Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Yum! Pizza-Hut KFC

Yum! Pizza-Hut KFC Yum! Brands Inc, Pizza Hut, and KFC The fast food industry has exploded over the preceding century in both the United States and foreign markets. Rising income, greater affluence among a larger percentage of American households, higher divorce rates, and the marriage of people later in life contributed to the rising number of single households and the demand for fast food (Krug (2004) pg. 632). In 2004, Yum! Brands, Inc. was the worlds largest fast food company. It operated more that 33,000 KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers, and AW restaurants worldwide. Yum! Brands also operated more that 12,000 restaurants outside the United States (Krug (2004) pg. 627). In 2004, the company was focusing on international strategy and portfolio management to develop a strong market share with little high growth markets. The companies main focus in 2004 was to focus its international strategy on developing strong market share positions in a small number of high-growth markets such as Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Korea, and Mexico (Krug (2004) pg. 627). International strategy is based on diffusion and adaptation of the parent companys knowledge and expertise to foreign markets. The primary goal of the strategy is worldwide exploitation of the parent firms knowledge and capabilities (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 256). The analysis begins by looking at the strengths of the firm. Yum! Brands, Inc. has numerous strengths throughout its internal environment. The company was the market leader in the chicken, pizza, Mexican, and seafood segments of the U.S. fast food industry. It operates more than 33,000 units worldwide (Krug (2004) pg. 627). The focus of the company went from individual to multibranded units. Multibranded units attracted a larger consumer base by offering a broader menu selection in one location. The company operates more than 2400 multibrand restaurants in the U.S (Krug (2004) pg. 628). An additional strength within its internal environment comes from franchising. Franchising allowed firms to expand more quickly, minimize capital expenditures, and maximize return on invested capital (Krug (2004) pg. 633). Franchising has the advantage of limiting the risk exposure that a firm has in overseas markets while expanding the revenue base of the parent company (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg . 265). As we have come to realize, companies are never perfect and can have numerous weaknesses within its internal environment. Long distances between headquarters and foreign franchises made it more difficult to control the quality of individual restaurants. Large distances also caused servicing and support problems, and transportation and other resource costs were higher. In addition, time, cultural, and language differences increased communication problems and made it more difficult to get timely and accurate information (Krug (2004) pg. 635). A companys opportunities are the most influential to building an effective strategy. As the U.S. market matured, more restaurants turned to international markets to expand sales. Foreign markets were attractive because of their large customer bases and comparatively low competition. A great opportunity for Yum! Brands Inc. is to move its investment locations to Mexico. From a regional point of view, Latin America is appealing because of its close proximity to the United States, language and cultural similarities, and the potential for a future World Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would eliminate tariffs on trade within North and South America (Krug (2004) pg. 627). The external environment creates numerous threats for Yum! Brands Inc. One of the prime threats Yum! Brands, Inc. faces from the external environment is the increasing age in the population. Restaurants rely heavily on teenagers and college-aged workers. As the population ages, fewer young workers are available to fill food service jobs. Many restaurants were forced to hire less reliable workers, which affected both service and restaurant cleanliness. An additional weakness was that turnover rates were notoriously high. The National Restaurant Association estimated that 96% of all fast food workers quit within a year (Krug (2004) pg. 633). Another giant threat the company faces is the proliferation of new diets. Many Americans were eating pizza less often as they pursued the Atkins Diet (low carbohydrates), â€Å"The Zone† (balanced meals containing equal parts of carbohydrates, protein, and unsaturated fat), or a traditional low fat diet (Krug (2004) pg. 632). Chicken costs were also a threat to the company. A boneless chicken breast, which cost $1.20 per pound in early 2001, cost $2.50 per pound in 2004, an increase of more than 100 percent. Profit margins were being squeezed from both the revenue and cost sides (Krug (2004) pg. 632). In 2004, Yum! Brands Inc. started to pay more attention to portfolio management. The key purpose of creating portfolio models is to assist a firm in achieving a balanced portfolio of businesses. Businesses whose profitability, growth, and cash flow characteristics would complement each other and add up to a satisfactory overall corporate performance. Imbalance, for example, could be caused either by excessive cash generation with too few growth opportunities or by insufficient cash generation to fund the growth requirements in the portfolio (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 214). When using portfolio strategy approaches, a corporation tries to create synergies and shareholder value in a number of ways. One of the best portfolio strategy approaches is the Boston Consulting Groups (BCG) growth/share matrix. When using the (BCG) each business unit is broken down into four different quadrants, stars, cash cows, question marks, and dogs. Stars are the business units competing in high-growth industries with relatively high market shares. Question marks compete in high growth industries with weak market shares. Cash cows are business units with high market shares in low growth industries. Finally, dogs have weak market shares in low growth industries (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 214). Yum! Brands Inc. has several business units that are considered cash cows. The first business unit that is a cash cow is Pizza Hut. In 2003, Pizza Huts sales were 5 billion dollars. It has almost 50 percent of the industries market share. Although its market share is fairly high, its growth rate is only 1.3 percent. The average sales per unit are $605,700 throughout its 7,523 units (Krug (2004) pg. 631. Another cash cow is Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). As well as Pizza Hut, KFC is also the market leader in the chicken chain. In 2003, KFCs total sales were almost 5 billion dollars, more than 50 percent of the market share in the chicken chain segment. KFC had a growth rate of 2.8 percent. The average sales per unit are $897,800 throughout its 5,524 units. Despite its dominance, KFC is slowly losing market share as other chicken chains increases sales at a faster rate. Sales indicated that KFCs share of the chicken segment fell from a high of 64 percent in 1993, a 10 year drop of 14 percent (Krug (2004) pg. 631). The last cash cow of Yum! Brands Inc. is Taco Bell. Taco Bell is Yum Brand Inc. most profitable among the business units. In 2003, its sales were 5.3 billion dollars, averaging $879,700 per unit. Although it has a high market rate, it only has a growth rate of 2.8 percent (Krug, (2004) pg. 631). Taco Bell was able to generate greater overall profits because of its lower operating cost (Krug (2004) pg. 627). Its profits also were greater because the cooking machinery was simple, less costly, and required less space then a pizza oven or chicken broiler (Krug (2004) pg. 631). Despite the fact that the company has many cash cows throughout its business units, it also has two dogs in AW restaurants and Long John Silvers. In 2003, AW had sales of only 200 million dollars. That is over 5 billion dollars less than the sales that Taco Bell exceeded. Additionally, Long John Silvers had sales of 777 million dollars, averaging $640,000 throughout its units. Its growth rate was a low 2.8 percent six percent less than the industry leader McDonalds (Krug, (2004) pg. 631). Even though there are numerous benefits of portfolio models, there are also some downsides. First, the approach views each Strategic Business Unit (SBU) as a stand-alone entity, ignoring common core business practices and value-creating activities that may hold promise for synergies across business units. Second, unless care is exercised, the process becomes largely mechanical, substituting an oversimplified graphical model for the important contributions for the CEOs experience and judgment. Third, the reliance on â€Å"strict rules† regarding resource allocation across SBUs can be detrimental to a firms long term viability. Finally, while colorful and easy to comprehend the imagery of the BCG matrix can lead to some troublesome and overly simplistic prescriptions (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 216). Since 2004, Yum! Brands Inc. has been narrowing its focus on an international strategy. An international strategy is achieved by developing a strong market share position in a small number of high growth markets. There are a few advantages of international expansion. First, is it increases the size of potential markets for a firms products and services (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 243). Second, is reducing the costs of research and development as well as operating costs. Finally, it can enable a firm to optimize the physical location for every activity in its value chain (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 247). There are four risks when dealing with international strategy, political risk, economic risk, currency risk, and management risk. Political and economic risk can be any where from social unrest, military turmoil, elections, and even violent conflict or terrorist attacks. Any country that has this high risk is less attractive for most types of business. Currency risk can pose as a substantial risk for companies. When business units are in different countries they must pay very close attention to the exchange rates. Even a small change in the exchange rate can result in a significant difference in the cost of production or net profit when doing business overseas. Management risk is the risk manager face when they must respond to the inevitable differences that they encounter in foreign markets. Managers must also pay very close attention to the culture of the country they are looking to put there business units in (Dess, Lumkin, Eisner 2007 pg. 248-249). In conclusion, the SWOT analysis has given us a good view of the internal and external environments for Yum! Brands Inc. It has shown what the company can use for the building blocks for the strategic plan. To be successful, the firm must come across all the factors in the analysis. The Boston Consulting Group has shown which of the business units throughout Yum Brands Inc. are the most successful, and the units that need vast improvement. For Yum Brands Inc. to succeed with its international strategy, managers must pay close attention to the different risks that a country has. The international strategy must be success to develop a strong market share positions throughout the world. If the strategy fails the companys market share could drop significantly. Work Cited Krug, A. Jeffery (2004). Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Appalachian State University, 627- 638. Dess, G. Gregory, Lumpkin, G.T, Eisner, B. Eisner (2007). Strategic Management 3e. McGraw-Hill.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Battle of Ap Bac :: essays research papers

Battle of Ap Bac final draft   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early times of the Vietnam War there were two main sides, the Viet Cong who were rebels and opposed the South Vietnamese government, and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) which was on the side of the South Vietnamese government. This was one the very first times these two opposing forces had met in battle. On January 2, 1963 the battle of Ap Bac proved to be much more than a normal battle. Many things happened there that were unclear and not resolved. There were many different stories of what happened those days at Ap Bac. This paper will portray what I believed happened at Ap Bac given the evidence at hand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two accounts that I read had many holes and missing parts that I found to be not credible. Account two clearly states that ARVN had forces of over three thousand troops mostly from the Seventh Infantry Division, and the Viet Cong with only two hundred forty soldiers with the help of fifty guerrillas. Later on in account two it says that after the battle the ARVN lost sixty one troops with a hundred or more injured, and the Viet Cong only an estimated twelve. Right off the start this seems completely unrealistic. And here is why the ARVN had nearly ten to one odds with exceptionally superior fire power consisting of helicopters, artillery, and armed vehicles and only manage to kill twelve enemy soldiers. Also what I have learned from the past is that the government often does not give an exact number of people that died suggesting that the numbers came from another source which I found to be not credible. In account two it says â€Å"ARVN losses were heavy (si xty-one killed and about one hundred wounded.† The numbers in account two appear to be much too exact. Account two is very much statistical and everything is based on or around statistics which to me looks unbelievable. The second account is seen as a major loss and the ARVN were unable to overrun the out numbered Viet Cong. It seems to me to be a story that was built up very high and had lots of power like a tale of a heroic infantry, and then shot down and demolished into nothing but talk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the contrary account one seems to be much more realistic and truthful.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Sherman Alexie V. Frederick Douglass

Compare and Contrast Essay Frederick Douglass V. Sherman Alexie As a young child, we are given certain opportunities and guidance to expand our knowledge right off the bat when it comes to reading and writing. Going to school to get an education is what every parent aspires their child to do. Parents want the best for their children, to be accepted and to learn to their fullest extent just like every other child their age. However, there are many children and families who are not as privileged when it comes to receiving these certain opportunities.I ask myself a simple question: is education really taken for granted as if it is just a given and not a privilege? It seems that these days, going to school and learning is just expected. Nobody takes the time to realize how privileged they are to have an education, where they can learn to express themselves creatively and form opinions when thinking for themselves without others affecting you. Looking at two essays, â€Å"The Joy of Read ing and Writing: Superman and me† by Sherman Alexie, and â€Å"Learning to Read and Write† by Frederick Douglass, comparisons between the two are greatly visible.Both of these stories take an in depth look at these two young men’s lives, as we focus on what these stories are trying to tell, and what message(s) are trying to get across. Not only do these two authors share similarities in upbringing, but they also share the same determination when it comes to educating themselves on their own and proving to others that ignorance truly is bliss. Born and raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, Sherman Alexie was truly a remarkable boy.Coming from what he considered to be a poor family â€Å"by most standards†, Alexie claims that him and his family lived â€Å"on a combination of irregular paychecks, hope, fear and government surplus food† (Alexie pg. 16). At the young age of three, Alexie taught himself how to read with a Sup erman comic book. Where Alexie was from, â€Å"A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike. † (pg. 17). Expectations were at a low standard for Indian children like him. Teachers and students expected him to fail, especially in a learning environment of non-Indian students.Despite these ignorant accusations, Alexie refused to not only be a statistic within his community, but a failure as well. This is shown as he wrote, â€Å"I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant. I was lucky. I read books late into the night, until I could barely keep my eyes open† (pg. 17). He jumped at the chance to read anything in his tracks, giving him the opportunity to expand his mind and knowledge base. He fought with his classmates on a daily basis because they expected him to stay silent if questions were asked in class.Alexie refused to do so; he bypassed his classmates intellectually and would not let anyone make him feel infe rior. As he grew up to become a writer, we see pain in the story he tells. â€Å"I loved those books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life† (pg. 18). Alexie wanted to be someone greater than what others expected him to be. People would put him down constantly, but he fought back just as much. He tried to save himself from the stereotypes of being just another dumb Indian.He had more determination to prove others wrong when it came too exceeding in reading to further excel in his daily life. When talking about determination and power to succeed, many similarities are portrayed by Sherman Alexie and Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Maryland. For most of his life he lived in what he said, â€Å"Master Hugh’s family† (Douglass pg. 129). Douglass’s mistress, someone he claimed to be a â€Å"kind and tender-hearted woman† (pg. 129), had begun to instruct him on how to read and writ e starting with teaching him the alphabet.Slavery is mainly what caused the change in Douglass’s life. As his master found out about his wife’s actions in teaching him how to read and write, she was instructed to stop. She quickly turned from warm and tender hearted to cold and fierce. This eventually left Douglass to take his education into his own account and further teach himself. He stated that, â€Å"The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street. As many of these as I could, I converted into teachers.With their kindly aid, obtained at different times and in different places, I finally succeeded in learning to read† (pg. 130). Douglass took matters into his own hands and did whatever he could to learn. Along with learning how to read himself, he also learned how to write by looking at letters on timber in old ship-yards. Copying down the letters he saw an d making four letter names by associating them with certain objects. Much later in Douglass’s life, he went on and became a leader in the abolitionist movement.Coming from a dark past while living in slavery to becoming a great speaker and someone others can look up to as a role model. The similarities between these two men are uncanny. For one, the both share a similar upbringing as young boys dealing with racism. For Sherman Alexie, he was a young Indian boy living on a reservation facing stereotypes how Indian children are expected to be unintelligent. As for Frederick Douglass, he was a young boy who grew up a slave and faced cold treatment from those who were once there for him.What these two shares is a common similarity when it comes to dealing with racism and all its ignorance. Both of these young men were forced to learn on their own due to others constantly doubting their intelligence and stereotyping. However, the main similarity between these two comes down to one word, determination. Determination and the desire to achieve are Alexie and Douglass’s greatest qualities. Alexie was always told that Indian children were expected to be dumb and Frederick was automatically expected to be uneducated due to the fact that he was a slave, and that slaves were to not have an education.Both of them took the negative aspects of their life and made them positive. Doing this eventually led the both of them into having successful lives. By taking the time to educate themselves and better their knowledge, Alexie became a well-known writer, and Douglass an abolitionist leader and speaker. Alexie and Douglass proved that ignorance is bliss, and showed that judging someone without knowing who they are or what they are capable of will do nothing but prove you wrong. Nobody has the right to ignorantly make assumptions about a person or their lives.This just goes to show how knocking someone down will make them come back ten times as strong. For Alexie and Douglass, education was their main obstacle in life. They lived through how an education can either make or break you depending on the situation. What it comes down to is whether or not you are willing to achieve further and harder than to listen to what others think they have to say about your success. Although both achieved success in a different outcome than another, they are both great examples of how each had a similar upbringing down to their determination for success.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Capital Punishment Should Not Be Abolished - 1541 Words

The Death Penalty has occurred long before 2500 BC, when first written law was created. Before that time, if a person committed a severe crime, like murder or rape, they were executed to maintain peace in the community and to bring comfort to those who knew the victim. Capital punishment has been used in almost every part of the world, but in the last few decades many countries have abolished it. The issue of capital punishment has been a sensitive topic for nations attempting a careful balancing act between prisoner’s rights and legal defense teams and society’s laws on cases of extreme gravity. Some religions forbid the death penalty like Presbyterian, Quaker, Amish, and Mennonite. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the death penalty is permissible in cases of extreme gravity (Catechism 2267). With informational consideration and research, capital punishment should not be abolished in the United States and should be reinstated in all states. By allowing capital punishment to be part of a justice system, removal of threat to society transpires, costs will benefit the economy, and above all, justice and retribution will be served. Vengeance has its origin in religious teachings, which have historically upheld the popular phrase â€Å"an eye for an eye which comes in hand with â€Å"a life for a life†. When a life is taken, the balance of justice is disturbed in a society. Unless that balance is restored, society yields to a rule of violence on a social psychologicalShow MoreRelatedCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished965 Words   |  4 PagesHaesemeyer Advanced Studies English 9 7 April 2017 Capital Punishment Over the centuries, capital punishment has fallen in and out of public support. In several countries, the practice has been overruled by law. In others, it is simply not exercised. More than half of U.S. states still practice capital punishment for capital crimes. Often, innocent people are sentenced to death because of circumstantial evidence. Capital punishment should be abolished in all fifty U.S. states because of the severalRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Not Be Abolished901 Words   |  4 Pagesgovernment (â€Å"Capital Punishment in the United States†). Capital punishment is being debated all over the world whether it is murder or justice for the crime they have committed. Statistics show that murderers often kill again after releasement from prison. The Bureau of Justice gives relevant statistics pertaining to murderers who were released from prison: in 1994 40.7% of murderers were arrested for a new crime within three years of release (United States Department of Justice). Capital punishment shouldRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished1115 Words   |  5 Pagesjail time, house arrest, and/or having to pay fines. Crimes that are severe can lead to greater punishment, like spending life in prison. The most severe crimes can lead one to an equally severe punishment known as capital punishment. Capital punishment is the authorization to kill someone for the crime he or she has committed. Capital punishment, commonly referred to as the death penalty, should be abolished in all states because it can put innocent lives at risk, it costs millions of dollars each yearRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Not Be Abolished750 Words   |  3 PagesCapital Punishment Should Not be Abolished There are many reasons why the United States of America keeps capital punishment. These reasons include the deterrence theory, the idea of retribution, cost of prisons, and general safety of the public. First of all, I’m sure that you have heard of the deterrence theory. Deterrence is basically the fear of punishment; and even though it doesn’t prevent all crimes, the results are still undeniable. The deterrence theory is when criminals thinkRead MoreCapital Punishment Should be Abolished883 Words   |  4 Pages Capital punishment is the punishment of death for a crime given by the state. It is used for a variety of crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and treason. Many countries also have the death penalty for sexual crimes such as rape, incest and adultery. The lethal injection, the electric chair, hanging and stoning are all methods of execution used throughout the world. Capital punishment has been around since ancient times; it was used in ancient Rome, and one of the most famous people to be crucifiedRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished1137 Words   |  5 PagesThe case for capital punishment Topic: why capital punishment should continue General purpose: To argue Specific purpose: my main aim is to convince the audience that capital punishment should be upheld. In other, the advantages of capital punishment outweigh its disadvantages. Introduction Capital punishment is also known as death penalty and it has been in existence since time immemorial. Throughout history, the death penalty has been used to punish a number of crimes that include murderRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished1955 Words   |  8 Pagesit has become apparent that capital punishment should be abolished worldwide. Around the world, various countries continue to practice this brash, inhumane punishment. The legal system is intended to regulate citizen’s behaviour which aims to provide a smooth functioning society. When someone is sentenced to death, the legal system loses the â€Å"fair† aspect of the proceedings, as under no circumstances is the death penalty â€Å"fair†. Capital punishment should be abolished because it violates Section 12Read MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished1135 Words   |  5 Pagesname -unknown. Nobody should ever have to hear these words. Especially coming from their own state the one that is supposed to protect their rights no matter what. Capital punishment should be abolished from the United States. The number one goal of the constitution is to protect the life of an individual and the death penalty passes by this. The death penalty is an easy way out of the crime, it is expensive, philosophers and even psychologists disagree with capital punishment and most important itRead MoreCapital Punishment Should Be Abolished Essay1293 Words   |  6 PagesApproaching the topic of capital punishment is difficult when looking at society as a whole. In the opinion stated by my class group, capital punishment should be entirely abolished due to the possibility of mistakes while sentencing. This idea relies on the basis that capital punishment has absolutely no purpose or benefit. Members of my group mistakenly used a utilitarianist point of view to argue their case, even though this view can be stretched to fit almost any argument. This paper will exploreRead MoreCapital Punish ment Should Be Abolished1439 Words   |  6 Pagesto outlaw capital punishment in America completely. We are meant to be better and bigger than this then why do w still have this barbaric law in practice it is inhumane, morally wrong and expensive. In my paper I will try to cover the taboo topic of capital punishment and why it should be abolished because if we as a society want to grow and advance in a sophisticated society we must abolish the death penalty all across the land. To begin with I must explain what capital punishment really is and