Culture and Anarchy by Mathew Arnold Essay

My foremost design in writing this Preface is to address a word of exhortation to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. In the essay which follows, the reader will often find Bishop Wilson quoted. To me and to the members of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge his name and writings are still, no doubt, familiar; but the world is fast going away from old-fashioned people of his sort, and I learnt with consternation lately from a brilliant and distinguished votary of the natural sciences, that he had never so much as heard of Bishop Wilson, and that he imagined me to have invented him. At a moment when the Courts of Law have just taken off the embargo from the recreative religion furnished on Sundays by my gifted acquaintance and others, and when St. Martin’s Hall [iv] and the Alhambra will soon be beginning again to resound with their pulpit-eloquence, it distresses one to think that the new lights should not only have, in general, a very low opinion of the preachers of the old religion, but that they should have it without knowing the best that these preachers can do. And that they are in this case is owing in part, certainly, to the negligence of the Christian Knowledge Society. In old times they used to print and spread abroad Bishop Wilson’s Maxims of Piety and Christianity; the copy of this work which I use is one of their publications, bearing their imprint, and bound in the well-known brown calf which they made familiar to our childhood; but the date of my copy is 1812. I know of no copy besides, and I believe the work is no longer one of those printed and circulated by the Society. Hence the error, flattering, I own, to me personally, yet in itself to be regretted, of the distinguished physicist already mentioned. But Bishop Wilson’s Maxims deserve to be circulated as a religious book, not only by comparison with the cartloads of rubbish circulated at present under this designation, but for their own sake, and even by comparison with the other works of the same [v] author. Over the far better known Sacra Privata they have this advantage, that they were prepared by him for his own private use, while the Sacra Privata were prepared by him for the use of the public. The Maxims were never meant to be printed, and have on that account, like a work of, doubtless, far deeper emotion and power, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, something peculiarly sincere and first-hand about them. Some of the best things from the Maxims have passed into the Sacra Privata; still, in the Maxims, we have them as they first arose; and whereas, too, in the Sacra Privata the writer speaks very often as one of the clergy, and as addressing the clergy, in the Maxims he almost always speaks solely as a man. I am not saying a word against the Sacra Privata, for which I have the highest respect; only the Maxims seem to me a better and a more edifying book still. They should be read, as Joubert says Nicole should be read, with a direct aim at practice. The reader will leave on one side things which, from the change of time and from the changed point of view which the change of time inevitably brings with it, no longer suit him; enough [vi] will remain to serve as a sample of the very best, perhaps, which our nation and race can do in the way of religious writing. Monsieur Michelet makes it a reproach to us that, in all the doubt as to the real author of the Imitation, no one has ever dreamed of ascribing that work to an Englishman. It is true, the Imitation could not well have been written by an Englishman; the religious delicacy and the profound asceticism of that admirable book are hardly in our nature. This would be more of a reproach to us if in poetry, which requires, no less than religion, a true delicacy of spiritual perception, our race had not done such great things; and if the Imitation, exquisite as it is, did not, as I have elsewhere remarked, belong to a class of works in which the perfect balance of human nature is lost, and which have therefore, as spiritual productions, in their contents something excessive and morbid, in their form something not thoroughly sound. On a lower range than the Imitation, and awakening in our nature chords less poetical and delicate, the Maxims of Bishop Wilson are, as a religious work, far more solid. To the most sincere ardour and unction, Bishop Wilson unites, in these Maxims, that downright honesty [vii] and plain good sense which our English race has so powerfully applied to the divine impossibilities of religion; by which it has brought religion so much into practical life, and has done its allotted part in promoting upon earth the kingdom of God. But with ardour and unction religion, as we all know, may still be fanatical; with honesty and good sense, it may still be prosaic; and the fruit of honesty and good sense united with ardour and unction is often only a prosaic religion held fanatically. Bishop Wilson’s excellence lies in a balance of the four qualities, and in a fulness and perfection of them, which makes this untoward result impossible; his unction is so perfect, and in such happy alliance with his good sense, that it becomes tenderness and fervent charity; his good sense is so perfect and in such happy alliance with his unction, that it becomes moderation and insight. While, therefore, the type of religion exhibited in his Maxims is English, it is yet a type of a far higher kind than is in general reached by Bishop Wilson’s countrymen; and yet, being English, it is possible and attainable for them. And so I conclude as I began, by saying that a work of this sort is one which the Society for Promoting Christian [viii] Knowledge should not suffer to remain out of print or out of currency. To pass now to the matters canvassed in the following essay. The whole scope of the essay is to recommend culture as the great help out of our present difficulties; culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world, and, through this knowledge, turning a stream of fresh and free thought upon our stock notions and habits, which we now follow staunchly but mechanically, vainly imagining that there is a virtue in following them staunchly which makes up for the mischief of following them mechanically. This, and this alone, is the scope of the following essay. I say again here, what I have said in the pages which follow, that from the faults and weaknesses of bookmen a notion of something bookish, pedantic, and futile has got itself more or less connected with the word culture, and that it is a pity we cannot use a word more perfectly free from all shadow of reproach. And yet, futile as are many bookmen, and helpless as books and reading often prove for bringing nearer to perfection those who [ix] use them, one must, I think, be struck more and more, the longer one lives, to find how much, in our present society, a man’s life of each day depends for its solidity and value on whether he reads during that day, and, far more still, on what he reads during it. More and more he who examines himself will find the difference it makes to him, at the end of any given day, whether or no he has pursued his avocations throughout it without reading at all; and whether or no, having read something, he has read the newspapers only. This, however, is a matter for each man’s private conscience and experience. If a man without books or reading, or reading nothing but his letters and the newspapers, gets nevertheless a fresh and free play of the best thoughts upon his stock notions and habits, he has got culture. He has got that for which we prize and recommend culture; he has got that which at the present moment we seek culture that it may give us. This inward operation is the very life and essence of culture, as we conceive it. Nevertheless, it is not easy so to frame one’s discourse concerning the operation of culture, as to avoid giving frequent occasion to a misunderstanding whereby the essential inwardness of the [x] operation is lost sight of. We are supposed, when we criticise by the help of culture some imperfect doing or other, to have in our eye some well-known rival plan of doing, which we want to serve and recommend. Thus, for instance, because I have freely pointed out the dangers and inconveniences to which our literature is exposed in the absence of any centre of taste and authority like the French Academy, it is constantly said that I want to introduce here in England an institution like the French Academy. I have indeed expressly declared that I wanted no such thing; but let us notice how it is just our worship of machinery, and of external doing, which leads to this charge being brought; and how the inwardness of culture makes us seize, for watching and cure, the faults to which our want of an Academy inclines us, and yet prevents us from trusting to an arm of flesh, as the Puritans say,–from blindly flying to this outward machinery of an Academy, in order to help ourselves. For the very same culture and free inward play of thought which shows us how the Corinthian style, or the whimsies about the One Primeval Language, are generated and strengthened in the absence of an [xi] Academy, shows us, too, how little any Academy, such as we should be likely to get, would cure them. Every one who knows the characteristics of our national life, and the tendencies so fully discussed in the following pages, knows exactly what an English Academy would be like. One can see the happy family in one’s mind’s eye as distinctly as if it was already constituted. Lord Stanhope, the Bishop of Oxford, Mr. Gladstone, the Dean of Westminster, Mr. Froude, Mr. Henry Reeve,– everything which is influential, accomplished, and distinguished; and then, some fine morning, a dissatisfaction of the public mind with this brilliant and select coterie, a flight of Corinthian leading articles, and an irruption of Mr. G. A. Sala. Clearly, this is not what will do us good. The very same faults,–the want of sensitiveness of intellectual conscience, the disbelief in right reason, the dislike of authority,–which have hindered our having an Academy and have worked injuriously in our literature, would also hinder us from making our Academy, if we established it, one which would really correct them. And culture, which shows us truly the faults, shows us this also just as truly. [xii] It is by a like sort of misunderstanding, again, that Mr. Oscar Browning, one of the assistant-masters at Eton, takes up in the Quarterly Review the cudgels for Eton, as if I had attacked Eton, because I have said, in a book about foreign schools, that a man may well prefer to teach his three or four hours a day without keeping a boarding-house; and that there are great dangers in cramming little boys of eight or ten and making them compete for an object of great value to their parents; and, again, that the manufacture and supply of school-books, in England, much needs regulation by some competent authority. Mr. Oscar Browning gives us to understand that at Eton he and others, with perfect satisfaction to themselves and the public, combine the functions of teaching and of keeping a boarding-house; that he knows excellent men (and, indeed, well he may, for a brother of his own, I am told, is one of the best of them,) engaged in preparing little boys for competitive examinations, and that the result, as tested at Eton, gives perfect satisfaction. And as to school-books he adds, finally, that Dr. William Smith, the learned and distinguished editor of the Quarterly Review, is, as we all know, [xiii] the compiler of school-books meritorious and many. This is what Mr. Oscar Browning gives us to understand in the Quarterly Review, and it is impossible not to read with pleasure what he says. For what can give a finer example of that frankness and manly self- confidence which our great public schools, and none of them so much as Eton, are supposed to inspire, of that buoyant ease in holding up one’s head, speaking out what is in one’s mind, and flinging off all sheepishness and awkwardness, than to see an Eton assistant-master offering in fact himself as evidence that to combine boarding-house- keeping with teaching is a good hing, and his brother as evidence that to train and race little boys for competitive examinations is a good thing? Nay, and one sees that this frank-hearted Eton self- confidence is contagious; for has not Mr. Oscar Browning managed to fire Dr. William Smith (himself, no doubt, the modestest man alive, and never trained at Eton) with the same spirit, and made him insert in his own Review a puff, so to speak, of his own school-books, declaring that they are (as they are) meritorious and many? Nevertheless, Mr. Oscar Browning is wrong in [xiv] thinking that I wished to run down Eton; and his repetition on behalf of Eton, with this idea in his head, of the strains of his heroic ancestor, Malvina’s Oscar, as they are recorded by the family poet, Ossian, is unnecessary. â€Å"The wild boar rushes over their tombs, but he does not disturb their repose. They still love the sport of their youth, and mount the wind with joy. All I meant to say was, that there were unpleasantnesses in uniting the keeping a boarding-house with teaching, and dangers in cramming and racing little boys for competitive examinations, and charlatanism and extravagance in the manufacture and supply of our school-books. But when Mr. Oscar Browning tells us that all these have been happily got rid of in his case, and his brother’s case, and Dr. William Smith’s case, then I say that this is just what I wish, and I hope other people will follow their good example. All I seek is that such blemishes should not through any negligence, self-love, or want of due self- examination, be suffered to continue. Natural, as we have said, the sort of misunderstanding just noticed is; yet our usefulness depends upon our being able to clear it away, and to convince [xv] those who mechanically serve some stock notion or operation, and thereby go astray, that it is not culture’s work or aim to give the victory to some rival fetish, but simply to turn a free and fresh stream of thought upon the whole matter in question. In a thing of more immediate interest, just now, than either of the two we have mentioned, the like misunderstanding prevails; and until it is dissipated, culture can do no good work in the matter. When we criticise the present operation of disestablishing the Irish Church, not by the power of reason and justice, but by the power of the antipathy of the Protestant Nonconformists, English and Scotch, to establishments, we are charged with being dreamers of dreams, hich the national will has rudely shattered, for endowing the religious sects all round; or we are called enemies of the Nonconformists, blind partisans of the Anglican Establishment. More than a few words we must give to showing how erroneous are these charges; because if they were true, we should be actually subverting our own design, and playing false to that culture which it is our very purpose to recommend. Certainly we are no enemies of the Nonconformists; [xvi] for, on the contrary, what we aim at is their perfection. Culture, which is the study of perfection, leads us, as we in the following pages have shown, to conceive of true human perfection as a harmonious perfection, developing all sides of our humanity; and as a general perfection, developing all parts of our society. For if one member suffer, the other members must suffer with it; and the fewer there are that follow the true way of salvation the harder that way is to find. And while the Nonconformists, the successors and representatives of the Puritans, and like them staunchly walking by the best light they have, make a large part of what is strongest and most serious in this nation and therefore attract our respect and interest, yet all that, in what follows, is said about Hebraism and Hellenism, has for its main result to show how our Puritans, ancient and modern, have not enough added to their care for walking staunchly by the best light they have, a care that that light be not darkness; how they have developed one side of their humanity at the expense of all others, and have become incomplete and mutilated men in consequence. Thus falling short of harmonious [xvii] perfection, they fail to follow the true way of salvation. Therefore that way is made the harder for others to find, general perfection is put further off out of our reach, and the confusion and perplexity in which our society now labours is increased by the Nonconformists rather than diminished by them. So while we praise and esteem the zeal of the Nonconformists in walking staunchly by the best light they have, and desire to take no whit from it, we seek to add to this what we call sweetness and light, and develope their full humanity more perfectly; and to seek this is certainly not to be the enemy of the Nonconformists. But now, with these ideas in our head, we come across the present operation for disestablishing the Irish Church by the power of the Nonconformists’ antipathy to religious establishments and endowments. And we see Liberal statesmen, for whose purpose this antipathy happens to be convenient, flattering it all they can; saying that though they have no intention of laying hands on an Establishment which is efficient and popular, like the Anglican Establishment here in England, yet it is in the abstract a fine and good thing that religion should [xviii] be left to the voluntary support of its promoters, and should thus gain in energy and independence; and Mr. Gladstone has no words strong enough to express his admiration of the refusal of State-aid by the Irish Roman Catholics, who have never yet been seriously asked to accept it, but who would a good deal embarrass him if they demanded it. And we see philosophical politicians, with a turn for swimming with the stream, like Mr. Baxter or Mr. Charles Buxton, and philosophical divines with the same turn, like the Dean of Canterbury, seeking to give a sort of grand stamp of generality and solemnity to this antipathy of the Nonconformists, and to dress it out as a law of human progress in the future. Now, nothing can be pleasanter than swimming with the stream; and we might gladly, if we could, try in our unsystematic way to help Mr. Baxter, and Mr. Charles Buxton, and the Dean of Canterbury, in their labours at once philosophical and popular. But we have got fixed in our minds that a more full and harmonious development of their humanity is what the Nonconformists most want, that narrowness, one-sidedness, and incompleteness is what they most suffer from; [xix] in a word, that in what we call provinciality they abound, but in what we may call totality they fall short. And they fall short more than the members of Establishments. The great works by which, not only in literature, art, and science generally, but in religion itself, the human spirit has manifested its approaches to totality, and a full, harmonious perfection, and by which it stimulates and helps forward the world’s general perfection, come, not from Nonconformists, but from men who either belong to Establishments or have been trained in them. A Nonconformist minister, the Rev. Edward White, who has lately written a temperate and well-reasoned pamphlet against Church Establishments, says that â€Å"the unendowed and unestablished communities of England exert full as much moral and ennobling influence upon the conduct of statesmen as that Church which is both established and endowed. † That depends upon what one means by moral and ennobling influence. The believer in machinery may think that to get a Government to abolish Church-rates or to legalise marriage with a deceased wife’s sister is to exert a moral and ennobling influ ence [xx] upon Government. But a lover of perfection, who looks to inward ripeness for the true springs of conduct, will surely think that as Shakspeare has done more for the inward ripeness of our statesmen than Dr. Watts, and has, therefore, done more to moralise and ennoble them, so an Establishment which has produced Hooker, Barrow, Butler, has done more to moralise and ennoble English statesmen and their conduct than communities which have produced the Nonconformist divines. The fruitful men of English Puritanism and Nonconformity are men who were trained within the pale of the Establishment,–Milton, Baxter, Wesley. A generation or two outside the Establishment, and Puritanism produces men of national mark no more. With the same doctrine and discipline, men of national mark are produced in Scotland; but in an Establishment. With the same doctrine and discipline, men of national and even European mark are produced in Germany, Switzerland, France; but in Establishments. Only two religious disciplines seem exempted; or comparatively exempted, from the operation of the law which seems to forbid the rearing, outside of national establishments, of men of the [xxi] highest spiritual significance. These two are the Roman Catholic and the Jewish. And these, both of them, rest on Establishments, which, though not indeed national, are cosmopolitan; and perhaps here, what the individual man does not lose by these conditions of his rearing, the citizen, and the State of which he is a citizen, loses.

Mauritius, Social Housing: Social Movement and Low Income Housing in Mauritius Essay

Social Housing Social Movement and Low Income Housing in Mauritius Abstract: The Republic of Mauritius has been a model success story in both economic and social progress among both the African nations and the whole world. Despite many odds, the country has made tremendous economic progress and has succeeded at the same time to uplift significantly the living standards of the population in general. This paper gives an overview of the matter of the low-income housing in Mauritius. The first part of the paper gives the economical background and the evolution of the social movement in Mauritius. The second part introduces the current housing conditions and the situation of poverty and low-income groups in Mauritius. Finally the strategy of social housing is discussed. The Mauritius social housing strategy is discussed in terms of the changes in the institutional structure, and policies. Then the types of social housing and their financing are introduced. Keywords: Mauritius; Welfare State; Social Housing; Low Income Households AUTAR Bhotish Awtar | | Matric No: 2011280122 | Masters Candidate Tsinghua University | School of Architecture | Department of Urban Planning Please submit any feedback to bhotish@hotmail. om Submitted to: |dengweizyh@mail. tsinghua. edu. cn | Submission date: 17th June 2012 Introduction At independence, Mauritius did not appear predestined for the progress that followed. Challenges included: extreme cultural diversity as well as racial inequality; power concentrated in a small elite (of French & British colonial descendants); high unemployment; and high population growth. The country suffered from an economic crisis throughout the 1970s, was remote from world markets and was commodity dependent. It also exhibited low initial levels of human development. Nobel Laureate for Economics, James Meade even said in 1961, as quoted below: â€Å"It is going to be a great achievement if Mauritius can find productive employment for its population without a serious reduction in the existing standard of living†¦ The outlook for peaceful development is poor† Despite multiple factors stacked against it, Mauritius has achieved stellar progress in economic conditions, and has been unique in its ability to take advantage of privileged access to international markets to develop in a sustained and equitable manner. This has been enabled and complemented by effective poverty reduction and equitable improvements in human development. These achievements have been made by means of: a concerted strategy of nation building; strong and inclusive institutions; high levels of equitable public investment in human development; and a pragmatic development strategy (Vandemoortele, 2010). This success against all odds was coined as the ‘Mauritian Miracle’. In independence year of 1968, the country’s GDP per capita was US$ 2601, and in 2010, the figure rose to around US$ 14,0002 in 2010. Comparatively, in 2010 the average GNI per capita (PPP) for Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 2,1083. During the same period of 1968 to 2010, population rose from 787,000 to 1,281,0004. In 2011, an expectancy of life of 73 years5 at birth and the country had a Human Development Index (HDI) score of 7. 26, compared with an average of 4. 6 in the Sub-Saharan African region. The country was also ranked highest on the Earth Institute’s World Happiness Index among the Sub-Saharan African countries7, leaving behind Botswana and South Africa, other regional economic champions. Socialist movement in Mauritius Mauritius is a welfare state. It has a comprehensive social security system for the whole population and various other social protection schemes. Education is free from primary to university level, with 1 2 Source: IFAD, 2005 For 2010, GDP per capita (PPP) of US$ 14,194, according to IMF, 2011 World Economic Outlook, and GNI per capital (PPP) of 13,960 (units International Dollar) according to World Bank, 2011 3 (units International Dollar) according to World Bank, 2011 4 Figures for population for Republic of Mauritius is from various open source, such as Mauritius CSO, World Bank and other online open data sources. Source: UN Statistics, from WorldBank. org 6 Source: http://hdr. undp. org 7 Mauritius Ranking 64th out of 156 countries with 5. 5 points, on a 0-10 scale, 0 being extremely unhappy and 10 being extremely happy compulsory education up to age of 16. Health care including tertiary care, like heart surgery) is also free. Basic foodstuffs (rice and flour) as well as housing for lower middle-income group are heavily subsidized. Income support is provided to household with low income. The government provides nnual grants to a number of NGOs that cater for the specific needs of handicapped persons and vulnerable groups (Deerpalsingh, 2011). There are also price controls on some other commodities such as cement, petroleum products, bread, onions and edible oils. The state plays a key role in social welfare and security. In fact, expenditure on community and social services attracts the largest share of total government expenditure. The percentage out of total government expenditure spent on health, education, social security and welfare, and housing, over the period 1980 to 1988 averaged 43% and by 1999 was as high as 52%. Preferential access to markets in the European Union and the USA has facilitated this strong welfare state (Bundoo, 2006) The construction of a comprehensive welfare state in Mauritius did not emerge out of a smooth and steady process. Each of the three episodes of welfare reform – the formal introduction of noncontributory old-age pensions in 1950, family allowances in 1962 and social insurance in 1976-1978, were borne out of long-periods of deliberation and procrastination from the colonial officials (Phaahla, 2000). It took riots by unorganized sugar estate workers in the late 1930’s and strong trade unions today, to obtain and maintain a particularly socialist environment in the country, despite, a very open and capitalist market economy in Mauritius, it has been succeeded to preserve a considerable labor protection and benefit to the workers. In the more modern times, the social movement is directly related to the democratic governmental system. Around every five years general elections are held, and the public’s voting of a certain party is very sensitive to the economic and social conditions of the country. In many instances in the history, after independence, the government has been ‘overthrown’ out of office, as sanction voting by the population, due to bad economic and social performances. The most popular example, would perhaps in the 1982, elections when the government in office, with the ‘father of the nation’ as the head of the country, faced the worse possible defeat. This was because the unemployment and other economic and social indicators were all in the red. In terms of social services, Mauritius has been practicing a s ‘five pillar’ model as advocated by the World Bank in a report in 2005. But, it is worth noting that the five-pillar system in Mauritius was completed as far back as 1994. So, Mauritius had already been implementing the social model for 11 years (Deerpalsingh, 2011). Providing decent shelter for low-income groups has been another major social priority of the government. In the face of the rising price of rented accommodation, the government initiated projects for the construction of working-class flats in different parts of the country. The National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC) was set up in order to expedite large-scale construction of low-cost housing. House ownership grew from 66 per cent in 1983 to almost 93 per cent in 20018. Current Housing Conditions To understand the access to housing to the low income household, it is important to understand the general housing condition of the Mauritian. This helps in explaining the ownership policies and housing types that are provided to those who have financial difficulty in possessing a shelter comparable to his fellow countryman. With around $ 14,000 per capita GDP (PPP), Mauritius currently has a relatively high housing quality. In the 2011 Housing survey, it was noted that around 89% of the building stock in the country were residential building (with 85% wholly residential). Of which, 77% were separate housing units, 12% were semi detached or apartment types and 5% are mixed residential-commercial. In Mauritius, traditionally the houses are self-constructed by assigning small contractors to the job, who solely rely on their experience and owners design expectations. For medium and large projects, bigger contractors and construction specialists like architects and engineers are employed. The construction of houses were 92% of concrete walls and roof, 3% concrete walls and iron sheet roofs, and 5% were made out of wood and iron sheets. Although the human settlement patterns in Mauritius is quite dispersed, in terms of basic amenities, almost all (more than 99%) of the houses were connected to nation electricity grid and water systems. 96% of all the housing units had running water in the bathrooms and had modern flush toilets facilities. 8% had their waste collected regularly by municipality or other authorized companies. Almost all the housing units in Mauritius are privately owned, 99% in 2011, among which only 12% were reported to be mortgaged. An astonishing low percentage of 0. 3% of housing units was reported to be public housing in the same year. In terms of the tenure rate of the housing in 2011, 89% of the residents were owner of the hous e they were living in, compared to 8% who were renting or sub-renting. Another 3% were living for free in the housing provided by relatives or employers. It is interesting to note that the average monthly rent in 2000 was Rs 2,300 and increased to Rs 4,400 in 2011, however after adjustment for inflation, the housing rent actually remained the same as 2000. Poverty in Mauritius In 2010, the National Empowerment Fund that was created in 2005 to reduce poverty had enumerated around 70009 households in 225 regions of the country. These represented the families that were most in need of social help. But, the definition of poverty in Mauritius is quite versatile. 8 Bundoo 2006, p175 Exactly 6983 families that lived under national poverty line; According to NEF, Poches de pauvrete, downloaded from http://nef. mu 9 Using the poverty line $1. 25 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per person per day, and data from the 2001/02 and 2006/07 Household Budget Surveys, the proportion of poor people in Mauritius is estimated by the Central Statistics Office to be below 1% in both 2001/02 and 2006/07. For developing countries like Mauritius, the $2 a day poverty line is more relevant. Even, using this line, the proportion of poor people is estimated to be less than 1. % in 2001/02 and 2006/07 household income surveys. So, the concept of ‘extreme poverty’ (as internationally defined) is not used in Mauritius. Instead, the concept of ‘relative poverty’ is used. Relative poverty is assessed using data collected at Household Budget Survey (HBS) and a relative poverty line defined on the basis of median household incomes. Household income c omprises income from employment, property, transfer, income from own produced goods and services and imputed rent for non-renting households. Data published by the CSO in the 2001/02 and 2006/07 Household Budget Surveys indicate that the percentage of households having income below the half median increased from 13. 1% in 2001/02 to 14. 3% in 2006/07. Average monthly household income for the poor is estimated at Rs 7,055 against Rs 22,242 for all households. The poverty line was fixed at Rs 3,821, which is the half median monthly income per adult equivalent. So, the official figure for poverty in Mauritius in 2007/07 was 26,400 households, or 7. 9% of the total 335,000 households in Mauritius. This concerned 8. 5% of the national population. From the 2007 Poverty Report, it can be also seen that 55% of the total government expenditure went to ‘Community and Social Services’. Monthly public transfers (social security benefits paid by government) derived by the poorest decile group of households was estimated at Rs 1,367 per household in 2006/07. Public transfers for poorest decile represented 22% of their total household disposable income against 2. 4% for the richest decile. Public transfers were found to be significant on bringing down poverty; it is estimated that if public transfers would have been discontinued, the overall household poverty rate would be 15. % instead of 7. 9%. Characteristics of Low Income Household Understanding the particularities of the poor or low-income households, are very important to know their economic strength and lifestyle. This would help to understand the type and cost of social housing that is offered to them. Again, in 2006/07, the average of ‘low income’ hou seholds in Mauritius was calculated to be around Rs 7,000 (compared to Rs 22,200 for all household), with an average expenditure on Rs 6,500 (compared to Rs 14,300 for all households). 1% of the income came from paid employment, 24% from government support, and the rest from self-employment and odd jobs. In terms of employment, where the national share of employment by sector in 2006/07 was as followed: Primary sector- 9%, Secondary sector- 32% and Tertiary sector- 59%; the structure was a little different for the poor families, as followed: Primary sector- 21%, Secondary sector- 37% and Tertiary sector- 42%. So, it can also be noted that the poorer people were more dominant in agricultural and manufacturing industries, and less present in the service industry. This explains partly, their low income. This phenomenon is also related to their level of education. The study has shown a very clear correlation with the distribution of income and the education level of members aged 20 and above. The higher the incomes, the proportion of the members having passed the primary and secondary education are larger. The share of expenditure on basic items such as food, clothing and housing over total expenditure was 65% for poor households, against 48% for all households. Figure 1 shows the detail expenditure of the poor against all households. It is interesting to note in the report that the average monthly loan repayment10 was Rs 1400 for poor housing, against Rs 4,353 for all indebted households. The highest loan repayment for poor households was on housing11. Figure 1: Expenditure habits of poor households, 2006/0712 As mentioned above, according to the 2010/11 Household survey, 8% who were renting or sub-renting. In 2006/07 the figure was 8. 4% for all households, but for the poor households, 16. 7% were renting their housing. The rest owned their houses or were provided free by relative or employer. The average poor household had a size of 4. 0 members, however the house had on average 3. 7 rooms, compared to average of 3. 7 members with 5. 2 rooms for all households. The amount poor households 10 11 Including, loans or purchase on credits, for housing, furniture, electric appliances, personal loans and other loans. 26% of the poor households had housing loans, which on average was Rs 2,491 12 Source: CSO 2007, Poverty Report 2006/07, p59 with two or less rooms accounted for 19%, against only 5% for all households13. There were more than one person per room in 63% of the households, against only 29% in all households14. This gives an idea of how poor households lived in a denser indoor environment than their other country man. Low Income Housing in Mauritius Strategies & Institutions Since the 1980’s Mauritius was still an economy based on mono crop agriculture. Sugar cane cultivation had been the economic backbone for centuries of colonization, and only in the 80’s the diversification help Mauritius get out of the trap. Saying so, after independence in 1968, all successive governments regularly reiterate their will to gradually dismantle the ‘sugar estates camps’, which were the housing provided by colonial estate owner to workers. It was important to do so, as they remain powerful physical and psychological symbols of the sugar plantations hierarchy of the 19th century. A study in 1990 revealed that there were still 125 such estates in the country, and on the basis of finding long term alternatives for such residences, the government put pressure on the sugar estates, to phase out these camps and develop housing programs for their workers. The options offered were either to resettle the workers on an alternative site, out of the master’s property, or to sell the land and house to the current resident on the estate (UN, 2000). As seen above, the poor are usually less educated and work in agriculture. And since the structuring of the sugar industry 15 in the last decade, more and more of these people are losing their job, and because of age and education level, they cannot find other jobs. So, an early retirement scheme, worked out by all concerned parties and government, and involves giving a lump sum and a plot of residential land to the worker. The land given to the worker, are usually sugar plantations16 that have been converted to residential with basic infrastructure of road, electricity and water supply. This helps in reusing the abandoned agricultural lands and reduced the pressure of cash reward to the estate companies. In 1983, the house ownership in Mauritius was 66%, and then it rose to 76% in 1990, rose again to 87% in 2000, to reach a high 89% in 201117. Although official figures indicate a very high rate of owner-occupiers compared with other countries, these figures hide other quite serious problems of housing which may culminate into a crisis in years to come if some issues are not addressed in time Social housing programs for low income groups which had begun in the 1960s, gave way to a new housing strategy based on cost recovery through the setting up of a public company, The National Housing Development Company Limited (NHDC) in 1991 (UN, 2000). 13 14 Author calculation from CSO 2007, Poverty report 07, table 4. Author calculation from CSO 2007, Poverty report 07, table 4. 7 15 which currently contribute less than 4% of the GDP and less than 8% of employment 16 Since restructuring, large areas of sugar plantation have been abandoned by the sugar estates 17 Various Source, Boodoo 2006 for 1983 & 1990; 2011 Housing Survey for 2000 and 2011 Until 1991 the Central Housing Authority (CHA) was responsible for the task of building and administering of the low income housings estates. Medium rise apartment type buildings were built and let to the low income groups. The system was not successful at different levels. Firstly, most of the units were rented to low income households, instead of been owned. So, rents were sometimes not been paid, and the residents paid little attention to the built environment. This lend to a rapid degradation of the buildings and amenities. Secondly, although targeted for low income earners, the middle income group could somehow buy the apartment units. Thirdly, due to the deplorable design and soft policy, the CHA estates turned into undesirable living places where social problems grew. In 1991, the responsibility of providing low income housing has been passed the newly established National Development Company (NHDC), and the CHA was renamed the Housing Management Unit (MHU), which just left to administer these estates and collect rents. Another important institution was restructured shift to be noted during the same period. Since its creation in 1963, the Mauritius Housing Corporation, was governmental body was responsible to create housing for the middle income class, while the CHA was doing the same for low income class, financed by loans through the Mauritius Agricultural Bank18. In 1989, the Mauritius Housing Corporation (MHC) was incorporated and renamed the Mauritius Housing Company Limited, which then was more like a bank, to cater better to the need of the housing demands. Then the new MHC, no longer deals with the construction and policy of the social housing, it provides soft loans to those below a certain income level, and started the Plan Epargne Logement, PEL (in English, Housing Savings Scheme), that offer exceptional loan rates to anyone, who would deposit money in MHC bank. Nowdays, the MHC has developed into a one-stop shop for all need of housing services. In additional to loans, it deals with the providing of architectural, structural, legal, technical, insurances and project management services, at nominal or free of charges. Prior to 2006, the social housing responsibility lied solely within the hands of the government. But, as the demand was growing and the government could only built around 900 units a years, with a waiting list of 25,000 housing units, the private sector was called to participate through various PPP (publicprivate partnership) projects. The aim was to raise the rate of construction to at least 1500 yearly19. Another interesting fact is that as from 2009, the government established a policy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that requires profitable private companies to invest at least 2%20 of their profit, into social help, like donation to NGO, or other social and environmental programs, including housing for the poor. The CSR is the concept whereby companies act to balance their own economic growth with the sustainable social and environmental development of their areas of operation. A company performing highly in CSR is one that goes beyond compliance with the legal framework to actively pursue positive impacts on local communities and its environmental footprint. 18 19 Source: Mauritius Housing Company Ltd, website: http://www. mhc. mu/mhc/; retrieved June 2012 Speech of Minister of Lands and Housing, March 2006 20 Source: NEF, http://www. nef. mu/csr/, retrieved June 2012 Low Income Housing Types and Finance Up to date, there are five main players in the housing sector. They are the Commercial Banks, the Insurance Companies, the Mauritius Housing Company Ltd (MHC), the National Housing Development Company LTD (NHDC) and the Housing Division of the Ministry of Land and Housing (Joseph, 2007). The role of the commercial and insurance companies is to offer housing finance facilities, in addition of their usual core activities. However, the other three players have a very important role in the provision of housing to the general public of Mauritius, but to especially the low and lower middle income group. Even if the government continued to build some apartment types housing, single housing or duplex types were more and more practiced. These types of housing created a better environment for social diversity and were more inclusive in term of equality. It should be noted that in Mauritius, these units are not built in large numbers, but in small numbers between 50 to 100 units spread all over the island. This is due to the availability of land for development and the concentration of poverty in the region. The spread of the social housing and its small numbers help social integration and the balance of the local diversity. Currently, these locations are mostly located in the rural area, as part of the National Plan to increase rural population and develop and reduce the burden on the already dense urban regions. Figure 221 shows an example of a type of social housing units that NHDC are building with the help of the Export-Import Bank of China. Site Bois Mangue St Pierre (Circonstance) Dagotiere Highlands Bambous Montagne Blanche Mon Choisy Cottage La Cure Notre Dame Pointe aux Sables (A & B) Pointe aux Sables (C) Units 108 72 52 84 148 100 98 52 120 60 128 70 21 Source: Ministry of Lands and Housing, retrieved June 2012 Rose Belle Camp Levieux Trou aux Biches Mahebourg Total 76 152 76 78 1474 Figure 2: Example of 1474 housing units scattered into 18 sites around the island. The ‘Firinga Type’ is the one most currently built for the lowest income groups. These are semi-detached units of 40m2 each. It provides for bathroom with toilet and a kitchen table with sink. There are better duplexes types that are constructed for lower middle class. Some houses are spread on two stories and have 2-3 bedrooms with balconies. As the types of housing vary from one income group to another, the financing to these group are not the same. As for the Firinga units the interest rate is fixed at 6. 5% per annum, for other types, the finances vary according to the cost of the housing and household income (that is total income of husband and wife). The current loan scheme from the MHC is as below: For household earning up to 7,500 per month: ? ? ? Long term credit repayment period up to 20 years, depending on the age of the applicants; Subsidized rates of interest of 6. % during the first five years, 8. 0% during the next five years, and 10. 0 % during the remaining years of the repayment period; and A non-refundable Government grant equivalent to 20 % of the gross credit amount subject to a maximum of Rs 30 000. For households earning more than Rs7 500 and up to Rs 10 000: ? ? Long term credit repayment period up to 20 years, depending on the age of the of the applicants; and Subsidized rates of interest of 10 % d uring the first five years, 12 % during the next five years, and 14 % during the remaining years of the repayment period. And finally for those earning more than Rs 10 000: ? ? Long term credit repayment period up to 25 years, depending on the age of the of the applicants; and Rates of interest of 13 % during the first five years, and 14 % during the remaining years of the repayment period. To protect those in the most needs, there are strict eligibility criteria to obtain a NHDC unit like they should not be owner of a housing unit or of a plot of residential land, have made regular contributions o a PEL savings account for a period of at least six months; and priority is given to applicant that reside in the region where the house has been constructed. It should be noted that, in order to relief the burden on the government to provide affordable housing, the MHC provide loans at favorable rates to low and lower middle income applicants who want to construct their own house or want to buy a plot of land. A subsidy for the concrete roof construction, which is considered one of the most expensive parts of the construction, and to prevent the houses have iron sheet roofing. Conclusion: We have seen in this paper that the social movement has been present since before the independence and the movement was stronger after the independence, by the pressure of strong trade unions, and the strong democratic system, where the public opinions and demands could not be undermined. In the welfare state of Mauritius, the government has done greatly in terms of policies and investment to provide decent housing not only for the poor, but also for the less poor. In 2011, the housing ownership approached the 90% and the private sector was also made part into the responsibility to provide housing for all Mauritian, in the way the Mauritians like it. The institutional and financial structure in Mauritius is quite mature after evolving for around 50 years now. It is important to note that Mauritius has a large lower middle and middle class population and that housing benefit are also given to them, in terms of favorable loans rates, and subsidies. References: Websites: Mauritius Housing Company Limited, MHC: www. hc. mu Ministry of Lands and Housing, Housing Division: www. gov. mu/portal/site/housing/ National Empowerment Fund, NEF: www. nef. mu National Housing Development Company Limited, NHDC: www. nhdc-online. com Literature: Bundoo S. K. (2006); Financial and Trade Reforms and Impact on Poverty and Income Inequality: The Case of Mauritius; from Pro-Poor Macroeconomics- Potentials and Limitations, Chapter 8; edited by Cornia G. A. CSO (2009) ; Poverty Report 2006/07 CSO (2011); 2011 Housing Census Main Results Deerpalsingh N. 2011); Access to Social Services for Non-Citizen and the Portability of Social Benefits in Mauritius; From Assess to the Social Services for Non-Citizen and the Portability of Social Benefits within the SADC; Chapter 3, edited by Mpedi L. G. & Smit N. Joseph Mathew (2007); Mauritius Housing Company Limited; AUHF AGM Conference, 17th -21st September 2007 in Ghana Ministry of Housing and Land (2006); Speech of Minister A. Dullul; Government Social Housing Projects on a Private Public Partnership Basis; on 1st March 2006 Phaahla L. E. (2000); Development with Social Justice- Social Democracy in Mauritius; Master’s Thesis presented at Stellenbosch University United Nations (2000); Common Country Assessment, Mauritius; Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, Mauritius, May 2000 United Nations Habitat (2004); Human Settlements Country Profile, Mauritius Vandemoortele M. and Bird K. (2010); Progress in economic conditions: Sustained success against the odds in Mauritius; for Overseas Development Institute

Human Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Systems - Essay Example Development of writing skills is an asset that can be used in my future undertakings. While a writing skill can be useful in the rank-and-file positions, it can be more helpful for one holding a position of leadership. I agree with the Lin Grensing 1988 report declaring that â€Å"one of the most important to productivity† is a writing skill (Hansen & Hansen, 2008, para. 5). And even as early as 1991, the U.S. Labor Department had already said that majority of jobs in the coming years would indeed need writing skills (Hansen & Hansen, 2008) and that includes the computer and information technology sector. Writing skill is necessary in many line of work. In some areas, it may even contribute to success in one's career. Its importance cannot be simply ignored because it is a mode by which we communicate with others and exchange ideas. Whether a person is in computer programming or software production, exchange of ideas with colleagues is indispensable. My discipline is primarily concerned with computers and the people using them. At first glance, it may seem that there is no need for someone involved in my discipline to have any skill in writing. As long as I can speak with the people using the computers, then that would be enough. ... There is a need to file them in the folder for archiving or reference at a future time. Some documents and reports have to be submitted to my immediate supervisor and the higher officers of the organisation. Other written documents are intended to be read by my peers. These written forms should be made in a formal manner and to do it, I must possess that skill in writing that conforms to a certain writing style. Moreover, there is a specific format in writing formal business documents. The document must also convey the message clearly. Corporate and business correspondences are intended to transfer critical or important information. And whatever message intended by the sender to be disseminated to the rest of the members of the organization, it must be understood as what the sender intended it to be. A faulty written document can relay a wrong impression or an erroneous interpretation. It can have a disastrous effect upon the business or the organisation as a whole. A writing skill t hen, is crucial to the internal operation of any business or company. In the same manner, when holding a higher position such as that of a manager, a skill in writing is also necessary. The manager has to write reports, letters, and messages for subordinates (Stiller, 2010). Such documents must be easily understandable by the intended recipient, otherwise, it will be consume unnecessary time for the readers to figure out what the author is trying to convey or what instructions are being relayed. If it is a safety instruction and has been misunderstood, an accident or injury can result. An example in my discipline that concerns computer and people working with it can be exemplified clearly in this simple scenario. There are several computer units

Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Christianity - Essay Example arts; the first part is known as Old Testament encompassing 39 books of Hebrew Scripture while the second part is called New Testament comprising of 27 books. The Bible highlights the life of Jesus and Christian faith. A number of gospels have been included in the holy book enlightening the mind, soul and heart of millions of followers. Many Christians adhere to the doctrine of Biblical Literalism by considering it as a word of god along with following its teachings in their personal and social life Historical Jesus is believed to be Galilean Jew who was baptized by John the Baptist and began his preaching in Galilee. He was considered as a prophet and ethical teacher. It is often believed that he travelled to Jerusalem and preached a number of people who later became his apostles. Historical Jesus is a picture of Christianity resembling to god offering guidance and support through gospels and spiritual power (Roger, Stark 22-23) Saint Paul is one of the greatest names in Christianity associated with spreading Christianity in different parts of the world. He was born under the name Saul and hated Christians until Jesus came to him in a vision. He changed his life by converting into a Christian along with preaching gospels. He is considered as the greatest prosecutors of Christians and is highly respected by them. He perceived that Christianity is God’s call and built a number of churches. His contribution in Christianity is highly appreciated in Biblical Literalism. The Kingdom of God is often defined as the Kingdom of Heaven stating the existence of God within people who follow the will of God. The term Kingdom of God can be found in the Gospels of Mark, Luke and John. It is defined as a medium through which one can connect with god following his teachings and prescribed path. Protestants and Catholics share the common ground of having faith and trust on Jesus Christ and his preaching. The Protestants are not considered as Churches but communities sharing

Middle East culture in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Middle East culture in business - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that in this age of globalization, partnerships and outsourcing are becoming to be the model of businesses.   In this deal, it is important to try and learn the customs and traditions of the country, one has to deal with so as not to offend the hosts. The Middle East is a very large group of diverse culture. The researcher will begin with the discussion of religion.   Religion is a way life for the Muslims, and it has an important bearing when doing business with them.   Muslims pray five times a day, so sometimes, in meetings, they have to be excused. Employers should also understand that Muslim employees have to leave their workplace on Friday afternoons for the mosque.  Ã‚   In contrast, religious practices of Christians found in the Western and Asian culture do not interfere with business because they do only go to Church on Sundays and special occasions and has no need to leave their places when praying. Like the Islam nations, Western faith is based on the Bible. It is not good to do business with Muslims during their celebration of the holy month of Ramadan because businesses are closed and they tend to spend the holidays with their families or at their holy shrine. They observe fasting from dawn to dusk and extensively engaged in their worship, so business must wait as it becomes their second priority.   The month of Ramadan is observed every tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Westerns do not observe this month-long religious activity that often interferes with business.

Karl Max Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Karl Max - Essay Example Karl Max Karl Max happens to be one of the most eminent and riveting sociological philosopher this world has ever seen and his sociological ideas are still appreciated among millions of people around the globe. In this excerpt, the writer sets out to make the readers realize why the various precious works of Max need to be thoroughly analyzed once again with a new spirit, and why his certain ideas are sadly misunderstood among various people. The writer has mentioned an array of innovative ideas as to how people manage in attributing different meanings to the various sociological theories of Max, and why any single authentic meaning cannot be extracted out of even a single paragraph from Max’s any work. Basically, the context in which the writer strives to convey the message is quite unique in its kind because the various ways illuminated in the text by the writer happen to be extremely successful in making the readers realize the bedrock of misunderstandings erupting from the complex philosophical works of Marx. It is easy to identify after reading the text that the key element of any work written by Max is the usage of extremely complex philosophical terms that are not only hard-to-get-familiar-with but, they are also used by Max himself in different ways in his own various works. This implies that if in one work, one certain term is employed by Max to convey any particular meaning then in the next work, he amazes and confuses the readers by using that same term for producing a totally different idea.

CONFERENCE AND EVENT MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

CONFERENCE AND EVENT MANAGEMENT - Essay Example These issues were however raised prior to the commencement of the 2009 annual event and were reported upon after the event, as will be highlighted within this report. Prior to the commencement of the 2009 event in Brisbane, media reports dominated the process of the refurbishment of the existing show grounds where the exhibition is housed on an annual basis, with a budget of $3 billion. This refurbishment includes inter alia the development of retail, commercial and residential infrastructure and development within the immediate grounds and vicinities, which in itself represents a significant contribution to the region in terms of both development, as well as the regional economy. Although this is not specific to the EKKA itself, it is seen as an initiative from within the EKKA camp and represents value to the region as a whole. From a historical perspective, the EKKA originally named The Brisbane Exhibition had its inaugural exhibition in 1876 with an attendance of 17,000 visitors (Mirosch, 2008). According to the media reports of the Brisbane Times and pertaining to the 2009 event, an approximate visitor turnout of 400,000 people attended the 2009 event (Brisbane Times). This turnout was however down on the preceding years figures by as much as 20%, represented by a significant turnout of over half a million people in 2008, according to media reports and resources. The show was still however deemed to be successful despite the reduced numbers in attendance, the media attributed the reduced turnout to the current financial situation as well as the impending swine flu situation. Attendance figures may well have an impact upon the sustainability of an exhibition, as well as the profitability of the event itself, dependent upon the expected income generated from admission or entrance fees, this will be addres sed further

Multiculturalism in Human Resource Management Essay

Multiculturalism in Human Resource Management - Essay Example I believe that the essence of diversity, cultural or otherwise, is the co-existence of different attributes within a single social environment. For instance, if there are different cultures involved, but each culture is encountered within the context of its own social milieu, then there is multiculturalism but no diversity, because the employees are not members of a minority culture subjected to a dominant culture. On the other hand, if the variety of cultures were encountered within the United States, then one might say that cultural diversity existed. The essence of â€Å"diversity† is pluralism within a single context, â€Å"diversity in the creation of a common society† (McGraw & Formicola, 2005, p. 14). Therefore, if the multiculturalism involved a multinational hiring individuals of different races or cultures in different overseas subsidiaries only because a particular race or culture is prevalent in that particular host country, then diversity did not exist as p lurality because the cultures were dominant in their own locales. The answer to the third question affirms that diversity and inclusion are important in the business environment, but is not clear on why diversity is important. The example given is that diversity draws world customers closer to the organization rather than alienates them. However, culture-sensitive marketing strategy changes consumer perception of the firm, without necessarily transforming the parent corporation into a diverse and inclusive entity (Van Mesdag, 1999). A devolved management approach that employs cultural adaptation in its marketing efforts does not necessarily result in a diverse work force, although a diverse work force may draw customers of different attributes and backgrounds, within the parent company’s environment, closer to it. Response for the post of Student 2 (Brandon Burton) The post points out an important challenge to diversity, that is, how the ideals and theoretical principles of d iversity are actualized so that one may say, â€Å"Our corporation has achieved diversity†. The difficulty in arriving at a cogent description of diversity is underscored by Brandon’s questions: Is it hiring more minorities? Is it seeking minorities who think differently? While these ambiguities are well illustrated, there appears to be something missing in the definition that is arrived at. Diversity in this post is defined in terms of possessing different ideas, personal as well as business experiences, and culture (in what sense is uncertain – culture related to nationality or ethnicity, or culture related to personal upbringing and orientation?). It appears that this definition defeats the concept behind â€Å"diversity and inclusion† because it ignores the sense behind â€Å"inclusion.† â€Å"It is generally accepted that ‘Inclusion’ means inviting those who have been historically locked out to ‘come in’.† (Asa nte, n.d.). The post is correct in stressing that the person with the right qualifications must be hired, but the implicit premise here is that diversity will compel the business to hire one who is not qualified. Diversity and inclusion are specific in that they are initiatives which aim to set straight the historical prejudices that relegated people of certain races, creeds, cultures, and other attributes to cycles of poverty and exclusion. Diversity is â€Å"a moral imperative to ensure justice and fair treatment of all members of society†¦The comprehensive proactive organization focuses not only on the business case for diversity, but also actively on the social justice case and what is ‘the right thing to do’

Market plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Market plan - Essay Example Thus, all in all, the Masafi Group has come up with a winner in the shape of the Masafi Natural Mineral Water. The Masafi Water Company is now trying to launch ABC aftershave company, for which they need to perform a step by step marketing plan, since it would assist them in knowing the need of this product, and assess it with respect to the environment in which the industry is thriving at this point in time. (Kerin, 2004) A market plan is basically an outline of the various environmental factors as well as the marketing dynamics that will be associated with the product, which is yet to be launched. (Larsen, 1997) It helps the organization to get an aerial view of the viability of the product idea that they have, with respect to the company itself, the target customers, the competitors present, the collaborators and the climate. The SWOT analysis also plays a vital role in telling the company about its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The market plan becomes further refined when portions for market segmentation, alternative marketing strategies and selected marketing strategy are added. (Luther, 2001) The Masafi group now plans to launch an aftershave company. Aftershaves are a health and beauty product and come under the sub-category of fragrances and perfumes. The aftershave market is quite saturated with many big perfume brands doing brand extensions into aftershaves, using their known and established brand names. Whether or not Masafi water should plan to invest their time, resources and energy in launching an aftershave company would be better decided if a marketing plan is made, and critically analyzed. (Stapleton, 1998) The marketing plan would consist of the following components: The SWOT analysis involves the analysis of the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company as well as the external opportunities and threats that the company is

U.S. Military Women in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

U.S. Military Women in Vietnam Essay United States military women played important roles during the war, in Vietnam. Women served on voluntary terms and proved to aid amid the destruction and death in Vietnam. When Diane Carlson Evans, a former army nurse in Vietnam, first saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she felt something was missing. Her efforts to highlight the service of women in Vietnam were rewarded on November 11, 1993, when the Vietnam Womens Memorial was dedicated. We learn from (Anderson, p. 99) that, â€Å"All women who served in Vietnam were volunteers, whether civilian or military. At one time there was discussion about drafting women nurses, but this was never implemented. Some women military asked to go to Vietnam, and some were sent against their wishes and even against recruiters promises, but all were volunteers because they voluntarily signed up for the military. † The discussion came up about drafting women, during Vietnam but it was decided that women would not be ordered to serve during this war. There was a huge need for nurses and other jobs, in Vietnam, but the draft was never made mandatory. We learn from Joan Arrington Craigwell and Ellen Hoffman Young, (Craigwell, Young, p. 77) that â€Å"Significant numbers of women served admirably in all branches of service as professional nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, air traffic controllers, aerial reconnaissance photographers, intelligence and language specialists, legal officers, and in security and administrative positions. Civilian women also served in Vietnam in the Red Cross, USO, the Central Intelligence Agency and the U. S. Agency for International Development, as well as in other government agencies. Other women worked there as journalists, flight attendants, and in various church and humanitarian organizations. † We also learn that, â€Å"Where are these women today? Could they possibly be your wife, your nurse, co-worker, your supervisor, your physician or your next door neighbor? Could you find them if you looked? These women have camouflaged themselves, an easy task in our society. All they have to do is keep quiet. Women served alongside men in that sink-pit of war. For the country to heal, these women need to reveal the full depth of their experiences, first to themselves and then to the rest of us. Its time for womens experiences and contributions to be recognized and acknowledged as an important part of the history of the Vietnam conflict. †Women have not necessarily been associated with serving in the United States, during Vietnam. When we think about Vietnam, we most likely connect the war with an all male group. Many women served in Vietnam and made huge contributions to this war effort. We learn from the Tod Advisor’s Notebook that, (Women in Vietnam, p. 1) â€Å"In 2002, we think nothing of seeing women soldiers going into combat, or women police officers on our streets. This is a fairly recent development and, even today, these are far from accepted roles for women outside the United States (and Canada). During the time of TOD, 1967-69, womens role in society was very limited. In the military, women were mostly restricted to clerical or medical duties. All women who served in the Armed Forces were either volunteers or obligatories (again, my term), the latter being mostly nurses who had received public funding for their training and were obliged to serve two years in the military in exchange. During the period of the Vietnam War, women did not attend West Point or participate in ROTC programs. Far fewer women served in the military (either in total or as a percentage) than had served in WW II.

E-grocery Industry in the US

E-grocery Industry in the US 1.1 Introduction and Background An old Chinese saying goes like this: Food to the people is like people to a king. It means that just like a king has to rely on the support of his people to remain on the throne, ordinary people have to rely on food for survival. The importance of food is universal, and the retail food industry is a vital part of the economic activity of every country. The food on Americas table is mainly supplied by supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters. Americans are used to going to these traditional stores in person to buy groceries. With an increasing number of grocers now offer online ordering and home delivery of groceries, Americans are gradually changing the way they shop for groceries. Online grocery retailing is becoming more and more common. New start-up online grocery retailers such as Peapod and FreshDirect are in the market to compete with traditional supermarkets. Some of these new online grocers have support from traditional supermarket chains. Some are â€Å"pure-play† or stand-alone grocers that operate their own supply chains and facilities. Traditional supermarkets are also offering online ordering and home delivery to customers as a new distribution channel in a struggle to keep the market shares from being taken away by the new ventures. Online grocers utilize different operating strategies and business models. History has seen both successes and failures in this industry. Various aspects of online grocery shopping have been studied, but few studies have compared the successful and less successful companies in this industry to identify the characteristics that contribute to these outcomes. By identifying these key variables, this study intends to look for business models that have a better chance of success. Once considered a symbol of the dot-com crash, the online grocery industry struggles to come back to life. Applying a sound business model and effective operational strategies is essential for the existing players in order to stay competitive and successful. New ventures that intend to join this business also need to come up with a promising plan. This study attempts to add to the body of knowledge and provide insights that might be helpful to these companies. 1.2 History of Home Grocery Delivery Neighborhood grocery stores have, in fact, offered delivery services since the 19th century. At that time, urban citizens, who did not own horses like the residents of rural areas, had groceries delivered to their home free of charge. Most of them did not own a car until the beginning of mass production of automobiles in 1914. Fifty years ago, Americans were used to having milkmen deliver fresh milk to their doorstep each morning. In more recent decades, grocers have allowed customers to order and receive their food at home. In the 1960s, third-party companies offered phone-in delivery services for groceries. However, these services were usually short lived. Todays shoppers are sensual shoppers who prefer to use their five senses in choosing their purchases. Groceries, especially food, are the kind of merchandise that shoppers would want to see, feel, smell, touch, and possibly taste in person before they make the purchase (Underhill, 1999). The convenience of driving their own family cars and being able to really touch and feel the food in big supermarkets made many customers unwilling to take advantage of phone-in services. Lack of profitability has been the biggest problem for these grocery delivery services for vendors. By the mid-1980s, some local grocery delivery services allowed customers to browse product listings and place orders by computer. Marketing strategies used during this time, such as the foc us on suburban families and the use of price promotions to attract new customers, would later surface again among the online companies of the late-1990s (â€Å"E-Commerce: Online,† 2004). In 1989, Peapod, an online grocery business, emerged in suburban Chicago. In the days before the World Wide Web, Peapods customers used proprietary software and a modem to dial into their systems in Chicago and San Francisco (â€Å"Background on Peapod,† n.d.). Peapod partnered with Jewel in Chicago and with Safeway in San Francisco to put together the orders to be delivered to customers (â€Å"Peapod company history,† n.d.). Afraid they were missing out on the market share occupied by Peapod, many grocery stores jumped on the bandwagon of home-based ordering and delivery in the 1990si. Safeway considered expanding their partnership with Peapod to cover a larger part of the Southwestern United States. Other chains linked their catalogues to online content services like Prodigy and used their own employees to fulfill orders. However, by the mid-1990s, it was clear many of the early expectations for the industry would not be met. Grocery chains and stores discovered that online ordering and delivery were not profitable. Peapod relied only on computer-based ordering and experienced growing demand. Sales doubled every year (Funding Universe, n.d.); however, costs also rose, causing Peapod to suffer continuing losses and growing debt. Peapod saw the rise of new competitors like Streamline Inc. in suburban Boston in 1993. Unlike Peapods partnerships with existing grocers, Streamline developed its own warehouses, as well as relationships with wholesalers and distributors. Streamline delivered to their own boxes located in the garages of their customers (Borrego, 2001). By 1996, companies like Peapod, Streamline, and HomeRuns had created their own websites. The World Wide Web had created a common platform in which these companies could build their ordering systems. During the height of the Internet boom, investors poured money into these dot-com ventures. Taking advantage of this trend, HomeGrocer and Webvan joined the field of competitors. Webvan was started in 1999, offering over 18,000 perishable and nonperishable items. It built highly automated warehouses to process its orders. Webvan allowed customers to schedule a 30-minute window for next-day grocery delivery (Feather, 2001). Webvan had attracted $1 billion of venture capital and had planned to aggressively expand into 26 cities. Founded in 1999, SimonDelivers was another online grocer. It serves the Minneapolis-St.Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin (â€Å"SimonDelivers,† 2008). Expansion did not go smoothly for these new grocers, however. Peapod was suffering cash-flow problems by 1999. It wasnt until Royal Ahold, a Dutch-based international supermarket operator, came to the rescue with $73 million in 2000 that Peapod was saved from collapse (Lerner, 2002). By 2002, nearly all the leading online grocers (HomeGrocer, HomeRuns, Kozmo, Shoplink, Streamline, Urbanfetch, and Webvan) were gone. The only survivors were Peapod and SimonDelivers. The online grocery industry was crushed. Webvan was the most spectacular failure, having burned through $1 billion of venture capital in just two years despite having what was once considered to be the model most likely to succeed (Porres, 2003). Webvans subsequent failure caused many to lose faith in the idea of online grocery shopping altogether. In the early years, overenthusiastic projections of the online grocery industry predicted it would cover as much as 20 percent of all grocery sales by the mid-1990s or 2000. Late r, estimates by Forrester Research in 1998 toned down their forecasts, dropping their projections of 2004s expected online sales to less than five percent of US grocery retail sales (â€Å"E-Commerce: Online,† 2004). Rising from the ashes of the online grocery failures were more cautious ventures in the online world. A scaled-down Peapod, with backing from Royal Ahold, was joined by brick-and-mortar grocers now testing the online waters. Although experiencing some financial difficulty, SimonDelivers weathered the dot-com boom and bust by securing $15 million in funding and focusing on its local market instead of expanding nationwide (Tellijohn, 2000). 1.3 Factors Driving the Popularity of Online Grocery Shopping In todays busy world, the time available for grocery shopping is scarce. Americans now work more and thus have less free time. According to a 2008 ranking by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Americans are among the hardest working people in the world with 1,797 work hours on average each year (Olson, 2008). For families with children, having to take the kids to the market adds to the stress of the chore. Due to competing demands on their time from work and home, people are more likely to shop for groceries online. Many disabled people rely on online grocery services to fill their refrigerators and because of the quickly aging US population, more elderly people are also likely to be interested in e-grocery shopping. With Peapod operating in the Midwest and East Coast, FreshDirect in New York City, Albertsons and Safeway in the West, Simon Delivers in Minnesotas Twin Cities area and Shnucks in St. Louis, Central Illinois and parts of Southern Indiana ( Fishman, 2005), this revived e-grocery industry has both new and old players that are now attempting to stake out their shares of the online grocery market and working hard to achieve what their predecessors could not. (See Appendix A for a complete list of current US online grocers.) Scott and Scott (2008) report the following figures regarding the current market size and potential of selling groceries online. The estimated online grocery revenue was $235 million in 1998, $2.4 billion in 2002 and $6.2 billion in 2006; Jupiter research estimates that the percentage of US online grocery sales will rise to 1% by 2009. Manor (2006) stated that industry analysts estimated US online grocery sales would reach $4.2 billion in 2006, up 27 percent from 2005. Despite still being less than one percent of all grocery purchases, online grocery sales are expected to double by the end of the decade. 1.4 Problem Statement Many consumers welcome the option to shop for groceries online, but they are not yet ready to abandon the traditional in-store method of shopping. Many still consider online grocery shopping too expensive, mostly due to the high delivery charges. Since customers are not able to pick out produce themselves, grocers must be able to convince customers that they are choosing only items of the desired quality. The logistics of going from the customer making an order to delivery at an agreed upon time requires a great deal of effort. Many new companies, as well as traditional grocers, have attempted to provide electronic grocery shopping to consumers. Various different approaches to establishing infrastructure, fulfilling orders, and making deliveries have been tried. Margins are very thin; surviving in this industry is tough. Many failed companies litter the history of the industry. Grocers are desperately searching for the best formula for success. 1.5 Purpose of This Study Although grocery delivery is not a new idea, the electronic grocery shopping business is underdeveloped and still in a nascent stage. This is a very challenging business, yet it offers extraordinary opportunities. Despite the efforts made by the egrocers to implement various service concepts and the interest of consumers in online grocery, not much research has been done in this area. The purpose of this study is to identify successful operating strategies that can be employed by online grocers and less successful strategies that should be avoided. 1.6 Major Research Questions of the Study This study will attempt to understand the factors contributing to online grocery success by finding answers to the following research questions: †¢ How should an online grocers management function to ensure its success? †¢ How should an e-grocer expand its business and decide its target market? †¢ How should an e-grocer put together orders? Should it use central warehouses or the shelves of physical stores? †¢ How should an e-grocer deliver orders to customers and achieve operational efficiency? †¢ How should an online grocers website function, and how is customer relations management handled? 1.7 Significance and Limitations The importance of the online segment in the overall retail food industry will be determined in the years to come. Although it presently only accounts for one to two percent of food sales in the US, market share of online grocery shopping may increase due to social and demographic drivers and technological and operational improvements. It has the potential to account for a major percentage of retail food sales if business strategies are chosen wisely in the right environments. Alternately, it may be relegated to the fringes of the grocery industry if the right business choices are not made. There have been many casualties in the history of the e-grocery industry. Todays survivors and newcomers are all hoping to find the strategies for success. By performing case studies on the successes and failures of a group of selected online grocers, this study hopes to find answers to the major research questions stated above and put together a big picture view of the industry. Some of these comp anies are still operating, while others have failed. Various aspects of their business strategies will be compared, and an effort will be made to distill the characteristics of these businesses that led to their success or downfall. This study intends to help the online grocery business learn from the mistakes of the past so that they can increase market share in the future. The study will be limited to e-grocers that offer online ordering and home delivery/pick-up service with product selections similar to a traditional supermarket— specialty food grocers and companies with restricted selections (such as dry food only) will not be examined. 1.8 Structure of the Thesis This thesis is made up of five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction/thesis proposal. It gives a historical overview of the e-grocery industry, presents the problem and states the importance of the study. Major research questions are also identified in this chapter. The second chapter is the literature review which describes the target market of online grocers. The customer base will be reviewed based on demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics. The literature review also provides information about the state of the market following a chronological and geographical order. The operational aspects of how different e-grocery businesses complete a typical transaction will be described as well. The third chapter presents the methods used. This study will primarily be an inductive qualitative analysis of the e-grocery industry. This research consists of casestudies of successful and not-so-successful e-grocers. A meta-analysis will be performed to compare various aspects of the e-grocers strategies in an attempt to identify patterns and variables that contribute to their varied success levels. The fourth chapter analyzes data. The fifth chapter confers research findings and draws conclusions. It also offers possible directions of future research. 19 Keywords: e-grocery, online grocery business, supermarket, business model, target market, store-pick, online order, warehouse-pick, delivery, customer demand, customer density, cost, investment, knowledge, experience, expansion, Peapod, Tesco, Safeway, FreshDirect, Webvan, Streamline Chapter Two The goal of this chapter is to lay out the operational and strategic groundwork for the analysis. E-grocers employ different business models. To make their business models work, online grocers use various strategies and target different markets. Each operational model varies along several dimensions, such as how orders are placed, assembled and delivered. The first part of this chapter presents statistics and descriptions of the electronic grocery industry in chronological and geographical order. The second part of this chapter presents a review of the online grocery industrys customer base and target market. The third section describes the process of completing an online grocery transaction and how each business model functions differently to fulfill orders. The fourth part of this chapter offers opinions from previous studies regarding the factors contributing to the varied outcomes in the e-grocery industry. 2.1 Industry Overview Americans are familiar with grocery home-delivery services. This concept has been around in one form or another for decades. In the early days, when not many people had a fridge at home, milk needed to be delivered to customers daily. Milk delivery often occurred in the morning while people were still asleep. Glass bottles or cartons were left at the doorstep. Milkmen even delivered other dairy and farm products, such as eggs, cream, yogurt and butter (â€Å"Milkman,† 2008). Although demand for the service decreased significantly during the past 50 years, some people still prefer the old-fashioned way of getting their milk as they think milk tastes better in glass bottles. The milk delivery business is actually regaining some of its lost ground. The United States Department of Agriculture saw three-to-five percent of milk sold in the US delivered to homes in 1995, compared with only one percent in 1993 (Shih, 1995). In the 1950s, groceries could be ordered over the phone and d elivered to a customers kitchen within an hour or so, free of charge (Underhill, 1999). American grocery stores used to carry only dry grocery items, such as flour, baking soda, dry beans and canned foods. People bought fresh produce and meat from specialty food retailers like butchers and greengrocers. These stores were often located near one another for shoppers convenience. Starting in the 1920s, chain grocers experimented with consolidating smaller stores into larger ones with meats and produce along with the dry grocery items. As a result of this consolidating process, by the 1950s, there were much fewer neighborhood stores but more larger supermarkets and shopping centers that people had to drive some distance to go to (â€Å"A quick history,† n.d.). Fewer grocers offered home delivery after this period, as Americans enjoyed driving their family cars to shop in large, well-decorated supermarkets and spending some leisure time at the urban and suburban shopping centers. Even before the World Wide Web ever existed, getting groceries online was made possible by dialing into grocers servers with special modems provided to customers. Independent online ordering and home-delivery grocery companies like Peapod began to emerge in the US retail food industry. Food retailers like these were referred to as pure-play e-grocers because they only sold groceries online and had no storefronts. The development of the web provided a whole new platform for online ordering of groceries. More pure-play e-grocers jumped into the market. Among these companies were Streamline, HomeRuns, HomeGrocer, Kozmo, Shoplink, Urbanfetch, Webvan and SimonDelivers. Fearing of missing out on the market share occupied by pure-play e-grocers, traditional supermarkets also began to offer grocery delivery service. For example, Sandoval (2002) described Safeways reentry into home-delivery, with experienced UK major e-grocer Tesco by its side. (In 1990, Safeway had started a delivery service , but discontinued it after just two years.) From the emerging of Peapod in 1989 to Webvan s grand entry in 1999, the online grocery retailing industry seemed to be very promising. Industry expectation for the e-grocery sector was optimistic at the time. According to LeClaire (2002), Forrester predicted that 14 million households would eventually buy at least some of their groceries online. Jupiter predicted that sales would reach $11 billion in a few years. Datamonitor reported that the online retail food and beverage market in the United States was worth $2.1 billion in 2001 after growing 43.5% that year (â€Å"United States Online,† 2002). The growth rate slowed from a high in 1999, when the market had grown by 131.6%. Datamonitor predicted the value of the market to increase to $49.9 billion by 2007 (â€Å"United States Food,† 2003). At the time, Webvan accounted for 30.9% of the market volume, followed by Peapod with 28.3% and GroceryWorks with 12.7%. However, problems with customer retention and revenue generation in the pureplay businesses led to a big shakeout in the US online grocery industry. Most of the independent online grocers shut down their websites permanently by 2002. Only Peapod and SimonDelivers weathered the dot com crash and survived. Brick-andmortar stores continued to offer online grocery service and soon took the lead. Later came some new players into the market. FreshDirect (founded in New York City in 2002) was one of them. 2.2 Customer Base/Target Market 2.2.1 Demographic Characteristics According to Buy4Now, an internet shopping service, 80% of online grocery shoppers were 29 to 50 years old in 2002. Seventy-four percent (74%) of the respondents were female shoppers (â€Å"Typical Customer Profile,† 2008). According to eGroceryUSA.com (â€Å"Typical Customer Profile,† 2008), three categories of people are the major users of online grocery services: affluent shoppers pressed for time, families with young children, and people who cant easily get to the store. The first category is people who have higher incomes and less time. These shoppers are usually technology-savvy, heavy internet users who are single or have a dual-income family with no kids. These big spenders prefer to pay someone else to do grocery shopping for them. The second group consists of families with young children. They comprise the largest number of online grocery shoppers. A typical e-grocery shopper in this category is 29-to-50 years old with one or more children and at least one chi ld under the age of five. They normally would cook family dinners, and, therefore, are regular grocery shoppers with above average spending. People in this category expect to save time and avoid the hassle of dragging kids along for grocery shopping (â€Å"Typical Customer Profile,† 2008). The third group is relatively small compared to the first two. They are older or disabled people and those who find going to a grocery store difficult. People are living longer than ever. In 1960, life expectancy of the US population was only 69.7. The number increased to 73.7 in 1980 and 77 in 2000. The projected life expectancies for the years 2010 and 2015 are 78.5 and 79.2 respectively (U. S. Census Bureau, n.d.). Older people may need some form of help with grocery shopping when it becomes difficult for them to drive to supermarkets and carry heavy items home. Online grocery shopping can be a good alternative to hiring personal helpers. For disabled people and others who are physically challenged (temporarily injured, bed-resting, etc.), online ordering and home delivery of groceries would also be of great help. 2.2.2 Geographic Characteristics Sandoval (2002) quoted analyst Robert Rubin saying that average American cities are less densely populated compared to ones in the UK, which means high fuel costs will hurt even more when it comes to grocery delivery. Rubin believed Americans are more likely to drive to the grocer because of the more entrenched car culture. The UK (248 per sq. km) had 8 times the population density of the US (31 per sq. km) in 2004 (â€Å"World Population Prospects,† n.d.). Tesco has been having a relatively successful online grocery operation in the UK. This led to the idea that US online grocers should aim their target at large urban areas with higher population density for more potential customers. In these urban centers, people reside closer together. Less people own family cars in large cities. The dependence on public transportation, more crowded shopping environments, busier lifestyle and higher income make many urban residents favor online grocers over personally going to traditional grocery stores. According to Mclaughlin (2005), Richard Braddock, who was appointed chairman of FreshDirect.com in 2005, mentioned that FreshDirect would look for cities that are similar to New York to expand its business. Those are cities with a high percentage of internet usage, a high number of residents per square mile, and residents with a good deal of disposable income. He suggested that FreshDirect would not expand to the whole surrounding area of New York. Instead it would expand from one urban population center to another to make sure its delivery trucks could make as many deliveries as possible every time they stopped. 2.2.3 Psychographic Characteristics Fox and Kempiak (2006) pointed out that out of MyWebGrocers five critical elements that decide whether a consumer shops for groceries online (price, ambiance, convenience, service and product variety), e-grocers have advantages in ambiance, convenience, and service. Fox and Kempiak stated that changing family structures and increased work hours have made consumers busier, more time-starved, richer and more impatient with time-consuming tasks like grocery shopping. Because of these social and attitudinal changes, many people are more likely to be attracted to convenient, dependable alternatives for the recurring chore of grocery shopping. This makes the e-grocery service more appealing for consumers that fit this profile. Consumers with certain disabilities that make in-store grocery shopping hard are another major market for e-grocers. The ease of shopping from home and the time saved are two of the reasons some prefer buying online. Gennifer Calise, a working Manhattan mom, admitted that she would not want to lug her ten-month old son to the grocery store and lug him back.Instead, she can stay home and play with him on the floor and be clicking online at the same time. With both a child and a full-time job, she said she did not want to do anything that wasnt easy (Koeppen, 2006). Similarly, Sietsema (2007) stated that those who worked long hours at the office and had little time for everyday life were delighted to be able to not have to go to a grocery store. Anckar et al. (2002) stated that the ability to shop from any place, at any time, was an undeniable convenience offered by e-commerce. The status of grocery shopping as an undesirable chore for many people makes it ripe for online efforts that can offer both speed and convenience. Time and convenience have been cited as the principal reasons for purchasing groceries electronically in a study by Morganosky and Cude. With the technology available online, general purpose grocers can easily become specialty grocers tailored to the individual needs of customers with allergies that require a special diet or people with different food preferences, like organic, ethnic, religious, or gourmet items. Scott and Scott (2008) state that by changing and reusing previous shopping lists online, consumers save time. Customers become familiar with the e-grocers website fairly quickly. The average ordering time is only 20 minutes versus 60 minutes when a customer shops online for the first time. The benefits of buying groceries online include the ability to establish, save and modify shopping lists online over time, emailing shopping lists to other family members, getting personalized coupons, sorting items according to nutritional information provided and automatically ordering all the ingredients for a certain recipe. Bates and Lauder (2008) pointed out that customers are often not loyal to just one particular retailer. They can be loyal to several retailers at the same time. These retailers share the spending of each customer. Therefore, the goal of competition becomes maximizing the wallet share a retailer could possibly get from each customer. Offering online grocery shopping to customers as a new distribution channel has the potential to gain a greater wallet share for a grocer. Bates and Lauder (2008) also believed that the market adoption rate is another influencing factor that decides how many customers an online grocer can attract. Customers adopt online grocery services at different rates and at different times. Due to Webvans failure and the dot com meltdown in 2000, the natural evolution and adoption process were set back for years, both for potential customers and for grocers. Bates and Lauder used the figure in Appendix B to show the adoption process being extended. Fox and Kempiak (2006) brought up some major concerns that prevent some consumers from choosing to buy groceries online. These concerns included delivery time and methods, quality of produce, a limited variety of goods, and the security and privacy of online shopping. Anckar et al. (2002) considered the fear of receiving lowquality goods to be a potentially important obstacle to purchasing food online. Some customers fear that store employees may not pick the freshest produce in an attem pt to minimize storage losses or maximize picking speed. While some people consider grocery shopping a burden, there are still a lot of food lovers who enjoy their trips to traditional grocery stores to actually touch and handpick everything they are buying. Online grocery shopping is just not the right experience for them, and, therefore, does not satisfy their needs. When Scott and Scott (2008) described the resistance to online grocery shopping, they mentioned that customers may not be willing to pay the delivery fee. It is also hard to change the established shopping habits of consumers. Customers might not like the long lines at the registers of traditional grocers, but that does not necessarily mean they are ready to give up standing in them right now. The cost involved in the acquisition and retention of customers tends to be high, because once consumers have a negative online grocery shopping experience, they may not buy groceries online again and tell their acquaintances not to try the experience. 2.2.4 Technological Characteristics The internet makes online grocery shopping viable. According to Fox and Kempiak (2006), the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) indicated that 86% of US consumers go online or use their computers every day. Seventy percent (70%) of them shop online frequently. While in the UK, broadband use is ranked number two in Europe and number five in the world. This has been a boon for online businesses in the UK 15.9% of the respondents of this research bought groceries online at least once a year. 3.2% used e-grocers at least once a week. 2.7% used them two or three times a month. 4.5%, the largest group, used an e-grocer once or twice a year (â€Å"E-commerce: The Internet,† 2007). The increasing rate of internet usage likely contributes to the rising number of consumers who purchase groceries online. According to Foley et al. (2003), online shoppers actually had habits different from their unwired counterparts. Online grocery shoppers made fewer shopping trips per month (for all goods) and spent more per trip than those who did not shop online. Online orders tended to be larger than in-store purchases. At Tesco, for example, instore purchases averaged  £21 (about $33), while online orders averaged  £85 (about $136). Online shopping households averaged nearly $10,000 more in annual income over offline ones at a little over $70,000 per year. 2.3 e-Grocery Shopping Process and Various Business Models The process of buying grocery online consists of several major steps. They are ordering and payment, order-picking/ assembly and order delivery/ pickup. (Appendix C shows the process of e-grocery shopping in a figure.) Although all e-grocery transactions have these basic activities, e-grocers vary in how they carry them out. 2.3.1 Online Ordering A consumer who intends to buy groceries on the web would first go to an egrocers website to enter the zip code of the intended delivery address. The e-grocers website would tell the consumer whether home delivery or in-store pick-up i