Context and Truth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Context and Truth - Essay Example It's also the interconnected circumstances in which something exists or happens. It has a major role to play in the sense that it can be as powerful as completely changing the meaning of the said or written to something totally opposite of what the original had been. Context can be categorized into several demographic classes; be it social or political. The thought is that context influences the means we comprehend the term. The truth in its actual meanings is the level of meaningfulness, fact relation, confirmation and level of sincerity. Wherever the 'truth' comes in, the result is either one will staunchly agree to it and will consider it a sin to question or challenge its credibility. But with the evident of the truth, there is also uproar by those who are doubtful about its existence. Either they completely reject the truth or they begin look for answers which makes them believe in that truth. A lot people argue on the truthfulness of something. What actually they are doing is that they are trying to match their desired answers with the ones they already have. This is merely in pursuit of getting ones' self correct in front of others. After all its human nature that one finds it difficult to accept failure. So to maintain one's self respect, to continue to feed one's ego and to fulfill the urge of being superior to others makes one argue on the truthfulness of something. Thus in this case the truth turns out to be something overloaded with certain facts that might have been related to the topic by someone in such a technical way that it looks as the truth in front of the claims placed by others (Taylor, 1998). This is a good way engineering any sort of communication to benefit ones' self and create a wining situation against the competing claims of anyone else. But during this competing what happens is that either the truth becomes distorted or it completely loses its originality. You can understand it by this that consider the truth to an elephant and you ask seven blind men, to touch and feel the elephant and then describe what an elephant looks like. The result will be that each of the seven blind men will think that only he knows what an elephant looks like and thus, only he knows what the truth is. To justify the existence of truth, another approach may be of finding out the best possible answer(s)! Many people will agree on this point. The fact, that though a lot of people know that what is the truth and are having its full availability and awareness. But still these people are in a constant search of truth, is based on the concept of finding what is best. People are in constant search of truth because knowing the truth about life, this world or this universe can give them satisfaction. It can help them in understanding themselves better. Its can help people become productive. It can help us to solve problems that we face in every phase of our life. Extending on the saying "survival of the fittest", the rule is very much applicable to the "Truth" as well. The truth therefore may be also based on an entity's nature, a certain phenomena or even someone else's experiences. This yields truth to be subjective to different aspects. However, this is not the actual case. The truth of any n' every thing is its correctness which can neither be judged by mere proofs nor can be measured on some scale. It is not the truth that

Working with people and organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Working with people and organisations - Essay Example Furthermore preventative strategies and dilemmas were encountered. When considering student social work one of the overarching aspects is the consideration of the welfare of the individuals involved. Indeed, Ollsen (2008) has indicated the tenuous nature of such circumstances on the children involved, â€Å"Unaccompanied minors often face severe trauma during their preflight lives as well as during the course of their migration. These traumatic experi- ences can have negative psychosocial impacts on the minors† In many instances one understands the cases and the level of support that they require, but still rely heavily on supervision for the best outcome. I have relied on supervision and have found it extremely necessary as working so closely with your cases means one must maintain an appropriate professional boundary. I have found that foster children and their birth families often in conversation slip something to you, hoping that it will not be reported. I am constantly aware of safeguarding and always advise them it must be noted. That information could be apparent later on and could put someone’s life at risk or cause personal danger. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ As a Student Social Worker I have been assigned nine foster children to support. Some foster carers currently have no placements, but still require regular support, advice and training. Unlike working with a local authority, my foster carers could be 60 miles round trip away from our offices. As a lot of our placements are from different local authorities, our foster carer’s home addresses can span all boroughs. I was trained to use social e-care and also carried out general office based duties usually carried out by a duty worker in the day to day processes of dealing with referrals from local authorities in placing looked after children with well matched foster carer’s. I was professional at all times, particularly when taking referrals

Macro Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Macro Economics - Assignment Example It also provides individuals to act based on their self-interest regarding the decisions in the economy. This thought ensures that the economic resources are allocated based on the desires of businesses and individuals. The classical economists uses the value of money in determining the prices in the market. On the other hand, the Keynesian school of thought depends on the aggregate demand and spending in defining the economic marketplace. The Keynesian economists believe that the private and public decisions influences the aggregate demand. Public decisions entails the municipalities and government agencies. Private decisions entails the businesses and the individuals found in the economic marketplace. Government spending is not one of the major forces in classical economic literature. Business investments and consumer spending represent the most important section of the country. Too much government expenses takes away the resources needed by businesses and individuals. On the contrary, the Keynesian economics relies on the government spending to jumpstart the nation (Nikaido, 546). The classical school of thought focuses to create long term mitigation for economic problems. The issues on inflation, government taxes, and government regulations are the main agenda for the classical school of thought. The Keynesian school of thought focuses on the immediate outcome in the economic theories. The policies set by the Keynesians were short term and required instant corrections to the nation. This is the reason why government spending is the main cog in this school of thought. From the classical model graph, the aggregate supply curve is illustrated by the vertical line. From the Keynesian model, the aggregate supply curve slopes upwards based on the Keynesian school of thought. The two school of thought represents the aggregate supply and aggregate demand and they

Weight lost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Weight lost - Essay Example Several factors in the human body affect the rate of shading off the excess calories, which lead to the desired loss of weight metabolic rate being one of the factors (Chatterjee 2007). The amount of energy that a human body consumes through the running of several organs varies from one person to the other. Consumption of this energy highly depends on the muscle tissue and those who consume high energy during rest are likely to burn more calories than those who use little energy. Body response to calorie reduction is the other factor. This varies from one person to the other as the body may decide to shut down automatically to preserve more calories. Other factors include the level of stress, genetic composition, amount of sleep and the type and amount of bacteria found in the gut. Exercise is one of the elements practised by many to enhance weight loss. Just like an automotive, a human body needs a supply of energy during activity to the muscles to help carry on (Chatterjee 2007). When the exercise is continuously carried out, it depletes the blood sugar, which in turn sends signals to the specific glands that release hormones that enhance the removal of more fats stored to provide the needed energy. Dieting is another important factor that a person who intends to lose weight should keep in mind. Since the stored excess fat brings excess weight, an individual should ensure that the diet is less in sugar and starch (Shartava, 2011). Overcoming the huger feeling and taking bites is always a big challenge but if one can be able to avoid this then, it can be of great help. Burning off more calories than a person is consuming helps in the situation. Weight loss has a significant effect in the daily activities of an individual. First is the ability to perform more activities without exhaustion as compared to an individual who has more weight (Saylor, 2006). This is associated with the ability to move easily and perform tasks with ease. The other thing is

Macro Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Macro Economics - Assignment Example It also provides individuals to act based on their self-interest regarding the decisions in the economy. This thought ensures that the economic resources are allocated based on the desires of businesses and individuals. The classical economists uses the value of money in determining the prices in the market. On the other hand, the Keynesian school of thought depends on the aggregate demand and spending in defining the economic marketplace. The Keynesian economists believe that the private and public decisions influences the aggregate demand. Public decisions entails the municipalities and government agencies. Private decisions entails the businesses and the individuals found in the economic marketplace. Government spending is not one of the major forces in classical economic literature. Business investments and consumer spending represent the most important section of the country. Too much government expenses takes away the resources needed by businesses and individuals. On the contrary, the Keynesian economics relies on the government spending to jumpstart the nation (Nikaido, 546). The classical school of thought focuses to create long term mitigation for economic problems. The issues on inflation, government taxes, and government regulations are the main agenda for the classical school of thought. The Keynesian school of thought focuses on the immediate outcome in the economic theories. The policies set by the Keynesians were short term and required instant corrections to the nation. This is the reason why government spending is the main cog in this school of thought. From the classical model graph, the aggregate supply curve is illustrated by the vertical line. From the Keynesian model, the aggregate supply curve slopes upwards based on the Keynesian school of thought. The two school of thought represents the aggregate supply and aggregate demand and they

The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank (1947) Essay Example for Free

The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank (1947) Essay Keeping diaries and journals have always been considered as peoples typical form of documenting the significant events and experiences that go through their lives. Over the years, a lot of people have already been renowned due to the significant contributions of their diaries to different fields such as history, science and anthropology. Journals, unlike periodicals, books and other published materials may reveal information that are only limited about their personal lives, but these nevertheless reflect significant information about the generation they belong, the government that ruled during their time, the current state of the society during their time, as well as how the people were during that particular generation. Considering this, it can be assumed that journals also hold a particular relevance in exploring history. It may not reveal extensive details as what history books and publications may offer, but these nonetheless reveal a different kind of revelation about a certain generation with a specific relevance to history. In this light, this discussion shall explore on the personal journal of a one person who was became known in history due to her revealing and eye-opening revelation about her time during the Nazi’s invasion during the World War. The succeeding discussions shall scrutinize and analyse the personal journal of Anne Frank, which has become very popular in 1947 due to the very revealing information it disclosed about the Nazi generation during the World War. Journal Evaluation and Analysis Anne Frank’s Journal was written during 1947. Her journal was basically like a compilation of diary entries written on colored sheets of paper. Anne Frank’s diary was entitled The Diary of a Young Girl. From this title, a lot of ideals can already be presumed about the life of a young girl who went through the life amidst the war. This alone makes the journal very interesting as the imagination, thoughts and perspectives of a young girl could be the freshest as well as the most adventurous thoughts. A person can never measure and limit a young girl’s imagination and thinking. It’s vulnerability as well as its innocence make it so transparent and honest, that it tends to express in perfect accuracy everything that goes on around it. One of the most interesting features in Anne Frank’s diary’s title is that it is bare and simple. It simply displaces itself as a mere diary of a young girl, and not like any kind of comprehensive and technical account on historical events by a history enthusiast. Basically, the diary was Anne’s way of retelling her generation. Every word that was written on each colored sheet presented a reality about the Nazy invasion in Amsterdam during the World War. This diary was done when Anne was hiding in a safe house with her family and friends in 1942. As what can be expected from a town amidst the war, Annes environment has been very dim and uncertain. All the violence, the pain and misery of her time was put into the pages of Annes journal, and this was made available to the public and to the later generations after several years. Jan Romein, a historical literature critique and a historical journals enthusiast was able to take a look at the original sheets of Annes diary and this is what he had to say about it: â€Å"this apparently inconsequential diary by a child, this de profundis stamered out in a childs voice, embodies all the hideousness of fascism, more so than all the evidence at Nuremberg put together† (Jan Romein, qtd. in Cole 25) This was basically how the critics tyoically saw Anne Franks diary. Apparently it appeared as an honest revelation of pain and grief from a young girl who has been trapped in a fascist war. In looking back at the historical context of the story, it can be recalled that this diary was completed within a small, hidden annex from where Anne found her own safetly from all the turbulence of the war. However, before this point of her life at war, it is important to note that some of the most significant factors in her urge to write a diary are the deaths of some of her closest friends and relatives who were left unsafe in the roads of Amsterdam that also served as battlefields. It was very stirring to feel from her words the pain of losing loved ones and seeing them be taken away by the dark smoke of revolution and the injustice of relentless violence. The book has not been available to the public right after the war or even right after Annes death. It was first kept by her father, Otto Frank who was placed into a moment of tears when he read about all the things her daughter had to say about their unforgettable experiences during the war. It was also through Otto Franks review of his daughters diary that Annes objective in writing it was realized. Basically, Anne was a passionate writer. She was always into scribbling on her note pads and writing poems and short stories. When the war came and they had to be hidden in a secret annex, all the sources of Annes fun as a teen ager was taken away as well. And instead, it was suddenly replaced by huge blows of fear, uncertainty and misery. As a child who carries a soft and vulnerable heart, Anne prefered to be strong for her family and for herself. And since she was never really able to speak out about her fears and uncertainties, Anne was pushed by her ownself into writing journal enties so as to reveal her hearts thoughts and revelations. Basically, the authors objectives were very clear as the presentation of it has been very honest and innocent knowing it all came from a young girls perspective. But aside from this interesting fact, it is significant to note also that Anne Frank was able to develop herself as a good poet and a very creative short story writer because of this venture. Research and Comparison Anne Franks diary was never a kind of its own. As what has been mentioned earlier, there have been a lot of individuals who have already been renowned all over the world due to the significant contributions their personal journals gave for the study of history and anthropology. Just like Anne Frank, Samuel Pepys is another individual who has became known due to the contributions his personal journal to the study of history, especially during the holocaust era. Juts like Annes diary, Samuels revelation about his generation during the war has been very revealing and enlightening. Samuels diary were filled with the typical day-to-day diary entries of a married man, who us being trapped in a political chaos during the halocaust era. This made his entried rather politically inclined instead of being mere presentations of what went on throughout his day. Samuel Pepys work has been known in Great Britain due to the revelations it was able to displace about the political state of the the country during his generation. And Just like Annes diary, Samuels journal was also seen as a â€Å"recorder of political events† during his generation (Gyford). Furthermore, his work, just like Annes journal has helped researchers and the students of history in their scruitiny and quest for understanding about the life during the holocaust era. The different reviews on Anne Franks diary basically directed on a single realization, that iss, Annes revelations really helped a lot in understanding history since it came from a more real experience. However, over the years, a lot of uncertainties about the authenticity of Annes diary floated. The New York Times explains why this uncertainty can be considered quite predictable: â€Å"One of the main reasons why we used scientific evidence to unravel all the facts about the diary was to expose the falsehood of neo-Nazi and rightist groups in Europe and the United States† (Barnouw, qtd. in Mitgang) And although a lot of people during the past decades have fallen in doubt on the genuinity of Annes diary, these uncertainties were nevertheless proven false as Annes diary was finally proven authentic on 1989 (Mitgang). Final Reflections Typically, a person will easily feel as if he or she is violating someones privacy upon reading someone elses diary. Being able to read Anne Franks diary did not feel anything like that. It was like Anne Frank was destined to write her diary entries for the future generations. Her diary provided the modern students of history a more realistic reference material about what the times during the world war and the holocaust era was like based from the juvenile and innocent perspective of a young girl. Considering that Anne was still young when her diary was created, most of his journal entries were really captivating and emotionally stirring as the reality of pain, fear and misery during the war came straight from the vulnerable and seemingly helpless thoughts of a young girl who has been trapped in the chaos she never wanted to be in. This can also be considered as one of the most significant factors that made this journal very interesting. A young girls revelation about life and about the state of the world can be the most interesting in the sense that the innocence and honesty is still preserved. Furthermore, Annes experiences and revelations also bring people to a realization that indeed, some of the most important things at war are faith, hope and personal strength. Indeed, aside from historical facts about the state of Amsterdam during the war, Anne Franks diary became a source of inspiration and values about how to preserve faith and hope despite the turbulence and atrocity of war. Wotks Cited Cole, Tim. Selling the Holocaust: From Auschwitz to Schindler. Routledge, 2000 Frank, Anne. Het Achterhuis (The Diary of Anne Frank). Contact Publishing,1952 Gyford, Phil. â€Å"Legends of British History: Samuel Pepys†. Website. PepysDiary. com. 12 May 2010. http://www. pepysdiary. com/indepth/archive/2008/12/12/legends_of_british. php. Mitgang, Herbert. â€Å"An Authenticated Edition of Anne Franks Diary†. The New York Times. Website. 08 June 1989. 12 May 2010. http://www. nytimes. com/1989/06/08/books/an-authenticated-edition-of-anne-frank-s-diary. html.

Describe The Strategic Alternatives Given Business Essay

Describe The Strategic Alternatives Given Business Essay We are shivering in our paints, as we grope against new competition from firms from USA and Korea. A very senior LT executive to the author at a Management Development Programme at IIM (Ahmedabad) in 1993 The competition we have faced till now is nothing is compared to what lies in store for us. Till now, the period (post-liberalisotion) was one of learning and assessment for the big global competitors Sudhakar Divokar Kulkarni, CEO. to the case author in April 1997. In 1997 Larsen and Tubro (LT), one of the largest engineering companies in India (and one of the top five private sector companies) posted yet again a growth rate of over 20 per cent. This happened for the fourth consecutive year despite acute liquidity crisis in the market, political instability, and uncertainty about execution of power projects of foreign companies (e.g. Enron), and so no. Since last few years, LT was becoming a lesson for companies worldwide in managing explosive growth and developing internal capabilities on a continuous basis. Simultaneously, it was setting new challenges for the academics in defining core competencies and core capabilities. An independent survey named LT to be one of the best managed companies in Asia and another by Business Toda, showed that the company was one of the most transparent and a leader on the issue of corporate governance. During 1995-96 and 1996-97, the company achieved an incredible growth in sales of nearly Rs. 1,000 crore per a nnum over the previous years, crossing the landmark turnover of Rs. 5,000 crore in the process. The Evolution L T was set up in 1938 as a partnership trading firm by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck Larsen and Soren kristian Toubro, who had quit their jobs. In 1946, it became a private limited company and by 1950 reached the status of a public limited company. Table 1 gives the evolutionary picture in brief. LT presently has a shareholder base of nearly 1 million and employee strength of over 24,000 As a company, this multi-dimensional engineering giant is actually the nucleus of a group of companies involved in building complexes, worksheets, offices and service outlets at different locations all over India and abroad. Over the years, LT has acquired a commendable reputation for capabilities for executing engineering related projects. Table 1 LT Business History: The Milestones 1938 Incorporation as a partnership firm 1946 Incorporation as a Private Ltd Co. I950 LT goes public Powai Works set up 1961 Audco India incorporated for manufacturing valves 1962 Retirement of Soren Toubro; EWAC Ltd. set up for manufacture of welding alloys 1963 TENGL founded to manufacture crawler undercarriage parts for caterpillars 1969 Agency business abolished, formation of LT Bottle Closure division 1971 LT McNeil set up for manufacturing Presses for tyre industry 1974 Management Organization Structure and Management Planning and Control System introduced LT Bangalore Works commences production of hydraulic excavators 1978 Larsen retires. LT Faridabad commences production of switchgear 1982 ECC merged with L&T; LT enters shipping business with two ships 1983 LT enters cement manufacturing with Awarpur plant commencing production 1987 LT enters computer hardware with floppy discs and printers; LT Gould for electronic test and measured instruments 1988 Cement capacity enhanced to 2.2 m tons per annum 1989 90 LT under DH Ambani (as chairman) 1990 93 Repeated takeover attempts by RIL 1993 95 Series of strategic alliances and tie-ups resulting in formation of LT-Niro. LT-Chiyoda, LT Sargent Lund9, LT Finance, and so on. The Takeover Attempt During 1991 93, as the country progressed towards liberalisation, the company just emerged from a not-so-welcome takeover threat from the powerful Ambanis of Reliance. The Ambanis were themselves embarking upon massive expansion in chemicals and petrochemicals business, and LT would have provided a real and logical synergy in terms of executing turnkey projects for construction, engineering, supplying machinery and of course, offering suppliers credit (to the tune of Rs. 1.000 crore). Through protracted investigation and litigation (in which the Reliance Industries Ltd. was found to have collected forged proxies), the company somehow remained in the hands of professionals. The big question mark as posed by an article in the Economic and Political weekly was Where does LT go from where it has reached now? However, it was obvious that a total new mindset and working culture would be required if LT was to grow and remain competitive. In 1993 94, the company started adopting the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) by becoming customer focused, reducing the costs and wastage, and adding value at all stages for maximising customer satisfaction. In 1994, Mr. S.D. Kulkarni took over as the CEO of LT and confidently promised that the company would reach its mission of being a Rs. 10,000 crore ($3 bn.) company by the end of the century. He also declared that the company would strive to maintain and develop leadership positions in all its businesses or else it will quit. Simultaneously, zero retrenchment was promised. The philosophy of TQM was embraced with added emphasis on customer delight, that is, delivering more value than expected by the customer. Vision, Core Values, and TQM Infrastructure being a key bottleneck for Indian industry was identified as the engine of Growth for the companys ambitious plans. But before that, the company needed an ambition statement, which every employee could own and share. A massive companywide exercise for finding out what the company stood for and what its core values were was embarked upon. The emergent statement though not sounding much different from several other organisations vision, however, came to be owned and understood by almost every employee because of the process of identifying the mission and peoples involvement. The key elements of LTs vision f focussed towards a world class company dedicated to: excellence and professionalism customer delight through service entrepreneurial leadership and creation of an organisation that is on the path of continuously learning by fostering teamwork, trust, and care Community service and environmental protection. Core Competencies According to a senior executive, today the core competence of LT lies in its ability to synthesise, integrate and harmonise its diverse world-class engineering, manufacturing, procurement, construction and fabrication skills around turnkey projects (in core economic sectors) and people. This is made possible through a world class vendor base and quality technological alliances, excellent IT infrastructure (CAD,/CAM systems, PMIS etc.) sophisticated fabrication facilities for plant and machinery in the core sector. Business Leadership LT holds a leadership position in India in most of the areas in which it operates. The first company to introduce hydraulic excavators in the country, it still maintains its leadership status in this and in the vibratory compactor segments. LTs switchgear products enjoy a dominant position in Indian as well as the international markets. It continues to be a leader in the manufacture of Z-Line petrol pumps and its cement is considered to be of high quality. LT has pioneered the manufacture and supply of critical nuclear reactors and space vehicles hardware in the country. It has to its credit many firsts in the Indian industry from the indigenously manufactured hydrocracker reactor, naptha run power plants, the worlds largest curing press, to the first vertical dairy in the country and so on. With the Project and Construction business in the country growing at a fast pace and expected to continue to do so with the country s emphasis on infrastructure, both LT ECC (Construction Group) and LT s Projects (EPC) businesses are being treated as thrust areas. The ECC construction group has been responsible for construction landmarks both in India and abroad, for instance, the Bahai house of worship in Delhi, an international airport terminal in Abu Dhabi, bridges in Malaysia, hotels in Uzbekistan, and so on. Its major projects have been building of cement plants for Grasim Industries, Gujarat Ambuja Cements, and ACC Ltd., construction of bridges and railway tunnels for the Konkan Railway project. In projects business, LT EPC group successfully executed orders from ONCC (for piping and oil platforms), Tata Chemicals {for captive co generation power plant) and Gandhinagar Dairy. In shipping and international business too, the company has made significant progress to become one of the leading players in their line of business. LT has a long and enviable record of high-tech fabrication. The workshops in Powai with CNC precision machines house large-size precision fabrication facilities. Its major heavy engineering complex at Hazira also caters to such needs. LTs units and its links with globally reputed organisations have contributed much in developing manufacturing excellence. Decision-making at LT Over the years, the company has implemented its vision through various approaches. Foremost is the emphasis on empowerment, teamwork, and continuous training of employees. In terms of structure, the company has decentralised decision-making, and according to Mr. Kulkarni, CEO, the concept of Strategic Business Units (SBUs) is being actively encouraged. The company is decentralised for all practical purposes. Budgets and allocations are made at the beginning of the year and SBUs undertake the responsibility for achieving the targets. Only in major decisions involving capacity augmentation, business divestment, diversification, and so on does the CEO personally involve himself. According to Mr. Kulkarni, only through empowerment and decentralised decision making can a highly diversified company like LT be managed. For example, though the decision to divest the Dot Matrix Printers (DMPs) business was first proposed by the concerned department, yet the decision was taken ai the MD/Board level as it agreed that product and technological obsolescence and synergy of DMPs with other businesses was indeed low. The Culture of TQM The TQM journey, initiated in 1993, has now taken firm roots in LT. The efforts put in training a large number of employees has resulted in the launch of many quality improvement initiatives. A large number of employees have participated in continuous improvement (Kaizen) and small group activities. Several cross-functional teams regularly function in the areas of manufacturing, design, marketing and services. LT has created an environment for increased empowerment to further improve customer services. The TQM Awareness Programmes have also been extended to the stockists and vendors to achieve improvement in the operations and customer service. LT strongly believe in the concept of internal customers. With TQM knowledge spreading widely inside the company, employees have realised that everybody in every department is a supplier to somebody in the organisation if not directly to an outside customer. One employee says, even though it is difficult to oblige everybody, I believe that we should go a step forward to understand the real requirements of the customer, which he himself may not be fully aware of, and delight the customer through total quality and service. Such an attitude should be our guiding force. A value strongly sought to be inculcated in the employees is that people can confront competition better by moving from a product-oriented philosophy to a customer-oriented philosophy. For this, employees are being trained in multi skills, including quality transactions and market engineering, besides product engineering. With people being regarded as the prime movers, a strong HRD culture pervades the organisations personnel policies, and HRD systems are designed to sustain motivation, encourage learning, and achieve higher levels of quality and productivity through job involvement. The embracing of TQM philosophy.and implementation of ISO 9000 systems by almost all divisions has led people to work towards common goals with a customer oriented approach. Social Commitments Corporate Citizenship The Mumbai Chamber presented the Good Corporate Citizen Award for the year 1994 -95 to Larsen and Toubro Limited for its contribution to Larsen and Toubro Limited for its contribution to the corporate world, but more importantly for its conspicuous achievements in improving the quality of life in the community. Award for most Outstanding Concrete Structure The ECC Division of LT received the ICI-Mc-Bauchemie Award presented by The Indian Concrete Institute for the most outstanding concrete structure for the year 1995 96 for Sree Kanteerava Indoor Sports Complex is Bangalore. The structure is considered to be an engineering marvel. The citation for the award reads Sree Lanteerava Indoor Sports Complex is designed in the shape of an ellipse using 120 V shaped precast folded plate elements. Each element is 43 m long and weighs 55. t. The thickness of the plate is just 40 mm, but strengthened by ribs throughout its length. Since the folded plate springs from the ring beam along the outer periphery and connected by the compression ring at the crown, the entire roof is self supporting, providing an unobstructed column-fee space of 119 m x 91 m with a playing arena of 65 m x 45 min the centre. Environment Upgradation LT has been showing its commitment towards corporate citizenship. As one goes around the works and offices of LT. one experiences a soothing and refreshing ambience because of the rich foliage and delightful floral blooms around these structures. LT has undertaken extensive tree plantation programme. Over three lakh trees were planted in and around the factory in 1993-94 under the programme Trees for Life. The villagers have been given grafted saplings of fruit-bearing trees and encouraged to plant them. The success of this ongoing effort led to LT being selected by the Government of Maharashtra for the prestigious Vanashree Award in 1990. Contribution to Academics LT set up LT Institute of Technology, a polytechnic in Mumbai. In a short period, it has come to be widely regarded as one of the best training institutions of its kind in the country, particularly for the full-fledged workshops and laboratories that provide a strong practical orientation to theoretical inputs. There is a good demand in engineering companies for the students passing out from this Institute. LT also contribute financially towards Upgradation of facilities in several polytechnics. It regularly interfaces with academic institutions to promote quality education and has established research chairs for faculty in several institutions including ai IIM, Ahmedabad. Within the company, one of the most invaluable and lasting investments made by LT is the establishment of a Management Development Programme Centre at Lonavala (near Mumbai). According to Mr. CM Srivastava, Joint General Manager (JGM) (HRD), the management development centre has been visua lized as a temple of learning where people would come with the sole purpose of enhancing knowledge, learning through experience, self-study, and introspection. The emphasis, therefore, is on providing an ambience for learning rather than training. The centre has modern learning facilities like computer-added packages, a library, and outdoor training facilities. Manufacturing Facilities Some important manufacturing facilities of LT are shown in Table 2. Table 2 Important Manufacturing Facilities of LT Location Product/Plants Powai, Madh (Maharashtra) Plant and heavy equipment switchgears, Petrol pumps, Bothell closures, control and automation, welding alloys, undercarriage components Thane (Maharashtra) Electronics and Inputs for undercarriage components Awarpur (Maharashtra) Cement Nashik (Maharashtra) Light-weight glass containers Faridabad (Haryana) switchgears Ankleshwar (Orissa) Welding Alloys Kansbajal (Orissa) Plant and equipment for steel paper and pulp, material handling and mineral processing industry Mysore (karnataka) Medical electronic equipment computer peripherals, telecommunications, test and measuring instruments Bangalore (Karnataka) Earth-moving and construction equipment, hydraulic equipment and diesel engines, Gen. Sets Hazira (MP) Heavy equipments Hirmi (MP) Cement manufacturing unit Chennai (TN) Valves, rubber and plastic processing machinery Kandla (Gujarat) Export oriented fabrication Pondicherry Transmission towers Kalol (Gujarat) Export footwear Jharsuguda (Orissa) Cement grinding unit The Future The financial results of LT far the year 1996 97 are not too encouraging as far as profits are concerned. The company has reported profits of Rs. 410 crore against the previous years profit of Rs. 390 crore, thereby achieving a slim growth of five percent. However, the turnover has recorded a sharp jump from Rs. 4249 dare to Rs. 5304 crore. From another perspective, the performance has been commendable considering the slump and intense competition in the cement industry and performance of other competitors during the period. LT is firmly consolidating itself in four major business areas engineering, construction cement, and equipment manufacture, Presently, cement accounts for 15 per cent of the total revenue. lt has embarked on a major expansion programme that will double the capacity to 12 m tons per annum, which will make it the largest cement manufacturer in India. A Euro-issue of $135 million has been planned to fund this expansion. Having defined EPC as a thrust business for t he future, it will be relevant to take a look into the competitive structure of the EPC business. In the domestic business, LT has a handful of competitors among whom BHEL. Punj and Lloyd, and RITES are the major ones. The peculiar nature of EPC business is that it is not a sector specific industry. The core infrastructure activities such as power, telecom, and roads will become key focus areas for the country. Most players in this industry have specific competencies which cater to specialised areas, LT is perhaps the only company which competes in almost every sector by virtue of its diversified technical competence and expertise. LTs EPC business takes the form of competitive bidding for executing projects from start to finish for third parties, part execution of projects as sub contractors to other bidders, and autonomous bidding for setting up its own projects in the core sectors. In the global EPC business, however the company faces stiff competition from the global construction and engineering giants like Hyundai, Saipern, Mcdermoft, Caterpiller, to name a few. In such a highly competitive environment with technology being a handicap (that most Indian companies suffer from), the logical step is to enter into strategic and technological alliances. Most Indian EPC players follow this route and LT is no exception. Some of its alliances are with its competitors, for instance, Caterpillar, Marubeni. Like most Indian EPC players going global, LT s overseas EPC operations are concentrated in the developing and developed countries of South-and Middle-East Asia such as Thailand and Malaysia, Vietnam, Burma, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Gulf countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia. Bahrain, Oman, and so on. Though LT has attained impressive achievements, the productivity of several businesses are alarmingly low on the international benchmark level. In an environment of high interest rates and tight liquidity position, the efficient management of working capital will form the key to future LT successes. Some of the areas of concern for LT in the short-term would be: the need to attain faster delivery standards, customer satisfaction, continuous cost reduction, productivity improvement and operating with low working capital, and aiming at least to be a regional player of repute and recognition. Questions: (a) Carry out a SWOT Analysis of LT. (b) Explain the Decision-making process at LT and how does it contribute to performance of the company. (c) What are the various strategies that you recommend for LTs EPC division in domestic and foreign markets? Paper-2 Section-A 1. Strategy includes the determination and evaluation of alternative paths to an already established mission or objective and eventually, choice of the alternatives to be adopted. Explain the statement underlining the process of strategy formulation. 2. Technological factors represent major opportunities and threats, which must be taken into account while formulating strategies. Discuss. How can a firm build a sustainable technology based competitive advantage? 3. The low-cost leadership strategy at times enables the firm to defend itself against each of five competitive forces. Explain. 4. Briefly explain the factors which contribute towards the success of a strategic alliance. Illustrate with a recent example of strategic alliance. 5. Explain any three methods/techniques used in strategic control systems, giving examples. SECTION B 6. Read the case carefully and answer the questions at the end. Rupbani Beverage Limited Rupbani Beverage Limited entered the Indian wine industry in 1975 by acquiring the Mastana Wine Company of Shimla and two other smaller wine companies at Kalka for Rs. 50 lakh. Despite hostility expressed by other wine makers and predictions that Rupbani would very soon fail as other outsiders such as Parminder Wine Company had, the entry succeeded. Rupbani Limited performed the unheard of feat of establishing a volume of 30 lakh cases within two years and taking the market share away from premium brands such as the National Wine Company of Bombay, Pearl Drink Limited of Pune and Syndicate Cola Limited of Madras. Rupbani advertised heavily and incurred Rs. 10 lakh in one year and standardised the taste of its wines with considerable success. It also invested Rs. 48 lakh in a large, new winery at Ahmedabad. A Rupbani Executive said, By 1995, consumption of wine in India will be a liter per capita, compared with half a liter today. The industry reacted to Rupbanis presence by doubling and tripling advertising expenditure. ABC and Company began a costly campaign to market premium and varied wines while reducing marketing emphasis on its cheap wines such as Nahan Drinks and the Gola Beverage. ABC maintained its 25 percent market share but had to resort to some heavy price discounting to do so. In 1982 Pearl Drinks formed a special wine unit to combine efforts for all its brands. Mr. Sailesh Kumar former Vice President of the National Wine Company had directed a project to coordinate Pearls world-wide wine business and develop a world wide strategy. The new unit was, in fact, a result of his work. In1983, wine consumption changed from growth at a rate of 5 per cent to no growth. The government also lifted the ban on imports of wine. This presented an even greater challenge because imported wines were cheaper as well as superior in quality. In1984 Mr. Ranganathan took over as Managing Director of Rupbani. He reviewed the recent performance of the company and its competitive position. He noted that the company was losing its hold over the market and it was not getting the return as expected. He also found that the companys performance in the syrup business was excellent. He, therefore, thought of selling out the wine business to Pearl Drinks, He convened an executive meeting and apprised the executives of his proposal. He also informed them that Pearl Drinks had offered the company to recapture its investment in the wine business which was about Rs. one crore. Mr. Arun Mehta, General Manager, observed that Rupbani was in and out in the past six years and has joined different organisations in trying the wine business. The finance Manager, M. Subhash Ghai said, The return on assets in the wine business is not the 30 to 35 per cent, which Rupbani is used to getting in the syrup business. Gaining share and trying to compete with ABC and Company left Rupbani with, eventually, the number two position in the wine industry with profits of Rs. 60 lakh on Rs. 220 lakh in sales. The stockholders wanted immediate return and hence, the company could not afford to make long-term investments necessary to popularise the brands. Had they stayed for five more years, they would have been a key leader in a large and profitable industry. Pearl Drinks immediately went from the sixth position in the industry to a strong second place with an 11 per cent market share. The Chairman of Pearl Drinks stated: We believe you can make money in this business in two ways remain a small boutique winery or become large and achieve economies of scale. Mr. Harish, Marketing Manager of Rupbani said, It is no use selling out our business to Pearl Drink and get back what we have invested. We can compete with our competitors successfully and improve our market share if we manufacture wines of varying qualities to suit the varied preferences and pockets of diverse sections of society. We should also offer price discounts to attract the consumers. There should be wide publicity of our brands throughout the country. Questions: (a) Perform SWOT analysis of Rupbani. (b) In the light of opportunities and threats of Rupbani Beverage and its strengths and weaknesses, what strategy should it formulate to improve its performance and strengthen its competitive position? (c) Should Rupbani spend on advertising in line with its competitors? Discuss. (d) What other strategies would you suggest for Rupbani for increasing their share of the market? Paper-3 Section-A 1. Explain the various steps involved in Strategic Management process in a single business firm. 2. Explain the following: (a) Types of resources (b) Strategic importance of resources 3. Discuss the importance of differentiation strategy in the present competitive environment. Explain taking into consideration its advantages and disadvantages. 4. Every strategic alliance incurs certain costs and comes with a set of risks. Explain any five costs/risks of entering into a strategic alliance. 5. Corporate culture plays an important role in the success of an organization. Explain giving suitable example. SECTION B NEECO LIMITED At the end of the recent five-year plan, it was estimated that there would be a considerable demand in the manufacturing capacity of power transformers in the country. It was further projected that the gap between demand and the manufacturing capacity would be even larger in the subsequent plans. Thus, anticipating the countrys demand in future, Neeco Limited decided to set up a new unit for manufacturing transformers. This was in addition to the manufacturing capacity already built up at one of the existing factories. Formal Planning Process Formal planning was introduced in the very first year of the commencement of activities at the new unit. The planning process at Neeco Limited included the setting up of broad objectives and the preparation of the three-year forecast. In a letter addressed to departmental heads, the General Manager, Mr. S.K. Patel said, The time has come to put down on paper the objectives and goals of our organisation and to develop a proper framework whereby we can take a more systematic look at the future we are heading for. This, I believe, can be achieved by involvement and cooperation of all the departmental heads in putting into practice a culture of planning. The responsibility for developing a three-year plan was entrusted to the planning cell, which reported directly to the General Manager. There was a separate controllers office, which looked after budget preparation and the subsequent monitoring of actual performance. Goal Setting Process Planning began each year in the month of April with the establishment of goals by the top management. The top management group consisted of the General Manager and his various functional heads. The goals were set both in qualitative as well as quantitative terms. The quantitative goals were in terms of growth in sales and profits. Commenting on the quantitative goals, Mr. Patel observed that: Profit is the primary goal. The planning cell, after collecting dl the information, consolidated and integrated the data and prepared operating results and cash flow projections for the three-year period. Exhibit-I NEECO LIMITED Date Steps in planning 1st Week of April Planning call sends relevant formats to departmental heads, with detailed explanations. 4th Week of April By the fourth week, the various departmental send the formats back to the planning cell, duly filled. 1st Week of May Planning officer compiles all the data and puts it in an integrated form. 2nd Week of May The first draft of the plan is discussed in a management group meeting, wherein several suggestions emerge and the draft is thoroughly revised by resolving the conflicting objectives of various departments. 1st Week of June The final draft of the plan is ready and is sent to corporate headquarters. (b) Responsibility for Plan Preparation Segment of the Plan Responsibility Sale Plan (Order Book Position) Manager Marketing Production Plan Manager (Production) Materials Plan Materials Manager Manpower Plan Personnel Manager Township Development Plan Manager (Projects) Plan and Final Plan Document Planning Officer Before finalising the plans as prepared by the various functional/department heads, a detailed discussion was held. During these discussion was held. During these discussions various departmental heads explained the basis of their respective plans. The final plan was arrived after resolving the conflicting objectives of various departments. The Planning-Budgeting Linkage Immediately after the plan was approved b9 the Management Group, the process of preparing a detailed budget for the next year was initiated. The three-year plan set out the broad objectives for the first year and projections for the next two years. A detailed exercise had already been conducted in preparing the broad objectives, which served as a basis for the preparation of a detailed budget for the ensuing year. Thus the first year of the plan document, with necessary modifications, became the budget for the next year. The three year plan document and the budget were, therefore, closely inter-related. It was said that the preparation of a three year plan was, in a way, a process of creating an organisational climate for a rigorous and time consuming process of budgeting. Reactions of Executives