Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Effects Of Globalisation On Burger King

The Effects Of Globalisation On Burger King 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Reason for choosing project topic and organisation This Research and Analysis Project is based on topic 5: The effects of globalisation on Burger King Holdings Inc (referred as Burger King, the company or BK from now onwards). Among the reasons for choosing the topic include: Globalisation is neither a very elegant word nor a very clear concept, but the term has been accepted very quickly on a global scale (Wesseling, 2009). Globalisation reflects business orientation based on the belief that the world is becoming more homogeneous and that the distinctions between national markets are not only fading but for some products, will eventually disappear (Czinkota et al., 2004). Its fast growing impact on the world certainly attracts my attention. The ACCA course I am currently pursuing has provided me with some theoretical knowledge of this topic to analyze a real life company. This assignment will certainly allow me to put my theoretical knowledge into practical experience. By conducting research on an organisation, where BK will be my subject of research it will certainly widen my horizon of knowledge on this topic. Taking into account the information gathering analytical skills like computation, extrapolation and communication for the research which will help in my future career as an accountant, I will certainly benefit from my research on this topic. In any research project, ease of obtaining information is of main concern furthermore with most time and budget constraints. BK was chosen because its annual financial report, press release and other relevant information on the company are easily accessible online at its website www.bk.com. Further updates and company activities are also available by just a click away from academic databases and the internet. Another reason for choosing the company because BK is among the most well known fast food restaurants. BK is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. Every day, over 11 million guests visit a BK somewhere in the world (Burger King Holdings Inc., 2010).The tremendous market reach along with various achievements as listed in Appendix 1 as well as the fact that I am a fan of its offerings all compelled me to choose this company. Note: Only financial statement till June 2009 is used in this research as that was the latest annual financial statement published at the point of doing my research. 1.2 Project Objective and Research Question This research project involves the evaluation of the effects of globalisation on an organisation. After much research on this topic, I realised that different people around the people have different views and perception concerning globalisation. From quantitative point of view, globalisation is defined as the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across borders whereas from qualitative point of view, globalisation is defined as a process comprising a number of qualitative transformation, which are represented by technological transformation, the financial transformation, the geographical reallocation of production, the process of commodification, the polarisation of wealth, the subordination of politics to economics and the related decline of the nation state (Talani, 2004). Globalisation process, driven by rapid and largely unrestricted flows of information, ideas, cultural values, capital, goods and services and people lead to a shift towards a more integrated world economy. These processes, promoted by converging market preferences, falling trade barriers, and the integration of national economies is emerging as the norm in a growing range of economic activities, changing economic theory and practices (Jutaliaviciene et al., 2006). Globalisation has resulted in both opportunities and threats in terms of all parties involved such as suppliers, customers and competitors (Burgers et al., 1993; Courtney et al., 2001; Oxelheim et al., 1991). Thus even though there are many ways to examine the effects of globalisation but I believe Michael Porters Five Forces Model ( Barriers to Entry, Supplier Power, Customer Power, Rivalry, and Threat of Substitutes) can give a clearer picture of the industry the company operates in and steps taken by the company to stand out among all the other competitors worldwide. Therefore, the research question can be structured as What is the impact of globalisation on BK in terms of barriers to entry, supplier power, customer power, rivalry, and threat to substitutes using Porters Five Forces Model? 1.3 Overall research approach Porters five forces is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979 (Porter, 1979). It uses a basic five forces framework that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness of a market is based on overall industry profitability whereas an unattractive industry is where overall profitability is driven down by the combination of forces. An industry approaching pure competition would be a very unattractive industry (Porter, 1979; 1980). Porters Five Forces Model consists of 5 fundamental competitive forces: Threat of new entrants contribute to the capacity levels, affect prices and possibly reduce the profitability of existing competitors (Williams et el., 1996). Threat of substitutes exist if there are alternative products with lower prices of better performance parameters for the same purpose (Reklies, 2001). Bargaining power of customer is determined by the size and concentration of customers. Other factors are the extent to which buyers are informed and the concentration or differentiation of the competitors ( Karagiannopoulos, 2005). Bargaining power of supplier attempts to capture pressures that suppliers to the industry can exert on industry profitability. A powerful supplier can raise the companys cost through demanding higher prices for its input or delivering lower quality inputs (Rothaermel, 2008). Rivalry among existing competitors describes how intense could the competition be between existing firm in an industry. Lower returns earned by highly competitive industries due to the higher cost of competition (RapidBI., 2008). Appendix 2 gives more details on the forces and circumstances affecting the strength of each forces. The diagram below should give a better view of how the 5 forces interacts with each other. Rivalry among existing competitor Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of customer Bargaining power of supplier Threat of substitutes Diagram 1: The Five Competitive Forces that shapes strategy (Porter,1979) The effects of globalisation on BK as done with the five forces framework will help me to understand the competitive situation of the company and how competitive advantages might be achieved using the concepts and analytical techniques. As a final note, this model also promotes clear strategic thinking since Porter (1979) argues that business with no clear strategy will have no basis on which to integrate its activities and achieve consistency between its various function and units (The Antidote, 1998). In the end, could lead to reduced profitability and even failure.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Philistinism In England And America :: essays research papers

Comments on Matthew Arnold’s "Philistinism in England and America" In his essay, "Philistinism in England and America," Matthew Arnold examines the ancient ideas of Plato in the context of a twentieth century, capitalist society. As he agrees with almost all of what Plato had to say, he also admits that he is outdated, and that some of his teachings cannot be applied to us, living in an industrial superpower such as the United States. Still, though, Arnold defends the ancient philosopher. Education as a route to mental and physical righteousness is always a good idea, whether it is in modern America or Ancient Greece. I disagree with this, and it is here that I must contest the writings of Plato, as well as the essay by Arnold, for he is definitely a strong backer of the ancient ideals. In Plato’s mind, the value of an education is to clear one’s mind of impure thought, bring it to a higher lever than at the start, and attain a certain level of righteousness. This may have been a good idea 2300 years ago, but today, I see it as very limiting and impractical. In his time, only the rich aristocrats went to school. It’s purpose was not for the students to learn skills or ideas that would help them later in life, but to expand their minds, thus making them into ‘better people.’ There was no need for them to learn any job skills. Back then, if you came from a rich family, you were rich. Working at simple jobs was for the peasants and slaves. Today, life is different. Our society is completely unlike that of the ancient Greeks. We have no caste system limiting the wealth and prominence of any citizen, we have no slavery to handle all the manual labor, our army is proportionately smaller and much less honored, and religion is a part of one’s private life, not a dominating public force as it was to the Ancient Greeks. Most people today have a regular, day to day job, whether it be in an office, store, factory, or anywhere else. We have to earn our wealth by working, not inheritance. That is why most people go to school today. I am attending NYU so that I can get a job later in life. I study chemistry and engineering, in the hopes that I can become a chemical engineer.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Why Is Agriculture Important in the World of Today

Since the dawn of history, agriculture has been one of the important means of producing food for human consumption. Today more and more lands are being developed for the production of a large variety crops. In Asia, vast areas of land are being used to produce rice, wheat, rubber and a variety of other crops. In Asia, vast areas of land are being used to produce rice, wheat, rubber and a variety of other crops. More than half of the lands occupied and developed by human beings in the world are devoted to agriculture. That agriculture is one of the most essential means of producing food is realized easily when we think of the types of things that we eat. The rice or wheat that we eat comes from the land. Even potatoes and other roots or vegetables and even leaves such as tea, as well as the fruits that men eat are the products of the soil that covers the earth. In fact, everything that we eat except meat, fish and other kinds of flesh comes from the land and what grows on the land is part of agriculture. Even the sugar, oil, coffee and other beverages that we use are products of plants that grow on the land. In the same way, many of the medicines that we use are made of plants that grow in various parts of the world. The tobacco that we use for relaxation also comes from a plant. Thus, it can be easily observed that without agriculture we would be almost without food. It is true, however, that in the remote past men did live mainly on flesh that he obtained by hunting. But such a kind of life was unhappy and inconvenient, for animals were not found everywhere easily. Therefore, men turned to agriculture for his livelihood. Today, agriculture continues to provide almost all the foods that men require to survive on the earth.

Friday, January 3, 2020

External And Strategic Management Audit - 1145 Words

External strategic management audit, also known as external audit, is the identification and evaluation of events that cannot be controlled by the organization. For example, population shift, increased domestic and foreign competition, the revolution of technology and computer information, etc. To perform an external audit, it a difficult process to do so, because it covers a lot of information to analyze. The external audit shows the important opportunity and threats the company might face, which leads the management of the organization to create appropriate strategies. By doing so, the organizations can gain from those opportunities and can avoid any threats. There are five important external key factors that plays an important role in the external audit. The following are the five main factors of the external audit: †¢ Economic forces †¢ Social, demographic, cultural and environmental forces †¢ Political, legal and governmental forces †¢ Technological forces †¢ Competitive forces. 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