Please help me pick one Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Please help me pick one - Research Paper Example 19-21). The informal corporate culture of Google is one of the distinctive components that it provides for its employees as one of its motivating strategies for its employees. Google has emphasized through their corporate values and beliefs that employees must enjoy the challenges that they confront at workplace, rather coming under stress by the challenge (Google, 2004, pp. 14-15). Google has invested to provide the employees with additional services and relaxed environment as a technique of reward and benefit that they can enjoy and relax their minds in order to be productive at work. In this regard, the company provides with onsite swimming pools, snack rooms, cafà ©s, gyms, onsite childcare, and many other services. The primary aim of providing these services to the employees is to make them feel that they are valuable asset for the company (Hajdini, 2010, pp. 32-38). Another aspect of Google that cannot come under ignorance is the careful management team. The careful leadership is structured in such a way that they provide the finest and paramount environment to the employees in order to have great ideas from them. Moreover, the leadership and management also motivate the employees with intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and benefits and appraisals based on their performances (Hajdini, 2010, pp. 32-35). Google has believed in having dynamic and creative employees, due to which they initiated a policy known as ‘Innovation Time Off’ as one of the motivating techniques that can encourage and induce the employees to enhance their skills of innovation. This practice allowed the employees to work out and contribute some of their valuable time on the assignments that are of their interest. Since Google promotes their employees to think and implement outside the box, consequently, Gmail, Google News, Orkut and so forth are few of the invented new services by these creative engineers (Hajdini, 2010, pp.

Analysis of Various Programs Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Various Programs Essay I will produce various systems to manage and run a supermarket. I will use a lot of different programs. Each will be used differently and for various tasks. Some of the packages and programs I will use are: Microsoft Word This program I cannot do without and is most important. I will use this word processing program to type up all of my documentation. Because of its many uses, I can also use this program to make posters, letters etc. The main use for this program, however, will be the word processing. Advantages: * Can change size, font, colour and shape of text. * Can insert pictures that can be resized and moved freely. * Has a formal layout that is easy to use. * Mistakes can be rectified easily. If writing by hand and you make a mistake, you would have to use liquid paper. Using a word processor you can just delete the mistake. * Spelling and grammar checks can be used. * Documents can be changed, saved and loaded an infinite amount of times. * Drafts of documents can be printed and proofread. If any mistakes are made, the document can be reloaded, changed, printed and resaved. * Text and pictures can be moved. Disadvantages: * The whole page cannot be viewed efficiently without first either zooming out or going into Print Preview. * Pictures and text boxes cannot be moved easily. * You must have access to a computer to open or view the document. * Cant put pictures on as easily as a DTP program. Microsoft Publisher This program would be useful for the advertisements and the posters, and possibly the letters. It would be best to use for these tasks as the program was purposely written to perform these tasks. Advantages: * Text boxes and picture boxes can be moved easily and more efficiently than Word. * The whole page can be viewed, zoomed in and zoomed out and still can be used efficiently. * Text can be placed anywhere on the screen instead of in set places on a page (like Word). * Borders can be placed on the page by just outlining a picture box that covers the page. Disadvantages: * Large file size. * Crashes now and again. Microsoft Excel This spreadsheet program is ideal for working out all of my costs. Its mathematical capabilities are very useful for this type of task. I could also use it to make graphs for business and financial statistics. (I could also use Microsoft Works for these tasks) Advantages: * It has the option of typing formulae into the cells. These formulae will perform mathematical calculations that are quicker and easier than working it out in your head. * The formulae in the cells work with each other and with the cells, so if you change a cell or a formula, the other cells with formulae in them will change to compensate. * Can produce graphs with one click of the mouse. * Has a layout that is easy to use and to see. * Can be used to make simple tables. Disadvantages: * I cant think of any, this program has no faults. Microsoft PowerPoint This program is wonderfully useful if you want to make a slideshow. It has the capability of making not just still slides, but slides that animate and move. I could also use it to make little presentations. Advantages: * Slides can be made up of images, text, animations and sounds. * Slides can be animated and changed automatically, making a fully working slide show. * It can be used for advertisements and educational shows. * Its many functions and efficient layout makes making slides easier. * Sound can be used. * Timings and transitions are fully customisable. Disadvantages: * The amount of different controls can be overwhelming. * Large file size can restrict the size of the presentation. Microsoft Works This program is very useful as it has all the major programs fitted into one. It has a Database, Spreadsheet and Word Processor in one. This could be useful in ways described below. Advantages: * Spreadsheets, Databases and Word Documents can be transferred from and to each other without exiting the program.

Concept of Risk in Construction Industry

Concept of Risk in Construction Industry 3.1 General risks The meaning of risk changes when time goes on and the meanings differ when they are at the specific socio-cultural and historical contexts which we are located in. (Deborah Lupton, 1999) Risk is exposure to the possibility of economic or financial loss or gain, physical damage or injury, or delay, as a consequence of the uncertainty associated with pursuing a particular course of action (Cooper, Chapman, 1987). According to Cornelius Keating, risk is not the present problem which should be immediately addressed, but it is considered as future issues that can be avoided or mitigated. Risk is considered as a situation which may lead to negative consequences. Generally, six major categories of risk can be identified as the most important concerns for the majority. They are: Environmental risks, including pollution, radiation, chemicals, floods, fires, dangerous road conditions and so on; Lifestyle risks, which related to the consumption of such commodities as food and drugs, engagement in sexual activities, driving practices, stress, leisure and so on; Medical risks, which related to experiencing medical care or treatment. Such as drug therapy, surgery, childbirth, reproductive technologies and diagnostic tests; Interpersonal risks, related to intimate relationships, social interactions, love sexuality, gender roles, friendship, marriage and parenting; Economic risks implicated in unemployment or under-employment, borrowing money, investment bankruptcy, destruction of property, failure of a business and so on; and Criminal risks are those risks emerging from being a participant in or potential victim of illegal activities.(Deborah Lupton, 1999) 3.2 Risks in Construction Industry 3.2.1 The Concept of Risk in Construction Industry The construction industry experienced a wide variety of risks which may occur in financing, designing, constructing and managing facilities of a project. There are different definitions of risk in construction industry. In order to understand the process of risk management, it is important to understand the basic concept of risk in all aspects. The international standard à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Project risk management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Application guidelinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? holds the theory of probability and consequence and defines risk as a combination of probability of an event which is occurring and its consequences to project objectives (IEC 2001). Ward and Chapman (2003) have made a broader definition of risk and suggest using a more general concept of uncertainty. They argue that risk is considered as threats but not opportunities and when it occurs it affects the project performance. Edwards (1995) points out that risks have a negative impact on the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cost, qual ity or time in most situations. These definitions have a common feature: they define risk in terms of uncertain events and may have positive or negative impact on a projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s objectives. According to An (2010), risk interpretations can be considered as the following: The same as the word hazard The consequence of an unwelcome outcome or failure Chances of achieving a given outcome Signifies danger Taking a chance in an activity An (2010) argues the term risk can be defined in the two components: the probability of occurrence of the risk and the magnitude of the consequences if the risk happened. And the relationship is written in the formula: Risk = consequences x probability. The general trend of risks is shown in the figure 3.1 below. When the probability of occurrence is high, the consequences of risks seem to be low and vice versa. Risks with major or severity consequences rarely happen, but risks which are or have low consequences tend to happen frequently. Figure 3.1: Consequences versus probability trend (An, 2010) As mentioned above, the equation seems to be simple, however, the most important thing is to understand and calculate the probability of occurrence and the severity of consequences and express those using numbers. 3.2.2 Risk Classification Project risks can be categorized in a number of ways by considering the level of detail or a selected viewpoint. (Anna Klemetti, 2006) Categorizing risks will do help in identifying risks. According to the study of National Economic Development Office, construction risks can be broadly grouped in the following categories: Technical Risks include poor design, inadequate site investigation, and uncertainty over the source and availability of materials and appropriateness of specifications. Logistical Risks include availability of resources such as construction equipments, spare parts, fuel and labour and availability of sufficient transportation facilities. Construction Risks include uncertain productivity of resources, weather or seasonal implications and industrial relations problems. Financial Risks include inflation, availability and fluctuation of foreign exchange, delay in payment, repatriation of funds and local taxes. Political Risks include constraints on the availability and employment of expatriate staff, customs and import restrictions and procedures, difficulties in disposing of plant and equipment and insistence on using of local firms and agents. Both Smith (2006) and An (2010) argue that all project risks can be divided into three main categories: known risks, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. The difference between the categories is the decreasing ability to predict or foresee the risks. Table 3.1 presents a brief explanation about these three categories of risks. Table 3.1 Categories of risks (An, 2010) Known risks Including minor variations in productivity and swings in material costs. These occur frequently and are an inevitable feature of all construction projects. Known unknowns Including the risk events whose occurrence is predictable. Either their probability of occurrence or their likely effect is known. Unknown unknowns Those events whose probability of occurrence or their likely effect is unknown. Risk resources can also be divided into four elements: trivial, expected, hazard and risk management. Events with a low impact are not serious and can be divided into the elements of trivial and expected. For the high impact and low probability, these events are hazards which might occur but are too remote to be considered. (An, 2010)Taking into consideration of the probability of the occurrence and the consequence for project objectives, those events that have high probability and high impact are subjected to risk management. Figure 3.2 shows the classification of risk resources. Figure 3.2 Classification of risk sources (Smith, 2006) The causes of risk are various and depending on the size, complexity, novelty, location of the project as well as on the speed of construction and political or commercial plan. Long-term projects are thought to be more risky because the possibility of something going wrong is bigger to appear and the need for immediate plans of action that allow change is fundamental. The sources of risk are presented in Table 3.2. Table 3.2: Sources of risk (Thompson, Perry, 1992) Source Example Client, Government, regulatory agencies Bureaucratic delays, changes in local regulations Funding, fiscal Changes in government funding policy, liaison between several funders Definition of project Change in project scope Project organisation Authority of project manager, involvement of outside bodies Design Adequacy to meet need, realism of design programme Local conditions Local customs, weather windows Permanent plant supply Degree of novelty, damage or loss during transportation Construction contractors Experience, financial stability Construction materials Excessive wastage, quality, delivery Construction labour Industrial relations, multi-racial labour force Construction plant Resale value, spares availability Logistics Remoteness, access to site Estimating data Relevance to specific project availability Inflation Exchange rates Force majeure It is important to use the table as the first step in risk assessment process in order to identify all the relevant risks of the construction project. By identifying all the construction risks in the early stage of risk assessment process, successful risk management can be achieved. Failing to identify risks in the risk identification stage is a hazard to the risk management process. (Perry and Thompson, 1992) Moreover, risks can be classified based on the ability of the project to control them. A separation of risk as a local, global and extreme is based on the controlling ability of project parties on risks. As a result, this method helps to identify 80% of the risk, the last may not be worthwhile looking for, and a few of these risks could not be reasonably foreseen. (Smith, 2006) Figure 3.3 shows the hierarchy of identified risks. Figure3.3: Hierarchy of identified risks (Smith, 2006) Project parties have to manage the manageable risks by the settled frame and prepare to accept the challenges of the unmanageable risks. The preparation can reduce the losses caused by the unmanageable risks. Besides, some global risks can be reduced for sure. Categorization of risks would definitely help to identify risks. No matter what method is used to identify the risks, it is important that risks should be identified and assessed carefully, which is even more important in the early stages of the project since it will affect the decision making of the project participants. 3.2.3 Importance of Risk Management in the Construction Industry Change is inherent in construction work. When an uncertain event occurs, it will impact some of objectives such as the cost, schedule, and quality of the project. Construction projects often have a poor performance due to a lack of reasonable risk management process. (Liu Renhu, 2005) Many projects fail to meet deadline or cost and quality targets. As a result, risk management becomes an important part of construction management. Risk management intends to identify and manage those potential and unforeseen problems that might probably occur during the project implementation. And also, it tries to identify as many risk event as possible minimize their impact on the project, manage the responses to those events that are probably to materialize, and provide contingence funds to cover risk event that actually materialize. The essential purpose of risk management is to improve project performance via systematic identification, appraisal and management of project related risks. The focus o n reducing threats or adverse outcomes, which we might call downside risk, misses a key part of the overall picture. (Chapman, Ward, 2003) Changes cannot be eliminated, however, by applying risk management in project construction participates are able to improve the construction management. The benefit of risk management can be concluded as follows: Project issues are clarified, understood and considered from start; Decisions are supported by thorough analysis; The definition and structure of the project are continually monitored; Clear understanding of specific risks associated with a project; Build-up of historical data to assist future risk management procedures. (An, 2010) 3.2.4 Project Planning The control of time cannot be affected insulation from resources and costs. Project planning methods should consider the communication with all the parties in a project in order to identify sequences of activates and draw attention to potential problem areas. Careful and continuous planning contributes to successful construction project. Sequences of activities will be defined and linked to a time-scale to ensure that priorities are identified and efficient use of expensive or scare resources. However, since the uncertainty occurs during construction, the plan will always change and it must be updated quickly and regularly in order to maintain the most efficient way of completing the project. In developing a controlling plan, it is vital to distinguish between different categories of change and to fully instigate the formal aspect of the project. (An, 2010) All the parties and resources involved in construction have influences on project plan. However, project plan will change when uncertainty occurs. The purpose of planning is to persuade people to perform tasks before they delay. A framework of decision making in case of change occurs should be included in project planning. (Smith, 2006) 3.3 Risk Management in the Construction Industry 3.3.1 Risk Management strategy Both client and contractor are concerned about the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s risk allocation. Generally, the client or the project owner has an overall risk management strategy and policy included in the strategic documents and quality management system. Risk management strategy is shown in figure 3.4. Management of project risk Figure 3.4 Risk Management Strategy (Smith, 2006) The most important issues which the project owner concerned in risk strategy are risk ownership and risk financing. Risk ownership is explained as which party owns the risks and risks expose and transfer. Risk financing can be explained as how to include and use budget of risk allowance or contingency. The participants make decisions, which affect the responsibilities of the parties, to define the organization and procedures of a project. (An, 2010) It influences the construction, commissioning, change and risk of a project and this is how it affects the construction processes. (Smith, 2006) 3.3.2 Process of Risk Management 3.3.2.1 Introduction Risk management is one of the most critical project management practices to ensure a project is successfully completed. (Chapman, 1997) The goal of risk management in construction industry can be stated as following: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“To be competitive in meeting the clients specifications with solutions that are cost-effective at an acceptable level of riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (An, 2010). To successfully achieve the goals in any projects, the following four aspects need to be met: Competitiveness Specification Cost-effective Risks It is important to consider the four criteria as a whole. There are two major objectives managing risk: one is to avoid the downside risks and the other is to exploit opportunities. Risk management is a process of defining the need for identifying, estimating and evaluating risks in order to control them at an acceptable level. (An, 2010) The risk management system is shown is figure 3.5. Figure 3.5 risk management frame work (An, 2010) Four aspects are involved in risk management, which are hazard identification, risk assessment, risk reduce or risk response and emergency preparedness. These will be introduced in the following paragraphs. 3.3.4.2 Hazard Identification Hazard identification is the first step of the risk management process. It is aimed at determining potential risks which may affect the project. Ideally, all the potential risks and hazards should be identified when the decision is being made so that the participants can deal with before they occur. However, although prevention is better than cure, no risk management system can identify all the risks and hazards in advance. (Martin Loosemore, 2006) In this way, hazard identification needs to be carried out carefully in order to reduce the potential risks in the project. As the first step of risk analysis, hazard identification is the most important one as it helps to identify the potential risks whose effects act as an impediment to the project, and this process will also help with risk mitigation and control. A general definition of hazard is stated as following: A hazard is an undesirable outcome in the process of meeting ant objective, performing a task or engaging in an activity (An, 2010). The undesirable outcome of a hazard could involve: Injury to personnel Damage to property Pollution to the environment and A combination of all the above (An, 2010) Risk identification is one of the most important steps of risk management because it makes the risks clearer. As a result, Chapman (2001) points out that the success of later risk management phases is directly affected by the quality of the identification phase. Risk identification procedure identifies and categorizes risks that could affect the project. This procedure includes discovering, defining, describing, documenting and communicating risks before they become problems and affect a project. (Barati, S.,  Mohammadi, S., 2008) Risk identification is a tool for identifying all the significant sources and causes of risk and hazards in a project. Numbers of methods and techniques are used in identifying the project risks (IEC 2001), including brainstorming, expert opinion, structured interviews, questionnaires, checklists, historical data, previous experience, testing and modelling and evaluating other projects. Perry (1992) points out the most popular methods of hazard identification. They are: Checklists prepared by experienced people that are involved in the project. Brainstorming sessions where groups of people are trying to come up with potential risks through conversation and exchange of ideas. Historical data of previous similar projects that can assist in the portraying of risks. Interviews of key participants of the project or experts involved with it. These techniques are to provide a systematic approach for identifying potential hazards in construction industry. (An, 2010) Empirical studies of risk management practice (Lyons, Skitmoreà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2004) show that the checklists and brainstorming are the most useful techniques in risk identification. And they also point out that risk identification often rely on individual judgments of the project participants. Another method applied for the identifying risk events is the HAZOP study (Hazard and Operability). This is a technique using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“guide-wordsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in order to study deviation from the design objective of a project and its elements. (An, 2010) A helpful action would be to group the risks and separate them into specific categories after the first stage of risk identification. This would benefit the risk assessment process by applying a suitable technique to each category and furthermore in the selection of a risk management response for each type. (An, 2010) in construction industry three main types of hazards which need to be taken into account are the followings: Management Hazards: Associated with management and organizational issues, such as policy, commitment of funds for training, and the project of specific equipment and schedules to be met. Commercial Hazards: Arise from commercial considerations, and particularly associated with decisions on spending. A typical example is the selection of a less expensive material that just meets the minimum standard required instead of opting for the more expensive item with huge specification and a track record of high quality. Sometimes a contract is accepted as a cost below the desired level, and savings have to be made in order to complete the work. This in turn may lead to potential hazards due to commercial factors. Time Hazards: Many projects need to be completed by an agreed date. Delays due to the factors such as late delivery of materials, unforeseen production difficulties or failure to meet specification would affect the ability to meet deadline. As a consequence of failure to meet the deadline, it could affect future contracts and disrupt the schedules. All these events can be considered as hazards or time hazards. Each project has different associated hazards, which differ from various technology or organizations or anything else applied in the projects. A checklist of construction hazard drivers is shown: Financial Hazards Legal Hazards Political Hazards Social Hazards Environmental Hazards Communications Hazards Geographical Hazards Geotechnical Hazards Construction Hazards Technological Hazards Demand/product Hazards (An, 2010) After hazard identification, the potential hazards can be listed and grouped. Then, risk assessment method can be applied to build the risk level. 3.3.4.3 Risk Assessment Once risks have been identified, they must then be accessed. The sources of risks should be identified first, and then the effects of the risks should be assessed or analyzed. Risks can be assessed either using a quantitative or qualitative analysis. (Thompson, Perry, 1992) Qualitative Methods: The first step of the qualitative analysis is also the first step of risk assessment risk identification, which is described above as the first step of risk management. Then, an assessment of the probability of occurrence and impact of the risks should be taken out. Qualitative risk assessment usually includes the following issues: A brief description of the risk The stage of the project when it may occur The elements of the project that could be affected The factors that influence its occurrence The relationship with other risks The likelihood of its occurrence How it could affect the project (Smith, 2006) Using qualitative methods is the first step of risk assessment. Then, a quantitative assessment is only for the risks whose further information is required. These risks are usually serious and can jeopardise the project. Quantitative Methods: According to Barrow (2007), there are four reasons why risk should be managed: to minimize delays, to reduce cost, to improve return on investment, to increase the number of opportunity. Possible consequences of risk occurring are defined and qualified in terms of: Increased cost such as additional cost above the estimate of the final cost of the project Increased time such as additional time beyond the completion data of the project through delays in construction Reduced quality and performance such as the extent to which the project would fail to meet the user performance based on quality, standards and specification. (Smith, 2006) Several methods can be used in risk assessment and risk metrics method is going to be introduced. Risk metric is a two-dimensional presentation of likelihood and consequences using qualitative for both dimensions, event modelling is a systematic way to identify accident scenarios and quantify risk. (Ayyub, 2005) Estimating the probability and impact of risk in simple scales, such as from 1 to 5 or from high to low, is the most common way, and boundaries can also be numerically defined. Risk can be characterized by probability and consequence, and examples are given in table 3.3 and table 3.4. Probability of Occurrence Scale Descriptor 1 Rare 2 Unlikely 3 Possible 4 Likely 5 Almost Certain Table 3.3 Probability of Occurrence (An, 2010) Rating of consequences Scale Descriptor 1 Insignificant 2 Minor 3 Moderate 4 Major 5 Severe Table 3.4 Rating of consequences (An, 2010) As mentioned in pervious paragraph, Table 3.5 shows that risks can be allocated in three regions. Table 3.5 Risk Matrix (An, 2010) Consequence Probability 1 2 3 4 5 5 Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable Intolerable Intolerable 4 Negligible Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable Intolerable 3 Negligible Tolerable Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable 2 Negligible Negligible Tolerable Tolerable Intolerable 1 Negligible Negligible Negligible Tolerable Tolerable And this can also be replaced by two curves, as its shown in figure 3.6. Figure 3.6 Graphical presentation of risk regions (An, 2010) During risk assessment, identified risks are evaluated and ranked. The goal is to prioritise risks for management. The assessment of the risks leads the hazards to be classified in a region, which would determine the importance (risk level) of each hazard, and the possible regions are the intolerable, tolerable or the negligible region. Figure 3.7 shows the risks listed in the appropriate regions. Figure 3.7 Output of risk assessment element (An, 2010) The risks are allocated in three regions, after that, the risks should be selected the risk response to them. 3.3.4.4 Risk Response Once the risks are identified and assessed, the next step of the risk management procedure is to response to these risks. The nature of the response depends on the decisions made by the management team. In order to respond correctly, the team has to process the information available for the risk. There are two types of responses to risks: immediate response and contingency response. The immediate response mitigates or eliminates the risks through alterations of the project plan. The nature of contingency response is preparing a plan for an alternative course of action and implementing it when the risk arises. (An, 2010) There are four basic ways of responding to risk and they are risk retention, risk transfer, risk reduction and risk avoidance. In order to effectively manage a risk, it is necessary to adopt a combination of strategies to treat it. The selection process can be iterative until the most effective treatment strategy is developed. (Smith, 2006) Avoidance: Risk avoidance deals with the risks by eliminating the risks through changing the project plan or certain features. Another way of risk avoidance or reduction is re-design or changing the method of construction. (Perry, Hayes, 1985) However, there are only a few situations this response can be used. Reduce: Risk reduction aims at reducing the probability and consequences of a risk event. The measures should be taken with consideration of the value for money. Reducing the level of risks could raise the cost. Only when the value of the reduced risk is beyond the cost it caused, this method can be taken. Risks can be reduced by: Obtaining additional information Performing additional tests/simulations Allocating additional resources Improving communication and managing organisational interfaces(An, 2010) After risk assessment, hazards are allocated in the intolerable, tolerable and negligible regions. There are some guidelines for risk reducing. Hazard in the intolerable region: risks in this level should be eliminated or cost-effective cannot be achieved. As a result, the project should be considered for abandoning. Hazard in the tolerable region: to reduce risks in this region, two aspects should be considered. One is whether the risk is close to the intolerable region, the other one is whether it is a cost-effective reduction process. It is better to reduce the risk no matter how expensive it might cost in dealing with the first situation. For the second consideration, it is better to reduce the risk and checking carefully of its allocation. Hazard in the negligible region: it is recommended that these hazards should be left alone, since they are not worth to reduce. (An, 2010) Transfer: Risk transfer is to transfer risks from one party to another. This would happen between parties in a project or between one party in the project and one outside. (An, 2010) Some contractual obligation can also be used as risk transfer method, because no one is willing to accept a risk without any form of compensation. Generally, it is better to transfer the risks to the parties who can best control them. Acceptance or Retention: If the other methods fail to adequately or fully treat the risk, the project has to be prepared to accept the risk or any residual risk remaining after some initial treatment. The party which is holding a risk may be the only one that can manage the risk or accept the consequences. If the risk is under control of this party, the likelihood of happening or minimise the impact of the risk could be reduced. It is possible for a risk to have a number of potential treatment equally suitable but varying in cost. The selection of a final treatment must be made as cost-effective. The cost of managing the risk should be commensurate with the benefits obtained. The risk response process is directed at identifying a way of dealing with the identified and assessed project risks. Risk reduction is the most frequently used technique within the construction industry. Managing the risks of a project is a rather difficult task. Choosing any form of treatment may itself expose the project to additional risks. In this way, attention should be paid to ensure that the treatment strategy does not expose the project to greater risk than what the original risk was designed to treat. 3.3.4.5 Emergency Preparedness Even when the pervious risk management processes have been well applied, accidents happen occasionally. The goal of emergency preparedness can be concluded as the following: To be prepared to take the most appropriate action in the event that hazard becomes a reality so as to minimise its effects and, if necessary, to transfer personal from a location with a higher level to one with a lower risk level. (An, 2010) Regarding the management of risk, an emergency preparedness is the preparation of contingency plans and courses of action in case the risk arises during construction. The emergency preparedness could also be an alternative course of action prepared as a contingency plan. 3.4 Conclusion Risk management intends to identify and manage those potential and unforeseen problems that might probably occur during the project implementation. And it could identify as many risk event as possible, minimize their impact to the project, manage the responses to those events that are probably to materialize, and provide contingence funds to cover risk event that actually materialize. Precaution is better than cure. The same principle can be applied to risk management which should be a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Risk management is a preventive process to ensure that negative impacts are reduced and that harmful consequences associated with undesirable events are minimized. Generally, the risk management process should include: risk identification, risk assessments, risk response and emergency preparedness. Once risk has been identified, they must then be accessed on their potential severity of loss and the probability of occurrence. Then through the following stag es such as risk avoidance, reduction, retention or risk transfer, the risks can be dealt with and its impact can be decreased to a certain extent.

Agriculture and Population Growth Essay -- Agricultural Economy Scienc

Agriculture and Population Growth The earth is increasing its population by 90 million people per year, and yet we still have 5.9 billion people left to feed and to give shelter (Mitchell, 1998). Along with the increase in the population, there are also more people on Earth who are living longer lives. The global population boom has coincided with the improvement of health, and of productivity, around the world. On average, the human population today lives longer, eats better, produces more, and consumes more than at any other time period in the past (Eberstadt, 1995). Agriculture feeds people, but will it be able to feed the expanding global population, especially with its exponential increase? One way for the population of today and tomorrow to live in harmony in regards to nourishment provided by the environment is to be able to intensify agricultural yields. With a projected population of 10 billion people, an increase of global average grain yields from 2 to 5 tons of grain per hectare would ensure a per capita diet of 6,000 calories and would save a land area twice the size of Alaska (Waggoner, 1994). Most of the world’s increased output is no longer a result of expansion of area used in agriculture, but resulting from the intensification of production on existing agricultural areas. In the last 50 years, agriculture has intensified and yields per hectare have been rising. Intensification has allowed for a reversal of destruction of land. More land has been spared due to increased intensities. In India, 42 million hectares of land have been spared, approximately the size of California and globally, the world has saved an area the size of the Amazon (Ausubel, 1996). Of all human activities, agriculture transforms the... ... and supported in a sustainable manner, agricultural intensification might just be able to keep up with the demand. In the up-coming decades, we will soon find out. Bibliography Ausubel, Jesse H. 1996. Can Technology Spare the Earth? Scientific American 84; Pages 166-178. Brown, Lester R. 1997. Can We Raise Grain Yields Fast Enough? Worldwatch 10(4): Pages 9-17. Eberstadt, Nicholas. 1995. Population, Food, and Income: Global Trends in the Twentieth Century. The True State of the World. Pages 7-48. Mitchell, Jennifer D. 1998. Before the Next Doubling. http://www.worldwatch.org/may/1998/98-1.html. March 1, 1998. Vitousek, Peter M. et al. 1997. Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems. Science. Vol. 277. Pages 494-499. Waggoner, Paul. 1994. How Much Land Can Ten Billion People Spare for Nature? Council for Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.

Being Admired or Being Liked

Adolescence is a crucial stage in the development of an individual. It is at this period that psychological and emotional issues arise even at times to the point of creating depressive and disruptive behavior problems in adolescents. One of the many factors that affect the development of an adolescent is the social status he or she possesses. In the case of adolescents, this social status is determined primarily in the school environment.A recent study by Oldehinkel and associates, examines the relationships of the different variables of social status of adolescents with that of depressive problems. The study concluded that depressive problems are primarily affected by two domains of social status which are achievement-related and affection-related social status. With the results of the studies, it is further recommended that what information that has been obtained be used for future studies that will endeavor to solve the dilemma of social status on adolescents.In praise of the stud y, the researchers have made a novel contribution to psychology through the use of a wide scope and delimitation of the subject matter. Article Review: Being Admired or Being Liked Adolescence has been widely known as one of the most complicated as well the most interesting stage in the development of an individual. It is at this stage that one’s unique identity is discovered and developed. Thus, adolescents experience a variety of challenges usually related to their psychological and emotional health.In the research study made by Oldehinkel and associates entitled â€Å"Being Admired or Being Liked: Classroom Social Status and Depressive Problems in Early Adolescent Girls and Boys†, the relationships and connections of different aspects of social status of adolescents with that of depressive problems in the classroom environment were analyzed and discussed. Hypothesis and Purpose of the Study Oldehinkel and comrades cited many studies not only on animals but on humans as well concerning the long-known association of low social status with depressive problems (2007).Social status has been defined in two ways, that is, through achievements and affections. In terms of achievements, the element of competition is present whereas in terms of affection, acceptance into a social group is crucial (Oldehinkel, 2007). Although both are considered measurements of social status, they are completely different from each other. In the study by Oldehinkel, the importance of these two definitions of social status was studied in line with depressive problems of adolescent boys and girls (2007).The study primarily focused on the adolescence stage since this period is interestingly considered as a crucial point where depressive problems are frequently encountered. Achievement-related and affection-related social statuses were primarily analyzed in the study. These two views of social status are usually factors that affect the arousal of depressive problems in indivi duals. In previous studies, the relationships of gender difference to the two definitions of social status have been greatly examined.Such studies show that males tend to be affected more by achievement-related social status while females tend to be affected more of affection-related status (Oldehinkel, 2007). In connection to recent and previous studies, the study constructed by Oldehinkel and associates was a concoction of all the studies. Its very purpose is to examine the relationship between early adolescent’s depressive problems and social status in the classroom environment (Oldehinkel, 2007).The major hypothesis tested by the researchers is that low peer status in the achievement-related domain is most significant for depressive problems in boys, while in girls, depressive problems are more strongly associated with low peer status in the affection-related domain (Oldehinkel, 2007). A secondary hypothesis is also formulated where researchers infer that high social stat us in a particular area will compensate for the individual’s depression problems and low status in another particular area (Oldehinkel, 2007).Methodology of the Study Sample Participants Participants were recruited initially by employing the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey or TRAILS, which is a study on preadolescents whose aim is to track and explain the development of the participants (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 419). The participants were selected in two stages. A request to give names and addresses of all inhabitants born in a particular year range is made to five municipalities, urban and rural alike, in the North of the Netherlands (Oldehinkel, 2007).In this step, 3483 names were listed (Oldehinkel, 2007). In addition, the researchers also approached primary schools of the same municipalities this time, to request participation in TRAILS. In order for children to be eligible, their schools should approve participation requests. A second wave of the TRAILS became the sample population of the study. All in all, the total number of the participants who were eligible and accepted to be part of the study, excluding the parents and the schools, is 1046 (Oldehinkel, 2007).In addition to these participants, schools having the TRAILS participants were requested to partake in peer information and nominations to determine the social status of the participating adolescents. Furthermore, the parents of the participating adolescents also became part of the information gathering. Measure Employed for Data Collection For the affection-related and achievement-related status, the information was obtained from the peer nominations from the participating schools. Questionnaires were formulated; six of which are affection-related such as â€Å"Which classmates do you like?†, whereas, achievement-related questions such as â€Å"Who are good at sports? † numbered three (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 420). Proportion of nominations was used to determi ne the degree of peer status. Information for the participants’ depressive problems was obtained through the help of the adolescents’ parents. Questionnaires were again employed for this type of data gathering. The particular questionnaire used is the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) which is a commonly utilized questionnaire for child and adolescent psychiatric research (Oldehinkel, 2007, p.420). In addition to the data collected from the parents, self-reports from participating adolescents were also gathered through the use of the questionnaire Youth Self-Report, the counterpart of CBCL (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 420). Statistical Analysis Statistical methods to test the hypothesis and the relationships between the different groups of information were employed. These include means of and correlations of the different variables, means of t-tests and z-tests (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 421). Furthermore, linear regression analyses were also done.To better compare the different var iables to social status, the researchers constructed a system of four combined status groups. In this system, low and high (1) refers to adolescents with a low status in an area and a high status on another area, only low (2) refers to adolescents having a low status in one area and no high status, only high (3) refers to adolescents having only high status and no low status and lastly, intermediate (4) refers to adolescents who are neither low nor high in status in all areas (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 421). Results and DiscussionResults show that females have more nominations of being good learners as well as good-looking, whereas boys were nominated predominantly as good in sports. No significant gender differences were observed for affection-related status although results point out that girls are more veered to depressive problems while boys to disruptive behavior problems (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 422). In girls, depressive problems were usually due to association to being disliked whil e boys’ depressive problems are correlated with being good at sports (Oldehinkel, 2007, p.422). An interesting result obtained is that much like girls, boys’ depressive problems are highly related to the affection-related social status (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 422). This is contrary to the previous studies that have shown that boys tend to have depressive problems caused primarily by achievement-related low social status. Interestingly, the results of the study also show that through the distribution of the participants into the four status groups systems, males and females are actually equally distributed (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 423).This is significant since it exhibits that there are no substantial gender differences when it comes to social or peer status. Going back to the hypotheses formulated by Oldehinkel and associates, both hypotheses are supported by the results in the general scope although in the individual status groups, some trends vary. Nevertheless, the resu lts show that girls’ depressive problems tend to be affected by affection-related low social status while boys’ depressive problems are more likely to be caused by achievement-related low social status.Furthermore, data shows that the adolescents’ high social status in one domain tends to counteract the effect of a low social status in another domain, thus, lessening the instances of depressive problems. Generally, there is gender difference between achievement and affection-related social status. However, no significant gender difference is evident on the sports-related domain. This illustrates that girls are also excelling in sports which is contrary to traditional belief that sports is particularly related to males (Oldehinkel, 2007, p. 425).This may be explained by the growing trend in society regarding gender equality. Comments and Recommendations What the researchers have discovered is novel. Although there have been many previous studies that tackle the t opic of their study, the scope and delimitation of the research study conducted by Oldehinkel and associates has a far wider domain. With its multiple variables and various measures of data analysis, the researchers obtained a great deal of information. Thus, such study is a great contribution to adolescent psychology. The sample size and the duration of the study are also remarkable.Its relatively large sample size is a guarantee that the sample population is appropriately represented. The three years duration of the study also adds to the assurance that the data obtained from the study is reliable. The data collection was also appropriate. However, it is recommended that researchers should have cited the participating municipalities along with other communal information of the respondents. Furthermore, the methodology and statistical analysis of the study is commendable. Although some of the described procedures are complicated, the results have been presented clearly.Lastly, and the most interesting of the research study is its open-ended conclusion wherein the researchers themselves urge the creation of future studies to further make use of the results and conclusions obtained in the study. It is quite proper that further studies be done to obtain solutions to the social status problems and depressive as well as disruptive behavior problems of adolescents. Reference Oldehinkel, J. A. , Rosmalen, J. G. M. , Veenstra, R. , Dijkstra, J. K. & Ormel, J. (2007). Being Admired or Being Liked: Classroom Social Status and Depressive Problems in Early Adolescent Girls an

Tapal Tea Pvt. Limited: Report

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal Campus Tapal Tea (Pvt) Limited ADVISOR: MR. MUZHAR JAVED Lecturer Submitted By: MUHAMMAD AHSAN RAZA CIIT/FA08-MBA-012/SWL COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal 520-B Jail Road, Sahiwal, and Tel: 040-9200100, Fax: 040-9200102 Acknowledgement ? ? ? ? ? Countless thanks to ALLAH Almighty for giving me such extraordinary abilities and making me privileged enough to take part in such activities and all respects and regards to Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) for giving me the faith paving me on the right path with the essence of faith in GOD. I would like to thank our Supervisor Mr. Muzhar Javed for his cooperation and help. He fully supported me throughout my work. I express my heartiest gratitude to him. His cooperation made this project a lot much easier. I would also like to express my heartiest gratitude to: Mr. Muhammad Naeem Khan, Regional Sales Manager, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Mr. Muhammad Kashif, Zonal Sales Manager, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Mr. Fakhar Ayub Raja, Territory Sales Officer, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Bundle of thanks to my parents, who were and are very supportive and cooperative at every time. Table of Contents Executive Summary3 TAPAL TEA4 History of Tapal Tea4 VISION5 Mission6 Business Operation9 Company Management9 Organizational Chart of Islamabad Region13 Corporate Information14 SWOT Analysis15 Marketing Strategy24 MARKETING MIX28 Competitive Strategy32 Business Process Analysis37 Learning as an Internee48 Duties49 Accomplishments51 New Knowledge Acquired54 Problem Encountered54 How Experience Impacts My Career54 CONCLUSION55 Glossary56 References57 Index58 Executive Summary From the dimmest of history when around 2727 B. C. few leaves of a wild shrub tea blew into the royal bowl of boiling water being sipped by the legendary Emperor Shah Nung, known as the Divine Husbander as well as a patron of arts. Tapal Tea here brought tea from the royal bowl to the common man's cups as the most sought after beverage the country over. Under the management of the founder's son, Faizullah A. Tapal, the company continued to grow and innovate. Currently it is being managed by the fo under's grandson, Aftab F. Tapal who has continued giving further strength to the foundations of quality laid by his family. After studying abroad, Aftab F. Tapal returned to introduce professional management and unique production ideas into the business. His progressive outlook resulted in the total automation of the tea plants in Karachi. Their motto â€Å"Never Compromise on Quality† remains the by word on the lips of all engaged in producing Tapal Tea that has resulted in customer's brand loyalty and their unflinching addiction. The testimony of their quality has made them the first tea company in Pakistan to earn the ISO-9001:2000 Quality Certificates. Pioneer of the Danedar category in Pakistan, Tapal's Danedar remains a firm favorite around the country with its grape-nutty appearance, rich golden color and a strong refreshing taste. In fact its popularity is such that several multinationals have launched their own versions, but Tapal remains the original and ultimate Danedar because of its unique color, aroma and taste. Color and a strong refreshing taste are its most significant attributes. Tapal is proud to have been a part of Pakistan's history since its inception. As a company they have grown and flourished together with the great nation. Founded by Adam Ali Tapal, the company first started marketing a number of quality blends to Pakistani consumer market through continuous innovation and research and development they gain 41% share of Pakistani market. They still are growing and hope to be a leader in a market in coming years. TAPAL TEA History of Tapal Tea The journey of Tapal's remarkable success is the combined efforts of three dynamic generations of the Tapal Family. In 1947, Tapal started out as a family concern under the personal supervision of its founder, Adam Ali Tapal. Against tough competition Adam Ali's unique blend, later named Family Mixture, became a hot favorite and eventually the largest selling brand in the unorganized tea market. From this auspicious beginning, Tapal moved from success to success introducing tea brands to suit every taste and pocket, sold from its retail outlet in Jodia Bazar, Karachi. The quality of Tapal tea soon became legendary and people from all parts of Karachi started lining up at the outlet to purchase tea. For their convenience, Tea distribution was initiated to retail outlets around the city. The company continued to grow under the management of the founder's son, Faizullah A. Tapal. Today the founder’s grandson, Aftab F. Tapal, manages Tapal Tea. After studying abroad, Aftab Tapal returned to Pakistan to introduce professional management and unique production ideas to the business. A well trained tea taster and tea connoisseur himself, Aftab Tapal introduced new tea concepts and developed a wide range of tea blends catering specifically to the tastes of people throughout Pakistan. His progressive outlook resulted in giving further strength to the foundation of quality laid by his family. Making a modest beginning over half a century back, today Tapal has become the largest, 100% Pakistani owned Tea Company in the country. It has modern tea blending and packaging factories, warehouses equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and a team of highly dynamic professionals headed by Aftab Tapal himself. VISION TAPAL’S VISION: TAPAL’s Environmental Vision is: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sustainable world, a world in which human populations can continue to exist indefinitely with a high standard of living and health †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To produce, market & distribute its product in a way that does not cause harm to people or damage to the Environment. We believe our activities should: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Respect the environment †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generate economic benefits †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Create positive influence in the society †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Create opportunities for good quality of life Our Philosophy is: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To act locally, but think globally Our employees are: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Provided with the information & training necessary to enable them to perform their tasks in a hygienic manner. Mission â€Å"To satisfy our stakeholders and as a guiding principle to our business; be a benchmark for Quality, Creativity and Ethical values Achieve leadership in all categories of our core business and diversify in areas which compliment the core business. DISCOVERY OF TEA: In 2727 B. C Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung was boiling drinking water when a few leaves of a wild tea tree blew into the royal bowl. He discovered that the leaves imparted a delightful flavor to his water, and so it became his favored drink . It is probable that tea was first cultivated in China, though it is possible that people in Thailand and Burma have used it for as long as the Chinese have. The China tea plant was taken to Japan in about AD 800, where it was regarded as a medicine for several hundred years, until green tea was developed to become a popular beverage. Tea was introduced into England, as a gift from the British East India Company, in about AD 1660 and to rest to Europe soon thereafter. By the end of the 19th century, China still supplied the bulk of the world’s tea. In 1886 it exported 136 million kg, of which 77 million kg went to Britain, while India produced 40 million kg. But within a few years India moved ahead of China in world trade. Ceylon (Sri Lanka) emerged as a tea producer in 1867 and Java (now part of Indonesia) in 1878. Today, traditional tea growing countries of China India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Japan have been joined by many others in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador) and Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Rwanda, and Mozambique). Tea is generally considered the oldest prepared beverage. Whatever its color (black, green, yellow or white, depending on how it has been processed), tea can be produced from three main varieties: camellia seinensis, camellia seinensis assamic and camellia seinensis Cambodians. When the tea tree grows under natural conditions, it is evergreen and can reach 10 to 15 meters, but when it is cultivated in gardens (the name given to tea plantation worldwide), its height is artificially limited to one meter in order to facilitate the pickers. Tea trees are grown mainly in tropical and subtropical regions with humidity of 70% to 90%. Rainfalls must be abundant and regularly distributed throughout the year, with a yearly average of 1,500 to 2,500 millimeters. PRODUCTION: Leaves can be picked by hand or mechanically. Manual picking yields leaves of higher quality. Picking is generally done according to the maturity of the leaves (from the top to the bottom of the tree, as a rule) and three levels of quality can be distinguished: †¢ Imperial picking involves picking only the terminal bud (Pekoe) and the first leave.? †¢ Fine picking involves picking the terminal bud and the first two leaves. †¢ Classical picking, the main technique used today, includes the terminal bud plus three to four leaves. Because of the product's perishable nature, final processing must occur as soon as possible after the leaves are picked, and special care is required during transportation and storage. The average yield per hectare from 1990 to 2003 was around 1. 2 metric tons, with yields in leading producing countries being 1. 4 tons per hectare in Sri Lanka and 2 tons per hectare in Kenya. Black tea is the only kind of tea that is subject to international quality regulations. It is classified according to two main methods, orthodox and crushing/tearing/curling (CTC). Within both categories tealeaves are classified into sub-categories, with the best quality represented by the pekoe and the condition of the pekoe and the lowest by the dust of leaves. Business Operation Company Management Aftab Tapal CEO, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. He introduced professional management and unique production ideas to the business. Being one of the few professional tea tasters in the country, and a tea connoisseur himself, his progressive outlook has given further strength to the foundation of quality laid by his family, and has bought the Tapal company to newer and higher levels of success. Evolving and innovating its way through its near 60 years history, Tapal is presently the largest, 100% Pakistani owned Tea Company in the country. Its has set new standards for modern tea blending and packaging factories, warehouses equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and a team of highly dynamic professionals headed by Aftab Tapal himself. He has established three production facilities in Pakistan, two in Karachi and one in Raiwind. In order to provide consistent quality, which is his commitment to his consumers, he brought in his organization the discipline of ISO 9001/2000. With such focused objectives and honesty in business dealings Mr. Aftab Tapal has been able to successfully compete against the multinational companies and has captured more than 35% market share of the organized market sector of Pakistan and is one of the top 100 tax paying companies of Pakistan and one of the top 5 FMCG companies of Pakistan. Haroon Rashid GM Marketing, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Mohammedi Miabhoy Chief Operating Officer, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Ayyaz Ali Khan GM Sales, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Mohsin M. Saify GM Tea & Blend, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Muhammad Shabbir GM Supply Chain, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Syed Zafar Ali GM Administration, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Own Ali GM Finance, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Anjum Pervaiz GM Projects, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Asghar Amin Head of Information Services, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Arshad Sohail Head of Production, Maintenance & Quality Juzer Yousuf Ali Employee Relations Manager Imran Ali Khan Manager HR, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Organizational Chart of Islamabad Region Corporate Information Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Head Office Plot 40, Sector 15, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi-74900, Pakistan. Phone: 92-21 – 5063891 (4 Lines) 5050228 (4 Lines) Fax: 92-21 – 5063890 Lahore Office 2ND Floor, Block-5, Awami Flats, 4-Usman Block, New Garden Town, Phone: 042-5868738-5831593 Fax: 042 5868738 City Office Tapal House Sayedna Tahir Saifuddin Road, Namakwada Pan Mandi, Karachi. Phone: 021-2737202-4 Islamabad Regional Office Plot No. 212,213 Industrial Area I/9-2, Islamabad Phone: 051-4431109-5831942 SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis can serve as an interpretative filter to reduce the information to a manageable quantity of key issues. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. Strengths can serve as a foundation for building a competitive advantage, and eaknesses may hinder it. By understanding these four aspects of its situation, a firm can better leverage its strengths, correct its weaknesses, capitalize on golden opportunities, and deter potentially devastating threats. The company's SWOT analysis of the tea market is as under: ? |Situation Analysis | |Internal Analysis | |External Analysis | |Strengths | |Weaknesses | |Opportunities | | | |Threats | |SWOT Analysis | STRENGTHS: The strength of the company would be the innovation and the high quality products. Because of these the company is able to survive in the market and still earning a good market share comparing to its competitors. Integrated Quality Management: Tapal has a great strength of integrated quality management because ISO 9001 standard is currently being revised to ISO 9001: 2008 Tapal has taken a strategic decision to capitalize this opportunity of revisiting QMS for the integration of other management system, like: ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001 (Environment Management System), OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety System), ISO 20000 (Information Security System) and ISO 22000 (Food Safety System). This integrated system has been titled as â€Å"TIMS†- Tapal Integrated Management System. Localizing Tea Brands: Tapal tea Pvt Ltd is a fully Pakistani owned company and all the SKU’s(Stock Keeping Units) of Tapal tea are the local brands because all the p roduction, packaging, labeling is totally in Pakistan. Similarly its main brand Tapal Danedar owns the equity of understanding the diversity of the tea drinking culture of Pakistan. The Tapal Danedar is a local brand so four different areas were setup for its launching. These different areas were: a lounge, a dhabba, a cafe and a veranda to symbolize the diversity and show the localization of Tapal Danedar at the time of its launching. Strong Heritage: Tapal has always been abreast with changing trends and have adopted to the consumer and the retailer needs. Being the second largest tea brand in Pakistan, Tapal tea has always endeavored to cater to changing consumer needs. Due to strong heritage and local brands Tapal tea took a decision in 2008 to bring tapal Danedar in to hard pack with the same quality, weight and price this resolved a lot of stocking and display issues also helped retain the freshness of the tea for a longer time. The introduction of a hard pack is a tribute to the diversity of strong heritage of tea culture in the four corners of the Pakistan. The† four corners† mean the diversity of Pakistani people and the diversity in their heritage. Strong Supply Line: Tapal has a distribution network spread across Pakistan, from Karachi to Khyber with over 400 distributors. From their warehouses which are in KARACHI, HYDRABAD, SUKHUR, MULTAN, RAIWIND, the product move to the distributors as only in north, they have 207 distribution channels. And from these distributors the product moves to the next, which is retailer and then to the consumer. IBL (International Brands Ltd. ) distribution company, although charges high commission charges, offers efficient service in Karachi which it is made sure that product will be widely distributed, retailers will not experience shortage of products and the name IBL increases more value of the product. Similarly in Islamabad are the two istribution companies FRIENDS and ITTEHAD provide services for the distribution of Tapal tea which effectively and efficiently covers the all areas of Islamabad. This is also one of their strengths that they have a strong distribution channels. In the beginning the company sole aim was to capture the tea market of Karachi, as they were already in tea business here, only and then strate gically build there network to other cities of Pakistan. Low credit sales: Due to local brands Tapal tea get the 41% market share all over the Pakistan and continuously its shares is increasing. Tapal tea has highly profitable sales with minimum credits especially in Islamabad. In Islamabad in month of July the target of sales of Tapal tea was 12 tons (12000 kg, Rs. 4. 8 millions) but Tapal made a record sale of 15 tons (15000 kg, Rs. 6 millions) in that month with the only credit of Rs. 8 lac. Highly Innovative: Tapal tea is highly innovative because it not only makes the tea products but also introduce Tea as a soft drink with name of ICE TEA first time in Pakistan. 14th of June 2007 was a historic day at Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Pakistan’s own and favorite hot tea beverage company took its first step towards expansion with the introduction of its new product â€Å"Tapal Ice Tea†. The first consignment of Tapal Ice Tea was ceremoniously dispatched from the company’s warehouse on Thursday the 14th of June 2007. We say â€Å"Tapal Ice Tea Chill Karo† because Tapal Ice Tea truly adds to the fun of your chilling out style. It offers a lot more than refreshment. Brand activation: The reason brand activation is emerging very fast in the field of marketing is its control and grip over its consumer base. This field relatively flexible in comparison to ATL where we can easily customize our marketing as needed. Be it the direct consumer contact float activation, Event Management, Public Relation or branding, it all fits in easily. One of the key factors of Tapal success is that it has full trust in its activation strategy and has always invested huge amount in this medium. Realizing the effectiveness of activation, Tapal has been exploring almost all the major plate forms of activation. Event Marketing: Event marketing is one of the most effective tools of brand activation Tapal has been coveting all the areas where event marketing can be done. Tapal tea has been sponsoring the Jashn-e-Baharan festival in Sahiwal for the last four years. Be it social programs are sponsorship events like Dawn lifestyles, Tapal has always been there to get its consumers to experience with its brands. WEAKNESSES: The authorities of Tapal mentioned no major weaknesses but its intense competition as our analysis is one of their weaknesses as to stay alive against a giant as Unilever and the other one new entrant as Tetley. Centralization Management: In Tapal it is experienced that there is centralization of decisions. Due to which efficiency and functionality is disturbed. Tapal will have to change its highly concentrated culture, in order to be more flexible. Distribution System: Tapal has got the services of IBL (International Brands Pvt. Ltd) in Karachi. While due to highly focus on locally segmented brands like Meezban, there is better supply system, which is not existed in rest of the country. Highly Dependent on TAPAL’s Equity: Capital is essence for any organization. More the finance will be, higher we will be confident on its bright future. As Tapal is private limited company, therefore it is relatively weak in corresponding to the emerging trends of the market. Relative Technological Backwardness: Above point can be described in this aspect that due to less equity it is backward in adopting new technologies. No Competitive Advantage: There are limited options to attract the customers towards this commodity, because there is not clear competitive advantage aver competitors. Tapal can produce Black tea, Green tea, and Ice tea etc, but further Tapal has to depend largely on mass advertisement. OPPORTUNITIES: One of the greatest opportunities is that Tapal has its huge market, which is increasing as the population is increasing. Tea has become a staple product in Pakistan, which cannot be denied at 20 to 60 year of age. Per capita consumption is almost 1kg according to a recent research in Pakistan. The consumption of tea increases with the growth in population. At the moment, the population of the country is growing at a rate of 2. 9% annually, and the consumption of tea at a rate of 6%. This means that presently there is a considerable opportunity for the growth of tea in Pakistan. The initial re-launch of Tapal Family Mixture is limited to Karachi only, however, other principle cities will be taken into account in the future. Especially in Punjab mixture blend can be introduced under the brand name of Family Mixture. Slowly, Family Mixture will penetrate the market in other cities and expand its future market share. Traditional Drinking Habits: Tea has been a main drink of common Pakistanis and fortunately its use is increasing in common Pakistanis very much. Facts and figures tell us that use of tea is increasing at double rate as compared to the increase in population such as the population of the country is growing at a rate of 2. 9% annually, and the consumption of tea at a rate of 6%. It is the biggest opportunity for Tapal to grab the most part of the market. Expansion in other Beverage Markets: There is very much monotony of brands in tea industry. More opportunities can be explored by using innovative ideas. In recent years, Tapal has launched â€Å"Ice Tea† brand, which is the step forward to prevail in other sort of beverage market. Awareness in this regard is very much of crucial importance. Research and Development: In order to make its tea brand unique is quit difficult for any organization. R department seems to be prominent among very less alternatives. This is vital to utilize these opportunities. Expansion in Other Areas of Country: Tapal is not existed in every part of the country. On the other side, tea market is spreading day by day. So Tapal has a big field to play. It can strengthen its standing in current markets as well as by exploring new markets. Growing Health Awareness: Usually, it is considered in our society that tea is not good for health. While many research reports have published in different journals and magazines that tea is very helpful for continuous working. So Tapal should take a step to spread this fact. It can start its campaign with the collaboration of other players of the tea industry. Exports: Pakistan has very rich taste in drinking tea. It is one of those countries in which tea is widely drunk. If Tapal can get good position in Pakistan then it can satiate other parts of the world as well. Tapal should fill this gap by going for exports. THREATS: One of the major threats that Tapal has its area of the market, which is not educated, and it is using the loose tea, which may not be good for their health as well. Tapal claims that it is not possible for them to create such a big awareness for them but the Government should play his role so that these people should have some awareness of the imported loose tea. A rigorous threat is the increasing number of branded and unbranded tea in the market with ample price difference. For that, established companies need to increase their advertising and promotional budget. There is a need to get a better shelf space and more retailer patronization for the company's brand. Strong Competition in Rural and Urban Market: Tapal is facing stiff competition in the presence of Lipton. It is very difficult to compete in this market, because tea has not very much variety in its taste. To hold on the existing share as well as going further by competing such environment is the major threat. Internationally Increasing  Tea Prices: Pakistan is not self sufficient in tea. It has to import tea from abroad. And running an industry of which base is on imported good is quit challenging. There is another aspect of this picture that Pakistan has put duty of 10 pc on tea imported from Kenya. Kenya tea is liked mostly due to its taste, while tea from Bangladesh and Srilanka is duty free, so maintaining taste might be going to cost very much. High Inflation within Country: Recession is all over the world. Pakistan is not out of the influence. Due to this down turn purchasing power of Pakistanis is going down side as well. In this scenario innovation and introducing new products might cost very high. Saturation of Hot Beverage Segment: Lipton, Tetley, Vital and supreme are the some of the main competitors of Tapal tea. They are providing very stiff competition in front of Tapal. Similarly Islamabad tea and Peshawari Chai are among the local brands which are competing Tapal in rural areas. Political Conditions: This is the threat which has been facing by all industries. Pakistan’s political scene is quit unpredictable. Change of government and change of policies come together. It is not the better situation to file and implement long run policies. So it is very important threat to be considered for the exports to the other countries. |Internal Factors |Strengths |Weaknesses | |Management |Experienced, broad base of interests and |Large size may lead to conflicting interests. | | |knowledge. | |Product Line |Differentiated, Variation in products. |So much product lines but still not able to | | | |knock out loose tea. | |Marketing |Diverse and local awareness. |May lose focus, may not be segmented enough. | |Personnel |Very experienced, high knowledge. |Possible conflicts due to so many people, | | | |possible trouble staying focused. |Finance |High sales revenue, high sale growth, large |High expenses, may have trouble balancing | | |capital base. |cash-flows of such a large operation | |Research & Development |Continuous efforts to researc h trends an |Sometimes they conduct research but the | | |reinforce creativity. |advantage is taken over by small competitors. | |External Factors |Opportunities |Threats | |Consumer/Social |Increase in the population. Illiterate people go for loose tea, which is | | | |substandard as well. | |Competitive |Distinctive name, product and packaging in |Intense competition can pay so they have to | | |with regards to its markets. |keep eyes open. | |Technological |Maintenance of proper website which subscribes|Competitors are global leaders so they have | | |and provides information regarding long |more technology as compared to Tapal. | |production line. | | |Economic |Consumer income is high for the Danedar class. |Very elastic demand, almost pure competition. | Marketing Strategy MARKETING OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the marketing plan are strategically centered on 3 criteria: †¢ To create a strong consumer awareness against unorganized tea product. †¢ To establish a wi de brand recognition through the capture of market shares in the multi segment. †¢ To become the top market leader in that particular segment within the strong research and development. TARGET MARKETING: The target market is that they are defining for our brand Tapal Danedar is the A class and B+ class. The target of this brand is the urban area of the country and along with the use in offices and business class as well. Tapal Danedar is basically the one to one competitor against Lipton yellow label. The class and geographical location we can say is almost same for both the brands. MARKETING SEGMENTATION: As a whole when we see the market of tea in Pakistan, although it is not clearly segmented but, Tapal did this thing very accurately that it segmented the market very accurately. Its 11 brands in the current clearly shows the potential of each brand in each segment define by the company. They clearly look at the nature and extent of diversity of buyers needs and wants in a market. This thing offers a great opportunity for Tapal to focus its business capabilities on the requirement of one or more groups of buyers. The main objective of this segmentation is to examine differences in needs and wants and to identify the segments within the product market of interest. MARKET SHARE PICTURE: Our main focus is on organized tea market where different companies like UNILEVER and TAPAL are holding the main market share. Some other companies also present in the market but having very low share of the market. †¢ Unilever Pakistan limited has 43% market share. †¢ Tapal Tea private limited has 41% market share. †¢ Vital tea limited has 6% market share. †¢ Tetley has 4% market share †¢ The remaining 6% belongs to other market share in the organized market. Unorganized market also captures a good market share in the total tea market of Pakistan. 70000 tons out of 150000 consumption is of unorganized tea. 1% of total population of Pakistan are living in rural areas. Due to illiteracy and lack of awareness they are consuming unorganized tea, which is mainly affecting the organized tea market. Due to this they are enjoying a very big market share of the total tea market. Organized segment mainly depend on the imported tea. Mainly big players are importing tea from different countries like Kenya, UK, and Bangladesh. Last some year’s imported figures for Pakistan is described in the chart below. Unorganized tea is mainly smuggled from different neighbor countries of Pakistan. That’s why it has a large proportion in total consumption of tea in Pakistan, which is 70000 tons of total 150000 tons. MARKET TRENDS: Trends are now changing. If we see the consumers of tea firstly they are using or you can say addicted of the generic tea, which is the black one, but now the trend is changing. Consumers now want something different in taste now, as the competition is getting higher. Consumer of tea wants some new flavors in tea because now their taste is changing as the time is changing so trend is changing in the market. And Tapal utilize this trend very accurately as their innovations show us everything. Tapal Meezban, Danedar, Safari, and specially round metal free tea bags and last but not the least Tapal ice tea shows that as the trend is changing in the market Tapal also using this trend in the form of new innovations. MICRO-ENVIRONMENT ANAYSIS: SUPPLIERS: All tea in Pakistan is imported. Pakistan mainly imports tea from Kenya and other African countries like Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania, while multinational companies in Pakistan also import tea from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Tapal’s suppliers are major the importers of Tea from these countries. MARKETING INTERMEDIARIES: Tapal has a countrywide sales & distribution network. The company has over 400 distributors operating nationwide. CUSTOMERS: Tapal considers complete Pakistani tea market to be its current and prospective customers. Therefore, it has brands that cater to almost all demographic, geographic and social-class wise segmented market of Pakistan. Its customers are all people living in both rural and urban areas of Pakistan who like having tea. Tapal has always targeted families as its potential consumers. With the view that the younger generation will be Tapal’s future customers, Tapal is actively supporting the fast developing music industry in Pakistan. It has sponsored the leading singers in Pakistan and actively participates in music concerts. UNIQUE SELLING PREPOSITION: The main reason behind Tapal’s success is that it has localized its taste. It manufactures its product according to the taste and requirements of the market it is catering. Another reason behind Tapal’s success in catching the hearts of the consumers is that, it has always been close to them. This has been possible because of its strong Brand Activation Activities. These activities have added a new dimension to their marketing activities making them more attractive, exciting and interactive as possible. These activities not only reinforce Tapal as a national company but also assist all its other brands in having their desired impact wherever required. These activities are customized according the brand requirements to achieve maximum results. Not only this, these activities also provide the consumer with a 360-degree product experience, which not only helps in educating the consumer but also engages them to the brand. These activities cover Outdoor Billboards, Event Marketing, Road Shows i. e. floats, mobile kitchens etc, Rural Development Programs, Weekly Bazaars, and Merchandizing of the products. MARKET GROWTH: Industry is now on the maturity stage. Large players has established their brands in the market and enjoyed huge profit margins. Now they are looking towards product differentiation and multi segmentation because consumers are now more taste conscious and looking for variety available to them in a tea market. MARKETING MIX PRODUCT The core †¢ Tea Beverage The actual product Packaging and labeling: see figure in front †¢ Branding: red color, aspect of refreshing, hard pack and soft pack both. †¢ Trade name: Tapal Danedar, a TAPAL product †¢ Brand personality Freshness, Healthy, Innovative, etc. †¢ Brand equity: Tapal Danedar provides a quality, consistent, innovative and accessible tea reputation. Tapal has a variety of brands each catering to different market seg ments. After TAPAL’s unique Family Mixture became Karachi’s largest selling brand, the company was encouraged to innovate further. As a result an entirely new category brand called Danedar was created and launched. Tapal Daneder became the country’s largest selling tea brand with a loyal following, which shows that Tapal has been successful in creating a strong Brand Image amongst its consumers. Tea is part of culture in this region and now Tapal has become an integral part of this tradition with an unparalleled grace of its own. PRICE: The pricing strategy that they are following for Tapal is cost oriented as the price that tapal is taking is comparatively low then its main competitor Yellow label tea. The price going for some products are: 200 grams Tapal Danedar Hard Pack 80rs. 400 grams Tapal Danedar Family Pack 155rs. Prices for Lipton Yellow Label Tea are: 200 grams Yellow Label 95rs. 500 grams Yellow Label 235rs. So its price we can say that varies according to cost and even in high quality, which they are claiming, their price is low as compared to Yellow Label Tea. Tapal people never wanted to compromise on quality so they adopted value based pricing. As Tapal specifically catering to different segments of the market so its prices are based on its effective value to customers relative to other products. Also the prices are different for different SKU’s CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION: Manufacturer ——? Distributor———? Retailer ——–? Consumer The channel of distributions according to this brand Tapal Danedar is simply as shown by the diagram as manufacturer to distributors who vary according to geographical dispersion and then to retailer to final consumer. Tapal has a great channel of distribution not only to this brand but also all other brands that vary geographically according to consumer needs. TAPAL has 5 main warehouses in Pakistan, which are located in the following cities. 1. KARACHI 2. HYDERABAD 3. SUKHUR 4. MULTAN 5. RAIWIND From these warehouses the product move to the distributors as only in north they have 207 distribution channels. And from these distributors the product moves to the next, which is retailer and then to the consumer. This is also one of their strengths that they have a strong distribution channels. In the beginning the company sole aim was to capture the tea market of Karachi, as they were already in tea business here, only and then strategically build there network to other cities of Pakistan. Now Tapal has a distribution network spread across Pakistan, from Karachi to Khyber with over 400 distributors. Extensive training programs are provided for the devoted sales personnel. The popularity of its fine brands is unabated, making it the No 1 national tea company in Pakistan. Tapal caters to its customers by providing Tapal Danedar and Family Mixtures to more than 140,000 outlets in Pakistan, which include superstores, department stores, general stores, medical stores, paan walas, grocery stores, merchants, etc. Grocery stores and merchants together provide 80% volume of the tea sales. PROMOTION: OBJECTIVES: To make the brand remind the consumer as much it could be: †¢ Tapal is using both BTL and ATL for the purpose of promotion. †¢ Through BTL Tapal is focusing on display racks, sign boards etc. ainly placed to different retailers for heavy promotion against their competitors. †¢ The specific term used by Tapal is the MODERN TRADE so that they have an eye contact of the product with the customer. In this they are using shelves to display their product in big stores like BEST PRICE, BUY BEST, HARLORD’S, and 7th EVENUE etc. †¢ Thro ugh ATL Tapal is focusing on broadcast and print media promotion by placing ads on T. V and placing newspapers ads as well. ELECTRONIC MEDIA: Initially, the company relied heavily upon print media but this trend is changing now because of the in customer’s life style. Right now, company is doing intensive advertising through networks. In their advertisement they hire the services of renowned celebrities. TAPAL AND MUSIC: With the view that the younger generation will be TAPAL’s future customers, TAPAL is actively supporting the fast developing music industry in Pakistan. It has sponsored the leading singers in Pakistan and actively participates in music concerts. SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES: The Company is running different sales promotional schemes at different times of the year depending on the sales of the company. TAPAL’s brand is backed by planed strategy implementation and followed up with affective communication its advertising and promotion is touching all aspects of media and market opportunities. MARKETING RESEARCH: Tea blending and tasting is both an art and a science and Tapal prides itself on having mastered both the aspects. Tapal has adroitly judged the factory senses and keenness of the taste buds of their patrons, resulting in the creation of various well known brands. Aftab F. Tapal is a well trained and highly experienced tea taster of the country and is recognized as a qualified tea specialist worldwide. Tapal's tea managers have been trained at home and abroad in this very rigorous and specialized discipline, and have frequently traveled to leading tea producing countries searching for better teas. Tapal is a research oriented company. It subscribes to and conducts various researches in the area of retail audits, consumer behavior, media planning and product development. This research is used for continuous improvement in product quality, brand positioning and communication according to the changing requirements of the consumers. Consistency and quality are the two keystones of Tapal's production policy, and the Quality Control Department at Tapal ensures that flavor and freshness is never compromised. That's why all the brands, whether Danedar, Tapal Special or Tapal Family Mixture, always taste exactly as expected, retaining aroma and freshness till the last sip. RESEARCH ON THE HARD PACK; According to the marketing manager service he conducted a research at different big cities of the country so that to analyze consumer behavior by this research many classes were taken over in 12 different sessions. By this research first they showed the ad of Tapal and then ask about their thoughts and feelings related to the ad. The target market is housewives from different classes and on the basis of this research tapal concluded that they have to launch a hard pack of Tapal Danedar. As its target market was not comfortable to use the soft pack due to the status problem. Now after the launching, Tapal claims that it is difficult to fulfill the market needs of hard pack due to high demand. Competitive Strategy COMPETITIVE SITUATION: Unilever owns two of the most widely recognized product lines Lipton and Brooke Bond. The major competition facing Lever at present is from Tapal Danedar Tea, who is truly a market challenger. Lipton comprises of Yellow Label which is designed for upper middle, upper lower and upper middle class, which is a market leader in the industry, it comes in all the packages including hard packs, jars, and teabags. Lipton yellow label although the direct competitor of Brooke Bond Supreme comes in the family of Unilever so it is prone to its competing attacks. Lipton follows a massive promotion scheme to hold its share. Richbru is designed for middle and lower Upper classes and Pearl dust is designed for rural areas, mostly districts of Sindh where consumption of dust is extensive. They both are not stated as direct competitors of Supreme because they are targeting to different audience. Lipton has a market share of 43%. Brooke Bond comprises of Supreme and A1 karak Tea which is designed for lower classes, originally known as Kenya mixture and then A1 Kenya mixture. Brooke Bond has a market share of 9%. Tapal with the assortments like Danedar and Family mixture collectively has a market share of 41% overall and in Karachi it has 24%. Tapal is not only a direct competitor but can be stated as a only competitor because all the major market share holders belong to the family of Unilever except Tapal. Tapal also comes in various packages and consumes much of the shelf space in super markets and convenient stores. Tapal has the biggest advantage of its assortments as is served not only by mixture but also Danedar which is getting very popular day by day. Tapal has a good image in consumer’s mind and its price is also reasonably attractive. A sizable portion of the market is dominated by loose tea or unbranded tea. However, these brands are currently threatened by smuggled tea from Afghanistan which is available in the open market duty free. This has posed a lot of problems for genuine importers of tea who cannot compete with this tea because of its low price. This unbranded tea’s have the biggest market share of 40% because of its low price. COMPETITION LEVEL; Direct competition of Tapal tea is with Lipton yellow label tea. Indirect competition of Tapal is with coffee, loose tea and other flavored teas. Generic competition includes all the generic products, which can fulfill consumer’s generic needs. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES: Tapal has a competitive strategy to make the promotion activities in all over the country, in urban areas as well as in rural areas. This is a great competitive advantage over the competitor Lipton which makes the promotion activities only in the urban areas. Tapal plan the following promotion activities: Float Activity: Tapal Danedar conducted a float activity recently in the rural areas of Pakistan. A Tapal Danedar branded float moved in different towns and the float was stationed in high traffic areas which generated the most crowds. The idea of this activity was to generate brand awareness and increase visibility. So it is the great competitive advantage over the competitor for increasing brand awareness and increasing visibility. Demo Activity: It was carried out in the semi urban regions of Punjab and was aimed towards women, in forming them about the benefits of tapal Danedar. Tapal Danedar set up stalls with branded umbrellas and tables. Women passing by were invited to the stall where a female promoter spoke to them about the benefits of tapal Danedar and disadvantages of loose tea. All that time free tea samples were given to the people visiting the stall making the atmosphere cheerful festive. This is the competitive strategy of Tapal tea to promote and aware the customers about its products as well as its advantages. Shop kiosk Activity: A Tapal Danedar branded kiosk was placed at a no. of Kiryana and General stores where promoters would invite customers passing by and inform them about the various deals being offered by tapal Danedar due to this activity Tapal get the competitive advantage over the competitor this is the store competitor strategy by which customers get awareness about the tapal products and increase and due to this strategy tapal stare getting more market share against the competitors. Relationship with Multinational Company: For getting the competitive edge over the competitor especially in tea blending packing and technological innovation the management of tapal visited time to time different multinational tea companies, such as the management team of tapal recently visited the tea factory of â€Å"TYPHOO† based in Liverpool England. The team was treated to an extensive visit of the production facilities and spent the day with the â€Å"TYPHOO† management team where some extremely valuable ideas and best practices process were exchanged between the two companies. ATL AND BTL ACTIVITIES: Both ATL and BTL activities do play a key roll in advertising and promotion of all SKU’s of Tapal tea. Media releases played a great roll to give information about the newly launched Hard Pack, service or company out to a large amount of potential customers while BTL activities addressed specific as well as selected mass audience in a particular area which will sustain for long duration. Through ATL and BTL activities Tapal has a great competitive advantage over the competitor and through using this competitive strategy they make reasonable market share and continuously increasing in their share due to this strong competitive strategy. CONTINUOUS LEARNING ABOUT MARKETS: In order to survive in the market you must have continuous learning about the market. Tapal did it very efficiently as their innovation shows this. They have the ability and they utilize it beautifully. Their continuous learning makes them real competitors against an international recognize brands like supreme, Lipton etc. Tapal Chai Family Mixture is the pride of Tapal developed by the forefathers in 1947 and thus creating a new category of Mixture in the tea market. It is the blend that started the Tapal success story, and now other tea companies are following Tapal’s footsteps by entering the market with similar blends. Danedar Leaf Blend Pioneer of the Danedar category in Pakistan, Tapal’s Danedar remains a firm favorite around the country with its grape-nutty appearances, rich golden color and a strong refreshing taste. Tea is part of culture in this region and now Tapal has become an integral part of this tradition with an unparalleled grace of its own. PIONEERS of SOFT PACKAGING: Technology is also harnessed at Tapal to benefit the consumer. From the very beginning, Tapal realized the importance of importing innovative technologies such as the soft packing process. A fully automatic facility was established where soft packs were produced for the first time in Pakistan. At this facility tea is blended and packed in hygienic conditions, untouched by human hands whilst the soft packing technology keeps tea fresh and packaging costs economical. The success of these soft packs has been such that other tea companies have also followed Tapal's lead and launched some of their brands in soft packaging. And their other innovations are: †¢ The first to introduce soft packs in the country. †¢ The first tea company to introduce metal-free tea bags. The first to develop an entirely new blend and category-Tapal Family Mixture (the mixture of leaf & dust). †¢ The first to invent the highly successful brand Danedar Leaf Blend. The first to market Kenya teas in Pakistan. The first tea company to be awarded the ISO 9001/2000 Quality Certification As a step towards backward integration Tapal has begun tea plantation at Shinkiari in the northern region of Pakistan. This project aims at providing jobs, saving the country's valuable foreign exchange and is a significant step towards self-sufficiency. Tapal is also the 1st national tea company to export tea to the UAE, Canada and USA. This is again a pioneering step towards increasing value-added exports and is also a fast developing source of foreign exchange for the country. Business Process Analysis A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY; â€Å"NEVER COMPROMISE ON QUALITY† has been the motto at Tapal since the very beginning. This commitment to quality has resulted in a high level of customer satisfaction and unflinching brand loyalty. In December 1997, Tapal Tea became the first Pakistani Tea Company to earn the ISO-9001 certification, a symbol of the highest international quality standards. Again in December 2000, Tapal acquired the ISO9001: 2000 certification, making it one of the first few companies in the world to achieve this milestone. In addition to the standard requirements, the ISO9001: 2000 certification system includes requirements for environment improvement, concepts of TQM (continuous improvement) with major emphasis on consumer requirements and satisfaction. Quality Policy; The management and the employees of Tapal Tea (Private) Limited is committed to: †¢ Produce products that meet the customer’s requirements & expectations. †¢ Fulfill the requirements and effectiveness of the quality management system through continuous improvements. †¢ Constantly review & update the relevant quality objectives of products & processes in line with the Company’s Statement of Commitment. †¢ Participate individually & collectively as a team towards the improvements of processes, personnel, environment & ethical values. Brands; The reason behind Tapal’s success in catching the hearts of the consumers is that, it has always been close to them. This has been possible because of its strong Brand Activation Activities. These activities have added a new dimension to their marketing activities making them more attractive, exciting and interactive as possible. These activities not only reinforce Tapal as a national company but also assist all its other brands in having their desired impact wherever required. These activities are customized according the brand requirements to achieve maximum results. Not only this, these activities also provide the consumer with a 360-degree product experience, which not only helps in educating the consumer but also engages them to the brand. These activities cover Outdoor Billboards, Event Marketing, Road Shows (floats, mobile kitchens etc), Rural Development Programs, Weekly Bazaars, and Merchandizing of the products. Tapal Tea has total 11 brands which are as under: 1. DANEDAR 2. FAMILY MIXTURE 3. TEZDAM 4. GULBHAR 5. GREEN TEA 6. ICE TEA 7. INSTEA 8. TAPAL SPEACIAL 9. CHANAK DUST 10. MAIZBAN DUST 11. SAFARI TAPAL DANEDAR: Since 1947, Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. has been the leading tea company in Pakistan. Since then, this prestigious corporation has expanded extensively and has introduced many successful tea brands complementing the different tastes of tea drinkers nationwide. At present, Tapal Danedar is the flagship brand of the company, standing as a true national brand. The history of Tapal Danedar is a success story in its own. In 1987, Tapal Tea launched a new category of tea in the market, called ‘Danedar’. This was a ‘Dana’ blend from the high grown tea leaves of the highest tea gardens in the world. Each component of Danedar blend is carefully selected to provide a lovely looking leaf appearance that is neat, black, grainy and fairly even. Danedar blend is an excellent combination of lively taste and distinct flavor of world’s best high grown teas, which produces satisfying cup of tea for the consumers who like aromatic or flavor tea. The innovation was so successful that other multinational tea companies decided to enter the category and launch similar brands. Tapal Danedar has ever since maintained its top position in the category and is still the 3rd largest tea brand in Pakistan. As a result of Tapal’s corporate philosophy, being the benchmark in creativity, many valued additions have been made to the brand over the years. The first was the introduction of Tapal Danedar teabags and later the innovative string less â€Å"Round Tea Bags† were launched. The most important feature of this top quality Danedar brand is that the characteristics of a brewed cup remain intact even after a long time. Tapal Danedar has throughout been an extremely strong brand, creating loyal consumers across Pakistan. Simply, Danedar is a powerful brand and a great value product and there is no real substitute of it. Today, the Danedar family comprises of a multiple SKU’s (stock keeping units) including 3 trade mark soft pack variations, 3 enveloped pack sachets, a high utility jar, a pouch and the ground breaking convenient teabags. 100 g 200 g 400 g 1000 g JAR FAMILY MIXTURE: Family Mixture is a blend of high grown Kenyan primary leaf and dust grades, which are carefully selected for their rich color, distinct flavor and a bright golden lively appearance. It is a pioneering brand which started its journey in 1947. It’s a brand that brought about significant success, in fact, a breakthrough for the Company. Besides, it pioneered a unique mixture of leaf and dust tea in Pakistan. As a blend, it took no time to take off and found favor with taste buds from varying levels of market segments. The blend, perhaps, stays at the core of success. The strength of Tapal Family Mixture is not only due to Company’s inherent interest in the brand but owes a great deal to the farsighted vision of its creators, with a deep understanding of the habits of millions of country’s tea drinkers. Tapal Family Mixture has been around and kicking for several decades now. In spite of long years of facing competition, which became tougher by the year, Tapal Family Mixture still holds it’s own. Backed by growing intelligent marketing, TFM today continues to command a leadership position in Pakistan’s tea industry or market. 100 g 200 g ? Kg GREEN TEA: Keeping the changing tastes and expectations of our customers in mind Tapal introduced a range of Green Teas that is healthy and revitalizing in taste. Tapal Green Tea is blended to perfection using the finest tealeaves and specially selected flavors to give a refreshing experience of light taste and soothing aroma. â€Å"Green Tea† unlike black tea undergoes minimal oxidation during processing and is made from leaves that are not fermented before being dried. Originating from China, today green tea is consumed all over the world for its medicinal values and great taste. It carries many health benefits as the antioxidants present in it destroy free radicals that damage cells in the body and also controls the glucose level. Green tea lowers cholesterol and blood-insulin levels, which helps in burning of fat. Furthermore, it promotes good all-round health, as it has no side effects. Tapal Shades of Green is an aromatic combination of the finest and carefully selected tealeaves and the tantalizing freshness of natural Jasmine, Elaichi and Lemon. Jasmine Introduced in the year 2000, Tapal Jasmine Green Tea with its vibrant essence and a distinct soothing effect breathes new life in to your senses. Jasmine Green Tea is a winning combination of alluring fragrance and health. Infused with Jasmine flowers, Jasmine Green Tea opens a new window to your mind. 90 g Elaichi Launched in 2005, Tapal Elaichi Green Tea was well received by green tea lovers nationwide for its revitalizing taste. The uplifting flavor of Elaichi tenderly takes your body to a whole new level of vitality. 45 g Lemon After joining the Tapal Green Tea family in 2006, Tapal Lemon Green Tea with its rich taste regenerates your soul. It is your perfect soul mate to indulge in a rejuvenating experience of its succulent essence. 45 g TAPAL ICE TEA: The invention of ice tea is generally believed to have occurred in America in 1904, although some evidence has been presented that it may have been drunk in the South well before that. Like many great inventions, ice tea was created completely by accident. It was a sweltering day during the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, and Englishman Richard Blechynden's tea concession was not doing well. He could not entice anyone to try his steaming beverage. The sweltering heat drove all visitors past his wares. Until he struck upon a solution. Borrowing ice from a nearby ice cream stand, he created a beverage that would endure for the next hundred years which is now also available in Pakistan. Ice Tea came to notice of the Tapal management when it was found that it was already being sold at many leading stores throughout the major cities. Independent industry research shows that healthy beverages were increasing claiming a bigger share of the Pakistani market and were growing at a tremendous pace. Tapal started to respond to consumer demand and research by introducing these current flavors. 14th of June was a historic day at Tapal Tea (Pvt) Ltd. Pakistan’s own and favorite hot tea beverage company took its first step towards expansion with the introduction of its new product â€Å"Tapal Ice Tea†. The first consignment of Tapal Ice Tea was ceremoniously dispatched from the company’s warehouse on Thursday the 14th of June 2007. Present at this momentous occasion were amongst other people the CEO of the company, Mr. Aftab Tapal, the COO Mr. Muhammadi Miabhoy and the CMO Mr. Mahmood Nanji. The product along with support POS material was well received by the shop keepers of Karachi and displayed across the selected areas of the city. Tapal had been the leading brand here in Pakistan for many years, and this new product which is for now available at leading stores in Karachi and is sure to stir up some more excitement among the Chai freaked Pakistani’s which will make Tapal another step ahead of the leading brands in our country CHILL KARO PAKISTAN! The super market culture has changed consumer purchase habits and the youth today has ample choices in front of them, even when compared to 5 years ago. Increasingly they are becoming a huge market on their own. Tapal wants to increasingly cater to this market and it is doing so with the launch of Tapal Ice Tea. Tapal is known for its hot cup of quality blend of teas, but with Tapal ice tea, it has literally set a new precedent in our markets. Taken in an international context, Tapal Ice Tea is not a new product however it is a first of its kind in Pakistan. Who else but Tapal, the tea experts, could have served up so many ways to enjoy the convenience & benefits of tea? â€Å"Tapal has been making tea for over 60 years and now we’ve added a new area into our portfolio† said Aamir Habib, Brand Manager, and Tapal Ice Tea. â€Å"We know our product is about more than refreshment though. It’s about chilling out and sharing good times with family and friends. We believe that this product is one of the best ways to kick back and have fun this summer. † Tapal Ice Tea offers Pakistani youth an attitudinal choice that comes in the kind of flavors that they will like. Tapal ice tea is made for today's generation that loves to enjoy their life at its fullest and chill out. Instant refreshment is yours anytime with our beverage. Thirst-quenching and delicious, our Ice Tea is pure and satisfying. With this now you’ll be able to enjoy the great refreshing taste of Ice Tea from Tapal – the experts in tea. Made from real tea, Tapal Ice Tea combines the goodness of Tea Antioxidants with no preservatives, no artificial colors and only 16% sugar which is less than most regular soft drinks. TAPAL Lemon & Lime and Peach Ice Tea are a refreshing addition to the popular TAPAL product line of traditional teas. The ice tea contains vitamin C that gives it a refreshing tangy taste. Without doubt Tapal Ice Tea is the best drink that adds to the fun of activities that you're engaging in. Whether its music, shopping, party, workout and games, you can be sure of a chilling time. Tea drinkers will really enjoy the new products, and the flavored ice tea will certainly appeal to active adults who seek refreshment and healthy benefits in their beverage selection,† said Aamir Habib, Brand manager. â€Å"The tea used to make Tapal Ice Tea has antioxidant properties which are associated with good health. † The launch will be supported with a fully integrated marketing program that includes pri nt, radio and out-of-home advertising, point-of-purchase displays, Web/interactive communications especially the launch of Pakistan’s first branded portal www. hillkaro. com, public relations and consumer sampling programs. Tapal Ice Tea will be sold in supermarkets, convenience and other retail stores. What is Ice Tea? The simple pleasure that tea drinkers have enjoyed with Tapal for more than 60 years gets a chilled & flavorful update this month with the new Tapal Ice Tea Lemon & Lime and Peach flavor varieties hit the shelves this month. Tapal Ice Tea is a deliciously refreshing drink made with tea, blended with water and fruit flavors. Ice tea is a form of cold tea often served in a glass over ice. It may or may not be sweetened. The most common flavors worldwide include lemon, peach and lime. About Peach Flavor Ice Tea For the delicious taste of summer in a glass any time of the year, mix up some Tapal Ice Tea Peach. It’s the perfect blend of thirst quenching, refreshing beverage and the sweet taste of peaches. Made from real tea blends, Tapal Ice Tea Peach combines the goodness of Tea antioxidants with no preservatives, no artificial colors and only 16% sugar which is much less than most regular soft drinks. About Lemon & Lime Flavored Ice Tea Nothing beats a chilled, sweet, lemony glass of Tapal Ice Tea Lemon With just the right amount of ingredients; our mix is going to quench your thirst with a refreshing burst of Lemon and Lime. Made from real tea blends, Tapal Ice Tea Lemon combines the goodness of Tea antioxidants with no preservatives, no artificial colors and only 16% sugar which is much less than most regular soft drinks. Opt For The Healthy Drink – Ice Tea! We say Tapal Ice Tea Chill Karo because Tapal Ice Tea truly adds to the fun of your chilling out style. It offers a lot more than refreshment: Energizes you Its moderate caffeine content stimulates energy consumption, giving your body a gentle physical boost that helps you keep going on your workouts, sports or any sort of physical activity energetically. 2. 1 mg of caffeine per kg body weight that equals 147 mg for 70 kg person ingested prior to prolonged exercise delays fatigue. This amount is available in approximately 3 Tapal Ice Tea cans. Sharpens your wits A combination of caffeine and theanine in tea gives you a relaxed but fully alert state of mind and at the same time helps you to focus. Hydrates you Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is a minimum requirement for a healthy, active lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy body fluid balance can become a challenge during summers, especially when you move outdoors. Your need to intake fluids becomes even more recurrent. In such a hot weather, refreshing Tapal Ice Tea breaks are necessary time after time to replenish the fluid that you’ve lost all day to the hot weather in a delicious way and they’re a much better alternative than carbonated drinks. Doesn’t hurt your fitness Ta