Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Bisleri vs Aquafina - 3562 Words

An Interim Project Report On A Comparative Study of B2B Marketing Strategies Of Bisleri and Aquafina (Industry: Packaged Drinking Water) Submitted to Andal Amisetti Adjunct Professor IMT Hyderabad By Rohit Goyal Ruhi Gupta Gaurav Surana Ankur Sharman Shashwat Parth Gupta 1. INTRODUCTION The tradition of bottled water and mineral water is not very old. Even in western countries the practice of bottled drinking water started in 1950s. The trend of having mineral water gained grounds in the market. Now around 100 companies sell an estimated 424 million liters of bottled water valued at around Rs. 200 crores in the country annually. Since ancient time people have used water from mineral springs, especially hot springs, for bathing due to†¦show more content†¦* PFA and BIS lays standard for metals like lead, mercury, arsenic, aluminum and barium. Environmental * The use of Plastic for bottled water increases environmental pollution. * The increase in consumption of bottled water causes depletion of valuable fossil fuels. 4. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (PORTER’S FIVE FORCE MODEL) a) Determinants of entry As the Packed bottled water is growing at the rate of 19% in India and is expected to grow from 8000 crores to 10000 crores by 2013 it is the most lucrative and fastest growing sector currently. The market capitalization is 50-50 i.e. 50% by organised players and 50% by unorganised players. There are more than 200 players in the segment: 1- High demand sector. 2- Unorganised labour requirement. 3- Absolute Cost Advantage. 4- Low switching cost. 5- Recession proof industry. b) Determinants of rivalry The rivalry is not only among the top and the organised players in the sector but also among the unorganised players who are weak in brand identity. The major reasons are * Distribution channels * Retailer’s shelf space * Price * Flexible packaging of the water to suite the purchasing power of the consumer. c) Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of the buyers is very high in the B2C and the B2B segment because of the number of players present in the market. d) Bargaining power of suppliers- The bargaining power of the supplier of the

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Telegraph System Enhancing Communication Technology

The Telegraph System: Enhancing Communication Technology in Bram Stoker’s Dracula Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a novel consisting of various means of how communication is conveyed between the characters in the novel. From diary and journal entries, letters, memorandums, sounds from the phonograph, telegrams, and articles from various newspapers, all of these modes of communication help tell a narrative story about the importance of high power technology that is invented during the nineteenth century. The growth of high power technology is instrumental in Stoker introducing these technologies in his novel. One important technology is the invention of the telegraph which plays an important role in the capturing of the villain in Stoker’s novel although the telegraph system could have played a bigger role in the communication of important information had the characters utilized its services more. Even though the story’s outcome is a positive one, the use of the t elegraph could have possibly saved lives if not minds. Bram Stoker was born in 1847, studied at Trinity College in preparation of a career with the Irish Civil Service, and graduated in 1870. After college, he dropped the idea of joining the Irish Civil Service and began working as a manager of the Lyceum Theater. Stoker soon found himself engulfed with mass quantities of information that he had to manage on a daily basis. Between having to manage finances of the theater and organize tools throughout Europe and the UnitedShow MoreRelatedWiretapping1150 Words   |  5 Pages Where are we headed? 5 Where Do We Stand Now Though? 5 Bibliography 7 Introduction Technology is used for a wide variety of things on today’s society and has changed how we live our lives in many ways. Some technological advances are for the better and some for worse, some both. One example is wiretapping, a very controversial issue of today. Development of Wiretapping Since the use of telegraphs and the invention of the telephone, wiretapping has been a concern. When use of the modernRead MoreUse Of The Telegraph For Military Purposes Impact The Outcome Of The United States Civil War Essay2200 Words   |  9 Pagesuse of the telegraph for military purposes impact the outcome of the United States Civil War? Joshua Treece Period 5 Word Count: 2,165 Identification and Evaluation of Sources: The investigation will explore the question â€Å"To what extent does Lincoln’s use of the telegraph for military purposes impact the outcome of the United States Civil War?† The years 1861-1865 will be the focus of this investigation to allow for an analysis of Lincoln’s leadership and his use of the telegraph during theRead MoreUse Of The Telegraph For Military Purposes Impact The Outcome Of The United States Civil War2460 Words   |  10 Pagesuse of the telegraph for military purposes impact the outcome of the United States Civil War? 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This is one of the most powerfulRead MoreWhat differences and similarities existed between the development and the social work of the telegraph and the telephone?3611 Words   |  15 PagesIntroduction The 19th century developments of firstly the telegraph, and later the telephone, opened a gateway to a new, closer, more interdependent world. For a country as large as the United States, with a population now scattered from east to west, the implications were tremendous. The infamous tyranny of time and distance had been conquered. Widespread acceptance and appreciation, however, were not immediate. Both inventions met with initial scepticism, ridicule, and even elements of fear.Read MoreInternal and External Paper1734 Words   |  7 Pagesfor the team members so that everyone can deal with these situations. Management has to provide effective leadership, promote team spirit, set in motion bilateral and multi-lateral channels of communication and enroll the participation of its people, commitment and contribution through an appropriate system of financial and non-financial incentives. Functions of Management The four basic functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The internal or external factorsRead MoreNew Technology For Plastic Surgery Emerging1665 Words   |  7 PagesHowever, the downside is that more adolescents feel they need to undergo these procedures themselves in order to fulfill the ideal body image. These cosmetic procedures may be especially dangerous to an already youthful person. There is always new technology for plastic surgery emerging, and celebrities are usually the first ones to try it, because of their wealth, and because plastic surgeons want other people to follow in the path of these celebrities. Celebrities appear to be ageless as the crazeRead More McLuhan Essays1490 Words   |  6 PagesMcLuhan Author and social theorist Tom Wolfe once commented on Canadian professor Marshal McLuhan’s mantra, â€Å"the medium is the message† saying: The new technologies†¦radically alter the entire way people use their five senses, the way they react to things, and therefore, their entire lives and the entire society. It doesn’t matter what the content of a medium like t.v. is†¦ 20 hours a day of sadistic cowboys caving in peoples teeth or†¦ Pablo Casals droning away on his cello. How is it thatRead MoreBritish Telecom Case Study.5136 Words   |  21 Pagesleading corresponding growth in the size and number of information processed. Therefore, the genuine analyses on BT are required for such an important and strategic company. In that assignment, we followed the Systems Design approach which includes analysing the components of the system, brainstorming the alternatives to improve the processes and implementation of the preferred solution. First of all, we presented some information on the history of British Telecom considering the expanding processRead MoreThe Nasa Space Flight Center Essay1505 Words   |  7 Pageshand-made machine that orbits the planet earth to help in many different ways in communications, documenting information, sending and receiving signals. A satellite is a moon, planet, or a machine that orbit a planet or a star. There are many types of satellites and each one is used for different reasons. Some satellites are used to send and receive television signals. Some other satellites are used in communications by making it possible to send and receive signals from phones, fax, internet and

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Walmart Free Essays

WAL-MART’S COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY HISTORY OF WALMART ? 1962, Sam Walton starts WAL-MART ? In 5 years expanded to 24 stores revenue more than 12. 6 million in sales ? 1972, listed in New York Stock Exchange MARKETS OF WAL-MART (2003) o Total Sale of Wal-mart o Total Retail Area o Total Employers US $ 313 Billion 663 Million Sq. ft. We will write a custom essay sample on Walmart or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1700,000 SALES INCOME GROWTH (PAST 12 MONTH) COMPANY INDUSTRY SALES GROWTH INCOME GROWTH 12. 00% 5. 20% 11. 50% 5. 90% NET PROFIT MARGINS (%) COMPANY COMPANY 5YEAR AVG. INDUSTRY 3. 6% 3. 5% 3. 6% WAL-MART TODAY ? Operates 6,500 stores in 15 countries ? Serves more than 176 million customers around the globe ? Employs 1. 8 million worldwide ? Health plans insure more than 1 million people ? Saves the average American household more than $2,300 per year Let us start the journey†¦. 1960’s†¦.. The Success Term was EDLP ? EVERY DAY LOW PRICING ? To provide customers – a wide variety of high quality, branded and unbranded products at the lowest possible price, offering better value for their money EDLP : The strategy ? To procure products in bulk at the lowest possible prices from the manufacturers ? Sharing the savings with customers ? Wal-Mart’s products were usually priced 20% lower than its competitors Wal-Mart’s advertisement describing EDLP said: â€Å"Because you work hard for your every dollar, you deserve the lowest price we can offer every time you make a purchase. You deserve our Every Day Low Price. It’s not a sale; it’s a great price you can count on every day to make your dollar go further at WalMart † Explaining his pricing strategy Mr. Sam Walton said: â€Å" By cutting your price, you can boost your sales to a point where you earn far more at the cheaper retail price than you would have by selling the item at the higher price. In retailer language; you can lower your markup but earn more because of the increased volume† EDLP : WAS A HIT ? This led to increase loyalty from priceconscious rural customers. ? The surplus generated was re-invested in – Building facilities of an efficient scale – Purchasing modern business related equipment – And employing the latest technology Other areas where the cost was checked ? The stores were set up in large buildings, while ensuring that the rent paid was minimal ? Not much emphasis was laid on the interiors of the store ? Did not invest in standardized ordering programmes ? Did not even have a standard distribution system in place ? Accounting data were manually written-up ? There was a high check in recruiting the staff 1970’s†¦. ? Wal-Mart became public-held company ? Equipped with funds, it started reorganizationing its business activities. ? The foremost challenge was to put in place a standard distribution and interstore communication system ? So it came up with the most popular Hub And Spoke Structure The Hub And Spoke Structure ? Goods were centrally ordered ? Assembled at the distribution center (hub) ? From where they were dispatched to the individual stores (spokes) as per the orders received from stores. STORE STORE D. C. STORE STORE The benefits of Hub and Spoke structure ? Centralized purchase of goods in huge quantities ? Distribution of them through its own fast and responsive logistics infrastructure to the retail stores ? By passing all intermediaries, they managed to get the goods at lowest price ? The company was able to replenish the store twice a week ? In 1978, Wal-Mart became the first company to establish a fullyautomated distribution center Claude Harris once stated that : â€Å"Don’t ever feel sorry for a vendor. He always knows what he can sell, and we want his bottom price. We would tell the vendors ‘ don’t leave in any room for a kickback because we don’t do it here. † Massive expansion strategy ? Strategy was to build stores around the distribution centers ? That is to be effectively served by the center and controlled by district managers and to management at Bentonville ? The store needs to be a maximum of a day’s drive away from the center Benefits of massive expansion strategy Wal-Mart was able to accelerate its revenue growth and reap significant economies of scale ? As the number of store increased the popularity of the company increased ? Since the company generated tremendous word of mouth publicity, it was able to minimize spending on advertising and promotion activities 1980’s†¦.. Maintaining cost through re-investment ? In 1983, Wal-Mart ventured into the membership club business – called Sam’s Club ? Installed the Point of Sale (POS) scanning system to further reduce the cost Maintaining cost through re-investment (contd. ) In 1987, it installed a Satellite Communication System (SCS) ? In December 1987, Wal-Mart opened its first hyper-mart in the US 1990’s†¦.. ? Supercenters and Sam’s club were more focused to fuel the growth ? In 1994, Wal-Mart bought 99 Pace membership warehouses Wal-Mart’s store count (1991-2003) Format________ year 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Discount Sam’s club stores 1573 1720 1850 1953 1990 Super center 3 6 30 68 143 Neighbourhood markets – 148 208 256 419 428 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 1995 1960 1921 1869 1801 1736 1647 433 436 443 564 721 888 1066 219 44 441 451 463 475 500 1 1 7 19 31 2003 1568 1258 525 49 Source : Wal-Mart Annual Report 2003 ? Employed improved inventory m anagement practices and upgraded its IT systems ? Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) AND THE RESULTS WERE GOOD†¦. ? Amount of inventory reduced by an estimated $ 2 billion ? Savings of $ 150 million on interest cost were generated 2000’s†¦.. ? Wal-Mart launched a programme called ‘Store of the community’ ? ‘Global Sourcing’ was initiated (2002) Strengths of Wal-Mart Wal-mart’s SUBSIDIARIES Discount stores Neighbourhood market Sam’s Club Super center Yearly sales Total employees across the globe (approximately) Number of stores worldwide Number of new stores opened in 2003 (worldwide) Total number of suppliers Wal-Mart’s rank/position among all retailers across the globe (in terms of sales) Number of pallets shipped by Wal-Mart truck every week (2002) Total occupied floor area of Wal-Mart (2002) Yearly advertising expenditure (2002) Highest one-day sales record till date (November 28, 2003) Number of customers every week at Wal-Mart stores worldwide (approximately) Estimated market capitalization of Wal-Mart in 2020 Source : Wal-Mart Annual Report 2003 244. 5 billion 1. 3 million 4,688 274 65,000 1 50 million 18. 3 square miles $498 million $1. 52 billion 138 million $11. 1 trillion Revenue (%) of the major consumer goods companies in the US through Wal-Mart Company PG Tandy Brand’s Accessories RJR Tobacco Dial’s Del Monte Foods’ Clorox’ Revlon’s % Share (As a % of total sales) 17 % 39 % 20 % 28 24 % 23 % 23 % Source : BusinessWeek, October 2003 †¦. and the journey still continues †¦ PRESENTED BY :~ o o o o o o Prashant Wankhede Prajakta Sane R. Maruthi Yeshwanth Vikram Gharmalkar Mehul Chheda Nitin Agrawal How to cite Walmart, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Neurodegenerative Diseases

Question: Write an essay on Neurodegenerative Diseases. Answer: Introduction: Neurodegenerative diseases are chronic and fatal illnesses that affect most of activities of human being. This group includes diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson', huntington's and CZJ disease etc. Most of neurodegenerative disease in humans is caused by protein misfolding and aggregation. Proteins and its folding: Proteins are the molecules which control our most vital cellular functions in the human body. To function properly, a protein must first fold into its stable three-dimensional structure, sometimes tertiary and quaternary conformations (Dill and MacCallum, 2012). Fig 1A. Figure 1A: 3-D Showing structure of folded protein. Protein composed of mainly 100-600 amino acids in the polypepetide chain. To decrease size of folded, large protein are divided into domains which are fold seperately. Inside of cell, structure is complex and it contained proteins and other macromolecules (Christopher M., 2004). The mechanics behind folding process is thermodynamically driven by hydrophobic effect. As water removes from one amino acid, while reacting with another and forms a hydrophobic core, as hydrophilic site of amino acids remain at the surface. Thus, bigger size protein collapse into a globular structure, which results in reduction of conformation (Figure 1B). During rearrangement step correct amino acid are attached which form protein with most stable and biologically active conformation. Additional factors are responsible witjin the cell which assist in the folding process, folding catalysts and molecular chaperones (Hartl U., 2010). Figure 1B: Showing compaction of protein. To make biologically active, protein need unique 3-D structure which is acquired by the folding process. A small mistake while folding process, resulted in misfolding of protein structure, which can be dangerous. However, inside the cell, conditions are highly sticky, therefore there is problem in folding protein by themselves and requires additional help from special kind of protein called chaperons (Tapan K., 2006). Chaperones: Molecular chaperons assist other protein to achieve active 3-D conformation, this preventing misfolding and aggregation of protein during folding, thus increasing the folding efficiency and decreases unwanted intermediated which lead to damaged protein (e.g. aggregation). Protein sometimes cannot achieve stable state, due to occurrence of mutation in the amino acid sequence or may be due to error in folding step. This proteins are further called as misfolded protein because they went through degradation pathways. This type of proteins go through quality control system, which formed from molecular chaperons and ubiquitin proteasome system (Berke SJS., 2003). Quality control system plays a crucial role in the function and survival of cell. A class of chaperone is calnexin, forms a part of quality control system, which recognises abnormal folded proteins and removes distorted protein. Some class of quality control chaperone associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), e.g. calnexin and calreticulin, BiP and ERp 57 (Swanton E., 2003), which detect misfolded protein and retain them in endoplasmic reticulum and allow only correct protein to reach the cytosol. (Welch WJ., 2003). Ubiquitin proteasome pathway is important part of quality control in the cell. Disturbance in the UPP, caused misfold in the protein structure in the endoplasmic reticulum and thus function of enzyme is lost due to ubiquitin conjugation and deconjugation pathway. This alter the ubiquitin proteasome pathway and results in aggregation of protein in the cell. Aggregated protein forms an amyloid-like structure, which is a serious cause of different types of degenerative diseases (Berke SJS., 2003 and Tapan K., 2006). Protein misfolding disorders: Protein misfolding and aggregation is an important problem. During synthesis of protein, when protein fails to folds correctly, protein lost its biological function. This happened because of mutation in the amino acid sequence. The disease related to this problem are cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, p53 cancer and Parkinson's disease (table no. 1). Table no. 1: Showing various diseases related to protein misfolding and aggregation. Protein misfolding disorders occurs because of mutation in the polypeptide chain. Misfolded protein caused loss of biological function in cystic fibrosis or harmful gain in function as in neurodegenerative disease. Proteins aggregates sometimes converted into fibrilliar structure contain with plenty of H bonds, which is insoluble. These protein aggregates are known as amyloids and its deposition is in plaque like structure form. Diseases related to protein misfolding and aggregation: From last two decades, protein misfolding is research topic for most of the researchers. As according to Susan Lindquist, protein misfolding is related to many half of the human disease, e.g. P53 mediated cancer also related to misfolding protein. Many cancers and protein folding diseases are due to mutation in protein. Structural changes causes aggregation of protein, thus result in toxicity and cell death. According to chaperone overload hypothesis, with aging, misfolded proteins gets accumulated that prevents molecular chaperone to repair mutation in the polypeptide chain, which might causes disease. According to study, result showed that yield of stable protein from refolding is low, as intermediates forms between folding reaction (Csermely P., 2001). These stable folded intermediates are known as off pathway intermediates, which forms insoluble aggregates, that may be a serious cause of different degenerative diseases. Main cause of most protein conformation disease is formation of aggregates caused by destability in alpha helical structure and side by side formation of beta sheets. Beta sheet forms between alternative peptide strands. Peptide strands are linked by H bond between aligned pleated structure. Thus, pleated strand linked to another with beta linkage. This beta linkage are donor sites which bind to pleated sheet and beta sheet of next is acceptor site (Fig. 2) (Tapan K., 2006). Figure 2: showing amyloid formation. Amyloid formation causes many degenerative disorders: Chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorders are characterised by loss of neurons in motor and sensory area. Occurrence of brain lesions is most common feature among neurodegenerative disorders, which are formed by the accumulation of misfolded or aggregated proteins. Some of the examples related to aggregation are, Alzheimer's disease which is neurodegenerative disorder of brain in elders, which causes impaired behaviour and loss of memory. This occurs due to A and fibilliar tangles deposition in the extracellular areas of the brain. This A proteins deposit in the hippocampus, disturbing neural network and results in cell death and memory loss. These aggregates are called as amyloids. They are formed from small, mild mis folded protein called soluble oligomers and is highly toxic misfolded protein (fig. 3) (Hartl U., 2010). Figure 3: Showing cross section of normal and Alzheimers brain. In Parkinson;'s disease protein gets collected in the intracellular spaces. It is characterised by muscle rigidity, posture instability and tremors while resting. The main cause of heredity disorder is mutation (Fig. 4). In variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob syndrome disease may be because of conformation change from alpha helix wild protein PrPc gene to beta sheet dominant PrPSc gene, which lead to protein misfolding and aggregation. Figure 4: Structure of amyloid fibrils deposited in the neurons in parkinson's disease. Protein misfolding caused lack of biological functions which leads to fatal disease: 1- antitrypsin deficiency main reason is mutation, this is done by single base pair substitution (Gul342-Lys) in the gene. Protein misfolding during synthesis of protein, initiated polymerisation reaction, this lead to protein aggregates with in the cell. 1- antitrypsin (serpin) is a proteolytic inhibitor enzyme with serine amino acid in its active site, binds to proteinase target molecule and and caused conformation changes in the molecule. Therefore, there is an aggregation of protein, which occurred through beta sheet interaction with another serpin molecule. The beta strands blocker prevent this aggregation of proteins. The p53 cancer is also example of misfolding disorders. P53 is a tumor suppressor protein, also called as sequence specific transcription factor, which maintain genomic integrity. It occurs through mutation in the gene. In normal condition, p53 levels are low, but after mutation when DNA gets damage, the levels of p53 rises. The function of p53 is that, it binds to regulatory sites, and starts producing protein that stops cell division and this keeps on working until, the damaged DNA gets repaired. If damaged is severe than, it initiates programmed cell death or apoptosis, thus completely removal of damaged DNA. When mutation occurs, it loses it biological function and caused cancer ((Tapan K., 2006). Reference: 1. Agorogiannis EI. (2004). Protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol. 30(3):215-24.2. Berke SJS. (2003). Protein aggregation and the ubiquitin proteasome pathway: gaining the UPPer hand on neurodegeneration. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 13: 253-261.3. Chaudhuri TK, Paul S. (2006). Protein-misfolding diseases and chaperone-based therapeutic approaches. FEBS J. 273(7):1331-49.4. Christopher M. (2004). Principles of protein folding, misfolding and aggregation. Seminars in Cell Developmental Biology. 15: 3-16.5. Csermely P. (2001). Chaperone overload is a possible contributor to civilization diseases'. Trends Genet. 17: 701-704.6. Dill K. A., MacCallum J. L. (2012). The protein-folding problem, 50 years on. Science 338, 1042-1046.7. Ellis RJ Pinheiro TJ (2002) Danger - misfolding proteins. Nature. 416: 483-484.8. Gao X. (2008). Quality control of the proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin. 40(7):612-8.9. Gomes CM. (2012 ). Protein misfolding in disease and small molecule therapies. Curr Top Med Chem. 12(22):2460-9.10. Hartl U. (2010). file:///C:/Users/Kalpana%20Singh/Desktop/bm10_Proteinfolding-basetext.pdf.11. Hartl FU. (2011). Molecular chaperones in protein folding and proteostasis. Nature. 475(7356):324-32.12. Julie S. (2014). Mechanisms of protein-folding diseases at a glance. Dis Model Mech. 7(1): 9-14.13. Muchowski PJ. (2002). Protein misfolding, amyloid formation, and neurodegeneration: a critical role for molecular chaperones. Neuron. 35(1). Pp. 9-12.14. Pietzsch J. The importance of protein folding. https://www.nature.com/horizon/proteinfolding/background/importance.html.15. Protein Folds and Protein Fold Classification. https://www.proteinstructures.com/Structure/Structure/protein-fold.html.16. Protein Folding and Processing. The Cell: A Molecular Approach. 2nd edition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9843/.17. Soto C. (2003). Unfolding the role of protein misfolding in neurodegene rative diseases. Nat Rev Neurosci. 4. Pp. 49-60.18. Soto C. (2013). Protein Misfolding in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Journal of Neurology Translational Neuroscience. https://www.jscimedcentral.com/Neuroscience/Articles/neuroscience-1-1010.pdf.19. Swanton E. (2003). Role of calnexin in the glycan-independent quality control of proteolipid protein. EMBO J. 22: 2948-2958.20. Tapan K. (2006). Protein-misfolding diseases and chaperone-based therapeutic approaches. FEBS Journal. 273: 1331-1349.21. Welch WJ. (2003). Role of quality control pathways in human diseases involving protein misfolding. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 15: 31-38.