’s Modulus of Elasticity 70.8KN/mm2. This are in conformity with what has been found in literature. Studies show that for steel, the Modulus of Elasticity is 180 x 109N/m2 which is equivalent to 180 KN/mm2 (Krueger, 2007). On the other hand, literature gives the value for Modulus for Elasticity for Aluminium as 69x 109N/m2, which is an equivalent of 69Nmm2 (Krueger, 2007). This clearly demonstrates that modulus of elasticity for Steel is higher than that for Aluminium. However, what is appalling is that the experimental Modulus of Elasticity values (both steel was and aluminium) are slightly higher than what has been documented. To ascertain the accuracy of

Creative Writing Essay Example for Free

Creative Writing Essay The seven habits described in Stephen R. Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, are life-altering improvements that require hard work and commitment to change oneself from within. The book has been considered a milestone in the genre of self-help books. First published in 1989, it has been assisting many people since. The first habit, ‘Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Vision,’ is the foundation, the beginning steps towards effectiveness. The whole point that Covey emphasizes on is that; the manner in which two types of people react, which is similar to the difference between day and night. These people are proactive and reactive; the former focuses on values, the latter on feeling. Nevertheless, proactive people can be said as void of much feelings and emotions. This outlook can be seen as a potential disadvantage to those who seek to bring a change in themselves. Proactive people see love as a verb, not feeling and interactivity is their best tool; a little more than unnerving for many people. The reason for this is that we depend wholly on ourselves alone or on others alone; never believing in interaction. Proactive people consider the ‘I can be’ of themselves whilst, reactive people concentrate on the ‘If I have’ in life. The author says that if we think any problem as being ‘out there’ then that though is the problem. Yet, the author thinks it is innocuous to guide people by motivating them but disregards the thinking process. Pro-activity then, is not much different from reactivity, the strong point of the animal world, if we do not think over what we are about to do (Orsini, 1996). It seems that Covey’s actual point here is self-control which comes foremost when we aim to be morally uncorrupt. Covey has used his own terminology to describe various phrases in the book. For instance, the phrase: inside-out approach in various situations in life. It says that the change from within is more prominent and permanent than a mere change from outside (Weber, 2009). Character sprouts from our attitude and the way we behave; changing it will be the progress. His ‘principles of personal vision’ doesn’t really relate to each other. There is a different concept under every heading in this habit. Every human being has its own set of responsibilities; this idea arouses feelings of uncertainty. It is so very easy to abandon our responsibilities in the name of others’ weaknesses. We cannot accept the fact that everything we do in our life is our decision; even when we are forced. Another aspect of this is that, we ourselves have to take initiatives and provide ourselves with opportunities. It isn’t right if someone keep saying, ‘If I could only be more slim and lean,’ and does nothing about it. If outside authorities mold our choices, we cannot be held answerable for our actions, this defines determinism. Covey defines this as a phenomenon that puts the blame on others. The theory is that we will act in the way that we are trained to do so; by our genetics, psyche or our environment. All in all, the phenomenon doesn’t help in the 21st century because people don’t care anymore if they are socially acceptable. Since the start of this century, we have succeeded in steering clear out of the grasp of so-called conditioning and determinism. Nevertheless, many people do not recognize the amazing ability of our mind to choose the way to respond to a stimulus. Only our body can be reined in but not our mind. We have the incredible power to imagine, of an independent will and self-awareness. To be self-aware is like to be able to see yourself from afar; to assess yourself and the way your mind works. This ability is unique in humans. On the other hand, the philosophy of free will is not accepted by several people. Outside influences only affects those people who let them affect them. When we acquire the skill to create circumstances, we also gain the power to empower them. Just as there was a woman who helped her boss overcome his weakness by compensating her own talents; this made her more trustworthy. It isn’t sufficed to say that, we have no control over the events that takes place in our lives. If the character is built up to concentrate otherwise, then the theory isn’t acceptable to the psyche. The reality is that deep down inside we have a conscience which is always making us aware of what is right and wrong; and yet we can choose to ignore it or be aware of it and do something required to be done. Then it only becomes a question of utilizing it and a choice to be either kind or cruel. At times humans can burry it as deep inside as if it isn’t there at all. The author’s discussion about the Circle of Concern and the Circle of Influence is not very convincing. It is hard for a person to follow the concept and its advantages. It acknowledges the fact, that people usually focus their energy and efforts worrying about futile concerns. There are some incidents which we can only be concerned about and others, which we can successfully mold into a result that we require. We can, directly or indirectly, control some situations in life. This is secondary to our Circle of Influence. It says that we can choose our actions, but not the consequences that come with the actions that we chose. Hence, our actions cannot guarantee that we will not fall. Then the author describes this habit further by saying that, we should accept our mistakes and correct them. In addition, we should also be aware that we cannot undo them, so regret is a pointless exercise. Between both these points is the fact that we can still commit mistakes. The book talks about making and keeping commitments; which we can do so if we start small and grow bigger. Essentially, we will be developing habits by keeping our commitments and achieving goals. A bit far fetched logic, but reasonably sought out. From our language to our response towards people, all things determine our character and the level of our proactive or reactive behavior. No one can hurt us without our permission; we can decide that we are not going to be affected by certain events in our life. The day we accept that we are the ones responsible, that’s the day we truly begin to see ourselves. This habit ultimately aims to build up our character. Deciding to be somebody driven by values, not by having things is a lesson; in accepting the consequences of our actions and eventually keeping our commitments. References Covey, S. R. (2003). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon Schuster. Orsini, J. (1996). The Stephen Covey Phenomenon—An Evangelization Opportunity. Retrieved June 19, 2009 from http://www. ewtn. com/library/BUSINESS/COVEY. HTM Weber. edu. (2009). Establishing Your Sense of Direction. Retrieved June 19, 2009 from http://faculty. weber. edu/molpin/healthclasses/1110/coveystuff. htm

The Employee Selection System In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

The Employee Selection System In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay In the hospitality industry, there are many departments in the organizations of hotels and other lodging establishments. Every department plays a different role in accommodating to the needs and demands of the guests and this include the human resource department. Although the human resource department is not directly involved in serving the guests in the hotel, this department is essential in ensuring that the service industry is consisted of reliable and experienced employees. Being an industry that is very labour-intensive, every individual that is being hired must meet the specifications of the job and it is the duty of human resource department to choose the right people for the right job. Human resource generally means people who are comprised in the workforce of an organization. For organizations like hotels, human resources are an important asset because it is them who keep the organizations running by providing services for the guests. The operation of hospitality establishments such as lodging establishments cannot work without employees. The human resource department is therefore set up to facilitate the hotel in the role of staffing, training and helping the organization in managing the people in order to achieve a maximum capability in the workforce, subsequently, fulfilling goals and missions of the hotel. The human resource department is responsible for the following tasks. Understanding and relating to employees as individuals, thus identifying individual needs and career goals Developing a positive interaction between employees in order to ensure collated and constructed enterprise productivity as well as development of a uniform organization culture Recruiting and required the employees and making provisions for expressed and promised payroll and other benefits Innovating new operating practices to minimise risk and generate an overall sense of belonging and accountability Identifying the areas which the employees have lack of knowledge and experience in and then provide a training programme to remedy the weaknesses in the forms of workshops and seminars Implementing resource strategies to create and sustain competitive advantage. Furthermore, the human resource department is also responsible for preparing the manpower budget and the list of backups at certain levels. For example, a well functioned human resource department will always plan for future situations by analysing the current market job to see how the rate of employee switching is going in the hospitality industry. This rate is different in every sector, with the lodging industry having the highest rate when compared with the other industries. Therefore, the employees in the department will always keep a look out for any gaps that requires them to get substitutes for positions in the hotel by preparing contingency plans and backups which are assessed to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. The management in the human resource department faces a challenge when recruiting members to join the organizations, the higher the challenge still if it is in the case of hiring for the lodging industry. The lodging industry as its name suggests is simply known to the public as hotels, motels and other establishments which provide services such as lodging and lodging with meals. Being a labour-intensive industry, the employees are essential for the operation of the organizations. Therefore, the prospects for employment in the lodging industry are very high and employees are easily attainable in the labour market. However, as the labour market gets smaller when more people are getting hired in the lodging industry as well as other industries, the rate of turnover in the lodging industry has begun to rise higher. The high turnover rate in the lodging industry has impacted the growth of the service sector. According to Kenneth and Berger (1994), the turnover in the hospitality industry has been shown to be incredibly high, averaging up to 200 to 300 percent annually. This high turnover rate not only affects developing countries like Malaysia, but also for developed countries like the USA, where the employee turnover rates are more than 100% in food and beverage outlets. What are the reasons behind the high turnover rates of employees in the lodging industry? There are various reasons of why the percentage of turnover among employees in the lodging industry is higher compared to other industries. In the next few chapters, the reasons of the relatively high turnover rate will be explained. Chapter 2: Quality of the Employee Selection System and Leadership For every establishment, the most important thing for the organization is to choose the right people for the right job. The employees of the hotel are the backbone of the organization. If they are not meticulously chosen by the human resource department and subsequently hiring the wrong people for the wrong job specifications, the reputation of the hotel will be tarnished when the customers judge the service standard of the hotel based on the employees. On top of that, a bad employment system is one of the major reasons of employee turnover in the lodging industry. More often than not, the applicants for lower position jobs in the lodging industry are usually young and inexperienced. It is not right to assume that the lower levels in the hierarchy of an organization is less important and therefore, simply selecting any applicant from the list will fit the job perfectly. If an individual with little passion in the lodging industry seeks the job just for the sake of getting a job but appears to be keen and enthusiastic during the interview, this might be able to fool the human resource department into hiring him, thinking he is the best candidate for the applied position. This shows that the employee selection system is poor in quality as the employees are not thoroughly examined before hiring them. It is easy to see that an uninterested employee who has no passion for the hospitality industry will not stay for long in his position. Without a genuine love for the profession as well as the desire to excel as a hotelier, there is no forms of motivations that can help the employee to stay working in the lodging establishment. Sooner or later, the employee will aspire for a better work-life balance, a faster career growth or even a growing desire to stop working in the department where the managers are not the least concern about his well being, for example. Consequently, he will resign from his position after a few months due to boredom or a bad relationship with their superiors. The cycle continues as the human resource department continues to hire applicants without meticulously examining them and assign them to jobs that do not suit them properly and then have to result to terminate them or a receive a resignation from them when they do not perform as well as expected by the dep artment. Besides, the other main reason why the turnover is high in lodging industry is that the quality of leadership in the establishment. Not every individual is designed to fit well in the culture and the regulations of a property especially the likes of a hotel. Besides, the lodging industry is one industry that practices the culture that foster dependence which requires the employees to follow a chain of command which requires the lower level employees to report to their own direct superiors respectively. It is impossible for hotels to have a perfectly high standard of leadership qualities and therefore, not all the leaders or supervisors are good managers to their subordinates or owning the ability to lead the teams in the various departments in the hotel. The disability to lead or motivate the employees as their supervisors can bring about a negative impact on the employees and as a result, they become more and more dissatisfied with the way they are being treated by their superiors. For example, an employee who has an emergency to leave early from work and the supervisor disallows him from doing so and forces him to stay till the end of the shift without considering the reason behind the permission of early dismissal. What will the employee feel having to work under a supervisor who could not care less the well being of the subordinates? The employee will be discouraged and begins to consider about leaving the organization for other job opportunities where they might be able to work under a better leadership. It does not mean that being strict towards the employee is a good leadership quality. A leader must not only be strict to employees but at the same time, needs to demonstrate an example to be followed by the employees. If the way the supervisors lead does not bring about motivation at the workplace, it is no wonder that the turnover rate of the employees is so high because almost no one is able to work under a management that is stressful or filled with negativity, for example, employees are often being scolded for trivial mistakes with no hint of encouragement to strive for improvement especially during the rush hour in the lodging establishment. Thus, the same position keeps changing employee and this increases the employee turnover percentage due to poor quality of leadership. Chapter 3: Working Environment and Work Specification The working environment is considered as the workplace and its surroundings. This factor is one that most employees place priority on, ensuring that the job that they doing provides a conducive environment that will enable them to work happily and efficiently. In the lodging industry, the working environment is defined as a place where there is constant contact with guests and it is of utmost importance for the employees to present themselves well at all times. The working environment does not only include the physical workplace which can be seen by all, for example, sitting at the reception but it also involves the figurative part, which is the environment that involves acknowledging the presence of guests day in and day out of the shift (working hours). Suffice to say, the guests are a part of the working environment in the lodging industry. The working environment in the lodging establishment is another reason of the high turnover rate of employees because this industry is one that requires employees to have a high level of patience and a good stress management due to its occupation nature. Having to face guests all the time and if the guests are demanding, they still need to meet the demands of the guests no matter how tired they are. One can only last for so long working in such a stressful environment while at the same time is forced to put on a smile for each and every guest who walks into the establishment. Besides, the working environment in the lodging establishments also includes their supervisors or co-workers who make pressure more intense in the workplace. The hospitality industry is such a challenging field that not everyone will make it as their permanent profession. Majority of the employees who work in hotels are either school leavers or part-timers who lack the courage to or perseverance to keep pursuing the career in this area, hence, they change jobs as soon as they can find a working environment that is less stressful and gives them more time to relax. Furthermore, the work specification is also the reason of the high employee turnover in the lodging industry. The shifts in a regular lodging establishment are divided into three shifts morning, afternoon and midnight shifts; consisting of about eight or more hours per shift. Sometimes the employees need to work more than the regular eight hours when there is a shortage of employees in the department. Sometimes, employees are assigned the midnight shift, also known as the graveyard shift in the hospitality context and stay on duty till the next morning. Every shift is important because the guests may check in at any time of the day. The lodging industry cannot expect all the guests to check in only in the afternoon because some guests for example, just got down from a flight and need lodging for the night. On top of that, the work in the lodging industry requires a lot of physical activities which tires the employees easily. Therefore, employees who cannot take the pressure or fatigu e will resign or be terminated for lack of competency in the job which leaves the position vacant for another employee who most likely will do the same thing. The irregularity of working hours in the long term is not the kind of profession which many people like as they tend to prefer stable working hours, such as office hours. Furthermore, the work specification in the lodging establishment, especially in the food and beverage department, requires the employees to stand for a long period of time which is something that needs endurance on the part of the employees. The high turnover of employees occurs in the lodging industry because not all of the ones hired have the aspiration to be hoteliers and therefore, the work specification does not meet their criteria of a job selection. This is one reason why they leave shortly after working for a considerable brief period of time. Therefore, the working environment and the specifications of the various positions in the lodging establishment is an important element which determines how long the employees can work in the industry. The lodging industry is very labour-oriented which results in high demand of employees. However, the ones who are ready to accept the job opportunities offered by this industry are more likely to change their job environment when they feel that the irregularity working hours in the hotel environment is no longer what they prefer to continue to do, so they need to venture into other career line that is appealing to them. Chapter 4: Salary and Low Job Satisfaction For every industry, the purpose employees choose to work is to earn a decent salary to support oneself or even a family. The career is the source of income and therefore, salary has become another reason of why the turnover of employees is extremely high especially in the lodging industry. Being an industry that caters to the need of customers, guests in the hospitality context, the lodging establishments has a mission to provide guests with the best services even though if it means to hire more employees to facilitate the management to fulfil this goal. The number of employees working in the lodging industry is high especially in the lower levels such as front desk representative and the salary for such positions is always deemed to be low in terms lodging industry workers work harder and longer hours compared with the employees from other industries who have fixed working hours and a considerable low level of stress. For example, the front desk representative earns an average of $2 0,000 per year, referencing from a statistic in United States in February 2010. Furthermore, some employees who are desperate for a job will work for a short duration of time in the lodging industry and at the same time, scouting for jobs outside the industry which offers higher pay and shorter working hours. Most employees use the lodging industry as a stepping stone in order to achieve a better position somewhere which is not so dependent on guests as well as too much reliance on commission-like pay. Therefore, when they could not accept the same salary for the amount of work that they do, they decide to leave. The scenario repeats when the next employee who comes to replace the previous employee has the same vision of treating the current job as a temporary solution before he can find a higher paid job soon. The reason why most employees leave the lodging industry after working for a short time is because they are not satisfied with the wages that is paid by the hotel as they think they deserved to receive a higher salary for the worth of the work that they d o every day, especially the irregularity in the time shift as explained in the previous chapter. Many of the employees who are working in the lodging establishments do not have the opportunity to express their creativity and intellectual development as the job requirements in the hotel follow a standard operating procedure to synchronise the work among the employees. Therefore, the employees feel that what they have to offer to the industry is very limited as they cannot express their potential to the maximum, something which can make them stand out from other employees. However, the lodging industry places importance on teamwork and individualism is rarely practised in the lower level of management whereby the employee is given a full responsibility in a certain task. The satisfaction level of employees upon the job is slowly decreasing as they begin to feel bored with the tough routine of serving the guests every day without any chances to be valued by the management. Besides, a low job satisfaction happens when the employees feel that they are being taken advantage of which t hey are obligated to work extra hours at times to cover the insufficiency of manpower during peak seasons with extra minimal wages. As a result, more negative emotions surface such as feeling of undervalued, helpless or unimportant. Employees seek satisfaction in their career and when they fail to achieve it in the lodging industry, they will begin to wonder if they are not well suited for the service area, therefore, leaving the industry altogether. On top of that, employees desire to attain benefits from their workplace. These benefits are not necessarily in the monetary sense but they also include the appreciation by the organization such as a raise in salary or extra days off in the week. However, it is not possible for the establishments in the lodging industry to reward employees by giving extra days off when industry is so labour-intensive which means, they need all the employees they can to serve the guests who steps into the establishment all the time. Chapter 5: Impact of New Technology on Skill Requirements The technology era has made a major difference globally including the lodging industry. The information and communication technology (ICT) system integrate the power of the Internet, the customer relationship management and also the supply chain management in a directly seamless, one-source direction site which allows all kinds of operations to be performed with one user friendly tool. The types of operations that can be performed are such as making reservations, storing of guestsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ data, tracking as well as payment and reporting from one department to the other. For example, the guests can now reserve rooms from the comfort of their home without having to contact the hotel personnel to make reservations. By cutting out one or two stages of reservation in the system of the lodging establishment like hotels, it gives a great impact on the employment of the human resource department. This is because with the advancement of technology, certain tasks that have been operated manually by the employees in the lodging establishments such as helping the guest to make reservation has now been replaced with the Internet. This is where the reason of the high turnover of employee comes in. In order to maintain the personal touch that the guests love to experience when they contact the hotel, the management still hires employees to collaborate with the automated functions that has made the procedures in the hotel much simpler than before. Therefore, the employees who are not competent enough to handle the change that has replaced the old system are replaced with employees that have the different levels of skills which complement the job specifications. On the surface, the management might see this as a solution to replace old employees who lack in skill compared to the new employees. However, the turnover of employees continues to be high in percentage as the technology is always evolving so fast the knowledge that the current employees have becomes obsolete ever more quickly. The training of employees to operate in the lodging industry has become a continuous need meanwhile the remaining jobs require employees of greater skills than before. As a result, the human resource has to keep hiring new employees who are better in operating the new systems in the hotel. This reason used to be the least problem to the lodging industry in the earlier years but now, as globalisation continues to develop, the industry must keep up to the up-to-date systems and hire the right people to operate them, such as hoteliers who are at the same time comfortable with new systems and are flexible to adapt to new changes, a challenge that is continually f orcing the turnover of employees to remain higher than the other industries which are not so labour-intensive. Chapter 6: Conclusion The lodging industry is such a challenging industry because it requires a lot of employees to make the system functional. The job opportunities that is presented in this industry is so vast that many people are willing to apply for a position within the industry for various reasons but most of the employments do not last long because of the reasons that have been explained in the previous chapters. The first reason of why the employee turnover is exceptionally high in the lodging industry is because of the poor quality of employee selection system and the leadership practised in the organization. The human resource department has the task of selecting the right people to do the right job. If the employees are not screened properly, there is a higher probability that the individuals assigned to the position are not up to the job, subsequently, cannot handle the work and has to be replaced with better employees who have experience in the lodging industry. The leadership of the lodging industry also affects the turnover of employees. A leader who cannot cooperate with his subordinates or give a proper guidance to train them to perform better at work will also cause the high turnover in employees because employees always seek to work under good leadership that will enable them to learn new things about the industry. Furthermore, the working environment and the job specification are another reason of the high employee turnover in lodging industry. The hustle bustle in the hotel, having to meet guests all the time with a pleasant appearance can be a challenging job as no matter how tired an employee is, he must not display it upfront to maintain the service level towards the guests. The long working hours is also another cause of the high employee turnover as well as the irregularity of working hours that causes employees to encounter fatigue due to the different shifts they are assigned to. On top of that, the salary and low job satisfaction has become another cause of high employee turnover in the lodging industry. Employees will leave when they realise that the amount of work they do are not being appreciated when their pay is lower compared with other industries which offer higher pay for lesser amount of work. The job satisfaction then decreases further when employees have fewer opportunities to express their creativity and intellect since the lodging industry has their own standard operating procedures to keep everything synchronised for the guests. The last reason for the turnover of employees is the impact of the new technology on skill requirements. Technology has been advancing at an incredible speed and there are far easier ways to operate things in the lodging industry. The tasks that have been done manually in the past are now able to be done using new software that can be assimilated in the reservation procedures as well as the storing of guestsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ data. The employees who are resistant to these changes have to be replaced with newer employees who are more technologically inclined as their new skills are needed to be incorporated with the technology used in the hotel. As the technology advances on, the turnover of employees begin to remain high in percentage as more new skills are required to replace the old in order for the lodging industry to function at its best to serve its guests.

Supply Chain of Toyota Motors

Supply Chain of Toyota Motors In the automotive industry, supply chains are extensive and include elements of producing based on several forecasting techniques. The amount of money invested is large and fixed. Key trend in the automotive industry is the increase of the variant numbers on individual models and standardization of components in the supply chain. This means that models can be adjusted to the individual tastes of customers and new models are developed and produced continuously in order to meet the changing market demand. The uncertainty in the market place is translated into mix flexibility and volume flexibility in order to be competitive in the market place. The supply chain which was developed by Toyota was one of the premier in Low Cost supply chains. The entire chain was intended to reduce the costs and get the cost to minimal possible values. But there was no compromise on customer satisfaction, quality and delivery time. It maintained reasonable service levels. The objective of the SCM was to place the Right Product at the right store in right quantities catering to the right customer at right time and a right price. The supply chain created by Toyota (Exhibit 2) was highly integrated. It had a complete integration of right from the raw material providers to its Tier 1 and 2 vendors along with the manufacturing plants, warehouses , dealers and end customers. International collaborators were also a part of the supply chain which made it even more robust and inclusive. The analyses of some of elements of this highly integrated SCM are as below Suppliers Toyota organized its suppliers into functional tiers. The first tier suppliers worked together in a product development team and the second tier suppliers made individual parts. The first tier suppliers were highly co-operative. There is a high degree of co-operation and information exchange between them. This greatly reduces the lead time in new product development as it avoids Re-inventing the wheel. Toyota also believes in having an overall technological development throughout their suppliers as well. It sends personnel to suppliers to compensate for greater working load. Besides that it also transfers senior working managers for top positions at their suppliers. This not only gives the suppliers greater insights to Toyotas management practices but is also a move to make the suppliers master Lean production practices initiated by Toyota. Related to flexibility, the following can be said. Since Toyota strives for a long-term relationship with its suppliers and also pursues a single-sourcing strategy for their strategic components, it does leave the OEM vulnerable for disruptions. But, the single-sourcing strategy is also a means to establish a long-term and flexible relationship with a supplier. Since each supplier shares its destiny with other suppliers and Toyota, the level of collaboration horizontally and vertically is higher. Therefore, a singly sourcing strategy itself is considered to be as hazardous, the relationship itself is far more flexible then a more economic-oriented relationship between a buyer-and-supplier. The concept of minimal production cost is so well practice that the vendor pricing is also done on Market Price Minus concept rather than Supplier Cost Plus This is basically a value analysis to the end user. By this particular move they try to provide the necessary value to the end product at minimal manufacturing cost. Besides that the production smoothening concept enables the suppliers to maintain a constant business volumes. Overall the intention of the company is to maintain long term relationships with co-operation and team work. Procurement Toyota does not partner with its suppliers just functionally but in operation terms as well. Suppliers are integral elements of Toyota. They are geographically located within 56 miles radius. A security of guaranteed order is given which enables them to produce the best quality raw materials at cheapest cost achieving economies of scale. Toyota does not believe in choosing supplier as a lowest bidder. But it believes in gradual mutual improvement. It believes in vendor creation and development. As an initiative in this direction it trains its suppliers as per required. Packaging is also given a great importance with respect to transportation efficiency. Packaging is done in medium box size and small pallets. There is a dedicated transport service. Consistent daily route and periodic route revision is provided so as to cater to even smaller requirements. Supplier Relations Toyota has a supplier partnership hierarchy in which it develops or builds relations with its suppliers. This is called as supplier partnership hierarchy. This hierarchy is as described below. Kaizen and training 6. Interlocking Structure Joint Improvement 7. Mutual Understanding and Trust Information Sharing Compatible Capabilities Control System As per this particular hierarchy what Toyota tries to achieve is create levels of responsibilities in the tiers itself along with strict cost and timing awareness. It has integrated the JIT (Just In Time) approach also Toyota can be considered as the first automobile brand that introduced a clear need for flexibility in its entire business system. Toyotas lean philosophy is not only restricted to its manufacturing system: it describes a philosophy that incorporates a collection of tools and techniques into the business processes to optimize time, human resources, assets, and productivity while improving the quality level of products and services to their customers. Currently, several automobile brands clearly recognize the strength of lean thinking in relation to increase flexibility in their supply chain activities. In the dyadic relationship between a buyer and supplier, emphasis is put on how the work can be done smoothly in order to improve quality and reduce costs. Best value procurement becomes more important instead of merely a cost-oriented approach that ensures a close relationship with suppliers. First tier suppliers are incorporated into the production development program. This means that suppliers make their own engineering decisions instead of designing on the basis of blueprints solely. Next to this, these suppliers have their own 2ndtier suppliers under itself who supply parts for these components. This ensures that the exchange of information is possible horizontally which improves the collaboration between suppliers. This collaborative aspect is of major importance in a relationship when market demand (or other influences) requ ires changes of demand in the buyer-supplier relationship. This collaborative aspect among suppliers is rather uncommon in many industries since sharing information increases the risk of losing the next bidding process among suppliers to an assembler. As a preliminary conclusion, the Toyota cases sheds light on the mix, volume, new product and delivery time aspects of flexibility in SCM. MANUFACTURING Toyota believes in continuous development by adopting lean production process and is a pioneered in TPS known as (Toyota Production System). The system is designed on Pull strategy and customer is at the prime focus in the entire production facility. It implements lean production facility which has features like Cellular layouts and could be set up in small time. It has pull scheduling emphasizing decreased wastes. Loss aversion is one of the basic feature of lean. Besides that Toyota also assures six sigma qualities. The overall result of this policy being excellent quality at low costs combined with fast response abilities. Exhibit 3 shows some key principles of Lean manufacturing by Toyota DISTRIBUTION It applies Toyota way to manage dealers based on 3 key principles Complete freedom to dealers to make decisions. It helps them invest in right things to improve. Dealers become extremely proactive because of this move Toyota believes in joint development with dealers. It believes in organic growth with dealers Competition is key to improvement Exhibit 4 shows the geographical distribution of Toyota WHAT MAKES TOYOTA DIFFERENT FROM ITS COMPETITORS? Toyota has an earthquake resilient supply chain- An pioneering initiative Toyota and other Japanese automakers were forced to halt a large portion of their production both inside and outside Japan for months after the earthquake and tsunami cut off the supply of hundreds of parts from the countrys devastated northeast. Toyota was taking three steps to fight supply chain risks that he expected would be completed in roughly five years. The first is to further standardize parts across Japanese automakers so they could share common components that could be manufactured in several locations. The second step is to ask suppliers further down the chain to hold enough inventory perhaps a few months worth for specialized components that cannot be built in more than one location, or take anti-quake measures that guarantee safety against any tremor or tsunami. Part of the second step would involve developing technology that would provide more options for parts and materials, such as substituting rare earths found mostly in China. The third step to becoming more resilient was to make each region independent in its parts procurement so that a disaster in Japan would not affect production overseas.

Engineering Plan :: essays research papers

Engineering Plan We plan to implement the basic multi-cycle processor design as shown in the textbook, as well as pipelining and â€Å"jump and link†. The toughest part of this design will be the datapath control, for which we will be using a FSM. The ALU will implement add, sub, and, or, sll, and slt functions – though a separate block is typically used for shift operations, we felt that putting sll and srl in the ALU would simplify our design. All other basic functions (lw, sw, lui, beq, bne, j) will be implemented as show in the textbook. The processor will have two main stages: load instructions into memory and execute instructions. Special instruction codes will be defined as â€Å"stall† and â€Å"stop execution† to work in conjunction with the FSM. The global reset will set all memory and registers to 0, and put the FSM in â€Å"load instructions mode†. We would like to use one memory module to store both instructions and data (with instructions starting at 0 and going up, and memory starting at the highest address and going down), however this design would present some addressing headaches so we will most likely use separate memory modules for instructions and data. The main part of the pipelining implementation will be the hazard detection unit. We plan to have this work independent of the datapath control FSM as so to simplify FSM design. The hazard detection unit will control muxes to drive register forwarding and will issue stall instructions directly to the instruction register when needed. â€Å"Jump and link† will make use of a specially designated register (most likely one of the upper registers, since those aren’t used in the provided test function). Muxes will be used to feed the PC+4 into the regfile and the regfile output into the PC register. The datapath control FSM will control these muxes.

Automobile Ads Analysis - Hummer H3 V8 :: Advertising Branding Analysis

Creative concept: I liked the creative angle that was given to the brand. As a brand with so much emotional capital, it was well employed to create a no-frills ad that spoke little and yet had an impact. A very visually strong ad too. I liked the light balance that has been used, especially on the product. Bold, in- your- face and prestige were the key elements that I feel come across strongly. The headline is very creative, commands respect. If I were to put myself in the shoes of their TA, I would definitely be enticed to go for a test drive or check out the website for more information. The creative concept also banks upon the aura of mystery that it creates with the little information it gives out and the dramatic visual of the product. A good concept that was well Ââ€"executed, for a good final effect. The idea of replicating the black lines on the left hand side of the page, reminiscent of a typewriter is very well done. It lends an old-school feeling to the ad, but also brings in the toughness factor, that is a core Hummer attribute. Layout: The layout of the ad is impressive, attention grabbing and bold. The movement of the eye from the Headline to the tagline and the image is smooth and seamless. It is a bleed layout. Visual: The visual is very strategically placed on the bottom right of the page. The ad features a signature shot of the front grille, dead center, shot from a low angle and angling up. Very aggressively presented, letting the product speak for itself and creating an aura of mystery. It lends prestige and boasts of power for a brand already associated with ‘ruggedness' and as a ‘true-blue off-roader' drive. The lack of color, except black and a little yellowish gold in the headlights is instrumental in giving the car the physical properties of power, no-nonsense and toughness, that could eat up the competition for lunch.. Except for the front bender, the rest of the car is silhouetted in the dark. There is a sort of typewriter feel given to the image. As if it's breaking news being sent out. Headline: ‘The Mountain came to the Alpha.' Creatively, it is a strong statement that complements the image completely. The font is black and big, which works perfectly, off-setting the white balance in the ad.

Textile-and-Clothing-Report India

The Textile Industry and Related Sector in India Source: New Cloth Market The Textile Industry and Related Sector in India Source: New Cloth Market This market research study on Textiles and related sectors in India has been commissioned by Italian Trade Commission (Trade Promotion Section of the Consulate General of Italy), Mumbai, for which Ace Global Private Limited, a consultancy company based in New Delhi, has been appointed. The main objectives of the market research are to carry out a detailed market analysis o~ the industry, in order to identify potential opportunities for Italian entrepreneurs interested in the Indian market. The scope of the market research covers the following key segments of the industry: Textiles Apparel & Clothing; Undergarments; Home Textiles, and Accessories. The findings of the research are presented in the following sections. Market Characteristics The Textile Industry in India is one of the largest and most important industrial segments of the Indian economy accounting for over one fifth of the country's industrial production. It provides employment to around 15 million people who have helped produce one of the largest varieties of yarn, fabrics, textiles, clothing and garments, home furnishings and other textile products in the world. Textiles industry, including related subsectors, is worth about Euros 38 billion of which domestic segment constitutes 65% while 35% comes from exports. The textiles segment accounts for 59% of the industry, with apparel and other made ups constituting the balance. This industry also accounts for nearly 21 % of total employment in the country. Besides the textiles, apparels & clothing, the industry covers a wide range of home furnishings (bed linen, curtains and upholstery, floor coverings, kitchen linen, bath linen, etc. and Accessories (including apparel accessories, like stoles, scarves, etc. , hard accessories like bags, wallets, fashion jewellery, time wear and eyewear etc. ). Market Size The total market size for the sub-sectors covered in this study is estimated at Euro 21. 7 billion in the year 200809 with textile clothing and garments having a major share of 93%. Home textiles and furnishings, and textile usage in accessories was insignificant with a collective share of less than 0. 5% of the total market. Textiles Apparel and Clothing India's domestic market for apparel & clothing is currently worth Euro 20,219 million in 2008-09. It has registered a steady compounded annual growth rate (CAGA) of 13. 6% in the past 5 years. Volume wise, apparel market has grown from 4. 8 billion units in 2004†² to 5. 9 billion units in 2008-09 at a CAGA of 5. 3%. Apparel and Clothing is the second largest retail category in India. India's domestic market for apparels is currently worth over Euro 20 billion in 2008-09. It has registered a steady compounded annual growth ~ate (CAGA) of 13. 6% in the past 5 years. Volume wise, apparel market has grown from 4. 8 billion units in 200405 to 5. 9 billion units in 2008-09 at a CAGA of 5. 3%. Undergarments The 70's witnessed the entry of undergarments in India when Peter Pan from Dawn Mills entered the market with lingerie styles of the West. The undergarment market further proliferated and flourished in India significantly when international majors forayed in to Indian market in a big way since the onset of the 90's. India's domestic market for undergarments is currently worth about Euro 1. 5 billion in 2008-09. It has grown at a CAGA of about 15% in the past three years. Volume wise, apparel · market has grown from 914 million units in 2006-07 to 1. 05 billion units in 2008-09 at a CAGA of 7%. The total urban market for the home textiles in India in 2005-06 was estimated to be Euro 1. 45 billion. With a modest growth rate of about 14%, the market in 2008-09 is about Euros 2. 16 billion and is expected to cross Euros 3. 12 billion by 2011-12. The 2004-05 Volume (million units) Menswear Women's wpar Unisex apparel Kids' wear Uniforms Total 1,328 1,368 – 466 1,222 ~ 423 4,807 India's Apparel & Clothing Market 2006 ·07 Value, Volume (Euro (million Million) units) 4,450 3,856 1,014 1,836 991 12,147 1,443 1,523 519 1,323 , 498 5,306 Value (Euro Million) 5,605 5,106 1,461 2,333 1,461 15,966 2008-09 (estimates) Volume (million units) 1,600 1,676 579 1,468 581 5,905 Value (Euro Million) 6,938 6,414 1,816 2,975 2,077 20,219 market for home textiles is dominated by bed and bath linen, which have more han two third of the market share in value terms. Bed linen alone has a market of about Euros 1. 19 billion according to the estimates. Apart from the home textile products given in the table below, the other articles included in the total market size are textile made-ups like wall hangings and other decorative home furnishing articles. Accessories Usage of textiles and fabrics in the Accessories sector is valued at approx. Eu ros 0. 28 -0. 30 billion in 200809, bf which bags alone account for 61 % and apparel accessories and other fashion accessories account for 39%. The most common fabrics used in accessories are cotton, denim, silk, wool and raxene. Given the wide variety of products, with production largely concentrated in the unorganized sector, no official estimates for consumption of fabrics in accessories sector are available. Therefore for the purpose of this study, the market size has been estimate based on discussions with key players and industry bodies during the primary research, as presented below. Demand Drivers As stated in the preceding section, the market for textiles and related products has been consistently growing annually by 12% – 15% for various sub-sectors. The key factors driving this demand are: Demand Side factors With over 1. 1 billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world. In terms of the demographic â€Å"window of opportunity†, India is home to 17% of the world's population. It is also one of the youngest countries in the world, with over 65% of the population below 35% years of age. The young generation of professionals, both men and women, form important consumer groups with high purchasing power. This buying group is more demanding in their choice of products, looking for quality that satisfy comfort, fitting, styling needs etc. This has resulted in a qualitative shift of consumers from low / economy range to premium and super premium range of products. Growing prosperity of middle class: Indian corporate salaries have grown at 14% per annum, which is considered to be fastest globally. A large number of households are getting added every year to the consuming class with growing income levels, resulting in increasing affluence of the upper middle and igh income strata. According to various studies, there were more than 300 million middle class people in India in 2007 with substantial disposable incomes. This number is expected to touch 600 million by 2010. There will a sustained and increasing demand for various consumer products by this segment of population. The increase in urbanization and nuclear family structure, a growing number of educated and employed women, media prol iferation and growing consumerism, have all contributed to the growth of consumerism and organized retailing. The increasing working female-population has not only increased the income of households, but also changed the outlook of women towards their choice of clothing, home furnishings and its interiors. There is a trend of going with the seasonal tastes. Market Structure and Segmentation The market segmentation for various sub-sectors is on following basis: Textile Apparels-and Clothing: †¢ †¢ †¢ Segmentation by User category: Men's wear, Women's wear, Unisex apparel, Kids' wear Segmentation by Use: Formal, Casual, Traditional, Active sportswear, Uniforms Segmentation by Price: Super premium, Premium, Medium, Economy and Low end Undergarments: †¢ †¢ Segmentation by types of Suppliers: Informal/Unorganized sector, Organized sector – Segmentatfon by Price: Super premium, Premium, Medium, Economy and Low end Home Textile Furnishings †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Segmentation by types of Suppliers: Informal/Unorganized sector (70% share), Organized sector (30% share); Branded and Unbranded Segmentation by Use: Bed linens, Curtains & Upholstery, Bath linen. Kitchen linen etc. Segmentation By Price: Super premium, Premium, Medium, Economy and Low end Accessories: Segmentation by Use: Apparel accessories (scarves, stoles, shawls etc. ), Hard accessories (bags, belts etc. ), Packaging for jewellery, time, wear, eye wear etc. Segmentation by Price: Super premium, Premium, Medium, Economy and Low end Changing face of consumer: In spite of the economic meltdown in recent times, there has been a continuous and sustained shift in consumer demand pattern from basic necessities to spending on lifestyle products and ervices continues, largely due to : †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Higher Income Younger age profile Increasing literacy levels Higher adaptability to technology Increasing urbanization Changing role of women and children in the decision making process Increased demand for better shopping experience Impulsive purchase behavior among youngsters Changing fashion trends and increased consciousness Catch up wi th International fashion styles Sustained growth of retail culture in the country According to Central Statistical Organization, and Technopak, the retail market in India was about Euro 210 billion, and will cross Euro 440 billion in 2015, with organized retail growing at nearly 20% per year. The emergence of mall culture and rapid development of malls would act as a catalyst in this retail growth story. Due to the increase in the income levels of people and the push from the supply side of realty boom in this decade has created a housing boom in India. About 2. 5 million new homes are to be constructed to meet the demand of middle class and upper strata of income groups. Housing and Hospitality sectors are the major sectors, with huge demand for soft furnishings. As per estimates, the total shortfall of quality hotel rooms in India in all luxury, premium, economy and budget hotels is about 150,000. More than 40,000 hotel rooms are expected to come in top 10 metro cities by 2012. Supply Side Factors 1) Leading textile manufacturers are integrating their businesses vertically and have strong competencies in spinning, weaving and finishing. 2) There has been a significant improvement in the infrastructure related to textile machinery, transport and power which are further augmenting production. Government of India has allocated substantial funds · for infrastructure development through schemes like TUFS, and SITP, worker skill development trainings etc. 3) Lateral consolidation of players through organic and inorganic growth domestically and internationally. Indian companies have acquired the global brands abroad in order to consolidate their global positioning and have established wholly owned foreign subsidiaries abroad 4) End of quota regime acting as a stimulus to further export growth. Assessment of Demand and Market Potential in India The overall assessment of demand and market potential in various sub sectors, projected on the basis of past growth trends and industry expectations, is summarized in the table below. The total market is expected to increase from Euros 21. 7 billion in 200809 to Euro 29. billion by 2011-12, with overall compounded annual growth of 7. 89%. There are no authentic statistics available- on the production and the total market size of the home textile products and accessories, as no official data is compiled due to the unorganized and highly dispersed nature of sectors. The above estimates for home textile furnishings have been computed taking the overall average annual growth rates of domestic urban market (considered relevant for the foreign brands) as 15% for bath linen, 10% for kitchen linen, 12% for curtains, 15% for upholstery and 10% for other products. It should be noted that, above estimations is only for urban India, which is. Price Segmentation The price segmentation of the market is broadly in three categories: The low end market: Lower and economy (marginally improved product segment in relation to the lower category), solely volume driven, products are mostly unbranded and dominated by large number of regional and local manufacturers, and sold through small neighbourhood stores, The low and economy segment is growing in terms of volume and value and the industry is becoming more organized. The mid-range market: This segment features medium range of products. Though primarily volume driven, this category caters to diverse sections of Indian consumers across all regions, Its quality is by and large acceptable to all sections. The mid-market segment is characterized by the presence of regional and national players. The market is continuously expanding and becoming more and more competitive in respect of quality and price. The high end market: Exclusivity in product features such as high quality . raw materials, embellishments, design developments and above all branding of products for years make the products very special. ‘ Elitist categories of consumers pay for the products on demand. Mainly comprises of large Indian players and the foreign companies/international brands operating in the premium and super-premium product categories. Super-premium products are considered luxury products and marketed by top national and international giants. Illustrative prices for products in various price segments are provided in different Tables. Regional Characteristics of the Market The consumer behavior of a particular region which is economically not so developed is different as compared to developed ones. The consumers in the less developed region are understandably, more priceconscious. Always on the lookout for quality products, their guiding principle is ‘value for money'. A lower per capita income, in eastern region for example, compared to western and northern India leads to a lower per capita purchasing power. Additionally, Delhi being centrally located and Mumbai, being the financial capital have certain advantages. The consumers who live in these cities are more exposed to latest product collections and are more familiar with design, quality and latest trendy fashion, as well as the luxury of greater choice. The relatively undeveloped regions offer several in-built advantages as well. Fashion contenders setting out to do businesses in these regions find to their advantage that the region has not been exploited commercially and is prone to competition. The market, therefore, offers much but it needs to be cultivated in an organized manner. Local ready availability of products also influences a consumer. The decision to stick to a particular available product/brand seems to govern the purchase decision than the rarely available choicest product. Logistics, convenience and easy availability are important considerations for a local consumer. Regional considerations, such as climatic conditions etc. , playa major role in so far as the purchase decision of apparels is concerned. For instance, a consumer in Northern region would spend more on woolen products than his counterpart in the west or south where the winter is much milder. In India, different states are known for their specific style of clothing, home furnishings etc. For example J is the leading state for embroidered bed covers whereas Rajasthan (Jaipur) is famous for block printed, tie & dye bed covers, with mirror work, appliques, and bright colors. The market also depends upon the production and raw materials and government policies and programmes in specific states. Although there is an increasing influence to western and contemporary designs, Indian industry is still greatly influenced by the traditional regional motifs, with the materials of satin mix, tapestry for drapes and even cotton mixes with synthetics for the traditional look. Fabrics with bold prints and pastels are making a comeback. Polka dots and stripes, inspired by the retro, have made a comeback into the collections the world over. The sales of textile roducts increase significantly during the festival seasons in India, by up to 40 – 50 percent. Regional and national festivals, (e. g. ‘Diwali' is one of the most important festivals in India during October/ November) are the time to buy new clothes, renovate home furnishings. Consumer Behavior and Preferences The Indian consumers are noted as among the most discerning' consumers in the world with a high degree of value orientation. Even, luxury brands have to design a unique pricing strategy in order to get a foothold in the Indian market. Indian consumers also have a high degree of family orientation. Brands with identities that support family values tend to be popular and are accepted easily in the Indian market. Indian consumers are also associated with values of nurturing, care and affection. These values are far more dominant than values of ambition and achievement. Products, which communicate feelings and emotions gel with the Indian consumers. Different Segments of Indian Consumers Socialites: These are the upper class who shops in specialty stores and own exclusive accessories, and have a luxurious lifestyle. The Rich: India has over 1 million rich households (income greater than Euro 8,000 per annum). These people are upwardly mobile. Some of them in this category are Double Income No Kids (DINK) households. They spend more on leisure and entertainment-activities than on future looking investments. The Conservatives: These are the middle class population of India, who are very price conscious and demand more value for money. In addition to the above, the following segments are becoming increasingly important in purchase of consumer products: Working Women: Working women with disposable incomes are the key factors for the growth of women's accessories. An Indian woman is no longer just a homemaker. She is willing to buy designer products and is ready to pay high premiums for the same. Youth: With the increasing exposure to International fashion styles, the Indian youth is gaining more awareness and becoming style conscious. This segment believes in impulsive purchasing. There are certain common considerations for consumers regardless of locations. The consumers by and large are becoming increasingly more and more conscious of value of money. Price sensitivity is a common concern. Purchase decisions of consumers anywhere are more guided a combination of demographic and psychometric factors, such as, disposable income, age-distribution, pattern of income distribution, quality of upbringing, aptitude, tastes and preferences and so on. These days, the purchasing behaviors in India are greatly affected by the western tastes. The role of media, magazines, televisions have been increasing in making people aware about the new trends. There is a craze to own the best brands and designs among the people. The premium luxury brands are available only in the tier1 and tier2 cities hence making them a good market. Purchase Pattern of Textile Products Major findings of textile products based on All India consumer survey conducted by Textile Committee, Government of India, 2006-07 are presented as under: †¢ †¢ In India man-made fabric among various textile materials' sells the most. Sales of cotton come next in the order, while wool and silk constitute negligible percentage of total sales. Central, northern and western regions are the major consumers of man-made fabrics. Maximum consumption of cotton is reported from the eastern region. Consumption of cotton, in other regions is reportedly much less. This is an interesting revelation since India is ranked third as a cotton producing country in the world. †¢ †¢ †¢ Brand preferences Brand building is a stupendous task which involves high investment on production infrastructure, technology upgradation and enormous merchandizing. This has inspired lesser known medium sized players who are trying to establish their products in the market through Creation of brands. There is a strong indication that Indian market will have large a number of brands in near future in view of market expansion and increasing competition. Preference for particular apparel brands depends on individual tastes and preferences. However majority of Indian consumers look for certain common parameters like design, quality and above all merchandizing. Innovation in product design and fabric selection, are essential elements that add to value perception for a product. Sales discounts also tend to influence the purchase decisions of consumers provided the minimum parameters/ features are not compromised with. The Undergarments segment is characterized by well known national brands operating in the medium priced segment. Premium and super-premium product categories comprise branded products distinguished for exclusive product features operating at the high end of the market. Efficient logistics and supply chain management and media exposure have largely contributed to the popularity of these brands. Branding is a relatively new phenomenon in the Indian home textile furnishings market. In Accessories, the consumer demand . for premium product is on the rise. Style conscious customers with money look for variety. Consumer inclination for mix-n-match to build their wardrobe is acting as a catalyst in the growth of accessories market. Factors Influencing Brand Preference †¢ Brand preference pattern of consumers depends upon a host of factors such as : Combination of price, quality & fitting as major parameters of purchase decision for sensitive but smart consumers Track record of Indian manufacturer/reputation of foreign joint venture partner. †¢ Reputation of international companies The consumers place major emphasis on product quality. Price is another important consideration attracting customers to a particular shop/brand/ product. Pre and post sales services, parking facilities and ambience of the store or mall are the other major factors that attract local customers. Sales discounts also tend to influence the purchase decisions of consumers provided the minimum parameters/ features are not compromised with. In the selection of products, the consumers do not give automatic ‘precedence to local brands over national or foreign brands. Value for money has become the over-riding consideration. Fabric, texture and color followed by proper fits and sizing weigh more importance to the local consumers rather than just easy availability of local brands on account of proximity. Degree of Elasticity of Demand of Local Consumers Considering that price elasticity depends to a large extent on the degree of competition among the manufacturers, the Lower and Economy segments of the market are usually price inelastic. These segments being highly competitive do not allow the manufacturers much leverage on price. Higher up along the value chain, the affordability or paying capacity of the consumer is higher. The mid-price segment becomes increasingly quality oriented and more diversified. Despite competitive pressure, the price in this segment keeps on rising and the demand becomes price elastic. In case of premium and super-premium product segments, where entire focus is on quality, style and brand value, the consumer is insensitive to change in price. As per the findings of retailer survey, even an increase of less than 5% in the price has an effect on low end / economy category products, while mid-end category is usually able to absorb a 5-10% price increase without a major adverse impact on the sales of a brand. Originally published in New Cloth Market: February 2010