North and South

At the onset of the American Civil War, following the secession of the South from the Union to create the Confederate States of America, the North and South were two completely different worlds in terms of their way of life. Simply put, each region had a different goal for itself, had moved in a very different direction over the past 100 years since the end of the Revolutionary period. When the Civil War began in 1861 the two armies that would meet in battle after battle throughout the turbulent, bloody years of the Civil War were as different as any two groups could be, despite the fact that they were from the same country, in terms of their geography, their politics, and their military, all of which were contributing factors in the ultimate outcome of the war itself. The geography of the two regions of the United States can be linked to perhaps the major difference in terms of the two sides. In the North, where climates were colder, summer’s were shorter, and the productivity of small farming was low, industrialization became a major part of their way of life. People in the north mostly lived in towns or cities, and their livelihoods depended on going to work everyday at a factory or within some industry. They were used to taking orders and fulfilling them on a deadline. In the South, with their warm climate and long growing seasons, farming became a way of life. They lived an agrarian lifestyle, and therefore became more independent in terms of their views and thoughts. They had never had to answer to someone telling them what to do in the way that factory workers in the North did, which led to free-thinking and a sense of strong-willed independence. Their geography affected the way they thought and felt about themselves, and this would be an extremely important factor in the Civil War. The political climates of each region were affected by the types of mind sets that each group developed because of their ways of life. In the North, the prevailing idea was to create a strong and centralized federal government that would supercede any of the politics of the individual states. The view was that the federal government would have to be stronger than the states so that the country could create a higher power, so to speak, in government that would establish rules, regulations, and laws that all states had to abide by. Basically, the North wanted the government to be a mini-version of working for a business in the North–people not questioning the decisions of the federal government, and instead simply obeying. This idea went against everything the agrarian, independent South stood for. Besides the institution of slavery, the issues went much deeper as southerners felt that only a local, state government could really know the issues and problems for their individual states, and only a state government was best to deal with it. The secession from the Union to create the Confederate States of America just prior to the Civil War is a perfect example of how serious the South was about this. Militarily, the North and the South were very different as well. The North had three-times the population of the South, which meant many more soldiers to help the Union cause if the war was long and drawn out. In the North people were used to taking orders and blindly following them; in the South, people were much more independent-minded. The North also had one major advantage, the fact that they were industrialized and could quickly open and run factories to supply the army with any necessities, including arms and ammunition. This created a major divide in the two armies, that would end in a Union victory. The North and South were two completely different places, despite the fact they resided in the same borders. Their differences were too large to overcome without a war, and the Civil War was the cumulation of the politic and social bickering that had been happening for years. It is hard to imagine the South winning in light of so much stacked against them, and the North was simply better prepared due to their way of life and their industry to fight a long-standing war. Works Cited Nelson, Rebecca, ed. The Handy History Answer Book. Detroit: Invisible Ink, 1999. 105-110.

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group Series Essay

1. Why have Dr. Doll’s comments precipitated a crisis? Because of the assumption â€Å"perception is everything†. Dr Doll would have to manage the immediate crisis due to this concept. People will afraid of fiberglass from the moment they heard that fiberglass is also carcinogenic as asbestos but it is appear less carcinogenic if compared with asbestos. The word â€Å"asbestos† which comes out from Dr Doll’s lip has created an atmosphere of worry among the stakeholders and reporters who attended the symposium. This is because asbestos was once a material banned from manufacturing 2. Does Manville have another asbestos on its hands? In your judgment, who or what was responsible for the asbestos disaster? No, Manville has actually not producing asbestos, It was the press or media to create an perception in public that fiberglass is actually a man-made asbestos. Thanks you Dr Doll’s comparison on asbestos and fiberglass, now Manville is facing with disaster. Manville should responsible since at that moment asbestos was actually a dangerous material to be used but Manville or the asbestos manufacturer was keeping to conceal the fact. This action was then known to the public and caused Manville to receive pressure from the stakeholder and filed for bankruptcy. 3. What should Manville’s senior managers do in view of Anderson’s news? Be sure to consider the following: a. Should they communicate with anyone? Who? What? How? When? Manville’s senior should held a meeting not only among the CEOs but also with its employee in order to discuss the crisis. They can plan to discuss about the solution to be used or suggestion which will return the truth of fiberglass to Manville. A communication established is essential in creating a link and understanding between the workers and the top manager. Manville’s top manager should communicate as soon as possible once they heard of Anderson’s news since they have no much time to be wasted so that they can carry on with other plan which is essential in rebuilding the reputation of Manville. b. Should they scale back or exit the fiberglass business? This decision should be made by depends on the circumstance but it is not arguable that information flies faster in modern days. The top level of Manville should expect that the news was known to public at the time they do a meeting in the morning. Later on if they found that fiberglass is also giving less profit or the protest of public onto the production of fiberglass was too hard to be explained. Then they are better to exit the fiberglass. However if the major problem was only on to the cost or salary problem, Manville could try to scale back by firing some employee who they think deserve to be fired but sometimes firing might not the best way to ensure a company’s survival instead it will make the company looks selfish. c. Should they modify the fiberglass MSDS or label? How? In terms of moral and also business ethic they should modify MSDS. Previously, Manville’s MSDS only labeled itch-scratch, but actually it was believed that fiberglass is causing cancer, So Manville should add additional info into the label but at the same time this label maybe will makes consumer unwilling to purchase fiberglass product. Therefore ,Manville can only keeping MSDS but they could seek for some other way else to regain trust from the public towards fibreglass

Dsdds

Travis Hunter RL 201 Professor Lauer 11 October 2013 Page 137 Response Sikhnet. com is a website that deals with Just about everything that a Sikh needs to know. In addition, it's a good website for those who are not Sikh's to gain more knowledge about this particular religion. The website contains a great amount of news, past and present about the Sikh religion. Furthermore, it includes blogs where people can talk to each other about the Sikh religion online as well as the Sikh calendar.There are many audio clips as well as quite a few video clips for the visual learner. They thoroughly explain what meditation is and they explain how one would go about meditating. The website includes lectures in case one is looking to practice their religion or if one is Just curious to learn about this unique religion. In addition, the website includes a radio as well as a link to where you can purchase CD's and DVD's. The site even includes mobile apps so that you can have easy access on a martph one.I was very surprised that the website even includes a link called â€Å"Sikh Matrimonials† where Sikh's can enter their information and look for a significant other that is also a Sikh. An event calendar is also available so that they always know what is going on with the Sikh religion. They also make the site kid friendly by having a bunch of different mint-games. Overall, the site essentially has everything that one needs to know about the Sikh religion.

Why is successful change management difficult to achieve What factors Essay

Why is successful change management difficult to achieve What factors would be most likely to lead to success - Essay Example Organizational personnel oppose the introduction of any sort of change for different reasons; change can alter the hierarchy of positions and induce fundamental shifts in the distribution of power, thus raising concerns among the already powerful workers. Change brings changes in the way work is done while the workers are accustomed to doing things in the traditional way. Changing the way they work seems odd because they are not used to it. Change can require the workers to display new set of skills that they might not already have. Every worker is educated, trained, and skilled to a certain extent and displaying skills beyond that requires further education and training. This becomes even more daunting for the workers when they have to afford the expenses of improving their skills themselves and the organization does not provide for them financially to upgrade their skills. Besides, motivating the workers is one of the most important challenges in front of the management. Within the context of an already existing system, it might be possible to keep the workers motivated. However, when change is implemented, workers come up with new concerns and develop different kinds of needs, thus making it difficult for the management to address those needs and keep a highly motivated workforce. Factors that play an important role in making change management successful in an organization include but are not limited to demonstration of the need for change to the workers, communication between management and workers, training of the workers, and the anticipated positive outcomes of change both for the workers and the organization as a whole. Management assumes the main role in making change management successful since most of these factors are under the control of management. The management should start the process of change management by briefing the workers about the need for change. This can be achieved by calling the workers upon a meeting and telling them what issues an d challenges that organization faces under the current circumstances, and what possible measures can be taken in order to help the organization deal with those challenges successfully. Many a times, management tends to assume that workers understand the organization’s challenges whereas in reality, that is not the case. Workers do need to be shown the true picture as the management sees it, so that they consent with the management that a change needs to be made. After demonstrating the need for change, management should tell the workers what changes in the hierarchy of the power distribution would be made, what technological components would be added to the present system, what skills would the workers need to display, and how they can get those skills. The management should arrange training sessions for the workers either in-house or by rendering the services of an internal trainer. It is imperative that the management upgrades the skills of the workers according to the need s of the changed system to motivate the workers to cooperate with the management in implementing the change. Finally, management needs to closely supervise the workers and resolve any interpersonal issues that are encountered because of the implementation of the change. A potential example of successful change management is British Airways. It all started with the recruitment of a new chairperson in 1981 who noticed the inefficiency of the company and the wastage of valuable resources. So he decided to restructure British Airways to make its business more profitable. The best way realized by him to achieve this was with the help of a change methodology management plan (Faucheux and Scheid,

Nuclear Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Nuclear Power - Essay Example In addition, nuclear power provides steady electricity that significantly helps in the reduction of frequent power outages usually experienced in areas with no nuclear energy. The alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectricity, geothermal, wave, and tidal power lacks the capacity to deliver reliable and cheap power the world needs (McLeish, 2007). Hence, the world and humanity can no longer overlook nuclear power due to its potential to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Besides, accidents that are associated with nuclear energy are relatively low compared to those resulting from fossil fuels and other energy sources. In addition, nuclear power is more consistent and dependable compared to several alternative sources of energy. It is obviously difficult to use water or wind power consistently because quite often there is no enough water or wind (McLeish, 2007). Solar panels can also be too expensive. Lastly, nuclear energy is arguably the alternative of fossil fuel. Continuous use of fossil fuels could result in more global warming and more deaths, particularly when they are eventually used up. In summary, nuclear power is the best energy option for the world because it is safe, consistent, reliable, and reduces carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Hence, it should be a way to go as the next source of energy or an alternative of fossil

Different forms of paternalism Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Different forms of paternalism - Coursework Example Paternalism is not a mere construct that was used to subdue the Black race so as the Whites would take advantage of them since they were views as the weaker race. A move by the Blacks to fight for their rights does not justify that Blacks are unruly and must be controlled and supervised by the Whites. (Hopper, 1988). Â  The view on paternalism materializes in Colors in both a positive and a negative way. In the film Colors, the concept of paternalism is well presented by Dennis Hopper. In the film, gang culture is evident. Hopper (1998) presents the Black and Latino youth gangs fighting each other and with the police. The attempts to control the gang problems present a clear evidence of racist and paternalistic assumptions by the Whites. In this context one would argue that paternalism is required so as to control the gang issues. For instance, in the scene where a family is offloading beach stuff, and are suddenly attacked by a gang of people that are shirtless, in bandannas, sungl asses and in the hairnets (Hopper, 1988). Even after the man attempts to protect himself, the gang stabs him. The scene on the White Fence neighborhood explains on the needs for paternalism to control the Blacks and their gang issues as we see a kid spray painted on the face and confrontations begin (Hopper, 1988). It is essential to note, nonetheless, that not all the outbreaks of violence in the film are Black and gang related. In line with this thought, therefore, paternalism is disqualified.

Evaluation of the strategy of undertaken role-play Essay

Evaluation of the strategy of undertaken role-play - Essay Example As this was the first discipline after the company's introduction of Dignity at Work programme, utmost care was taken not to punish any employee without proper reason. The decision had to be made after considering the situation of such an incident, the character and the employment record of the accused. Role-play decided the existence of the employees in the company and their other increments. As a manager I had to make sure both the employees were given chance to express their opinion and the reason for such incident. The strategy of analyzing the employee's record was a commendable action, since it helped in analyzing the reason for the problem and also to know about the character of the employee. (Dubrin, 2008). The company has been supportive to its employees in all the situations and the decisions were made to suit the needs of the employees. This issue was handled by keeping in mind that it should not happen again. The strategy of examining the employee record helped in knowing that the employee's record is clear and he has not made such mistakes before. The major aim of the strategy was to make a decision depending on the employee's response. The strategy of the role-play was selected after analyzing the employee's future and the company's rules and regulations. The main idea of the strategy was to include the members from the human resource team. ... The strategy was planned in such a way that the employee was given a chance to explain the situation and to satisfy the members in the role-play. If he was found to be innocent the matter would be solved by simply interacting with both the employees. If the employee was found to be rude and does not accept his fault, the action has to be taken according to the discipline at work programme. As a manager I had to ensure that the discipline at work programme and its rules had to be maintained. In any case the company's policies had to be respected and the employees had to be treated according to the company's norms. The strategy included the interaction in the discipline interview. Since the decision was based on the employee's behavior at the time of the interview, the management did not have any idea how to resolve the issue. The interview was conducted according to the planned strategy. The planned strategy included the analyzing of employee's behavior and his approach towards the management's intervention with this problem. The interview was held with the employees, a union member and the important people of the management. According to the strategy, the interaction started with John explaining the reason for such behavior. During the interview the management was able to find that Norman had already been rude to John and this was an outcome of the torture that John experienced for a couple of months. The strategy was planned in such a way that the employees had to interact with the management and explain the reason for the incident.(Dubrin, 2008). The strategy of permitting John to accept his mistake and apologize was a sensible idea, as this will help in resolving the issue immediately. Another important aspect of the strategy was to take

Secondary study on any current public health issue - Obesity Statistics Project

Secondary study on any current public health issue - Obesity - Statistics Project Example If found at the beginning, one should take care of his/health by reducing the weight by taking less calorific food and doing aerobic exercises / yoga regularly. From all the above tables and chart, it is concluded that the White non-hispanic youths are less obese (Mean BMI=23.49) compared to Hispanic group youths (Mean BMI=27.56) or black non-hispanic group youths (Mean=34.95). The black non-hispanic groups are over obese compared to their counterparts in Hispanic or white non-hispanic groups. The ANOVA is also showing highly significant F value which indicates that there is a very highly significant difference in BMI between the three ethnic groups. The correlation coefficient between white non Hispanic and black non Hispanic is positive and significant at 1% and 5% levels, the correlation coefficients between Hispanic and white non-hispanic is positive and significant at 5% level only where as there is no correlation between black non-hispanic and Hispanic

Getting Interactive Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Getting Interactive Research - Essay Example Moreover, exercises that focus in problem solving and group discussion are crucial in integrative learning tools. This essay focuses on the reasons why interactive approach is essential in training adults. Interactive learning is grounded on the principles of adult learning theory, which emphasize on the need for active involvement of learners in the learning process. According to Trotter (2006), adults appreciate training approaches that allows them to perform tasks such as solving their own problems or training others through sharing of experiences. Adult learning theories focus regarding the ways in which adults learn new skills or acquire information. The adult learning theory, which was developed by Malconlm, Knowles, and Jane Vella, shows that adults prefer learning approaches that enable them to share life experiences and integrate them in the learning process. Interaction is a process that can be created and enhanced. This is done through activities such as scavenger hunt, ro le-play, case analysis, virtual laboratory, and introduction of learning game in the learning process. Such activities encourage learners to find knowledge that is applicable to a given topic and use it in problem solving. Moreover, interactive learning encourages learners to develop novel perspectives, which they can use in their work places. A number of principles govern adult learning process. The principles emphasize on the significance of interactive learning process. For effective learning, adults require to be respected. Moreover, adults prefer a learning process that enables them to realize immediate practicality of learning. Another principle that governs adult learning is creation of a safe learning environment. Another principle that is essential in adult learning is the level of engagement. Adults learn best when actively involved. According to Merriam (2011), interactive learning should be relevant and applicable to real life situations. Therefore, interactive learning process is should meet the above principles for it to be essential. Malcolm Knowles adult learning theory discourages use of teacher-centered models in teaching adults. His theory promotes training strategies that relate to the learners experiences. This increases the relevancy of the concepts making it easy for the adult learners to conceptualize different concepts. Knowles theory consents that interactive learning engages the learners encouraging them to be explorative other than knowledge recipients, which enhances discoveries. Activeness characterizes interactive learning and encourages learners to apply their skills instead of memorizing information. Jarvis (2004) argues that activeness is essential since adults are able to retain knowledge when they learn through application or if they are engaged in discovering the content. Unlike the traditional teacher centered training approach which equipped students with skills to enable them pass tests, learner centered adult training a pproach enables student retain the knowledge. This essential since it enables learners to apply the knowledge acquired in class in the real world. Jack Meziro theory of transformative learning identifies reflection as crucial in enhancing learning. Therefore, interaction is essential in ensuring that the learning process results in direct effects such as acquisition of competency and changed

Essay depends on "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere"

Depends on "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" - Essay Example Packer’s characters also learned to change their perceptions in relation to the people and the world with those experiences. The theme of loss of innocence indicates how the increase in knowledge about the world impacts the character and his/her personality. Packer has used Loss of innocence as the central theme in her short stories ‘Brownies’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’. This paper will analyze how the author has characterized loss of innocence in these stories to influence the readers. The selected two stories based on loss of innocence are ‘Brownies’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’. In ‘Brownies’, the author wants to show that anger and hatred that developed in the black and white races had no origin rather each of them did not even know why they hate others. They just show to the world what they see, observe and experience. In the story ‘Speaking in Tongues’, the author has shown how the main character lost her innocence due to pressurized sexual experience at a very young age. ZZ Packer projected loss of innocence in her stories as a transition from childhood to adulthood without any relation to gender, religion or culture. ‘Brownies’ is a story focusing on racial segregation and prejudice that existed between white and black Americans. The author showed that the girls in both troops were innocent but when they watched the behaviors of others around them their perception changed, and that’s where the loss of innocence is applied in the story. The black girls’ troop identified that the white girls’ troop called them names based on racism. The author showed in her text that the white girls did not even know why they hate the black girls or abuse them. It was rather their surrounding that made them think negative and misbehave with the black Americans. Similarly, the black girls found out that the troop of white girls also consisted of some ‘delayed learners’ who were

Consequences Of Noncompliance With The AEDA Lessons To Be Learned Essay

Consequences Of Noncompliance With The AEDA Lessons To Be Learned - Essay Example That is why Congress first passed in 1967 what has come to be known as The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, with subsequent amendments and ruling which would follow as the years passed. According to the online page for The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it has this to say about the congressional act, "The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA's protections apply to both employees and job applicants. Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training," (Equal Employment #1). In understanding this law, it is crucial to understand the facts behind it. According to this group, this act covers employers who have 20 or more employees, and also happens to cover both state and local governments. The group goes on to say that the protections for such persons under the act are as such: "It is generally unlawful for apprenticeship programs, including joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, to discriminate on the basis of an individual's age. Age limitations in apprenticeship programs are valid only if they fall within certain specific exceptions under the ADEA or if the EEOC grants a specific exemption." Job Notices and Advertisements "The ADEA generally makes it unlawful to include age preferences, limitations, or specifications in job notices or advertisements. A job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit only in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a "bona fide occupational qualification" (BFOQ) reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business." Pre-Employment Inquiries "The ADEA does not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant's age or date of birth. However, because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to make sure

Descartes & Hume Essay Example for Free

Descartes Hume Essay Rene Descartes was a rationalist, meaning he thought that reason alone, not sensation or experience, was the source to attaining knowledge about the eternal truths of the universe, such as mathematics, epistemology, metaphysics and the existence of God. He excluded physics from this list, admitting that knowledge of physics only comes through experience (Descartes). Regardless, his rationalistic epistemology made it so that Descartes could only accept the truth about something if it was based upon a principle that was clearly and distinctly certain. Innate, a priori knowledge is fundamental to Descartes philosophy. A priori refers to any knowledge that is attained without appealing to sensation (O’Connor, Class Notes). Being a rationalist, he completely doubted every sensory experience he had ever had. Sensation is ever-changing and sometimes misleads or deceives us, so according to Descartes, trusting in an experience of sensation to provide us with any kind of universal truth would be foolish (Descartes). Whereas rationalism directly focuses on reason as being the only way to attain knowledge about the world, empiricism concentrates fully on all knowledge being a posteriori, or attained through experience and sensation. In an obvious way, David Hume’s empiricist epistemology directly contrasted Descartes rationalism, specifically by how he believed humans can attain knowledge. According to Hume, humans understand the world by experiencing different perceptions: impressions/sensations and ideas/thoughts. The amount of force and vivacity of the perception allows humans to differentiate between the two. Impressions and sensations are more forceful and lively since they are a product of direct experience. Ideas and thoughts are simply weak recreations of the original impressions that were perceived. While Descartes believes that certain ideas are innate, such as the existence of God, Hume absolutely denies the possibility of innate ideas. He claims that humans could never fully know or comprehend anything beyond our impressions. If an impression is not perceived, then it cannot be acknowledged. Since our knowledge is limited to the impressions we perceive, we have no real way of comprehending causality, instead it is often confused with correlation. Cause and effect events tend to occur in close temporal order, but that does not mean we can know whether those events are intrinsically related or not. Instead, we can only place our faith in the customs and habits of human life. Oppositely, Descartes believed we gain knowledge a priori, and we can only know that which we have clear and distinct justification for. In order to justify what we know, we cannot appeal to anything except for reason. Lastly, we must judge those justified ideas by applying Descartes’ specific and logical method of reflection. Thusly, by accepting Descartes’ method, the universal and eternal truths of the world can be known.

The Corporate Communication Strategy

The Corporate Communication Strategy This report aims to critically evaluate and analyse the corporate communication strategy, framework and main issues influencing a corporation. The company that I have chosen to examine and apply the knowledge of corporate communication is Microsoft Corporation. Communication strategy of Microsoft Corporation applies or follows which enabled it to expand and grow its business with such an immense efficiency. How does the organisation incorporates main issues of corporate communication; such as, communicating with external and internal stakeholders, maintaining its identity, image and reputation to reflect its organisational behaviour, the organisations attitude towards cultural influence, the role and impact of technology, and lastly, the role of Human Resource Management in contribution of its effective communication and overall performance in global context. (Cornelissen J, 2004) states that corporate communication is a function of corporate identity, corporate image, corporate brand and corporate reputation for the goodwill of the organization and its ongoing concern which is making profit. Corporate communication is a modern term of Public Relations. The term corporate communication is increasingly being used in practice to describe the management function that is still referred to as public relations in academic literature (Groenewald, 1998). According to surveys, over half of the heads of corporate communication departments administer communication functions. They are as follows; External and internal communications Managing corporate reputation and brand Recruiting and retaining Product launches Developing company strategy Corporate social responsibility Boosting investor or analyst perception Managing crises Corporate communication is simply the process of exchanging information within and outside of any organisation with concern of the above mentioned functions to run it effectively and efficiently. It is taken as an important aspect for any organisation to develop and flourish its capability at its best. However, it is more crucial to organisations that operate globally. Most of the successful organisation has used corporate communication as the means of success because it helps to formulate their distinctiveness, their status and mark their existence in the mind of their customers. Background of the organisation: Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in USA. It is a multinational company with headquarter in Redmond, WA, United States, and its subsidiaries in 110 countries. With 182,884 employees in USA and worldwide and annual revenue of USD 62.48 billion, it can be said that it is one of the worlds largest and dominant software companies. It provides software, services and solutions to people and businesses world-wide. The company focuses on research and developing, manufacturing, licensing, and supporting wide range of software products and services for various types of computing devices. The major software products and services it provides are; operating systems for servers, personal computers, and intelligent devices, different types of personal and business applications, software development tools, online services platform, and games; taking into consideration and benefiting all range of people from business, students, workforce to households. *According to the Microsoft Corporation, The Microsoft mission is to help people and businesses around the world realize their full potential. We work to accomplish this mission through the development of innovative products and services that help people harness the power, opportunities, and benefits of technology. http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/our-commitments/reporting/about-microsoft/ The communication strategy and its framework in the organisation: An effective corporate communication strategy is very important for any organisation to overpower todays highly competitive and information driven business environment. It protects an organisation from negative publicities and limits misleading steps of the corporate. Strategy requires choices deciding what particular kind of value an organisation wants to deliver and to whom (Porter, in Gibson, 1997). Implementation of proper and practical strategies can bring equal opportunity to people; resulting in distribution of innovative information, resolution of conflict and coordination in organisation. X-Border communication strategy issues include; degree of adaptation and standardisation, consistency, internal vs external, corporate identity and reputation, costs, role of technology. As a multinational organisation, Microsoft Corporation adapts almost all of the x-border communication strategy to stay on top of the market. (see Appendix) Steve A. Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corporation, states that they see their citizenship strategies and business strategies as complementary, creating shared value for Microsoft shareholders, employees, stakeholders, and society. http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/our-commitments/reporting/ceo-intro-letter/ Neil Holloway, President of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), focused on the balanced objectives of driving customer satisfaction, improving integration across Microsoft business units, addressing the unique technology needs of diverse markets, and growing the software business in the region. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/neilho/default.mspx The statement of Neil Holloway and Steve A. Ballmer clearly implements the communication model (shown below) in Microsoft. Keeping in mind of their identity and image, they deliver messages to their shareholders, employees, stakeholders, and society by the use of Management communication, Organisational communication, and Marketing communication. (see Appendix 1) Figure 1: Communication model, Strategy of the organisation (M. Welch and P. Jackson, 2007) Communication framework In all organisations, communication flows vertically and horizontally, internally and externally, formally and informally linking employees internally to each other and to various layers of management, and to the many external resource holder of the organisation (Fombrun and Riel, 2006). There are three main types of structures of the company and they are as follows; Functional Matrix Project Microsoft follows the matrix structure to perform communication (see Appendix 3). It has horizontal divisions for international operations and vertical divisions for product groups. Mike Love, senior director of corporate communications at Microsoft EMEA says that Microsofts matrix of management decision-making and the challenge to communicate through this matrix is very complex. He also adds that Internal and External communicators each have geographical, functional and product-area responsibilities as their direct focus (see Figure 2, below). http://www.melcrum.com/articles/clutter_at_microsoft.shtml Figure 2: Areas of responsibility at Microsoft Microsofts governing body is the Annual Meeting of Shareholders and the executive body is the Board of Directors (see Appendix 4). Microsoft adapts a centralized and functional area accompanied by a network of decentralized structure for adapting the function to the special needs of the independent business units. The main issues relating to corporate communication External and Internal communication External communication: External communication refers to communicating with external parties of an organisation which includes customers and business partners, suppliers, media, and competitors. Communication with customers: Customers are the most influential part for any organisation to exist in business environment. Microsoft claims that the success of their company is based on their ability to listen and respond to customer feedback about their products, programs, and services, and to increase customer satisfaction with all of the possible ways. They continually engage with their customers and partners through third-party surveys and feedback mechanisms within their products, and community-based websites (see Appendix). However, Microsoft has not institutionalised engagement of external stakeholders in corporate decision-making. Their customer and partner experience (CPE) strategy is sponsored by their chief operating officer and president of the Microsoft Business Division. Communication with media: Media is one of the most powerful and critical areas of any corporate communication function. According to Argenti (2009), the media are both a constituency and a conduit through which investors, employees, and consumers receive information about and form images of a company. It has the ability to turn a business up or down in a matter of seconds. It is very essential for corporation to understand this matter and have a good relationship with media. Microsoft has good understanding on this matter. Hence, they have included media as one of the areas of responsibilities (see Figure 2). They have a separate section in their company site called Microsoft News Center where it provides latest updates and information on company. For media, it has a section called Press Tools with Press Releases, Analyst Reports and many more. It has also established number of air-traffic control tools to avoid misleading and misinterpreting messages to media (see Appendix). Communication with competitors: The main competitors of Microsoft are Google, Apple, VMware, Oracle, and Open source (Linux and Firefox). However, Google is seen to be the prior competitor of Microsoft. Microsoft keeps up-to-date information about its competitors. Microsoft had some problem with its competitors in past and was accused for its unhealthy competition (see Appendix). This had a negative impact on the reputation and image of Microsoft. Since then, Microsoft has been keeping healthy relationship and healthy competition with its competitors through changes in its products and services, filtering words when having conversation on their competitors. http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/208984.asp Communication with Government: Government is involved in all stages of business development. As Microsoft operates in various regions and areas globally, it makes sure to follow the national, regional, and local bylaws and legislation of the country. Microsoft also sense importance of collaboration among the internationally recognized groups. Its Citizenship and reporting strategies are guided by those laid out in the Global Reporting Initiative, the Global Network Initiative the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and the Carbon Disclosure Project. Communication with shareholders: However, the company does not provide training to staff on stakeholder engagement, nor do they disseminate the principles through more than one medium or translate them into other languages. Microsoft has also not institutionalised external stakeholder engagement in corporate decision-making.**** Internal communication: Strong internal communications- fostering increased workforce loyalty and productivity will thus continue to play a pivotal role in a companys employee relation and overall success (Argenti, 2009). Microsoft fully realise the role of employees and vendors for its overall success. It is also aware that with change in culture and business environment, employees and their attitudes, beliefs are changing and they need to be treated in different ways. To understand the values and attitudes of employees to gain their loyalty and productivity, effective communication among and with employees is very crucial. Communication with employees: One of their most important developments during the past year has been the establishment of an Internal Communicator Community (see Appendix). They have also developed a new approach to the annual planning process by creating a forum for sharing internal and external communication plans across all business disciplines to build a one company approach. They have also established a regular quarterly meeting and monthly Live Meeting1/conference call for all Public Relations leads in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regardless of their areas of responsibility. This has become a clearing house for communication plans and has helped establish the discipline of air-traffic control. Communication with vendors: http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/microsoft-adds-human-element-to-corporate-communications/110453 Identity, Image, and Reputation The concept of corporate identity is traced by organisations marks or logos, name, motto, products, services, and any other possessions of the organisation that is visible and tangible to differentiate themselves from their competitors and print their image in the minds of consumers (Argenti, 2009). Image is shaped by the identity of an organisation, it is the way internal and external constituents perceive the organisations identity get fulfilled. Finally, strong reputation of an organisation is achieved when identity and image align with each other. Microsofts identity is majorly reflected by its name, products and services, market capitalisation, market capture, and Bill Gates, former CEO, Microsoft Corporation (see Appendix). Microsofts image has been problematic since its establishment. It has been accused Microsofts holds a highly valued reputation Read more: Corporate Identity http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Con-Cos/Corporate-Identity.html#ixzz18qO7ytiL Corporate Identity Names, Brands, Symbols, Self-presentation is perceived by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Employee Image Investor Image Community Image Customer Image The sum of their Corporate Reputation perceptions equals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Figure 3: Reputation Framework (Argenti, 2009) Culture and its influence in corporate communication Any organisations culture is reflected by the behaviours, attitudes, beliefs, norms and values of its employee working with each other towards attaining a common goal. It has become a serious issue with prevalence of globalisation (see Appendix). Hofstede (1980, 1982, 1987) has outlined five dimensions of cultural impact in an organisation. They are as follows; Power distance Individualism Vs Collectivism Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity or Feminity Long term or Short term Microsoft believes that the following listed values guide their behaviours and it is reflected in their employees in their interaction with each other and their stakeholders. Integrity and honesty Passion for customers, partners, and technology Open and respectful with others and dedicated to making them better Willingness to take on big challenges and see them through Self-critical, questioning, and committed to personal excellence and self-improvement Accountable for commitments, results, and quality to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees (see Appendix 5) The above statements by Microsoft shows that it follows collectivism idea, there is no power distance as employees believe in open and respectful relation with each other. They believe in one company approach. We should communicate with and not at our internal audiences, engaging in a dialogue not a monologue. Such an approach fits well with Microsofts corporate culture, which strives to be devoid of hierarchy. http://www.melcrum.com/articles/clutter_at_microsoft.shtml The role of technology The role of technology in carrying on communication effectively has been immense. With rapid development of technologies nowadays, it is almost impossible to have a thought of communication without technologies. Microsoft Corporation itself is a leader in developing and distributing innovative technologies world-wide. There are numerous software products and services produced by Microsoft for communication use. However, technologies that they use for internal and external communication are; e-mails, video conferencing, teleconferencing, telephones, webcasts, podcasts, blogs, internal intranet site, air-traffic control tools, and integrated communication planning. The role of Human Resource in corporate communication HRM is a strategic and coherent approach to the managers of the organisation. The most valued assets, the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievements of its objectives. (Armstrong, 2003). According to Ulrich (1997), there are four roles of Human Resource Management in an organisation. They are as follows; Administrative expert Employee champion Change agent Strategic partner http://www.stw.de/typo3temp/pics/c98097d6bc.jpg Figure 4: The HR Business Partner (based on an idea by Dave Ulrich, 1997) Conclusion and recommendation In conclusion, Microsoft practices a very good and practical corporate communication strategy and framework. Microsoft follows the matrix structure with strongly centralized and wholly decentralized framework for communication. They understand the importance of effective communication between their internal and external stakeholders for their success. Microsoft has implemented various communication tools and plans, such as, air-traffic control tools and integrated communication planning specially for effective communication with employees and media. The use of technologies for communication are; e-mails, telephones, video conferencing, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, Annual Report, Press Releases, internal intranet site. Their identity is basically its name, products and services, and Bill Gates, former Chairman of Microsoft who is known as one of the wealthiest people alive. Their image and reputation were frequently in stake and problematic with different kinds of accuses. However, they are doing their best in overcoming and maintaining a superior image. Microsoft practices open and respectful culture with equal opportunities for all employees. They practices This invariably means they work within communication silos roles rather than taking a broader view of the company as a whole.

Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry

Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry Determination of elements of customer satisfaction in delivering fuel through retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas Introduction The Indian Petroleum Industry The Indian petroleum Industry started way back in the end of the 19th century, with the discovery of petroleum in Digboi Assam .The industry was initially opened for international players and global oil majors such as Caltex, Esso and Burmah Shell. However after 1970s, the Indian division of the international companies was nationalized by government of India and the industry became strictly regulate din the country. The government nationalized the refining and marketing sectors and subsequently introduced regulatory controls on the production, import and distribution and pricing of crude oil and petroleum products by establishing the Oil coordination Committee (OCC). Through the OCC, the government administered the prices of petroleum products after establishing a complex oil pool account system. Producers, refiners and marketers were compensated for operating cost and were also assured of a fair return on their assets through the Administered Price Mechanism (APM). During this period, government controlled entities accounted for 90% of the market share. Major players like IOC, BPCL and HPCL dominated the market in the downstream sector, while the upstream sector was dominated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India claiming approximately 84% of the share of the total market. After the liberalization of the Indian economy, the industry witnessed some fundamental changes. The policy makers realized that APM will no longer be working successfully as it had in the past and the sector will have to be opened completely. Thus the government initiated the process of deregulation in 1995, whereas APM was replaced by Market Determined Price Mechanism (MDPM).With the introduction of MDMP and deregulation of the marketing and refining sectors, the industry was opened completely for private and foreign participation. The government allowed four companies Reliance Petroleum, ONGC, Essar and Numaligarh Refineries to market petroleum products through their retail outlets. During the APM regime, public sector companies ‘owned the mark et and hence they never felt the need to pay attention towards brand building and customer loyalty. Branding initiatives were limited to lubricant market only. With the entry of these new players, competition intensified and posed a serious threat for the existing players. This lead to change in the way oil marketing companies looked at the fuel retail business. This was the time when all players started understanding the fact that fuel products has to be moved from commodity-convenience purchase behaviour to service-customer loyalty quadrant. This will initiate cross selling and thus leading to increase in per square feet revenue from retail space. This increased the players effort towards branding and Non Fuel Revenue initiatives. Fuel Retailing in Indian Petroleum Industry Fuel retail business in India has undergone a huge change from a fully regulated market to semi regulated market. Till 2002 the sector was completely under government control. During all these years, the marketing function of organisations received the least importance. Distribution was the only marketing function. The market was sellers market. The customers had no option other than to buy products from public sector oil companies. The entry private players in the market have brought in options for customers and the concept of customer service has evolved in fuel retail business. At present there are nearly 34000 PSU fuel retail outlets spread across India. There are around 3000 fuel retail outlets by private players. The brand war is spreading to petrol pump stations. The players are becoming more customers centric and once the market becomes fully deregulated in coming years with number of players becoming double of present, the competition on price will die and the competition will be to gain customer loyalty by providing different services to customer. Thus it becomes important to know the hierarchical level of services which need to be provided to achieve customer satisfaction and gain customer loyalty. The study by Kumar Sahay(2004) says that the behaviour of customer at fuel retail outlets on highways is to park the vehicle and relax, which is very different from behaviour on outlets within urban limits. Thus it becomes evident from the above that fuel retail business in India can divided into two types, which are â€Å"Fuel Retail Business with in Urban Limits† and â€Å"Fuel Retail Business on Highways and Suburbs†. The hierarchical level discussed above is dependent upon type of fuel retail business the player is operating in. This demarcation into two businesses happens due to the difference in the customer behaviour while travelling with in urban limits and on highways. There are many researches done on highway travellers and their expectation and preferences of services on fuel stations, but these are geography specific and nothing has been done in the Indian context. The determination of hierarchical level of services at fuel stations till date is confined to urban limits only. The customer behaviour and expectations on outlets situated on highways and suburbs are different from customer segments visiting outlets with in urban limits. This research aims at finding different services at fuel retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas other than refuelling which will help in creating loyal customers. Also there can be number of services, but which are more important for particular outlet always remains a question. The research also aims to find relationship between the location of outlets to the kind of services required in order to build a decision making process model to select important added services with an objective of increasing per squ are feet revenue from the real state space and development of customer loyalty. Literature review Fuel Retailing â€Å"Retailing is the set of activities that markets products or services to final consumers for their own personal or household use whereas Retailer is someone who cuts off or sheds a small piece from something† Before moving to Indian context it is important to create a parallel with western markets where fuel or gasoline retailing is in more developed stage in comparison to Indian fuel retailing. The fuel retailing in India has started to move from commodity to service from 2002 after the emergence of private and global players. But this phenomenon happened far before in US, European and Asia Pacific markets. Since 1960 there have been substantial changes in the structure of the petrol retailing industry of Europe and North America (Lowe J. , 1976)There was influx of new companies in UK market which were either independent or wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign giants. Lowe (1976) analyzed that after the influx of new firms in UK, the price competition became fierce and all the new companies tried different things to differentiate and gain customer loyalty. The fuel or gasoline retail structure in US had full service gasoline stations. The full service gasoline station was the one that offered minor services and repairs, where wind shield was cleaned, where credit was offered and where rest rooms were available (Mitchell 1980). Mitchell(1980) also stated that these services were sold as a part of a package along with the gasoline itself and was done entirely with the objective of building a long term relationship between the service station and the customer. The companies in the western countries started looking for various services which can supplement their gasoline sales in the event of increased competition. One of the most popular additions of service was car wash, which proved to be a successful strategy in selling tremendous volumes of gasoline. This made customers to come for car wash and also get their vehicles refuelled. ‘A dealer in Dallas, estimated that more than half of his anticipated $ 700,000 sales would come from an automated car wash. What more he claimed that the presence of car wash boosted his gasoline sales to an annual rate more than 1,000,00 gallons from 680,000 gallons three before that.( Steele 1966) Steele (1966) also predicted that as time passes by more and more gasoline stations will turn into large service centres offering a combination of gasoline, car wash, tire and battery service, restaurant and so on. Thus the future will be a complete one stop solution. This can hold true in Indian context also, but the bouquet of services will be definitely very different from outlets in developed markets. The bouquet will be entirely different depending upon the different customer requirements and purchasing power. Mitchell (1980) also predicted the movement of gasoline stations from independent full service stations to company owned self service gasoline stations. The reason stated was the pressure of margins and aim to drive customer loyalty by providing customers with a large service bouquet at gasoline station with in the same margin. This can also be seen happening in Indian context with Indian Oil Corporation being the first among all PSUs moving towards company owned outlets to increase service standards at their pumps and recently Shell entering into Indian market with company owned outlets. The conceptual model (Brown Ingene 1987) on fuel or gasoline retail structure in US explains the influence of demographic environmental characteristics on marketing mix offerings. The model also explained the influence of location of the outlet on demographic, environmental, and marketing mix characteristics. The research by Brown and Ingene (1987) demonstrated that while defining marketing mix elements for fuel and gasoline retailing it becomes important to consider the impact of demographic and environmental characteristics. The major changes started to happen in fuel retailing and fuel stations started to move towards differentiating themselves due to increase in competition. This was the development of forecourt retailing phenomenon at gasoline stations in western markets. The major changes occurred with petrol forecourt retailing where transition of fuel stations within a contextual framework happened. They had sought differentiation in the face of increased competition. One strategy undertaken was to develop a convenience store format to supplement fuel sales (Denning Freathy 1996). A clear analogy can be drawn for Indian fuel retail also, where with emergence of many private players to tap the biggest consumer market, the players or fuel companies will have to try and do something to differentiate themselves. As the competition grew the fuel retailers faced more and more pressure on profits and it became important for them to generate loyal customers and increase the ticket sales value of loyal customers at the fuel outlet. They move to others forms of revenue generation. The objective was to compensate for erosion with alternative forms of profit generation. The issue for the petrol retailers has been to identify ways of adding value to their operation in the face of these competitive threats. One of the main methods of achieving this has been through forecourt shop. Many petrol retailers have attempted to reduce the risk posed by petrol price fluctuation by expanding the facilities at their outlets. (Keynote, 1993) Denning and Freathy (1996) established that different customer segments depending upon their income levels and profession purchased different products from convenience stores at petrol stations. This indicates that determination major visiting customer segment becomes important at any fuel retail outlet. The product mix at any fuel retail outlet is also dependent upon purchasing power of the customer segments at that outlet. The exact form that the formats have taken has varied by operator location and site type. This is a reflection of the fact that the convenience store does not necessarily follow a single set pattern. The limited space available within each unit, it is possible that services take priority over other categories of goods.(Denning Freathy 1996) An important feature to note here is that, the development of fuel stations did not happen only in areas with in urban limits. The development of interstate highways and urban express ways had made many fuel stations obsolete in western world. This made many oil companies to build new facilities to meet the changing traffic patterns. More and more oil companies began to realize that former gas outlets of the conventional style were no longer getting customer visits. The primary objective of service bouquet is to add to the convenience of the customer visiting the outlet. Convenience is especially important in attracting repeat customers. It becomes fairly important to understand what adds to customer convenience and what not. Convenience results from various factors such as site size, site plan, traffic impacts and parking (Smalley 1996). The factors are not limited to the ones stated above; the factors vary with different geographies and markets. Fuel retail business is of two types one with retail outlets with in urban limits and other with retail outlets on highways and suburbs. The behaviour of the customer is very different at these two different types of business. The marketer likewise faces a distinct business environment to which marketing strategy must be adapted. The Highway market is not necessarily different from traditional markets because objectives remain the same. It is unique, however, because new approaches are needed to achieve the objectives.(Beaton 2001) Interstate or highway motorists seek five basic services: gasoline, rest rooms, food, relaxation and lodging. Aside from the need for gasoline as the prime factor, marketers differ somewhat in their opinions as to the exact ordering of these needs as stopping power factors. (Beaton 2001) The development of new factors is prompting rapid growth of different services at fuel retail outlets at highways. Competition and changing travel patterns mean that to remain competitive the oil companies must meet the overall needs of the motorist at one stop. (Beaton Hall, 1968) For a fuel retail outlet on highways, petroleum companies apply the same criteria for building service bouquet as that of the outlets with in urban limits. This happens due to the profit criteria only as the main objective of existence of outlet instead of customer satisfaction. A good station site does not guarantee a good service station. Site and location factor analysis indicates what a particular fuel outlet should do. (Beaton Hall 1968) Fuel Retailing India Fuel retail business on highways is geography dependent; the above researchers have kept their study confined to more developed and liberalised markets than India. All those factors may be or may not be applied to Indian conditions. As the Indian fuel retail business becomes more deregulation, the customer expectations will start to rise. The variables like competitive market, promotional effort to attract customers by competitors, etc. raise the customer expectations and create customer gap. (Kumar Sahay 2004) In India the study by Kumar Sahay, to find out the elements that determine customer satisfaction in delivering petrol/diesel through retail outlets is confined to fuel retail with in urban limits. The market survey was carried out in Delhi. Stratified non-probability sampling method was used for sample collection. The target population has been defined as: The people who drive ‘Cars / jeeps or ‘Motorcycles/scooters or ‘Buses or ‘Goods vehicles on the roads of Delhi (state)†. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Through cluster analysis the initially found segments reduced to three segments and customer expectations level for various services determined. This has lead to development of hierarchical levels of services for different segments and a conclusion that a player offering all the six levels of services will be able to bridge gap between customer expectations and services offered. These levels of expectations, if met successfully, create â€Å"wow† effect and customer would indulge in word-of-mouth communication. Word-of-mouth communication is the most powerful tool for creating customer base. Not only the existing customers are retained but also they bring-in new customers to outlets. Prospects with continued satisfaction with the products and services become advocates. Such customers start singing marketers song and begin to praise. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Fuel and Non Fuel retailing Initiatives by Indian Oil Marketing Companies The three major players in the domain of oil marketing companies in India are PSUs namely BPCL, HPCL and IOC enjoying majority share. Rest of the pie is served by private players like Reliance, Essar and Shell. All the three PSUs have taken initiatives to add non fuel revenues and build customer loyalty. These initiatives had been taken on outlets both within urban limits and also on outlets on highways and suburbs. The reason behind all the initiatives had been to gain customer loyalty and thus increase customer satisfaction. http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/BPCL.htm Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) is one of the largest public sector undertakings in India, with the Government of India having a more than 50% shareholding in the company as of 31 March 2008 (Euromonitor International, April 2009). BPCL is engaged in the refining and retailing of petroleum and petroleum products, with around 8,251 retail outlets. By December 2008, around 400 of these outlets had an organised convenience store attached, branded as In Out, with an aggregate retailing space of 18,600 sq m. BPCLs key strategy to increase revenues from the In Out outlets has been to expand the basket of products and services offered through the outlets. Apart from offering packaged food, soft and hot drinks, cosmetics and toiletries, household care items and consumer foodservice, BPCL has also tried to add other additional services at the outlets over the years to add to the customer satisfaction levels. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is planning to grow its non-fuel retail business by expanding its fuel retail network, with sufficient size to emphasise non-fuel offerings, and enlarge the portfolio of non-fuel offerings in its outlets located at highways and urban locations, with a focus on food, shopping and entertainment in these outlets. It will also increase consumer services for example, through its recent tie-up with an agency for international money transfer services at its existing urban outlets. During the forecast period, BPCL proposes to invest Rs 6 billion to expand its retail network. The outlets will be built mainly on national highways and at urban locations, and will offer mobile consumers high quality food, and also provide them with access to entertainment through an on-site multiplex screen. BPCL has tied up with Cinemata, a film distribution unit of Sony Entertainment Television, to establish cinema halls at its fuel outlets on highways across the country by 2010. In order to expand its range of services, In Out launched an e-traveller facility at its forecourt retail outlets. The facility enables consumers to book rail, airline and bus tickets, as well as hotel accommodation, and is available in 37 stores. BPCL is working on Phase II of the deployment of this service, when it will make it available in an additional 100 stores. Revenues from the e-traveller facility were around Rs15 million in 2007/2008; its first full year of operation, with sales of 7,782 tickets (Euromonitor International, April 2009). To provide added convenience services to its customers close to their homes, BPCL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Money Gram Internationals agent Airwings Services, to offer international money transfer service in India from its selected In Out outlets. Meanwhile, its alliance initiative with Western Union Money Transfer saw the In Out network record 36,677 transactions in the year ending March 2008, with a turnover of Rs 699 million, an increase of 26% over the previous year. (Euromonitor International, April 2009) BPCLs quick service restaurant sales through its alliance network partners McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Cafà © Coffee Day, Subway, Nirulas and other foodservice brands grew by 40% to Rs 249 million in the year ending March 2008. BPCLs outlets on highways are branded as Ghar Dhaba, and represent the companys foray into food. BPCL has developed a concept covering theme design, kitchen layout and menu planning, and established the standard operating processes for the outlets in-house. As of March 2008, it had 21 Ghar Dhaba outlets in operation, with total sales of Rs23 million. Developed on a large area of three to five acres (12,000-20,000sq m), these outlets provide the requisite space to allow BPCL to experiment with a multiplex cinema for stop-over entertainment (Business Standard, Sep 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bpcl-to-mix-moviesoil-at-pumps/297583/ If the concept is successful, the company will roll this out in more Ghar Dhaba outlets. The multiplex screens, especially in outlets located on highways, will also serve a social purpose for nearby rural consumers. BPCL plans to screen social awareness, health and literacy content in these multiplexes for rural audiences. The majority of the products through the In Out outlets are manufactured by third parties. However, BPCL proposes to offer its own brand of bottled water at the outlets, where the water will be a by-product of its captive power plant, based on hydrogen fuel cell technology. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) was the leading forecourt retailer in India in 2008, with 400 outlets. The company added 17 outlets to the total in that year. Rather than expanding rapidly, BPCL has focused on ensuring that its outlets are profitable, and also on adding additional services to its existing outlets. In 2008, sales revenues of BPCLs non-fuel retail arm, Allied Retail Business (ARB), grew by 32%, to Rs2,089 million, making it the largest non-fuel revenue generator in the oil industry. During the year, In Outs sales revenues grew by 41%, to Rs 1092 million. 15 of the In Out outlets achieved average sales of Rs1 million per month, compared to eight in the previous year. This is clear indication of the fact that now oil marketing companies are understanding the importance of non fuel retail revenue initiatives and also working over it not only for outlets with in urban limits but also for outlets on highways. But as discussed the scientific framework to decide what to offer still remains a mystery, as all the efforts for highway fuel retail outlets have been o trial and error basis. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) HPCL is a Fortune 500 Company, with an annual turnover of over Rs 74044 Crores, a 20% refining and marketing share in India and a strong market infrastructure. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) The corporation operates two major refineries, producing a wide variety of petroleum fuels and specialities, one in Mumbai (West Coast) with a 5.5 MMTPA capacity and the other in Vishakapatnam (East Coast) with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA (Oil Gas, IBEF Report Sep 2009) HPCL holds an equity stake of 16.95% in Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Limited, a state-of-the-art refinery at Mangalore with a capacity of 9 MMTPA. In addition, HPCL is progressing towards the setting up of a refinery in the state of Punjab. HPCL also owns and operates the largest lube refinery in the country, producing lube base oils to international standards. With a capacity of 335,000 metric tonnes this lube refinery accounts for over 40% of the countrys total lube base oil production. The vast marketing network of the corporation consists of zonal offices in the four metro cities and 85 regional offices facilitated by a supply and distribution infrastructure comprising terminals, aviation service stations, bottling plants, and inland relay depots and retail outlets. The Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) focus is on providing broader services to its customers with an experience that is unmatched. Through its retail channels, HPCL offers a nationwide chain of convenience stores, has forged tie-ups with leading fast food and refreshment companies to set up food counters, a special arrangement with FedEx to provide a world class courier service, vehicle insurance and international money faster counters. The focus is on complete customer satisfaction and an experience that will make a customer drive in again and again to HPCL forecourt retailing and convenience stores. In 2006, the chain developed its forecourt operations substantially through a series of agreements with a number of prominent foodservice and retail players. HPCL is increasingly adopting a focus on loyalty, it has put in extra efforts and an aggressive marketing campaign to retain customer loyalty. It runs Indias largest loyalty programme and has products such as the HPCL credit card, HPCL debit card and I-mint loyalty programme. Another focus is on brand equity; HP has been investing in increasing its brand presence and has taken on brand ambassadors such as Sania Mirza and Narayan Karthikeyan to promote its different products. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is a central government commercial enterprise engaged in the refinement and sale of crude oil. It also manufactures other petroleum products like LPG, lubricants, greases, petrochemicals and aviation turbine fuel. HPCL launched its Club HP forecourt retailing chain in 2001. From the beginning, the chain sought to offer other facilities besides selling petrol, diesel and other products. These include free vehicle checks, vehicle finance and insurance related services, bill payment services, HPCL-ICICI credit cards and loyalty programmes. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) Club HP outlets are classified as Standard, Mega and Max, depending on the services and amenities available. In its first phase of expansion, HPCL set up 85 Club HP outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Each of these outlets was converted at an estimated cost of between Rs1 and Rs3 million. It subsequently introduced its supermarket sub brand HP Speed mart, and developed its foodservice operations through an agreement with US Pizza. The success of this deal prompted HPCL to enter into similar agreements with players such as Cafà © Coffee Day (vending and foodservice), Dairy Den (ice cream parlours), Western Union (money transfer points) and Tata Motors (car care services) (Business Standard, Jan 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ In order to improve its image among Indian consumers in terms of the quality of its fuel, during the review period the company launched the PCL Quality Assurance initiative under the Good Fuel Promise slogan. This involved the pioneering concept of mobile laboratories to carry out regular checks on fuel sold at Club HP outlets. It also entered into an agreement with the international agency Bureau Veritas to conduct a surveillance audit of Club HP Outlets. After having a market share of around 20-22% for a long time, recently it has improved its market position to number two, with a market share of close to 25% of the total service station market in India (Business Standard, April 2005). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ For most of the review period, Club HP played second fiddle to BPCLs In Out chain in terms of revenues from forecourt operations, although it garnered considerable brand awareness among consumers. A deal with US Pizza was expected to witness the opening of over 500 pizza and fast food delivery units at Club HP service station outlets across India between 2005 and 2007. Apna Bazaar Co-operative (a supermarket chain) is involved in a pilot project with HPCL to establish Apna Bazaar outlets at three Club HP outlets in Mumbai. If successful, the alliance will be extended to other Club HP outlets nationwide. This agreement will also enable Apna Bazaar to upgrade its image by targeting more upper and middle class consumers. http://www.hindustanpetroleum.com/En/UI/RetailClubHP.aspx While neither of these deals on their own are likely to have any major impact on constant value sales of impulse food and drink products through Club HP outlets, they will almost certainly benefit from the rise in consumer traffic that these foodservice and supermarket operations will entail. A loyalty card deal with low-cost airline Air Deccan should also ensure a higher volume of consumer traffic in Club HP outlets over the forecast period. Similarly, an agreement with Federal Express (FedEx) during the review period to open cargo collection centres at various Club HP outlets should continue to attract consumers between 2005 and 2010. FedEx is slowly gaining a reputation in India as a reliable cargo delivery agent; in 2005, there were FedEx cargo collection centres at HP outlets in eight major Indian cities. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Reliance Petroleum Reliance Petroleum is aggressively targeting the service station channel, planning a pan-Indian presence over the next couple of years in cities as well as on main roads. The biggest challenge it faces is in terms of return on investment and whether it is a wise move to invest so heavily in forecourt retailing in India, which is still relatively underdeveloped. With Reliances strong presence across India, food and beverage manufacturers can aim to push major volumes through Reliance service stations. Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) is a subsidiary of Indias largest private group Reliance Industries Ltd. RPL was set up to harness an emerging value creation opportunity in the global refining sector and currently RPL is a 75% owned subsidiary of RIL. RPL also benefits from a strategic alliance with Chevron India Holdings Pte Limited, Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation USA (Chevron), which currently holds a 5% equity stake in the company. RPL was formed to set up a Greenfield petroleum refinery and polypropylene plant in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar in Gujarat. This global sized, highly complex refinery is being located adjacent to RILs existing refinery and petrochemicals complex, which is amongst the largest and most efficient in the world, thus offering significant synergies. With an annual crude processing capacity of 580,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD), RPL will be the sixth largest refinery in the world. It will have a complexity of 14.0, using the Nelson Complexity Index, ranking it among the highest in the sector. The polypropylene plant will have a capacity to produce 0.9 million metric tonnes per annum. (Euromonitor International, July 2008) With its Reliance A1 Plaza chain, Reliance aims to provide consumers with a wide choice of products in convenient locations. The company had planned to open more than a 1,000 service stations in the next 2-3 years, so it was clearly targeting leadership in the petroleum retailing segment. But during economic crisis and with high crude rates, Reliance had shut their outlets as serving fuel at comparative prices was becoming non-profit making business for them. Shell India Marketing Private Limited Shell India Marketing Private Limited (SIMPL) is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell and the first multinational corporation to obtain government approval to open 2,000 servic Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry Determination of elements of customer satisfaction in delivering fuel through retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas Introduction The Indian Petroleum Industry The Indian petroleum Industry started way back in the end of the 19th century, with the discovery of petroleum in Digboi Assam .The industry was initially opened for international players and global oil majors such as Caltex, Esso and Burmah Shell. However after 1970s, the Indian division of the international companies was nationalized by government of India and the industry became strictly regulate din the country. The government nationalized the refining and marketing sectors and subsequently introduced regulatory controls on the production, import and distribution and pricing of crude oil and petroleum products by establishing the Oil coordination Committee (OCC). Through the OCC, the government administered the prices of petroleum products after establishing a complex oil pool account system. Producers, refiners and marketers were compensated for operating cost and were also assured of a fair return on their assets through the Administered Price Mechanism (APM). During this period, government controlled entities accounted for 90% of the market share. Major players like IOC, BPCL and HPCL dominated the market in the downstream sector, while the upstream sector was dominated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India claiming approximately 84% of the share of the total market. After the liberalization of the Indian economy, the industry witnessed some fundamental changes. The policy makers realized that APM will no longer be working successfully as it had in the past and the sector will have to be opened completely. Thus the government initiated the process of deregulation in 1995, whereas APM was replaced by Market Determined Price Mechanism (MDPM).With the introduction of MDMP and deregulation of the marketing and refining sectors, the industry was opened completely for private and foreign participation. The government allowed four companies Reliance Petroleum, ONGC, Essar and Numaligarh Refineries to market petroleum products through their retail outlets. During the APM regime, public sector companies ‘owned the mark et and hence they never felt the need to pay attention towards brand building and customer loyalty. Branding initiatives were limited to lubricant market only. With the entry of these new players, competition intensified and posed a serious threat for the existing players. This lead to change in the way oil marketing companies looked at the fuel retail business. This was the time when all players started understanding the fact that fuel products has to be moved from commodity-convenience purchase behaviour to service-customer loyalty quadrant. This will initiate cross selling and thus leading to increase in per square feet revenue from retail space. This increased the players effort towards branding and Non Fuel Revenue initiatives. Fuel Retailing in Indian Petroleum Industry Fuel retail business in India has undergone a huge change from a fully regulated market to semi regulated market. Till 2002 the sector was completely under government control. During all these years, the marketing function of organisations received the least importance. Distribution was the only marketing function. The market was sellers market. The customers had no option other than to buy products from public sector oil companies. The entry private players in the market have brought in options for customers and the concept of customer service has evolved in fuel retail business. At present there are nearly 34000 PSU fuel retail outlets spread across India. There are around 3000 fuel retail outlets by private players. The brand war is spreading to petrol pump stations. The players are becoming more customers centric and once the market becomes fully deregulated in coming years with number of players becoming double of present, the competition on price will die and the competition will be to gain customer loyalty by providing different services to customer. Thus it becomes important to know the hierarchical level of services which need to be provided to achieve customer satisfaction and gain customer loyalty. The study by Kumar Sahay(2004) says that the behaviour of customer at fuel retail outlets on highways is to park the vehicle and relax, which is very different from behaviour on outlets within urban limits. Thus it becomes evident from the above that fuel retail business in India can divided into two types, which are â€Å"Fuel Retail Business with in Urban Limits† and â€Å"Fuel Retail Business on Highways and Suburbs†. The hierarchical level discussed above is dependent upon type of fuel retail business the player is operating in. This demarcation into two businesses happens due to the difference in the customer behaviour while travelling with in urban limits and on highways. There are many researches done on highway travellers and their expectation and preferences of services on fuel stations, but these are geography specific and nothing has been done in the Indian context. The determination of hierarchical level of services at fuel stations till date is confined to urban limits only. The customer behaviour and expectations on outlets situated on highways and suburbs are different from customer segments visiting outlets with in urban limits. This research aims at finding different services at fuel retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas other than refuelling which will help in creating loyal customers. Also there can be number of services, but which are more important for particular outlet always remains a question. The research also aims to find relationship between the location of outlets to the kind of services required in order to build a decision making process model to select important added services with an objective of increasing per squ are feet revenue from the real state space and development of customer loyalty. Literature review Fuel Retailing â€Å"Retailing is the set of activities that markets products or services to final consumers for their own personal or household use whereas Retailer is someone who cuts off or sheds a small piece from something† Before moving to Indian context it is important to create a parallel with western markets where fuel or gasoline retailing is in more developed stage in comparison to Indian fuel retailing. The fuel retailing in India has started to move from commodity to service from 2002 after the emergence of private and global players. But this phenomenon happened far before in US, European and Asia Pacific markets. Since 1960 there have been substantial changes in the structure of the petrol retailing industry of Europe and North America (Lowe J. , 1976)There was influx of new companies in UK market which were either independent or wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign giants. Lowe (1976) analyzed that after the influx of new firms in UK, the price competition became fierce and all the new companies tried different things to differentiate and gain customer loyalty. The fuel or gasoline retail structure in US had full service gasoline stations. The full service gasoline station was the one that offered minor services and repairs, where wind shield was cleaned, where credit was offered and where rest rooms were available (Mitchell 1980). Mitchell(1980) also stated that these services were sold as a part of a package along with the gasoline itself and was done entirely with the objective of building a long term relationship between the service station and the customer. The companies in the western countries started looking for various services which can supplement their gasoline sales in the event of increased competition. One of the most popular additions of service was car wash, which proved to be a successful strategy in selling tremendous volumes of gasoline. This made customers to come for car wash and also get their vehicles refuelled. ‘A dealer in Dallas, estimated that more than half of his anticipated $ 700,000 sales would come from an automated car wash. What more he claimed that the presence of car wash boosted his gasoline sales to an annual rate more than 1,000,00 gallons from 680,000 gallons three before that.( Steele 1966) Steele (1966) also predicted that as time passes by more and more gasoline stations will turn into large service centres offering a combination of gasoline, car wash, tire and battery service, restaurant and so on. Thus the future will be a complete one stop solution. This can hold true in Indian context also, but the bouquet of services will be definitely very different from outlets in developed markets. The bouquet will be entirely different depending upon the different customer requirements and purchasing power. Mitchell (1980) also predicted the movement of gasoline stations from independent full service stations to company owned self service gasoline stations. The reason stated was the pressure of margins and aim to drive customer loyalty by providing customers with a large service bouquet at gasoline station with in the same margin. This can also be seen happening in Indian context with Indian Oil Corporation being the first among all PSUs moving towards company owned outlets to increase service standards at their pumps and recently Shell entering into Indian market with company owned outlets. The conceptual model (Brown Ingene 1987) on fuel or gasoline retail structure in US explains the influence of demographic environmental characteristics on marketing mix offerings. The model also explained the influence of location of the outlet on demographic, environmental, and marketing mix characteristics. The research by Brown and Ingene (1987) demonstrated that while defining marketing mix elements for fuel and gasoline retailing it becomes important to consider the impact of demographic and environmental characteristics. The major changes started to happen in fuel retailing and fuel stations started to move towards differentiating themselves due to increase in competition. This was the development of forecourt retailing phenomenon at gasoline stations in western markets. The major changes occurred with petrol forecourt retailing where transition of fuel stations within a contextual framework happened. They had sought differentiation in the face of increased competition. One strategy undertaken was to develop a convenience store format to supplement fuel sales (Denning Freathy 1996). A clear analogy can be drawn for Indian fuel retail also, where with emergence of many private players to tap the biggest consumer market, the players or fuel companies will have to try and do something to differentiate themselves. As the competition grew the fuel retailers faced more and more pressure on profits and it became important for them to generate loyal customers and increase the ticket sales value of loyal customers at the fuel outlet. They move to others forms of revenue generation. The objective was to compensate for erosion with alternative forms of profit generation. The issue for the petrol retailers has been to identify ways of adding value to their operation in the face of these competitive threats. One of the main methods of achieving this has been through forecourt shop. Many petrol retailers have attempted to reduce the risk posed by petrol price fluctuation by expanding the facilities at their outlets. (Keynote, 1993) Denning and Freathy (1996) established that different customer segments depending upon their income levels and profession purchased different products from convenience stores at petrol stations. This indicates that determination major visiting customer segment becomes important at any fuel retail outlet. The product mix at any fuel retail outlet is also dependent upon purchasing power of the customer segments at that outlet. The exact form that the formats have taken has varied by operator location and site type. This is a reflection of the fact that the convenience store does not necessarily follow a single set pattern. The limited space available within each unit, it is possible that services take priority over other categories of goods.(Denning Freathy 1996) An important feature to note here is that, the development of fuel stations did not happen only in areas with in urban limits. The development of interstate highways and urban express ways had made many fuel stations obsolete in western world. This made many oil companies to build new facilities to meet the changing traffic patterns. More and more oil companies began to realize that former gas outlets of the conventional style were no longer getting customer visits. The primary objective of service bouquet is to add to the convenience of the customer visiting the outlet. Convenience is especially important in attracting repeat customers. It becomes fairly important to understand what adds to customer convenience and what not. Convenience results from various factors such as site size, site plan, traffic impacts and parking (Smalley 1996). The factors are not limited to the ones stated above; the factors vary with different geographies and markets. Fuel retail business is of two types one with retail outlets with in urban limits and other with retail outlets on highways and suburbs. The behaviour of the customer is very different at these two different types of business. The marketer likewise faces a distinct business environment to which marketing strategy must be adapted. The Highway market is not necessarily different from traditional markets because objectives remain the same. It is unique, however, because new approaches are needed to achieve the objectives.(Beaton 2001) Interstate or highway motorists seek five basic services: gasoline, rest rooms, food, relaxation and lodging. Aside from the need for gasoline as the prime factor, marketers differ somewhat in their opinions as to the exact ordering of these needs as stopping power factors. (Beaton 2001) The development of new factors is prompting rapid growth of different services at fuel retail outlets at highways. Competition and changing travel patterns mean that to remain competitive the oil companies must meet the overall needs of the motorist at one stop. (Beaton Hall, 1968) For a fuel retail outlet on highways, petroleum companies apply the same criteria for building service bouquet as that of the outlets with in urban limits. This happens due to the profit criteria only as the main objective of existence of outlet instead of customer satisfaction. A good station site does not guarantee a good service station. Site and location factor analysis indicates what a particular fuel outlet should do. (Beaton Hall 1968) Fuel Retailing India Fuel retail business on highways is geography dependent; the above researchers have kept their study confined to more developed and liberalised markets than India. All those factors may be or may not be applied to Indian conditions. As the Indian fuel retail business becomes more deregulation, the customer expectations will start to rise. The variables like competitive market, promotional effort to attract customers by competitors, etc. raise the customer expectations and create customer gap. (Kumar Sahay 2004) In India the study by Kumar Sahay, to find out the elements that determine customer satisfaction in delivering petrol/diesel through retail outlets is confined to fuel retail with in urban limits. The market survey was carried out in Delhi. Stratified non-probability sampling method was used for sample collection. The target population has been defined as: The people who drive ‘Cars / jeeps or ‘Motorcycles/scooters or ‘Buses or ‘Goods vehicles on the roads of Delhi (state)†. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Through cluster analysis the initially found segments reduced to three segments and customer expectations level for various services determined. This has lead to development of hierarchical levels of services for different segments and a conclusion that a player offering all the six levels of services will be able to bridge gap between customer expectations and services offered. These levels of expectations, if met successfully, create â€Å"wow† effect and customer would indulge in word-of-mouth communication. Word-of-mouth communication is the most powerful tool for creating customer base. Not only the existing customers are retained but also they bring-in new customers to outlets. Prospects with continued satisfaction with the products and services become advocates. Such customers start singing marketers song and begin to praise. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Fuel and Non Fuel retailing Initiatives by Indian Oil Marketing Companies The three major players in the domain of oil marketing companies in India are PSUs namely BPCL, HPCL and IOC enjoying majority share. Rest of the pie is served by private players like Reliance, Essar and Shell. All the three PSUs have taken initiatives to add non fuel revenues and build customer loyalty. These initiatives had been taken on outlets both within urban limits and also on outlets on highways and suburbs. The reason behind all the initiatives had been to gain customer loyalty and thus increase customer satisfaction. http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/BPCL.htm Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) is one of the largest public sector undertakings in India, with the Government of India having a more than 50% shareholding in the company as of 31 March 2008 (Euromonitor International, April 2009). BPCL is engaged in the refining and retailing of petroleum and petroleum products, with around 8,251 retail outlets. By December 2008, around 400 of these outlets had an organised convenience store attached, branded as In Out, with an aggregate retailing space of 18,600 sq m. BPCLs key strategy to increase revenues from the In Out outlets has been to expand the basket of products and services offered through the outlets. Apart from offering packaged food, soft and hot drinks, cosmetics and toiletries, household care items and consumer foodservice, BPCL has also tried to add other additional services at the outlets over the years to add to the customer satisfaction levels. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is planning to grow its non-fuel retail business by expanding its fuel retail network, with sufficient size to emphasise non-fuel offerings, and enlarge the portfolio of non-fuel offerings in its outlets located at highways and urban locations, with a focus on food, shopping and entertainment in these outlets. It will also increase consumer services for example, through its recent tie-up with an agency for international money transfer services at its existing urban outlets. During the forecast period, BPCL proposes to invest Rs 6 billion to expand its retail network. The outlets will be built mainly on national highways and at urban locations, and will offer mobile consumers high quality food, and also provide them with access to entertainment through an on-site multiplex screen. BPCL has tied up with Cinemata, a film distribution unit of Sony Entertainment Television, to establish cinema halls at its fuel outlets on highways across the country by 2010. In order to expand its range of services, In Out launched an e-traveller facility at its forecourt retail outlets. The facility enables consumers to book rail, airline and bus tickets, as well as hotel accommodation, and is available in 37 stores. BPCL is working on Phase II of the deployment of this service, when it will make it available in an additional 100 stores. Revenues from the e-traveller facility were around Rs15 million in 2007/2008; its first full year of operation, with sales of 7,782 tickets (Euromonitor International, April 2009). To provide added convenience services to its customers close to their homes, BPCL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Money Gram Internationals agent Airwings Services, to offer international money transfer service in India from its selected In Out outlets. Meanwhile, its alliance initiative with Western Union Money Transfer saw the In Out network record 36,677 transactions in the year ending March 2008, with a turnover of Rs 699 million, an increase of 26% over the previous year. (Euromonitor International, April 2009) BPCLs quick service restaurant sales through its alliance network partners McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Cafà © Coffee Day, Subway, Nirulas and other foodservice brands grew by 40% to Rs 249 million in the year ending March 2008. BPCLs outlets on highways are branded as Ghar Dhaba, and represent the companys foray into food. BPCL has developed a concept covering theme design, kitchen layout and menu planning, and established the standard operating processes for the outlets in-house. As of March 2008, it had 21 Ghar Dhaba outlets in operation, with total sales of Rs23 million. Developed on a large area of three to five acres (12,000-20,000sq m), these outlets provide the requisite space to allow BPCL to experiment with a multiplex cinema for stop-over entertainment (Business Standard, Sep 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bpcl-to-mix-moviesoil-at-pumps/297583/ If the concept is successful, the company will roll this out in more Ghar Dhaba outlets. The multiplex screens, especially in outlets located on highways, will also serve a social purpose for nearby rural consumers. BPCL plans to screen social awareness, health and literacy content in these multiplexes for rural audiences. The majority of the products through the In Out outlets are manufactured by third parties. However, BPCL proposes to offer its own brand of bottled water at the outlets, where the water will be a by-product of its captive power plant, based on hydrogen fuel cell technology. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) was the leading forecourt retailer in India in 2008, with 400 outlets. The company added 17 outlets to the total in that year. Rather than expanding rapidly, BPCL has focused on ensuring that its outlets are profitable, and also on adding additional services to its existing outlets. In 2008, sales revenues of BPCLs non-fuel retail arm, Allied Retail Business (ARB), grew by 32%, to Rs2,089 million, making it the largest non-fuel revenue generator in the oil industry. During the year, In Outs sales revenues grew by 41%, to Rs 1092 million. 15 of the In Out outlets achieved average sales of Rs1 million per month, compared to eight in the previous year. This is clear indication of the fact that now oil marketing companies are understanding the importance of non fuel retail revenue initiatives and also working over it not only for outlets with in urban limits but also for outlets on highways. But as discussed the scientific framework to decide what to offer still remains a mystery, as all the efforts for highway fuel retail outlets have been o trial and error basis. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) HPCL is a Fortune 500 Company, with an annual turnover of over Rs 74044 Crores, a 20% refining and marketing share in India and a strong market infrastructure. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) The corporation operates two major refineries, producing a wide variety of petroleum fuels and specialities, one in Mumbai (West Coast) with a 5.5 MMTPA capacity and the other in Vishakapatnam (East Coast) with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA (Oil Gas, IBEF Report Sep 2009) HPCL holds an equity stake of 16.95% in Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Limited, a state-of-the-art refinery at Mangalore with a capacity of 9 MMTPA. In addition, HPCL is progressing towards the setting up of a refinery in the state of Punjab. HPCL also owns and operates the largest lube refinery in the country, producing lube base oils to international standards. With a capacity of 335,000 metric tonnes this lube refinery accounts for over 40% of the countrys total lube base oil production. The vast marketing network of the corporation consists of zonal offices in the four metro cities and 85 regional offices facilitated by a supply and distribution infrastructure comprising terminals, aviation service stations, bottling plants, and inland relay depots and retail outlets. The Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) focus is on providing broader services to its customers with an experience that is unmatched. Through its retail channels, HPCL offers a nationwide chain of convenience stores, has forged tie-ups with leading fast food and refreshment companies to set up food counters, a special arrangement with FedEx to provide a world class courier service, vehicle insurance and international money faster counters. The focus is on complete customer satisfaction and an experience that will make a customer drive in again and again to HPCL forecourt retailing and convenience stores. In 2006, the chain developed its forecourt operations substantially through a series of agreements with a number of prominent foodservice and retail players. HPCL is increasingly adopting a focus on loyalty, it has put in extra efforts and an aggressive marketing campaign to retain customer loyalty. It runs Indias largest loyalty programme and has products such as the HPCL credit card, HPCL debit card and I-mint loyalty programme. Another focus is on brand equity; HP has been investing in increasing its brand presence and has taken on brand ambassadors such as Sania Mirza and Narayan Karthikeyan to promote its different products. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is a central government commercial enterprise engaged in the refinement and sale of crude oil. It also manufactures other petroleum products like LPG, lubricants, greases, petrochemicals and aviation turbine fuel. HPCL launched its Club HP forecourt retailing chain in 2001. From the beginning, the chain sought to offer other facilities besides selling petrol, diesel and other products. These include free vehicle checks, vehicle finance and insurance related services, bill payment services, HPCL-ICICI credit cards and loyalty programmes. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) Club HP outlets are classified as Standard, Mega and Max, depending on the services and amenities available. In its first phase of expansion, HPCL set up 85 Club HP outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Each of these outlets was converted at an estimated cost of between Rs1 and Rs3 million. It subsequently introduced its supermarket sub brand HP Speed mart, and developed its foodservice operations through an agreement with US Pizza. The success of this deal prompted HPCL to enter into similar agreements with players such as Cafà © Coffee Day (vending and foodservice), Dairy Den (ice cream parlours), Western Union (money transfer points) and Tata Motors (car care services) (Business Standard, Jan 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ In order to improve its image among Indian consumers in terms of the quality of its fuel, during the review period the company launched the PCL Quality Assurance initiative under the Good Fuel Promise slogan. This involved the pioneering concept of mobile laboratories to carry out regular checks on fuel sold at Club HP outlets. It also entered into an agreement with the international agency Bureau Veritas to conduct a surveillance audit of Club HP Outlets. After having a market share of around 20-22% for a long time, recently it has improved its market position to number two, with a market share of close to 25% of the total service station market in India (Business Standard, April 2005). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ For most of the review period, Club HP played second fiddle to BPCLs In Out chain in terms of revenues from forecourt operations, although it garnered considerable brand awareness among consumers. A deal with US Pizza was expected to witness the opening of over 500 pizza and fast food delivery units at Club HP service station outlets across India between 2005 and 2007. Apna Bazaar Co-operative (a supermarket chain) is involved in a pilot project with HPCL to establish Apna Bazaar outlets at three Club HP outlets in Mumbai. If successful, the alliance will be extended to other Club HP outlets nationwide. This agreement will also enable Apna Bazaar to upgrade its image by targeting more upper and middle class consumers. http://www.hindustanpetroleum.com/En/UI/RetailClubHP.aspx While neither of these deals on their own are likely to have any major impact on constant value sales of impulse food and drink products through Club HP outlets, they will almost certainly benefit from the rise in consumer traffic that these foodservice and supermarket operations will entail. A loyalty card deal with low-cost airline Air Deccan should also ensure a higher volume of consumer traffic in Club HP outlets over the forecast period. Similarly, an agreement with Federal Express (FedEx) during the review period to open cargo collection centres at various Club HP outlets should continue to attract consumers between 2005 and 2010. FedEx is slowly gaining a reputation in India as a reliable cargo delivery agent; in 2005, there were FedEx cargo collection centres at HP outlets in eight major Indian cities. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Reliance Petroleum Reliance Petroleum is aggressively targeting the service station channel, planning a pan-Indian presence over the next couple of years in cities as well as on main roads. The biggest challenge it faces is in terms of return on investment and whether it is a wise move to invest so heavily in forecourt retailing in India, which is still relatively underdeveloped. With Reliances strong presence across India, food and beverage manufacturers can aim to push major volumes through Reliance service stations. Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) is a subsidiary of Indias largest private group Reliance Industries Ltd. RPL was set up to harness an emerging value creation opportunity in the global refining sector and currently RPL is a 75% owned subsidiary of RIL. RPL also benefits from a strategic alliance with Chevron India Holdings Pte Limited, Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation USA (Chevron), which currently holds a 5% equity stake in the company. RPL was formed to set up a Greenfield petroleum refinery and polypropylene plant in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar in Gujarat. This global sized, highly complex refinery is being located adjacent to RILs existing refinery and petrochemicals complex, which is amongst the largest and most efficient in the world, thus offering significant synergies. With an annual crude processing capacity of 580,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD), RPL will be the sixth largest refinery in the world. It will have a complexity of 14.0, using the Nelson Complexity Index, ranking it among the highest in the sector. The polypropylene plant will have a capacity to produce 0.9 million metric tonnes per annum. (Euromonitor International, July 2008) With its Reliance A1 Plaza chain, Reliance aims to provide consumers with a wide choice of products in convenient locations. The company had planned to open more than a 1,000 service stations in the next 2-3 years, so it was clearly targeting leadership in the petroleum retailing segment. But during economic crisis and with high crude rates, Reliance had shut their outlets as serving fuel at comparative prices was becoming non-profit making business for them. Shell India Marketing Private Limited Shell India Marketing Private Limited (SIMPL) is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell and the first multinational corporation to obtain government approval to open 2,000 servic