Abortion and the Aspects of Pro

Abortion and the Aspects of Pro The whole topic of abortion is a very complex issue that has continued to attract a lot of attention in today’s modern society. This can be explained from both perspectives where there are certain people who are opposed to abortion while there are others who are pro-abortion. As a matter of fact, different societies have their own approach to the whole issue of abortion (McMahan 12).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Abortion and the Aspects of Pro-abortion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is because abortion relates to life and that is why different stakeholders have been dragged in this issue. In this case, we are supposed to evaluate and look at abortion critically for long term sustainability in our society. This paper will therefore try to analyze the whole aspect of pro-abortion. In this case, there are people who are pro-abortion and they should be understood because they are right in their own makin g and understanding. As a matter of fact, abortion is prolife in a broad way and people should not demonize others because they are pro-abortion (Singer 32). Abortion revolves around reproduction and this is a personal issue that should not be interfered with by anybody. We all agree that women have a choice as per to when they should have children and this means that we are supposed to respect this fact. There has been an argument that abortion is the same as murder but this has been done while ignoring other realities that we are supposed to understand. It can not occur that every time a woman aborts we will always be saying that somebody has been killed. Abortion can help women and teenagers who might find themselves in very complex situations that they had not anticipated. For instance, it is quite obvious that through abortion, a teenager can continue with her school without necessarily drooping out and this is a fact that we can all agree to (Kearns 45). There are occasions wh ere somebody can have an untimely pregnancy that might end up enslaving her to the man and this can be sorted out through abortion A foetus is not a baby and there is no reason as per to why we should say that abortion is murder. There are occasions where abortion occurs naturally and it is undeniable that others are induced. Women can not decide to have babies then all over a sudden say that they want to abort.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is a decision that is made after other aspects have been considered. We should therefore respect such decisions because they are made after various considerations have been made. Abortion saves lives in cases where they are medically supervised (McMahan 73). This means that it is safer than having a baby. In cases where we have a safe abortion, the whole society benefits in a broad way. Every girl or woman who makes a decisi on to go for a safe abortion in relation to an undesired pregnancy should be respected for making a bold move that others can not contemplate. We can not say that it is bad to abort a fetus because it is still dependent on the mother and is therefore not a separate entity. In this case, it can not exist outside the womb and this therefore disputes the argument that life will be lost. Abortion is a personhood issue and we can not say that it revolves around human life (Boonin 31). For instance, in vitro fertilization, eggs that have not been fertilized are thrown away yet nobody says that this is abortion. Different people have been saying that instead of abortion, we should advocate for adoption but this is not feasible. As a matter of fact, this is a woman’s choice and we can not say that they will be willing to give up their children for adoption. Instead of demonizing abortion, we should advocate for safe medical procedures (Singer 46). This is because medical abortions do not have any complications that can end up affecting the mothers’ health. As a matter of fact, the mothers’ future ability to have a baby will not be affected in any way. We live in a very dangerous society where there are many cases of incest and rape. These are occurrences that happen every now and then within our surroundings. In this case, a woman who has undergone such an act will be exposed to a lot of psychological problems if she is forced to keep the pregnancy. A woman who has been raped did not make the decision to have the pregnancy. Therefore, it will be wise for such a woman to go for a medically safe abortion instead of keeping the baby. This is because the presence of the baby will occasionally remind her of the ordeal that she went through (Kearns 63). Women who find themselves in such situations are always afraid and they can not imagine of taking morning after pills and this complicates the whole issue.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Abortion and the Aspects of Pro-abortion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It should be known that abortion can not be used as contraception and that is why there are cases a woman can become pregnant even with proper use of contraceptives. In this case, such women should be allowed to have an abortion because they did not anticipate having a baby in the first place since this is a family matter that needs a lot of planning. Governments have been stepping up efforts to ensure that women keep their pregnancies but this is infringing on their own rights (Boonin 56). This is a civil right that every woman needs because they are supposed to be free in either keeping or terminating the pregnancy. This is a reproductive choice that can not be taken away from a human being and therefore women should be allowed to abort at their own pleasure instead of being demonized as murderers. Instead of opposing abortion, governments should come up w ith good measures to make it safe. In this case, there is need to increase funding to various medical institutions so that they can be in a position to conduct safe and medically recognized abortions (Singer 87). The main reason as per to why we should be pro-abortion is because of various teenagers who become pregnant at an early age. Such teenagers do not have the capacity to raise good children and they should therefore be allowed to abort. When they keep a pregnancy, it is quite obvious that they will drop out of school and this is not good as the baby might lack parental care. An under-age pregnancy can occur if the girl did not understand what she was doing. This is a mistake that should not be used to derail the girls’ education and career opportunity. Prior to an abortion, every woman is exposed to a lot of stress and this means the situation can only be sorted out through a safe abortion (Kearns 83). In this case, there has been no proven evidence that abortion leads to stress. As a matter of fact, women should be allowed to make a choice about abortion because this is a personal decision that can not be infringed upon. Abortion revolves around a woman’s body and she should therefore be allowed to make her own decision. It is undeniable that we have a lot of unwanted babies and this can be reflected from our overpopulation. In this case, it will be unwise for us to oppose abortion yet people should be allowed to do away with unwanted children.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are occasion where we have poor families with many children. In this case, any other child will be a big burden and it is good for the woman to abort (McMahan 81). Abortion is not a big deal because we have cases of miscarriages and nobody has ever argued against such. As a matter of fact, abortion is moral in a broad way. Some people have argued that abortion is very important for gender equality. This is based on the fact that it is a right that can not be denied. In this case, the right to abortion should be included in pregnancy rights for a woman to decide when she wants to terminate the pregnancy. Women should be respected because they are human beings and we should not see them as a container for the fetus. This means that they should be given all their rights as far as pregnancy is concerned without any dictation (Boonin 74). As a matter of fact, they should be supported in all the decisions that they make instead of being seen as murderers when they decide to abort. Boonin, David. A Defense of Abortion. Boulder: University of Colorado, 2003. Print. Kearns, Thomas. History, Memory, and the Law. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2002. Print. McMahan, Jeff. The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. Singer, Peter. Writings on an Ethical Life. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. Print.

Free Essays on Great Gatsby

In the summer of 1922, Nick, a working man in the bond’s business tells his story of his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy business man who lives in West Egg, Long Island. Gatsby was well known for his lavish weekend parties in his West Egg mansion, with excess amounts of liquor, and endless tables of food. Gatsby has an uncontrollable obsession with Nick’s cousin Daisy. She is married to a man by the name of Tom Buchanan. Tom is an old friend of Nick from their college days at Yale. Gatsby and Daisy have history together before Gatsby fought in World War I. Gatsby was stationed at a military base near Daisy’s home in Louisville Kentucky. They fell in love with one another but broke up when he had to leave for war. She promised to wait for him when he returned, but she never did. She then married Tom, who had a higher social status than Gatsby at the time. Although Daisy remained faithful to her husband throughout their marriage, Tom did not. Tom was having an affair with George Wilson’s wife Myrtle. George owned an automotive garage in the valley. Gatsby would like for Nick to arrange a tea party at Nick’s house without Daisy knowing that he will be showing up, forcing her to see him. Nick obliges to Gatsby’s wishes, and both Gatsby and Daisies rekindle their love for each other. They continue to see each other without Tom knowing that they are more than friends. One day Nick drives to East Egg the more prestigious, upscale part of Town, where Tom and Daisy live. Also joining them was Gatsby and Jordan Baker, who is a friend of Daisy as well as Nick’s lover. Daisy complains of her boredom and asks Gatsby if he wants to go into the city. Tom then steps in and agrees with Daisy that it would be a good idea. Nick rides with Jordan and Tom in Gatsby’s car, and Daisy and Gatsby rides together in Tom†™s car. On the way there they stop for gas at Wilson’s garage for some gas. They learn that Mr. Wilson found o... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Free Essays on Great Gatsby Timed Re-writing: The Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the character Jay Gatsby is neither a tragic hero nor a hero at all. In my opinion, Gatsby has done enough work to make it seem as if he classifies to be a hero or a tragic hero. Although behind all of his work, it revealed truly as to who and what he is. There are those who are responsible for the ending of his life. So, those who are around him are all collectively responsible. Jay Gatsby is not a tragic hero because of his behaviors and actions that was done throughout the book. According to the AP Language on Tragedy and Tragic Flaw/Hero, a tragic hero is a person â€Å"who may bring about his or her own downfall because of an error in judgment of because of a personality failure.† Jay Gatsby definitely â€Å"bring[s] about his own downfall.’ Not only he ruined his own life, he also jeopardized the Buchanan’s marriage, even though Tom himself is having an affair. His desire to be with Daisy Buchanan is not achieved because of many different situations. For example, Jay Gatsby is not from the same social class as the spoiled, delicate, little princess - Daisy. He does not do enough work to make his dream come true. He put in his mind the effort to achieve his highest goal, although, he stopped when he was almost done. Gatsby simply stands around during many of the situations throughout the book, hoping and having others do what he sh ould have done. For instance, inviting Daisy to have tea with him and Nick Carraway. What was worse, moreover, is the fact when he had Jordan Baker talk to Nick for him. He does not have the confidence to confront Nick and is too ashamed of himself to ask Nick to do such things. Jay Gatsby is not a hero also because of his actions and behavior. Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby does not do much action. All he did was stand around waiting for his goals and desires to come to him. With this, it demonstrates that Jay... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Deeper Thought: the symbolism of â€Å"The Great Gatsby† It is understood that in language, each word has a specific understood meaning, and each combination of words has a compiled meaning. But throughout history, there have been writers who pushed the limits of words, who brought an underlying meaning to the words, and demanded consideration from their readers. F. Scott Fitzgerald was able to bring more depth into simple words. He was able to portray more than one meaning with simple sentences. Fitgerald used amazing symbolism throughout the book â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, and it forces the reader to consider each word for more than face value. Because of the great quantity of underlying symbolism within the story, it is difficult to select just two aspects to focus on. However, in the following paragraphs I have decided to examine the symbolism of â€Å"Daisy’s voice† and also of â€Å"The Green Light†. Throughout the story, Daisy’s character changes in the eyes of the reader from someone who is sympathized with, pitied, to someone with which it is almost impossible to feel anything but contempt. Her voice is a recurring theme in the book, and it was described somewhat abstractly, as if the sound of it could not be put into words, until the following passage on page 127: â€Å"’She’s got an indiscreet voice, ‘ I remarked. ‘Its full of-’ I hesitated. ‘Her voice is full of money.’ he said suddenly. That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song in it... High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl....† In this passage, we gain further understanding into the character of Daisy. Gatsby observes something that we as readers are forced to imagine and consider. This passage marks the beginning of the change of Daisy in a readers mind. It has begun to ... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Fitzgerald exhibits the moral deterioration, the desire to obtain the ‘American Dream’, and how American ideals are different with the actual social conditions that exist in society, through Nick Caraway’s eyes in the novel The Great Gatsby. Each one of the characters in the novel, have a certain dream that they want to live. They each have a picture of what they want, and selfishly, they stop at nothing to get it. All; to reach what they believe to be â€Å"happiness†, puts religion, morality and kindness aside. Myrtle, whom entered her life striving to be wealthy, married a man who rented a tux for their wedding, and â€Å"wasn’t fit to lick her shoe†. She attempted to become a member of Tom’s wealthier, more sophisticated class. She begins an affair with Tom, resulting in her inheriting his values, and way of living. She begins to belittle people from her own class and loses all sense of the honor and respect she once had. Myrtle never reached the role she so desired. Instead, her life was cut short by the world she wanted to be apart of. Gatsby, the mysterious neighbor and gentleman, turns out to be nothing more then a love crazed suitor of Daisy’s. Since Daisy would not wed Gatsby because he was not rich or able to support her luxurious lifestyle, he vowed he’d get rich, and return for her. Gatsby fought to fit himself into another social group, the one of ‘old money’, and made his fate rest upon it. Gatsby obtained the riches and admiration he worked so hard to achieve, but only to be spiritually killed when he failed to win Daisy’s love. His physical death didn’t really matter, for he had already died of a broken heart. Jordan also exhibited a need for a better life. She lied herself to the top- within her golfing career and personality. Nick, who rarely talked negatively about anybody, made the comment that every word out of her mouth was a lie. Lying is a way of covering the truth, Jorda... Free Essays on Great Gatsby In the summer of 1922, Nick, a working man in the bond’s business tells his story of his neighbor Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy business man who lives in West Egg, Long Island. Gatsby was well known for his lavish weekend parties in his West Egg mansion, with excess amounts of liquor, and endless tables of food. Gatsby has an uncontrollable obsession with Nick’s cousin Daisy. She is married to a man by the name of Tom Buchanan. Tom is an old friend of Nick from their college days at Yale. Gatsby and Daisy have history together before Gatsby fought in World War I. Gatsby was stationed at a military base near Daisy’s home in Louisville Kentucky. They fell in love with one another but broke up when he had to leave for war. She promised to wait for him when he returned, but she never did. She then married Tom, who had a higher social status than Gatsby at the time. Although Daisy remained faithful to her husband throughout their marriage, Tom did not. Tom was having an affair with George Wilson’s wife Myrtle. George owned an automotive garage in the valley. Gatsby would like for Nick to arrange a tea party at Nick’s house without Daisy knowing that he will be showing up, forcing her to see him. Nick obliges to Gatsby’s wishes, and both Gatsby and Daisies rekindle their love for each other. They continue to see each other without Tom knowing that they are more than friends. One day Nick drives to East Egg the more prestigious, upscale part of Town, where Tom and Daisy live. Also joining them was Gatsby and Jordan Baker, who is a friend of Daisy as well as Nick’s lover. Daisy complains of her boredom and asks Gatsby if he wants to go into the city. Tom then steps in and agrees with Daisy that it would be a good idea. Nick rides with Jordan and Tom in Gatsby’s car, and Daisy and Gatsby rides together in Tom†™s car. On the way there they stop for gas at Wilson’s garage for some gas. They learn that Mr. Wilson found o... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Great Gatsby There is not one person in the world that does not poses any type of a character flaw. Not everyone is perferct. For most people theses flaws don’t always lead to tragic events. Unfortunitally for the characters in the book The Great Gatsby, this is not true. Certain character flaws that these characters poses lead them in to bad trouble, and even for some death. There are many different flaws that could be argued as the most â€Å"dangerous† ones, but there are three that I would like to touch on. The three main flaws that the characters poses in this book that I think are the most tragic would have to be greed, desire, and the over all loss of moral values. Most would find it slightly odd that if you have a friend, and you go to their parties, and you say that you are their friend, that when this friend dies you don’t go to their funeral. Yet this is exactly what happened in the book. Everyone loved to attend parties that Gatsby had; they didn’t really know him, yet they all called him their friend. So why exactly did they not show up at this friends funeral? They really didn’t care, that’s why. They were so into the fact that they could go to his parties, and have fun, that when it all ended they were mad that it had to stop and not at all sad at the fact that they had lost a friend. Greed had driven these people to act this way. They all wanted to have fun, and enjoy life, and really didn’t seam to care who they hurt at all. Nick was the only one who appeared to really care at all. This is not the only example of greed in the book. The main idea of the story is achieving the â€Å"American Dreamâ⠂¬ , the idea of being ritch. Greed again is present. Everyone was so willing to do anything for money. Daisy does not marry Gatsby because she thinks that Tom can offer her â€Å"Old† money, and the life that she desires. Later on she realizes that Gatsby could have offered her this too, but her greed drove h... Free Essays on Great Gatsby In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as an individual who strives to achieve the American Dream through acts that would otherwise corrupt a common person in the 1920’s. F. Scott Fitzgerald, however, lived his life in the 1920s with ambition, devotion, and perseverance: the ideal formula for achieving financial success. But Fitzgerald didn’t always follow the rules to the American Dream of monetary prosperity. Likewise, Gatsby wasn’t always a lucky crook. Recognizing Gatsby’s and Fitzgerald’s distinctions, one may ask themselves: how can these two personages be likened to each other? The answer lies in the way in which each either progressed or was damned in living his life. The Great Gatsby is, to the most part, an autobiography of F. Scott Fitzgerald himself. All humans have at least two selves: one who wants to set goals, work hard, and achieve success; and one who would rather sit around and have fun shopping or gossiping. To understand F. Scott Fitzgerald, the man and the writer, one must be familiar with the idea of doubleness. Fitzgerald was quoted in â€Å"The Crack-Up† to have said that â€Å"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function† (Gottesman, 1615). Everything about Fitzgerald is touched by this idea. For example, he both loves and hated money. He was attracted to the life of the very rich as an outsider who had very little, and at the same time he hated the dishonesty, hypocrisy, and cruelty of their lives. He was disciplined, knowing that he had to have great mental and physical self-control to succeed as a writer, but he was often unable to exercise those very qualities he knew he would need in orde r to succeed. Part of Fitzgerald lived a dazzling life full of parties, joviality, and show; and part of him knew that this sort of life was a complete chara... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Fitzgerald’s The Great Winter Dream F. Scott Fitzgerald is said to have been one of the most important American writers in the twentieth century, not only for his realistic views on the â€Å"American dream† but also for his insight and use of prose. It seems as though Fitzgerald was somewhat fixed on the dreams that men strive to acquire. This is extremely apparent throughout the short story â€Å"Winter Dreams† and The Great Gatsby. In both stories, he shows the connections between love, money, and social status. Not only are these stories extremely similar in setting, but there is a parallelism between Dexter and Gatsby, and between Judy and Daisy. Dexter and Gatsby both had poor childhoods and worked extremely hard for the riches that they gained. The riches that they earned helped them fall in love with rich beautiful girls. The men believed that money could fill the idea; that they were searching for, women. Dexter and Gatsby both used their newfound wealth for their own personal enjoyment. The two men both created their romantic dreams when they were young boys and they both remember the past as much as possible. In essence, both men are extremely similar characters because they both were in search of wealth, happiness, and a beautiful girl. The parallelism between Judy and Daisy is less evident than that of Dexter and Gatsby. The two ladies are both described as pretty and enchanting characters. They both were raised in families with abundant wealth. They are portrayed as charming and elegant and give the â€Å"Illusion† of love. Dexer and Gatsby both center their lives around these women, but the women do the exact opposite in both cases. The two charming ladies lead to the downfall of their â€Å"lovers.† Judy leads to Dexter’s unhappiness and Daisy leads to Gatsby’s death.... Free Essays on Great Gatsby In Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald illustrates the theme, â€Å"Outward appearances can be deceiving.† This theme is shown in a few parts of the book. These outward appearances are not only found in people, but in the geographical areas of the New York area. The first deceiving outward appearance is that of Daisy. At first, we are lead to believe that she is a very happy person, as Gatsby’s love. But she is not, she is a rather tragic and selfish person. We see this when she uses Gatsby as a way to go to parties and look popular, while she is really more attracted to Tom. And in the end of the story, she takes off with Tom and doesn’t leave a trace to where they are going. There is a big irony in this. We see that Gatsby is pursuing the woman he loves. But Daisy ends up inadvertently causing Gatsbys death by killing Myrtle in the car accident, which set Wilson into a psychotic mood. Gatsby himself has an outside appearance that is deceiving. At first, we see that he is a wealthy, courteous, and handsome man who is trying to get the woman he loves. Later on, we realize that Gatsby uses enormous amounts of people to get to Daisy. By throwing these large parties to impress Daisy, he uses many people, including Nick, to get to her. Another small, but deceiving appearance is that of the New York area. New York and East Egg are seen as beautiful, wealthy cities. But these cities form a layer to cover the valley of ashes, the area of poverty and desolation of the cities. This deceiving appearance may be minor, but it is there to support a theme of the book. These issues in the book are all used by Fitzgerald to support the theme, â€Å"Outward appearances can be deceiving.† These issues all have to be pulled out of the story and torn apart before they can be understood by the reader. Fitzgerald does an excellent job of interweaving conflicts and plots to make the story... Free Essays on Great Gatsby Reserving Judgements is a Matter of Infinite Hope† pg. 6 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby This quote is the fundamental axiom that the book revolves around. Nick’s father told this to him and he hasn’t forgotten the quote or the intrinsic moral significance that goes along with it. So much is spoken and gossiped about Jay Gatsby before he is even introduced in the novel that no one knows his true character, except for the fact he’s a rich man who throws wild parties in West Egg. In the novel, both social image and the perception of wealth play important parts in illustrating the internal class structure of West and East Egg. The fact the Gatsby is such an enigmatic character makes the audience wonder about the internal make-up of his personality, since most of his life Gatsby has been trying to escape his true image. In the case with Nick, the narrator, and Gatsby, as long as judgments are not made, Nick can be optimistic about Gatsby and their relationship and hope for the best, even if the best situation is not always reached. More generally, however, it advocates tolerance and understanding regardless of social status, or preconceived information. Within the first chapter of the novel, there is already a contradiction and a questioning of Nick’s moral integrity as he regresses from his comment slightly. While he nobly and humbly mentions that he is tolerant and nonjudgmental, he also regards himself as morally privileged, having a greater sense of ‘decencies’ than other people. It makes sense that New York’s social dichotomy and the vast difference between the rich and the poor, the arrogant and the humble has given Nick a complete moral spectrum. This quote not only symbolizes a creed that Nick lives by, but it also represents the ideal morality that unfortunately many of the frantic, materialistic, capitalistic easterners lack. Judgments and stereotypes and the declination of American values pla... Free Essays on Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby: Nick versus Gatsby Mainframe computers analyze information and present it so that the observer is able to make accurate observations. In The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick Carraway, tells a story in which Jay Gatsby tries to attain happiness through wealth. Even though the novel is titled after Gatsby, Nick, just as a mainframe computer, analyzes the actions of others and presents the story so that the reader can comprehend the theme. Therefore, Nick is the hero in the novel. Throughout the novel, Nick is the vehicle used to gather all of the pieces together to learn about Gatsby. Nick is a one of a kind in the novel. He also, is the only character that changes in the novel from the beginning to the end. Nick is the literary device that is employed to learn about Gatsby, which ultimately tells the theme of the story. Throughout the novel, flashbacks are inserted to reveal piece by piece about the mysterious Gatsby. Nick patches the pieces of the puzzle together regarding Gatsby's past and lack of a future. Nick is like the box of a puzzle; the puzzle is impossible to put together without it. Without Nick, the reader's opinion of Gatsby would be extremely different. The reader's opinion would be influenced by the idea that Gatsby becomes rich through bootlegging alcohol and counterfeiting bonds. Nick persuades the reader that Gatsby is "†¦worth the whole damn bunch (rich class) put together"(Fitzgerald,162). Even though Gatsby struggles to be part of the upper class, he, fortunately, is different from them. Nick also analyzes Gatsby's behaviour in order to provide the reader with details and a summary of the great man. At the end of the novel, Nick comments on Gatsby's life by stating that "(Gatsby) had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was al... Free Essays on Great Gatsby The all out flaunting of money first came about in the 1920’s. In this time period, when people had money, they found some extravagant way to show it. The characters of The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, reflected this type of lifestyle. The three characters, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, each reveal the theme of money can’t buy happiness, through their own unique way. The Great Gatsby includes three very different characters that all reveal a common theme. At first, Gatsby seems to be a sophisticated, and intelligent war veteran. However, once one gets past the surface, he comes to find out that Gatsby is frantically hanging onto the past. He reluctantly reveals the truth about events in his past when directly asked about them. His obsession with Daisy almost borders on insanity. However, he made his money work for him by impressing Daisy with his home. Gatsby thought that all of his material possessions would overwhelm Daisy. Still, Gatsby’s personality won over most of the people he encountered. He was an overall charming, and charismatic character that, in the end, proves that money can’t buy happiness. Throughout most of the book, Tom was a self-centered, materialistic person. Tom thought that Daisy was so in love with his money, that he could have an affair, and it not ruin his marriage. He thought of Daisy as just another one of his shallow, money driven possessions. Tom did, however, show some compassion, when he comforted George after his wife, and Tom’s mistress, was killed. Throughout the novel, Tom blatantly showed his shallow personality through his money-centered actions. At first glance, Daisy appears to be the most innocent of all the characters, but it is quickly learned that she too is immersed into money. Her extremely shallow personality was very evident when she told Gatsby â€Å"rich girls don’t marry poor boys.† Daisy’s words triggered something in Gatsby’s mind, and he reali...

Nielsen Media Research Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Nielsen Media Research - Case Study Example n this paper the author will present different issues that are affecting Nelson Media and forecast on their success story, as well as areas where they need to improve. The different factors of management are looked into and the possible ways of improvement are found out too. There are a lot of environmental considerations that affect Nielsen Media performance. Some of the environmental factors are competition and customer confidence. Customer confidence affects the number of clients that the company has, while competition also affects the profit made by the company. To be able to overcome these issues, the company has to improve the quality of its services which starts with changes in management and the general change in their workforce. When estimating the number of people who watch a show, the company may at times be forced to intrude the privacy of people. For example, in order to know the family members who are watching movie at some particular time, the company has to know what exactly is being shown and who is watching the movie and who is not. This enables them to get confidential information that should not be available to the general public; it is one of the ethical issues that arise for the company consideration. This is avoided by keeping all the clients’ information confidential. The primary issue in this case is the spreading of all the clients’ information across many databases. The complete picture of the client is not achieved; his/her needs are not met by the company. There was no information about the participants of the communication in this system. The main contextualizing environmental factors are time and weather conditions. The factors that affect the level of ethical choices are the manager, the organization, and the stage of moral development. The manager is the one who has to make important decision with respect to the company. The criteria for finding the ethical decision can be used here to find out if indeed the decisions that

Operations Management (Quality Control in Operations) Essay

Operations Management (Quality Control in Operations) - Essay Example (2) The planned systematic activities necessary to ensure that a component, module, or system conforms to established technical requirements. (3) The policy and procedures, established in an organization which is meant for the purpose of providing and maintaining a specified degree of confidence in data integrity and accuracy throughout the life cycle of the data. If the process is not established and the standard procedures are not adhered to, then it will result in poor quality. As a consequence the deadlines will not be met within the required time frame and subsequently deliverables to the customer will be delayed. Thus productivity is affected. The cost of a product includes the manufacturing cost and cost of quality. The cost of quality is the money spent what it would cost to build a product right the first time. If every worker could produce the defect-free products the first time, COQ would be zero. Since this situation would not occur, there are associated with getting defect free product is produced. Prevention: Monoey required to prevent errors and to do the right first time is considered prevention costs. This category includes money spent on establishing methods and procedures, training procedures, training workers and planning for quality.

An Individuals Identity Is Formed By Society Media Essay

An Individuals Identity Is Formed By Society Media Essay An individuals identity is formed by society in which media plays a predominant role. There is a daily interactive relationship between the subject and the object, that is, human agents and the conditions of their subsistence, respectively. Theories of the individual emphasize on differences between people and deem these differences as natural. Individuals are constituted as the possessors of positions throughout the effects of social relations. Alternatively, other theories of the topic concentrate on peoples general experiences in society through watching TV, surfing the internet or reading the newspaper. It is these general experiences that are the most significant way of distinguishing who we are. Thus, subject identity is a social construction, not an ordinary one. When we connect with the media, we act and are acted upon, use and are used by the system. Ideology is not precise, but implicit in images, structures, and sign systems evident in the media which task is to establish the individuals as subjects. We have social identities conferred unto us, mainly through the mass media. For example, take the popular medium of magazines. Magazines are an easy way of targeting the exact audience that has been set out to be. This is important as not only are individuals capable to choose which magazine they would desire to read but they are also capable of utilizing it to assemble their own identity. One of the most outstanding images found in magazines is that of the thin and beautiful model, numerous females would glance at these images as a source of inspiration as to what their bodies should look like and would think that they were inadequate if they do not look like the models featured. For example a perfume by Giorgio Armani called Sensi, saying that I sense, therefore I am and a model lying across a table giving the impression that one must need this perfume in their everyday life, and the emphasis on womens fragrance. Our society today has been affected in such a materialistic world that it is so easy for advertisers to promote any old debris and still be assured that consumers will buy into it, regardless of the cost of the product. The media has us brain washed very well, and know how and what to promote to us in a very effective way. It is through the modern media apparatus that people achieve a sense of identity. There is no doubt that contemporary media is a culture possessed with the self. Via the mass media we are told ways in which to develop the self. We buy books, read articles in the newspaper, and we watch lifestyle programs. The mass media supply us with the talent to transform, create, re-create and mass produce identity. The media permits us to transform the very way we think of ourselves, for that reason it allows us to become and be seen the way we desire to be. A popular contemporary medium for transformation is found in the ability of an individual to build a web page on the internet. It offers a unique opportunity to write ones self on a global stage and for the author to believe about their identity. Generating such pages offers an exceptional chance for self-presentations in relation to several dimensions of social and individual identity to which one chooses to allude. We seek to be as straightforward as we would like to present ourselves to the human race. This technology is greatly about viewing ourselves a certain way, as it is about having other people view us. By abstracting oneself onto a web page, one sets a target to which one must stand true. It is understandable that due to the contemporary media with which we engage it is more likely that instead of achieving, experiencing and learning our identity, we are more likely to purchase and use our identity. Since personality is largely a subject of outward behavior and appearance, individuals begin to use consumption as a means of creating a social self. Thus identity becomes constructed, rather then exposed and variable, rather than preset. A fundamental support in the construction of identity is fashion. The problem with this type of construction is that by dressing a certain way, the fashion industry offers a new you. In acquiring certain styles of fashion and particular brands, people consequently relate themselves with the meanings embedded in those goods. These modified meanings thereby become piece of the perceived self. It creates a fake ideology, a mask for one in which one can change who they are by means of changing the way they dress. For example, Jerry Seinfeld i s backing up American Express Michael, Paul Reiser wants you to use ATT, and Jordan is selling you Gatorade. Why do these famous stars emerge on commercials and show up in ads? The idea is to subliminally give the product traits that it never even deserves, like wealth, fame, and even success. When you see Michael Jordan drink that Gatorade and then go for a 360 slam-dunk, they desire you to think that, Hey maybe if I drink Gatorade, I can turn into as great a basketball player as Michael Jordan. Now when you see someone like Jerry Seinfeld with American Express, they want you to think, If somebody as prestigious and successful as Jerry Seinfeld adores American Express, then it MUST be a great card to have. Besides the less obvious, there is just the fact that someone needs a famous celebrity to present and sell their product, rather than some ordinary person who holds no social figure in society. Society and mass media are primarily split between different desires, interests, and engagements, and so is the subject. There is an essential lack between personal identity and identification with the mass media: a gap that prevents identification from ending up in a state of clean identity. Identity is a case of building and articulation because as individuals we do not have a definite position in our social structure. We create identity in relation to those surrounding us and much of the cause for our own uncertainty about our identity is because the nature of society is endlessly changing. As beings that innately desire to be accepted, the way in which other people view and judge us has become of great importance. Hence as individual we all try to be as well as manage to conform to the ideas extended by the media. This is due to the detail that there is a need to feel part of a group, a want to feel as though one belongs, and to improve ones identity in the eyes of others. Studies report that communication allows young people to facilitate social involvement and thereby make a recognizable identity. Contemporary society and mass media produces the end of the individual, and encourages conformity. The mass media are responsible for brain washing the people of the paradox, your identity is only individual when it is the same as everybody else. The media operates as a needle which injects attitudes, ideas, and beliefs into the viewers who as a defenseless mass have little choice but to be influenced. As an outcome identities are assembled from the material generated by the media. The mass media establishments do have the authority to set the agenda, to select, to frame, to classify and to define appropriate issues. Consequently, media communication is a prearranged activity, which frames the social reality in accordance with the dominant ideology. The meanings that are collected from the media do not have to be final but are open to refashioning and reshaping. Ultimately we only get to choose from a selected few issues which reflect the interests of capitalists and large corporations. It is from these narrow issues that an individual assembles their identity. Certain standards and ideologies are imposed unto us, with no opposing views to counteract their influence. Thus, we can only illustrate from the cultural collection accessible to us. Mass communication can influence cognitive change amongst individuals, mentally order and manage the world for us and also plainly create conflict or violence between people in society. Therefore, authorities or interest groups who have enormous control on media especially the government, newspaper and television program producers need a proper consideration for media use as well as being accountable for consequences. Evidently the modern media penetrates everything that we bump into in our everyday life. The author of Understanding Power the Indispensable Chomsky, Chomsky showed how the conventional press is run by the political economy and how the spectator is made into a pawn. The author constructs a propaganda model in which he exposes how the government exploits the media to implement control over the people. The mass media, therefore, is a business tool that is used to program the population. The spectator is told what kind of desire he/she must have. The messages we obtain are selective, diverse, and contradictory. It is through the magazines, television, news papers and the internet that, at its disposal, society has a great deal of resources accessible to them. There is no such thing as a set identity; it is negotiable and constantly being altered in order to keep up with the altering nature of society as identity is assembled in relation to others. The media supplies us with tools, allowing us to develop into the person we want to be, and fit in with those around us. In my opinion media is a reflection of society, not the other way around. So if we want to really deal with violence, we should to start with ourselves, not with the media that is basically showing us the world as it is. You cant blame TV and music for all the unconstructive things that people do. Its the persons responsibility to be interpreting the message the correct way. You cant deny the fact that media does project wrong images towards young people but its how they interpret the messages and act in response to them thats important. Parents should explain to their kids that most of the stuff on TV is fictional. The majority of us watch TV; but most for people, these messages and images do not elicit nor drive impulsive behavior. However, because media has a huge impact on society, whatever is displayed and conveyed has a great effect on people, especially on younger minds. I think that violence and sex on TV and in music is used as the lone scapegoat as crime arises. The crime can only be blamed on the individual. Eminem and Marilyn Manson have the right to speak what they wish, people have the right to listen or not listen. But, no one has the right to murder. And if someone does commit murder, I dont think music, or violence that they see or listen to can or should be solely responsible for their crime. Is censorship the response to the problem of violent entertainment? Should we tell people what they can or cant read or watch? The simple respond to this question is no, we cant censor violent entertainment. Because of freedom of speech but there is a fair ratings system which works most of the time. Rappers, writers, performers, and singers write based on their life and what has gone on in it. A rapper raps with reference to poverty, shootings, and robberies, why? Because thats what the majority of them lived through. Eminem raps about things that board his nerves. Why? Because he lives with those feelings and emotions. People who use these artists as reasons to be brutal are wrong. Music and TV do not commit crime its the society and the people themselves. Thus I believe that although the media plays an essential role in defining who we are and establishing our identities, it does not govern our actions. 1. Parenti, Michael. Inventing Reality- Politics of News Media: St. Oartins Press, 1993. 2. Chomsky, Noam; Mitchell, Peter. Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, 2002. 3. Lorimer, Rowland. Mass Communication in Canada, 1996. 4. Kilbourne, Jean. Killing Us Softly. (Video)

Drugs :: essays research papers

The first time I did acid isn't the most interesting time I've done it, nor the most scary, but I guess it would still be a good read. I was going down to a friend's house on a Friday night. Everyone was planning to get majorly fucked up. A lot of people were going to do Dramamine. I read an FAQ on it, and it said if you have Asthma you shouldn't do Dramamine...and to be honest, Dramamine seemed pretty nightmarish after reading a few trip reports. So I decided to stick with something I knew: ROBO! I picked up this girl I promised to give a ride to my friend's house, and we stopped at the drug store, where I shopped for a nice bottle of Robotussin. I finally settled on generic CVS brand Robo. We hopped in the car, picked up an acquaintance of mine, Zack, and headed down to my friend's apartment. It was about an hour drive. We were all psyched because we knew we were going to be getting all fucked up that night. We listened to this local ska/punk band, Heft, and even though I felt like a dork, some Blink-182. I used to like them a lot, then they became famous, and I started feeling like a dork listening to them...I told myself that it's stupid to just not listen to things because of what other people would think though, and let myself enjoy the music. Besides, it was my tape. :) We saw this weird green lightning bolt while we were driving down. We started thinking maybe they're be a thunderstorm that night while we were all fucked up, and it would be awesome. After a little while, and a wrong turn or two, we ended up at my friend's (we'll call him Jo) apartment. Some of my friends were there already. There was P, who never does any sort of drugs...W, who always tried to get me to take acid, but i was too chicken...Jo, who owned the apartment...two girls who we'll call M and Fatty. Z was my acquaintance from the car, and H is the girl who I gave a ride down to the apartment. W told me that P was going to do Dramamine that night. That sort of worried me. P never did drugs, and I wondered if he would be ok, since the Dramamine trip reports I read seemed very disturbing.

Surf Exel

? HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITEDA Project Report On SURF EXCEL ? 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS†¢ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS†¢ INTRODUCTION†¢ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY†¢ INDUSTRY ANALYSIS†¢ COMPANY OVERVIEW†¢ FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS†¢ MARKETING MIX OF ORISSA†¢ COMPETITORS ANALYSIS†¢ PROJECT1: o OBJECTIVES o SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY o RESEARCH METHODOLOGY o DATA ANALYSIS  § CONSUMER ANALYSIS o CONCLUSIONS†¢ APPENDIX o CONSUMER’S QUESTIONNAIRE o DETAILED FSA ? 3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe project assigned to us was to study the business and marketing practice, competitorsin business and customers of Surf Excel, for Orissa market.For this a questionnaire wasprepared for the consumers. A sample of 53 consumers was surveyed. The respondentswere interviewed in market places across Bhubaneswar. After the analysis we came to the conclusion that the Surf Excel enjoys a space in the top2 positions in brand recall of the consumer. This is a positive sign for HL L. The researchalso shows that the market share of Surf Excel in Orissa’s detergent market isapproximately 66%. Also, from the survey it is evident that brand name, price andcleansing action are three of the most important attributes a consumer looks for in anydetergent brand.Surf Excel enjoys a good reputation with the consumers with respect toall these attributes. Another thing that we noted in this survey was that Television is the most usedinformation source for the consumer. The exact communication recall however, is verypoor among the consumer. This could be attributed to the ever increasing advertisementclutter, across all media. Thus, HLL should consider looking for other media likeoutdoors. It was also noted that over 50% of the consumers who used Surf Excel, would purchasepacks whose size was 1/2 – 1 kg and did not prefer purchasing the 200gm pack.We triedto find out the reason as to why this practice occurred, but to no avail. HLL shouldconsider promoting th is pack size in some way, or phase it out totally. Thus, we can conclude that Surf Excel enjoys excellent customer reviews. It gets specialrecognition for its superior cleansing action, the convenient packs it comes in, the ease it ? 4. is available with, and the fact that its price is at par with similar products available in themarket today. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.The primary objective of the study was to understand the customers of Surf Excel ( type/ quality/ their decision making style/ source of information that they use for collecting information regarding Surf Excel) 2. The study was also aimed to understand the business and marketing practice of Surf Excel and the marketing mix used by HLL for Surf Excel. 3. Another important objective of the study was to understand the competitors of Surf Excel. 4. Efforts were also made to evaluate the financial strength and market capabilities of the parent firm, Hindustan Lever Limited. ? 5.INDIAN FMCG INDUSTRYBackgroundThe FMCG secto r has been the cornerstone of the Indian economy. Though, the sector has been in existence for quite a long time, it began totake shape only during the last fifty-odd years. The sector touches everyaspect of human life, from looks to hygiene to palate. Perhaps, defining anindustry whose scope is so vast is not easy. Generally, FMCG refers to consumer non-durable goods required for dailyor frequent use. The sector touches every aspect of human life, from looksto hygiene to palate. Perhaps, defining an industry whose scope is so vastis not easy.The FMCG sector consists mainly of sub segments viz. personal care, oral care andhousehold products. This can be further sub-divided into oral care, soaps and detergents,Health and Hygiene products, beauty cosmetics, hair care products, food and dairy-basedproducts, cigarettes, and tea and beverages. Major Indian consumer product companies (like Britannia, P&G, HLL, etc. ) have a verystrong presence through their strong brands. Diversified port folios, wide distributionnetworks and scale economies of these companies deter new players from entering.Brand equity, therefore, is an extremely important factor in FMCG industry. One of theother most critical factors is the ability to build, develop, and maintain a robustdistribution networkPost-reforms, the industrys growth has been hinging around a burgeoning ruralpopulation which has witnessed significant rise in disposable incomes. Consequently, therural markets have been witnessing intense competition in almost all the consumerproduct classes. Another reason which has led to rise in this trend is the saturation inurban markets in most of the consumer non-durable goods categories.This has led to theindustry players scrambling for greater rural penetration as a future growth vehicle, thearea which accounts for 70% of the total Indian householdsSo far, it has been a chequered graph for the MNCs operating in the Indian FMCGindustry. Domestic companies are only beginning to make t heir presence felt in theindustry. It has taken tremendous consumer insight and market savviness for the FMCGplayers to reach where they are today. But, the journey seems to have just now begun forthe players as the majority of the rural populace are yet to get access to the items of dailyusage like toothpastes, soaps and shampoos. 6. Value for moneyEver since the global recession of 1991-94, which hit consumer spending hard, value-for-money has become the buzzword for FMCG companies globally. These FMCGcompanies embarked upon major restructuring and cost rationalization exercises asbusiness continued to become fiercely competitive. Several packaging innovations werealso resorted to. India was no different. There was a paradigm shift towards value-for-money products and, to some extent, towards the rural market. What Nirma did all these years suddenly became the buzzword for many FMCG players.Price cuts became inevitable to keep the market share from shrinking. Sometimes, thecuts to uched ridiculous levels. Economic recession hit the urban pockets badly and forcedcompanies to train their guns on rural India, which was witnessing a major change in itsaspiration and lifestyles and even had an income that translated into increasing volumes. India’s agrarian economy is fundamentally strong. Rural India accounts for as much as 70per cent of the nation’s population. That means rural India can bring in the much neededvolumes and help FMCG companies to log in volume-driven growth.Companies such asHLL, Colgate and Britannia who already had a strong rural focus, stepped up the gasfurther. HLL unleashed its â€Å"Operation Bharat†. Britannia pushed its Tiger biscuits toevery nook and corner of the country, while Colgate went about wooing the rural massesby offering low-priced products in convenient packaging. Those who could not do it ontheir own went piggyback on somebody else. P&G, whose distribution is largely urban,chose to leverage Maricos retail reach. P&G and Smith Kline Beecham, nonetheless, are interesting cases.With small productportfolios like theirs, they have been able to achieve what others could not and provedthat what you need is a good product, marketed effectively and sold at the right priceOf late, an interesting trend in the Indian FMCG sector has been brand acquisitions. Thisrepresents a growing awareness among the FMCG players are talking today more andmore of product â€Å"fits† while discussing brand acquisitions. It is not just acquiringanything and everything as it was in the pastRural marketing has become the latest marketing mantra of most FMCG majors.True,rural India is vast with unlimited opportunities. All waiting to be tapped by FMCGs. Notsurprising that the Indian FMCG sector is busy putting in place a parallel rural marketingstrategy. Among the FMCG majors, Hindustan Lever, Marico Industries, Colgate-Palmolive and Britannia Industries are only a few of the FMCG majors who have beengung-ho about rural marketing. With reason. Certainly, rural marketing holds the key to success of FMCG companies, which aredesperate to find ways out to gain deeper penetration. Not just the rural population isnumerically large, it is growing richer by the day.Of late, there has been a phenomenalimprovement in rural incomes and rural spending power. ? 7. FMCG sector performance in last decadeThe fmcg sector in India showed a constant decline in the last decade. What started as 20-25% growth rate in year 1994-96, had reached a negative growth rate of -2. 8% in Q1’04. The FMCG sector is now mockingly called SMCG or slow moving consumer goods. ? 8. Source India Today – R K Swamy BBDO Guide to Urban Markets*Soap, Shampoo, Nail Polish, Washing Powder, Footwear, Tea, Coffee, Cigarettes, Electric Bulbs.Rank Towns States Average Monthly Spending on FMCG Products* in Rs. 1 Chandigarh Chandigarh 3,418 2 Greater Maharashtra 2,955 Mumbai 3 Chennai Tamil Nadu 2,886 4 Ahmedabad Gujarat 2, 869 5 Vadodara Gujarat 2,816 6 Pune Maharashtra 2,804 7 Coimbatore Tamil Nadu 2,684 8 Ludhiana Punjab 2,674 9 Faridabad Haryana 2,596 10 Hyderabad Andhra 2,533 Pradesh ? 9. The Fabric Care Market In IndiaDetergentsThe Indian fabric wash market consists of synthetic detergents (comprising bars, powderand liquids) and oil-based laundry soaps. The detergent powder market is furthersegmented based on price and form.It is characterised by brands from a plethora ofregional and local players competing with the national marketers primarily in the low-priced and mid-priced segmentsThe synthetic detergent market can be classified into premium (Surf, Ariel), mid-price(Rin, Wheel) and popular segments (Nirma), which account for 15%, 40% and 45% ofthe total market, respectively. The product category is fairly mature and is dominated bytwo players, HLL and Nirma. Nirma created a revolution in the market by pioneering theconcept of low-cost detergents.Currently, the market is highly segmented with thedifferential between the premium and popular segments at almost 7X. GrowthAlthough the per capita consumption of detergents in India (2. 7 kg pa) is comparable tosome countries like Indonesia, China and Thailand (around 2 kg pa), it is lower than inothers such as Malaysia, Philippines (3. 7 kg) and the USA (10 kg). High consumerawareness and penetration levels will enable the market to grow at an average 8-10% perannum with slightly higher growth in the rural areas. Higher penetration stems frompopularity of low-cost detergents.Hence, besides increase in per capita consumption,there is tremendous scope for movement up the value chain. Leading Fabricare Brands Available In IndiaSurf ExcelSurf comes from the stables of Hindustan Lever, the largest player in this market with anoffering at each price point. Surf was the first detergent powder brand to be launched in thecountry. It created the detergent powder category and introduced the concept of bucketwash to housewives hitherto u sed to washing clothes with laundry soap bars. Surf has, since,become generic to detergent market.Consumers refer to all their powders as Surf, evencompetitive powders are called Surf e. g. Nirma Surf ? 10. Selling over 60,000 tonnes per year, Surf is the market leader in the concentrate andpremium powder price segments Surf has always been the first to recognize and respond totrends. Whether it was through Surf with Easy Wash- a low lather variant, in 1994 or Surfwith Wash Boosters (1995) that provided best clean even in hard water. The brand SurfExcel now has three variants – Surf Excel Quickwash, Surf Excel Blue and Surf ExcelAutomatic – which address different laundry needs but each offers stain removal as the keybenefit.In 2003, recognising changing consumer purchase patterns, it once again redefined value forthe consumers by introducing the concept of monthly packs. Sensitive to the increasing concerns on environmental pollution and water scarcity problemsacross the country, it brought to the consumer Surf Excel Quickwash. This low lathervariant is the first eco-friendly detergent in the country, as it uses almost half the water otherdetergents require. Surf has innovated beyond the basic product into other aspects of laundry.Understandingthe need for easy-to-store packaging, tubs and jars were introduced. In order to helpconsumers dose correctly for the best possible clean, measuring scoops were built into thepacks. For convenience seekers, washing has been simplified with the ready to dose packs ofSurf Excel Automatic. Consistent innovation addressing ever-evolving consumer needs has earned the brand aplace in the hearts of consumers. Surf was rated in the top Ten Most Trusted brands in TheEconomic Times survey in 2003WheelWheel is Indias number one detergent brand.Launched in 1987, it cleans effectivelywith lesser effort, making a laborious chore like washing light and easy. Moreover,Wheel does not burn hands or harm clothes like some ot her detergents, which containa high percentage of soda. Ever since its relaunch in 2001, with the new positioning of best clean with less effort,Wheel has been growing strongly. Research showed that consumers seek a solution to heavyduty laundry, like bed sheets and curtains. Developing on this insight, wheel sought to ? 11. liminate the trouble of tough dirt or heavy-duty laundry. Mass market consumers havewelcomed the solution, making it the number one. Nirma – a home-grown product that revolutionized the detergent market in India, andsuccessfully challenged large multinational leaders in the process. The Nirma success story isa result of its founder, Dr. Karsanbhai Patels relentless focus on quality, cost and value. Thedistribution model, sustained line extensions and umbrella branding strategies have enhancedthe brands cost leadership.Today, the companys two brands, Nirma and Nima, aredistributed through more thantwo million retail outlets across the country, generating g rosssales in excess of Rs. 26,000 million. In the fabric care category, Nirma has three productsfor the lower-end market. The Nirma Yellow Washing Powder is available in pack sizes of30 gms, 200 gms, 500 gms and 1 kg, and is ranked as the largest selling single detergentbrand in the world. Nirma is one of the large st selling single detergent brands in the world.Nirma products aresold through two million retailers and reach 400 million. This brand had been ranked as the â€Å"Most widely distributed detergent powder brand in India† as per AllIndia Census of Retail Outlets carried out in 435 urban towns by the AIMS (Asian InformationMarketing & Social) Research agency [Brand Equity – The Economic Times, March 11, 1997]. As perthe ORG-MARG Rural Consumer Panel [December 1998] survey, Nirma brand has been ranked ashighest in terms of penetration in washing powder category [BT Rural Market Watch, Business Today, June22, 1999]. ? 12.World-over Ariel epitomizes ‘stain removal’ and removes even the toughest stains in the firstwash. Introduced in India in 1991, Ariel has continuously led other detergents in productinnovation. For example, it pioneered the use of enzyme technology for superior and safestain-removing power, longer-lasting perfume, and the P&G proprietary cleaningtechnology, which cleans everyday soil and dirt from garments. Over the years, the brand hasenjoyed endorsement from celebrities such as the former actress and now MP Shabana Azmiand lakhs of other homemakers in India.Tide is the World’s Oldest and Most Trusted Billion Dollar Detergent and is the marketleader in 23 Countries around the world. Tide provides outstanding whiteness on whiteclothes and provides excellent everyday cleaning for colored clothes too. Launched in Indiain mid-2000, the brand has gained popularity among Indian housewives, thanks to itssuperior whitening, creative advertising starring Shekhar Suman, and its Value-for-Moneyproposition. Both T ide and Ariel are billion dollar brands in sales for P&G globally. Now Large Packs of Tide and Ariel – World’s Best Detergents at Rs. 3/- and Rs. 50/- only Mumbai, India — March 02, 2004 — Procter & Gamble today announced that it has reduced the prices of Ariel and Tide bags (large packs) by 20-50%, while maintaining the superior quality. The superior quality ? kg pack of Tide now cleans a family’s one-month laundry in just Rs. 23/-, while a ? kg pack of Ariel cleans a family’s one-month laundry in just Rs. 50/-. This significant price reduction will now allow many more Indian consumers to experience the world-class experience of outstanding whiteness from Tide and superior stain-removal from Ariel in every wash.The new prices of Ariel and Tide are as follows: ? 13. Old Price New Price Old Price New Price Pack Size P&Gs move to slash Ariel Ariel Tide Tide detergent prices is 200gm Rs. 30 Rs. 22 Rs. 20 Rs. 10 ostensibly to get more consumers to 500gm Rs. 70 Rs. 50 Rs. 43 Rs. 23 experience its brands 1kg Rs. 135 Rs. 99 Rs. 85 Rs. 46 but the industry sees it primarily as a 1. 5kg Rs. 180 Rs. 145 N. A* N. A move to wrest the advantage from HLL 2kg N. A N. A Rs. 160 Rs. 88 in a sluggish market. The prices of sachets (20gm) of Ariel and Tide remain unchanged. N. A = Not Available in that size. Six months ago, P&G reduced the prices of Ariel and Tide sachets by 50% in order toencourage a larger number of consumers to experience their superior quality. The bettervalue offer on sachets received such an overwhelming, positive response from consumersacross India that P&G was encouraged to offer the irresistible value to Ariel and Tide bagusers as well, thereby make the world’s best detergents accessible to a larger number ofIndian consumers.P&G talked to over 3,000 consumers across the length and breadth of India and observedover 25,000 washing sessions in consumers’ homes. Consumers believed in the superiorquality of Ariel and Tide but indicated ‘pricing’ as a constraint in using Ariel and Tide on aregular basis. The drop in prices by the P&G has forced HLL to also react in a similar way thus shrinkingthe overall profit margins for the group. While the immediate impact of any price slash isbound to result in more volumes and thereby shares for the companies concerned,improving margins in the business remains doubtful. 14. Company OverviewHindustan Lever Limited (HLL) is Indias largest fast moving consumer goodscompany, with leadership in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. HLLs brands, spread across 20 distinct consumer categories, touch the lives of two out of 1888 Sunlight soapthree Indians. They endow the company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 introduced inmillion tonnes and sales of Rs. 10,000 crores. India. The leading business magazine, Forbes Global, has rated Hindustan Lever as the bestconsumer household products company.Far Eastern Economic Review has rated HLL asIndia’s most respected company. Asiamoney has rated HLL as one of India’s best managedcompanies. Leading national publications, like The Economic Times, Business World, and 1895Business Today have also rated HLL as one of India’s most respected companies and the Lifebuoy soapnumber one in Market Value Added and EVA. launchedHLL is Indias largest marketer of Soaps, Detergents and Home Care products. It has thecountry’s largest Personal Products business, leading in Shampoos, Skin Care Products,Colour Cosmetics and Deodorants.HLL is also the market leader in Tea, ProcessedCoffee, branded Wheat Flour, Tomato Products, and Ice cream, Soups, Jams and 1902Squashes. Pears soap introduced inHLL is also one of the countrys biggest exporters and has been recognized as a Golden IndiaSuper Star Trading House by the Government of India; it is a net foreign exchange earner. HLL is Indias largest exporter of branded fast moving consumer goods. The companysExports portfolio includes HLLs brands of Soaps and Detergents, Personal Products,Home Care Products, Tea and Coffee.HLL is also driving exports in chosen areas whereIndia has a competitive advantage – Marine Products, Basmati Rice, Castor Oil and its 1903 Brooke BondDerivatives. It is Indias largest exporter of Marine products, and one of the largest global Red Label teaplayers in castor. launched. Market leading brandsHLL’s brands have become household names. The company’s strategy is to concentrate itsresources on 35 national power brands, and 10 other brands which are strong in certain 1905regions. The top five brands together account for sales of over Rs. 3000 crores.Each of Lux flakesthese mega brands has a potential scale of Rs. 1000 crores in the foreseeable future. introducedSome of the big brands in Soaps and Detergents are Lifebuoy, Lux, Liril, Hamam,,Pears,Rexona & Dove, (all soaps), Surf Excel, Surf, Rin, & Wheel (all detergents). HLLalso m arkets the Vim and Domex range of Home Care Products. 1913In the Personal Products business, HLLs Hair Care franchises are Clinic, Sunsilk and Lux Vim scouringshampoos. In Oral Care, the portfolio comprises Close-up and Pepsodent toothpastes and powdertoothbrushes.In Skin Care, HLL markets Fair & Lovely Skin Cream and Lotion, the introduced. largest selling Skin Care Product in India; a brand developed in India, it is now exported toover 30 countries. It has been extended as an Ayurvedic cream, an under-eye cream, soap ? 15. and talc, in line with the strategy to take brands across relevant categories. The other majorSkin Carefranchises are Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakme and Pears. In Colour Cosmetics, HLLmarkets the Lakme and Elle-18 ranges.In Deodorants, the key brands are Rexona, Axe, 1930Denim and Ponds, while the Talc brands are Ponds, Liril, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline and Unilever isLifebuoy. Axe and Denim are HLL’s franchises for Men’s toiletries. formed on January 1HLL has recently launched Lever Ayush Ayurvedic Health & Personal Care Products. Health Care is among the new businesses HLL has chosen to enter. The product rangecomprises Cough Naashak Syrup, Headache Naashak Roll-on, Dandruff NaashakShampoo, Hair Rakshak Oil and Body Rakshak Soap.The purity of the Ayurvedic 1931ingredients in Lever Ayush is endorsed by the renowned Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (AVP) of HindustanCoimbatore. It is for the first time that rigorous testing procedures of the pharmaceutical Vanaspatiindustry have been applied to Ayurvedic products. That is why the brand seal is ‘Truth of ManufacturingAyurveda; Proof of Science’. Company registered on November 27HLL has started franchised Lakme Beauty Salons, offering standardised services, in linewith the strategy to add a service dimension to relevant brands.The company has set up the Hindustan Lever Network, a direct selling channel, offering 1932the Lever Home range of Laundry and Home Care products and the A viance Personal Vanaspati manufactureCare range. starts at SewriThe company has also begun an e-tailing service, called Sangam, which can home-deliveron order by phone or through the Net, a diverse range of about 5000 branded andunbranded products. The service is now available in select areas of Mumbai and NaviMumbai, besides Thane. 1939HLL is one of the world’s largest packet Tea marketers.Its Tea brands – Taj Mahal, Red Garden ReachLabel, Taaza, – are among the top brands in the country; it also markets Lipton Ice Tea. Factory purchasedHLL and Pepsi have formed an alliance to distribute a full range of tea and coffee and soft outrightbeverages through vending machines; HLL already has a base of around 15000 suchmachines. The coffee business comprises Bru Instant Coffee and Deluxe Green LabelRoast & Ground Coffee. The Kissan and Knorr Foods range comprises Spreads & Jams, Biscuit Sticks, Soups, 1943 Personal ProductsSquashes, Tomato Ketchup, Sauces, Puree, and Cooking Aids.Popular Foods, like Wheat manufactureFlour and Iodized Edible Salt, under the Knorr Annapurna brand name, have met with begins in India atremarkable success. The range has been expanded with ready-to-eat 10-second chapatis. Garden ReachThe innovative offerings are changing consumer habits into using processed, hygienic, Factoryhealthy and convenient products. The Kwality-Walls Ice Cream range comprises exotic Sundaes, Viennetta Desserts,popular ‘Impulse’ segment products like Max, Cornetto and Feast, and Cornetto Ripple 1947Softies.Ponds Cold Cream launched. Max was extended in 2001 as sugar confectioneries, because children are a key consumersegment in confectioneries too. This is among the new businesses HLL has chosen toenter. ? 16. HLL has acquired Modern Food Industries (India) Limited, entering the bread market. Modern Foods was the first Public Sector Undertaking to be disinvested. Besides 1959 Surf launched. upgrading the existing Modern products, H LL has launched new products, among thembiscuits. HLL is liberating its brands from their existing category mindset.Historically, brandsoriginated and stayed within a category format. HLL sees its Power Brands as being able tooccupy a unique position in the consumers mind and therefore being able to stretch intoother product formats and categories. All such initiatives have had a promising start, and 1964there are more to come. Etah dairy set up, Anik ghee launched; Animal feeds plant atThe Distribution network Ghaziabad; Sunsilk shampooHLL’s distribution network is recognised as one of its key strengths — that which helps launched. each out its products across the length and breadth of this vast country. The need for astrong distribution network is imperative, since HLL’s corporate purpose is â€Å"to meet theeveryday needs of people everywhere. †HLLs products, manufactured across the country, the operations involve over 2,000 1969 Rin bar launchedsuppli ers and associates. HLLs distribution network, comprising about 7,000redistribution stockiest about one million retail outlets, directly covers the entire urbanpopulation, and about 250 million rural consumers.In addition to the ongoing commitment to the traditional grocery trade, HLL is building aspecial relationship with the small but fast emerging modern trade. HLLs scale enables itto provide superior customer service including daily servicing, improving their rangeavailability whilst reducing inventories. HLL is using the opportunity of interfacing more 1975 Close-updirectly with consumers in this retail environment through specially designed toothpastecommunication and promotions. This is building traffic into the stores while yielding high launched.. growth for the business.An IT-powered system has been implemented to supply stocks to redistribution stockistson a continuous replenishment basis. The objective is to catalyse HLL’s growth by 1978ensuring that the right pro duct is available at the right place in right quantities, in the most Fair & Lovely skin creamcost-effective manner. For this, stockists have been connected with the company through launched.. an Internet-based network, called RSNet, for online interaction on orders, dispatches,information sharing and monitoring. RS Net covers about 80% of the companys turnover. 930 Unilever is formed onHLLs foray into Network Marketing January 1 1988 Launch ofAs per the market surveys conducted it is expected that the consumer market in India is Lipton Taazaworth 13000 crores per year and in few years the network market will capture 500 crores as tea. per market surveys, considering the potential Hindustan Lever has launched HindustanLever Network (HLN), a unique Network Marketing opportunity . ? 17. 1991The Network marketing concept Surf Ultra detergent launched. In the normal marketing system, the manufacturer supplies the products through themiddle men such as brokers, wholesalers and retailers. These middle-men add theirestablishment costs and their own margin of profit or commission on the price. Thisincreases the price by approximately 45 per cent. The consumer therefore gets the productat atleast a 45 per cent markup from the manufacturers price. 1993 Tata Oil Mills CompanyIn network marketing, these middle men are eliminated. A person is invited to join and (TOMCO),become a member (also called Consultant) of the network marketing company. This merges with theperson in turn invites many more people to join under him to form a group.These group companymembers, in turn invite their acquaintance to join under them. This group is made tosteadily grow and it can grow into thousands or tens of thousands, in the course of time,depending upon the enthusiasm with which the Consultant pursue the sponsorship of newConsultants. 1994 HLL introducesThese Consultants make purchases of the products of the marketing company for self use Walls. and also for sale to other consumers. For t heir loyalty in regularly purchasing the products,the marketing co. gives discounts, handsome bonuses, rewards and special incentives.Each consultant in the group gets his shares of benefits depending upon the purchasesmade by him and also by the number of the consultant under him (called downlines). This 1995is called network marketing. HLL enters brandedThe growth in the beginning will be slow, from 1 to 2 to 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. but later on it will be rapid, staples1000 to 2000 to 4000†¦.. and so on. Given below are the approx. benefits received, business with saltdepending upon your group strength and on the assumption that each consultant haspurchased goods worth Rs 1,000/- in the month. The benefits will be more for higherpurchases and bigger groups.Group Strength Benefits: 1996 HLL introduces253Nos(1+12+60+180) Rs17,938/- branded atta; Surf Excel launched1531Nos(1+18+216+1296) Rs64,558/-3061Nos(1+36+432+2592) Rs 1,28,818/- 2002 HLL enters Ayurvedic health & beauty centre. ? 18. Shakti-Hll Rural ProjectShakti is HLLs rural initiative, which targets smallvillages with population of less than 2000 people or less. It seeks to empower underprivileged rural women byproviding income-generating opportunities, health andhygiene education through the Shakti Vani programme,and creating access to relevant information through theiShakti community portal.Started in 2001, Shakti has already been extended to about50,000 villages in 12 states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh, UttarPradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and WestBengal. The respective state governments and several Project Shakti – By using self-helpNGOs are actively involved in the initiative. Shakti already groups, HLL has pushed its productshas about 13,000 women entrepreneurs in its fold. A typical down into the country. Into villagesShakti entrepreneur earns a sustainable income of about where people cannot spend more thanRs. 00 -Rs. 1,000 per month, which is double their average Rs 20-25 on FMCGs in a monthhousehold income. Project Shakti will expand the distribution cover bottom-up, the rural project will be top-down. Thiswill be a huge competitive advantage for Lever. The costs of expanding into these villages will betoo high for most companies, which do not have a portfolio spanning teas to detergents,In recent past Hindustan lever took some major decisions to remodel its business. These decisionshad major impact on the how distribution of lever products is managed in the market.Hindustan lever took the decision to simplify the company it merged all the different business unitsinto two large divisions: home and personal care (HPC) and foods and beverages (F&B). This gaveeach division â€Å"The advantage is that these divisions get us enormous scale,† The companydecided to whittle its brands down from 110 to 35, over the next three years. This is known asHLL’s Power Brand strategy. To identify these power brands, managers were asked to consider their growth potential, profitdelivery and the size of the opportunity.And to ensure that Lever would not lose sales, it wasdecided to migrate these brand users to the designated power brands. For one, the drastic slimmingdown of the brand portfolio which threw up huge problems in execution is now over. HLL is already combining its scale advantage to offer retailers a bigger basket of products and betterservice. Instead of different sales teams servicing the same retailer, the company has integrated bothHPC and Foods portfolios for modern trade chains like Margin Free. Once again, its large portfolio ? 19. ange helps Lever to use the power of customer relationships to corner greater shelf space and adisproportionately higher share of the branded segment. Modern trade, it reckons, is already growing at 15-20 per cent and will continue that way for a longtime. By bulking up the businesses, it is possible for Lever to service these mo dern trade outlets on adaily business. As a result, these retailers do not have to maintain high inventory levels. HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED — BOARD OF DIRECTORSMr. Harish Manwani Non Executive chairmanMr. M. K. Sharma Vice ChairmanMr. Arun Adhikari Managing Director (Home & Personal Care)Mr.S. Ravindranathan Managing Director (Foods)Mr. D. Sundaram Finance & IT DirectorMr. A. Narayan DirectorMr. V. Narayan DirectorMr. D. S. Parekh DirectorMr. C. K. Prahlad Director ? 20. The CompetitorsThe Indian FMCG markets have witnessed some of the classic struggles involving HLL. Sofar Levers have been able to stand their ground but times are changing. HLL’s response tothe latest challenges is being eagerly studied by the corporate India. In order to gain afoothold in Indian FMCG sector various domestic and MNC companies are using all kind ofschemes to woo customer from HLL.The major competitors of HLL are:Detergents: P&G, Nirma, Henkel SpicToothpaste: Colgate-PalmoliveBeverages: R asna, Coca-Cola (Sun fill)Tea: Tata teaCoffee: NestleIce-creams: AmulShampoo: P&G, Garnier Procter & GambleP&G Home Products Limited is a 100% subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Company,USA. P&G Home Products Limited is one of Indias fastest growing Fast Moving ConsumerGoods Companies that has in its portfolio P&Gs global brands such as Ariel and Tide in theFabric Care segment, and in the Hair Care segment: Head & Shoulders – worlds largestselling anti-dandruff shampoo; Pantene – worlds No. beauty shampoo; and Rejoice – AsiasNo. 1 shampoo. Fabric CareProcter & Gamble has two of its world-leading detergents – Tide and Ariel, in India to caterto the main concerns of the Indian households. In India P&G has launched followingbrands: †¢ Ariel Front-O-Mat Ariel 2 Fragrances †¢ Tide Detergent †¢ Tide BarHair CareIn India, P&G’s beauty care business comprises of Pantene, the world’slargest selling shampoo, Head & Shoulders, the worldà ¢â‚¬â„¢s No. 1 Anti-dandruffshampoo and Rejoice – Asia’s No. 1 Shampoo. †¢ Pantene Pro V †¢ Head & Shoulders †¢ Rejoice ? 1. Baby Care †¢ PampersIn India, P&G will continue to be a midget, in turnover terms, when compared to HindustanLever. The two P&G subsidiaries in India (P&G Hygiene and P&G Home Products) todaygenerate a combined turnover of about Rs 1,100 crore, just a tenth of Hindustan Leverssales. P&Gs distribution network is largely urban and has a reach of 0. 4 m outlets. In 1994, Godrej entered into a strategic alliance with P&G for inter alia toilet soap business,under which Godrej used to manufacture soaps, which were marketed by a joint venturecompany.However post marketing alliance with P&G, the company lost significant part ofits market share and subsequently the arrangement was discontinued. Godrej’s entiredistribution network was then taken over by P&G. THE Procter & Gamble -Gillette deal could result in the former getting a significant boostboth to its scale of operations and range of products in the Indian market. That Gillettesportfolio of shaving razors, gels, grooming products and toothbrushes has no overlap withthat of P&G in India (shampoos, detergents, feminine hygiene, cold medication) is apositive.The addition of Gillettes businesses could help P&G expand its portfolio andacquire a more extensive distribution network; This may strengthen P&Gs hand in theongoing war for market share with Unilever arms in the Asian markets, particularly withHindustan Lever in India. NirmaNirma is one of the few names – which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, whichtook on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess,i. e. the consumer. It was way back in ‘60s and ‘70s, where the domestic detergent market had only premiumsegment, with very few players and was dominated by MNCs.It was 1969, when KarsanbhaiPatel started door-to-door selling of h is detergent powder, priced at an astonishing Rs. 3 perkg, when the available cheapest brand in the market was Rs. 13 per kg. In a short span,Nirma created an entirely new market segment in domestic marketplace, which is, eventuallythe largest consumer pocketand quickly emerged as dominating market player. Now, the year 2004 sees Nirma’s annualsales touch 800,000 tones, making it one of the largest volume sales with a single brandname in the world.Looking at the FMCG synergies, Nirma stepped into toilet soapsrelatively late in 1990 butthis did not deter it to achieve a volume of 100,000 per annum. This makes Nirma thelargest detergent and the second largest toilet soap brand in India with market share of 38%and 20% respectively. SoapsIn 1992, sensing a strong need to expand the market through PenetrativePricing, Nirma entered this market with the launch of ‘Nirma Bath Soap’&‘Nirma Beauty Soap’ . In 1998 Nirma expanded its product line in the soap ? 2 2. ategory by introducing ‘Nirma Lime Fresh’ & ‘Nirma Rose’. This brand had carved a nichein its segment by achieving leadership position just within two months of its launch. It isavailable in 100g and 150g pack sizes. Nirma entered the premium soap segment when itlaunched ‘Nirma Sandal’DetergentsNirma launched â€Å"Nirma Washing Powder† in Indian market in year 1969, This productwas priced at almost one third to that of the competitor brands, resulting into instant trial bythe consumers. Presently Nirma has different variants in Indian market.Nirma washing powderNirma superNirma popularEdible SaltNirma has also entered the Food market in the recent past with launch of Nirma Shudh. ? 23. FINANCIAL ANALYSISRatio Analysis ? 24. All figures in Rs cr Particulars Dec 2001 Dec 2002 Dec 2003 Dec 2004 Sales 12420. 71 10641. 15 11919. 04 11594. 65 Total assets 7089. 06 7761. 01 8104. 68 7820. 34 Net worth 3170. 86 3713. 91 2189. 22 2148. 67 Bor rowings 102. 55 86. 23 1715. 18 1604. 25 Capital Employed 3273. 41 3800 3904 3752 Debtors 1254. 38 1169. 49 1228. 55 793. 56 PAT 1576. 47 1757. 59 1687. 3 1208. 4 PBDIT 2211. 63 2461. 31 2462. 92 1875. 63 Depreciation 202. 63 192. 65 199. 99 195. 68 PBIT 2009 2269 2262. 9 1680Current liabilities & Provisions 3709. 17 3841. 92 4084. 71 3919. 71 Current assets 3505 3510 3610 3132 Current assets -Inventories 2201 2146 2120 1574 Long term Debt 102. 55 86. 23 1715. 18 1604. 25 Interest 12. 31 12. 86 69. 12 136. 25 Total Purchases 6077. 97 5389. 04 5438 5413. 77 Profitability Ratios Operating Profit Margin (%) 16. 17 21. 30 19 14. 5 Net Profit Margin Ratio (%) 12. 68 16. 51 14. 15 10. 42 ROTA (%) 28. 3 29. 23 27. 92 21. 5 ROCE 61. 37 59. 72 58 44. 77 Return on Equity (%) 49. 71 47. 3 77 56. 23 Liquidity Ratios Current ratio 0. 944 0. 91 0. 88 0. 79 Quick Ratio 0. 59 0. 55 0. 52 0. 40 Absolute Cash Ratio 0. 25 0. 254 0. 218 0. 20 Solvency Ratios Debt Equity Ratio . 032 0. 023 0. 78 0. 75 I nterest Coverage Ratio 163. 2 176 32. 74 12. 33 Efficiency Ratios Debtor Days 38. 85 40. 11 37. 62 25 Creditor days 135. 31 149. 2 131. 62 145. 23 Total assets turnover ratio 1. 75 1. 37 1. 47 1. 48 ? 25. Interpretation: †¢ Profitability Ratios:HLL earns 14. paisa on every Re. 1 of Sale before Interest and Taxes It ultimately makes 10. 42paisa on every Re. 1 of Sale after Interest and Taxes. It is visible that Hindustan Lever Ltd. has not been able to increase its Operating Profit marginconstantly over the years. We can see that the operating margin has decreased considerable in thelast year. This is mainly due to the fact that the interest cost of HLL has almost doubled from 69. 12crores to 136. 25 crores. Moreover the company’s operating expenses have increased by almost 75% in the year 2004.The efficiency has certainly decreased over the last few years mainly owing tohigh operating expenses , increased interest burden and high indirect taxes. The Net Profit Marginhas also decreased by 17. 8 % in 2004 as compared to 2001. This is mainly due to the decrease insales by Rs. 826 cr. HLL generates 21. 5% Return on Total Assets (ROTA) that it employs in its operations in theyear ended 2004. ROTA has decreased in the last year mainly due to the fact that its profit marginhas decreased. It could be ecause of high competition as a result of which profits have decreasedand the total assets of the company have increased. As we can see that the Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) for Hindustan lever Limited hasdecreased considerably during the last year mainly due to lower profit margins. The company isearning a return of 44. 77% on the funds employed by it. Though the ROCE has seen aconsiderable change, even now the company is getting good enough returns and can pay goodenough dividends to the shareholders as we saw the case in the year 2004 where the rate ofdividend was 250%.The Return on Equity Ratio (ROE) states how much profit a company earned in comparis onto total amount of shareholders equity on the balance sheet of the company. Here, we see that theROE of HLL has increased in comparison to the year 2001 but this cant be concluded as afavourable situation for the company as looking at the figures in detail we can notice that there hasbeen a near to 30% decrease in ROE in comparison to the year 2003 , also we do see that the PATof the company has fallen by about 23% and the shareholders equity has also decreased by 32% incomparison to the year 2004. But Even now an ROE of about 56. 3% is considered to be verygood. †¢ Liquidity Ratios:It can be seen from the above table that the Current Ratio for all the years is less than 1. Thissignifies that HLL has short term liabilities greater than the short term assets. It implies that thecompany would have problems in managing its short term liabilities and liquidity requirements. The company might have to resort to financing its short term liquidity requirements by long termsources of finance. We can observe that the current assets have decreased by 13 % and at the same time the currentliabilities have decreased by just 4 % in the last year.The reason is that since the company is ? 26. using long term sources of finance to fund its short term obligations therefore the interest burdenhas increased and as a result the cash balance has decreased . Other receivables have also decreasedby more than 66% leading to a fall in current assets. †¢ Solvency Ratios:The company was highly unleveraged in the years 2001 and 2002. It was risky as the company hadinvested a huge amount of its own funds as compared to debt. However in the last 2 years thecompany has changed its policy and is leveraging the advantage of debt along with equity.Thoughthe debt equity ratio of 0. 75 is not good enough as compared to industry norms of 2:1 but thecompany is moving towards a favourable debt equity mix. It has realized the importance of tradingon equity . The Company has increased its d ebt burden by 1470% in the last 4 yearsInterest Coverage Ratio(ICR) basically signifies the ability of a firm to service its interest burdenthrough the profits generated . In the initial years when the firm had not employed debt its interestburden was very low.As a result the Interest Coverage ratio is very high, gradually the companyhas employed more debt and as a result of which the interest burden has increased significantly. Moreover, due to high competition and operating inefficiency the earnings of the company havedeclined. As a result the ICR has reduced from 163. 2 to 12. 33 in the last 4 years. However an ICRof 12. 33 is still very impressive which reflects the company’s ability to pay interests on loanseasily. This is a good indicator to the various financial institutions providing long term sources offinance to HLL. Efficiency Ratios:Here, we see that the Debtors Days for the company is less than the Creditor Days of thecompany. From this we can interpret that the company has a favorable cash position as it is makingits payments long after receiving the dues from the debtors. Here, from the Asset Turnover Ratiowe can know how efficiently the firm is using its assets, the ratio for which is pretty low for thecompany. The Creditor Days as well as Debtor Days both show negative growth which reflectsnegatively on the company’s financials. The Asset Turnover Ratio also shows negative growthwhich is also not a good sign for the company.Thus, looking into these figures we can analyze thatthe efficiency level of the company has gone down vis-a-vis the previous years and hence thecompany needs to look urgently into these matters so as to improve the efficiency of the company. O DU-PONT RATIO ANALYSIS:The Du Pont ratio analysis is a combination of financial ratios in a series in order to assess theinvestment returns of the company. It combines the financial ratios of both the Income Statementas well as the Balance Sheet in order to assess either the Return on Equity or the Return onInvestment.One of the Plus points of this method is that it provides a clear understanding of howthe company generates its return. This analysis provides an insight into the importance of assetturnover as well as sales to overall return. This formula shows the relationship of profit margin andturnover how these two complement each other. ? 27. The Du Pont ratio divides the Return on equity into three parts: Net Profit Margin, total assetturnover, and the company’s use of leverage referred to as Equity Multiplier also. DU-PONT CHART FOR HLL FOR THE YEAR 2004 RETURN ON EQUITY =PAT/NETWORTH 56. 3% Equity NET PROFIT TOTAL ASSET Multiplier MARGIN TURNOVER =TA/NW =PAT/NETSALES =SALES/TA =10. 42% =1. 48 =3. 64% RETURN ON ASSETS ROA=PAT/TA =15. 44%Growth Trends Over The Years Particulars Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Dec-04 ? 28. Sales 12420. 71 10641. 15 11919. 04 11594. 65Expenditure 10627 8690 9941 10076Change InSales (%) — -14. 33 12 -2. 7Chang e InExpenditure(%) — -18. 22 14. 39 1. 35Change inPBIT (%) — 12. 94 -0. 26 -25. 75Change inPAT (%) — 11. 48 -3. 99 -28. 38Change inBorrowings(%) — -15. 91 1889 6. 46Change InInterest (%) — 4. 46 437. 48 97. 12 ? 29. COMMON MARKETING MIX FOR ALL MARKETS 1.Product consists of brand, quality, appearance, 2. Price Structure consists of prices, dealers and consumers discounts. 3. Promotional activities consist of advertising, media. 4. Placement (distribution) system consists of dealers, distributors, retailers and overall logistics. MARKETING MIX FOR RURAL MARKET 1. Product 2. Price 3. Promotion 4. Placement system 5. Packaging-Reason for putting it separately is because symbols and packaging becomes very important when literacy levels are very low. 6. Retailer is the one who gives all information about brand choice and consumer feedback. 7.Education is very important for rural sector-eg. Project Shakti 8. Empowerment Example-Project Shakti and Self He lp Groups. PRODUCTSurf derives its name from ‘Surfactant’ the basic ingredient of a detergent. After 44 years, Surf brand has been upgraded and made more modern and contemporary. Surf has changed – the entire brand is now called â€Å"Surf Excel†. Continuousimprovements in the formulation of the product and introduction of new ingredients e. g. enzymes, along with new perfumes have ensured that the product meets the evolvingconsumer needs. The brand Surf Excel now has three variants – Surf Excel Quickwash, ? 0. Surf Excel Blue and Surf Excel Automatic – which address different laundry needs buteach offers stain removal as the key benefit. Surf Excel Blue Target segment: Economic segment. Attributes:-Removes stains without fading colours. Sizes avalaible: 25gm, 200gm, 500gm, 750gm, 1. 5kg, 3kgSurf Excel Quickwash (also called as Surf Excel Easy wash)(Hitherto known as just Surf Excel) Target segment: Superior quality for washing machine users. Sizes available:- 20gm, 20gm, 500gm, 1kg, 1. 5kg Attributes:-Stain removalSurf Excel Automatic Target segment:-Washing machine owners –Top and front loading machines .Sizes available:- 600gm, 1kg Attributes: Low lather detergent, anti corrosive, stain removal, ensures longer life of fabric. PRICELatest price war between detergent majors, Hindustan Lever (HLL), Proctor and GambleIndia (P&G), Nirma and Henkel-Spic India (HSIL) has proved that price in the marketingmix is very critical for growth of HLL products. If Surf excel prices were reduced to match the price cuts of their competitor (P&G),simultaneously they had to ramp up spending on advertising and promotions to increaseconsumption and penetration in the market and retain values of premium brand ? 1. PROMOTIONSSurf communication has been pleasant, soothing and gentle, Surf Excel has had adistinctively bold ‘tongue in cheek’ style of communication. Promotions for Surf Excelare more often than not tactical w eapons. Gift is offered to the consumer to gain short-term patronage or to engineer enhanced consumption. Choice of various promotionalgifts is usually governed by what can be bought cheap rather than any brand-relatedfactors. Surf Excel has always been sensitive enough to recognise the change in the consumerchoice dynamics.In some of their promotions, they have pampered influencersconsidering that brand choice in family products is a collective exercise. Various promotions being used for Surf are: †¢ Scholarship offer –Rs five lakh scholarship. Extremely rare and intelligent use of the marketing budget. Beauty of this promotion is in its design. An innovative and clever way of underscoringthe core promise of Surf Excel — stain removal!! Visual depiction in the ad is student-focussed — there are no mothers or daughters to be seen in the ad.Most of the people inthe ad are in their teens. The protagonist himself is barely in his teens. This can be anindicatio n towards changing consumer algorithm. This was backed by Win with Stains campaign – one of the largest campaigns taken upby Surf excel. This promotion is happening in Orissa markets which is aimed at offering consumers achance to win prizes as well as give students an opportunity to pursue further studies. Theaim of the whole campaign is to drive home the point that stains are good in life and oneis not to be scared to get themselves dirty.They are not only doing road shows,advertisements but branded horoscope columns in keeping with the theme of luck andfortune. They have roped in former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes to participate in theWin with stains washathon to wash the largest stain in town with kids of the NGO -Magic Bus †¢ 1 bucket free with 3kg of Surf Excel has really managed to increase sales revenue of Surf excel. This is the most successful consumer promotion till date in Orissa market. †¢ Surf KidStains – a roadshow that invites consume rs to get first-hand experience of using Surf.Surf has taken communication beyond mass media advertising and involved consumersin the brand’s promise in the real world. It has touched consumer’s life through schoolcontact and in-store programmes. Road shows have helped to go to the consumers anddemonstrate superior performance vis-a-vis competition. ? 32. PLACEMENT SYSTEMIn Orissa, HLL has around 100 dealers and distributors. But HLL is into the exercise ofreducing number of channels in Orissa by increasing territory size of each dealer. HLL Distribution in Rural MarketsHLL has come up with new distribution channels to cater to rural markets.For long-term benefits, HLL has mounted an initiative, Project Streamline, to furtherincrease its rural reach with the help of rural sub-stockists. It has already appointed 6000such sub-stockists. As a result, the distribution network directly covers about 50,000villages, reaching about 250 million consumers. The pivot of Streamlin e is the RuralDistributor (RD), who has 15-20 rural sub-stockists attached to him. Each of these sub-stockists is located in a rural market. The sub-stockists then performs the role of drivingdistribution in neighboring villages using unconventional means of transport such astractor, bullock cart,etc.The Streamline system has extended direct HLL reach in these markets to about 37% ofIndias rural population from 25% in 1995 and the number of HLL brands and SKUsstocked by village retailers has gone up significantly. ? 33. PACKAGINGPackaging plays a key role in rural markets. Since customers are daily wage earners andthey don’t have monthly incomes like the urban consumers have, so Surf excel ispackaged in smaller sizes of 20gm so that they can afford given their kind of incomestreams. EDUCATIONSince vast majority of rural India lacks even basic education levels and modern outlook,HLL is training their new sellers to basic education levels.This is example of ProjectShakti which is explained in detail later. EMPOWERMENTHLL runs the program of Self-Help Groups (SHG), which operate like direct-to-homedistributors. The mo del consists of groups of (15-20) villagers below the poverty line(Rs. 750 per month) taking micro-credit from banks, and using that to buy HLL products,which they will then directly sell to consumersPrices of products 20gm 25gm 200gm 500gm 600gm 750gm 1kg 1. 5kg 3 kgSurf Quickwash 2 NA 23 53 NA NA 103 153 NASurf Automatic NA NA NA NA 90 NA 145 NA NASurf Blue NA 2 16 40 NA 53 NA 103 220 ? 34.Range of productsIf we divide detergent industry into three tiers – †¢ Premium at Rs. 80-140 per kg †¢ Mid-price at Rs. 30-50 per kg †¢ Popular at Rs. 15-25 per kgPopular segment accounts for 80% of the detergent industry. HLL leads in detergent powders withPremium – Surf ExcelMid price – SunlightPopular – Rin, WheelDealers and distributorsRetail Distributor MarginsExample of various distributor discounts on sale of these variants. Sale of 200gm Surf Excel Dealer Discount of 8%Sale of 20 gm Surf Excel Dealer Discount of 12%Wholesale Distributor MarginsThey get a standard discount of 1. % on sale of any variantStrategies in Orissa market 1. Shakti ProgramWith a twin objective of creating â€Å"income-generating capabilities† for underprivilegedrural women and â€Å"improving their rural living standard† through health and hygieneawareness, the Project Shakti is implemented in Orissa. Housewives and old ladies are targeted for this project. They are trained and given basiceducation to sell products. All products which are priced below Rs 5 are sold through thisproject. The sellers which are all ladies are paid margins of 3% on their sale of products.Now out of a total of 15,454 Shakti Entrepreneurs across India, Orissa hasover 928 (6%)Shakti Entrepreneurs spread across 22 districts. They are operating through Self Help Groups (SHGs) which is makes women direct-to-home distributo rs of HLL. Partnerships with several NCOs and support from stategovernments have been key enablers for the programme. Currently women entrepenuersare earning an average income of Rs. 7007- per month, doubling their household income. For the SHG women, it provides a stable, sustainable source of income.For villagers, thischannel has become a source of genuine and correctly priced products. ? 35. SALES TREND IN BHUBANESHWARBig Bazaar ,BhubaneshwarSales figures of Surf excel and is competitors Surf Ariel TideJuly sales 1,21,000 26,246 71,672July sold quantity 1787 pieces 341 pieces 1996 pieces ? 36. MARKET SHARE OF SURF Bhubaneswar, 20% Orissa, 35% Surf Excel Surf Blue Orissa, 65% Bhubaneswar, 80%SALE OF SURF EXCEL ON BASIS OF DIFERENT SIZES 10% 25% 20gm 200gm 500gm others(1kg,1. 5kg) 15%50%SALE OF SURF BLUE ON BASIS OF DIFERENT SIZES 7% 13% 20% 500gm 750gm5% 1kg 3kg 55% others(25gm,200gm) ? 37.PERCENTAGE SHARE OF SURF IN PREMIUM DETERGENTSMARKET 25% Surf Excel Ariel 75%SALE OF SURF EX CEL ON BASIS OF SEASONSCustomers reduce their washing frequency in rains, so the sales are drastically affected. Sale of detergents is strongly affected by seasonal changes as shown in the chart below. 12% 18% Summers Winters Rains 70% ? 38. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS. In this section we compare HLL with its competitors, viz. Proctor and Gamble (Ariel, Tide) and Nirma Ltd (Nirma washing powder). We now compare these products and the companies on the various counts. Market Share: The per capita consumption of detergents in India is 2. kg per annum. The synthetic detergent market can be classified into three main categories – Premium (Surf and Ariel) – 15% of total market Mid price (Rin and Wheel) – 40% of total market Popular (Nirma) – 45% of total market. Product Comparison: HLL (market share – 40%, including all 3 segments) manufactures Surf Excel in three avatars, Surf Excel Blue, Surf Excel Automatic and Surf Excel Quick wash. The USP of Surf Excel is that it reduces soaking time and water usage by 50%. It also contains a lesser amount of bleach than Ariel or Tide. P&G (market share – 12%, including all 3 segments) produces both Ariel and Tide.Ariel is produced in three types, Ariel Front-o-mat, Ariel Spring Clean and Ariel Fresh Clean. The USP here would be removal of tough stains while taking care of cloth quality and imparting a fresh fragrance to it. Tide detergent improves washing experience while imparting a lingering lemon fragrance to clothes. Nirma (market share – 30% of popular segment) comes in three variants, Nirma washing powder, Super Nirma washing powder and Nirma popular washing powder. Its USP would be low prices and the value for money it gives to the customer. Pricing Comparison: We now compare the prices for these brands.The price of each product and its variant is shown in the table b 20gm 200gm 500gm 600gm 750gm 1kg 1. 5kg 2kg 3 kg 4kg (30sachets)Surf Quick wash 2 23 53 NA NA 103 153 NA NA NASu rf Automatic NA NA NA 90 NA 145 NA NA NA NASurf Blue NA 16 40 NA 53 NA 102 NA 220 NAAriel 2 22 50 NA NA 99 145 NA NA NATide 1 10 23 NA NA 46 NA 88 NA 186 ? 39. Place comparison:HLL’s distribution system is one of its key strengths. The delivers its finished productsto various Carrying and Forwarding Agents, via whom the goods reach differentwholesalers. From here the goods are delivered to either rural or urban retailers, viawhom they reach the consumers.HLLs scale enables it to provide superior customer service including daily servicing,improving their range availability whilst reducing inventories. An IT-powered system hasbeen implemented to supply stocks to redistribution stockists on a continuousreplenishment basis. The objective is to catalyze HLL’s growth by ensuring that the rightproduct is available at the right place in right quantities, in the most cost-effectivemanner. For this, stockists have been connected with the company through an Internet-based network , called RSNet, for online interaction.As far as distribution to rural areas is concerned, they use a process called ProjectStreamline, wherein there exist networks of rural sub-stockists, who operate in the ruralareas itself. 20-30 sub-stockists come under a rural distributor (RD). The sub-stockists arethen responsible for distributing the products in rural areas. Nirma Limited markets its products through its fully owned subsidiary Nirma ConsumerCare Limited (NCCL), which was incepted in 1985. NCCL then resells the productsthrough ‘Nirma’ and ‘Nima’. Nirma pioneered the concept of flat distribution network.Nirma Consumer Care Limited operates with two parallel distribution networks. TheNIRMA brand is marketed through the first network, which consists of about 450exclusive distributors. It is one of the lowest cost FMCG distribution channels of thecountry. The principle channel for Nirma’s Products is the lowest cost system in Indiawith in built fle xibility and speedy distribution. All NIRMA and NIMA range of productshave a retail reach of over two million retail outlets and more than 40 million loyalconsumers spread all over the country.The Company has been successful in establishingan extremely good urban as well as rural presence through the two distribution channels. The distribution channels have played a significant role in making Nirma a householdname. The efficient network has made Nirma Washing Powder the brand with highestpenetration in its product category. The network is well equipped to meet the demands ofthe loyal consumers of the Company across the country. ? 40. Promotion comparison:HLL. Advertising. Surf excel, synonymous with the catch line, ‘Surf Excel hai naa! ’ was the first nationaldetergent brand on television.It has indulged in numerous advertisement campaignswhich have gained a lot of popularity. Surf Excel and Lalitaji ad also was in news for a long time. Slice of life situations havegene rated high levels of interest in the communication. Using consumer speak in the formof testimonials has helped in building credibility in the brand. â€Å"She was a hard-headed bargain-hunting housewife who demanded value for money andnot just cheap price. Consumers faith in Surf was restored, and not just because sheoffered a rational argument. The real reason Lalitaji was believed was because she wastrusted y the Indian housewife to get her a good bargain. We showed her bargainingwith the vegetable vendor about good tomatoes and bad tomatoes †¦ `Sasti cheez orachchi cheez me farak hota hai, bhai saab. â€Å"This advertisement reversed a declining brand share trend. The currents advertisement on television shows noted actor and human rights activistShabana Azmi (who did promote Ariel once upon a time), walking with two buckets ofwater and encouraging a crowd of people to do the same. It basically plays on SurfExcel’s strength to perform with lesser amounts of water.It thus underlines th