Recent court cases on the ADA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Recent court cases on the ADA - Essay Example The American Bill of rights outlines and safeguards the basic human rights in the key country (Malesich, Charles, and Andrei 78). The act for example protects a minority and vulnerable group of the disabled. As such, contravention of the act is a serious criminal offense that validates the subsequent lawsuit against Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc.   Bernadine  Adams fell ill in July 2011 and was later taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She later went on leave in December, which also doubled up as her sick leave and returned to the company in January 2012. Given her unique condition, Adams requested for new accommodation strategies. She requested for an ergonomic chair and readjustment of the lighting in her office. Additionally, Adams requested for part time schedule for at least the next eight days. Her request for new accommodations would help her recover effectively while remaining productive at the company. Instead of making the changes, the management of Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. placed Adams back of a compulsory leave. Additionally, the management of the company told Adams that she would not resume work until she was ready to work full time under the prevailing accommodation conditions. The management of Brookdale told Adams that her requirements were both unreasonable and would cause undue hardship at the company. The company did not thereafter engage Adams in any interactions regarding her proposed requirements a feature that compelled Adams to file a charge of discrimination against Brookdae at the Equal Employment Opportunity  Commission. Soon after filing the charge with the EEOC, Brrokdale fired Adams explaining the she had failed to engage in an interaction with the company concerning her demands within appropriate terms. The conduct of Brookdale violated the ADA. EEOC therefore sued the company for both discrimination and retaliation. Discrimination

Roe Through the Chain of Command Essay Example for Free

Roe Through the Chain of Command Essay President Johnson implemented the Rules of Engagement (ROE) during the war in Vietnam, particularly Southeast Asia. His intention for this set of rules was a means of control. The ROE dictated who (of the enemy) and where the American troops were allowed to attack, even if they were clearly within enemy reach. This set of rules benefited the hierarchy in the Chain of Command, but had a much less desirable effect on those who actually carried out the rules. This paper will explore the ROE and how it affected the military through the Chain of Command. Soldiers were limited in their ability to defend. The ROE paralyzed them from shooting even when they were shot at because the rules stated they must be certain their target is the enemy and not terrified civilians. They were only allowed to attack other soldiers and/or those dressed in combat gear with weapons (Moss, 2010). This negatively impacted the soldiers’ will to fight because they felt the ROE were not in place to protect them but to enforce political policy. Their requests were ignored. When in combat, the ROE forced the soldiers to keep their safety and preservation of their lives secondary while continuing to follow rules set forth by commanders on safe grounds (Moss, 2010). Battalion commanders are responsible for their battalion (300-1,000 soldiers) and the commands they are to execute during battle (United states army, para. 1). The Battalion commanders had the responsibility to directly enforce the ROE to the soldiers of the battalion. If the soldiers did not follow commands correctly or effectively, the Battalion commanders must answer to the Commander in Chief and suffer the consequences if any. The ROE limited the commanders from utilizing their sophisticated weaponry and equipment to its fullest capability. The Division commanders were considered experts in the military. However, their expertise was disregarded and ignored by the President. The Division commander would instruct and guide their soldiers to carry out well planned attack strategies but were often overridden by those higher up in command based on the ROE. What made sense to the Division commander was secondary to the restrictions of the ROE. The commanders were able to increase and add to the ROE but they were not allowed to reduce the rules or bend the rules in any way (Moss, 2010). The Division Commander was faced with great difficulty of knowing the enemy was at an advantage due to the ROE because their goal was to defeat the enemy. It seems the ROE had a different goal. In 1967, Gen William Westmoreland initiated his war of attrition in hopes of victory. Westmoreland requested 2000,000 additional troops to expand the military against the VC/NVA forces, among other requests. President Johnson denied these requests. President Johnson only approved 55,000 additional troops (moss, 2010, p. 216). General Westmoreland was one of the commanders whose expertise was ignored and overridden by President Johnson and Secretary McNamara. He was forced to give Americans false information on the US status of the war; this was demeaning to his professionalism. The department of Defense was responsible for informing Vietnam troops of ROE’s implementations and changes. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara delegated to the Joint Chief of Staff to provide the commanders with the rules. Debates were held when changes to the ROE occurred and Secretary McNamara was often the mediator who settled those debates. Again, during these debates, military advise from experts was often ignored (Drake, 1992 p. 9). It became apparent that the purpose of the ROE was to continue protecting decision makers President Johnson and Secretary McNamara. President Lyndon Johnson initiated the ROE’s in avoidance of the Soviet Union and China interferences. The ROE’s restricted the military commanders and â€Å"†¦played a major part in the failure of U.  S air power in this singular black mark on the record of American military aviation† (Dorschel, 1995, para. 1). President Johnson was hopeful that the ROE would be effective in controlling the temperament of the war. He was also using this limited war tactic to win votes during the 1964 elections. â€Å"The new president (Johnson) also feared that the injection of U. S. combat forces into the Vietnam War would provoke adverse reactions throughout the world and trigger uprisings of domestic opposition that could stifle his domestic reform program and cost him the 1964 presidential election (Moss, 2010 p. 122). President Johnson was convinced the military commanders were more concerned with spending and he did not consider their expertise and professional input when decisions were made during combat. â€Å"The president and his advisors often disregarded the advice of military experts, believing that: Generals know only two words: spend and bomb (Dorschel, 1995, para. 12). † It is apparent that the Rules of Engagement was used as a political tool to secure positions in office of President Johnson and General Westmoreland with disregard of preserving the integrity of soldiers, pilots, and commanders. The training nd skills of the troops were not appreciated and were completely negated by via the ROE. â€Å"Crews were forced to fly in predictable ways, fly the same routes over and over, and operate in ways that went against their training and experience. The continuous changes to the rules and the complexity of them made learning and remembering them a difficult task and the predictable nature of the campaign and the protected areas in North Vietnam caused heavy American losses. It was all but impossible to inflict the kind of damage necessary to achieve the stated goals of the offensive (Dorschel, 1995, para. 25).

Humanism During the Renaissance :: Philosophy

Humanism During the Renaissance During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism differed. Writers and philosophers of the Renaissance time period expressed their opinions about human nature and human's roles in the universe through their writings. Pico della Mirandola's "Oration on the dignity of man", which glorifies humanity and praises the human ability to reason, offers the opposing view to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Montaigne's essay "Man's presumption and Littleness" which both suggest that humans are no higher in the universal order of things than any other of God's creatures. Pico begins his essay by informing his readers that he knows where humans stand in the divine order of the world. Pico believes that humans were the last creatures created by God, and that God's purpose, in creating them, was to fulfill his desire for someone to appreciate the great wonders and beauties of his world: When the work was finished, the Craftsman kept wishing that there were someone to ponder the plan of so great a work... therefore... he finally took thought concerning the creation of man. (Mirandola 224) It is also Pico's belief that when Humans were created, they were given qualities both divine and earthly, and could become whatever they chose: We have made thee neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, so that with freedom of choice... thou mayest fashion thyself in whatever shape thou shalt prefer. (Mirandola 225) Pico's conclusion about human ranking among the divine order of things was that while some people were almost celestial, others were no better than animals, and that this great variance of character among the human population only served to increase their importance and uniqueness from all other of God's creatures. His essay, which praised human greatness and exalted the powers of humanity, was opposed by more negative views of humanity, as expressed in the works of Montaigne and Shakespeare. Montaigne's essay "Man's presumption and Littleness" belittles the greatness of man so much that he becomes no more than another beast among beasts, possibly even lower than some of God's other creatures.

Naxal Movement

SEPTEMBER 2008 IPCS Research Papers Naxal Movement in India: A Profile Rajat Kujur Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies 1 New Delhi, INDIA  © 2008, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies is not responsible for the facts, views or opinion expressed by the author. The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), established in August 1996, is an independent think tank devoted to research on peace and security from a South Asian perspective.Its aim is to develop a comprehensive and alternative framework for peace and security in the region catering to the changing demands of national, regional and global security. Address: B 7/3 Lower Ground Floor Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110029 INDIA Tel: 91-11-4100 1900, 4165 2556, 4165 2557, 4165 2558, 4165 2559 Fax: (91-11) 4165 2560 Email: [email  protected] org Web: www. ipcs. org CONTENTS Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. A Short History †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 People’s War Group (PWG)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) & Communist Party of India (Maoist) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 11 About the Author †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Recent IPCS Publications †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 Executive Summary In order to understand the current phase of Naxalism, we need to understand different aspects of organizational transformation that have occurred within the Naxal movement, since the genesis and current phase of the movement is a reflection of continuity and change. To understand its continuity over the decade, one has to understand its dynamics of change, just as to understand the changing nature of the Naxal movement, o ne has to understand the factors responsible for its continuity.And this reestablishes the dynamic character of the movement. The characteristic feature of the Naxal movement is its disorganized character which led to some interesting formulations, quite uncommon in the history of Movement Organizations (MO)1. The fragmented character of the movement gave rise to a plethora of possible trends and groupings and thereby, paved the way for new avenues of organizational conflict. Due to its fragmented character, the movement Historically socio-political movements whether extremist, revolutionary or peaceful, operate through organizations which are known as Movement Organizations.The movement organizations are mostly characterized as loosely structured, decentralized and prone to political challenges and counter cultural practices. 1 witnessed the comeback of many past leaders and cadres from oblivion. This aspect of Naxal organizational politics is important to understand, as it enabled the reemergence of a whole range of questions that were assumed to have been resolved once and for all. A Short History To understand the genesis of the Naxal movement, one needs to locate it within the framework of the Communist movement in India.To be more specific, any study on the Naxal movement cannot overlook the importance of the rise and fall of the Telangana Movement (1946-51), since Telangana will always remain the glorious chapter in the history of peasant struggles for Indian communists. In fact, it was the first serious effort by sections of the communist party leadership to learn from the experiences of the Chinese revolution and to develop a comprehensive line for India’s democratic revolution. On the other hand, the experience in Telangana also facilitated the growth of three distinct lines within the Indian communist movement.The line promoted by Ranadive and his followers, rejected the significance of the Chinese revolution, and advocated the simultaneous a ccomplishment of the democratic and the socialist revolutions, based on city-based working-class insurrections. The group drew inspiration from Stalin and fiercely attacked Mao as another Tito. The second line mainly professed and propagated by the Andhra Secretariat, drew heavily on the Chinese experiences and the teachings of Mao, in building up the struggle of Telangana.The Andhra leadership, while successfully managing to spearhead the movement against the Nizam, failed to tackle the complex question of meeting the challenge of the Government of India. The Nehru government embarked on the road to parliamentary democracy, conditioning it with reforms like the ‘abolition of the Zamindari system’. All these objective conditions facilitated the dominance of a centrist line, put forward by Ajay Ghosh and Dange. This line characteristically pointed out the differences between Chinese 2 and Indian conditions and pushed the party along the road to parliamentary democracy.In 1957, the Communists succeeded in forming a government in Kerala, which however, was soon overthrown. Additionally, following the India-China war, the party split into two during 1964 – Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI [M]). While the CPI preached the theory of ‘peaceful road to non-capitalist development’, the CPI (M) adopted the centrist line. Though there were serious differences on ideological and tactical grounds, both the parties went ahead with their parliamentary exercises and formed the United Front government in West Bengal.In the backdrop of such organizational upheavals within the Indian Communist movement, an incident in a remote area transformed the history of left-wing extremism in India. In a remote village called Naxalbari in West Bengal, a tribal youth named Bimal Kissan, having obtained a judicial order, went to plough his land on 2 March 1967. The local landlords attacked him with the help of their go ons. Tribal people of the area retaliated and started forcefully recapturing their lands.What followed was a rebellion, which left one police sub inspector and nine tribals dead. Within a short span of about two months, this incident acquired great visibility and tremendous support from cross sections of Communist revolutionaries belonging to the state units of the CPI (M) in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Though the United Front Government of West Bengal, headed by the CPI (M) was able to contain the rebellion within 72 days sing all repressive measures possible, these units had a formal meeting in November 1967, as a result of which the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR) was formed in May 1968. ‘Allegiance to the armed struggle and non-participation in the elections’ were the two cardinal principles that the AICCR adopted for its operations. However, differences c ropped up over how an armed struggle should be advanced and this led to the exclusion of a section of activists from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, led respectively by T. Nagi Reddy and Kanhai Chatterjee.On the question of the ‘annihilation of the class enemy’, the Kanhai Chatterjee group had serious objections, as they were of the view that the annihilation of the class enemy should only be undertaken after building up mass agitations. However, a majority in the AICCCR rejected this and the AICCCR went ahead with the formation of the Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) in May 1969. This led Chatterjee to join the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). The CPI (M-L) held its first congress in 1970 in Kolkata and Charu Mazumdar was formally elected its general secretary.Since then, both the CPI (M-L) and the MCC continued with their respective forms of armed struggle for the next couple of years. During this period, Charu Majumdar became the undisputed Naxalite guru and with the organizational skills of Kanu Sanyal and Jaghal Santhal, the movement spread to different corners of the country. The country witnessed the euphoria of a Maoist revolution. However, it was far more shortlived than expected. What was generally perceived by Indian as well as Chinese Communist revolutionaries as the final enactment of the revolution, in reality, proved to be no more than a dress rehearsal.As hundreds of CPI (ML) cadres lost their lives, and thousands were put behind bars, the movement witnessed confusion, splits and disintegration. Charu Majumdar’s larger-than-life image also had its negative impact, for after his death in 1972, the central leadership of CPI (ML) virtually collapsed. The history of the Naxal movement postCharu Mazumdar, is characterized by a number of splits, brought about by personalized and narrow perceptions about the Maoist revolutionary line and attempts at course-correction by some of the major groups. Even Kanu Sanyal, one of the founders of the movement, could not escape this.He gave up the path of â€Å"dedicated armed struggle† by 1977 and accepted parliamentary practice as a form of revolutionary activity. It was during 1974 that an influential group of the CPI (ML), led by Jauhar (Subrata Dutt), Nagbhushan Pattnaik and Vinod Mishra, launched a major initiative, which they termed ‘course-correction’. This group renamed itself the CPI (M-L) Liberation in 1974, and in 1976, during the Emergency, adopted a new line that called for the continuation of armed guerilla struggles along with efforts to form a broad antiCongress democratic front, consisting even non-communist parties.The group also suggested that pure military armed struggle should be limited and there should be greater emphasis on mass peasant struggles, in an attempt to provide an Indianized version of Marxism-Leninism- Maoism. However, during the next three years, the movement suffered further splits with leaders, such as K ondapalli Seetharamaiah (Andhra Pradesh) and N. Prasad (Bihar) dissociating themselves from the activities of the party. This led to Prasad forming the CPI (M-L) (Unity Organization) and Seetharamaiah started the People's War Group (PWG) in 1980.While Seetharamaiah's line sought to restrict the ‘annihilation of class enemies’, the PWG's emphasis was on building mass organizations, not developing a broad democratic front. 3 Since then, the principal division within the Naxalite movement has been between the two lines of thought and action, as advanced by the CPI (ML) Liberation and the PWG. While Liberation branded PWG a group of â€Å"left adventurists†, the PWG castigated the Liberation group as one of the â€Å"revisionists† imitating the CPI (M).On the other hand, the growth of MCC as a major armed group in the same areas, created the scope for multifarious organizational conflicts among the Naxal groups. Liberation took a theoretical stand of correctin g the past mistake of ‘completely rejecting parliamentary politics’. On the other hand, PWG and MCC completely rejected the parliamentary democratic system of governance and vowed to wage ‘people’s war for people’s government’. In the process, while the Liberation group registered its first electoral victory in Bihar in 1989; Naxalite factions such as the CPI (M-L) New Democracy, the CPI (ML) S.R. Bhajjee Group and the CPI (M-L) Unity Initiative, emerged in the state. The following years witnessed certain distinct phenomena in the history of the Naxal movement. First, the intraorganizational conflict and rivalry among different groups touched several high points, resulting in the loss of a considerable number of cadres of rival groups. Secondly, despite the large-scale inner conflicts, there were always ongoing efforts at various levels to strive for unity.Thirdly, 1990 onwards, the affected state registered a considerable increase in the numb er of violent incidents and at the same time, a considerable change in the policy approach of the government was also witnessed. While the Naxal movement has mostly been characterized by fragmented groups and innumerable splits; successive governments at the national and state levels were never able to follow a uniform approach to deal with the problem of Naxalism, thus, leading to a marked impact in the growth of the Naxal movement. There are three broad currents of the Naxal movement.For reasons which will become obvious from the following discussion, this paper will examine the Communist Party of India (ML) Liberation, Peoples War Group (PWG), Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and the Communist Party of India (Maoist). It will examine the circumstances in which these groups were formed, their ideological bases and programmes, and the similarities and dissimilarities between them. The paper, in particular, will look into different aspects of organizational politics in relation to thes e Maoist organizations and try to locate their impact on the course of the contemporary Naxal movement.The following are the main issues on which there appear to be considerable differences among the Naxal groups and which are primary causes of conflict between them. †¢ The analysis of the first phase (196771) of the Naxalite movement and the line of annihilation that was followed The position that armed struggle is the principal form of struggle and the armed guerilla squad, the primary unit of struggle Since the principal form of struggle is rmed struggle, the entire activity of the agrarian struggle should be underground Whether the contradiction between feudalism and the Indian masses is the principal contradiction in Indian society or whether India has emerged as a capitalist state and hence, the contradiction between capitalism and general public is the principal contradiction Whether it would be prudent to form a united front with various forces and movements like the da lit, †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 farmers’, ethnic and regional, and ecological movements etc. However, these are not the only issues; several other issues pertaining to groundlevel reality and control of territory are crucially linked to the functioning of Naxalite organizations. Prakash Louis, People Power: The Naxalite Movement in Central Bihar (New Delhi: Wordsmiths, 2002) p. 277. 2 5 Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation Historically, the origin of CPI (ML) Liberation dates back to 1974. However, the post-emergency phase of 1977, when most leaders of the Communist movement were released from jail was the time when the activities of Liberation first came to notice.The Party Central Committee (PCC), in a move to unite the splinter groups which owed their origin to CPI (ML), called a meeting during 30 January-2 February 1981. However, the meet did not deliver expected results. â€Å"From this point onwards whereas the PCC group goes on to become irrel evant and splits up into various factions, the M-L movement begins to polarize between the Marxist-Leninist line of CPI (ML) (Liberation) and the anarchist line of CPI (ML) (People's War). †3 During 1982, the Indian People's Front (IPF) was launched in New Delhi at a national conference.In due course, IPF became the party's open political platform, actively intervening in national politics. Same year, the Third Party Congress took place at Giridih, Bihar, where the issue of participation in elections was finalized. This shift in the outlook of CPI (ML) Liberation proved to be vital in designing the subsequent course of activity of the Naxal movement. The Liberation group, according to Bhatia, â€Å"considers itself the true inheritor of the CPI (ML) legacy, its political line has changed dramatically from that of the original CPI (ML). 4 With this strategic shift in functioning, the CPI (ML) Liberation recorded its first electoral victory under the banner of the IPF in 1989 a nd Ara (one Lok Sabha Constituency in Central Bihar) sent the first â€Å"Naxalite† member to Parliament. 5 In a special conference convened in July 1990, the party decided to resume open functioning. This decision was formalized at its fifth Congress in December 1992. In 1994, the Indian People’s Front was disbanded.The Election Commission recognized the party in 1995, and since then the CPI (ML) has been contesting successive elections at national and state levels. The CPI (ML) Liberation, though functioning over ground within the parliamentary democratic setup, has not completely disbanded the path of armed rebellion. â€Å"The Party does not rule out the possibility that under a set of exceptional national and international circumstances, the balance of social and political forces may even permit a relatively peaceful transfer of central power to revolutionary forces.But in a country where democratic institutions are based on essentially fragile and narrow foundat ions and where even small victories and partial reforms can only be achieved and maintained on the strength of mass militancy, the party of the proletariat must prepare itself for winning the ultimate decisive victory in an armed revolution. A people's democratic front and a people's army, therefore, remain the two most fundamental weapons of revolution in the arsenal of the Party. †6 This again points to the dilemmas within the ultra left movement, which is very often reflected, in the unpredictable character of the Naxal movement.Thirty Years of Naxalbari, an un-dated publication of CPI (ML) Liberation. Bela Bhatia, Naxalite Movement in Central Bihar, Economic and Political Weekly, April 9 2005. 4 3 5 6 History of Naxalism, Hindustantimes. com A Party document of CPI (ML) Liberation titled The General Programme. 6 . People’s War Group (PWG) PWG is the most important among all the splinter groups representing the Naxal movement because the dominant line within the Naxa l politics today, is the PWG line of thought. Though it is popularly known as PWG or PW, its official nomenclature is Communist Party of India––MarxistLeninist (People’s War).If today, Naxalism is considered as the greatest internal security problem and Naxals claim to be running parallel government in different parts of the country, its credit mostly goes to the PWG. â€Å"The CPI (ML) (People’s War) was formed on Lenin’s birth anniversary on April 22, 1980. †7 Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, one of the most influential Naxalite leaders from Andhra Pradesh and a member of the erstwhile Central Organizing Committee of the Communist Party of India––MarxistLeninist (CPI-ML), is the founding father of the PWG; who later, was ironically expelled from the group. The programme of our Party has declared that India is a vast ‘semi-colonial and semifeudal country’, with about 80 per cent of our population residing in our villages . It is ruled by the big-bourgeois big landlord classes, subservient to imperialism. The contradiction between the alliance of imperialism, feudalism and compradorbureaucrat- capitalism on the one hand and the broad masses of the people on the other is the principal contradiction in our country. Only a successful People’s Democratic Revolution i. e.New Democratic Revolution and the establishment of People’s Democratic Dictatorship of the workers, peasants, the middle classes and national bourgeoisie under the leadership of the working class can lead to the liberation of 30 years of Naxalbari, An undated Maoist literature, Vanguard Publication, p. 30. Vanguard was the organ of PWG. 7 our people from all exploitation and the dictatorship of the reactionary ruling classes and pave the way for building Socialism and Communism in our country, the ultimate aim of our Party.People’s War based on Armed Agrarian Revolution is the only path for achieving people’s d emocracy i. e. new democracy, in our country. †8 Rejecting the parliamentary democratic system of the country and branding individual annihilation as individual terrorism, PWG declared that people’s war was the only path to bringing about a people’s government in the country. From the above quote from an important PWG party document, it is clear that there were organizational, strategic and tactical conflicts going on within the CPI (ML), which paved the way for the split and creation of a more radical party.Broadly speaking, the party programmes of CPI (ML) Liberation were mostly focused on the cause of peasants, while the group led by K. Seetharamaih wanted the party to be a platform for peasants, workers, tribal and other weaker sections of society. It was the prime agenda of Liberation to build up a political front focusing on peasant struggles, whereas PWG was more interested in the formation of mass organizations instead of any democratic front. One of the renowned guerrilla leaders of the erstwhile PWG summarizes the essence of the conflict between CPI (ML) Liberation and CPI (ML) People’s War. In the Liberation group, which at one time was one of the strong groups defending Charu Mazumdar’s revolutionary line, after the martyrdom of ‘Path of People’s War in India – Our Tasks! ’, a comprehensive PWG party document highlighting its aims, objectives and strategies. The document was adopted by All-India Party Congress, 1992. We obtained this document from one of the principal ideologue of the PWG. 8 Com. Johar, with the leadership falling into the hands of Vinod Mishra, they began betraying the Indian revolution.As part of a conspiratorial plan, a once revolutionary party was gradually changed into a revisionist party, like the CPI and CPM. The armed resistance struggles against the state’s attacks, taking place under the then leadership of Liberation, was ended. The armed struggle to crus h the feudal private armies was made a secondary task. In this way, they diverted the entire group away from the basic path outlined by the unified CPI (ML), and particularly of its founder, Com.CM — that of protracted people’s war — into becoming agents of the ruling classes, by surrendering them to the parliamentary path. They converted the Com. Johar-led Liberation, from being a revolutionary movement, into a legalist, reformist and parliamentary movement; and changed the underground organization into an open opportunist and revisionist organization. †9 The above two official statements of the PWG clearly suggest that the birth of PWG which resulted from a split within the CPI (ML-Liberation) was on account of the dynamics of conflict among a host of its cadres.For a considerable period after its birth, PWG’s activities were chiefly limited to Andhra Pradesh, while the CPI (ML) Liberation continued to hold its turf in Bihar. It was during this pe riod that another organization came into existence on 1 January 1982. It was named the Communist party of India (ML) Party Unity, which came into existence due to a merger between CPI (ML) Unity Organizations and Central organizing Committee CPI (ML). Hereafter, left-wing extremism in India witnessed some of the worst-ever conflicts which again forced many organizations to take a position and adopt new tactics.Bihar has always remained a strong battleground of Naxal Sharvan, the then Secretary Bihar State Committee of CPI (ML) Peoples War, in an interview given to People’s March, Volume 2, No. 3, March 2001. 9 operations and ironically, in Bihar, most of the clashes were between CPI (ML) Party Unity and CPI (ML) Liberation. When these conflicts were taking a toll on the cadres on both sides, another development was simultaneously taking place. In August 1998, Party Unity merged with CPI (ML) People’s War Group and the group came to be known as People’s War. â₠¬Å"The merger of the two arties is the culmination of the unity process which began in March '93 and continued for over five years during which differences on several political, ideological and organizational questions were resolved through thread-bare discussion. †10 The statement continues, â€Å"The emergence of the united Party — the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) [People's War] -does not mark the completion of the process of unification of the genuine communist revolutionary forces in India. The newly Unified Party will continue its efforts in right earnest to achieve this unification.We also call upon the other genuine revolutionary elements in the various M-L parties in India who are being led astray by both right and left opportunist leadership, to fight against these deviations and rally under the banner of the United Party. The United Party pledges itself to avenge the death of thousands of martyrs who fell in the course of the ongoing democratic revolution in India paved with blood by these martyrs until their cherished goals are accomplished. This is the era of Revolutions. 11 With this merger, the PWG became a force to reckon with in Bihar and in other areas where PU had a presence. Further developments suggest that with the merger, the element of armed rebellion of the Naxal movement became stronger, while on the 10 People’s War literature titled ‘Joint Declaration by Communist Party of India (ML) People’s War and CPI (ML) (Party Unity)’, August 1998. Ibid. 11 8 other hand, with its parliamentary practices, Liberation was loosing its turf to PWG. Liberation, which once controlled the whole of central Bihar, was now loosing its territory and supporters to PWG and MCC.Not only in Bihar, but also elsewhere, Liberation was systematically shrinking on the map of Naxalite politics. By advocating electoral methods and not being able to make an impressive mark, the Liberation’s way of movement became weak and the PWG’s armed operations started gaining momentum. So while the Liberation, with its changed modus operandi was being reduced to a small political party, the PWG in the same period, managed to register its presence outside Andhra Pradesh and gradually gained strongholds in different areas of Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, and Maharashtra.While the conflict between PU and Liberation made both groups suffer the loss of considerable numbers of their cadres; as already stated, it also resulted in the merger of PU and PWG and ultimately the violent consolidation of the movement. The formation of People’s War also resulted in tactical changes in several aspects of the Naxal movement in general. ‘In our agenda for a new democratic revolution, there are two aspects — the agrarian revolution and fight for nationality. ’12 This statement shows the amount of organizational change witnessed by the Naxal movement in all those years.In 1967 it started in the name of ‘agrarian revolution’, which gradually took the stance of replacing the parliamentary form of government; but the question of nationality was never raised. This reflects the pattern of conflict between PW and Liberation. By questioning ‘nationality’, PW wanted to make it clear that it wanted a broad revolutionary pattern and while ‘land 12 to tillers’ could be a programme, it could not become the sole agenda of the revolution. Between 15-30 November 1995, the PW conducted an All India Special Conference in some unknown locality of Dandakaranya.There, it adopted two important party documents. The ‘Party Programme’ as adopted in the Conference reads, â€Å"India is a semi-feudal, semi-colonial society; here the New Democratic Revolution (NDR) has to be completed victoriously paving way to the Socialist Revolution and to advance towards the ultimate goal of Communism. The Indian people ar e weighed down by three big mountains: feudalism, imperialism and comprador bureaucrat capital; these are the targets to be overthrown in the present stage of NDR.The four major contradictions in the present-day Indian society are: the contradiction between feudalism and the broad masses; the contradiction between imperialism and the Indian people; the contradiction between capital and labour and the contradiction within the ruling classes. While the first two are fundamental contradictions to be resolved through the NDR, the contradiction between feudalism and the broad masses is the principal contradiction at the present stage. India is a multi-national country–a prison-house of nationalities and all the nationalities have the right to self-determination including secession.When NDR is victoriously completed, India will become a voluntary and genuine federation of all national people's republics. †13 The second document, which was adopted in the conference, was the do cument on the ‘Strategy and Tactics'. It reads, â€Å"The political 13 Interview of Muppalla Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, the then head of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist People's War. http://www. rediff. com/news/1998/oct/07gana. htm This report on the Special conference was posted in a website (www. cpimlpwg/repression. html) which claimed itself as the unofficial website of PW.The website has been withdrawn. During its existence the site claimed it to be the unofficial website of PWG. But during my interaction with many PW rank and file I found that it was no less then their official website. 9 strategy to be pursued in the present stage of NDR in India is one of forming a broad united front of all the anti-feudal, antiimperialist forces–the working class, the peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie–under the leadership of the working class to overthrow the common enemies–feudalism, imperialism and comprador bureau cratic capital.The military strategy or the path of Indian Revolution is the path of protracted people's war i. e. , liberating the countryside first through area wise seizure of power establishing guerilla zones and base areas and then encircling the cities and finally capturing power throughout the country. The unevenness in the economic, social and political development of Indian society calls for different tactics i. e. , forms of struggle and organization, to be pursued in different regions of the country, while the political tactic line throughout the country remains the same.In urban areas the political and mass work should be carried out observing utmost precaution and the organizational work should proceed keeping in view the long-range perspective. Caste is a peculiar problem in India; and appropriate forms of organization and struggle should be evolved vigorously to fight out untouchability, caste discrimination and to finally root out the caste system. The tactics of boy cott of elections have to be pursued for a long time in the prevailing conditions in India; and participating in parliamentary and assembly elections under any pretext only weakens the class struggle. 14 These two documents, containing different organizational aspects of PW, make a clearcut demarcation for the issues pertaining to organizational conflict between the Liberation and PW. The People’s War, on the basis of its assessment of the people’s level of preparedness for an armed struggle, discarded ‘annihilation of class enemies’ as the only form of struggle and stressed instead, on floating mass organizations. It established several front organizations. 14During the 1980s, the Radical Students’ Union and Rayatu Kuli Sangham emerged as organizations with an impressive mass following and most of the PWG’s present base and political cadres developed through that practice. However, during the 1990s, the growth of militarization became the ch aracteristic feature of the PWG. The formation of People’s Guerrilla Army (PGA), special guerrilla squads, Permanent Action Team (PAT) and Special Action Team (SAT) were the distinctive features of PWG activities for quite some time, before it merged with MCC to form the CPI (Maoist). 5 15 In response to a government decision to launch coordinated action against the Naxalites by police forces of the various Indian States affected by Naxal violence, the PWG formed the PGA, its military wing in December 2000 by reorganizing its guerrilla force. The PGA functions under a single operational command, the Central Military Commission. In the Indian State where the PGA has a presence, there is a State Military Commission and in special guerrilla zones there is a Zonal Military Commission.A Regional Military Commission supervises a group of State Military Commissions or Zonal Military Commission Each Regional Military Commission reports to the Central Military Commission. All armed ca dre of the PWG are organized under the PGA. Ref: â€Å"People's Guerrilla Army†, http://www. satp. org/satporgtp/countries/india/terror istoutfits/peoples_guerrilla_arms_left_wing_extre mists. htm Ibid. 10 Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) & Communist Party of India (Maoist) The next important group within the broad spectrum of the Naxal movement is the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).It stands apart from a number of organizations, since, conventionally speaking, it was never a part of the CPI (ML), which many claim as the mother of all Naxal organizations. â€Å"The MCC, while supporting the Naxalbari struggle, did not join the CPI (ML) because of some tactical differences and on the question of Party formation. †16 The MCC was formed on 20 October 1969, around the same time that the CPI (ML) was formed, although during those days it was known as Dakshin Desh. It was in 1975 that the group renamed itself the Maoist Communist Centre.In 2003, MCC merged with the Revolutionary Communist Centre of India-Maoists (RCCI-M) to form the Maoist Communist Centre-India (MCC-I). Right from its inception, the MCC stood for taking up armed struggle as the main form of resistance and waging a protracted people's war as the central task of the party. This position of the MCC has been repeatedly expressed and emphasized in a multitude of Maoist literature. â€Å"This armed revolutionary war is the war of the armed people themselves; it is ‘Protracted People's War' as shown by Mao Tse Tung.The concrete economic and political condition of India leads to the very conclusion that the path shown by the great leader and teacher, Mao Tse Tung, the path of the Chinese Revolution, that is, and to establish a powerful people's army and people's militia and to establish dependable, strong and self-sufficient base areas in the countryside, to constantly consolidate and expand the people's army and the base areas, gradually to encircle the urban areas from the countryside by liberating the countryside, finally to capture the cities and 16 o establish the state system and political authority of the people themselves by decisively destroying the state power of the reactionaries — this very path of the protracted People's War is the only path of liberation of the people of India, the path of victory of the new democratic revolution. â€Å"17 Communist Party of India (Maoist) The Naxal movement in India entered yet another phase of organizational transformation with the merger of two of the principal armed organizations, viz.People’s War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCC-I), which resulted in the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). â€Å"The formation of the unified Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a new milestone in the history of the revolutionary communist movement of India. A unified Maoist party based on Marxism-Leninism-Maoism is a long delayed and highly cherished need of the revolutionary minded and oppressed people of the country, including all our ranks, and also all the Maoist forces of South Asia and internationally.Now, this long-aspired desire and dream has been transformed into a reality. †18 This statement, made by the first Secretary of CPI (Maoist) Ganapathy, assumes a great deal of importance as it 17 Red Star, Special Issue, p. 20. Red Star is the English language organ of the MCC, as quoted by Aloke Banerjee in a pamphlet titled â€Å"Inside MCC Country†, dated June 2003. Red Star was the English language organ of the MCC. Also quoted in ‘MCC India Three Decades Leading Battalions of the Poor’, http://www. awtw. org/back_issues/mcc_india. htm.Though it denies but many treat this as the unofficial organ of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM. ) Ganapathy, in an Interview given on the on the occasion of the formation of CPI (Maoist). People’s March, Vol. 5, No. 11-12, NovemberDecember 2004. 18 30 years of Naxalbari, p . 36. 11 reflects the organizational politics that was going on all these years between these two organizations representing the Naxal movement. The improvised aim of the CPI (Maoist) as announced on the occasion of its formation is to establish a compact revolutionary zone, stretching from Nepal to Bihar to Andhra Pradesh and beyond.While continuing their pursuit of a people’s democracy; the ultimate aim of the CPI (Maoist) is to seize power through protracted armed struggle. The press statement, issued on the event of announcing the merger, stated, â€Å"The immediate aim and programme of the Maoist party is to carry on and complete the already ongoing and advancing New Democratic Revolution in India as a part of the world proletarian revolution by overthrowing the semi-colonial, semi-feudal system under the neo-colonial form of indirect rule, exploitation and control.This revolution will remain directed against imperialism, feudalism and comprador bureaucratic capitalism. This revolution will be carried out and completed through armed agrarian revolutionary war, i. e. protracted people's war with the armed seizure of power remaining as its central and principal task, encircling the cities from the countryside and thereby finally capturing them. Hence, the countryside as well as the PPW (Protracted People's War) will remain as the ‘center of gravity' of the party's work, while urban work will be complimentary to it. 19 According to the same press release, the CPI-Maoists â€Å"will still seek to unite all genuine Maoist groups that remain outside this unified party. â€Å"20 It is important to examine the significance of the merger, particularly when earlier attempts had been unsuccessful. In fact, the merger is largely being seen as a result of the gradual convergence of views of these two groups on areas such as the role of the party, approaches to revolution and adoption of strategies and tactics. In the formative years, Charu Mazumdar and Kanhai Chatterjee represented two irreconcilably different lines and approaches to ‘revolution’.At the time of the formation of the Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) CPI-ML in 1969, the Dakshin Desh (the earlier form of the MCC), remained opposed to the process due to sharp differences with the CPI-ML over issues such as the formation of a communist party, existence of revolutionary mass struggle and preparedness of the people to participate in it. The joint press statement released by the erstwhile General Secretaries of PW and MCC (I) highlighted the essence of the merger. â€Å"In the past history there were many splits within the M-L movement.But splits are only one side of the coin; the brighter side was that there were continuous efforts to unify the revolutionaries. The CPI (ML) (PU), though it had its origins in Bengal, it spread and strengthened by unifying several revolutionary groups. The CPI (ML) (PW), though it originated in Andhra Pradesh and Ta mil Nadu, it unified with revolutionaries in almost all the states where it was working. The MCC too, had originated in Bengal, unified many revolutionaries groups in it in many States and became the MCCI. 21 This statement underlines the continuous process of organizational politics within the broad spectrum of the Naxal movement, which resulted from organizational conflict. Looking back, the need for a joint, unified platform was felt by the leadership of both 21 19 â€Å"Maoist-Influenced Revolutionary Organizations in India† available at â€Å"Maoist-Influenced Revolutionary Organizations in India† available at 20 Ganapathy, in an Interview given on the on the occasion of the formation of CPI (Maoist). People’s March, Vol. 5, No. 11-12, NovemberDecember 2004. 12 he parties as early as 1981. â€Å"The PW and MCC began unity talks from their very first meeting in 1981. However, the reason for the delay in the process was the lack of continuity of leadership. The arrest of Comrade Kondapally Seetaramaiah (KS), the leader of the PW, and later the internal crisis of the PW and split in the Central Committee (CC) delayed the unity process for several years. In the early eighties, the MCC lost its two top leaders Comrades Amulya Sen (AS) and Kanhai Chatterjee (KC), which had some negative impact, resulting in further delay in the unity process. 22 However, this is not to suggest that the formation of the CPI (Maoist) was the final stage of the Naxal movement. As one official Maoist document puts it, â€Å"Revolutions never proceed in a straight line. The history of all successful revolutions shows this. The path is zig zag, there are ups and downs, there is victory and defeat repeated a number of times†¦.. before final victory. Of course, there is no final victory until the stage of communism is reached. 23 The above-mentioned analysis makes the forceful plea that since the Naxal movement is essentially a political problem, it needs to be examined from the perspective of organizational politics. From the above discussion we can derive the following conclusions. First, the history of the Naxal movement is the history of a continuous process of organizational conflicts, splits, and mergers. Second, the movement essentially represents simultaneous, though not necessarily peaceful coexistence of many streams; and looking from this angle, the movement can be said to have its presence in all parts of 22 23 he country. Third, the growth of the Naxal movement is closely linked with the ongoing process of organizational conflict. This is because the ultimate political objective behind all organizational exercise, as reflected by the statements of various senior Naxalite leaders, is to build a leftist alternative and mobilize people against increased ‘imperialist intervention’ and ‘proimperialist policies’ pursued by the union government, in support of ‘revolutionary war’ based on the Chinese leader, Mao’s theory of organized peasant insurrection.Similarly, the history of the naxal movement, right from its first phase of 1967, demonstrates that even if there has been a continuous evolution in terms of their understanding of the Indian situation, the focus of the movement, its character, and the fighting capabilities and financial resources of these groups; they have remained more or less consistent as far as their core ideology is concerned. Barring the Liberation, they all reject the parliamentary system of governance and want to bring about a fundamental change in the nature of the Indian state.For this, they have adopted the strategy of protracted armed struggle, which entails building bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones and then liberated zones, besides area-wise seizures and encirclement of cities and finally, the seizure of political power and achievement of nation-wise victory. Fourth, the history of the movement so far, has been the history of conflicts and splits. However, one cannot deny that its history is also one of mergers. 4 Ibid. State Repression, this is the title of the document which was posted at www. cpimlpwg/repression. html. The website now has been withdrawn. During its existence the site claimed it to be the unofficial website of PWG. But during my interaction with many PW rank and file I found that it was the official website. 24 For more information on integrated checkposts, see the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs (http://mha. gov. in/BM_Div/BM_IntCheck(E). pdf). 13 .About the Author Dr. Rajat Kumar Kujur teaches Political Science at the Gangadhar Meher Junior College, Sambalpur, Orissa. He can be reached at [email  protected] com. Recent IPCS Publications August 2008 Arabization: Changing Face of Islam in Asia Baladas Ghoshal Issue Brief 81 Asian Security Architecture: India and Ideology Jabin Jacob Issue Brief 80 Indo-US Nuclear Deal: Entering Homest retch Gretchen Smith CBRN Issue Brief 10 Impeaching Musharraf: Issues and Questions D.Suba Chandran Issue Brief 79 Safeguarding Pakistan's Nuclear Assets: The American Debate Prashant Hosur CBRN Issue Brief 9 South Asian Union: Divided We Stand Abhishek Raman Issue Brief 78 India's Myanmar Policy: An Alternative Roadmap Ann Koppuzha Issue Brief 77 India-Vietnam Economic Relations: Opportunities and Challenges Pranav Kumar Special Report 57 July 2008 Ten Years After Pokharan-II: The Nuclear Debate in India Henri Laniece CBRN Issue Brief 8 Thinking outside the Box: A New Approach to Burma Baladas Ghoshal Issue Brief 76 Sam Manekshaw: India's Finest Hour PR Chari Special Report 56 Failing and Failed States: The Global Discourse Sonali Huria Issue Brief 75

How to Deal with High Oil Prices Essay

To reduce the petroleum price not only government but people also must work hard about this problem. Steps must be taken by the government are:. 1. Government must work hard to depend on other sources like solar-energy, water (which are renewable sources). 2. Recently a Pakistani engineer Waqar Ahmad developed a vehicle that uses water as fuel. He claimed that on one litre of water a 1000 CC car can cover a distance of 40 km and a motorbike can run up to 150 km using this technology. Government must come forward to use up this technology in India. 3. Bangalore engineers has developed a car which gives 240kmpl and the government must focus on that cars and make those cars available in market at low cost. 4. Government must develop public transport system. 5. Traffic police must also work hard to clear traffic jam on roads because most of the fuel will be utilized by the vehicles in the traffic. 6. In the international market petroleum trading was done in dollars. As the Indian rupee value was decreasing we are investing more amount on that so government must focus on that. Steps must be taken by the people:. 1. For shorter distance we must go by walk or by bicycle. 2. We must off our vehicles during red signal. 3. People of same destination and same work must encourage carpooling. Finally government and people must work hard to create awareness in people who live in villages for the correct utilization of petroleum.

Ecotourism Involves Responsible Traveling Tourism Essay Essays

Ecotourism Involves Responsible Traveling Tourism Essay Essays Ecotourism Involves Responsible Traveling Tourism Essay Essay Ecotourism Involves Responsible Traveling Tourism Essay Essay Ecotourism involves responsible going to fragile, pristine and largely protected countries. This takes topographic point for different intents, from educating the traveller, furthering regard for different civilizations to straight profiting the economic and political authorization of local communities ( Garana, 2008 ) . Ideally, ecotourism incorporates the undermentioned standards ; advance biological and cultural diverseness, touring good natural home grounds, and the chief attractive forces being local civilization, vegetation and zoology. In short, ecotourism operations are defined by their committedness to the environment, instruction, nature and civilization. The chief aims of ecotourism are supplying nature-based, environmental instruction experiences for visitants and pull offing this in a sustainable mode ( Badan A ; Bhatt, 2005 ) . Education enables pupils to understand the interconnection of assorted facets of the planetary environment. Ecotourism embraces concerted instruction which is a structured educational scheme that integrates category work with larning through productive fieldwork experiences that for practical applications to be realized. The relationship between ecotourism and instruction is majorly concerned with guaranting that bureaus deliver effectual readings of cultural, environmental and resource direction values ( Morgan, 1999 ) . This type of instruction involves account, stimulation, aggravation, disclosure and apprehension in an interesting and gratifying manner. The chief challenge lies in the reading and options of trusting on signage and booklets so as to alter people s attitudes and actions towards their environment are considered as solutions to this challenge. Ecotourism offers a great chance for educational every bit good as personal growing as values of grasp and attitude alterations are instilled in participants which would take to important engagement in environmental and societal issues in the hereafter. Basically, the dimension of ecotourism as an educational experience creates a new window for sing the whole universe and one s ego. It offers an chance to demo the growing and development of assorted larning experiences while at the same clip researching another state or civilization and traveling beyond one s preconceived restrictions ( Vitti, 2007, p. 60 ) . Nature-based ecotourism focuses on personally sing natural countries in ways that result in apprehension and grasp.It integrates chances to understand natural countries into each and every experience. Furthermore, it targets to proactively lend to the preservation of natural countries and provides constructive parts to local communities. It is distinguished from other touristry signifiers due to its natural country scene ( Ravens, 1996 ) . Nature based touristry includes a scope of touristry experiences that entail escapade touristry, cultural and rural touristry. In add-on, activities such as rafting and aqualung diving are signifiers of nature based ecotourism. On the other manus, sustainable ecotourism aims to turn to on the demands of visited environments to prolong them. The chief focal points include prolonging the natural environment itself and lending to assist local communities understand the importance and value of their next environment ( Briffa A ; Lee, 2004 ) . Sustainability is drawn from the construct of sustainable development which is development that focuses on run intoing the demands of he present coevals without impeding the ability of the future coevalss from run intoing their ain demands. The basic standards for sustainable ecotourism include ; the sustainable usage of ecological resources, increased environmental and cultural consciousness, preservation ethos, support of local economic systems through increased gross from visitants and the usage of local supplies and services. It is of import to observe that for ecotourism to be realized the above constituents need to be integrated on a wholesome bundle. Eco touristry entails the incorporation of nature as the chief research lab for informal acquisition through which attitudes and values on preservation are appreciated and instilled. For these natural resources to be available for the unforeseeable hereafter, sustainability has to come into drama. Several differences between ecotourism and other signifiers of touristry can be outlined. To get down with, the cardinal difference bing is that ecotourism involves larning about the environment whereas other signifiers of touristry such as escapade touristry merely focal point on personal achievements of successfully run intoing the challenge of the natural environment ( Morgan, 1999 ) . By and large, as envisioned by Ravens ( 1996 ) , the touristry industry focuses on market demand by trying to further, maintain and spread out the market universe which largely draws it off from concentrating on keeping the merchandise or experience. The add-on of installations and substructures to provide for the demand consequence in the devastation of pristine environment and the autochthonal experience which ecotourism efforts to change by reversal by cut downing these impacts of touristry. Ecotourism maintains a supply oriented direction position with primary considerations being the nature and resiliency of the resource, cultural or local community penchants and interpretative preservation plans ( Badan A ; Bhatt, 2005 ) . Tourism on the other manus, focuses on single experiences that may overlook the relevancy of in-depth acquisition of the natural environment and autochthonal cognition indispensable for altering people s attitudes and perceptual experiences. Nature based touristry is seen as a subcomponent of alternate touristry and ecotourism is highlighted as being portion of both alternate and natural based touristry. This is because nature plays a large function in both. In add-on, the interaction between natural environment and escapade travel are constituents of adventure touristry. This points to gamble travel with certain hazardous elements which when lowered go logical extensions of ecotourism ( Dimitrios, 1998, p.517 ) . Time, a really cardinal trade good would besides be used to distinguish other signifiers of touristry from eco touristry. The clip taken to interact with nature and local communities in ecotourism is significant due to the clip taken to appreciate what the environment provides. Fundss accruing from touristry activities are non perfectly used to better the supports of local populations, they may non dribble down to these communities when allocated on a national graduated table ( Fridell, 2003 ) . Alternatively they form a per centum of the Gross Domestic Product of most economic systems. On the other manus, financess collected from ecotourism establishments are diverted to activities aimed at bettering the lives of local communities. This is because these populations play a critical function in guaranting the sustainability of the environment through proper direction and protection to control overuse. The subsequent impact of human activities on the environment is yet another difference between ecotourism and other signifiers of touristry. The fact that ecotourism addresses the values and perceptual experiences of persons which impact to a greater extent the grasp of the environment thereby cut downing the magnitudes of development of these resources is a premier definition of ecotourism different from touristry in general ( Thomas, 2004 ) . Behaviors such as the proper disposal of waste in campgrounds or tourer environments are emphasized in ecotourism as compared to other signifiers of touristry which overlook the importance of such actions. Ecotourism emphasizes on interaction based on the propinquity to the natural home ground, for illustration, watching mahimahis in their natural home ground, the ocean, while mainstream touristry does non stress on the natural environment such as watching mahimahis in an fish tank ( Anderson A ; Beasley, 2002 ) . The degrees of interactions described by Fridell ( 2003 ) are different in the two constructs. Ecotourism based activities involve a close interaction with the environment with actions such as species individuality and autochthonal cognition on certain phenomena. The degree of interaction related with touristry on the other manus is perceived to be shallow as small is learnt from the environment. In some countries, jaunts are conducted utilizing vehicles doing it hard for tourers to interact closely with the environment. Despite the aforesaid differences, similarities besides exist between ecotourism and other signifiers of touristry like sustainable touristry, adventure touristry amongst others. First of wholly, both recognize the environment as the chief functional unit. Activities developed from both are environmentally related as it forms the chief characteristic. Scuba diving, nature screening, take parting in eco-challenge activities are merely but a few of the activities environmentally based ( Briffa A ; Lee, 2004 ) . Second, as expressed by Anderson A ; Beasley, the human being is the chief driver of both constructs. These constructs are developed and actualized by worlds who besides contribute to their uninterrupted application. This is due to the fact that the human individual recognizes the next environment about him as it is of import for his endurance ( 69 ) . The environment is the manufacturer of goods and services for human ingestion, and every bit acts as an learner of waste produced from human activities that process concluding merchandises for his usage. Without it, worlds can non last hence the kernel to conserve and protect it. The terminal consequence of both constructs is to make avenues of exposure to chances of the environment and its subsequent preservation. The environment offers more than merely resources. It creates an aesthetic feeling every bit good as favourable ambiances for relaxation both mentally and physically. Such chances are made available through ecotourism and touristry ( Morgan, 1999 ) Both venture in to pristine environments that are either protected by authorities policies or local populations. Pristine environments are less exploited or non ventured into at all and offer a great assortment of species and ecosystems. Both touristry and ecotourism purpose towards sustainable development. There is normally a struggle between development and environmental preservation with both extremes conveying about insufficiencies in version owing to the current planetary state of affairss of negative environmental impacts and effects of the planetary small town. Ecotourism hence attempts to run into the demands of the local people while touristry focuses on a much bigger population seting the state s citizens in position ( Morgan, 1999 ) . An eco- circuit refers to a sightseeing jaunt in physical nature. An ecotourist so refers to a tourer who joins an ecotour. With the above definition, it is deserving observing that eco-tourists may neglect to understand the difference between ecotourism and mainstream touristry ( Dimitrios, 2008 ) . This occurs in fortunes where they fail to understand the functions expected of them to separate them from other tourers. In add-on, the sites chosen for jaunt intents may find them as tourers. An eco-tourist who accesses a tourer site such as an fish tank or mausoleum located off from its original site would neglect to understand the difference between him and a tourer. In instances where tourers are given an chance to larn from the available environment with the aid of tour ushers or game Texas Rangers, they are awarded the same chance of geting cognition merely as those seeking such cognition from ecotourism countries availed to them by local community members hence the difference between them is narrowed ( Badan A ; Bhatt, 2005 ) . A instance survey on the educational experience in ecotourism in Peru, The Condor Lodge Conservatory is good discussed below. The conservatory is located in Apurimac Canyon and is settled in a natural environment, with close propinquity to the Antilla Community and surrounded by an eco-farm. Most households portion kiping infinite with the Kuyi, a type of guinea hogs. The country is besides surrounded by gold mines and has been at the head of ecotourism attempts in the part. It has besides created threading webs with local tourer bureaus, international tourers and be aftering little group visits that are aimed at making a harmonious relationship with the environment. It is farther characterized by undisturbed wilderness, wildlife diverseness, hospitable people and a dramatic position of the Andean Condor which create an exceeding educational experience ( Garana, 2008 ) . A instance survey of the Campi ya Kanzi, an ecotourism site in Kenya. This site is stretched over 400 stat mis of African wilderness, within the Kuku Group Ranch of Southern Kenya. The country is owned by Maasai herders and extends through to Mt. Kilimanjaro ( Vitti, 2007, p. 55 ) . This environment is good endowed with wildlife diverseness of zoology and vegetation. The spread besides contains pools, a lake and springs. The Lodge in the country has minimum impact on the environment as edifices are constructed from local stuff such as lava stones, thatch and timber obtained from a re-afforestation plan. The foundations of the Lodge was based on protecting wildlife, the wilderness and Maasai civilization every bit good as obtain fiscal support for keeping a topographic point where wildlife can boom ( Vitti, 2007, pp. 56-60 ) . To sum up, Campi ya Kanzi is an ecotourism Lodge, built, owned and run by the local community for the benefit of the environment and local people. In decision, Ecotourism is an facet that incorporates touristry but is specific in nature. There are illimitable similarities that exist between ecotourism and touristry such as sustainability, nature being at the head in both and an offer to interact with the pristine natural environment. There are besides important differences that exist between them from the educational position, the natural environment to the degrees of interactions. However, the impact of both touristry and ecotourism on the environment every bit good the alterations in people s attitudes is deserving observing. The functional duty of both eco-tourists, soft and difficult, and tourer dramas a cardinal function in accomplishing the ultimate ends of both constructs.

Zara vs. Uniqlo Essay Example

Zara vs. Uniqlo Essay Example Zara vs. Uniqlo Paper Zara vs. Uniqlo Paper Clothing Industry ZARA vs. UNIQLO Team J: Bingbing Ge Lei Du Sophia Maduka Salman Syed Azim Thanadol Boonyaviwat Tanya Goel 1 Index Content Page Number Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Industry Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Competitive Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Strategic Groups†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 ZARA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Critical Success Factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Strategic Issue: What should ZARA do next?.. Strategic Options for ZARA and Inditex†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 UNIQLO†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Critical Success Factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 St rategic Issue: Should UNIQLO compete with ZARA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 Strategic Options for UNIQLO and Fast Retailing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 2 Appendices Index Content Page Number Appendix 1 : Porter’s Five Forces 15 Appendix 2 : PESTEL Analysis 7 Appendix 3 : Risk Factors 18 Appendix 4 : Strategic Groups.. 19 Appendix 5 : ZARA Business Model 20 Appendix 6 : CAGE Framework. 21 Appendix 7 : ZARA’s TOWS Matrix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦22 Appendix 8 : Clothing retailers’ sales and profits.. 3 Appendix 9 : Case of UNIQLO failing to compete with ZARA. 24 Appendix 10 : Customer Analysis.. 26 Appendix 11 : UNIQLO Business Model 27 Appendix 12 : Detailed Strategies for UNIQLO. 28 Appendix 13 : Comparison Between ZARA and UNIQLO.. 30 Appendix 14 : UNIQLO’s TOWS Matrix.. 1 Appendix 15 : Inditex and Fast Retailing Ansoff Matrices 32 3 Executive Summary This report aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of two major players in the clothing industry: ZARA and UNIQLO. The clothing industry is highly segmented with several sub markets, ZARA targets at customers who need high fashion, whereas UNIQLO positions itself in the low fashion low price segment. Different from most retailers who adopt a mass production for strategic positioning, ZARA implemented a mass differentiation strategy to compete in the market by vertically integrating its value chain. With full control of all its all activities, ZARA has successfully gained large market share and established good brand awareness by providing customers with fashionable, highly exclusive, fast changing products. For further expansion, ZARA chose to keep penetrating existing markets rather than entering into a new segment. The long distance between Spain and America has brought ZARA with a strategic issue as it cannot take full advantage of its effective business model, which means ZARA has to change its business model or establish a new centralized production and distribution centre for further performance improvement. Moreover, UNIQLO follows the traditional strategy adopted by most retailers that is to reduce cost by outsourcing production regions with low labour cost. UNIQLO also succeeded in gaining market share by offering customers with products with rich functionalities at low price. With inspiring sales performance, UNIQLO entered into the new segment to compete with ZARA. However, this expansion strategy has resulted as a failure, which implies UNIQLO should focus on its current market, expand into a new segment either by launching a new brand and business model or taking full advantage of its current unique RD capability. Introduction The fashion industry is one of the most complicated industries in the world. It is the largest employer of all the creative industries and directly employs 816,000 people across a wide range of jobs and professions from fashion designers to fashion retailers. In the UK economy, it is estimated that the fashion industry contributes a direct value worth 21 bil lion pounds (Casciato, 2010). The world of fashion is filled with competitors, who are struggling for public awareness. ZARA and UNIQLO are two companies operating in this market and spare no effort to survive and prosper in this industry. This report will start by providing an industry analysis, and then it will discuss ZARA’s strategy, strategic issues and its strategic options. Finally, it will analyze the critical success factors of UNIQLO, the reason why it failed to compete with ZARA and its strategic options. Industry analysis Competitive Environment The Clothing industry is a very competitive in nature and due to this several sub segments have been created in the market and coupled with the number of players involved, in addition to the seasonal nature of the products; has led to excess capacity within the industry. The modern markets trends of the industry is globalization which has led to intensified competition between local brands and international brands alike. From our Porter 5 Forces analysis, which can be found in Appendix 1, we can see that the highly competitive and labour intensive nature of the industry have led firms to pursue cost leadership strategies. A general trend has been to outsource production to developing countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and China (The reasons for doing are highlighted by our PESTEL Analysis, as Appendix 2 indicates). Another important way in which firms try and create a barrier to entry is by product differentiation. The perception of products overall can be deemed to be equal and therefore, apart from price, the key differentiating factors are brand image, reputation and design. As a result firms tend to utilize a lot of capital in order establish a reputation and create brand awareness. 5 Due to the globalized nature of the industry majority of the risks involved are applicable throughout the industry as a whole. These risks are often beyond any of the firms’ controls and therefore it is very difficult to foresee them and adopt strategies to deal with them. A list of some of these risk factors is listed in the Appendix 3. Strategic groups In the clothing industry, there are generally three strategic groups: low fashion low price, high fashion low price and high fashion and high price (See Appendix 4). Retailers like GAP and UNIQLO belong to the first category as those companies mainly focus on providing customers with relatively low fashion and cheap products. Both GAP and UNIQLO adopt the same business model, which aims to reduce price through mass production. Compared with GAP and UNIQLO, companies such as HM and ZARA, classified in the second strategic group, position themselves in the market with more differentiation by proving high fashion products with low price. The last group includes those luxury brands such as LV and GUCCI, who provide high income customers with most fashionable design along with a very high price. There is possibility for companies in the first strategic group to strategically stretch to the second group through differentiating their products towards more fashionable. For those companies in the second group, they could also strategically stretch towards to the first group by mass production via intensive outsourcing to reduce its cost. 6 ZARA The Success of ZARA ZARA is one of the most successful clothing retailers in the world today. ZARA (operating under the flagship of Inditex, a holding company located in Northwest Spain) has around 2500 stores in 62 different countries across the world (Tiplady, 2006) and is still growing. The success of ZARA is astounding as they succeeded using a strategy which went outside the generic strategies used in the industry. Where others went for mass production, ZARA went for Mass Customization. When others spent fortunes on marketing, ZARA held a no advertising policy. When others outsourced their supply chain ZARA stuck with their own manufacturing facilities. ZARA’s secret is their Business Model, as illustrated by Appendix5. ZARA’s value chain ZARA’s business model is characterized by the search for flexibility in adapting production to market demand by controlling the supply chain throughout the different stages of design, manufacture and distribution (Inditex, 2009). This vertical integration of the value chain enhances internal information flow with the help of IT service and an autonomous and flexible corporate culture, giving ZARA capability to fully control their entire manufacturing and distribution process from their factories to the shop floor. ZARA’s success is based on a business model that achieves a ‘speed of response’ to market demand that is without precedent in the fast-moving clothing sector. ZARA’s cycles of design, production, and distribution are substantially faster than any of its main competitors. All their products are designed at the Inditex headquarters in La Coruna, approximately 50% of which are produced in its own network of 22 Spanish factories and the rest 50 % is outsourced to factories in Asia and Africa. Their finished products are dispatched by their centralized distribution facility twice a week, to each of its retail outlets, located in different time zones with accurate shipping times. Other fashion retailers usually have a six-month time lag between completing a new design and delivery. ZARA on the other hand can take a new design from the drawing board to the shop floor in as little as three weeks. 7 Merchandizing Strategy With full control of its production and coupled with their brand image, ZARA manages to create rapid product turnover, which in turn creates a climate of scarcity and opportunity in their retail stores. The exclusivity of its products are intended to increase consumer frequency, which corresponds to higher sales. As a result, ZARA’s high turnover rate allows the company to sell more items at full price, which helps ZARA achieve a 15 to 20 percent of markdown merchandise cost reduction compared to traditional retailers (Craig et al, 2004). Quick Response Strategy With a unique quick response system, comprising of human resource, information technology infrastructure and customer feedback, ZARA is able to respond to the demand of its customers better than its competition. On one hand, ZARA delegates its product development teams to attend high-fashion fairs and exhibitions to interpret latest trends of the season. On the other hand, ZARA’s store managers are responsible for reporting daily sales activity, products life cycles, and store trends to their designers. These measures along with accurate customer feedback, have provided ZARA with the tools to cater for their customers’ diverse requirements (Craig et al, 2004). Distribution Strategy ZARA’s centralized inventory management system gives them competitive advantage by minimizing the lead-times. ZARA’s internally or externally produced goods go to their distribution center, where they are inspected and immediately shipped. In order to increase speed of delivery, the shipments are scheduled by time zones and shipped by way of air, land or sea. Typically, products will be dispatched to stores in Europe within 24 hours, in the United States within 48 hours and in Japan within 48 to 72 hours (Ferdows et al, 2002). Zero Advertising Strategy As mentioned earlier, ZARA does not have a marketing policy, instead investing in an aggressive store expansion policy. Compared to their competitors, who have an adevertising budget in between 3 to 4% , ZARA’s advertising budget of 0. 3% ( primarly for its online and 8 catalogue venture) provides them with a degree of economies of scale on regards to their international expansion (Craig et al, 2004). They have a department in charge of acquiring global real estate in prime locations around the world, frequent refurbishing of store layouts and the creating the window displays for their global retail operations. ZARA strategically locates themselves in exclusive territory, to provide the allure of high fashion as it is not uncommon to find ZARA next to high end designer boutiques. This also provides them with a unique vantage point to mimic their competitor’s styles, with the hope that customers will go into these boutiques, see what they like and come to ZARA and buy it for a third of the price. Its centralized control over their stores has given ZARA an image of prestige and elegance, irrespective of their price point. Strategic Issue: What should ZARA do next? During 2009, ZARA went ahead and opened 103 stores globally and 15 stores in America. They had substantial sales growth in their European and Asian markets, however sales in there American markets decreased substantially by 0. 5%, after the expansion. From our CAGE analysis, which is listed in Appendix 6, we can see that the geographical distance coupled with the inability of their business model to adapt to the American market can be cited as the main reasons for their failure. Due to the sheer size of America the styles in different side of the country would be different. For example:- Coats and sweaters would most likely be available in ZARA stores in New York during winter months, however, those items would not be stocked in ZARA stores in LA, since the temperatures in that part of the country remain fairly constant throughout the year. The differences in weather patterns pose another challenge to their business model especially since they do not have a factory on the continent. In order to enter new markets, ZARA launched their online sales catalogue in September 2010. Currently their online services are only available in Europe; however, if successful it will be launched globally. However, the question remains whether or not their business model can cope with this added facility or will ZARA run it online store via a different channel. Their current business model transfers stock in batches to their own stores who then sell it to customers and therefore adapting to a model where ZARA will have to sell one of items to individuals will be a challenge. Another important concern regarding ZARA online 9 sales venture is informing people about it. Since they do not have an advertising policy, how the general is public supposed to know about their new service. Strategic options for ZARA and Inditex By looking at their CAGE Framework and their TOWS matrix (Appendix 7), our advice to ZARA is simple: To be competitive in America: In order to compete in America, a manufacturing operation is a must. If the plant in the States is unfeasible then they could try and set up in Mexico or sub-contract their manufacturing operations to an existing plant in Mexico, like they have done in Asia. Otherwise in order to compete in America, ZARA has to change from its current business model, to a model which caters for mass production. This seems unlikely as they will compromise their biggest critical success factor which is to delivery styles quickly. They also have to make efforts to educate people regarding their styles and designs. Marketing and Advertising will be key if they are to be successful in the States and therefore, they must revoke their â€Å"no advertising strategy†. Online Sales operations: We believe that entry into the online sales market is a positive step but, they have to be cautious. Due to the nature online sales, it will be impractical to use their current value chain. The value should be separate from the current ZARA model as it is going to have to deal with postal returns, online refunds and sales of one of items. They also have to answer important logistical questions such as, which distribution centre will the orders be dispatched from? Once again marketing will be a key issue to address as they have to inform of their new service, therefore they will HAVE to revoke their current policy. Advice to Inditex: Inditex should keep on doing what they are in terms of expansion. However, they could begin to penetrate existing markets where ZARA has been successful using their other brands. This allows them to capture other market segments within those markets. They can also thinking about investing more towards RD to improve functionality of clothes. R D requires significant investment; however, they might reap rewards in the 10 long run and help them to research further market segments in the future. For example: provide trendy scruffs with heat absorbent technologies, the item will appeal to their current segment but can also crave its way into other segments. UNIQLO Do they challenge ZARA? UNIQLO see themselves as a direct challenger to ZARA, and their sales figures for 2009 do not disagree, as shown in Appendix 8. In the 2009 annual shareholders report and after a record year in profits, Tadashi Yanai the CEO of Fast Retailing, confidently claimed, â€Å"We can now stand as equals on the battlefield with other global retailers, such as HM, ZARA and GAP. And, just maybe, we can even emerge victorious. † (UNIQLO, 2009). However, they tried to do so this year and it did not go very well (refer to Appendix 9 for a Case study regarding their failure). In short company lost 26% of their global market share and sales fell by 6. 4% in Japan, a market which is responsible for 80% of their revenue (Business Week 2010). The first question for UNIQLO is to ask themselves, is whether or not they compete in the same market. By using the generic strategy graph below we can clearly see that UNIQLO and ZARA are using two completely different strategies in the market place. This coupled with the information derived from the Customer Matrix (see Appendix 10); we do not think they are immediate competitors. UNIQLO’s Critical Success Factors Although UNIQLO consider themselves to be direct competitors to ZARA, their critical success factors which have allowed them to achieve such monolith growth in such a short space of time, is also the reason they have so far failed to enter ZARA’s Market ( as emphasized by the UNIQLO failure case study in the appendix 9). The SPA business model Unlike ZARA, UNIQLO followed the generic strategies of the industry of high volume and low price. They have also invested millions trying to develop their brand identity. UNIQLO 11 credits its continual growth and its ability to provide high quality, functional casual wear at competitive rates to its SPA (Specialty-store/retailer of Private-label Apparel) business model, a model which they adapted from GAP in 1997 (UNIQLO, 2009). UNIQLO business model allows them to be fully involved in all activities of the supply chain from product design, to the sourcing of material, to manufacturing operations(even though they are contracted out to external suppliers) all the way to their sales and retailing operations. This enables UNIQLO to ensure costs are kept to a minimal and quality is maintained. Profitability can also be maximized as rents and personnel costs can be restrained. The Success of UNIQLO’s implementation of the SPA business model has prompted Fast Retailing to slowly integrate all their SBU’s acquired with this model. Appendix 11 provides an illustration of their model. Tadashi Yanai, the founder of UNIQLO, contributes the success of his company to Peter Drucker’s idea of â€Å"customer creation†, which is the idea of delivering products which creates demand (Business Week, 2010). In order to do so the SPA model was designed to be highly customer centric, i. e. customer feedback regarding products played an integral part in new product development. ZARA’s business model on the other hand caters takes customer feedback into account only to manage inventory. Customer feedback has been instrumental in the development of their highly successful Heat Tech and Airtech clothing range, and is taken into account in all levels of company development (UNIQLO website). From the Analysis of the value chain, the most important factor in the business model is UNIQLO’s RD department. Unlike ZARA limited RD budget, UNIQLO have spent a vast amount of time and resources to improve partnerships with suppliers like Toray industries, in order to create clothing which are functional. Why they cannot compete with ZARA It is understandable why UNIQLO wants to target ZARA as it seems that they want to make head ways into the women’s market, a market which is twice the size of the men’s market and they are taking various measures to do so. ( refer to UNIQLOs growth strategies in Appendix 12), such as acquiring other firms , setting up fashion lines only catered towards women and building large format stores. 2 However, the main reason they cannot compete with ZARA is because their business model cannot cater for quick style changes. Production for items starts a full year ahead of ZARA; in addition UNIQLO caters for logo less minimalist designs targeted at mostly a unisex segment. This is illustrated in a comparison table which can be found in Appendix 13. It seems that there aggressive marketing tactics have dug a huge hole into their existing market segment and whatever they try they simply just cannot get out and move into the high fashion women’s market. UNIQLO’s Strategic options By analysing their Value chain and their TOWS matrix (see Appendix 14) we can make the following recommendations to UNIQLO: Market Segment: UNIQLO should stick to their current market segment and try and build upon it further. By looking at their Strategic group diagram in the Appendix 4, it is clear that they simply do not have the strategic stretch to compete with ZARA and maintain their dominance in their segment. If they are to challenge ZARA then we would recommend that they do it with another brand, which has a similar value chain to ZARA’s. Their current strategy of incorporating acquired brands with their SPA business model will not work. If they insist on doing that then they should just maintain focus on their immediate competitor who is GAP. Niche market development: The R D aspect of UNIQLO’s value chain is so unique that, the products derived from that department such as their Heattech and Airtech range of clothing can be classed as niche products. This is because the clothes incorporating technology are still rare in the market and these two lines are UNIQLO’s best selling lines. Acknowledging them as niche market products can further open doors into different market segments. Advice to Fast Retailing: Although Fast Retailing are targeting the women’s market, with high quality women’s clothing, their decision to move production to Bangladesh suggests that they are more concerned with cutting costs rather than further helping their existing Chinese manufacturers to develop new competencies to deliver high quality. Judging by their Ansoff matrix (illustrated in the Appendix 15), this might provide them with the strategic advantage 13 f moving into India. However, if Fast Retailing wants to target ZARA, they should start from scratch and move into the high fashion women’s market with a new brand following a different business model. Conclusion Base on the analysis, both ZARA and UNIQLO should further utilize their current business model. On one hand, ZARA, with the support of the centralized distribution facility, imprints its fame of flexib ility on customers’ awareness and maintain in the top position of fast fashion industry. By expanding into new market, ZARA should carry on its business model and develop manufacturing operation within the approached market in order to preserve the valuable flexibility. UNIQLO, on the other hand, has a cost leadership advantage. UNIQLO provides a wide range of products with reasonable price. Also, with the very keen RD department, UNIQLO is leading the market in term of functionality. It is impossible for UNIQLO to compete with ZARA by its existing business. In order to effectively expand into new market segment, it is not necessary for Fast Retailing and Inditex to develop new brands and new business models. 14 Appendices Appendix 1: Five Forces: Threat of entry in clothing industry is low. Due to many existing retailers have realized economies of scales, established good brand images, and have access to efficient distribution channels, the entry barriers are very high. Threat of substitutes in clothing industry is very low because there are hardly any substitutes for clothing. However there are substitutes in terms of sub segments. For example, casual war or active wear can be seen as the substitutes of formal wear. The threat of substitutes among sub segments is high. Switching costs between sub segments are almost non-existent as styles are individualistic. Bargaining power of buyer is very high. Due to the competitive nature of this industry, consumers have lots of choice in terms of brands and styles. Buyers also have abundant access to the products information, leading to an easy comparison between brands. Bargaining power of supplier is high in clothing industry. Since wool and cotton is vital part ingredient in cloth, it is difficult to find a viable substitute; therefore switching costs of raw material are high. Moreover, the prices of commodities such as cotton blends, wool etc can fluctuate depending on factors such as weather, yield of production and transportation etc. Suppliers have a high bargaining power over those retailers. Furthermore, the bargaining power also depends on the degree of control companies have over a specific resource. For example, UNIQLO has a close partnership with Toray, which provide UNIQLO with the specialized fleece and fabric for its highly successful â€Å"AIRTECH† and â€Å"HEAT TECH† range of clothing. Since not many companies have the capability to produce such special fleece and fabric, the supplier has high degree of control during negotiations. Internal rivalry clothing industry is very high. There are several sub segments in clothing industry such as: high fashion, formal wear, and sportswear, and the competition in very intense duo to there are a number of retailers in each segment. The large number of retailers and the seasonal nature of products have led to excess capacity in the industry. Moreover, globalization leads to market saturation as it has intensified competition between local brands and international brands. 15 Bargaining power of supplier - ­? Difficult to find viable substitute for wool or cotton, high switching cost of raw material - ­? Specific know- ­? how of suppliers ncreases their bargaining power Threat of entry Existing retailers have - ­? achieved economies of scale - ­? good brand image - ­? access to effective distribution channels Threat of substitutes - ­? No substitute for clothing Internal rivalry - ­? substitutes exist in different segment of this industry Bargaining power of buyer - ­? consumers have lots of choice in te rms of brands and styles - ­? Buyers also have abundant access to the products information, an easy comparison between brands - ­? Large number of players in segments and seasonal nature of product lead to excess capacity - ­? Globalization ntensify competition, resulting in market saturation 16 Appendix 2: PESTEL: (Grant, 2010) Political: - ­? Export Processing Zone (EPZ) set up by governments especially in the developing countries to boost Foreign investment into the country - ­? Tax Benefits offered by governments in charge - ­? Import Quotas on tariff on Raw materials - ­? Relaxed Employment Laws Economic: - ­? Wages: Tend of be very low in developing nations - ­? General Shipping and handling cost: Countries which have access to ports, or road links between major markets - ­? Inflation Exchange rate - ­? Interest rates: Firms ffering FDR investments into country usually get favourable rates of interest on borrowings (this tends to be true for Bangladesh a nd Vietnam. Socio- ­? Cultural: - ­? Population profile: Developing nations tend to have high degree of youth (18- ­? 35); therefore the available workforce is high - ­? Earning Profile: Due to rampant poverty in those nations, the earnings profile is very low. Technological: - ­? Most developing nations tend to not have access to the latest manufacturing technologies, however, that is slowly beginning to change. - ­? However, Infrastructure technology such as, high speed nternet, advanced high powered generators and state of the art washing plants are already available in countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh. 17 Appendix 3: Risks factors: (UNIQLO, 2009) O? Fluctuations in the cost of shipping ( Retail week, 2010) O? MA risks: If future business acquisitions take place then it will have an adverse effect on the business O? Risk of Production: Majority of products in the industry are manufactured by contracted firms, therefore the industry as a whole is affected by an y political, economic, legal changes and Environmental factors such as natural disasters. O? Foreign exchange risks: Transactions for the majority of the products imported for the UNIQLO business are conducted in U. S. dollars. Therefore in order to stabilize procurement costs they conclude foreign exchange contracts to lock in exchange rates for its imports three years in advance. However, if there are major movements in exchange rates that persist for prolonged periods, this could have an adverse impact on the business O? Rise in commodity prices:- Cotton 18 Appendix 4: 19 Appendix 5: 20 Appendix 6: CAGE Framework for ZARA regarding their American expansion Economic Administrative and Political Geographic Cultural America is a huge market with a lot of opportunities if approached correctly. Due to the protective government regulations in place in America, it is difficult for foreign companies to establish themselves in the American market Logistics and co-ordination issues created by distance between U. S. and European. Which really stretched their Value chain model European countries and U. S. share different Fashion values, which ZARA failed to identify in their initial American launch 21 Appendix 7: ZARA’s TOWS Matrix Internal Factors External Factors Opportunities Strengths Further develop their manufacturing capabilities in Spain in order to try and get better cost benefits. ZARA could venture in to new markets through franchising, a tactic they have used to enter the Arab market. Another opportunity for ZARA lies in opening a manufacturing plant or finding a suitable manufacturing plant in America where they then might be able to implement their existing business model Weaknesses ZARA’s existing IT capabilities are untested especially in the world of online sales. This is an opportunity to develop those capabilities. Threats Although this is an opportunity for ZARA to establish a presence in this area but whether their business model is up to it is another question. How will people know about their new feature? They will have to Advertise which mean their current â€Å"no advertising policy† might be have to be changed Continuing to grow in America without understanding why they are failing in that market to begin with. 22 Appendix 8: Source: The economist, 2010 23 Appendix 9: CASES of UNIQLO failing to compete with ZARA. UNIQLO failure: A case of UK Expansion UNIQLO expanded into the U. K. in 2001, aiming for 50 stores by 2004. They opened 21 outlets all over the country before shutting 16 in 2003 to stem losses and restructure (business week 2010). Their entry strategy was so aggressive as it seemed that they wanted to corner the market, by taking up prime location so competitors could not set up and hoping that there lower prices would steal away customers from ZARA and HM. The reason for failure: (The Sunday times 2003) Failed multi- million pound advertising campaign failed to arouse interest Failed to offer clothes that were sufficiently distinct from rivals such as ZARA and HM and lacked design content and quality Expensive real estate. However now UNIQLO have now consolidated their position in the UK and have restructured there operations, where they currently have 15 locations, 10 in prime real estate in London and 5 in greater London (UNIQLO website) and have been very successful. Repeat of 2001: In the 2009 annual shareholders report and after a record year in profits, Tadashi Yanai, confidently claimed â€Å"We can now stand as equals on the battlefield with other global retailers, such as HM, ZARA and GAP. And, just maybe, we can even emerge victorious. † (2009 annual Report) 24 However, since then Fast Retailing’s shares have plunged 26 percent in 2010. Sales through August fell by 6. 4 percent in Japan where Fast Retailing and UNIQLO earn more than 80% of its revenue(business week 2010). Sales at stores which have been open more than a year fell by 25 percent in September and were continuing to slide through November. The company forecasted its first profit decline in four years for the fiscal year ending in August (business week 2010). The reason for this decline:These losses took place due to a paradigm shift in the company’s policy of low cost and functional clothing. The company wanted to tackle competitors such as ZARA and HM head on and started to produce high fashion items, (a strategy which they employed when they initially launched in the UK) which unfortunately did not sell very well. However, now they are reverting back to their core values which is mass producing functional clothing and use its product line to compete with ZARA via product differentiation (business week 2010). A recent survey indicated that most consumers use UNIQLO products primarily as inner wear (62 percent women and 61 percent men). They are mainly used as a mere econdary player to highlight more fashionable clothes from competitors such as ZARA. (UNIQLO Japan Review) This is an indication that UNIQLO has a long way to go before they can compete with ZARA in the high fashion stakes. 25 Appendix 10: Customer Analysis ZARA and UNIQLO have positioned themselves in different market segments. ZARA’s target market is young educated women who like and sensitive to fas hion. To answer its customers’ need, ZARA has developed a business model that reacts to the recent fashion as fast as it could and become very successful. UNIQLO, at the same time, initially dedicates on casual menswear. Recently, after a revealing from sales report, UNIQLO now try to emphasize more on women market since most of its revenue came from women garment. Nonetheless, UNIQLO does not abandon its middle market, middle aged customers who shop at the brand for its low prices. UNIQLO’s basic clothing is good examples that reflect its target market and through the quality of garments and reasonable price, it has attracted many customers and become successful as well as ZARA. In term of perceived value and price from customers, ZARA has placed themselves in a higher position in both perceived value and price, compared to UNIQLO. ZARA brand and product is more prestige in the sense of product value and ZARA’s customers are willing to pay more in order to acquire the valuable fashion. 26 Customer Matrix 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 Perceived Price ZARA UNIQL O HM MS LV Perceived Use Value Primark Appendix 11: 27 Appendix 12: Detailed strategies for UNIQLO Partnership with Toray Industries Inc (Product Development Strategy) 28 UNIQLO considers its partnership with Toray Industries Inc who is Japans biggest synthetic fiber manufacturer as a definite competitive advantage. Toray supplied fabric for UNIQLO’s fleece jackets in 1998, its first major successful product, which retailed for 1900 yen each in 1998, while similar products from other manufacturers were priced 4 times higher. UNIQLO’s sales of fleece items topped 26 million units in 2000 and remain at about the same level over the last decade, according to UNIQLO. UNIQLO also developed their highly successful HEATTECH clothing range in conjunction with Toray Industries and they plan to boost sales of their HEATTECH apparel by 40% to 70 million units by 2011 (business week 2010) Growth Strategy By adhering to their SPA model UNIQLO have been allowed achieved phenomenal growth. They have done this by Tam, Expanding operations to major cities around the globe. Mergers and Acquisitions: Over the year’s fast retailing have acquired Princess Tam. Theory and COMPTOIR DES COTONNIERS, Cabin and Gov retailing. The acquisition of Gov retailing provided UNIQLO with the know how to launch UNIQLO shoes. All the companies acquired had women as their primary market segment. (Annual report 2009) Diversifying into new products: In September 2009 UNIQLO launched their Brand, this was enabled by the acquisition of Gov retailing as it provided UNIQLO Shoe them with the expertise to enter the shoe market. Product development through RD: UNIQLO are very keen to develop products which are not only competitively priced and deliver high quality, but also incorporate new fabrics and manufacturing techniques in order to improve efficiency and functionality of their products. Examples include: Airtech and heat tech product ranges. Cost Reduction Strategy Trimming footwear product line by a 100 shoes in order to reduce costs and increase Focusing on minimalistic clothes, which take less material to produce and reduces product focus on their best selling shoes ( annual report 2009) production time. 29 Keeping 1000 styles less than other competitors and on the shelves longer than their Focusing on a wide range of colours rather than a wide range of styles ( business Moving production to Bangladesh in order to benefit from the countries low wage ompetition( the economist 2010) week 2010) infrastructure. Marketing Strategy (UNIQLO Japan Review) UNIQLO deserves credit for its constant stream of proactive campaigns designed to win over a large number of diverse consumer groups, both in Japan and abroad. Examples include: Proactive and powerful marketing campaign such as â€Å"UNIQLOck†, which is a very popular screensaver downloadable from there sit e. The UNIQLOck was very popular with Japanese teenagers. The bilingual free magazine â€Å"UNIQLO PAPER† helped associate the brand image Retail space played a key part in brand expansion. They have stores in only the with hip New Yorker culture expensive real estate in cities and his is a signal of intent for UNIQLO to be associated with High Fashion Innovative packaging such as selling t-shirts in canisters and unique store layout Affiliate programs to encourage websites to market the UNIQLO Brand. ( UNIQLO website) Appendix 13: 30 Comparison between ZARA and UNIQLO Appendix 14: UNIQLO’s TOWS Matrix 31 Internal Factors External Factors Opportunities Further expansion in Asia. UNIQLO’s production and customer base are mainly in Asia. They are currently further looking to reduce costs by moving Production to Bangladesh. This move opens up the Indian market for the company at the while making further expansion into China. Looking to further Develop the functionality of their clothes via their strategic partnerships with existing suppliers. Penetration in the existing market by providing more product choices. UNIQLO’s product great weakness is the limit number of style. With the current low-price apparel market being underdeveloped, UNIQLO has high opportunity to gain more market share by providing more product choices. Secondly, it seems that Fast Retailing is looking market their acquired brands using UNIQLO as a vessel. This would over stretch their market and make it impossible to further penetrate their existing markets. Not recognizing their own strengths. One of the best qualities of UNIQLO’s product range is there functionality. With the supported RD team, UNIQLO could be very competitive and be further differentiated in another market segment then high fashion, for example under wear They should not compete with ZARA or HM as their value chain does not support it. Concentrate on more immediate competitors such as GAP, If they continue to compete with high fashion women’s wear they are over stretching their capabilities and will lose focus with their current market segment. Over Expansion:-Fast Retailing should also learn from the past and test the market first without jumping head first into new markets. The initial UK launch and failure in America can be cited as examples Strengths Weaknesses Threats Appendix 15: Inditex Ansoff Matrix SBU’s 32 MARKET Existing Existing Concentrating on penetrating existing Markets where ZARA has achieved success:- this can be done by deploying Inditex’s other brands such as PULL BEAR, BEREKSHA and MASSUMI DUTTI in order to capture other segments Going into the online market place, a step that they have already done with ZARA but if successful include their other brands with the same online model New Invest in an RD to improve clothes functionality. They can apply new techniques they acquire to boost the quality of their existing lines. New Go into new markets using other distribution channels such as franchising FAST RETAILING’S Ansoff Matrix SBU’s MARKET Existing Existing Continue development on their HEATTECH and AIRTECH range of clothing Fast retailing can use UNIQLO to expand into new markets. Moving production to Bangladesh, gives UNIQLO the scope to move into India, which can potentially be a very big market New Further develop their existing market by getting into new product line. UNIQLO recently launched UNIQLO shoes. Acquiring or developing a new brand to target the women’s market. In order to be successful, the brand must follow a different value chain. New References: Craig, A. Jones, C. Nieto, M (2004) ZARA: Fashion Follower, Industry Leader [Online], available at: philau. edu/sba/news/ZARAreport. pdf [18 Dec 2010] 33 Cosciato, P. (2010) Fashion worth more than $30 billion to UK economy[Online], available at: reuters. com/article/idUSTRE68F3UX20100916 [18 Dec 2010] Fashion Auction, (2010) ZARA Clothing [Online] available at: [18 Dec 2010] Fujimura, N. Ozasa, S. (2010) UNIQLO Billionaire Yanai Revisits Drucker to End Slump [Online], available at : businessweek. com/news/2010-12-06/UNIQLObillionaire-yanai-revisits-drucker-to-end-slump. html [18 Dec 2010] Ferdows, K. 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