Volkswagen India Strategy Essay Example for Free

Volkswagen India Strategy Essay For all the talk about companies coming to an emerging market like India and setting up shop, no one has been more passive aggressive then the Volkswagen Group. VW is most famously known for its Beetle – one of the best selling cars of all time at over 21 million units. In a bid to move beyond the Beetle, VW in the 90†²s started to acquire many brands and their complete portfolio is quite impressive: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda and VW. The VW Group also owns 49.9% of Porsche and set to take 100% ownership in the near future. The linkage between VW and Porsche goes way back, VW was founded by Ferdinand Porsche. Then Ferdinand went on to start Porsche where his son created the iconic 911. Even today the bonds are strong, the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg share the same chassis (platform in car speak). Long Term Commitment Enough of the history lesson, back to VW’s big bet on India. VW’s foray into India started in 2001 when it launched the Skoda brand and started selling the Octavia. Around 2007, the VW Group also added Audi, Bentley and VW to their Indian product line. These cars were available by importing them individually, however servicing was always an issue since they didn’t have official dealers on the ground in India. In another sign that VW is here for the long haul it opened a massive manufacturing facility in Chakan (near Pune) in 2009 and spent USD $500 million in the process. Towards the end of 2011, VW will add the high-performance brand Lamborghini to the mix. They will most likely unveil the first Lamborghini showrooms when they ship the highly anticipated fire breathing 691hp Aventador to India. Breakout Hit In the 4 door mid-luxury segment, the market leader for years has been the Honda City. The break out hit for VW has been the Vento which was introduced in 2010 and already has beaten the Honda City as the number 1 selling car in that segment. The Vento’s success is a combination of Honda lagging and VW bringing the right product to the market, namely a diesel engine. With petrol prices only going up VW was right to tap into the Indian psyche of affordability. The Honda City has been around since 1998 and all the brand loyalty it built up went down the drain once the Vento was launched and petrol prices started to rise. Honda hit back in early June 2011 with price  cuts by attributing it to â€Å"cost reduction efforts in the supply chain† which sounded like public relations speak then reality. But it didn’t matter, by then the damage was done and the Vento took the top spot. Audi’s Rise Around the world Audi has always been number 3 when compared to the more well known German brands of Mercedes and BMW. However, that is changing in India partly because Audi was able to capitalize on the new designs featuring the â€Å"LED eyelids† that are now copied by every other car company. In addition, the Japanese strategy of not bringing their luxury brands of Acura, Lexus and Infiniti to India was a missed opportunity that Audi used towards its advantage. Toyota which has been in India since 1997 has built a large distribution channel and could have easily used that existing network to seamlessly introduce the Lexus brand but failed to do so. Lastly, Audi got some great mileage with their feel good advertising campaign featuring cricketer Ravi Shastri. Ravi was shown sitting on an Audi 100 on the cricket field when India won the World Championship of Cricket in 1985 where he was selected as the man of the match (most valuable player). Obviously it was unplanned and Au di capitalized on the imagery. Market Segmentation Possibly the only issue with the VW Group’s arrival into India is their market segmentation for their brands. When Skoda first came to India, it’s reputation in the Western European countries was not very high and thought of as a sub-standard product. However, under the VW umbrella it slowly upgraded its perception and in India it’s often thought of as a premium brand. Many consumers gravitate towards the Skoda Superb who want luxury but want to â€Å"fly under the radar† and not appear to flashy. With the arrival of Audi and VW the lines of market segmentation have started to blur. The Audi A4, Skoda Superb and VW Passat are all very similar and in fact share the same chassis. And therein lies the problem, if a consumer wants to spend Rs. 30 lakhs on a car which one – A4, Superb or Passat? Summary Overall, the timing of VW’s entry into India couldn’t have been more perfect  as other competitors have been busy with their own problems. The American automotive giants are dealing with their domestic demand issues. The Japanese automakers are taking a very slow approach to India when it comes to their luxury brands – Acura, Lexus and Infiniti. Lastly, the German automakers Mercedes and BMW have been battling for the top spot for number of cars sold in India. BMW took the crown with over 6,200 cars sold in 2010, which is a very small piece of the overall Indian car market. Since the VW Group has many brands and able to target a much wider audience it will most likely lead overall sales in the years to come.

Ultimately Disgusting :: essays research papers

Ultimate fighting is one of the most brutal and barbaric sports ever to be seen on television. Ultimate fighting is a no-rules fighting competition, designed to provide violent entertainment for its viewers. In this competition a fighter is allowed to punch, kick, and choke his opponent to win a fight. Ultimate fighting first came to the United States in 1993 when SEG began promoting it as, 'The Ultimate Fighting Championship.'; Ultimate fighting is an unsafe sport and people should not be permitted to view or compete in such violent competitions. Dr. George Lindberg editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association says, 'Someone's spinal cord could be fractured, an arm could be broken, and choking could result in brain damage. The possibility of injury is very high'; (Sokolove 1). The American Medical Association wants an all out ban on boxing and ultimate fighting. Senator John McCain, the leader in the opposition wants it banned because he is concerned about injury to the competitors (Kirby 20). In the UFC competitors have received broken arms, damaged their spinal cord, and been knocked out on several occasions. In a recent event in the Ukraine, a competitor died after he was beated badly. After the fight he collapsed, was taken to a hospital, and later died (Kodi). Cockfighting is banned in almost all states in this country, however in most states ultimate fighting still goes unregulated. Why are we allowing humans to compete in events that we have decided is too dangerous for animals (Sokolove 1)? Isn't allowing this type of event to go on telling our children that it is ok to fight? This type of event serves no positive purpose, and only increases the tolerance for violence in our society. Fans and promoters of ultimate fighting argue that fighters should be allowed to compete in any type of violent event if both participants are consenting. Isn't there a point then where all of this goes to far though? Suppose someone wants to televise the death of someone who consents to being killed. Under their logic this type of thing would be ok because everyone is consenting. We have already banned such consenting activities such as prostitution, drugs, and assisted suicide; we should just add this to the list. John McCain believes that the fighter's consent is deceptive. He says a fighter is, 'driven by profits or the enticements of publicity associated with it and unknowingly is placing his or her life at risk (Kirby 20).

Fraternities and Sororities Essay

What is fraternity? A fraternity (Latin frater : â€Å"brother†) is a brotherhood, although the term sometimes connotes a distinct or formal organization and sometimes a secret society. A fraternity (or fraternal organization) is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood; dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members. * Wikipedia A fraternity is a male-only association with members who are linked by common interests of some form or another. The most famous form in North America is probably the college fraternity, although it is also possible to find social and a variety of other fraternal organizations around the world. College fraternities date to 1776, when Phi Beta Kappa was founded in the United States. Many college fraternities are established with academic criteria for membership. People who wish to join typically participate in activities that take place over the course of a week at the start of a semester. Since most colleges with a system have multiple fraternities, these events usually take place during the same week for all groups, allowing people to explore all their options. This period is known as â€Å"rush week.† After rush week, current members of the fraternity decide which new members should be voted in. Traditionally, new pledges participate in an initiation ceremony that has historically been accompanied by hazing challenges. Due to concerns about the risks of hazing that involve dangerous activities and drinking, many colleges have explicitly banned it in the interest of student safety. Some colleges have also cracked down on fraternity parties in response to complaints from other students and the surrounding community. Membership in a fraternity can confer many advantages. It is not uncommon for these groups to maintain living quarters and private clubs that are only open to their members. Special scholarships may be available, and membership can be used for networking which will be valuable later in life. Many people also enjoy the brotherhood that comes with membership. Fraternities are often identified with Greek letters, as in the case of Lambda Chi, a Christian fraternity, and Phi Iota Alpha, a Hispanic fraternity. These letters often represent the group’s motto. Thanks to the common use of Greek letters in their identifications, the culture is sometimes described as â€Å"Greek,† as in â€Å"Greek life† or â€Å"Greeks† in reference to the members. It is also possible to use an English name, as in the case of the Skull and Bones, a notorious Yale fraternity. Public service is often a part of fraternity membership. They usually include a specific charity or cause in their mission, with members donating funds or time to the cause each year. Members are sometimes frustrated by the judgmental attitudes of people outside the Greek system, pointing to their fundamental missions of service and brotherhood to counteract stereotypes about lewd behavior and decadent parties. History There are known fraternal organizations which existed as far back as ancient Greece and in the Mithraic Mysteries of ancient Rome. Analogous institutions developed in the late medieval period called confraternities, which were lay organizations allied to the Catholic Church. Some were groups of men and women who were endeavoring to ally themselves more closely with the prayer and activity of the Church. Others were groups of tradesmen, which are more commonly referred to as guilds. These later confraternities evolved into purely secular fraternal societies, while the ones with religious goals continue to be the format of the modern Third Orders affiliated with the mendicant orders. The development of modern fraternal orders was especially dynamic in the United States, where the freedom to associate outside governmental regulation is expressly sanctioned in law.[1] There have been hundreds of fraternal organizations in the United States, and at the beginning of the 20th century the number of memberships equaled the number of adult males. (Due to multiple memberships, probably only 50% of adult males belonged to any organizations.)[2] In 1944 Arthur M. Schlesinger coined the phrase â€Å"a nation of joiners† to refer to the phenomenon.[3] Alexis de Tocqueville also referred to the American reliance on private organization in the 1830s in Democracy in America. There are many attributes that fraternities may or may not have, depending on their structure and purpose. Fraternities can have differing degrees of secrecy, some form of initiation or ceremony marking admission, formal codes of behavior, disciplinary procedures, very differing amounts of real property and assets.[2] Types of fraternities The only true distinction between a fraternity and any other form of social organization is the implication that the members freely associate as equals for a mutually beneficial purpose, rather than because of a religious, governmental, commercial, or familial bond, although there are fraternities dedicated to each of these fields.[2] On college campuses, fraternities may be divided into groups: social, service, professional and honorary. Fraternities can be organized for many purposes, including university education, work skills, ethics, ethnicity, religion, politics, charity, chivalry, other standards of personal conduct, asceticism, service, performing arts, family command of territory, and even crime. There is almost always an explicit goal of mutual support, and while there have been fraternal orders for the well-off there have also been many fraternities for those in the lower ranks of society, especially for national or religious minorities. Trade unions also grew out of fraternities such as the Knights of Labor. The ability to organize freely, apart from the institutions of government and religion, was a fundamental part of the establishment of the modern world. In Living the Enlightenment, Margaret C. Jacobs showed the development of Jurgen Habermas’ ‘public space’ in 17th century Netherlands was closely related to the establishment of lodges of Freemasons.[4] Trade guilds The development of fraternities in England can be traced from guilds that emerged as the forerunners of trade unions and friendly societies. These guilds were set up to protect and care for their members at a time when there was no welfare state, trade unions or universal health care. Various secret signs and handshakes were created to serve as proof of their membership allowing them to visit guilds in distant places that are associated with the guild they belong. Over the next 300 years or so, the idea of â€Å"ordinary† people joining together to improve their situation met with varying degrees of opposition (and persecution) from â€Å"People in Power†, depending on whether they[clarification needed] were seen as a source of revenue (taxes) or a threat to their power. When Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church, he viewed the guilds as supporters of the Pope, and in 1545 expropriate their property. Later, Elizabeth I appropriated apprenticeships away from guilds,[clarification needed] and by the end of her reign most guilds had been suppressed. The suppression of these trade guilds removed an important form of social and financial support from ordinary men and women. In London and other major cities, some Guilds (like the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows) survived by adapting their roles to a social support function. Eventually, these groups evolved in the early 18th century into more philosophical organizations focused on brotherly love and ethical living. Among guilds that became prosperous are the Freemasons, Odd Fellows and Foresters. In many instances fraternities are limited to male membership, but this is not always the case, and there are mixed male and female, and even wholly female, fraternities. For example, for general fraternities: the Grande Loge Mixte de France, the Honorable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, the Grande Loge Fà ©minine de France, the various Orders of Odd Fellows, Orange Order, Daughters of Rebekah and the Order of the Eastern Star. College and university fraternities Main article: Fraternities and sororities in North America Fraternities have a history in American colleges and universities and form a major subsection of the whole range of fraternities.[5] In Europe, students were organized in nations and corporations since the beginnings of the modern university in the late medieval period, but the situation can differ greatly by country. In the United States, fraternities in colleges date to the 1770s, but did not fully assume an established pattern until the 1820s. Many were strongly influenced by the patterns set by Freemasonry.[2] The main difference between the older European organizations and the American organizations is that the American student societies virtually always include initiations, the formal use of symbolism, and the lodge-based organizational structure (chapters) derived from usages in Freemasonry[2] and other fraternal organizations such as the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias.[6] The oldest active American college fraternity is The Kappa Alpha Society founded in November 1825, at Union College in Schenectady, New York, followed closely by Sigma Phi Society (1827) and Delta Phi Fraternity (1827) at the same school. Other fraternities are also called literary societies because they focus on the literary aspect of the organization and its role in improving public speaking. In Germany the German Student Corps are the oldest academic fraternities. Twenty-eight were founded in the 18th century and two of them still exist.[7] ————————————————- References 1. ^ NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449, 460 (1958) 2. ^ a b c d e Stevens, Albert C. (1907). Cyclopedia of Fraternities: A Compilation of Existing Authentic Information and the Results of Original Investigation as to the Origin, Derivation, Founders, Development, Aims, Emblems, Character, and Personnel of More Than Six Hundred Secret Societies in the United States. E. B. Treat and Company. 3. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur M. (October 1944). â€Å"Biography of a Nation of Joiners†. American Historical Review (Washington, D.C.: American Historical Association) L (1): 1. 4. ^ Jacob, Margaret C. (1991). Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. 5. ^ Baird’s Manual of American College Fraternities 6. ^ Several collegiate fraternal societies were founded by members of Freemasons, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, Abovetopsecret.com 7. ^ Klimczuk, Stephen & Warner, Gerald. â€Å"Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sites, Symbols, and Societies†. Sterling Publishing, 2009, New York and London. ISBN 9781402762079. pp. 212-232 (â€Å"University Secret Societies and Dueling Corps†).

The Ethanol Subsidy and How Biofuel Tax Incentives Work

The primary ethanol subsidy offered by the federal government is a tax incentive called the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2004. It took effect in 2005. The ethanol subsidy, which is commonly referred to as the blenders credit, offers ethanol blenders registered with the Internal Revenue Service a tax credit of 45 cents for every gallon of pure ethanol they blend with gasoline. That particular ethanol subsidy cost taxpayers $5.7 billion in foregone revenues in 2011, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan congressional watchdog agency. Debate Over the Ethanol Subsidy Supporters of the federal ethanol subsidy argue that it encourages production and use of the biofuel and thereby reduces the amount of foreign oil needed to produce gasoline, a step toward energy independence. But critics argue that ethanol burns far less efficiently than gasoline, driving up fuel consumption and that it increases demand for corn for fuel and artificially boosts the cost of farm commodities and retail prices of food. They also say such an incentive is unnecessary because legislation enacted in 2007 requires oil companies to produce 36 billion gallons of biofuels such as ethanol by 2022. While born of good intentions, federal subsidies for ethanol have failed to achieve their intended goals of energy independence, U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma and leading critic of the ethanol subsidy, said in 2011. The effort to Kill the Ethanol Subsidy Coburn led an effort to repeal the ethanol subsidy in June of 2011, saying it was a waste of taxpayer money - he said the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit cost $30.5 billion from 2005 through 2011 - because consumption remained only a small part of the countrys fuel use. His effort to repeal the ethanol subsidy failed in the Senate by a vote of 59 to 40. While Im disappointed my amendment did not pass, taxpayers should remember that when I offered an amendment to defund the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska in 2005 we lost that vote 82 to 15, Coburn said in a statement. Over time, however, the will of the people prevailed and Congress was forced to scale back this wasteful and corrupting practice. Today, the earmark favor factory is mostly closed. Only the tax division remains open. Im confident this debate, and many more ahead, will expose the tax code for what it is - an abomination that favors the well-connected over working families and small businesses. History of the Ethanol Subsidy The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit ethanol subsidy became law on Oct. 22, 2004, when President George W. Bush signed the American Jobs Creation Act into law. Included in that piece of legislation was the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. The initial bill gave ethanol blenders a tax credit of 51 cents for every gallon of ethanol they mixed with gasoline. Congress reduced the tax incentive by 6 cents per gallon as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, gasoline refiners and marketers are required to pay the full rate of tax, which is 18.4 cents per gallon on the total gasoline-ethanol mixture but can claim the 45 cents per gallon tax credit or refund for each gallon of ethanol used in the mixture. The ethanol subsidy benefits multibillion-dollar integrated oil companies such as BP, Exxon, and Chevron. The First Ethanol Subsidy The Energy Policy Act of 1978 was the first federal legislative ethanol subsidy. It allowed for a 40-cent tax exemption per gallon of ethanol, according to Purdue University.The Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 increased the tax exemption to 50 cents per gallon of ethanol.The 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act extended the ethanol subsidy to 2000 but decreased the amount to 54 cents a gallon.The 1998 Transportation Efficiency Act of the 21st Century extended the ethanol subsidy through 2007 but reduced it to 51 cents per gallon by 2005.Bushs signature on the Jobs Creation Act changed the way the modern ethanol subsidy worked. Instead, it offered a straight tax credit to producers, the legislation allowed for the blenders credit. President Trump Protects the Ethanol Subsidy During his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump came out as one of the ethanol subsidy’s strongest supporters. Speaking in Iowa, where corn is king, on January 21, 2016, he said, â€Å"The EPA should ensure that biofuel . . . blend levels match the statutory level set by Congress,† adding that he was â€Å"was â€Å"there with you [farmers] 100 percent† on continuing federal subsidy for ethanol. â€Å"You’re going to get a really fair shake from me.† After Trump took office in January 2017, all seemed well with the ethanol subsidy until early October, when his own EPA administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency was considering lowering the EPA-mandated subsidy payment level for ethanol â€Å"slightly† in 2018. The suggestion sent shockwaves through the Corn Belt and its Republican congressional protectors. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley accused Trump of a â€Å"bait and switch,† in reference to his empathic campaign promise. Grassley and Iowa’s other Republican senator, Joni Ernst, threatened to block all of Trump’s future EPA appointments. The governors of most Corn Belt states joined in sending Trump warning him than any cutback in the Renewable Fuel Standard program’s subsidies would be â€Å"highly disruptive, unprecedented and potentially catastrophic.† Faced with the potential loss of influence over some of his strongest congressional backers, Trump quickly told Pruitt to back off any future talk of cutting the ethanol subsidy. On July 5, 2018, Pruitt resigned amid multiple accusations of ethics violations involving his excessive and unauthorized personal use of government funds. He was replace within hours by EPA deputy director Andrew Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the coal industry.