Definition and Examples of Plain English

Definition and Examples of Plain English Plain English is  clear and direct speech or writing in English. Also called plain language. The opposite of plain English goes by various names: bureaucratese, doublespeak, gibberish, gobbledygook, skotison. In the U.S., the Plain Writing Act of 2010 took effect in October 2011 (see below). According to the governments Plain Language Action and Information Network, the law requires federal agencies to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a â€Å"clear, concise, well-organized† manner that follows the best practices of plain language writing. Based in England, the Plain English Campaign is a professional editing company and pressure group committed to eliminating gobbledygook, jargon and misleading public information. Examples and Observations Plain English, it turns out, is the product of craft: an understanding of the readers needs, the translation of alienating jargon, establishing an easy pace that readers can follow. Clarity of expression comes most of all from a clear understanding of the topic or theme you are writing about. No writer can clarify for the reader what is not clear to the writer in the first place.(Roy Peter Clark, Help! for Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces. Little, Brown and Company, 2011) Plain English (or plain language, as its often called) refers to: The writing and setting out of essential information in a way that gives a cooperative, motivated person a good chance of understanding it at first reading, and in the same sense that the writer meant it to be understood. This means pitching the language at a level that suits the readers and using good structure and layout to help them navigate. It doesnt mean always using simple words at the expense of the most accurate or writing whole documents in kindergarten language . . ..Plain English embraces honesty as well as clarity. Essential information should not lie or tell half-truths, especially as its providers are often socially or financially dominant.(Martin Cutts, Oxford Guide to Plain English, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press, 2009) Plain Writing Act (2011) The federal government is rolling out a new official language of sorts: plain English. . . .[President Barack] Obama signed the Plain Writing Act last fall after decades of effort by a cadre of passionate grammarians in the civil service to jettison the jargon. . . .It takes full effect in October, when federal agencies must start writing plainly in all new or substantially revised documents produced for the public. The government will still be allowed to write nonsensically to itself. . . .By July, each agency must have a senior official overseeing plain writing, a section of its website devoted to the effort and employee training under way. . . .It is important to emphasize that agencies should communicate with the public in a way that is clear, simple, meaningful and jargon-free, says Cass Sunstein, a White House information and regulation administrator who gave guidance to federal agencies in April on how to put the law into place.(Calvin Woodward [Associated Press], Feds Must St op Writing Gibberish Under New Law. CBS News, May 20, 2011) Plain Writing As for plain English writing,  think of it as having three parts: - Style. By style, I mean how to write clear, readable sentences. My advice is simple: write more the way you talk. This may sound simple, but its a powerful metaphor that can revolutionize your writing.- Organization. I suggest starting with your main point almost all the time. That doesnt mean it has to be your first sentence (though it can be)just that it should come early and be easy to find.- Layout. This is the appearance of the page and your words on it. Headings, bullets, and other techniques of white space help your reader seevisuallythe underlying structure of your writing. . . . Plain English is not limited to expressing only simple ideas: it works for all kinds of writingfrom an internal memo to a complicated technical report. It can handle any level of complexity. (Edward P. Bailey, Plain English at Work: A Guide to Writing and Speaking. Oxford University Press, 1996) Criticism of Plain English As well as the arguments in favour (e.g. Kimble, 1994/5), Plain English also has its critics. Robyn Penman argues that we need to consider the context when we write and we cannot rely on a universal principle of plain or simple English. There is some evidence that Plain English revisions do not always work: Penman quotes research including an Australian study which compared versions of a tax form and found that the revised version was virtually as demanding for the taxpayer as the old form (1993), p. 128).We agree with Penmans main pointthat we need to design appropriate documentsbut we still think that all business writers should consider the recommendations coming from Plain English sources. Unless you have clear contrary evidence, they are the safest bet, especially if you have a general or mixed audience. (Peter Hartley and Clive G. Bruckmann, Business Communication. Routledge, 2002)

60 Nationalities in Spanish

60 Nationalities in Spanish In Spanish, most of the words for the people who hail from particular countries around the world look or sound very similar to the word for the country in English. For example, colombiano  is the word for a male hailing from Colombia and boliviana  is the word for a female from Bolivia. An interesting distinction that varies from English to Spanish is that words used for nationalities are not capitalized in Spanish. Nationalities Can Be Nouns or Adjectives As in English, the words  for nationalities can be used in Spanish as either adjectives or nouns. An example of the adjective form is I want a French  coffee or Yo quiero  un cafà © francà ©s. An example of the noun form is He is an Italian or Él  es italiano. Who You Are Addressing Usually Matters In Spanish, nouns, and adjectives usually, have a masculine form and a feminine form depending if the person being referenced is male or female. The masculine form is usually used to refer to more than one person of unknown gender. For example, They are American would be translated as Ellos son americanos, which is the masculine plural form. A majority of nationalities end in -o.The feminine form for nationalities ending in -o is made by changing the -o to an -a. For example, the word griego, for a person from Greece, changes to griega when referencing a female. Another common ending for nationalities is  -à ©s. Words ending in -à ©s  can be made feminine by changing the ending to -esa. Thus the feminine form of inglà ©s,  for someone or something  from England, is inglesa. A Few Nationalities Do Not Change with Gender There are some nationalities that do not change form with gender. Nationalities that have irregular endings, such as -ense, as in the  word  costarricense, used for Costa Rican, do not have a separate masculine or feminine form. The word remains the same when describing either gender. The same can be said for  nationalities that end in -a. These do not change, such as  croata  for Croatian, or  belga  for Belgian. The following sampling of 60 countries is listed with the masculine form of the nationality. Use the masculine and feminine rules to change the word depending on the person being addressed and the endings of the nationalities that are given. Related Grammar Rules Plural nouns and adjectives for nationalities follow the regular  rules for plurals., typically by adding an  -s  or  -es. The names of most countries as well as provinces, states, and regions is masculine. The main exceptions are those whose names end in an unstressed -a, such as Francia, Argentina, and Gran Bretaà ±a. Canad, which ends in a stressed -, is masculine. A few country names, the biggest of them being la India, cant stand alone and need the definite article. For some countries, such as (los) Estados Unidos, the definite article is optional., List of Nations and Nationalities Alemania (Germany) - alemnArgentina - argentinoAustralia - australianoAustria - austriacoBà ©lgica (Belgium) - belgaBelice (Belize)  -   beliceà ±oBolivia - bolivianoBrasil - brasileà ±oCanad - canadienseChile - chilenoChina - chinoColombia - colombianoCorea del Norte (North Korea) - nortecoreano, norcoreanoCorea del Sur (South Korea) - sudcoreanoCosta Rica - costarricense, costarriqueà ±o (uncommon)Cuba - cubanoCroata (Croatia)  - croataDinamarca (Denmark) - danà ©Ecuador - ecuatorianoEgipto (Egypt) - egipcioEl Salvador - salvadoreà ±oEscocia (Scotland) - escocà ©sEspaà ±a (Spain) - espaà ±olEstados Unidos (United States) - estadounidense, norteamericano, americanoFilipinas (Philippines) - filipinoFrancia  (France)- francà ©sGales (Wales) - galà ©sGran Bretaà ±a (Great Britain) - britnicoGrecia (Greece) - griegoGuatemala - guatemaltecoHaità ­ - haitianoHonduras - hondureà ±oHungrà ­a  -   hà ºngarola India - indio, hindà º Inglaterra (England) - inglà ©sIrak, Iraq - irakà ­, iraquà ­Irn - iranà ­Irlanda (Ireland)  - irlandà ©sIsrael - israelà ­Italia (Italy) - italianoJapà ³n (Japan) - japonà ©sMarruecos (Morocco) - marroquà ­Ã‚  (Moro is sometimes used but can be considered offensive.)Mà ©xico, Mà ©jico - mexicano, mejicano  (the first spelling is used in Mexico, while usage varies elsewhere)Myanmar/Birlandia (Myanmar/Burma)  -   myanma/birmanoNicaragua - nicaragà ¼enseNoruega (Norway) - noruegoNueva Zelanda (New Zealand) - neozelandà ©sPaà ­ses Bajos (Netherlands) - holandà ©sPalestina  (Palestine) - palestinoPanam - panameà ±oParaguay - paraguayoPerà º - peruanoPolonia (Poland) - polacoPortugal - portuguà ©sPuerto Rico - puertorriqueà ±ola Repà ºblica Dominicana (Dominican Republic) - dominicanoRusia - rusoSudfrica (South Africa) - sudafricanoSuecia (Sweden) - suecoSuiza (Switzerland) - suizoTaiwan - taiwanà ©sUruguay - uruguayoVenezuela - venezolano Notes on Americano Estadounidense is understood everywhere to refer to U.S. residents, but in some areas it can seem overly formal. In parts of Latin America, norteamericano is preferred with speaking of the U.S., although in some places that term is understood include persons or things Canadian (but not Mexican). Americano can be understood to mean Latin American in some areas, but American in the U.S. sense in others. Quick Takeaways As in English, noun and adjective forms of nationalities in Spanish use the same words.Although names of countries are capitalized in Spanish, names of nationalities are not (except at the beginning of a sentence.)The most common endings for nationality names are -o and -es.

MGMT315 U4 IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGMT315 U4 IP - Research Paper Example s which every organisation must be aware of and adhere to before they can invest in a foreign country and before they can engage employees in that country. Any American company that intends to invest in a foreign country needs to keep abreast of the specific employment laws of that particular country so as to ensure that they do not get into problems with the regulatory authorities in the country. Before a company can invest in a foreign country, it is important to carry out an initial survey on the employment laws applicable in that country so as to determine how they differ from those applicable in the USA. This is important due to the fact that some employment laws may lead to a situation where the incremental operational costs exceed the benefits the company will get from operating in that country (Hennart and Larimo, 1998). Employment laws normally relate to rules and regulations governing minimum wages, maximum working hours and minimum annual leave days that an employee is entitled to. They also relate to the whether an employee is entitled to paid leave days or not. Employment laws are diverse in every country since in most cases the government of the country sets the minimum wages applicable to the employees in the country. The employment laws may also relate to the length of time that a company should keep employees on casual employment terms and the procedure to absorb them into permanent basis. American companies therefore need to familiarise themselves with laws in different countries so that they evaluate the economics of investing in a particular country (Hennart and Larimo, 1998). The management of the American company working in a global location need to analyse the political situation of the specific country so as to determine the political stability of the country. This is important in that the company will be able to evaluate the risks and return coefficients associated with investing in the country. A politically stable country provides a

How Does Organizational Change Manifest Organizational Behavior Research Paper

How Does Organizational Change Manifest Organizational Behavior - Research Paper Example The intention of this study is organizational culture as a set of values and beliefs that guides employees on how and when to perform a task. It also states what kind of behavior is expected from the employees and accordingly behaviour should be moulded to fit into the organization’s structure. However, there is a great difference between the perceived behavior and actual behaviour. There is no guarantee or assurance that employees would think and behave in an expected manner. Behaviours are driven by the impact of internal and external factors and thus would differ from what the organization dictates. Organizational culture is the supreme force that shapes the behavior, attitude and understanding of employees within the organization. Culture is a set of rules and values shared amongst the employees. The organizational culture shapes employees perceptions and ideologies along with striking the right cord with the ideologies and beliefs of the organization. Organizational cultu re can be considered as a psychological contract between the employees and the employer based on few formal and informal rules and regulations. There is no denying that behavior and attitude is shaped by the culture and the organization is responsible to offer a positive shape based on ethically accepted principles and norms to create long term mutual support and benefits. The organizational culture of the Turkish National Police is different from that of private companies based on informal communication and approach. The Turkish National Police Administration’s culture is centralized, paramilitary and semi bureaucratic that suggests that employees are supposed to think and behave as per the written and prescribed rules of the organization. This kind of approach may attract conflicts of ideas and understanding that might not shape employee’

Investment Strategies Order Number Essay Example for Free

Investment Strategies Order Number Essay There are many methods an investor can use to determine if a stock is a good buy or not. Three indicators often used to assess the risk of a security are beta, alpha and the Sharpe ratio. One of the most popular measures of risk associated with a security is its beta. Beta is a measure of a stock’s volatility in relation to the market as a whole. The market is given a beta of 1. 0 and individual stocks are ranked according to how much they deviate from the market’s beta. Stocks with a beta of less than 1. 0 are considered less volatile than the market and, therefore, pose less risk. Stocks that have betas higher than 1. 0 are considered more volatile than the market and, therefore, pose more risk. All things being equal, an investor would expect to see higher returns on a stock with a beta higher than the market than one with a beta lower than the market. (1) Beta is also a key component for the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). The original CAPM defined risk in terms of volatility, as measured by a stock’s beta coefficient. The formula is: Kc = Rf + beta Km – Rf) where Kc is the risk-adjusted discount rate (also known as the cost of capital) Rf is the rate of a â€Å"risk free† investment, i. e. ten-year treasury bill Km is the return rate of a market benchmark, such as the SP 500 Kc is the expected rate of return you would require before you would be interested in a particular stock at a particular price. The CAPM expresses the amount of risk a particular stock has and gives an investor an idea of the expected returns he should expect given a certain level of risk. The more risky a stock is the higher the level of returns an investor would expect for that particular stock. (2) A stock’s alpha is a mathematical estimate of the amount of return expected from a stock’s inherent values, such as the rate of growth of in earnings per share, management strengths or other factors, as opposed to general market conditions. Stocks with an alpha greater than 1. 0 can be expected to outperform the market regardless of what happens to the market as a whole. (3) The Sharpe ratio helps investors determine the best possible proportion of securities to use in a portfolio that can also include cash. The formula for the Sharpe ratio is: S(x) = (Rx – Rf) / StdDev(x) where x is some investment Rx is the average annual rate of return of x Rf is the best possible rate of return of a â€Å"risk free† security (i. e. cash) StdDev is the standard deviation of Rx The Sharpe ratio is a direct measure of reward-to-risk. In other words, the Sharpe ratio is used to characterize how well the return of an asset compensates the investor for the risk taken. (4) Although beta, alpha and the Sharpe ratio are useful for an investor to gauge the risk of a security or portfolio of securities there are also other methods an investor can use to determine whether a security is a good investment or not. The two most common methods used to determine the investment potential of a security are fundamental analysis and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis is the process of looking at a business from its financial statements. This type of analysis typically looks at various ratios of the business to determine its financial health. The goal of fundamental analysis is determine the current worth of a stock and how the market values the stock. (5) Probably the most two important factors looked at in fundamental analysis are a company’s earnings and revenue growth. Investors like to see earnings and revenue increasing by at least 25% for each of the last three quarters and year-to-date. Return on equity (ROE) is also a major fundamental factor. ROE reveals how much profit a company earned in comparison to the total amount of shareholder equity found on the balance sheet. (6) The higher a company’s ROE compared to its industry the better. Investors typically look for an ROE of at least 17%. Technical analysis is a method of evaluating stocks by relying on the assumption that market data, such as charts of price, volume and open interest can help predict future market trends. (7) Investors using technical analysis typically look for trends in chart data and use a variety of technical indicators, such as moving averages, Bollinger bands, fast and slow stochastics, MACD, and RSI to determine the right buy point for a stock. More sophisticated investors use a combination of fundamental analysis and technical analysis to determine whether a stock is a good buy or not. They use fundamental analysis to make sure a company is healthy from a financial standpoint and is a leader in its industry. Once determining a stock is healthy from a fundamental standpoint, these investors will use technical analysis to determine the correct buy point for a stock. A stock’s chart will show the investor how the stock is actually performing in the market and whether it is rising out of a good base or is overbought based on how far its current price is from its 50 day moving average. If a stock’s price is 30% or more above its 50 day moving average, the risk that it will fall into a correction is greater. References: (1) http://www. investopedia. com/articles/stocks/04/113004. asp Beta: Know the Risk (2) http://www. moneychimp. com/articles/valuation/capm. htm CAPM Calculator (3) http://www. allbusiness. com/glossaries/alpha/4943389-1. html Business Definition for Alpha (4) http://www. moneychimp. com/articles/risk/sharpe_ratio. htm The Sharpe Ratio (5) http://stocks. about. com/od/evaluatingstocks/a/Fundanatools1. htm Tools of Fundamental Analysis (6) http://beginnersinvest. about. com/cs/investinglessons/l/blreturnequity. htm Return on Equity (ROE) (7) http://www. investorwords. com/4925/technical_analysis. html Technical Analysis

Ecological Change With the Arrival of Europeans in the New World :: American America History

Ecological Change With the Arrival of Europeans in the New World Imagine yourself coming from an overpopulated, intensely manicured development (typical of many Americans) to an Island of immense vegetation and overgrowth. Your job is to develop a productive colony using these unknown plants. Your only guides are the natives of the land - if they are gentle and willing to help. Now forget all you know about ecology and the importance of cultures and think about what you would probably do. What if you had one more chance to go to your native land and bring back with you a few simple things to make your life easier? What would you bring? Most would probably react the same way the Europeans did, bringing seeds and machinery for cultivation with them. The Europeans may have even gone further than needed in their search for a productive product. Europeans were fearful and distrustful of the wild, natural areas. For example, many Europeans considered mountains to be hideous. This was said of the Alps, and many mountainous areas of Europe (Sale 77). They had this agenda to control whatever they could. If the land looked wild it needed tamed to their ideas, even if this made the ecosystem unstable or less productive. The results of their need for control and their lack of knowledge on ecosystems resulted in a reflux of new plants being imported. The most influential plants were the forage or grazing crops. These were brought because the Europeans wanted their own familiar crops to be in the grazing yards. These plants included white clover and "Kentucky" bluegrass. Ironically the Kentucky bluegrass was named so because it preceded west at a faster rate than the colonists, so when they arrived in Kentucky they found it in abundance and named it so. These plants were introduced at least as early as 1685, when William Penn was noted for trying some in his courtyard (2 Crosby 157). These plants spread with the equivalences of weeds. Imported, overgrazing European animals helped in the quick dispersal of these plants. The effect of these new grasses is hard to determine. Many of the indigenous grasses all but disappeared, except for small-untouched areas. The introduced animals helped to pave the way for many of these new plants (2 Crosby, 157). The animals first overgrazed the native plants, which were not adapted for heavy grazing, and then continued overgrazing created a new niche or specialization.

Glaxowellcome

Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome comply with regulations, and selling it to the end users while making a pro? t. In addition, there is a tariff for the import of candelilla wax into Japan of 3. 8 percent; this is for either ? rst or second re? ned candelilla wax. FUTURE OF THE CANDELILLA WAX INDUSTRY ? According to executives of Ceras Deserticas, the future of this market is promising. They expect growth in the future, although they they have not made public the actual estimated growth for the market. They are worried about the best path to take advantage of this growing and competitive market. The industry is consolidating and if Ceras Deserticas does nothing, it will either die or be taken over. As mentioned before, there are several joint ventures in which U. S. companies are investing in Mexico to guarantee a steady supply of candelilla wax. Both Ceras Nacionales de Mexico and †¢ 735 Multiceras have established joint ventures with American companies. They are p ursuing research and development to try to create a synthetic wax that can replicate the characteristics of candelilla wax and meet the requirements of end-users.DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Of the three options options presented at the beginning of ? the case, what should Ceras Deserticas do? 2. Why would Mitsuba Trading Co. be interested in a joint ? venture with Ceras Deserticas? 3. What would be the advantages and disadvantages for Ceras ? Deserticas of a joint venture? ? 4. What strategy must Ceras Deserticas follow in approaching joint venture? C ASE 21 THE HEADACHES OF GLAXOWELLCOME Migraine medicine is a key growth area for Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Glaxo); a Britain-based pharmaceutical company with global operations. 1 Glaxo’s primary business is to market prescription products to physicians and healthcare providers. Glaxo was the ? rst pharmaceutical company to manufacture and market a revolutionary new class of prescription migraine medications called ‘‘triptansà ¢â‚¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Triptans, which Glaxo launched in 1993, are a class of medications that work speci? cally on the 5HT-1 receptor sites, which are believed by doctors to be the primary cause of migraine headaches.In mid May of 1997, Sir Benjamin Palmer, the general manager of Glaxo’s CNS/GI Metabolic division, sat at the head of the conference table in room G-1 of the Glaxo Wellcome global headquarters in Stockley Park West, England. A group of 6 marketers (3 from the ‘‘Professional’’ team and 3 from the ‘‘Commercial’’ team) were staged in front of Palmer and two vice presidents of sales (East and West). The three of? cers listened attentively to the ? nal marketing presentation that more than 60 marketing team members had worked on for the past 19 months.The issue: How to launch Naramig, Glaxo’s new (second generation) prescription migraine medicine, in the U. K. In the back of Palmer’s mind were the following considerations: – Although Naramig was considered by Glaxo to be a better triptan than Imigran, in reality, there were some attributes of Naramig that were inferior to those of Imigran. – It was not as if Imigran had not been successful: Glaxo had captured 91 percent of the prescription medication market share (in ? s) for migraines in the U. K. – Glaxo expected the approval and launch of its competitor, Zeneca’s ? st triptan medication (Zomig) prior to that of Naramig, and likewise, expected Zeneca to market Zomig as a 2nd generation triptan. 8 1 Months Later 2 Early in February of 1998, a similar scene to that of 8 1 months 2 ago, in room G-1 of the U. K. headquarters, was taking place in a conference room located at the U. S. home of? ce in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Mark Glackin, U. S. General Manager of Glaxo’s CNS/GI Metabolic Division, considered several marketing options presented by the team for the U. S. aunch of Amerge, Glax o’s second-generation triptan that had been marketed in the U. K. as Naramig. 2 Although Glackin had several considerations to keep in mind, various factors and events gave Glackin a much different perspective than 1 that of Palmer 8 2 months earlier: †¢ How would U. K. hospitals and doctors react to Glaxo’s promotion of Naramig? †¢ Glaxo was apprised of the marketing strategy chosen by the U. K. for Naramig and its short-term results. †¢ What was the best product positioning of Naramig with respect to Imigran? This case was prepared by Jared Fontaine, Aaron C.Lennon, and Robert Moscato of the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University under the supervision of Professor Masaaki Kotabe for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective management of a situation described (2001). 1 Today the company is known as GlaxoSmithKline, which was formed in January 2001 as the result of a merger between GlaxoWellcome and S mithKline Beecham. †¢ Zeneca’s Zomig had in fact been approved and launched in the U. K. prior to that of Naramig. The effects of Zomig on the success of Naramig and Imigran were therefore available for analysis by Glackin. Just as in the U. K. , Glaxo U. S. expected the approval and launch of Zomig in the U. S. prior to that of Amerge. 2 Like Amerge/Naramig, Glaxo’s research indicated that the name Imitrex would fare better than Imigran in the U. S. market. 736 †¢ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome EXHIBIT 1 The Businiess GW Portfolio: 1998 ?1,027m (+9%) ? 432m (+5%) ? 1,971m (+24%) Respiratory Viral Infections CNS ? 688m (? 44%) ? 749m (+1%) ? 1,209m (? 4%) ? 1,089m (+31%) (Migraine ? 645m) Migraine Bacterial Infections Gastro-intestinal Oncology Others % of Sales 28 17 15 9 10 10 6 14Total sales ? 7,165m increase of 2% †¢ Glaxo U. S. had launched the marketing promotion of Product Lines: Migraine Depression Gastrointestinal Imitrex (the U. S. brand name of U. K. ’s Imigran)3 Nasal Spray 5 months earlier. on pharmaceutical marketing, Glaxo U. S. could use directto-the-consumer (DTC) advertising to promote Amerge. †¢ Unlike the U. K. , which has stricter government regulations †¢ Allergy/Immunology/Respiratory Division Product Lines: Allergy/Immunology Asthma COPD COMPANY BACKGROUND GlaxoWellcome Inc. was formed in 1995 when U. K. based Glaxo Pharmaceuticals, a relatively young company, acquired U. K. pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome in a corporate takeover. The acquisition made Glaxo Wellcome Inc. one of the top three pharmaceutical ? rms in the world with approximately 4 percent of the worldwide prescription pharmaceutical market. International Organization GlaxoWellcome Inc. is based in the U. K. with its Worldwide Headquarters located in Stockley Park West. As of 1997, Glaxo Wellcome Inc. had 22 local operating companies (LOCs) in 9 countries of which Glaxo U. S. was one. Although based in the U.K. , the U. S. market made up approximately 40 percent of worldwide sales, while the U. K. only accounted for 7 percent. Due to the rigid guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Glaxo’s products are generally introduced ? rst in one of the other 8 LOCs before gaining approval in the U. S. The majority of R&D and production for Glaxo takes place in the U. S. , U. K. , France, and Italy, each having both an R&D unit and manufacturing plants. Organizational Structure/Product Lines The organizational structure of Glaxo Wellcome in both the U. K. and the U. S. s based around its 3 divisions and the product lines within each of those divisions: †¢ HIV/Oncology Division Product Lines: HIV Cancer Glaxo sells prescription medications that fall into one of these three product lines. As of 1998, the migraine product line made up just over 9 percent of total Glaxo sales worldwide. The CNS/GI Metabolic division, of which migraine makes up 60 percent, grew 31 perc ent from 1997 to 1998 (see Exhibit 1). THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY Pharmaceuticals are generally classi? ed into two categories: over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications.As of 1998, there were no OTC drugs speci? cally formulated for migraine. After a pharmaceutical medication has been developed, there are two stages: approval and marketing. Approval In order for a pharmaceutical company to market and sell any medication that they have developed, the product must ? rst be approved by the respective regulatory body of each country (FDA in the U. S. , MCA in the U. K. ). On average it takes 12 years for an experimental drug to travel from the lab to the medicine chest. Only ? ve in 5,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing make it to human testing.One of these ? ve tested in people is approved. Although each country has †¢ Central Nervous System/Gastrointestinal Metabolic Division (CNS/GI) 3 Market research showed that U. S. consumers would be more responsive to t he brand name ‘‘Amerge’’ than that of ‘‘Naramig. ’’ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome its own particular set of guidelines and speci? c procedures for approval, new medicines are generally developed and approved as follows: 1. Preclinical Testing—This is the exploratory process where a pharmaceutical company identi? es compounds through in vitro (test tube) testing.The deliverable at the end of this process are compounds that can enter Phase One of Clinical Testing. 2. Clinical Trials, Phases—There are three mandatory phases of clinical trials. These clinical trials study the medicine’s safety pro? le, how it is absorbed and distributed, the duration of its action, its ef? cacy, and side effects. 3. Application—Following the completion of all three phases of clinical trials, the company analyzes all of the data and applies for approval in the respective country if the data successfully demon strate safety and effectiveness. The application contains all of the scienti? information that the company has gathered. At this point, the regulatory body may request further information. 4. Approval/Refusal—Once the regulatory body completes the professional assessment of all relevant information, it either approves the application and the new medicine becomes available for physicians to prescribe, or, if unsatis? ed, refuses to grant approval. There is one important distinction between the U. S. and the U. K. in the approval stage of pharmaceuticals. In the U. S. , every medication must be approved by the FDA before it can be marketed and sold.However, because of the existence of the European Union (EU), it is possible that a medication may be approved in member nations without being professionally assessed and analyzed by each country’s respective regulatory body. This means that if one member nation’s (e. g. Sweden’s) regulatory body approves a medic ation, the applying pharmaceutical company can either ask the other EU member nations to ‘‘recognize’’ Sweden’s approval or apply to each member nation separately. If one member nation approves a medication, then all of the countries in the ‘‘Mutual Recognition’’ procedure have the same prescribing information.However, if a medication receives independent approvals, then the prescribing information will be unique in each country. The difference can have an effect if applying in each country separately produces slightly different results in the trial phases (e. g. , perhaps the trials show that a medication is more effective for its desired indication during trials in the U. K. as compared to similar trials performed in Sweden). Marketing In general, products are marketed and advertised solely toward the ? nal consumer. This makes sense since it is the ? al consumer that ordinarily has the ? nal say as to whether he/she will actually purchase the product. However, pharmaceuticals are marketed to physicians and hospitals that in turn decide if they will prescribe the medication to their patients. U. S. vs. U. K Although it is illegal for pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products directly to patient/consumers in the U. K. , †¢ 737 in the U. S. (as of 1997) direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is permitted. Research has shown that DTC advertising in the U. S. has a large impact on sales.The research shows that patient’s requests for speci? c medications marketed by speci? c pharmaceutical companies affect the companies’ sales to physicians and hospitals. The other major difference in the pharmaceutical industry between the U. S. and the U. K. is the extent of governmental coverage. In the U. K. , the health care system is socialized. Doctors are paid by the government with an additional payment per patient. Everyone is entitled to free medical care under the plan, which is fun ded by the National Treasury and Health Insurance Tax. The U. S. on the other hand, has not employed socialized medicine, although Medicare and Medicaid cover a signi? cant part of the population. Instead, the U. S. health care system follows an insurance-based coverage scheme whereby individuals buy insurance from a company, which in turn pays for their medical costs. HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES Doctors classify headaches into three main types: †¢ cluster headaches †¢ tension-type headaches †¢ migraines Cluster headaches are the most painful type but also quite rare and hence have not offered pharmaceutical companies a suf? cient market potential to pro? ably develop and market a medication speci? cally focused on curing these headaches. Tension-type headaches, while the most prevalent, are generally capable of being combated with over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen and hence, likewise do not offer Glaxo a pro? table market for which to develop a p rescription product. Migraines, on the other hand, are suffered by an estimated 26. 3 million people in the U. S. , 5 million people in the U. K. , and at the time of Glaxo’s launch of Imigran/Imitrex, were not effectively treatable with over-the-counter medications.Migraines are complicated combinations of intense pain (usually on one side of the head) and neurological symptoms like visual problems, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound, which often reduce the sufferer’s productivity and concentration and in some cases render the sufferer bedridden. In the U. K. about 18 million working days are lost to migraine sufferers a year. In the U. S. approximately 10 million migraine sufferers were bedridden for more than 3 million days per month and experienced 74. 2 million restricted activity days per year (as of 1989). Such statistics translate to lost workplace productivity ranging from $5. billion to $17 billion annually in the U. S. and sick pay and repl acement personnel costs of ? 750 million in the U. K. annually. Hence, in the early 1990s, Glaxo took advantage of the market potential for migraine-speci? c prescription drugs. 4 4 At the time of Glaxo Wellcome Inc. ’s entrance into the market for prescription migraine medicines, although doctors were prescribing drugs for migraines, these drugs were not migraine-speci? c but rather were drugs that were developed for general pain relief. 738 †¢ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome IMIGRAN/IMITREX In 1993, Glaxo Pharmaceuticals introduced in the U.K. and the U. S. , the ? rst medication (triptan) speci? cally formulated for the acute treatment of migraine. 6 Imitrex/Imigran when initially launched in March of 1993 was produced in injection form. In 1995 and 1997, Glaxo followed up the marketing of Imitrex/Imigran by introducing line extensions in the forms of tablets and nasal spray, respectively (see Exhibit 2). Imitrex/Imigran5 uncomfortable injecting themsel ves). Sales of Imitrex/Imigran worldwide grew from less than $350 million in the year of its introduction to more than $1 billion in 1997.Imigran/Imitrex SWOT Glaxo considered the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Imigran/Imitrex to be the following: Strengths—Imigran/Imitrex was the ? rst medication marketed toward speci? c migraine relief. Hence, Imigran/Imitrex had a strong brand image as the market leader, and in fact played a signi? cant role in the development of the migraine market. Imigran/Imitrex was also a potent medication with a proven ef? cacy; it was in fact very successful in relieving the pain of migraine headaches. Although there were some side effects associated with the medication, Imigran/Imitrex has a proven safety pro? e. The fact that Imigran/Imitrex is offered in 3 different line extensions offers Glaxo a ‘‘portfolio’’ of relief to offer to various patients. Weaknesses—The fact that Imigran/Imitrex is a potent medication has its downside as well. The medication proves to be too powerful for some patients, which therefore limits its use. Moreover, Imigran/Imitrex is expensive relative to OTC products that were used to ? ght headaches. This weakness of being expensive is exacerbated by the fact that the medication has a high rate of recurrence (a patient may need to take the drug more than once during a migraine).Although Imigran/Imitrex is proven to be safe, because of the side effects (e. g. , tightening of the chest), there is a perception by some that the medication is not safe. Opportunities—Glaxo felt that having 3 product line extensions opened up the opportunity to perhaps exploit Imigran/Imitrex as a medication that is right for every kind of migraine sufferer. The biggest opportunity for Glaxo and Imigran/Imitrex is the fact that the migraine market was completely underdeveloped. EXHIBIT 2 Line Extension Injection Tablet Nasal Spray U.K. 3/1993 5/1995 5/1997 U. S. 3/1993 7/1995 8/1997 These line extensions were spurred by the fact that only a small percentage of the total 26. 3 million migraine sufferers had ever tried Imitrex/Imigran in injection form. Hence, Glaxo, even 2 years after the introduction of Imitrex/Imigran injections, viewed the potential market as wide open. The injection formulation of the product provides the fastest relief—as early as 10 minutes; the nasal spray—as early as 15 minutes; and the tablet—as early as 30 minutes.Hence, Glaxo has been successful marketing the injection form of Imitrex/Imigran using a strategy of ‘‘quick-relief’’ (an aspect that is very important to severe migraine sufferers) and successful marketing the tablet and nasal spray forms of the drug using a strategy of ‘‘easy and painless administration’’ (an aspect that is important to migraine sufferers who are 5 The launch of Imigran/Imitrex came prior to the Glaxo Pharmaceutic als’ acquisition of Burroughs Wellcome, Inc. 6 Glaxo used the brand name Imitrex in the U. S. nd the brand name Imigran in the U. K. for the same product. Market research showed that the name Imitrex would fare better with U. S. physicians and hospitals. EXHIBIT 3 GlaxoWellcome Worldwide Migraine Franchise $m 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 1993 Injection 1994 1995 Tabs 1996 1997 1998 Nasal Spray Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome Threats—The two main threats to Imigran/Imitrex are that of competition and cannibalization. Glaxo was aware that Zeneca was close to marketing a competitor triptan called Zomig. SinceImigran/Imitrex had been on the market for over four years, Glaxo felt that Zomig would be marketed as a ‘‘second-generation’’ triptan (an improved version of Glaxo’s ? rst-generation Imigran/Imitrex). Imigran/Imitrex had also experienced some cannibalization effects between its 3 line extensions (see Exhibit 3). The Un derdeveloped Migraine Market As of 1997, the fact of the matter, was that approximately 90 percent of migraine sufferers were not being medicated with a triptan (see Exhibit 4). This meant that many people were still taking ineffective OTC drugs to combat their migraine pain.Accordingly, Glaxo considered the market for ‘‘triptan’’ drugs to have great potential. †¢ 739 Exhibit 5 shows how Naramig/Amerge speci? cally compared to Imigran/Imitrex as a migraine medication. EXHIBIT 5 Imigran vs. Naramig MEASURE Speed of onset Peak efficacy Consistency of response Tolerability Incidence of chest pain Incidence of recurrence ORDER (best first) Imigran > Naramig Imigran > Naramig Imigran > Naramig Naramig > Imigran Naramig < Imigran Naramig < Imigran EXHIBIT 4 Migraine market = underdeveloped 48 million migraine patients 586 million migraine attacks/yearNaramig/Amerge SWOT Glaxo considered the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Naramig/Amerge to be the following: Strengths—Although not as powerful as Imigran/Imitrex, Naramig/Amerge was effective in relieving migraine pain. Its biggest strength, relative to Imigran/Imitrex was its mildness; the side effects caused by Naramig/Amerge were substantially less compared to Imigran/Imitrex, which gave it ‘‘user friendly’’ image. Its long duration of pain relief gave Naramig/Amerge a low rate of recurrence; 67 percent of patients require only one dose of Naramig/Amerge over a 24-hour period.Naramig/Amerge was able to be marketed as a true second-generation triptan (an improvement on the ? rst) since Glaxo was the company that had introduced the ? rst triptan medication. Weaknesses—The major weaknesses of Naramig/Amerge were twofold. First, it had a slow onset of action. This of course would turn off patients looking for fast relief. Second, Naramig/Amerge had only been developed in tablet form and therefore lacked marketability in terms of line extensions. Opportunities—The market opportunity for Naramig/ Amerge was quite obvious.At the time of Naramig/Amerge’s approval, only 10 percent of all migraine attacks were being treated with triptan drugs. This meant that 90 percent of migraine sufferers were either not being treated at all, or treated with relatively ineffective medications. Threats—Like Glaxo’s ? rst-generation triptan, Naramig/ Amerge’s biggest threat came from Zeneca’s Zomig. Although it was unclear how successful Zomig would be in stealing Glaxo’s market share and expanding the market through sales to the untapped 90 percent, what was clear was that Zomig was likely to be approved in both the U.K. and the U. S. prior to Glaxo obtaining approval for Naramig/Amerge. COMPETITION 60 Triptan Rx = 10% 526 Million Attacks Since its introduction in 1993, Imitrex/Imigran had clearly played a role in de? ning patient expectations. However, combining its awareness th at Zeneca was in the process of developing Zomig and the fact that Glaxo, as a company, was always looking to bring new medications and improvements to the forefront, Glaxo had worked on developing a secondgeneration triptan of its own.Company research revealed that for a new triptan product to be successful, patients and doctors would require it to be as effective as Imitrex/Imigran but with a longer duration of pain relief and a lower side effect pro? le. NARAMIG/AMERGE Naramig/Amerge, Glaxo’s second-generation triptan, was actually being developed prior to the launch of Imigran/ Imitrex. 7 Amerge/Naramig, only available in tablet form, tested to have both a longer duration and a lower side effect pro? le than Imigran/Imitrex.Although Naramig/Amerge was considered by Glaxo to be a better triptan than Imigran/Imitrex, in reality, there were attributes of Naramig/ Imigran that were inferior to those of Imigran/Imitrex. 7 Glaxo, as with Imigran/Imitrex, used the brand name Nar amig in the U. K. and the brand name Amerge in the U. S. for this new ‘‘triptan’’ drug. This decision was once again a product of market research. When Glaxo Pharmaceuticals acquired Burroughs Wellcome in 1995, they had already launched Imigran/Imitrex (1993). 740 †¢ Case 21 †¢ The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome However, Burroughs Wellcome was also developing a triptan of its own.When the takeover took place, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) forced Glaxo Wellcome to divest one of its triptan formulations because of antitrust implications (i. e. , monopolization). Having already successfully marketed Imigran/Imitrex, Glaxo Wellcome of course chose to divest the triptan that Burroughs Wellcome had developed. (Burroughs only completed about 55 percent of the clinical trials. ) Zeneca purchased the rights to this incomplete triptan and ? nished the further development and application process of what came to be Zomig.Glaxo had the following assumptions a bout Zomig: powerful means of maximizing market share, Palmer was unsure of the logistics of such an approach and worried about the ethical considerations of focusing the promotion of their product in areas based on factors such as socioeconomic status. Also, Palmer considered the fact that such a strategy may overlook patient needs. 3. An Alternative: Whereby Glaxo would market Naramig as an alternative to Imigran/Imitrex, (e. g. , superior; different; similar). The pros of the ‘‘Alternative’’ strategy were that it could detract from competitor noise, and could in fact devalue the image of the econd-generation triptan. This latter aspect may be an effective way to combat Zomig. The biggest drawback of this strategy was the idea that if there were no clear message (in terms of the medication that was best for migraines) it could lead to confusion and hence hurt Glaxo’s image. 4. Replacement: Whereby Glaxo would discontinue the marketing of Imigran an d focus solely on Naramig. This option ? t well with the overall concept that Naramig was an overall superior drug to Imigran. It would also allow Naramig to gain all the bene? s of a new compound: ‘‘secondgeneration,’’ safety, and low recurrence. However, Palmer worried about the confusion that would accompany such an approach and if a ‘‘Replacement’’ strategy would devalue Glaxo Wellcome in the eyes of physicians and hospitals. 5. Don’t Launch: Whereby Glaxo would only continue to market Imigran and never launch Naramig. Although this strategy might class all triptans as the same, negating Zomig as a second-generation, Palmer had already made up his mind that not launching Naramig was a waste of an opportunity and of resources that went into developing the medication.There was also the consideration that Zeneca would still be able to accomplish marketing Zomig as a second-generation triptan and leave Zeneca with an open ? eld. Naramig in the U. K. Palmer and his team chose a ‘‘Replacement’’ strategy for Naramig. This involved ceasing all promotion of Imigran (except to the extent of sales for patients who were already using Imigran) and positioning Naramig as the recommended starting place for migraine patients. Palmer felt that replacement was the best way to attract triptan-na? atients and ? ve capture the untapped market. Glaxo focused the promotion around Naramig as a ‘‘patient-friendly’’ medication providing patients with the best relief on the market. The results showed that the replacement strategy met Glaxo U. K. expectations. Naramig proved to be effective for migraine headaches in the majority of patients. In terms of the 90 percent untapped market, Naramig was preferred by 67 percent of previous non-triptan users. Exhibit 6 shows worldwide sales of Glaxo Wellcome’s two triptan drugs.It is clear that the replacement strategy thwarte d the growth of Imigran, and that Zomig and Naramig were both successful in expanding the market. PRODUCT POSITIONING: U. S Mark Glackin was now faced with the same decision that Palmer was faced with 8 ? months earlier. What was the best strategy to market Amerge with respect to Imitrex in the U. S. †¢ Like Naramig/Amerge, Zomig had a lower recurrence rate than Imigran/Imitrex. †¢ Zeneca would be successful in marketing Zomig as a secondgeneration triptan even though it was the company’s ? rst triptan. This was simply an issue of timing. Zomig’s ef? cacy was comparable to Imigran/Imitrex. †¢ Zomig would be launched in both the U. K. and the U. S. prior to Naramig/Amerge gaining approval in both markets. PRODUCT POSITIONING: U. K Sir Benjamin Palmer sat in his of? ce weighing all the information he had just learned in the marketing meeting. There was only question to be considered; the considerations were complex; the answer to that question was crucial: the success of a major product line of Glaxo Wellcome hung in the balance. How should Glaxo Wellcome U. K. , position its new triptan Naramig?Palmer wondered how U. K. hospitals and doctors would react to Glaxo’s promotion of Naramig when Imigran had been the ‘‘gold standard’’ for the past 4 years and had captured 91 percent of the prescription migraine medication market share. Palmer’s bigger concern was how to position Naramig with respect to Imigran in order to capture the 90 percent of the market that was untapped (see Exhibit 4). Although Naramig was considered to be a better triptan than Imigran, perhaps there were new patients who would be partial to the characteristics of Imigran.Just as important was what positioning strategy would be the most effective in ? ghting off the attack of Zeneca’s Zomig that Palmer expected to be launched in the U. K. prior to that of Naramig. Palmer had been presented by the marketing team with ? v e positioning strategies for Naramig: 1. Based Segment: Whereby Glaxo would target its marketing efforts toward different patient types. (e. g. , adolescents; elderly; chronic migraine; Imigran/Imitrex nonresponders; and patients who do not tolerate Imigran). Using such a strategy would allow Glaxo to promote Naramig where Imigran was weak to increase market share.At the same time, though, it was not clear as to how the market should be segmented, or how able physicians would be to identify such segments. If in fact physicians had trouble identifying the different patient types, the effect may be to confuse the prescribing process. 2. Distribution Based Segment: Whereby Glaxo would segment the market based on distribution channels. (e. g. , hospitals only; clinics only; private channels; less wealthy areas). Although Glaxo considered this option to be a Case 22 †¢ Benetton †¢ 741 EXHIBIT 6 Sales (? m) 700 600 500 400 300 200 194. 04 100 35 0 8 6054 282. 588 362. 346 539. 4 51 Triptan Revenue 662. 12 671. 797 would have to consider this difference along with the differences in the respective health care systems. Would Glaxo U. S. be successful in using DTC advertising to offer a portfolio of migraine medication to various types of migraine patients, or should the U. S. follow a similar replacement strategy as the U. K. and position Amerge as the best migraine medication available. Glackin considered the same 5 options for Amerge positioning as Palmer had considered 8 ? months earlier for Naramig: 1.Clinical/Patient Based Segmentation 2. Distribution Based Segment 3. An Alternative to Imitrex 4. A Replacement for Imitrex 5. Don’t Launch Amerge at All DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1993 1994 Imigran 1995 1996 Zomig 1997 1998 Naramig market? Glackin had several considerations to keep in mind including the results of the ‘‘Replacement’’ strategy chosen in the U. K. , and the effect of Zomig as a competitor. As was the case in the U. K. , Imitrex had largely de? ned the market for migraine medication and had been quite successful in capturing customers.Glackin also expected that Zomig would be launched in the U. S. prior to that of the approval of Amerge. The U. S. had recently legalized DTC advertising. Glackin 1. Why is GlaxoWellcome introducing a second migraine medication? 2. How should GlaxoWellcome position Naramig in the U. K.? 3. Was the actually chosen strategy (option #4) the best decision? 4. How should GlaxoWellcome position Amerge in the U. S.? C ASE 22 BENETTON COMPANY BACKGROUND Benetton was founded as a single shop in Italy in 1965. Three years later the company expanded into France.Eventually, Benetton spread throughout Europe and by 1979 it was established in the United States. Benetton Group S. p. A is a unique global group that is a part of a larger organization known as the Edizione Holding Group. This is the holding company through which the Benetton family has ownership in many different b usinesses including hotels, publishing, and real estate. The Edizione Holding Group as well as the Benetton Group was founded by the Benetton family, which is made up of four siblings: Luciano, Chairman; Gilberto,Deputy Chairman and Joint Managing Director; Carlo, Director; and Giuliana, Director, who own and run the company as shown in Exhibit 1. Luciano’s son, Alessandro, is also one of the eight Directors. This global Benetton Group specializes in designing and manufacturing of clothing within the textile-apparel sector of industries, and combines this know-how with the strong identity and image of world-leading sports brands that have been incorporated through the acquisition of the Benetton Sportsystem business.These sports brand names are encompassed under the Playlife label and include Rollerblade, Killer Loop, Prince, and Nordica. The clothing sector includes casual and sportswear, consisting of the Sisley, United Colors of Benetton (UCB), and Undercolors of Benetton brands, which are mainly produced and distributed by the Automated Distribution Center in Castrette, Italy, the factory that produces over 90 million items of clothing each year. There are production facilities in France and Spain as well. These ? ished and packaged products are the dominant production category for the company and are distributed directly to the Benetton Group’s 7,000 retail stores located in 120 countries, of which only 55 stores are owned by the company, with the remaining stores independently owned and operated. The second production category for Benetton comprises the sports equipment and performance-wear item and a third category encompasses items such as footwear, bags, and accessories. Benetton’s overall turnover amounts to about 4,000 billion lire.Recently, in 2003, the company initiated an effort to diversify away from its main clothing business by moving to acquire Italian highway operator, Autostrade. This case was prepared by Eunjung Jenny Chun, Juliet Freedman, and Nicole Parker and updated by Sonia Ketkar of the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University under the supervision of Professor Masaaki Kotabe for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective management of a situation described (2003).