Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles Essay Example

Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles Essay Styrofoam is an important part of the modern economy. Its a very versatile product, used for cups, plates, and even some interior decorating items. Another very popular use is that of packing material. Packing Styrofoam comes in either loose form, or as peanuts. As consumers, we use this product every day. However one has to understand that the utility of Styrofoam extends greatly from the common household purposes which we commonly attribute this product to. Architects often use Styrofoam in concrete form because it has air pockets that make it excellent as an insulator. In roofs and slabs, it works as lightweight and durable panels that prevent the elements from entering the interior. Whether it’s cold or heat, Styrofoam is an excellent source of insulating material. Even as an insulator of noise, this product is unsurpassed. Builders often use Styrofoam when creating a home theater areas or recording studios. Over the years, Styrofoam has managed to find its way into a growing number of industries as people become more familiar with its versatility and convenience. We will write a custom essay sample on Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Recyclable Styrofoam Tiles specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Architects, builders, home remodelers, and even homeowners use it for a wide variety of products and for many reasons. The shipping industry also makes good use of it to protect fragile items, or to prevent packaged items from moving around in the box. Moreover, Styrofoams are also gaining popularity in the recycling industry. A lot of investigations have been successfully done indicating the use of Styrofoams as an additive material to organic products like oyster shells in the production of ceramics, as well as in the production of glues and paints. With the known utility of Styrofoam to different areas comes the enthusiasm to probe on more avenues at which it can still be placed into good use. The researchers of this paper then thought of using the material as an additive ingredient to the production of concrete tiles and compare the finished product to the usual concrete tiles made without the addition of Styrofoam bits. The researchers also want to take into consideration the differing preferences of users when it comes to the characteristics of products such as density, thermal conductivity, or even texture. Thus, in this paper, they also intended to compare the characteristics of concrete walls using Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline as an additive ingredient. This paper therefore aims to determine two things – the feasibility of making concrete tiles using Styrofoam as an additive ingredient and the extent at which the characteristics of the products change if it were to be Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline is used. Such action extends to possible improvement of the characteristics of Styrofoam which has been proven to be great use in both households and industries. The possible changes on the basic characteristics of Styrofoam upon addition of limonene will enable prospective users to come up with a wider array of applications of the material. Statement of the Problem The research shall deal with the determination of the feasibility of making concrete tiles using pure Styrofoam and Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline as additive ingredients. The characteristics of the produced concrete walls shall also be determined and compared. Characteristics that shall be determined include the products’ color, density, texture, durability, and thermal conductivity. Concrete tiles without the addition of Styrofoam will be used as the controlled set-up while the two set-ups with both pure Styrofoam and the ones dissolved in gasoline shall be the experimental groups. The following questions shall be answered at end of the investigation: 1. What are the characteristics of controlled group? 2. What are the characteristics of the experimental groups? 3. Is there a significant difference on the characteristics of all groups? Hypothesis of the study 1. There is no significant difference on the characteristics of all groups in terms of color, texture, durability, and thermal conductivity. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The researcher aims to achieve the following objectives: 1. Determine the characteristics of concrete tiles in terms of its color, texture, durability, density, and thermal conductivity without any additive ingredient. 2. Determine the characteristics of concrete tiles in terms of its color, texture, durability, density, and thermal conductivity with pure Styrofoam and Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline as additive ingredients. 3. Compare the characteristics of all concrete tiles with and without additive ingredients in terms of the abovementioned specific characteristics. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY With the promise that Styrofoam holds in the recycling industry comes the enthusiasm to further investigate on what other avenues can it be useful. Considering the insulating property of the said material, the researchers thought that it would be ground breaking to determine the feasibility of using the material as an additive ingredient to the production of concrete tiles. Moreover, the researchers also take into consideration the differing preferences of costumers when it comes to satisfaction. People would always want the best. But getting the best is relative. Thus, by determining the extents at which the characteristics of concrete tiles with Styrofoam be changed when gasoline is introduced we also open up possibilities on how to best improve products to suit the needs of customers. By coming up with an information on the changes that gasoline can make to the concrete tiles, prospect users are now given a wider array of Styrofoam applications. Such information is seen to benefit a number of stakeholders i. e. manufacturers of Styrofoam and the users of it as well. Moreover, this research shall become a baseline to future related investigations on the improvement on the characteristics of raw materials other than the subject used in the study. SCOPE AND LIMITATION In general, the focus of this study is directed towards two things – determination of the feasibility of using Styrofoam as an additive ingredient to the production concrete tiles and the comparison of the characteristics of concrete tiles with pure Styrofoam and Styrofoam dissolved in gasoline are used as additive ingredients. The method used in the production of concrete tiles is based on the procedure given by a mason interviewed by the researchers themselves. As to the amount of Styrofoam added, it shall be proportioned to the amount of sand to be added when the control group was made. Moreover, determination and comparison of characteristics shall extend to the samples’ color, density, texture, durability, and thermal conductivity. Dissolution shall be done through the use of gasoline, a hydrocarbon proven to dissolve polysterene. Determination of the mentioned characteristics shall be done in two ways – laboratory activity and survey. The former will be used to determine the density, durability, and thermal conductivity of the samples. A 30-respondent survey will be utilized to determine the color and texture of both samples. Definition of Terms STYROFOAM-A kind of expanded polystyrene. TILE-A thin rectangular slab of baked clay, concrete, or other material, used in overlapping rows for covering roofs. GASOLINE-Refined petroleum used as fuel for internal combustion engines. WOOD 1. The hard fibrous material that forms the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub. 2. Such material when cut and used as timber or fuel. | | CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE TILE | A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. In another sense, a tile is a construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay. Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex mosaics. Tiles are most often made from porcelain, fired clay or ceramic with a hard glaze, but other materials are also commonly used, such as glass, metal, cork, and stone. Tiling stone is typically marble, onyx, granite or slate. Thinner tiles can be used on walls than on floors, which require thicker, more durable surfaces. Ceramics for tiles Ceramics for tiles include earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain stoneware. Stoneware is harder and more durable than earthenware, and so more suitable for floors. Earthenware is often used for roof tiles. [citation needed] Roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as clay or slate. Modern materials such as concrete and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof glaze. A large number of shapes (or profiles) of roof tiles have evolved. These include: * Flat tiles the simplest type, which are laid in regular overlapping rows. An example of this is the clay-made beaver-tail tile (German Biberschwanz), common in Southern Germany. Flat roof tiles are usually made of clay but also may be made of stone, wood, plastic, concrete, or solar cells. * Imbrex and tegula, an ancient Roman pattern of curved and flat tiles that make rain channels on a roof. * Roman tiles flat in the middle, with a concave curve at one end at a convex curve at the other, to allow interlocking. * Pantiles with an S-shaped profile, allowing adjacent tiles to interlock. These result in a ridged pattern resembling a ploughed field. An example of this is the double Roman tile, dating from the late 19th century in England and USA. * Mission or barrel tiles are semi-cylindrical tiles laid in alternating columns of convex and concave tiles. Originally they were made by forming clay around a curved surface, often a log or the makers thigh. Today barrel tiles are mass-produced from clay, metal, concrete or plastic. * Interlocking roof tiles are similar to pantile with side and top locking to improve protection from water and wind. Antefixes: vertical blocks which terminate the covering tiles of a tiled roof. Roof tiles are hung from the framework of a roof by fixing them with nails. The tiles are usually hung in parallel rows, with each row overlapping the row below it to exclude rainwater and to cover the nails that hold the row below. There are also roof tiles for special positions, particularly where the planes of the several pitches meet. They include ridge, hip and valley tiles. These can either be bedded and pointed in cement mortar or mechanically fixed. Similarly to roof tiling, tiling has been used to provide a protective weather envelope to the sides of timber frame buildings. These are hung on laths nailed to wall timbers, with tiles specially moulded to cover corners and jambs. Often these tiles are shaped at the exposed end to give a decorative effect. Another form of this is the so-called mathematical tile, which was hung on laths, nailed and then grouted. This form of tiling gives an imitation of brickwork and was developed to give the appearance of brick, but avoided the Brick Taxes of the 18th century. 1] History Fired roof tiles are found as early as the 3rd millennium BC in the Early Helladic House of the tiles in Lerna, Greece. [2][3] Debris found at the site contained thousands of terracotta tiles having fallen from the roof. [4] In the Mycenaean period, roofs tiles are documented for Gla and Midea. [5] The earliest finds of roof tiles in archaic Greece are documented from a very restricted area around Corinth (Greece), where fired tiles began to replace thatched roofs at two temples of Apollo and Poseidon between 700-650 BC. 6] Spreading rapidly, roof tiles were within fifty years in evidence for a large number of sites around the Eastern Mediterranean, including Mainland Greece, Western Asia Minor, Southern and Central Italy. [7] Early roof tiles showed an S-shape, with the pan and cover tile forming one piece. They were rather bulky affairs, weighing around 30Â  kg apiece. [8] Being more expensive and labour-intensive to produce than thatch, their introduction has been explained by their greatly enhanced fire resistance which gave desired protection to the costly temples. 9] The spread of the roof tile technique has to be viewed in connection with the simultaneous rise of monumental architecture in ancient Greece. Only the newly-appearing stone walls, which were replacing the earlier mudbrick and wood walls, were strong enough to support the weight of a tiled roof. [10] As a side-effect, it ha s been assumed that the new stone and tile construction also ushered in the end of Chinese roof (Knickdach) construction in Greek architecture, as they made the need for an extended roof as rain protection for the mudbrick walls obsolete. 11] Production of dutch roof tiles started in the 14th century when city rulers required the use of fireproof materials. At the time most houses were made of wood and had thatch roofing, which would often cause fires to quickly spread. To satisfy demand, many small roof tile makers began to produce roof tiles by hand. Many of these small factories were built near rivers where there was a ready source of clay and cheap transport. Floor tiles These are commonly made of ceramic or stone, although recent technological advances have resulted in rubber or glass tiles for floors as well. Ceramic tiles may be painted and glazed. Small mosaic tiles may be laid in various patterns. Floor tiles are typically set into mortar consisting of sand, cement and often a latex additive for extra adhesion. The spaces between the tiles are nowadays filled with sanded or unsanded floor grout, but traditionally mortar was used. Natural stone tiles can be beautiful but as a natural product they are less uniform in color and pattern, and require more planning for use and installation. Mass-produced stone tiles are uniform in width and length. Granite or marble tiles are sawn on both sides and then polished or finished on the facing up side, so that they have a uniform thickness. Other natural stone tiles such as slate are typically riven (split) on the facing up side so that the thickness of the tile varies slightly from one spot on the tile to another and from one tile to another. Variations in tile thickness can be handled by adjusting the amount of mortar under each part of the tile, by using wide grout lines that ramp between different thicknesses, or by using a cold chisel to knock off high spots. Some stone tiles such as polished granite, marble, and travertine are very slippery when wet. Stone tiles with a riven (split) surface such as slate or with a sawn and then sandblasted or honed surface will be more slip resistant. Ceramic tiles for use in wet areas can be made more slip resistant either by using very small tiles so that the grout lines acts as grooves or by imprinting a contour pattern onto the face of the tile. The hardness of natural stone tiles varies such that some of the softer stone (e. g. limestone) tiles are not suitable for very heavy traffic floor areas. On the other hand, ceramic tiles typically have a glazed upper surface and when that becomes scratched or pitted the floor looks worn, whereas the same amount of wear on natural stone tiles will not show, or will be less noticeable. Natural stone tiles can be stained by spilled liquids; they must be sealed and periodically resealed with a sealant in contrast to ceramic tiles which only need their grout lines sealed. However, because of the complex, non repeating patterns in natural stone, small amounts of dirt on many natural stone floor tiles do not show. Most vendors of stone tiles emphasize that there will be variation in color and pattern from one batch of tiles to another of the same description and variation within the same batch. Stone floor tiles tend to be heavier than ceramic tiles and somewhat more prone to breakage during shipment. Rubber floor tiles have a variety of uses, both in residential and commercial settings. They are especially useful in situations where it is desired to have high-traction floors or protection for an easily breakable floor. Some common uses include flooring of garage, workshops, patios, swimming pool decks, sport courts, gyms, and dance floors. Plastic floor tiles including interlocking floor tiles that can be installed without adhesive or glue are a recent innovation and are suitable for areas subject to heavy traffic, wet areas and floors that are subject to movement, damp or contamination from oil, grease or other substances that may prevent adhesion to the substrate. Common uses include old factory floors, garages, gyms and sports complexes, schools and shops. Decorative tilework and coloured brick Decorative tilework should be distinguished from mosaic, where forms are made of great numbers of tiny irregularly positioned tesserae in a single colour, usually of glass or sometimes ceramic. The earliest evidence of glazed brick is the discovery of glazed bricks in the Elamite Temple at Chogha Zanbil, dated to the 13th century BCE. Glazed and coloured bricks were used to make low reliefs in Ancient Mesopotamia, most famously the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (ca. 575 BCE), now partly reconstructed in Berlin, with sections elsewhere. Mesopotamian craftsmen were imported for the palaces of the Persian Empire such as Persepolis. Tiling was widespread in the time of the Sinhalese kings of ancient Sri Lanka, using smoothed and polished stone laid on floors and in swimming pools. Historians consider the techniques and tools for tiling as well advanced, evidenced by the fine workmanship and close fit of the tiles. [citation needed] Tiling from this period can be seen Ruwanwelisaya and Kuttam Pokuna in the city of Anuradhapura. Islamic tiles Early Islamic mosaics in Persia consist mainly of geometric decorations in mosques and mausoleums, made of glazed brick. Typical turquoise tiling becomes popular in 10th-11th century and is used mostly for Kufic inscriptions on mosque walls. Seyed Mosque in Isfahan (1122 AD), Dome of Maraqeh (1147 AD) and the Jame Mosque of Gonabad (1212 AD) are among the finest examples. [12] The dome of Jame Atiq Mosque of Qazvin is also dated to this period. The golden age of Persian tilework began during the reign the Timurid Empire. Single color tiles were cut into small pieces and assembled by pouring liquid plaster between them. After hardening, these panels were assembled on the walls of buildings. But the mosaic was not limited to flat areas. Jame Mosque in Yazd (1324-1365 AD) and Goharshad Mosque (1418 AD) are prominent examples of brick and tile mosaics of interiors and external surfaces of domes. [12] Islamic buildings in Bukhara (16th-17th century) also exhibit very sophisticated floral ornaments. Mihrabs, being focus points of mosques, were usually the places where most sophisticated tilework was placed. The 14th century mihrab at Madrasa Imami in Isfahan is an outstanding example of aesthetic union between the Islamic calligraphers art and abstract ornament. The pointed arch, framing the mihrabs niche, bears an inscription in Kufic script used in 9th-century Quran. [13] One of the best known architectural masterpieces of Iran is the Shah Mosque in Isfahan, from the 17th century. Its dome is a prime example of tile mosaic and its winter praying hall houses one of the finest ensembles of cuerda seca tiles in the world. Wide variety of tiles had to be manufactured in order to cover complex forms of the hall with consistent mosaic patterns. The result was a technological triumph as well as a dazzling display of abstract ornament. 13] During the Safavid period mosaic ornaments vere often replaced by a haft rang (seven colors) technique. Pictures were painted on plain rectangle tiles, glazed and fired afterwards. Besides economic reasons, the seven colors method gave more freedom to artists and was less time-consuming. It was popular until Qajar period when the palette of colors was extended by yellow and orange. [12] The Persianate tradition continued and spread to much of the Islamic world, notably the Iznik pottery of Turkey under the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Palaces, public buildings, mosques and turbe mausoleums were heavily decorated with large brightly coloured patterns, typically with floral motifs, and friezes of astonishing complexity, including floral motifs and calligraphy as well as geometric patterns. The zellige tradition of Arabic North Africa uses small coloured tiles of various shapes to make very complex geometric patterns. It is halfway to mosaic, but as the different shapes must be fitted precisely together, falls under tiling. Western tilework Medieval Europe made considerable use of painted tiles, sometimes producing very elaborate schemes, of which few have survived. Religious and secular stories were depicted. The imaginary tiles with Old testament scenes shown on the floor in Jan van Eycks 1434 Annunciation in Washington are an example. The 14th century Tring tiles in the British Museum show childhood scenes from the Life of Christ, possibly for a wall rather than a floor,[14] while their 13th century Chertsey Tiles, though from an abbey, show scenes of Richard the Lionheart battling with Saladin in very high-quality work. [15] Medieval letter tiles were used to create Christian inscriptions on church floors. Transmitted via Islamic Spain, a new tradition of azulejos developed in Spain and especially Portugal, which by the Baroque period produced extremely large painted scenes on tiles, usually in blue and white, for walls rather than floors. Delftware wall tiles, typically with a painted design covering only one (rather small) blue and white tile, were ubiquitous in Holland and widely exported over Northern Europe from the 16th century on, replacing many local industries. Several 18th century royal palaces had porcelain rooms with the walls entirely covered in porcelain in tiles or panels. Surviving examples include ones at Capodimonte, Naples, the Royal Palace of Madrid and the nearby Royal Palace of Aranjuez. There are several other types of traditional tiles that remain in manufacture, for example the small, almost mosaic, brightly coloured zellige tiles of Morocco and the surrounding countries. With exceptions, notably the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, decorated tiles or glazed bricks do not feature largely in East Asian ceramics. The Victorian period saw a great revival in tilework, largely as part of the Gothic Revival, but also the Arts and Crafts Movement. Patterned tiles, or tiles making up patterns, were now mass-produced by machine and reliably level for floors and cheap to produce, especially for churches, schools and public buildings, but also for domestic hallways and bathrooms. For many uses the tougher encaustic tile was used. Wall tiles in various styles also revived; the rise of the bathroom contributing greatly to this, as well as greater appreciation of the benefit of hygiene in kitchens. William De Morgan was the leading English designer working in tiles, strongly influenced by Islamic designs. Since the Victorian period tiles have remained standard for kitchens and bathrooms, and many types of public area. Portugal and Sao Luis continue their tradition of azulejo tilework today. Notable among American tilemakers of the 1920s and 1930s were Ernest A. Batchelder and Pewabic Pottery. Pebble tile Similar to mosaics or other patterned tiles, pebble tiles are tiles made up of small pebbles attached to a backing. The tile is generally designed in an interlocking pattern so that final installations fit of multiple tiles fit together to have a seamless appearance. A relatively new tile design, pebble tiles were originally developed in Indonesia using pebbles found in various locations in the country. Today, pebble tiles feature all types of stones and pebbles from around the world, but are still generally associated with pebbles found in exotic locations. Ceiling tiles Ceiling tiles are lightweight tiles used in the interior of buildings. They are placed in an aluminium grid and they provide little thermal insulation but are generally designed to improve the acoustics of a room. Mineral fibre tiles are fabricated from a range of products; wet felt tiles can be manufactured from perlite, mineral wool, and fibers from recycled paper, stonewool tiles are created by combining molten stone and binders which is then spun to create the tile, or gypsum tiles which are based on the soft mineral and then finished with vinyl, paper or a decorative face. Ceiling tiles very often have patterns on the front face; these are there in most circumstances to aid with the tiles ability to improve acoustics. Ceiling tiles, especially in old Mediterranean houses were made of terracotta and were placed on top of the wooden ceiling beams and upon those were placed the roof tiles. They were then plastered or painted, but nowadays are usually left bare for decorative purposes. Digital tile Printing techniques and digital manipulation of art and photography are used in what is known as custom tile printing. Dye sublimation printers, inkjet printers and ceramic inks and toners permit printing on a variety of tile types yielding photographic-quality reproduction. 16] Using digital image capture via scanning or digital cameras, bitmap/raster images can be prepared in Photoshop and other photo editing software programs. Specialized custom-tile printing techniques permit transfer under heat and pressure or the use of high temperature kilns to fuse the picture to the tile substrate. This has become an increasingly popular method of producing custom tile murals for kitchens, showers, and commercial d ecoration in restaurants, hotels, and corporate lobbies. Diamond etched tiles A new method for custom tile printing involving a diamond-tipped drill controlled by a special type of computer. Compared with the laser engravings, diamond etching is in almost every circumstance more permanent. STYROFOAM Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. It is owned and manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company. [1] In the United States and Canada, the word styrofoam refers to expanded (not extruded) polystyrene foam, such as disposable coffee cups, coolers, or cushioning material in packaging, which are typically white and are made of expanded polystyrene beads. 1] This is a different material from the extruded polystyrene used for Styrofoam insulation. The polystyrene foam used for craft applications, which can be identified by its roughness and by the fact that it crunches when cut, is moderately soluble in many organic solvents, cyanoacrylate, and the propellants and solvents of spray paint, and is not specifically identified as expanded or extruded. Another tradename for expanded polystyr ene is thermacol, originated by BASF. History In 1941, researchers in Dows Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene. Led by Ray McIntire, they rediscovered a method first discovered by Swedish inventor Carl Georg Munters. [2] Dow acquired exclusive rights to use Munters patents and found ways to make large quantities of extruded polystyrene as a closed cell foam that resists moisture. Uses Styrofoam is composed of ninety-eight percent air, making it light weight and buoyant. [3] Because of its insulating properties and buoyancy, it was adopted in 1942 by the United States Coast Guard for use in a six-person life raft. In 1971 a Dutch marine salvage company, Smit International, used styrofoam balls to refloat part of a wrecked bulk carrier, the London Valour. [4] Smit succeeded in towing the wreck for about 90Â  miles (140 kilometres) but it then sank, spilling large amounts of Styrofoam on the surface of the sea. [4] Styrofoam has since found a variety of uses. Dow produces Styrofoam building materials, including insulated sheathing and pipe insulation. The claimed R-value of Styrofoam insulation is five per inch. [5] Dow also produces Styrofoam as a structural material for use by florists and in craft products. 6] Dow insulation Styrofoam has a distinctive blue color; Styrofoam for craft applications is available in white and green. Styrofoam can be used under roads and other structures to prevent soil disturbances due to freezing and thawing. [7][8] Environmental effects The EPA (http://www. epa. gov/chemfact/styre-sd. pdf) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (http://www. inchem. or g/documents/iarc/vol82/82-07. html) have determined styrene as a possible human carcinogen. The National Bureau of Standards Center for Fire Research (http://www. ighcountryconservation. org/pdf/The%20Facts%20on%20Styrofoam. pdf ) found 57 chemical by-products released during the creation of Styrofoam. Styrofoam is something we use and see every day but don’t realize its negative presence. Styrofoam is created from benzene, along with several other chemicals, which is a petroleum product (i. e. , non-sustainable, heavily polluting, and scarce) and a known carcinogen. Pentane, which is also used in the creation of Styrofoam, contributes to urban smog and global warming. Styrofoam does not break down but lasts virtually forever. Very few recycling companies will recycle Styrofoam so the majority of the time it gets shipped to a landfill where it takes up a considerable amount of space. It breaks into small fragments, which can choke animals; over 100,000 marine animals die per year from Styrofoam and other plastic trash. Styrofoam covers more area in landfills than paper products do and will eventually enter back into the surrounding environment by water flow and wind. Additionally, millions of tons of polystyrene get incinerated and end up as airborne toxic ash. But just in case water contamination and clouds of toxic ash are not valid-enough reasons to convince you to bring in your reusable mugs, then maybe the potential health effects of Styrofoam will have an impact. Polystyrene foam has chemicals that leach out into the food or liquid (e. g. , acidic coffee) they contain. Styrene was found in 100 percent of all samples of human fat tissue taken as part of a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Human Tissue Survey in 1986. There it can build up to levels that can cause reproductive problems, fatigue, nervousness, difficulty sleeping, blood abnormalities and even carcinogenic effects. The people who make polystyrene foam are most at risk to contract these harmful effects. Even McDonald’s phased out Styrofoam packaging for its hamburgers in 1989 in favor of the paperboard containers. Without any regulation on the production and sale of polystyrene products, the only way to stave off its negative environmental and health impacts is to act locally, one mug at a time. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Materials : Styrofoam 1 cup gasoline 1 beaker 1 stirring rod wood care (square) Procedures: a. ) First, put 1 cup gasoline to the beaker with Styrofoam . ) After 10 seconds or stirring it the Styrofoam will melt c. ) Then transfer it to the wood case (square), observe it in 1 week. d. ) After 1 week the gasoline and Styrofoam will perfectly become tiles Conclusion:Therefore we conclude that we can use Styrofoam and gasoline in making tiles. We cannot spend much money to buy or make a tiles. Caution: Do not use plastic up or anything that made of plastic as container. REFERENC ES: http://www. ehow. com/facts_6960753_history-styrofoam-cups. html#ixzz2aL3Mpj4x http://www. ehow. om/facts_6960753_history-styrofoam-cups. html#ixzz2aL3aZRGy http://alexandraoquendo. tripod. com/id2. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Styrofoam http://inventors. about. com/od/pstartinventions/a/styrofoam. htm http://www. jmt. in/history-of-expandable-polystyrene-eps. html http://highschoolprojects. blogspot. com/2007/12/how-to-make-tiles-using-gasoline-and. html http://wiki. answers. com/Q/How_does_the_styrofoam_melt_when_added_gasoline http://www. handpaintedtiles. org/html/brief_history_of_tile. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Tile

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Innovation Management - Essay Example Emphasising this particular concern, the aim of this paper is to explore the strategies adopted by Apple, to counter the competitive influences caused by the innovative strategies taken by Samsung and Google as the major competitors in the industry. Accordingly, due significance will be delivered to the various types of innovative strategies, such as offensive, defensive, imitative, dependent and traditional & opportunist tactics as used or can be used by Apple to overcome the competition challenges. Conclusively, the discussion of the paper will be intended towards developing a 5 years strategic planning, reflecting upon the presently applied strategies, future possible strategies and imbibing new technologies in its currently ongoing practices. Setbacks of Apple in Comparison to the Innovative Strategies Adopted by Samsung and Google Samsung and Goggle are two of the leading brands in the information technology market currently. These organisations can be observed to have taken con siderable plunge towards the application of innovative strategies in order to gain a leadership positioning in the industry context and beat Apple as a competitor in the same. They have not only flooded the market with new innovative and attractive products, but have also been highly focused on understanding customer demand and responding to their changing buying behaviour with efficiency (AFP, 2013). As a consequence, Google was able to obtain a considerable influence on the competitive forces in the oligopolistic market structure of the industry. Similarly, Samsung also believes in rapid innovation concerning the pace of technology advancement in the current phenomenon where the lifecycle of the products are much shortened owing to the imitative strategies practiced by the competitive brands. Samsung appeals to a larger market by providing the customers with a variety of Information Technology (IT) gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, and breathalysers. Assessing the past perform ance of the company, it can be affirmed that Samsung has been doing well in the low-end market and has recently began to expand its presence in the high-end market, giving a tough competition to the already existing brands including Google and Apple. Illustrative, its market share increased to 36% in Q2 of 2011 from about 18% in the same quarter of 2010. While Google has been able to obtain market success based on its product versatility, even though its serves with a limited number of products as compared to Apple and Samsung, Samsung’s success has been mostly driven by its innovative strategies to keep expanding its product line, improving on the basis of differentiation prospects. Replicating the oligopolistic structure of the industry, Samsung also attempts to work in collaboration with other IT companies, including Google to practice innovative strategies and gain competitiveness in the market. For instance, Samsung is renowned as the largest adopter of Google Android so ftware and also a leading supply chain partner of Microsoft Incorporation whereby its major proportion of

L'Orals Marketing Mix Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

L'Orals Marketing Mix - Assignment Example The firm’s internationalization process followed an Uppsala model rather than Product Life Cycle or Born Global approaches. L'Oreal enjoys positive Country of Origin Effect and clearly seeks to maximize on global consumer perceptions that French skin care products are of high quality. Part 1: L'Oreal’s Marketing Mix- Standardisation/Adaptation to International Markets The approach for the analysis of L'Oreal’s marketing mix will follow the pattern of product, price, place, and promotion. In terms of L'Oreal’s products, it is noted that most of them go by an English name across the international market, for instance, Maybelline, Softsheen Carson, Matrix, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney and Roger and Gallet. The exceptions of English-named products all use French names such as Lanc?me, L'Oreal Professionnel and Kerastase (L'Oreal.com 2011). This is indicative of a standardization approach, which for multinational marketing such as the one undertaking by L'Ore al follows a globalization, adopting the most widely used language for their products. Through taking advantage of the wide use of English, the firm is able to reach wide markets without having to adapt through use of local languages for branding. Another aspect of L'Oreal that is indicative of standardization is its maintenance of the same packaging and design as much as possible, only changing it due to the nature of the product (for example fluidity). In terms of product usage, it is clear that the company aims to establish a range of products that can fit everyone; for instance, through using the same product portfolio for the entire European zone. There are however elements of adaptation in L'Oreal product considerations as evidenced by the company’s operations in the Asian markets. A manifestation of this is conducting surveys and tests to learn about the differences in the nature of Chinese skin in order to develop products best suited for this market. Besides using re search laboratories, the company has also previously commissioned a research by Wang, Fang, and Zhu (2008, 57-66) to investigate Chinese skin. Similar efforts have also been made by the firm in the USA (Benard et al. 2005, pp. 278-287). This standardization/adaptation mix strategy is also evident in India, where L'Oreal launched the global brand Garnier (standardization) but then tailored it in formulation and packaging (adaptation) to fit the Indian market as was well reported by Warc News (2010, p. 2). Analysis of the company’s pricing strategy in foreign markets reveals an adaptation approach. On a closely related consideration to the product lines, it is noted that L'Oreal first undertakes research on the target market including the specific section to target before developing the product. Hence, there is a presentation of a heterogeneous range of products from luxurious ones to what can be considered as addressing cosmetics needs with both categories following different pricing. The type of product sold in a particular region is based on the pricing strategy that is deemed most suitable. For instance, Garnier was introduced in India with the aim of attracting the customers based on the low price; $ 5.60, while the same brand goes for $ 6.47-$8.38 in the USA (Wall Street Journal 2007).

Summary of Running Observation Essay Example for Free

Summary of Running Observation Essay This observation was made at 11:30 am for 20 minutes while the kids were playing in the park. Observation was done on 3-4 year old children. The children were playing in the park under teacher’s supervision. There were two teachers present in the park. Some of the children were playing on the play structure: on slides, some on monkey bars. Children that did not want to play on the play structure were coloring. One of the boys was playing with the ball on the play structure. The teacher instructed him to play with the ball on the grass and another boy joined him too. They started playing catch on the grass. The teacher was keeping an eye on them. After some time a 3rd boy wanted to play ball. The teacher suggested that they make a triangle and play together. After some time one of the boys left to play on the play structure. After 10 minutes into the observation the teacher asked the children if they would like to eat apples. A 3rd teacher bought sliced apples and served them on the table on the side with water and small cups for water. A few kids went to eat apples. After they finished eating apples they wiped their hands with a tissue paper and received a small cup of water from the teacher and went back to play with their friends. While a few kids were eating apples there was a girl screaming and crying on the play structure as she had wet her pants. The teacher tried to console and calm her down but she wanted to be left alone and kept on crying and screaming. After a few minutes another teacher tried to calm her down. The child kept on crying and screaming, â€Å"My pants hurt, Ouchy Ouchy†, and started to pull her pants down. The teacher in a calm voice told the child to stop the tantrum, calm down and then she can help her in the classroom. After few minutes, the child calmed down, holding teachers hand went into the classroom. One of the teacher mentioned that the child’s mom had dropped her early to school and she had a change of schedule that day.

Sybase :: essays research papers

Table of contents Types of indexes†¦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 Clustered Index†¦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 Non-clustered Index†¦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 Selection of indexes by Optimizer†¦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 Search Arguments†¦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 Index Selection†¦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‚¬ ¦3 Index Distribution Stats†¦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‚¬ ¦3 Index Density†¦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 Index Covering†¦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 Optimization of Cursors†¦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‚¬ ¦5 Optimization of temp tables†¦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‚¬ ¦6 Some general rules for optimization†¦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 Some useful commands†¦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‚¬ ¦10 Types of indexes Clustered Index (CI) The data in this case is physically stored in the order of the index. The leaf level of the index is the same as the data pages. There can be only one CI on a table as the data can physically be sorted in only one order. The select is extremely efficient with CI. The CI is extremely efficient in the following cases: a) where fname like "Ram%" b) where author_id between 1 and 7 c) where Price > 345.34 d) group by author_id e) order by author_name Non-clustered index (NI) The data in this case is not stored in the order an index is stored. The leaf-level of the index contains the various index keys and a pointer to the row as rowID (page no. + row offset). There can be 249 NI on a table. The NI should be used when a) The number of rows returned is small. b) When where clause limits the number of rows (usually '=' operator) c) When the query can be covered. Selection of indexes by Optimizer SEARCH ARGUMENTS (SARG) These are the expressions on the RHS of the where clause. They act as a kind of (dis)incentive to the optimizer to use the index on the column. Some search arguments are: where author_id = '13' where fname like "Ram%" where Price > 2347.32 Some expressions that are not valid SARGs are: Invalid Valid Price*1.5 = 1000 Price = 1000/1.5 Qty + 10 = 200 Qty = 200 - 10 fname + '' + lname fname = 'John' = "John Gray" and lname = 'Gray' Substring(1,3,fname) = 'KIR' Name like "KIR%" isnull(lname,"N") = "N" lname is null The index might not be used in the case of following SARGs: 1) No start point for the index. where lname like "%abc" 2) Non-matching data-types In SQL server, null and not null are held differently. Char null is same as varchar. So when char null and char not null is compared, the optimizer has to implicitly convert the data type, which it does not at the planning time. In both the above cases, distribution statistics are not used. INDEX SELECTION The optimizer first looks at the query if the columns contained in the where clause match with the columns specified in any of the index. If yes, then it proceeds further. The optimizer then looks if the where clause contains any SARG. If there is a valid SARG, the optimizer then looks for the distribution statistics of the index as:

Marketing Strategies of Mcdonalds in India

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marketing is a procedure of attracting prospective customers and consumers in your products and services. However the crucial word in the above sentence is â€Å"procedure â€Å", hence marketing incorporates researching, advertising, selling, and distributing your products or services. Hence we planned to focus on one of the best known brands worldwide, McDonald’s Corporation. The following executive summary presents the key marketing aspects of McDonald’s Corporation and should be read as a complement to the contents of this report. Summarized content Page No. †¢ Key facts about the firm. External environment forces and consumer behaviour. †¢ The concept of Marketing mix and its various aspects. †¢ Decision making process and brand image. 2 2 3 †¢ The Product Life cycle and what steps the company is taking to revitalise its existing products. †¢ The different communication strategies used by the company in advertising its p roducts and the varying styles of television advertising carried out since McDonald’s launch in India. †¢ The distribution and the supply chain network of the firm in India. †¢ The SWOT analysis of the firm along with inference and some recommendations. 8 9 10 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Marketing is understood by majority of business groups as simply to mean simply to promote, sell and advertise. But this is not entirely true as marketing incorporates all techniques from human behaviour and cultures through research, new product launch, product life cycle, advertising, public relations and finally the sales function. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) describes marketing as ‘the management method accountable for discovering, anticipating, and satisfying consumer requirement valuably. ’ Hence the most significant concept of marketing lies in knowing and understanding your customer. This report aims at investigating how McDonald’s Corporation, a global restaurant has achieved this enormous success in international growth and challenges due to its marketing strategies. 2. 0 BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Out of the enormous market of fast food industry, McDonald's Corporation is the globe's fastest growing firm, with more than 20,000 restaurants in 100 countries (Vignali, 2001). In the UK, McDonald's operates a staggering 900 restaurants (www. bc. co. uk ). Initially it was started as a hot dog stand by Dick and Mac McDonald at California, USA in 1937. The business began in 1955 when Ray Kroc and the McDonald’s brothers opened a restaurant to the north of Chicago. From then on, McDonald's grew rapidly and today is known as an international brand. However, the cuisine menu has been changed to meet the demand and lifestyles of the customers. India has been a di fficult market for any overseas firm to do business considering its diversity and cultural differences. However McDonald’s established its first Indian outlet in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi in October 1996. McDonald's India has a 50-50 joint venture involving McDonald's Corporation, US and 2 Indian business men, Amit Jatia’s (Hard castle Restaurants Private Limited) and Vikram Bakshi (Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited). About major percent of the menu available in McDonald’s in India is Indianized and exclusively designed to attract Indian consumers (Dash, 2005). But the success have not come at ease, the firm had to meet a lot of obstacles and problems in attaining its high standards. . 0 EXTERNAL MARKETING ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES McDonald’s faces many external marketing environmental forces, which the firm has to familiarize with and deal accordingly. With respect to environment forces, the firm has to adapt highly fragmented foodstuff marketplace and developing transportation. Considering the fact that India’s food expenditure is on the rise, Mc Donald’s also has to compete with the millions of road side stalls, dhabas (Regional Food Stalls) and carts which offer popular foodstuffs across India (Dash, 2005). Hence the company has come up with a variety of reasonable products at reasonable prices. In view of the cultural force, the firm has to conquer the major regional languages and the educational barrier among the people. Hence McDonald’s adapts to the local language and uses signs as a strong display of firm’s assurance to the localities (Chauhan, 2008). On the political front, the firm also has to check on the government intervention and pressure from various regional environmentalists and health camps (check http://www. hinduonnet. com ). Even on the economical front, some pressure exists as swadeshi (regional) mindset exists. The company also has to focus on the diverse distribution of income across the country. According to Mr Jatia, M. D, South and West Region, India, Indian people are increasing their visits to McDonald's as it has become more than an occasion meal especially to the middle class. (http://online. wsj. com ). Hence looking at the success, the fact can be drawn that both local management directors (Mr. Bakshi and Mr. Jatia) have played important roles in shaping McDonald’s to the prospects of the Indian market. . 0 MARKETING MIX The concept of Marketing Mix consisting of the 4P’ was formulated by McCarthy in 1975. This was used as principal foundation for many years. In the year 1996 Fifield and Gilligan added 3P’s (People, Process and Physical) to the existing 4P’s of Marketing Mix. These 3P’s are an integral part of services marketing. The 7P’s used to anal yse the Marketing Mix of McDonalds in India are: 1) Product (Features, Quality, Quantity): McDonalds aims to create standardized set of items, that taste same everywhere. But along with this it concentrates on localization by adapting to local tastes, customs, customer preferences etc. For example, McDonalds changed the ingredients of its ‘French Fries’ after it protested that it was made out of the oil from beef. This was done as Cow is considered sacred among Hindus in India. McDonalds has a variety of products specially made for the Indian market. Some of them are Vegetable McNuggets, Mutton based Maharaja Mac (as Hindus do not eat beef and Muslims do not eat pork). Apart from all these its menu includes beverages, frozen desserts and breakfasts combos. ) Place (Location, Number of Outlets): McDonalds follows concept of standardization in component of place also. The ambience and outlook all restaurants are the same. The reasons why most of its outlets in India are in Malls, shopping complexes, famous street markets is its locating strategies. It has over 130 outlets in 34 cities all over India. 3) Price (Strategy, Determinants, Levels ): In India McDonalds has set prices on the basis of the prices of its nearest organized competitors. For example, initially it set price in New Delhi on the basis of the price of Nirula’s, its biggest competitor in that area. Vignali, 2001) This way it attracted the customers, as they were getting an international brand at the price of a local brand. The pricing strategy of McDonalds with respect to competition is explained in the later stages of the report. 4) Promotion (Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relation): â€Å"Brand globally, advertise locally† is McDonald’s promotion strategy. (Vignali, 2001; Sander & Shani, 1991). For years it has maintained extensive promotion strategy. It focuses on children, overall eating experience and portrays itself as a ‘Family Restaurant’. Its global tag line is â€Å"I’m Lovin’ It†. Tag line to attract Indian customers is â€Å"Aap Ke Zamaane Mein Baap Ke Zamaane Ke Daam†, which means buy at a price, which your father used to buy in his days† 5) People (Quantity, Quality, Training, and Promotion): â€Å"The Company is strongly committed to staffing locally and promoting from within. This means that McDonald’s has managers who understand both the corporate and the local cultures† (Vignali, 2001). Particularly in India it is important to have local people, as language differs from state to state and staff from some other state might not be able to understand the local people’s language. ) Process (Blueprinting, Automation, Control Procedures): In McDonalds the procedure for making food is identical everywhere. For example, one out of two fries must measure 75mm, meat for Big Mac’s weighs 45g and is 20 per cent fat. (Vignali, 2001). The following is the process in McDonalds: 7) Physical (Cleanliness, Decor, and Ambience of t he Service): This is one of the most important components of the Marketing Mix. If the place where the food is served is not clean and hygienic then there will be no result from the components. Keeping this in mind, McDonalds aims at cleanliness, speed, quality and transparency of process. Strict standards of cleanliness are maintained at all times. 5. 0 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR In terms of consumer behaviour, McDonald’s associates its products with routine response behaviour and in some cases limited decision making for some classes. For example, enjoying a happy meal for some people may just be a case of hunger while some for some eating at McDonald's may be luxury and hence they may only turn up on occasions. Majority of the decision starts with experimental buying. Personal factors which affect the firm in relation to the consumer are demographic factors like age, gender and race. However the firm can also produce some situational factors like offering free sport coupons and offering 2 meals at one price (Deng, 2009). McDonald's also enhances the individual level of involvement by offering healthy meal packages for adults and toys for children. Bearing in mind the social factors, the firm has understood various cultures and classes across India. As different people have different local tastes, the firm produces products with a mix of regional taste (Dash, 2005). In terms of opinion leaders, celebrities are being increasingly used in marketing communication by marketers to lend personality to their products. 5. 1 UNDERSTANDING THE INDIAN CONSUMER Understanding an Indian consumer was extremely important for overcoming the challenges of expansion in India. Some facts of Indian consumer are that they have a high degree of family orientation. In solution to this? In India, McDonald’s has placed itself as a family restaurant. The foundation of its approach is to attract families and friends (Dash, 2005). Secondly Indian consumer is influenced by discounts and freebies. Hence the firm has constantly distributed free schemes on its products with its pricing strategies. Notable fact is that Indian consumers choose expensive products as they feel that price is an indicator of quality and they are likely to buy environmentally responsible products and packs as the environmental awareness has started affecting India. In response to this McDonald's attracts the consumers with good quality products and its ethical and ecological responsible products and packaging help in clean environment. . 2 DECISION MAKING PROCESS After investigating the behaviour of Indian Consumer, McDonald’s has produced an effective decision making process which involves five stages. The firm initially tries to recognize the desired need of the customer with its research on regional consumers. Secondly McDonald’s provides information of the products through internet, reports, media and campaigns which he lps the buyer to differentiate and understand the product better. Information related to pricing, offers and health are provided to the consumer. Thirdly McDonald’s provides a range of alternative products and its benefits to different consumers and helps them to evaluate accordingly. In the fourth stage the company uses its price strategy and benefits; the company aims to attract customers and their decisions to purchase their products. And finally, through quality and service, McDonald’s tries to improve its service with customers providing Post-purchase evaluation. 6. 0 BRANDING In terms of brand experience, McDonald’s is not just a product but a fast, clean and easy way for families to enjoy together. In view of the firm’s branding, McDonald's emphasizes on Customer driven and goal oriented techniques. According to Arvind Singhal, Head of Marketing at McDonald's India, McDonald's chooses to familiarize the customer with the brand in terms of a marketing communications. Since the brand image symbolizes how customers view the organisation, the company launched a clown named Ronald. Sitting on the Ronald McDonald bench and pumping sauce from the sauce machine became brand rituals for children. Hence the company ensured that it as to be aware of fundamental needs by identifying, predicting and serving their consumers rather than just selling the product (http://www. businessweek. com ). Hence the firm concentrates not only on delivering products for the instant demand but also defending the long term brand status. Family values being important in India, McDonald’s promotion assured that it’s is not just a fast-food joint but a quick, healthy and easy way for famil ies to relish together. Thus McDonald's focuses not only on delivering sales for the immediate present but also protecting the long term brand reputation. . 0 COMPETITION AND RECESSION In terms of pricing strategies, which is a part of marketing, McDonald’s faces tough competition on several fronts. Traditional rivals such as Pizza Hut, KFC and most importantly the local dhabas and road side stalls are eating reasonable margins of McDonald’s sales. Considering the prices, a happy meal in Pizza Hut which consists of 2 pizzas would approximately cost ? 4. 5 (Rs 350) and similarly a burger and drink at a KFC outlet would cost around ? 1. 5 (Rs 120). But with its consumer value strategies, McDonald’s offers a happy meal at only (Rs 90) ? 1. 12 (www. businessworld. in ) Recession may affect organisations to change their marketing policies because as recession occurs, the consumer spends less money on the product or switches to alternatives of low cost. But recession seems to be an advantage for McDonald’s as Consumers will cut back on high-end dining, and McDonald's is the beneficiary as they provide food at reasonable prices. (www. europe. wsj. com ). The company also introduces new offers accordingly to the situation. McDonald's has benefiting from its worldwide existence during the present recession, by the launch of new products like McAloo Tikki (prepared with potato and vegetables) and the Maharaja Mac in India (http://money. cnn. com/2009 ). According to Vikram Bakshi, M. D of McDonald's operations in India, McDonald's will be doubling-up its returns in three years, and tripling our restaurants in the next five years. Currently the fast-food chain has 123 outlets in India (http://in. reuters. com ). 8. 0 PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Underpinning the product life cycle concept is the belief that products move through a sequential, predetermined pattern of development similar to the biological path that life forms follow. This pathway is known as the Product Life Cycle (PLC)† (Baines et al. , 2008). According to Kotler & Keller (2009), a company’s positioning and differentiation strategy must change as the product, market and the competitors change over its PLC. [pic] Figure 1 As it can be s een from the above figure a product basically has five stages, with four of them directly related to the consumers who in many terms dictate different aspects or the whole of product. Thus all products have a limited life for the consumer as well as the product. Since McDonald’s is a company that deals in food items, its products will have a definitive period within which they have to get acquainted to the customers tastes, grow in value and earn profits for the company. Also since the McDonald’s products are perishable they have a short life cycle (see www. bbc. co. uk). Thus regular innovation of the food items is required by McDonald’s. For instance, McDonald’s French Fries have been an important part of the company’s menu worldwide. But in India, at one stage their sales were on decline. To counter this problem the management tried to implement certain steps. They introduced the fries with a mix of certain Indian spices. The product came to be known as Shake Shake Fries. This was well received by the consumers and it once again revitalised the sales of the fries. Thus without cannibalising the existing product a new product was created by the firm to delay the decline of a well established product which had the potential to generate income (Ghosh et al. , 2009). 9. 0 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS The managerial system that ensures timely and comprehensive input to the corporate information and the decision making process and consequence production and expression of credible, persuasive representations of beneficial exchange opportunities with actual and prospective customers and other stake holders. (Varey, 2002). On a more a simple terms it is the method of communicating the right message, through the right medium, to the correct audience (see www. thetimes. biz). If a firm fails to comprehend these steps, it may result in its product failure. The communication methods adopted by McDonald’s in India are as follows, Newspapers, Journals and other forms of Print Media †¢ Television advertisements †¢ Point of Sale Display †¢ Merchandising †¢ Direct Mail †¢ Door drops †¢ Demonstrations †¢ Tele-Marketing(see www. thetimes. biz) Thus effective communication is, when the company develops a campaign which makes use of the above methods to ge t the desired results. Considering only the Television Advertisements of McDonald’s in India, these were not on the company’s radar until the turn of the century (see www. thetimes. biz). This was despite its entry into the Indian market in the latter part of 1996. This step was undertaken by the company so that it could concentrate more on the development of its stores, improve the quality of its products and tailor its global menu to suit the Indian tastes. It was only after 2000 that the first advert of the firm was telecast. â€Å"The first advert of the firm featured a child who suffers stage fright and is unable to recite a poem. On entering McDonald's, he easily recites it in the store's familiar environment. † This advert of the company basically focussed on McDonald’s being a comfortable and a familiar place (Chaturvedi, 2008). The next ad was based on a family moving to a new place. The kid in the family feels lonely in the new surroundings until he finds a McDonald’s. This ad was basically the friendliness of the McDonald’s personnel. Also the management of the firm in India noted that the local people were price sensitive. Thus they took out and ad with a tag of ‘Yesteryear’s Prices’. â€Å"It features Bollywood stars from past decades together with their sons and a message that prices have not risen in line with the passage of time† (Chaturvedi, 2008). Thus McDonald’s with a clear agenda timed their ads to perfection which gave them good returns. McDonald’s also with its advertisements gave its tagline utmost importance. This is evident from the fact that its initial ads were delivered with a punch line â€Å"McDonald’s Mein Hai Kuch Baat† which translates to ‘There is something special in McDonald’s’. When McDonald’s had been successfully established, its tagline changed to â€Å"To Aaj McDonald’s Ho Jaye† which means ‘Why not celebrate with McDonald’s today†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Vikram Bakshi, MD, McDonald’s India). He also adds that the main focus of the company with its advertisements was to change the perception of the Indians that McDonald’s was an ‘American brand with typical American values’. As Arvind Singhal, Head of Marketing at McDonald's India says â€Å"From a marketing communications standpoint, we chose to focus on familiarizing the customer with the brand. † Presently all of the McDonald’s communication strategies are focused to move the consumers to some kind of action. This may either be to visit the restaurant, buy the product or recommend it to a friend. It is also framed so that the consumers remember the product. Thus the mantra of the firm is that the more it knows about the people it is serving the more it will be able to communicate messages that appeal to them. 0. 0 DISTRUBUTION AND SUPPLY CHAIN McDonald’s uses an outsourcing model al all its markets, in some places it actively imports but in India gets materials from different places in India (Dash, 2005) it has suppliers all over India, supplying different inputs. This is done on order to procure best quality of input at the best possible price. Selecting a supplier involves a fou r step process. In each step the prospective supplier is evaluated carefully. Only item imported is the equipment to dish out burgers. The major suppliers in India are: Input Product |Supplier Company |Location | |Iceburg Lettuce |Trikaya Agriculture |Talegacon(Maharashtra) | | |Ooty Farms |Ooty | | |Meena Argitech |Delhi | |Cheese |Dynamix Dairy |Baramati (Maharashtra) | |Milk & Milk Products for Frozen Desserts |Amrit Food |Delhi and Mumbai | |Buns & Sauces |1)Cremica Industries |Philluar (Punjab) | | |2) Shah Bector and Sons |Khopoli ( Maharashtra) | | | | | |Patties, Pies & Pizza puffs |Vista Processed Foods |Taloja | (Dash, 2005) The entire distribution process is carried on by AFL Logistics Ltd, McDonald’s official partner in logistics and supply chain. 10. 1 DISTRIBUTION McDonalds in India uses what is called as a ‘Cold Chain’. This means that the vegetables are stored in cold storage from the moment it is harvested. These are then transported to restaurants in refrigerated vans. Semi – finished products are also stored a particular temperature. This ensures freshness and maintains the moisture level of the food. In the restaurant also the products are refrigerated. In the restaurant the deliveries are made to the customer within 60 seconds and the mode of service is self service. This is done to maintain speedy and quick service. 11. 0 SWOT ANALYSIS McDonald’s in India has been for around for around 13 years. Till now it has complimented the values and the cultures of the locals in an extremely ethical way. But still it has some weaknesses and threats, which if not countered, may well become grave. Thus the SWOT analysis shows the areas where the firm can build up on its existing strong image. ? Strengths †¢ Strong Brand – The McDonald’s Corporation in India has been able to live up to its global image of being able to handle any type of market. It has shown that by adopting the right approach and methods, any market can yield positive results. This has not only consolidated its powerful image and strong brand values but also has made the job difficult for the new entrants. Customer Intimacy – The firm in India with its correct mix of communication has been able to tap majority of the audience it focused on and has also developed affection from the large children populace of the country with its Children Centric ads. †¢ Product Innovation – the Compan y with its timely product innovation has regularly kept the consumers interested in its menu which caters to their tastes. †¢ Variety in Menu, Reasonable Prices and Great Service – Also with wide options in the menu McDonald’s also offers great prices with burgers starting from Rs20 ( Around 15p) plus with ‘1 Minute Service’ customers do not return disappointed from the place. ? Weakness †¢ Product on the scale of Health – McDonald’s in India is still not selling products which are good for health or which are made keeping consumers fitness. They are trying to fine tune their menu by adding more baked products rather than fried patties, but apart from McCurry Pan (launched 2003) it has not been able to introduce more healthy products (Dash, 2005). This fact forces many health conscious people to avoid the place altogether. ? Opportunities †¢ Expanding in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities – Despite the firm’s success in the urban and the metropolitan cities of India, McDonald’s has still not explored the whole of the country. This is due to the fact that the smaller cities in India are more inclined towards the home cooked food and eating fast food out is generally limited to local food joints that specialize in Indian cuisine. This presents a good prospect for the company to experiment with its menu, as McDonald’s has already localized its menu to a very great extent in the country. Entry into Breakfast Category – One of the other things that the company has still not made a complete foray into is the ‘Breakfast Menu’. McDonald’s have started only a couple of outlets in Mumbai and Delhi on experimental basis that serve Breakfast menu in December 2008. The options in this menu are available from 7 am to 11am in the morning. But the company is still to operate it on a large scale. †¢ Strong Beverage Brand – McDonald’s in India have till now only concentrated on to the food items they serve. The beverages they offer are just plain Coke available in small and large and coffee, tea and hot chocolate with no proper advertising. But it still has the opportunity to advertise and bring in its own brand of beverage as compared to something like Star Bucks’ The beverage may hot or cold and would give McDonald’s its own identity in the market which is dominated by Coke and Pepsi. ? Threats †¢ Changing Customer Lifestyle – Today, India has changed considerably as compared to 10 years back. Simultaneously the customer tastes are changing at a very fast pace. McDonald’s needs to keep this thing in mind since the customer taste for a particular product in today’s environment is very short-lived. †¢ Increased Competition – Today with the increasing number of malls and shopping centers in India, the number of fast food joints and restaurants has increased significantly that offer similar kind of food at comparable prices. This can turn out to be a disadvantage to the company since it mainly concentrates on opening its franchises in these malls. 12. 0 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS From the above report it is clear that McDonald’s marketing strategies in India have been successful. With complete understanding of the consumer and considering the various marketing environments, executing very reasonable prices to timely product innovation and lastly extremely effective communication techniques have included India in their long list of successful countries. The only thing that the company needs to focus on is to try and add more menu choice and variety to promote healthier lifestyles. Also it should contemplate its already existing operations before continuing expansion in rder to increase their profit margin and since India is a developing country the firm should try and concentrate on penetrating, at timely intervals, into more budding cities. 13. 0 REFERENCES Baines, P. , Fill, C. , Page, K. (200 8) Marketing Oxford University Press, New York. Chaturvedi, P. (2008) Super-localize me: how McDonald's evolved its marketing in India, Warc Exclusive. Chauhan, G. (2008) Language in India, Languages Group, Vol 8, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India. Deng, T. (2009) McDonald’s New Communication Strategy on Changing Attitudes and Lifestyle, International Journal Of Marketing studies, Vol 1, SolBridge International School of Business, South Korea. Fifield, P. and Gilligan, C. 1996) Strategic Marketing Management, Butterworth- Heinemann, Oxford. Ghosh, R. , Balaji, D. , Shah, J. , Sherlekar, N. , Sidana, D. , (2009) McDonald’s: Behind Golden Arches. Kotler, P. & Keller, K. L. (2009) Marketing Management, 13th Edn, Pearson Prentice Hall, USA. McCarthy. (1975) Basic Marketing: A Management Approach, Irwin, Homewood, pg – 98. Media Trust, The Institute For Volunteering Research (1997) Introduction To Marketing, Volunteering England and the Centre for Inst itutional Studies at the University of East London, UK. Prof. Dash, K. (2005) McDonald’s in India, The Garvin School of International Management, USA. Sander. D. M. & Shani. D (1991) â€Å"Brand Globally but Advertise Locally? An Empirical Investigation, International Marketing Review, Vol – 9, No – 4, pg – 18 – 29. Varey, R. J. (2002) Marketing Communication: Principles and Practice, Route ledge, London,pp 127-129. Vignali. C (2001) McDonalds: Think Global, Act Local – The Marketing Mix, British Food Journal, Vol – 103, No -2, pg – 97 – 111. 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