ZARA CaseQuest Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ZARA CaseQuest - Assignment Example Using centralized manufacturing, the company has maintained standards within the global arena as products available anywhere exhibit no discrepancies in quality. This has contributed significantly to the high levels of customer satisfaction, leading to customer loyalty. The company continues to maintain customers through ensuring similar levels in product quality, hence assuring customers of quality in Zara products. High quality products have in turn brought high sales placing the company in a global market leadership position. Combinations of other business strategies aimed at strengthening the company position have also had influence in maintaining the company’s position, globally. Business Model (GAP) Gap Company has taken the approach of outsourcing manufacturing in different Asian countries. Outsourcing in these countries aims at utilizing the cheap labor available in Asian countries. The company hopes to reduce production costs through utilization of cheap labor, and ac hieve significant profit margins (George & Bock, 2012). The outsourcing model of manufacturing presents several risks to the business in standardization of numerous business elements. Standardization of products and service delivery becomes extremely difficult for the company to control. This could be attributed to the different manufacturing technologies and management styles available in different countries. In some countries with limited technological advancement, required product standards might be difficult to reach. This method also presents the risk of fake products being introduced into different international markets using the Gap trading name. Gap invests heavily on advertising because of the approach taken in manufacturing. The outsourcing approach could lead into product quality compromise that necessitates intensive advertising, aimed at convincing doubting customers. The intensive advertising conducted by Gap aims at creating product awareness in the different countrie s where the products are available. The availability of the product shall be notified to the customers through advertising. The company shall be able to conduct market analysis aimed at improving distribution channels utilized and creating policies regarding product improvements. The advertising process can also enable the company to effectively undertake competitor analysis, and created a competitive advantage over them. Gap company does not have specific times when new products can be introduced however, most introductions occur during the month of August. The company takes as a trend setter approach, therefore, decisions regarding new products result from market analysis to identify existing gaps. Introduction of new products follows the need to create a unique design, resulting from market research indicating need for such design. The company receives its income through the sales achieved from the subsidiaries. The subsidiary businesses have to undertake internal financial analy sis and establish the profits experienced during a trading period. The profits from different subsidiaries become the company’s income. The subsidiaries must make deductions of all subsidiary expenses incurred before arriving at profit remitted to the parent company as income. The core competency of Gap remains the capability to coordinate diverse manufacturing plants in delivering globally standardized products (Galunic & Rodan, 1998). Diversification in manufacturing locations remains a fundamental core competency for the company. The competitive advantage for Gap remains the utilization of cheap labor in Asian counties,

Effects of Climate Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Effects of Climate Change - Research Paper Example Due to global climate change, areas that used to experience huge amounts of rainfall are now experiencing minimum rainfall such that they are now becoming arid like while at other times rain is falling in excessive amounts, leading to flooding. Low rainfall means that there is not enough clean water for domestic purposes. In such a circumstance, it becomes difficult to maintain hygiene and consequently, diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, dysentery and cholera among others become a health hazard. In addition, malnutrition as a result of withering of crops due to lack of sufficient rainfall is also a health condition, which has been noted to occur in the contemporary world. According to the World Health Organization (2008), â€Å"Malnutrition, much of it caused by periodic droughts, is already responsible for an estimated 3.5 million deaths each year.† Flooding on the other hand, is a condition, which brings as much health calamities as those caused by drought. To begin with, f looding involves having stagnant water in areas that are largely flat in nature. Human beings live in these areas and every time there are floods, they are forced to take refuge on higher grounds, where they live under poor hygienic conditions especially due to lack of facilities such as toilets and latrines to dispose off human waste. In addition, flooding contributes to the mixing of ground and surface water with dirt and other effluent from raw sewerage and this becomes a catastrophe especially in third world countries and other emerging economies, which rely mainly on surface water for drinking and other domestic purposes. This water therefore carries a lot of... This research paper is a critical evaluation of climate change, as a direct consequence of global warming, and its effects on humans and nature. Climate change, as a result of global warming, is an environmental problem, which has emerged in the last 50 years and is projected to worsen significantly in the near future. it is justifiable to imagine the level of damage, which has occurred over the last 100 years. Most notably, scientists have warned that there is a possibility that this temperature will increase by 1.1o C by the end of this century if stern measures are not taken to prevent it. Green house gas emissions such as Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide among others have been credited for the increases in global surface temperatures as a result of their capacity to trap and maintain heat from the sun. It is also mentioned in the research paper that human activities are the major contributing factors to this anthropogenic climate change, which has adverse effects on human h ealth, agriculture and biodiversity. Some of these activities are for example; deforestation, charcoal burning, pollution from industries, all of which increases the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In order to save these important facets of nature, efforts must be made to control the rate at which climate change is occurring. The researcher then concluds that otherwise, the next 100 years will record an extinction of important plant and animal species, which are the surviving blocks for humans.

Nonfunctional Requirements with Data Mining

Nonfunctional Requirements with Data Mining INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The use of software has invaded our daily lives as it enable us to accomplish many tasks especially those which are associated in doing various business processes and in dealing with different business systems. It enables the use of knowledge on both computing and computers to be able to help solve various problems which confront everyday situations. The often most encountered problems encountered in the field of software engineering deals with computers and computing although its underlying causes are not actually on such dimensions, and oftentimes go beyond such. To be able to distinguish a good software engineering program, the following criteria must be accordingly observed: there is quality in what we can recognize but we cannot define; there is fitness of purpose; there is an existence of conformance relative to specifications; it is tied to inherent product characteristics; and it can also be assumed to be dependent on the amount at which the customer is wi lling to pay (Pfleeger Atlee, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the complexities and the complications confronting the businesses nowadays, the requirements for system engineering has been seen to offer a solution. The requirements are the ones which form the basis for planning the development of a system and accepting it on a completion. They can form a basis for project planning, risk management, acceptance testing, trade-off, and change control (Hull et al, 2005). Requirements are meant to specify the specific sets of features which are essential to the software or program. They can either be functional or non-functional. Functional requirements can be defined as the specification of a function that the system must support while non-functional requirements refer to the constraints associated on the operation of the system that is not directly related to a function of the system (Bruegge Duttoit, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In simpler terms, non-functional requirements take into consideration not what the software will do but how the software will do it. It is geared towards a much wider scope as it deals more with the requirements for process rather than just the tools which are necessary for functionality. The researcher agrees to the fact that non-functional requirements are indeed important because they are able to address various issues which are important in the achievement of quality. They are very vital for the success of the system and if they are not properly addressed, the result can be damaged and they can be inconsistent and poor quality, users and customers would end up being dissatisfied, and it can also affect time and cost which are associated with running the system. LITERATURE REVIEW   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most recognized importance of non-functional requirements in software engineering is its capacity to define system properties and constraints. Non-functional requirements can be classified as product requirements, organizational requirements, and external requirements. Product requirements refer to specifications which deal with how a particular product which is delivered should behave in a particular way such as those related to execution speed and reliability. Furthermore, organizational requirements refer to the consequences of the policies and procedures of the organization such as the variety of process standards which are sued as the requirements undergo implementation. Lastly, external requirements are those which arise because of the various factors which are external to the development process and system. The main reason on why non-functional requirements arise because of the needs from the users, budget constraints, and existing policies of th e organizations, there is a need for interoperability with other hardware or software systems, and because of the presence of external factors such as standards for safety (Puntambekar, n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Chung et al (n.d.), software engineering illustrates both pragmatic and systematic alternatives in which we are provided with the ability to to establish software systems of the highest standards and quality with regards to its usage and functionality. It calls for the need of software engineered systems to be modifiable, accurate, and secured which are some of the indications of a high performing software system. However, they are very subjective making them a hard subject for the purpose of evaluation. The system typically interacts with each other making their functions affect the general system and therefore it also affects the entire system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Non-functional requirements are also being characterized for being hard to deal with as compared with functional requirements primarily because their impact is not generally localized to only a specific part of the system. Instead, it involves the entire system. The various changes with functional requirements in software will also inevitably affect the non-functional requirements. An effective software architecture evaluation is often the tool which is used to be able to deal with the numerous impacts of non-functional requirements (Aurum Wohlin, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data mining can be considered as one of the important aspect of software system and of software engineering. Data mining involves solving data problems which already exist in the software particularly referring to the process of discovering patterns in the data. The process should be either automatic or semi-automatic and it should be present in substantial quantities to be able to reap the maximum benefits out of these existing data (Witten Frank, 2005). It can be aptly defined as â€Å"extracting or mining knowledge from large amounts of data† (Han Kamber,2006). It can be actually treated as the process of mining knowledge from existing data and not the other way around. The process of data mining could include the following procedures: data cleaning, data integration, data selection, data transformation, data mining, pattern evaluation, and knowledge presentation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data mining activities are some of the practices executed by organizations, especially among software engineers, to be able to improve software quality and productivity. Data mining in the field of software engineering ahs recently emerged because it ahs been recognized among industries that such is needed in order to increase the abundance of data and they are also helpful in solving different types of real-world problems. Data mining algorithms are by being increasingly used in different software engineering tasks to be able to improve the productivity of the system or the software. These algorithms can be able to help engineers to what code locations must be changed when another code location is changed. Data mining in the field of software engineering can be done in the series of the following procedures: collection or investigation of software engineering data; determining software engineering tasks; pre-processing of data; adapting or developing algorithm wh ich will be executed for mining; and post processing or application of mining results (Xie 1t al, 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The non-functional requirements in data mining could come from the operating environment, the users, and the competitive products. In the operating environment, data can be affected by the system which is used in supporting the process. It poses problem on how the software will work towards establishing dynamic data architecture. Furthermore, users are also behind the non-functional requirements for data mining in software engineering primarily because they control a big fraction of the entire program and they are the ones who completely understand the attributes of the system. Lastly, the existence of competitive alternatives affects the non-functional requirements because of their features which generally affect the quality of the system (Malan Bredemeyer, n.d.) RESEARCH QUESTIONS:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to properly carry out the purpose of the research, that is to provide an insight on the various non-functional requirements which exist with regards to data mining, the study will attempt to answer various research questions which will form foundation of the research and which will form the backbone of the study. The research questions which the researcher will attempt to shed light to will include: What is the nature of non-functional requirements in software engineering and how they are different with functional requirements with regards to the extent of use and practice in the general industry? What are the examples of non-functional requirements in data mining? How are these non-functional requirements in data mining addressed by the software engineers of today? Are they addressed effectively? What does the future of requirements analysis in the field of software engineering hold for the non-functional requirements in software engineering? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be able to successfully carry out the purpose of this research, the researcher will employ an exploratory research design wherein the primary objective of the study will be the provision of insights into and comprehension of the topic at hand. The research will be qualitative in nature, which will take into account significant data and previous researches which are related to the topic rather than dealing with quantitative techniques of research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In carrying out a qualitative research, the researcher will make use of widely available secondary data and literature from credible sources such as books, scholastic articles, academic journals, credible websites, and other reputable sources which will provide the researcher with additional information regarding the non-functional requirements of data mining in the field of software engineering. Because of the very nature of the topic, first hand information will be quite hard to obtain that is why second hand information will be preferred for this study. Widely available references will provide significant researches which have been previously done and will be geared towards shedding light to the topic. It must be however understood that although the topic is limited to data mining in software engineering, where the researcher finds its niche against other works, resources and references regarding software engineering in general will also be sued in order to pro vide a general perspective of the topic at hand. RESEARCH PLANNING   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To successfully finish the paper and generate significant findings, there will be a pre-determined time-frame which will include all the activities which will be related to the completion of this research. In the first weeks of conducting the study, the researcher will focus into redefining or reshaping the fundamentals of the research given that some modifications can be eyed. However, since the topic seems to be good enough as an area of study in the field of software engineering, the succeeding weeks of the research will be focused towards extensive research which shall form the big part of the entire paper. Since the researcher decided to make use of secondary sources widely available, much of the time will be spent browsing through books and other reputable sources to gain more idea regarding the topic. Once the information needed has already been enough and sustainable to support the researchers claim and to give answers to the research questions earlier ide ntified, writing the general research based on a previously outlined structure will commence which will be followed with subsequent proof reading and revisions which will ensure that the work is fully furnished before finally submitting the work and the final presentation of the research. REFERENCES: Aurum, Aybuke, Wohlin, Claes, (2005). Engineering and Managing Software Requirements. Sweden: Springer Bruegge, Bernd., Duttoit, Allen (2010). Object-oriented Software Engineering. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson Education Inc. Chung, L., Nixon, B., Yu, E., Mylopoulos, J. (n.d.). Non-functional Requirements in Software Engineering. Han, Jiawei., Kamber, Michelin (2006). Data Mining Concepts and Techniques. Elsevier: USA Hull, Elizabeth., Jackson, Ken., Dick, Jeremy, (2005). Requirements Engineering. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Springer Malan, Ruth, Bredemeyer, Dana, (n.d.). Defining Non-functional Requirements. Bredemeyer Consulting Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence., Atlee, Joanne (2006). Software Engineering: Theory and Practuce. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Puntambekar, A. A. (n.d.). Software Engineering. Technical Publications Pune Witten, Ian., Frank, Eibe (2005). Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques. USA: Elsevier Xie, Tao., Thummalapenta, Suresh., Lo, David., Liu, Chao (2009). Data Mining for Software Engineering

Marriage as Slavery in Middlemarch Essay -- Eliot Middlemarch Essays

Marriage as Slavery in Middlemarch One of George Eliot's challenges in Middlemarch is to depict a sexually desirous woman, Dorothea, within the confines of Victorian literary propriety. The critic, Abigail Rischin, identifies the moment that Dorothea's future husband, Ladislaw, and his painter-friend see her alongside an ancient, partially nude statue of the mythic heroine, Ariadne, in a museum in Rome as the key to Eliot's sexualization of this character. Ariadne is, in the sculpture, between her two lovers. Theseus, whom she helped to escape from her father's labyrinth in Crete has already left her, while the jubilant God, Bacchus, her next lover, has yet to arrive. "By invoking the silent visual rhetoric of ancient sculpture," writes Rischin, "George Eliot is able to represent the erotic female body far more explicitly than Victorian conventions of... language would permit... By juxtaposing the statue with Dorothea, Eliot displays Dorothea's erotic potential." Here, Eliot uses an allusion to another typ e of narrative to fully illustrate her own heroine, and empower her with emotions that Victorian women were not supposed to possess.    Later, Eliot, the novel's omnicient narrator, uses a parabol to explain her theory of perspectivism. She compares the self-centered characters of her creation to candels, who all see "concentric" patterns of events ("scratches," in the parabol) develop around themselves because their vision ("light") only extends so far in every direction; not because, as they think, events revolve around them (ch 27). J. Hillis Miller, in "Optic and Semiotic in 'Middlemarch,'" explains the etymolgy of the word "parable," a word which Eliot herself uses in the midst of telling i... ...e institutionalized. --May West    Bibliography Bogdanor, Vernon, The People and the Party System, London: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Eagleton, Terry, "George Eliot: Ideology and Literary Form," in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck. Eliot, George, Middlemarch, Great Britain: Penguin, 1994. Graner, Suzanne, "Organic Fictions," in in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck. Miller, J. Hillis, "Narrative and History," in ELH (English Literary History), vol. 41 (1974). pp. 455-473. Miller, J. Hillis, "Optic and Semiotic in Middlemarch," in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck. Morgan, Kenneth O. (Ed.), The Oxford Popular History of Britain, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1993. Rischin, Abigail S., "Ekphrasis, Narrative and Desire in Middlemarch," in PMLA, vol. 111. pp. 1121-1132.   

Functions of Management Essay

Most businesses are guided through some type of philosophy that may increase in profit and to ensure the business success and growth according to (Bateman & Snell 2007). This paper will demonstrate the following four functions of management; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. These types of functions must be performed by the management teams depending on the level of industry, title or the amount of obligations or task within the company. The four types of functions will define the roles and responsibility of each team. This paper will explain those four functions and how they currently apply in my workplace. First function is planning, this type defines as being able to set some type of goal or deciding the course of action, it is developing rules and regulations, developing plans on both the organizations and people that actually work in it as well as forecasting on what the future holds for the company. For example, in my current company that I work for Vynapse LLC, I was recently promoted to become the new Project Manager. The company just recently moved its biggest account from one of our locations in Windsor to our Napa office. As a Project Manager it is my responsibility to ensure that the process of the move on this account will run smoothly as it can be and to ensure that this happens I will need game plan to get this account into our building. This is just an example of what a planning function would be. Second function is organizing, this type defines the identity of the jobs that are required to be done, which means hiring the right team, being able to establish departments and delegating or pushing authorities to subordinates and establishing communication according to (Bateman & Snell 2007). As a Project Manager moving this account to our facility, I now have the responsibility to hire an entire crew for operations for instance, developing a whole department of Inventory, Customer Service and a warehouse team. As a Project Manager I would need to be organized and ensure all these steps happen in a timely manner especially having a deadline of when the move will take place. Third function is leading, this type of defines on influencing other people to ensure the job gets done, it is maintaining morale, managing conflict and the key as always is communication. As the new Project Manager it is my role to be that example or have that leadership to show my team that I am able to managed this account and that the process will run smoothly without it having to fall through the cracks. The key to leading is having that communication with my team members especially for the new team I will be hiring. I want to be that example and show that I am able to do the job in a timely fashion. Fourth function is controlling, this type defines the performance standards. No matter how the project can be really difficult, I still have to set standards for every task. As a Project Manager, I have to be sure that I set standards and ensure that for any performance that may happen during the process of the movement to our location that I may be able to solve any of the issues that may come towards me. Learning to have the control in the workplace is such an important aspect because you always want to set that goal or that standard towards your fellow employees or coworkers. In closing, â€Å"Controlling Function of Managment,† 2011 management is such an important role in the business world. Understanding the key roles of each function of planning, organizing, leading and controlling will help an individual to become a better manager. As a new Project Manager to the company, it is very challenging, but at the same time understanding or knowing these four function has helped me to ensure that the account that is being transferred to our location will help me to become a good manager. References Management: The New Competitive Landscape (7th ed.) T.S. Bateman and S.A. Snell McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007 New York, NY. Controlling Function of Managment. (2011). All about economics, (1), 5. Retrieved from http://www.sayeconomy.com/controlling-function-of-management/

Philip Morris Essay

1.How would you describe Marlboro’s competitive position in early 1993? Marlboro, the leading cigarette brand for Philip Morris, was the dominant player in the premium priced market. While RJR was the second largest player in the market, RJR’s cigarette brands were fragmented. At the end of 1992, Marlboro had 24.4% unit market share, while each of the RJR brand cigarettes had less than 7% market share. Philip Morris, at 53% operating contribution margin, was significantly more profitable than RJR, at 34% operating contribution margin. Marlboro was essentially backed by the biggest, most profitable player – Philip Morris. Philip Morris was also the consistent market share leader, at least since 1988, over RJR and other much smaller companies. The industry had sustained profitability over time. There we can conclude that there are significant barriers to entry in the cigarette market. Additionally, the need for a strong distribution network with retailers and wholesalers added to the barriers to entry into the market. Threat Discussed on more detail later, Marlboro was facing stuff competition in the 90s from discount brands, particularly RJR brands. While Marlboro, a premium brand, suffered a steadily declining market share since 1989, discount brands were quickly gaining market share. 2.What is Marlboro’s marketing strategy at this time? Marlboro positioned itself as a premium brand cigarette. While it played in the discount segment as well, it was second to RJR brands in the discount segment. Marlboro spent a significant amount of money in advertising and promotions to command its premium pricing. Marlboro became synonymous with Iconic imagery such as the â€Å"Marlboro man† and wild western country images. This led to Marlboro’s strong hold amongst young men. Marlboro outspent its competitors in advertising – spending $3.5 million per percent market share in 1992, compared to $2.1 million spend per percent market share by RJR. (RJR was focused on the discount segment by 1992) Marlboro also used its market power to engage in â€Å"Trade loading†, essentially forcing retailers to forward buy and to stock up on Marlboros just before a price increase. This probably encouraged retailers to allocate more shelf space to Marlboro to get their inventories moving from their warehouses. 3.How does this compare to R.J. Reynolds? RJR focused on its discount brand. RJR had built it self to the discount segment market share leader with 33% discount segment share by 1992. RJR carried about 200 brands under its umbrella. While they had national brands, they also created individual brands for each retailer, resulting in a string distribution system. This was probably well received by the retailers since a cigarette was one of the most profitable products sold in stores. RJR not only cut price to increase discount market share, but also invested in price promotions. Their growth in the 90s had come by taking market share from premium brands during a recessionary period. 4.What accounts for Philip Morris’ dramatic shift in strategy in April 1993? What are its goals? 6. What kind of industry future does Philip Morris anticipate? Market shift (Consumer behavior and regulation) The 1990’s was a recessionary period in the US. While cigarette smokers were believed to be loyal to their brands (and are generally very sticky consumers), there was a marked shift in the emergence of discount brands. In a span of 11 years (1981- 1992), the market share for discount brands in the US went from 0 to 30%. Meanwhile, Marlboro was steadily loosing market share, loosing 2 market share percentage points from 1989 to 1992. Additionally, the regulatory climate was putting an upward pressure on price. While government taxes were on the rise, restrictions on advertising of cigarettes were emerging, both of which made selling cigarettes more expensive. It can be argued that with the rising awareness amongst consumer on the hazards of smoking this upward pressure on price from a regulatory perspective would persist in the medium term. RJR Phillp Morris was also presumably worried about the aggressive price cuts and promotions by RJR to increase its market share. Goals of Philip Morris Strategy Philip Morris needed a aggressive competitive response to tacklethe threats of: declining market share, increasing share of discount brands, regulation, and RJR’s promotions and price cuts. They decided to aggressively attack the existing discount brands and make the Philip Morris brand significantly more price competitive. Philip Morris effectively cut price by 20%, creating 2 tiers of cigarette pricing (from 3 tiers before). Their premium products were now significantly more competitive, compared with the discount brands due to their reduced price and existing strong brand image. Philip Morris were betting that a large portion of consumers would compare their premium product as price competitive with the discount brands, and would chose Marlboro due to its superior brand image and comparable prices. They essentially wanted to win the pricing game and lead with their brand. Surprisingly, they slightly increased the price of their discount brand by a mere 6 cents. This was probably to restrict the range in which the pricing war could be played by other players. Industry Outlook for Philip Morris Surely with the consumer behavior shift and the increasingly hostile regulatory climate described above, Philip Morris views the industry margins becoming thinner and realizes it will get progressively harder to get new consumers. Therefore attracting heavy smokers becomes key for growth and long term profitability. Additionally, Marlboro views the market as price sensitive, especially for heavy smokers. Attracting and retaining this segment is not only a branding game but also a pricing game as well since there is a high frequency of repeat purchases. 5.How should R.J. Reynolds respond? In my opinion, RJR needs to â€Å"make good† (option 3 below) with Philip Morris. The three options for RJR are: Fight with a further price cut or increase in advertising: not only will this option further erode industry margins, but also RJR will probably get crushed in a price/advertising war against the much larger and more efficient Philip Morris. Do nothing: and risk loss of its discount market share dominance to Philip Morris. Price increase (â€Å"make good†): Philip Morris is clearly signaling that it will play aggressively in the discount segment, and in the war for consumers moving or likely to move to the discount segment. With a slight price increase, RJR can signal to Philip Morris that it does not want to engage in a further price war, and it will maintain industry profitability. Such collaborative behavior is probably best for both players in the industry. Additionally, since RJR has a strong distribution with personalized brands for retail outlets, it should focus on building its capability in such brands. The localized brands are arguably a slightly different turf than only fighting the game as big national brands (where Marlboro is very strong with its dominant brand imagery), and local retail branding is RJRs stronghold.