British American Tobacco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

British American Tobacco - Essay Example It is documented that the company was formed in 1902 by joining Imperial Tobacco Company of United Kingdom with American Tobacco Company of USA. The resulting company was then referred to as the British-American Tobacco Company Ltd. The name later changed to British American Tobacco plc which immediately began earnest diversification in countries all over the world except the United Kingdom and USA, the parent countries. This essay attempts to present a critical appraisal of the strategies adopted by BAT since 2003, an analysis of its environment of operation as well as an evaluation of its potential to remain a major player in the global tobacco business. There is also a brief conclusion given at the end of the essay. Since the year 2003, British American Tobacco Company put in place significant strategic initiatives which saw it grow from a regional company to a global conglomerate. To attain its current status, BAT employed a myriad of strategies. At the outset, the tobacco company decided to grow organically by increasing its market share in existing markets and also through entering new markets. This strategy required BAT to increase its market penetration in the tobacco industry while at the same time observing cost efficiency. Interestingly enough, organic growth was reportedly very successful though with enormous cost implications. To this effect, BAT managed to increase organic sales volumes of its four main brands namely Dunhill, Kent, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike (as cited in Lee and Collin, 2006). Additionally, these top brands are reported to have seen an increase of 8% in volumes in 2003 as indicated in Lee and Collin (2006) with further expectations of even better performance in 2005. This projection in growth by volume was indicative of some organic growth especially in the face of difficult situations in some key markets (Lee and Collin, 2006). On the other hand, to enhance its diversification programme, British American Tobacco went into partnership with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company on 11 June 2006 to manufacture Camel brand of cigarettes in Sweden. This marked part of the company's strategy of growth through careful acquisitions as well as some organic growth and share exchanges in the long term to realise high single figure earnings (Glantz, 2000). For this reason financially attractive mergers and acquisitions were concluded in close succession to provide BAT with growth opportunities. A land mark acquisition came in 2003 when BAT acquired Ente Tabacchi Italiani, Italy's state tobacco company, thereby elevating BAT to the number two slot in Italy. This acquisition had come on the heels of an earlier one of Rothmans International in 1999 which had some presence in Burma (Glantz, 2000). Finally, in 2008 BAT acquired Turkey's state-owned cigarette maker Tekel (as cited in Glantz, 2000). In my commends about organic growt h for BAT, its veracious appetite for market penetration raised a lot of criticism from human rights groups particularly with the Rothmans International hence forcing BAT to sell its share of the factory in 2003 purportedly after an exceptional request from the British government (Mackey, Mackey and Barney, 2007). Advertising and promotion also marked another strategy employed by BAT since 2003. This strategy was

Poverty in america Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poverty in america - Essay Example Conservatives tend to focus on the poor, suggesting their behaviors are the cause of their poverty. Liberals, on the other hand, believe that poverty is created through social problems that cannot be solved by focusing on an individual. Poverty is a social issue and both liberals and conservatives have strong opinions on the topic. Liberal Point of View In their book on the welfare system and the aspects of social policies that have inadequately approached understanding the problem of poverty, Joel Handler and Yeheskel Hasenfeld suggest that the biggest problem with the system is that it is perpetually built upon a structure of myths that do not accurately represent the problem within the United States. The pervasive policy that causes the worst decision making is that through getting if the impoverished would just get a job, the impoverished state of a family would be improved. This policy does not take into consideration the low wages of most positions that are available without a college education, the cost of providing a roof, and most importantly, the lack of jobs and the impermanence of low paying jobs within the United States (Handler and Hasenfeld 4). This theory does not take into account that there are not enough jobs for the labor force. The liberal point of view embraces the idea that being poor is a state that comes from circumstance, many of which are out of the control of the individual. This point of view recognizes that poverty affects lives and that not having adequate shelter, food, or resources for health perpetuates a problem that may never be rectified even if those things are provided due to the economic state of the nation. Handler and Hasenfeld argue that one of the problems with defining poverty in the United States is the assumption that attaining a state above the federally defined poverty line means that a family is adequately supported through their own means. However, this is not often the case. The elements that go into to determ ining the concept of the poverty line are ’deeply flawed’, providing an inaccurate picture of the struggle of financial insecurity within the United States (Handler and Hasenfeld 5). In exploring the liberal point of view, there are many aspects to discuss, but the argument that Handler and Hasenfeld have made about the myths upon which public policy has been built appears to support the basic liberal viewpoint about poverty. People have needs, whether or not they can work. Hunger, according to FRAC (Food Research and Action Center) affects 50.2 million people who are living in food insecure households, with 23.2% of all children not eating on a regular basis. Social support is not about defrauding the taxpayer through welfare, but in trying to find a way to support the needs of people who are starving and in need of basic services for which the state of the economy cannot provide. Incidentally Conservative Point of View One of the stronger theories from the conservati ve point of view which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s on the poor is that of behavioral poverty. Behavioral poverty is based upon the concept that certain behaviors, primarily three behaviors, contribute to the state of poverty. The behaviors that lead to overcoming poverty are â€Å"completing high school, once an adult, get married and stay married (even if not on the first try), and stay employed, even at a wage and under conditions below their ultimate aims†