Discuss the Advantage and Disadvantage of Terrestrial Plant and Aquatic Plant

Student Name: Kwok Matthew Chun Wai Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for plants of living in an aqueous environment compared to a terrestrial one? Introduction: Plants are commonly classified to two main types: aquatic plant and land plant. They have different features to adapt the living environment. What by meant is that they require different adaptions to stay alive in their respective environment such as humidity and structure of leaves. Aquatic plants referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes.They need a special adaptation to live in water or at water surfaces and the most common adaption is aerenchyma. Land plants like the name mentioned is plants that live primarily in terrestrial habitats. As they are living in different environment, there are advantages and disadvantages for living in a terrestrial environment as well as aquatic one. Photosynthesis in Aquatic Plants and Land Plants Process of producing food with light energy remains the same for both aquatic and terr estrial plants. They both require the same raw materials – carbon dioxide and water to synthesis glucose.Terrestrial plants can absorb carbon dioxide from atmospheric air and water from the soil through their roots. Obviously land plants can work through photosynthesis easily without any special adaptations. But terrestrial plants need to face a problem of abundance of water. Abundance of water: One of the three requirements of photosynthesis – water is in a sufficient amount for aquatic plants as they are submerge in water. Therefore it is easily to retain water from the surrounding for them. So the major challenge of aquatic plants is to obtain carbon dioxide and light.While terrestrial plants are mostly challenged on how to prevent water loss from evaporation and desiccation due to weather or a low humidity environment. Hence, cuticles on the upper surface of epidemics to prevent water loss are more likely to appear in terrestrial plants. Another way to deal with de siccation for land plants is to evolve roots to reach water sources deep in the ground and work as transporting vesicles. Gas Exchange: Both types of plants have each developed unique feature to work for gas xchange as availability of carbon dioxide is different in two environments. In order for land plants to access carbon dioxide in air, they must open the pores in their leaves without allowing too much water loss. So apart from cuticles, special pores called stomata allocated underside of the leaves will be closed when desiccation occur. To deal with low availability of carbon dioxide in water, aquatic plants have special gas chambers to store carbon dioxide for use during time of storage. As a result, terrestrial plants may take a geographical advantage.Absorption of Nutrient: Terrestrial Plants absorb water and other elements from soil by evolving roots to reach deep down to the ground. Comparing with aquatic plants, it is more difficult for terrestrial plants to absorb nutrien t as in liquid medium, nutrients can be found everywhere easily, and aquatic plants can absorb them directly through the leave surface. This is a challenge for land plants. Support Aquatic Plant do not affect by gravity much because of the water movement reinforce the structure of whole plant effectively. Terrestrial plants (e. g. a pine tree) invest amounts of resources in support structures (Produce starchy compounds to thicken cell wall – wood) whereas aquatic plants invest fewer resources to support. Terrestrial Plants need strong stems and woody cells structure to withstand the force of gravity that will push them down. This evidence shows that the advantage of water plants and drawback of land plant. Reproduction Aquatic plants take advantage on reproduction by simple methods. Way of aquatic plants to reproduce the next generation is releasing pollen that can float on water surface and form spores to grow into new plants.Meanwhile, land plants cannot spread pollen or se eds like aquatic plants. Wind-pollinated plants are suggested way to generate pollen from one plant to others. Seed also require a protective case. Conclusion This essay briefly tells us the different between aquatic plants and terrestrial plants. They have their own advantages and disadvantages such as terrestrial plants require evolve of roots to absorb nutrient from deep ground; plants in water require a chamber to store the gas. The structure adapted to withstand gravity for terrestrial plants. How difference between the ways of reproduction. Discuss the Advantage and Disadvantage of Terrestrial Plant and Aquatic Plant Student Name: Kwok Matthew Chun Wai Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for plants of living in an aqueous environment compared to a terrestrial one? Introduction: Plants are commonly classified to two main types: aquatic plant and land plant. They have different features to adapt the living environment. What by meant is that they require different adaptions to stay alive in their respective environment such as humidity and structure of leaves. Aquatic plants referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes.They need a special adaptation to live in water or at water surfaces and the most common adaption is aerenchyma. Land plants like the name mentioned is plants that live primarily in terrestrial habitats. As they are living in different environment, there are advantages and disadvantages for living in a terrestrial environment as well as aquatic one. Photosynthesis in Aquatic Plants and Land Plants Process of producing food with light energy remains the same for both aquatic and terr estrial plants. They both require the same raw materials – carbon dioxide and water to synthesis glucose.Terrestrial plants can absorb carbon dioxide from atmospheric air and water from the soil through their roots. Obviously land plants can work through photosynthesis easily without any special adaptations. But terrestrial plants need to face a problem of abundance of water. Abundance of water: One of the three requirements of photosynthesis – water is in a sufficient amount for aquatic plants as they are submerge in water. Therefore it is easily to retain water from the surrounding for them. So the major challenge of aquatic plants is to obtain carbon dioxide and light.While terrestrial plants are mostly challenged on how to prevent water loss from evaporation and desiccation due to weather or a low humidity environment. Hence, cuticles on the upper surface of epidemics to prevent water loss are more likely to appear in terrestrial plants. Another way to deal with de siccation for land plants is to evolve roots to reach water sources deep in the ground and work as transporting vesicles. Gas Exchange: Both types of plants have each developed unique feature to work for gas xchange as availability of carbon dioxide is different in two environments. In order for land plants to access carbon dioxide in air, they must open the pores in their leaves without allowing too much water loss. So apart from cuticles, special pores called stomata allocated underside of the leaves will be closed when desiccation occur. To deal with low availability of carbon dioxide in water, aquatic plants have special gas chambers to store carbon dioxide for use during time of storage. As a result, terrestrial plants may take a geographical advantage.Absorption of Nutrient: Terrestrial Plants absorb water and other elements from soil by evolving roots to reach deep down to the ground. Comparing with aquatic plants, it is more difficult for terrestrial plants to absorb nutrien t as in liquid medium, nutrients can be found everywhere easily, and aquatic plants can absorb them directly through the leave surface. This is a challenge for land plants. Support Aquatic Plant do not affect by gravity much because of the water movement reinforce the structure of whole plant effectively. Terrestrial plants (e. g. a pine tree) invest amounts of resources in support structures (Produce starchy compounds to thicken cell wall – wood) whereas aquatic plants invest fewer resources to support. Terrestrial Plants need strong stems and woody cells structure to withstand the force of gravity that will push them down. This evidence shows that the advantage of water plants and drawback of land plant. Reproduction Aquatic plants take advantage on reproduction by simple methods. Way of aquatic plants to reproduce the next generation is releasing pollen that can float on water surface and form spores to grow into new plants.Meanwhile, land plants cannot spread pollen or se eds like aquatic plants. Wind-pollinated plants are suggested way to generate pollen from one plant to others. Seed also require a protective case. Conclusion This essay briefly tells us the different between aquatic plants and terrestrial plants. They have their own advantages and disadvantages such as terrestrial plants require evolve of roots to absorb nutrient from deep ground; plants in water require a chamber to store the gas. The structure adapted to withstand gravity for terrestrial plants. How difference between the ways of reproduction.

Tourism in Rotorua, New Zealand

I have chosen Rotorua because I think it is a very interesting and important place to New Zealand as a tourist destination and has many distinctive characteristics which include physical characteristics, beliefs, attitudes and what to do in Rotorua. These characteristics are represented in my initial thoughts which are geothermal activity, culture and attractions. I am Rotorua and I am one of New Zealand’s prime tourist destinations. I have many highlights that encourage tourists to come and visit me as a destination. Whether seeking to experience Maori culture, geothermal earth forces, spa rejuvenation, thrills and adventure, or any of the other natural assets such as 16 lakes, some of the world's best mountain biking trails, fantastic trout fishing and myriad forest walking tracks† (Kia Ora welcome to Rotorua, home of the world's highest rafted waterfall, n. d. ). I deliver it all! All of these fun filled and relaxing activities make me a unique destination. I represen t authenticity, energy, fun, culture and learning opportunities. I am home to natural energetic geothermal activity and this is my primary attraction. I have a distinctive smell of sulphur that lets my tourists know they have entered my exquisite boundaries. My key geothermal areas include spectacular geysers, remarkable mud pools and calming thermal pools that have attracted visitors to my region since the 1800’s (Houghton & Scott, 2000). You can experience my relaxing Wai Ora Spa which is the only mud bath complex with therapeutic water and geothermal mud in New Zealand. I have a striking natural landscape that attracts visitors, and it never disappoints. I have a lot of evidence that supports me being a vigorous volcanic region including hissing steam that comes from my roadside vents (Houghton & Scott, 2000). At my many thermal parks I have silica terraces and fumaroles that display striking colours such as red, pink, orange and green (Houghton & Scott, 2000). Some of my breath-taking thermal parks include Te Puia, Wai-o-tapu and Waimangu. Te Puia is known for the famous stunning Pohutu Geyser which erupts up to 20 times a day and reaches heights of over 30m. (Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley , n. . ). Wai-o-tapu is a distinctive volcanic area which has a natural bush setting. At Wai-o-tapu the Lady Knox geyser erupts at 10. 15am everyday with heights that reach up to 20metres (Lady Knox Geyser, 2010). The dynamic Waimangu Volcanic Valley has the world’s largest hot water spring and also has the inferno crater which has magical geyser action (Waimangu Volcanic Valley, n. d. ). Many of my tourists that visit Waimangu enjoy walk ing through the peaceful forest passing by mud pools, hot streams and looking down into geothermal craters. My geothermal activity is very important to my destination as it offers authenticity. I am also the homeland of the unique Maori culture that encompasses warmth, spirit and history. â€Å"As wealth and education attainment increase, culture becomes more important as a destination driver† (Yeoman, 2008). This is very important to me as culture is offers a lot to my destination. I comprise many wholesome opportunities to come face to face with Maori culture found in energizing performances and displays and by meeting my people from the Te Arawa tribe. The Te Arawa tribe has now lived on my land for over 600 years. Magical tribal stories relate to their settlement and the developments of their tribe. These are woven into poi, song and haka which are featured in cultural performances. The Te Arawa tribe have guided my visitors as far back as the 19th century when people used to come and visit the historic and unique pink and white terraces at Lake Rotomahana. These were known as the eighth wonder of the world because of the beauty of the natural sinter formations. The pink and white terraces were destroyed in the Mount Tarawera eruption in 1886 that killed 150 people (Mount Tarawera Explodes, 2009). Since the 1930’s the site has been excavated and now thousands of my tourists come and visit my momentous buried village. There are also many night time activities I offer to my tourists that can further their understanding and knowledge of Maori culture. Some of these include the welcoming Matariki, gracious Tamaki Tours and the impressive Te Puia. I also have a thriving arts and craft cultural community. Traditional Maori carving and weaving can be found throughout my gardens and public and private buildings. I also have a community of artists, craftspeople, performers and musicians. My major annual festival and art events include Opera in the Pa, Te Ihi Te Wehi that is a performing arts festival and the Magna Short Film Festivals that include drama and film exhibitions. (What’s On, 2006) These are just many of the breathtaking cultural experiences I can offer tourists as a destination. A key trend in my destination is the development and presentation of the Maori culture and its relevance to my country as a whole. The cultural capital of a destination is how consumers talk about a place (Yeoman, 2008). This is why many people are now coming to my destination as they want to extend their knowledge on Maori culture as it is very important and authentic to New Zealand as a country. My secondary attraction’s includes many fun filled activities. I offer a large range that suits many people from all over the world who seek different experiences. My largest secondary attraction is the Agrodome. It is a world famous and world-class agricultural theme park. Here you can take part in a number of activities such as the sheep show, aqua jetting, farm tours, the swoop, zorb, and various other activities. The sheep show attracts a large number of Asian tourists who enjoy a memorable authentic experience learning about farms and New Zealand history (Agroadventures, 2006). The zorb, swoop and aqua jet attracts those wanting thrill seeking experiences. This is key trend and it emphasizes how diverse my destination is by providing many different opportunities to partake in many unique experiences in one destination. Another one of my very popular attractions is the enjoyable skyline skyrides situated on Mt Ngongotaha. Here you can take in my magnificent views while enjoying a ride on a gondola, go on the luge, try the skyswing or simply dine at the Cableway Restaurant. Skyline skyrides is an amazing attraction that everybody enjoys and it showcases the beauty of my natural landscape. This is a key trend as my natural landscape and its beauty and uniqueness are present throughout my destination. For those who love the outdoors and nature I have two very popular wildlife parks, Paradise Valley Springs and Rainbow Springs Wildlife Park. At Paradise Valley Springs you can relax and take in the fresh air as you stroll through the park. I have various animals that my visitors can get close to including lions, deer, angora goats, donkeys and emus (Welcome to paradise, n. d). Also here at Paradise Valley Springs I have a freshwater spring called Te Waireks, also known as sweet water. You can drink this pure water straight and it is very cleansing. As a destination I believe I am very interesting, diverse and unique and have many characteristics that are appealing. These include both physical and cultural characteristics that offer a wide range of variety that suits everybody. I believe that I don’t disappoint and everybody should come and visit me. I am a very captivating destination that offers authenticity and beauty, while providing many different cultural and learning opportunities to my trusty visitors. I have chosen the logo, â€Å"Rotorua, I offer it all!!! †Ã¢â‚¬ . I have chosen this slogan because I think it is important to tourism branding as it shows how diverse Rotorua is and how many different experiences it offers.

Bleakness and Language in Waiting for Godot

Bleak Tones And Visual Sadness In Waiting For Godot When the Paris curtain opened in 1953 the audience was faced with a minimalist set with a tree and nothing else. The first sight of ‘En Attendant Godot’ suggests its bleakest tones are presented by Beckett through visual sadness and the overall metaphysical state characters are placed in. Already parallels can be drawn between this setting and the inescapably similar picture from T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’: â€Å"A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, and the dead tree gives no shelter† The only resemblance to the audience’s world is the tree and the road the characters stand on. This setting creates brooding despair; roads represents journeys and an option to travel away, or towards something and yet characters don’t move, in fact asserting â€Å"We Can’t (leave)†(i). The tree, another prop with apparently monumental importance compared to the rest of the wasteland stage, represents hope and life despite there being no hope and life ebbing away. Beckett demands for the tree to have leaves during Act 2, which symbolises spring to audiences while Vladimir and Estragon realise there’s no hope at all. It isn’t a stretch to claim Beckett had a taste for deeply depressing irony and he plays with elements of comedy and tragedy most aptly through dramatic staging. However, it’s my opinion that Beckett does create some of the most comic, and bleakest, parts of the performance through his unerring ability to manipulate languag e. In Act One the words â€Å"Nothing to be done†(ii) are spoken by both Estragon and Vladimir and the statement goes on to be a crucial philosophy throughout the play of the same importance as â€Å"We’re waiting for Godot†(iii). Audiences initially find the phrase laugh-out-loud funny because it’s paired with the physical sequence of Estragon, who is ‘trying to take off his boot’(iv) whom after an exhausting battle concedes and explains to the audience there’s ‘nothing to be done’. The subtle brilliance of this line is in its most colloquial-sounding ring, which appeals to all audiences as they can relate to finding that a menial task has become so extraordinarily difficult they see no way of solving it. It is laughable that a complex human being cannot actually take off a boot, that in some way the boot has beaten the human and now he’s defeated†¦by a boot. This struggle is universal and appeals to audiences mak ing the underlying question of: Why does Estragon presume that the boot is wrong? Beckett thus highlights humanity’s arrogance and pompousness. Vladimir is the messenger for this question when he tells Estragon, ‘There’s man all over blaming on his boots the fault of his feet’(v). This sentence holds many debating topics because the bootmaker made the boot perfect, as in the bootmaker thought it had no faults or he wouldn’t have sold it, similarly if we’re all in God’s image surely Estragon can have no faults either so who is wrong†¦God or man? After the comic moment Vladimir ushers in undertones of suffering when he explains he too is ‘coming round to that opinion’. Although the line sounds harmless enough, Vladimir performs it away from Estragon as he looks out into space which has the implicit meaning that he’s unaware of Estragon’s physical struggle and that his response is actually more metaphysical. This exchange allows Beckett to introduce the brutal truth of the character’s situation: there’s literally nothing to be done. This corresponds to Esslin’s theory that ‘Waiting for Godot’ contains â€Å"a sense of metaphysical anguish at the absurdity of the human condition†(vi). The characters are trapped in this barren featureless setting, waiting for someone they cannot define as they ‘wouldn’t know him if I saw him’(vii), unable to have any influence on proceedings which govern their lives. Through his exploitation of language Beckett also challenges the way humanity operates in the world, and ultimately how the disjointed confusing plot of the play parallels our place in the universe. In ‘Waiting for Godot’ one conversation that exploits the way humanity operates is: â€Å"Estragon: We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist. Vladimir: Yes, yes, we’re magicians.† (viii) Audiences find this hilarious due to Estragon’s optimism in their plight and the sudden shift in mood that can be seen onstage is also humorous because it’s so abstract and unjustified. The added element of Vladimir’s dismissal of Estragon’s comment and the dismissal of optimism is a beautiful contrast which gains audience laughter, but also supports the hypothesis they’re a double act and completely reliant on each other. Another nice example of this double act is: â€Å"Vladimir: What do they say? Estragon: They talk about their lives. Vladimir: To live is not enough for them. Estragon: They have to talk about it.† (ix) The double act is vital as a device to exploit language and the claim of â€Å"The two most important sets of characters in the play occur in pairs†(x). A 1953 audience would have recognised Laurel and Hardy’s silhouettes in Estragon and Vladimir, making their world closer to the audience’s, but still miles away. In this passage Beckett’s technique of the double act is actualised to make a point about the existentialist nature of humanity and our need to rationalise individual experience by explaining it to others. The characters complete each other’s sentences which gives the impression of pondering so the audience understands Beckett wants them to think about the short conversation. The word ‘magician’ carries the bleakest undertones because it carries ideas of illusion and trickery, therefore Beckett wants to portray to audiences that our attempts to maintain the logic that we exist is actually a form of trickery; a skill which weâ⠂¬â„¢ve acquired over the years but is untrue. This eloquent point has history in the movement after World War Two (which Beckett experienced) in which society believed it was decaying. The comforts that help them move through their lives, such as order, could no longer be depended on. Comedy still remains in the dark outlook on society because characters are living in a world they pretend to understand, but actually don’t. There’s a style of dramatic irony at work as the audience looks into the realm of Estragon, Lucky, Pozzo and Vladimir with arrogance as they understand things characters don’t, such as the fact Godot won’t arrive. Interestingly, the world created by the theatrical stage would look into the audience’s world with similar arrogance as they know things the audience doesn’t, this is what Beckett’s trying to explain to us; the audience doesn’t understand their world’s nature as well as they think. However, it could be argued only the bleak undertones com e from the manipulation of language and the comedy comes from the character’s visual display to audiences. One critic argues, â€Å"The stage directions of the play constitute nearly half of the text, suggesting that the actions, expressions, and emotions of the actors are as important as the dialogue†(xi) This is a strong argument because the audience responds mainly to the presentation of the lines, which could be considered the performance rather than the actual language. Beckett once said, â€Å"If by Godot I had meant God I would have said God, and not Godot† (xii) but I don’t believe this is the end of the ‘God is Godot’ debate and I also believe this is one of Beckett’s greatest manipulations of language. The play begins with Estragon explaining he spent the night ‘in a ditch’ (xiii) and a group of people ‘beat’ him. These events are very close to ‘The Good Samaritan’ biblical parable except this time there’s no Samaritan. This carries the explicit meaning that Estragon is without God, he receives no help from outside sources and no redemption. Compare this with Vladimir who takes the ‘Book of Job’ approach and claims Estragon must have done something wrong to get beaten. Estragon goes onto challenge Godot’s, or God’s, power when he tells Vladimir they are ‘not tied?’ (xiv). However, he says it ‘feebly’ and then they both get scared that Godot’s coming, the implication being he will punish them for losing their obedience. Beckett plays with audience ideas on Godot’s nature when the boy describes him as having a ‘white beard’ which is drawing links between Godot and God which is laid out so obviously compared to the rest of the play that audiences are surprised, then they laugh. Beckett continues to make us think about God’s nature using Lucky’s speech. It begins with an almost academic presentation on religion but then descends into rambling nonsensical rubbish which ends ‘in spite of the tennis’. I interpreted this as meaning ‘for reasons unknown’ which is a beautiful way to describe God’s relationship with man as humanity can never draw any definite conclusions about him. In conclusion, Beckett creates the bleakest moments using his manipulation of language because it’s the words that resonate and make us think about the Beckett’s themes. The comedy isn’t brought out by exploitation of language as much as the stage directions and the physical oddities, which are of a more visual element. I) Pg. 6, Vladimir II) Pg.1, Estragon III) Pg. 6, Vladimir IV) Pg. 1 Stage Direction V) Pg. 3 Vladimir VI) Esslin, Theatre of the Absurd VII) Pg. 16, Estragon VIII) Pg. 61 IX) Pg. 54 X) Sparknotes XI) Sparknotes XII) Samuel Beckett , Wikipedia ‘Waiting for Godot’ XIII) Pg. 1 XIV) Pg. 12

Managerial Communication Report Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managerial Communication Report - Term Paper Example The Social Media as a Management Tool in the Business Environment Managerial Communication Report To: From: Subject: Date: The social media are one of the technological advancements in a business environment. Although during its advent, many companies could not hide their criticism over the negative effect that the social media had on the business environment. The report will consider the evil and the ethical of the social media on any business environment. Social Medias such as Facebook, Twitter and various company intranets have been a valuable link among employees of a company. These Medias have also been the best marketing media that reach the various groups of consumers. Various companies agree that they help in the maintenance of communication among employees. The description of the nature of communication is an honest one; this allows employees to know more about one other. The aim for a good communication in any company is to create an interconnected, work place. A good worki ng environment for employees motivates them to be productive. ... an urgent announcement to its employees, the most appropriate means will be to post the notice in the company’s intranet, and the other way would be to post the notification in the company’s space, in any social network. The scope of doing this is that employees who visit the space will get the message, and because of the good relation that exists, among the employees, the notice gets to be passed to the other employees. This means of communication would be better than writing a memo to each department in the sense that the time used to deliver the memos is saved; the company also saves the misuse of its papers on printed notices. This means of communication can be facilitated using a computer or the advance mobile handset. This is easy for any management because the heads of departments could also get the chance to have a control of the company from any place. A clear example would be for a manager who wishes to know what his employees are up to at any given time can j ust log into the social network site, and keep track of the thoughts and action of his/her employees. D’ Angelo examines that the social media is one way that companies have employed to interact with their customer and stakeholders. Companies have also employed social media managers to manage the media existence. Various studies show it is not the leading companies alone that use the social media as a means of communication but rather in the year 2008 to 2009 there was an increase in the use of social media by the small businesses (D’ Angelo, 2010). D’ Angelo exerts that the use of the social media is crucial in the promotion of Brand identity, management, a company can employ a social site manager with its main activity being to create the company’s brand identity and market it online. D’

The European Invasion of North America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The European Invasion of North America - Essay Example The invasion of the European immigrants into North American forced the Native Americans to cope with the new environments, intercultural social relations and to a new environment in general. This paper will explore the kind of life the native residents of North America before the European Invasion, there life after the invasion, and how they coped with the new environment with reference to the book ‘The American People Creating a Nation and Society’ by Gary Nash and other authors. The Invasion Before the European invasion of North America, the natives had divisions of many different polities which involved bands of families to large business empires. Primordial paradise is the term used to refer to the lives of the Native Americans today. This effectively means that the native residents lived a life free from any restrictions. Before the invasion of the Europeans in North America, there was no clear evidence of Christianity among them. The broad generalization way of pai rs of philosophical principles leads to the quality of the native culture. The American Indian religion was wrapped together in a multidimensional cycle. These natives believed in the power of gods, performed and gave sacrifices to them in the belief that the gods were naturally supreme powered. This religion contributed towards peace and harmony among the native residents as they developed a sense of belonging towards the gods they worshipped. However, this does not necessarily mean that harmony was always maintained. Conflicts arose from various issues but were easily solved by the governance units that were already in place. Another remarkable feature of the Native American cultures was the degree of symbolic and moral convergence or homogeneity among the people who socially and geographically disparate. Perhaps this displays a common history and explains the fate that eventually ensued from the European invasion and the ultimate conquest for the bands and empires that were assoc iated with the native North Americans (Nash 108). The European invasions, as anyone would expect, caused more conflicts than they were before. The native residents were not ready to surrender that easily to the invaders. They had to stage up a fight in order to avoid losing the land they regarded to as a paradise to the European invaders. The Indians undoubtedly had to devise ways on how to cope or merge with the culture that came along with the European invaders. More importantly is to note that the European invasion brought along what they call the western civilizations even presently. Before their invasion as outlined in the second paragraph, the native residents worshipped gods. It was their way of religion, but after the European invasion, Christianity is widely spread as the major method of worship. The acceptance of the Native Americans showed towards Christianity as the religion means that the native Indians were not necessarily rebellious to the culture that was introduced by the European invasion (Nash 212). The different European nations that invaded the Indian Territory in North America made different approaches to invading North America. After the invasion of the French into North America, there is evidence that trade thrived fairly well between the French and the Native Americans. For instance, the French developed an interest in beaver

A Review of Literature on How to Manage International Joint Venture - 2

A of on How to Manage International Joint Venture Successfully - Literature review Example In licensing model, companies planning for internationalization use patent or trademark of market leaders in foreign countries in order to enter in the country. Companies use strategic partnership with existing player in foreign market in order to enter in the country and this partnership is known as joint venture. Ownership ratio in Joint Venture or International Joint Venture is decided in accordance with the capital invested by two strategic partners. Discussion Academic scholars like Griffith, O’Brian and Zeybek (2001) have pointed out that international joint venture (IJV) is one kind of foreign direct investment and they have also argued that in international joint venture (IJV) strategic partners are engaged to develop and operate one common business entity. Other researchers such as Perlmutter and Heenan (1986) have depicted IJV as a functional device to survive in tumultuous global economies. According to these research scholars companies plan for IJV in order to decr ease financial and strategic risks and they have also given evidences to support their viewpoints. Various research scholars such as Gundlach & Achrolhave (1993) have identified different benefits of forming in IJV. According to them IJV provides various benefits like local capital, raw material sources, marketing capabilities, government assistance, technology integration, tax incentives, assurances of imports, decreasing ethnocentrism issues and local currency loans to foreign players. Academic scholars like Reurer and Miller (1997) have pointed out that IJV can help the parent companies to adopt long term performance plans in order to increase average rate of return in investment. Baek, Min and Ryu (2006) have established a valid argument on wealth management issues of IJV and according to the scholar IJV can create more wealth for shareholders of parent firms meanwhile the model also saves skin for parent firms suffering from high leverage or low level of cash flow. Research sch olars such as Koh and Venkatraman (1991) have argued that international joint venture can boost the growth of stock market value for parent company while many other researchers have found that their argument lacks subjectivity. There is negative side of IJV and academic scholars have pointed out that IJV is considered as strategic dilemma for many organizations. Research scholars such as Yan and Zeng (1999) have pointed out that IJV destabilize the business process for many organizations. They have found that stability of IJV model demands change in leadership or ownership model for companies. Academic scholars have pointed out that IJV needs successful integration of strategic change management in order to be successful. Synchronization of change management and IJV is a contingent option for directing the equilibrium of foreign business venture in response to external and internal forces. Study shows that IJV is the systematic profiling of business risk and available strategic vari ables. Research scholars like Eisenhardt (1989) has proposed two theories names as team production theory and agency theory in order to define risk factors associated with IJV model. Agency theory has underlined agents might fail to understand business objective of principle and in such cases objective of IJV might fail. In such cases principals or the parent companies need to use different mechanisms such as monitoring, contract and reliance in order to resolve agency

Combining Anomaly and Signature based Intrusion Detection Systems Essay

Combining Anomaly and Signature based Intrusion Detection Systems - Essay Example The researcher states that the Internet continues to modernize the world’s economy. It is apparently changing the way people live, study, work, participate, and devour. At the hub, of this rebellion is technology. Technology has moved from the "back office" to the leading edge. Namely, the interface between the customer and the organization has changed spectacularly. Increasingly, technology is shifting the organization’s associations with its customers from a "face-to-face" to a "screen-to-face" communication. The Internet is not an  innovation  that concerns only one or two sectors of the economy. Because it revolutionizes the way businesses should prudently  systematize  their activities and go to the market, the Internet affects all economic commotions. Organizations maintain data communication networks for paperless business operations along with enhanced communication. On the other hand, threats and vulnerabilities related to data communication networks ar e significantly increasing. Firewalls are not considered as the only solution because these intelligent viruses and malicious codes tend to pass through it. In order to enable advanced security measures, Intrusion Detections Systems are recommended for corporate networks. The types include network-based IDS, host-based IDS, and software-based IDS. These types are further categorized into signature-based IDS which is also referred as misuse detection, and Anomaly Detection. The functionality of ‘signature-based IDS’ is dependent on known signatures. The word ‘known’ is important because threats that are detecting so far are categorized as known threats and are called signatures. Signature-based IDS only detect threats similar to the defined available signatures and do not comply with any new threat. Whereas, Anomaly-based IDS detect unknown activities within the network and detect them as threats and vulnerabilities. These two IDS types comply with different types of methods, process, and various profiles that are discussed in the next part of this coursework. II. Signature-Based IDS The signature-based IDS analyze and identify specific patterns of attacks that are recognized by raw data that is in terms of byte sequences called strings, port number, protocol types etc. Likewise, apart from the normal operational pattern, signature-based IDS detects any activity that is unusual from previously defined patterns. Moreover, the patterns are monitored with strict control algorithms. The signatures are stored in a signature repository. The prime object of a ‘signature-based IDS’ is to search signatures in order to detect a threat or vulnerability that is similar to antivirus software that also detects viruses. The functionality of IDS is to detect attacks that are initiated directly towards the network. Moreover, IDS tries to identify as many events as possible and therefore generate logs.

Social networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social networking - Essay Example Over the years, social networking has replaced a great amount of the traditional, physical communication between people. This reveals that while there are numerous advantages of online social networking, there are also plenty of disadvantages. When someone communicates with a friend or family member over an online social networking website, their attention is often divided. They are usually watching television, eating, doing homework, talking to another person via another medium, or even a combination of the aforementioned. Even though the person they are speaking to is usually unaware of it, they are not getting the complete attention of their friend, who has found other things to busy themselves with. The same can even be said for the person being talked to. Physical communication, on the other hand, means that both people are being given the proper amount of attention. They may be engaged in other activities, but the physical presence of each person will prompt better undivided at tention. They will acknowledge that the other is there, thus allowing more focus on communication, as opposed to something else. Yet another downside of communicating through online social networking websites is that tone and emotion are often misconstrued.

Lawrence of Arabia Write Up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lawrence of Arabia Write Up - Essay Example tes, â€Å"History hardly offers a clearer case of a man born for a mission, of a life moving along a path pointed out by fate-even though twists in its course may have hid the direction.†(Hart, 1989, p, 3) In this article, the issues and incidents relating to the meritorious rise of Lawrence from a helping hand in the Military Headquarters of British, to an extraordinary leader, who led by example, is discussed. Apart from his military adventures, the account of his skilful role as a negotiator for the Arab interests with the Western Powers is also given. This man was appreciated by no less a person than Sir Winston Churchill, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain. He possessed excellent literary skills. The synopsis of the story goes thus. Lawrence is content to call him an ‘ordinary man’, but all extraordinary personalities are modest in saying thus about themselves. Born in Tremadoc, Wales, in 1888, Thomas Edward - known as Ned - was the second of five illegitimate boys. Sir Thomas Chapman fell in love with the family governess, Sarah Junner, left his first marriage, took a new name of Lawrence and remained unwed. â€Å"School†, he said later, â€Å"was an irrelevant and time-wasting nuisance, which I hated and condemned.†(Hart, 1989, p, 4)He appreciated the practical life and remained ever ready to face its harsh realities. Lawrence family settled in Oxford, and here Ned got the opportunity to go to school and university. As a youth his latent love for history and travel found outward manifestation, and he took fascination to explore castles and old churches. A study trip took him to Syria, where he walked over a thousand miles. He studied remote Crusader castles. After graduation, he decided to become an archaeologist. His thesis for his finals was: The Influence of the Crusades on European Military Architecture - to the end of the XII century. He arrived to the Middle East, to work in an excavation site in Carchemish from 1910-1914, in northern part

Defining the Role of the President of the United States as Outlined in Research Paper

Defining the Role of the President of the United States as Outlined in the US Constitution - Research Paper Example The President can appoint people to high-level positions of public administration. This role and power are enshrined and provided for in Section II of Article II of the Constitution where the Chief Executive can select top employees, subject to the approval of the Senate. Still, as the Chief Administrator, Section III of Article II bestows the power to make recommendations on fiscal policies on the President of the United States. The consideration of this article is always done in light of Article I of the US constitution which accords Congress the power to review taxes and spending. Nevertheless, the power to control the budget-making process is chief among the crucial administrative prerogatives of the President of the US. In this light, it is often the President who makes the decision on how and where the money is spent. At the end of the 1990s, the Office of the President took over a more significant function in determining federal spending. Section III of Article also extends the Office of the President of the United States the powers of a Chief Magistrate. Particularly, Section III of Article states that the President of the United States â€Å"†¦ shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In a closely related wavelength, Section VII of Article I accords the President of the United States the powers of the Chief Legislator. This section of the US Constitution states that every bill which the Senate and the House of Representative shall pass shall be presented to the President of the United States prior to its becoming law. If the President approves the Bill, he shall append his signature to it. Otherwise, the President shall return the Bill to the House with his objections to it.  

An Analysis of the Final Scenes of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay Example for Free

An Analysis of the Final Scenes of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Essay Throughout Death of a Salesman, it was very clear to me that the play was an excellent representation of the idea of The American Dream, amongst other broader themes. This notion, as I understand it, relates to the belief that there are countless opportunities for everyone to reach out and grasp, no matter who they are or where they come from. The main characters of the play; Willy Loman, Linda Loman, Biff Loman, Happy Loman and their next door neighbour Charley, all seem to have very different ideas about this belief. In my opinion, this allows the reader (or audience) to relate to whichever character shares their views, making the play very appealing. The play offers a wider insight into a social system in which the Loman family finds themselves. Willy and Linda have had to work incredibly hard to keep themselves afloat over the years, and are justly proud of their achievement of paying off their 25 year mortgage. However, a stark contrast is highlighted between Willy and Howard, his boss. Willy has worked at the company for his whole career, and even names Howard when he is born for his father. However, when Howard has grown up he inherits all of his fathers wealth and the company. Also, when Willy turns up to ask for a weekly wage of around $70 per week, Howard says that it was only $100 for his new tape recorder. Willy laughs along with him, saying that he should get himself one. In terms of the plays portrayal of family relationships, I believe that it offers an excellent incite, showing the effects that an affair can have on a family, and the both emotional and financial pressures that are placed on families. Biffs relationship with his father is very volatile, but deep down it is very clear that they both truly love each other. Happy, however, expresses no love or emotion other than shame towards or about his father. This is both highlighted and summed up by the scene in the restaurant when Happy is talking to Miss Forsythe, and says , thats not my father, thats just some guy. Linda is utterly devoted to her husband but can also see, in part, his self-destruction. However, she almost seems to deny that it is happening by not confronting Willy or doing anything about it herself, especially in relation to the length of rubber pipe behind the fuse box in the garage. The point at which these problems, relationships and pressures are most clear to both the characters and the audience is when the boys return from their abandoned evening with their father to find their mother in a rage. We see a lot of harsh truths realised, the first between Biff and Happy. In the restaurant, Biff had come to the conclusion that Happy did not really care about Willys wellbeing at all, only his own. We see this when Biff exclaims , I sense it, you dont give a good goddam about him. When they return to the house, Biff says (with a flare of disgust) Go away from me! In this scene, possibly the biggest revelation is that of Biff and Willys true feelings towards each other. When Willy is planting seeds in the garden and talking to his brother, almost in another reality, he is horrified by the thought of Biff thinking of him or talking of him as a coward, should he commit suicide. When Biff tries to take him inside to talk to Linda and tell her that he is leaving, Willy seems to think that he is talking about telling her about his affair years earlier, which Biff discovered. However, after some considerable arguments, in which Biff is accused of having nothing but spite for his father, Willy realises that Biff actually just does not want to fail him, having been so pressured to succeed in his earlier life. He also sees that all Biff ever wanted from him was pride and love, saying Loves me. Always loved me. Isnt that a remarkable thing?

The Lorax Essay Example for Free

The Lorax Essay â€Å"The Once-ler perceived a market opportunity, displayed extraordinary entrepreneurial spirit and proceeded to create an industry of Thneed manufacturing. His story exemplifies laissez faire economics and the potential of free market enterprise and what’s truly possible if government â€Å"stays out† of markets with needless regulations. So what went wrong? † In order to understand exactly the story of The Lorax as an allegory of economic principles you must understand in terms of different philosophy foundations, scarcity, uncertainty, interdependencies, and the duel nature of rights. Philosophy foundations are all based on making a choice in any given situation. In the story The Lorax by Dr. Seuss the two main characters, the Once-ler and the Lorax, had conflicting philosophical perspectives. The Lorax’s prevailing philosophical perspective is utilitarianism where the belief is â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number. † That is, in order to seek a greater social good once must chose the course of action that results in the maximum amount of overall good, not only for one’s own good, but also for the good of others. More in depth analysis of this perspective shows that â€Å"morally appropriate behavior will not harm others, but instead increase happiness or ‘utility’† (Driver, History). The Lorax spoke up against the Once-ler only when he believed the Once-ler was shrinking the happiness that the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, the Humming-Fish and himself, were experiencing in the environment around them from the Once-ler’s production of the Thneeds. The prevailing philosophical perspective of the Once-ler is egoism, that is, maximize one’s self-interest. In the story the Once-ler had been searching his entire life for trees such as the Truffula Trees to make something like the Thneeds that create business and money, which were all that he needs. The Once-ler didn’t care about the crummies in the tummies of the Brown Bar-ba-loots, or pollution that filled the air and the ponds that forced the Swomee-Swans and Humming-Fish out. The only thing he cared about was making the factory and wagons bigger to meet the capacity of Thneeds he wanted to ship out to make more money. In the story the Once-ler, the Lorax, the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming-Fish are all put in a situation known as Pareto Optimality. This â€Å"exists when economic resources and output have been allocated in such a way that no one can be made better off without sacrificing the well-being of at least one person† (Wisdom, V Pareto). In a situation like this it is hard for the perspectives, like that of the Once-ler and the Lorax, to have a positive outcome. If their perspectives had been different, say like ‘the golden rule’ or ‘do no harm’ perspectives, things have a much better potential to come out more ideal for everyone. As discussed in class, both of these philosophical perspectives believe in withholding harm to one’s self and to others. If these were the perspectives taken by the Once-ler and the Lorax, both would be happy, in addition to the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming-Fish, but given the Pareto Optimality environment it is almost impossible to make everyone involved happy, instead there needs to be a more costs-benefits perspective taken where things are weighed out and people pick as a whole what the best usage of resources should be to maximize the outcome for everyone. The basic economic problem that arises because people have unlimited wants but resources are limited† (Investopedia). In the story scarcity affects the choices and the outcomes realized. The Once-ler held the power of control and chose to use his power over the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming-Fish to ignore their requests and use whatever he wanted to make the Thneeds, creating a scarcity among resources. The Brown Bar-ba-loots made the decision to leave town after the Once-ler created a scarcity of Truffula Trees which caused a shortage in Truffula Fruit, the main food that that ate. The problem with scarcity is that if it isn’t monitored then the resources will eventually run out. The Once-ler didn’t realize the scarcity he was creating among the clean air, Truffula Trees, and pond water by continuously using all of these resources without replenishing them. The outcomes of the choices he made left him with no demand, no money, and no resources to continue on with his business. Uncertainty is very hard to manage. You can’t assign a probability, value or outcome to something that is unknown. In the story the source of uncertainty is the biological nature of production. When you make poor decisions they are bound to have outcomes with issues of uncertainty. The Once-ler only saw the opportunities the Thneeds gave him incrementally; he didn’t look at the big picture of things. He failed to acknowledge every situation he faced with the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming-Fish, thinking they were all part of the standard operating procedures in business, causing each of the potential risks faced to create a much larger ap of uncertainty. By the end of the story the Once-ler poor decisions inefficiently used all of his resources up, forced everyone out of the town, and left him with the inability to manage these unintended outcomes of uncertainty. The interdependencies that are central to the story are asset specificity and high exclusion costs. Asset specificity is the aspect or feature of an asset that makes it useful for one or more specific purpos e and therefore cannot easily be sold off. The Truffula Trees, the ponds, and the air are all goods with specific uses to each individual with the potential to be held hostage by the Once-ler, the Lorax, the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, or the Humming Fish. In order for high asset specificity to occur there should have been some type of contract created between the parties to prevent one single party from taking advantage of the resources to achieve some opportunity. To avoid the potential of an asset holding situation, a buyer-seller relationship could have been created between the Once-ler and the the Lorax/Brown Bar-ba-loots/Swomee-Swans/Humming Fish. If this had occurred in the story the Lorax, the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming Fish wouldn’t have been forced to leave and the environment would have lasted. High exclusion cost goods are what determines the provisions of the good; if the good exists for one user it is costly to exclude others. The Truffula Trees, the air, and the ponds are all considered high exclusion cost goods. The Lorax, the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming Fish had the token right to exclude the Once-ler from using these goods unless he contributes to the production or maintenance of the goods, but they didn’t. This gave the Once-ler the ability to use the Truffula Trees, the air, and the ponds as he saw fit, that is to make the Thneeds, without contributing anything back. The Once-ler is a clear cut case of what is known as a free-rider; a major problem associated with high exclusion cost goods. Before the Once-ler comes to town, the property rights of the Truffula Trees, the air, and the ponds lie with Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming Fish; everyone respects the usage of one another and no actions need to be taken to enforce those rights. When the Once-ler comes to town the usage of the Truffula Trees, the air, and the ponds comes into dispute. The Once-ler has the right to use Truffula Trees, the air, and the onds 24/7. The non-rights duties lie with the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming Fish; they must respect and tolerate the Once-ler. The Lorax has the obligation to enforce those rights. If different endowments of property rights occurred, such as an ordinance that limited the Once-ler’s usage of the Truffula Trees, the air, and the ponds, the Truffula Trees, the air, and the ponds wouldn’t have been overused and the Brown Bar-ba-loots, the Swomee-Swans, and the Humming Fish wouldn’t have been forced to leave town.

Role of Franchising in Business Growth

Role of Franchising in Business Growth CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Franchising has become one of the most recognizable business formats and an internationalization strategy for business practitioners globally and also in the United Kingdom especially in the way entrepreneurs are operating under other peoples business concept. It has emerged over the years as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. This research critically examines how franchising play vital role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry, using the Strand Mc Donalds as a case study. The research looks at the importance of franchising, and will be very informative for organizations and stakeholders directly and indirectly involves in franchising business. This chapter looks at the research background, organization background, the research problem, the aim and objectives of the study, the scope and limitations, brief introduction of the study area and the structure of the research. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Franchising is basically a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only leases intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee but also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business. The franchisor will often assist the franchisee to run the business on an ongoing basis, (Hill 2008.pp 408). It is similar to licensing, although franchising tends to involve longer term commitments than licensing. Franchising is a method of distributing products or services. At least two levels of people are involved in a franchise agreement, namely: the Franchisor, who lends his trade mark or trade name and a business system; and the Franchisee, who pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisors name and system of operations, technically, the contract binding the two parties is the franchise. Franchising has emerged in recent years as a highly significant strategy for business growth, job creation, and economic development at both local and international retail business arena, (Hoffman Prebble, 1995.p 80). It has moved from traditional product (trade mark) areas such as automobiles, petroleum and soft -drink bottlers to be a more proven format business concept. Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local businessmen and women. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the worlds is McDonalds. So much has been written about Ray Kroc and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today there are more than 30,000 McDonalds in 118 countries. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. (Teixeira, 2005, p. 20). The international franchise association estimates that American consumers spend approximately 1.3 trillion dollars on franchise goods and services on an annual basis. (Teixeira 2005, p.19). This shows that the franchise strategy is one of the important aspects in expanding business and economic development. Different research methods will be used to analyze data/ findings for this research, and the sources of data will include observations and interviews. This research therefore, focuses on the importance of franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy from both the franchisee and the franchisors perspective. It also examines the relationship that exists between the franchisee and the franchisor .The benefits of franchising to Mc Donalds (franchisors) in expanding its business globally and its international market position through leveraging its brand name and business process through the utilization of the capital and local management of its franchisees will also be examine in this research. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND McDonalds Corporation (McDonalds) is one of the worlds largest foodservice retailing chain. The company is known for its burgers and fries which it sells through more than 31,900 fast-food restaurants in over 100 countries. The company originated and operates mainly in the US and has expanded globally to over 100 countries including United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois and employs about 400,000people. The company recorded revenues of $23,522.4 million during fiscal year ending December 2008 (FY2008), an increase of 3.2% over FY2007. The operating profit of the company was $6,442.9 million during FY2008, an increase of 66.1% over FY2007. The net profit was $4,313.2 million in FY2008, an increase of 80.1% over FY2007. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Data monitor) June 2009, p.16) McDonalds restaurants offer a substantially uniform menu, although there might be geographic variations. In financial year 2008, the company operated more than 31,900 fast food restaurants in over 100 countries in the following geographic segments: the US; Europe; Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA); Latin America and Canada. The company is one of the worlds largest food service retailing chain, preparing and serving a range of foods. All McDonalds restaurants offer a standard menu, which comprise food items such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, French fries, salads, milk shakes, desserts and ice cream sundaes. Some McDonalds restaurants offer additional food items to suit local taste and preferences and sell a variety of other products during limited-time promotions. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile (Datamonitor), June 2009, p.5) McDonalds generates revenues through company operated restaurants and franchisee restaurants where over 6,500 are operated by the company and over 25,400 are operated by franchisees and affiliates. The companys revenue comprises sales from company operated restaurants and fees as well as rent from franchisees and affiliates. Under the franchise arrangement, the franchisees invest in the equipment, signage, seating and decor, while the company owns or leases the land and building. Franchisees pay the company service fees and rent for premises. A service fee is set as a percentage of sales, while rent and other terms of occupancy are stipulated in the franchise agreement, which is drawn for a period of 20 years. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, June 2009) The company and its franchisees as well as affiliates source purchase food, packaging, equipment and other goods from approved suppliers. The company maintains quality standards through assurance laboratories around the world. A quality assurance board, including the companys technical, safety and supply chain specialists, provide guidance on all aspects of food quality and safety. The major competitors of McDonalds include Starbucks corporations, Burger Kings Inc, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and other upcoming high streets food restaurants worldwide. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Datamonitor) June 2009) In October 1974, the company opened its 3000th restaurant and the first in the U.K in woolwich, south-east London, (Business franchise, 2009). The U.K headoffice was sited in Hampstead, North London.Web1 Also in 1986, the first U.K franchisee- operated restaurant opened in Hayes, Middlesex, (Business franchise,2009) and the first Drive-thru restaurants opened in U.K at fallowfield, Dudley, Neasden and Coventry. Web1 RESEARCH PROBLEM Research problem forms the basis of most academic research study. It is based on this that the aim, objectives and the research questions of most dissertations are formulated. There must be identified problems that the dissertation seems to tackle, mostly business problems. Despite the popularity of franchising among business organizations and entrepreneurs nowadays as a business expansion and development strategy, it has been unacceptable to some entrepreneurs because of its disadvantages and risks involved. To these groups of individuals, setting up and management of owned business is the best option, no matter which forms it take to start. The assumption is that franchising is a system of building, expanding and adding value to someone else existing business, which many entrepreneurs will always avoid, as Norman(2006) indicated Many conclude the time, effort, money and shift in emphasis from running a business to helping others run businesses is not right for their companies,(p3) On the other side, some individuals choose franchising as their best option to start up business because of its merits and less risk involved in starting business. To these pro-franchising entrepreneurs, it plays a major role in business growth and expansion, especially in retail food industry globally. This research, therefore critically examines these arguments and answer the question how is franchising vital to retail business growth and expansion according to the views of the pro- franchising business entrepreneurs. SIGNIFICACE OF THE STUDY Theoretically, a broad range of literature does exist on franchising concepts and in most instances, there seems to be gap between theory and practice in most business organizations. However, it is significant to find out the practicality of the literature in real life situations. It is essential therefore, to carry out this study in order to find out whether in reality the ideas provided by literatures are actually revolving around management issues and applied to business organizations. The findings of this study will assist a wide range of stakeholders interested in franchising business including the government, private sectors, and local authorities to increase the general understanding and knowledge of franchising particularly in the food sector. To the researchers, academicians, it helps deepen further research in business development who will be interested in franchising in the future. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The main aim of this dissertation is to investigate how franchising play an essential role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry. Research Objectives In order to achieve the above stated aim, the following objectives will be specified: Analyze the impacts and importance of franchising (business format) on organizations (business) growth and expansion. Assess the benefits of franchised businesses on the socio-economic growth of the economy. To determine whether economic conditions affects the success of franchising as a strategy for business growth and expansion. Investigate the importance of the franchisee-franchisor relationship on the business growth and expansion. Examine the risks involved in the franchising relationship. Examine the effects/impacts of globalization on franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy. To make suggestions and recommendations based on the findings elicited by the study. THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study was carried out in London covering using one of the McDonalds restaurants as the study area. The content of the study was to understand how franchising contributes to business growth and expansion in retail business sector. THE STUDY AREA London is one of the cities of England; it is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It has 32 boroughs, of which 13 are in the inner London and 19 constitute the outer London. (Office for National Statistics Online). Web2cited. It is a growing city spreading out and swallowing many villages and towns in the south east of England. Because of this, there are many conflicting definitions of London and Greater London and the population of London varies accordingly. As the capital city, London occupies over 6,267 square miles (16,043km2). London population is heavily concentrated at about 4,539 people per sq km/ 11,568 per sq mi. Web3 According to the figure from the April 2001 census, London population was 7,172,000. This represents 14.6 percent of the total population of Britain. The population as of mid 2005 was thought to have been increased to 7,517,700 of which about half of this figure lives in inner and central London and the remaining lives in outer boroughs. Web 3 Londons population has grown every year since 1988, and it is likely that in the years to 2031, it will continue its steady growth. The study area lies in inner London borough of Westminster, which lies in the busy business environment of the city (central business district), It is very close to the seat of power, the parliament, and it is very close to many international business environments, busy London streets, tourist attractions like the London eye, Trafalgar square, British museum, National Gallery, National Art gallery, Covent Garden- since its redevelopment in the 1970s has become a popular piazza and nucleus for visitor activity in Londons cultural district with theatre, opera and ballet venues. (Page et al, 2001.p122). London is a multicultural city, where different people from around the world lives and study, it comprises of individuals with diverse cultural background. Because of the above description about the study area, it has become an important area to carry out this research, because of the concentration of other franchised business in the area. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH Chapter One (Introduction): This state clearly the purpose of the dissertation, it includes the background of the study, significant of study, the statement of the research problems, organization background, the research aims and objectives, scope and limitations of the study. It also describes the study area briefly. Chapter Two (Literature Review): This section deals with the academic review of texts, journals, articles and so on, relevant to this research topic. It also discusses model and relevant theoretical ideas on the subject matter. Chapter Three (Research Methodology): comprises the methodology used for this study. It includes the styles and techniques chosen in collecting primary and secondary data/ informations for this research purpose. Chapter Four (Data Analysis/ Research Findings): The chapter that report and describes the findings of the survey to be undertaken, it describes both primary and secondary findings. Chapter Five (Conclusions and Recommendations): This chapter set out the main findings of the dissertations linking it with the literature reviews and the research findings. It also sets out clear recommendations which came out of the research work. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a review of relevant literatures on franchising. It will be used as a base to throw more light on the importance of franchising concept and the roles it plays in business growth and expansion. The literatures were selected and critically evaluated in a bid to sift the relevant informations, and portray the opinions of relevant authors. It offers academic insight to research previously conducted by authors on the importance of franchising to retail business growth. Lastly, the section acknowledges the principal research questions for this study. DEFINITIONS OF FRANCHISING CONCEPT Hill, (2008) defines franchising as a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only sells the intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee, but it also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business, (p.408). It usually involves long term commitments than licensing. On the other hand, Business format franchising is a joint venture between an independent person (the franchisee) and a business owner (the franchisor) who wants to expand its activities. The venture is governed by a contract. This gives the franchisee the right to operate using the franchisors trade name/ trademark, in accordance with a business format or blueprint. All aspects of the franchisees business are strictly controlled including image, products or service, systems and administration. (HSBC Bank, 2009.p1) The franchisee pays certain amount of money for the right to use the franchisors trademark. Firms use franchise arrangements to extend scarce firm resources, because the franchisee puts up both an initial fee and much of the capital investment, franchisors are able to expand their markets without having to generate capital by themselves, and in most cases exploit on the knowledge of the local entrepreneurs in expanding their business. This is an attractive option, particularly in mass consumer services such as fast food that require the construction of many units to achieve brand name recognition and increased market share like McDonalds Restaurants. BRIEF HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT IN FRANCHISING Franchising is highly developed in the USA, although popular in the UK, but a recent phenomenon. Its development dates back to the end of the American civil war (1865), when the singer sewing company franchised exclusive sales territories to financially independent operators. In 1898, General motors used independently owned businesses to increase its distribution outlet. (Lancaster Reynolds, 2005, p160).At some point, there were some form of disagreements and arguments among historians in the United States regarding when the franchise system first started. According to Bythe Bennett,(2008), franchising began to gain acceptance as a viable business arrangement with the growth of automobile industry, and also in the petroleum industry during the 1930s, (p.234) Franchising became one of the fastest growing types of retailing business in the United Kingdom in recent years.It was introduced into the UK in the early 1950s and since those early days, has become respectable and often very profitable business concept as a result of explosion in the number of franchises being operated. Today franchising encompasses products from pipes to pastries and includes such well known names as Body Shop, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, and so on. (Lancaster Massingham, 1999, p269). For instance, Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today, McDonalds has over 300,000 restaurants in 119 countries outside the U.S or in non-traditional site locations in the US. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the world today is McDonalds and so much has been written about Ray krok and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. (Teixeira, 2005. p.20-21). Teixeira, (2005, p21), indicated that during 1960s and 1970s, the growth of franchise industry exploded and continued to gain appeal with a boom mostly in Europe, on an increased rate, and this has been supported also by welsh (1992) in Doole Robin (2004) franchising has grown rapidly during the 1990s due to the strong interest in a variety of franchise formats, (p.230). These successes remain an ongoing process. According to Ghauri Cateora (2005, p.280), franchising has become the fastest growing market entry strategy, it is often among the first types of foreign retail business to open in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China. It has become successful as it is evidenced in most retail food business, and it has now become a major business growth and development and marketing strategy globally. It can be viewed from these two perspectives. McDonalds is a good example of organization that has grown with franchising strategy, (Hill, 2008.p.408). Franchising explosion in recent years however has increasingly saturated the domestic market, where businesses are opening in airports, sports stadiums, colleges, hospitals, parks, casinos, pools and other strategic locations globally. (Kotler Keller, 2006.p508) Lastly, the surge in franchising has been underpinned by the efforts of different bodies who regulates the activities of franchised organizations, like the International Franchise Association, (IFA), British Franchising Association, (BFA) various franchising organizations globally, which has developed codes of practice for franchising entrepreneurs, and in doing so, has recorded progress and greatly helped to reduce the risks to both franchisees and the franchisors. (BFA NatWest Bank, 1991). TYPES OF FRANCHISING Monir (1999 pp.164) identified two major types of franchising in his book. These include: First Generation/Product Distribution Franchising simply sells the franchisors products and is supplier-dealer relationships. In product distribution franchising, the franchisor licenses its trademark and logo to the franchisees but typically does not provide them with an entire system for running their business. This is often common with soft drink-bottling industries, automobile, and in petrol retailing. Second Generation/Business format franchising by contrast, the franchisor transfers a much more comprehensive business package (the format) to buyers of the franchisee. This contains most of the elements needed by the buyer to establish and replicate the business. The buyer also receives detailed instructions and guidance on how to operate the franchise successfully, managerial expertise, training and perhaps financial support if need be. Diagram 1: Showing Two major types of franchising There have been other divisions of franchising as recognized by other authors identified as important for the understanding of this research. Justis Judd, (2007, p.56) identifies two major types of franchising namely: product and trade name and business format franchising. Nathan, (2008 p.54) also classifies business format franchising into six major groupings as follows: executive, job, investment, management, retail, sales and distribution franchise. Also, on the other hand, Murray (2006, p.23), identifies four major categories as, Job, Retail, Management and Investment Franchising. Franchise Arrangements Beshel (2001,p3), reiterated that because of the possibilities of so many franchisors, industries and range of investments, there exists different types of franchise arrangements available to business owner. Two types of franchise arrangements were identified: Single-Unit(direct) franchise Multi-Unit Franchise ( Area development and Master development franchise) A single-unit (direct-unit) franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate one franchise unit. This is the simplest and most common type of franchise. It is possible, however, for a franchisee to purchase additional single-unit franchises once the original franchise unit begins to prosper, it is then considered a multiple, single-unit relationship. A multi-unit franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate more than one unit. Beshel (2001, p3), also identifies two ways in which multi-unit franchise can be achieved: An area development franchise or A master franchise. Under an area development franchise, a franchisee has the right to open more than one unit during a specific time, within a specified area. For instance, a franchisee may agree to open 5 units over a five year period in a specified territory, while master franchise agreement gives the franchisee more rights than an area development agreement. In addition to having the right and obligation to open and operate a certain number of units in a defined area, the master franchisee also has the right to sell franchises to other people within the territory, known as sub-franchises. Therefore, the master franchisee takes over many of the tasks, duties and benefits of the franchisor, such as providing support and training, as well as receiving fees and royalties, (Beshel, 2001, p3-4). Blair Lafontaine (2005, p.90) and Philip et al, (2006, p.77) also identifies the above four classifications as forms of franchising where all the four were grouped together. Building a strong foundation for a successful franchising strategy A successful franchising concept needs an appropriate business strategy and lots of facts have been identified as making a business appropriate to be franchised and make it worthwhile to invest in. According to HSBC Bank, (2009, p1), a well established and proven business format franchise from the franchisee perspective should provide an established market for the franchisors products and services, proven sales, marketing and operational procedures, the benefit of an established business name, training (ongoing support and help in running the business), also, where appropriate, help in finding, fitting out and furnishing premises. Hoffman Prebble (2008, p.68) also add some factors that influence the appropriateness of a business concept using franchising including; valuable System to sell, proprietary process/ advantage for making the product in getting to the end customers, a satisfactory brand/ trade name like McDonalds which will be acceptable to the larger population, and high Profit Margin business. On the other hand, Murray (2004,p.67), shows some possibilities in which potential franchisee get a proven business format and support from the franchisor, which includes, an entire business concept with no bits missing out, with the aid of the operating manuals, trademarks, logos, patents, and standard designs for the layout of the premises, colour and pattern of staff uniforms, accounting and financial systems, training and help to set up the business, continuing help and back-up once the business is operating, legal right to operate in an exclusive territory and marketing, public relations and advertising support, decor in case of retail franchises, the franchisor will provide design and advice for the fitting and decoration of the shop and the installation of any equipment necessary, records, the franchisor will provide the franchisee with sales report and accounts forms to assist the franchisee maintain accurate financial report. On the franchisors perspectives, Sherman (2003, p414), explains that in order for business growth through franchising, a secure foundation from which companys franchising programme has to be launched. He uses the concept of the responsible franchising as the only way to avoid failure and to ensure a harmonious relationship with the franchisees. He outlines some of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy. These includes, proven prototype location/ chains of stores, strong management team, sufficient capitalization, distinctive and protected trade identity, comprehensive training programmes franchisees, proprietary and proven methods of operation and management, field support staff who are skilled trainers and communicators, set of comprehensive legal documents, demonstrated market demand for the companys products and services, set of carefully developed, uniform site selection criteria and architectural standards, genuine understanding of the competition, relationship s with suppliers, lenders, real estates developers, franchisee profile and screening system, an effective system of reporting and record-keeping, research and development capabilities, communication system, national, regional and local advertising, marketing and so on. Sherman (2003, p.417), went further to acknowledge that Responsible franchising starts with an understanding of the strategic essence of the franchising structure. He identified three critical components of the franchise systems from the franchisors perspective. The brand, which creates the demand, allowing the franchisee to initially obtain customers, the brand includes the companys trademarks and service marks, its trade dress, decor and all of the intangible factors that create customer loyalty and build brand equity, the operating system, which essentially delivers the promise, thereby allowing the franchisee to maintain customer relationships and build loyalty, the ongoing support and training that the franchisors provide, supplying the franchisee with the tools and tips to expand its customer base and build its market share. Sherman, (2003,) also acknowledges the importance of customers in any responsible franchising business concept. He mentions that the responsibly built franchise system is one that provides value to its franchisees by teaching them how to get and keep as many customers as possible who consume as many products and services as possible, as often as possible,(p.417). He concludes that the focus must always be on the customer, where the franchisor essentially licenses and delegates the task of local brand building and market expansion to the franchisee in its local territory. (Sherman, 2003, p.417) Importance of Franchising To Business Growth and Expansion Franchising has gained much popularity in modern business environment over the years, because of its success in contributing to business growth and expansion globally which is the primary aim of this research. This can be viewed from the perspective of the franchisee and franchisor respectively. Sherman (2003) acknowledges the growth of a business via business-format franchising in the United States. He maintains that The ability to obtain operating efficiencies and economies of scale are among the reasons for franchising and one of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy is a proven type of location that will serve as a basis for a franchising strategy, (p.411). Over the past three decades, franchising has emerged as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. Sherman,(2003), points to the importance of franchising, he states that recent international franchise association (IFA) statistics demonstrates that retail sales from franchised outlets comprise nearly 50% of all retail sales in the U.S, estimated at more than $900 billion and employing some nine million people in 2000. (p.411) Also in his view, Sherman,( 2003,p 411), points out to what has made franchising so popular in the U.S. and globally as a business development and expansion strategy, from the franchisors view, franchising represents an efficient method of rapid market penetration and product distribution, without the typical capital costs associated with internal expansion.On the other hand, from the franchisees perspective, franchising is regarded as a method of owning a business but with a less severe chance of failure due to the initial and ongoing training and support services offered by the franchisor. According to Shay (2009, p.6) franchising is the key to Global Economic Recovery and that franchise businesses represent some of the worlds best brands. He went on to explain the rate at which fra Role of Franchising in Business Growth Role of Franchising in Business Growth CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Franchising has become one of the most recognizable business formats and an internationalization strategy for business practitioners globally and also in the United Kingdom especially in the way entrepreneurs are operating under other peoples business concept. It has emerged over the years as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. This research critically examines how franchising play vital role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry, using the Strand Mc Donalds as a case study. The research looks at the importance of franchising, and will be very informative for organizations and stakeholders directly and indirectly involves in franchising business. This chapter looks at the research background, organization background, the research problem, the aim and objectives of the study, the scope and limitations, brief introduction of the study area and the structure of the research. RESEARCH BACKGROUND Franchising is basically a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only leases intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee but also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business. The franchisor will often assist the franchisee to run the business on an ongoing basis, (Hill 2008.pp 408). It is similar to licensing, although franchising tends to involve longer term commitments than licensing. Franchising is a method of distributing products or services. At least two levels of people are involved in a franchise agreement, namely: the Franchisor, who lends his trade mark or trade name and a business system; and the Franchisee, who pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisors name and system of operations, technically, the contract binding the two parties is the franchise. Franchising has emerged in recent years as a highly significant strategy for business growth, job creation, and economic development at both local and international retail business arena, (Hoffman Prebble, 1995.p 80). It has moved from traditional product (trade mark) areas such as automobiles, petroleum and soft -drink bottlers to be a more proven format business concept. Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local businessmen and women. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the worlds is McDonalds. So much has been written about Ray Kroc and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today there are more than 30,000 McDonalds in 118 countries. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. (Teixeira, 2005, p. 20). The international franchise association estimates that American consumers spend approximately 1.3 trillion dollars on franchise goods and services on an annual basis. (Teixeira 2005, p.19). This shows that the franchise strategy is one of the important aspects in expanding business and economic development. Different research methods will be used to analyze data/ findings for this research, and the sources of data will include observations and interviews. This research therefore, focuses on the importance of franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy from both the franchisee and the franchisors perspective. It also examines the relationship that exists between the franchisee and the franchisor .The benefits of franchising to Mc Donalds (franchisors) in expanding its business globally and its international market position through leveraging its brand name and business process through the utilization of the capital and local management of its franchisees will also be examine in this research. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND McDonalds Corporation (McDonalds) is one of the worlds largest foodservice retailing chain. The company is known for its burgers and fries which it sells through more than 31,900 fast-food restaurants in over 100 countries. The company originated and operates mainly in the US and has expanded globally to over 100 countries including United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois and employs about 400,000people. The company recorded revenues of $23,522.4 million during fiscal year ending December 2008 (FY2008), an increase of 3.2% over FY2007. The operating profit of the company was $6,442.9 million during FY2008, an increase of 66.1% over FY2007. The net profit was $4,313.2 million in FY2008, an increase of 80.1% over FY2007. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Data monitor) June 2009, p.16) McDonalds restaurants offer a substantially uniform menu, although there might be geographic variations. In financial year 2008, the company operated more than 31,900 fast food restaurants in over 100 countries in the following geographic segments: the US; Europe; Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA); Latin America and Canada. The company is one of the worlds largest food service retailing chain, preparing and serving a range of foods. All McDonalds restaurants offer a standard menu, which comprise food items such as hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, French fries, salads, milk shakes, desserts and ice cream sundaes. Some McDonalds restaurants offer additional food items to suit local taste and preferences and sell a variety of other products during limited-time promotions. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile (Datamonitor), June 2009, p.5) McDonalds generates revenues through company operated restaurants and franchisee restaurants where over 6,500 are operated by the company and over 25,400 are operated by franchisees and affiliates. The companys revenue comprises sales from company operated restaurants and fees as well as rent from franchisees and affiliates. Under the franchise arrangement, the franchisees invest in the equipment, signage, seating and decor, while the company owns or leases the land and building. Franchisees pay the company service fees and rent for premises. A service fee is set as a percentage of sales, while rent and other terms of occupancy are stipulated in the franchise agreement, which is drawn for a period of 20 years. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, June 2009) The company and its franchisees as well as affiliates source purchase food, packaging, equipment and other goods from approved suppliers. The company maintains quality standards through assurance laboratories around the world. A quality assurance board, including the companys technical, safety and supply chain specialists, provide guidance on all aspects of food quality and safety. The major competitors of McDonalds include Starbucks corporations, Burger Kings Inc, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and other upcoming high streets food restaurants worldwide. (McDonalds Corporation Company profile, (Datamonitor) June 2009) In October 1974, the company opened its 3000th restaurant and the first in the U.K in woolwich, south-east London, (Business franchise, 2009). The U.K headoffice was sited in Hampstead, North London.Web1 Also in 1986, the first U.K franchisee- operated restaurant opened in Hayes, Middlesex, (Business franchise,2009) and the first Drive-thru restaurants opened in U.K at fallowfield, Dudley, Neasden and Coventry. Web1 RESEARCH PROBLEM Research problem forms the basis of most academic research study. It is based on this that the aim, objectives and the research questions of most dissertations are formulated. There must be identified problems that the dissertation seems to tackle, mostly business problems. Despite the popularity of franchising among business organizations and entrepreneurs nowadays as a business expansion and development strategy, it has been unacceptable to some entrepreneurs because of its disadvantages and risks involved. To these groups of individuals, setting up and management of owned business is the best option, no matter which forms it take to start. The assumption is that franchising is a system of building, expanding and adding value to someone else existing business, which many entrepreneurs will always avoid, as Norman(2006) indicated Many conclude the time, effort, money and shift in emphasis from running a business to helping others run businesses is not right for their companies,(p3) On the other side, some individuals choose franchising as their best option to start up business because of its merits and less risk involved in starting business. To these pro-franchising entrepreneurs, it plays a major role in business growth and expansion, especially in retail food industry globally. This research, therefore critically examines these arguments and answer the question how is franchising vital to retail business growth and expansion according to the views of the pro- franchising business entrepreneurs. SIGNIFICACE OF THE STUDY Theoretically, a broad range of literature does exist on franchising concepts and in most instances, there seems to be gap between theory and practice in most business organizations. However, it is significant to find out the practicality of the literature in real life situations. It is essential therefore, to carry out this study in order to find out whether in reality the ideas provided by literatures are actually revolving around management issues and applied to business organizations. The findings of this study will assist a wide range of stakeholders interested in franchising business including the government, private sectors, and local authorities to increase the general understanding and knowledge of franchising particularly in the food sector. To the researchers, academicians, it helps deepen further research in business development who will be interested in franchising in the future. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES The main aim of this dissertation is to investigate how franchising play an essential role in retail business growth and expansion in the food industry. Research Objectives In order to achieve the above stated aim, the following objectives will be specified: Analyze the impacts and importance of franchising (business format) on organizations (business) growth and expansion. Assess the benefits of franchised businesses on the socio-economic growth of the economy. To determine whether economic conditions affects the success of franchising as a strategy for business growth and expansion. Investigate the importance of the franchisee-franchisor relationship on the business growth and expansion. Examine the risks involved in the franchising relationship. Examine the effects/impacts of globalization on franchising as a business growth and expansion strategy. To make suggestions and recommendations based on the findings elicited by the study. THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study was carried out in London covering using one of the McDonalds restaurants as the study area. The content of the study was to understand how franchising contributes to business growth and expansion in retail business sector. THE STUDY AREA London is one of the cities of England; it is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. It has 32 boroughs, of which 13 are in the inner London and 19 constitute the outer London. (Office for National Statistics Online). Web2cited. It is a growing city spreading out and swallowing many villages and towns in the south east of England. Because of this, there are many conflicting definitions of London and Greater London and the population of London varies accordingly. As the capital city, London occupies over 6,267 square miles (16,043km2). London population is heavily concentrated at about 4,539 people per sq km/ 11,568 per sq mi. Web3 According to the figure from the April 2001 census, London population was 7,172,000. This represents 14.6 percent of the total population of Britain. The population as of mid 2005 was thought to have been increased to 7,517,700 of which about half of this figure lives in inner and central London and the remaining lives in outer boroughs. Web 3 Londons population has grown every year since 1988, and it is likely that in the years to 2031, it will continue its steady growth. The study area lies in inner London borough of Westminster, which lies in the busy business environment of the city (central business district), It is very close to the seat of power, the parliament, and it is very close to many international business environments, busy London streets, tourist attractions like the London eye, Trafalgar square, British museum, National Gallery, National Art gallery, Covent Garden- since its redevelopment in the 1970s has become a popular piazza and nucleus for visitor activity in Londons cultural district with theatre, opera and ballet venues. (Page et al, 2001.p122). London is a multicultural city, where different people from around the world lives and study, it comprises of individuals with diverse cultural background. Because of the above description about the study area, it has become an important area to carry out this research, because of the concentration of other franchised business in the area. STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH Chapter One (Introduction): This state clearly the purpose of the dissertation, it includes the background of the study, significant of study, the statement of the research problems, organization background, the research aims and objectives, scope and limitations of the study. It also describes the study area briefly. Chapter Two (Literature Review): This section deals with the academic review of texts, journals, articles and so on, relevant to this research topic. It also discusses model and relevant theoretical ideas on the subject matter. Chapter Three (Research Methodology): comprises the methodology used for this study. It includes the styles and techniques chosen in collecting primary and secondary data/ informations for this research purpose. Chapter Four (Data Analysis/ Research Findings): The chapter that report and describes the findings of the survey to be undertaken, it describes both primary and secondary findings. Chapter Five (Conclusions and Recommendations): This chapter set out the main findings of the dissertations linking it with the literature reviews and the research findings. It also sets out clear recommendations which came out of the research work. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a review of relevant literatures on franchising. It will be used as a base to throw more light on the importance of franchising concept and the roles it plays in business growth and expansion. The literatures were selected and critically evaluated in a bid to sift the relevant informations, and portray the opinions of relevant authors. It offers academic insight to research previously conducted by authors on the importance of franchising to retail business growth. Lastly, the section acknowledges the principal research questions for this study. DEFINITIONS OF FRANCHISING CONCEPT Hill, (2008) defines franchising as a specialized form of licensing in which the franchisor not only sells the intangible property (normally a trademark) to the franchisee, but it also insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does business, (p.408). It usually involves long term commitments than licensing. On the other hand, Business format franchising is a joint venture between an independent person (the franchisee) and a business owner (the franchisor) who wants to expand its activities. The venture is governed by a contract. This gives the franchisee the right to operate using the franchisors trade name/ trademark, in accordance with a business format or blueprint. All aspects of the franchisees business are strictly controlled including image, products or service, systems and administration. (HSBC Bank, 2009.p1) The franchisee pays certain amount of money for the right to use the franchisors trademark. Firms use franchise arrangements to extend scarce firm resources, because the franchisee puts up both an initial fee and much of the capital investment, franchisors are able to expand their markets without having to generate capital by themselves, and in most cases exploit on the knowledge of the local entrepreneurs in expanding their business. This is an attractive option, particularly in mass consumer services such as fast food that require the construction of many units to achieve brand name recognition and increased market share like McDonalds Restaurants. BRIEF HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT IN FRANCHISING Franchising is highly developed in the USA, although popular in the UK, but a recent phenomenon. Its development dates back to the end of the American civil war (1865), when the singer sewing company franchised exclusive sales territories to financially independent operators. In 1898, General motors used independently owned businesses to increase its distribution outlet. (Lancaster Reynolds, 2005, p160).At some point, there were some form of disagreements and arguments among historians in the United States regarding when the franchise system first started. According to Bythe Bennett,(2008), franchising began to gain acceptance as a viable business arrangement with the growth of automobile industry, and also in the petroleum industry during the 1930s, (p.234) Franchising became one of the fastest growing types of retailing business in the United Kingdom in recent years.It was introduced into the UK in the early 1950s and since those early days, has become respectable and often very profitable business concept as a result of explosion in the number of franchises being operated. Today franchising encompasses products from pipes to pastries and includes such well known names as Body Shop, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, and so on. (Lancaster Massingham, 1999, p269). For instance, Over 80% of Mc Donald restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. They adapted Ray Krocs franchising business strategy of providing high standard of quality, friendly services, cleanliness and value, (QSCV). Also in the hotel industry, companies such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Hilton and Accor have employed franchising as their primary growth strategy globally. The first McDonalds were opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and soon afterward, more McDonalds outlets continued to open. Today, McDonalds has over 300,000 restaurants in 119 countries outside the U.S or in non-traditional site locations in the US. There is no doubt that when it comes to franchising and fast foods in general, McDonalds is the leader of the pack. Of course, the most well known restaurant franchise in the world today is McDonalds and so much has been written about Ray krok and the McDonalds brothers that McDonalds and Crock have become an institution. (Teixeira, 2005. p.20-21). Teixeira, (2005, p21), indicated that during 1960s and 1970s, the growth of franchise industry exploded and continued to gain appeal with a boom mostly in Europe, on an increased rate, and this has been supported also by welsh (1992) in Doole Robin (2004) franchising has grown rapidly during the 1990s due to the strong interest in a variety of franchise formats, (p.230). These successes remain an ongoing process. According to Ghauri Cateora (2005, p.280), franchising has become the fastest growing market entry strategy, it is often among the first types of foreign retail business to open in the emerging market economies of Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China. It has become successful as it is evidenced in most retail food business, and it has now become a major business growth and development and marketing strategy globally. It can be viewed from these two perspectives. McDonalds is a good example of organization that has grown with franchising strategy, (Hill, 2008.p.408). Franchising explosion in recent years however has increasingly saturated the domestic market, where businesses are opening in airports, sports stadiums, colleges, hospitals, parks, casinos, pools and other strategic locations globally. (Kotler Keller, 2006.p508) Lastly, the surge in franchising has been underpinned by the efforts of different bodies who regulates the activities of franchised organizations, like the International Franchise Association, (IFA), British Franchising Association, (BFA) various franchising organizations globally, which has developed codes of practice for franchising entrepreneurs, and in doing so, has recorded progress and greatly helped to reduce the risks to both franchisees and the franchisors. (BFA NatWest Bank, 1991). TYPES OF FRANCHISING Monir (1999 pp.164) identified two major types of franchising in his book. These include: First Generation/Product Distribution Franchising simply sells the franchisors products and is supplier-dealer relationships. In product distribution franchising, the franchisor licenses its trademark and logo to the franchisees but typically does not provide them with an entire system for running their business. This is often common with soft drink-bottling industries, automobile, and in petrol retailing. Second Generation/Business format franchising by contrast, the franchisor transfers a much more comprehensive business package (the format) to buyers of the franchisee. This contains most of the elements needed by the buyer to establish and replicate the business. The buyer also receives detailed instructions and guidance on how to operate the franchise successfully, managerial expertise, training and perhaps financial support if need be. Diagram 1: Showing Two major types of franchising There have been other divisions of franchising as recognized by other authors identified as important for the understanding of this research. Justis Judd, (2007, p.56) identifies two major types of franchising namely: product and trade name and business format franchising. Nathan, (2008 p.54) also classifies business format franchising into six major groupings as follows: executive, job, investment, management, retail, sales and distribution franchise. Also, on the other hand, Murray (2006, p.23), identifies four major categories as, Job, Retail, Management and Investment Franchising. Franchise Arrangements Beshel (2001,p3), reiterated that because of the possibilities of so many franchisors, industries and range of investments, there exists different types of franchise arrangements available to business owner. Two types of franchise arrangements were identified: Single-Unit(direct) franchise Multi-Unit Franchise ( Area development and Master development franchise) A single-unit (direct-unit) franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate one franchise unit. This is the simplest and most common type of franchise. It is possible, however, for a franchisee to purchase additional single-unit franchises once the original franchise unit begins to prosper, it is then considered a multiple, single-unit relationship. A multi-unit franchise is an agreement where the franchisor grants a franchisee the rights to open and operate more than one unit. Beshel (2001, p3), also identifies two ways in which multi-unit franchise can be achieved: An area development franchise or A master franchise. Under an area development franchise, a franchisee has the right to open more than one unit during a specific time, within a specified area. For instance, a franchisee may agree to open 5 units over a five year period in a specified territory, while master franchise agreement gives the franchisee more rights than an area development agreement. In addition to having the right and obligation to open and operate a certain number of units in a defined area, the master franchisee also has the right to sell franchises to other people within the territory, known as sub-franchises. Therefore, the master franchisee takes over many of the tasks, duties and benefits of the franchisor, such as providing support and training, as well as receiving fees and royalties, (Beshel, 2001, p3-4). Blair Lafontaine (2005, p.90) and Philip et al, (2006, p.77) also identifies the above four classifications as forms of franchising where all the four were grouped together. Building a strong foundation for a successful franchising strategy A successful franchising concept needs an appropriate business strategy and lots of facts have been identified as making a business appropriate to be franchised and make it worthwhile to invest in. According to HSBC Bank, (2009, p1), a well established and proven business format franchise from the franchisee perspective should provide an established market for the franchisors products and services, proven sales, marketing and operational procedures, the benefit of an established business name, training (ongoing support and help in running the business), also, where appropriate, help in finding, fitting out and furnishing premises. Hoffman Prebble (2008, p.68) also add some factors that influence the appropriateness of a business concept using franchising including; valuable System to sell, proprietary process/ advantage for making the product in getting to the end customers, a satisfactory brand/ trade name like McDonalds which will be acceptable to the larger population, and high Profit Margin business. On the other hand, Murray (2004,p.67), shows some possibilities in which potential franchisee get a proven business format and support from the franchisor, which includes, an entire business concept with no bits missing out, with the aid of the operating manuals, trademarks, logos, patents, and standard designs for the layout of the premises, colour and pattern of staff uniforms, accounting and financial systems, training and help to set up the business, continuing help and back-up once the business is operating, legal right to operate in an exclusive territory and marketing, public relations and advertising support, decor in case of retail franchises, the franchisor will provide design and advice for the fitting and decoration of the shop and the installation of any equipment necessary, records, the franchisor will provide the franchisee with sales report and accounts forms to assist the franchisee maintain accurate financial report. On the franchisors perspectives, Sherman (2003, p414), explains that in order for business growth through franchising, a secure foundation from which companys franchising programme has to be launched. He uses the concept of the responsible franchising as the only way to avoid failure and to ensure a harmonious relationship with the franchisees. He outlines some of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy. These includes, proven prototype location/ chains of stores, strong management team, sufficient capitalization, distinctive and protected trade identity, comprehensive training programmes franchisees, proprietary and proven methods of operation and management, field support staff who are skilled trainers and communicators, set of comprehensive legal documents, demonstrated market demand for the companys products and services, set of carefully developed, uniform site selection criteria and architectural standards, genuine understanding of the competition, relationship s with suppliers, lenders, real estates developers, franchisee profile and screening system, an effective system of reporting and record-keeping, research and development capabilities, communication system, national, regional and local advertising, marketing and so on. Sherman (2003, p.417), went further to acknowledge that Responsible franchising starts with an understanding of the strategic essence of the franchising structure. He identified three critical components of the franchise systems from the franchisors perspective. The brand, which creates the demand, allowing the franchisee to initially obtain customers, the brand includes the companys trademarks and service marks, its trade dress, decor and all of the intangible factors that create customer loyalty and build brand equity, the operating system, which essentially delivers the promise, thereby allowing the franchisee to maintain customer relationships and build loyalty, the ongoing support and training that the franchisors provide, supplying the franchisee with the tools and tips to expand its customer base and build its market share. Sherman, (2003,) also acknowledges the importance of customers in any responsible franchising business concept. He mentions that the responsibly built franchise system is one that provides value to its franchisees by teaching them how to get and keep as many customers as possible who consume as many products and services as possible, as often as possible,(p.417). He concludes that the focus must always be on the customer, where the franchisor essentially licenses and delegates the task of local brand building and market expansion to the franchisee in its local territory. (Sherman, 2003, p.417) Importance of Franchising To Business Growth and Expansion Franchising has gained much popularity in modern business environment over the years, because of its success in contributing to business growth and expansion globally which is the primary aim of this research. This can be viewed from the perspective of the franchisee and franchisor respectively. Sherman (2003) acknowledges the growth of a business via business-format franchising in the United States. He maintains that The ability to obtain operating efficiencies and economies of scale are among the reasons for franchising and one of the key components of a responsible franchising strategy is a proven type of location that will serve as a basis for a franchising strategy, (p.411). Over the past three decades, franchising has emerged as a popular expansion strategy for a variety of product and service companies. Sherman,(2003), points to the importance of franchising, he states that recent international franchise association (IFA) statistics demonstrates that retail sales from franchised outlets comprise nearly 50% of all retail sales in the U.S, estimated at more than $900 billion and employing some nine million people in 2000. (p.411) Also in his view, Sherman,( 2003,p 411), points out to what has made franchising so popular in the U.S. and globally as a business development and expansion strategy, from the franchisors view, franchising represents an efficient method of rapid market penetration and product distribution, without the typical capital costs associated with internal expansion.On the other hand, from the franchisees perspective, franchising is regarded as a method of owning a business but with a less severe chance of failure due to the initial and ongoing training and support services offered by the franchisor. According to Shay (2009, p.6) franchising is the key to Global Economic Recovery and that franchise businesses represent some of the worlds best brands. He went on to explain the rate at which fra