History of Genetic Engineering

History of Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering is a deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material. This chapter describes how work carried out between 1970s and 1980s produced technologies that researchers now use to manipulate the genetic material of organisms. Key concepts covered: Recombinant-DNA technology is a technology in which genetic material from one organism is introduced into another organism and then replicated and expressed by that other organism. Gene sequencing is the process of determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. Recombinant-DNA technology has been used to make insulin and other human proteins for medicine. Recombinant DNA The prospect of recombinant DNA emerged from two advances in biochemistry: (1) Discoveries of restriction enzymes that act as scissors to cut molecules of DNA at specific nucleotide sequences; and (2) Discoveries of DNA ligases enzymes that forge molecular bonds. Creation of First Recombinant DNA (1972) In 1972, Paul Berg (1926- ), a biochemistry professor at Stanford University, created the first recombinant DNA molecule. He first isolated the DNA molecules from two different organisms, the SV40 monkey virus and a bacterial virus known as Lamdba bacteriophage (or phage ÃŽÂ »).   Using a cut-and-splice method, he created sticky ends in the DNA of both viruses. Then he joined them together with DNA ligase. Invention of Recombinant DNA (rDNA) Technology (1973) Recombinant-DNA technology is a technology in which a rDNA plasamid is introduced into bacteria and then replicated and expressed by that bacteria. It was invented through the work of Herbert W. Boyer (1936- ), Stanley N. Cohen (1935- ), Paul Berg, and Janet Mertz (1949- ). After Berg created the first recombinant DNA molecules in 1972, Boyer and Cohen took Bergs work a step further by introducing the rDNA plasmid to E. coli bacterial cells. A plasmid is DNA, found in bacteria, that is separate from and can replicate independently of the bacteriums chromosomal DNA. The phenomenon of transformation permits the rDNA plasmid to be introduced into and expressed by E. coli cells. The bacteria containing the rDNA plasmid grow on petri dishes to form tiny colonies. But in a typical procedure, only 1 in about 10,000 bacteria cells takes up the rDNA plasmid. The rDNA plasmid must contain a selectable gene so that they can be efficiently picked up   from the culture. This can be done by using a drug-resistance gene to make the rDNA plasmid resistant to antibiotics such as tetracycline.   Adding tetracycline to the culture will ensure that only the bacteria with the rDNA plasmids survive. In 1974, at the urge of Standford Universitys patent office, Boyer and Cohen filed a patent for recombinant DNA technology. Asilomar Conferences Potential dangers of recombinant genetic engineering emerged even before Berg published his landmark 1972 paper. Although the SV40 virus was thought to be harmless for human, Borg was concerned about the prospect of an altered form of the virus spreading through a common bacteria. So he deferred part of his research program, and did not insert the recombinant virus into bacterial cells as he originally planned. In 1973, Berg organized a small conference at Asilomar, California to address the growing concerns about gene-manipulation technology. In 1974 Berg published a widely discussed letter on the potential dangers of recombinant DNA research. Subsequently, a moratorium on research in 1975 (Asilomar II) provided time for regulations to be devised and put into effect in 1976. Gene Sequencing, Gene Splicing, and Reverse Transcription Gene Sequencing Gene sequencing is the process of determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. It includes any method that is used to determine the order of the four bases A, G, C, and T in a strand of DNA. Frederick Sanger (1918-2013), a biochemist in England, is a pioneer of sequencing. He has received two Nobel prizes: one for the sequencing of proteins (in 1958), the other for the sequencing of DNA (in 1980). In the early 1950s, Sanger had solved the sequencing of a protein using a sequence of degradation reactions. A protein is made up of a sequence of amino acids strung into a chain. To identify the sequence of a protein, Sanger would snap off one amino acid from the end of the chain, dissolve it in solvents, and identify it chemically. He would repeat the degradation and identification process until he reached the end of the protein. In the mid-1960s, Sanger switched his focus from protein to DNA. But his methods that had worked so well for proteins didnt work for DNA. Proteins are chemically structured such that amino acids can be serially snapped off the chain but with DNA, no such tools existed. In 1971, Sanger devised a gene-sequencing technique using the copying reaction of DNA polymerase. At first, the method was inefficient and error-prone because the copying reaction was too fast. In 1975, He made an ingenious modification. He doctored the copying reaction with a series of chemicals variants of A, C, G, and T -that were still recognized by DNA polymerase, but slowed down its copying ability. On February 24, 1977, Sanger used this technique to reveal the full sequence of   phi X 174 (or ÃŽÂ ¦X174) bacteriophage. Gene Splicing In 1977, scientists discovered that most animal (and animal virus) proteins were not encoded in long, continuous stretches of DNA. They were split into modules, interrupted by regions called introns that do not hold protein-encoding information. By splitting the genes into modules, a cell could generate more combination of messages out of a single gene. When a DNA with introns is used to build RNA the introns have to be removed from the RNA message. This phrase for the process is called gene splicing or RNA splicing. Reverse Transcription In 1970, David Baltimore (1938- ) and Howard Temin (1934-94), two virologists, discovered an enzyme that could build DNA from an RNA template. They called the enzyme reverse transcriptase. Using this enzyme, every RNA in a cell could be used as a template to build its corresponding DNA. The production of proteins from recombinant DNA represented a crucial transition in the history of medical technology. To understand the impact of this transition from genes to medicine we need to understand the nature of drugs. Nearly every drug works by binding to its target and enabling or disabling it turning molecular switches on or off. To be useful, a drug must bind to its switches but to only a selected set of switches. Most molecules can barely achieve this level of specificity but proteins have been designed explicitly for this purpose. Proteins are the enabler and disablers, the regulators, the gatekeepers, the operators, of cellular reactions. They are the switches that most drugs seek to turn on or off. Proteins are thus poised to be some of the most potent and most discriminating medicines in the pharmacological world. But to make a protein, one needs its gene and here recombinant DNA technology provided the crucial link. The cloning of human gens allowed scientists to manufacture proteins and the synthesis of proteins opened the possibility of targeting the millions of biochemical reactions in the human body. Proteins made it possible for chemists to intervene on previously impenetrable aspects of our physiology. The use of recombinant DNA to produce proteins thus marked a transition not just between one gene and one medicine, but between genes and anovel universe of drugs. Founding of Genetech (1975) In 1975, Robert Swanson (1947-99), a venture capitalist, approached Herb Boyer with a proposal to starting a company that would use gene-cloning techniques to make medicines. Boyer was fascinated. His own son had been diagnosed with a potential growth disorder, and Boyer had been gripped by the possibility of producing human growth hormone, a protein to treat such growth defects. Three hours after they met, Swanson and Boyer had reached a tentative agreement to start such a company with seed moneys from venture firms. Boyer called this company Genentech a condensation of Genetic Engineering Technology. Synthesis of Insulin (1978) Purified animal-sourced insulin was the only type of insulin available to diabetics until genetic advances occurred later with medical research. The amino acid structure of insulin was characterized in 1953 by Frederick Sanger. The protein was made up of two chains (A and B) one larger and one smaller, cross-linked by chemical bonds. Boyers plan for the synthesis of insulin was simple. He did not have the gene for human insulin at hand no one did but he would build it from scratch using DNA chemistry, nucleotide by nucleotide, triplet upon triplet. He would make one gene for the A chain, and another gene for the B chain. He would insert both the genes in bacteria and trick them to synthesizing the human proteins.. He would purify the two protein chains and then stitch them chemically to obtain the U-shaped molecule. But Boyer was cautious. He wanted an easier test case before lunging straight for insulin.   He focused on another protein somatostatin also a hormone, but with little commercial potential. To synthesize the somatostatin gene from scratch, Boyer recruited Keiichi Itakura and Art Riggs from the City of Hope in Los Angeles. Swanson was opposed to the whole plan. He wanted Boyer to move to insulin directly. Genentech was living in borrowed space on borrowed money. Still Boyer convinced Swanson to give somatostatin a chance. In the meantime, two teams of of geneticist had also entered the race to make insulin. One at Harvard and the other one at UCSF. By the fall of 1977, they succeeded in synthesizing somatostatin, and started focusing on insulin. At this time, the competition was fierce. The Harvard team had apparently cloned the native human gene out of human cells and were ready to make the protein. The UCSF team has synthesized a few micrograms of protein and were planning to inject the human hormone into patients. It was Asilomar that came to their rescue. Like most University laboratories with federal funding, the UCSF team was bounded by the Asilomar restrictions on recombinant DNA. In contrast, Boyers team had decided to use a chemically synthesized version of the insulin gene. A synthetic gene DNA created as a naked chemical fell into the gray zone of Asilomars language and was relatively exempt. Genentech, as a privately funded company, was also relatively exempt from the federal guidelines. In the summer of 1978, Boyer learned that the Harvard team was about to announce successful isolation of the human hormone gene. To his relief, the gene that the Harvard team had cloned was not human but rate insulin. Cloning had made it easy to cross the barriers between species. By May 1978, Genentech had synthesized the two chains of insulin in bacteria. By July, the scientists had purified the proteins out of the bacteria debris. In early August, they snipped of the the attached bacterial proteins and isolated the two individual chains.   On August 21, 1978, they joined the protein chains together in a test tube to create the first molecules of recombinant insulin. In September 1979, Genentech applied for a patient for insulin. The Genetech patent would soon become one of the most lucrative petents in the history of technology. Synthesis of factor VIII (1983) Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder in which the blood doesnt clot normally. If you have hemophilia, you may bleed for a longer time than others after an injury. You also may bleed inside your body (internally), especially in your knees, ankles, and elbows. This bleeding can damage your organs and tissues and may be life threatening. Hemophilia is caused by a single mutation in the gene for a crucial clotting factor in blood, called factor VIII, and, until the mid-1980s, was treated with injections of concentrated factor VIII. During 1982 and early 1983, an emergence of mysterious immunological collapse among patients with multiple blood transfusions pinpointed the cause of the illness to blood-born factor that had contaminated the supply of factor VIII -a virus called AIDS. Nearly all the HIV-infacted hemophiliacs from the initial cohort had died of the complications of AIDS. In the spring of 1983, Dave Goeddel (1951- ) at Genentech began to focus on cloning the factor VIII gene. Meanwhile, a team of researchers from Harvard, lead by Tom Maniatis (1943- ) and Mark Ptashne (1940- ), formed a company called Genetics Institute (GI) also joined the race. As with insulin, the logic behind the cloning effort was evident: rather than purifying the missing clotting factor out of liters of human blood, why not create the protein artificially, using gene cloning? If factor VIII could be produced through gene-cloning methods, it would be virtually free of any human contaminants, i=thereby rendering it inherently safer than any blood-derived protein. Genetech knew that the factor VIII project would challenge the outer limits of gene-cloning technology. Somatostatin had 14 amino acids; insulin had 51. Factor VIII had 2,350. To succeed, the gene cloners would need to use new cloning technologies   Both the somatstatin and insulin genes had been created from scratch by stitching together bases of DNA. But factor VIII gene was far too large to be created using DNA chemistry. To isolate the factor VIII gene, Genetech would need to tpull the native gene out of human cells. Tom Maniatis of GI, found a solution: he had pioneered the technology to build genes out of RNA   templateds using reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that could build DNA from RNA. Reverse transcriptase made it possible to clone a gene after the intervening stuffer sequences had been snipped off by the cells splicing apparatus. In April, 1983, both Genentech and GI announced that they had purified recombinant factor VIII in test tubes a blood-clotting factor untainted by human blood. The production of factor VIII from its gene broke an important conceptual ground. The fears of Asilomar had been perfectly inverted. And gene cloning had emerged as potentially the safest way to produce a medical product for human use.  

gene therapy :: essays research papers

Gene Therapy is hope or disaster for Human Being? ◊Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DNA determines the placement of amino acids according to DNA sequences. A specific chain of amino acids composes a specific protein that plays the essential functions in the bodies. The defect of the gene, however, results in producing wrong protein; as a result, some part of the bodies abnormally works compared to that of other normal bodies. This is called ?gGenetic Disorder?h. The scientists studied about genetic disorder and suggested an alternative for genetic disorder called ?gGene Therapy?h. Recently, gene therapy is useful to cure other diseases such as a cancer or other. (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/genetherapy.shtml http://www.asgt.org/ ) ◊History of Gene Therapy David suffered from a rare inherited disease known as adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA). He spent all his life in a germ-free plastic bubble, because gene causes a lack of enzyme that helps immune system to fight disease from outside. In 1984, he received a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, cells from donator?fs marrow attacked his body. As a result, he was died after a year. This event was a big issue at that time and scientists studied gene therapy to stop this bad event. In 1989, at first, W.French Anderson and a team at the National Institutes of Health gained permission for experiment to inject gene into human beings. In 1900, at first, he applied gene therapy to 4 year girl who suffered from adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA). He extracted T- lymphocytes from her bloodstream and injected gene-corrected T lymphocytes to her with a normal gene function for ADA; then he repeated a few times more. After a year, she lives as a normal kid. Her treatment was successful. In 1 991, 9 years old girl was applied to this gene therapy and her treatment was also successful. (http://www.frenchanderson.org/history/history.asp, Mapping our genes by Lois Wingerson, Medical Dilemma by Margaret O.Hyde& Elizabeth H. Forsyth. M.D.) ◊Gene Therapy Today, basic theory of gene therapy is that normal gene is inserted into genome to replace disease caused gene. The gene by itself, however, is almost impossible to get the target cell. To deliver gene successfully, a carrier called vector is necessary and virus is good for delivering gene, because virus genetically approaches human genes. Virus, however, can have a potential toxic or respond a massive immune system. In fact, some people died because of that. For this reason, scientists tried to find replacement of virus as vector. The most common virus for vector is adenovirus that causes cold.

Mobile Phones :: essays research papers

The Mobile Revolution Rakesh Mohan Hallen By March 2004 the total number of cell phone users in India exceeded 3 crores. Experts call it a mobile revolution. People from all walks of life, of all ages use them. They carry it in their hands, pockets or purses. One can find advertisements related to cell phones anywhere: roads, newspapers, and television. Theoretically one can contact a person carrying a mobile (cell phone) anywhere, anytime. But few are aware of the technology that makes it possible. It is not very difficult to become aware of its nitty-gritties. How it works To use a cell phone one needs a handset. The handset of a cell phone, as you might have seen, has a small screen at one end and a panel of buttons below it. Some handsets have a small antenna that is protruding out from its, but it is not universal. Some modern handsets are foldable so that when not in use the panel of buttons is not visible, these handsets have a larger screen that can display colour pictures also. The essential component of the technology that make cell phone possible are networks of a large number of radio transmitters/receivers. Each cell phone company has a network of this kind that is controlled in each city/state by its central office known as MTSO (Mobile Telephone Switching Office) . You know that our body is made up of many cells. These networks are also cellular akin to the body of any animal. The area covered by a cell phone company, a city or a state, for its services is divided into zones that are called its cells. Thus the network of a cellular company is made up of many such cells. Each of these cells has a moderately sized radio transmitter/receiver and a microprocessor based instrument somewhat like a computer, located at a place known as its base station. Base stations can communicate with each other. They can easily located in a town/city because of the prominent size of their antenna above some buildings. A cell phone handset is also a low power radio transmitter/receiver. It can transmit as well as receive electromagnetic waves from its closest base station when it is powered on. As soon as one turns on a cell phone handset it listens for SID (System Identification Code - a unique 5-digit number that is assigned to each carrier by the central authority say TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and is programmed into each handset when it is activated by a company.

Revitalization of the Daugava Riverside by the City of Riga

Urban contextHistory and urban construction alterationsRiga is the capital of Latvia which is a Northern state of Europe. The metropolis is good known by the Historic country inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 4 December 1997, is considered of one of the largest and dynamic metropolis in Northern Europe whit the entire country is 304,2 square kilometres and the population around 713,000 in dwellers. The Riga metropolis has a really long and copiousness history which has a great influence to the urban context of the metropolis. Particularly in the 19Thursdayand 20Thursdaycentury, when World War I and World War II occurred, the state is under controlled of Russian Empire ( 1721 – 1917 ) , Germany ( 1917 – 1918, 1941 – 1944 ) and Soviet Union ( 1940 – 1941, 1944 – 1991 ) which changes the civilization every bit good as the manner of life of people, the urban construction and architectural of the whole metropolis is varied and complex. During the clip of the Russian Empire and Germany, Riga is a seaport metropolis which is the most vivacious and dynamic with over 800,000 industrial workers from Baltic state, Riga become the 3rd largest metropolis in term of the figure of workers after Moscow and Saint Peterburg. The value of the Daugava river and its waterfront was enhanced but it is dominated for ports and mills. As a consequence, the population of Riga metropolis increased rapidly which went along with the demand of lodging and infinites. More houses were built but harmonizing to Russian military ordinance, the people merely have the permission to construct wooden house in suburbs. In 1812, the wooden houses were destroyed by war and they were rebuilt but still follow the old wooden signifier. In mid-nineteenth century, the wooden houses have raised in figure and became surrounded the metropolis centre. These houses nowadays is a heritage and affects strongly to the preservation policy and urban theory. In 1860, a new maestro program with avenue, blocks of flat, alternate edifice and park were established. A new rail route was opened which stimulated the development of suburbs and mills, Riga port at that clip has the highest gross in Russian Empire, the river bank was developed rapidly. It led to a consequence that the economic system and the metropolis life existed with a strong connexion which is the chief quality of the development undertaking in the hereafter. In the period of So Viet Union, a new urban program was approved with the building of the big graduated table lodging undertaking every bit known as â€Å"mikrorayon† and the railway belt environing the metropolis centre. Besides that, the construction with the critical tallness such as Television tower ( 368m ) , Latvian academy of scientific discipline ( 108m ) were built, along with it Numberss of architecture tendencies were appeared in the urban context of Riga and one of those is the Art Nouveau which have specific architecture and the restriction of constructing tallness of 5 narratives. The alterations in urban construction in the Soviet Union times have the sinewy impacts to the policy of preservation in the current clip every bit so as the high restriction of edifice in the metropolis. Riga metropolis from holding independency boulder clay now ( 1991 – now ) has the important development. After 1995, metropolis started to reconstruct the valuable edifice and lodging which is considered as a roar in building at that clip, the service and new map edifices was established in the suburbs, efforts have been made to recover cultural symbol, historic value and houses which are lost after the 2nd World War. In the Riga particular program of 2006 – 2025, the new Riga centre has been created with the visions: planned as an country which is contrast the Old Riga in the right bank of Daugava river in a modern architecture and construction, full of map and services in which concern maps play as an of import function. Reduction in conveyance force per unit area in the Old Riga centre where the old circulation system to guarantee the saving intent of the old site. An international competition was hold by City of Riga to plan the new Riga along the left bank of the D augava River at that clip.Site contextThe riverbank of Daugava screens really larges districts in the entire cityscape country and travel along with the development of Riga through historical timeline when the metropolis economic system and day-to-day life have a stable nexus with the river Bankss. From the clip when Riga was found until now, the river has an every indispensable portion non merely because it is a metropolis natural component but besides the finding in planning and spacial individuality of the metropolis. For illustration, during the clip of Russian Empire and Soviet Union, because of the great function in H2O transit and industry, the metropolis construction has changed for the intent of functioning lodging for employees and edifice railway countries. From the really shortly period of 13Thursdaycentury, the substructure of Riga metropolis was changed, for functioning and linking seafaring with river transit by flatboats on Daugava, the merchandisers in Riga have cre ated a vivacious trading metropolis centre, the circulation system, constructing quality and unfastened infinite was improved for lading concern and burden. Until the 19Thursdaycentury, as a consequence of the rapid industrialisation, the development of railroads web and the embankment of port installations, the component of the ricer such as: islands, waterfront, etc. was transformed with the edifice of industrial objects and warehouses. It is assumed to be a comfortable clip of Riga Port every bit known as the major port of the Russian Empire. At the beginning of 20Thursdaycentury, a portion of Riga port was still situated right opposite the Old metropolis centre. The map of the market and the seaport was terminal in 1930 when the Central Market was established and broad public infinite were created in the metropolis centre. In World War II, the river Bankss of Daugava were destroyed, until 1949, they were reconstruct for basic and local transit demands. The port developed stronge r in lower Daugava, near the Bay of Riga. At the same clip, the developing industrialised countries along the riverbank appeared architecturally distractively and forestall the handiness of citizens. Presents, Riga metropolis has a develop program to work and reconstruct the value of the left bank and the right bank of Daugava river. The bing issue is traversing the river by Bridgess causes traffic jams in haste hours because of the high rise of autos and personal transit means. The infinites of Daugava river is defined by its derelict Bankss and aquatorium which is non considered to be a portion of incorporate urban environment in physically and psychologically. But due to the impacts in spacial composing and urban development in the yesteryear, the Daugava river can be understood as ‘the river of possibilities’( Dace Kalvane, 2010 ) . Its infinites can do a general position of metropolis position and lift. However, the handiness is prevent by bing substructures such as: span entree inclines and arterial roads which take downing the chances of river Bankss redevelopment and interaction for public community with waterfronts. The busy traffic flows separate the walkin g waies and diversion zones from the river Bankss. There is a deficiency of bike roads system in Daugava river countries. Those things led to a consequence that the river is about abandoned, it became more clearly when the old developments which were created in the yesteryear have lost their function in metropolis economic system and current developments have no connexion to the river. The development schemes for Riga metropolis from 2006 to 2025 expect to animate the nexus with Daugava for doing an active waterfront. Therefore, a varied enlargement of the riverbanks from different countries such as: container port and ware house country will be developed. The building of commercial, touristry sites, prosaic walk ways and bike roads which start from the suburbs to metropolis centre would be an interesting vision of substructures.Undertaking analysingUndertaking debutThe building, revival of Daugava riverbank and new modern urban one-fourth every bit good as its jobs in development has become a challenge and chief inquiry in several competitions and workshops hold by the City of Riga. One of those is the completion named â€Å"The prospective building on Mukusalas Street, Buru Street un Kilevina Ditch† occurred in 2006 to 2007. As the victor of this competition, the undertaking called â€Å"City of squares metropolis of towers† introduced a big country of new urban tissue on the left bank of Daugava river which is opposite with Old Riga centre and has the chief quality is the H2O elements and its of import function in the history. The undertaking belongs to the extension of protected UNESCO zone. The proposed maestro program includes the development of a system of squares, public infinites, mix-used edifice and flexibleness. Those squares and towers contribute in specifying their active surrounding and construction country. Furthermore, supplying feasible rules to guarantee an articulated brotherhood become more cardinal than the elements create it. The chief points of this undertaking is the systems of squares and tower which create the frame position of develop country of Riga metropolis. The new develop country is the theoretical account of long-run vison of the metropolis, make a new full map which portion the force per unit area of transit and dweller with the Old Riga centre, assisting in saving the civilization and heritage which is the most point attended in undertaking over the universe in by and large and in Europe peculiarly. In the article â€Å"Measuring urban heritage preservation: theory and structure† by Silvio Mendes Zancheti and Lucia Tone Ferreira Hidaka. They mentioned: â€Å"The sustainable preservation of urban heritage sites depends on the care of their present and past significances† . To make the end of sustainable

Leonardo de Pisa

Leonardo of Pisa or Fibonacci and the Issue of Moneylenders NFaly Konate Texas A&M University – Central Texas FIN 590 Dr. Mary Kelly Summer 2012 Northern Italy in the early thirteen century was a land subdivided into multiple feuding city-states. Among the many remnants of defunct Roman Empire was a numerical system (I, ii, iii, iv†¦) singularly ill suited to complex mathematical calculation, let alone the needs of commerce. Nowhere was this more of a problem than in Pisa, where merchants also had to contend with seven different forms of coinage in circulation.By comparison, economical life in the Eastern world was far more advanced, just as it had been in the time of Charlemagne. To discover modern finance, Europe needed to import it. In this, a young mathematician called Leonardo of Pisa, or Fibonacci played a crucial role. Leonardo Fibonacci also known as Leonardo Pisano, Leonardo of Pisa,  was the greatest European mathematician of the middle ages. He was born in Pi sa in Italy circa 1170 and died sometime after 1240.Leonardo’s father, Gugliemo, was a customs official and engaged in commerce representing Pisa at Bougie on the north coast of Africa. Young Leonardo consequently received a Moorish education as well as the traditional European education and was introduced to Hindu-Arabic numbers. Later on, he traveled about the Mediterranean visiting Egypt, Syria, Greece, Sicily and Provence, meeting with scholars and becoming acquainted with the various arithmetical systems used by the merchants.In his book, the Liber abaci, which fills 459 printed pages, he explained the most perfect methods of calculating with whole numbers and with fractions, practice, extraction of the square and cube roots, proportion, chain rule, finding of proportional parts, averages, progressions, even compound interest, just as in the completest mercantile arithmetic of later days. They teach further the solution of problems leading to equations of the first and s econd degree, to determinate and indeterminate equations, not by single and double position only, but by real algebra, proved by means of geometric onstructions, and including the use of letters as symbols for known numbers, the unknown quantity being called res and its square census. The book is also largely responsible for introducing Arabic numerals to Europe. Leonardo of Pisa is also considered a Key Player in the Finance because of his introduction of Hindu-Arabic numerals. Finally, he not only gave Europe the decimal system, which makes all kinds of calculation far easier than with Roman numerals, he also showed how it could be applied to commercial bookkeeping, to currency conversions and crucially, to the calculation of interest.References 1) Ferguson, N (2008). Dreams of Avarice. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. (Pages 33-36). Penguin Books. 2) MM Del Rosario (no date). Retrieved June 12, 2012, from: http://mmdelrosario. hubpages. com/hub/leonardo-fibo nacci 3) NNDB Tracking the World (no date). Retrieved June 12, 2012, from: http://www. nndb. com/people/922/000095637/

Business Management Danone

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ————————————————- CONTENTS PAGE introduction3 literature review4 swot analysis4 external factors4 organizational structures5 hofstede’s theory5 cultural elements5 motivation6 danone’s analysis7 I- strategic analysis7 1- DANONE’s industry7 2- swot analysis8 3- exploring new opportunities 11 II- organizational analysis12 1- external factors12 2- DANONE’s organizational strucure13 3- home country’s culture impact15 – DANONE’s motivational system16 conclusion and recommendations 18 bibliography19 appendices21 ————————————————- INTRODUCTION We have chosen the group DANONE because it is a world-famous leading French group, which is often recognised for its management leadership. DANONE is a food-produc ts multinational corporation based in Paris. It is the world leader in fresh dairy products, 2nd in bottled water and baby food and European leader in clinical nutrition.Business Management Study GuideBeing a leader in these 4 segments corresponding to the heavy trends of consumption and deriving more than 50% of its turnover from developing countries have helped the Group to secure a 6,9 % growth in 2010 despite the down turn of world economy. It is obvious that to be able to be successful on these highly competitive markets, a company owes to apply a good strategy. The group is also supported by an effective communication and by a strong involvement in Research and development where they spend 1% of their global turn over.But above all these, with its fast development in emerging countries often through joint ventures and its switch in 2007 of 40% of its activities from biscuits to baby and clinical food, what has been critical to insure its success through these drastic changes h as been the management of the group under the strong leadership of Franck Riboud who succeeded, as chairman and CEO of DANONE, to his father Antoine in 1996.Through this study, we shall show how DANONE possesses a real identity very present in its management and organization and that this cultural model, initiated since the early 70’s by Antoine Riboud and enhanced by Frank Riboud, has been key to the Group success. ————————————————- LITERATURE REVIEW * SWOT analysis â€Å"A strategic planning tool that includes external and internal factors and is utilized by businesses and other organizations to ensure that there is a clear objective defined for the project or venture, and that all factors related to the effort – positive and negative – are identified and addressed. (Tatum, 2010) The SWOT’s process involves four areas of consideration: * Stre ngths: characteristics of the business or team that give it an advantage over others in the industry. * Weaknesses: are characteristics that place the firm at a disadvantage relative to others. * Opportunities: external chances to make greater sales or profits in the environment. * Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business. Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs. External factors According to David Buchanan and Andrzej Huczynski (5th edition), external factors of a business organization include: * Macro-environment factors (PESTLE analysis): â€Å"identifying the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Ecological factors affecting an organization. † * Micro-environment factors (Porter’s â€Å"Five Forces†): * Competitive rivalry * Threat of new entry * Buyer power * Threat of substit ution * Supplier power * Organizational structuresBased again on David Buchanan and Andrzej Huczynski (5th edition), organizational structure is: â€Å"The format system of task and reporting relationships that controls, coordinates and motivates employees so that they work together to achieve organizational goals. † The purpose of organization structure is, first, to divide up organizational activities and allocate them to sub-units and, second, to co-ordinate and control theses activities so that they achieve the aims of the organization. * Hofstede’s Theory You can read also Portfolio Management QuizzesHofstede’s research gives us insights into other cultures so that we can be more effective when interacting with people in other countries. As it was clearly defined at Alan Godsave’s lecture (2011), Hofestede’s cultural dimensions are: * Individualism: People look after selves and immediate family only. * Masculinity: dominant social values are success, money, and things. * Power distance: Less powerful members accept that power is distributed unequally. * Uncertainty avoidance: people feel threatened by ambiguous situations; create beliefs/institutions to avoid such situations. * Time and Relationship dimensions. Cultural Elements According to Bauer and Erdogan (2009):  «Ã‚  Culture can be understood in terms of seven different culture dimensions, depending on what is most emphasized within the organization. For example, innovative cultures are flexible and adaptable, and they experiment with new ideas, while stab le cultures are predictable, rule-oriented, and bureaucratic. Strong cultures can be an asset or a liability for an organization but can be challenging to change. Organizations may have subcultures and countercultures, which can be challenging to manage.  » Culture dimensions (the organization culture profile): Innovative * Aggressive * Outcome-oriented * Stable * People-oriented * Team-oriented * Detail-oriented * Motivation â€Å"The cognitive, decision-making process through which goal-directed behaviour is initiated, energized, and directed and maintained. †(David Buchanan and Andrzej Huczynski, 5th edition) Motivation can be regarded as a broad concept, which includes preferences for particular outcomes, strength of effort (half-hearted or enthusiastic) and persistence (in the face of barriers). These are the factors that we have to understand in order to explain our motivation and behaviour.These are the factors that a manager has to appreciate in order to motivate em ployees to behave in organizationally desirable ways. ————————————————- ANALYSIS I – STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 1 – DANONE’S INDUSTRY History, according to DANONE official website, www. danone. fr The original company bearing the corporate name was founded in 1919 by Isaac Carasso in Barcelona (Spain) as a small factory producing yoghurt initially sold in Pharmacy. The factory was named Danone, a Catalan diminutive of the name of his first son. Ten years later, the first French factory was built. Also you can read  Business Ethics ComprisesIn 1967, Danone merged with Gervais, the leading fresh cheese producer in France and became Gervais Danone. Another branch of Group Danone descended from industrial glassmaker BSN, which was founded by the family of Antoine Riboud. He transformed BSN into one of Europe's leading food groups in the 1970s through a series of acquisitions and mergers, including the 1973 merger with Gervais Danone. The acquisitions initially took the shape of vertical integration, acquiring brewer Kronenbourg and Evian mineral water that were the glassmaker's largest customers. In 1973, the company merged with Gervais Danone and began to expand internationally.In 1979, the company abandoned glassmaking. In 1987, Gervais Danone acquired European biscuit manufacturer General Biscuit, owners of the LU brand, and, in 1989, it bought out the European biscuit operations of Nabisco. In 1994, BSN changed its name to Groupe Danone, adopting the name of the groupâ€⠄¢s best-known international brand. Franck Riboud succeeded his father, Antoine, as the company's chairman and CEO in 1996. Under Riboud junior, the company continued to pursue its focus on three product groups (dairy, beverages, and cereals) and divested itself of several activities, which had become non-core.From 1999 to 2006, the group sold its glass-containers business, its European and Chinese beer activities, its Italian cheese and meat businesses, and its sauces business. Despite these divestitures, Danone continues to expand internationally in its 3 core business units, emphasising health and well-being products. In July 2007, it was announced that Danone had reached agreement with Kraft to sell its biscuits division, including the LU and Prince brands. Also in July 2007 Danone bought the Dutch baby food and clinical nutrition company Numico creating the world's second largest manufacturer of baby food.Facts 2010 Sales: 17 080 million euros Operational profit: 2 578 million euros. Employees: 101 000 Factories: 159 World Ranking in the food industry: 5th CAC 40 (Paris stock exchange) ranking in capitalization: 9th Activities, Brands (DANONE official data and information, available at www. danone. com) – Fresh dairy products: with 20 % of the world market (35 % in certain countries) and a presence in about forty countries, Danone is the leader on this market. This activity, representing 57 % of the turnover of the Group, recorded an increase of 6,5 % in 2010.The strategy of the Group within the world market of the dairy products is to lean on innovations products centred on â€Å"helping your health † and on local adaptation of its brands. Main brands: Danone, first world mark with Danone, Actimel, Activia, Danonino (Small Gervais in Fruits), Vitalinea (Taillefine, Vitasnella or Ser in some countries), Danacol, Gervita and Dany. – Packaged waters: This activity, representing 17 % of the turnover of the Group, recorded an increase of 5,3 % in 2010. Main brands: Evian (world 1st bottled water), Volvic, Aqua, Bonafont and Font Vella Baby food: This activity, representing 20 % of the turnover of the Group, recorded an increase of 8,9 % in 2010. Main brands: Bledina, Gallia, Nutricia, Nutrini, Milupa, Cow&Gate, Bebiko. – Clinical nutrition: this last pole, representing 6% of the turnover, recorded a 9% increase in 2010. Main brands: Nutricia, fortimel, Nutrison http://danone10. danone. com/vignettes/fr/html_danone10/docs/Principaux_indicateurs_2010_FR. pdf 2 – SWOT ANALYSIS * INTERNAL * STRENGTHS Promotion * A brand more than a company Legitimacy to impose its products. * Master in marketing (copied by Unilever and Nestle). Take advantage of a strong image as specialist of food with health connotation. The group strengthen its scientific credibility by clinical studies (DANONE institute). * Derive World fame, thanks to Evian, the world famous brand of water. Price * Capacity to impose its prices thanks to its notoriety and its image. * Possibility of imposing high prices with regard to the market health connotation. Distribution – Notoriety Allows a referencing in all distribution channels. – The standardization / globalization of its products allows to answer at universal needs, optimizing their global distribution. Margin of important negotiation market share and spectacular notoriety. – Model geographically well balanced with half of the turnover in emerging countries, 10% in the USA and the rest in Western Europe. – Possibility of self-financing in the case of new subsidiaries important financial capacities. Product * Strong capacities of innovation all over the world. * Adaptation to foreign consumer habits. * Benefit from an excellent mastering of its businesses specificity – know how to make. * Have at the same time a portfolio of international brands and very robust local positions. Strong trust and loyalty of the consumers to products ( due to the quality control). Organization * Benefit from a healthy financial structure and a good level of internal growth. * Unique flexible decentralised organisation * The most powerful food Group in the sector of the health. * Intensification of the strategy of growth. * Have competitive advantages (brands, distribution network) unique in 2 businesses (Water, Dairy products). * WEAKNESSES Promotion * Sued for misleading advertising. Price * Increase of the level of the prices due to high cost price of raw packaging materials.Place * The policy of standardization of products makes potentially difficult taking into account the sociocultural differences or the taste differences of the various populations. Product * The policy of standardization is a barrier to operate adjustments produced according to the evolutions of markets or the changes of trend. * The globalization is a difficulty to take into account the strategies of differentiations of the competitors, in particular at the level of a specific country. * The brands are the main asset of the company.Organization * DANONE’s model may be difficult to be accepted over corporate culture and differences of management in various countries. * Difficulties to integrate exogenous elements into its culture. * EXTERNAL * OPPORTUNITIES Offer – Opportunities of external growth through Potential foreign partners seduced by: * The respect and the conservation of the partner’s corporate culture * The understanding of his culture before a proposition of common projects * The cultural footbridges in favour of ideas and knowledge sharing. The quality of the industrial and marketing know-how facilitate the co-branding with the other brands on the other markets. Demand – Expanding market (convenience goods). – A large number of countries remain to be converted to fresh dairy products as well as bottled water (developing countries). – Even in times of crisis the most basic needs of consumers is food. Influences * Healthy food became a major subject and is widely followed and supported by the consumers and the legislation (preventive campaigns against the obesity). * THREATS Offer * Strong direct competition by hard discounters and store brands. Strong competition in the field of the water PepsiCo (Aquafina) and Nestle (Perrier). * Inflationary environment of dairy products. * Increasing Costs of the communications often involving to part from certain brands. * Anchored in a very competitive system link to the expansion of its market. Demand * Versatility of the demand linked to the diversity of the offer on the food market. Influences * Governmental campaigns concerning the health potential problem of excessive consumption of fresh dairy product. 3 – EXPLORING NEW OPPORTUNITIES * According to le Figaro website (www. efigaro. fr), since August 2011 DANONE is experimenting its own â€Å"fast food† restaurant and corners in France under the name â⠂¬Å"Danone bar† to sale yogurts. If it works the model could be duplicated first in various cities in France and then major cities in other countries where the dairy product are consumed essentially at home and not outside. (Please, see picture N °2) * Based on web and luxe website (www. webandluxe. com), Evian is also experimenting home delivery in Paris, based on the fact that some customers are reluctant to buy themselves bottle water packs because of their weight.If it works this idea could also be duplicated in major cities. Furthermore Evian claims that it will help with its carbon print as these deliveries are made with electrical cars. * Evian has also opened a new website, (www. myevian. com), were customers can buy customized bottles with their name or a specific date/event engraved with laser on the bottle. (Please, see picture N °3) * Savia, a new range of soy-based milk and yogurts, made its debut in southern Europe in 2009, and in France Taillefine, the brand that invented light dairy products, launched a new line of fruit desserts in partnership with Andros, a leading fruit processor. www. danone. fr) II – ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS 1 – EXTERNAL FACTORS * PESTEL ANALYSIS We redacted this part of the work based on external factors’literrature review. * Political factors. Up to now there are four types of political factors potentially affecting Danone: * The â€Å"Danone† Amendment that the french government passed in 2005 to protect the group and its minority shareholders from a rumoured take over by PepsiCo * The potential threat of an increase in customs taxes between Europe, Asia (most of all china), and NAFTA due to the world economic crisis. Increased Government campaign for public health against obesity will be likely to increase the group sales. * Change in the European Union agricultural subsidies will affect strongly the milk producers thus having a strong impact on the European business of Danone. * Ec onomic factors. * Rate of exchange of Euro versus Yuan and Dollar may play a role in the sales of European made products elsewhere but through joint ventures in a number of countries, this risk/opportunity is downsized for the group. * General slow down of world economy but so far the group has a growth higher than the world average. Increased demand of better food product in Asia, India and Brazil with the average standard of living increasing have a positive impact. * Increase price of raw materials, due to tightening of supply vs. demand, such as plastic, will have a strong impact on packaging cost  which represents a significant part of the product cost in bottled water: the growth of water revenues in 2010 was lower than the growth in quantities because of this factor. * Social factors. * Except for Africa the world population is ageing, this will have a potential positive impact on the demand for healthy food (activia†¦ and in the richest countries for clinical food but it twill impact adversely the infant food segment. * On the long run this may also have an impact on the workforce but for the next decade Danone work force is relatively young. * Increased awareness of the population of all ages to the positive or negative health effect of food. * Increased demand for fair trade may increase the price Danone has to pay to milk producer in non-or poorly regulated areas like Africa. * Technological factors: New biotechnologies, molecules or proteines may increase the credibility and effectiveness of cosmetic and health food thus giving an edge to Danone which has focussed its strategy on these segment since much more time than its main competitors and have the research facilities to do so. * Environmental factors: * The growing scarcity of good drinkable water may increase the sales of the water division, as it has already been the case in some countries like Spain. Greater requirements for recycling of plastic packaging and lowering carbon print ma y lead to the need of a change in Danone’s packaging and distribution.They have already thought about it through home delivery of water and reutilisation of empty bottle as mentioned before. * Legal factors: * The recent case of Danone being sued for misleading advertising on the supposed health benefit of some of its products (Actimel) may have further implications and force it to change substantially its line of communication. 2 – DANONE’S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE † A structure is all the functions and the relations determining formally the missions and the functions which every unit of the organization has to achieve and the modes of collaboration between these units † (STRATEGOR, 1993) HIERARCHY SYSTEM Danone organization is built in a way to increase flexibility and efficiency, optimize integration of employees in the group and facilitate functional, geographical and cultural synergies. It is basically a division type organization. (Please, see picture 4) In the classification of international groups introduced by Howard Perlmutter, Danone is a geocentric firm: An equal sharing of power and responsibility between headquarters and subsidiary; senior management promoted according to ability rather than nationality; subsidiaries that share worldwide objectives with managers focusing beyond national market interests.In Danone the benefits of cultural diversity, such as knowledge of local customers and business practices, are harnessed for the good of the firm as a whole. Local divisions must identify aspects of diversity that are most important to them and their operations and take the lead in expressing and managing these differences. Discussion, interaction, cross-divisional teamwork and job rotation, support, awareness, and understanding go alongside training programs, language courses, and cultural assimilation.It is typically a  «Ã‚  think globally, act locally  Ã‚ » company. * DANONE’S LOCATION IN ACCORDANCE W ITH HOFSTEDE’S THEORY * Individualism: This dimension is certainly medium-low in Danone. People are expected to do cross-divisional teamwork and loyalty to the group rather than individuals is highly valued. In return each division and functions know that they can count on the others when facing a problem. * Masculinity: This is a dimension were the cultural aspect of France and Danone’s CEO personalities have plaid an important part in Danone’s culture.The score of France and in general Latin countries is not very high. Furthermore the fact that an important part of the business is now done in developing countries where this dimension is low have reinforced this aspect. So we would say that Danone is certainly more â€Å"feminine†. This could explain also that so far the US is not one of Danone’s main markets because of its strong masculinity cultural component. * Power distance: Like most international group with a divisional type organization, p ower distance is relatively low to medium.Inequalities among people will tend to be minimised, decentralisation of activities is important, subordinates expect to be consulted by superiors, and privileges and status symbols are less evident. However it is also * Uncertainty avoidance: Being a group dealing with the food market, the standardization of products, brands, common values world wide are a way to avoid as much as possible uncertainty. On the other hand the Group has to adapt permanently to external elements as we will see in the Pestel analysis so from our point of view, uncertainty avoidance dimension is medium to high. Time and Relationship dimensions. According to Frank Riboud and Myriam Cohen-Welgryn (2011), Danone is looking at the long term:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"A company cannot succeed in the long run if it turns its back on the society it is a part of, if it only looks to its short-term economic gain. †. Their strategic move in 2007 when they sold the world N ° 2 bisc uit division in exchange of infant and clinical food brand is certainly a proof of that. On the other hand Danone is a company strongly engaged in the immediate social wellness of its employee and countries where they have factories.All this cultural and strategic aspect of the Group was well summarized by Antoine Riboud in the 90’s: â€Å"The most successful companies are the ones who think simultaneously about the technological change, the contents of the work and the change of the internal social connections in the company. † 3 – HOME COUNTRY’S CULTURE IMPACT * DETERMINING ELEMENTS OF DANONE’S CULTURE First of all DANONE is a multinational group which wants to share and transmit it own values in all countries where it’s implanted. Based on DANONE official website (www. danone. om), DANONE has four important values that have to be passed on through their products and their commitments all over the world: * The openness: this value includes various notions such as the open-mindedness, the curiosity and valuing diversity. * The enthusiasm: It symbolizes the desire and capacity to take risks and explore new, not to mention the conviction to surpass oneself and to take some pleasure by working. * The humanism: DANONE wants to accentuate the fact that the group pays attention to the safety of people and products. Likewise it is environmentally friendly. * The proximity: The group pay attention to their customers.Indeed it’s essential for DANONE to be tuned into the expectations but also the complaints of these customers. In addition as DANONE is a French company there are other values, which come from its home country’s culture: First the idea to have a well-balanced diet by eating products of good qualities and with good taste is an important cultural subject for a large number of Frenchs. There is a growing awareness that a bad diet has direct consequences on people’s health, but also major economic consequences in terms of public health costs. Second French have a big craze for the environmentally policy.Indeed since a few years the sustainable development and the ecology are very present notions in the life of everyone. So DANONE tries to convey these same notions through their products as well as within their advertisements all over the world. All these notions are at the core of DANONE’s mission. * CULTURE IMPACT ON EACH OTHER The four core values and the French influence described here above are a frame in which the team of each division and each country where DANONE is present, have to adapt taking into consideration to their own cultural specificity as mentioned before.In fact it is perfectly in line with the openness value so the model is not rigid. When DANONE wants to open a new market in a country which culture is quite different from its own, they usually do so by incorporating joint venture with strong national partners like they did in Russia (10% of their sales in 2010) or China. The only core value, which they consider as non-negotiable, is humanism. So DANONE is typically a  «Ã‚  think globally, act locally  Ã‚ » company. 4 – DANONE’S MOTIVATIONAL SYSTEM * COMPANY’S MOTIVATIONAL ELEMENTSWe know that a growing gap between the aspiration of the employees and the practices of companies is source of additional costs and loss of performance. That is why, to DANONE, the motivation of the employees is an imperative condition of the company’s growth. The group DANONE often insists on the need of permanent growth to preserve its leader's place on the market. This growth requires consistently an outstanding performance, which supposes that the company can lean on committed employees. Consequently, DANONE insure on a regular basis that the 3 main conditions for optimum employee’s commitment are fulfilled: The company is in sync with its culture and its values – He is proud to belong to a leading group; – He is certain that his employer assumes the development of his skills. To strengthen the motivation of the employees and their commitment, the group DANONE tries to establish, on a regular basis, a correlation between the practices of management and the growth of the units. To do it, regular questionnaires are submitted to the managers and DANONE, from time to time, widen these survey to its thousands employees. More concretely the group DANONE insists more particularly on the autonomy and the sharing between employees: We rely on the autonomy of management of our subsidiaries and what we call the networking attitude. It means that, when an employee meets a problem, he has to have the reflex not to turn around towards his boss, but rather to exchange with his counterpart, wherever he turns out to be in the world, to find the solution. We forged a series of tools to share the knowledge and exchange good practises for the specialists of every domain (finances, human re sources, industry, marketers). † (Franck Mougin’s interview, 2006, available at www. lexpress. fr) ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE’S EFFICIENCY Since 2002 DANONE’s HR, supported by Frank Riboud, has developed several tools to increase efficiency of the organization, based on the fact that they are too  «Ã‚  small  Ã‚ » compared with their competitors Nestle or PepsiCo to  «Ã‚  reinvent the wheel  Ã‚ ». So they have started knowledge â€Å"marketplaces† and â€Å"sharing networks†Ã¢â‚¬â€to help employees connect with each other and share good practices horizontally rather than relying on hierarchical lines of communication. In 10 years DANONE employees shared almost 1000 good practices with colleagues.The Networking Attitude had made practical information accessible to about 70% of the more than 9,000 DANONE managers around the world. Best of all these programs, which are conducted within the timeframe of more formal meetings, incurred very little cost and were considered highly successful by 90 % of general managers, according to an internal survey. The HR top management worked also on â€Å"co-building events† where employees from different units within DANONE networked with the goal of creating new practices or products rather than sharing existing ones. http://www. duperrin. com/2008/04/21/comment-danone-fait-de-sa-culture-un-levier-de-performance/) These programs didn’t fit in so easily. They required lots of energy and preparation from HR and took time to be accepted in some part of the world where discussing serious business issue with lower rank colleagues or wearing costumes- as it was recommended during marketplace events- was contrary to local culture. Despite these first reluctances it does work and the most obvious result is that DANONE start launching new products 3 times faster than its competitors. Franck MOUGIN ; Benedikt BENENAT/avril 2005/ Danone se raconte des histoires, une version la tine du knowledge management/http://www. ecole. org) ————————————————- CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Frank Riboud, CEO Danone said: â€Å"At Danone we don’t talk about strategy, we react to the context around us. For me, it’s like a Lego box that you buy for your children. They start to play, trying to find a way to build the image on the Lego box. At the end of the day, they give up, throw out the box, and put the pieces away. The next weekend you put all the Lego pieces on the floor and then the strategy starts.They try to imagine something. Not what was on the box, but what they have in their heads. That is strategy at Danone for me: It’s Lego. † (Harvard business school, 2008) Since he took over in 1996, he did three very smart things. First, he directed to company’s focus towards health and nutrition. Second, he turned a Western Eur opean company into an international organization with operations worldwide. And third, he changed how the organization was managed. He created the expression â€Å"jeu de jambe†, or footwork, which perfectly describes Danone’s approach to dealing with many issues in a flexible way.With its focus on nutrition and promoting health through four product divisions, Danone appeared to have a clear strategy for the new century. As CEO, Riboud’s larger vision extended beyond ordinary customer segments to include promoting health to people throughout the world. In 2011 he acknowledges his father’s, Antoine, vision when he said in 1972 in front of a number of CEO of the biggest French companies: â€Å"Conduisons nos entreprises autant avec le coeur qu’avec la tete et n’oublions pas que si les ressources d’energie de la Terre ont des limites, celles de l’homme sont infinies s’il se sent motive. Let’s manage our companies as much with our heart as with our brain and let’s not forget that if earth resources are limited, the man’s one are infinite if he feels motivated. We believe that Antoine and Frank Riboud leadership and vision and their unique management way have leaded the Group to its success. ————————————————- BIBLIOGRAPHY Books: – David Buchanan and Andrzej Huczynski (2004) Organizational Behaviour. (5th Ed. ) FT Prentice Hall. – D. Buchanan – A. Huczynski (2010) Organizational Behaviour. 7th Ed. ) FT Prentice Hall. – Bauer and Erdogan (2009) Organizational Behaviour. FT Paperback. | Internet sources (International and French sources): – Tatum, M. (2010). What is SWOT Analysis? Available at: http://www. wisegeek. com/what-is-swot-analysis. htm (Accessed: 10 November 2011) – DANONE (2011). Our company. Available at: http://www. dan one. com/en/company/introduction. html (Accessed: 10 November 2011) – Groupe DANONE (2011). Historical background. Available at: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Groupe_Danone (Accessed: 10 November 2011) L’Ecole de Paris du management (2005) – Danone se raconte des histoires, une version latine du Knowledge management Franck Mougin interview. Available at: http://ecole. org/seminaires/FS1/SEM190/VA010405. pdf/view (Accessed: 12 November 2011) – LEXPRESS. fr (2006). Donner du sens au travail. Available at: http://www. lexpress. fr/emploi-carriere/laquo-donner-du-sens-au-travail-raquo_479442. html (Accessed: 15 November 2011) – LEFIGARO. fr – Economie (2011). Danone s’essaie au bar a yaourt. Available at: http://www. lefigaro. r/societes/2011/07/14/04015-20110714ARTFIG00454-danone-s-essaie-a-la-restauration-rapide. php (Accessed: 13 November 2011) – Le Journal du Net (2010). DANONE. Available at: http://www. journaldunet. com/dano ne/ (Accessed: 13 November 2011) – Web & Luxe – digital luxury magazine (2010). Myevian. com: la personalisation est aussi chez Evian. Available at: http://www. webandluxe. com/08/2010/myevian-com-la-personnalisation-est-aussi-chez-evian/ (Accessed: 13 November 2011) – Bloc-Notes de Bertrand Duperrin (2008). Comment DANONE fait de sa culture un levier de performance.Available at: http://www. duperrin. com/2008/04/21/comment-danone-fait-de-sa-culture-un-levier-de-performance/ (Accessed: 14 November 2011) ————————————————- APPENDICES Picture 1: The first yogurt Danone with a porcelain package sold in chemists in 1928 (Available at: http://tourisme. bienpublic. com/90-ans-de-Danone-les-8-yaourts-qui. html) Picture 2: The first Danone bar opened in august 2011 in a shopping mall near Paris. (Available at: http://www. lefigaro. fr/societes/2011/07/14/04015- 20110714ARTFIG00454-danone-s

Effective Advertising Essay

Advertising is considerably one of the vital strategies needed for a product or service to be known within a certain community. The scope of advertising has been highly controversial in the aspect of marketing nevertheless a towering issue in the political aspect as sought in elections and other forms of the like. Synthesis on effective advertising has been defined in accordance to the different models and theories presented in the literary aspect, which, of course has been collaborated with the context of practice. In the field of economics, it has been stressed that advertising consistently plays a vital role in shaping a proficient and efficient society beneficial on the glory it serves. As soon as printed symbols were invented the advertising man made use of them to give publicity to his merchandise (Sokotch, 2006). In recent times, advertisements are embossed on walls and tombs, in black and white on parchment and other paper entities, and are produced in publishing houses. Though these diverse forms of advertising were engaged, diminutive are considered and regard are not as effective as expected. Posters, painted signs, street-car placards, booklets, calendars, almanacs, handbills, magazine and newspaper advertising have now become forms of advertising so well established that we look upon them as a necessity, and are overwhelmed to find out that majority are up to date novelty (Tellis, 2003). However, it runs in the stream of cognitive, affective and behavioral pitches before one may thoroughly state that one’s mean of advertising is effective. Critical analysis on advertising in the contemporary society The verity of advertising in point of fact is focused in one set of audience alone. Take for example, for advertising in the market arena, the audience are the consumers; in the political arena, politicians advertise their platforms and propagandas in the light of the voters; while for research and other educational gains, it is in the hands of their respondents that they are able to complete their study—without these ‘audience’ it would be hard to comprehend why â€Å"advertisers† are so eager to let their â€Å"advertisement† out in the open with the milieu of persuasion and of encouragement over what they wish to imply (Michelet, 2006). Textbooks and other published materials would often lead to the fundamental concept of â€Å"Ivan Pavlov’s conditioning experiment† or that which has been used by Anne Sullivan, remarkably, the notion is coherent with the idea on advertising. The consumers represent Helen Keller and the advertiser is the teacher in the person of Anne Sullivan—motivation and persuasion, per se. Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism  There have been several deliberations on how advertising shall be crucially taken into basis of analysis. Apparently, critics has often addressed that media analysis collaborated with the arena of political, economical and socio-cultural context must not serve as grounds in identifying the ability of advertising and mass communications in empowering a contemporary capitalist society. Further, Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism connotes the perception—which by hand is used by fashion advertisers—that assessment of an effective advertisement falls on the utilization of a â€Å"model or person,† a product, a setting and text; hence it has also been cited that these forms of â€Å"advertising† is magnificently effective and never fails to capture the consumer-public (Karlsson, 2007). Conceivably, the Marxian theory all boils down to the fact that capitalism is legitimate since that it endows with the public with what they â€Å"want† and gradually fulfills their present needs, use, values and other sort of the like—corresponding to the ethics on exchange value, use value, surplus value, commodity fetishism and fickle-feeding. Strong’s AIDA Model The AIDA model is a behavioral approach which contains a purpose to uplift the verity of making an advertisement awareness-able, interest stimulating, and desire action-triggering dynamic in consumers. It is also considered as one of the most persuasive and highly efficient methods in advertising hence suggesting that for a certain advertisement to be effective, it has to be something that captivates attention leading to convincing the consumers that the product or service or whatever is advertised as interesting. Further, it must also have the ability to make the consumers crave for the product in the sense that they shall â€Å"desire† on it and finally for them to get attached with it and hopefully get a feedback that the advertising is effective. In a larger view with this model, it is important that the information being sent to the consumers is believable and memorable that even in the busy schedule of the consumers, or in the million of ideas processed by the mind each day, one’s advertisement is sought (Karlsson, 2007). Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results Theory This model presented by Russell Colley is popularly known as DAGMAR, of course, for the benefit of the masses, and a technique in memory building as well. Consequently, this communication strategy is known for its ability to send information without the utilization of excessive text or message. Its focal point falls on the level of understanding stating what the consumer must believe on an organization and at the same time to measure the efficiency of an advertising campaign (Bok, 2002). Further, it expresses the fact that there are four levels of understanding in advertisement and that the methods used in all commercial communications must come across that very objective. Hunching the four levels of understanding advertising the following are presented by the proponent: awareness of the existence of the organization advertising the brand, grasp on what the product is or is capable of, a rational suspicion or sagacity of conviction in buying the product and like the aforementioned methods, persuasion to act in availing the product advertised and have it stuck on their list (Karlsson, 2007). Lavidge and Steiner’s Heirarchy–of-effects model Published in the same time-frame as that of DAGMAR, this model raises the connotation that consumers possess a non-fickle personality hence consumers are skeptical in being convinced—not interested at all stake would be the fitting definition. Unlike the other theories, which stresses that all factors be cited in equal proportion, this model follows a liner path and insists that these factors are to be taken in a step-by-step basis (Karlsson, 2007). Awareness, knowledge, fondness, preference, conviction and purchase—the mentioned steps shape up this models apprehension. Moreover, the insistent point of this model expresses that consumers are wise enough not to be easily convinced, not unless they are holistically provided with the necessary details that they need inline with the kind of social standing that they have. French postmodernist theory of Jean Baudrillard: Theory of sign value Jean Baudrillard on the other hand, believed on the prowess of signs and symbols constituted by objects for that matter. Having a consumer society, the proponent’s theory dwells on the idea of implosion of aesthetics manifesting that advertising lies on aesthetic techniques and the promotion of consumption as a way of life. Baudrillard’s â€Å"sign value† analysis assess the consumer’s grave need for seeking various products and the actual gratifications that these products derive onto as well as with the social function that it offers. Lurking deep on the â€Å"social perspective† the proponent stresses that signs of sociality are great basis in building up the right method to advertise and capture their pockets to hail such (Harms and Kellner, 1990). Commentary Critical analysis on the models presented would wrap up the idea that advertising is a broad state of field. Perceivably, there are models which are similar in concept—consumers are after products, only that they seek for the best—however, there also appears the skeptical viewpoints that insists the un-fickleness of consumers and there is nothing advertisers can do but to wait for them to visit one’s shop dependent on their innate characteristic. In the light, due to the complexity of the marketing landscape and the advent of globalization, these theories may be evaluated as up-to-date or no longer effective a way or another. But then the perception on â€Å"basics† and fundamental perspectives will always contradict with that nuance. The behavior of the consumers has already transformed through time, with this, it may be taken to assumption that the â€Å"pessimistic† side of the story may be eradicated in pleas. The more â€Å"open† the society, the easier advertising influences them—the higher the chance to be marked as â€Å"effective. † Consumer vs. business in effective advertising In relation to business and consumers as two major factors in marketing, the predicament of the matter is clearly seen in the areas of communication efficiency, product quality and audience analysis. Take for example, the target groups must be taken consideration—kids, teens, adults, couples—all these must be known before a product shall be advertised. Aside from that, culture is also a factor, what to be advertised must be taken into deliberation first considering the fact that the context of the advertisement may not be acceptable in the kind of culture where the product is introduced. In the case of technological product advertising, the following threats may be assessed: as categorized, opportunities and threats, which is basically a portrayal of external change is the scale fall on the line of â€Å"five forces of threat,† namely, (1) threat of new entrants (rising companies of the same service rendered as well as with other rising broadcasting companies which will offer ‘greater’ service than theirs), (2) competitive rivalry (competition in sales, in fame and in the service satisfaction), (3) threat of substitution (other broadcasting/media corporations such as films, 3D theater, home-video conferencing, piracy and other sorts of the like), (4) power of buyers (upon knowing the fact that the society always change their â€Å"taste† primarily in the streamline of the kinds of shows which is â€Å"famous† in the immediate time and the advent of technological advancements such as 3D and other competition in broadcasting) and (5) p ower of suppliers (the fact that such is competition, resources is most likely to halt leading to scarcity from manufacturers of entities and commodities needed for broadcasting). All which serve as the grounds for the success or the failure of the company or the industry and if fortunate, then it will be easier to get the general objective (Mooij, 2005). Advertising in the commerce landscape  Progress in the subject matter is made in the abstract; one scholar shows a compelling talent for innovation, and others amend and improve on his work, all without close reference to the economic context. In the last one hundred years the great corporate enterprise, the trade union, depression and war, increasing and increasingly dispersed affluence, the changing nature of money and the new and enhanced role of the central bank, the declining role of agriculture with the counterpart urbanization and growth of urban poverty, the rise of the welfare state, the newly assumed responsibility of the government for overall economic performance, the emergence of socialist states, have all dramatically altered, even revolutionized, economic life. As the subject matter of economics has changed, so necessarily has the subject. Advertising comes in a handy realization that the more complex the economy gets, the larger the need for business tycoons to broaden their understanding with the flow of the society in patronizing their basic needs. The competition floating in the commercial room also serves as a challenge that each advertisement of their product must be sent with critical analysis and with a pinch of â€Å"freshness† capable enough to outstand the other entities which steams up the battle. The scope of marketing must not only fall under the circumstance of financial basis itself, but rather on the deeper application premises of the activity. An illustration of such would surface in a company’s ability to perform social responsibilities and being able to consistently adjust on the intrinsic and extrinsic demands of the society, as well as with keeping track on the challenges laid on the inevitable table of change (Michelet, 2006). It must be kept in mind that advertising is the only gateway to get their products’ path to the consumers. With the competition rising, consumers are wise enough to know what they want and which is best. Assessment on the components of effective advertising in McDonalds An example of effective advertising is practiced by McDonalds; the power of commercial speech is exercised. Even when backed by the resources and visibility of a McDonalds Corporation, the power of commercial speech campaigns is limited. Neither particular advertisements nor broader advertising campaigns are always effective, even when they have been well researched and well financed: the majority of prospective new brands that are test marketed are not marketed nationally. The battle of the marketplace has many casualties. Even when advertising affects behavior, the effect may be temporary (Michelet, 2006). And when the effects are more enduring, they may amount only to switches among rival brands by established users, rather than new consumers for any of the rival brands. Some advertising—consider the various recent plans and pricing claims of the leading long distance telephone carriers—is widely disliked. As a result, many ads are simply drowned out, unnoticed or unremembered in the ongoing daily proliferation of commercial speech. This does not mean, however, that commercial speech, or commercial advertising more narrowly, does not have important long-term effects, intended or unintended, on American culture and decision making. Commercial advertising is in some sense a ‘zero sum’ game, with one product’s gain being another’s loss. The proliferation of ads, however, does not lead simply to a process of mutual conflict, let alone mutual annihilation (Harms and Kellner, 1990). Conclusions and further remarks Moreover, given the fact that the main subject and prospects for the purpose of venturing into business are the masses, it most likely true that customer satisfaction is a pious must. In simple logic, selling does not only denote giving consumers the idea that a product/service offered on the market/industry, but rather dwelling on the array of perception that consumers are after ‘fame’ of the company as well as the ‘trend’ which is seemingly floating up in the limelight and the ‘generation status’ per se’ – more like, â€Å"in-line-with-amazing-quality† (Easey, 2001). The above mentioned threats then takes place, the world of business is a vortex of intrinsic and extrinsic challenges which requires critical analysis on what consumers need and logical wit to determine the flexibility of the product and service. That is the main purpose of the survey and other forms of observation in the society are needed to achieve managerial goals and jive along with the â€Å"change of taste† and speculations of the masses (Mooij, 2005). What utterly demoralizes business tycoons and practitioners hangs back on the exactness of the cost and the revenue generated by investments which are indefinite to be defined, for the reason that the scheme and the flow of the advertising differ dependently upon the ‘season’ or under the discretion of the contemporary society. It would seem quite hard to distinguish which of the sites are assumed to be the most significant or rather the one which is offering the best service for the majority (Beckwith, 2003). Since that, those who are apt to surf actually depend on what they wish to find. In addition to that, each layer of the society hold different jobs or activity with diverse enthusiasm, it is evident that it is possible to shift sites which then give the argument abstain on conviction with regard to the matter (Seelye, 2005). The aforementioned threats must not serve as intimidating factors in the world of business, hence a challenge towards the attainment of organizational goals through the use of effective advertising. In conclusion, effective advertising depends on for demonstration of the method, traditional or modern as long as the advertiser knows the perfect mixture of the factors needed in advertising, what is sold on the market will be a sure hit. In collaboration with the political or academic concept, a politician does not get votes not unless he or she knows what words are to be uttered in specific groups and what technique of persuasion is to be utilized in that certain point of time. Effective advertising does not only require skill, timing is a vital one.