Principles of International Business Management Essay

Principles of International Business Management - Essay Example Having established itself on a firm footing within the domestic markets, the company started looking for avenues of growth in foreign markets. To undertake such an initiative, the company studied took stock of its internal as well external factors which drive its urge for entering a foreign market. Internal factors are of course the strengths of the company while external factors were compiled after doing an environment analysis. In addition the company also undertook an analysis of PESTLE factors for the particular markets, where the company was supposed to go. All such factors were not looked into 'in isolation', because one particular factor might have a spillover effect on couple of other factors and vice-versa. All such permutations and combinations were taken into account while preparing for an expansion strategy. Reckitt Benckiser has over the year successfully implemented the strategy of building strong brands across all its key categories like surface care, fabric care, dishwashing, home care, health and personal care and food. If Lysol is a leading brand in disinfectant cleaning, Calgon holds the number one market position in fabric care in Europe. Similarly placed are the major categories like Vanish (fabric care), Veet (cosmetic depilatories), Mortein (pest control) and Airwick (air fragrance). The company highlighted the brand equity to its fullest potential, while negotiating with foreign collaborators for investing in a new market. This strategy paid off rich dividends for the company with its top 15 brands consistently accounting for a majority of the company's revenues, from 40% of total revenues in 2001 to about 56% in 2005. Such a brand creation in different categories allows Reckitt to; Differentiate its products and earn a price premium and Provides a competitive advantage to the company in the market place. In addition the company also resorted to ambush marketing depending upon the scenario of competition in some of the foreign markets. For example, in one such recent case (23 Nov 2006), the company also won a legal battle against its rival in India, Hindustan Liver Ltd. (HLL), when the courts upheld the contention of Reckitt Benckiser concerning the advertisement of Dettol soap. For marketing the products the company has been dependent on Supermarkets and hypermarkets which form the most important distribution channel, e.g. accounting for 65.2% of the UK market's value and 69.5% of the European market's value. The company used innovation as its core competitive strategy which helped the company in creating product differentiation and providing it the competitive edge. Motivational factors for undertaking foreign investments are mainly; To tap the vast consumer market outside Europe and UK. Markets in India, China and other Asian countries are developing very fast and these markets have immense potential for a company dealing with consumer items. The company had established itself quite well in the home market and wanted to move on in newer markets. Company wanted to take the competitors head on, not only in domestic market but in overseas market as well. To

Service Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Service Learning - Essay Example In this regard, service learning can be defined as the method that involves the teaching of students through active formal learning together with enhanced participation in the social contexts such as community development. In this regard, the principals and practices of the formal learning processes are run concurrently with the social practices that are mainly beneficial to the immediate community (Carrington & Saggers, 2008). Indeed, service learning is normally under the category of experimental education whereby its implementation occurs in the form of youth service. Due to its complex nature, service learning normally goes hand in hand with the interaction of various people of all diversity (Butin, 2008). Due to this effect, the academic service learning has proved itself beyond any reasonable doubt that it is certainly an effective program for preparing new teachers to work with people from diverse groups. This means that a number of specific skills and knowledge exist that bot h the students and the teachers acquire in the process. In this sense, these skills do a great deal of work in improving the educational outcomes of children from diverse backgrounds (Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, 2011). This paper, with specific reference to Butin’s conceptual framework, analytically discusses the impact of academic service learning in promoting coping with diversity at the educational institutions in order to improve the learning outcomes of the students. Indeed, academic service learning is a crucial process of learning that incorporates both the formal and the communal components of the educational framework that the students undergo in order to be wholesome (Butin, 2008). While the students undergo thoughtfully organized learning, they in the process engage in such activities that are gainful to the community at large. This helps strengthen the bond between the teachers, students, and the locals of the communities with the schools being th e epicenter of this mutual relationship. This service normally meets the needs of the immediate community through the integration of the academic curriculum of the students into the educational components that relate to the community in order to reflect an experience of service (National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2013). More often than not, the opportunities that service learning offers students range from the application of the learning of the classroom to the enhancement of the local agencies that are in existence for the benefit of the community (Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, 2011). Therefore, service learning broadly involves the deliverance of service to others through an organized academic learning criterion (Butin, 2008). A simple service learning activity may involve collecting trash in the urban areas to add value to the community before proceeding to a thorough scrutiny of the effect of the trash collected on the environment through a classroom and lab oratory process. Afterwards, the students may opt to share the results of their findings as far as pollution is concerned with the local residents in an attempt to sensitize them on the need to protect and conserve the environment (Carrington & Saggers, 2008). Through such activities of service learning, both students and teachers are bound to cope