Infrastructure

Information technology or IT is a vital feature or aspect of an organization since it facilitates the handling or management of information that is necessary in fuelling the progress or advancement of the organization. IT systems within an organization will not operate without the establishment of an IT infrastructure. In fact, numerous organizations have regarded the establishment of IT infrastructures as valuable strategies that will help the organization obtain and manage information for its benefit and competitive advantage.

(Xia & King, 2002) In general, the IT infrastructure may be defined as a system that is composed of various technological tools or devices that sets the foundation of information systems. (“IT Infrastructure,” N. D. ) In simple terms, it may be defined as the hardware or the physical design of information systems that constitutes softwares and applications that are used in processing data or information.

Aside from this specific role, IT infrastructures are also used in order to evaluate or assess the state of information systems as a means of finding ways and solutions to develop or improve IT systems to suit current trends or major tweaks in information technology, and such. In addition, IT infrastructure is also the primary reason why organizations are able to design or develop IT softwares, programs or applications, because it facilitates the identification of various features, characteristics, and mechanisms that the organization needs in its information systems.

(Nyrhinen, 2006) The IT infrastructure will cease to exist without the various components that constitute it. First, the IT infrastructure is composed of technological tools, devices, or components that are shared. These technological tools and devices are considered the backbone of the IT infrastructure, building the solid physical foundation of the system in order to become fully operational and functional.

The first component identified also pertains to the various tools and devices that are subject to manual manipulation or control, such as the computers, cables or wires, memory devices that are used to store data, programs, softwares, or applications that are utilized to analyze data and interpret results in order to make sound decisions, and such. (Xia & King, 2002) The second component of the IT infrastructure is the human capital or resources behind the manipulation and operation of its physical framework or backbone.

Without well-trained and professional human resources, the IT infrastructure will not be able to operate on its own. This particular component of the IT infrastructure is in charge of handling the practical and technical operations of the infrastructure ensuring the operations and functionality are working efficiently and that there are no problems, flaws, or glitches in the system.

The human capital, as a component of the IT infrastructure, does not only pertain to the practical and technical knowledge, skills, and competencies of individuals to handle the physical components of the IT infrastructure, but also on the managerial competencies of individuals to oversee how the system is being used, through close supervision and management, and frequent evaluation or assessment of IT tools and devices integrated within the infrastructure.

(Xia & King, 2002) The third component of the IT infrastructure is the non-tangible policies and operational practices that govern plans, strategies, techniques, approaches, practices and such, through organizational or managerial mission, vision, goals, objectives, policies, principles, and such.

Prior to the establishment of the physical components of the IT infrastructure the training and assignment of individuals who will take on jobs as technical handlers of the IT infrastructure, the organization reviews company mission, vision, policies, goals, and objectives in order to determine the necessity of implementing an IT infrastructure, the design of the plan that will be used to guide the implementation process of the IT infrastructure, the standards and guidelines that determine how it will be used, and such.

(Xia & King, 2002) Overall, this particular component of the IT infrastructure determines why or how organizations will establish the IT infrastructure, and how it will go about the process by following standards and guidelines set by company policies, mission, and vision, and such. References “IT Infrastructure. ” (N. D. ) Retrieved January 26, 2009, from University of Wisconsin Whitewater. Website: http://road. uww. edu/road/ambrosep/CBIS/Module%206%20ALL.

ppt Nyrhinen, M. (2006). IT Infrastructure: Structure, Properties and Processes. Retrieved January 26, 2009, from Helsinki School of Economics. Website: http://hsepubl. lib. hse. fi/pdf/wp/w403. pdf Xia, W. & King, W. R. (2002). Determinants of Organizational IT Infrastructure Capabilities: An Empirical Study. Retrieved January 26, 2009, from University of Minnesota. Website: http://misrc. umn. edu/workshops/2002/spring/Xia_030802. pdf

For almost 50 years, the world war was one of the most talked about destruction of war. The wars break out for various reasons. There are world wars in the world, and they made every countries became the fighting area. Whenever, wars have happened there are always destruction everywhere and destroyed everything in each country by dropping bombs and using powerful explosive weapons. The most effects of war is that people are died, destroyed the infrastructure, economic, and separated from families. War killed many people. As a result of ending of the World War I, an estimated 10 million soldiers were killed.

“Those averages about 6,500 deaths a day, every day. Plus, millions of civilians were also killed,” according to www. history1900s. about. com/od/world-war-I. html. World War I was especially remembered for its slaughter for it was one of the bloodiest wars in history. Moreover, World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. “Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2. 5% of the world population,” according to www. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/world_war_II. After the war, it always left many problems to the people and society. The main point is the separate of families and cause three major points.

First, it has many widows so it is very difficult for all widows to try hard to live without helping from other people. Second, the war left many orphans and all of the orphans faced many bad situations such as feel lonely and lack of love from parents. Moreover, orphans could not go to school and could not get knowledge that why they became illiterate person. Third, the war left many people lost their relative became during the war some relative were separate and some were death. By this problems, some people live without knowing that their relatives were dead or still alive as a result it make them lived with unhappy and lonely also.

Another factor that war effected, was infrastructure. Ask you that infrastructure is so important things include building, roads, bridges, and so on. But after the war everything was gone, many buildings such as industries buildings, houses, hospital, schools were collapsed and also most of the roads were damaged by weapon that used during the war. So the war is really effected to infrastructure as mention above. A somewhat different effect of War has made the deficient economic. Particularly, the war always destroy everything not only the infrastructure, but also the cause many bankrupt companies.

Many large companies and small companies could be bankrupt of the war; especially, there is no foreign investor will invest in your country anymore. As the result of bankrupt, it will increase the unemployment and make less productive which cause the inflation that all the products are high price. For example, “In France during the World War II, the currencies of France are worthless mean that you needed 726, 000, 000 francs to buy what you’d been able to get for only 1 franc in 1918,” according to the book of lecture Seng Tith at National Institute of Business.

As the result, the war cause the economic fell down that made difficulty for people to live. In conclusion, the effects of war destroyed many things for countries such as: the death of people, destroyed infrastructure, affected of economy, and people separated from their families. Because of the effected of war, people lived hardly and badly that they feel hurt after the war. War is never good for each country all over the world and for citizens as well.

Primewater Infrastructure Corporation ABOUT US ? PRIMEWATER – a “public service” oriented company ? CUSTOMER SERVICE FRIENDLY ? 24-hour customer service ? Primewatch ? Payments • Over the counter • Electronic channels ? Application on-line ? State of the art water treatment technology Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation ABOUT US PRIMEWATER Infrastructure Corp. ? PRIMEWATER has gone from the traditional service of providing basic utility to one of the top service rovider of its kind in the industry. Central Water System, Inc Northwell Waterworks, Inc, Basic Utility Southwell Waterworks, inc. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation ABOUT US ? The management and staff of Primewater Infrastructure Corporation, including its technical manpower is composed mainly of mechanical, civil, electrical and chemical engineers who are all seasoned and very well capable in the management, operation and maintenance of water system facilities. All are regularly updated through through trainings and seminars from NWRB, LWUA, PWWA and DENR. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation OUR OFFICES LUZON AND METRO MANILA CEBU ILOILO CAGAYAN DE ORO Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation SERVICE AREAS NORTH-EAST AREA – NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION ? Caloocan City ? Quezon City ? Valezuela ? Taytay ? Novaliches Teresa ? Marikina City ? Cainta ? Pasig City ? Antipolo ? San Jose del Monte Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation SERVICE AREAS SOUTHERN AREA – NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION ? Bacoor ? Las Pinas ? Imus ? Muntinlupa ? Dasmari nas ? Paranaque ? General Trias ? Tanza ? Noveleta Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation SERVICE AREAS KEY PROVINCIES AND CITIES

Pampanga Tarlac Pangasinan Tuguegarao Ilocos Norte Isabela Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation SERVICE AREAS KEY PROVINCIES AND CITIES Batangas Laguna Naga Legaspi Cebu Bacolod Leyte Iloilo Cagayan de Oro Davao General Santos Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ? A 30-year professional expertise on water supply set-up and design Access to high quality standard operating procedure developed by years of service ? Highly organized management structure specifically crafted for water system management ? Efficient systems control and productive evaluation report ? Links/Ties with premiere consultants, traders and distributors in the water industry Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation TECHNICAL SERVICES ? Water System Development ? Deepwell construction monitoring ? Pump, motor, and control design and nstallation ? Pump, Motor and Control ? Preventive maintenance ? Motor rating sizing ? Water Tank Design and Fabrication ? Power Efficiency ? Power consumption monitoring ? Electrical loading analysis Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation TECHNICAL SERVICES ? Well maintenance and rehabilitation ? Aquifer level and status monitoring ? Deepwell rehabilitation ? Well disinfection ? Underground Televised Inspection ? (Deepwell Camera Logging) ? Research and Development Introduction of new technologies ? Service improvement ? Vertical Development ? Boosters ? Motor control and drives Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation TECHNICAL SERVICES ? Maintenance Projects ? Water tank cleaning and chlorination of water facilities ? Water analysis and treatment ? Leak repairs and pipeline replacement ? Customer Complaints and Homeowners Associations’ Concerns ? Capex Projects and Development ? Water Quality Monitoring and Improvement

Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation TECHNICAL SERVICES ? Production Monitoring ? Project Identification and DMA Formation ? Implementation and Project Monitoring ? Water Meter Testing Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation TECHNICAL SERVICES NRW REDUCTION ? Control of System Loss ? (Soundsens, X-MIC, and ARAD Meter Testing Equipment) ? Geo-Referencing and Virtual

Mapping ? (Accounts’ Mapping Sysem) Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation TECHNICAL SERVICES ? Hydraulic Analysis and Design ? (Integration of Epanet and Subdivisions’ Satellite View with GIS) ? Water Analysis and Treatment Process ? Sewerage Treatment Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation CUSTOMER SERVICES BILLING AND COLLECTION ? Meter Reading of Water Meters Uploading of Read Data and Checking ? Bill Generation and Printing Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation CUSTOMER SERVICES BILLING AND COLLECTION ? Modes of Payment Transaction ? OVER THE COUNTER Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation CUSTOMER SERVICES BILLING AND COLLECTION ? Modes of Payment Transaction ? ELECTRONIC CHANNELS ONLINE ATM PHONE BANKING

Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation CUSTOMER SERVICES BILLING AND COLLECTION ? Modes of Payment Transaction ? ELECTRONIC CHANNELS Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation OTHER SERVICES ? Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) of a Water System ? Build, Operate and Owned (BOO) Scheme ? Develop Water Source and Supply Bulk Water to an Existing Waterworks Management and Operational/Maintenance Contract to an Existing Water System Facility ? Design and Installation of Water and Wastewater Treatment Facility Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation ORGANIZATION AFFILIALIATIONS LOCAL ? Philippine Water Works Association – PWWA ? Philippine Water Partnership – PWP ? Water Environment Association of the Philippines – WEAP ? Well Drillers Association of the Philippines – WELLDAPHIL Providing safe water for the people and the environment.

Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation ORGANIZATION AFFILIALIATIONS INTERNATIONAL ? Water Environment Federation – WEF ? AQUAFED ? GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP – GWP Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation MOVING FORWARD ? PRIMEWATER envisions expanding its operations to all untapped areas with potential. ? Consequently, we are moving towards providing our services to a significant number of locations and communities.

A move that will maximize investment expenses and therefore give PRIMEWATER a leverage to offer the products and services at the least possible cost to the community. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Primewater Infrastructure Corporation CSR Project: Gawaran Heights Source flow meter or Utilities Bulk Meter Coordinators Dist. Line • Coordinators /collectors: appointed by the contracting party • Flexible collection: depends on the source of income of the consumer • Non revenue water: 5-waterfor the people and the environment.

Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe 10% Primewater Infrastructure Corporation Application Fee: Php. 3,500. 00 + Tech. Cost Rate: Php. 10. 00 per Drum Note: the Coordinators are allow to sell water up to Php. 15. 00 per Drum. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment. Providing safe water for the people and the environment www. primewatercorp. com

MGCP Final Exam-Sandeep Taterway:61310057 Map Model ? Memo to AAI The advent of Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in infrastructure sector especially in airport development presents a tremendous opportunity for AAI to develop a sustainable, profitable and forward looking approach to solving myriad of problems plaguing the Indian airline industry. The genesis of the solution lies in the ability of AAI to attract private capital.

The shift from state owned airport model to PPP model though has been slow and is currently limited to a few major airports in the country but it has infused the much needed capital in the industry, which in turn reduces the AAI’s dependence on Government’s grants. My model emphasises on proliferation of this PPP model which will ensure consistent cash flows to the industry and will also help in improving efficiencies within the system. The interest of private players in this industry is driven by two perspectives.

Firstly by fast growing passenger and freight traffic and also by upside potential in non-aeronautical revenue. Thus in our quest to improve AAI’s sustainable profitability we need to address both these requirements of the private players. In my opinion we can approach them in the trailing manner. Generating passenger and freight traffic Due to requirement of high upfront investments in developing and operating an airport, it becomes pertinent that such investments are offset by revenues from passenger and freight traffic. AAI should take adequate measures to generate growth in demand for airports.

It is important to mention that airline industry is under constant threat from high speed rails and developing road network, especially for short haul flights. A price sensitive consumer, typically a middle class leisure traveller, which comprises almost 50% of the industry, is likely to switch to a cheaper mode of travel if prices of airlines are very high, thus reducing demand for airports. Thus for airlines to be able to generate demand, the prices should be low enough to remain competitive with other modes of transportation. Thus

AAI’s efforts should be concentrated on reducing prices for air travel. Apart from high fixed costs, airlines also pay fees to airport developers that have a direct correlation to the price to the end consumer. Thus we need to ensure that these fees are brought down without affecting the return on investment of the developer which would entail reducing the development cost. Infrastructure development projects of such magnitude are often marred by delays in land acquisition and subsequent hurdles in compensation and rehabilitation of those displaced by the project.

More often than not, the developers are engaged in long litigation processes to gain access to encumbrance free land, this leads to cost escalations and delays to the project. Therefore there is a need to have stringent and concise land acquisition and rehabilitation policies, which will directly reduce the cost of development. Reduction in development cost will lead to reduction in fees that are charged to the airline which in turn would increase the demand for air travel. As a result, airlines will run on capacity generating revenues to offset their high fixed cost and will be able to pay airport charges without default.

In turn AAI can use this revenue to develop newer airports taking into account social obligations. If there are still gaps in funding the development and maintenance of an airport, AAI should allow for charging of User development fee (UDF) to bridge the gaps. This will enable the operator to achieve fair rate of return on its investments and incentivise him to expand the infrastructure as per requirements which will further help in catering to a greater demand. Generating non-aeronautical revenue

Less that 20% of the revenue at airports is generated by non-aeronautical services compared with around 50% or more being achieved by airports around the world. The key determinant of non-aeronautical revenue is retail and duty free, both of which are still miniscule in the country. It thus represents a great opportunity for the aviation industry as Indians are travelling and they are doing so more often. They also have more money to spend and recent FDI approval in retail stands witness to this hypothesis.

The Wal-Marts of the world are beginning to line up to get a share of the great Indian retail pie. AAI is well positioned to take advantage of this advent. By expanding retail beyond the metro and Tier-1 city airports, we can generate sustainable revenues even from the loss making airports. In cases the airport in managed by a PPP driven Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the operator can generate revenue which will further help him to reduce fees to the airlines which have the spiral effect on reducing the fares of air travel and thus generating more demand.

On the fare regulation front for airlines, it is recommended that we adopt the rate of return method as it provides incentives for investing in capacity expansion as the focus of this method is to set a tariff that provides a certain return rate . Also cost cutting at the cost of compromised services doesn’t bring any extra gain in this method, thus there are no distorted incentives to do so. Capacity expansion on the other hand would lead to these airlines serving the newly developed airports across the country.

It is also recommended that for fixing airport fees, a dual till model is used at major airports where the assets, costs and revenues of an airport are allocated between two heads of aeronautical and non-aeronautical. For following this model, we would be able to utilise non-traffic revenues at these airports not just to further enhance the development of the airport but also to develop and maintain loss making airports which serve the social obligation of achieving nationwide connectivity.

We are today at inflection point in the airline industry, though profits have remained elusive, we need to take action to put the industry on a right case footing. Learning This case illustrates how integrating solutions for various stakeholders can guide strategic decisions which in turn can help solve even the most complex issues. I can summarize these principles into learning which can serve as a method for structured thought process in my everyday life.

The critical learning from this case lies in the complex interlinking of issues and how collaboration between various stakeholders can help mitigate even the most complex issues. For example, it is fascinating to note that land acquisition and rehabilitation policies of AAI are closely linked to what I pay for my travel. The spiral effects of one action on end consumer even though involving different stakeholders can be humongous. Thus it is imperative that no lax attitude at any juncture is acceptable in a complex project.

I could also directly relate to these issues as my prior experience with road construction involved budgeting for land compensation and rehabilitation. I always wondered why there is so much fuss about the amount of compensation that we need to pay to the rehabilitees. But this case helped me understand that if we paid excess for compensation for land acquisition, the total cost of the project would go up which in turn could only be recouped by charging a higher toll, the net effect is that passengers are more likely to switch to other non-toll roads to avoid paying these extra charges.

Another important learning from this case is the need of leadership skills when we want to bring about a change in perilous businesses like the airline industry. It is fair to assume since we, as Indians, didn’t develop the airline technology, we didn’t face the initial technological hiccups and one would assume that learning curve is much steeper in India and therefore progress should have achieved much faster. On the contrary India is plagued with deep rooted issues which have slowed if not stalled the progress of aviation industry.

The problem lies in the leadership as India does not have the ready reserve of airline industry people who have grown with the industry. Rather, the leadership has been derived from other sectors and is stuffed with entrepreneurs who are attracted to the industry but have little or no real airline experience. The Indian consumer too is not well versed coupled with the intensely bureaucratic government processes which have had a vice like grip on the industry.

In such complex scenarios, we needed some industry leaders who have both the knowledge and the tenacity to bring about a sweeping change in the industry. It could have been some top official at AAI or a seasoned aviation entrepreneur who is willing to place his bet on the Indian aviation industry. I believe the ability to lead in such conditions is a true test of leadership abilities and I would personally strive to lead my company and my industry in these settings.

American Infrastructure-Now or Never Because of the poor state of the economy the care American infrastructure has been ignored, which poses a danger to everyone that come in contact with it. Recent disasters have reminded many how important the care of American infrastructure is. America’s infrastructure gets a grade of “D” from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which recommends that we spend $2. 2 trillion on repairs and maintenance. “Much of America is held together by Scotch tape, bailing wire and prayers,” says director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.

But with the country no longer swimming but drowning in debt the upkeep of things such as roads and bridges, which we use every day, are easily overlooked. Mike Pagano, an urban planning expert at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said “We have convinced ourselves that infrastructure is free, that someone else should be paying or that we have paid our share. ” One must stop overlooking the problems that one knows exist simply because the consequences are not immediate. Crumbling infrastructure has a direct impact on our personal and economic health, and the nation’s infrastructure crisis is endangering our nation’s future prosperity,” D. Wayne Klotz. According to the U. S. Department of Transportation more than one in four of America’s nearly 600,000 bridges need significant repairs or are burdened with more traffic than they were designed to carry. A third of the country’s major roadways are also in less than standard condition which data from the National Highway Safety Administration finds plays a factor in a third of more than 43,000 traffic fatalities.

Along with the Association of State Dam Safety Officials finding that the number of dams that could fail has grown more that 134 percent since 1999 to 3,346 and more than 1,300 of those being “high-hazard” meaning their failure would threaten lives. When a council of 28 civil engineers evaluated 15 infrastructure categories on the basis of capacity, condition, funding, future need, operation, maintenance, public safety and resilience water received the lowest grade. ASCE gave U.

S drinking water, inland waterways, levees, roads and wastewater infrastructures. The report they generated estimated that leaking pipes lose seven billion gallons of clean drinking water a day “Infrastructure is the four-syllable jawbreaker that governments use to describe the concrete, stone, steel, wires and wood that Americans rely on every day but barely notice until something goes awry (Kelderman). ” Due to the state of the economy many lawmakers put the money need to keep infrastructure properly taken care of into things like defense.

The federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which makes low interest loans to clean up or protect water supplies, has shrunk from more than $3 billion in 1990 to roughly $1 billion in 2007 (Kelderman). The report also suggests that there is an $11 billion dollar shortfall annually needed to bring facilities up to current federal water regulations. As stated in the article “ The State of the Union-Crumbling’, the nation is spending less than 40 percent of the $225 billion needed annually for the next 50 years to maintain the current system of roads, rails and bridges and build enough transportation capacity for a growing population.

In the past ten years there have been many infrastructure failures that make you wonder when the government will get serious about the issue at hand. Not paying attention to the condition of infrastructure has proven to be fatal. The article “The State of the Union- crumbling” confirms that on Aug. 1 2007 the Interstate 35 bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi river, killing thirteen people. Steam pipe explosions in Midtown Manhattan last summer killed one and disrupted many.

In March 2006 the Kaloko Reservoir dam in Hawaii collapsed killing seven and causing $15 million in damages. In 2005 after Hurricane Katrina the levees holding back Lake Pontchartrain gave way killing more than a thousand. Imperative calls have been made to prevent anymore catastrophes due to failing infrastructure but not much has been done. Money is still being put into things like defense which many politicians feel is more important. But if we keep neglecting our own home we may have nothing but half mangled buildings to defend. Our leaders are looking for solutions to the nation’s current economic crisis. Not only could investment in these critical foundations have a positive impact, but if done responsibly, it would also provide tangible benefits to the American people, such as reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, clean and abundant water supplies and protection against natural hazard. ” ASCE President D. Wayne Klotz stated. A report from Kansas City Missouri based HNTB corp. ound that 74 percent of Americans would be willing to spend more on various transportation expenses or taxes if the money was put toward long-term transportation improvements. More than half (58 percent) of Americans would pay more each month, an average of thirteen dollars per month, to reduce the time they spend in traffic by twenty percent. ASCE President D. Wayne Klotz also stated that “Infrastructure investment at all levels must be prioritized and executed according to well conceived plans that both complement the national vision and focus on system wide outputs.

Goals of the plan should center on freight and passenger mobility, intermodality, water use, environmental stewardship and encouraging resiliency and sustainability. The plans must reflect a better defined set of federal, state, local, and private sector roles and responsibilities and instill better discipline for setting priorities and focusing funding to solve the most pressing problems. The plans should also complement our broad national goals of economic growth and leadership, resource conservation, energy independence, and environmental stewardship.

Infrastructure plans should be synchronized with regional land use planning and related regulation and incentives to promote non-structural as well as structural solutions to mitigate the growing demand for increased infrastructure capacity. ” A long-term infrastructure plan can foster productive growth in our economy, sustainable growth that furthers energy independence and real solutions to climate change and comprehensive growth so that low and moderate-income families have access to opportunity.

And studies show that American citizen realize the importance and are willing to pay their fair share of the cost so the only thing missing now is action. Works Cited Kelderman, Eric. “The Pew Charitable Trusts. ” Pew Center on the States. N. p. , 16 Jan. 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. pewstates. org/projects/stateline/headlines/the-state-of-the-union-crumbling 85899387455;. Failure to Act. Rep. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. 2011 Report Card. American Society of

Civil Engineers, July 2011. Web. 28 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. asce. org/infrastructure/report-card/economic-study/;. “American infrastructure receives ‘D’ grade on ASCE report card. ” Clean Water Report 4 Feb. 2009: 2. General OneFile. Web. 2 Nov. 2012 “Infrastructure, Infrastructure. ” Transport Topics. 3967 (2011): 6-. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. “Americans support infrastructure investment. ” American City ; County 1 May 2011. General OneFile. Web 2 Nov. 2012.

Automotive market in CHINA China’s domestic car sales, growing at more than 10% annually, these growing sales were in the domestic market and did not improve China’s competitiveness in the global auto industry. The rise of China as a Automotive car producer has lead to better roads, new distribution channels, the deregulation of the auto market, and China’s WTO entry. The multinational automotive companies invest in China for several reasons they try to find lower production costs, increase their market share in that specific areas while increasing their efficiency while operating and producing.

In the early stages of China’s economic development, many foreign firms invested in China for cheap material and labor costs, as well as low worker unionization rate and environmental standards. Thus, most of China’s exports come out of miscellaneous manufacturing and labor-intensive industries. The central government has increased investment in basic infrastructure development in order to remove the bottleneck effect caused by low infrastructure conditions and to increase energy productivity, transportation quality and communication ability.

Although China’s auto firms have few competitive advantages comparing to leading global companies in terms of technological and managerial skills, China is still the largest potential demand market in the world. predicted that China’s average income will increase at an annual rate of 6% by 2011. Currently, for every 100 families in Beijing, 12 own private vehicles. While this number is insignificant compared with developed nations. Currently the country’s per capita GDP is low by international standards, and the majority of Chinese families are preoccupied with issues such as housing, medical care, and education.

Many auto firms is the asymmetric distribution of China’s population and income. Competition in major cities has been accelerated in almost all market segments. During that period, in China, the supply chain underwent a major transformation. Multinational part suppliers began to work closely with local suppliers, in response to growing pressure from global auto assemblers. Meanwhile, Chinese domestic carmakers tried to improve their research capacity and economy of scale by standardizing local supply network. The first and most obvious strength is low production costs.

Secondly, available production facilities build a solid infrastructure for parts manufacture and technological upgrading. Major auto assemblers invested heavily in the emerging markets, increasing production capacity and modernizing existing plants. They are attracted not only by the sales growth prospects offered by low motorization rates in developing nations, but also by the potential cost reduction that may be obtained through integrating low cost manufacturing locations and spreading the vehicle development costs across a greater number of markets.

In China, the government promotes the development of large business groups in the auto sector so as to concentrate foreign investment and help build up competitive Chinese automakers. Finally a shared supplier network can help improve the suppliers’ economy of scale while promoting global quality standards and reducing the cost of vehicle manufacturing.

india’s soft drinks industry table of contents toc o “1-3” u part a: contextual analysis of india and the indian soft drink industry pageref _toc323046458 h 3 introduction pageref _toc323046459 h 3 1. factor conditions pageref _toc323046460 h 4 1. 1 opportunities pageref _toc323046461 h 4 1. 1. 1 india’s physical resources pageref _toc323046462 h 4 1. 2 threats pageref _toc323046463 h 6 1. 2. 1 infrastructure pageref _toc323046464 h 6 1. 2. 2 education and labour pageref _toc323046465 h 6 2. demand conditions pageref _toc323046466 h 7 3. related and supporting industries pageref _toc323046467 h 9 3. availability of related and supporting industries pageref _toc323046468 h 9 3. 2 bargaining power of suppliers pageref _toc323046469 h 9 3. 3 bargaining power of buyers pageref _toc323046470 h 9 4. firm strategy, structure and rivalry pageref _toc323046471 h 10 4. 1 cultural impact on firm strategy and structure pageref _toc323046472 h 10 4. 2 rivalry among existing competitors pageref _toc323046473 h 10 4. 3 threat of new entrants pageref _toc323046474 h 11 4. 4 threat of substitutes pageref _toc323046475 h 12 5. government pageref _toc323046476 h 12 6. role of chance pageref _toc323046477 h 12

conclusion pageref _toc323046478 h 13 part b: critical evaluation of porter’s national diamond model pageref _toc323046479 h 13 references pageref _toc323046480 h 15 part a: contextual analysis of india and the indian soft drink industry introduction a. g. barr has been in the soft drinks business for over 130 years and is one of the biggest soft drinks company in united kingdom (uk) (a. g. barr, 2012). the company has a long standing success in the european market with its popular soft drinks such as irn-bru, barr and tizer. with a strong-hold in the europen market, now a.

G. Barr would like to expand their business to other markets. Following The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and PepsiCo success in the Asian market, the company would like to venture into the soft drinks industry in India. The definition of a soft drink market is the retail sale of bottled water, juices, carbonates, functional drinks, ready to drink (RTD) tea and coffee, and smoothies (Datamonitor, 2011). According to Datamonitor (2011), the India soft drinks market is valued at $3. 8 million as of 2010 even though it accounts only 3. 3% of the overall value in the Asia-Pacific market.

Japan and China hold the top two positions with a combined market share of 71. 2% (Datamonitor, 2011). Hence, before setting up an operation in India, the company need to know further details of the local soft drinks industry such as the market share, the customer profile, the suppliers and the competitors. As such, the main purpose of this report is to analysis the feasibility of the India expansion and gives proper recommendations. The Porter’s Diamond analysis, the SWOT analysis and Porter’s 5 Forces analysis will be used to evaluate and comprehend the India soft drinks market. . FACTOR CONDITIONS Firstly, we will evaluate the factor conditions of India which may serve as an opportunity or a threat towards our venture into the soft drinks industry. 1. 1 OPPORTUNITIES 1. 1. 1 INDIA’S PHYSICAL RESOURCES India is a country rich of raw materials, resources and land. For this report, we will focus on those physical resources that are essential for the soft drinks industry – water, sugar, aluminium, power sources. With a land space of over 2. 9 million square kilometres (sq km) and a population of 1. 2 billion people, India has only 314,070 sq km of water (CIA World Fact book, 2012). Even though the Indian government has done many things do improved the situation by building water plants and water piping in the urban and rural areas, there are still about 18. 5% of the population (226 million) that lack access to clean, drinkable water (CESS INDIA, 2004) With a sophisticated water purification installed in our soft drinks plantation, A. G. Barr are able to process the unclean water into safe, drinkable water and use it for the basis of the final products. Hence, A. G.

Barr will be able to offer an alternative drinking source for the citizens with our soft drinks products. Next, with a total arable territory of about 1. 2 million sq km, agriculture is the biggest industry and plays a major role in the socioeconomic growth of India (Maps of India, 2012). According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2012) and the Maps of India (2012), India is the 2nd biggest world producers of sugarcane (sugar) with about 453 sugar mills located all over India. INCLUDEPICTURE “http://faostat. fao. org/DesktopModules/Faostat/Images/T20/ChartPic_3nemzw945otecriq01oo. ng? 3f2841b2-add0-4841-9dc7-5707a2a011f0” * MERGEFORMATINET Table 1: Top Production – Sugar cane 2010 Source: FAO Thirdly, for aluminium, India is the fifth biggest producer in the world after Australia, Guinea, Brazil and Jamaica (Maps of India, 2012). Finally, to obtain vast economic growth and a flourishing industrial sector, the Indian government has invested and given top precedence to the power sector of the nation and as of the 21st century, India is able to generate about 90% of its own energy through (Maps of India, 2012):

Thermal/Coal Power Hydro Power Renewable Resources Power Nuclear Power With most of the raw materials and resources readily available in India, the price for these materials will be relatively standard and low. Hence, this will lower the cost of production. This is a key factor in venturing into the India market as A. G. Barr require a huge amount of clean water and sugar to produce the soft drink products. 1. 2 THREATS 1. 2. 1 INFRASTRUCTURE The infrastructure in India is one of the most problematic and unreliable in the world.

As stated previously, even though India is able to generate 90% of its power, due to the poor financial position of many power supply companies, the power supplies are always inconsistent and frequently being cut-off (‘India: Risk overview’, 2011). Hence, companies, offices and industrial plants need to have their own back-up power facilities to ensure no interruption to the production processes (‘India: Risk overview’, 2011). The road and railway system in India is still undependable and many traffic congestions are resulted due to the inadequacy.

Pan (Asiamoney, 2010) notes that while the Indian government are investing US$1 trillion in infrastructure from 2012 to 2017, political bureaucracy and lack of good projects are hindering the developments of infrastructure. At the same time, Roy (Euromoney, 2010) reports that while Mr. Rajiv Lall, chief executive of state-run lender Infrastructure Development Finance Company believes India infrastructure has been slowly improving, the dependable relationship between the public sector and the private sectors in infrastructure will lead to corruption and thus may hinder the progression of big infrastructure projects.

Therefore, any company that wish to venture into India soft drinks market will need to spend a sizeable amount on power generator and water purification facilities. This huge expenditure will put a dent on the initial capital investment and A. G. Barr need to take this into account and plan on how much of the expenditure to be transferred over to the final consumers through the products. 1. 2. 2 EDUCATION AND LABOUR According to several organizations; CIA (2012), US Department of State (2011) and WEF (2011), India’s literacy rate is only at 61%.

The education level in India is low as many of the population live in poverty or the slump and unable to afford going school. Moreover, the Indian government lacks of provision of education is hindering its people to learn and receive knowledge. This result in a low skilled workforce and the unemployment rate for youth age 15 to 24 in India is high at 10. 5% (CIA World Fact Book, 2012). While a soft drink company with high technology facilities and processes requires employees with minimal skills, it is still essential for these workers have a basic understanding and motor skills to operate the high-tech, expensive machineries.

Another end of the spectrum is those highly educated Indians where the information technology (IT) sector is booming. These IT personnel and engineers are viable to our company as they able to manage, supervise and suitable of the higher ranking jobs. Hence, to ensure the workers hired have the essential skills, A. G. Barr will need to frequently conduct training programs, skills development workshops and have simple instructions which are easy to follow. 2. DEMAND CONDITIONS With the relaxation of the Indian government policy on FDIs and foreign companies, the soft drinks industry had change tremendously.

As the US and EU markets are highly saturated, companies are looking into the Asian markets to expand and gain more revenues. Apart from China, Japan and South Korea, India is the 4th leading Asian soft drinks market and the market is still growing and has yet to reach its saturation point. In 2010, there is a substantial demand for soft drinks as the market has grown by 10. 4% (Datamonitor, 2011). Datamonitor (2011) even predicts that by 2015, the Indian market will grow to a value of $5. 8 million. Table 2 shows the growth of India soft drink market from 2006 to 2010.

Table 2: India soft drinks market volume: million liters, 2006–10(e) Datamonitor (2011) also reports that as of 2010, the soft drinks industry has generated total revenues of $3. 8 billion and with 50% of the total revenues, carbonates sale is the most profitable category. Table 3: India soft drinks market segmentation: % share, by value, 2010(e) It is essential to note that currently there is a growing trend of “vitamin water” or “nutrient water” in the world as many people are becoming more health conscious.

The Times (London) (2012) reports that even India is not spared from the trend as PepsiCo, together with Tata Global Beverages, intend to market the “nutrient water” to India’s urban, middle-class consumers where a bottle of such product will cost slightly higher than a standard bottled water. Hence, this could greatly affect the retail sales of carbonates. A. G. Barr has already altered its products to regular variants to low calorie and no added sugar variants in accordance to the gradual shift towards healthly living in the UK (A.

G. Barr, 2012). For example, its popular porduct, IRN-BRU now comes in a sugar free variation, the ‘IRN-BRU sugar free’. Thus, the “nutrient water” market is another sector A. G. Barr could develop into not only in UK but also in India. 3. RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES 3. 1 AVAILABILITY OF RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES India has huge supporting industries for the soft drinks market and the availablity of the main components for a soft drinks company in India is high.

There are 453 sugar mills in India and the top 6 growing states are located in the Northern, Southern and Western regions of India (Maps of India, 2012). Noteably, the Indian government has been extentsively investing in the agriculture sector to ensure that the process of the sector from raw materials to warehousing and merchandising flow smoothly. And as for the aluminium industry, India has a sizeable number of aluminium plants located mainly in Northern and Southern regions. 3. 2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS

As inputs are readily available, suppliers are unable to provide their services or sell their products at a higher price than their competitors as it is of no loss to the soft drinks company since the company is able to get the same or better services and products from other suppliers. A. G. Barr is able to obtain the primary inputs for its products through several sources in the region or state. Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers such as the packaging producers and raw materials and soft drinks ingredients producers are relatively low (Datamonitor, 2011). 3. 3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS

The power of the retailers and distributors in this market is weak as most soft drinks manufactures work closely with the local bottling companies to distribute the ready for sale products to buyers within a certain region or sector (Datamonitor, 2011). Datamonitor (2011) also reports that with 46. 3% of the total market volume, the independent retailers such as the small family mart shops are the main distribution channels for soft drinks but this could change with the introduction of super and hypermarkets. Thus, consumers will have a wider range of soft drinks brands to choose from.

In order to gain relatively significant market share, A. G. Barr needs to do plenty of advertising and promotion. One of the strategies A. G. Barr could adopt is to set their soft drinks at a lower price than the main competitors, TCCC and PepsiCo in the rural areas while maintaining the same price in the urban areas where most of the middle-income and high-income classes have high consumer purchasing power. 4. FIRM STRATEGY, STRUCTURE AND RIVALRY 4. 1 CULTURAL IMPACT ON FIRM STRATEGY AND STRUCTURE A. G. Barr core strategic focus is based on the following 7 platforms (A. G.

Barr, 2012): Core Brands and Markets Portfolio development Route to market Partnerships Efficient Operations People Development Sustainability To ensure these strategies and structure is maintain in other country, A. G. Barr has to train its overseas employees, make them understand and cultivate the A. G. Barr working culture. However, this will be a tough challenge in India due to the poor education and different socio-culture. Thus, A. G. Barr needs to accommodate its Western working culture with India working culture, however without losing its main mission and strategy.

To ensure this is excuted properly, A. G. Barr needs to obtain a specialist in the Indian market and culture. 4. 2 RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS In India, the soft drink market is dominated by three main players – The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), PepsiCo and Parle Bisleri Ltd – securing 74. 1% of the total market volume (Datamonitor, 2011). Table 4: India soft drinks market share: % share, by volume, 2010(e) BBC News (2011) reports that TCCC planned to invest $2 billion in India to boost its market share and expected India to be in its top five markets by 2020.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo intend to launch a new product, “nutrient water” with Tata Water targeting at the young urban consumers to gain more market shares (Pagnamenta, 2012). This shows how competitive the rivalry in the India soft drinks industry where the two major market shares are actively investing and developing new products to gain more shares. 4. 3 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS The big players of the India soft drinks industry are actively improving themselves and distinguishing their products through various methods. Furthermore, TCCC and PepsiCo are renowned world soft drinks brands which have been existing in the India market for many years.

Though new companies in the industry may have difficulty competing with the existing players, it may accomplish small success by using different production method or focusing on the lesser ventured catergories of the soft drinks markets such as health drinks and energy drinks (Datamonitor, 2011). This could be a major break through for A. G. Barr as its most popular products; the IRN-BRU; is low in sugar and contains additional benefits of an energy drink. In addition, the Rockstar series which are designed to target those who lead active lifestyles may be able to attract the young, urban consumers.

With several advertising accolades, A. G. Barr has the knowledge and is able use the power of media to attract potential consumers and gain more market shares. 4. 4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES The main substitutes for soft drinks markets are traditonal tea and coffee, homemade juices and fresh water from the water plants or piping system. As A. G. Barr and other leading soft drinks companies have diverse products to cater to the different needs of the consumers – carbonates, bottled water, juices etc – this will narrow down the threat of substitutes.

However, the threat is still relatively moderate as retailers and distributors may give more shelf space for traditional tea and coffee products as they may be stored at room temperatures (Datamonitor, 2011). 5. GOVERNMENT BBC News (2011) reports that India is ranked 95th out of 183 nations in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions (TICP) list. Due to the high corruption scandals among its government officials, low or invisible legislative work, red tape and bureaucracy, India has dropped from 87th in 2010 to 95th (BBC News, 2011).

Despite its numerous intervention, corruption in India is an issue which is very difficult to get rid off since most of the political members and officals have their own agendas and are resistant to change (‘India: Risk overview’, 2011). Hence, foreign companies will faced many setbacks when they venture into the India sectors. 6. ROLE OF CHANCE The role of chance plays a small part in factoring the soft drinks industry as most of the technology are at it most advanced state. The only main issue currently is the Iran oil crisis.

As India still refuses to cut Iranian oil imports, this may lead to a huge setback if USA decides to attack Iran and ignore India’s relation with Iran (CBS News, 2012, Kennedy, 2012). With a potential strain relationship with USA, this could lead to severe freeze in the trade and foreign direct investments. Furthermore, the other two traid nations, EU and Japan, may follow suit USA’s decision to cut ties with India for refusing to withdraw the purchasing of Iranian oil. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the soft drinks market in India is huge though it is predominately hold by 3 major key players.

To venture into this territory, a new company need to set itself apart from the majpr players through unique advertising, differentiated production method and diverse product offerings. New companies may set an initial low price of its products to attract consumers however; this should not be a long term strategy. Companies need to have a huge capital investment to counter the corruption, trade policies and poor infrastructure. Thus, expenditures and initial start-up cost will be high and companies will have to redistribute part of the cost to its final consumers in order to gain profits.

PART B: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF PORTER’S NATIONAL DIAMOND MODEL Michael E. Porter is a well renowned economic strategist whom has writen 18 books and over125 articles (HBS, 2008). With a core field in competitive strategy, Porter has written and developed a number of strategic frameworks such as the Porter’s National Diamond model and Porter’s 5 Forces analysis. Since the model was based on eight developed countries and two industrialized countries, an analysis on developing, growing countries such as India is flawed.

This is because these developing countries are not on the same economic level as the 10 countries. Thus, though the Porter’s National Diamond (PND) model analysis almost every aspect of India’s profile, it still lacks in-depth analysis and companies should not base their analytical evaluation on the PND model alone. As supported by Van Den Bosch, and Van Proojien (1992), both authors believed that PND model provide limited analysis on the control of national culture on the competitive advantage of nations.

Similar to the EU countries, India too has a diverse set of culture which plays significant role in the management of the country’s economy, laws, trade policies and governance. There are limited sources on India and the soft drinks market due to the lack of legistative work from the government officals. Furthermore, some of the reports or statistics may not be entirely accurate due to the high corruption level. For example, reports may state that India is able to generate 90% of its power but the power plants are inconsistent and supplies are frequently distrupted.

Also, to what extend is the literacy rate of India is correct? The literacy rates may be higher than stated as with 1. 22 billion people, India officials may have a tough job collecting the accurate datas. Moreover, with high poverty and low income, most of Indian citizens have the ‘thrifty mindset’ whereby they prefer things which are basically free even though it maybe harmful such as drinking untreated water. These are the pros of the PND model for India: Analysis different aspect of the country profile

Takes into account the role of Government which is the most essential for India These are the cons of the PND model for India: Limited credible sources for analysis Little depth as India is a huge country with various swinging factors. Limited analysis on the cultural effect on a country’s competitive advantage Ways to improve the PND model for India: Supporting the model with other analysis model such as PEST, SWOT, Porter’s 5 Forces and Fons Trompenaars’ Seven Cultural Dimensions. Intentsive research on the market and the growth of the market. REFERENCES A. G. Barr (2012) About Us.

Available at: http://www. agbarr. co. uk/agbarr/newsite/ces_general. nsf/wpg/about_us-our_strategy (Accessed: 22 March 2012). BBC News (2011) Coke plans $2bn India investment in bid to boost growth. Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-15731884 (Accessed: 20 February 2012). BBC News (2011) India Transparency International corruption index blow. Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-india-15979646 (Accessed: 01 March 2012). CBS News (2012) U. K. : Attack on Iran has “enormous downsides”. Available at: http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-202_162-57380838/u. . -attack-on-iran-has-enormous-downsides/? tag=mncol;lst;1 (Accessed: 20 February 2012). India. CESS (2004) Right to Drinking Water in India. Available at: http://www. cess. ac. in/cesshome/wp%5CWater. pdf (Accessed: 22 March 2012). CIA (2012) South Asia, India. Available at: https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in. html (Accessed: 20 February 2012). FAO (2012) Faostat. Available at: http://faostat. fao. org/site/339/default. aspx (Accessed: 01 March 2012). HBS (2008) Harvard Business School Faculty & Research. Available at: http://drfd. bs. edu/fit/public/facultyInfo. do? facInfo=bio&facEmId=mporter (Accessed: 10 April 2012). ‘India: Risk overview’ (2011) Business Asia, 43, 14, pp. 10-11, Business Source Premier, EBSCO [Online]. Available at http://searchebscohost. com (Accessed: 22 March 2012). Kennedy (2012) US Pleas for Asia to Cut Iranian Oil Imports Fall on Deaf Ears, Oilprice. Available at: http://oilprice. com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Pleas-for-Asia-to-Cut-Iranian-Oil-Imports-Fall-on-Deaf-Ears. html (Accessed: 20 February 2012). Maps of India (2012) India Agriculture. Available at: