India and E-Business :: Free Essay Writer

India and Ebiz INDIAN OVERVIEW The Indian private sector has already recognized the attractive economics of e-business. Clearly, the opportunity (and the need) for Indian businesses to get onto the e-business power curve is really quite high. Needless to add, that the potential exists. The size of the transactions over the net at Rs10 crore by the end of 1999 approximately, a piddling size when compared to the world, which is expected to cross $300 billion by the year 2002. Unlike in the past, where existing attitudes have posed major challenges to adopting a new way of life, with the Internet it has been rather a smooth sailing, thanks to the extraordinary levels of Internet awareness in the country. As a result of this, companies have been more open to taking studied chances, as is evident. Here, we are not just talking of companies that have static web sites but those which conduct commerce on the net like Color Plus, India Book Shop, bababazaar, Rediff-on-the-net and Shoppers Stop, selling from books and shirts to vegetables and soaps. The lack of infrastructure was a serious impediment, but bottlenecks are soon being removed. With several private value-added networks (VANs) coming up and with the reach of Internet expanding, this is becoming less of a problem. In fact, collective experience indicates that firms can deploy e-commerce solutions over the current infrastructure and realize significant benefits from them. To be fair, this is one area that has received focus from the highest levels and there is feverish activity to build bigger bandwidth and crucial payment gateways, which will enable online credit card authorization. Indeed, there is much at stake for, say, an automobile company or a fast-moving consumer goods company which has multiple offices with different manufacturing sites and warehouses etc across the country. Infact ,Dynamix-a software infrastructure solutions company, is in the process of helping TELCO to replicate the Ford "just in time technology" The recent announcement of Hindustan Lever indicates that soon all of its cosmetic line will be made available only on the net, with one center in each city acting as demonstration/guidance center. The country needs to get its legal, legislative, regulatory, infrastructure and manpower ready for ebusiness. We already see some of this readiness, and hence, India is ready to boom in ebusiness. While the air of optimism persists, the fact remains that in India Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has not really taken off.

Fast Food Industry Research Proposal Essay

To study the attitude towards consumption of healthy food within the fast food industry Background We are a marketing research team of a fast food chain store. With increasing awareness about healthy food among the masses and with consumer preferences changing towards healthy food, we intend to launch a health food segment to cater to this need of the customers. We are also concerned about the pricing of the product that whether it should be priced same as that of normal fast food or the customers would be willing to pay a premium for healthy food. But before launching that product we want to know that â€Å"Is it worth it to our fast food restaurant to market healthy food†. To answer this management decision problem, we intend to conduct a marketing research within the region of West Delhi. Introduction * What is fast food? Definition1. Fast food have been defined by Bender and Bender (1995) as a â€Å"general term used for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques; suppliers tend to specialize in products such as hamburgers, pizzas, chicken, or sandwiches†. Definition2. In Data Monitor’s (2005) survey the fast food market is defined as the sale of food and drinks for immediate consumption either on the premises or in designated eating areas shared with other foodservice operators, or for consumption elsewhere. Definition3. As per â€Å"the free dictionary† fast food is â€Å"inexpensive food, such as hamburgers and fried chicken, prepared and served quickly†. Definition4.According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary fast food is â€Å"designed for ready availability, use, or consumption and with little consideration given to quality or significance * Why fast food? * Brief history of fast food industry in India * Fast food industry trend, facts and figures, key players in India * According to a study by the Tata Strategic Management Group, the size of the Indian health-and-wellness food market will rise from an estimated Rs101.5bn in 2010 to Rs550bn by 2015, implying annual growth of 35-37%. * Why healthy food? Health food is preferred by people mostly because of the various health issues associated with eating fast food: * Trans Fats which is commonly found in fast food have a negative effect on health * The fast food consumption increase calorie intake, promote weight gain, and elevates risk for diabetes. * Obesity is also linked to various other diseases * What is Healthy food? Definition1: As per â€Å"the free dictionary† healthy food is â€Å"Any natural or prepared food popularly believed to promote good health† Definition2: * Food with low content of edible oil used. * Lower fat, lower cholesterol and lower sodium. Major segments H&W products in India could be classified into three dominant categories, i.e. Better-for-You(BFY), Functional / Fortified, and Natural categories. Research Objective The main aim of our research is to derive indications that may contribute to better strategic and tactical marketing decisions. The overall objective of the study is â€Å"To study the attitude towards consumption of healthy food within the fast food industry† this has been divided into following sub-objectives: 1) To study the consumption pattern towards fast food and health/wellness food. * What all sort of fast food people prefer, at what time, at what places they go, * What is the driving force behind it, e.g. taste, spiciness, ease , price, time factor etc. * Most popular fast food 2) To study the factors that influence the consumers to go for healthy food * Sickness * Obesity * Awareness * Who 3) To study the consumer perception about healthy food vis a vis normal fast food w.r.t. two factors i.e. taste and price * What does consumer think about healthy food e.g. taste , price 4) To identify the possibility/impact of nutritional value of fast foods on consumer purchase decision. Research Questions and Hypothesis Question: Do customer think healthy food is as tasty as fast food? H1: customers perceive healthy food to be of same taste as normal fast food. Question: Do customer think healthy food is costs same as normal fast food? H2: Customers perceive healthy food costs same as normal fast food. Question: Is there any impact of nutritional value of fast foods on consumer purchase decision? H3: Nutritional value of fast foods has no impact on consumer purchase decision. Research Design Qualitative Research Purpose Because of the exploratory nature of some of the aspects of the objectives, we need to have detailed qualitative information. The qualitative research will probe the following: * the consumption frequencies, the categories of product consumed and the main reasons to use these products * At what time and at what places do they prefer to go, * What is the driving force behind their preference, e.g. taste, spiciness, ease, price, time factor etc. * Most popular fast food * Whether they would prefer to pay more for healthy food * What factors influence the customers to eat healthy food Population and sampling Samples for the study will consist of youth segment (indicated as consumer in this study) in the age group of 20 to 27 years. Convenience samples are drawn from West Delhi region among the college students. We propose to conduct 4 focus groups with the following profiles: Group 1&2: Dwarka Region Group 3&4: Janak Puri Quantitative Research We propose to conduct a study using questionnaire within the markets of Dwarka and Janakpuri region and also an online survey of the relevant respondents. Purpose This stage intends to quantify the factors that influence the respondents to eat healthy food. It will also give the percentage of each category of fast food which customers generally prefer to eat out and at what place &at what time. It will also help us to quantify that how many customers perceive healthy food as of same taste as normal fast food and of the same price. By establishing classified data we will know what type of people prefer healthy food and what price they are willing to pay. Also we will know that how many customers look at the nutritional value of the product before taking a purchase decision. Population and sampling Samples for the study will consist of youth segment (indicated as consumer in this study) in the age group of 20 to 27 years. Convenience samples are drawn from West Delhi region among the college students. Our definition of convenience samples includes only one dimension that is easy access to the sample units otherwise it was random selection of individuals from a large number of customers at the fast food outlets. We will be carrying out a survey of 200 Indian Customers The face to face interviews will be carried out in different days and in different outlets such as, open markets, traditional shops and supermarkets. A pilot test on 15 consumers will be conducted in order to ensure that the statements are clear and to identify redundant variables and questions that were difficult to understand. Procedure We will develop a questionnaire for this purpose. The questionnaire will probe the following: * the consumption frequencies, the categories of product consumed and the main reasons to use these products * The factors which influence the customers to eat healthy food * Which category of fast food people generally prefer and the main reason to use that product * Do customers perceive healthy food to be as tasty as normal fast food * Whether customers are willing to pay more for healthy food * Is there any impact of nutritional value on their purchase decision Analysis: Statistical analysis such as descriptive statistical analysis and frequency distribution. t-test factor analysis cluster analysis Timing Week | Activity| 1-3 weeks | Desk research| 4-6 weeks| Qualitative field work| 7 week| Questionnaire development| 8-9 week| Quantitative stage(n=200)| 10 week| Coding and data preparation| 11 week| Analysis | 12 week| Presentation and Report available | Costs Phase | Description | Costs | Qualitative research | four focus groups-travel cost | 1200| Quantitative research | 200 interviews-Stationary-travel cost| 5001200| Total | | 2900| Limitations This study has some limitations that however do not liquidate the purpose of the study. Data for the study will be collected from West Delhi region mainly Dwarka and Janakpuri. Sampling units are primarily of young unmarried consumers. Annexure 1: Definitions of Health & Wellness Categories †¢ Better-For-You: Food products with lower levels of ‘bad’ ingredients /nutrients for the consumers like sugar or fat are called BFY products. Various low-fat, low-sugar or diet products would fall under the BFY category. †¢ Fortified / Functional: Food products fortified with additional ingredients or produced / suitably modified to provide a distinct health benefit are termed as functional or fortified foods. Functional drinks, vitamin / mineral fortified milk or fruit juices and bakery products with added fiber would be classified as functional foods. †¢ Natural: Products sold under the Natural platform are specifically manufactured with no chemicals, additives or artificial substances / chemicals. 100% natural juices, ready meals without preservatives, etc. are few examples of such products. †¢ Organic: These are made from foods that are grown without use of chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides) during their cultivation. †¢ Naturally healthy: These foods are considered healthy in their natural form itself like milk, olive oil, fruit juices etc. References: 1) Naresh K. Malhotra, Marketing Research- An Applied Orientation, 3rd Edition 2) Anita Goyal and N.P. Singh, â€Å"Consumer perception about fast food in India: an exploratory study† 3) Andrea Freeman, â€Å"fast Food oppression through poor nutrition†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ California Law Review, Vol. 95,issue 6 4) â€Å"Healthy Ambition†, Economic Intelligence Unit, April 6th 2011,Vol XVIII No. 7 5) â€Å"The Health & Wellness Foods Industry in India: An Overview†, Tata Strategic Management Group(2009)

Persuasive Speech for the Inclusion of The Crucible in...

The Crucible Persuasive Speech Greetings to you all; thank you all for taking the time to hear my arguments and for considering my suggestion for the inclusion of The Crucible in the 2013 play season of the Queensland Theatre Company. My understanding is that the companys intent is to pursue the culture of fear as the overarching theme for this years selection of plays. This is an ideal theme because we are, unfortunately, living in a time of great fear and distrust, with good reason considering the rates of crime and international violence. Arthur Millers The Crucible is an ideal work to complement the theme of this years play cycle. Although set in the time of the 1692 Salem witch trials during the colonial period, the play was intentionally written by Miller as an allegorical work used to represent the dangers of McCarthyism in the United States in the 1950s. Miller himself said, It was not only the rise of McCarthyism that moved me, but something which seemed much more weird and mysterious. It was the fact tha t a political, objective, knowledgeable campaign Ã¥ ®â€°as capable of creating not only of terror, but a new subjective reality, a veritable mystique which was gradually assuming even a holy resonance (Lavanture 2007). Its message of the dangers of fanaticism and the horrendous acts human beings can perpetrate upon each other in the name of fear, particularly when that terror is backed up by the government and system of justice, is a universal one which still