Pestel for Whisky Essay Example

Pestel for Whisky Essay Example Pestel for Whisky Essay Pestel for Whisky Essay PART A: PESTEL analysis on the external business environment of Malaysia based whisky industry. Political factorsAccording to International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed (2010), there will be no tariff reduction on the export of alcohol from Malaysia. This will become a threat to the whisky industry in Malaysia as the price of the whisky will remain high in global market and thus they will lose the competitive advantage on it. The demand of their products will drop as the selling price is high compared to others. Based on the Budget 2011, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (2010) said that the government will not further increase the excise duty on the alcoholic beverages for the coming year. This will not further exert the pressure to the whisky industry and also consumers especially in this economic downturn. When the excise duty is not increased, the price for the whisky will not be further raised and therefore the industry is expected to have growth in sales and profits. As stated in Budget 2011, the government will increase the service tax from 5% to 6% starting on 1 of January 2011. The advertising expenditure of the alcoholic beverages is expected to be dropped as government proposed to impose service tax on paid television broadcast services. The increase in service tax will definitely cause the fall in the will of whisky manufacturer and seller to advertise through the powerful media, television. As a result, the demand of consumers on whisky will decrease as they will not be aware of the latest news and promotions on whisky. Economic factorsIn the official statistics by Department of Statistics Malaysia, the Consumer price index (CPI) for alcoholic beverages has increased 4% in September of 2010(134. 3) compared to the same month in 2009(130. 3) in which the base year is in 2005(100). The increase of 4% in CPI for alcoholic beverages indicates that the price for whisky has increased by 4% in a year and this will further decrease the purchasing power of consumers for whisky. In other words, Malaysians need to pay more money for the same amount of whisky they consume. This is a threat to whisky industry as this will further decrease the demand. The consumers will switch their taste to other beverages instead of whisky and therefore the industry is expected to have a loss in profit. According to Trading Economics, the unemployment rate in Malaysia was reported as 3. 20% in the third quarter of 2010 and this has decreased by 0. 4% as compared to same quarter in the last year. This brings a good sign and opportunity to the whisky industry as the workers in Malaysia are increasing. a)More people are getting their job and contributing their skills and knowledge to the economy of Malaysia. With the workers available in Malaysia, whisky industry can expand its market by developing new products through research and development to attract more consumers. The whisky industry is also able to supply more by employing more workers in the market. Besides that, the geographical area of whisky industry can be improved and widened by opening more shops for sales so that the consumers can buy the whisky anytime and anywhere when they want it. In fact, workers are the basic element and component in the work of expanding the whisky industry. )From the point of demand, the decrease in unemployment rate will also increase the demand for whisky as more people are working and they have more ability to purchase whisky for better enjoyment of life. 2011 per capita income is expected to go up by 6. 1% to RM28, 000, while income in terms of purchasing power parity will hit US$16,000 (Malaysia Budget 2011). When the income of Malaysians increases, the consumers will be more able and willing to purchase whisky, the luxury good to increase their quality of social life. This will then result in an increase of demand for whisky and boost up the sales of whisky. Whisky industry is expected to expand and earn more profit in the year 2011. In the report of Department of Statistics Malaysia, the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) growth rate for the second quarter of year 2010 has increased drastically to 8. 9% as compared to the same period of time for last year(-3. 9%). GDP is the amount of goods and services produced in a year. The increase of GDP indicates the economic growth in Malaysia. When the economy is in a good condition, the standard of living of Malaysians will also increase and they tend to spend and consume more on luxury goods. In this case, the consumption of whisky will become more as the spending of Malaysians on luxury goods is getting higher as the indication of the growth in the value of GDP. Social factorsBased on the statistics by Department of Statistic and Economic Planning Unit, the population of Malaysia has increased from 26. 75miliions in 2005 to 28. 96 millions in 2010 and 63. % of the total population falls in the age between 15 and 64. The increase in population size in Malaysia will bring a better opportunity to whisky industry as the demand of the industry towards labour force can be fulfilled that will cause a higher development and expansion of the industry. The supply of industry will also increase with the workers available in the market of Malaysia. While more than half of population of Malaysia achieves the drinking age limit (abov e 18) and this will increase the potential consumers and demand for whisky in future. Dr. Jim Swan, an independent consultant to the worldwide drinks industry (2005) said that drinking whisky can help protect human against cancer. This thesis is originated from a research that showed the people who drink single malt whiskies have greater health benefits rather than drinking red wines. Dr. Jim Swan(2005) further explained that single malt whiskies have more ellagic acid than red wine and this ellagic acid is a highly effective ‘free radical scavenger’ that ‘absorbs’ rogue cells that occur in the body during eating. When the citizens of Malaysia aware of the health benefit from drinking whisky, more people will probably start to consume whisky and the existing consumers will also increase their consumption on whisky. This will create better opportunity to whisky industry from the side of demand on whisky and profitable of the industry. According to a new study by researchers (2010) at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), alcohol reduces the quality of diet. It is stated in the study that people who drink more are also likely to eat less fruit and consume more calories from a combination of alcoholic beverages and foods high in unhealthy fats and added sugars. The increased alcohol intake will therefore cause a harmful effect to human health such as the formation of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and other chronic health problems. When more Malaysians are concerned about the finding of this new study, the demand of whisky will drop as they will be more health conscious and thus reduce the consumption of whisky. This brings a negative effect to the whisky industry. Technological factorsA ? 1. 8m research project aiming to identify the genes that could lead to improvements in the quality of barley, one of the most commonly used raw materials in making whisky was carried out by Scottish Crop Research Institute. The project leader, Dr. Robbie Waugh(2005) said that they expect to be able to identify the genes that could lead to improvements in the quality of barley that will be of interest to growers, producers and drinkers. This will be a good opportunity to whisky industry as a higher quality of whisky is able to be produced by using better quality of the raw materials. Consequently, the demand for whisky is expected to be higher as more consumers desire for a consumption of better quality of whisky. In the article of Process Industry Informer (2010), it is stated that a new evaporation system based on Alfa Laval plate heat exchanger technology has been introduced to increase the concentration and quality of the Pot Ale, a by-product from the first distillation stage in malt whisky production. The Pot Ale has many valuable functions and usages and one of them is the making of spent malted barley grains (Dark Grains) that is further used for production of whisky. This technology has helped to reduce the disposability of whisky industry for the wastes being produced and instead the wastes are being used for other better purposes that benefit to the whisky industry and also the country. According to International Telecommunication Union, the internet users in Malaysia have increased about 50% over the ten years from 15% in 2000 to 64. % in 2010. This will bring opportunity to the whisky industry as advertising through online could be done to increase the sales of whisky. Through the online advertising, the whisky industry can save their cost and therefore achieve a higher profitability. The money that is saved can be used for better benefits for the industry such as research and development of new products and technology. Online advertising is also time efficient and provides a higher ability to spread over Malaysia and this will cause the expansion of industry in terms of sales. Environmental factorsIn the article of The Sunday Times by Jonathan Leake(2010), a relatively new environmental technology-anaerobic digestion will be introduced and developed in the whisky industry. This new technology involves the using of anaerobic digesters to convert thousands of tons of yeasty waste into methane gas that will be further burned to create energy. By this way, the waste that is produced through the process of manufacturing whisky can be reduced and this will reduce the negative impact on the environment. At the same time, the energy produced from the waste can be used to make electricity and meet the power needs of the industry. As a result, the production cost will be reduced and a higher profit in the whisky industry will be achieved. A new research project is conducted to find new methods of turning spent grain, a dry waste product of brewing and distilling, into bio ethanol, a more environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels (Professor Graeme Walker, 2007). The use of bio ethanol in running the cars will be more environmental friendly as it causes less pollution to the earth. Bio-ethanol produces less greenhouse gas emissions as compared to fossil fuels and this offers an opportunity for whisky industry to fulfill its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the environment. Besides that, this new finding can help to create a business opportunity for the whisky industry as the waste products can be reused for the production of bio ethanol which is expected to be the main sources for cars in future. According to Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of The Scotch Whisky Association (2009), the launch of Scotch Whisky Industry Environmental Strategy will be a pioneering industry-wide environment strategy to reduce the impact of whisky production processes to the environment. Under this environment strategy, the reduction of fossil fuels usage by 80% in year 2050 that is equivalent to 750,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide is one the main target and obj ective. This is a long term strategy and needs a cooperation of all sectors within whisky industry to achieve the objectives of a clean environment in future. This is a good sign to the whisky industry as the demand of consumers will rise as the consumers will continue using whisky after they aware of their roles and contribution of consuming whisky to a better environment. Legal factorsUnder Islamic law, consumption of alcohol, alone, is considered one of the most serious Hadd crimes and is strictly forbidden in Malaysia (Surah Al-Maaidah verse 90). Islam is the official religion of Malaysia and out of 28. 96 millions of population in 2010, 67% is bumiputera that follow Islam (Department of Statistic and Economic Planning Unit, 2010). This means that the main market for whisky industry in Malaysia is the Chinese and Indians drinkers. In other words, the market of whisky industry in Malaysia is restricted to just a small proportion of population and therefore the demand for whisky is not as high as other countries. The production of whisky is limited and low in amount for supply as to meet the low demand for whisky. In this case, whisky industry will not gain much profit from the sales of whisky in Malaysia due to the Islamic laws being obeyed by Malaysians. According to Malaysia’s 1976 Excise Act, anyone who manufactures and sells any alcoholic beverages or intoxicating liquors needs to apply for a license and pay the license fees accordingly. The license gives the right to the people in the industry to manufacture and selling whisky. Any operating of business and industry without a license is said to be against the Malaysia’s rules and regulations and legal actions will be taken. The license needs to be renewed every year and this becomes a fixed cost for the whisky industry. The whisky industry will have to incur the high operating cost for a long term and thus it affects the whole industry from the aspect of the profitability. As in the article published in Herald Scotland (2010), Malaysia has been granted applications for â€Å"Scotch Whisky† to be protected as a â€Å"geographical indication of origin† (GI) by domestic laws. The high level of protection through legal ways can prevent any cheap imitations to gain market share in Malaysia while at the same time protect the integrity of the Scotch whisky. The consumers are able to drink the original whisky that is high in quality and the demand for whisky will then increase. The whisky industry will gain benefit from it as the sales of whisky will go up when all the consumers in Malaysia are consuming the only and original whisky.

Dont Begin at the Beginning

Dont Begin at the Beginning Dont Begin at the Beginning Dont Begin at the Beginning By Simon Kewin If youre a fiction writer, youll be aware of the need to grab a readers attention as early as possible; to hook them, preferably, on your very first page. One key technique for doing this is to start your story in medias res.   The Latin expression in medias res means into the midst of things. Used as a literary term, it refers to starting a story by jumping straight into the middle of the conflict or action. Its often a temptation for writers to start by providing all the background information for their story, all the character and location detail theyve laboriously worked out. But this exposition or infodump can be very boring.   A better approach is to skip the exposition, at least temporarily, and dramatize your works central conflict from the beginning. As well as immediately involving the reader, this helps set up narrative tension : the reader wants to know why the described conflict is happening. Explaining too much up front can deflate this intrigue. Over time you can slowly reveal the explanation in what will, hopefully, be a satisfying and engrossing process for the reader.   Filling in the back-story can be achieved in several ways : via flashback, for example, or by having your characters recall prior events. The skill is in providing the reader with just the information they need, without either overwhelming them or leaving them bemused. The best approach is to reveal your back-story in dribs and drabs so that a lot of the time, your readers aren’t even aware they are being informed.    Of course, theres nothing wrong with writing long sections of factual information for your own use, as you work out the details of your setting. In many ways, this is a good thing. Just dont expect your readers to wade through all that before they reach your actual story. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should KnowStory Writing 101Starting a Business Letter with Dear Mr.

Multilingualism or English Only Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multilingualism or English Only - Essay Example Multilingualism  is defined as the description of the possibilities of one person to function in different linguistic environments. However, the term â€Å"multilingualism† is widely applied to describe the relations between the communities in the limits of separate states or regions as well as on the level of international relations. In the given case this term is used to describe the ethnically and culturally heterogenous societies, which include different languages as well as traditions of tolerance and acceptance of other cultures and peoples. Here we meet the term â€Å"language diversity† that is defined as â€Å"‘range of variations exhibited by human languages† (Gorter et al 3). In the United States we can see many languages, which have different degree of spread and different status. The population of the USA now amounts to 300 thousand people not including the great number of illegal immigrants. America remains the most attractive country to mov e to for many immigrants, and the government of the United States can’t struggle with it. However, the great number of immigrants represents a threat for culture and language. The English language is still dominating as brought by colonizers centuries ago. In 2000 it was native for 82% of population. However, the situation is changing every day as the country does not have an official language. The majority of states recognized English as official, but some preferred Hawaiian, Spanish and French. The significant number of immigrants preserves their native languages and tries to spread them as much as it is possible. Despite of the strong support of the English language by the government, the number of those, who consider English to be their native language, decreases. The number of people, who speak other languages (Chinese, Russian, Spanish), increases accordingly. 3-4% of population does not know

Epicurus' View On Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Epicurus' View On Death - Essay Example The second view has its roots in religion and has far-reaching implications for understanding the meaning of death. This view does not accept death as the way of getting rid of tortures and life difficulties (Belshaw 2009). Based on this view, individuals should keep living, no matter how difficult their lives can be (Belshaw, 2009). In happiness and troubles, life is the greatest value that needs to be preserved and continued by all possible means. This view also implies that, no matter how difficult one’s life can be, there is also some room for making improvements (Belshaw 2009). The third view on death reduces the scope of badness in death but does not eliminate it. Simply stated, proponents of the third view realize that, at times, death may appear to be a preferable alternative to life (Belshaw 2009). Depending on the circumstances, life can be better or worse than death but, nevertheless, it is remains inherently bad (Belshaw 2009). It is no wonder that the prevailing m ajority of people associate death with sadness, loss, grief, and eternal separation with those who leave the world of the living and enter the world of the dead. Is it that death is as bad as many people believe it to be? Isn’t it possible to change public perceptions of death and realize that, even if death is not good, it may not be bad? Epicurus’ views on death hold a promise to clarify the situation. Despite the contribution made by Epicurus to the evolution of philosophy, his legacy in the study of death is persistently disregarded. Epicurus’ view on death is found in Letter to Menoeceus: â€Å"Accustom thyself to believe that death is... This essay describes Epicurus and his views on death. He used to be one of the most popular philosophers whose contribution to the meaning of death was persistently disregarded. Death is the topic that surrounded by considerable philosophic controversies even in modern society. According to Epicurus and his philosophical views, death is neither pleasant nor painful. Therefore, based on this premise, death cannot be bad. The researcher suggests that Epicurus may be right in that death is not worth being feared of, as long as no one can escape it. It is more reasonable and rational for people to take death as something inevitable. Simultaneously, the difficulty interpreting the meaning of badness should not be dismissed and, despite its value, Epicurus’ view cannot guarantee that death is bad or horrid for everyone or that death is bad and horrid at all. The researcher also uses comparisons between Western and Eastern worlds to give better explanation on the topic. In the Wester n world, death is usually considered as an extremely bad and undesirable phenomenon. The relationship between death and badness is analyzed in the essay, it tends to be considered from three different standpoints. In conlusion, the researcher sums up Epicurean philosophy of death. It falls short from the arguments that could support or deny the criteria of badness proposed by Epicurus. Objectively, no one can know whether death is pleasurable or painless, and this is one of the major pitfalls of Epicurean death philosophy.

Small C lass Size :: essays papers

Small C lass Size When looking at small class size, it is important to first understand that this concept is very popular with parents and communities. In New York, according to many parents, classrooms are ridiculously overcrowded and something must be done. A union of parents has formed in the community to try and get the legislature to pass an act that will reduce class size (Hartocollis, 2004). Although this union of parents is very active, because of the factors that go into reducing class size, they have not been very successful. Most parents and teachers believe that with reduced class size, the amount of attention spent on their child will increase drastically. This is the prime reason for the desire and commitment to reduce class size. According to Class Size Matters (2002), an organization made up of parents and educators, â€Å"smaller classes are seen as the most effective way to increase the quality of instruction, far above raising salaries or providing professional development.† This exemplifies the belief that reducing class size is the most appropriate way to increase teacher-student involvement and make the classroom atmosphere more accessible to all students. Along with closer involvement between teacher and pupils, with small class size, there is more room for students to interact with each other. It also allows students who would not normally speak up to become more active and involved in discussions. Much research and experimentation has been done concerning the effects and benefits of reducing class size. David Alan Gilman (2003), studied an experiment done on class size and lays out the findings in great detail. In the experiment he studied there were twelve million students involved, so it was relatively small-scale. The participants were voluntary and participated in the experiment understanding fully what it was all about. The experiment was random assignment between teachers and students and had one control with a regular class size and two treatment groups containing classes with smaller amounts of children. The findings of this experiment were very much in favor of reducing class size. Students in the experimental groups with smaller classes â€Å"performed better on all sets of achievement measures† (Gilman, 2003). Also, six years later, when the students who were not in the control group were interviewed and restudied, the experimenters found that they â€Å"performed better in all academic areas studied, that they expended more effort and initiative in the classroom, and that their overall behavior was well above the students that were in the control group† (Gilman, 2003).

Reflections on Visual Representation: Of Mice and Men

As a female, I was annoyed the way the novel made women out actively by using words like tramp', ‘pitch' and tart' and the way men in the novel used them as prostitutes, so my representation shows the freedom and confinement of Curly wife – Eve given her power in my representation because her and the other women had none In the novel and Eve made the men all fairly insignificant In my representation because It wasn't fair that they had all the power In the book.I felt Like Curlers wife was Like a caged bird In the novel because she desperately wanted to escape from her life, but just couldn't. This is why I used a birdcage as the cost dominant thing in my representation. It is sparkles because I wanted it to look luring because Curlers wife was lured into marrying Curler because she thought that marriage would give her freedom. The bride's veil hanging on the outside of the birdcage emphasizes that her hopes and dreams were out of reach and that marriage was central to h er being trapped.Black chains are also wrapped around the sparkles cage, which makes her even more confined than Just being in the cage. A mans clothing and top hat sits over the veil, chains and the cage door, which shows hat men, and especially rich men like Curly and his father are the most powerful, have the most freedom In the novel, and are the ones who trap and confine other less powerful people. Bird's feathers in the cage are a metaphor for Curler's wife who is like a confined bird, and the fact that they are popping out the side of the cage shows that she is desperately trying to escape.Just like a bird is free to fly where ever it likes, her dreams were free once, but now they are caged. Curlers wife, the prostitutes and the girl in the red dress are all nameless in the novel Just like the bird in the cage – we now it is a bird because we can see its feathers, but we can't actually see what type of bird it is. Even so, the feathers are black which has two symbolic meanings, firstly black symbolizes her misery and death, and the way the feathers are scattered everywhere reminds me of the description of the frenzy before her murder and of her dead limp body.Black Is also the color associated with evil and the author constructs her as a sank/flirt who Is trying to corrupt men. Eve Included one tiny single feather with beautiful red spots on it, which shows the way the men treat her potty feather is also like Curly wife's hair – it is soft which tempts Ellen to touch it which eventually leads to him murdering her. Also, the red spotted feather is like her dreams that are mostly hidden now that she is confined in her marriage cage.Red is associated with prostitutes and was also the color of Curlers wife's shoes and the red dress the girl was wearing who accused Ellen of rape, so in my representation, I have made it a feminine color. The red spotted feather also shows Curlers wife's vibrant personality that we understand more when she explai ns how she could have en a movie star. The quote ‘An a guy tool me he could put me in pitchers†¦ On sparkly paper backs this up and is shown in bold lettering to show how forcefully she said the words, but Eve cut them in half on the poster to make the words hard to understand Just like in the novel when she spoke them to Ellen, he couldn't really understand her which again emphasizes how trapped and alone she was. This idea is shown again in another quote ‘Satisfy night. Everybody out doing' osmosis. Everybody! An' what am I don? Standing' here talking' to a bunch of bindle stiffs' which emphasizes that the men are all out and have friends, but she is not allowed to have either.The black font is damaged Just like she admits that she is damaged through this rhetorical question. Even so, Ellen and Crook are also excluded and confined and they are shown on my representation as stick figures/'bindle stiffs' connected to this quote who I positioned at the outside of my picture, Just like they are at the outside of society. They have weird square heads and uneven bodies to show that they are different to the other powerful men represented by the suit and top hat on he cage in the middle of the representation, and the men in the newspaper article in the background.Colorful, red, shiny swirls are radiating from the cage and heading upwards which is like the singing/chirping bird because Curly wife was always trying to be happy and talk to the men because she was trapped and lonely. These red swirls floating upward also represent the freedom of dreams. But people can't understand birds just like the men couldn't understand Curlers wife's loneliness which is also shown by a clump of red letters that are Jumbled up in a small pile hardly noticeable on the eight hand side of the cage.The Jumbled letters are separate from the men's words, which are shown as colorful ‘happy words, all Joined together because they are all free to socialize with each o ther. Even so, the men's words face inwards in a circle which shows their social circle and represents the way they keep her out and trapped in her cage. Curlers wife is excluded from the friendships and confined to her unhappy life on the ranch because she is female, and because she is the boss's wife. By Paris Whittaker Year 11

ALelia Walker - Joy Goddess of the Harlem Renaissance