Saturday, August 31, 2019

Nestle Case Study

NESTLE CASE STUDY With reference to the Nestle case study, provide one example which clearly illustrates a link between topics or concepts drawn from at least two pre-requisite modules. The Nestle case study provides a number of examples which illustrate links between Strategic management, Methods of Enquiry and Accounting for decision making concepts. Nestle is one of the oldest of all multinational business. Nowadays, Nestle is one of the biggest food and nutrition companies in 86 countries in the world. Hill, 2009 pp). Nestle was involved with a range of acquisitions in the last years in order to extend its line of products and try to expand on a geographical scale. Since its sales are reducing in developed markets, Nestle has the opportunity to expand business in up and coming countries, which is going to generate more profit for the company. Up and coming countries is one sector that Nestle is going to invest money in because it has the potential to be a strong and attractive ma rket.Nestle feels confident in doing so because in such countries population economy and technology has experienced a rapid growth. (Datamonitor, 2006). Nestles long-term strategy is to identify the quickly expanding countries first and get into the market as soon as possible in order to take advantage of other competitors. However, it first has to hold the leading position in the developed markets where it is currently placed. Also Nestle has to hire local managers and staff in the developing markets that understand the local market dynamic and culture.As explained above there is a link between Nestle’s strategy and the Strategic management, because companies employ managers from respective countries in the local companies due to the fact that they understand the local market dynamics. By hiring local manager they can take advantage of the local knowledge and own culture of the country. FIGURE 1 Figure 1 Source: Own diagram It is a huge advantage that Nestle works with local managers in fast rising emerging countries. As a result, Nestle will have quick results which lead to quick profits.As we can see in FIGURE 1 above, Nestle is closely related to the Strategic management module because companies will have a range of research(reports) on fast growing countries. Therefore, they will have the ability to balance the services they are able to provide (food, cereals, coffee, chocolate, drinks, ice cream, etc) (Nestle 2011), with the price that customers are willing to pay. For example, if people cannot afford the Nestle products then they will not expand in such countries but focus their attention and invest in countries where people are able to buy their products.Also, Nestle is connected with methods of enquiry with Emerging markets. Companies will have less space to roam around and make decision considering that much of their movements are controlled by the market reaction. This means that emerging markets are countries with social or business activiti es in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. The Nestle case study as clearly explained above illustrates a good link with the Strategic Management/Methods of Enquiry and the Market dynamic/Emerging markets respectively. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why?The recent financial crisis that reverberated throughout the globe was a clear indicator of the interdependence and the codependence that globalization has created while simultaneously making it clear to everyone that the emerging economies, especially those that make up BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are more resilient than western economies, thus making them engines of growth that have helped the recovery effort in the last few years. Therefore from that point of view alone it can be stated that yes, Nestle’s strategy to focus its growth efforts in developing or emerging markets is indeed a sound one.However this does not mean that the ability of these mar kets to recover faster than the western economies should bebe sole reason for such a decision. Rather there are many more and varying reasons that need to be taken into consideration. The onset of globalization for one thing has helped uplift the living standards of many in China and India and millions of families have climbed out of poverty and are able to aspire to better life styles and a better standard of living, thus creating new markets companies like Nestle (Latshaw and Choi, 2002, pp. 7). Next as has been stated in the case study, the number of individuals who can be considered as middle class in these two economies alone will exceed 700 million in the coming decade, which is more than the entire population of 500 million in the European region or the 300 million in the United States, thus making this a very lucrative market for Nestle and one that needs to be exploited with immediate effect (Crook, Bratton, Street & Ketchen, 2006, pp. 09 – 412). Besides the above Ne stle as a multi national company has a decentralised structure and has often emphasised the need for attracting, recruiting and selecting host country nationals to be employed in its’ manufacturing plants across the world and this again is a very strategic and wise decision (Cesnovar, 2006, pp. 227 – 229).By decreasing unemployment rates, being socially responsible corporate citizen and helping to uplift the standard of living in these regions of the world, the company is earning the respect of the population, which can soon be converted to public relations win, thus it can be stated that this strategy makes immense sense at the present time (Mclean, 2006, pp. 36).Last but not least it should also be stated that by gaining ‘first mover advantage’ of providing basic food stuffs through which brand loyalty is created the company stands to gain much as most consumers will not switch to other brands but rather decide to stick with the trusted brand even when t hey are ready to move to the more upscale and upmarket products that are provided by the company (Gratton, Hailey, Stiles & Truss, 1999).Therefore it can be stated that from every point of view, whether it is as a consumer products manufacturer or an employer, Nestle stands to gain much through this growth strategy of focusing on emerging markets. What is the company's strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets- Does this strategy make sense- From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively?As is clear from the information that has been provided in the case study, Nestle uses a variety of different strategies to develop its business activities and markets in the emerging markets. While many maybe of the opinion that only one or two strategies should be used in order to ensure that synergies of scale are gained and that there is consistency across the operations, such a customization of strategy to meet the specific need s of an economy is highly commendable (Marshall, Smith & Buxton, 2009, pp. 4 – 18). For instance in countries like India and China, Nestle has entered the market by providing low cost brand name basic food stuff like condensed milk and infant formula, in doing so the company has also located its manufacturing plants within the countries and the regions, employed host country nationals and helped uplift their living standards.Thus not only has the company provided them with a livelihood by employing them and purchasing local produce from local farmers and businessman, but in doing so has also created loyalty to its brand, which is something priceless (Karake-Shalhoub, 1999). As the living standards and the income levels of these individuals and entrepreneurs increase, they will no doubt continue to be loyal to the Nestle brand and purchase the more upscale and products that are sold by the company, when they are ready to move from basic food stuffs to more branded and upscale foods stuffs like cookies and chocolate.Likewise another strategy that is being used by the company is to enter markets like Nigeria and China and invest in basic infrastructure to ensure smooth distribution channels, while many may see this as a waste, in the long run, the company has gained a strong foothold in the marketplace, created job opportunities and further increased the visibility of its brand nd thus increased entry barriers for the competition (Sims, 2003), thus it can be stated that this is indeed a very good business development strategy that is being followed by the company at the present time. From an organisational perspective for an a strategy to work effectively it is necessary to ensure that the strategy is developed in such a manner that it would fit the market needs and help the company to gain a comparative advantage (Oladunjoye & Onyeaso, 2007, pp. 92 – 598). Based on everything that has been stated above and the manner in which Nestle’s is cur rently operating in China, India, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, it is clear that the company has adopted many different successful strategies that are helping it to gain a competitive edge in these markets while continuing to benefit from the ‘first mover’ advantage that it has created for itself. Through research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators.Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? An analysis of Nestle’s performance indicates that the Company has been able to improve its performance over the years. The sales of the Company reached a record of US $73 billion, and growth in profits was 20. 7% in 2005. In 2005, Europe amounted to 30% of sales, Americas 34%, and Asia, Oceania and Africa 17% of the sales.Nestle is aware that it need to adjust its offering if it is to reach its target of 5-6% growth per year. (Country Monitor, 2006). Public Image – In a world that is becoming increasingly complex, consumer needs and wants continue to become more sophisticated on a daily basis. Unlike in the past when companies could simply mass produce and sell products to the end user, today, consumers are demanding more not only in terms of pricing and quality but also in terms of corporate social responsibility.Therefore it is necessary for Nestle to continuously monitor and manage its public image and it is also very important from a strategic perspective that the company is seen as a socially responsible corporate citizen (Niederhut-Bollmann & Theuvsen, 2008, 63 – 68). Compared to many other multi national companies, Nestle’s has not earned the public ire for being irresponsible socially, however as the global slave trade for chocolate manufacturers comes to light it is essential that Nestle’s looks at ways an d means to ensure that it is not ensnared in such a public relations nightmare.Sales Growth – This is a very important performance indicators and should give the company a sense of its successes and failures in terms of strategy. Currently the company has been doing very well on this front and should carefully monitor the external and the internal environments for any factors that may pose a threat to its continued success in this area (Roberts, 2001, pp, 25 – 28). Following a growth strategy in emerging markets is actually a very good strategy that has paid off and continues to pay off, however this does not mean that the company can afford to be laid back on this score.Market Share – By gaining ‘first mover advantage’ the company has been able to gain and retain its market share through the years, however it is also necessary that the company continues to learn from its past mistakes in Japan and other countries, where it did not take the competit ion seriously and therefore has lost much in terms of market share that it could otherwise have gained (Odagiri, 1992).Blue Ocean Strategies – As markets continue to mature and other markets continue to develop it is imperative that the company focuses its attention on research and development and creates ‘blue oceans’ in order to find new markets (Gubman, 2004, pp. 13). This is something that Nestle is currently lagging at and needs to pay particular attention to with immediate effect.Based on everything that has been stated above it is therefore clear that while the company does excel in areas such as managing its public image and sales growth, there is much more improvement needed to be made in the search for innovative market strategies that will help force it to success in the future. How would you describe Nestle's strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnationa l strategy? Figure 2 – Which Structure to Choose? Source: http://www. wiziq. com/tutorial/380-International-StrategyIllustrated above is a depiction of the different corporate level strategies that can be adopted by multi national companies the world over. Such strategy is often chosen on the degree of need for global integration and local market responsiveness (Kaplan and Norton, 2001, pp. 87). Based on the information that has been provided in the case study it is clear that Nestle is a company that need to gain a high level of local market responsiveness due to the variety of different business development related strategies that is pursuing in different parts of the world.For instance while in the Middle East it has entered the markets by building five different lines of products that it hopes will be distributed across the region as trade barriers fall, in countries like China and India, it is pursuing a different strategy of meeting the basic food needs of the populatio n with items such as infant formula and condensed milk. It is the intention of the company in these markets that once standards of living increase, they can leave these Niche markets and provide consumers with more upscale and upmarket products like chocolates and cookies.Further it can also be stated that as a company with only 1% of its revenue being earned in the home country and 8000 different brands, global integration is a must (Lowson, 2002). Therefore it is the opinion of the writer that Nestle need to choose between the multi domestic strategy and a transnational strategy and not swing from one to another, because doing so would only result in the company loosing focus of its final aim, which is to be a global consumer food products leader (George, 2007, pp. 6 – 71). Based on the information that has been provided in the case study it is the opinion of the writer that Nestle’s should choose a transnational strategy because it balances both the global integrati on needs of the company and the local market responsiveness that is necessary to ensure that the company’s products will be competitive and continue to meet the needs of the local population in the emerging markets that it is operating in (Marks, 2005, pp. 1).While many maybe of the opinion that the company should continue to pursue its multi domestic strategy as it has worked well for it in the past, the changing needs of the global environment and the development taking place in the emerging markets make it necessary to gain synergies of scale and global integration for the many brands that it has under its belt and therefore a transnational strategy is the best option for Nestle’s in the future (Barney and Hesterly, 2008).Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? The overall strategic posture of Nestle makes a lot of sense given the fact that it is operating in virtually every country in the worl d, with a huge presence in the emerging markets. According to Hill (2006), that multidomestic strategy is appropriate in a market where the pressures for local responsiveness is very high and as a results the pressures for the cost reduction is low.Especially, pressures for local responsiveness can be very high in some productions, such as food, chocolates, dairy nutrition and etc. From the time when consumers have many national differences in tastes and preferences, distribution channels, competitive conditions, business practices, culture and government policies in the markets in which Nestle operates, therefore following a multidomestic strategy is beneficial for the Company.The difference in cultures and purchasing power (Prahalad et al, 1998) in the middle class population in emerging markets imply that in order for a first mover to gain advantage, it must be willing to adapt its product and offer in accordance with the needs of the local market. Figure 3 Source: http://www. do cstoc. com/docs/5632428/Ethnocentric-Polycentric-Geocentric-Diagr ams As stated in the previous section the overall strategy that is currently being followed by Nestle’s is one that focuses on local market responsiveness over global integration, which in effect results in a multi domestic strategy (Shackman, 2007, pp. 79 – 488). It is no doubt however that such a strategy has indeed helped the company to gain the level of success that it currently enjoys in emerging markets, and therefore can be considered as good. However we should always remember that strategies should promise equal or more success in the future as they do for the company today (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2003, pp. 41) and therefore reviewing the strategy from such an angle would work to the benefit of the company in the long run.The company currently follows a regiocentric attitude as is clear from the illustrations above, while it can be reiterated that this type of structure and strategy works to the ad vantage of the company, in the long run as the emerging markets being to mature and the company continues on its mergers and acquisitions strategies to enter new markets in Eastern Europe, it will become essential that the company gains some level of global synergy and integration (Mcwilliams, Van Fleet, & Wright, 2001, pp. 1).Therefore it is the recommendation of the writer that the company begins to embark on a transnational strategy with a Geocentric attitude, which will eventually help it to have a more global view with flexibility to make necessary changes at local level whenever and as frequently as needed (Donaldson & O'Toole, 2002). Therefore in conclusion it can be stated that even though the current strategic posture makes sense, it needs to be reviewed and modified if the company is to continue to penetrate, gain and retain market share in the emerging economies as well as the developed economies the world over (Mockler, 1999).Is Nestle's management structure and philosop hy aligned with its overall strategic posture? The overall structure and the strategy of the company as stated previously and has been made clear to the reader throughout the case study, is that the company pursues a multi domestic strategy, due to the need to have a high responsiveness to the local market needs (Drejer, 2002).While this is impressive, the company goes further to also ensure that it is staffed by local nationals in the host countries and that power and authority is decentralised as much as possible, again indicating that the management structure is indeed very much aligned to its philosophy of local autonomy and its multi domestic strategy (Silverman, 2002).However instead of relying on the local managers alone, the company also has a pool of at least 700 expatriate managers who travel from one country to another ensuring that the local and regional strategies of the company are upheld and global integration is a possibility (Mintzberg & Rose, 2003, pp. 70 – 277), while this may sound like a sound and often a wise move on the part of the company, the fact that none of the regional international managers get involved in local level stratey design and the fact that none of the local level managers are involved in the global strategy design and development leaves a disconnect that can cost the company dearly in the long run and therefore it is necessary to take a close look at the integration of both and make changes wherever necessary (Betz, 2001).Based on everything that has been stated above, it is therefore the opinion of the writer that greater global integration is necessary as the company moves forward and hopes to retain its place as a market leader by gaining large shares of the market in emerging economies, which it has strived hard to build over the last few decades. In effect it is therefore necessary to ensure that there is high levels of global integration and simultaneously ensure that there is high levels of local market re sponsiveness as well (Lefkowith, 2001, pp. 20).As stated previously this is only possible if the company follows a transnational strategy and this strategy and philosophy should be made a possibility by changing the current management structure within the company to one that allows for regional managers to gain an understanding of local issues and challenges and vice versa. This will help the company to align its goals and objectives both on an international local level and thus be more integrated in both spheres. Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/nestle-case-study-assinemnt-marketin Nestle Case Study NESTLE CASE STUDY With reference to the Nestle case study, provide one example which clearly illustrates a link between topics or concepts drawn from at least two pre-requisite modules. The Nestle case study provides a number of examples which illustrate links between Strategic management, Methods of Enquiry and Accounting for decision making concepts. Nestle is one of the oldest of all multinational business. Nowadays, Nestle is one of the biggest food and nutrition companies in 86 countries in the world. Hill, 2009 pp). Nestle was involved with a range of acquisitions in the last years in order to extend its line of products and try to expand on a geographical scale. Since its sales are reducing in developed markets, Nestle has the opportunity to expand business in up and coming countries, which is going to generate more profit for the company. Up and coming countries is one sector that Nestle is going to invest money in because it has the potential to be a strong and attractive ma rket.Nestle feels confident in doing so because in such countries population economy and technology has experienced a rapid growth. (Datamonitor, 2006). Nestles long-term strategy is to identify the quickly expanding countries first and get into the market as soon as possible in order to take advantage of other competitors. However, it first has to hold the leading position in the developed markets where it is currently placed. Also Nestle has to hire local managers and staff in the developing markets that understand the local market dynamic and culture.As explained above there is a link between Nestle’s strategy and the Strategic management, because companies employ managers from respective countries in the local companies due to the fact that they understand the local market dynamics. By hiring local manager they can take advantage of the local knowledge and own culture of the country. FIGURE 1 Figure 1 Source: Own diagram It is a huge advantage that Nestle works with local managers in fast rising emerging countries. As a result, Nestle will have quick results which lead to quick profits.As we can see in FIGURE 1 above, Nestle is closely related to the Strategic management module because companies will have a range of research(reports) on fast growing countries. Therefore, they will have the ability to balance the services they are able to provide (food, cereals, coffee, chocolate, drinks, ice cream, etc) (Nestle 2011), with the price that customers are willing to pay. For example, if people cannot afford the Nestle products then they will not expand in such countries but focus their attention and invest in countries where people are able to buy their products.Also, Nestle is connected with methods of enquiry with Emerging markets. Companies will have less space to roam around and make decision considering that much of their movements are controlled by the market reaction. This means that emerging markets are countries with social or business activiti es in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. The Nestle case study as clearly explained above illustrates a good link with the Strategic Management/Methods of Enquiry and the Market dynamic/Emerging markets respectively. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why?The recent financial crisis that reverberated throughout the globe was a clear indicator of the interdependence and the codependence that globalization has created while simultaneously making it clear to everyone that the emerging economies, especially those that make up BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are more resilient than western economies, thus making them engines of growth that have helped the recovery effort in the last few years. Therefore from that point of view alone it can be stated that yes, Nestle’s strategy to focus its growth efforts in developing or emerging markets is indeed a sound one.However this does not mean that the ability of these mar kets to recover faster than the western economies should bebe sole reason for such a decision. Rather there are many more and varying reasons that need to be taken into consideration. The onset of globalization for one thing has helped uplift the living standards of many in China and India and millions of families have climbed out of poverty and are able to aspire to better life styles and a better standard of living, thus creating new markets companies like Nestle (Latshaw and Choi, 2002, pp. 7). Next as has been stated in the case study, the number of individuals who can be considered as middle class in these two economies alone will exceed 700 million in the coming decade, which is more than the entire population of 500 million in the European region or the 300 million in the United States, thus making this a very lucrative market for Nestle and one that needs to be exploited with immediate effect (Crook, Bratton, Street & Ketchen, 2006, pp. 09 – 412). Besides the above Ne stle as a multi national company has a decentralised structure and has often emphasised the need for attracting, recruiting and selecting host country nationals to be employed in its’ manufacturing plants across the world and this again is a very strategic and wise decision (Cesnovar, 2006, pp. 227 – 229).By decreasing unemployment rates, being socially responsible corporate citizen and helping to uplift the standard of living in these regions of the world, the company is earning the respect of the population, which can soon be converted to public relations win, thus it can be stated that this strategy makes immense sense at the present time (Mclean, 2006, pp. 36).Last but not least it should also be stated that by gaining ‘first mover advantage’ of providing basic food stuffs through which brand loyalty is created the company stands to gain much as most consumers will not switch to other brands but rather decide to stick with the trusted brand even when t hey are ready to move to the more upscale and upmarket products that are provided by the company (Gratton, Hailey, Stiles & Truss, 1999).Therefore it can be stated that from every point of view, whether it is as a consumer products manufacturer or an employer, Nestle stands to gain much through this growth strategy of focusing on emerging markets. What is the company's strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets- Does this strategy make sense- From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively?As is clear from the information that has been provided in the case study, Nestle uses a variety of different strategies to develop its business activities and markets in the emerging markets. While many maybe of the opinion that only one or two strategies should be used in order to ensure that synergies of scale are gained and that there is consistency across the operations, such a customization of strategy to meet the specific need s of an economy is highly commendable (Marshall, Smith & Buxton, 2009, pp. 4 – 18). For instance in countries like India and China, Nestle has entered the market by providing low cost brand name basic food stuff like condensed milk and infant formula, in doing so the company has also located its manufacturing plants within the countries and the regions, employed host country nationals and helped uplift their living standards.Thus not only has the company provided them with a livelihood by employing them and purchasing local produce from local farmers and businessman, but in doing so has also created loyalty to its brand, which is something priceless (Karake-Shalhoub, 1999). As the living standards and the income levels of these individuals and entrepreneurs increase, they will no doubt continue to be loyal to the Nestle brand and purchase the more upscale and products that are sold by the company, when they are ready to move from basic food stuffs to more branded and upscale foods stuffs like cookies and chocolate.Likewise another strategy that is being used by the company is to enter markets like Nigeria and China and invest in basic infrastructure to ensure smooth distribution channels, while many may see this as a waste, in the long run, the company has gained a strong foothold in the marketplace, created job opportunities and further increased the visibility of its brand nd thus increased entry barriers for the competition (Sims, 2003), thus it can be stated that this is indeed a very good business development strategy that is being followed by the company at the present time. From an organisational perspective for an a strategy to work effectively it is necessary to ensure that the strategy is developed in such a manner that it would fit the market needs and help the company to gain a comparative advantage (Oladunjoye & Onyeaso, 2007, pp. 92 – 598). Based on everything that has been stated above and the manner in which Nestle’s is cur rently operating in China, India, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, it is clear that the company has adopted many different successful strategies that are helping it to gain a competitive edge in these markets while continuing to benefit from the ‘first mover’ advantage that it has created for itself. Through research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators.Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? An analysis of Nestle’s performance indicates that the Company has been able to improve its performance over the years. The sales of the Company reached a record of US $73 billion, and growth in profits was 20. 7% in 2005. In 2005, Europe amounted to 30% of sales, Americas 34%, and Asia, Oceania and Africa 17% of the sales.Nestle is aware that it need to adjust its offering if it is to reach its target of 5-6% growth per year. (Country Monitor, 2006). Public Image – In a world that is becoming increasingly complex, consumer needs and wants continue to become more sophisticated on a daily basis. Unlike in the past when companies could simply mass produce and sell products to the end user, today, consumers are demanding more not only in terms of pricing and quality but also in terms of corporate social responsibility.Therefore it is necessary for Nestle to continuously monitor and manage its public image and it is also very important from a strategic perspective that the company is seen as a socially responsible corporate citizen (Niederhut-Bollmann & Theuvsen, 2008, 63 – 68). Compared to many other multi national companies, Nestle’s has not earned the public ire for being irresponsible socially, however as the global slave trade for chocolate manufacturers comes to light it is essential that Nestle’s looks at ways an d means to ensure that it is not ensnared in such a public relations nightmare.Sales Growth – This is a very important performance indicators and should give the company a sense of its successes and failures in terms of strategy. Currently the company has been doing very well on this front and should carefully monitor the external and the internal environments for any factors that may pose a threat to its continued success in this area (Roberts, 2001, pp, 25 – 28). Following a growth strategy in emerging markets is actually a very good strategy that has paid off and continues to pay off, however this does not mean that the company can afford to be laid back on this score.Market Share – By gaining ‘first mover advantage’ the company has been able to gain and retain its market share through the years, however it is also necessary that the company continues to learn from its past mistakes in Japan and other countries, where it did not take the competit ion seriously and therefore has lost much in terms of market share that it could otherwise have gained (Odagiri, 1992).Blue Ocean Strategies – As markets continue to mature and other markets continue to develop it is imperative that the company focuses its attention on research and development and creates ‘blue oceans’ in order to find new markets (Gubman, 2004, pp. 13). This is something that Nestle is currently lagging at and needs to pay particular attention to with immediate effect.Based on everything that has been stated above it is therefore clear that while the company does excel in areas such as managing its public image and sales growth, there is much more improvement needed to be made in the search for innovative market strategies that will help force it to success in the future. How would you describe Nestle's strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnationa l strategy? Figure 2 – Which Structure to Choose? Source: http://www. wiziq. com/tutorial/380-International-StrategyIllustrated above is a depiction of the different corporate level strategies that can be adopted by multi national companies the world over. Such strategy is often chosen on the degree of need for global integration and local market responsiveness (Kaplan and Norton, 2001, pp. 87). Based on the information that has been provided in the case study it is clear that Nestle is a company that need to gain a high level of local market responsiveness due to the variety of different business development related strategies that is pursuing in different parts of the world.For instance while in the Middle East it has entered the markets by building five different lines of products that it hopes will be distributed across the region as trade barriers fall, in countries like China and India, it is pursuing a different strategy of meeting the basic food needs of the populatio n with items such as infant formula and condensed milk. It is the intention of the company in these markets that once standards of living increase, they can leave these Niche markets and provide consumers with more upscale and upmarket products like chocolates and cookies.Further it can also be stated that as a company with only 1% of its revenue being earned in the home country and 8000 different brands, global integration is a must (Lowson, 2002). Therefore it is the opinion of the writer that Nestle need to choose between the multi domestic strategy and a transnational strategy and not swing from one to another, because doing so would only result in the company loosing focus of its final aim, which is to be a global consumer food products leader (George, 2007, pp. 6 – 71). Based on the information that has been provided in the case study it is the opinion of the writer that Nestle’s should choose a transnational strategy because it balances both the global integrati on needs of the company and the local market responsiveness that is necessary to ensure that the company’s products will be competitive and continue to meet the needs of the local population in the emerging markets that it is operating in (Marks, 2005, pp. 1).While many maybe of the opinion that the company should continue to pursue its multi domestic strategy as it has worked well for it in the past, the changing needs of the global environment and the development taking place in the emerging markets make it necessary to gain synergies of scale and global integration for the many brands that it has under its belt and therefore a transnational strategy is the best option for Nestle’s in the future (Barney and Hesterly, 2008).Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? The overall strategic posture of Nestle makes a lot of sense given the fact that it is operating in virtually every country in the worl d, with a huge presence in the emerging markets. According to Hill (2006), that multidomestic strategy is appropriate in a market where the pressures for local responsiveness is very high and as a results the pressures for the cost reduction is low.Especially, pressures for local responsiveness can be very high in some productions, such as food, chocolates, dairy nutrition and etc. From the time when consumers have many national differences in tastes and preferences, distribution channels, competitive conditions, business practices, culture and government policies in the markets in which Nestle operates, therefore following a multidomestic strategy is beneficial for the Company.The difference in cultures and purchasing power (Prahalad et al, 1998) in the middle class population in emerging markets imply that in order for a first mover to gain advantage, it must be willing to adapt its product and offer in accordance with the needs of the local market. Figure 3 Source: http://www. do cstoc. com/docs/5632428/Ethnocentric-Polycentric-Geocentric-Diagr ams As stated in the previous section the overall strategy that is currently being followed by Nestle’s is one that focuses on local market responsiveness over global integration, which in effect results in a multi domestic strategy (Shackman, 2007, pp. 79 – 488). It is no doubt however that such a strategy has indeed helped the company to gain the level of success that it currently enjoys in emerging markets, and therefore can be considered as good. However we should always remember that strategies should promise equal or more success in the future as they do for the company today (Cabrera and Cabrera, 2003, pp. 41) and therefore reviewing the strategy from such an angle would work to the benefit of the company in the long run.The company currently follows a regiocentric attitude as is clear from the illustrations above, while it can be reiterated that this type of structure and strategy works to the ad vantage of the company, in the long run as the emerging markets being to mature and the company continues on its mergers and acquisitions strategies to enter new markets in Eastern Europe, it will become essential that the company gains some level of global synergy and integration (Mcwilliams, Van Fleet, & Wright, 2001, pp. 1).Therefore it is the recommendation of the writer that the company begins to embark on a transnational strategy with a Geocentric attitude, which will eventually help it to have a more global view with flexibility to make necessary changes at local level whenever and as frequently as needed (Donaldson & O'Toole, 2002). Therefore in conclusion it can be stated that even though the current strategic posture makes sense, it needs to be reviewed and modified if the company is to continue to penetrate, gain and retain market share in the emerging economies as well as the developed economies the world over (Mockler, 1999).Is Nestle's management structure and philosop hy aligned with its overall strategic posture? The overall structure and the strategy of the company as stated previously and has been made clear to the reader throughout the case study, is that the company pursues a multi domestic strategy, due to the need to have a high responsiveness to the local market needs (Drejer, 2002).While this is impressive, the company goes further to also ensure that it is staffed by local nationals in the host countries and that power and authority is decentralised as much as possible, again indicating that the management structure is indeed very much aligned to its philosophy of local autonomy and its multi domestic strategy (Silverman, 2002).However instead of relying on the local managers alone, the company also has a pool of at least 700 expatriate managers who travel from one country to another ensuring that the local and regional strategies of the company are upheld and global integration is a possibility (Mintzberg & Rose, 2003, pp. 70 – 277), while this may sound like a sound and often a wise move on the part of the company, the fact that none of the regional international managers get involved in local level stratey design and the fact that none of the local level managers are involved in the global strategy design and development leaves a disconnect that can cost the company dearly in the long run and therefore it is necessary to take a close look at the integration of both and make changes wherever necessary (Betz, 2001).Based on everything that has been stated above, it is therefore the opinion of the writer that greater global integration is necessary as the company moves forward and hopes to retain its place as a market leader by gaining large shares of the market in emerging economies, which it has strived hard to build over the last few decades. In effect it is therefore necessary to ensure that there is high levels of global integration and simultaneously ensure that there is high levels of local market re sponsiveness as well (Lefkowith, 2001, pp. 20).As stated previously this is only possible if the company follows a transnational strategy and this strategy and philosophy should be made a possibility by changing the current management structure within the company to one that allows for regional managers to gain an understanding of local issues and challenges and vice versa. This will help the company to align its goals and objectives both on an international local level and thus be more integrated in both spheres. Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/nestle-case-study-assinemnt-marketin

Friday, August 30, 2019

The HR Professional Map

In 2009 the CIPD conducted a report on what human resource practitioner's did, their roles, and activities. They interviewed practitioner's from a large number of professions across different sectors and the result was the production of the HR professional map, that does not focus on job titles, but instead focused on the skills and behaviours. It is simple, flexible and can be used as a whole or in part. Starting with and including the two core professional areas, it consists of ten professional areas, eight behaviours and four competency bands.â€Å"It describes what you need to know and what you need to do, within each professional area at four bands of professional competence†. There are eight behaviours that need to be displayed by HR professionals; these are, collaborative, driven to deliver, courage to challenge, role model, curious, decisive thinker, skilled influencer and personally credible. These behaviours are displayed in each of the professional areas. There are four bands of competence that define the contribution of professionals at each stage of their career, it details the relationship with client, service to client ,focus of activity and where time is spent.It also details measures of success and contribution and the relative skill balance between behaviours and technical ability. The two core professional areas that relate to all HR professionals, at all career levels and job roles, these are; Insight, strategy and solutions. There are five activity areas, building a picture, developing actionable insight, delivering situational HR solutions that stick and building capacity and capability that detail tasks that you are required to perform in each capability band. There are also four areas of knowledge.Business, contextual and organisational knowledge and HR professional knowledge. Leading HR, service delivery and information. There are six activity areas, along with tasks performed at each band level, theses are Personal leadership,Le ading others, Leading Issues:HR function design and service delivery,HR resource planning and development, delivering value and performance in HR teams and managing HR budgets and finances. The knowledge areas for this core professional area are Leadership, HR service delivery models, Commissioning services and Resource, Performance and Financial management.Employee relations is one of the remaining eight professional areas, an Employee relations professional is required to display knowledge of a strong understanding of employment law, or can access relevant,current and planned changes to laws relevant to the organisation. There is also a requirement to identify and act to mitigate risk to the organisation, have the knowledge of employee relations risks, and is able to coach managers to resolve issues, they will also know how to analyse, collate and feedback on communications and messages heard.Activities completed by an Employee relations practitioner are grouped under the headings , Employee relations strategy, policy and practice. Policy, advice and guidance. Complex casework. Collective negotiation and consultation and Health and well being. When an Employee relations Practitioner is displaying competences in band two they will be reactive in most activities, issue lead dealing with current or near term issues. Behaviours that I consider to be displayed by an Employee relations Practitioner are being a decisive thinker, driven to deliver, courage to challenge, personally credible and a role model.The activities I consider to be relevant to an ER advisor in the organisation I worked in are to develop comprehensive guidance to managers on ER issues, give accurate and appropriate advice , training and support managers. Work closely with managers, instructing them on their role and required actions, keeping appropriate records and represent the organisation at external tribunals. The skill balance between technical ability and behaviours displayed should be 50: 50 and a measure of success would be for issues/ problems satisfactory resolved and repeat business.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Learning English Across Songs

Learning English through songs, then surely you have ever heard anyone say. But perhaps we will not have a thorough understanding of its importance. In this article, I present and analyze thoroughly the great impact of the method nay. Viec learn English through songs, then surely you have ever heard anyone say. But perhaps we will not have a thorough understanding of its importance. In this article, I present and analyze thoroughly the great impact of this approach. If you look, you will see your beautiful voice, good pronunciation, good pronunciation in spoken English are those who have interest in English song.This demonstrates the method of â€Å"Deep learning† (long memory depth study) that they learned unconsciously through the songs themselves take no notice. Music help you get active with the title in English is difficult as the attachment audio, audio connection, tone up and down †¦ the song's characteristic tone is very rich so we can listen and sing along to pra ctice the pronunciation, and intonation in a sentence. If you practice in a class phonetic phonetics, phonology, then a few times to throw the book is gone.Thing here is to help you practice songs phonetically an extremely interesting and so is naturally higher efficiency will also multiply. According to research psychologists have demonstrated, the human brain can well remember the images. Therefore, when learning to sing, we need to apply this factor can make the Video Karaoke subtitle below to practice. By then we might just see a picture of the song, just might have the answer. If you find the video with beautiful pictures of the singer that you like better. You should not make the audio files or video files on youtube are not only known because they will not have pictures.To remember the song well and effectively, we must understand the content of songs and pronunciation of each word. Thus prior to practice singing, you should check the dictionary to know the meaning of all wor ds and pronunciation of the word. The harder songs, as many new words that you do not know, after the song was all that, you will learn more words. This is a great way to learn vocabulary. You do not learn a single word that was learned in a specific context, with the words that came out of it. So you are also learning the grammar. Let's see what we learn in a sentence of the song â€Å"I swear,† the group All 4 One:I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky and I swear like the shadow that's by your side I see two lines are pretty much repeated in the song. With only two lines alone we have learned a multitude of rules, grammatical structure, vocabulary, pronunciation. Grammar: + â€Å"Stars† is plural, we must have â€Å"s† behind it. + We learn from the world â€Å"in the sky† rather than â€Å"on the sky† + â€Å"Like the shadow† =;gt; we study the structure with the word â€Å"like† to mean â€Å"like† + â€Å"That's by your side† =;gt; we learn to use a structured clause after â€Å"that† add meaning to the word â€Å"shadow† preceding it.Vocabulary: swear, moon, stars, sky, shadow, side =;gt; total of 6 words, a small scratch in two short lines. Pronunciation: the word â€Å"stars† have â€Å"s† should be appended to the word â€Å"print† on the back and sing to â€Å"zin the sky† and the pronunciation of many words in the sentence again. Previously, on television, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung MA was also famous for the program to learn English through songs and a lot of lovers. Learn English through songs is very simple, but effective relaxation. I hope this article helps you understand the great value of this study and how to use it in learning English.

Human Population Growth and the Environment Essay

Human Population Growth and the Environment - Essay Example of humans on earth, population increase has always been attributed to a number of factors namely: fertility, longevity infact mortality, animal domestication plus agriculture, industrial revolution, nutrition, and medicine. In the past, human population on the surface of the earth was scarce. According to Hunter (2000), the above factors contributed greatly to increase in population in the past 200 years. Human population was constantly kept small due to occurrence of diseases that were incurable, natural disasters that could not be avoided, high infant mortality rate, poor fertility rates, poor agricultural farming, poor nutrition, and poor knowledge in medicine. With human beings becoming more revolutionized and discovering tools which could help them in increasing their production, a lot of changes made in the field of agriculture contributed to increase in food production and hence longevity. Majority of groups whom were pastoralists on seeing the benefits of agriculture, settled in various placed, coupled with the technological know-how of the given art, specialization led to growing up of various fields which encouraged a given population to be concentrated in a town center in order to benefit fr om the given activity. Trade came hand in hand with agriculture and humans diversified in their search to get more stability in their lives. With stability, came the need to research on common problems that faced the given population and provide remedies. These are some of the things that led into research in technological and medical advancements that resulted in increased cure rate and less death rate in all ages. Around 200 years ago, with the coming of industrial revolution, human beings population started to grown as they discovered that the world offered more resources. Around that time, infant mortality had been reduced as research in medicine had been advanced. In addition, mortality in general reduced based on more diseases getting cured. As human

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Marketing Week 4 Discussion Questions & Summary Essay

Marketing Week 4 Discussion Questions & Summary - Essay Example However, hailing from a highly disciplined family and community where such practices are strictly shunned and their negation had become a part of my belief; I decided not to copy the report. My colleague on the other hand did not hesitate to do so because this was a part of her belief system. I have been enlightened on the concepts of education and lifelong learning. I have realized the significance of a graduate degree and the learning that accompanies it. Today, people respect my view more than ever before. As a well-informed person my opinions are sought after. DQ2: Please describe where you have experienced a professional team conflict Explain what happened and its resolution I prefer you share a situation where you did not like the outcome of the decision, what would you have done differently We were a group of three people for our report. It required a lot of work and effort. We had distributed the work accordingly. However, one member of our group was just not cooperating. He(A) did not even bother to sit down and talk with us about the report. We were so bogged down by the work that we could not run after him. Therefore; we let him be and completed the work ourselves. So much so that he did not even accompany us when we had to conduct interviews of industry personnel. We were really angry at him but had no time to deal with him. At last, the report was ready. However, we did not put his name on the report. We felt that it was only fair since he had done no work. Because of this A failed the course! I feel that this situation could have been handled differently. We could have taken out time to force A to do some work for the report. As a team this was the least we could have done. What we did was a violation of team spirit. We should have counseled him, and tried to ma ke him work by giving him logical reasons. It would have made things different! DQ3: Describe the changes you have gone through while enrolled at the University of Phoenix While at the University of Phoenix I have matured. I have begun to see the world in a totally different light. Before, my views and ideas were skewed. I used to have a one-track mind and would often jump to conclusions. Now, I have become enlightened. University of Phoenix has helped me develop as an individual. It has made me look at things with an open mind. To look at all perspectives and to be confident and positive about things. It has taught me to respect others for what they and accept them with their faults and drawbacks. It has made me understand that what is important is what I have given to the society and not what the society has given to me. Earlier, I used to see a university degree as a means of better financial achievement. It has taught me the value of education beyond a means of earning money. It has molded me into a confident and inquisitive young woman who is not scared of challenges. From someone who would barely ever question and was used to taking things at fac e value. It has helped in my overall development. It has harnessed my potential and made me reach new heights. It has impelled me aspire and dream! SUMMARY paragraph based on answering the above questions and the class topics and courses completed for BS in marketing. At University of Pheonix I have learnt the concepts of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The Difference in CSR Agenda by Oil and Gas Companies Analyzing Essay

The Difference in CSR Agenda by Oil and Gas Companies Analyzing Projects in Developing Countries - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that CSR is the process by which a company integrates the economic, its environmental and social objectives at the same time, addressing the expectations of its stakeholder and enhancing as well as sustaining the shareholder value.   CSR is the overall association between a corporation and the stakeholders that include its customers, its employees, its communities, owners/investors, the government, its suppliers, and competitors. Elements of CSR will include investment in the community outreach, its employee relations, creation and the maintenance of employment, the environmental stewardship and its financial performance. A firm which is committed to the development of its employee and empowerment is, by default, already incorporating some components of activities related to CSR. A firm that freely shares information with its employees about any move toward downsizing, and then helping the displaced employees in finding new jobs, is said to actively practice CSR. Moreover, a firm which is actively committed towards the production of reliable, safe and many innovative products and services which is in line with the customer needs is said to be strategically involved in the CSR activities. There can be situations where employees can become cynical that while on one side the organization is fairly generous in its donations and charities, it does not adequately express sensitivity to the working conditions or to employees' safety. In such conditions, the public could become critical if it so turned out that an organization is not showing responsibility towards its environmental issues. CSR is, thus considered a management approach which takes into account several integrated procedures. The socio-economic and cultural background that is present in developing countries provides a context for CSR that is different in many ways from the developed countries.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Why We Cant Wait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why We Cant Wait - Essay Example People of color especially African Americans were seen as people who belonged to the lower or second class in society. As a result, African Americans were not allowed to access certain areas, and were not admitted to same schools as whites. It is clear that Martin Luther stated that African Americans could no longer wait for the followings things; ii. Lack of trust in government and politicians especially after the perceived failures of President Kennedy in that during his reign, Kennedy failed to establish a stance housing desegregation policy and did not address the issue of African American voting rights in states such as Virginia and Texas. It is vivid from the article that the media in American helped to propagate racial sentiments against black people. For instance, the media propagated racial segregation in their articles where they referred to black people as darkies, coons, and niggers. Their messages in the articles spread anti-black information and stereotypes. In schools, white children saw black children as inferior and worthless. All social institutions such as schools and churches reinforced oppression of the people of color particularly African Americans (Luther 56). Many things happening in the American society prompted Luther to write the book. For instance, King argues that the white race mistreated black people. He documents the following practices and norms to depict how pervasive and inclusive racial segregation was entrenched in society. Violence was used to place African Americans at the bottom of the racial hierarchy. For instance, the Jim Crow used war on drug to discriminate black people whereby, police applied excess force to arrest black men on conception that they were drug dealers. This reveals how the criminal justice system in America was racist in trying to connect the dots between earlier forms of social and current system of mass incarceration (Luther 61). There was rebirth of the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

John Maynard Keynes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

John Maynard Keynes - Essay Example He initiated the "Keynesian Revolution" which split economics into two divergent paths; one away from a traditional laissez faire economic system and toward an economic theory that saw the government as an essential player in maintaining growth within a capitalist economy. The following paper will review the economic policies of Keynes. Firstly, a review of his contribution to the USA recovery form the Great Depression shall be given. Secondly, a discussion of Keynes contribution to the global economic recovery following World War II will be presented. Thirdly, the use of Keynesian theory during the Conservative Era in the USA will be outlined. A conclusion will summarize the main points of the paper. The Great Depression was a global event of economic downturn that was initiated in 1929 and spanned across a decade until 1939. As such it is the longest and most harrowing depression that the industrialized world had known. Beginning in the USA, the Depression resulted in significant reductions in output, widespread unemployment and poverty, and acute deflation worldwide (Romer 3). At the time, the gold standard provided almost a global network of fixed currency exchange rates, and it has been stated that this was a core reason that the economic downturn in the USA swept through other national economies. In the USA, the Depression has been described as the second worst socio-cultural event since the Civil War. The actual causes of the Depression are still contentious issues today among economist and academia. Although it is generally agreed upon that there was a multitude of contributing factors; declines in consumer demand; financial panics; and misguided government policies (Calo moris 5; Romer 4). The recovery from the Great Depression was enabled by fundamental changes to national economic approaches, macroeconomic policy and the theory of economics itself. Keynes played a key role in the recovery with his advocating of interventionist government policies, which required the government to draw on fiscal and monetary sources to buffer the detrimental effects of the present Depression, as well as future potential recessions and booms. Keynes stressed the need for the government to intercede occasionally and exert force on the market economy (Romer 3; Skidelsky 5). Previous to this time, economists had simply believed that an economy would continue to grow and develop; it was thought that a market failure would be a temporary situation that could fix itself if given time. This laissez-faire approach was developed by the economist Adam Smith. It was argued by Smith that if the market was left alone it ("the invisible hand") would run itself (Skidelsky 15).In fact, many approache d an economic crisis as a state that would stimulate new opportunities to make a profit. Keynes, though presented a theory wherein the economy could become stagnant, and remain so, regardless of the amount of unused resources. He postulated that capitalism had no intrinsic ability to maintain growth regardless of external circumstances (Romer 7). Such a dramatic shift from the present approach to economics was revolutionary; that during times of severe depression the government was the only hope for an economic recovery. In this way, Keynes became known as the father of

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The challenges and opportunities of BMW Assignment

The challenges and opportunities of BMW - Assignment Example After conducting a thorough review of the literature it has been established that in order to offer high speed, sporty and designer cars to customers the company is neglecting the EU emission norms. There has been several news of the company taking political support to escape penalties and norms immorally. However, strict legal framework is compelling them towards thinking about other opportunities. In this backdrop a qualitative research has been conducted to know about customers’ perception and buying interest after knowing about the challenge. Primary data has been collected through a questionnaire survey among a sample size of 20 respondents. It was found that though customers check size, style, brand name and colour first, when it comes to buying a car but they would not prefer to buy a vehicle which does not meet legal emission standards. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Background 4 1.2 Research Problem 4 1.3 Research Objectives 4 1.4 Research Questions 5 SECTION 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Friday, August 23, 2019

Management & Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management & Organisation - Essay Example The desire to function is motivation. Motivation refers to psychological aspects that have the ability to arouse in an individual the literal desire to achieve set goals besides sustaining, controlling, and eliciting specific goal-oriented behaviors (Kleinbeck, et. al., 2013). According to Miner (2012), Motivation plays three significant functions; assisting employees to understand their behavior, assisting managers to build and manage an effective motivation system, and provides conceptual tools for identification and analysis of various motivation problems. The following are some of the aspects of motivation within an organization. Discussions Needs Theories Indisputably, motivation revolves around behaviors and needs. Since motivation aims at the needs of the employees, various need theories towards motivation have been proposed. Examples of such needs theories include Murray’s theory of Human Personality, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, McClelland’s Achievement Motivation theory, and Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene theories. Kleinbeck, et. al. (2013) add that within the contemporary environment there have been classifications that include cognitive and behavioral theories. Theories in these categories include expectancy, equity, goal setting, and behavior modification theories. Murray’s theory of human personality focuses on two forms of needs; physical and psychological. In this theory, both physical and psychological needs are a link connecting stimulus and employee’s reaction to the same (Kunitz, 2011). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory on the other hand focuses on five basic groups of necessities or basic needs. Maslow believes that these needs are so basic that every employee is motivated to achieve them (Kunitz, 2011). The needs include physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. E.R.G. theory focuses on three groups of needs; existence, relatedness, and growth. The need for achievement, p ower, and affiliation form the epicenter of McClelland’s achievement motivation theory (Kunitz, 2011). Lastly, Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene theory focuses on the satisfiers and dissatisfies. In this theory the motivators include achievement, recognition, and specific work (Miner, 2012). Hygiene factors play a significant role in motivating employees. Expectancy/Goals Theories Expectancy or goal theories define how to motivate the employees. However, it is important to note that expectancy/goals theories are more sophisticated (Kunitz, 2011). Evidently employees are motivated if they expect they can achieve their goals that attract both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Communicable Diseases Essay Example for Free

Communicable Diseases Essay Improvement in the health status of the population has been one of the major thrust areas for the social development programmes of the country. This was to be achieved through improving the access to and utilization of Health, Family Welfare and Nutrition Services with special focus on under served and under privileged segment of population. Main responsibility of infrastructure and manpower building rests with the State Government supplemented by funds from the Central Government and external assistance. Major disease control programmes and the Family Welfare Programmes are funded by the Centre (some with assistance from external agencies) and are implemented through the State infrastructure. The food supplementation programmes for mothers and children are funded by the State and implemented through the ICDS infrastructure funded by the Central Government. Safe drinking water and environmental sanitation are essential pre-requisites for health. Initially these two activities were funded by the Health Department, but subsequently Dept. of Urban and Rural Development and Dept. of Environment fund these activities both in the State and Centre. Health and health care development has not been a priority of the Indian state. This is reflected in two significant facts. One, the low level of investment and allocation of resources to the health sector over the years about one percent of GDP with clear declining trends over the last decade. And second the uncontrolled and very rapid development of an unregulated private health sector, especially in the last two decades.This does not mean that there was no health policy all these years. At the state government level there is no evidence of any policy initiatives in the health sector. The Central government through the Council of Health and Family Welfare and various Committee recommendations has shaped health policy and planning in India. It has directed this through the Five Year Plans through which it executes its decisions. The entire approach has been program based. The Centre designs national programs and the states have to just accept them. The Centre assures this through the fiscal control it has in distribution of resources. So, essentially what is a state subject the Centre takes major decisions. However it is important to note that this Central control is largely over preventive and promotive programs like the Disease Control programs, MCH and Family Planning, which together account for between half and two-thirds of state budgets. Curative care, that is hospital and dispensaries, has not been an area of Central influence and in this domain investments have come mostly from the state’s own resources. Structured health policy making and health planning in India is not a post-independence phenomena. In fact, the most comprehensive health policy and plan document ever prepared in India was on the eve of Independence in 1946. Especially the 80% population residing in rural areas. It is only an embarrassment for the Indian nation that more than half a century later there is no evidence of development of health care services to an expected level. The enclave pattern of development of the health sector continues even today – the poor, the villagers, women and other underprivileged sections of society, in other words the majority, still do not have access to affordable basic health care of any credible quality. This Research Paper includes analysis of existing Health Planning and the development of health status of the society in the past decade 2001 to 2011 . Census of India 2001 and Census of India 2011 used. Decline of Fertility rate,Maternal Mortality rate ,Infant Mortality rate and other developments are studied .At the same time Upgrowing Trend of fatality of some communicable diseases (Dengue,Malaria,Cholera) and Noncommunicable Diseases (Heart Diseases,Diabetic ) are also studied and analysed in this paper. Key Words : Health planning,development,IMR,MMR,TFR,Upgrowing CDs and NCDsDiseases. Health planning and policies : Good health is a basic requirement for quality of life. It is the foundation for social and economic development. The objective of the government is to ensure that health care services are rendered, keeping in view the core principles of accessibility, equity, quality and affordability. This will be accomplished through strengthening of the health care network throughout the state to deliver not only curative but also preventive and rehabilitative care. To achieve the above objectives, the budget allocation of the Health and Family Welfare Department has been fixed at Rs 5569.28 crores for the financial year 2012-13 as against the provision of Rs.3889 crores for the year 2010-11 registering an increase of more than 40%. Tamil Nadu fares well on the health indicators which form a part of the Human Development Index (HDI) as compared to other Indian states.Government policy interventions and funding have played an important role in the State’s better health outcomes. Tamil Nadu has implemented various programmes with special focus on maternal and child health which has resulted in the reduction of vital indicators such as the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Total Fertility Rate (TFR). However, the state willcontinue its efforts to improve its performance in the health sector by benchmarking itself against higher targets. The recently released â€Å"Vision 2023â€Å" envisages Tamil Nadu to become not only the numero uno State in India in terms of social indicators, but also reach the levels attained by developed countries in human development by ensuring universal access to health facilities† This Government will continue to give prominence to the health of women and children. Promotion of institutional deliveries by strengthening the Primary Health Centres and Health Sub-Centres with qualified and trained manpower, establishment of upgraded Primary Health Centres in each block with 30 beds, an operation theatre and various other facilities, provision of 24 hours delivery care services by positioning 3 staff nurses in each Primary Health Centre, provision of emergency obstetric care in the CEmONC Centres established in the district and select taluk hospitals, ensuring availability of an Emergency Response System through 108 ambulances with inter facility transfer, provision of safe blood at the upgraded Primary Health Centres, provision of neo-natal ambulances for the transportation of neo-natal emergencies, establishment of Neo-natal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) with trained Doctors and Staff Nurses in each district are all schemes which would no doubt help to achieve go od progress in the further reduction of MMR and IMR, in the coming years. The benefit under the Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Assistance Scheme has been enhanced to Rs.12,000, which is the highest in the country. This has come as a boon to the poor beneficiaries who deliver in government health facilities. The three phase payment has also strengthened antenatal, postnatal care and improved child immunization. The scheme would have a major impact on further improving the maternal and child health indicators in the State. An allocation of Rs.720 crores has been provided for this scheme in 2012-2013. This Government has announced a path breaking new scheme for free distribution of sanitary napkins to rural adolescent girls. This scheme which has been launched by the Hon’ble Chief Minister on 27th March 2012, will benefit over 41 lakh adolescent girls in the 10-19 age group in rural areas covering all the districts of the state. Sanitary napkins will be distributed through schools and Anganwadis. This initiative will go a long way to improve personal hygiene, prevent future complications such as infertility and promote the health of the future mothers. An amount of Rs.55 crores has been provided for this scheme in this financial year. State-wide programmes have been launched for the management of iron deficiency anaemia and gestational diabetes. The State has been the first to introduce the use of injection iron sucrose in the public sector for reducing severe anaemia in pregnant women following a protocol developed by senior obstetricians and specialists. Addressing these major underlying causes will no doubt help to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality further. The Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme has been launched on 11th January 2012 to provide insurance coverage for life threatening ailments to the poor people of Tamil Nadu. This scheme has enhanced the sum assured to rupees one lakh per year and Rs.4 lakhs for a period of four years and h as also extended the coverage to more diseases and included diagnostic procedures. Special provisions have also been incorporated to strengthen the role of Government hospitals in implementing the scheme. So far, 26,172 beneficiaries have undergone treatments costing Rs.70.53 crores. A sum of Rs.750 crores has been provided for the implementation of this scheme in 2012-2013. As new initiatives, during 2012-2013, the infrastructure for operation theatres in district and medical college hospitals will be improved at a cost of Rs.20 crores. Post-mortem facilities will be improved at a cost of Rs.10 crores. To improve the services available to the public, diagnostic equipment will be provided at a cost of Rs.10 crores and MRI facilities will be provided in 5 Medical Colleges through Public Private Partnership. The Burns centre in Kilpauk Medical College Hospital will be upgraded as a Centre of Excellence at a cost of Rs.5 crores. The incidence of cancer as a disease hasgradually been increasing and it has become a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the State. A State Cancer Registry to collect details of all the cancer cases in the State will be put in place fromthis year. Further, most forms of cancer are treatable if detected early. Seventy percent of various types of patients seek treatment in an advanced stage. There is only one exclusive cancer hospital in the Government sector i.e. Arignar Anna Cancer Hospital at Karapettai, Kancheepuram is providing treatment to the patients. Considering the increasing need for specialized cancer care, Government has decided to establish Regional Cancer Centres at the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai and Coimbatore Medical College Hospital at a cost of Rs.15 crores per centre. These cancer centres will address the needs of the cancer patients in the Southern and Western region of the State. A new programme to screen the high risk population for oral cancer and to diagnose it at an early stage will also be launched. The King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, Guindy, Chennai, is one of the premier institutions of this country. It is also a teaching and research centre. The Virology department of this Institute is recognized by Government of India and the World Health Organisation as the National Polio Laboratory. This institute was manufacturing vaccines and serum which was stopped some years back. It is now proposed to revive the vaccine production and create a Tissue bank in the KingInstitute of Preventive Medicine and Research, Guindy, Chennai, at a cost of Rs.5 crores. Special focus will be provided on non communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and cancer of breast and cervix which are emerging as major causes of morbidity and mortality. A two pronged strategy wil be adopted to tackle these diseases. While awareness creation for prevention through life style changes will be taken up at various levels, infrastructure facilities for early detection and treatment will be created. After the success of the pilot schemes in two districts, this activity has been scaled up to the entire State in phases. During phase -I, the programme has been taken up for implementation in 16 districts and during phase-II, the programme will be implemented in the remaining 16 Districts during the later part of the year. Rs.158 crores has been earmarked to the Health Systems Project for implementing the programmes during this year. Considering the growing urbanization of the State it is necessary to address urban health challenges, especially in small urban towns. 60 urban primary health centres already sanctioned under NRHM and the newly sanctioned 75 urban primary health centres have been brought under the control of Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Strengthening of these centres with appointment of Medical Officers, Staff Nurses, ANMs, Pharmacists etc., is now taking place. The Medical Services Recruitment Board, which is the first of its kind in India, has been formed exclusively for the Health and Family Welfare Department to recruit candidates to fill up medical and para medic al vacancies in the Government Hospitals and Primary Health Centres. The Board is taking action to recruit candidates for ten major categories of posts which will no doubt improve the functioning of the government health institutions.The objective of Vision 2023 is to build a healthy society that will be able to take part in and share the fruits of economic development. The various schemes launched by this Government during the last year and the new schemes proposed now for this year would build a beginning to achieve the objectives of the Vision 2023. This includes Rs.5413.75 crores on the Revenue Account and Rs.154.62 crores on the Capital Account. The provision on the Revenue Account works out to 5.51% of the total Revenue Expenditure of Rs.98213.85 crores in the Tamil Nadu State Budget for the year 2012 -2013. Note: Apart from the above provision, funds towards Civil Works being undertaken by Public Works Department have been provided to the tune of Rs.323.68 crores under Demand No.39. The Directorate-wise provision for 2012-2013 made under Demand No.19 Health and Family Welfare Department is as follows: (Rupees in lakhs) Decadal Population growth rate as shown below : Current Status of Communicable Diseases in India India is undergoing an epidemiologic, demo-graphic and health transition. The expectancy of life has increased, with consequent rise in degenerative diseases of aging and life-styles. Nevertheless, communicable diseases are still dominant and constitute major public health issues. New viral and bacterial infections have been identified. Monitoring of anti-microbial resistance to commonly used drugs is being extended to include more organisms. Disease surveillance at the molecular level has been expanded and strengthened. Studies to assess disease burden not only in terms of morbidity and mortality but also economic are high on the Council’s agenda. Feasibility of effective strategies under field conditions for control of infectious diseases is being demonstrated. Research support to eradicate target diseases has been intensified. Development and evaluation of diagnostic tools, drugs and vaccines is being undertaken. Programme relevant research to strengthen the national health programmes and human resource development are an integral part of the efforts of the Council towards control of communicable diseases. It is evident that inspite of the declining mortality and changing morbidity pattern, India still has the â€Å"unfinished agenda† of combating the traditional infectious diseases that continue to contribute to a heavy disease burden and take a sizeable toll. Along with these, the country has to deal with the â€Å"emerging agenda† which includes chronic and newer diseases induced by the changing age structure, changing lifestyles and environmental pollution. We need to prepare ourselves to face the challenges of widening disparities between sections of the population in terms of access to good health. Till date, the diseases we have been able to eradicate in India are smallpox (in 1977) and guinea worm (in 2001) though we have many more in the agenda (polio, leprosy, yaws). Diseases like yaws and plague have been under control. During 1997, as many as 8515 cases of yaws were reported and treated. While during 2001, only 168 cases have been reported and treated4 i.e. 50 times reduction in four years time. Epidemics of cholera are not that frequent as in old days. Reported cases of cholera were 176,307 with 86,997 deaths in 1950.1 However, now total number of cases in a year is about 5,000 and mortality is also low. Dengue was predominantly an urban problem but now cases and outbreaks have been reported from rural areas also. There has been a decline in dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) incidence after 1996 outbreak in Delhi. However during 2001, outbreaks have been reported from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujurat.4 Malaria is still a public health problem till today. The programme for eradication of malaria has been in place for the past 50 years under different names in our country. At the peak level of the success of programme in 1964, malaria was contained to less than 100,000 cases and no deaths. However, the situation slipped out of control and by 1976 we had 6,467,215 cases of malaria with 99 deaths.4 The total number of leprosy cases has dropped substantially from 2.91 million in 1981 to 0.44 million cases reported in March 2002. The prevalence rate has reduced from 57 per 10,000 in 1981 to 4.2 cases per 10,000 population in 2002. However, it is still much higher than the target, which is 1 case per 10,000 populations, of National Leprosy Elimination Programme. With these limited progresses, we have failed on many counts. Some diseases, which were once thought to have been conquered, have re-emerged in the recent years. Plague, which was a public health problem in the 1940s, speedily declined as a result of large scale application of dichlorodiphenyl- trichloroethane (DDT) in the year 1946.There was no laboratory confirmed plague in India during 1966 to 1993. However, during 1994, an outbreak of pneumonicplague was reported from Surat, Gujarat. Recently, in February 2002, an outbreak of plague was reported from Shimla, Tuberculosis : Tuberculosis accounts for a loss of approximately 11 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs). The burden of disease may increase further with the emergence of the HIV epidemic. The Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) which covers more than 120 million population has successfully treated approximately 80% of patients in 48 districts of 16 states and Union Territories. Treatment success rates have more than doubled and death rates have decreased by 75 per cent. The ICMR’s Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC) at Chennai is providing research support to the RNTCP through the conduct of basic, applied and operational research to develop better tools and training strategies for tuberculosis control. Diarrhoeal Diseases The National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Calcutta and RMRC, Bhuban-eswar continued to pursue their research goals on different facets of diarrhoeal diseases. The NICED, Calcutta has earned an important affiliation with the Japanese International Collaborating Programme. Its active surveillance programme continues to monitor the newly emerging diarrhoeal pathogens Entamoeba histolytica,Rotavirus,Vibrio cholera and V.parahaemolyticus and addresses unknown frontiers in clinical diagnosis and disease management.A double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial was conducted by NICED,. These results suggest that zinc supplementation as an adjunct therapy to ORS has beneficial effects on the clinical course of dehydrating acute diarrhoea. Malaria The emergence of chloroquin resistance in P.falciparum and vector resistance to commonly used insecticides are the main obstacles in the control of malaria in the country. New technologies are being introduced for malaria control under Enhanced Malaria Control Programme. The roll back malaria programme has been launched simultaneously in all malaria endemic countries. These have thrown new challenges in malaria research. The Council’s institutes viz. Malaria Research Centre (MRC), Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC) and other institutes are making efforts to address these problems through focused research in vector and parasite biology and ecology, development of malaria control tools, drug development, testing and validation of new technologies. Disease Control Programmes – Non Communicable Diseases National Programme of Prevention Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases Stroke Programme (NPCDCS) . A new National Programme of Prevention Control of Cancer, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Diseases Stroke (NPCDCS) was approved in July, 2010. This programme will cover 100 districts selected on the basis of their backwardness, inaccessibility and poor health indicators, spread over 21 States, during 2010-11 and 2011-12. The focus of the programme is on promotion of healthy life styles, early diagnosis and management of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and common cancers e.g. cervix cancer, breast cancer, and oral cancer and will cover about 200 million persons in all the districts. Conclusion: Our findings clearly establish the significant influence of the various Health planning studied on the health status of the society. They also show that this influence was more pronounced in the case of some health indicators maternal mortality rate,population growth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate than some communicable diseases survilance. The findings suggest that appropriate strategies and programmes need to be worked out to prevent CDs and control NCDs. especially to avoid upgrowing trend of some diseases like acute respiratory infection ,acute diarrhoeal disease,pulmonary tuberlosis , malaria,enteric fever , Pneumonia ect.. These would include awareness creation regarding sanitation more knowledge about the diseases and treatment and prevention through mass media and interpersonal channels. Healthy environment, especially safe drinking water supply, sanitary disposal of excreta and other wastes, and pollution-free housing and work places. Adequate nutrition, which in tu rn depends on production and availability, accessibility, affordability and intrafamilial distribution of food. Control over communicable disease. Lifestyle changes that influence the occurrence of non communicable diseases.The services of Government as well as non-governmental organizations could be sought for more effective implementation of such strategies and programmes. The management of the Health and family welfare programme at the grossroots level,which is likely to vary with the managerial skills of the programme manager, and its impact on the realization of the objectives of the health planning and programme . As management quality has been recognized as a critical factor in determining the success of Health planning implementation, staff recruitment and effective functioning of the PHC and sub-centres could be increased and thus the health plan could be more successful. 1.Associate Professor in Economics , Sri Parasakthi women College, Courtalam. 2. Research Scholar in Health economics , M.S.University, Tirunelveli. REFERENCES 1. Deodhar NS. Health situation in India: 2001.Voluntary Health Association of India. New Delhi. 2. Last JM. A dictionary of epidemiology. Third edition, Oxford University Press.1995. 3. GOI. National Health Policy 2002. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI), New Delhi. 4. GOI. Annual Report 2001-2002. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GOI), New Delhi. 5. World Health Organization 2002. Weekly Epidemiological Report. No 9:1st March 2002. 6. GOI. Combating HIV/AIDS in India 2000-2001. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National AIDS Control Organization. Government of India (GOI), New Delhi. 7. World Health Organization. NCD in South-East Asia region A profile WHO New Delhi 2002. 8. National Institute of Health and Family Welfare. National Health Programmes on Non Communicable Diseases, New Delhi. 2003. 9.http://www.who.int/. [Last assessed on 2012 July 31] 10. World Health Organization. Global Status Report on non-communicable diseases 2010. 11. Beaglehole et al. Priority actions for the non-communicable disease crises. THE LANCET 2011; 377:9775; 1438-1447. 12. World Health Organization. Non-communicable Diseases Country Profile 2011. 13. World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory, 2011. 14. World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia. Non-communicable Diseases in the South-East Asia Region: Situation and response 2011 15. Beaglehole R. Globalization and the Prevention and control of non-communicable disease: the neglected chronic diseases of adults. THE LANCET 2003; 362:9387; 903-908. 16. Nongkynrih B, Ratro B K, Pandav C S. Current Status of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases in India. Journal of The Association of Physicians of India 2004; 52; 118-123. 17. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (2011). Rural Health Statistics in India. New Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 18. World Health Organization (WHO). World Health Statistics, 2012 19. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) 20. Ministry of Health Family Welfare. NCD Section. [Last assessed on 2012 July 31] 21. Ministry of Health Family Welfare, Government of India.Journal of National Cancer Control Programme2012. 22. Ministry of Health Family Welfare, Government of India. National Tobacoo Cont rol Programme. 23. Directorate General of health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Operational guidelines for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Daibetes, CVD and Stroke (NPCDCS). 24. Ministry of Health Family Welfare, Government of India. Indian Public Health Standards. http://www.mohfw.nic.in/NRHM/iphs.htm. [Last assessed on 2012 July 31] 25. The World Bank, South Asia Human Development, Health Nutrition and Population. NCDs Policy Brief: India, 2011 26.Srivastava R K, Bachani D. Burden of NCDs, Policies and Programmes for Prevention and Control of NCDs in India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine 2011; 36: S7-12 27.Health and family welfare department Demand No .19 Policy note 2012-2013 Dr.Vijay Minister for Health