Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate Literature review

Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate listed on Chinese stock exchange - Literature review Example There should be a positive balance between the internal and external sources of funds for the firms to operate efficiently. The research paper is relevant for the study. It articulates the dependence of the overall performance of the company and the capital structure preferred by the real estate firms. Brendea, G 2014, Ownership Structure, Performance And Capital Structure Of Romanian Firms, Internal Auditing & Risk Management, 9, 4, pp. 1-9, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 February 2015 Brendea, 2014 affirms that the capital structure of a firm affects its performance. Capital structure relates to the ownership structure of most firms listed on the Chinese Stock Exchange. In cases of concentrated ownership among a few shareholders, there exist preferences of use of retained funds as the source of finance to debtors and equity, in that order. Firms adopt contracting more debt as a mechanism of controlling misuse of the firms’ funds by the managers. Managers prefer personal gains to the firms’ financial progress. Such designs of capital structure where shareholders resort to debt contraction help improve the profitability on most of the listed firms. Most firms prefer to obtain the finances from within themselves rather than from outside as outlined in the Pecking Order Theory. According to the theory, real estate firms in China reduce their dependence on borrowed money to fund their investments. Utilization of internal sources of funds results in an increase in profitability. The book is very relevant to the topic of study because it expounds on how equity as a capital affects the profit margins of the company. Iavorskyi, 2013 explains that several theories exist that explain how the capital structures affect the business in various real estate firms listed in the Chinese stock exchange. Modigliani and Miller propose that the owner and capital structure of a firm

Economics goverment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics goverment - Essay Example Indeed, the defendants in the case, Carilion Health System defeated the U.S. Department of Justice by showing that hospital markets have unique characteristics that deviate from the norms of commerce. As such, in 1989, the U.S. Department of Justice failed to prevent the merger between Carilion Health System and another hospital in Roanoke (Eisenstadt, 1989). Hence, the two hospitals merged and continued to operate separately in Roanoke after the 1989 merger. However, in 2006, Carilion consolidated the two hospital boards and transferred most the workers and services to Roanoke Memorial Hospital (RMH). It also sought to buy the services of private physician groups. The CEO of Carilion Health System believed that medical staff could improve the cost and quality of care in Roanoke while operating in a centralized system. Because of the merger, there was no hospital competition in Roanoke. Subject to this, the cost of health care is on an all-time high and the health-insurance rates are very high in Roanoke, Virginia (Carreyrou, 2008). The Hospital Competition and Costs: The Carilion Case (1989) had fundamental legal issues as presented by the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) and Carilion. The jury sought to litigate the issue related to the effect on competition and the presence of efï ¬ ciencies. Indeed, after the defendants and the DOJ have made their case, the court sought the jury’s advisory on three legal facts. The court sought an advisory on the correctness of the DOJ’s alleged geographic market, the DOJ’s assertion that the relevant product market consisted of only inpatient hospital care, and the consolidation’s likely effect on competition (Eisenstadt, 1989). To this effect, the DOJ had the legal burden of proofing that the proposed merger would lead to adverse competitive effects and would not derive

Peyton Budget and Analyzing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peyton Budget and Analyzing - Assignment Example The sales budget for Peyton Approved shows that the company forecasts sales to be $1,080,000 for the quarter ending September 2015. To cover the sales and the required ending inventory, the company needs to produce 60,000 units. That would require 27,380 units of raw material at a cost of $212,195. The total labor requirement is 30,000 hours at a cost of $480,000. While the budget estimate for direct material for the period is 36,320 units, the actual amount of direct labor is 31,000 units. The budgeted price per unit of direct material is $7.75. It is also the actual price. Given the difference is only on the number of units of direct material, the direct material price variance is zero. As for the direct material efficiency variance, the company records a favorable efficiency variance of $41,230. That gives a favorable total material variance of $41,230. There was no material price variance as the budget price and the actual price were the same. As for the favorable efficiency variance, there may have been several causes. As the actual production shows, there was less direct material usage than the budget estimates. That may have been a result of efficiency in utilizing material in the production process. The procurement process may also have contributed to the favorable efficiency variance. Where there is purchase of high quality material, there would probably be no wastage and the production may use up less material than the estimates (Nobles, Mattison and Matsumura, 2014).

U05a1 and u05a2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

U05a1 and u05a2 - Essay Example 2. Why is Jupiter so much more dense than Saturn? Could a planet be smaller in size than Jupiter but greater in mass? Explain. Ans: Jupiter is closer to sun and has over 3 times more than the mass of Saturn. Jupiter is denser than that of Saturn because of two factors. They are (i). Jupiter has relatively larger gravitation field because of its mass and rotational pressures. (ii). Jupiter has denser core of rocks and other minerals. Jupiter has heavy metals in its interior. Hence it is denser than that of Saturn. Yes. There could be a planet smaller in size but greater in mass than that of Jupiter. Because Jupiter is mainly made up of gas, hence any planet slightly smaller in size but made of solid material would have more mass than Jupiter. And also building a planet with Hydrogen and Helium is like assembling the fluffy pillows one over the other. As the pillows are stacked one above the other the pillows at the bottom are compressed and hence their mutual gravitational force incre ases. Hence it slightly increases in its height as and when the stack size is increased but gets denser. Therefore the extra mass increases the density of the planet but smaller change in mass. 4. Why does Jupiter have such a strong magnetic field? Describe a few features of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. ... Jupiter’s magnetosphere traps far more charged particles than Earth’s magnetosphere. These particles contribute to auroras and also create belts of very intense radiation around Jupiter. This is so strong that it could damage the orbiting spacecraft. Jupiter’s magnetic field creates a magnetosphere that surrounds the planet as a shield which protects the planet from the solar wind. 6. Briefly describe Jupiter’s weather patterns and contrast them with those on the other jovian planets. What is the Great Red Spot? Ans: Jupiter’s atmosphere has several gases that condense to form clouds. Each of these gases condenses at a different temperature, leading to distinctive cloud layers at different altitudes. Jupiter has primarily three different cloud layers and Jupiter’s atmosphere is colder at higher altitudes. About 100 kilometers below the highest cloudtops, the temperatures are nearly earth-like And water can condense to form clouds. Higher up, the water clouds it is cold enough for a gas called ammonium hydrosulfide to condense into clouds which produces the dark colours of Jupiter. Higher still the temperature is so cold that ammonia condenses to make an upper layer of white clouds. Like the large hurricanes occasionally arise on Earth, Jupiter also has powerful storms. Spectroscopic observations (analysis of light) + calculations explains about the composition of clouds as follows: Ammonia (NH3) crystals in top layer. Ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4SH) crystals in middle layer. Water ice in lowest layer. The colors seem to be associated with temperature. White "zones" are higher and cooler. Dark "bands" are lower and warmer. Comparison with other atmosphere planets: Jupiter and Saturn have stripes of alternating color and wind direction. But Saturn's

Community Practice Essay Example for Free

Community Practice Essay Facilitating and obstructing factors for development of learning in clinical practice: a student perspective. Issues and innovations in Nursing Education. Journal of Advanced Nursing 34(1), 43–50; Priest, H. , 2004. Phenomenology. Nurse Researcher 11(4), 4–6; Stockhausen, L. , 2005. Learning to become a nurse: student nurses’ reflections on their clinical experiences. Australian Journal of Nursing 22(3), 8–14). The data were analysed using content analysis techniques, exploring their contextual meaning through the development of emergent themes (Neuendorf, K. A. 2002. The Content Analysis Guidebook. Sage Publications, London). The identified themes related to elements of students’ basic skill acquisition, the development of their working relationships with mentors, patients and others, the learning opportunities offered by community practice placements and the effects that such placements had on their confidence to practice. These themes are discussed with regard to the published literature, to arrive at conclusions and implications for future nursing education, practice and research. Author: M. R. Baglin Source: http://www. urseeducationinpractice. com/article/S1471-5953(09)00110-3/abstract Community nursing competencies: a comparison of educator, administrator, and student perspectives. Perceptions of functioning levels of baccalaureate students nearing graduation were assessed, comparing views of 15 educators, 15 health department administrators, and 185 students. A modified list of the 47 essential public health nursing competencies identified through the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Nursing served as the basis for data collection and analyses. Student competencies in individual skills were ranked higher than group and community competencies by all three groups surveyed. Students ranked competencies at higher levels than educators and educators at higher levels than administrators. Although administrators continue to advise new graduates to work in acute care before entering community health, support for continuation of this practice was not observed based on administrator ratings. Author: Nickel JT,  Pituch MJ,  Holton J,  Didion J,  Perzynski K,  Wise J,  McVey B. Source: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/7899221 Enhancing students perspectives of health through non-traditional community experiences. The shift in emphasis to community-based health care necessitates that opportunities be provided for nursing students to acquire an understanding of the complex nature of health. A qualitative study was used to demonstrate the benefits accrued by junior baccalaureate nursing students in non-traditional community settings. Key themes that emerged from data analysis included definitions of health and illness as context specific, and environmental factors influencing health. The study demonstrated that learning experiences with diverse communities can broaden students perspectives and understanding of health behaviours. Students gained an appreciation of the sociocultural variation in meanings of health and illness as well as of the social and political dimensions of health. Author: Sword W,  Noesgaard C,  Majumdar B. Source: http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/8313070 Student Nurse Attitudes Towards Homeless Clients: a challenge for education and Practice The purpose of this research was to describe attitudes of nursing students (and paramedic officers) towards marginalized clients. Convenience quota sampling in a major health faculty was employed. Students participated on a voluntary basis. A 58-item Likert scale, developed by the authors, assessed the student nurses’ attitudes. In general, attitudes towards homeless clients were neutral; detailed analyses, however, revealed that student nurses would decline to care for homeless clients in various situations. Personal experience with homeless patients and positive attitudes of nurses significantly contributed to increased quality of care and equality of treatment for homeless clients. Certain student nurse behaviors warrant immediate attention to prevent marginalized patients from being exposed to unfair, inaccessible and biased nursing care. Based on our results, we recommend that further research attention be paid to the role of ethics education and faculty behaviors, as faculty members serve as role models for professionalization. Zoltan Balogh Semmelweiss University, Budapest, Hungary,  [emailprotected] hu,[emailprotected] int Source: http://nej. sagepub. com/content/11/4/334. abstract Author: Miklos Zrinyi world Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland Student Nurses Learn Lessons in Community Health on Tribal Reservations University of Washington School of Nursing students have the unique opportunity to complete a community health rotation on one of two Native American reservations on Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula—the only rural public health clinical offered by the school of nursing. The experience has not only helped students learn about a unique group of people, but also how to relate to any patient population in future community health work. Recently, teams of student nurses were assigned to the Fort Gamble S’klallam reservation and to the Suquamish reservation, focusing on four different projects. One group of students partnered with family services personnel in an obesity prevention program mirroring TV’s â€Å"The Biggest Loser,† in which the person who lost the most weight won a car. Other students developed a nutrition program for an early childhood development center. A third group was involved in educating the staff of an early childhood development center about the prevention of Hepatitis B infections. The remaining group conducted and transcribed interviews with individuals for a community assessment. The goal of the assessment was to understand the community’s perception of its strengths and problem issues and to discover which issues were most important to the community. Author: Megan M. Krischke, Source: http://insightsinnursing. com/2009/07/student-nurses-learn-from-community-immersion/ Foreign studies Foreign nurses can slip into communication  gap According to (marshall 2009) it’s not politically correct — but it’s a frequent complaint of hospital patients in Las Vegas: â€Å"The nurses don’t speak English! The complaint is inaccurate. Foreign nurses working in Las Vegas do speak English. All have passed English language competency exams to become licensed in Nevada. But the complaint also contains an element of truth. More than 15 percent of the Las Vegas nursing workforce is internationally trained, about five times the national averag e of 3. 5 percent, according to an expert at UNLV. Most of these nurses are from Asian countries — the Philippines, India, Japan and Korea. Their English is often heavily accented and they may not understand the nuances of American culture and lingo — which can create challenges for patients and doctors. Xu’s research has shown that foreign nurses have a difficult transition to the American health care system. A study he conducted on Chinese nurses in the United States found they often felt socially isolated and paralyzed by their communication inadequacies. Foreign nurses are also forced to adjust to differences in the job description in the United States, Xu’s research has shown. Asian nurses are accustomed to family members doing tasks like bathing and feeding the patient, and may feel such jobs are beneath their level of education, one of his studies found. Language and communication problems can have a direct effect on the quality of patient care, and on the perceptions patients have of their care, Xu said. An estimated 100,000 people die every year as the result of medical errors in the United States, and communication problems are believed to be a leading cause. Xu said it’s impossible to know how much internationally trained nurses contribute to medical errors because the area is grossly understudied. Author: Marshall Allen Source: http://www. lasvegassun. com/news/2009/mar/10/foreign-nurses-can-fall-communication-gap/ A Study of the Drivers of Commitment amongst Nurses: The Salience of Training, Development and Career Issues According to (McCabe etal 2) this study is to highlight factors influencing the commitment of nurses, and particularly focuses on the role of training, development and career issues. It provides the basis for a HRD framework, outlining policy choices in developing high commitment amongst nursing staff. Design/methodology/approach: The main themes and sub-themes relating to the drivers of commitment and the role of training, development and career issues were identified and explored employing a grounded theory, constant omparative approach. Findings: The main fault-line between nurses and the organization concerned resource management, and the introduction of general management concepts and practices. HRD practitioners should consider using the language and terms of reference familiar to nurses when devising HRD initiatives. Factors positively influencing the commitment of nurs ing staff included shared values, involving a sense of vocational commitment towards patient care and nursing. Strong leadership, particularly concerning the role of line management, was seen as important in influencing commitment. Teamwork and support, from both line management and colleagues, was also important. Training and development were highly regarded by nurses, and could be a useful way of recognizing and acknowledging their contribution to health care delivery. Career progression and greater involvement were viewed favourably by some nurses and unfavourably by others. The main issue concerned the possible substitution of nurse practitioner responsibilities with administrative and managerial responsibilities. Research limitations/implications: The findings are solely based on interviews with nursing staff from two NHS organizations. In exploring the various drivers of commitment and the role of training, development and career issues the studys focus was towards depth, as opposed to breath, of investigation. Practical implications: Valuable information for HRD practitioners and researchers on the drivers of commitment amongst nursing staff and the role played by training, development and career issues is provided. Originality/value: This paper is a useful study on exploring commitment amongst nursing staff and ways in which HRD practitioners and researchers can facilitate and develop commitment. The DoLE official added that while waiting for a chance to be employed overseas, nurses can venture into and already start income generating projects. However, she admitted that the high demand for nurses abroad is a really attractive career to pursue because of its obvious economic returns. Meanwhile, Pineda disclosed that the continuing demand for Filipino nurses overseas is expected to intensify, as the world’s northern countries experience longer lifespans and the graying of their population in the next five to ten years is sure to see the deployment of local nurses. Countries that will continue to offer employment opportunities include the Gulf States in the Middle East such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman,† she said. Further, European countries including the United Kingdom and Ireland will also continue hiring Filipino nurses, even as new markets are emerging in Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Netherlands. Canada, too, is a new market, while Australia and New Zealand likewise offer

Federalists Essay Example for Free

Federalists Essay Linda Kerber described the predicaments of the Federalists, a political party whose members feared that popular democracy might spin out of control. Although they both fostered economic development, the Federalists were aware that an urban grassroots would result. The believers of the Federalist Party believed that Jefferson’s approach to politics was naive. The early stages of industrialization and urban growth were providing the ingredients of a working class; already existing was an unpredictable class of permanently poor who might well be available for mob action. The God or the religious beliefs of the Federalists often appeared to behave like a fourth branch of Government. They believed that religious obligation would reinforce moral obligation and would make popular government orderly and stable. On the other hand the Jeffersonian supporters felt they should break down the barrier of habitual morality (religion), with the interruption of education, habit and superstitions they were confident they would have a more positive vice. Drew R. McCoy spoke of â€Å"The Fears of the Jeffersonian Republicans†. Jefferson and his supporters predicted the challenges for the future of the United States. They were fearful of creating a dependent class; he envisioned huge tracts of land being farmed by righteous residents of the young republic. In keeping their independence from the British they encouraged production â€Å"within our families†, but for the finer manufactures, they would continue to rely on importations from abroad. New forms of employment needed to be created in order to keep the moral and political advantages of America up. The largest fears were of an uprising of the working class people and independent revolutions. Ben Franklin recognized that corruption could result from both natural and artificial causes. Jefferson was always faced with the reality of his plan failing constantly reminded by the thought of the decline of the Roman Empire. I found this Chapter to be the hardest to read, I researched other sources to understand and get through the politics of this chapter. I found the internet website www. answers. com/topic/republicans-jeffersonian to be most helpful. The reading and rational was made for the freshman U.  S. History student. I was able to acknowledge the fact that the Federalists Convention was the process of breaking free from the British Empire. By the mid-eighteenth century a large proportion of adult white males in the colonies possessed the suffrage while also enjoying the privileges of a free press and some freedom of religious worship The colonies in other words, had grown apart from the mother country, their inhabitants had begun to think of themselves as Americans, and, not surprisingly, they proved unreceptive to attempts to bring them to strengthen.

New Product Introduction Of Mcdonalds

New Product Introduction Of Mcdonalds McDonalds is among the leading brands operating in the whole is the UK Irish market when it comes to fast food and quick service restaurants. This gives the company a wide market area to cover and cater. McDonalds is counted among the huge chains all around the world with thousands of restaurants. In this report the plan is to introduce a new product from McDonald with the brand name Mc Tea and as we all know that McDonald is perusing a value strategy offering its products at relatively low prices and they differentiate their products through successful branding campaigns, this thing would be continued with the launch of the new product. The report is divided in many key parts such as introduction, mission statement, company outlook, market status, objectives and strategies, segmentation, target product, promotional program, sales plan, organization, financial. In all these key areas it is defined that through this new product a handsome chunk of revenue can be gained also keeping affects on the overall market share of the company. The company plans to introduce Mc Tea as a flavor tea. The aim is to get market share as much as possible covering the spent money on the overall product its advertising and launch. This new opportunity can help company further penetrate by this new product line extension. As McDonald is entering in an existing market with a new product so there is a handsome requirement for the publicity of the product and the company would be using conventional tools of promotion with sampling as an extra. For advertising the company plans to use both below the line and above line advertising and the company targets the giant media to capture the a good chunk of the market. INTRODUCTION McDonalds is probably the best-known franchised fast food restaurant chain in the world. When the first outlet was opened in the US in 1955 and even when the first UK restaurant appeared in 1974, it would have been hard to imagine a worldwide network of 30,000 outlets by 2002 and 1,200 outlets in the UK. McDonalds is easily the largest fast-food brand in the world and instantly recognizable in many countries. Across the global network, the majority of outlets are operated by franchisees but, in the UK, only a third are franchised although this percentage is increasing. McDonalds has been growing organically, with new sites located in smaller towns, roadside developments and food court concepts in leisure parks and shopping centers.  [1]   SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS STRENGTHS: Promotional strength: is what Mc Donald has in its main and something in which it has been good over the period of time. Market share: is the second strengthen factor where Mc Donald is preferred by people of all ages and they love the food taste and variety offer. Image of the company affects its sales and this plays a positive for McDonalds and the efforts towards green world and reduction of waste has given them a good public image. The company is rated among the top delivery business operators beating even Pizza Hut at many times. New product special promotional strategies have made McDonalds corporation leader of fast food industry. Home delivery has gained wide spread acceptance and has become competitive advantage for them. WEAKNESSES: McDonalds has been frustrated by rising wholesale food prices and labor force. Fast food outlets have to pay higher wages. Despite of providing a branded quality of flavored tea it is likely that the people might not be attracted towards the product because McDonalds does not have any past experience in this product. The company has not been very successful in the past to keep a strict check on the quality of food provided by its franchises. Not all new product launches have been a success. OPPORTUNITY: The company has the opportunity to still expand in many locations in which the company still has not looked towards development or keeping its food hold. The conventional competitors have not thought about a similar product so this would be an early mover advantage. Consumption ratios or hot drinks are increasing and specially a launch in the approaching winter and Christmas season can prove to be a treat. Moving in an alliance with new film releases and media has been an old tactic which has proved worthwhile 90 out of 100 times. A recent alliance during the release of the movie avatar is another proof of opportunity.  [2]   Promotion of the product towards young coffee drinkers through university, colleges and schools can be an added advantage for the company to score big time and earn. THREAT: Rejection of the product is one major threat the company faces and is afraid of to happen. The economy coming out of recession the expected revenues can be lower then what the company expects. Consumer perception might be difficult to change in terms of product selection as already there is an existing competition with Coffee Cafes. Taste preference figures show a lead towards coffee drinkers as compared with tea. Increasing tea leaf prices can affect the overall revenue and costing. MARKET STATUS INDUSTRY UK is the among the leading hot drinks consumer in the world. In fact, the consumption of tea is so widespread in UK that it possesses 2nd position in the tea importing countries of the world, and is only behind the Russian Federation. The already high tea consumption level may further increase in future due to urbanization and increase in per capita income. MARKET SHARE THE MARKET For Mc Tea the target market is entire UK and Irish market with franchises located all over the area giving a huge reach towards the market. KEY FACTORS: LEGAL FACTORS Recent disputes over the prices of tea leaves and prices of payments of farmers have been critical. For the development of the new product the company would require to find out sound suppliers that can be good for the business and can be permanent. Fair trading laws affect the business. Finally the remunerations paid are strictly under review by the EU and specially the UK legal authorities. SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS In UK the concept of flavored branded tea is not yet common among the quick service restaurants, tea is normally taken with milk but this will serve them at time of leisure. On the other hand the product that is being introduced is totally on the contrary. The product is a fruit flavored tea served in tea bags that can be taken anytime anywhere. Aside from this it also has a lot of nutritional values as compared to the conventional tea. However launching flavored tea is quite a challenge as people in UK are not only resistant to change but also have rigid views about the concept of tea itself. ECONOMIC FACTORS Keeping in mind the per capita income of the people of UK, which is good after the recovery from the recession, the company intends to launch Mc Tea, aiming at the lower and middle income groups who are willing to pay normal and medium price for such an innovative and distinct product. Mc Tea is considered to be a superior product as it is distinct from the conventional tea available by the competitors, in the sense of its form, taste and nutritional attributes people consuming Mc Tea should be well educated as to its usage in the form of tea bags since; there is a general misconception that they produce superior quality tea, which is not true. PURCHASE CRITERIA BRAND: The brand name of McDonald is the very important thing in grabbing customers because they have a trust on the products. STANDARD: The brand name of McDonald is itself a standard measure so it is for sure that no one can raise question on meeting the standards. Mc Donald carries a regular check on all franchises on the quality of food provided to the consumers. INGREDIENTS: The ingredients which we are using in Mc Tea are Plum, Strawberry, Double Apple, Grape, and Peach and these ingredients would be of high quality from the companys existing suppliers. PRESENTATION: McDonalds presentation is very unique for this tea as we plan to present all different flavors in their respective flavor colored glasses. PRICE ANALYSIS Name Price Mc Tea (Flavored) 1 Pound Pret a Manger (Plain) 1.5 Pounds Costa Coffee (Plain) 1.8 Pounds Nero Cafà © (Plain) 1.8 Pounds Starbucks (Plain) 2.25 Pounds Others (indirect) (Plain) 50 p COMPETITOR ANALYSIS DIRECT COMPETITOR: COSTA COFFEE/ NERO CAFÉ/ STARBUCKS/ PRET A MANGER Already competition for the products we sell and have started giving the service of tea in collaboration with their suppliers therefore for Mc tea would face direct competition. INDIRECT COMPETITORS: Brands by Unilever, PG have captured a fair amount of local market share hence it can be said to be an indirect competitor. They being among the favorite brands for local people hence competition can be really tough. THE MARKETING STRATEGY OBJECTIVES MARKET DESCRIPTION: Total population is in millions, 30 to 35 percent youth of which 65 to 70 percent are elders. The target of Mc Tea is the 20 to 25 percent of the total population of UK and Ireland. QSR industry is the one of the sources of handsome revenue for UK Irish economies in term of tariff and taxes. The objective is to increase the market share cover the cost and make a profit of million pounds in the first year. ACCORDING TO BCG MATRIX: The Product at the moment is in the question mark stage in BCG Matrix. Ultimately the plan is to make it a star product focusing on investment and market share. Upon maturity and growth Mc Tea will later become a cash cow. HIGH LOW Market Growth Rate HIGH STAR FUTURE OF Mc Tea QUESTION MARK ? CURRENT POSITION OF Mc Tea LOW CASH COW DOG Source  [3]   ACCORDING TO GRID EXPANSION Mc Tea is currently at product development stage. The company is launching new product in existing market. MARKETING MIX: PRODUCT Mc Tea the flavored tea is an instant flavored tea drink that can be taken in hot form, consisting of various nutrients and fresh flavored extracts. The way in which we aim to work this marketing variable is by providing enhanced features that include: a variety of flavors such as plum, strawberry, double apple, grape, and peach, which has been derived from natural fruit, including compositions. These distinct flavors satisfy different taste for different people in the target market. Apart from this, one of the distinct features is the enhanced nutritional value that caters to the health conscious people. The ingredients integrated in our tea include liquorices root, passion fruit pieces, hibiscus, rose hips apple pieces, calcium and proteins. As Mc Tea the flavored tea is made in such a way that allows it to be taken in hot form, this provides the benefit of convenience for many occasions in the cold weather of Ireland and UK. It can be taken as the substitute of local tea brands an d in the same way it can replace the flavored drinks that are available in the market. The company also aim to achieve high quality with a perfect cup of tea with out artificial flavors found in competition. A crucial part of the product is the packaging, which contains the product itself. The packaging of the Mc Tea the flavored tea is in the form of colored cups of the selected fruit flavors that are made using the environment friendly technology. Mc Teas packaging is enhanced appealing and attractive which will encourage impulse buying, and hence provide stimulation to our market share growth. Mc Teas flavored tea is blended and packaged in hygienic conditions untouched by human hands. PRICE Pricing is the significant factor of the marketing mix, which must be carefully administered in order to give consumers the greatest value for their money. The way Mc Tea the flavored tea is intended to price is by using the market survey. As the company is using differentiation as the grand strategy, the charge is low to medium price initially in order to capture uniqueness, innovativeness, high quality and convenience of our product. In this way the maximum sales revenue can be achieved. However the price that we will charge will not be way beyond the competitive prices otherwise we will lose out on sufficient market share. Mc Tea will be launched as a flavored with the market skimming strategy in mind which will attract health conscious people as well as status conscious people. However, when competition sets in future and more companies start launching flavored tea we can alter our price strategy according to our competitive situation and prevailing market demand and supply equilibrium. The pricing method for Mc Tea the flavored tea will be markup pricing. In this way after determining the costs we will add a relatively high markup in order to gain substantial profits and cover our investment costs. Thus, keeping in mind all these things, we will launch all Mc Tea categories at a price of 1 Pound per cup. PLACE Mc Tea aims to be a true company with a huge distribution network, which caters the entire UK and Irish market. The strategy follows to make the product easily available to customers is through huge distribution. PROMOTION This refers to the activity of bringing Mc Tea the flavored tea to the attention of the target market and persuading them to buy the product. Promotion for the Mc Tea will be done through advertising and sales promotion. SEGMENTATION GEOGRAPHIC UK Ireland Density All cities in the distribution network DEMOGRAPHIC Age General population over 12 Income 15000/- above per anum Social class Lower middle class, Middle class, middle-upper class, upper-upper class PSYCHOGRAPHICS Life style Value oriented, sociable and active, actualizers, Personality Sophisticated. BEHAVIORAL Occasion Regular occasion. Benefits Quality, economy, nutrition. User status Non user, potential user, first time user Usage rate Light and medium Loyalty status Tea lovers TARGET PRODUCT McDonald has very large experience of food industry all around the world. Here, the target product of McDonald is Mc Tea. The product is a combination of many fruit flavors and a simple plain tea. Following are the some feature of the Mc Tea: FEATURES FLAVORS: VARIETY OF FLAVORS AVAILABLE: Plum Double apple Grape Peach Strawberry BENEFITS: It has easy usage as the flavored tea can be taken in either form, it can be taken as a substitute of tea. The nutritional values our drink provides contents like vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iodine and folic acid. PROMOTIONAL PROGRAM ADVERTISING Advertising is a very crucial part of promotion as it is responsible for creating long term loyalty towards brands. As consumer choices increases, it becomes essential to stand out in the crowds of brand ad media clutter by building a good corporate image through advertising. And in this we have planned to use both below the line and above the line advertising techniques and list of all the elements are below: ABOVE THE LINE ADVERTISING Media name Selection Television Sky Network (Channels of SKY) RADIO Local Radio channels in the UK Ireland BELOW THE LINE ADVERTISING MEDIA NAME NAME NEWSPAPERS NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS MAGAZINES HERALD VISAGE BILLBOARDS Nowadays bill boards are almost every where we go for example shopping malls, airport, overhead bridges, you name the place and the billboard is there, provided the area being a commercial area. Billboards attract people of all ages. It has proved to be a very effective way to promote and create awareness of a product, there fore this strategy will be used by Mc Tea the flavored tea to promote itself. Mc Tea will occupied all billboards next to or near McDonalds outlets. SAMPLING The company has planned to do sampling of Mc tea at universities, colleges and shopping malls. TRADE SHOWS AND CONCERTS Trade shows and concerts are also one of the very tools of doing advertising. So the company have planned to hold a trade show in London and concerts in Manchester, London etc. ACTION PLAN OF PROMOTION SEPT 1st 2010- Television, newspapers, magazines advertisement. SEPT 1st 2010 Launch in all around UK and IRELAND. SEPT 15th 2010 Promotional trucks in UK and IRELAND. SEPT 20th 2010 free sampling of Mc Tea at all major shopping malls, universities and colleges in UK. OCT 1st 2010 discounted rates offer for all major products of McDonalds at major cities of UK Ireland at buying a minimum of 5 Mc Tea. OCT 15th 2010 Free mugs printed with Mc TEA will be distributed at all outlets. OCT 30th 2010 Free sampling of Mc Tea in universities of Ireland. NOV 15th 2010 Advertising campaign in all major planned areas. AUG 2010 Concert will be held. SALES PLAN FORECAST BY MARKET SEGMENT As a firm develops a target market strategy, it should forecast the short run and long run sales of its offering to that market. Sales forecast outlines expected company sales for a specific good or service to specific consumer group over a specific period of time under a well-defined marketing program. By accurately forecasting sales, Mc Tea will be better able to develop a marketing budget, allocate marketing resources, measure success, analyze sales productivity, monitor the external environment and competition, and modify marketing plans. Factors Sales forecast UK 2 m Ireland 1.3 m Total sales 3..3 m Total Sales 3.3 m Cost of goods sold 1 m - Gross profit 2.3 m Marketing expenses 1 m - Profit before tax 1.3 m Tax (17%) 0.21 m - Net profit 1.09 m === TARGET ACCOUNTS Our target account for the fiscal year is 1.09 m net profit. From these target account we have anticipated that UK people are the tea lover, there we will be able to grab many customers. In Ireland, the winter season is of 4 to 5 months so there we will grab a huge chunk of customers. DISTRIBUTION The channel of distribution of the product will be direct through company outlets. Because the network of distribution is through all outlets which cover the entire market throughout. FINANCIALS ADVERTISING BUDGET Mc Tea now needs to establish an advertising budget for allocating the advertising expenses over several media types. The marketing cost that has been estimated for the promotion and awareness of the product is Pounds 1 million. This cost will be efficiently allocated in the various types of promotional activities that will be taking place. The budget is allocated in the following activities. Electronic media 200,000 Print media 100,000 Billboards 200,000 Promotional trucks 100,000 Free sampling of mugs and tea 200,000 Concert 200,000 TOTAL 1 million CONCLUSION The company has planned to integrate the overall approach towards the launch of MC Tea with the current existing product the tea offered in MC Donald. Also the overall launch of this product is planned to be profitable venture and is aimed to increase the target market share and performance of the company. CRITICAL REFLECTION Selected Learning outcome: Appreciate the importance of the separate marketing functions, the management of these functions, and how each function affects other functions within and external to the marketing domain. The marketing function became a revolution with the beginning of the 19th century. The initial phase of the century did not realize the potential of marketing and its functions but as time progressed the marketing function became a crucial part of the running businesses. Then whether it maybe Henry fords concept of black colors or any other people slowly and gradually started understanding the concept. In todays world of the 20th century marketing acts as a center point for any new or existing product. Now whether may it be a pen or a car. It begins with creating awareness, then moving on to teaching the buyer (consumer OR customer) and then later on towards making sales for the company. The new approach is to quantify things that are in current use by companies and things in practice. Separating the marketing function was like providing a working heart to the company. In the past era there were companies and products about which the customers had to go and extract information out from paid sources themselves. Marketing has revolutionized the entire effort and with it came many other things such as personal selling, sales promotion, advertising, media etc. In todays world a revolutionized marketing looks something like this: Marketing Public Relations Advertising Above the line Sales Promotion Below the line Implementation planning Media Tactics Sales Effort Discounts Teaching Customers Market Budgeting Selling efforts Media Marketing now has its extension further towards complementing other departments of a company. Finance department particularly seeks advertising expenditure and then return revenues. All budgets allocated to the marketing department are now quantified. Human resource department seeks towards good people and assets addition to a company. People involved in operations look to gain money return on production by good sales and promotion, even if they wish to achieve high operational targets they need to keep the marketing department inline so to achieve things such as economies of scale and economies of scope. Now writing towards the amount of learning I have had from this module is phenomenal. I havent heard of many terms and approaches that were used in this course before. The best part was the experience which I had. The course has transformed the way I look at TV ads, hoardings etc. Now I tend to pickup products in the market and carefully analyze the packaging and the mentioned contents in it to find relevance with the theory I had studied. I did missed out on practical part in the course where I should have made more efforts towards learning how the media planning and budgeting actually is done in an original market plan. This was due to lack of resources that I could make myself available. Yet I have filled my desire to see an actual marketing plan by analyzing the ongoing campaigns quite deeply to look for problems and things where they went wrong. I also came to know of potential problems such as promise and delivery gap. My prior knowledge was way too less as compared to what I l earned in this module. What I further intend to do is to get my theory more strong and approach companies to understand the practical part of a marketing plan. Also try and practically see how a marketing effort can be improved and made better.