International Journal of Accounting and Financial Essay

ABSTRACT The role of Indian mutual fund industry as significant financial service in financial market has really been noteworthy. In fact, the mutual fund industry has emerged as an important segment of financial market of India, especially in channelizing the savings of millions of individuals into the investment in equity and debt instruments. Mutual funds are seemingly the easiest and the least stressful way to invest in the stock market. Quiet a large amount of money has been invested in mutual funds during the past few years. Any investor would like to invest in a reputed Mutual Fund organization. Mutual funds are financial intermediaries concerned with mobilizing savings of those who have surplus and the canalization of these savings in those avenues where there is a demand for funds. These intermediaries employ their resources in such a manner as to provide combined benefits of low risk, steady return, high liquidity and capital appreciation through diversification and expert management. Reforms in the  Indian economic system and the opening up of the economy have been the reasons for the tremendous growth in the Indian capital market. This study analyzes the impact of different demographic variables on the attitude of investors towards mutual funds. Apart from this, it also focuses on the benefits delivered by mutual funds to investors. To this end, 200 respondents of Solapur City, having different demographic profiles were surveyed. The study reveals that the majority of investors have still not formed any attitude towards mutual fund investments. KEYWORDS: Mutual Fund, Investors, Solapur City INTRODUCTION Mutual fund is a pool of money collected from investors and is invested according to certain investment options. A mutual fund is a trust that pools the saving of a no. of investors who share a common financial goal. A mutual fund is created when investors put their money together. It is, therefore, a pool of investor’s fund. The money thus collected is then invested in capital market instruments such as shares, debentures and other securities. The income earned through these investments and the capital appreciations realized are shared by its unit holders in proportion to the no. of units owned by them. The most important characteristics of a fund are that the contributors and the beneficiaries of the fund are the same class of people namely the investors. The term mutual fund means the investors contribute to the pool and also benefit from the pool. The pool of funds held mutually by investors is the mutual fund. A mutual fund business is to invest the funds thus collected according to the wishes of the investors who created the pool. Usually the investor’s appoint professional investment managers create a product and offer it for investment to the investors. This project represents a share in the pool and pre status investment  Pritam P. Kothari & Shivganga C. Mindargi  objectives. Thus, a mutual fund is the most suitable investment for a common man as it offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at relatively low cost. EVOLUTION OF INDIAN MUTUAL FUND INDUSTRY The formation of Unit Trust of India marked the evolution of the Indian mutual fund industry in the year 1963. The primary objective at that time was to attract the small investors and it was made possible through the collective efforts of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India. The history of mutual fund industry in India can be better understood divided into following phases: Establishment and Growth of Unit Trust of India – 1964-87 Unit Trust of India enjoyed complete monopoly when it was established in the year 1963 by an act of Parliament. UTI was set up by the Reserve Bank of India and it continued to operate under the regulatory control of the RBI until the two were de-linked in 1978 and the entire control was transferred in the hands of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). UTI launched its first scheme in 1964, named as Unit Scheme 1964 (US-64), which attracted the largest number of investors in any single investment scheme over the years. UTI launched more innovative schemes in 1970s and 80s to suit the needs of different investors. It launched ULIP in 1971, six more schemes between 1981-84, Children’s Gift Growth Fund and India Fund (India’s first offshore fund) in 1986, Mastershare (Inida’s first equity diversified scheme) in 1987 and Monthly Income Schemes (offering assured returns) during 1990s. By the end of 1987, UTI’s assets under management grew ten times to Rs 6700 crores. Entry of Public Sector Funds – 1987-1993 The Indian mutual fund industry witnessed a number of public sector players entering the market in the year 1987. In November 1987, SBI Mutual Fund from the State Bank of India became the first non-UTI mutual fund in India. SBI Mutual Fund was later followed by Canbank Mutual Fund, LIC Mutual Fund, Indian Bank Mutual Fund, Bank of India Mutual Fund, GIC Mutual Fund and PNB Mutual Fund. By 1993, the assets under management of the industry increased seven times to Rs. 47,004 crores. However, UTI remained to be the leader with about 80% market share. 1992-93 UTI Public Sector Total Amount Mobilised 11,057 1,964 13,021 Assets Under Management 38,247 8,757 47,004 Mobilisation as % of Gross Domestic Savings 5.20% 0.90% 6.10% Emergence of Private Secor Funds – 1993-96 The permission given to private sector funds including foreign fund management companies (most of them entering through joint ventures with Indian promoters) to enter the mutal fund industry in 1993, provided a wide range of choice to investors and more competition in the industry. Private funds introduced innovative products, investment techniques and investor-servicing technology. By 1994-95, about 11 private sector funds had launched their schemes. Growth and SEBI Regulation – 1996-2004 The mutual fund industry witnessed robust growth and stricter regulation from the SEBI after the year 1996. The mobilization of funds and the number of players operating in the industry reached new heights as investors started showing more interest in mutual funds. A Study of Investors Attitude towards Mutual Fund with Special Reference to Inversotrs in Solapur City Investors’ interests were safeguarded by SEBI and the Government offered tax benefits to the investors in order to encourage them. SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 was introduced by SEBI that set uniform standards for all mutual funds in India. The Union Budget in 1999 exempted all dividend incomes in the hands of investors from income tax. Various Investor Awareness Programmes were launched during this phase, both by SEBI and AMFI, with an objective to educate investors and make them informed about the mutual fund industry. Growth and Consolidation – 2004 Onwards The industry has also witnessed several mergers and acquisitions recently, examples of which are acquisition of schemes of Alliance Mutual Fund by Birla Sun Life, Sun F&C Mutual Fund and PNB Mutual Fund by Principal Mutual Fund. Simultaneously, more international mutual fund players have entered India like Fidelity, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund etc. There were 29 funds as at the end of March 2006. This is a continuing phase of growth of the industry through consolidation and entry of new international and private sector players. Indian mutual fund industry reached Rs 1,50,537 crore by March 2004. It is estimated that by 2010 March-end, the total assets of all scheduled commercial banks should be Rs 40,90,000 crore. The annual composite rate of growth is expected 13.4% during the rest of the decade. In the last 5 years there is an annual growth rate of 9%. According to the current growth rate, by year 2010, Mutual fund  India assets will be double FEATURES THOSE INVESTORS LIKE IN MUTUAL FUND If mutual funds are emerging as the favorite investment vehicle it is because of the many advantages. They have over other forms and avenues of investing parties for the investors who has limited resources available in terms of Capital and ability to carry out detailed reserves and market monitoring. These are the major advantages offered by mutual fund to all investors: Professional Management Mutual Funds provide the services of experienced and skilled professionals, backed by a dedicated investment research team that analyses the performance and prospects of companies and selects suitable investments to achieve the objectives of the scheme. Diversification Mutual Funds invest in a number of companies across a broad cross-section of industries and sectors. This diversification reduces the risk because seldom do all stocks decline at the same time and in the same proportion. You achieve this diversification through a Mutual Fund with far less money than you can do on your own. Convenient Administration Investing in a Mutual Fund reduces paperwork and helps you avoid many problems such as bad deliveries, delayed payments and follow up with brokers and companies. Mutual Funds save your time and make investing easy and convenient. Return Potential Over a medium to long-term, Mutual Funds have the potential to provide a higher return as they invest in a diversified basket of selected securities. Pritam P. Kothari & Shivganga C. Mindargi Low Costs Mutual Funds are a relatively less expensive way to invest compared to directly investing in the capital markets because the benefits of scale in brokerage, custodial and other fees translate into lower costs for investors Liquidity In open-end schemes, the investor gets the money back promptly at net asset value related prices from the Mutual Fund. In closed-end schemes, the units can be sold on a stock exchange at the prevailing market price or the investor can avail of the facility of direct repurchase at NAV related prices by the Mutual Fund Transparency You get regular information on the value of your investment in addition to disclosure on the specific investments made by your scheme, the proportion invested in each class of assets and the fund managers investment strategy and outlook Flexibility Through features such as regular investment plans, regular withdrawal plans and dividend reinvestment plans, you can systematically invest or withdraw funds according to your needs and convenience Affordability Investors individually may lack sufficient funds to invest in high-grade stocks. A mutual fund because of its large corpus allows even a small investor to take the benefit of its investment strategy. Well Regulated All Mutual Funds are registered with SEBI and they function within the provisions of strict regulations designed to protect the interests of investors. The operations of Mutual Funds are regularly monitored by SEBI. DISADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL FUNDS Above I have mentioned the various advantages of Mutual Funds but it also suffers from a lot of drawbacks as the market is volatile and it is ever affected by national as well as international factors, these days we can see that crude oil prices in International market has become an important factor  in determining the market movement. Here are some disadvantages as cited by me and by survey: Fluctuating Returns Mutual funds are like many other investments without a guaranteed return: there is always the possibility that the value of your mutual fund will depreciate. Unlike fixed-income products, such as bonds and Treasury bills, mutual funds experience price fluctuations along with the stocks that make up the fund. When deciding on a particular fund to buy, you need to research the risks involved – just because a professional manager is looking after the fund, that doesn’t mean the performance will be always good Diversification Although diversification is one of the keys to successful investing, many mutual fund investors tend to over diversify. The idea of diversification is to reduce the risks associated with holding a single security; over diversification (also known as diversification) occurs when investors acquire many funds that are highly related and, as a result, don’t get A Study of Investors Attitude towards Mutual Fund with Special Reference to Inversotrs in Solapur City the risk reducing benefits of diversification. At the other extreme, just because you own mutual funds doesn’t mean you are automatically diversified. For example, a fund that invests only in a particular industry or region is still relatively risky. For example: Sect oral Funds Cash and More Cash As you know already, mutual funds pool money from thousands of investors, so everyday investors are putting money into the fund as well as withdrawing investments. To maintain liquidity and the capacity to accommodate withdrawals, funds typically have to keep a large portion of their portfolios as cash. Having ample cash is great for liquidity, but money  sitting around as cash is not working for you and thus is not very advantageous. Costs Mutual funds provide investors with professional management, but it comes at a cost. Funds will typically have a range of different fees that reduce the overall payout. In mutual funds, the fees are classified into two categories: shareholder fees and annual operating fees. The shareholder fees, in the forms of loads and redemption fees are paid directly by shareholders purchasing or selling the funds. The annual fund operating fees are charged as an annual percentage – usually ranging from 1-3%. These fees are assessed to mutual fund investors regardless of the performance of the fund. As you can imagine, in years when the fund doesn’t make money, these fees only magnify losses. Figure 1: Structure of Mutual Fund A mutual is a set up in the form of trust, which has sponsor, trustee, assets management company (AMC) and custodian. Sponsor is the person who acts alone or in combination with another body corporate and establishes a mutual fund. Sponsor must contribute at least 40% of the net worth of the investment managed and meet the eligibility criteria prescribed under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) regulations, 1996. The sponsor is not responsible or liable for any loss or shortfall resulting from the operation of the schemes beyond the initial contribution made by it towards setting up of Mutual Fund. The Mutual Fund is constituted as a trust in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 by the Sponsor. Trustee is usually a company (corporate body) or a board of trustees (body of individuals). The main responsibility of the trustee is to safeguard the interest of the unit holders and also ensure that AMC functions in the interest of investors’ and in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Fund) Regulations 1996 the provisions of the Trust deed and the offer Document of the respective schemes. The AMC is appointed by the Trustees Pritam P. Kothari & Shivganga C. Mindargi as the investment Manager of the Mutual Fund. The AMC is required to be approved by SEBI to act as an asset management company of the Mutual Fund. The AMC if so authorized by the Trust Deed appoints the Registrar and Transfer Agent to agent the mutual fund. The registrar processes the application form, redemption requests and dispatches account statements to the unit holders. The Registrar and Transfer agent also handles communications with investors’ and updates investor records. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Lenard et., al. (2003) empirically investigated investor’s attitudes toward mutual funds. The results indicate that the decision to switch funds within a fund family is affected by investor’s attitude towards risk, current asset allocation, investment losses, investment mix, capital base of the fund age, initial fund performance, investment mix, fund and portfolio diversification. The study reported that these factors are crucial to be considered before switching funds regardless of whether they invest in non-employer plans or in both employer and non-employer plans. Bollen (2006) studied the dynamics of investor fund flows in a sample of socially screened equity mutual funds and compared the relation between annual fund flows & lagged performance in SR funds to the same relation in a matched sample of conventional funds. The result revealed that the extra-financial SR attribute serves to dampen the rate at which SR investors trade mutual funds. The study noted that the differences between SR funds and their conventional counterparts are robust over time and persist as funds age. The study found that the preferences of SR investors may be represented by conditional multi-attribute utility function (especially when SR funds deliver positive returns). The study remarked that mutual fund companies can expect SR investors to be more loyal than investors in ordinary funds. Walia and Kiran (2009) studied investor’s risk and return perception towards mutual funds. The study examined investor’s perception towards risk involved in mutual funds, return from mutual funds in comparison to other financial avenues, transparency and disclosure practices. The study investigated  problems of investors encountered with due to unprofessional services of mutual funds. The study found that majority of individual investors doesn’t consider mutual funds as highly risky investment. In fact on a ranking scale it is considered to be on higher side when compared with other financial avenues. The study also reported that significant relationship of interdependence exists between income level of investors and their perception for investment returns from mutual funds investment. Saini et., al. (2011) analyzed investor’s behavior, investors’ opinion and perception relating to various issues like type of mutual fund scheme, its objective, role of financial advisors / brokers, sources of information, deficiencies in the provision of services, investors’ opinion relating to factors that attract them to invest in mutual and challenges before the Indian mutual fund industry etc. The study found that investors seek for liquidity, simplicity in offer documents, online trading, regular updates through SMS and stringent follow up of provisions laid by AMFI. Singh (2012) conducted an empirical study of Indian investors and observed that most of the respondents do not have much awareness about the various function of mutual funds and they are bit confused regarding investment in mutual funds. The study found that some demographic factors like gender, income and level of education have their significant impact over the attitude towards mutual funds. On the contrary age and occupation have not been found influencing the investor’s attitude. The study noticed that return potential and liquidity have been perceived to be most lucrative benefits of investment in mutual funds and the same are followed by flexibility, transparency and affordability. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Mutual funds have their drawbacks and may not be for everyone. No investment is risk free. If the entire stock market declines in value, the value of mutual fund shares will go down as well, no matter how balanced the portfolio. A Study of Investors Attitude towards Mutual Fund with Special Reference to Inversotrs in Solapur City Investors encounter fewer risks when they invest in mutual funds than when they buy and sell stocks on their own. However, anyone who invests through a mutual fund runs the risk of losing money. All funds charge administrative fees to cover their day-to-day expenses. Some funds also charge sales commissions or â€Å"loads† to compensate brokers, financial consultants, or financial planners. When he invests in a mutual fund, they depend on the fund’s manager to make the right decisions regarding the fund’s portfolio. If the invests in Index Funds, they foregoes management risk, because these funds do not employ managers. Though these are the problems in the investment of mutual funds, in the recent days most of the investors preferred to invest their funds on mutual funds. In this background, the research has made an attempt to study the investors’ preference for mutual funds in Solapur City. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The present study is based upon the results of survey conducted on 200 mutual fund investors. The implications of the study are subject to the limitations of sample size, psychological and emotional characteristics of surveyed population. SCOPE OF THE STUDY This paper provides Future of Mutual Funds industry information as well as awareness level amongst people for Mutual Funds. Also this project report of Mutual Funds gives an outlook to management as to how the mutual funds are performing in the current market situation as a result what may be the future of this industry. This paper on mutual funds is informative the students who want to understand and undertake assignments in the industry. This study also facilitates the general people who can understand the importance and explore the new option for investment in Mutual Funds. Different financial institutions provide services that are both complementary to and competitive with each other. A well built financial system directly contributes to the growth of the country. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This study is descriptive in nature based on survey method. The study aims at finding out the attitude of the investors towards investment in mutual funds in Solapur city. This study was based mainly on primary sources. The primary data was collected from the investors of mutual funds with help of the questionnaire. The secondary data were collected from the books, records and journals. By adopting convenience sampling, 200 respondents were selected for this study. The essential data were collected with the help of questionnaire. The data collected from the period of January 2011 to April 2011. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Figure: 2 Showing Pattern of Investment Pritam P. Kothari & Shivganga C. Mindargi From above figure it is clear that 75% investors are invested in open ended schemes where as 15% invested in closed ended schemes in mutual fund. Figure: 3 Reason for Investment in Mutual Fund From above figure it is clear that and 42% investors say that they invested money in mutual fund for tax assumption. 33% investors say that they invested money in mutual fund for higher returns. 16% investors say that they invested money in mutual fund for value creation in fund. 9% investors say that they invested money in mutual fund for other reason. Figure: 4 Showing the Reason of Investors that not Invested Money in Mutual Fund From above figure is clear that 50% investors say that they not interested to invest money in mutual fund. 33% investors say that they have imperfect knowledge in mutual fund, so they are not invested. 8.5% investors say that they invested in govt. bond. 8.5% investors has other reason so they not invested money in mutual fund. Figure: 5 Showing Type of Investment Investors Should be Preferred A Study of Investors Attitude towards Mutual Fund with Special Reference to Inversotrs in Solapur City From above figure it is clear that investors invest money in fixed deposits. 15 25% investors invest money in gold/real estates. 17% investors invest money in mutual fund. 8% investors invest money in bond/debentures. Remaining 17% investors invest money in shares. Figure: 6 Showing Returns Investor get from their Investment From above figure it is clear that 70% investors are gaining 5-15% returns from their investment. 23% are gaining 15-30% returns from their investment. 5% investors are gaining 30-45% returns from their investment. Remaining only 2% investors is gaining above 45% returns from their investment. Figure: 7 Showing Duration of Investment From above it is clear 80% investors are dealing in short term duration whereas 20% investors are dealing in long term duration. Figure: 8 Showing the Investors Experience in Mutual Fund Pritam P. Kothari & Shivganga C. Mindargi From above figure it is clear that 73% investors say that they are having bad experience in mutual fund. 12% investors say that they are having good experience in mutual fund. Remaining 15% investors say that their experience is ok. FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS Findings †¢The trend for investment is changing rapidly besides the traditional pattern of investment and people today they are ready to undertake risk and also bear the volatility of changing mutual fund market scenario. †¢This shows that people with Middle Income Group are more attractive this market and are ready to bear the risk. †¢It is observed that 75% investors have invested open ended schemes that they want higher returns on their investment rather than investing in closed ended schemes in mutual fund. †¢It is observed that 42% investors have invested money for tax assumption.33% investors have invested money for higher returns in their investment.16% investors have invested money for value creation in fund. And remaining 9% investors have invested money for other reason. †¢It is observed that 50% investors have not interested to invest money in mutual fund.33% investors have imperfect knowledge so they not invested money in mutual fund.9% investors find govt. securities bond is better that’s way they not invested money in mutual fund. And remaining 8% investors have other reason so they not invested money in mutual fund. †¢It is observed that more businessmen were inclined towards investing in current account. The ladies were inclined to invest their money in Gold and jewelleries. Service class people and retired class people prefer more saving and fixed deposits People with high income. †¢It is observed that 70% investors have invested to getting returns in the range of 5-15% which shows in short span of time they are getting good returns and more than expectations. †¢It is observed that 80% investors have invested in short term duration which indicates the investors have not ready to invest in long term period due to various risks associated with long term duration of investment. †¢On asking how they get knowledge of mutual fund a large number of them attributed to print media. Even banks today follow the role of the investment advisors. Very few get any information from the e-media or Hence, AMCs must increase the awareness about their product through Electronic media (TVs, Cables, Radios etc.) as well as and should not just constrained itself to the print advertisement those who do not read newspaper. SUGGESTIONS Investor’s Point of View The question that entire customer, irrespective of the age group and financial status, think of is- Are mutual funds are a safe option? What makes them safe? The basis of mutual fund industry’s safety is the way the business is defined and regulation of law. Since the mutual fund invests in the capital market instruments, so proper knowledge is essential. Hence the essential requirement is well informed seller and equally informed buyer who  understands and helped them to understand the product (here we can say the capital market and the money market instruments) is the essential preconditions. A Study of Investors Attitude towards Mutual Fund with Special Reference to Inversotrs in Solapur City Being Prudent Investor One Should †¢Ask one’s agent to give details of different schemes and match the appropriate ones. †¢Go to the company records or the fund house regarding any queries if one is not satisfied by the agents. †¢Investors should always keep an eye on the performance of the scheme and other good schemes as well which are available in the market for the closed comparison. †¢Never invest blindly in the investments before going through the fact sheets, annual reports etc. of the company. Since, according to the Guidelines of SEBI The AMCs are bound to disclose all the relevant data that is necessary for the investment purpose of investors. Company’s (Mutual Fund Companies) Point of View  Following measures can be taken by the company for getting higher investments in the mutual fund schemes: †¢Educate the agents or the salesmen properly so that they can take up the queries of the customer effectively. †¢Set up separate customer care divisions where the customers can anytime pose their query, regarding the scheme or the current NAV etc. These customer care units can work out in accordance with the requirements of the customer and facilitates them to choose the scheme that suits their financial status. †¢Conduct seminars or programs about mutual fund where every information about the product is outlined including the risk factor associated with the different classes of assets. †¢Brokers should reduce the brokerage charges for intra day and delivery based so that the investor can save more amounts to generate extra investment for the investor as well as for the Mutual Fund companies. †¢Mutual Fund companies should try to increase the promotion and advertisement strategies for awareness of Mutual fund in solapur city. CONCLUSIONS The mutual fund industry is growing at a tremendous pace. A large number of plans have come up from different financial resources. With the stock markets oaring the investors are attracted towards these schemes. Only a small segment of the investors still in Mutual Funds and the main source  sources of information still are the financial advisors followed by advertisements in different media. The Indian investors generally invest over period of 2-3 years. Also there is a tendency to invest in fixed deposits due to the security attached to it. In order to excel and make mutual funds a success, companies still need to create awareness and understand the psyche of the Indian customer. REFERENCES Agapova, Anna, 2011, „The Role of Money Market Mutual Funds in Mutual Fund Families , Journal of Applied ‟ 1. Finance, Vol. 21, Issue. 1, pp. 87-102. Agarwal, Vikas; Boyson, Nicole M.; Naik, Narayan Y, 2009, „Hedge Funds for Retail Investors? An Examination of Hedged Mutual Funds , Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 44, Issue 2, pp. 273-305. ‟ 2. 12 Pritam P. Kothari & Shivganga C. Mindargi 3. A. Vennila, R. Nandhagopal(2012) â€Å"Investors’ Preference towards Mutual Funds in Coimbatore City European Journal of Social Sciences ISSN 1450-2267 Vol.29 No.1 (2012), pp. 115-125 4. Binod Kumar Singh (2011) â€Å"A Study on Investors’ Attitude towards Mutual Funds as an Investment Option† JOURNAL OF ASIAN BUSINESS STRATEGY, VOL. 1(2): 8-15 5. Badrinath, S.G & Gubellini, S, (2011), „On the characteristics and performance of long-short, market-neutral and bear mutual funds , Journal of Banking & Finance, Vol. 35 Issue 7, pp.1762-1776. ‟ 6. Dranikoff L, Koller, T. and Schneider, A, â€Å"Divestiture: Strategy’s Missing Link†, Harvard Business Review, May 2002, 80 (5). 7. Dr.Nishi Sharma (2009) â€Å"Indian Inverstors Perception towards mutual funds† Business Management Dynamics Vol.2, No.2, Aug 2012, pp.01-09 8. Gil-Bazo, Javier; Ruiz & Verd, Pablo, 2009, „The Relation between Price and Performance in the Mutual Fund Industry , Journal of Finance, Vol. 64, Issue 5, pp. 2153-2183. ‟ 9. Hansen M and Nohria N, â€Å"What’s your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?† Harvard Business Review, MarchApril, 1999, 77 (2).1 10. Journal of Marketing, 32 (October), 65-68, 1968. 11. Rajeswari, T.R., and V.E. RamaMoorthy, 2001, An Empirical Study on Factors Influencing the Mutual Fund Scheme Selection by Retail Investors . Retrieved on May 2010 < http://www.utiicm .com/Cmc/PDFs/ ‟ 2001/rajeswari.pdf>. 12. Singh, Chander, 2004, „Performance of mutual funds in India – an empirical evidence , ICFAI journal of applied ‟ finance December, pp. 81-98. 13. Subbash C. Jain, â€Å"Marketing Planning and Strategy†, South Western College Publishing, Sixth Edition, 2000. 14. Singh, B. K. and Jha, A.K. 2009, „An empirical study on awareness & acceptability of mutual fund , Regional ‟ Student s Conference, ICWAI, pp. 49-55. ‟ 15. Winer, C. Strategic Thinking: An executive Perspective, Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall, 2000

Is Domestic Violence a Breach of Human Rights? Essay

The problem brought forth by the unequal distribution of power in intimate relationships in developing countries has caused not only oppression but also violence against women. Criminal acts such as rape, hitting, verbal abuse and other related violent behaviors are being experienced by a significant number of women all over the world. As such, this research seeks to establish the link between domestic violence and human rights. Not until recently that the United Nations (UN) has decided to include the issue of Violence against Women (VAW) on the mainstream of the human rights paradigm. As such this research will be looking on the anatomy of DV and the laws related to its implementation. More specifically, the research has the following objectives: 1. To properly define Domestic Violence (DV) and other concepts related on the notion of DV. 2. To identify the incidences on DV that could be significantly related on the issue of Human Rights Violation. 3. To identify the laws set forth by the United Nations that verifies the link of DV to the issue of human rights violations and specifically cite provisions that further explains the rights of women and the degree of protection that is due to them. 4. To identify the campaigns this aims to further protect the rights of women. 5. To know why it took so long for DV to be recognized as a Human Rights Issue. Background of the Problem Domestic violence is a form of violence against women. Violence Against Women (VAW) as defined by the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) is â€Å"any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or metal harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life† . This definition then emphasizes that any act that forces women to do certain things that result to any type of harm is considered as an act of DV. More importantly, the scope of DV has been made broad as it encompasses not only DV in terms of the household, but also certain oppression against women that might happen in the latter’s course of relating towards people. Violence against women includes the â€Å"physical, sexual and psychological violence that happens in the family or the community which includes battering, sexual abuse of children, dowry related violence, rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women, forced prostitution, and violence perpetrated or condoned by the state† More specifically, the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that the violence against women does not only poses human rights issue but also contains other problems such as health and social concerns. This definition then provided by WHO further elaborates the definition provided by VAW. More importantly, the threats upon the health of women that came into effect because of the abuses that were brought forth unto them are also a growing health concern accor ding to WHO. Domestic Violence is also labeled as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) by the Center for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) has four major types which are: physical, sexual, psychological abuse and stalking . The World Health Organization perceived IPV not only as a human rights issue but also a growing health concern. The population based study of WHO found out that 10-69% of women admitted that they have been physically assaulted by a male partner at some point within their lives. In a larger scale, the range is between 10-34%. IPV incidents are perceived to be not regularly reported to the police, hence the inability to picture the entire magnitude of the problem. CDC also reported that majority of IPV incidents reported (i. e. 50%) are stalking, 25% physical assaults and 20% rape or sexual assaults. The CDC said that the consequences of domestic violence are perceived to be more damaging on the part of the victim and more costly in terms of treatment. Physical consequences include injuries that were left as a result on the victimization such as scratches, bruises and welts. Other more damaging effects are central nervous system disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, gynecological disorders, pregnancy difficulties and the likes. Psychological violence which stemmed out from emotional or psychological assault makes the victims develop problematic behaviors such as being anti social, develops suicidal tendencies, depressions and anxiety. Social implications of domestic violence also create a web of problem for the victims in terms of relating with other people and performing well in their workplace. More often than not, a difficult relationship is perceived in terms of the victims’ employers, peers and/ or colleagues . The health implications that resulted from domestic violence are primarily characterized by a very risky sexual behavior such as unprotected sex or even sexual trade. In addition, the use of addictive substances such as drugs or alcohols is also perceived. Corollary with this, the abuse of various medicines or pills for in order to lose weight is also paramount; while in some cases, overeating was the documented consequence . The economic implications of domestic violence are also very alarming. On 2003, the perceived costs of IPV is roughly $4. 1 billion which primarily comprises of $460 for rape cases, $6. 2 billion for physical assault, $461 billion for stalking and $1. 2 billion for the value of cost lives . Domestic Violence and Human Rights Attempts to link VAW on the issue of human rights were first established through the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights wherein such asserts that all humans must have equal rights and opportunities regardless of any difference . However it could be noted that the UDHR did not directly addressed the issues of DV and directly perceived it as a Human Rights issue. As such it is the underlying notion that all humans must be treated as equal has become the basic argument against DV and paved the way for the creation of certain laws that directly cater to it. In relation with this, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 1979 and the United Nation’s 1993 Declaration to Eliminate Violence against Women , also has similar goals. Due to the attempts to link VAW and human rights, such paved the way to transnational women’s movements and other mobilizations worldwide. Non government organization (NGO) and state governments have made their own efforts in order to eradicate this sort of oppression against women . The Private Nature of DV More importantly, the perception of Domestic Violence (DV) against the framework of human rights paved the way for the idea of applying international laws in order to solve DV all over the world. DV has been perceived as having a private nature due to the reason that its occurrence primarily stemmed out of the family wherein more often are opted to be kept in silence and addressed and/or resolved personally by family members . Most of the time, victims of DV within families opt to keep the issue within the jurisdiction of their own homes. Women opt to discuss the issue among their husbands or partners rather than reporting such incidences to the police. In relation with this, it could also be significantly noted that once such incidences are reported to the police, the latter’s way of resolving the issue also result to having both parties reconcile within themselves. In effect of this, women who know such a process opted to no longer result to lawful actions, rather only try their best to work it among their partners. The private nature of DV is due to the fact that it is often committed by men that are close in their lives . In effect of this, it has always been the case that it becomes invisible. It is less likely for the violence to be reported, unlike those type of violence that happened in public and was done by people who are unknown to women. In addition with this, since there are no witnesses to private violence, it becomes very hard for the law to take proper action. It could be significantly argued as well that the attitude of the police in terms of attending on the crimes of DV has been very distant. Most of them don’t want to take sides among couples even if it is evident that one of them is at fault. As such it is said: â€Å"You just try to calm them down. To a policy of arrest rather than meditation, the official approach is not necessarily reflected in practice in part because intervening police officers are at a very high rik in incidences of private violence. † It has been very hard for people to identify violence that happened between couples. Albeit, the reality is that there is a huge number of violence that happens in intimate relationships rather than those that happened in public. It is more dangerous fro women and the injuries that they have are more severe. In relation with this, it could be significantly noted that the study of Pourezza et al also reveals that women in Iran seem to be more aware of the reasons of violence rather than the evidence of violence. Such according to Pourezza et al is primarily due to the private nature of DV in Iran and the failure of the victims and her family to report such incidents to the police. Physical violence is perceived to be a private phenomenon and is expected to be resolved within the realm of the family. The risk factors that are associated with DV in Iran are: poverty, addiction, discrimination in work place and social life and lack of personal securities . In the United States however DV although initially perceived to be of a private nature has been attempted to be made on the mainstream of the human rights paradigm in order for it to be properly addressed. Annual conventions and campaigns are launched by the United Nations such as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, The Sixteen Days of Activism of Center for Women’s Global Leadership’s (CWGL) and Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women Campaign Banner all work together not only to help eliminate domestic violence but other gender-related violence as well. These campaigns together with various laws will able to make women aware of their rights not only as an individual but also as a woman. 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights however did not directly link the issue of DV to the notion of human rights. What the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights claimed is that all people have inherent dignity and of equal and inalienable rights; hence implying that women have the disposition that is similar to men, and such disposition implies the former’s right to experience the same degree of protection, privilege and other factors that are vital in living a quality life. Such attempts on the end of the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights that became the cornerstone in the development of other international laws could be seen on the following provisions. The Article 1 of the Declaration claims that â€Å"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood†. The very basic philosophical foundation of the relevance of human life against any other form of life is man’s capacity for reason which is clearly presented in this provision as a characteristic of all human beings. Hence women possess a capacity for reason that is exactly similar to that of man, and by such, the former must be given the same amount of freedom and dignity. The second Article of the Declaration further strengthens this claim by stating that â€Å"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty†. This provision clearly states the relevance of the upholding of human rights despite of gender. Such is clear evidence that all sexes are equal on the eyes of the law. Article 7 further makes it clear that all individuals must not be discriminated against the law. Consequently, Article 8 states the necessity of the establishment of national tribunals wherein conflicts and other criminal cases could be addressed. The Declaration as reflected in Article 16, clearly establishes that women have the right to enter a marriage in their own free will. Hence such means that dowry and other types of fixed marriages although perceived to be a part of custom and culture in some countries is also a violation of women’s rights. This provision then implies the general notion relevant to the argument that women’s domestic affairs are subjected to the jurisdiction of the human rights realm. The provision stating that women should only marry in accordance with their own decision implies that marriages that are fixed that often times result to violent treatment among men is something that is of utmost concern in terms of protecting the human rights of women and therefore protecting them against domestic violence. It could be noted that some countries in Asia such as in India, requires women to give dowries to their soon to be husbands. Albeit, whenever the woman gives a dowry that is relatively lower than what is expected on the male’s family, what usually happens is that the woman is often abused or is viewed as someone who is a burden to the man’s family. Article 21 on the other hand emphasizes that all people should have equal access to public service in her country and Article 26 emphasizes the equal rights of all people to education. As such, these provisions clearly focus on the right of women to education and also protection for all forms of abuses. The perception that women’s education is unnecessary because the latter is perceived to be locked in doing house hold chores is a clear violation. The study of Bates et al. among the women of Bangladesh could be significantly noted. Such revealed that among the 1,200 women who participated on the study, 67% of them claimed that they have experienced domestic violence, and a significant number of 35% admitted that they have experienced it in the past year (i. e. 1998). More importantly, the study focused on the notion that a woman’s education has a direct effect in terms of lowering the tendencies of DV. The study of Bates et al revealed that women in Bangladesh have a minute or small access with education. In relation with this the author also claimed that the more a woman ages, the more that it will be difficult for her to get married. In addition, the age of the woman is also equated to the high cost of her dowry. In relation with this is the right of every person to have a free choice of the type of work that she wants to do as stated on Article 23. As such, this provision leans towards the growing concern of the feminization of poverty most especially in developing countries. One of the risk factors of domestic abuse according to CDC is with regard to the notion that women who do not enter the workforce must be submissive to her husband . Women who are primarily left in the household to do chores and take care of the children are perceived to have a minute contribution within the family; as such the perceived head of the family which in this case is the male bread winner possesses all the power in the relationship. Article 25 clearly caters on the upholding on the rights of women as it emphasizes that all people has the right to a way of life that is adequate not only for him or her but also to his or her entire family. Motherhood and childhood should be supported by the government by assuring that they have special care and assistance. More specifically, those children who were born out of marriage should be given the privileges and protection of the government. This provision protects not only women but also their children against DV. The claim that this concern must be under the jurisdiction of the government is an indication that women must be protected against all kinds of abuses including to that of within their own households. Women who do not have any capabilities to help themselves most especially if they are having children must also be sheltered by the government. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted on 1979 by the UN General Assembly. The United Nation’s division for the advancement of women describes CEDAW as the â€Å"international bill of rights for women†. As such CEDAW not only addressed directly the issues of DV but also relates it directly on the realm of human rights. The CEDAW although could be said as the most highly ratified international human rights convention could still be seen as primarily focusing on the argument for human rights. Although it could be said that the convention reflects certain normative standards that are applicable to women’s human rights, it could be said that it still does not directly address DV. The CEDAW is made up of a preamble and 30 articles which lay out the parameters of women discrimination and the creation of an agenda in order to eliminate such prejudice. This convention although still focusing on human rights is very unique of its kind because of focusing on the role of culture and tradition as very vital factor in shaping the roles of men and women and other relations within the family. In addition, CEDAW also acknowledges the reproductive rights of women. Articles 10, 11 and 13 emphasize women’s rights to equal opportunity to education, employment and social activities. Such a provision paved the way for more opportunities for women to leave the household and not to be subjected to the abuses set forth by some men who give immense value on one’s work and the monetary benefits that could be hoisted out from it. The United Nations also noted that these demands are of more benefit to women who live in the rural areas. The equal access to job opportunities will pave the way for a more fair economic distribution. In relation with this, Article 15 claims that women should also have a fair access in various civil and business matters. More importantly, Article 16 emphasizes women’s equal disposition as those of men in terms of the choice of spouse, parenthood, personal rights and decision over personal properties. Another more important concern that this Convention focuses at is the attention that it gives on the value of reproductive rights. In certain cases, the role of women as a child bearer has caused numerous amounts of discrimination, more specifically in the workplace. Article 5 emphasizes that child rearing must be a social function that men and women and the society are both and equally responsible of. The women must not be viewed as someone who has the full task and burden of raising a child because people around her must also play their part. In relation with this is the Article 4 of the convention which affirms women’s right to reproductive choice. The notion that family planning advices from the government should be made available to all women will allow the latter to be aware more of her options and more specially in taking control in matters of sex and child bearing. This provision in the convention would imply that woman’s right in reproductive choice explicitly affirms women’s ownership of her own body, hence forced intercourse even within marriages is totally a clear violation of her rights. The use of contraceptives and other methods of family planning will also allow women to take control of her life and to plan for other things that will not limit her entirely to the household. The third major area of concern that the Convention focused on is the role of a country’s culture and norms in terms in hindering women in enjoying their fundamental rights. Article 5 makes it clear that states are obliged to alter their social and cultural patterns of individual conduct which clearly harbors inequality between sexes and unequal distribution of power. One of the most important implications of such is the mandatory revision of textbooks, school programmes and teaching methods in order to eliminate stereotypes and inculcate to the youth at such an early age the equal status of men and women in all aspects of life. United Nation’s 1993 Declaration to Eliminate Violence against Women Sullivan claimed that it is only in its 49th session that the Commission on Human Right (CHR) anticipated that women’s rights should be included in the mainstream of human rights programs. The declaration emphasizes that violence against women hinders not only the achievement of equality but also of development and peace. In addition, such affirms that such violence towards women is a violation of the rights and freedom of the latter. More importantly, the perpetuation of the violation against women’s rights is a manifestation of the oppressive dualism on the distribution of power between sexes. On such a relationship, the status of women has been clearly devalued hence hindering their total and absolute development . Article 3 of the Declaration to Eliminate Violence against Women emphasizes on the equal protection of human rights and freedoms of women in all fields. More specifically, article 3 emphasizes women’s right to life and equality . The Vienna Declaration and the Program of action specifically focuses on the â€Å"promotion and protection† of human rights. The declaration recognizes that such an issue is of international scope and is a way in which the international human rights systems could be studied and reevaluated so that it could represent various perceptions of countries on the issue of women’s rights violations. One of the incidences that the Declaration focused on is the incidence of rape on an international scope . The awareness of that was brought forth by the media on the rape cases that happened on the former Yugoslavia has made the issue of violence against women as directly related to a human rights concern. The recognition that such an act is not only an effect of armed conflict but of the subordinate status of women in the society paved the way to a more focused and detailed legislation in order to protect the rights of women. More specifically, the recognition that violence against women also happens in the private life or on the domestic level is also sought to be eliminated. On the Program of Actions, details of sexual slavery that was paramount during armed conflict was also taken into a clear focus. For instance, the comfort women from Korea and the Philippines who were forced into sex slavery by Japan during the Second World War are clear violation of women’s human rights. The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Action for Equality, Development and Peace, Beijing, China – September 1995 The UN’s Action for Equality Development and Peace that was held on Beijing China on 1995 rest on the basic foundation that equality between men and women is not only human rights and social issue; but also a necessary factor for equality, development and peace. The said Conference was primarily anchored on the Vienna Declaration Program of Action wherein the emphasis on the necessity of having violence against women on the mainstream of the human rights paradigm. The Conference focuses primarily on the implementation of the â€Å"Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and at removing all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making. † The conference has formulated a global framework that would allow the conference to address all the relevant and related details addressed on the World Summit for Children, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development and the World Summit for Social Development. The global framework emphasizes on the empowerment of all women on all aspects of life. The role of various economic factors has also been perceived as one of the risk factors in perpetuating women’s cycle of violence. Critical Areas of concern was also discussed. The development of women and the achievement of the equal status of men and women are a matter of human rights concern and should not be treated as different from other women’s issues. The exercise and the application of women’s rights are the main factors that are vital in political, social, economic, cultural and environmental secu rity. Campaigns against Domestic Violence Various Non-Government and Government Organizations are made in order to entice public awareness on the status of women in the society, more specifically on the status of domestic violence. More specifically, the campaigns against DV are being directly related on the issue of human rights. The Sixteen Days of Activism, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women of the United Nations and Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women Campaign Banner are three of the campaigns that this essay will look into and relate its importance in terms of DV and Human Rights. Center for Women’s Global Leadership’s (CWGL) Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign The Center for Women’s Global Leadership on 1991 has established on June 1991 a 16-day of activism campaign against gender violence. The campaign is marked to start on every 25th of November and is perceived to end at every 10th of December. The campaign is framed to include four significant international human rights commemorations which are: International Day Against Violence Against Women which happens every November 25, World Aids Day which is every 1st of December, Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre which falls on December 6 and Human Rights Day which happens every 10th of December . On 2000, the Campaign has already celebrated its tenth annual commemoration which was marked by local, national, regional and international activities. Various campaign mediums were used such as â€Å"radio, television, video programming, press conferences, film screenings; workshops, seminars, panels and other meetings; demonstrations, protests, marches and vigils; photo, poster, art and book exhibitions; lectures, debates, testimonies and talks; petition drives; public education campaigns; concerts, plays and other theatre performances; street dramas and other community programmes; distribution of posters, stickers, leaflets, information kits and other publications;† The 16 Days of Activism has done a huge effect in terms of creating awareness and change in both in the national and international levels that as of 2000, there are already 800 organization in over 90 countries which participated in such a campaign. The campaign has been celebrated annually in local towns, states and regions and has been an avenue to create solidarity amongst women advocates and members of violence. The campaign has also done a great job by hav ing such an activity a way for the victims of violence to be protected . The methods of organizing the campaign have widely varied through out the years. In 2000, the organizing strategies of the campaign has involved linking various events all over the world which include the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in South Africa. In addition with this, the CWGL also encourages activists around the world to be an instrument in helping to increase awareness on the violations against women through tribunals, workshops, festivals and other related activities . International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women The 54th session of the General Assembly on 19 October 1999 which marks that 17th meeting of the Third Committee submitted a draft resolution which designates the 25th of November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The said draft was sponsored by 79 states which aimed to increase the knowledge and understanding of the world with regard to the problem of VAW. The draft contained the details of the reasons why such a type of oppression has been hindering women to achieve their legal, social, political and economic equality within the society. Although initially, the commemoration of the necessity of eliminating of violence against women was made in Latin America and a number of countries all over the world, the observance has no standard title and was only referred as â€Å"No Violence Against Women Day† and the â€Å"Day to End Violence Against Women†. Such a day was first declared by feminists in Bogota Columbia in commemoration of the Mirabal Sisters of Dominican Republic who have been perceived as the foundation of modern feminism. The Mirabal Sisters, also known as the â€Å"Inolvidables Mariposas† or the â€Å"Unforgettable Butterflies† signifies the oppression against women. The amount of dedication and passion that they have given in order to attain women liberation and respect has been a source of dignity and inspiration to women around the world. Stop Violence Against Women Campaign On March 5, 2004, Amnesty International has established an international campaign in order to stop the violence that is made against women. Amnesty International has perceived violence against women as a widespread international problem that caused huge number of women lives. One notable activity of Amnesty is the opening of the first safe house in Kenya which keeps girls who are susceptible to female genital mutilation. The Campaign has also broadened the interpretation of VAW that is presented in the UN Declaration by focusing on the acts of neglect or deprivation against women. VAW is perceived by the campaign as those violence occurring in the family, in the community and other gender based violence. In relation with this, violence is perceived in different forms: physical, psychological and sexual. Amnesty has presented three major reasons of gender based violence in developing countries. According to the campaign, social and political institutions through time developed institutionalized patterns of values and standards that are obviously against for the development of women. For instance, the cultural value in some countries in Asia that a woman who opt to stay at home and take care of her children and husband is considered virtuous. In addition, a number of cultural practices and traditions focusing on the idea of purity and chastity of women has also been a commonly used excuse to justify such violence. Such forms of oppression against women are perceived by the author as more severe and damaging in its very nature because it inculcates oppression and violence against women as a standard way of life- a sort of reality that one has to accept regardless of anything. Examples of such cultural practices are the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Africa, Honor Killing in the Middle East, and in some remote places in China- Foot binding. All of these cultural practices are due to the basic premise that women should be remain chaste and pure until marriage; and it is only through the exercise of such methods that a woman’s purity could be attained. More significantly, the exercise of FGM has been rooted on the idea that during sexual intercourse, women are not supposed to feel any type of pleasure, hence the mutilation of their genitalia, more particularly, the clitoris. Poverty and marginalization are also perceived by Amnesty International as both causes and consequences of the violence against women. Abusive situ

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Answer question - Essay Example ounterparts saw marriage as something coming from a divine power – that of a god-father and a goddess-mother who bless the union in marriage rituals and sexual intercourse. Lawler describes pagan marriage as â€Å"syncretistic† (Lawler: 8) or fusing two opposing meanings – that of both divine and human action. Fertility from human sexual intercourse is considered a divine blessing. 2. Discuss what you think about the story of Hosea and Gomer. Explain the understanding of God that is the basis of the pagan custom of â€Å"temple prostitution.† State how what Hosea said about the relationship between God and Israel differed from that pagan custom. Hosea followed God’s command to him to marry Gomer, a harlot who participated in sexual rituals in temples as re-enactment of the sexual intercourse between pagan god Baal and his wife and sister, Anat. Hosea’s marriage to Gomer mirrored the relationship between God and Israel because it was unconditional. Although Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, he remained faithful to her and even bought her back when she was auctioned off to men. God’s love for Israel was the same. Even if Israel turned its back on God in favor of Baal, God still saved it from ruin. Pagan marriage is conditional and is open to divorce while marriage in Jewish tradition is supposed to be unconditional and does not approve of divorce. Anachronism means something that is not appropriate to the times. In this reading, it is reflected on two things: love and divorce. Hosea’s account of Gomer’s and Israel’s faithlessness not being reasons to turn away from them justifies the marriage covenant. Staying with them and remaining faithful is the true meaning of unconditional love. Marriage is a covenant that spouses should enter with loyalty, service and obedience. Love comes from divine covenant to human marriage, and Yahweh’s covenant fidelity to Israel should be emulated by all married couples. Thus, in Malachi’s book, Yahweh confirmed

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Forming stage of a team - Essay Example The process of forming a team and identifying a set of value and norms takes time, this process takes five stages that were highlighted by Tuckman the 1960’s and revised in 1977. Forming is the first stage of the Tuckmans team development model, and at this stage, the individual team member comes together with a sense of anticipation and commitment towards working as part of a team. In our table, this has been experienced where members have accepted to come together in order to become members of our team during the meetings. In our team meetings, individual members feel that they should be committed, and anticipations are high towards working together to achieve the team’s objectives. In the forming stage, motivation of members is high because members appreciate the fact of being selected to become part of the team. In our class meetings, members are motivated towards working together in the team. Every individual is seen to be in positive attitude so that cohesiveness is maintained in the team. Members are usually high in spirit during discussions and this helps to boost motivation in the team. Secondly, this stage is characterized by anxiety of members because they might not have met each other anywhere else before. Hence, individuals are anxious to meet new people who are different in personalities. In addition, members are anxious because they do not know what kind of work they are going to do in the team. This is because they are not sure or their purpose in the team, and they do not know what is expected of them. In our table, members had not worked anywhere else before as a team and hence, there was anxiety, which was felt when we came together as a team t he first time. The forming stage is also characterized by expression of personal relations and dependence of members on each other. This means that individuals highly rely on the

International Information and E-Business Strategies Assignment

International Information and E-Business Strategies - Assignment Example In fact, the e-supply chain involves the integration or mixing of e-billing systems, e-procurement systems, and other tools related to e-business. It allows for the enhancement of the company, distributors, and suppliers’ ability to manage their specifications, costs, quantity, and delivery time of products with more productivity automatically. E-SCM is a business process driven by software, in which there is collaboration between suppliers and retailers to give the end customer the best value, as well as to reduce costs (Aka?Li 2011, p. 55). Advanced software solutions and the internet enhance SCM partnering benefits where, through SCM collaboration, the suppliers are able to access retailer logistics and inventory data to meet inventory demands and respond to customized orders efficiently. By developing and using E-SCM, Coimbra Company will have the ability to co-ordinate warehousing and delivery, and improve their reliability and speed to their distributors and improving co mpetitive advantage (Weele 2010, p. 83). By deciding on the development and building of a platform for e-commerce, Coimbra Company has been building on its B2B and B2C platforms. During the period that Coimbra will build its B2C platform, it will apply e-commerce in its discount stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets. B2B e-supply chain management will also be built step by step and will become the keystone in the development of e-supply chain management development in the future. Coimbra will use some strategies in its implementation of e-supply chain management, for example, through ensuring it has good relationships with suppliers and customers with the latter being covered through CRM. Through... By developing and using E-SCM, Coimbra Company will have the ability to co-ordinate warehousing and delivery, and improve their reliability and speed to their distributors and improving competitive advantage (Weele 2010, p. 83). By deciding on the development and building of a platform for e-commerce, Coimbra Company has been building on its B2B and B2C platforms. During the period that Coimbra will build its B2C platform, it will apply e-commerce in its discount stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets. B2B e-supply chain management will also be built step by step and will become the keystone in the development of e-supply chain management development in the future. Coimbra will use some strategies in its implementation of e-supply chain management, for example, through ensuring it has good relationships with suppliers and customers with the latter being covered through CRM. Through the application of advanced technologies into their IT management, in which all members of their ch ain of supply can acquire the most recent raw data to enable them to co-ordinate plans, while also offering timely information that will better satisfy the demands from their partners.  By sharing information through their e-SCM with their trade partners, Coimbra and their partners can depend on one another and allows them to be more cooperative and collaborative. By integrating their supply chain and customer relationship management, Coimbra can offer gifts to customers and adjust advice and complaints in a timely fashion.

Images of Womans Sexuality in Advertisements Essay Example for Free

Images of Womans Sexuality in Advertisements Essay Considering the time an average American spends in front of the TV screen, it is obvious that the things he/she sees there influence greatly his/her perception of the world around. The stereotypes media offers us make a great impact of our perception of people. Thus, its no wonder that the images of womens sexuality in advertisements partly form our gender stereotypes. For to get more information on this issue, I analyzed an article by Christina N. Baker, published in the Sex Roles: A Journal of Research in January 2005. The name of the article is Images of womens sexuality in advertisements: a content analysis of Black- and White-oriented womens and mens magazines. This article analyzes the stereotypes of womens sexuality given in advertisements, the differences of those stereotypes for the White and Black woman. It gives the peculiarities of images created for the representatives of different races, and analyzes the origins and the influence of stereotypes that appear due to the TV and magazine commercials. It has always seemed to me that people in our society share some distorted view of woman and their sexuality. They express the concepts about it that are sometimes totally ridiculous (like that a woman should not express her sexual desires, as it is socially disapproved). Those concepts are very widespread nowadays, and I have been interested for a long time already why people trust those stereotypes, why lots man judge the woman that surround them on the strength of those concepts. Later I understood that the media also have the considerable role on forming the gender stereotypes. Thus I felt I wanted to know more about the specific features of these stereotypes, and, about the mechanism of their functioning. The author developed three hypotheses about the portrayal of woman in media. The first was that sexual women will be portrayed with characteristics such as submissiveness and dependency in both womens and mens mainstream/White-oriented magazines. According to the review of literature the author made, we live in a patriarchal society, where man a considered to be superior to women, thus they put the criteria of sexuality for woman. For man †¦sexual attractiveness in women is associated with physical beauty. A sign of status for a man is to have a physically attractive woman by his side. The more physically attractive a woman is, the more prestige she will bring to her male partner/spouse. The woman portrayed in commercials, and on the pages of the magazines is bound to be submissive, as it is one of the demands of patriarchal society. The author also notes that some of the scientific findings hypothesize that the continuous showing in the media of women as submissive sex objects whose main goal is to satisfy mans desires, reinforces the gender hierarchy existing in the contemporary society. The second hypothesis is that sexual Black women are more likely than sexual White women to be portrayed as dominant and independent. The author noted that despite of the fact that all of the women are more likely to be portrayed as the sexual objects, White woman are seen as the etalon of beauty, thus they are portrayed as the sex objects more frequently than the Black women are. It is also the fact that Black women have always been depicted as dominant towards Black man. It is historically that Black man cant get a decent job, thus Black women often have to bring the bacon home. This is the reason why Black woman are often portrayed as the heads of the families in the advertisements. The author also noted that the two stereotypes that exist about black woman are Mommy – the matriarch of the big family, and the mother that is raising her child by herself. The stereotype also exists in the contemporary society that Black woman usually dont have a husband. The author adds that the Black matriarch is that is portrayed as deviant because she challenges the assumption of the patriarchal family. The third hypothesis is that Black-oriented magazines are more likely than White-oriented magazines to portray sexual women as dominant and independent. The literature review conducted by the author states that despite of the fact that television commercials that targeted Black audiences contained about as many stereotypical images of Blacks as did those directed toward Whites, the Blackoriented magazines portrayed women in more active and even aggressive role. It was also that in the magazines for the Blacks women were more often portrayed in the role of the mother than women in the magazines for the whites. The characteristic feature of the portrayal of woman in the Blackoriented magazines was that there woman were rather shown in an extended families than in nuclear one, which conforms to the matriarch stereotype. The last hypotheses said that black women will be portrayed with physical characteristics that conform to White standards of beauty. However, Black women are more likely to have European features in White-oriented magazines than in Black-oriented magazines. The research showed that nowadays Blackoriented magazines portray women which conform to the White standart of beauty. The color of skin of those woman is dark, but the features are thin, they are slender, and they usually have long and straight hair. In fact, the only phenotypic difference between Caucasian and Afro-American models is the color of skin. Blackoriented magazines dont consider the fact that the features portrayed are not typical for the Black woman, and dont respond to the African canons of beauty. The sexual attractiveness in our society is associated with Whiteness, thus the magazines try to fulfill the desires of their readers. The findings of the articles author coincide with the results of researches conducted by the psychologists, sociologists and psychologists during the last fifty years. For example, Poe, (1976), and Silverstein Silverstein,(1974) found that in most of the TV advertisements woman were less physically active that man were, and they were the recipients of the advice given by man. It confirms the first hypothesis of the articles author, the one which says that women are depicted as submissive to man. The persuasion is that the woman has to be weak for to be attractive.

Overview Of General Motors And Toyota

Overview Of General Motors And Toyota With the global economic crisis and energy crisis, automotive sales fell to their lowest per-capita levels, putting automakers under enormous financial pressure. All automotive manufacturers have been severely affected, with most reporting significant losses in the last two year. This affects all automotive producers including global automotive giants like General Motors (GM) and TOYOTA. If we consider GM and TOYOTA alone, both companies lost a great deal of sales and had to adjust themselves according to these unexpected conditions. Especially GMs liquidity fell rapidly to levels below those needed to operate the company. At the same time, because of TOYOTAs well defined production processes and their high quality production, TOYOTA could provide healthier competition over General Motors, which facilitate TOYOTA to take over the global industry leadership from GM. As the main objective of this report is to carry out a detailed analysis in relation to the above mentioned situation and come up with some feasible international strategic movement that can be used to take back the industry leadership from TOYOTA by General Motors. Overview Overview of General Motors General Motors, founded in 1908 September by William C. Duran. General Motors Corporation (GM) is more than one century year old Multinational Corporation, which has been maintaining the automobile industry leadership over the last 80 years. GM employs approximately 244,500 people around the world, across all its brands. General Motors provides a wide range of vehicle priced from US$10,000 to US$100,000+ catering to various customer segments all over the world from middle to luxury class automobiles. Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Cadillac, GM Daewoo, Hummer and Opel brands are some of their best brands. At the turn of the 21st century, it was prevalent that the environment needed to be preserved. General Motors began creating vehicles that were more environmental friendly. GM has innovated itself by creating fuel-efficient vehicles, bio fuels and hybrids. Since its inception, it has expanded to sell cars and trucks in 140 countries across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million vehicles. GMs largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. Below table represents GMs Global Vehicles sales and Market share in 2008: Overview of TOYOTA The TOYOTA Motor Corp. (TMC) was established in 1933. The founder of TOYOTA was Kiichiro Toyoda. As the main operational difference, TOYOTA is a process-oriented company whereas most companies are results-oriented, focused on how much they can make or sell or how much money they can make in a quarter. TOYOTA sells its vehicles in more than 170 countries and regions. TOYOTAs primary markets for its automobiles are Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. Continued Success of TOYOTA As you see in the Figure 1, TOYOTA had a continuous growth over the last few years. TOYOTA designed their vehicles with a greater customer satisfaction and sales satisfaction by focusing quality, price, design, performance, safety, reliability, economy and utility. Figure 1 TOYOTA continuously introduced various innovative success models such as environmental friendly Hybrid Luxury Cars to expand their vehicle range. TOYOTAs market growth drastically resulted to decline GMs sales within the US market as well as in the global market and ultimately TOYOTA could become the global industrial leadership by defeating the global automobile giant, General Motors. Why GM Failed? General Motors Faced Problems General Motors (GM) lost their industry leadership and faced the worst economic downturn during the last two years. Consumers have had to contend with illiquid credit markets, rising unemployment, declining incomes and home values, and volatile fuel prices. Industrys competition provided a major contribution towards the GMs failure. In addition to this immense competition from the other global automobile companies, following two economic and industrial issues provided a radical pressure towards GMs comedown. 1. Global Economic Decline The global financial crisis really started to show its effects in the middle of 2007 and into 2009. Around the world stock markets have drastically fallen, large financial institutions have collapsed or been bought out, and governments in even the wealthiest nations have had to come up with rescue packages to bail out their financial systems. New car purchases dropped significantly in U.S. in the final quarter of 2008. The US auto sales for 2008 stood at 13.2 million down 18 percent from 16.1 million in 2007. Because of this General Motors faced significant slump in their revenues. 2. Automotive Industry Crisis The automotive industry crisis of 2008-2009 was a part of a global financial downturn. The crisis primarily affected the American automobile manufacturing industry other than to the Asian and European markets. Further the automotive industry was weakened by a considerable increase in the prices of automotive fuels because of the energy crisis. By 2008, the situation had turned critical as the credit crunch placed pressure on the prices of raw materials. Blunders of General Motors (GM) Other than to the above 2 global economic and industrial issues, General Motors further made following internal blunders as well: a). Unstylish Design GM customers were not satisfy with the last 10 years GM car models, basic reason was GM primarily wanted to keep the costs low, they compromised the design. b). High Cost Production GM has not utilized their plant capacity for maximum benefit. The other reason was the high labor cost especially because of the high employee salaries and given benefits, GM had to spend a large amount of production cost along with the high maintenance cost of their plants in United States. c). Wrong Pricing Strategies After the crisis happened, GM radically cut their prices with bottomless discounts, which resulted to increase their sales around 25 27k units per year, but there after the quantity stayed until the cars demise. How TOYOTA Won the Game? TOYOTAs Improved Production Process TOYOTAs automobile production process provided an enormous push towards the company success. First they methodically reduced the setup time in the automobile assembly line and trained an efficient assembly line work force. In parallel to this they continuously improved the quality of each completed process independently. Initially this quality improvement mechanism was so challenging but with the proper process designing and employee expertise, error rate began to drop dramatically. Once the setup time and assembly line was improved, then TOYOTA implemented JIT (Just-In-Time) to reduce the buffer stocks and inventory levels during the production process. This resulted to accelerate and increase the efficiency of production assembly line process without maintaining surplus inventory. In order to do this TOYOTA maintained a better supplier base by entering in to long-term relationship with major suppliers. From the beginning itself, TOYOTA closely worked with their suppliers, providing them by sharing engineering/management expertise, and even with capital to finance for new investments. As a result of these improvements, TOYOTA could reduce the cost of production along with the high labor productivity and the quality which ultimately gave a greater competitive advantage over the other global automotive competitors. Next step of TOYOTA was to further increase the customer satisfaction. Therefore, TOYOTA continuously conducted customer surveys by using various techniques; they estimated and identified the exact customer preferences. These finding were directly incorporated with their actual automobile design process. TOYOTAs Distribution and Global Expansion After 1983 TOYOTAs first successful joint venture with General Motors, by 2006 TOYOTA represented more than 60% of the total North American sales. In parallel to the US market expansion, TOYOTA made their move in European market as well. By now with TOYOTA has overtaken General Motors and become the largest automobile industry leader in the world. How GM Become the Leader Again? SWOT Analysis of General Motors To have a strategic approach first of all we need to understand companys capabilities clearly. So below I have conducted a SWOT analysis to get a clear picture about the company. According to Capon, (2004:393) SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The strengths and weaknesses of an organization arise from its internal environment, namely resources and their use, structure culture and the tasks carried out by the four functions of business. Which strengths an organization decides to build on and which weaknesses it seeks to minimize depends on the impact of opportunities and threats from the external environment. Below I have categorized the internal and external environment factors for GM. Strengths World-wide Market coverage and Technology potential. Sols with packagers (for different needs). Utilization of core competencies to meet the requirements of specific customer needs. Weaknesses Failure to Make Technology Work Product Design Problems-public Acceptance. For every car that GM sells, $2500 of the profit will go towards paying for the benefits of retired Employees. Still much to Learn about Lean Production-High Cost Production. Opportunities Use of knowledge gained from Joint Ventures. Continue to Build Customer Confidence. Almost all the automotive firms facing the same Economical challenges. Changing Consumer Demand for New Model Types and Styles. Threats Domestic and Foreign Competitors and Other Competitors Fuel Efficient Cars Global Economic Crisis. Unions are powerful and Drive a Hard Bargaining. High R D Cost. By considering the obtainable strengths and opportunities, still GM has several avenues to take over TOYOTA and become the number one in the automobile industry again. But for that, according to my analysis GM has to carefully perform several internal restructuring activities and adjust them to face to the immense competition. Below I have listed down some important steps that GM could follow to get back to the right track during the next 5 years. Products Improvement (Fuel Efficiency Improvement) General Motors (GM) today offers about 20 models with average 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway more than any other manufacturer. General Motors is also considered as the world leader in flex fuel technologies. GM should concentrate following areas during the overall products improvements. Vehicle Quality Improvement General Motors is focused on delivering high-quality and exciting cars, crossovers and trucks to their consumers. GM has substantially overcome the quality gap compared to many competitors. Further improvements especially in warranty problems per vehicle (relative to competition) are expected and such improvements should be taken in to account during the vehicle development process. Design Improvement GM should not cut cost on their products design because customers still expect to look good their vehicles. Further GM can systematically conduct their target market surveys so that they can identify the exact design preferences of their customers. Improve Fuel Efficiency GM should concentrate more Hybrid Cars production. Because by now, gas-electric hybrid cars have now become a practical choice for consumers and it offers so many efficient, innovative and affordable options. Improve Engine Reliability GM had to face number of complaints (especially electrical problems) about recent unreliability vehicle designs. So they must make sure to design their vehicles safety features at least above the average level. Most importantly, especially due to oil crisis and continuous oil prices increments, there is a very good potential market for Extended-Range Electric Vehicles. So if GM could further focus on development of advanced batteries, power electronics, systems integration and manufacturing methods, there would be high chance to dominate these types of new customer segments all over the world. Marketing Strategies At present, GM competes with 8 brands in the United States and out of them Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC represent the companys core brands, accounting for approximately 83% of current sales. So GM should focus considerably all of its product development and marketing resources in support of these core brands. This will result in improvements in awareness, sales, and customer satisfaction for these 4 core brands. Retail Operations (Locations) The other important consideration is GM should take necessary steps to strengthen and further consolidation of GMs dealer network, which will result to get to a more profitable and stronger dealer network. As a distribution issue GM has approximately 6450 dealer locations right now, but the problem is most of their positioning is limited to serve in metropolitan and suburban areas. So GM should reinforce rural areas distribution network as well, which is a significant competitive advantage. Further GM should intend to have the right number of brands, sold by the right number of dealers, in the right locations to obtain maximum profitability for GM and the retailer network. Operational Processes When we closely monitor GMs manufacturing cost, we can see a dramatic declining from $18.4 billion in 2003 to $8.1 billion in 2008. According to the following diagram (Figure 2) you can see the US hourly manufacturing cost reduction over the last few years. Figure 2 Further, this reduction reflects significant productivity improvements. And also, due to post-employment healthcare expense plan reductions, GMs new hires would be as low as $30 $35. This rate would be significantly below the average fully-loaded labor cost for TOYOTA, which public sources indicate is between $45 and $50 per hour. Below chart depicts GMs significant reduction of U.S. salaried employee count over the last few years. So definitely because of these types of operational cost reductions, GMs wages and benefits for both current workers and new hires will be fully competitive with TOYOTA in near future. Further Cost Reductions General Motors various restructuring initiatives over the past few years have been designed to improve its competitive position and ultimately the companys profitability, liquidity and capital structure. However over the past 15 years alone, General Motors (GM) spent over $103 billion on post-employment healthcare and pension expenses. Therefore, GM should plan to reduce the companys structural costs at least by $5 billion annually, or 16%, during the next two years. This would be a significant and important restructuring step to the companys long-term viability. Strategic Alliances and Collaborations In the present business context collaboration is the best option rather than the competition. Therefore going forward, GM should consider and plan to create possible and contributing collaborations such as an IJV (international joint venture) or alliances for the company. According to Daft, (2006) medium and large companies have couple of ways to become involved in international business. One is to seek cheaper sources of supply offshore, which is called outsourcing. Another is to develop markets for finish products outside their home countries, which may include exporting, licensing, and direct investing. These are called market entry strategies because they represent alternative ways to sell products and services in foreign markets. Most firms begin with exporting and work up to direct investment. Exhibit 1.1 shows the strategies companies can use to enter foreign markets. Exhibit 1.1 International journal of business management, (2010) commented that newly established, 3 technology-based firms entering international markets often have limited resources in terms of capabilities, time, and capital. As a consequence, these firms often use entry modes characterized by low resource commitment, including partnership agreements (strategic alliances). What is the Best Marketing Strategy for GM? In this section I have investigate how the partner selection criteria is important for GM when they select a marketing entry strategy. Trust, Relatedness of Business, Access to Networks, Access to Market Knowledge, Reputation Factors should be considered as the five primary concerns when a company selects a partner company to proceed with a collaborative approach. Based on number studies, and according to my own analysis, to regain the market, I suggest GM should proceed with strategic alliances market entry mode. Forging Strategic Alliances and Collaborative Strategies Jeannet and Hennessy, (2004) have clearly justified that the more recent phenomenon is the development of range of Strategic Alliances. Alliances are different from traditional joint ventures, in which two partners contribute a fixed amount of resources and the venture develops on its own. In an alliance, two entire firms pool their resources directly in a collaboration that goes beyond the limits of joint ventures, although a new entity may be formed, it is not a requirement. Sometimes the alliance is supported by some equity acquisition of one or both of the partners. In an alliance, each partner brings a particular skill or resource-usually, they are complementary-and by joining forces, each expects to profit from the others experience. Typically alliances involved distribution access, technology transfers, or production technology, with each partner contributing a different element to the alliance. Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan, (2007) suggest an alliance is a collaborative arrangement in which at least one of the collaborating companies takes an ownership position. In some cases, each party takes an ownership, such as by buying part of each others shares or by swapping some shares with each other. The purpose of the equity ownership is to solidify a collaborating contract, such as a supplier-buyer contract, so that it is more difficult to break-particularly if the ownership is large enough to secure a board membership for the investing company. Production Bases Alliances According to my analysis, GM should proceed with Production Bases Alliances. Jeannet and Hennessy, (2004) pointed out these alliances fall into two groups. First there is the search for efficiency through component linkages, which may include engines or other key components of a car. Second, companies have begun to share entire car models, either by producing jointly or by developing them together. U.S. automobile manufacturers have been very active in creating global alliances with partners, primarily in Japan. Many of these alliances are production based. As a good example, to compete more effectively in the super-small car segment in Europe, Peugeot of France and Toyota of Japan collaborated on the building of a new production plants located in Kolin, Czech Republic by investing about $ 1.5 billion in this facility. The two partners shared the same body design but used exterior modifications to differentiate their models. Both companies carried out their marketing strategies separately, and thus are likely to compete against each other through their own sales and distribution networks. By joining forces, broth manufactures will gain economies in a very price sensitive market segment. If GM collaborates with a leading automobile partner such as TOYOTA or any other, they would also be able to win the competitive advantage through strategic production bases alliances. Problems of Collaborative Arrangements None of these arrangements are not problem-free or perfect approaches. Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan, (2007) shows that although collaborative arrangements have many advantages, some companies avoid them; many arrangements develop problems that lead partners to renegotiate their relationships. Partners might renegotiate responsibilities, ownership, or management structure. In spite of new relationships, many agreements break down or are not renewed at the end of an initial contract period. Collaborations Importance to Partners One partner may give more management attention to a collaborative arrangement than the other does. If things go wrong the active partner blames the less active partner for making lack of attention, and the less active partner blames the more active partner for making poor decisions. Objectives Differences Although companies enter into collaborative arrangements because they have complementary capabilities, their objectives may evolve differently over time. For instance, one partner may want to reinvent earnings for growth and the other may want to receive dividends. One partner may want to expand the product line and sales territory, and the other may see this as competition with its wholly owned operations. A partner may wish to sell or buy from the venture, and the other partner may disagree with the prices. For example, GM has joint venture in Thailand with Fuji Heavy Industries to make and export vehicles to Opel in Germany and Subaru in Japan. Because of disagreements over quality, both companies perform inspections, which is time consuming and expansive, they have even argued over standards of paint jobs. Control Problems By sharing the assets with another, one company may lose some control on the extent or quality of the assets use. Some companies have well known trademarked names that they licence abroad for the production of some products that they have never produced or had expertises. When no single company has control of a collaborative arrangement, the operation may lack direction. At the same time, if one dominates, it must still consider the other company interests. Cultural Differences Companies differ by nationality in how they evaluate the success of their operations. Japanese companies tend to evaluate primarily on how an operation help build its strategic position, particularly by improving its skills. European companies rely more on a balance between profitability and achieving social objectives. This difference can mean that one partner is satisfied while the other is not. In spite of these potential problems, joint ventures from culturally distant countries survive at least as well as those between partners from similar cultures. However as is the marriage, a positive prior relationship between two companies does not guarantee that partners will be well matched in a strategic alliance. Compatibility of corporate cultures also is important in cementing relationship. Conclusion Due to the global economic recession and enormous industry competition, GM lost their industrial leadership to TOYOTA. The secret of its success was their well defined production processes and their high quality customer focused production. By analyzing the GMs presents strengths and opportunities, still GM has the potentiality and own competitive advantage to take over the industry leadership through a strategic approach. I have thoroughly evaluated the situation, especially the best practices and strategic movements of TOYOTA as well as the blunders made by GM during the past few years separately. Then under the How GM becomes the Leader Again topic, clearly I have described all the possible improvements and rearrangements, which need to be applied with a systematic restructuring process to GM. Importantly, this restructuring process requires considerable sacrifices from all stakeholders, dealers, suppliers, employees and executives. During these financial crisis and economic uncertainty challenges, with a proper analysis and understanding GM would be able to open significant number of opportunities with the new strategic restructuring process and innovative products developments in the near future. Then in the final part of the report, I have explained and justified possible strategic market entry approaches that GM can follow to regain the industry leadership again.