Obstacles to Foreign Carmakers with the Expansion of the Market in Essay

Obstacles to Foreign Carmakers with the Expansion of the Market in Russia - Essay Example As people over there have already started buying cars compared to what the scenario was before, I think it is a good idea to give them more ideas by inviting the best of the best car makers to sell their variants. There are few obstacles which are faced by foreign car makers in Russia. For instance, those business accomplices who needed to put resources into Russia experienced certain issues like conflicting laws and terms, the absence of law authorization, boundless debasement, unusual natures domain, and wheel and deal transactions, does not give any particular assessment or import obligation help to remote investors. As most of the spare parts are locally made, there is a highly charged tax for imported parts. Russia’s domestic carmakers are facing fierce competitions from foreign counterparts as many local firms in other countries might do upon the arrivals of foreign firms. Do you think the strategies of Russia’s domestic carmakers will work? Why Ever since the arrival of foreign car makers in Russia, the domestic counterparts are facing a fierce challenge from them. The reason is the better offering offerings of model and features by those international cars. Till now the domestic car makers had the strategy of manufacturing low-cost cars for people to purchase the market for cars was not so developed over there. But now that there has been a rise in the economy and the people have higher disposable income, the trend has changed. The locals are looking forward to latest models and better features which is being offered by these foreign manufacturers. The domestic manufacturers also need to understand the requirement of the consumers and make cars with better features and  design to suit their needs.

The Typical American Essay Example for Free

The Typical American Essay Donald Trump has done much for the image of the typical American through his show, â€Å"The Apprentice,† and its focus on brand marketing to an individual. Throughout time, especially when it comes to advertising, the focus has been to nail down, specifically, what it is that makes a typical American a typical American. But are those traits just stereotypical of Americans as they used to be? Or do they suggest something much deeper about the American public—that behavior as a consumer can be actually be targeted, without much overall difficulty, using a combination of internal and external marketing by focusing on stereotypical beliefs, psychological profiles, and an understanding of basic human intelligence. To begin with, internal marketing focuses exclusively on the individual â€Å"you† of a company, striving to spotlight on their motivations and beliefs while gaining trust and reputation. For example, Ford Motor Company would use internal marketing to evaluate the needs of their employees and to become a better employer for those needs. This can be seen in media advertising as well, as more and more commercials focus on the audience â€Å"you.† Everyone can relate to the stressed out mom with the Renuzit spray as she cleans up her kid’s soccer mess. While the consumer here is not part of the Renuzit company, they feel, by the method of advertising, that they relate to the message presented. External marketing is more about the business itself and how they manage to position themselves in front of the consumer. This medium of marketing is more difficult to qualify because it is in the presentation itself that makes this mode effective. For example, Ford Motor Company is advertising at a dog show and at a car show. At the dog show, they will surely be overlooked as anything more than annoying sales people because their method of presentation holds no true meaning for them, while the car show would explode with excited consumers because they are positioned in front of their target audience. So, to be honest, the factor that has the greatest influence on an average consumer (like me) is both internal and external marketing. It would be hard to feel the deep Renuzit â€Å"homey† vibe when watching a stressful horror flick on the Sci Fi channel, but it would be a much more well received bit of advertising if the Learning Channel was on and Martha Stewart was cooking something yummy in the kitchen. Even in something so small and simple as random household commercial, both internal and external marketing are essential to see decent results. Moreover, the internet has taken this idea to a whole new level in advertising. It used to be that a basic site could attract visitors simply because it existed out there in the vast world wide web. But things have changed. Now, for a website to have any luck, whatsoever, they have to not only have targeted content, but also targeted keywords. Whole businesses have sprung up claiming to be able to properly optimize a website for the search engines—their philosophy: target a consumer based on stereotypical beliefs, psychological profiles, and an understanding of basic human intelligence in how people go about searching for the information they are hoping to find (Word Partners Ink). This process is just as complicated as it is for traditional advertisers because the potential visitors have to be exclusively targeted to get any results. This means that if a website is selling cat food, they have to use keyword rich content illustrating the most common search terms for cat food. Maybe name brands, or maybe even breed. The fact is that even as technology grows and looking at Americans as â€Å"typical† by using stereotypical methods sounds politically incorrect, it is still the only method for effective sales, even in the online media. According to the article by Anne Cronin (written more than a decade ago) the â€Å"typical American† exhibits certain identifiable traits. Since some of the traits are so outlandishly true, it’s best to go over each set and compare to the â€Å"typical American† now. Cronin begins with a â€Å"white woman who is 32.7 years old, [who is] married and a mother, owns a home in the suburbs with three bedrooms, two telephones, no answering machine, with two TV sets, cable, and a VCR.† This woman is the woman of â€Å"Stepford Wives.† Her home is her castle and she is still young enough to feel beautiful while she keeps things clean. This woman could still exist today, but with a few modifications. It would be hard to find a household without two TV’s (most probably have four, with two computers), but the telephones would be cell phones, as even kids as young as nine are getting them now that companies like Disney and Verizon have hit on that need, and the woman would probably be divorced with two kids while still living in the suburbs off a nice alimony check. Cronin continues with the woman’s lifestyle: â€Å"she works for a private company as a clerical worker, she (and probably her husband) does not own a gun, does not smoke, does not know anyone with AIDS, spent two hours driving yesterday (probably errands, maybe work), and she read a newspaper today.† The hilarious part is that this woman probably does not exist today. If she doesn’t smoke, she probably knows someone who either has AIDS or has died from AIDS, and if she isn’t a clerical worker, she probably didn’t read the newspaper today. Cronin’s article attempts to pinpoint the â€Å"typical American† woman from the early nineties. Things have definitely changed, but her reasoning is sound. And, her theories could still be applied to identify the traits of the typical American today by focusing on beliefs, psychological profiles, and an understanding on basic human understanding. The world has changed drastically in the last decade. War, tragedy, terrorism, and disease are vastly more prominent than they were just ten years ago. With the hit on 9/11, not only was security throughout the nation revamped, but so was the American consciousness; meaning that men and women had to take a broader understanding of their world if they wanted to survive it. And, perhaps that understanding is a bit more cynical than it used to be. Suburbia has essentially been replaced with powerful business women and internet entrepreneurs. Analyzing and pinpointing the typical American has become something of a carnival game on the internet on OK Cupid’s website. Here, a visitor can take the â€Å"Are you a Typical American test† to find out how they rank as a typical American. The questions are quite illuminating, as are the results. There are 25 questions in all (and a screen name must be chosen at the end to view all results), much reminiscent of the questions found on the â€Å"Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader† TV show hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. But this doesn’t mean that they are easy. In fact, many of the questions have more to do with lifestyle than outside knowledge (though many United States history questions are asked), which makes for interesting criteria for the â€Å"typical American.† After taking the test, despite being somewhat mortified by the results, it became clear just how easy it is to call a typical American a â€Å"typical American.† Even shows like â€Å"Millionaire† and â€Å"Identity† (to the far extreme) hit on this ideal: that the typical American exhibits particular traits, mainly targeted by how much they weigh, how much fast food they eat, how much they watch television, and how much they know about their country. Sadly, that’s all it takes. A marketing genius would be hard pressed to find any other determining factors (they might throw in homey comfort and hobbies, but that’s about it). Overall, pinpointing the traits of the typical American has become something of a pastime for â€Å"typical Americans.† With the rise of the internet and TV game shows, this ideal has hit a new high. But, so has the effects on the marketing and advertising world. As the world changes, and the typical American changes with it, so must advertising and how those traits are analyzed and determined. However, while these things change, even drastically, the methods for identifying the traits of the typical American have not. Still, no matter the mode, the method must focus on beliefs, psychological profiling, and a basic understanding on how the average American thinks. Works Cited. Cronin, Anne. â€Å"Typical American.† New York Times. 1992, pg ES5. OK Cupid. â€Å"Are you the Typical American Test.† 2007 Human Rainbow. http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take Word Partners Ink. â€Å"Search Engine Optimization.† 2007 Word Partners Ink. http://wordpartnersink.tripod.com/searchengineoptimization

Traditional Monoclonal Antibodies and Recombinant Antibodies

Traditional Monoclonal Antibodies and Recombinant Antibodies Introduction: Antibody is a special molecule that present in our bodies to fight against infections and stimulate immune response. Typical antibody is a Y shaped molecule consists of two H (heavy) and two (light) chains. Two antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) are linked with a constant region (Fc)(Brekke and Sandlie 2003). After the discovery of murine monoclonal antibodies produced by hybridoma cells developed by Kohlor and Milstein(Kohler and Milstein 1975), the role of monoclonal antibodies in therapeutics and clinical diagnostics are increasingly important in the last three decades (Laffly and Sodoyer 2005). The term monoclonal antibody is defined as an antibody molecule which is monospecific and derived from a single B cell clone. Results in using fully murine monoclonal antibodies in therapeutics are not ideal and problems aroused in triggering unwanted human immune responses. These problems force the generation of recombinant antibodies in the replacement of traditional monoclonal antibodies. Tailor-made recombinant antibodies fragments increase flexibility both in immunotherapy and immunodiagnostics. The application of minimal form of functional antibodies single-chain antibodies (scFvs) are the most popular form of recombinant antibodies fragments as diagnostic agents (Hagemeyer et al. 2009). In this assignment, the comparison between traditional monoclonal antibodies and recombinant antibodies as therapeutics agents and diagnostics tools will be discussed. From the example of tragedy TGN 1412, the potential risk of using recombinant antibodies in therapeutic agents should not be ignored. Finally, future perspective of recombinant antibodies in gene therapy and using polyclonal antibodies as novel immunotherapeutic strategy will be discussed. Theoretically, probably any kind of monoclonal antibodies can be produced with the aid of hybridoma technique. The continuous culture of hybridoma cells creates an inexhaustible supply of monoclonal antibodies in the laboratories by cell culture or rodent(Nelson, Reynolds et al. 2000). Its highly specificity, stability and homogeneity are ideal for diagnostics and in therapeutic purposes. After the introduction of the first FDA approved drugs OKT3 launched into the market in 1986, the results of using fully murine monoclonal antibodies in human was not promising (Chatenoud, Baudrihaye et al. 1986; Chatenoud, Jonker et al. 1986). This is because murine originated monoclonal antibodies triggered several immunogenic responses in human body. One of the problems arise is human anti-mouse antibodies (HAMA) or anti-globulin antibodies (HAGA) response (DeNardo, Bradt et al. 2003; Presta 2006) generated against the administrated murine antibodies. Studies showed that around 30-75% of patients with solid tumors and relapsed B-cell malignancies developed HAMA response after exposure to murine antibodies (Smith, Nelson et al. 2004; Majidi, Barar et al. 2009). The activation of HAMA response is mainly due to the host antibodies generated against the idiotopes of the administered murine antibodies. Moreover, rapid clearance of murine Abs shortens its serum half-life and relatively ineffective to trigger cytotoxic effect (e.g. ADCC and CDC) compared to human antibodies hindered murine Abs as therapeutics agents (Presta 2006). Based on the above unresolved problems, with the aid of genetic engineering, murine monoclonal antibodies are modified to become less immunogenic and enhance potency in therapeutics and diagnostics. Three different types of recombinant antibodies are generated: chimeric, humanized and human antibody. In chimerization, the murine variable region is fused with the human constant region forming chimeric antibodies(Presta 2006). This modification imitates the human immune system. Although chimeric antibodies is less immunogenic but may trigger human anti-chimeric antibody responses (HACA)(Baert, Noman et al. 2003). Further maturation technique is humanization (hyperchimeric). In this technique, only the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) from the murine antibody was grafted into a human constant and variable regions (Smith, Nelson et al. 2004). By resurfacing, reshaping and hyperchimerisation of hyperchimeric antibody, the antibody binding affinity improved. Although the above me thods minimize immunogenicity, but immune response result of xenografting may occur. Finally, human antibodies can be generated by transgenic mice and in vitro combinatorial libraries (Brekke and Loset 2003; Brekke and Sandlie 2003; Presta 2006). Antibodies which generated under this method are expected to be identical to human antibodies with clinical significant without any side effects. One of the examples in combinatorial library approach for the selection of antibodies is by phage display technology in which antibody variables domain are expressed as fusion protein as coated on the surface of the bacteriophages. Under combinatorial library approaches and transgenic mice, the chance of getting fully human antibodies are higher when compared to hybridoma and chimeric antibody technologies. In addition, single-chain variable fragment (scFv) and Fab fragment can be isolated (Brekke and Loset 2003; Brekke and Sandlie 2003). Therapeutics application Fc portion in an intact antibody trigger effector function which is undesirable for therapeutic applications. Therefore, for a desirable antibodies design for cytokine inactivation or receptor blockage, the main considerations of antibody design are: size, tissue penetration, distribution, half-life, effector function, affinity, stability and immunogenicity. scFv and Fab fragments are preferred as choice of preference when compared to traditional antibodies because of smallest in size, high binding affinity, specificity, good tissue penetration and reducing immunogenicity due to HAMA response. scFv and Fab antibodies have a shorter half-life than whole antibodies and this drawback can be overcome by PEGylation. In addition, the attachment of PEGylation of murine monoclonal antibody reduces HAMA response of the host after administration(Laffly and Sodoyer 2005). Applications of monoclonal antibodies are vastly employed in therapeutic agents (e.g. treatment of cancer) and in clinical diagnostic (e.g. histopathological diagnosis). Humanized mAbs (transgenic mice) (resurfacing, reshaping and hyperchimerisation, etc) Phage display technology (Fabs and Fvs) In recent years MAbs have become very important commercial reagents, and currently contribute to over 30% of biopharmaceuticals in development and production. To date, 10 different MAbs have achieved FDA approval, with others in phase III trials.4 Applications Antibody conjugates (Majidi, Barar et al. 2009) Unconjugated mAbs (Majidi, Barar et al. 2009) rAbs for cancer therapy immunohistology genetic immunotherapy(Pelegrin, Gros et al. 2004) scFv for diagnostics tools (size, immunosensor, inhibition of imnflammation and complement system) (Hagemeyer, von Zur Muhlen et al. 2009) Problems polyclonal vs monoclonal therapeutics (Haurum 2006) TGN1412 incident (Self and Thompson 2006) References: Baert, F., M. Noman, et al. (2003). Influence of immunogenicity on the long-term efficacy of infliximab in Crohns disease. N Engl J Med 348(7): 601-608. Brekke, O. H. and G. A. Loset (2003). New technologies in therapeutic antibody development. Curr Opin Pharmacol 3(5): 544-550. Brekke, O. H. and I. Sandlie (2003). Therapeutic antibodies for human diseases at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2(1): 52-62. Chatenoud, L., M. F. Baudrihaye, et al. (1986). Restriction of the human in vivo immune response against the mouse monoclonal antibody OKT3. J Immunol 137(3): 830-838. Chatenoud, L., M. Jonker, et al. (1986). The human immune response to the OKT3 monoclonal antibody is oligoclonal. Science 232(4756): 1406-1408. DeNardo, G. L., B. M. Bradt, et al. (2003). Human antiglobulin response to foreign antibodies: therapeutic benefit? Cancer Immunol Immunother 52(5): 309-316. Hagemeyer, C. E., C. von Zur Muhlen, et al. (2009). Single-chain antibodies as diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents. Thromb Haemost 101(6): 1012-1019. Haurum, J. S. (2006). Recombinant polyclonal antibodies: the next generation of antibody therapeutics? Drug Discov Today 11(13-14): 655-660. Kohler, G. and C. Milstein (1975). Continuous cultures of fused cells secreting antibody of predefined specificity. Nature 256(5517): 495-497. Laffly, E. and R. Sodoyer (2005). Monoclonal and recombinant antibodies, 30 years after. Hum Antibodies 14(1-2): 33-55. Majidi, J., J. Barar, et al. (2009). Target therapy of cancer: implementation of monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies. Hum Antibodies 18(3): 81-100. Nelson, P. N., G. M. Reynolds, et al. (2000). Monoclonal antibodies. Mol Pathol 53(3): 111-117. Pelegrin, M., L. Gros, et al. (2004). Monoclonal antibody-based genetic immunotherapy. Curr Gene Ther 4(3): 347-356. Presta, L. G. (2006). Engineering of therapeutic antibodies to minimize immunogenicity and optimize function. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 58(5-6): 640-656. Self, C. H. and S. Thompson (2006). How specific are therapeutic monoclonal antibodies? Lancet 367(9516): 1038-1039. Smith, K. A., P. N. Nelson, et al. (2004). Demystifiedrecombinant antibodies. J Clin Pathol 57(9): 912-917.

Study of Genotype X Environment Intraction in Asiatic Cotton Gossypium

Cotton is known as â€Å"White Gold†. Gossypium arboreum belongs to family Malvaecae with diploid set of genome have 13 chromosome number. Genotype Ãâ€" environment (GE) interactions have major role in development of improved cultivars. A cultivar is said to be commercially successful, if it performs well across the range of environments in which it grows. The differential response of a genotype or cultivar for a given trait across environments is defined as the genotype Ãâ€" environment interaction (G Ãâ€" E). Bilbro and Ray (1976) indicated that a successful breeding program should focus efforts on genotype yield level (average yield compared to standards), adaptation (what environment does the genotype best perform in), and stability (how consistent does the genotype yield compared to others). Genotype refers to the set of genes possessed by individual that is important for the expression of traits under investigation. The environment is defined as all non-genetic factor s that influence the expression of the trait and influence the growth and development of individuals. G Ãâ€" E interaction is a differential genotypic expression across environments (Basford and Cooper, 1998). According to Romagosa and Fox (1993), G x E interaction reduces association between phenotypic and genotypic values of a genotype. This may cause promising selections from one environment to perform poorly in one and better in another environment, forcing plant breeders to examine genotypic adaptation (Sharma et al., 1987). Varieties are tested in many environments due to changing their performance and adaptation ability. However, important G Ãâ€" E interactions decreases relationship between phenotype and genotype and also genetics improvements in breeding programmes (Comst... ... (1963) Genotype x environment interactions statistical genetics and plant breeding. Eds. Hanson, W. D. and Robinson H. F. National Academy of Science, National Research Council Publication, 982 : 164-196. Eberhart, S A and Russell R A (1966) Stability parameters for comparing varieties. Crop Science, 6 : 36-40. Lukonge E P (2005) Characterisation and diallel analysis of commercially planted cotton (Gossypium hirsutum l.) germplasm in Tanzania. Phd Thesis, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa Myers G O (2004) Estimation of potential breeding value and genotype stability of cotton strains and varieties. http://www.cottoninc.com. Romagosa I and Fox, P N (1993) Genotype x environmental interaction and adaptation. In: M.D Hayward, N.O. Bosemark and I. Romagosa (Eds.), Plant breeding: Principles and Prospects pp 373-390. Chapman and Hall, London.

Physics of Billiards :: physics pool billiards

The Physics of Billiards Newton's Laws First Law: An object at rest stays at rest. If it is moving, the object will continue to move with the same velocity. Second Law: The net force on an object is equal to the product of the objects mass and its acceleration. (F = ma) Once the cue ball begins to roll there are no net external forces acting in the two-ball system; therefore the a must be = 0. Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. If acceleration is 0 there is no change in velocity. When the two balls collide the only forces acting are internal and they do not affect the net force. This means that the center of mass of the system continues to move forward with the same velocity and direction after the collision. Third Law: When two objects interact, the forces acting on them from each other are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Collisions Elastic: The Kinetic Energy of the system is conserved after the collision. Ex. The collision of a cue ball with an object ball. Head on: The Kinetic energy of the cue ball is transferred almost entirely to the object ball with a small amount of energy lost in sound. The two object system is closed and isolated so linear momentum is conserved and the collision is elastic so the kinetic energy is conserved. The balls are equal in mass so: m1v1i = m1v1f + m2v2f (linear momentum) Â ½ m1v1i2 = Â ½ m1v1f2 + Â ½ m2v2f2 (kinetic energy) v1f = [(m1 - m2)/(m1 + m2)] v1i v2f = [2m1/(m1 + m2)] v1i If m1 = m2, the above equations reduce to v1f = 0 and v2f = v1i Basically the cue ball is initially moving, stops suddenly when it hits the object ball at initially at rest which after the collision takes off with the initial speed of the cue ball. After Collision Rolling A rolling object has two types of kinetic energy. Rotational Energy: Â ½ Icomw2

Case Study: Merck & Company: the Vioxx Recall

Running head: CASE STUDY: MERCK & COMPANY: THE VIOXX RECALL Merck & Company: The Vioxx Recall Albert Balogun California Baptist University BUS 520A: Managerial Ethics Jim Bishop, PhD June 30, 2010 Merck & Company: The Vioxx Recall The issues involved in Merck, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company’s recall of one its products, Vioxx, is the effect of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drug on the society public health, the impact of it on the doctor –patient relationship and other ethical considerations.The purpose of this paper is to make an exposition of issues that the recall case entailed including the ethical issues that were involved, and the propriety of DTC advertising method. The legal implications of the recall and the effect of an enactment of a law by the Congress to prevent the use of DTC method of advertising will also be examined. The Beginning of Merck Troubles A number of reasons could be adduced for Merck’s troubles; from a ve ry reputable pharmaceutical company to one that had its major brand withdrawn from the market with considerable adverse financial implications.Apart from the role of direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising and its impact on the company’s decision-making process during the period preceding and leading to the recall of Vioxx which will be the central focus of this paper, other reasons exist as well. These include the competitiveness of very high magnitude that existed in the pharmaceutical industry in the 1990s and the dilemma that Merck faced as a result of a number of its patents that were due to expire.These patents were mostly on the company’s most profitable drug lines (Green, 2007). With declining fortune, Merck found DTC irresistible and relied on it heavily to shore up its market share and to remain competitive. This was the case particularly in the aggressive marketing of Vioxx which evidently was discovered to be dangerous to the consumers but which the company ignored as will be expatiated later in this paper.Direct-to Consumer Advertising Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs which involves direct promotion of prescription drugs to patients and physicians has continued to generate a lot of controversies with regard to its impact on the public health and on the relationships that exist between doctors and their patients. The relaxation of the rule governing the direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising in 1997 by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) paved the way for intensification of such mode of advertising by the pharmaceutical companies.The relaxed rule led to widespread use of television to advertise prescription drugs with commensurate big spending by the drug companies (Beauchamp et al, 2008). The Vioxx Recall Story Vioxx was discovered in 1994 by Merck to be among the new class of painkillers known as COX-2 inhibitors. COX-2 inhibitors are the newest form of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (N SAIDs) and Vioxx, as one of them, was developed to overcome the stomach irritation and gastric bleeding associated with older NSAIDs with COX-1 and Cox-2 inhibitors, which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen to treat people who are in need of long-term pain relief.The COX-2 medication was effective for treatment of arthritis and other pains without users being exposed to stomach damage by naproxen. But the market for it was insignificant. Merck, looking for ways to entrench its market leadership threatened by impending loss of patent, relied heavily on Vioxx to capture the painkiller drug market with which it hoped to shore up its profile and revenue. However, since Vioxx is only COX-2 inhibitors, Merck was concerned about its market strategy if patients have no benefit of cardiovascular derivable from COX-1 (Phua & Achike, 2007).The belief through trials in Merck was that while Vioxx provides guarantee against stomach damage, there is no increased risk to the heart. In 1998 wh en Merck completed the development of Vioxx and submitted application for approval to FDA and before it finally launched Vioxx in 1999, there was considerable positive change in the company’s fortune. It became the number one pharmaceutical company in the world and earned $5. 24 billion in net revenue.During this period, it was discovered by some researchers that COX-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx would interfere with enzymes that very likely to prevent cardiovascular disease. The researchers’ study was opposed by Merck claiming that the study lacked conclusive evidence (Beauchamp et al, 2008). In 1999 prior to the launch of Vioxx into the market, Merck commissioned Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) trial with the aim of proving that its drug is less risky than the older NSAIDS.Excluding patients with high risk of heart problem, the study gave some patients high doses of Vioxx and precluded them from taking aspirin. Next to this was the approval of Vioxx for marketing to the public by FDA. As opposed to the normal two-year review period for other companies, it took only six months for FDA to review Vioxx for Merck made possible by a special relationship and money inducement. Merck used DTC to successfully market Vioxx to the public (Beauchamp et al, 2008). In 2000, Merck wanted to prove whether Vioxx can reduce colon polyps.It decided to sponsor a study code named ‘APPROVe’ which is Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on Vioxx. To give effect and credibility to the study, it was controlled and it compared Vioxx with a placebo rather than another drug. It was at this time that the result of VIGOR trial was published internally. The outcome was that even though Vioxx patients showed less stomach damage, there is more blood clot problems than drugs in the naproxen group with five times higher risk of heart attack.Even when Merck’s head of research admitted in internal email confirmed the fear about cardiovascular and opting f or more data before results were made public, it would appear as Merck deliberately suppressed the results of its own study maintaining that all was well by relying only on the favorable aspects of the study. It would appear that the company caused some academics that it was funding to issue a paper based on the VIGOR study and published ‘The New England Journal of Medicine’ to highlight Vioxx benefits to the digestive system and the cardiac problems but to maintain that patients are not at risk of heart problems.The VIGOR results continue to hunt Merck as FDA would later require a label of warning of possible link to cardiovascular problems. Surprisingly, Merck would ignore the recommendation only to be forced to include a warning label that highlight the fewer stomach problems but to expressly include a warning about possibly more heart attacks and strokes (Beauchamp et al, 2008). Merck became more aggressive spending over $100 million on DTC advertising of Vioxx. By August, 2004 when an FDA researcher presented a comprehensive analysis of data collected over 1. million users of Vioxx which showed that they were more likely to suffer heart attack than other COX-2 inhibitors and older NSAIDS, Merck still maintained its stand that Vioxx was safe from cardiovascular problem. It would only take the APPROVe study which was stopped at the behest of the researchers for Merck to finally agree that, according to APPROVe finding, Vioxx exposes users to demonstrably higher incidence of heart attack after 18 months of regular use (Phua & Achike, 2007).Merck finally halted the sales of Vioxx on September 30, 2004 after it had expended over $500 million on DTC advertising of Vioxx raking in over $2. 5 billion in sales revenues in a year. The Ethical Considerations Clearly, the objective to regain and maintain leadership position in the pharmaceutical industry was paramount to Merck than getting a safe product to the market. The huge market share and profits t hat go with such position propelled Merck to overlook essential findings that would have revealed the heart attack risks associated with Vioxx at research and development stages.At introduction stage, both Merck and FDA acted unethically by speeding up the review process. In a situation whereby FDA as the regulator is on the pay of the pharmaceutical industry, it can be expected that the rules and the procedures would be compromised. A pharmaceutical company should have no control over the information that is disclosed about its products because patients rely on the expertise of the physicians to make the best choice for them. When physicians are hired as consultants by companies whose products they prescribe, then conflicts of interest exist.That is why physicians and researchers should be made to disclose their pecuniary interest in any pharmaceutical company and in its drugs. The protagonists of DTC advertising have often argued that the mode has raised the awareness for and acce ss to important new medications as well as the ability of patients to actively engage their physicians in informed discussions about their prescription drugs. The antagonists of DTC advertising however, are of the opinion that the advertising cannot provide enough or detailed information that will enable the consumers to make appropriate drug choices (Sullivan, 2002).Marketing and advertising do not discriminate between segments of the society. For this reason, it is hard to see how the elderly, children, and the less endowed who are vulnerable and susceptible to deceptive and marketing strategies can become more informed in making drug choices (Greene, 2010). The antagonists argue further that the huge amount of money that pharmaceutical companies expend on DTC advertising could make prescription drugs more expensive to the consumers.DTC advertising could also adversely affect the relationship between the doctor and the patient (Beauchamp et al, 2008). It appears that the arguments against direct-to-consumer far outweigh arguments for. Wholeheartedly, any legislation by the U. S. Congress to ban direct-to-consumer (DTC) is supported by this author. DTC advertisings offer a lot of information such that would require assistance from professionals to be properly evaluated by the consumer in order to make good choices.DTC creates knowledge gap between the consumer and the marketer when the consumer cannot properly evaluate the information being received. The possibility that the knowledge gap would exist is very high especially among the less privileged members of the society. This gap is therefore open to manipulation to the advantage of the marketer. Public health is too important to be left the whims of the pharmaceutical industry to manipulate as they have been doing over the years with their unrestrained budgets on DTC.It is pertinent to say only United States has embraced DTC advertising of prescription dugs has never been permitted legally in Europe and it is banned outright in Canada (Green, 2007). Conclusion The case of Merck and its Vioxx recall has proved that pharmaceutical manufacturing companies need to strongly take into consideration the overall interest of public good. It is hard to imagine that decision makers at all levels in Merck would ignore the disturbing information provided by their own VIGOR study.The quest for make bigger profits and control the painkiller drug market seem to becloud their sense of judgments. Many lives were exposed to the risks of heart attack and strokes when the warning signs were staring them in the face. The company itself lost $33 million in market capitalization. This case obviously calls for more and stricter regulations by strengthening the operations of FDA. Reference Beauchamp et al, (2008). Ethical Theory and Business. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Green, R. (2007). Direct-To-Consumer Advertising and Pharmaceutical Ethics.Retrieved June 9, 2010 from http://faculty. chas s. ncsu. edu/comstock Greene, J. (2010). Hidden in Plain Sight. American Journal of Public Health (2010) Vol. 100, No. 5. Retrieved June 27, 2010 from EBSCOhost Database Phua, K. & Achike, F. (2007). Vioxx and Other Pharmaceutical Product Withdrawals. Clinical Ethics. Retrieved June 27, 2010 from EBSCOhost Database Sullivan, P. (2002). No direct-to-consumer drug ads: CMA. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 11/12/2002, Vol. 167 Issue 10, p1153-1153, 1/3p. Retrieved June 28, 2010 from EBSCOhost Database [pic]

Bpr Business Process Reenigneering

CONTENTS Topics| Page No. | Introduction| 4| Overview| 5| History| 6| BPR Methodology| 7| Advantages and disadvantages of BPR| 9| Case study- I| 11| Case study- II| 13| Conclusion| 24| References| 24| 1. INTRODUCTION Business process re-engineering  is a  business management strategy, originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. BPR aimed to help  organizations  fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve  customer service, cut  operational costs, and become world-class  competitors.In the mid-1990s, as many as 60% of the Fortune  companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-up design of their business processes. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to ac hieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering emphasized a  holistic  focus on business objectives and how processes related to them, encouraging full-scale recreation of processes rather than iterative optimization of sub processes.Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business transformation, or business process change management. Fig 1 2. OVERVIEW Business process re-engineering (BPR) began as a private sector technique to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. A key stimulus for re-engineering has been the continuing development and deployment of sophisticated information systems and networks.Leading organizations are becoming bolder in using this technology to support innovative business processes, rather than refining current ways of doing work. Reengineering guidance and relationship of Mission and Work Processes to Information Technology. Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is basically rethinking and radically redesigning an organization's existing resources. BPR, however, is more than just business improvising; it is an approach for redesigning the way work is done to better support the organization's mission and reduce costs.Reengineering starts with a high-level assessment of the organization's mission, strategic goals, and customer needs. Basic questions are asked, such as â€Å"Does our mission need to be redefined? Are our strategic goals aligned with our mission? Who are our customers? † An organization may find that it is operating on questionable assumptions, particularly in terms of the wants and needs of its customers. Only after the organization rethinks what it should be doing, does it go on to decide how best to do it.Within the framework of this basic assessment of mission and goals, re-engineering focuses on the organization's business processes†”the steps and procedures that govern how resources are used to create products and services that meet the needs of particular customers or markets. As a structured ordering of work steps across time and place, a business process can be decomposed into specific activities, measured, modeled, and improved.It can also be completely redesigned or eliminated altogether. Re-engineering identifies, analyzes, and re-designs an organization's core business processes with the aim of achieving dramatic improvements in critical performance measures, such as cost, quality, service, and speed. Re-engineering recognizes that an organization's business processes are usually fragmented into sub processes and tasks that are carried out by several specialized functional areas within the organization.Often, no one is responsible for the overall performance of the entire process. Re-engineering maintains that optimizing the performance of sub processes can result in some benefits, but cannot yield dr amatic improvements if the process itself is fundamentally inefficient and outmoded. For that reason, re-engineering focuses on re-designing the process as a whole in order to achieve the greatest possible benefits to the organization and their customers.This drive for realizing dramatic improvements by fundamentally re-thinking how the organization's work should be done distinguishes re-engineering from process improvement efforts that focus on functional or incremental improvement. 3. HISTORY In 1990, Michael Hammer, a former professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published an article in the Harvard Business Review, in which he claimed that the major challenge for managers is to obliterate forms of work that do not add value, rather than using technology for automating it.This statement implicitly accused managers of having focused on the wrong issues, namely that technology in general, and more specifically information technology, has be en used primarily for automating existing processes rather than using it as an enabler for making non-value adding work obsolete. Hammer's claim was simple: Most of the work being done does not add any value for customers, and this work should be removed, not accelerated through automation. Instead, companies should reconsider their processes in order to maximize customer value, while minimizing the consumption of resources required for delivering their product or service.A similar idea was advocated by Thomas H. Davenport and J. Short in 1990, at that time a member of the Ernst & Young research center, in a paper published in the Sloan Management Review This idea, to unbiased review a company’s business processes, was rapidly adopted by a huge number of firms, which were striving for renewed competitiveness, which they had lost due to the market entrance of foreign competitors, their inability to satisfy customer needs, and their insufficient cost structure.Even well-establi shed management thinkers, such as Peter Drucker and Tom Peters, were accepting and advocating BPR as a new tool for (re-)achieving success in a dynamic world. During the following years, a fast growing number of publications, books as well as journal articles, were dedicated to BPR, and many consulting firms embarked on this trend and developed BPR methods. However, the critics were fast to claim that BPR was a way to dehumanize the work place, increase managerial control, and to justify downsizing, i. e. major reductions of the ork force, and a rebirth of Taylorism under a different label. Despite this critique, reengineering was adopted at an accelerating pace and by 1993, as many as 60% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. This trend was fueled by the fast adoption of BPR by the consulting industry, but also by the study Made in America, conducted by MIT, that showed how companies in many US industries had lagged behind their foreign counterparts in terms of competitiveness, time-to-market and productivity.Development after 1995 With the publication of critiques in 1995 and 1996 by some of the early BPR proponents, coupled with abuses and misuses of the concept by others, the reengineering fervor in the U. S. began to wane. Since then, considering business processes as a starting point for business analysis and redesign has become a widely accepted approach and is a standard part of the change methodology portfolio, but is typically performed in a less radical way as originally proposed.More recently, the concept of Business Process Management (BPM) has gained major attention in the corporate world and can be considered as a successor to the BPR wave of the 1990s, as it is evenly driven by a striving for process efficiency supported by information technology. Equivalently to the critique brought forward against BPR, BPM is now accused of focusing on technology and disregarding the pe ople aspects of change. 4. BPR METHODOLOGY BPR methodology is a structured sequence of activities that constitutes the typical BPR project. BPR refers to a re-design of business processes by using IT.Its methodology is to give a guideline or progress of how the business process to be re-designed. There are number of methodologies for an organization to practice. According to S. Muthu, L. Whitman and S. Hossein Cherahhi , there are 5 examples of BPR methodologies. To be simple, a consolidated methodology has been developed from those 5 methodologies. That is similar to the 5 phases mentioned in class: visioning, mobilization, process redesign, implementation and monitoring & maintaining. Fig 2 Phase 1: Triggering & Execution VisioningThis phase is to design the visions and directions that a company should go with in order to improve efficiency of the targeted business processes and customer satisfaction. In this stage, the organization should identify the reengineering opportunities, enabling technologies and direct impact on customers. Phase 2: Mobilization In this phase, a reengineering team should be formed. The team should outline the performance goals, BPR plan and budget. Processes to be redesigned should be selected. IT people are involved to make assessment on IT infrastructure and provide information for better business process redesign.Phase 3: Process Redesign This stage is to analyze and compare AS-IS processes and TO-BE processes. After identifying the potential improvements of the existing processes, modeling methods can be used to develop the TO-BE models. Integration can be done afterwards. Phase 4: Implementation Training programs are initiated in this stage to provide the skills of fitting the TO-BE processes. IT infrastructure and the organization are also need to be adjusted to fit the TO-BE processes. Phase 5: Monitoring and MaintainingThe new processes should be monitored and modified on a continuous basis, especially the progress of actio n and the results. To carry out a good BPR methodology, organizations are recommended to consider each phase carefully. Each phase should be comprehensive enough for execution to drive for a success in achieving the organization’s vision and strategy. Business Process Reengineering Principles * Organize around outcomes, not tasks . * Have those who use the output of the process perform the process. Subsume information-processing work into the real work that produces the information. * Treat geographically dispersed resources as though they were centralized. * Link parallel activities instead of integrating their results. * Put decision points where the work is performed and build controls into the process. * Capture information once and at the source. 5. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BPR Business process reengineering (BPR) is a program that systemically breaks down the process a business uses and starts over with new, more efficient methods — basically a redesign o r a reboot.A business process is a collection of procedures, steps or activities the business uses to get the product from development to the customer. Businesses use BPR for various reasons, including cutting costs and improving overall production. Nevertheless, BPR also has its drawbacks. * Identifies Waste and Encourages Ideas The aim of BPR is to help businesses pinpoint obsolete steps, items or workers in a business process. For example, if four workers perform a task, the business may discover only two workers can get the job done during reengineering. BPR encourages employee input and participation.The workers who have familiarity with the processes under study can point out flaws and voice ideas for improvement. * Requires Investment and the Right Business Types BPR typically requires an investment, particularly in technology. Outdated methods, such as doing a task by hand, face replacement by computer programs. The programs improve efficiency and reduce errors, but the comp any must invest in the software and training, a costly option for companies looking to cut expenses immediately. Not all business types benefit from BPR. For example, a manufacturing company may not have the option of edesigning processes without sacrificing safety or product quality. * Cuts Costs and Improves Functionality Removing unnecessary steps cuts down on time and confusion among workers. Assigning tasks that multiple workers would typically handle to one worker gives customers a clear point of contact for help or service. Even by investing more money in technology at the start, companies typically save money over time with the redesigned methods. For example, improving or updating electronic components incurs an up-front cost, but saves money over time by eliminating errors due to outdated components. Lowers Worker Morale Some workers may not adapt to the BPR changes, and those assigned new responsibilities can become overwhelmed. Other workers become obsolete if their prim ary function is eliminated as part of a process overhaul. Management must provide support and guidance during BPR. Failure of the management team to assist workers and set an example during the BPR process may lead to failure, disorganization and staff problems. RISKS IN BPR * Advocates report failure rates of 50% to 70% * Sutcliffe [1999] reviewed difficulties * Employee resistance to change * Inadequate attention to employee concerns Inappropriate staffing * Inadequate tools * Mismatch of strategies & goals * Lack of oversight * Failure of leadership commitment 6. CASE STUDY- II Mahindra & Mahindra: Implementing BPR Abstract: The case examines the reasons behind automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra's decision to implement a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) program. The case explores in detail the implementation procedure at the company and the benefits that accrued from the BPR program. In addition, the case discusses the concept of BPR, its benefits, and the steps that need t o be taken to ensure the success of such initiatives.Issues: Examine the benefits that a BPR program can offer to an organization when it is effectively implemented M;M's Problem Plants In the mid-1990s, India's largest multi utility vehicle (MUV) and tractor manufacturer M;M was facing serious problems at its Igatpuri and Kandivili plants in Maharashtra. The plants were suffering from manufacturing inefficiencies, poor productivity, long production cycle, and sub-optimal output. The reason: highly under-productive, militantly unionized, and bloated workforces.The company had over the years been rather lenient towards running the plants and had frequently crumbled under the pressure of union demands. The work culture was also reportedly very unhealthy and corruption was widespread in various departments. Alarmed at the plant's dismal condition, Chairman Keshub Mahindra tried to address the problem by sacking people who allegedly indulged in corrupt practices. M&M also tried to imple ment various voluntary retirement schemes (VRS), but the unions refused to cooperate and the company was unable to reduce the labor force.During this period, M&M was in the process of considering the implementation of a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) program throughout the organization including the manufacturing units. Because of the problems at the Igatpuri and Kandivili plants, M&M decided to implement the program speedily at its manufacturing units. The program, developed with the help of the UK-based Lucas Engineering Systems, was first implemented on an experimental basis at the engine plant in Igatpuri. Simultaneously, an exercise was initiated to assess the potential benefits of implementing BPR and its effect on the unions.M&M's management was not surprised to learn that the unions expressed extreme displeasure at the decision to implement BPR and soon went on a strike. However, this time around, the management made it clear that it would not succumb to union demands. Soon, the workers were surprised to see the company's senior staff come down to the plant and work in their place. With both the parties refusing to work out an agreement, observers began casting doubts on the future of the company's grand plans of reaping the benefits of BPR. Background NoteMahindra ; Mahindra Ltd. (M;M) was the flagship company of the Mahindra group, one of the top ten industrial houses in India. The company's history dates back to 1945, when two brothers, J. C. Mahindra and K. C. Mahindra, decided to start a business of general-purpose utility vehicles. The brothers formed a company, Mahindra & Mohammed Ltd. , in association with their friend Ghulam Mohammed. In October 1947, the first batch of 75 jeeps was released for the Indian market. In 1948, the company was renamed Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.Over the next few decades, the group promoted many companies in areas as diverse as hotels, financial services, auto components, information technology, infrastructure de velopment and trading to name a few (Refer Exhibit I for M&M's history). Though M;M had established itself in the markets and was among the leading players in many of the segments it operated in, it realized that some of its businesses were not closely related to its core business. This realization marked the beginning of the biggest change exercise since the company's inception. In 1994, a major restructuring exercise was initiated as part of a BPR program.M&M introduced a new organizational model, in which various divisions and companies were regrouped into six distinct clusters of related businesses, each headed by a president. M&M's core activities, automotive and tractors were made autonomous business units. The other activities of the group were organized into infrastructure, trade and financial services, telecommunication and automotive components. According to company sources, the whole exercise was intended to develop a conceptual map to provide direction for the future gro wth of various business lines.It was decided that, in future, the group would confine its expansion to the identified thrust sectors. The two main operating divisions of the company were the automotive division, which manufactured UVs and LCVs, and the farm equipment division, which made tractors and farm implements. The company employed over 17,000 people and had six state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities spread over 500,000 square meters. The plants were situated at Kandivili (MUVs and Tractors), Nasik (MUVs), Zaheerabad (LCVs, Voyager, three-wheelers), Igatpuri (Engines) andNagpur (Implements and tractors) Excerpts About BPR The concept of BPR was popularized in the early 1990s by Michael Hammer and James Champy in their best-selling book, ‘Reengineering the Corporation. ‘ The authors said that radical redesign and reorganization of an enterprise was necessary to lower costs and increase the quality of service. According to them, IT was the key enabler for that rad ical change. Hammer and Champy felt that the design of the workflow in most large corporations was based on assumptions about technology, people and organizational goals that were no longer valid.They recommended seven principles of reengineering for streamlining work processes and, consequently, achieving significant levels of improvement in quality, time management and cost (Refer Table I)†¦ M;M's Experience with BPR By the mid-1990s, BPR had become a popular tool globally, with many leading organizations implementing it. However, when M&M undertook the exercise, it was still a new concept in India. M&M's workforce, as mentioned earlier, resisted this attempt to reengineer the organization.Soon after the senior staff began working on the shop floors, the first signs of the benefits of BPR became evident. Around a 100 officers produced 35 engines a day as compared to the 1200 employees producing 70 engines in the pre-BPR days. After five months, the workers ended the strike an d began work in exchange for a 30% wage hike. As the situation returned to normalcy, BPR implementation gained momentum. M;M realized that it would have to focus on two issues when implementing the BPR program: reengineering the layout and method of working, and productivity†¦ The FutureSumming up the company's BPR experience, Anand Mahindra said, â€Å"Let me put it in a simple way. If we have facilities in Kandivili today, which are not just surviving but thriving, it is all due to BPR. 8. CONCLUSION The reengineering profoundly changes all aspects of business and people. Part of the organization is easy to change by reinventing a way to work. However, the other part, people, is very difficult to change. In particular, it requires not only jobs and skills change but also people's styles – the ways in which they think and behave – and their attitudes – what they believe is important about their work.These are indispensable factors to determine whether ree ngineering succeeds or not. Leaders must help people to cope with these changes. 9. REFERENCES * Business Process Change: Reengineering Concepts, Methods, and Technologies by Varun Autor Grover and William J. Kettinger * Business process reengineering: breakpoint strategies for market dominance by Henry J. Johansson * Business process reengineering: an executive resource for implementation by Harold S. Resnick * www. bus. iastate. edu/ for case study references.