Black Madonnas Essay Example for Free

Black Madonnas Essay According to Scheer Black Madonna’s have went from majesty to mystery with the construct of race as a science toward the end of the 18th century. With this construct of race it begins to dramatically undermine the pious interpretations of the objects and images surrounding the Black Madonna. A common theme used is that the Madonna’s became black unintentional, has greatly affected the depth into which the study of the Black Madonna’s has gone. Michael P. Duricy gives three categories in which the Madonna’s can be placed: 1) Dark brown or black Madonna’s with skin pigmentation matching that of the indigenous population. 2) Those that have turn black as a result of certain physical factors such as deterioration of lead-based paints, accumulated smoke from the use of votive candles; and the accumulation of grime over the ages. The third and final category is a residual category with no ready explanation. Charles Rohault de Fleury and Stephen Beissel support the second category that the images were blackened by the surround elements. There are two strong theories that if the Madonna was indeed intentionally darkened it was because the Madonna was to illustrate a text from the Canticle of Canticles or Song of Songs that said â€Å"I am black but beautiful† Stephen Benko summarizes the other theory as relating the Black Madonna to the ancient earth-goddess and then converted to Christianity. The most fertile soil is black in color and the blacker it is the more suited it is for agriculture. Scheer mentions that the ideas of pre-Christian beliefs are preserved in the folk culture of the Black Madonna’s earth centered spirituality at the helm of the hypothesis of the color choice of the Madonna’s. Scheer says that there is no mention of color of the Madonna’s only the recurrence in motifs of a miraculous find and the refused removal of the object or painting. Lastly, Scheer mentions that the votive tablets do not speak of when the images became black but when they were perceived Black.

Challenges to Infant and Toddler Goods Market

Challenges to Infant and Toddler Goods Market [Name: Yuet Chun LEUNG] 1.0Â  Introduction We are the fastest growing retailer of infant and toddler goods in the Australian market. As we are gearing up to meet the market demand, it appears that our online sales are growing. We are looking at what other retailers have done and experimenting with new forms of organising to support our expected growth. Thus, we can be a successful online retailer. Online retails being problems, the customer cannot try on the goods before buying them and international online orders with caution. 2.0Â  Summary of the issue The customer always complain they cannot try the product before buying them and what they do if they cannot get what they ordered. We can do the refund system if customer really do not like the product with no shipping costs that we can attract more customers to purchase products on our online retailer. According to Harvard Business Review (2017) Zappos provider clever solution to the customer cannot try the items before buying product. Zappos eliminated shipping costs and using the call center to establish the strong relationship with customers. The most important thing is customers can try them all on, and send back the ones they didnt like, gratis. (Harvard Business Review, 2017). Besides, customer always worries about if they cannot get what they ordered. We would provide the new order status page on the final page on our stores checkout. It is useful for see real-time updates on the location of their shipment and check the status of their shipment without needing to contact you directly (Shopify help center, 2017) to let customer check it and reassurance. Customers would concerns about the purchase fees when buying from foreign. According to Findlaw (2017) before you order, you need to know what is the product priced and is it converted to U.S.D if there displayed different currency. We accept U.S.D only, that would be more clearly, customers would not confuse with that. 3.0Â  Implications for the business Any online retailers problem or issue cannot without communication with customers. Therefore, we would create the new department which is Live Chat/Real-Time Support. According to Birkett (2017), 56% of responders have used live chat/real-time support to answer the question on companys website, 49% of responders are using this system for online-purchase questions. Furthermore, when live caht/real-time support, the staff can understand what the customer needs, that staff can recommend other items suit for customers, the sales would increase either. Also, we will provide the customer service training to our new department Live Chat/Real-Time Support use the positive language, find out the easiest solution, we know that, somethings could not be done and we have to explain it to customers in positive way (Kolodynska and Kolodynska, 2017). Make customers feel like we are bring the shop to customers home. Finally, we try to satisfy what all customers need, answer their online shopping question then our online retailer sales would substantially increase. Reference List Harvard Business Review. (2017). Zappos and the Connection Between Structure and Strategy. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2015/06/zappos-and-the-connection-between-structure-and-strategy Findlaw. (2017). Problems with Online Shopping FindLaw. [online] Available at: http://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/problems-with-online-shopping.html Shopify Help Center. (2017). Order status page. [online] Available at: https://help.shopify.com/manual/orders/status-tracking Birkett, A. (2017). What Do You Do When Your Customers Are Afraid To Shop Online?. [online] CXL. Available at: https://conversionxl.com/customers-afraid-shop-online/ Kolodynska, O. and Kolodynska, O. (2017). How to Say No to Customers Without Making them Angry. [online] LiveChat. Available at: https://www.livechatinc.com/blog/how-to-say-no-to-customers-without-making-them-angry/

Mahindra And Mahindra: SWOT and PESTEL Analysis

Mahindra And Mahindra: SWOT and PESTEL Analysis K. C. Mahindra is the person who established Mahindra and Mahindra when he visited United States of America as Chairman of the India Supply Mission. When he met Barney Roos who invented general purpose vehicle or Jeep who was the inspiration for K. C. Mahindra. K. C. Mahindra Brothers joined with Ghulam Mohammed. And Mahindra Mohammed was set up as franchise for assembling jeeps from Willys, USA on October 2nd, 1945. After Two years Mahindra Mohammed changed its name to Mahindra Mahindra. Mahindra Mahindra grown in size and stature and it also occupied a premier position in all key sectors of economy. Mahindra Mahindra group is engaged in an ambitious and prolonged penetration into the global arena. DIFFERENT VEHICLES IN MAHINDRA MAHINDRA: FIG a: Indias first Prime Minister.   FIG b: Mahindra Scorpio A passenger in the past FIG c: The electric car of Mahindra and FIG d: Mahindra tractor. its name is Mahindra REVA. FIG e: Mahindra Jeeps are used FIG f: Two wheeler model in Mahindra Mahindra for daily transport in Agra. and its name is Mahindra Flyte. The company encapsulated its ambition, spirit and inspiration from golden words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   But I have promises to keep,   And miles to go before I sleep,   And miles to go before I sleep. The golden words are translated into many more milestones to be set up before it rest. Today, It has evolved into a premium SUV(Sport Utility Vehicle) and MUV(Multi Utility Vehicle) with a large number of cars in the Indian car market. Today in the Indian car market we can see three types of Mahindra cars they are Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Maxx, Mahindra Scorpio. In the present scenario Mahindra Mahindra total turnover is of about 6 billion dollars. Organization analysis: Mission/Vision Goals and Objectives Strategy followed Vision: Indians are second in the world in manufacturing automobiles. The founders of our nation and our company passionately believed by us. We will prove them right by believing in ourselves and by making MM Ltd. known worldwide for the quality of its product and services. And its new innovations. The important goal of Mahindra Mahindra is to provide highly technological innovative product and services . E-business Initiatives and by out sourcing of technology Products that redefined the market By 2015 Mahindra Mahindra wants to enter almost all continents in the world. Joint ventures, acquisition and merger with different players in other countries Foreign competition. Mission of Anand Mahindra: We dont have a group-wide mission statement. Our core purpose is what makes all of us want to get up and come to work in the morning. Mr. Mahindra awards: Rajiv Gandhi Award 2004 for outstanding contribution in business field. From President of French Republic as Knight of the Order of Merit. In the year 2005 from Auto Monitor as Person of the year. From American India Foundation 2005 Leadership Award for his, and the Mahindra Mahindra group for its commitment to CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility). CNBC Asia Business Leader Award for the year 2006. Business Man of the year 2007 from Business India. Business Leader of the year 2009 by Economic Times. Miles stones of Mahindra Mahindra: In 1948 Mahindra Mahindra LTD associated with UK for Steel trading business. In 1957 Mahindra Owen established- a joint venture with Rubery Owen Company LTD, UK. In 1969 the Company entered the world market which exports utility vehicles and spare parts. In 1975 Mahindra Engines developed an diesel engine for its vehicles. In 1982 the Mahindra brand tractors were launched. In 1986 Tech Mahindra (formerly known as Mahindra British Telecom) is established. In 1994 Mahindra group created 6 Strategic Business Units they are: Automotive or Automobiles, Trading, Farm Equipment, Infrastructure, Financial Services, Information Technology(earlier it is Telecom and Software) and Systech(earlier it is MSAT). In 1999 Mahindra group launched a 3-wheeler vehicle which is environmental friendly, a battery-operated. In the year 2007 Mahindra group focused on health and the environment. It launched Mahindra Hariyali, which aims to add 1 million trees to Indias green cover and it also launched Lifeline Express. In the year 2007 Tech Mahindra LTD launched Tech Mahindra Foundation on June 13th 2007. These are the some of the milestones of Mahindra Mahindra groups. FOUR Is of Mahindra Mahindra: The four Is: INNOVATIONS. INFRASTRUCTURE. INVESTIMENT. INSTITUTIONS. INNOVATIONS: Mahindra Mahindra is one of the top industries in India. The director of the Mahindra Mahindra, Anand Mahindra, put innovation is the core of its growth strategy. The radical innovation is successful in managing the balance between the structured processes and the creation of an environment. According to this MM group: Innovation should start with the insight about customer, which the Mahindra Mahindra group found by going to fields and observing the lives of farmers. And this group found that the tractors were used for personal use. The Mahindra Mahindra group encourages the experiments. The new inventions should add value to companys bottom line that is nothing but profit. The important point is that great products should have great design. Thus Mahindra Mahindra took this initiative and made the culture of innovation. INFRASTRUCTURE: The Mahindra Mahindra infrastructure is a JV between Mahindra Group and International Finance Corporation. It works close association with global companies to bring world class technologies and practices. It mainly focus on ownership, development and management of infrastructure projects. It is becoming the leading infrastructure developer in the country. INSTITUTIONS: The Mahindra Mahindra group is placed in all sectors like Telecommunications and it is named as Tech Mahindra. Software, Mahindra Mahindra came to software field after buying Satyam company and it is named as Mahindra Satyam Mahindra Mahindra also has its recognition in the Infrastructure and it is named as Mahindra Infrastructure Developers. In this it also have holiday resorts it named as Mahindra Holidays and Resort LTD (MHRIL) Mahindra Mahindra is one of the top industry in India for automobiles and it is the starting point of Mahindra Mahindra company. Mahindra Mahindra also involved in financial sector and its name is Mahindra Mahindra Financial Service LTD. Mahindra Mahindra Group also have Mahindra Special Services which was established in 2001 as a separate division in Mahindra Mahindra. Mahindra Mahindra also have Mahindra Defence Systems which oversees the requirement of Indias Defence and Security forces. INVESTIMENTS: Mahindra Mahindra group have shares in many companies. Presently Mahindra Mahindra Group want to acquire Ssangyong and expand its business in international market. But on other hand, its investors are quite suspicious regarding the investment. In the past Mahindra Mahindra Group made many Joint Ventures and acquisitions and it has forayed into different sectors of automobiles like light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles. It also ambitious to acquire two wheelers also. PESTEL ANALYSIS ON MAHINDRA MAHINDRA: Many factors in the environment that affect the organization are: Tax changes. Trade barriers. Government policy changes. New laws. Demographic change. These are the some of the macro changes. Thus to analyze these factors we categorize them using PESTEL analysis. The PESTEL analysis includes Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Ecological, Legal factors. Political Factors: This is a Government policy which includes what are the goods and services does a Government want, to what extent the government can subsidize firms and its priorities in political decisions and business support. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: For Mahindra tractor industry the Government laid stress on mechanism of agriculture to boost food grain production. Change in Taxation policy. Regaining Agricultural dynamism is the key goal in eleventh Five year plan. Economical Factors: The Economical factors which includes taxation change, inflation, interest rates, economic growth and exchange rates. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Cost of tractors in India are more cheaper when compared to other countries. 95% of tractors are on credit based. For agriculture inputs Less interest rate charged by the banks. Social Factors: As the population increases the demand on goods get increased. Thus there will be demand for firm products and industry. As there is increase in awareness in farmers there is a need technology and thus there is a requirement of tractors and farmers can buy tractors on credit bases. To meet the farmers demand the mechanized operations are preferred to eliminate delay, also labor shortage. The other main important thing which Mahindra Mahindra do for its long-term sustainability is CSR(Corporate Social Responsibility). Mahindra Mahindra group spend Rs. 1.3 crore it is head donation in its annual report. Its activities include K. C. Mahindra Education Trust which provides education at various levels. There is another program for helping unprivileged girl child at the Mahindra foundation it is Nanhi. This are the main things which are done by Mahindra Mahindra group for its long-term sustainability. The Mahindra Mahindra also have its own foundation as Mahindra Foundation which was set up with a specific objective that to provide medical relief to poor people. The Mahindra foundation always very responsive to any major disasters whether it has been taken as tsunami or the Gujarat earthquake, it provided support either by financially or by sending vehicles, supplying manpower or material. Technological Factors: Increase in new Technology can create new products and process which can reduce the cost, improve the quality, lead to innovation and also reduce the life cycle of the product. This technology will benefit consumers as well as organizations. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Continuous technological innovation. Continuous improvement in technology will reduce use of Renewable energy development. Ecological Factors: It include weather and climate change. The major climate changes occurring due to Acid rain, Green-house effect, Global warming thus it is becoming significant for the firms. Thus because of this impact environmentally friendly products and processes have more demand and also creating business opportunities. The factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Global Warming. Mahindra group is trying to release electric cars to reduce the pollution and also reduce the usage of renewable goods. Legal Factors: Legal factors are related to legal environment. In recent years the developing countries changed the Legal factors which affected the firms in other countries due to globalization. The legal factors related to Mahindra Mahindra group: Agricultural policy Collaboration with government which shapes policy issues. SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) of Mahindra Mahindra group Strengths of Mahindra Mahindra group: Mahindra Mahindra is one of the top players in the world in terms of number of tractors sold. This itself shows that Mahindra Mahindra market share is the biggest strength of the company. It also have highest domestic share. The some other strengths of Mahindra Mahindra group: Product portfolio of Mahindra Mahindra got extended from 20hp to 30hp. There is government support for Mahindra Mahindra Group.A Availability of technically skilled people from JTC (Jiangling Tractor Company). For its next stage of expansion Mahindra Mahindra have a strategy. It not only focus on new products, it also have a programme of intensive management development to establish its leader for future. The major strength of Mahindra Mahindra is it have ability to introduce new products and process in to the market and also can generate sales for those new products. Weakness of Mahindra Mahindra group: The production is non-competitive because of high interest costs and overheads. Infrastructure of this group is Bottle neck. The companys passenger cars are based upon 3rd and 4th generation platform. In this group there is lack of efficiency for new plant layout. Another weakness of Mahindra Mahindra is multi franchise. In Mahindra Mahindra there is no effective dealership. The MM is mainly dependent on rural sector, the rural sector mainly depends on monsoon. Thus if there is bad monsoon for two consecutive years which leads to adverse impact on demand for tractors. Opportunities of Mahindra Mahindra group: Rural demand is increased. Income level is increasing. Ban for overloading of commercial vehicles. With the support of local partners there is an easy entry to Chinese market. The Mahindra Mahindra will be more competitive in Chinese market if they provided after sales service. To get more demand the Mahindra Mahindra group should export Chinese range tractors to India and Indian range tractors to China. Mahindra also entered in to software field after buying satyam and renamed it as Mahindra Satyam. Threats of Mahindra Mahindra group: Input cost got increased. Competition also increasing. The most important threat of Mahindra Mahindra is legal consideration. In China the Banking facilities are undeveloped. The MM also involved in different fields like holidays, telecom industry, financial services and resort etc. Which should have good subsidiaries from time to time if these are unmanageable this will divert the companys attention from its business which leads to destruction of shareholders value. Mahindra Mahindra will face more competition if the foreign players enter in to the tractor segment because these foreign players are technically more competitive when compared to MM. CONCULSION: Thus according to research on Mahindra Mahindra Group it shows that the company uses the Strategic Key points in the external environment for long-term sustainability and sustained success. It is the one which encourages the new ideas and also have plan to sale the new product in the market. This company is the one which try to develop new products for consumers. Mahindra Mahindra company is also socially responsible it give 1.3 crore only from its annual report for helping poor and unprivileged girls. Which shows that the company not only think about its profits but also feel the responsible about our country India. It is that which also do international trading with other countries. It also have a clear vision and goal which shows the dedication of the company. The mission itself says that it is not thinking about profits but it want develop ourselves. Mahindra and Mahindra tries to develop the new products which do not harm the environment and save the renewable reso urces example MAHINDRA REVA which is an electric car. According to research it shows that Mahindra Mahindra is one company which is respected and trusted by consumers and it is the top industry in INDIA.

Platos Argument For A Just Life :: essays research papers

Plato's Argument For A Just Life Plato's argument for the benefits of a just life is intrinsically linked to his definition of good and its relation to people's desires. He begins by showing that when the objective of a desire is simple (e.g. quenching a thirst), the desire must be correspondingly simple. Since thirst is a simple desire, the man's objective must also be simplistic and should we assign an adjective to his objective, we would falsely complicate it. In addition, Plato believes that we would be seriously erring if we assign a value of good to an desire. In common use, the adjective good would denote something that is good in relation to others of its kind. We consider a drink good if it contains characteristics that we look for in a drink (e.g. pleasantness or taste). Plato takes this a step further and states that something that is good must not only be good in relation to others but it must be wholly good. Thus a drink cannot be truly good if evil results from it. This poses an interesting question for Plato's readers namely, since no one wants bad things to happen to them, why do people engage in self-destructive activities? The answer lies in the fact that the only reason that we desire to drink is that we anticipate the result of our thirst being quenched. Our appetites see no further consequences than the immediate fulfillment of our desires; they do not contemplate the results of the actions we take to fulfill our desires. For this reason, Plato believes that we must separate the soul based on how it reacts to desires. There must be a part of the soul, Plato reasons, that contemplates the end result of our actions and makes decisions based on a higher reasoning than desire. So we see two distinct parts of the soul. The first is said to be appetite (which desires without reason) and reason (which considers the consequences). Reason may thus work against anything that is not for the total good of the man. Plato holds that if the desire were truly for a good drink, reason would never oppose it. Our usage of the word good, however, has come to denote an expectation of usefulness to our purpose; although this may be relative to the end result that we experience from the object. For example, we call a knife good because it is sharp and cuts well but if the end result is that we cut ourselves, we would say that the knife would have been better if it

My Watch :: Descriptive Watch Essays, Observation

My Watch My article of clothing is with me at all times. It consists of a 3cm circular base and two separate straps, each 6cm long connected by a metal clasp. These two straps and a clasp are then connected to the top and bottom of the base. The straps are outlined in hard rigid silver, looking as my uncle's smoothly brushed gray hair. Through the center of the 2cm wide straps is a 1cm in width gold strip. The gold looks as bright as a gold chalice from my local church. The clasp is a hard silvery gray such as that which borders the straps. The letters 'SEIKO' are clearly placed on the clasp in raised lettering. The clasp looks 3cm long when in the closed position, but when opened it extends to 11cm as two more 4cm metal pieces open outward. The face of the object is encircled with a gold color, gold as the trim on my father's Cadillac. Inside the gold trim, the background is a black color. The black is like the black rubber on my car's Cooper tires. Towards the top of this face, there is a number 12, the bottom has a number 6, and the leftmost number has a number 9. Each of these numbers are raised in lettering in a gold color. On the rightmost side, there is a 1/2cm x 1/5cm sized box. This box is then further separated in two parts. 2/3s of the box is devoted towards showing the current day's first 3 letters, now showing a THU for Thursday. The remaining space of the box is set aside for the date of the month. In this box the number 14 is shown. Both, the day and the date, are in white colors. This white is like a white hospital gown, starched and cleaned. The face of the object has 56 small lines all facing from the outside of the circle towards the middle. These gold lines are equally separated all aro the face of the object.

Glaxowellcome

Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome comply with regulations, and selling it to the end users while making a pro? t. In addition, there is a tariff for the import of candelilla wax into Japan of 3. 8 percent; this is for either ? rst or second re? ned candelilla wax. FUTURE OF THE CANDELILLA WAX INDUSTRY ? According to executives of Ceras Deserticas, the future of this market is promising. They expect growth in the future, although they they have not made public the actual estimated growth for the market. They are worried about the best path to take advantage of this growing and competitive market. The industry is consolidating and if Ceras Deserticas does nothing, it will either die or be taken over. As mentioned before, there are several joint ventures in which U. S. companies are investing in Mexico to guarantee a steady supply of candelilla wax. Both Ceras Nacionales de Mexico and †¢ 735 Multiceras have established joint ventures with American companies. They are p ursuing research and development to try to create a synthetic wax that can replicate the characteristics of candelilla wax and meet the requirements of end-users.DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Of the three options options presented at the beginning of ? the case, what should Ceras Deserticas do? 2. Why would Mitsuba Trading Co. be interested in a joint ? venture with Ceras Deserticas? 3. What would be the advantages and disadvantages for Ceras ? Deserticas of a joint venture? ? 4. What strategy must Ceras Deserticas follow in approaching joint venture? C ASE 21 THE HEADACHES OF GLAXOWELLCOME Migraine medicine is a key growth area for Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Glaxo); a Britain-based pharmaceutical company with global operations. 1 Glaxo’s primary business is to market prescription products to physicians and healthcare providers. Glaxo was the ? rst pharmaceutical company to manufacture and market a revolutionary new class of prescription migraine medications called ‘‘triptansà ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Triptans, which Glaxo launched in 1993, are a class of medications that work speci? cally on the 5HT-1 receptor sites, which are believed by doctors to be the primary cause of migraine headaches.In mid May of 1997, Sir Benjamin Palmer, the general manager of Glaxo’s CNS/GI Metabolic division, sat at the head of the conference table in room G-1 of the Glaxo Wellcome global headquarters in Stockley Park West, England. A group of 6 marketers (3 from the ‘‘Professional’’ team and 3 from the ‘‘Commercial’’ team) were staged in front of Palmer and two vice presidents of sales (East and West). The three of? cers listened attentively to the ? nal marketing presentation that more than 60 marketing team members had worked on for the past 19 months.The issue: How to launch Naramig, Glaxo’s new (second generation) prescription migraine medicine, in the U. K. In the back of Palmer’s mind were the following considerations: – Although Naramig was considered by Glaxo to be a better triptan than Imigran, in reality, there were some attributes of Naramig that were inferior to those of Imigran. – It was not as if Imigran had not been successful: Glaxo had captured 91 percent of the prescription medication market share (in ? s) for migraines in the U. K. – Glaxo expected the approval and launch of its competitor, Zeneca’s ? st triptan medication (Zomig) prior to that of Naramig, and likewise, expected Zeneca to market Zomig as a 2nd generation triptan. 8 1 Months Later 2 Early in February of 1998, a similar scene to that of 8 1 months 2 ago, in room G-1 of the U. K. headquarters, was taking place in a conference room located at the U. S. home of? ce in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Mark Glackin, U. S. General Manager of Glaxo’s CNS/GI Metabolic Division, considered several marketing options presented by the team for the U. S. aunch of Amerge, Glax o’s second-generation triptan that had been marketed in the U. K. as Naramig. 2 Although Glackin had several considerations to keep in mind, various factors and events gave Glackin a much different perspective than 1 that of Palmer 8 2 months earlier: †¢ How would U. K. hospitals and doctors react to Glaxo’s promotion of Naramig? †¢ Glaxo was apprised of the marketing strategy chosen by the U. K. for Naramig and its short-term results. †¢ What was the best product positioning of Naramig with respect to Imigran? This case was prepared by Jared Fontaine, Aaron C.Lennon, and Robert Moscato of the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University under the supervision of Professor Masaaki Kotabe for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective management of a situation described (2001). 1 Today the company is known as GlaxoSmithKline, which was formed in January 2001 as the result of a merger between GlaxoWellcome and S mithKline Beecham. †¢ Zeneca’s Zomig had in fact been approved and launched in the U. K. prior to that of Naramig. The effects of Zomig on the success of Naramig and Imigran were therefore available for analysis by Glackin. Just as in the U. K. , Glaxo U. S. expected the approval and launch of Zomig in the U. S. prior to that of Amerge. 2 Like Amerge/Naramig, Glaxo’s research indicated that the name Imitrex would fare better than Imigran in the U. S. market. 736 †¢ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome EXHIBIT 1 The Businiess GW Portfolio: 1998 ?1,027m (+9%) ? 432m (+5%) ? 1,971m (+24%) Respiratory Viral Infections CNS ? 688m (? 44%) ? 749m (+1%) ? 1,209m (? 4%) ? 1,089m (+31%) (Migraine ? 645m) Migraine Bacterial Infections Gastro-intestinal Oncology Others % of Sales 28 17 15 9 10 10 6 14Total sales ? 7,165m increase of 2% †¢ Glaxo U. S. had launched the marketing promotion of Product Lines: Migraine Depression Gastrointestinal Imitrex (the U. S. brand name of U. K. ’s Imigran)3 Nasal Spray 5 months earlier. on pharmaceutical marketing, Glaxo U. S. could use directto-the-consumer (DTC) advertising to promote Amerge. †¢ Unlike the U. K. , which has stricter government regulations †¢ Allergy/Immunology/Respiratory Division Product Lines: Allergy/Immunology Asthma COPD COMPANY BACKGROUND GlaxoWellcome Inc. was formed in 1995 when U. K. based Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, a relatively young company, acquired U. K. pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome in a corporate takeover. The acquisition made Glaxo Wellcome Inc. one of the top three pharmaceutical ? rms in the world with approximately 4 percent of the worldwide prescription pharmaceutical market. International Organization GlaxoWellcome Inc. is based in the U. K. with its Worldwide Headquarters located in Stockley Park West. As of 1997, Glaxo Wellcome Inc. had 22 local operating companies (LOCs) in 9 countries of which Glaxo U. S. was one. Although based in the U.K. , the U. S. market made up approximately 40 percent of worldwide sales, while the U. K. only accounted for 7 percent. Due to the rigid guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Glaxo’s products are generally introduced ? rst in one of the other 8 LOCs before gaining approval in the U. S. The majority of R&D and production for Glaxo takes place in the U. S. , U. K. , France, and Italy, each having both an R&D unit and manufacturing plants. Organizational Structure/Product Lines The organizational structure of Glaxo Wellcome in both the U. K. and the U. S. s based around its 3 divisions and the product lines within each of those divisions: †¢ HIV/Oncology Division Product Lines: HIV Cancer Glaxo sells prescription medications that fall into one of these three product lines. As of 1998, the migraine product line made up just over 9 percent of total Glaxo sales worldwide. The CNS/GI Metabolic division, of which migraine makes up 60 percent, grew 31 perc ent from 1997 to 1998 (see Exhibit 1). THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY Pharmaceuticals are generally classi? ed into two categories: over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications.As of 1998, there were no OTC drugs speci? cally formulated for migraine. After a pharmaceutical medication has been developed, there are two stages: approval and marketing. Approval In order for a pharmaceutical company to market and sell any medication that they have developed, the product must ? rst be approved by the respective regulatory body of each country (FDA in the U. S. , MCA in the U. K. ). On average it takes 12 years for an experimental drug to travel from the lab to the medicine chest. Only ? ve in 5,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing make it to human testing.One of these ? ve tested in people is approved. Although each country has †¢ Central Nervous System/Gastrointestinal Metabolic Division (CNS/GI) 3 Market research showed that U. S. consumers would be more responsive to t he brand name ‘‘Amerge’’ than that of ‘‘Naramig. ’’ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome its own particular set of guidelines and speci? c procedures for approval, new medicines are generally developed and approved as follows: 1. Preclinical Testing—This is the exploratory process where a pharmaceutical company identi? es compounds through in vitro (test tube) testing.The deliverable at the end of this process are compounds that can enter Phase One of Clinical Testing. 2. Clinical Trials, Phases—There are three mandatory phases of clinical trials. These clinical trials study the medicine’s safety pro? le, how it is absorbed and distributed, the duration of its action, its ef? cacy, and side effects. 3. Application—Following the completion of all three phases of clinical trials, the company analyzes all of the data and applies for approval in the respective country if the data successfully demon strate safety and effectiveness. The application contains all of the scienti? information that the company has gathered. At this point, the regulatory body may request further information. 4. Approval/Refusal—Once the regulatory body completes the professional assessment of all relevant information, it either approves the application and the new medicine becomes available for physicians to prescribe, or, if unsatis? ed, refuses to grant approval. There is one important distinction between the U. S. and the U. K. in the approval stage of pharmaceuticals. In the U. S. , every medication must be approved by the FDA before it can be marketed and sold.However, because of the existence of the European Union (EU), it is possible that a medication may be approved in member nations without being professionally assessed and analyzed by each country’s respective regulatory body. This means that if one member nation’s (e. g. Sweden’s) regulatory body approves a medic ation, the applying pharmaceutical company can either ask the other EU member nations to ‘‘recognize’’ Sweden’s approval or apply to each member nation separately. If one member nation approves a medication, then all of the countries in the ‘‘Mutual Recognition’’ procedure have the same prescribing information.However, if a medication receives independent approvals, then the prescribing information will be unique in each country. The difference can have an effect if applying in each country separately produces slightly different results in the trial phases (e. g. , perhaps the trials show that a medication is more effective for its desired indication during trials in the U. K. as compared to similar trials performed in Sweden). Marketing In general, products are marketed and advertised solely toward the ? nal consumer. This makes sense since it is the ? al consumer that ordinarily has the ? nal say as to whether he/she will actually purchase the product. However, pharmaceuticals are marketed to physicians and hospitals that in turn decide if they will prescribe the medication to their patients. U. S. vs. U. K Although it is illegal for pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to patient/consumers in the U. K. , †¢ 737 in the U. S. (as of 1997) direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is permitted. Research has shown that DTC advertising in the U. S. has a large impact on sales.The research shows that patient’s requests for speci? c medications marketed by speci? c pharmaceutical companies affect the companies’ sales to physicians and hospitals. The other major difference in the pharmaceutical industry between the U. S. and the U. K. is the extent of governmental coverage. In the U. K. , the health care system is socialized. Doctors are paid by the government with an additional payment per patient. Everyone is entitled to free medical care under the plan, which is fun ded by the National Treasury and Health Insurance Tax. The U. S. on the other hand, has not employed socialized medicine, although Medicare and Medicaid cover a signi? cant part of the population. Instead, the U. S. health care system follows an insurance-based coverage scheme whereby individuals buy insurance from a company, which in turn pays for their medical costs. HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES Doctors classify headaches into three main types: †¢ cluster headaches †¢ tension-type headaches †¢ migraines Cluster headaches are the most painful type but also quite rare and hence have not offered pharmaceutical companies a suf? cient market potential to pro? ably develop and market a medication speci? cally focused on curing these headaches. Tension-type headaches, while the most prevalent, are generally capable of being combated with over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen and hence, likewise do not offer Glaxo a pro? table market for which to develop a p rescription product. Migraines, on the other hand, are suffered by an estimated 26. 3 million people in the U. S. , 5 million people in the U. K. , and at the time of Glaxo’s launch of Imigran/Imitrex, were not effectively treatable with over-the-counter medications.Migraines are complicated combinations of intense pain (usually on one side of the head) and neurological symptoms like visual problems, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound, which often reduce the sufferer’s productivity and concentration and in some cases render the sufferer bedridden. In the U. K. about 18 million working days are lost to migraine sufferers a year. In the U. S. approximately 10 million migraine sufferers were bedridden for more than 3 million days per month and experienced 74. 2 million restricted activity days per year (as of 1989). Such statistics translate to lost workplace productivity ranging from $5. billion to $17 billion annually in the U. S. and sick pay and repl acement personnel costs of ? 750 million in the U. K. annually. Hence, in the early 1990s, Glaxo took advantage of the market potential for migraine-speci? c prescription drugs. 4 4 At the time of Glaxo Wellcome Inc. ’s entrance into the market for prescription migraine medicines, although doctors were prescribing drugs for migraines, these drugs were not migraine-speci? c but rather were drugs that were developed for general pain relief. 738 †¢ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome IMIGRAN/IMITREX In 1993, Glaxo Pharmaceuticals introduced in the U.K. and the U. S. , the ? rst medication (triptan) speci? cally formulated for the acute treatment of migraine. 6 Imitrex/Imigran when initially launched in March of 1993 was produced in injection form. In 1995 and 1997, Glaxo followed up the marketing of Imitrex/Imigran by introducing line extensions in the forms of tablets and nasal spray, respectively (see Exhibit 2). Imitrex/Imigran5 uncomfortable injecting themsel ves). Sales of Imitrex/Imigran worldwide grew from less than $350 million in the year of its introduction to more than $1 billion in 1997.Imigran/Imitrex SWOT Glaxo considered the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Imigran/Imitrex to be the following: Strengths—Imigran/Imitrex was the ? rst medication marketed toward speci? c migraine relief. Hence, Imigran/Imitrex had a strong brand image as the market leader, and in fact played a signi? cant role in the development of the migraine market. Imigran/Imitrex was also a potent medication with a proven ef? cacy; it was in fact very successful in relieving the pain of migraine headaches. Although there were some side effects associated with the medication, Imigran/Imitrex has a proven safety pro? e. The fact that Imigran/Imitrex is offered in 3 different line extensions offers Glaxo a ‘‘portfolio’’ of relief to offer to various patients. Weaknesses—The fact that Imigran/Imitrex is a potent medication has its downside as well. The medication proves to be too powerful for some patients, which therefore limits its use. Moreover, Imigran/Imitrex is expensive relative to OTC products that were used to ? ght headaches. This weakness of being expensive is exacerbated by the fact that the medication has a high rate of recurrence (a patient may need to take the drug more than once during a migraine).Although Imigran/Imitrex is proven to be safe, because of the side effects (e. g. , tightening of the chest), there is a perception by some that the medication is not safe. Opportunities—Glaxo felt that having 3 product line extensions opened up the opportunity to perhaps exploit Imigran/Imitrex as a medication that is right for every kind of migraine sufferer. The biggest opportunity for Glaxo and Imigran/Imitrex is the fact that the migraine market was completely underdeveloped. EXHIBIT 2 Line Extension Injection Tablet Nasal Spray U.K. 3/1993 5/1995 5/1997 U. S. 3/1993 7/1995 8/1997 These line extensions were spurred by the fact that only a small percentage of the total 26. 3 million migraine sufferers had ever tried Imitrex/Imigran in injection form. Hence, Glaxo, even 2 years after the introduction of Imitrex/Imigran injections, viewed the potential market as wide open. The injection formulation of the product provides the fastest relief—as early as 10 minutes; the nasal spray—as early as 15 minutes; and the tablet—as early as 30 minutes.Hence, Glaxo has been successful marketing the injection form of Imitrex/Imigran using a strategy of ‘‘quick-relief’’ (an aspect that is very important to severe migraine sufferers) and successful marketing the tablet and nasal spray forms of the drug using a strategy of ‘‘easy and painless administration’’ (an aspect that is important to migraine sufferers who are 5 The launch of Imigran/Imitrex came prior to the Glaxo Pharmaceutic als’ acquisition of Burroughs Wellcome, Inc. 6 Glaxo used the brand name Imitrex in the U. S. nd the brand name Imigran in the U. K. for the same product. Market research showed that the name Imitrex would fare better with U. S. physicians and hospitals. EXHIBIT 3 GlaxoWellcome Worldwide Migraine Franchise $m 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 1993 Injection 1994 1995 Tabs 1996 1997 1998 Nasal Spray Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome Threats—The two main threats to Imigran/Imitrex are that of competition and cannibalization. Glaxo was aware that Zeneca was close to marketing a competitor triptan called Zomig. SinceImigran/Imitrex had been on the market for over four years, Glaxo felt that Zomig would be marketed as a ‘‘second-generation’’ triptan (an improved version of Glaxo’s ? rst-generation Imigran/Imitrex). Imigran/Imitrex had also experienced some cannibalization effects between its 3 line extensions (see Exhibit 3). The Un derdeveloped Migraine Market As of 1997, the fact of the matter, was that approximately 90 percent of migraine sufferers were not being medicated with a triptan (see Exhibit 4). This meant that many people were still taking ineffective OTC drugs to combat their migraine pain.Accordingly, Glaxo considered the market for ‘‘triptan’’ drugs to have great potential. †¢ 739 Exhibit 5 shows how Naramig/Amerge speci? cally compared to Imigran/Imitrex as a migraine medication. EXHIBIT 5 Imigran vs. Naramig MEASURE Speed of onset Peak efficacy Consistency of response Tolerability Incidence of chest pain Incidence of recurrence ORDER (best first) Imigran > Naramig Imigran > Naramig Imigran > Naramig Naramig > Imigran Naramig < Imigran Naramig < Imigran EXHIBIT 4 Migraine market = underdeveloped 48 million migraine patients 586 million migraine attacks/yearNaramig/Amerge SWOT Glaxo considered the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Naramig/Amerge to be the following: Strengths—Although not as powerful as Imigran/Imitrex, Naramig/Amerge was effective in relieving migraine pain. Its biggest strength, relative to Imigran/Imitrex was its mildness; the side effects caused by Naramig/Amerge were substantially less compared to Imigran/Imitrex, which gave it ‘‘user friendly’’ image. Its long duration of pain relief gave Naramig/Amerge a low rate of recurrence; 67 percent of patients require only one dose of Naramig/Amerge over a 24-hour period.Naramig/Amerge was able to be marketed as a true second-generation triptan (an improvement on the ? rst) since Glaxo was the company that had introduced the ? rst triptan medication. Weaknesses—The major weaknesses of Naramig/Amerge were twofold. First, it had a slow onset of action. This of course would turn off patients looking for fast relief. Second, Naramig/Amerge had only been developed in tablet form and therefore lacked marketability in terms of line extensions. Opportunities—The market opportunity for Naramig/ Amerge was quite obvious.At the time of Naramig/Amerge’s approval, only 10 percent of all migraine attacks were being treated with triptan drugs. This meant that 90 percent of migraine sufferers were either not being treated at all, or treated with relatively ineffective medications. Threats—Like Glaxo’s ? rst-generation triptan, Naramig/ Amerge’s biggest threat came from Zeneca’s Zomig. Although it was unclear how successful Zomig would be in stealing Glaxo’s market share and expanding the market through sales to the untapped 90 percent, what was clear was that Zomig was likely to be approved in both the U.K. and the U. S. prior to Glaxo obtaining approval for Naramig/Amerge. COMPETITION 60 Triptan Rx = 10% 526 Million Attacks Since its introduction in 1993, Imitrex/Imigran had clearly played a role in de? ning patient expectations. However, combining its awareness th at Zeneca was in the process of developing Zomig and the fact that Glaxo, as a company, was always looking to bring new medications and improvements to the forefront, Glaxo had worked on developing a secondgeneration triptan of its own.Company research revealed that for a new triptan product to be successful, patients and doctors would require it to be as effective as Imitrex/Imigran but with a longer duration of pain relief and a lower side effect pro? le. NARAMIG/AMERGE Naramig/Amerge, Glaxo’s second-generation triptan, was actually being developed prior to the launch of Imigran/ Imitrex. 7 Amerge/Naramig, only available in tablet form, tested to have both a longer duration and a lower side effect pro? le than Imigran/Imitrex.Although Naramig/Amerge was considered by Glaxo to be a better triptan than Imigran/Imitrex, in reality, there were attributes of Naramig/ Imigran that were inferior to those of Imigran/Imitrex. 7 Glaxo, as with Imigran/Imitrex, used the brand name Nar amig in the U. K. and the brand name Amerge in the U. S. for this new ‘‘triptan’’ drug. This decision was once again a product of market research. When Glaxo Pharmaceuticals acquired Burroughs Wellcome in 1995, they had already launched Imigran/Imitrex (1993). 740 †¢ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome However, Burroughs Wellcome was also developing a triptan of its own.When the takeover took place, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) forced Glaxo Wellcome to divest one of its triptan formulations because of antitrust implications (i. e. , monopolization). Having already successfully marketed Imigran/Imitrex, Glaxo Wellcome of course chose to divest the triptan that Burroughs Wellcome had developed. (Burroughs only completed about 55 percent of the clinical trials. ) Zeneca purchased the rights to this incomplete triptan and ? nished the further development and application process of what came to be Zomig.Glaxo had the following assumptions a bout Zomig: powerful means of maximizing market share, Palmer was unsure of the logistics of such an approach and worried about the ethical considerations of focusing the promotion of their product in areas based on factors such as socioeconomic status. Also, Palmer considered the fact that such a strategy may overlook patient needs. 3. An Alternative: Whereby Glaxo would market Naramig as an alternative to Imigran/Imitrex, (e. g. , superior; different; similar). The pros of the ‘‘Alternative’’ strategy were that it could detract from competitor noise, and could in fact devalue the image of the econd-generation triptan. This latter aspect may be an effective way to combat Zomig. The biggest drawback of this strategy was the idea that if there were no clear message (in terms of the medication that was best for migraines) it could lead to confusion and hence hurt Glaxo’s image. 4. Replacement: Whereby Glaxo would discontinue the marketing of Imigran an d focus solely on Naramig. This option ? t well with the overall concept that Naramig was an overall superior drug to Imigran. It would also allow Naramig to gain all the bene? s of a new compound: ‘‘secondgeneration,’’ safety, and low recurrence. However, Palmer worried about the confusion that would accompany such an approach and if a ‘‘Replacement’’ strategy would devalue Glaxo Wellcome in the eyes of physicians and hospitals. 5. Don’t Launch: Whereby Glaxo would only continue to market Imigran and never launch Naramig. Although this strategy might class all triptans as the same, negating Zomig as a second-generation, Palmer had already made up his mind that not launching Naramig was a waste of an opportunity and of resources that went into developing the medication.There was also the consideration that Zeneca would still be able to accomplish marketing Zomig as a second-generation triptan and leave Zeneca with an open ? eld. Naramig in the U. K. Palmer and his team chose a ‘‘Replacement’’ strategy for Naramig. This involved ceasing all promotion of Imigran (except to the extent of sales for patients who were already using Imigran) and positioning Naramig as the recommended starting place for migraine patients. Palmer felt that replacement was the best way to attract triptan-na? atients and ? ve capture the untapped market. Glaxo focused the promotion around Naramig as a ‘‘patient-friendly’’ medication providing patients with the best relief on the market. The results showed that the replacement strategy met Glaxo U. K. expectations. Naramig proved to be effective for migraine headaches in the majority of patients. In terms of the 90 percent untapped market, Naramig was preferred by 67 percent of previous non-triptan users. Exhibit 6 shows worldwide sales of Glaxo Wellcome’s two triptan drugs.It is clear that the replacement strategy thwarte d the growth of Imigran, and that Zomig and Naramig were both successful in expanding the market. PRODUCT POSITIONING: U. S Mark Glackin was now faced with the same decision that Palmer was faced with 8 ? months earlier. What was the best strategy to market Amerge with respect to Imitrex in the U. S. †¢ Like Naramig/Amerge, Zomig had a lower recurrence rate than Imigran/Imitrex. †¢ Zeneca would be successful in marketing Zomig as a secondgeneration triptan even though it was the company’s ? rst triptan. This was simply an issue of timing. Zomig’s ef? cacy was comparable to Imigran/Imitrex. †¢ Zomig would be launched in both the U. K. and the U. S. prior to Naramig/Amerge gaining approval in both markets. PRODUCT POSITIONING: U. K Sir Benjamin Palmer sat in his of? ce weighing all the information he had just learned in the marketing meeting. There was only question to be considered; the considerations were complex; the answer to that question was crucial: the success of a major product line of Glaxo Wellcome hung in the balance. How should Glaxo Wellcome U. K. , position its new triptan Naramig?Palmer wondered how U. K. hospitals and doctors would react to Glaxo’s promotion of Naramig when Imigran had been the ‘‘gold standard’’ for the past 4 years and had captured 91 percent of the prescription migraine medication market share. Palmer’s bigger concern was how to position Naramig with respect to Imigran in order to capture the 90 percent of the market that was untapped (see Exhibit 4). Although Naramig was considered to be a better triptan than Imigran, perhaps there were new patients who would be partial to the characteristics of Imigran.Just as important was what positioning strategy would be the most effective in ? ghting off the attack of Zeneca’s Zomig that Palmer expected to be launched in the U. K. prior to that of Naramig. Palmer had been presented by the marketing team with ? v e positioning strategies for Naramig: 1. Based Segment: Whereby Glaxo would target its marketing efforts toward different patient types. (e. g. , adolescents; elderly; chronic migraine; Imigran/Imitrex nonresponders; and patients who do not tolerate Imigran). Using such a strategy would allow Glaxo to promote Naramig where Imigran was weak to increase market share.At the same time, though, it was not clear as to how the market should be segmented, or how able physicians would be to identify such segments. If in fact physicians had trouble identifying the different patient types, the effect may be to confuse the prescribing process. 2. Distribution Based Segment: Whereby Glaxo would segment the market based on distribution channels. (e. g. , hospitals only; clinics only; private channels; less wealthy areas). Although Glaxo considered this option to be a Case 22 †¢ Benetton †¢ 741 EXHIBIT 6 Sales (? m) 700 600 500 400 300 200 194. 04 100 35 0 8 6054 282. 588 362. 346 539. 4 51 Triptan Revenue 662. 12 671. 797 would have to consider this difference along with the differences in the respective health care systems. Would Glaxo U. S. be successful in using DTC advertising to offer a portfolio of migraine medication to various types of migraine patients, or should the U. S. follow a similar replacement strategy as the U. K. and position Amerge as the best migraine medication available. Glackin considered the same 5 options for Amerge positioning as Palmer had considered 8 ? months earlier for Naramig: 1.Clinical/Patient Based Segmentation 2. Distribution Based Segment 3. An Alternative to Imitrex 4. A Replacement for Imitrex 5. Don’t Launch Amerge at All DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1993 1994 Imigran 1995 1996 Zomig 1997 1998 Naramig market? Glackin had several considerations to keep in mind including the results of the ‘‘Replacement’’ strategy chosen in the U. K. , and the effect of Zomig as a competitor. As was the case in the U. K. , Imitrex had largely de? ned the market for migraine medication and had been quite successful in capturing customers.Glackin also expected that Zomig would be launched in the U. S. prior to that of the approval of Amerge. The U. S. had recently legalized DTC advertising. Glackin 1. Why is GlaxoWellcome introducing a second migraine medication? 2. How should GlaxoWellcome position Naramig in the U. K.? 3. Was the actually chosen strategy (option #4) the best decision? 4. How should GlaxoWellcome position Amerge in the U. S.? C ASE 22 BENETTON COMPANY BACKGROUND Benetton was founded as a single shop in Italy in 1965. Three years later the company expanded into France.Eventually, Benetton spread throughout Europe and by 1979 it was established in the United States. Benetton Group S. p. A is a unique global group that is a part of a larger organization known as the Edizione Holding Group. This is the holding company through which the Benetton family has ownership in many different b usinesses including hotels, publishing, and real estate. The Edizione Holding Group as well as the Benetton Group was founded by the Benetton family, which is made up of four siblings: Luciano, Chairman; Gilberto,Deputy Chairman and Joint Managing Director; Carlo, Director; and Giuliana, Director, who own and run the company as shown in Exhibit 1. Luciano’s son, Alessandro, is also one of the eight Directors. This global Benetton Group specializes in designing and manufacturing of clothing within the textile-apparel sector of industries, and combines this know-how with the strong identity and image of world-leading sports brands that have been incorporated through the acquisition of the Benetton Sportsystem business.These sports brand names are encompassed under the Playlife label and include Rollerblade, Killer Loop, Prince, and Nordica. The clothing sector includes casual and sportswear, consisting of the Sisley, United Colors of Benetton (UCB), and Undercolors of Benetton brands, which are mainly produced and distributed by the Automated Distribution Center in Castrette, Italy, the factory that produces over 90 million items of clothing each year. There are production facilities in France and Spain as well. These ? ished and packaged products are the dominant production category for the company and are distributed directly to the Benetton Group’s 7,000 retail stores located in 120 countries, of which only 55 stores are owned by the company, with the remaining stores independently owned and operated. The second production category for Benetton comprises the sports equipment and performance-wear item and a third category encompasses items such as footwear, bags, and accessories. Benetton’s overall turnover amounts to about 4,000 billion lire.Recently, in 2003, the company initiated an effort to diversify away from its main clothing business by moving to acquire Italian highway operator, Autostrade. This case was prepared by Eunjung Jenny Chun, Juliet Freedman, and Nicole Parker and updated by Sonia Ketkar of the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University under the supervision of Professor Masaaki Kotabe for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective management of a situation described (2003).

Information Technology Acts

Technology has advanced greatly in the recent years. The internet has made it is easy for people to get any information they want, which in return presents danger to minors. This advance in technology has opened new issues that need to be addressed. Children depend on adults to protect them from any harm and as a result government passed acts to prevent child abuse on the internet. The two acts being discussed in this paper are the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and the Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998. Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a federal law which was passed by Congress to prevent children from viewing the offensive or harmful content over the Internet (â€Å"FCC†, 2013). CIPA regulates the schools and all public libraries. It makes it mandatory to filter all its computers to stop children from accessing sites that are not appropriate. (â€Å"FCC†, 2013). The (CIPA) was passed in December 2000 and its main priority is to protect children’s innocent eyes from child pornography and other dangers of the internet. CIPA does not require a certain kind of filter system, but rather to make sure schools and libraries have some sort of filters to prevent such activities. There are online predators, inappropriate chat rooms, and sexual content that children are at risk for if this law was not passed. Ultimately, all households, schools, libraries, workplaces, and restaurant have access to the internet and this is a law that needed to be passed. Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA), 1998 The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was passed in 1998. It specifically addresses children under the age of 13 that navigate thru any sort of internet service. COPPA requires anyone driving a website to have verifiable knowledge and consent from parents of any child 13 and under. Also, the driver has to get the consent of those parents before using any information given to them by the children. Furthermore, whether studying, shopping, surfing or chatting, children are blind to the fact that there are bad people who get their information and use it for all the wrong reasons. Advances in Information Technology The internet is a worldwide tool that is used for many different reasons. The Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 is a product of advances in information technologies. Regrettably, the internet can be used anywhere and anytime. The wireless fidelity, Bluetooth networks, and ultra wide-band network all give access to internet from any cell phone, computers, laptops, or tablets (Rainer Jr. & Cegielski, 2007). In addition, this creates a problem for minors because there are many online predators looking for ways to transition children into their world of viciousness. As a result, advance in information technology has created eye openers for every parent around the world. The advance in information technology opened issues that needed to be addressed because Children depend on adults to protect them. The government passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and the Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 as a result of advancement in technology. As a matter of fact, parents should be more cautious as to what their children are using the internet for. Ultimately, the responsibility of a child falls on their parents References FCC.  (2013).  Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act Rainer Jr., K. R., & Cegielski, C. G. (2007). Information Systems (3rd Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, INC.