Red Star China Case free essay sample

Unicord PLC Group A Florida Atlantic University Professor: Dr. Hemant Merchant Emerging Markets MAN-6728 February 15, 2010 Problem/Decision Dr. Juanjai Ajanant, a special advisor to Unicord PLC’s board, has been tasked with deciding the best strategy to take Unicord out of receivership. Unicord, as a relatively young company, was a leading tuna processor and one of the â€Å"shining stars† of Thailand. As a top tuna exporter, the company had shown year over year growth since its inception in 1978. It appears that their challenges began soon after the purchase of Bumble Bee in 1991. In four short years, Unicord quickly spiraled downward and seemingly out of control. By 1995, the founder and CEO, Dumri, was challenged by surging debt, plummeting share value, significant losses, creditors demanding repayment and falling per capita consumption; faced with these failures, Dumri committed suicide. Without a CEO and VP of Finance providing direction, Dr. Ajanant must determine the causes for the rapid demise of such a promising company and identify what information he needs to decide if a turn-around strategy is possible. We will write a custom essay sample on Red Star China Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Fundamental Causes The two primary reasons for Unicord’s demise were the acquisition of Bumble Bee along with its deal structure and the dolphin controversy. A secondary cause was related to their senior leadership. Although, leadership can be an ambiguous cause, there were some senior level decisions and management style that accelerated the downfall. Without the acquisition of Bumble Bee, Unicord could have been a healthier and stronger company today. From a strategic perspective, the acquisition made sense given Unicord’s growth stage and the state of Thailand’s government and economy. The problem began with the purchase price and the structuring of the debt. Unicord was permitted to purchase a company twice its size because Chase Manhattan and Sutro banks were responding to Thailand’s economic momentum. All parties were hedging their bets that the conditions were perfect for continued growth to cover the debt even though the American tuna industry was based upon high volume and low profitability. Thailand demonstrated its willingness to embrace free market ideals, the baht was gaining value and Thailand’s inflation was decreasing. The Thai government wanted global investment and had recently relaxed financial restrictions and deregulated their financial sector. With Thailand’s Board of Investment’s approval, the deal was structured in US dollars. By the middle of 1994, the baht was loosing its strength, forcing creditors to demand a restructure because the debt was quickly becoming un-serviceable. In 1995, Bangkok Bank required repayment of its $113 million by year end. Prior to the Bumble Bee acquisition, Unicord, as a supplier, was sheltered from the tuna-dolphin controversy and boycotts that had existed for years. At the height of the controversy, in 1990, Bumble Bee admitted to lying to and deceiving the public by labeling its cans as â€Å"dolphin safe† when their processes were still six months away from actually delivering truly dolphin free tuna. The damage to the brand and the industry resulted in reduced profit margins and a dramatic decline in US consumption, thereby increasing the US rivalry. Bad decisions by Unicord’s senior leadership magnified the problems. To recover from Bumble Bee’s dolphin controversy, Dumri, aggressively cut prices to increase market share. When Unicord’s market share increased, he invested additional money to increase Thai production. Dumri was short sighted in realizing that he was potentially gaining ground in a shrinking market where actual per capita consumption continued to fall. In 1992, Bumble Bee lost $40 million most likely from pricing its products lower than its production cost. By 1993, the debt surged to $200 million. In July, when financial leadership was most needed, Unicord’s VP of Finance Vichet Bunthuwong resigned and the position remained un-filled, leaving the company without direction. Bumble Bee had almost 100 years of deep tradition and relationships, yet Unicord did not address the cultural differences between the companies. For instance, the senior management team of Bumble Bee often ignored Dumri’s contradicting hierarchal style of management. When Dumri wanted to close the Puerto Rican operations, his directive was ignored. One of the strategic reasons for buying Bumble Bee was to leverage their US distribution network. There was no indication that the integration was successful at creating distribution synergies and reducing costs. These types of production â€Å"misses† would just continue to diminish the bottom line. Analysis Unicord’s demise can be attributed to three primary causes; the acquisition of Bumble Bee Tuna, purse-seine fishing techniques, and actions and reactions by senior leadership. The rationale to purchase Bumble Bee was obvious at the time to Unicord; to become an â€Å"American† company and lessen the current trade regulations between the U. S and Thailand, to help the company diversify and stabilize its supply of raw materials, find ready buyers for its line of white meat products, push products into the American market, and have gained efficiencies from Bumble Bee’s Puerto Rican manufacturing plant. All combined, the acquisition would allow Unicord to become the world’s largest tuna canner. Unicord founder and CEO Dumri Konuntakiet built his company on three primary convictions; Thailand was central to prime tuna fishing, the Thai Board of Investment offered many incentives to the fishing industry, and low wage demands from Thai workers. However, Unicord’s desire to become a global power took the company away from its convictions on which it was built. Acquiring Bumble Bee was the answer for Unicord to become that power. BBBumble Bee was the third largest American producer of tuna at the time of Unicord’s acquisition. The largest American producer, H. J. Heinz’s Star Kist initially offered to purchase the company but the sale was disallowed as it was determined the purchase would hinder free competition of the American companies. This opened the door for Unicord to purchase Bumble Bee, which was twice the size of Unicord. The purchase also occurred at a time Thailand desired to become an emerging market leader in the global economy. The purchase was approved by the Bank of Thailand and landed President Dumri as one of the countries prominent businessmen. But, were there indications that the Bumble Bee acquisition would not be the best move for Unicord? The American tuna industry was in transition mode; profits were decreasing and existing canneries were moving operations away from the continental U. S. Bumble Bee’s reaction to the dolphin controversy was to reduce prices to increase market share. In the short run, it worked. Market share in the U. S. increased from 17% in 1989 to 25. 7% in 1992. Production in Thailand increased to spur on the increased market share. However, what was overlooked was the consumption of tuna was falling at a faster rate than Bumble Bee’s market share was increasing. The company was losing money, as was Bumble Bee’s primary competitors Chicken of the Sea and Star Kist. Despite its financial troubles and losing $40 million money in 1992, Unicord announced it would list Bumble Bee on the NYSE. Company losses surged to $200 million in 1993. By now, the public, creditors, and business analysts lost confidence in Unicord. There were no public relations, pricing methods failed, and the bottom line was sinking fast. Dumri Konumtakiet’s hierarchical management style was not accepted by Bumble Bee leadership. There was no sense of control of the company. Bangkok Bank was also demanding Unicord repay its $113 million debt by the end of 1995 due to the ongoing fall of its share price. Unicord was not structured in a manner to survive turbulent times. Ownership changed three times over a two year period and there was no direction from top level management. After Konumtakiet’s death in 1995, Unicord went into receivership. Alternatives Unicord, facing a need to revive itself, has a few alternatives. The basic choice the company must make is if it should attempt to retain Bumble Bee or to try to sell it. If the company chooses to retain Bumble Bee, issues such as management culture would need to be addressed. Under the leadership of Dumri, all decisions had to be approved by him. This level of control had met with resistance from Bumble Bee executives who believed that the company could behave independently due to its familiarity with the competitions and culture of the American market. This was further compounded with three ownership shifts at Bumble Bee over three years. Under this alternative, Unicord might attempt to stabilize this relationship, and allow Bumble Bee to function with autonomy. This could lead to the company reviving itself by allowing Bumble Bee management to make decisions based on their knowledge and experience. However, due to Bumble Bee’s deception in regards to its â€Å"dolphin-safe† policy, the company had lost some of its own credibility. As such, the company, regardless of management decisions, has already lost market share. In direct opposition with this first option for Unicord decision makers is another alternative where Unicord could try to force Bumble Bee to follow Dumri’s directives, which is to shut down its Puerto Rican operations and send the profits over to the parent company. This action might give Unicord the weight to pay their debts. However, this option might meet with the same previous non-compliance from Bumble Bee management, which would not aid Unicord’s situation. Or this action could lead to un-forecasted consequences, leaving Unicord without a profit and without the Puerto Rican operations. An additional alternative would be for Bumble Bee to turn away from the United States, which has had a decline in tuna consumption and views the company in a negative light. Attention could be focused on the European market. The disadvantages of this alternative, though, is that Unicord’s original rationale for the acquisition of Bumble Bee is rendered useless, as the company would still be obliged to follow European trade regulations and tariffs. Another viable option for Unicord would be to sell Bumble Bee. Prior to its own acquisition of the company, Pillsbury had many bidders for Bumble Bee, including Star Krist, one of its largest competitors. As such, Unicord could attempt to sell Bumble Bee to one of its competitors and attempt to leverage its own heavy debt situation. This would also be an advantageous situation for the purchasing company as it would enhance its own market share. Of course, this would result in a loss of that market share for Unicord. Unicord could also try to sell Bumble Bee to one of its competitors in Thailand, ThaiUnion Manufacturing Company or Ta Kong Food Industries, who may be interested in acquiring the company for the same reasons that Unicord has made the acquisition. However, with decline in tuna consumption in the United States and Unicord’s history with Bumble Bee, the Thai companies might be not interested in pursuing the same model. A further option for Unicord would be for the company to reassess its financial position, and try to restructure its debt. This plan could be difficult, however, due to the high debt burden carried by Unicord. A final dire action would be for the company to seek and file for protection under Thai bankruptcy laws, and attempt to liquidate. This option would entail essentially giving up on the company. Recommendations It is clear that for the large part Unicord’s demise can be attributed to the acquisition of Bumble Bee and the fall out flowing from that decision. If Dr. Juanjai wants to resuscitate Unicord the first step he needs to take is to sell Bumble Bee. Unicord’s management also needs to be re-structured and the company should develop a smart marketing campaign to re-introduce Unicord to the world. The first step in reviving Unicord is to sell Bumble Bee. Granted the environment for selling may not be the best, but Dr. Juanjai needs to get Bumble Bee off his hands if he has any hope of revitalizing Unicord. Realistically, the chances of getting what they paid for Bumble Bee is slim, so Unicord will need to decide what they are willing to take for Bumble Bee and actively seek out potential buyers. Konuntakiet, as the CEO and founder of apparently made all the major decisions for Unicord. When Konuntakiet committed suicide he left his company in disarray. Prior to his death the VP of finance and friend resigned and that position remained unfilled. The fact that such a major position in the company was not filled shows serious managerial issues. Clearly Unicord’s management system needs to be restructured. Perhaps without Konuntakiet this restructuring will be accomplished far easier and less painful. Unicord’s main line of business is still the canning and processing of tuna fish. The company markets tuna fish under its own name and under other brands worldwide. Marketing Unicord as an ethical and environmentally friendly company in Europe and Asia can only enhance its image. Even in Thailand there is probably a loss of confidence in the company. Consequently, though the company is financially strapped a smart marketing campaign is essential in turning the company around.

How to Write an ACT Writing Sample

How to Write an ACT Writing SampleIf you want to write a college essay that you can be proud of, then you need to learn how to write an ACT writing sample. You may think that this will be difficult, but if you follow the steps in this article, you'll be able to complete the work in a few days. If you want your essay to be top-notch, then you need to get started right away. Follow these tips and you'll soon be writing your own well-received essay.The first thing you should do when you start writing your essay is to figure out what type of essay you are going to write. For example, a math essay will be different than one about professional baseball players. To figure out what type of essay you need to write, you need to take a look at the outline of the topic and figure out which types of essays it covers. This step is a bit tricky, but if you want to be successful, you will have to do some homework.Now that you have an idea of what you want to write, you need to write specific questio ns to ask yourself before you begin to write. You can write down these questions and then read them over many times to make sure you don't miss anything. After you have finished writing the questions, look at your document and go over all of the answers with a fine-toothed comb. You are trying to find any holes in your essay.Now that you have a proper outline for your essay, you need to turn your attention to the ACT writing sample. There are several different sections on this page, so you need to pick the sections that you are most interested in writing about. If you only care about one or two topics, then you can focus on those areas.However, if you have an interest in many different topics, then you need to focus on all of them. Before you start working on the actual writing, you should spend some time reviewing the ACT writing sample so that you know what to expect. Remember, this is supposed to be fun, so you should give yourself plenty of time to get through the different part s.Once you have decided on the sections you want to write about, you need to review the ACT writing sample that you just looked at. This will help you figure out what to write about. As long as you know what you want to say, then you can start writing without much trouble. However, if you haven't decided, you might find that you are stuck somewhere.After you have finished the sample, you should now have a little more time to devote to your final revision. You need to spend the extra time to find out where you went wrong in the sample. If you feel like you have gone over the same things twice, then you need to read the sample again and get rid of any things that you don't understand. This will make it easier for you to continue working on the topics that you think you are good at.When you are ready to write your first ACT writing an essay, you should find some space in your day that is free for this task. It might be a nice quiet day when you can sit down and write out your essay wit hout distractions. You should then review the document and look for any things that need to be changed or added to make it a little more interesting.

The Crucible Essays - The Crucible, John Proctor, Tituba

The Crucible Essays - The Crucible, John Proctor, Tituba The Crucible The Crucible In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong Christian beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch and then the accused would actually be forgiven if the blamed their accusations on another individual. This was the main idea of a play entitled, The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In this play a group of young girls act up and are then accused of being witches. These girls then blame other people in order to get out of trouble and even pretend to be bewitched in front of the court during a trial. This leads into the deaths of some innocent people who were accused and automatically found guilty. I believe, in many ways the people of Salem were responsible for the witch hysteria. The person with the most influence was the character, Abigail. Abigail had an affair with a man by the name of John Proctor. Proctor broke contact with Abigail and spent time and interest in his wife, Elizabeth. Abigail gets jealous because of this and Abigail, a few other girls, and a servant from the Caribbean named Tituba dance around in an order that they believe it will kill Proctors wife. Rev. Parris, Abigails uncle, sees this and reports it. When Abigail is questioned about this, she denies everything and doesnt tell the truth about what really happened. The news of her and the other girls strange actions gets around and the hysteria starts. Without Abigails superstition, and her fear or telling the truth, I think the events in The Crucible wouldnt have gotten as serious as they did or even started. John Proctor was another catalyst to the witch hysteria in Salem. John Proctor has an affair with Abigail, but he and his wife do make up and get along well. John Proctor adds to the hysteria when he and his wife are talking about Abigail and why she is acting so oddly. Although John Proctor knows she is making up everything and blaming innocent people, he is reluctant to travel to Salem and testify her as a fraud to the court. If he would have done this, the witch trials could have stopped there. Another way John Proctor could have contributed to this madness but his moral didnt let him occurs when at the end of Act IV he says he will confess to the law who he saw with the devil in order to save himself from dying or from imprisonment. Fortunately, John Proctor realizes this is wrong and he does not give the confession and he hangs because of it. Although eventually John Proctor did add to the hysteria a little, he still helped it stop. The last person I think was played a big part in the spirit of the witch hysteria is Governor Danforth. Danforth was a big part of the actual trials and his court system was very brutal and uncivilized, in fact he said, If you are not with the court, you are against it which basically means in my opinion, if you are on trial and you dont believe what the court believes then you are guilty. His words in this sentence where a huge part of the conclusion on what eventually happened to the girls and all that were involved. The court believed they were all witches and they really had no chance to prove them wrong. Danforth contributed to the hysteria another way in the method that he used to judge who was guilty in terms of evidence. He believed word of mouth more than actual proven evidence, mostly because he wanted these trials over fast and he wanted it to turn out the way he wanted the trails to end. Without Danforth's ignorant court procedures and weak justice system, the trails would have gone much better and the truth of the hysteria would have most likely been uncovered. The ignorance and superstition of the people of Salem were responsible for the witch hysteria. I believe that this kind of hysteria could never exist in a society like I live in today. Todays courts are much better than the theocratic church/courts of the late 1600s. Another thing to consider is that our Declaration of Independence

Studyguide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Studyguide - Essay Example Tesco has maintained lower costs of procurement and production of goods which has enabled it to sell the products at cheaper prices as compared to the other retailers in the market. This has ensured increased competiveness as well as greater sales margins in the business. Tesco Corporation has continued to grow and has expanded the stores of the company into a number of foreign markets. This has made it necessary for the company to have an in-depth understanding of the opportunities presented in the international trading systems. Tesco has successfully attained economies of scale in its production capacities in different foreign countries and as such has become able to lower the costs of production. The company has been an early mover into taking up the principles of comparative advantage by reducing the production and operational costs in the business. In order to maintain lower operating costs, Tesco has implemented a number of comparative advantage theories in their daily operatio ns. The company has used the Ricardo’s comparative advantage theory in the production activities and in the export activities of the goods of Tesco in foreign locations (Kelly 200). Tesco has been extremely selective about the sourcing of the raw materials. The company has made careful selections of local and international suppliers in order to reduce the production costs in the business. The company outsources the production activities of different goods in countries where the production cost of the specific goods are comparatively lower than on other locations. This helps to decrease the production expenses and allows Tesco to sell the final products to the consumers at comparatively lower prices. For example, Tesco focuses on producing rice and other cereals in countries like Japan and clothing goods in countries like China and India where the manufacturing costs of these products are much lower as compared to the home country of Tesco. The

External and internal environments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

External and internal environments - Assignment Example Likewise a course of action is enumerated that helps Apple overcome its primary weakness and bypass its biggest threat. A modest attempt is made to understand the resources, capabilities and core competencies of the company. Finally, a value chain analysis of Apple has been conducted to identify the linkages between different primary and secondary activities and also understand how the interaction between these activities leads to sources of competitive advantage. The general environment includes political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal aspects. The technological environment and economic environment of Apple have been discussed in the ensuring paragraphs. Apple operates in a highly competitive and dynamic business environment. The American multinational has developed some immensely popular gadgets like the iPhone, iPad, and the iPod. The company has also diversified into related software applications, operating systems and a variety of accessory and support offerings. Some of the recent innovations from the company include the iTunes Store, iBooks Store and iCloud (Apple, 2014). The technological environment has a monumental affect on the business operations of Apple. The fast rate of change in technology has the potency to render Apple’s products obsolete. The company’s offerings tend to have a short product life cycle as customers demand state-of-the-art products. It is for this reason that Apple has launched numerous generations of the iconic iPhone. Apple recognizes the impact of technological environment on its business and has made new product development central to its business strategy. The company spends a lot of money on research and development (R&D) which helps it in developing innovative products from time to time. Apple spent $ 4,475 million on R&D in 2013, up 32 percent from $3,381 million incurred on R&D in 2012 (Apple,

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 14

Management - Essay Example First of all it presents the general introduction of the outsourcing and in-sourcing. The technique of outsourcing directs a corporation/ business/Company that contracts with another corporation to proffer services that could or else be carried out through in-house personnel. A lot of huge corporations at the present time outsource employments like that e-mail services, call center servicesas well as payroll. These professions are griped through detach corporations that concentrate in every service, as well as are frequently positioned out of the country (Outsourcing?, 2009). There are a lot of causes that businesses outsource an assortment of employments; on the other hand the majority famous benefit appears to be the information that it frequently accumulates money. A lot of the businesses that offer outsourcing facility and services are capable to carry out the job at significantly smaller amount charges, because they do not have to offer profits to their employees, as well as have smaller amount fixed cost expenses to be anxious about (Outsourcing?, 2009). Outsourcing is contracting out practice, like that manufacturing or product design, to a 3rd party business. The assessment to outsource is frequently prepared in the significance of small price or producing enhanced utilization of efforts and time expenses, forwarding or saving efforts going to at the competencies of a particular industry, or else to destroy more well-organized utilization of information, labor, land, capital, technology as well as resources. Outsourcing turned out to befraction of the industry lexicon all the way through the period of 1980s. It is fundamentally a supply of labor.1 Organizations have attempted to enlarge their competitive recompenses as the industrial revolution. Though, in the fifties and sixties variation as well as financial systems of scale turned out to be the novel movement, and in

socialist feminist criticism :: essays research papers fc

Socialist Feminist Criticism: You Dropped the Bomb on Me, Baby   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feminism and gender studies have been described as having the ability to â€Å"challenge literary and culture theory to confront the difficult task of assimilating the findings of an expanding sphere of inquiry† (Contemporary Literary Criticism 567). This area of study has taken center stage during the last fifty years, not only in our society, but also in literary criticism. Although the terrain Feminism traverses can hardly be narrowed down to one single definition, the exploration of the genre can, at times, be the most intriguing feature of the criticism itself. While feminism has undoubtedly changed the way women and gender roles are considered in society today, it has also had an impact on the way that I, too, read literature, look at American culture, and view the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walter Ong suggests that â€Å"‘literature’ itself is the product of—or completely wound up and ‘imbricated’ in—the social contexts out of which it grows† (CLC 461). The social contexts that exist in our society have not only affected our societal systems themselves, but also have changed the way we view our class systems, gender roles, and sexual choices. Viewing society from a Marxist perspective can also help us decipher the unspoken rules that govern us. â€Å"Not only do Marxist critics want criticism to be constantly aware of history—both present and past history—in reading and literature, they also demand that the criticism become more overtly political or†¦ ‘politically informed,’ so that it attempts, as Marx said, not simply to interpret but to change the world† (CLC 462). This intent is similar to that of the feminist genre in that both camps are seeking to change the w ay we understand the world and to eventually change the world itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feminism and Marxism are further intertwined if you consider the female sex as a social class of its own. In my analysis of Walt Whitman’s poem, I Hear America Singing, I commented that â€Å"by studying cultures and societies from the Marxist vantage point we are better equipped to understand the affects of social classes on our lives. The theories of Marxism provide the thinking worker with an understanding which is capable of leading him through the many events and complex processes of society, economics, the struggle of classes, and politics.† But, by utilizing these techniques in combination with those of the Feminist perspective, we are equipped with an even greater microscope under which to examine the social contexts that surround and inevitably influence us.